I'm a terrible patriot aren't I? I keep forgetting this thread :o

Hi everybody!

Hey Everyone!
I'm brand new here, signed up a few days ago (haven't even had time to do up a profile / etc) and I'm from Calgary Alberta.
Great to see so many Canucks in one thread!
We're awesome! Hehe :D
Hope y'all in the other provinces are having better weather than we have out here!
It's just plain ugly :(

:welcome: to our CANADIAN thread, MITTENS ~ nice to have you join us here ... did you gals send that nasty ***** our way? We had ***** all day long with frigid northernly ~~~~~ too ... yuck! Well, needless to say we made this a stayathome day and stayindoors day too! ;)


:wave: HI SUSAN ... nice to see you drop by again!


2B ~ SAME TO YOU ... but we know that you work a lot of nights and that has its own issues. It seems anyone I know that works nights is always tired; I couldn't do that shift no matter how easy the work was.


So, we got our shopping for the camper done yesterday; got lots of walking in but had to go back to the store twice as the clerk gave us the wrong camping stove (don't get me started on clerks that argue with the customer; whatever happened to "the customer is always right?")! Anyways, we finally got it all sorted out and we have what we need now ... :D


We just have to wait for some good weather now ... supposed to be :sunny: but cool tomorrow, so we'll see! Take good care, and have a FABULOUS FRIDAY FOLKS! Rosebud :flow1:

I love Danes! I want pictures!

I don't really have anything to say... Oh, I won a prize a few weeks ago on the X-Weighted challange, is anyone else still doing that?

Lots of people from Calgary these days....

Good afternoon fellow countrywomen! LOL

I had a great weigh-in today. 194.6! Wowsa...that's 25 lbs in just over 7 weeks! Yippee!

I also won my HM center's April challenge (it involved going 3x/week, answering nutrition trivia questions and maintaining or losing every week. I won 8 weeks of their cellulite treatment which has a retail value of about $250! Sweet! I'll save it for a while...maybe even until next spring when I've been at goal for a while (Dec 22 goal date) and maintained. I've seen the results on one of the girls that had only been using it for 6 weeks...pretty amazing!

Looks like our weather is getting back on track...sunny again next week. I hope everyone has a really great mother's day weekend. We'll be going out and taking flowers to DH's mother's grave. It will be first time either of us has done anything like that (we've been fortunate until now) and he's a little anxious about it, but I think it might make him feel good to make it look pretty. We'll see I guess.

I'm off to the spa for a full day of pampering tomorrow courtesy of the guys I work for. I got the package for admin proffesional week and saved it for my 20lbs reward. My 30lbs reward is finally doing my trash the dress photo session on May 30 (I haven't been able to fit in my wedding dress since I got married two years ago and now I'll be smaller than at my wedding for the photo shoot) which is two days before my second wedding anniversary and our 19 year anniversary. We got married on the 17th anniversary of our first date! Awww! Haha!

Anyhow that is more than enough exclamation points for one post. Have a great weekend!

Tamara

Arrgh! A couple of weeks ago we had 26C and then a couple of days ago a snowstorm! :mad: Spring ;) ;) ;) indeed!

:welcome: TEA2 ~ let us know where you live in Canada. We had lovely :sunny: today but cool temps in the high 50's; supposed to be even cooler tomorrow and I hope no surprises ... ;)


Hope all our friends here have a wonderful weekend; take good care ... Rosebud :flow1:

Hello all!
I'm from BC (Vancouver island to be more specific).
I'm following a low carb diet and the weather is great here right now.
Feels like summer (but the night are still pretty chilly)

Hey Tamara!
I'm in Calgary doing Herbal Magic, too.
I don't think I can PM yet, as I am still a brand-spankin'-new member, but
we should start chatting!
It would be really great to have a herbal magic buddy in the same city!
Woooooo, Calgarians are awesome!
Ps. I used to live up in Rocky Mountain House - beautiful up there!
Has some fantastic quadding and hiding gigs going.

Heaven help me!!! It's my step daughters birthday and she decided she wanted CHEESE CAKE for desert after RIBS for a birthday dinner. Some here may remember how I feel about cheese cake, my husband brought it home on our anniversary. I'd be safer eating out tonight I think but unfortunately we've got family coming over so I can't. She'd be pretty ticked at me if I skipped her birthday dinner too. Send me good thoughts and strength tonight people... I'm going to need all the help I can get.

AUNTY ~ well, the ribs aren't so bad; with some salad and/or veggies and maybe a small tator, that is a pretty good dinner. Now as for the cheesecake, just have a small slice ... I said SMALL ... :lol: come on, you can do it ... ;)

:welcome3: HHAFFNER ~ I think we have another lady from out that way too; we've heard that you have nice weather on the island ... :)


We have had lovely :sunny: for the last 2 days, but in the 50's F, so it is springish kind of weather. My mini-daffodils and crocuses are blooming and now, my tulips are trying to blossom, but since they are on the west side of the house, they are a bit later than those folks who have them on the east and south sides. I am amazed they are doing so well since we had some more ***** last weekend and below freezing temps. Thank goodness, it all blew through and melted very quickly too ...

Time for tea -- Hope you all have a great week; take good care ... Rosebud :flow1:

Good to hear the weather has been kinder to you, JW2BH!
Alberta sucks - Suuuuurrrrrrprise! hahaha.
Today wasn't so bad - cross your fingers it'll stick around!

Mmmmm... dinner was so good! Hubby put lots of sauce on the ribs (BAD!) but I had a big helping of salad (GOOD!), some corn on the cob and a little scoop of mashed taters. I did have a small slice of the chocolate brownie cheese cake, so good.

I did something totally brain dead yesterday... I drove straight home from work and forgot to pick my Mom up. Realised as I parked in front of the house and thought "Jay better move his truck so I can park in the back when I bring Mom............... AAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!" :eek: So I drove from the south side to the west end, then had to go downtown and then back to the west end... all during rush hour :dizzy:

Way to go me...

Good day ladies!

Angry Mittens: We should definately start chatting. Do you have Facebook? You can search me and add me on there "Tamara Ferri Jansen" and we can chat and share ideas...maybe even go for some walks or something? Let me know!

Hope everyone is feeling good and is looking forward to our upcoming long weekend. We're picking up our Turtle (camper) this week and getting ready for our maiden voyage of 2010. I can't wait to get out of the city and just relax. This year's trips will involve a little more food planning but I'm sure will be great anyhow.

Have a great Wednesday...only 48 hours until Friday!

Tamara

MITTENS ~ my DH lived in Calgary for about 10 yrs, so I've heard all about the odd weather you get there. His favorite story is the one about giant balls of ice falling on his truck and making dints; and hitting people on the head and so forth ... and of course, neither of us can remember what they are called at this moment ... are we getting old or what??? :lol:

We don't get them here very often; but, I know that one of you will remember and tell us ... ;)

reading about the weather makes me wonder why I still live in Winnipeg LOL.
Still wearing my wool coat in the morning . . . . boo to that!

TamaraJ- That sounds fantastic! I just added you :) It would be awesome to have a work-out / HM buddy in the city! Even cooler because we're around the same weight / and goals. Although I need to catch up to you by a few lbs. Congrats on making it to Onederland!
What part of the city are you in?

Rosebud - Hail, maybe? ;)

Yay! I've finally been able to post in the mini-goals forum.

I'm happy... how is everyone else doing? Going to go for an extra walk at lunch today, it's been so nice out and I'm stuck in a crummy office all day!

Hehehehe!
You mean hail?
We got a really nasty hail storm last year, and thankfully I was working out
of town at the time but most of my co-workers / friends had to submit insurance claims to get dint's knocked out of their vehicles from it.

There's a reason Calgary's motto is "Don't like the weather? Wait 5 minutes!"

Although there was a beer commercial on a while back that said Alberta has 2 seasons - Winter and July. Oh how true!!!

Yesterday it was +18, and this past Sunday my hang gliding was almost cancelled because it started snowing.

Only in Calgary :P

THANKS, AUNTY ~ yes, it is HAIL ... :lol: Would you believe that I was reading my bible this AM and they were talking about HAIL and I started laughing becuz we were racking our brains trying to recall the name and couldn't, but it is mentioned in there! :lol: Needless to say, we rarely get that here; usually only pellet size snow, but I do remember getting HAIL once in the last 10 years or so and some of the pieces were pretty big.


MITTENS ~ yes, it was HAIL -- and DH says they were at least the size of golf balls and many, many people besides him had dints in their vehicles; and the insurance claims were in the millions. After hearing stories about the odd (and very cold) weather there, I told DH that I wouldn't be going there, thanks ... ;)


Speaking of weather, we did have :rain: all day today, but they are calling for :sunny: for the weekend. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend with nicer weather too. Gotta go get dinner on ... Rosebud :flow1:

Hi everyone!

Yes, we are finally getting some nice weather here in southern Alberta. It's supposed to be 25 on Monday. Yay! I'm wearing capris and sandals to work!

Well, DH is back home from a one week golfing vacation in Scotland with his buddy. It was awful having him gone that long. I really missed him. And with having both of our sons living on the other end of the country, it was very lonely around here. And I ate like crap. I guess I still turn to food for comfort. :(

Anyway son #2 is due here today. He has been on a bike trip from Vancouver to home here in Lethbridge with his friend. It will be so good to see him. Then we have to drive him to Calgary on Sunday to catch the plane back to Toronto.

Rosebud, yes we do get some awesome hail storms here in southern Alberta. One summer we had just purchased a used trailer and got hammered by giant hail. The insurance money paid off half the loan on the trailer.

Have a good weekend! Enjoy the sun (if you have it).

I just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS to All of you who are having success at your new life style changes. I was reading your Signatures which totes your success and you are all doing so well.

I was doing well when I first started this night job but haven't had anymore success since Jan. I understand its me that is having the struggles but I really wish I could snap out of what is holding e back and get on with it. I have been working 12 hr nights since Dec. and I still don't seem to have a handle on how to cope. I have the working and eating down and do well while working especially now that I know which herbal teas are decafe. But I seem to blow it when I am off. I don't exercise or eat right for the most part. My vitamin regimine also seems to suffer. I am not sure if its b/c I try to shift my body back to days or I am just so tired and spend my time off playing catch up.

Thanks for letting me ramble. I find rambling while typing is easier than journaling.

check in
 

Hi everyone haven't checked in here for a while, I mostly hang out on the diabetes thread, since I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic in December.
Haffner, I also do low carb, and feel I am finally getting pretty good at it.
Have a few problems so I go to the atkins thread from time to time for advice. Kim and everyone there are pretty helpful.

2b125, night shifts are difficult. And women often don't do them right. what
type of 12 hour schedule do you do? 4 on, 4 off; 2-3-2; or something else?
Yes, switching back and forth can be a real problem. I do it a lot, since I no longer really do nights, but am on call and often work during the night, then turn around so I can do office work and visits throughout the week.
When my Dad did shifts, he stayed on the shift for a week at a time when I was a kid, and the whole house schedule shifted for his benefit. When he started on longer stretches of shifts, he stayed on schedule right through the weekends off, and did quite well that way. Do you have kids you are changing schedules for? If not, staying on schedule may help the most.

Today the weather was...unsettled. hope the long weekend will be nice for those who have it off.

Fatmad, I either do a 4 days of 12 hrs or a 3 day 12 hrs. The idea is to get 84 hrs every pay period. So days off can be either 3 full days or 2 full days I don't count the 1/2 days. I go in tonight for 8 pm but they consider it an off day. I consider it a 1/2 day which I sleep through most of to get ready for the night shift. I really try to go back to living during the day on my off days to see the sun. I do take a Vit. D supplement but I reall miss the sun.

2b ~ :hug: I had my struggles along the way too; with many stalls and even some plateaus, so I started focusing more on other NSV's (non-scale victories) instead and that really helped me a lot (like inches and sizes). I started doing toning exercises upon waking (in my bed) plus stretchie band work, and I started seeing a difference right away. My clothes started getting looser and I lost at least one or more sizes on top and bottom, plus my clothes are getting baggy. I am keeping at them as I saw more constant changes this way. Then the weight started to come down again this past winter while I was focusing on something else ... :lol: Ahah, maybe that was the key for me ... Don't give up -- just keep on trying, as you have more work days than not, and when you get this schedule working for ya, you will see some improvement again.

What about making a meal plan schedule that you stick to each week (including weekends) so there won't be too much chance to skip? I found that helps me a lot -- we have chicken or turkey on Sunday with veggies all in one roasting pan; Monday we usually have pork chops with rice/veggies or other pork meal or roast beef; Tuesday is leftovers; Wednesday is pasta night; Thursday is fish night; Friday Favorite night; Saturday quick dinner; and so on. We do change the actual dishes each week, but the main meal theme is the same; and we use extra leftovers for soups and lunches too.


AUNTY ~ yes, congrats on your mini-goal accomplishments; at first, I was marking every 5 lbs, but now I have upped that to 10 lbs just for room's sake. ;) Every little accomplishment pushes us to keep on keepin' on.

Had a lovely :sunny: day; our car is in the garage still so we just stayed home and enjoyed the weather and rest -- have a good one, folks ... Rosebud :flow1:

Wow!!!
Congrats JW2BH!!!! There's a lot of dragon flies on your sign :)

You're a rockstar and an inspiration :)

THANKS, MITTENS ~ I appreciate the encouragement and kind words; I'm in this for the long haul. Got a long way to go, but it's a life journey, as they say ... :D


It was another scorcher today ~ up into the 80's F today; not sure of the actual temps as my thermometers get too much direct sunlight. Need to get another new one and put it in the back somewhere where the sun cannot reach it so easily; hmmm ... maybe the back porch, which is on the north side of our place.

I now have all the windows open (with screens though) with some fans sucking the cool air into the house to cool it off for the night. That is one thing about this long narrow apartment with narrow windows; it is hard to get a good cross-breeze going through here.

Hope you all have a great week ... Rosebud :flow1:

Alright ladies - It's May Long weekend in Alberta -
Who wants to take bets on the snow? :P

MITTENS ~ :lol: sure hope it doesn't snow on you for this long weekend.

Traditionally, this is the weekend we are supposed to plant all our hardy veggies like lettuce, spinach, radishes, onions, etc. We planted some yesterday; we did that in the morning -- good thing, as it was really hot in the afternoon again, but it cooled down nicely by the evening. It actually went down to the 50's F by the late evening, but it's really nice right now in the mid-sixties with full sun ... perfect spring weather really.

However, they are calling for a hotter weekend; saw my neighbour putting in his air conditioner today (good idea). Hope all our Canadians have a nice spring long weekend -- wonder if this goes all across the country?

We are off to Las Vegas for a few days to celebrate our 25th anniversary. I just hope it's not too hot, I don't do well in the heat.

We got a new laptop this week. I have never had a laptop before, so I am having fun with it. I decided to buy it with my tax bonus.

When we get back it's time for me to buckle down on losing some more weight. I have been complacent all winter.

Hope you all have a good long weekend - with no snow! ;)

Mitts - It's already snowing in some areas of Alberta!

I heard that too, Aunt Jam!
Supposed to hit Calgary tomorrow or Sunday. Might as well stick to Alberta Tradition! Bahahaha!
SO envious Judy Lynn!
Hope you have an amazing time in Vegas enjoying the gorgeous weather! (And laughing at the rest of us suckers stuck here, hehe)

JUDY-LYNN ~ Have fun on your trip; hope it isn't too hot down there. I don't do well in too much heat either; honestly, I'd rather have it cooler as you can always put on more clothing, but too much heat is so tiring ...

PLEASE DO NOT send that ***** over here! :lol: We have been blessed with lovely weather the last 2 days; it stayed pretty much in the 70's F for most of the day (cool in the AM); but it wasn't too bad really. Now it is cooling off for the evening; and that's good for sleeping.

DH got the Air Conditioner put in our bedroom, so we'll be ready if it gets too hot again. Hope that snow misses you or melts right away ... have a great weekend as best you can! :hug:

JW2BH - So I mean this in the nicest, most respectful way possible but... you suck! haha. Can you send just a smidge of the nice weather our way?
We have some crazy weather system here and I've had migraines from **** sinday yesterday afternoon. Silly Calgary!
If I owned my own Island I bet it wouldn't be a problem.. hehe :)
Hope everyone's having a great long weekend!

:lol: MITTENS ~ yes, the weather systems are very strange, aren't they -- and I'd actually like to trade you, right about now ... don't be too envious of us, becuz we had a scorcher here today and it wasn't pleasant at all ... at about 90+ F and that is supposed to repeat for the next few days -- oh, I hope not! Do you want me to send you that? ;)

I have been praying that this unusual heat will go away; and now we have a nice breeze and it is finally cooling off a bit; plus, I will pray that your migraines go away too, as I know they are no fun either ... :D


Hope everyone is having a nice long weekend ... Rosebud :flow1:

:flame: Another scorcher :flame: today -- up to 95 F today; haven't seen temps like this too often ... hope this changes soon. They are calling for some :rain: tonight; hope we get it to cool things down. Our young neighbour came over and helped DH put our other air conditioner in our front door and that is helping a lot.

Did some gardening in the early AM; have some more flowers blooming and coming up. DH started the front beds again, as they had grown over from lack of use over the years. Am thinking of some Irises or bush flowers of some type; will have to go hunting and see what I can find.

Hope you all have a great week ... Rosebud :flow1:

HI, I'm a newbie to this post and am sooo happy to find a Canadian chat site! I live in Sylvan Lake AB. I braved the "who knows what the weather will do" long weekend and went camping. I was ok, if the wind wasn't so cold! We were lucky and didn't get any snow!
I am excited to hear from everyone to find out what works for them on the weight loss train. I started Ideal Protein on April 28th and so far I have lost 16 pounds. It is really unlike anything I have heard before.
Is there anyone else here on this?
Happy to find this site, and am looking forward to chat!
See ya all soon!:wave:

Hey Karleem - I used to live up in Rocky and have partied a time or 2 in Sylvan :P
It's beautiful up there! And from what I hear y'all got better weather then we did in Calgary - It was cold and windy and gross.
Welcome :)

What a fun long-weekend! We camped up at Cow Lake, near Rocky Mountain House. It was chilly at night and cloudy on Saturday, but aside from that it was beautiful. The boys got to fish, the girls got to gossip and all in all it was a good time. Thank goodness for campers with furnaces! I don't know how likely we are to camp again where there are no services (gross outhouses), but it could have been a lot worse...like if we were in a tent! LOL

I weighed in at HM before we left on Friday and was at 190.8. I was up today at lunch to 191, but am feeling good and am sure I'll be into the 180's before the end of the month. I actually managed to stay on plan (except for a few drinks on Saturday) all weekend with my food and was very proud of myself.

I'm off to the Sex and the City midnight premier on Wednesday and then my mom arrives on Thursday. I'm off Friday to spend some time with mom and then Saturday helping a photographer friend all day photograph over 350 kids for the softball association. Sunday I get to go and trash my wedding dress and then next Thursday is my baby girl's high school graduation! What a busy couple of weeks!

I hope everyone else had a great long-weekend. I'll come back later and read the posts, just wanted to jump in for a quick update as I don't know when I'll have time again!

Everyone have a great day!
Tamara

Wow!!
Congrats, Tamara!!
You're a rock star!