A resolution that has nothing to do with the new year

After hearing the name mentioned on another blog I read, I decided to look up some information on a DVD called Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I wasn't even sure who Jillian Michaels was, but I also looked her up and she is from the show The Biggest Loser. I got myself a copy of the DVD a couple of days ago and started psyching myself up to give it a try. It is a 30 day program and there are three levels. I gather you do each one for ten days. I was watching it a little just to get an idea of what I was potentially getting myself into, and it looks tough! However I found a few before and after pictures online and was impressed with the results I saw. Yesterday I mentioned my thoughts of doing this to one of my coworkers and she was all for doing it with me! Then we asked our other coworker if she would like to join in too and she agreed. So the three of us are going to start this 30 day challenge around January 1st. I may start earlier since I will be away for a couple of days when we go to Moose Jaw for our anniversary. And one of the other girls is very busy on New Year's Day so she would prefer to start on the 2nd. But I think this will be a good thing and I hope we are able to motivate each other (and not hurt ourselves, haha).

My plan is to get Jay to take some pictures of me in my bathing suit in the next day or two (I should have got him to do it last night after we went for all-you-can-eat Japanese food at Nagoya, I was SO full and bloated!). I am hoping to take my measurements and maybe weigh myself, then do that again in a couple of weeks, or maybe just once I am done 30 days and see if there are changes in my body. I have not decided yet if I will post said pictures to this blog, but I may create a private blog and post my progress there. If I do that I will mention it here, and if you want access to it, you can let me know. I watched some videos and looked at some before/after weight loss pictures yesterday and it is amazing to see some of the results people have gotten. My reason for doing this is not so much for weight loss, instead I am looking to be in better physical shape, tone my muscles, and be firmer in general. I am nearing my 30s and have been told by numerous people that often your 20s are forgiving, in that you can eat what you would like and not worry too much about gaining weight. But I think once you hit your 30s and get closer to your 40s there are more health problems that can start to surface if you don't look after yourself. I may be a fairly slim person, but I know I am physically in pretty bad shape. I am weak and very inflexible. I am really hoping I can incorporate this 30 mins/day into my life for the next 30 days, and once I have done that it will come more naturally to want to spend time being active. Whether that means investing in a few more exercise DVDs or a gym membership. I would like 2010 to be a year for positive change in my life. No more lazy Angie!!

We're baaaaaack!

It was a very nice Christmas spent with Jason's family this year. It is always so quiet and low key when we spend Christmas with Jason's parents. There are only four of us. It almost seems a shame to cook a big turkey for just four of us. However, we all LOVE turkey sandwiches, so we are glad to have lots of leftovers! We had fun playing our new Simpsons Scene It game as well as a new one called What's Yours Like? Very interesting game that really makes you think.

Monday December 21st we had supper with my family. They all came over and we had Chinese food. It was very yummy! Even though when I called to order I was told it would be an hour and a half for delivery, so we decided to just go pick it up. It was hot and fresh and delicious! We also exchanged our gifts. For a number of years we have been drawing names and only buying one bigger gift for a specific family member. This year I got my dad's name and I got him a shirt, some cashews and an indoor/outdoor wireless thermometer/weather station thingy. He seemed to like it. My sister drew my name and she got me a professional hair straightener. I love it! I should have got one years ago!! It does such a nice job on my hair. Makes it very straight and smooth. I have been using a cheap Conair one for a few years and it would always pull my hair and didn't really make my hair smooth. This one is great!

I was also thrilled to get diamond stud earrings from my hubby! They are beautiful and I have worn them every day since Christmas. They are small enough that they can be worn daily, but big enough that you can see them. They are nice and sparkly and make me feel very pretty :) Thanks sweetie! I also got some perfume, some kitchen utensils, baking pans, toiletries, and a number of other really neat things. I know Christmas is not just about getting presents, so I have to say I was so happy to be able to actually surprise Jason with a gift! Usually it is hard to surprise him! I bought him bright headlight bulbs for his van, as he has commented in the past that he would like to have brighter headlights. He hadn't mentioned it for quite sometime, but I had remembered him mentioning it so I did some homework about them and went for it. He was very excited and surprised :)

Merry Christmas to All

We made it to Swift Current safe and sound. The roads were just fine, a little busy, but I don't think there were any drivers who passed us in an inappropriate/unsafe manner. We even got on the road a half hour before we were hoping to.

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy yourself no matter how you choose to celebrate :)

Perspective

I know I am guilty of feeling sorry for myself. For wishing I had more things, or was skinnier, or had a nicer car, or a better job. Wishing I was more outgoing, or wishing my family wasn't so crazy (but who's family isn't crazy??). But when I stop and think and realize about all the people who don't have a family, or don't have a warm house to live in, or clothes to wear, or food to eat. People who are skinny because they are sick, or people who have no job and have a family to provide for. I need to realize that I am very blessed indeed. I need to make sure I look for ways to help bless others out of what I have been entrusted with.

A few weeks ago at church there was a guest speaker who spoke on entrustment vs. entitlement. How our society is all about feeling entitled to what is theirs. They deserve to have a house and a car and a family and nice things and a fat bank account. When in reality everything belongs to God and He entrusts us with these things. When I look at things from that perspective, I do find it easier to let go of some of my materialistic tendencies. But I am only human, and entitlement is really something we all struggle with, I think. He told the story of losing his son-in-law in a car accident. He said it is not fair to see his grandchildren have to grow up without a dad, or his daughter to be left a single mom. But he said when you realize that we belong to God and it is his choice to take us home when he needs us, it makes the loss a little more bearable. This concept of entrustment is something I have really been working through in my mind in the last weeks.

A great purchase!

A couple of weeks ago at Canadian Tire they had a digital meat thermometer on sale for $10. We have talked about getting one for some time and I assumed that we would probably end up paying $50-60 for a wireless one. When this $10 sale came up we figured we couldn't pass it up for that price, even though it is a corded one.

Last night we made roast beef and tried it out for the first time. Let me just say one thing....YUM! Haha. It was so good, and throughout the meal Jay and I kept looking at each other and saying 'mmm' or 'man this is SO good'. We set the thermometer to let us know when the roast was medium well and that's exactly what I would say it was. There was one end of the roast that was a tiny bit pink in the middle and the other end was more well done. It was so juicy and it put any prime rib I have eaten to shame! With this new kitchen tool, I will never over cook an oven roasted piece of meat again!

Stuck in my head

I had this stuck in my head when I was trying to go to sleep last night. I am glad I was finally able to get it out and get some sleep. I thought I would share it, and maybe it will get stuck in YOUR head too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez8rRUDvpq8

Prayer Request

I got a call yesterday morning from one of my coworkers to say that her mom had passed away suddenly. My coworker was needing to take some time away from work to go to Ontario to be with her family and just wanted to make sure things would be looked after at work for her. If you think of it, please say a prayer for Mieka and her family. Not that it is ever easy to lose a loved one, but it just seems harder at this time of year. Poor girl, I feel so bad for her. But it also gives me extra incentive to make sure that I tell my family that I love them and never take them for granted. Life is fragile.

Girl's Night Out Part 2

Last night was our work Christmas party. I only work with two other girls, so it's nice and quiet. We decided this year to go to Saba's for supper then go bowling. It was a fun night (other than the fact it was -40C with the windchill last night! YUCK!)! I have never been to Saba's and it was quite a unique experience. It is Ethiopian food. I had no idea what to expect from it, but was delicious. Since Mieka was the only one of the three of us who had ever been there, we let her order for us. She recommended a meat and vegetable sample platter (it sort of looked like this, though not all the food looked the same, but I notice there is a hard boiled egg in the middle and ours had that!), so we were able to sample a good number of things. I don't know exactly what half of the stuff we ate was, but it did taste good! I was surprised that you are given rolled up crepe-like pancakes called 'injera' and you rip of small pieces of them and use it to pick up your food instead of a fork. The injera is a little spongier than a typical crepe and tastes like sourdough. It is quite filling. I loved the sauce on the chicken and beef. It is called berbere sauce and it is super yummy and spicy!

After supper we braved the cold and headed to the bowling alley. We played a couple of games of ten pin and let me tell you, Wii bowling is MUCH easier than real ten pin bowling. I can't remember the last time I actually bowled, and I pretty much sucked. I think I maybe got 60 or 70 points in both games. But it was fun and nice to hang out with the girls from work. Tomorrow we are doing our cookie exchange at work and I look forward to trying all the wonderful goodies!! I love food :)

Girl's Night Out

Last night was my evening out with my mom and sister. It was a very nice evening! We had a pretty fancy supper at the 2nd Ave Grill. I have learned though that when I go to that restaurant that it is best to stick with things like pizza, pasta, salads, appetizers. I have found that all three or four times I have tried to have a fancy entree that it has been somewhat disappointing. Last night I decided to try steak, filet mignon to be precise. I can't complain about the steak, it was delicious. The ceasar salad was quite good also. The lack of potato choices is annoying to me. All they offer is roasted potatoes. I don't mind roasted potatoes, but these ones were overcooked and dry. I almost asked for ketchup and one of them was even burnt. However, we decided to share a couple of appetizers to start with and they were very good!! One was baked brie and the other was a Mediterranean platter with hummus, olives and chevre with pita chips. Yum!

After supper we headed over to Persephone Theatre to see Little Women. I have not been in the new location and it is very nice! The play was excellent! Before it started I tried to remember how the story went and I was finding myself not even being able to remember the names of the four March sisters. But as the play started I was quickly reminded of the story. The actors in that play were well cast. I think that the girl who played Amy even looked like Kirsten Dunst, who played her in the movie version. It was a good bit longer in duration than I expected, but very enjoyable! I was shocked when I got into the car to go home and saw it was 10:45pm (it started at 8pm). I would recommend it, as tickets were a very reasonable $27 each! I think I will be going back to Persephone Theatre at some point!

Bring On Christmas!

I think I am pretty much entirely ready for it. This may be the earliest that I have been totally ready. I am done shopping, wrapping presents, baking, decorating. What is left? I guess just sit back and enjoy it.

Tomorrow evening I am going to see Little Women at Persephone Theatre with my mom and sister. I wanted to go see it when I heard about it and thought it would be a fun mother/daughter activity. I also figured since both my mom and my sister have birthdays in December that I would buy their tickets for them and call it their birthday presents. Easy shopping! We talked about it and figured it would be fun to do supper out before the play, since it doesn't start until 8pm. Mom had the bright idea to pay for supper out for Robin and I as birthday gifts because my birthday is at the beginning of January. We are going to the Second Avenue Grill! I am very much looking forward to it!!

This Tuesday, me and my two coworkers are going out for supper (Ethiopian food....should be interesting!) and then bowling. This will be the most elaborate 'Christmas party' we have had at work since I started working there. I am looking forward to it. The three of us get along well, so it should be a fun evening. Then on Friday of this week we are doing a cookie/baking exchange. Each of us is giving the other two, four dozen cookies or squares or whatnot. That will add a great variety to my goodies to share with others this holiday season!

Then I don't have any specific holiday related activities until the 21st. We are going to get together with my family that night to celebrate Christmas, since Jay and I will be in Swift Current on the actual day. We are having mom, dad, Robin, Lorne and the boys over to our house for Chinese food and our gift exchange. I love having an extra Christmas celebration. It helps to spread things out so it isn't all concentrated into one day.

We are heading to Swift Current from the 24th to the 27th. I imagine we will come home well spoiled and filled with amazing food. It is hard to believe that in only three weeks Christmas will be done for another year. Then I have a 29th birthday to look forward to. Oh and our trip to Hawaii Moose Jaw in January to celebrate our 5th anniversary. That will bring us up to nearly the end of January. Hopefully having a number of events to look forward to will help the winter pass quickly. Hopefully...

Ouch

I have wanted to try waxing for a few years. I really don't think I could do it to myself, but I was a little scared to get someone else to do it. When I booked my pedicure for this morning I thought, hey, I will be at the spa I might as well try it. Tons of people do it, and I have even heard them say it's not so bad. I would say that it isn't terrible, but it does feel a lot like having your hair ripped out by the root. I wonder if your skin toughens up if you keep doing it? Cause if it feels like that every time, I don't know that I will keep doing it. But if it gets better I could possibly consider it...