The Words of Another: Ross Rebagliati

"We're sending our Canadian soldiers overseas to create a democracy in a foreign land, and a lot of them are paying the ultimate price.  And we can't even bring ourselves to vote here, when we have the right and privilege?  To me, that's unacceptable."

-- From an interview in Maclean's, November 16th issue

Happy happy joy joy

Word of the day: hap-pi-ness (noun) Good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.

Sometimes bad stuff happens and when it does, it really sucks. But sometimes, from the bad stuff, good stuff arises. This is what has happened to me recently.

My weekend was a little rocky. There’s no need to dwell on that because it happened and it can’t be un-happened. But from all the rockiness, I’ve found I’ve emerged with a renewed sense of optimism. I don’t know why it took bad stuff to make me realize there are things in my life that I need to fix, but I’ve realized it now and I’m actually a little thrilled to have figured it all out and to be working towards bettering certain relationships in my life.

The main one is the relationship with my mother, which has been rocky recently. After this weekend, I’ve made the necessary grown-up steps to start fixing this and I feel so good about it. Why, oh WHY, didn’t I do this sooner? Sometimes I wonder if my depression battles keep me down more than I realize, even when I am managing it. It’s like if something bad happens, I let it permeate every aspect of my life and just wallow in the badness and sadness. And that, my friends, just sucks.

I’m also working on the relationship I have with my brother, who I love so very, very much but who I’ve fallen out with lately. He’s a bit of a challenging personality and I’ve let that get in the way (bad big sister!) but no more! I want to have a better relationship with him and I’m more than capable of making the first step to fixing it, so I’ve done that.

And I feel ridiculously happy about all of this. It’s contagious too; I’ve started feeling happier about my job (I’ve felt in a bit of a funk lately) and I’m feeling great about other things, like my tiny, messy yet gloriously bug-free apartment and the upcoming holidays (which in the past have stressed me out more than they ever should have) and even the fact that it’s dark when I leave work. I kind of love this feeling and so I think I’ll hang on to it for awhile.

I’m also hoping to see other things in my life get better and better: other relationships (platonic and romantic), my opinions of myself, my health and fitness, even my sleep patterns.

In fact, my sleep is already getting better. The past two mornings I have woken up with my blankets still on me, rather than in a messy heap on the floor due to me tossing and turning all night.

And, honestly, I don’t care if this sounds cliché or Oprah-esque. This wonderful November weather is definitely helping too.

It’s a happiness WIN!

A little off the top

Word of the day: pro-gress (noun) A movement toward a goal or to a further or higher stage.

Here I am, two weeks into my healthy kick and my endeavor to lose 30 pounds by the time I turn 30. 

Two weeks in, I should have lost 4 lb, to ensure I meet my goal.  So far I have lost...2.5 lb.  So it's not the required 4 lb but hey - I lost 2.5 lb!  I'm actually pretty damn proud of that number. 

I'll be completely honest, I haven't exactly been going all-out.  There were a couple of nights when I was feeling a little down and decided a dinner of bad-for-me-burritos was needed to cheer me up.  However, my most excellent beau dissuaded me from buying ice cream on Saturday night, for which I am (now) grateful.  At the time it was tempting to overrule him but I'm glad he was encouraging of my goals. 

Even though I'm not on track the way I had hoped to be, this just might work for the best because everything I've done so far is something I can maintain and that is what's most important.  And I've also realized that I need to weigh myself weekly.  Many weight loss schools of thought discourage this because the number can be depressing and slightly skewed (since muscle weighs more than fat); instead, you should go by the way you feel and the way your clothes fit.  With me, I gain and lose weight all over so I need to lose quite a bit of weight to really notice I've lost.  Because of this, getting on the scale weekly and seeing the number go down is a pretty positive thing.  So I'll keep doing it.  Who knows, I just might make it after all!

The Words of Another: a Rogers employee

"I'm getting into an elevator and I think I'm losing you.  So much for the commercials with the guy in the elevator talking on his phone on Rogers."

- Overheard in an elevator at work

Empty

Word of the day: help-less (adjective) Unable to help oneself; weak or dependent.

Sometimes, things are just really shitty.

Eggs-ellent

Word of the day: yolk (noun)  The yellow and principal substance of an egg, as distinguished from the white.

I've been really into eggs lately.  Many dinners over the past two weeks have consisted of veggie omelets and weekend breakfasts, of course, have also involved eggs.  And again tonight I am having eggs for dinner but since I'm not feeling all that well - due in part to fighting off yet another cold and in part to still hurting from having dropped a board game on my face** - I'm cheating and having a fried egg sandwich.

Mmmm...fried egg sandwich...

I really do love eggs.  And last night at the gym, I overheard a trainer telling her trainee why it's better to eat the entire egg and not just egg whites.  (Why bother with trainer sessions when I can just eavesdrop on conversations and covertly stare during the exercise part?  At least that's the excuse I give myself.)  But the trainer said that there are all kinds of good bits in the yolk, like vitamins and stuff, that you don't get from the white.  And while protein is split 50/50 between the yolk and the white, there are things in the yolk that help you better absorb all the good things in the entire egg.  (To be more specific, the yolk contains most of the calcium, iron, zinc, B6 and B12 that is found in an egg and all of the carotenoids, essential fatty acids, vitamins A, E, D, and K.)  This made me feel a bit better about my egg consumption because I've always thought the yolk was the best part.  Especially when it's a bit runny and I've got a slice of flax bread to dredge through it. 

Mmmm....runny yolk...

Eggs make me happy.

**I suppose you're wondering how I managed to drop a board game on my face.  Let me tell you...last night I was tidying up and reorganizing some stuff, which included putting board games away on a shelf in my closet.  I had a stack of three of them and as I was putting them on the shelf, Trivial Pursuit began to slide off towards me.  I tried to brace the game with my forehead but I missed and the edge of the box caught me across the bridge of my nose.  It hurt like a motherfucker and broke skin and I now have a lovely little red gash across the top of my nose.  It also made my head hurt and chewing hurt for a bit this morning.  But I'm pretty much better, except for said red gash.  I'm wearing glasses, which helps hide it, but if I push my glasses too far up my nose (read: where they are most comfortable) it hurts.  Stupid Trivial Pursuit.

Love thyself

Word of the day: na-ked (adjective)  Being without clothing or covering; nude.

I'm at home sick today so I'm making the most of it by seeing what daytime television has to offer.  One show I've seen on the TV Guide channel but never watched is How To Look Good Naked, on the W Network.  I've avoided this show based on the title, mainly because I didn't want to watch another show that has women nipped, tucked, primped, primed and otherwise altered into a manufactured kind of beautiful.

So imagine my surprise when I discovered that How To Look Good Naked doesn't actually involve any kind of surgery or extreme dieting or weeks of bullying exercising; instead, it's just about making women feel good about themselves just the way they are.  (Yes, eating properly and exercising are good habits to have, but sometimes it's okay to feel good about yourself the way you are.  Really.)


I feel I must note, though, that the show is British; I find that any shows coming from across the pond tend to feature more ordinary folk and are more accepting of the "imperfections" that are frowned upon here in North America.  (Just Google Image Coronation Street and you'll see what I mean.)


So it doesn't surprise me that the Brits have made a show that makes women feel good about themselves without sucking all the fat out of their midriffs.  And - AND! - most amazingly of all, the show never once calls women plus-sized or emphasizes that they wear a size 12 or 14 or numerically measures anything. 


It's a little mind-boggling actually, but in a good way. 

Channeling my inner Richard Simmons

Word of the day:  trans-form (verb) To undergo a change in form, appearance, or character; become transformed.

Remember when I posted about getting all healthy and weight-loss-y, starting November 1?  Well, I really did mean it and I really am trying.  Really.  It's just a little daunting right now. 

I think I've mentioned before that I am the least patient person I have ever met.  I'm just not good at it at all.  So when it comes to something like losing a chunk of weight, I get impatient and wonder why it can't just all happen all at once.  C'mon, body, get thinner dammit!  So this will be a huge exercise in patience for me, for sure - unless I just lop off a leg.  That would definitely do it.  Hmmm....

I have weighed myself so I know my starting weight and I know my target weight and I'm not sharing any of those numbers (at least not yet...and likely not ever).  I have said I want to drop 30 lb and that's about all I'm going to say.  I respect people who can blog about that kind of thing, who are comfortable listing their starting weight and measurements; I'm just not one of those people. 

But I've got a bigger issue to deal with than sharing numbers and that's the little nagging voice in the back of my mind saying, "You can't do this! Nyah-nyah-nyah!"  Stupid little voice.  To be quite honest, it is much easier to buy larger clothes and tuck into a pizza but I'd just rather not.  So I'm going to try.  I will slip up.  I will not reach all my weekly targets.  I will eat chocolate.  But I will keep trying because, in the long run, it really is good for me. 

Or I could just lop off that leg.

Trick or Treat!

Word of the day:  Hal-low-een (noun) The evening of October 31; the eve of All Saints' Day; Allhallows Eve: observed esp. by children in costumes who solicit treats, often by threatening minor pranks.

Isn't Halloween just so much fun?  I always enjoy it that much more when I have a costume that I really love and think is great.  This year I went as the Paper Bag Princess:

Aren't I adorable?

I also had the opportunity to hand out candy while in full costume glory and I was pleasantly surprised to find that children of the next generation knew who I was.  Of course, I think all children should know the awesomeness that is Robert Munsch; in fact, it should be required that all children, upon exiting the womb, be gifted with The Paper Bag Princess and Love You Forever.  When I become Supreme Paper Bag Princess of the World, this will be the first law I pass. 

And isn't my dragon just the best?  Many thanks to the beau for his excellent crafting skills in transforming a dollar-store alligator puppet into a ferocious, castle-eating, snooty-prince-snatching fireball of power.  Grrr.