A Wee Catch Up! (with sneak peek)

Hey you guys!!  How are you?!!  So much has happened since we last spoke!  Hopefully this post marks the re-start of the spark here on my little ol’ blog. :)

January was an utter whirlwind.  I don’t know how else to describe it…life was busy!  Some big news is that I finished up my Job #1.  After more than six months of working my new full time job, as well as holding down my old job in the evenings it was finally time to let go.  I’m going to miss that job (and the dual paycheques!) but it was the right time to move on and get my life back.  I met all the goals I set for myself so even though I struggled with the situation at first, I’m glad it all happened now. 

Training my replacement was draining!  I wanted to be sure she got the best possible training from me and as such, she and I spent A LOT of time on Skype.  I put in more hours than usual so that I could ensure all of my own work was completed, I could write up notes and training plans, and participate in the actual training calls.  I sure hope that everything is working out for her! 

In addition to the extra evening and weekend hours, I kept up my gym schedule too.  I now forget what my goal for January was…but let’s just say it was to hit the gym as often as I could without exhausting myself. :) I’m so pleased with how things went!  As a bonus I lost 4 pounds throughout the month!

Of course, the biggest thing that has happened is that Michael and I went on a super duper vacation for the first two weeks of February.  We took a 7 Day Western Caribbean Cruise (no, not THAT Carnival one!), followed by 5 days in New Orleans for Mardi Gras!  We had a great time and I have soooo much to tell you guys about the trip.  As usual I came home with about a billion and one photos, so bear with me while I get those all sorted and ready to share.

There were lots of highlights on the trip, but one of the best things was that I didn’t gain any weight!  Haha.  Trust me, I was worried.  We managed two pretty good workouts in the ship’s awesome gym, but aside from the usual tourist walking and such it wasn’t a terribly active vacation.  And the food was abundant.  Oh so delicious and abundant.  We waddled out of the dining room on more than one evening.  I chalk the success up to boosting my metabolism a fair bit with lots of workouts for the six weeks before vacation.  Or the fact that I came home with a full blown cold, lost my appetite, and didn’t weigh myself for three days post-vacay. ;)

So now we’re home, caught up on the 99% full PVR, and settled back into work.  With my new one-job routine I can finally claim my evenings back and start tackling some projects I’ve had on the backburner for months.  I don’t know what any of this means for this here blog, but at the very least I won’t feel like I have to abandon it completely anymore.  Whatever happens, you all at least have vacation photos to look forward to.  :)  If there’s anything in particular you’ve been missing since I slowed things down around here, let me know!

Hope you’ve all been well.  Talk soon!  Jaime

Coat Tail Resolutioner

And now…back to our regularly scheduled programming!

The first Monday of the all new 2011 seemed like the best time to get back to the business of embracing balance by returning to healthy eats, working out, and blogging like I’m supposed to.

How about a little motivational coffee to start the day?

Recently I’ve been on an English muffin kick (not that I’ve shown any of you!)…toasted up with TJ’s flaxerific almond butter and a small banana.

You can always tell when the “back on the wagon” bug has struck because the big silver bowl resurfaces…full of bigass salad!

Baby romaine, carrots, cukes, tomatoes, feta, EVOO & a teeny sploosh of balsamic.  Topped with hummus and a side of multigrain Wheat Thins.

After lunch digested I hit the gym. Yup, first time that’s been uttered in over two weeks. I had to do it!

• I went for an epic walk all over downtown and beyond yesterday which made my cranky ol’ lady hips scream at me today….more exercise is the only cure.
• I had most of the day off work so I had no excuse.
• I’m kinda riding the high of the healthy resolutioners out there.

Mondays are now cardio & core days.  Today I banged out 10 minutes rowing machine, 30 minutes treadmill intervals (that would be the first running since way back in September when my back injury started), and finished up with 10 minutes on the Cybex after completing two sets of core strengthening exercises.

I dare to say this is the best workout I’ve had since we finished boot camp with Tia months ago! Yay!

In the car I powered through an unpictured Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabar and when I got home I rummaged through the cupboards and came up with a TJ’s flattened banana.

After tying up some loose ends for work and finally getting the Christmas turkey boiling for soup stock I made a simple dinner.  Before I start tackling any more big recipes that make too much food for a single gal I figured I’d better eat up a few things from the freezer.

Chicken Enchiladas…yes please! nom nom nom.

So now I sit here fending off the inevitable sugar craving that is attacking me.  I guess filling my belly with sweets for two weeks straight might not have been the best idea I’ve ever had.  Well damn, it tasted good at the time.

I.will.not.cave.

Day in the Life

Today felt much more like a normal day in the life of Jaime.  My apartment still looks like a cyclone went through it but thanks to a few good comments and some discussions with my Mom and friends I’ve decided to just let it go.  It will be done when it’s bloody well done.  :)

What do I normally do when I get up?  (Besides shuffling bleary eyed to the potty…).  I drink coffee.  In this lovely smartass mug from my mother…

Sweet right?  Riiiiight.  But see this heart…well, it’s one of those dealios where when you add a hot beverage words appear…

Mhmmmmm.  Some gift, eh!?  haha, thanks Mom!

After sufficient caffeination it’s time for breaky.  Blueberries, strawberries, organic vanilla yogurt…sprinkled with hemp hearts…

After a litre of water and working for the morning it’s time to make lunch!  A Squirrelly sammich!

Toasted Squirrelly bread, crack hummus, fat-free roast turkey, local yellow tomatoes, and baby spinach…

Served with pickles.  Oh it’s nice to have options in the fridge again!

What have I not done for a month that I did today?

… wait for it …

I went to the gym!!  That’s right.  I worked solidly through the afternoon and at 4:30 I got my gear on, hopped in my car and headed over to see what the Goodlife here in Victoria was all about.

I’ll save my review of the gym for later in the week after I’ve had a few visits but I will say I’m not completely sold on it yet. 

Since it has been a while since I’ve worked out, and since I have no idea what is causing my glute/hip/leg pain I decided just to do an easy cardio day and upper body strength training.

Treadmill:  20 minutes incline power walk

Strength:  3 x 12

• overhead press
• tricep dips
• lateral raises
• hammer curls
• overhead tricep lift
• bicep curls (with barbell)

I had to drop to less weight than usual but hopefully it will only take me a week or two to get back up to where I was. 

Finished with 3 x 30 second planks mixed with 3 sets of easy crunches and lots of stretching.  My glute didn’t bother me too much until I got to the floor work.  I’m honestly really starting to think it’s actually stemming from my hip joint. 

After the gym I came straight home for a snack and a shower.  Lynn mentioned dates on her blog the other day so I was on the lookout for them when I shopped.  She stuffs hers with cream cheese…I stuff mine with peanut butter. 

Dinner was supposed to be a yummy White Bean & Chicken Salad I found in a magazine, but even though I took the chicken out of the freezer yesterday…it was still frozen!  So, tune in tomorrow for that one.

Instead I made a simple Shrimpy Salad on Wasa crackers…and didn’t miss that salad at all.  I love me some fresh West Coast shrimp!

With celery, green onion, olive oil mayo, dijon and s&p.  Normally I would add dill but I haven’t fully restocked my spice rack yet.

With veggie sticks to fill the salad void.

The rest of my evening was spent doing my first load of apartment building laundry (yes I gave up in suite laundry…but I shall survive…we have a very nice and properly priced laundry room here), talking on the phone, and finishing off my effing desk.

Seriously people.  They apparently expect She-Ra or He-Man to be assembling this freaking thing.  Because it’s MDF it weighs a zillion pounds, and there were literally like 75 pieces.  I know it doesn’t look it but geeeeesh.  I deserve a Girl Scout patch or something!

See…even the manufacturers knew that it wasn’t really easy to assemble…

See that winky face?!!  Someone there thinks they are VERY funny.  Rotten buggers. 

Anyway…it’s done!  Tomorrow I can set up my desktop computer and will have a real little office space to call my own.

While I worked at it I snacked on the last of my local cherries.  Must.get.more. 

Now it’s off to bed to catch up on True Blood…and maybe Entourage if I’m still awake.  I just realized last night that it had started up again while I was travelling so I have a few episodes to watch. Yay!

Now THAT is what a day in the life of Jaime should be like.

Funk

As you may have noticed, my blogging mojo has taken a bit of a dip.  I’m working on it y’all but just bear with me while I get settled and try to bring back the healthy balance.

Mornings bring on lots of motivation, but afternoons are still a struggle.  After work I seem to rally a bit, but evenings are still tough.  I’ll get there.  I hope.  Yikes.

Yesterday morning I busted out my shiny new Montreal mug.  Makes me want to go back and visit my brother.

I didn’t realize it until now but I didn’t eat breakfast yesterday.  A clear sign that I’m definitely not back on track. 

Lunch involved a snack plate built around crack hummus. 

With super fantastic cherry tomatoes my Mom brought from a farmer’s market last weekend.  Soooo good!! 

And feta cubes, carrot sticks, and crackers.

Afternoon snack of BC cherries.  I’m going to cry when cherry season is over.

I knew I was heading out for a few drinky-poos last night so made sure to eat a little bit heavier dinner before hand.  The leftover turkey patty served on half a Squirrelly bagel with Light Laughing Cow cheese was crazy tasty!

I’m glad I broke that patty into two meals it was huge.  and I had a better look at it…I think part of the tastiness is that they make it was some kind of stuffing.  Probably Stove Top or something…which makes it a lot less healthy that I originally hoped. 

Into the evening I totally disregarded my camera.  Maybe it’s the 1500 road trip pictures I took.  My brain just doesn’t want to play photographer right now. 

I had a bevvie here at home with a friend, then a few more at a local pub.  Somewhere in there we ordered the fancy poutine…which was really good but made me feel guilty.  I think I need to institute a no french fry rule.

Obviously my post-move reality is setting in.  The big adventure is over and now I have to face real life.  Hmmmmm.  Can’t decide how I feel about that.

CCCRT – Working Girl

Since I had to turn around and return to Vancouver the morning after completing my Colossal Cross-Canada Road Trip I didn’t really feel like I’d actually finished yet. 

I still had to get up early, repack a suitcase, organize my laptop and work bag, and ride the ferry bleary eyed.  Hmmm…sounds similar to much of my previous two weeks.  :)  Except at least I didn’t have to tackle any driving!

Nicole kindly drove me out to the ferry to save me some time and money.  First thing I did when I got on board was hit the snack bar for an easy breakfast…

The Victoria-Vancouver ferry route now offers free wi-fi so I was able to check a few things online.  I ran into my friend Meredith with her daughter and some family so we visited and caught up a weeee bit about my trip and her impending baby.  :)  Hi Mere!!!  Liane also found me because during our tweeting/BBMing we realized she was taking the same ferry for her move to Vancouver. Wish Liane luck with her new job and life in the big city!

I’ve made this trip many, many times but the scenery never ceases to amaze me.  Sometimes the ferry ride feels like a chore when you just want to get where you are going but for me this was an extension of my road trip and I was happy to continue playing tourist.

From the ferry I rode into the city on Pacific Coach Lines (Greyhound style coach/bus).  Saved me having to drive and/or deal with parking for the weekend.  The view of Vancouver when you come in over the bridge is pretty spectacular.  The familiar shapes of the distinct buildings mixed now with the amazingly tall skyscrapers and memorable trip over the bridge are always a welcome sight.

(the windows on the bus are all tinted for anti-glare so it’s damn near impossible to take photos…ah well)

I hopped off the bus near the Art Gallery and walked the few blocks to my hotel.  Was excited to find the Olympic clock since I haven’t been to the city since the Olympic hoopla.

Because this was for work I was sharing a hotel room with my co-worker Michelle.  We don’t always do that but because of my trip we weren’t sure I’d make it so we opted to book only one room just in case. 

View from our room…

 

I quickly got changed and did my hair and make-up so I could head to the convention center to join Michelle and get to work.  This is where the blogging and photo taking pretty much stopped because work had to come first. 

For those of you that have asked…I don’t like to talk specifically about my job for obvious reasons but I can say that I work for an online marketing company that is specifically for attorneys.  So when I go to conventions it’s always lawyer conventions. 

We spend our days in the booth selling our wares but our evenings are open to fun cocktail parties, drinks with other vendors, shmoozing with our clients (and potential clients) and just all round good times.  Sleep is highly sought after but rarely occurs.  :)