Black Friday

K here's a nagging question that has always baffled me.  Why does it seem that for Thanksgiving, most Americans have the bulk of the week off?  I feel like us Canadians get the short end of the stick.  No but, for reals, yo.  Our Thanksgiving, we get the Monday off, that's it.  I can't tell you how nice it'd be to also have the Friday off, too.  Or November 11th, freaking Remembrance Day.  I'd love to have that day off to pay my respects for my grandfather that was in the war but oh no, I've got to work on that day.  Banks and Government get it off but because we're not necessarily government but more "crown corporation" we don't fall under that rule.  Just seems like in general, Americans get way more holidays than us folk north of the border.

Anyways... it's Friday.  Wooo!  It's not long after 9 am and it's Black Friday.  I know some people take today off to go shop but I just don't have the patience nor the will.  I'm sure some deals are worth it but others are not.  I guess you've got to do your research.  For me, I like to shop with a plan and get in and get out.  I don't like crowds of miserable/antsy/pissed off people.  I think it also stems to me working at the mall when I was growing up. I'm just over malls, that's all I guess.

We have our "Festive Gathering" at work this afternoon.  So I'll be gym-ing it up and doing my Shred class at 11:30 then I'll come back to work, scarf my lunch, change and then head to that thing just after 1:30.  Show my face for a bit then get the fuck out of dodge and head home.

You know you're an adult when you get excited for a new dishwasher.  LOL!  This morning just after 8 am, our new dishwasher arrived.  Hallejuiah to that, I am so sick of doing dishes!  First world problems, you see?  Horrible, I know.

Tonight, a friend of ours, Christina, is coming over for dinner.  Should be a good time, she's hilarious and just a good person to be around. 

Tomorrow morning Jeff is going out for a bit with our friend Bruce.  I've got to brush the crap out of the dogs between today and tomorrow because I'm taking them to get their pictures with Santa done. Yes, I am that person, but I'm okay with that.  Some people have kids... some people have animals.  :)  Tomorrow evening, Tara and Erik are coming by for a couple of drinks and Sunday...?  Who knows.  Maybe dog park or just a lazy day, we'll see.  Another relaxing weekend = me like!  Next weekend is my petsitting weekend and the following week we move into my mom's for a week to house sit/pet sit for a week (9th to the 16th) and then Christmas is right around the corner.  Somewhere in between all of us we've got Christmas shopping to do for his mom, two nieces and one nephew, my mom, my step-dad, my aunt, our friend Dina.... I think that's it and then for each other.  We've got gifts for Jeff's Dad and brother already and a little something for Dina but the bulk of we've still got to shop for.

Anywho, that's all for now. :)  Have a wonderful weekend everyone <3 p="">

Uhmmmm.. It's Wednesday already?!!  Not that I'm complaining but seriously though, where the F does time go?!

 

Less than one month until Christmas now.  The weather has been all over the map here.  One day it'll feel like a mild, spring like day and then the next, you're pulling out your winter jacket again.  It makes it difficult getting dressed.

 

Last night I went to a hot yoga class with an instructor that I know through the yoga studio where I used to do karma exchange.  Wow, what a class that was.  It was a Moksha and it was a hot flow class and dang it was a good, sweaty one.  Just hours before that, I was at the gym on my lunch and doing Liane's 1-hour BodyPump class.  While I was a smelly, sweaty mess yesterday for the better part of the day, I felt amazing last night leaving yoga. 

 

Work has been busy today so I didn't get much of a work out in today, I just went to the gym to do some deep stretching, some abs, a few leg things and then rolled out my quads, hamstrings and ass on a scary looking roller that hurt like hell. 

 

 

A little more about MOI..

 

What industry/line of work am I in? I work in the securities regulatory industry and that is all I will say.

 

Travel plans for 2015?  We were toying with the idea of doing Dominican Republic (Punta Cana) next September but I feel like it's already too soon.  I'd love to go away tomorrow, don't get me wrong, but I want to save up properly so that we can do a shit ton of diving.  I'm not positive if whale sharks are on the migratory path so that we can see any there but I know that they have a marine sanctuary there where sperm whales come every year to mate.  You're not allowed to dive with them but from what I understand, you can snorkel or bob with them on the surface, you just can't dive around them.  I've seen a few videos and they're amazing.  One video showed a mother and her calf and she was just chillin in the water, probably about as curious of us as we are them.

 

Three places you could travel to RIGHT NOW?  Barbados. Bahamas (hello Stuart's Cove aka shark diving).  And Europe, I'm going to say Paris or Amsterdam.  This girl right here LOVES Europe. :)

Do you have a favorite book? Or a book that just changed your life - gave you a whole new perspective on things? Hmm, I've certainly read a lot in my day but I'd say The Yoga Sutras by Nicolai Bachman and The Daily OM by Madisyn Taylor.  Those are everyday-type books.  Of course I love me a quick, entertaining read by Stuart Woods so anything of his is good.  Same with Iris Johansen and Gillian Flynn.

What three people would you want to have dinner with, dead or alive? My Dad, hands down.  He's been gone now for 27 years.... My Grandma, my mom's mom.  She passed away in 1997 I want to say and I miss her so much.  She was such an awesome lady and I spent a lot of summers with her. For the third, I'll pick someone famous and say I'd love to have dinner with Eminem.  LOL.

Would you get a goat or a horse? What's your dream pet? "Pet" not so much but elephants.  But between a horse and goat, that's a tough one.  Horses are beautiful but goats can be funny, mischievious little creatures.  I pet sit three of them and they were like waiting little children when you arrived at the home and they heard you in the yard.  You can read/see pics here, here and here.

 

 



 My view at work

True that.

 

Charlie eye balling Jeff cutting up peppers for me.

 New Lululemon outfit.  I swear I should be a brand ambassador for them for crying out loud!!

 

Comfiest sports bra EVER!

And of course, at work selfies.  Liked my hair yesterday.  I got it cut and highlighted on Wednesday night.

WTF?

What the heck?!  I just noticed something really fucked up about Blogger.  If you go back and edit any labels or posts, it pushes them and re-dates them to the current date.  Aka doesn't revise your original post to stay in its place, it looks at the post as if it's like a new post altogether.  I don't get it and why the fuck it's doing that.  I was editing some labels earlier and just noticed now that the posts are all out of whack.  WHAT THE EFF?!?

It would appear that the date gets updated not to the day you originally posted the post, but rather to the current day.  What a stupid thing.  I think I fixed it but who knows.  Not touching labels again. lol

13 Random Facts about Me

1. I'm terrified of spiders.  Like squealing, chills down my spine and sweating profusely.  Not an attractive look. LOL
2. I rarely drink.
3. I quit smoking just over 3 years ago.  I still miss it. Sigggggh.  But I feel better and I know my lungs and heart appreciate it.
4. I have a weakness for Cool Ranch Doritos.
5. I am obsessed with Great Danes, more particularly Harlequins.
6. I never or rarely change my body jewelry.
7. I'm willing to take Benadryl to be around animals that I am allergic to (cats).
8. I'm horribly accident prone/clumsy.
9. I've had braces on my teeth twice.
10. I had jaw surgery when I was 15 years old.
11. I love order.  As is, clutter is chaos.  I've learned to let go A LOT since I've been with Jeff.
12. Jeff and I have been together nearly 13 years and married for six.
13. My fave alcoholic drink would have to be ameretto sours.

Is this not the cutest, EVER?!!  My neighbour and friend of ours saw these at a craft show I think she said she was at and she just couldn't resist.  They slide onto the collars.

 And lest we not forget a Tuesday selfie. LOL

 

It's that day of the weekend that most people loathe, myself being one of those.  Ugh!  I was in such a foul mood when I got into work, probably because my patience is waning with some of my work colleagues.  Perhaps it was also talking to my mom that's been away from the office since last Wednesday and it was like she wasn't a part of a conversation that was had last week.  Like, stop shaking your head at me woman and implying that I've got it all wrong.  No, you fucked up the days and everything has to be finagled around now.  It's not me, it's you.  This being my boss that so infamously throws people under the bus because she's got more shit to prove now that she's doing double duty and effectively doing two jobs.  So if it wasn't my boss irritating me this morning, it was a co-worker just being flat out annoying.  Or why am I being pulled in to do my colleague's work when she's been the one working on this and works on this shit all the flippin time?  I feel like a lot of the time at work I'm thrown shit for the simple reason that people know shit gets done, shit gets done well and correctly, and efficiently.  Yes, it's a compliment but it's annoying that people just can't do their fucking job and then I'm normally the one that is left to fix shit or make sure it's up to par where it should be.  I know you get it at every place of employment but it's just so frustrating working with people that couldn't give two shits about work and responsibilities.  "Oh someone else will do it" type attitude.  And the organization I work for is a Crown Corporation/Government type-place so these people never get fired or if they do, it literally (not even kidding you) takes years for HR to build enough ammunition against the person to get them out the door.  My colleague that I speak of, her predecessor was let go and I'm told that it took a long time and a lot of complaints from higher ups, some even coming from Directors.  I didn't mind her but she was rude as all hell and didn't or couldn't speak to people in a nice or civil manner.  Anyways, the morning was kinda blah and had me a bit annoyed but it didn't take much or long to shrug it off and let it go.

My ushe gym sesh of Shred was mixed up today in that my friend, Liane, was sick and couldn't find a sub for the class, so a Body Pump class was in its place.  I wasn't in the mind set to do that, and also because I normally do BP on Tuesdays, I decided to go to the spin class and am glad that I did go.  Tomorrow, I'll do my ushe BP and then I'm going to try and get to a hot yoga class tomorrow night to loosen up a bit.  My right quad is still a bit tender, not always but enough to let me know that if I exert it too much or go too hard, that it reminds me it still aches a bit.  Pain in the ass.

Our dishwasher I think bit the dust last night.......

It's Friday, which means the weekend is just mere hours away!!

So my 31st birthday has come and gone just like that.  I ended up going home after my BodyShred class on Monday at 1 pm.  Went home and by the time I rolled in the door it was 3:30 and from there until the time that Jeff got home (not long after 5), I tidied up, had some crap tv on in the background for noise while I snuggled with my boys on the couch.  We hung out for a couple of hours, then later we met up with my step-dad and mom for dinner.  They then came over after dinner to have dessert and to get the dogs who had a grooming appointment early Tuesday morning.

Now it's Friday and here I am sitting at my desk at work just willing the hours to go by so that my weekend can begin.  Jeff is taking the dogs over to my mom's this afternoon so they can spend the weekend with her while we head up north with Tara and Erik.  They're coming up for a mini getaway weekend and we're going to take them to the gun range to play.  Should be a good/fun weekend but dang it, it's going to be a chilly one.  It's supposed to be a low of -7 Celsius.  Yep, I'm in deep denial over here about the impending winter season coming.  It's fucked up because not three days ago it felt like spring and it was about 14 degrees and then the next day winter.  BAM!  So I finally caved yesterday and pulled out the winter jacket.  Yep, winter is here.  Sigh.

Currently I'm....

Watching... Forensic Files on HLN

Eating... Nothing, I'm drinking water al day due to eating like a glutton yesterday. 

Thinking about... Already going home (we're not headed home til Sunday, soooo a little premature on my part). I just want to go home, unpack our gifts, laundry (thankfully my mom has done three loads of our laundry since we left her house yesterday!! So sweet of her :) she's honestly the BEST mom ever!), also have to take down the tree and lights, but I'll probably leave our lights in the window, they're cute.

Talking to... I just got off the phone with my mom... 

Excited about... Goin home. Actually, I'm excited to have New Years Day (next Thursday), I booked Friday and Monday because I'm pet sitting next weekend and I like a couple of days to just relax... And then I took Monday January 5th because the 6th through the 9th and Monday the 12th, we're all working fucked up early hours and I have to wake up at 445 to take the early train into work... 

Stressed about... Nothing. Paying off set in 2015 and life will be a lot less stressful and it'll be a relief off our back. We'll probably have to buy a car in 2015 top, if my then 2016 for sure!!!

Needing.... Well I got gift cards for Lululemon, the mall, etc., so while I don't need anything I'll go and buy some heels for work (since I've got a couple of pairs at work in bad shape), and since I'm at the gym daily, I can never have enough Lulu tights .... I also want some harem pants, they look so comfortable :)

Going to cook.... Going to eat tourtière Mmmm!

It's my Birthday, bitches!

 Lovely pictures of fall *swoons* I just love all the colours of fall.

Sometimes I pull their dog beds together in the kitchen and we have a tender moment *swoon*

 Tired, tired puppies

Meanwhile....

Currently I'm....

Watching... Nothing, I'm on my way downtown for an all day conference yayyyy fun times ahead!

Eating... Drinking a protein shake

Thinking about... the end of the work day.  Already. Thinking about my exit strategy this afternoon and coming home a bit early. Also thinking how it's completely wild that I turn 31 next week. Where. Does. The. Time. Go. !!!!!!!

Talking to... No one. I'm upstairs in the quiet area on the train, so it's dead quiet.

Excited about... The weekend. I amuse easily, what can I say lol.  I'm petsitting this weekend and it isn't too crazy.

Stressed about... Nothing at the moment.

Needing: my bed and puppies with a nice snuggle session :)

Going to cook: nothing until later when I get home and start cooking dinner. Baked chicken and lots of veggies. Mmmm!

And now you get sleepy puppy pictures *swoon*

A Look into what a Typical Day of Eating looks like for Me and What I do to Stay in Shape

A typical Day and My Food Intake:

Anywhere from 5:50 a.m. to 6:10 a.m. - Have half a cup of Coffee (usually the left over from the cup and a half I pour into Jeff's travel coffee mug).

I leave for work usually at 6:20 a.m. to catch the 6:32 p.m hour-long train to Union Station in Toronto and that gets me to my desk about 7:45 a.m.  (If I'm lolly-gagging (which I have been lately - lol), I leave the house at 6:45 a.m/6:50 a.m. to catch the 7:02 a.m. train, that lands me at my desk around 8:15 a.m./8:20 a.m.)

8:00 a.m. - Have a protein shake and a banana.

9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. - Drink maybe one to two cups of coffee, along with my morning oatmeal.

(On average, after I've had my morning coffee, I won't drink anything else but water for the rest of the day, which may be anywhere from two to four litres of water)

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - This varies slightly, I'll munch closer to 11:30 if I'm going to a 12 o'clock class or closer to 12:30 p.m. if I'm going to a 1 p.m. class.  I usually eat two rice cakes, always.  Sometimes I'll squeeze in my carrots and celery.  If I don't eat the veggies then, I'll eat them as soon as I get back from the gym.

1 p.m. to 2:30 pm. - Depending on which class I've gone to, during these times I'll eat my lunch, which is a white tortilla wrap with a bit of light mayo, honey Dijon mustard, baby spinach, a slice of Swiss cheese and a home-cooked seasoned thin filet of chicken breast.. Really filling, much more so than deli meat that are loaded with sulfites and preservatives.  I also usually eat a piece of fruit, these days it's a pear and a 100g container of Activia yogurt.

Somewhere usually between 2:30 p.m. and 3:45 p.m., I'll snack on a handful of unsalted almonds and an apple.

I leave work on a good day around 3:45 p.m. but most days 3:55 p.m., which makes for me hauling ASS to the train station to catch the 4:10 p.m. train home.

Monday, Monday...

It's that dreaded day of the week again, yes Monday.  I am currently sitting here munching on an apple, listening to Ex-Wives of Rock (thank you for internet streaming!) and updating things on the work-end of things. 
------
Well that was a couple of hours ago, earlier in the day.  Now lunch has come and gone and I've been to the gym and back to do a 30-minute class of Shred and boy was it not fun.  I ate a lot of shit this weekend and I'm certainly paying for it today.  My clothes feel tighter, I have a belly, I'm bloated... It just ain't pretty.  It's just not worth it so don't give in to temptation and think that you need something when you know damned well you don't.  Make smart choices, not just a choice when you think you're starving and you're letting your stomach speak instead of making an intelligent decision.  I think the bulk of me feeling like shit this weekend was because I wasn't very active.  I really and truly took advantage of having nothing on my plate this weekend and I also took advantage of daylight savings time, with the clock rolling back and thus earning an "extra" hour.  It was glorious sleeping in on Sunday morning.  Of course, I woke up initially at 6 am and then went back to bed, but hey, details.

Saturday morning we had wet flurries.  Yes, November 1st brought us flurries.  A whole new level of depression right there.  Winter is just on our heels and I am not looking forward to it for one minute.  Sure it's pretty and peaceful if you're looking out at it through a window and you're cozy on the other side, but that's about it.

So since I have nothing of value to say, here are some pictures....

Beautiful sunsets from last weekend

  Sleepy boys

 Sleepy Saturday aka lazy boys

 

 

 My Saturday morning view... of snow.. Not much but still snow nonetheless.

 

  

Loving all the beautiful colours :)

 Sleepy Sunday night lol