Friday, March 28, 2008

Hungry....all the time!

What gives?

I come back from Vegas and I've got hunger pangs like you wouldn't believe! And it's not like I'm reaching for good food either.

Today I gorge on kettle chips at work and then afterwards head to my in-laws where I end up stuffing my face with cheese sticks, nachos, spinach artichoke dip, cheetos/sun chips/doritos mix and a few swigs of pop (I hardly ever drink pop!).

Ugh!

I think the only healthy thing I had all day was a fat-free yogurt, and maybe some homemade chicken soup. I don't think the baked spaghetti can really qualify as completely healthy, with a thick layer of mozza baked on top...

Damn Vegas buffets! My stomach still remembers!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Vegas, Baby

Just came back from Vegas for my cousin's stagette/her fiance's stag party.


Wow!


There were about 15 (I think!) of us, most of us from Vancouver, some from Edmonton, one from Toronto and one from Jersey. So many tales spinning in my head, but just can't spit any of them out. Let's try...



Table service at Tao. Would've been an experience to be on the rooftop with $450-a-bottle-of-Grey-Goose, but just didn't make it to the roof! Dancing like a maniac on the next level down was a high in itself. Insane music. Insane bar tabs! My cousin just got impatient at the bar, waiting for drinks, so ordered herself up a table on the roof. By 3 am I just needed to crash, so I'm regretting I didn't make it to the roof. Damn. What the hell was I thinking?!?!



Racing to the airport a la Home Alone. We drove down to Bellingham Airport on Good Friday and got stuck in a 4hr+ lineup at the border! From the time we got into the lineup at 8am, it took us 3.5 hr to cross the border at 11:30am. With our 1:25 flight, and supposed instructions to arrive 2.5 hrs before the flight, time was not on our side. We still had to park at the overflow parking lot way over there and take a shuttle to the airport. We checked in and passed security at about 12:50 pm. With 10 people driving from Vancouver, two cars made it across and we were still waiting for the third car carrying two cousins and his girlfriend. 1:10 pm, waiting at the gate, and still no third car!!! Finally a couple of minutes later, one of my cousins from that car was running to the gate. By this time, half the plane had boarded. Cutting it close. Me and a couple of others held back and waited at the end to board the plane, trying to hold back boarding in case my other cousin, who was parking the car way over there in the overflow parking lot could still make it on time; his girlfriend checked in already, but we couldn't see her, and she wasn't boarding the plane unless my cousin came back in time. 1:22 as I started boarding, the last two are running towards the gate! And with 2 to 3 minutes to spare! I found out later that their gas light on their car had lit up about 30 minutes earlier at the border, and they weren't even sure they'd even make it to the airport at all! The rest of the clan on the plane had assumed they were no-shows right up until the point they were walking down the aisle. What a way to start the trip!



Buffets. Shit, had too many. Almost hit a fourth one but declined. So much for my exercising for the past 5 weeks. Didn't hit the major ones like Bellagio or Wynn, but they were all still good. Todai (Japanese sushi and seafood) and Pampas (Brazilian Steakhouse) at The Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood (formerly The Aladdin) and Carnival World Buffet at The Rio. The fourth invite was for The Bellagio, but good thing I declined...the line was so long they went to Caesar's instead and it apparently sucked. I'm also Cheeseburger'ed out!



Weather. Tanks, shorts, flip flops. What else can I say? It was hot enough to hit the pool and do some tanning. Got dark fast. Sure beats what we came home to yesterday! Brrrrr!



Alcohol. Lots of it. Wished I drank more. A Fat Tuesday 2-foot pina colada did me within hours of landing. Must remember to not drink on an empty stomach and when trying to get over the flu.



Gamblng. Won $140 on slots. Haywire Deluxe. Find it, use it, win. Played it four years ago and it's still just as contagious. Too bad I lost $25 on roulette. What an hour can do for you in Vegas.






Shopping. Hit the Las Vegas Premium Outlet. Scored at Banana Republic and Coach. I showed some self-restraint by only hitting one shopping spree, declining Fashion Show Mall on Monday (opted to go swimming instead). Saved more money than I actually spent, thanks for the glorious deals had. Ahhh, a good shopping day really hits the spot.



Thunder from Down Under. No comment. Really....what happens in Vegas....



My husband and I had a great time with the family and friends. We were able to enjoy ourselves, knowing that our son was in good hands with my parents; I wouldn't have gone otherwise. Our almost-three-year-old didn't even miss us, apparently. That kinda sucks. But when I think about it, it only sucked not because I wished he cried and threw tantrums, pleading to see me each day but that he didn't do those things, which only means that my little boy is growing up and doesn't need me as much as he used to. What a little independent boy he's become, and I'm proud that he was mature enough to spend that much time away from us.



I think this Vegas trip has made me grow up. Now back to reality...

Thursday, March 20, 2008

What the F*#% !!!

Ok, if you can understand what I am typing here...I will try and keep this clear of errors...

I am typing away, creating my very first Mary Kay newsletter (yes, yes, I am a consultant....do not rile me silly, as that is not the issue here). So, anyways, I am typing away, and after trying to using keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste, my font on my screen gets really, really tiny. What the F*#$ !!

Ok, I have seen this before, so after uselessly playing around with the keyboard I realize that I can go to View at the menu above and select Text Size and violà! Fixed.

Aha, but now I have another major problem. Well, you see how I spelled violà just now...with a french accent. WELL! Let me tell you that my keyboard just suddenly now decided that it is going to be French now! My question marks end up like É and so do my quotation marks -- È --- see what I meanÉ damn! My backslash key gives me à. and my apostrophes are è!!!

What the F*#$ !!!

So, I know people are reading thie blog, so help me out smarty-pants.....how do you fix thisÉ damn, question marks!

You think this is funnyÉ I canèt continue like this! Damn you, keyboard!

Monday, March 17, 2008

On Being Sick

Being sick sucks.

I've got a trip to Vegas this coming weekend, and I just can't be sick. What's the point? I'd rather be puking my guts because I drank too much over puking because my stomach can't take the alcohol. There is a difference. The first choice is purely due to drink and nothing else. Throw in a bout of the flu, then there's no mercy.

Being sick sucks.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Body Fat Composition

I emailed my "trainer" the other day to ask when I can pick up some IsoFlex protein powder (Strawberry is yum-yum delicious -- hard to find!) and he suggested that I come in also do a body fat testing to find out how effective my workouts have been.

I call him my "trainer" because I havent technically had any personal training sessions with him, but he was my bootcamp instructor last Fall, when he kicked my butt back into shape (why I started this blog in the first place). So he'll remain my "trainer" until I pursue some one-on-one with him. [I must be in a wierd mood right now, because I found that comment quite intriguing!)

So, I went to go see him yesterday at lunchtime. After some chitchat, he proceeded to weigh me (I'm 125lbs, just like my digital scale at home says, which is down 5 lbs from the time I last weighed in on Nov 2nd, 2007). Then he printed my body fat composition reading off the Futrex machine.

Wow.....between Nov 2nd and now, I lost a whopping 0.1% body fat!

Ugh!

These past 4 weeks of going to to the gym, 6 days a week, and I ONLY get 0.1% off. That's worse than any sale you'll find at any department store! Choked, utterly choked....

But he says my result is still a good thing. Why? Considering that I'm working out on my own, with no training partner, I'm still managing to maintain what I accomplished. Many folks who go through bootcamp tend to gain some extra body fat because they're not working out at the same intensity.

Despite this, i'm still likng what I"m seeing in the mirror. I feel and look different at 26.5% today than I did at the 26.6% back in November. I look leaner, I think. My upper body is developing quite nicely (I can see my triceps finally!) and I've definitely got a "two-pack" going on. If I could only manage to learn to post a picture up here, I'd try and post something. Meanwhile, just take my word for it.

So I changed my routine this morning. According to my trainer, I've got to focus on the number of reps rather than weights if I want to focus on fat loss. Vice versa encourages more muscle gain. So instead of doing my lower body exercises at lower reps and heavier weights, I tried doing 5 sets of 20 reps at a given weight, until my muscles exhausted. For example. I could leg press 225 but used 145 lbs, 20 times for 5 sets. I could probably go 185 and try for 3 sets instead. Next time.

I was really hoping to see this Body-For-Life program through. It's worked for others, why not me? Hmm. Do I listen to a book and trust before-and-after photos, or listen to proven experience? It's still a toss up.