Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Thunder

As in that's what it's doing right now! Big thunder storm going on here. We've had a lot of those lately. And this year, Jasper has become very nervous about them. He basically sticks by Brad's side with his tail between his legs. I guess age affects us all!

Been a very busy 2 weeks since I last posted. First, my sister from KSA was here for a week. We had a great visit. For the most part. I say that jokingly. But the day after my goal-reaching weigh-in at WW, she returned from a hair colouring appointmemnt with a large brown paper bag filled with Chinese food from the restaurant down the street! Needless to say, I couldn't resist and downed 2 deep-fried chicken balls and a plate of chicken fried rice - all before we went out to dinner at a restaurant with the whole gang a mere 2 hours later! That, and a day at my brother's cottage at the lake (full of chips, dips, BBQ, and more!), and the fact that I biked only 3 times during that period meant that I was up 1.9 lb. at last week's weigh-in! Ugh! I HATE when that happens, but what are you going to do? Life happens...

The day after sis left, an Irish guy whom Brad had met on the Trail this summer ended up at our place for a week! Brad had offered to help him get to PEI where he apparently had a farm job lined up (never panned out), but he still had to get out of the USA for a while before his visa expired. As it turned out, he was a very nice guy - attractive and charming as only the Irish can be, and he turned 32 on the day he arrived, though we never knew that until just before he left. It was sort of a mini repeat of Jedi's stint here last year after he finished the A.T. He did all the dishes, mowed our front and back lawn (with the reel mower!), and he made a very tasty hummus and gaspacho soup, which we took to a potluck organized by our good friends Don and Marelene at their place on Saturday. He is a great guy and he was certainly well-fed while he was here: raspberry pie, fresh, home-made pesto, home-made carrot cake (which I took to the potluck), fresh vegetable stew, etc. Oh, and I introduced him to roasted garlic! So simple, and he loved it! I think it will become a staple for him from now on! I love to cook for someone who appreciates it. Not that Brad or others don't, but when you make something for someone who is tasting it for the very first time, it's kind of special. We had a terrific day in the country with Don and Mar and George and Barb and Shaun - unfortunately, Mary couldn't make it as one of their dogs is not doing well, and Mary had to stay home with her - We missed you Mary!

It was a great day in the country and everyone appreciated Don and Mar's estate with their garden, vineyard, ducks, chickens, bees - you name it! Thanks again guys for hosting us!

Brad drove our Irish guest back to Maine on Sunday. We'll miss him and my sis both!

Brad's sis and brother-in-law from Ontario arrive here this coming Saturday. They are coming directly to our place for dinner, but are staying with Brad's dad across the river. They are then going on a trip to Newfoundland with Brad's dad and Brad and I will be going to my nephew's wedding in Nova Scotia next week! Man, time flies!

So far this week, I've already clocked over 94 km on the bike. And I will bike again tomorrow before I get weighed in. Let's hope that we go in the right direction this week! Will keep you posted!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Success!

Hey all, just a quick little post to let you all know that on Wednesday evening at Weight Watchers I hit my goal - surpassed it a little even! My goal was 157 lb. and I weighed in at 156.6 lb.! I lost 31 lb. in just 19 weeks! Almost unbelievable! Now I have to maintain that weight plus or minus 2 lb. and if I do, at the end of 6 weeks, I become a lifetime member of WW and no longer have to pay for anything! Bonus! I feel much better, I look much better, and it is a much healthier weight for me to be at. I wholeheartedly recommend the WW program. If it worked for me, it can work for anyone!

Other than that, we've finally been having some hot and sunny weather. My sister from KSA has been here all week and we've been having a lot of fun. She actually went to the meeting last night and was there to witness me receiving my little silver star for reaching my goal weight. I made a raspberry pie, which she and Brad gobbled down in just one day! (I had only a tiny sliver.) They both swore that it might have been the best raspberry pie I've ever made! I have to make another one tomorrow to take to the lake on Saturday for my sister-in-law's 65 birthday! Her daughter is taking her on a 16-day trip around the UK, so I'm thinking of putting 65 pounds sterling in her card.

On Sunday, Brad is driving to Maine once again to pick up this Irish dude that he met on the Trail this year. Apparently, the guy's US visa expires very soon and he has to leave the country for a couple of days in order to get it renewed. So once my sister leaves, we'll have another guest in our spare room for a few days. Should be fun! I'll keep you all posted!

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

Weighing in yet again!

Hi guys,

Time for another weigh-in, so to speak... A lot has happened since my last post back in the middle of June! For one thing, Brad got back from his hike safe and sound almost 2 weeks ago! He had a good, albeit a much more solitary time this year. He had a mixed bag of weather (as we did here as well), and he developed a problem with one of his ankles (probably tendonitis). He will still have to do about 3 weeks next year to complete all of the A.T. from start to finish.

Not a whole lot new with me. After gaining 1.2 lb. last week (ugh), tonight I was down 3.8 lb., which means that I am now just 1.3 lb. away from my goal weight of 157 and that I have lost 29.3 lb. in total! Pretty happy about that! I worked extra hard this week and biked 112 km! That was in part because of a Canada Day celebration at a neighbour's (where I consumed 2 chicken sausages and buns and lots of smoked salmon!) and a visit with George and Barb, who are back from a great trip to Poland.

My sister who lives in Saudi Arabia returned to Nova Scotia on Monday. She's coming here probably tomorrow for a week or so. She and her husband are renting a beautiful cottage in N.S. for 3 weeks this summer, timed to coincide with the marriage of their youngest son and his girlfriend around the first of August. Brad and I will be going to that and it should be a great time. My sister is very pleased that one of her three sons is finally getting hitched!

Our regular computer is in the shop for some repairs and I'm using this old clunker of a hard drive to make this post. Everything takes forever and a day with this thing. Next post I promise some pics from Brad's 2012 A.T. adventure!

Cheers!