I can't view my old posts or my blog. I wonder if this will get posted.

In the past, I've always backed up all my blog posts by copying and pasting them to a Word document. I haven't done that at all this year. I keep meaning to. I must not wait any longer! As soon as my blog is accessible, I'm copying all those suckers!

Anyway, I had my body comp assessment today. My bodyfat percentage has dropped 3.1% since my last assessment! I was thrilled! I thought I went down like 1 - 2%. I also thought it might be higher today since I'm all bloated. Unfortunately, when I get assessed again next month, I will be in the exact same situation.

What situation is that? My goodness, I am loving my trainer. That's not the situation. But today he asked me where I was in my cycle. He had a feeling. I asked him how he knew, and he replied with, "it's my job." Anyway, later on, he told me he could tell I was retaining water. How observant is he?!!? 

I wish I wasn't retaining water right now...Since my last assessment, I'd gained 3 pounds. But since last week, I'd gained about 6 pounds, 4 from yesterday. How crazy is water retention!! I think I'd be consuming a little too much salt in the last few days though...all accidentally!!

I'm wearing some high quality jeans. I've had them for several years and they haven't stretched out. They've been fabulous! I do know that I have to be a certain size for them to feel comfortable. It's a joy when I can pull them on and do them up and not bulge over!

Anyway, I don't know how I discovered this, but I *just* discovered it ...by looking down at my crotch I guess. But my jeans are extremely worn out on my right inner thigh. Skin is only being covered by some dense threads!! My left inner thigh is experiencing something similar but not to the same degree. It's only starting to fray on the left.

I hope nobody notices, and I hope these holes don't get any bigger today!!!

I know I've prided myself in being a power Google user, but I haven't been able to find a specific recipe I had bookmarked and then deleted.

I know some websites are not optimised for search engines, but still...*sniff*

I baked some cranberry pumpkin muffins a couple of weeks ago and thought the recipe wasn't worth saving. But I keep thinking about those muffins now and wish I had kept the printout! I also deleted the bookmark. Maybe there is a better pumpkin muffin recipe out there where I can just add in some fresh cranberries.

I would really like to see that recipe again!

Lululemon has come out with a new sports bra called the Ta Ta Tamer, and it appears the only colour it comes in right now is WHITE!

This bra is made for bustier ladies.

I guess it is meant to be worn under the clothes and not by itself.

A coworker of mine introduced me to someone that was going to be working in our office for 3 months...only she kept using the wrong name. I thought about correcting her, but I didn't want to embarrass her.

I didn't seem so bothered that she got my name wrong because she knows who I am when we see each other.

I've been trying to find a good mineral makeup line, but I like to try before I buy. Unfortunately, the brands in the stores don't interest me, and ultimately I would like someone to teach me how to use it. Over the summer, Affera Cosmetics had a booth at one of the farmer's markets so I tried out her stuff. Since the lighting was horrible, I ended up getting the wrong shades for my face. She kindly exchanged what I had purchased, but the new colour still isn't really a good match for me.

Her prices are not cheap. And I don't think the value I got for foundation was very good. The darker colour I had purchased was good...my face wasn't shiny at the end of the day. But the colour I'm using now...it's not yellow enough, and there are large pieces of powder in the container, and it doesn't provide enough coverage Anyway, for my next credit card cycle, I'll buy some samples from another website that has gotten good reviews.

I also watched UFC for the first time on the weekend! It was a little gruesome but riveting at the same time. I would like to watch some more!!!!!!

Voldemort's tardiness really sucks. I wish he would do something about it. He was 45 minutes late for reservations he made for a group on Saturday night. He's always late!!

And the fall Vancouver rains have begun. The boots I bought last year...ones that I bought from a store that sells raingear...now leak. My feet do not stay dry in these shoes!!!

My trainer complimented my legs today. *teehee* But they could be even better ONCE I CHANGE MY DIET.

I am fully aware of my progress being an impeded by the fact that I am still eating certain kinds of carbs...(hello, my lovely baking). Basically I need to cut those out. I'm not ready yet. However, after my next body comp assessment, I probably will...just for the home stretch. I really am dying to do more baking with my pumpkin and apples. I have found one awesome blog does uses sugar free (and gluten free?)  baking. Unfortunately, she's sort of on hiatus right now.

I also need to do intense workouts on my own; only it's hard to push myself when I am by myself.

And running...time to get back into that too. I won't let my shin splints get the best of me!

Tonight I am going to bake peanut butter cookies for Voldemort's birthday. I hope he still likes peanut butter. I also really need to get some more eye drops. My eyes have been extra dry the last couple of days. I don't think I am dehydrated though.

I do not want to be addicted to sugar again.

Thankfully, the sweets I am currently eating do not bring me pleasure, and I am finding them way too sweet!

I have been trying to read up on sugar substitutes like xylitol, erythritol and stevia. But I hear that that stuff can also be toxic. Sounds like we just need to avoid sweets for the most part.

I'm also trying to find a good oil for my stir fries. I've used canola for a long time, but now people are saying grapeseed oil is great! On the other hand, grapeseed oil is high in Omega 6s and we are consuming too much of those. Why couldn't someone come out with a grapeseed blend with canola or olive oil??

I plan on roasting pumpkins again this weekend! Can't wait!!

Ever since I moved out of my last place, I've been in my strata's bad books.

They tried to fine me for not providing enough notice when my tenant moved in. They sent me a letter but they made typos and didn't specify enough detail for them to "catch" me. I sent my response with proof that I had provided sufficient move-out notice. (They said move-in and move-out in the letter, so I picked move-out one.) I asked for a written response which I never received.

Instead, I received another a letter yesterday saying that my tenant didn't provide a specific form within two weeks of moving in. I asked the property manager I hired for some more information about the incident. He showed me that they had submitted the form. Maybe my old strata will find try to find something else to ding me with. I have to hand it to them for being efficient in making sure things are run they want them run. (Great revenue generators them little things.)

Anyway, I had a payment deducted from my account for some fee which wasn't even for my property. I am waiting to get some clarification on that. I think it's also almost time for me to dispute a charge that billed to me a month or two ago at my old place. They were checking fire alarms and they weren't able to test my suite because I had already moved out. On the bill it says they did not test my unit, yet they want me to pay. 

Hmm.

And where is bawdy??

I've been really congested for months, and I'm not sure what the reason is. I can't taste much.

I would really like to enjoy tasting the things I make! Tonight I plan on baking cranberry pumpkin muffins.

I really need to do something about my oven. Does anyone know the trick to moving an oven? My oven is slanted, and I would really like to have it on an even flooring, so my food cooks evenly. That would be the ultimate treat for me.

I baked my first pie on the weekend!! I was really nervous about the pie crust but it turned out okay!!!! Okay for a first timer anyway :) And I made pumpkin pie. I really enjoyed it. Now I just need help with consuming it!!

Mr. Nick and I spent a very rainy Saturday morning and afternoon at an Apple Festival. I had told myself I wouldn't go overboard this year. We (er, I) seem to buy more and more apples every year. This year I bought 16 bags. Each bag has AT LEAST 3 pounds of apples each. I have about 120 apples drying in my living room. We needed to dry them out so they don't rot when I put them back in their bags. I am really looking forward to cooking with them. I used to eat an apple a day but I don't eat as much fruit as I used to. I almost only eat fruit after a workout.

I hope the numbers that are inching back up on the scale is due to the muscle I've been getting back. I don't like that the bodyfat percentage is going back up either. Maybe it would help if I stopped eating sweets...Duh. BWAHAHAA I wonder how accurate my bodyfat scale is. It probably isn't but I just needed something to gauge my progress at home.

Oh! And my work contract has been extended until the end of March 2010!! What a relief that I don't have to be job hunting at this time of year!!! I'll keep hoping that they will continue to extend my contract!!

I had a great workout this morning. I didn't get dizzy! My trainer told me that I was the strongest female that he was currently training. He said that I give up too quickly when it comes to completing a set. Anyway, he wants me to be his strongest and leanest. At some point I'm going to have him design a meal plan for me. I wonder how easy it will be to follow. Anyway, my body is tired.

I've been having a lot internal discussion with myself in regards to me working on my personal development and leadership and how I see my relationship with Mr. Nick. I do worry about how things will play out since we are not on the same path in that regard. It is okay that he is not interested in personal development. He doesn't do anything to hold me back -- not that he goes out of his way to support me. That is okay, too. I know like-minded individuals who can support me that way.

What has been bothering me lately is that I perceive him to treat me like an enemy as opposed to an ally. Maybe I need to stop telling him my opinions. I'm not out to get him, and I do want to see him achieve his dreams. I feel like he already thinks that I am not going to be supportive of whatever he does before I even say anything. I don't know if it's possible to be in a relationship with someone when there's that kind of disconnect. It saddens me to observe this.

Last night I took him to a presentation about the courses I took. I've expressed to him several times how this one course in particular would really benefit him and us. For me, I gained a lot of insight into how I approach life, and it made me realise that now is the time for me to do the things I've always wanted to do. Because if I died tomorrow, I would feel like my life was not complete yet. I would want more time.

Anyway, one exercise during the presentation we did was to write down things that we've wanted to do in life. Mr. Nick did not want to share those things with me. Of all the people in the world to share your dreams with, wouldn't one of the top people be your partner? And as for his reluctance to take the course, he said he was afraid that I wouldn't like to see him gain something from it in the case that our relationship didn't benefit from it. Who thinks that about their girlfriend?

I'm not sure if I want to get it off my chest directly with him now or if I should just change my actions (and reactions) over time.

I'm meeting my old coach for coffee at a Tim Hortons tonight before I go to group hypnosis.

There is nothing that I can consume at Tim Hortons. If it was a fancier coffee place, I'd have more choices.

I do not drink coffee because I am highly sensitive to caffeine.

Same reason I do not drink tea.

I could get a hot chocolate but it's just sugar water. No thanks.

Maybe I will just have a juice but even that is sugary.

I will not be eating doughnuts either.

Maybe I should get a decaf latte! I think that might be my only choice?! Ooh or a decaf mocha?!

Today they're going to announce all the road closures and parking restrictions through the city of Vancouver when the Olympics are happening. I can't wait experience them! I'm not sure how different it's going to feel in the city.

My office is planning on shutting down for those two weeks. Everyone has been encouraged to use their vacation days during that time. I won't mind since I have some event tickets! Hopefully I will still be working in this office at that time.

I hope I have nothing to worry about since my boss hadn't brought up anything about a contract extension in a while. I sent him an email about it, and he said he'd talk to his boss and get back to me by the end of next week. That is a little long, in my opinion, but what can I do other than hope for the best??

Ugh, my coworker just complained to me about our company "forcing" us to use our vacation days for the Olympics. She stated that she will probably not take time off and just work from home. If the policy isn't going to affect her, why does she need to complain? And if she doesn't like the policy, I'm sure HR would love to hear her feedback.

I was looking at my hydro bill today and it told me my account was past due. I always make my payments on time, and when I looked at my bank records, I could see that I made a payment.

Then I realised I was paying into my old hydro account. Idiot!!

I don't know if now my tenants get that account number, or if they get a new one.

I guess I will call the hydro company tomorrow and see if they can do anything about those payments that I had been making incorrectly.

Who knows who I had been paying for, but there was a credit that was going into my current account because of that other one!

GAH!

On a good note, my Rock Band guitar now works properly since we calibrated it manually according to the manual's recommendations. Using the auto calibration with an HD TV did not work so well. 

I"m also on a pumpkin craze. I am in the midst of putting together a pumpkin chocolate layer cake, and yesterday, I roasted two little pumpkins for puree. I have like 4 pumpkins left. If I would have been able to, I would have bought more more sugar pumpkins at the Farmer's Market.

Heck, I'd been paying $1.29/pound for a pumpkin at the store. But at the Farmer's Market, they were $1/pound. And then then there was one booth that was selling them for a dollar EACH!! I grabbed the biggest one I felt I could carry home. Man, I wish I was able to buy more. I might have to start putting them on my balcony.

And my smoke detector is getting worse in terms of sensitivity. I pan fry up some burgers -- it goes off. I stir fry some vegetables -- it goes off. I cook bacon in the oven and open the door -- it goes off. Any time it gets a little warm in the kitchen, it goes off. I heard that vacuuming would help, so I tried it. No avail. What can I do about my sensitive smoke detector??!

I am still amazed at the changes my body is experiencing as a result of my detox. I wonder how they work. I'm seriously not eating all that differently. I was eating this way last year when I was training with the crazy woman (crazy in a good way), but my weight was not dropping like this! As part of the detox, the only supplements I'm taking are fibre, milk thistle, and laxatives. My stomach is flat again! I fear the numbers on the scale will go up again when I start eating other foods. But since I am working out harder, my metabolism will go up.

I had my second training session today. I told him I wanted to work out at a higher intensity and I got it -- to the point I felt lightheaded. I just did some quick reading, and it looks like staying hydrated, eating before my workout, and getting enough iron should do the trick.

Anyway, I can't wait to see where my body is at in one month! I wish I had taken some photos last week. I didn't think I would look any different from the detox! Maybe I should start now...

If I was never expected to tip again, I'd be a happy camper!

Anyway, I'm really glad I switched insurance brokers. My last one, although appearing very efficient, did not properly cancel one of my policies. My credit card was charged when I should have been getting a refund! Anyway, my new agent fixed the problem. I'm just waiting for the refund to appear on my credit card bill.

And my waxer talks a lot...about herself and what is going on in her life. Sometimes my visits to her really drain me.

I also found some at home laser hair removal device. I must do some research on it!

Oh and time to call about getting a laser surgery consultation.

Edit: Or not...There are no good days of the week this month or next...not until I am done coaching.

Monday nights I have to get home early for my weekly work meeting and I have group meditation.

Tuesdays I have a few conference calls to attend throughout the whole day.

Wednesday nights, if I can't go to meditation, then I have to go to hypnosis. I also get into work later because I have training sessions in the morning. I've designated that night for myself to relax.

Thursday nights are designated nights for Mr. Nick.

Fridays are days I train as well, so I work late. It's also my night to relax.

Who knows if they're open on the weekends.  I have plenty to do then as well.

I could always book an appointment but this last month I have already had to change 3 appointments of various sorts. It would be just easier to wait.

I went for my annual eye exam yesterday, and reflecting back, the guy I saw last year was absolutely horrible. HORRIBLE! The good optometrists (or rather, the ones I like) always end up leaving the clinic... :-/ I hope the one I had yesterday doesn't.

Anyway, I've been having concerns about my vision for the last couple of years, especially night vision. I always worry that my eyesight is going to get worse. I'm extremely nearsighted -- -11.00 and -11.25 with mild astigmatism. My night vision hasn't been so good and I see double-ish with the lights.

Turns out my vision issues aren't because of my eyes getting worse!! My eyes are just really dry and irritated. I had a feeling part of my issues were due to dryness because this came up a few years ago. I used drops everyday 4 times a day for a few months, and my vision improved greatly. I thought the improvement was permanent...BWAHAHA Guess I am going back to the drops. I am also going to take the extra step of using an extra solution with my contact lenses. The doctor noticed some irritation on my eyelids and attributed it to an allergic reaction to my solution.

So more drops!

I actually contemplated getting laser surgery for my eyes and asked him about it. He said I was in the ballpark for it and all I needed to do was go get a consultation with a laser clinic to see if I have enough tissue for the surgery. Now that I have hope that I am able to get the surgery, I would really like to look more into. IN the past, I just feared that the technology was too new and I wasn't sure what the super long-term effects were going to be. Fingers crossed!

I started training with a new trainer today. I can't wait to start seeing results! I have no problem working out on my own, that's for sure, but I find that when I am seeing a trainer 2 - 3 times a week, I see results much more quickly. I'm also challenged, which I like. I think he and I will be mostly focusing on my upper body and be using the TRX. I guess that is fine. I will do my legs on my own. I vow to do weights 3 or more times a week.

Most curious is that he says I would greatly benefit from running, based on my body type. I do have to admit that I felt pretty good when I trained for my 10K (my one and only). Right now, I get shin splints, and I know it's a result of really tight calves. He suggested I go for massage and to stretch. For how long until I can run again?! Not that I am fond of running or any kind of cardio, but I did start liking it more when I was able to run for more than 5 minutes...BWAHAHA

And a bonus about where I train is that the gym is right by Whole Foods!!! I love going to that place, and when they have something on sale, it's a GOOD sale. The thing is that Whole Foods (and Capers) are not really close to where I live. I choose not to make special trips for Whole Foods, but whenever it's convenient, I make sure to go. So after my workout today, I bought about 6 pounds of food. All this stuff had to go into my backpack. Most of the weight came from the sugar pumpkin and cans of pumpkin puree I bought. I am going back on Friday! The downside is that I can't purchase things that require refrigeration. There are a few other things  on sale I would like to buy!! I had to break it up.

I got Jay Leno tickets today too. I'm not a huge fan, but I brought it up to Mr. Nick that he was coming to town and he wanted to go, so I got us some tickets. I'm so grateful that I am good at looking for things on the Internet. I was able to find the presale password without about being part of the special club! I also got us some tickets to watch the Canucks practice this weekend. I love that the tickets cost $0, but Ticketmaster charged a $4.25 processing fee. 

One thing I have to do soon, which I am slightly dreading because I fear bad news, is to talk to my boss about my contract that is ending at the end of the year. He's said that it's very probable/most likely that my contract will be extended again, but I have yet to sign anything. And he hasn't given me a verbal promise. I know people like me at this company and they want to keep me, but if they use budget as the excuse, what can I do?

I am also having Rock Band problems. I don't know if it's me sucking in a major way or if it's my game! I don't think either option is more favourable. BWAHAHAHA

My feet are freezing! I'm cold!

BUt I don't want to turn on the heat. BWAHAHA I am not ready to see the increase in my power bill yet!

I also need to call the cable company soon to update my services. I wonder how much I will be paying for cable, and I wonder if I could scam them into giving me another 3 months of free service?? Doubt it. Not that I would feel right about doing that either.

I'll stick with my HD channels but no movie channels and no HBO Canada either (for now). Even with the opportunity to have movies at my beck and  call all the time, I'm not really watching them. If anything, I can also just get video on demand or go to the video store! YEAH!

My coworker that usually reminds me that my contract ends at the end of the year didn't do it today! Woo!

She works in the office twice a week, and on one of those days, we usually chit chat, and these chats are freaking long. They're usually about an hour. She tells me A LOT about her kids. Sometimes I think moms should only be friends with other moms because as a person with no kids, I really don't have an interest in what "cute" things your kids do or what's going in their lives. I can almost say that I don't care.

I have nothing against moms. I'll probably be one some day. But once a woman becomes a mother, her whole mindset changes. Her life becomes all about her child. I joke with The Godmother that she and I can't be friends if one of us is a mom and the other one isn't.

Another coworker of mine who is great to chat with talks about his kids a lot too. He keeps talking about how I'll have kids one day. And then this other coworker keeps telling me to hurry up and have some. After all, my biological clock is ticking and at some point, my womb will not be hospitable!

Anyway, I had a GREAT weekend. I took Friday off, which I greatly needed. If it wasn't for the presentation I had to do, I would have taken the day off earlier in the week. I had a chance to relax and do A LOT of tidying up at home. The living room is just about complete. I'm not sure what to do with all my home theatre wires running across the floor. The dining area is almost complete, too. The next big thing will be the 2nd bedroom. That will take some time, but at least I know that it's all do-able if I have a big chunk of time at home!

Oh and with my great weekend of cleaning and purging, I also cleaned my bathroom. For the first time I ever, I grossed myself cleaning my own toilet!!! Thinking about it makes me want to hurl. I am not a fan of low flow toilets!!

I'm supposed to do a joint presentation today.

The other person who is also doing it keeps changing. And I have no idea what they're saying, Nobody sent me any slides or an updated presentation of mine, and nobody even gave me a summary of what they were going to say!

This had better be two separate short presentations going on today because I know my material very well now!! No time for changes!!!!