my health: take two

I mentioned before that I wanted to get back in shape and start eating better. Now that I’m not feeling so sick these days, and I’ve gotten Harry Potter out of my system (for now anyway), I am ready to go at this full force. So I’m going to start monitoring what I’m eating and how much exercise I do. Hopefully this will help teach me a few things.

Starting weight, as of this morning: 118. er… something. Anyway. The weight factor isn’t as important as the eating healthy part, but I figure if I start noticing differences from day to day I might be able to find corellations with what I’m eating when I gain (or lose weight) and how I’m feeling that day.

• Breakfast: Er, none. I know, I’m horrible. But I slept in without meaning to!

• Lunch: I ate a bunch of chocolate cookie/wafer things and had a glass of soy milk. Hellooo fat!

• Snack: A spoonful of light peanut butter and a glass of milk.

• Dinner: 1 chicken fajita with roasted peppers. Should have added shredded lettuce, but alas we had none.

• Total glasses of water: Maybe 2 or 3. Probably not good.

• Exercise: A little over 20min of running on the treadmill, followed by another 20min of walking (I ran into a friend and I stayed to chat instead of hopping on the bike like I normally do). Then some lackluster stretches while we talked some more.

Analysis for the day (so far): My eating habits really suck. I think I’m doing all right with the dairy aspect of things, and possibly protein too, but those vegetables are the bane of my existance. I may have to pick up some V8 juice next time I’m at the supermarket. Also, the junk food in my house has to go. I have the worst combination as far as food cravings go: A sweet tooth, and no willpower whatsoever. It’s going to be a long, hard road.

the flower shop

Based loosely off a dream I had last night (or this morning, I can’t be sure). Unfinished, for now.

The Flower Shop
Everything she felt was pain. Crying uncontrollably, she held out her arms, reaching for something, anything to take her away from the agony she was experiencing. She couldn’t escape the sounds, the smell, the sights around her. Red and green, blue and yellow and silver mixed together as the world cried with her. The loud, wretched noises shook the air around her. And she was terrified, unmoving.

She was growing weaker, falling limp as she was being drawn into a pool of glowing green. Voices whispered her name, mocked her, laughing at her fruitless attempts to escape.

A gloved hand reaced for hers. Grasping it tightly, she somehow managed to surface from underneath the heavy emerald sea. A smile,  a strand of shining hair brushed her cheek. The simple gesture gave her a new resolve, and with slender fingers, she reached behind her head for the ribbon that sat at the top of her braid, and the beautiful stone that resided in it.

Despite the friendly smile that beamed upon her, despite the delicate hair that shone with the reflection of the green below, pale pink lips parted into a silent scream.

It was gone.

* * * * * * *

A young woman jolted upright in her bed. Her heart was pounding and she was shaking from head to toe. Green eyes blinked in the semi-darkness.

She turned to her dresser. In the shadows she could see her ribbon and it’s precious cargo was still there.

It was only a dream. Only a dream…

Heaving a rather uncomfortable sigh of relief, she climbed out of bed, tiptoeing across the cold floor towards her window. She pulled the curtains aside, revealing a beautiful garden below, and a hint of sunlight that managed to slip through the cracks in the grey clouds that loomed above.

A trace of a smile formed on her face as she turned away from the window. No matter if it rained, it was going to be a lovely day. She reached for the robe she had left on her chair, and slipped it on over her nightgown. She of thought of the gardening she must do, the flowers she must pick, which ones she would cut and sell, and of all the the people she might meet as she went down the stairs into the kitchen, where she could smell the beginnings of her mother making breakfast.

She had a good feeling about today.

the fans who waited

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Brilliant book, I couldn’t put it down. I just wish my sister would actually pick up the damn thing and read it already, so that I can have someone to discuss it with (most of my friends that like this series are some seriously slow readers). I would love to go on about it here, about what I liked and didn’t like – to be honest, there were a few things- but still. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone else, but I am happy to say that I finally got some closure on my favourite character in the series – Severus Snape. Hats off to you, Rowling.

In other, related news, I was feeling much better since my last post so I ended up in downtown Toronto with a friend this friday night for some shopping. After having a bite to eat, we decided we should take a look at the much-hyped ‘release party’… or whatever it was called, for the Deathly Hallows would be at the Chapters on Bay Street where they had done this recreation of Diagon Alley we’d heard about on the radio, but there were way too many people there to see anything but the massive crowd. And possibly the top of a double-decker bus, I wasn’t sure. Tons of screaming, bouncing little kids were dressed up in robes and hats, and I felt a little sorry for their poor, haggard-looking parents. Wish I’d taken some pictures of some of the crazier costumes though, there were quite a few of them. Even crazier still, some of the people we spoke to in passing had said they’d  been waiting for over five hours just to get a copy of the book, forget the other festivities. Some had taken the day off work for the release. Wow. I mean, I love Harry and his books too, but not that much…

So I ended up spending the night with my friend, then hanging out with her again the next day too (more shopping was done, my bank account will hate me), so it was on sunday that I stopped at Shoppers on my way home and got my book for free. Yes, free.

Thank you Shoppers Optimum points!

*crossing fingers*

I’m still sick. I know I’m exaggerating, but it feels like it’s been , well, forever since I’ve felt like a normal person. These days I’ve been completely nauseous, light-headed, headachey and just all around weak. I’m having trouble sleeping too, so I’m doubly exhausted. Not to mention that I feel like a blob since I haven’t done much more than sleep, get up to make tea, and lie in bed with my notepad, or a book or two (or five). Oh, and then sleep some more.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed that I get better by maybe tomorrow (wishful thinking, I know). A friend of mine and I were planning on hanging out this weekend, and if that falls through I’ll be very sad – I haven’t seen her in a while, and I want to go shopping. Actually, I’ll be happy if I can just get out of my house and spend some time outside in the sunlight for a little bit. I must be morphing into some version of a sickly, Rip Van Winkle mole-person. Hmm, now that I think about it, perhaps venturing into direct sunlight right away is not such a good idea after all. What if I start melting? At least if I go shopping I’ll be safe under artificial lighting. Keeping those fingers crossed.

self-improvement: day 1

Or not.

Today was supposed to be the first day of the two-week diet and training  regime I put together to Stay in Shape and Stop Eating Crap (mostly to stop eating crap), but I woke up feeling all nauseous and headachey. Just my luck. As you may have surmised, I’ve been a bit lax lately in terms of my eating habits and gym attendance, and I’m hoping that by making this folly public that maybe I can be more motivated to get back on track. Normally I try to make it to the gym at least four times a week to do both cardio and weight-training, and I save one day a week (usually sunday) for a yoga/pilates class.

As far as the eating habits go… well. Let’s just say I have a sweet tooth, and very little self-control. Sometimes. Okay, okay, all the time. Luckily I have been blessed with a relatively speedy metabolism, so as long as I continue to work out, it doesn’t show. But those crappy habits will all change soon, at least after I start feeling better.

Today, I had some green tea (good), but then I followed it with the only cure I know for throw-uppyness: really salty crackers (bad… although they are SOO good). I had wanted to make an omlete for breakfast, but I’m afraid my stomach won’t be able to handle it, and then I’ll have to resort to having some soup or something. And as I’m not a fan of soup, unless its of the “Cream of [whatever]” variety, and that = also bad. I can only hope that I’m feeling better by tomorrow so that I can at least go to my favourite yoga/pilates class. And possibly on monday I can get the ball rolling for good.

more snow

And speaking of “snow” – how could I forget(!) - I made Baked Alaska the other day. Or should I say I made a Baked Alaska? Er, with my Mom that is… Okay, okay, so I just helped. Anyway, it’s actually not as complicated as I thought it might be, and the only trouble we had was keeping ourselves from eating all the meringue topping before we spread it on the cake. Yummy.

I stuck on some pecans afterwards because it looked kind of plain — in hindsight I should have realized that it would look like poop on snow! I wish I had put it in a nicer looking dish before I snapped the photo too, but I was afraid I’d break it. It was quite yummy though. Definitely going to have to try making one on my own someday.

of snow and sci-fi

Sometimes I feel like I have nothing to blog about… which is not entirely true, The Life and Times of Yours Truly can be very exciting indeed. These days though, I’ve been spending a lot of time reading. And going out, watching movies, and being ’social’ and all that fun stuff. I even made some cookies yesterday for the family. All on my own, I might add. (Yay!) Well, I guess I could have written about those things too… The real problem is that I’m a lazy git.

Anyway, back to the reading – I’d decided I was going to amuse myself by rereading books I’d finished ages ago but can’t remember a crap about. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson was now at the front of my shelf (one might recall I did a bit of bookshelf-cleaning not too long ago), so with that I started. I had bought it for a university communications assignment; Snow Crash is now the only science fiction-type book that I own. And possibly the only one I ever shall own, but we shall see.

It was… interesting… from what I can remember. Think of a futuristic society where everything from sidewalk space to countries are owned by either the mafia or big name corporations, and that people live in the internet, and you have the background for this book covered. Exciting stuff. The main character is referred to as “the Deliverator” (make any Arny/Terminator jokes that you must) when we first meet him, because he’s a pizzaman, and that’s apparently what pizzamen are called in the distant future. But when we find out his actual name it’s, get this, Hiro Protagonist. Uh. Right. Like thats any better.

I’m not the hugest fan of sci-fi stories, but there must have been something about Snow Crash that prompted me to buy it, and write an article about it for school. As I continue to read I can recall a growing affection for Mr. Protagonist too, silly name and all. And it’s not just because he can deliver a pizza in less than 20.5 minutes, which by todays standards (at least where I live) is unimpressive . Or that he’s a “freelance hacker”. I can’t put my finger on why, exactly, but it possibly might have had something to do with the fact that he’s unkempt, silent and aggressive, wears goggles and carries a taser and katanas – while he delivers pizzas I might add. Apparently you not only receive the prestigious title of “Deliverator”, but also expect to put your life on the line while on the job, because if you fail, your mafia pizza boss will threaten to cut off your limbs. Did I mention that he also likes to think of himself as a ninja? This is such a weird book. Maybe that’s why I liked it…

more than meets the eye

I just watched the latest Harry Potter movie. And I Hated it. Hate with a capital “H”.

Okay, perhaps that was a bit harsh, it ‘looked’ good, but I really did not like it. Granted, the fifth book was not as full of adventure and excitement as the ones before it (and after). It was more focused on Harry’s development as a teenage boy, and how he dealt with his peers and other wizarding folk that were trying to stop him from telling the world about Voldemort’s return. That sort of teen-drama is not very exciting; even if Harry is The Boy Who Lived, he has his ‘normal’ moments too. Moments which will consume all but 10% of the movie. 

So the director didn’t have much action to work with, and unfortunately all of the subplots and backstories that were so interesting in the book were either barely glossed over on film or not shown at all. I’d really recommend just reading the book over watching this installment in the Potter movies, it doesn’t do it justice in any way at all.

Now Transformers on the other hand… I saw that movie the week before and it was amazing. Sometimes the humor was a little over the top (the scene where the Autobots are all hiding in the backyard comes to mind), but everything else – the cars, the voice-acting, the epic inter-city robot battles - it was stellar. My only complaint was that they didn’t actually play the Transformers theme at all during the movie. I was really looking forward to a new, jazzified version of that 80’s classic.

In summary: No to Order of the Phoenix on film (yes to the book, however). And a big YES to Transformers. Yes, yes, yes.

hours wasted:

8 and counting…

So, I’m supposed to be cleaning in preparation for a friend’s visit. Thus far I’ve done a load of laundry (darks), made myself two mugs of tea (Chai… yummy), had a shower, played with my cats, took a nap, watched CSI with the Sister, played around on the computer (well, twice, if you count this post), and went to thought about going to the LCBO, maybe. Although I did start to organize one of my bookshelves. “Start” being the key word here, as about an hour after I’d begun I found myself rereading an old copy of Mansfield Park with the rest of the books in piles on the floor all around me. Hm.

As you can see today has been a very productive day. And since I still have a little over two hours before he arrives, no one can say I’m leaving things to the last minute. Though we are definitely ordering in tonight.

PS. Happy Canada Day!