Canadian WINTER Thread ...
 

:snowglo: Well, since it is technically the beginning of winter on December 21st, and we have lots of ***** on the ground with below freezing temps -- I guess we should start a new WINTER thread here ...


:wreath: And, it's a nice time to start it -- just a few days before CHRISTMAS too! We put up some decorations today, including my Christmas Clock (a nice gift from our nephew). DH picked up some last minute gifts and I added a few finishing touches to the tree (which he decorated).

:candy: Our dinner is all planned: an untraditional one of "eye of the round" roast beef with winter veggies, with pumpkin pie for dessert (as that is DH's favorite). Have a few healthier snacks planned along with some not so bad ones for the guests.

:tree: Just have a few more gifts to wrap tomorrow and last minute tidy-ups before the big day. ;) We had an easy dinner tonight: I had chicken wings. Time to go rest up for tomorrow now; maybe do a puzzle or read a bit.

:ginger: Hope you all are almost ready too. Just in case we don't hear from you before then, have a great weekend and a ...

MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!!

:tree: MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! :tree:


Hope all our Canadian friends from coast to coast are having a wonderful celebration ... We had some more ***** fall today, but the temps were mild; which was esp nice for those travelling. A friend gave me a beautiful snowflake necklace as a gift today; very pretty.

I also received a nice snuggles blanket; great for when I want to put my feet up to do a puzzle and some reading. I'll be toasty warm this winter. We had a great time with good friends today; it's always nice to spend this day with others. Had more than enuff food; lots of good leftovers for us to eat for a the next few days (just have to re-heat them). Nice to give the cook a break too. ;)

Have a great week everyone ... :D

Hi Rosebud. Sounds like your Christmas was wonderful. We received a snuggie blanket for Christmas. I fell asleep on the couch all wrapped up in it last night. I ate way too much but I'll try to do better in the new year.

HI ISABELLA ~ yes, you are correct -- they are called "SNUGGIES". :lol: Ya, I ate lots of salty-sugary stuff; but some of it was healthy stuff too. I tried a bit of everything. I made 3 kinds of goodies with lots less sugar & almost no flour in any of them, which really cut the calories in them too (each batch only had 18-24 so there wouldn't be too many left over either). Then, we ate leftovers for lunch (ham) & dinner (roast beef) yesterday, but I am well back on plan today.

I received some nice compliments from all my guests that they could tell that I have lost more weight & inches (esp noticeable on my face & arms); that is a great non-scale victory there too. Makes all the hard work & sacrifice well worth it ... :D

Glad you are enjoying your celebration time too. :)

Rosebud, when people notice the weight loss it's great. So many times someone will lose 10 pounds and no one will even notice. So that's wonderful that your guests gave you that great compliment.

Someone told me I looked so much better fat. Grrrrr...what's with that? I told her I wasn't better fat and I had nothing to wear and I was not feeling good at all. I wish people would keep those kinds of thoughts to themselves.

Hey everyone... sorry I haven't been around much. My Granny passed away in mid December so I spent a bit over a week in Saskatchewan with my family there. She passed peacefully, in her sleep and she was 99, she was ready (she told us that several times). She was an amazing woman and we're going to miss her but I think we're mostly ok with it.

Christmas was busy as all get out... enjoying the lull of normalicy before new years ;) I had my own little christmas miracle... I weighed 10 pounds less then I thought I did on Christmas morning... LoL. I hadn't been on a scale in weeks and Saskatchewan is the land of meat, potatoes, gravy and real butter... on EVERYTHING.

Rose - Glad to hear people noticed.. that's so rewarding.

Isabella - They're just used to seeing you that way.. they'll get used to it, your opinion is the one that matters the most.

:hug: AHHH, ISABELLA ~ it's likely true that they were just used to seeing you that way, but I understand how you feel. I have a few people making good comments, but there have been more not so nice ones -- like, "Sooo ... what are you gonna do about all that loose skin?" Daaah!

I'm not where I want & need to be yet. When you lose a lot of weight like I have, there are some side-effects. Before, I was insulted for being so fat; now, I'm being insulted becuz of too much loose skin. I feel like we are dammed if we do, and dammed if we don't.

I haven't even told you the worst things some have said; and I'm shocked sometimes by some people's endless nerve. They should just mind their own business!!! I've worked so hard over the last few years. I used to cry all the time about my weight; now, they are making me feel bad all over again. I see people staring at my loose skin; but what can I do, or say? I can't make it go away, like poof! And of course, they are all bringing up surgery! Here we go again ... :rolleyes:

I wish they would keep their opinions to themselves too. Do they think I can't see? I wasn't blind before, and I'm not blind now. To me, they should be happy for my success. Like you, I feel so much better now; I'm much healthier -- and I know I will feel even better with some more lbs & inches off yet ... so, on I go! :D

Oooops ... sorry for the rant, but this is so annoying! OK, I'm ... :mad: But maybe it's good that I got that off my chest -- phew! ;) Now, I can move on with peace again ... :)


HI AUNTY ~ CONGRATS on that great Christmas surprise: down 10 lbs ... whoohoo!!! I'm so glad for you and my NSV's too! Sorry about your granny's passing, but she's at peace now ... :hug: Oh, and you're right: people will just have to get used to the new me, and I will have to try to find some better camouflage techniques, I guess ... :shrug:

Have a great weekend fellow Canucks; and keep warm ... :brr:

:celebrate: HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE :celebrate:


Hope you all have a nice evening rushing in a new year -- any resolutions for 2012? I have a few: continue on my good health journey. I want to see more inches & lbs gone this year. Still tweakin' and workin' it ... ;)

What a difference a day makes; it was nice and mild today @ only -4 C, so we went up town shopping for groceries and paid one bill. Boy, was it busy up there -- some people were getting ready for a few parties.

Have a good one, eh ... :cheers:



:newyear: ....... :newyear: ....... :newyear:

Rosebud and Aunty, yes, it's because they were used to me this way. But I do get some of the other seemingly mean comments from time to time. I think some people just don't think.

I was sick over the New Year celebrations but feeling much better so I'll send you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR'S hug.

I'm having trouble getting hyped up about losing the weight this time around. It may be because I can't get out and walk and jog like I did before. My feet just won't allow it right now. I'm using my exercise bike which is not as interesting as walking outside.

The weather is up and down here, too. We had a snowfall for Christmas which stayed most of the week and then we had another snowfall January 1. Last night it poured rain and today it froze again at about -1 or 0 C. I don't know what to put on when I go out.

I have made only 1 resolution for the New Year and it has nothing to do with fitness or health. I think I know I should be doing that anyway. I've resolved to learn how to sing 25 new hymns from my church hymnal. There are so many I don't know. I have them picked out and a timeline for learning so we'll see how that goes.

Keep well and warm.

ISABELLA ~ glad that you are feeling better. That's an interesting challenge: to learn more hymns. I have a nice big hymnal I bought; and I just love singing my favorite songs from it now & then. I've been trying to learn new ones as I go along.

Someone said that resolutions too often have a negative slant, and that making new goals is a better idea -- so that is what I am doing this year too ... :)

I had to go put dinner on & that's all over now, but I wanted to add that you can still do stuff indoors; and just continue on your plan as you have been doing. It isn't about perfection, but perseverance, and the long-term.

Maybe you could pick up a second-hand treadmill, if you like to walk & run ... have you ever tried one out? I would try one out first; as I bought one and found it too difficult for me. Thankfully, someone else owns it now that can and is using it; a nice, family man who wanted one badly. :D

Hey ladies... I was sick over new years too but it was self induced :( I won't go into detail ;)

Isabella - That's a lot of hymns! Very ambitious :) You go girl - LoL.

Rosebud - Are you guys getting that storm thats supposed to be going through? Sounds nasty.. we had rain here yesterday!

I made a resolution years ago that I would never make another resolution so a goal sounds good. Before my Granny passed I told her that I was going to run a half marathon... I better get on that!

:snowglo: HI AUNTY ~ no, we didn't get any storm yet; must have missed us -- although we did get some ***** during the night. It has been milder today (around -7 C); and we had some more light ***** during the day, which has stopped now. We have big sliding doors in the front of our house, and it looked like feathers floating gently through the air -- very pretty really. :D

Just stayed home and did light housechores today & laundry, etc. ... the usual boring stuff. DH is watching DUKES OF HAZZARD re-runs; and resting from the snow-pushing. ;)

Think I'll do some reading until dinner-time; keep warm ... :brr:

Aunty, I must have missed that your grandmother died in December. So sorry for your loss. I know you and your family will miss her. When my grandmother died (many years ago) it felt as if the bottom fell out of the family.

The sun is pouring in my back patio doors and sitting here with the wood furnace keeping everything hot it seems as if it is a summer day--until I look out the window, lol. We've had serious snow down since New Year's Day and have had several snowfalls since so I don't expect we'll see the end of this for a long time yet. It's about -3 this afternoon.

This week has been good so far. I feel as if I'm right on track with eating and exercise. I know it's only Monday but Saturday and Sunday were good, too.

:wave: HI LADIES ~ we have really mild temps today (around 0 C); and with that comes some more of this: *****, of course. The temps have been going up & down a bit; but we are lovin' the milder days. DH would probably say he likes that without the snow though, but then it wouldn't look like winter out there, would it? ;)

:snowglo:

ISABELLA ~ Both our wonderful grammies are gone to heaven (for some time now). We miss them a lot, of course. I was very close to my maternal grandmother (who was wise & kind & generous & loving) from the time I was a baby, but I look like my paternal gram & her mother too ... BUT, when our mother passed away, it felt like someone had knocked out the support beams that held up the house (or like the lead goose was picked off & the flock was left scrambling). The kids (and their spouses) seemed to splat all over the place -- it was tres weird. She was like a matriarch of the family -- she was strong & smart & talented; and when she died, the dynamics of the family changed drastically. So, I definitely know how you feel. My Father tried to step in & help as best he could. Over time, the kids have healed and moved on. It took a while (with some collateral damage along the way); but hopefully, they are all much stronger now.


My eating & exercise are going well this month too. The changes I made to our Christmas plans really helped a lot this year. I enjoyed the day; and there was very little leftover but good healthy stuff mostly. I tried a bit of everything; and DH & the birdies gleamed up the rest. :D

Have a great week & keep warm out there ... :brr:

This is coming on tonight, January 12 on CBC TV. The Nature of Things will be airing the program "Programmed to Be Fat." Might prove very interesting. If you miss it you might be able to watch online at CBC.

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/epi...to-be-fat.html

Thanks for the link, ISABELLA; I didn't see the program, but did read the article about it, so I have an idea of what he was talking about. There has been much thought about this for some time now; and there are a few different theories out there ...

Dr. Lustig of New York talks about the rise in infant obesity in his YouTube address too: he says that since babies don't eat fast foods & junkies, they must be getting the problem from somewhere else -- he believes from fructose sugars in infant formulas.

Then there were all the hormones and chemicals they fed to animals to FATTEN THEM UP -- people drank the milk and ate the meat & cheese, etc. Since we already know that diseases (remember Mad Cow disease) can pass from animals to humans, then so could those hormones and chemicals (and, possibly from mother to child too). Although, I do agree with those that say mother's milk does offer some benefits & protection to their offspring too.

Oddly enuff, someone just sent me an email today about the chemical MSG -- a very strong flavor enhancer that is put in most, if not all processed foods & fast foods. For some time, it has been used by scientists to make baby rodents fat for research on diabetes or other diseases. Harrumph!!!

It is very possible that they all may be contributing to the problem; and it may take a while before we sort it all out, but we may be on the right track for once ... :D

Rosebud, it really makes one think about what we're eating and breathing, doesn't it. Of course, as the program stressed it's as much or more about overeating and lack of exercise for most adults that is as much or more of a contributing factor to obesity.

It's cold here tonight, -16, brrrr. DH just put a couple of big pieces of wood in the furnace so it'll be balmy inside.

Originally Posted by :
Of course, as the program stressed: it's as much or more about overeating and lack of exercise for most adults that is as much or more of a contributing factor to obesity ...

And that's exactly why we are all here, right? ;) That wood on the fire sounds so lovely; you'll be nice & warm for sure ... :flame:

Have a great week everyone ... :D

Hey everyone...

Isabella - Thanks so much... Granny was 99, she was ready but you're right, it's still hard :( I'm going to check out the link you posted when I get home tonight. I just know I won't want to eat anything after I see it.

Rosebud - Really makes you wonder why they add that stuff to infant formulas in the first place! They really don't need it.

I was going to come on and post on Friday but work was so hetic I didn't take breaks. But my post was going to go something like this.....
"I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT! I actually managed to get up at 5:30am and go for a run!" LoL I was so pumped, it still excites me to think about it, I actually woke up with no problems which is RARE for me. I haven't done it since though... Wednesday is the next running day on my schedule but if I'm going to get up and exercise I should probably get up at that time all the time.... <sigh> This isn't going to be easy LoL.

We've been plunged into the deep freeze here... after all our nice weather :( It's a freezing cold -26 with a wind chill to -36. It's supposed to be like this all week then warm up again next week... I guess we'll see if it actually does.

CONGRATS TO YOU, AUNTY ~ getting up that early to go on a run in this weather; you deserve a medal! :lol: Hope it works out for you on Wed AM too. I walk around inside my home: our kitchen & washroom are at one end of our house; and we have a long hallway that goes to the front where my little PC room is -- I call it the "office" for DH (well, I do pay the bills & do our budgeting books in that room too). ;)


We had very mild temps today too; it actually drizzled (like rain), but the temps will fall over the week here as well. :brr: I'm gonna bundle up good tonight and do some reading. I am having to take some antibiotics for an infection I had thought was gone; 3 more days to go and I am feeling better too. Hope you have a better week at work ...

I did laundry & whiz sweeping this AM. Friends dropped by for an afternoon visit. We had center roast pork with sweet potaoes & green beans & carrots for dinner. Time to go rest; as I woke up in the middle of the night and had trouble getting back to sleep, so I'm starting to :yawn: ... keep warm now! :D

LoL! I didn't mention that I run on a treadmill in the winter? There is no way you could run outside in this, frostbite sets in in under 10 minutes. I have trouble just going outside in this weather! One of my bosses from Houston is coming up next week... I feel sorry for her!

Can you believe I did it again??? I got up at 5:20 this morning and went for a run on my treadmill :) Who is this person that's living in my body????

:bravo: AUNTY ~ glad you were able to get your early treadmill run in yesterday AM ... :lol:

We are getting a big ***** fall today, but the temps are milder, which is nice too. DH had just cleaned the end of the laneway, then the plow went by and gave him some more so he shook his shovel at him, but the guy just laughed. Some guys try to lift the blade at the corner, but others don't. Since we are the first house around the corner, we get all the snow they bring with them ... :rolleyes:

Needless to say, DH is dreaming of a snow-blowing machine; can't blame him really. We've been looking at them trying to figure out which ones are best; they're not cheap :eek:. DH just came in for a coffee break; I set out a nice, big homemade oatmeal muffin for him to have with it -- he needs all the energy he can get after all that.

I made Creamy Mac for dinner last night -- this a family recipe: hamburger & pasta dish with mushroom soup sauce with veggies in it too. We have enuff leftovers for tonight as well -- so all I have to do is add another vegetable to go with it; green beans sound good to me. DH loves it and so do I; one of our favorites.

Hope you're all having a great day out there today; keep warm ... :brr:

:wave: We had a good weekend up here; it was a bit colder, but today it really warmed up to -1 C, and we had some drizzle that kinda froze on people's car windows on them. We had a little more ***** fall the last few days; at least it's coming down fairly slowly. DH is having a lot of fun moving it all around ... not! ;)

Actually, it gives him something to do and gives him some exercise as well; at least, that's what he keeps telling me anyhow. Plus, he does take his time and rests in between; he does half, then rests; and then goes out later on and finishes it off. He's been relaxing ever since watching movies.

I have been doing my usuall daily stuff; nothing exciting going on here really. I made some oven-baked "fake fried" chicken this weekend; it turned out nice and we ate some more for dinner tonight with veggies & rice mix. Saved a bit for my lunch tomorrow too.

I also cooked up some fruit compote: rhubarb, blueberries, and strawberries. Then today, I made a pot of homemade tomato-bean soup with veggies & leftover pork I had in the freezer. Sounds like I have been cooking up a storm. :lol:

Hope all our Canadian friends have a wonderful week; take care & keep warm ... :brr:

Hey everyone....

I haven't gotten up to run since :( Dad ended up in the hospital and it threw life for a loop. He's alright and back at home but I haven't caught up on my sleep yet and I feel really tired. I'm really really trying to convince myself how good I'll feel when I do get up and run but it's tough at 5am.

Rose I think I'm coming to your place for dinner ;) Sounds good. Can your husband file a complaint with the city? The driver sounds like a jerk. Glad he takes rests, you always hear of people who have heart attacks because they don't listen to their bodies and rest.

We're finally out of the deep freeze and back to some nice warm spring (ahem, winter) temps. It's only -5 right now and supposed to be nice for the rest of the week :)

AUNTY ~ The man across the road came home for lunch last week and got stuck big time, but a neighbour helped him get out. They went by today, and pulled the plow up; so it wasn't too bad. Cleaning the streets is their job but they are trying not to dump so much in the people's lanes now (I have a feeling that they have had some complaints).

We have above freezing temps here today; yeah! What nice weather we are having for January -- it will help keep the heat bills down too. I just made a nice soup for lunch -- I just added a can of cream of mushroom soup + water to a homemade soup base I had in the freezer. DH commented how much he liked that; it was esp nice since the soup was on sale this week too.

My eating has been going very well this month; yahoo ... :carrot:

This afternoon, I am going to do some mending while I put my legs up at the same time. I have a comforter that the seams are pulling out from wear, but it still looks very nice, so I'll just mend it and make it last a while longer.

I think we may have pizza for dinner tonight; I try to have a salad before to fill me up. Hope you all have a Fab Friday, and a wonderful weekend too; keep warm out there now ... :brr:

Rose - I'm glad that they smartened up... that was just ignorant. We once had a guy go through the parking lot at work and plow everyone in. At the time I was driving a 1982 Toyota Celica! It took a LONG time to get everyone out, management had a fit!

My eating hasn't been so good.. and I haven't been working out. I'm having a hard time putting my foot down and saying "Do it NOW!". I only run 3 days a week and I don't want to do my other work outs in the morning because they're a lot slower paced and I fall back asleep. I think I'm going to get that JM - 30 day shred video... a friend of mine is doing it and she really likes it. I think if I do that and run I should be pretty good.

Woke up with a really sore neck this morning, so far I've taken 4 advil and put anti-inflammatory cream on my neck but it's still very painful. Uuuuggg... :( Not fun :(

AUNTY ~ yes, they are making a concerted effort not to block us in right now; hope it lasts. Will pray the kink in your neck heals up fast for you -- I have a bad disc in my upper back/neck area; have to be sure not to move too fast or it bothers me too. Jillian's video might be a good alternate for the running days; worth a try anyways -- if you get it, let us know what it's all about ...


If I am struggling, I try for a maintenance day (about 2000 cals) to minimize the damage. This new strategy has been workin' well for me. Made some homemade bean & veggie soup from leftovers today; had a .5 L/O chicken salad sandwich with it too ...

It' s ***** a bit here today; very lightly though, and the temps are nice and mild for this time of year ... luv it!!! :D

Have a wonderful week, everyone ... :cool:

Well, we've started another month, I see -- February: the month of :love: or so they call it; and that's not a bad idea really ... we can all use more love, can't we?

We are having some more mild days with more fluffy, white stuff falling out there ***** that looked like fine feathers floating around today; very pretty though, I say.

JUst stayed home today; did my whiz sweeping and other daily stuff. Spent some time this aft reading a good book and resting my legs. They kinda felt like I ran a marathon yesterday, although I don't know how I would know that since I never ran one; although I have walked one in the past -- 10 miles when I was 10 y/y. OH, to be able to do even a short one today, eh?

It was all the extra walking yesterday while shopping. Well, it was good exercise for me; and I am none the worse for it. :D

Hope all our fellow Canadians have a wonderful weekend, and do keep warm out there now ... :brr:

I saw the title "Canadian Winter" and had to click! this has been the BEST winter in my 44 years I have to say LOL here it is, into February, and there's NO SNOW on my streets!!! WTF??? We're usually blanketed from Dec - March and we've only had 2 real snowfalls that disappeared after 2 days. WOW!!!! Hasn't even been that cold....

:wave: HI TRAZEY ~ yes, we are hearing from all our family down in Southern Ontario that they have very little or no snow at all right now. We have friends in North Bay who say they only have a little too. It is much milder up here (I'm up near Timmins), but becuz of that, we have a lot of snow -- we're getting buried in the stuff!!!

Oh well, that creates work too, and that's always welcome; and of course, the winter sport's enthusiasts love it -- and the Winter Carnivals and Snowfests are being held this month, so we need the snow for that ...

I was gonna say we might have an early spring; but we may end up flooded if the snow here doesn't melt slowly, but usually that is what happens here anyways. We have some thaws, then freezing, then more snow, and so forth. I think everyone is loving the milder temps we've been having, but it still looks and feels like winter up here ...

We had a good day here; foodwise as well -- we had leftover BBQ spit chicken and I made a nice potato & carrot scallop to go along with that and it turned out nice. Have a wonderful weekend everyone ... :val3:

Hi Ladies :D

I'm Amber, I live on Vancouver Island on the west coast. Hardly any snow to speak of out here this winter, as it usually is, but quite socked in with cloud cover lately. I can hardly wait to move up to north eastern BC where my hubby is already living so I can enjoy those nice clear winter days with SUN! Getting soo tired of this dreary weather...today is one of those days when there's no sun to speak of and all you want to do is get all cozy under a blanket in front of the fire with a never ending supply of comfort food. UGH...so here I sit in front of the computer sipping on a cup of tea to try convince myself that it's as satisfying as one of my normal bad sweet carb-loaded snacks.

I started trying to lose weight again on the 1st of this month and as of my first weigh in on Wednesday, I'm down 3 pounds! :D Yay! Could have been more but I let myself indulge in a couple of planned treats because it was my birthday on the 7th :D Now to try make it through V-day! There's always something, but I think I did quite well compensating for the treats this week.

Well I'm off to get ready for the inevitable disaster that will strike when my kids (Cole, 5 & Katie, 7) get home from school and drop everything at the door demanding snacks! lol

Hey, a Canadian thread!

AmberN, I lived in the Lower Mainland and I know what you mean about dreary days! All it does is rain, it barely snows winter time. Where are you moving to? I moved to Prince George, and though the winters are harsher, it's nice to have sunshine in the summer :)

Hoping it gets a little warmer and the snow clears up a bit. At least it isn't -40 anymore! I want to go for walks with the baby and our nice stroller for extra exercise. I did it once when it was -6 but my arms and thighs were killing me after from pushing the stroller through the snow. Maybe a sign I should do it more?

Other than the one week with -40 temperatures, Calgary has had awesome weather. Its been averaging between +5-8 everyday. Even on days like today where it was -4, the sun was still shinning away with a clear blue sky. I used to want to move to the lower mainland for the little snow, but I doubt I could handle grey skies all the time. I have come to realize that my mood really depends on how much sun there is. If the sky is cloudy with no sun at all, chances are I will be a major couch potato.

:welcome: to our NEWBIES ~ glad you found our Canadian thread over here. I had noticed a lot of Canadians coming to the site this past month.

AMBER ~ Congrats on the WL, and for battling the goodies at this time. I don't blame you about wanting to move somewhere less dreary; I wouldn't like that either. I find November bad here; we had too many overcast days, but come December we had lots of :sunny: days again, and that will continue all winter now.

STEPHANIE ~ good for you taking the stroller out in the snow; that would be a workout for sure. Dh took his bike out a few days ago; he said it was harder, but he made it back home OK.

CANDEKA ~ well this weekend the temps dropped down to -20 C last night, and it's supposed to get down to -29 C tonight :brr:, then climb back up again. I kinda thought we may get the colder temps in February -- it was just delayed a bit. Gonna just stay home and bundle up warm ...

We had a busy week; unpacking totes & boxes & hanging up pictures. We're getting there, almost done unpacking now, but still have some more sorting and organizing to do yet. We saved it for the winter, cuz we have lots of time to do it now.

Eating healthy; staying on target. Gotta make sure to eat enuff or I get really hungry the next day. Trying to manage some hunger pangs that come up in the afternoon with Cinnamon on apples & on cereal for BF; and hot tea too.

Have a great weekend everyone ... :val3:

Stephanie - We will be moving to Hudson's Hope, so a few hours north of you. We lived in Cold Lake Alberta when my daughter was 2 and my son was born there. We used to go walking in the snow quite a bit, tried the stroller once or twice but you aren't kidding about the crazy workout. We switched to carrying the baby in the front carrier until he got old enough to hold his own head up, then we used the MEC backpack. My daughter walked for the first bit then hopped in the sled the rest of the way. We used to have a blast in the winter :D

Candeka - You should see the people here on full sunny days. I went out for groceries the other day and people were so happy and cheery and actually spoke to me without me speaking to them first! When is blah, like it is today, it's like pulling teeth to get a smile out of some people. I have SAD, so living on the west coast, like I've done for 33 of the 36 years of my life, is hard on me. My mood is completely dependant on the sun. The house that we live in is sheltered from the sun most of the day, so it will be nice to go and buy a new house, and this time I will pay much closer attention to the tree cover etc.

Just - Fighting a tough battle with the snacks today. Not going entirely off plan, but did snack on a small piece of mango. I'm doing a diet that is a cross between Ideal Protein and South Beach, and I'm not allowed fruit on either of them. I ate the bit of mango with some protein, so I should be good but because I went off plan and allowed some cake for my birthday, today is my carb withdrawal day...not fun. Oh and thanks for the tea reminder, I turned the kettle on quite a while ago and I've been sitting here trying to avoid over snacking

AMBER ~ we now only have WHISTLE KETTLES becuz DH kept leaving them on and burning them out -- but, every now and then, I still catch him not putting the whistle top down ... arrgh!

We have a couple of porches on our house, but the back one is only a sun porch, so the sun can come through the roof; and the front one is at the right angle so that the low winter sun can come into our front rooms (livingroom & my pc room). So, they both provide only partial shade.

Our house (which is 90% brick) stays 10+ degrees cooler in the summer than our last place. The trees & bushes that lose their leaves are best for both the summer & wintertime -- cooling the house in summer; letting in light & warming the house in winter, which will save you money.

Well, the temps only got down to -24C and it is now back up to -15C; and next week is expected to come all the way back up to 0C (32F) which will be nice for us once again. :D

AmberN- I bet it'll be nice to get away from the rain! I've been really happy to not be constantly poured on this past year haha.

I worry about taking her out in the wrap I have because it's icey and I'd feel horrible if I slipped while holding her. I already slipped on the ice a few days before my due date and my husband freaked out. It wasn't easy for him to lift a 224 lb pregnant woman off the slippery ground! Haha.

Weigh-In Wednesday...down 2 more pounds! Woohoo! :carrot:
Makes my total loss since I started Feb 1 at over 6% of what I need to lose! Yay for me! :D

Just - no whistle on our kettle, but it is electric so at least it's an auto shut off. We also have a big leafed maple in our back yard which loses all of it's leaves, which would be perfect if it weren't for the uncleared farm land behind us that keeps us in the shade most of the day. Very nice in the summer as we dont' get direct sun until mid afternoon but in the winter, it blocks all of the direct sunlight.

Stephanie - We've managed to get a few sunny days already this month, normally February is pretty dreary. Sun was shining for my bday and for Vday :D Today too actually :D Oh and you need yak tracks for your shoes...I wore those all the times when I was out walking in the winter with the kiddos.

Had a showing on the house on Monday, they were a no go but we have someone else coming in this afternoon...wish me luck! :crossed:

Oh and happy belated V-Day everyone! :D

AmberN, I was looking for something like that when I was pregnant because of how often I almost slipped (and onetime did)

It's been sunny the past few days here too, went for a walk yesterday which was nice :) 189.8 so I'm down 7 lbs since starting up Atkins again.