Day two of the "life change"

So the new buzz is that you're not supposed to go on a diet . . . instead, we are supposed to eat only healthy things in moderation. Sounds like a diet to me.

But no matter what the deal, I could really used a huge, freaking piece of CHOCOLATE CAKE! With icing . . . not that bland stuff . . . I want the stuff that is so freaking sugary your teeth fall out as you eat it. And screw all you people that say, "Oh! I can't eat that! It's too sweet." Too Sweet? What the hell is that? Too Sweet is not even possible.

I think the sooner people start admiting that we like eating (because the facts say we are all getting fatter so we must be putting something in our mouths), the sooner we can quit all these ridiculous eating games. Games, you ask? Games like I Only Gorge Myself in My Bedroom so it Doesn't Count or Blame the Cat for Eating the Entire Puff Wheat Cake in a Day.

what do you do when . . .

you are too fat for any of your pants?

I have managed to gain an unimaginable amount of weight in two months. At first, I understood why the scale was slowly nudging up because I really didn't run much after the marathon. But I am back to running, swimming and today, even cycling. I walk 2 km to work, climb 6 flights of stairs at least twice a day, and then walk 2 kms home. I don't think I eat anything out of the ordinary, but I cannot get this under control.

I am back on the plan as of today! Unite with me! Fight the bulge! Power in numbers! Just think of all those Christmas pictures you're going to have to pose for in less than a month. You won't have to hide your thighs by standing behind grandma's chair this year.

I've taken the plunge . . .

and now I have to raise $6100 FREAKING DOLLARS! I had a serious lapse in good judgement, but I'm in now and when I'm running the marathon in Dublin, it will be all worth it . . . right? Oh wait! The reward is running a marathon. That doesn't seem like such a good deal, does it?

Anyway, here's fundraiser number one:

A dozen homemade holiday cookies packaged and ready for giving!
Just $10 . . . You can even tell them YOU made them!

Let me know if you're interested!

My Personal Connection to Diabetes: Genetically , I have a predisposition to develope diabetes because both mother and my grandfather on my dad's side have diabetes. I try to maintain a healthier lifestyle to prevent the illness in myself. I have lost 110 lbs since 1994, and I completed my first full marathon in September 2006. Life expectancy for people with type two diabetes may be shortened by 5 to 10 years. A Canadian with diabetes is four times as likely to die at age 35 than a 35-year-old without diabetes.

Why am I doing this? I have joined Team Diabetes , a fundraising program of the Canadian Diabetes Association. The goal is to create awareness of the work of the Canadian Diabetes Association and realize much needed funds for diabetes research, education, service and advocacy. I am raising $6100, and plan to run the Dublin International Marathon in October 2007. At least 60 cents of every dollar goes to the Canadian Diabetes Association, and all money raised by participants stays in their home province.

I am so cold!

So I have been challenged in getting up to run Saturday morning with my girls, but today I was forced to peak my little head out of the covers and bundle up. The Team Diabetes guy was joining us for a run . . . and as much as I didn't want to get up . . . I REALLY did not feel like running in -30 degrees with the windchill. What is fun about this? And it looks like this is just the beginning:

Forecast from Environment Canada
Regina:
Today: Sunny. Increasing cloudiness late this afternoon. Wind up to 15 km/h.
High minus 16. Wind chill minus 28.
Tonight: Cloudy. 60 percent chance of flurries this evening. Wind up to 15 km/h. Low minus 24. Wind chill minus 30.
Sunday: Sunny with cloudy periods. High minus 18.

to drink or not to drink . . . that is the question

So we were treated to an amazing Christmas party on Thursday afternoon. A half day off of work, big buffet, two comedians and then the bar. But there is always that question . . . should you drink and have a good time? Or should you behave yourself? They gave us cab vouchers to get home so that is a clear indication they wanted us to have a few drinks. But where do you draw the line? One or two . . . or enough to get loud and giggly? But I am always loud and giggly! I act drunk when I'm sober! This is a tough one . . . but I didn't take off any clothes so I would count the day as a success.

The Christmas Grinches are out

So I drove all over Regina on Saturday looking for a rock tumbler. Half the places were charging $10 more than they should be, and the other half didn't have it. But that isn't the issue . . . it is the foul faced, yucky, mean people that don't know how to park in between the lines in a parking lot. I am fortunate because my car is now old enough that I no longer care if I get a dent. Yep . . . if you're the idiot that thinks that you can park any way you want and no one will bother you . . . I am your worst nightmare. I will park exactly between the lines whether you can get into your driver door or not. Dent away . . . because I made sure to open MY door so freaking hard that you'll be remembering me.

The Christmas grouches are already out. They usually come in the form of a 60 year old woman who can't crack a smile and looks me up and down while I patiently wait for her to finish monopolizing the time of the ONLY clerk on the store's floor (Toys R Us? Really! It's time to pay up another $6.50 an hour to get TWO people that know where the hell you keep everything). Just as you think she's done with the clerk, she pulls a giant list out of her ugly purse and uses the clerk as her personal shopper.

Then there is also the 35 - 40 year old MILF who wants the clerk to magically make something appear for her. Yesterday, the woman didn't want the already existing Lego packages . . . she wanted something "nice". Like he was supposed to personally go to Lego Land and create it.

And WHY (OH WHY?) do old people with walkers get their daily exercise in busy parking lots? I really don't think this is the safest place for them to be.

Okay, perhaps the Grinch you need to be ready for is me.

wash your freaking hands

Norwalk virus is in Regina! And do you know how it is passed on? That's right . . . fecal matter. So how the heck is it being spread? Not washing your freaking hands! How hard is it to wash your hands? Apparently, for a lot of people, it is pretty hard.

Any way, there is a right way and a wrong way to wash your hands. Check out this link because you might find out that you've been doing it wrong (and passing YOUR fecal matter around Regina-- GROSS!)

recommended movies

With the nasty weather today, I think it's a good time to recommend some movies:

Borat--Pee your pants funny! Scott, being the nice guy that he is, was uncomfortable with how real people are used as pawns in the comedy. I, being the nasty girl that I am, had no problem laughing at other people. I don't want to ruin the story for you, but there is a coincidence that I just have to mention. Do you ever have reoccuring themes in your life? Remember my issue with trekking in Peru (the poop issue)? Well here it is again!

Kinky Boots--From the creators of Calendar Girls and The Full Monty, it's a nice movie about a shoe factory that is saved by realizing a niche market for sexy, durable boots for cross-dressing men. The lead man is sexy in a boy-next-door, non-threatening kind of way.

Hard Candy -- This movie is mind expanding in a ruin-you-faith-in-humanity kind of way. It's about an internet pedophile meeting his match in a 14 year old honour student. I really have issues with pedophilia (as I think a lot of people do) so it was interesting to actually feel sympathy for the guy.

Bond . . . James Bond

Has anyone seen the ads for Casino Royale? Or more importantly, has anyone seen the ad where Daniel Craig comes walking out of the ocean in the most amazing little bathing suit? OH MY GOD! I will admit to having a fondness for Sean Connery (especially when he made Queen Lizzie come to Edinburgh to knight him instead of going down to see her in London), but there is NO WAY he could ever compare to this 007. I don't care if he is doing a toothpaste commercial -- I will pay $10 to see it large and in living colour on the big screen.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields By:
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Weekend buzz

Ahhhhh . . . a long weekend. Time to sit back and relax, right? NOPE! What is it about having one extra day off and the need to fill every waking moment with activity?

I'm going to Just for Laughs tonight and a birthday party tomorrow. As well, there's the Our Best to You crap show. . . I mean craft show and Festiv-Ale. I also intend to attend the Rememberance Day ceremony on Saturday.

What else? Oh yeah . . . running Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Swimming on Monday. Weights on Sunday. Cleaning house all weekend, putting up Christmas lights, and trying to clip Senor Don's nails (which is the scariest of all the activities planned).

12 days of Christmas

Here's a salute to my Track & Trail peeps who managed to get 74 people to dress as the 12 days of Christmas for the Jingle Bell Run.

I am so disappointed I missed Laurie dressed as a maid a milking! But alas! I was forced to spend the weekend driving through the Rocky Mountains and visit my favourite city in all the world!

curse on you!

To all those that do not stop at crosswalks . . . may a fairy poop on your soul.

Travel with Tyler

Here are the highlights of travelling with Tyler:

-We had planned to leave at 5 p.m. on Friday . . . We got on the road at about 11 a.m. on Saturday
-We drove around the block ten times in Calgary trying to figure out how to get into Home Depot . . . once we got in, he decides they don't have what he wants
-He "forgets" to fill up in Kamloops . . . So I have to call CAA in a panic as we climb the highest bloody mountain to see if they'll bring us gas. Just as it looks like we're done for . . . we hit the summit and coast 14 kms in to Merrit.
-There are Tim Hortons in EVERY one-horse town in British Columbia . . . or as I will now refer to it, Heaven
-He has brought this incredibly potent wine along . . . I had one, hotel-room water tumbler, and I am hammered

We're spending the night in Hope, and then we head into Vancouver tomorrow. I can only imagine what sort of fun we'll have there!

Vancouver . . . here I come!

I leave for Vancouver on Saturday! Of course, by the time I get there, I will have to head to the airport and fly home.

The last time Tyler and I went cross-country, it was from Russell, MB to Toronto. Highlights of that adventure include getting lost at midnight in Thunder Bay, getting lost in the middle of the day in Sudbury and of course, accidentially telling Tyler to take the wrong turn off and getting stuck on the 401 during rush hour in Toronto. I'll give you one guess as to who the map reader was.

Tyler has a dream of us being a team on the Amazing Race. Suprisingly, he hasn't really brought it up since that fateful trip in March.

Cross your fingers that this trip to Vancouver goes more smoothly.