A puzzling end to February

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I saw my brother had one of those rubber mats under his treadmill when I was there yesterday.  It felt so nice to stand on.  Come to find out it was one of those puzzle mats!  They got it at Rona for like $20!  So off to Rona I trotted and picked myself up one of these puzzles.  Put it together tonight and tried it out with the Wii.  I am ashamed to admit I had not used my Wii for 17 days before tonight.  The Wii Fit Plus asked me if my name was Kamryn (my youngest niece)...Smart Alec!  I really liked using it with the Wii Fit Plus!  I've only done 20 minutes of low impact aerobics so far - I'm sure I'll notice more of a difference when I do my yoga later on tonight.  Would have continued on and done my yoga right after my aerobics, but I'm hungry AND I accidentally (as if I would do this on purpose!) dropped a heavy crystal candle holder on my big toe...I thought it was broken for a few minutes, then no hurting at all and now it's starting to throb a little.  Not broken, but tender, that's for sure!  So I'm off to have some supper, relax for a bit and then do some yoga before bed.  No gym workout today - weather was nasty, so boss sent us home early...not good for me since I didn't go to the gym on the weekend!

Yummy salad!

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Mixed lettuce, corn, quinoa, chickpeas, kidney beans, mandarin oranges, cucumber, orange peppers, mushrooms, purple onion, chicken, chipotle salsa, chipotle chili powder ('cause everything is better with this added!), Renee's Asian Vinaigrette dressing.  Sooo yummy!

You might think I'm crazy

Pin It Some have thought so over the years.  Especially when they see some of the food combinations I make.  Today for lunch I was at a loss for what to have.  Part of me wanted pizza, part of me wanted grilled cheese, and I wanted an apple.  Sooooo...I had a grilled cheese, apple and turkey pepperoni sandwich ;-)  Yes, an odd combination for sure, but it was SOOO good!  Next time I will grate my cheese rather than slicing it so it will melt better...I may even do it open faced and pop it under the broiler for a few minutes.

Here are some pics!

Sigh...

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I stayed the same this week.  Well, the scales kept hovering between staying the same and being up .2, so she put it down as staying the same...  I worked SO hard this week.  I know I said last night that I was not going to set myself up for disappointment...but I am disappointed. 

So I went shopping to help myself feel better.  I was never a "retail therapy" kinda girl before...but now it's a bit more fun.  I bought a dress from Sears today (half price!) in a size 12.  If they'd had a 10, I would have gotten it...it's kind of a stretchy material so I could have likely gotten away with a 10, but, alas, only a 12 and an 8 on the rack.  I also bought a bathing suit at Walmart (looked at Sears, but I refuse to pay $100 for a bathing suit I'll only wear for a few months).  Last time I was at Walmart they didn't have anything I liked.  This time I settled.  For $32 I guess that's OK.  It's funny, I was drawn to the plus size bathing suits - I think it's because they covered up more (plus they had more "girls" support).  They had this adorable black one with white polka dots on the top and a pink trim around the neckline...but the smallest size they had was a 16 :-(  I may have to look at bathing suits again in the US when I go (hopefully in early May).

One week from today the new Canada Games Centre opens to the public...I can't wait!!  No aerobics schedule yet, but hopefully soon.  They will be open at 6am as of next Monday morning (8am on weekends), so I am thinking of trying to do morning workouts.  I've never been a morning workout person before - partly because I'm not a morning person!  Perhaps the newness and excitement of this new facility will turn me into one.  It'll be nice to have my workout over and done with before work and to just come home after work (during daylight hours!!!) instead of heading to the gym.  I'll have to see if I have enough time to workout, shower, get ready and get home in time to meet my ride at 8am...should be OK since I'm only a 5 minute drive from the Centre.  Yay!!

Girls night tonight at the house of one of my girl friends.  Hopefully I will be able to avoid "bad" snacks.  Someone at WW said this morning that one way they avoid bowls of chips at events is to think "GERMS!!!!"...this might work, but I know all the ladies who will be there tonight and am fairly confident in their cleanliness ;-)  But I will keep that in mind for other events where there are open bowls of chips and other naughties.

Old Mother Hubbard's cupboards are bare...

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Tonight's supper was another stir fry with quinoa - today's protein of choice was leftover tilapia and my sauce was a combo of chicken stock and VH Spicy Thai sauce.  My veggie selection was sadly lacking tonight.  I had four mushrooms, 1/4 red pepper, about four stalks of broccoli, some red onion and a handful of frozen green beans...normally I have a lot more produce in the house, but there are some great sales beginning today at the local grocery stores, so I put off re-stocking...tomorrow I will fill the veggie bin again.


Charley, please go away!!!
My Charley Horse, that is...  As I blogged on Wednesday evening, my trainer at the gym worked me like a dog.  I woke up on Thursday morning and, despite having stretched like a good girl (normally I don't), I had a wicked Charley Horse in my leg and backside :-(  Throughout the day it got a bit better, but standing up and sitting down proved to be problematic.  Today wasn't much better.  I didn't go to the gym last night (it was all I could do to walk to the bus stop!), but I did go tonight and did about 45 minutes - most of it at a 15 incline - I usually do incline or run/walk, but there was NO way I was running tonight...the walking alone nearly killed me :-)  I was going to attempt Kellie's "last chance workout" again tonight in preparation for tomorrow's weigh in, but, alas, it was not going to happen.  I had my hopes up all week that I would lose 1.4 pounds at weigh in tomorrow, but I have resigned myself to the fact that it could take another week or so before I hit the 100 pound mark.  I had a great loss last week (1.4 pounds) and it's rare for me to lose amounts this high two weeks in a row.  So, to avoid being disappointed tomorrow, I have decided to be happy with ANY loss.

Self centred?

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I started my journey nearly 17 months ago.  I know everyone says you have to do this for yourself not for anyone else.  In the past I have let others de-rail me (not through any evil intentions on their part!) in some way or another.  This time I am totally focused on doing this for me.  Sometimes I think I am entirely too focused on me.  Never in my life have I given so much thought to myself - how do I look?  What will I eat?  What will I wear?  Where should I shop?  Are those store clerks looking at me wondering what I'm doing in a "regular" store?  What do people think?  Do people notice my weight loss?  Are people staring at my flabby arms?  Are my pants too big?  Are my pants too small?  Oh my nerves!  I'm driving even ME crazy.  I seriously revolve my life around this journey to lose weight.  I don't do much in the evenings during the week because I don't get home from work/the gym until 7pm - then I have to make and eat supper, do laundry or get ready for work the next day.  I find myself turning down invites to events because I have no control over what food will be there.  Am I going crazy?  Am I alone in this?  I feel like if I stop being so focused then I will fall off the wagon big time and I've come too far to do that now.  Maybe it really IS all about me! ha ha, just kidding :-)  I've never thought of myself as self-centred...until now.

OK, just had to get a little rant in before work. 

It's an orange, orange, orange, orange world

Pin It Tonight's dinner was very orange.  It didn't occur to me when I was making it that everything was either orange or white :-)  It was very good though. 

I had a personal training session at the gym tonight with Kellie.  I asked her if she was going to kill me during the workout.  Ummm...yeah, she did.  She told me we would be doing circuits.  It was her version of the Biggest Loser last chance workout...I am hoping to get in for a REAL last chance workout with her on Friday after work to prepare me for Saturday morning's weigh in.  Tonight we did step ups, burpees (sp?), mountain climbers, boxing, crunches, push ups (girlie ones), free weights, jogging in place...whew, I'm tired all over again just thinking about it! 

I think I will head to bed early tonight :-)

Pizza Nachos!

Pin It Supper started off as tortilla pizza, but I changed my mind part way through my planning :-)  Tomorrow is my appointment with my personal trainer.  Not sure what her plan is for me yet...time will tell!  Hoping to pick up some kickboxing moves maybe :-)

Deja Vu...sort of

Pin It Another quinoa stir fry tonight - this time with shrimp.  Yum.  Had other plans, but at the last minute had to do some overtime work, so I was pressed for time and VERY hungry :-)  Got home from work/the gym around 7pm.  Did 37 minutes on the treadmill - 30 walking, 7 running...my iPod died about 10 minutes before I finished, so other than the gross sweaty guy grunting, it was a very quiet end to my workout (he was gross - one of those guys who doesn't sign up for the machine and then when he's done, he doesn't wipe it down...as he's coughing all over the place...ewwwww

Some pics for your viewing pleasure (of supper, not the creepy guy at the gym)!  Hopefully I'll have more interesting blogging news tomorrow.

Mmmm Mango

Pin It This is my version of a Mango Lassi (only 2 Points+) - I believe the Mango Lassi is an Indian beverage (correct me if I'm wrong folks - I've only ever had it at Abdul's - an Indian place I went to in England).

1 cup milk
about a cup and a half of frozen mango
1 tablespoon splenda
Splash of vanilla
2 tablespoons of low fat whip cream (one that's 0 Points+ for 2 Tbsp)

Blend together in magic bullet until it has the consistency of soft serve ice cream.

This is DELICIOUS!  I think next time I might add some coconut and maybe a bit of banana.  Yummm.  Oooh, a splash of chocolate syrup might be good too!

Cha-Cha-Cha Chia

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A while back, a friend of mine posted a link to a recipe for oatmeal and Chia seeds.  I thought it was strange...remember the chia pets?  That's what I kept thinking.  Could I eat a chia pet??  I made the recipe without the chia seeds only because I didn't have any. 

Yesterday I was at the Bulk Barn and decided to give them a try.  Of course I had to come home and Google these mysterious edible/plantable seeds...  According to www.getchia.com, they are super good for you:

Chia Seeds Health Benefits Include: (this is just some)


Contain the highest plant source of Omega-3 on the planet!
Chia Seeds contain more Antioxidants than blueberries.
Chia Seeds are a complete protein with all 9 amino-acids.
Chia Seeds are an excellent source of Calcium, Magnesium & Iron.
Chia Seeds are 100% natural and raw.
Chia Seeds are an effective aid to healthy weight loss. The fiber rich chia seeds and slowly metabolized carbs can help to curb the appetite and has been shown to help lose weight when included with a balanced and healthy diet.

It all sounds good to me!  So this morning I made Kath's Whipped Banana Oatmeal - this time WITH the chia seeds.  As always, pictures are below.  I was still a little hesitant to put these in my sacred oatmeal.  What if they're gross?  What if they're slimy?  I had read something else yesterday that said to put a tablespoon in a cup of water and leave it for a bit and the whole thing turns to jelly.  It's supposed to be really good to have before working out as it helps you keep your electrolytes up or something like that...so, here goes nothing!  I'm eating it.  It's good.  The seeds themselves really have no taste.  It kinda bulked up my oatmeal a bit when they expanded, but without adding a strange flavour or texture.  I am hoping that this oatmeal will keep me full until noon today...lately my oatmeal has been failing me in that respect.  I'm just not a morning snacker, so to have to pack a mid morning snack to keep me going til lunchtime really bugs me :-)  If I can find something for the morning meal that will keep me going all morning I will be a very happy girl.

Photos as promised:

Chia seeds tossed on top of oatmeal, milk and water



thinly sliced banana on top



microwave for 90 seconds, whip up the oatmeal mixture
add some vanilla, top with remaining banana and some PB and enjoy



More quinoa

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What next?

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Last week's no-sugary treat challenge was...well, challenging.  I thought I'd go crazy today and eat all the sugary treats in sight, but I didn't.  I had some frozen yogurt and a sugar-free jell-o cup.  I suppose technically I could have had the jell-o cup last week, but I decided not to do fake-sugary treats along with the real.

So now what?  What's next?  I am 1.4 pounds away from 100 pounds lost.  What can I do to kick things up this week?  I don't think I'll do another sugar-free week.  I think I need to up the exercise in some way.  I am limited with the time I have in the gym because of the bus system (last direct bus home from the gym - which is downtown by my work - is at 6:15pm giving me about one hour to get to the gym, change, workout and leave).  I think when I meet with my trainer on Wednesday that I might ask her to do some boxing with me...kick boxing stuff.  Last time I asked her about yoga, but quite frankly, yoga bores me.  My workouts to date have been consisting of treadmill - interval workouts - either incline or speed; strength training - free weights for upper body and machines for lower - I hate, HATE lunges and squats, hence the machines.  I think I need to add something different.  I've been thinking about doing the stairs at work - maybe once up and once down per day.  I work on the 13th floor...not overly high, but high enough.  I miss the stairmaster that they had at my old gym.  It burned more calories in a shorter period of time than the treadmill or the elliptical does.  BUT my new gym opens two weeks from TODAY!  I can't wait.  I can get back to water aerobics, there's an indoor track (hopefully it'll be less boring than the treadmill), a brand new gym where the cardio machines EACH have their own TV!  Oh, I can't wait!

I'm off to figure out supper.  Bought some new stuff at the Bulk Barn today - bulgur, chia seeds and some more quinoa.  I think tonight will be a quinoa stir fry...last week's was SO good :-)

I did it!

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Five whole days without any sugary treats!  And it actually did get easier as the week went on.  Don't get me wrong, I WILL be having me some chocolate tomorrow :-)  I actually forgot about it on Monday as I was leaving my office and I grabbed a peppermint life saver candy from the bowl at our reception desk.  As I was riding down in the elevator I remembered!  So...that life saver is still in my pocket :-)  No granola bars, no muffins, no cake, no cookies, no pie, no chocolate (yikes!) and no minty life savers.  Whew.  Now let's hope I'm rewarded on the scales tomorrow.  I know that realistically I will not hit the 100lb mark tomorrow, but I would like to be a pound or so closer :-)  My last loss over more than 2 pounds was back in the fall and it was 2.4 pounds...to make the 100 mark, I need to lose 2.8 pounds...Hey, I DO believe in miracles!

Now I'm going to bed - there's a chocolate bar in my fridge calling my name...'Night all...

Telus made me miss my workout

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I just would like to say that I am very anti-Telus today.  Long story short, I took over someone else's Blackberry plan at work (not my choice...I didn't even want a BB) and in the same breath, took over their very old BB...afterwards, Telus tells me the phone is only 8 months old...as I said, it is a VERY old one - no camera, heavy, bulky (picture the old "car" phones from the olden days early 90s, but in BB form...it's an 8830 for anyone familiar).  So I've had this BB for 8 months and it's been OK...until today.  I get a text from Telus - you've used more than $10 worth of data (above and beyond what my plan covers).  First of all, my BB stays in my purse 99% of the time and rarely gets used.  My work emails come through it, but the volume of emails I get is not THAT high.  I logged onto their site to check and see what was going on that I'd used so much data only 2 weeks into my billing cycle.  Yesterday alone it was showing over 6700 KB of data used!  It was in my purse all day long!!!  Today it showed over 1,000 kb and I had literally just taken it out of my purse.  So to make a long story short I call Telus to see what's going on and after 30 mins on the phone with them they say, sorry, those are valid data charges.  Nothing we can do. Grrrrr!!!  So now I'm STUCK with an ugly old BB that I don't want that's for some reason EATING data.  I have not downloaded anything lately, I don't BBM all day long, I rarely text (I've sent probably fewer texts in my lifetime than most teens send in an hour). 

Ok, sorry for the vent....all that to day I missed the gym tonight because of Telus and I'm mad.  In order to make it to the gym before I leave downtown I have to leave the office right at 5, workout for about 45-50 mins and be OUT of the gym with my coat and boots on by 6pm (gym is next door to work) in order to catch the last bus of the day home...tonight I left the office at 5:20 and went home.

On a happier note, I have almost completely made it through my 4th no-sugary-treat day!  Some had cinnamon buns today and I stuck with watermelon.  It really is getting easier.  I think one thing this week is teaching me is that I don't always have to have what everyone else around me is having (umm, like last week's mutli-cake days...).  I am finding that if I have something healthy that I enjoy at the same time, I don't feel deprived...much :-)  I think Saturday I will be having a major chocolate fix though!!

I'm off to have supper shortly - breakfast for supper again I think (eggs, toast and turkey bacon). 

Some days you're the dog, some days you're the hydrant

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Nope, nothing in particular wrong with today.  This expression just makes me laugh :-)  Same stuff going on, just a different day of the week2.  I went to the gym at lunchtime today so that I could go out tonight, but ended up working late, so got home close to the same time as I would have had I gone to the gym...oh well, such is life.  Still went out, just brought my supper with me :-)

Today is day THREE of sugary-snack-free week!  I made it 60% of the way through my plight.  OK, plight is kind of a strong word.  I'm 60% of the way to my goal I set for this week and am hoping and praying that it pays off on the scale on Saturday morning.  Trying not to get my hopes up too much!  Tonight I was greeted at the door by my friend's 3 year old holding a plate of cream puffs.  "Look what we MADE Tanya!!!! and guess what???  If you were good, you can HAVE one!"  I gotta love this kid.  She's 3 (almost 4) going on 34.  I told her I was going to pass on them tonight and she told me OK, but the other people there could have some if they were good ;-)  I gotta say, I love cream puffs!  She went around and offered them to everyone there and bless her heart, she bypassed me every time :-)

Ok, I am beat.  Going to bed now to face Thursday in the morning...which I briefly thought was Friday (only long enough to pick out my jeans in my mind and then to quickly put them back since I have to wear "real" work clothes on Thursdays...).

I did a bad, bad, thing (twice)

Pin It Today I did two bad things...sort of...almost. 

As you know if you've been reading my blog this week, I am currently having a sugary-snack-free work week.  Not a great choice of weeks since I am PMSing ;-)  But, it is what it is and I had one full day under my belt and I am not going back. 

Bad thing #1

I ordered lunch for an office meeting today and ordered the delicious chocolate chip cookies from where we order our lunches from.  I wasn't involved with the meeting, but I had high hopes that there might be one leftover after the meeting.  I woke up this morning and remembered....doh, sugary-snack-free work week!!!  Even if there are leftovers, I could not have one!  THEN some of people who were supposed to go to the meeting were not able to attend, meaning more of a chance of leftovers...oh me, oh my.  It's really sad that I spent so much time thinking about these cookies.  By the Grace of God, when I went to clean up after the meeting I found leftover cookies - OATMEAL RAISIN cookies - not what I had ordered for the meeting...AND I hate raisins!!  Yay!  Whew, dodged a bullet on that one.

Bad thing #2

I went grocery shopping hungry.  Starving.  Well, not literally starving, but very, very, very hungry.  I had yogurt and almonds around 4pm, but then went to the gym at 5...got off the bus and hopped in the car and was at the grocery store by 7pm...no supper yet.  I know better than to go grocery shopping.  That's like Dieting 101 for Pete's sake!  So I pretty much stuck to the perimeter of the store which is fine...until you get to the produce section which, as luck would have it, leads directly into the bakery :-(  Getting through the bakery to get to my whole wheat bread was a sad time for me...I saw some red velvet cupcakes, which I'd never seen there before.  I LOVE red velvet...and they were on sale - probably leftover from V-day.  I saw donuts and cookies and pound cake with butter cream icing, oh my.  BUT I resisted.  This is, after all sugary-snack-free week!  I pushed on, finished my shopping and the only non-essentials I bought were salsa, low fat hummus and California rolls (sushi), which were part of my supper.  Note to self, NEVER go grocery shopping that hungry again!  Especially when you don't have your usual sugar levels ;-)

No pics tonight folks.  I have officially made it through day 2 of 5 sugary-snack-free days.

Until tomorrow!

Tanya

"I'm single because I was born that way" (Mae West)

Pin It Happy Valentine's day my friends.  I tried to find some witty poem about being single on valentine's day, but I could only find this quote by Mae West, which I thought was cute.  I'm not bitter about being single on V-day - sometimes it's a little bit lonely.  I found this year better than most - I don't think I saw one person get flowers, saw no couples smoochy smoochy, I just got up, went to work and the gym and came home and had a lovely homemade chicken pizza and a mango/raspberry/peanut butter (yes, Peanut Butter!) smoothie that was a very pretty valentine's day pink.

For those of you who have a valentine, I hope you have a wonderful day and that you get lots of flowers and chocolates fruit baskets and are showered with love :-) 

Today I managed to make it through the entire day without any sugary-treats AND I went to the gym!  One day down, 4 more to go!  I was very surprised to not come across candy at work today.  Usually on occasions such as this our office is crawling with chocolates, jelly beans or candies of some sort, but today...nothing!  Thank God...not sure I could have resisted :-)

Tomorrow is another day of no sugary treats...wish me luck!

I love coconut, but in oatmeal??

Pin It I made Gina's Coconut Curry Butternut Squash soup last night and decided I would double the recipe since I had so much squash (still have squash leftover!).  It was SO good.  I think the only thing I would change would be to add more squash to make it thicker.  All that being said, when I doubled the recipe I needed to add 2 cups of coconut milk (500 ml)...sadly, our cans are 398 ml, so I had to open a second can for that wee little bit.  That's OK though, I decided I would experiment with coconut milk this week.  I'll try it in my oatmeal, maybe in my smoothies...worth a shot, right?

So this morning I had it all planned out.  My regular oatmeal, a bit of peanut butter, 1/4 cup coconut milk (it's light btw), an apple and a tablespoon of shredded coconut for good measure.  I have to say I was a bit disappointed.  It lacked the pizazz I thought it might have.  I think sometimes I forget that these "real" ingredients don't have as much potent flavour as their "fake" versions (maple cookies vs maple syrup, coconut milk vs a Mounds chocolate bar).  Oh well, I'm not done with the whole coconut milk in the oatmeal bit.  Maybe I'll try it with banana tomorrow...and a pinch of cocoa...that might kick it up a notch.  I might need to add some vanilla too.

I think my next cooking experiment will be with Pumpkin Butter - Gina has an amazing sounding recipe for pumpkin butter that she incorporates into a bunch of other amazing sounding recipes like Skinny Pumpkin Spiced Latte - Jewell, if you're reading this, I think it's a take off Starbucks...if it turns out, I'll make one for you (only 2 Points on the old WW program and 3 Points+ on the new one)!

Are you with me??!

Pin It Ok, this 2.8lbs has GOT to go before the end of February.  I have decided.  That's it.  This will get me to the 100lbs lost.  According to Weight Watchers, I will still need to lose another 36 or more pounds...we'll see.

So, this week I have decided to try something new (for me, at least!).  Monday through Friday my goal for this week is to not have any sugary treats.  No cake, no ice cream, no frozen yogurt, no cookies.  I have not decided yet if I will abstain from sugar-free treats like sugar-free jell-o.  Ideally I would leave those out as well.  Don't get me wrong - there is nothing wrong with having a cookie or some ice cream every once in a while, but I do have a tendency to use a lot of my points on these items.  To sweeten my Greek yogurt, smoothies and oatmeal, I will use maple syrup or honey instead of brown sugar as I sometimes use. 

I'm not planning to go insane and check ingredient lists to see if something has sugar in it or not.  My plan is to start slowly, so this week's plan is to avoid obviously sugary treats.  Perhaps next week I will try to go sugar-free all together :-)

Are you with me?  Anybody else interested in a sugar-free "work week"??  My biggest problem with doing this is...I forget!  I reach for something, only thinking "do I have the points for this?" and then I eat it...then I remember "crap, I'm going sugar-free this week!".  So, feel free to remind me or ask me how it's going!  I will try and post my results each day on Facebook and Twitter so that you can follow along.

The week that wouldn't end

Pin It I thought this week would NEVER end!  Thank God it is now, officially, OVER!  Well, the work week is over.  I'm OK with Saturday remaining :-)  Not to go into details, but it's been one of those weeks. 

I think my blog has been a bit dull this week.  I made another quinoa stir fry this week to use up the last of my quinoa.  This time I added some fresh ginger and some string beans in addition to all the other veggies I usually add.  I ran out of my Raspberry Chipotle salsa, so added some regular salsa to give it some "saucy-ness".  I'll put a few pics below.

Food-wise I stayed on program all week - although I did have cake THREE times.  WAY too much cake for one week.  I did not go over my weekly points - in fact, I have about 16 left, plus all of my activity points.  According to the Wii fit, I am down a bit over 2lbs this week since last Friday...let's hope it's more accurate than my banished scales!  I haven't had a 2lb loss in a while - that would be awesome!

Fitness-wise...not such a great week.  Worked out every day last week, including Saturday.  This week...Monday, Thursday, Friday.  My trainer did measure me again since I started doing strength-training about 3 weeks ago.  In total, I've lost an INCH and a HALF!  She said that's really good for such a short period of time :-)

Received a member update email from the Canada Games Centre today.  Less than 30 days til they open for the public!!!  They have received their pool toys, including Hydroriders (see below).  I can't wait.  22 days until I can start using a BRAND NEW facility with a POOL! Yay!

Photos as promised

It's smoothie time!

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Frozen raspberries and mango, 2/3 banana, 2 tbsp mini chocolate chips, 1 tbsp coconut, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 cup skim milk.  Whiz in the magic bullet and voila!  Very yummy!  7 points+ for the whole thing and worth every point.  If I'd left the chocolate chips out I could have saved 3 points+.  They didn't blend really, so I think next time I'll leave them out and maybe bump up the coconut a bit.