Tinkerblue

The A to Z of Me

A. Age: 40. I'll be 41 in May

B. Bed Size: King. I love it.

C. Chore you dislike: Cleaning the shower. I don't mind cleaning the toilets but I hate the shower and the glass door. It's actually hubby's job to clean the shower. Ask how well that goes? Or how often? Good thing the health department doesn't check it.

D. Dogs: We don't have any. I would love to have a dog. When I was growing up we had three. Miffy, Miffy and Missy. Now we dog sit Noki a couple of times a year, she's here this week. And occasionally Sassy comes to stay.

E. Essential start to your day: breakfast and washing my face.

F. Favorite color: Blue. Navy blue. But also pink, red, other shades of blue, yellow, various shades of green and this week orange.

G. Gold or silver: Silver, white gold and rose gold. Not particularly yellow gold. Although I have two gold necklaces that I love. I'm learning to like it more and more.

H. Height: 5'4. Not quite short enough to be considered petite but short enough that pants or jeans are always too long.

I. Instruments you play(ed): recorder and guitar in primary school. Trumpet in the first term of my first year at high school before switching to the flute. I played the flute for 4 years of high school and then had private lessons for 2 years after that. I still have my flute. I haven't played it in 10 years.

J. Job title: since I started working my paid job titles have included baby sitter, waitress, food and beverage attendant, lifeguard, waterfront director, program assistant, English teacher, front desk agent, front desk clerk, guest services agent, guest services representative, night auditor, assistant night manager, night manager, night duty manager, reception training manager, cashier, cash coordinator, customer service agent, customer service representative, retail coordinator, retail venue manager, and retail sales specialist. I can't remember what my title was when I work at Kentucky Fried Chicken. I volunteered at the Red Cross and the local mothercare home for a year.

K. Kids: I would love to have a child/children. Hubby doesn't want any.

L. Lived/Live: England, Japan, Mexico, Canada and Australia.

M. Mother: I have one. For the longest time I wanted to be a teacher just like her. I've always looked up to her, still do. I get my love of reading from my mum and my nan. I miss them (and my dad) terribly. I think of them every day.

N. Nicknames: I don't really have any

O. Overnight hospital stays: Lots. I had my tonsils removed when I was kid (that was about a week), three surgeries on my knee (three nights each time), my appendix removed (three nights), several overnight stays for asthma attacks. I think that's it. I also had my gallbladder removed and some cysts removed but they were all done as day surgeries.

P. Pet peeves: people who stop walking in the middle of the footpath and block the whole path so you can't walk round them.

Q. Quote from a movie: That's going straight to the pool room.

R. Righty or lefty: Righty.

S. Siblings: one little brother. Who's about a foot taller than I am. And not so little. He's 3 years younger than me.

T. Time you wake up: 530am when we have bootcamp. 800am on weekends. Once my new job starts I'll have to wake up between 300am and 400am depending on the departure city. But naturally? I'm a night owl. In a perfect world I'd sleep to 1000am, go to bed around midnight and read until 200am.

U. Underwear: Yes. What type of question was that?

V. Vegetables you don't like: I can't think of any, I'm sure there are some I don't like.

W. What makes you run late: Normally hubby. He either loses track of time at the hangar or under estimates the time it will take us to drive some where. He can predict to the minute how long it will take to fly somewhere. But driving? He's way off.

X. X-rays you've had: what haven't I had x-rayed? ... my right foot, both ankles (more than once), both shins, my right knee (multiple times), both wrists, my ribs, my lungs, my lower back and pelvis, my boobs (last week), my right shoulder and lastly my teeth (once a year). I've also had several abdominal scans, ultrasounds, and one cat scan. And don't forget the barium enema. I can safely say that was the worst form of x-ray I've ever had.

Y. Yummy food you make: chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter bars, rum cake, mars bar slice

Z. Zoo Animal Favourites: wombats, echidnas, penguins, polar bears. Definitely not emus.

Not Quite What I Went Shopping For

Monday, Marilyn and I spent the day shopping in the US. We hit Marshalls, Target and the Tulalip outlet mall. On my shopping list - black pants, black lace up shoes, Revlon lipstick for Joanna, Psst dry shampoo, Soap & Glory bubble bath, underwear.

How successful was I? Depends how you define success. I came home with absolutely nothing from my list. I did try. I tried no less than 12 pair of pants and 7 pair of shoes. No luck.

I did however come home with a new dress, a pair of pyjamas, two pairs of sandals and a pair of totally unneeded heels. Oh and about $50 of Easter chocolate.

Mammogram!!!

I thought ~grams were fun and delivered to your door. You know, candygrams, stripograms.

Well mammograms are most certainly not delivered to your door. Although it wasn't far. There is a mobile screening unit in town this week. In city hall. Two minutes from my front door.

I was supposed to go last year. That whole turning 40 thing. Yeah happy welcome to your fabulous 40's. Let's go get your boobs squished flat.

For various reasons it didn't happen. Either I or they had to reschedule. So when I found out the mobile unit was here, I figured I'd better do something about it.

I don't what everyone is complaining about. Seriously it wasn't that bad. Not even uncomfortable. I kept waiting for it to get bad, for it to hurt. I asked the Technician when I should expect to feel pain. She said that I was already at full compression, so if it wasn't hurting now then it wouldn't. All I felt was cold.

That's if for another year. Yep, I've been told I need to have an annual mammogram. I think that's actually normal for my age group (40-49). Results should be here in 2-3 weeks.

Friday Weigh In

This week I not only lost weight, but I broke 180. Yeah me. Today I am 178.6 lbs - down 1.6 this week. We did much better at eating at home, eating veggies, drinking lots of water and eating less sugary snacks or soda. It definitely paid off. And yes 1.6 lbs for the week is good. A guide for a sustainable weight loss is 1-2 lbs a week. Losing more than two pounds a week is hard to maintain long term and can result in yoyo dieting. I'm in it for the long term, so I'll take the 1.6lbs.

Hubby has lost inches and inches. Off his belly and hips. And gained muscle in his arms and legs.

We've been going to boot camp 5 days a week for 4 weeks. If you have a prefect attendance you get 50% discount on the following month. We both made 20 sessions in a row our first month. Hubby is away next week (week 4) and was away for 3 days of the first week. So he was going to miss 8 classes. Nah huh.

He did 20 classes in 12 days by going twice a day (6am and 630pm) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays as well as Tuesday and Friday mornings. He is now exhausted. But he looks good. He doesn't quite have a 6 pack. But close. Looking good honey.

I have another week to go.

(my laptop died so I'm posting from an iPhone/iPad app - it won't let me add links or place photos, so they're all at the end of the posts)

Friends, A Coffee, A Run, Boot Camp and A Headache

Yesterday got off to such a good start. I went for coffee with Jacqui and her adorable baby girl, Maggie. I haven't seen them since October. Jacqui looks great and Maggie has grown so much. It was a lovely morning.

When I got home I went for a run along the river to the airport and back. 5K in 36 mins 47 secs with an average pace of 7.21 mins per km. Felt pretty good afterwards. A little out of breath but not like I was going to die or anything. I probably could have pushed a little harder. I stretched and used my new stick afterwards. It made a huge difference. I wasn't sure it would, especially the first time. My calves are still tight, bit no where near as bad as usual. Why didn't I get a stick earlier? Or use the rolling pin?

Last night I went to boot camp with hubby. It was a blue sky and a warm evening. We worked out in shorts and t-shirts and outside. It was a ball workout. I like sit ups and push ups on the ball, but am so not a fan of running while holding the ball above my head. I felt pretty sluggish throughout. I thought it was just cause I'd been for a run earlier.

But by the end of the hour I had a blinding headache. Literally. The vision in my right eye was all blurry. Like looking through a really dirty window. By 8pm I was home, drugged up on T3s and in bed. I slept until midnight when I woke up to throw up for 2 hours. Slept thru to 730 this morning when hubby needed a ride to the train station. Then back to bed until Purolator rang the doorbell at 1030am.

I had something to eat and drank a bucket load of water. Now I think I'm going back to bed. I'm not even remotely interested in reading or watching telly, just sleeping. That's how I know I'm sick, when I don't even have the energy to read.

Expanding Our Veggie Repertoire

Hubby and I don't eat enough veggies. When we do, we tend to eat the same veggies over and over again. Mixed green salad. Red, yellow, orange and green peppers. Cucumbers. Steamed frozen veggies (get over it, frozen is better than none at all).  We get bored with them, and then stop eating them altogether. Google to the rescue. 

I love brussel sprouts. Hubby doesn't. I really only eat them at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Normally in some sort of butter or cheese sauce. Butter or cheese sauce kind of defeats the purpose of eating healthier.  At the supermarket there were a lot of brussel sprouts. A big bag of them came home with me. Hubby was not impressed. Oven roasted brussel sprouts it was. There are all kinds of recipes, with bacon or onion or even maple syrup. I went with simple. Olive oil, salt and pepper. 

Wash and dry the brussel sprouts. Cut off the inedible stem and tear off any nasty leaves. Cut in half. Toss in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 20 minutes at 400F, turning half way through.

 

Kale is another veggie that was in plentiful supply at the supermarket. Kale is unbelievably good for you. It's full of anti-oxidants, beta carotene, vitamins, calcium,  and other stuff I can't spell. Kale is an anti inflammatory, and has anti cancer properties. It's also really, really, really bitter tasting. I don't think hubby has ever eaten it. 

I found several recipes for de-bitterising kale. As I was already oven roasting the brussel sprouts I went the same route with the kale.

Finely chop kale, carrots and onion. I only had a white onion. A sweet or vidalia onion would probably be better. Crush a garlic clove or two. Mix all together in a bowl with olive oil.  Make sure the kale is well coated in the oil.  Bake in oven for 20 minutes at 400F, turning half way through. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and sea salt.

I served the brussel sprouts and kale with baked potatoes. I like both veggie dishes. Hubby wasn't all that impressed but he ate both. That's a good sign.  I had the left overs for lunch today. I'll be making both dishes again. 

 

I Was So Not Born to Run

But I do it anyway. Why? God knows. It's cheap. I don't have to drive anywhere. It doesn't require a membership fee. And I feel good afterwards. Feel like crap during, but afterwards I feel like I can do anything.

Today was my first run since the Cadbury 2.5km at the beginning of January. My goal today was to run for 20 mins and to take it easy. It went a lot better than I was expecting.

5km. 37mins 41secs. Avg pace 7.30mins per km. That's pretty much the same stats as the Fall Classic 5k race I ran in November. I'm just happy I don't have to start the Couch to 5K program all over again.

Choo, Choo. My New Job Working on a Train.

My life has become planes, trains and automobiles.  As of Friday I have a job again. I don't actually start until April 13th. But the offer has been accepted and the paperwork signed. It all happened very quickly.

 

I applied on Friday,  I had a phone interview on Monday, a group interview on Tuesday, received a phone call on Wednesday to advise I was a succesful applicant, and on Friday I went in to the office to sign all the paperwork, complete all the tax forms and attend a brief information session. I even have homework.

 

I will be a Retail Sales Specialist for Rocky Mountaineer. I think it's going to be long days, hard work and a lot of fun. 

 

We'll be in training for about a week and a half. Then the first actual 4 day trip starts April 26th. The route will either be Vancouver to Jasper or Vancouver to Banff and Calgary. The seaon ends mid October. And then I'll go back to the ranks of the unemployed. (or I'll put Simon to work, and he can find me something to start in November!)

 

See all those pages? That's my nightly reading material for the next month!

 

My homework between now and April 13th is to read the 200+ pages of safety procedures in the crew manual. That's going to be easier than finding black pants, multiple pairs of black socks and lace up black shoes. Wish me luck.

 

Friday Weigh In

180.2lbs. Exactly the same as last week. No loss. But on the upside, no gain either. It wasn't totally unexpected.

We ate out, ate a lot and made bad food choices all week.

We've now stocked the fridge and the pantry with healthy snacks, lots of veggies and fruit. And on Sunday I'll spend some time meal planning for the rest if the week.

That should cut down on the number of times we say there's nothing to eat, let's go out. It should also mean we eat more of the food we have, and throw less of it out at the end of the week.

This photo has nothing to do with this post. It's the jewelry I've worn this week. For some reason it's accumulated on the ledge outside the bathroom. This little pile caught my eye. My favourite pieces for this week.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes in Honour of St Patrick's Day

I'm not keen on the name. Why Irish Car Bomb? I'm also not keen on the drink. Whiskey and Baileys in a shot glass, dropped into Guiness. It has be consumed really quickly or it will curdle. And when it curdles, it's really really gross.

 

But as a cupcake? Anything with Whiskey, Guiness and Baileys in the ingredients has to be good. Right? I was surpised that we had all the ingredients in the cupboard already. Well almost. We didn't have any Jameson, so I used Glenfiddich.  Yes, I know one is Irish and the other is Scottish. Get over it!

Cupcake Ingredients:
1 cup Guiness
1 stick, plus 1 tbs unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda

Cupcake Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 350; line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. Combine the Guiness and the butter, chopped into 1-inch chunks, in a large sauce pan, and heat to melt the butter.
3. Remove from heat, and whisk in the cocoa and sugar.
4. In a bowl, whisk the sour cream and the eggs and vanilla, then add to the beer mixture.
5. Sift together the flour and baking soda, and fold in the batter.
6. Pour into muffin molds and bake or 25 minutes, or until inserted cake tester comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes, remove from muffin tin, and cool completely on a rack.

Frosting Ingredients:
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar
Bailey's Irish Cream (I used 6 Tbsps)
Jameson Irish Whiskey (I used 2 Tbsps)

 

Frosting Preparation:
1. Put the stick of room-temperature butter in a large mixing bowl and beat at medium-to-high speed for a few minutes.
2. Add a few short glugs of Bailey's and a dash of Jameson, and mix at low speed.
3. Gradually spoon confectioners' sugar into the bowl, mixing on low speed.
4. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

I finally got to use the new mixing attachment that Barb gave me for Christmas. It worked really well.

 

So what did we think? Nom, Nom, Nom. These are really good. Hubby wanted to know if he was going to get drunk from eating them. The Bailey's is really noticable. 4 Tbsps might have been enough, 6 was probably overkill. Also it makes the icing quite runny. I got 21 cupcakes out of the recipe. An odd number I know. I think I put too much mix in some of them.

 

 

One cupcake with icing is worth 9 points plus. Hubby will have to eat the rest of these. Good thing he thought it was tasty.

 

 (the recipe I used came from here)