It's Go Time!

My 28 day reboot started today and I am feeling great about it!

It's all about adding daily, planned, physical activity to my life with an emphasis on walking. We had some beautiful weather this weekend and it was a nice push to get outside and do some activities. I did a 8.7km pre-reboot bike ride yesterday, and today I not only exceeded my walking goal but also got in an hour of swimming at the beach. Having a lot of fun and I'm already feeling a boost in my energy level.

I even got excited about doing household chores earlier today, as I saw mowing the lawn and vacuuming as a way to get my step count up (a wonderful practical bonus!).

The weather looks great this week and I'm super excited to get out there and be active.

I hope you had a great weekend whatever you were up to! :)

Walk it Off

I am once again inspired by Ivy over at The Happy Whisk who has been on a 28 reboot to feel better. Earlier this summer she also set herself a blogging challenge, which also encouraged me to do the same. So thank you Whisk for being such a good example (and an awesome Blogger buddy). The thing I'm realizing is that small, concrete goals are the way to go if I want to make something new stick. My brain likes to tell me (and I like to believe) that I can have a vague idea of what I want and just wing it. Only it doesn't work. I've learned that saying: "I'm going to blog more" doesn't actually lead to me blogging more, but saying (and planning): "I'm going to blog every day this month" is specific and short enough for me to accomplish.

So I am gearing up to start a reboot to feel better too. I've been on some lovely walks and bike rides this summer but not as many as I thought I would. My walks or bike rides are usually spontaneous and that spontaneity doesn't happen as often as I think. My thought that "I'm going to walk more this summer" hasn't really panned out because I never actually planned to do it.

So I dug this guy out of hiding and I am making a plan to walk.

When I lived in the city I walked everywhere - no distance was too far.  I wish I had my pedometer back then, because I am sure that I often did over 15,000 steps/day.  I've calculated that a 45 minute walk for me is about 5000 steps, and in Toronto I would actually walk for hours. I was super active but never even thought about it as exercise. I just loved to walk around and see stuff.

In the country I am far less active. Since I turned thirty, I've started to notice changes in my waistline based on that inactivity. They have "the talk" with kids about body changes at puberty, and I think they should have a second talk with the post-thirty crowd about how our bodies change too. My talk would have been a simple statement of fact: "You can no longer eat garbage, avoid activity, and magically stay at your current weight." Past me had it so great and she didn't even know it!

So I'm going to schedule activity (same time each day) and some activity goals (# of steps) so I actually have a goal I can accomplish. The magic number of walking seems to be 10,000 steps per day and according to the Sportline guidebook that came with my pedometer, getting to 10,000 steps should be done gradually based on your current steps per day. They suggested recording your step count for three days and then averaging it to find your "start point". Over the past three days I did just that.

Day 1: 4643 steps          Day 2: 4417 steps          Day 3: 7137 steps

Average/start point: 5400 steps

As someone whose start point is between 5001-7500, steps should be increased by 400/day in order to reach 10,000 gradually. The pedometer has a goal feature, so each day I am setting the goal to be 400 more steps than the day before. Here is my plan:

Day 01:           5800 steps

Day 02:           6200 steps
Day 03:           6600 steps
Day 04:          7000 steps

Day 05:           7400 steps

Day 06:           7800 steps

Day 07:            8200 steps

Day 08:            8600 steps

Day 09:            9000 steps
Day 10:            9400 steps
Day 11:            9800 steps
Day 12:          10200 steps

So in 12 days I should be up to 10,000 steps/day. Hopefully the gradual increase makes it easier for me to maintain. I don't have a treadmill so I'll often be relying on good weather, but I know from my outdoor challenge that even on the rainiest days there are pockets of time when the rain is light enough to get a walk in.

Here we go! :)

Love My Rail Trail

I've decided that this summer is the Summer of Walking. It is also the summer of cycling, swimming, and being outside in general, but I recently read the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed and it reminded me how much I enjoy walking. If you haven't read it, check it out, it is very moving and inspiring. Highly recommended. 

There is a trail near my place that was converted from a railway line. This is my favourite trail for both walking and cycling, though walking requires a lot more bug spray. The trail runs parallel to the road, so it's pretty hard to get lost. Use of the trail is shared with ATVs, dirt bikes, runners, dog walkers, horseback riders, and sometimes groups of summer camp kids. I have always had safe travels on this trail, and have always found the people on motorized vehicles safe and respectful to pedestrians. It is a really positive space.

This is what part of the trail looks like heading North-ish.

And here is the view of the trail heading South-ish.

I realize they both look pretty similar. In either direction, the rail trail is a fantastic place to spend time and I plan on enjoying it as much as I can this summer.

Oh Yeah, You Blend

I love smoothies.

Sometimes for breakfast. Sometimes as an afternoon snack. Sometimes for dessert.

They are quick to prepare, promote the use of straws (win!), and are full of fruits I don't normally eat in non-smoothie form (sorry banana, I can only enjoy you blended).

The following is how my typical smoothie is prepared.

ADD:

(1) Half cup of mixed frozen berries. (2) Half cup of milk. (3) Single serving yogourt or applesauce.

(4) Small banana (cut up). (5) Put in Magic Bullet. (6) Blend. (7) Enjoy!

Weekend Walk

Went walking on the local biking/walking/ATV trail last weekend. The trail is situated around the Wye River, so I got lots of great photos of the water that surrounds it. I would have taken more photos but there was a serious amount of flying bugs biting at me, so each photo left me with two or three bites (mosquitos/black flies/other flying jerks are suckers for my blood...see what I did there?). Next trail hike, I will douse myself with an entire can of bug spray, and maybe bring along a second can just in case. 

**Click on photos to Embiggen**

On the trail bridge looking towards to road bridge

Shadow me taking a photo from a trail bridge

A country road (view from a trail bridge)

Lone flower on the side of the trail

A view of a creek from another trail bridge

The other side of the creek

30 X 30 Challenge

For the month of May, The David Suzuki Foundation promoted something called the 30x30 challenge: spend 30 minutes in nature for 30 days in a row.



I didn't hear about the challenge until mid-May, and I spent most of the month being cranky about the cold and rain, so I missed out on the formal challenge, but have decided to do it on my own in June. Spending time outdoors is important to me, but I'm sometimes too much of a procrastinator to actually get off the couch and go outside. So I am setting this goal so I will actually do it. After the winter we just had, I want to ensure I make the most of the summer weather.

Yesterday was day one, and even though it rained for much of it, I sat outside for twenty minutes in the morning (driven back inside by showers), and another ten minutes during a sunny break in the afternoon. I didn't do anything crazy while I was out there, I just sat in the backyard reading. It was calm and nice. On days when I'm not fearing a sudden downpour, I plan to spend my 30 minutes (or more) walking around and getting some exercise too. Should be fun. 

The only thing I'm worried about with this challenge is the weather. What if it rains all day? Hopefully I can do what I did yesterday and find the small breaks, even if it is just minutes at a time. 

Better get out there.

Evening Walk

We went on a lovely walk through the woods earlier this evening and I actually remembered to bring my camera!

A favourite hiking trail

 

White Trillium - The official flower of Ontario

I have been absolutely loving the beautiful weather lately. Hope you have been enjoying the sunshine too!

Meal Planning Update

We are half way through the last week of our month long meal plan and it has gone amazingly well. It has been so wonderful to not only know what is for dinner but to also have all the necessary ingredients on hand. Who knew a little organization could feel so good?

We have stuck to the plan pretty well, only changing a few things around when we realized that Sunday is too lazy to cook vegetarian, and swapping different meals within the week just because we felt like it.  Also, when we made Chili, the leftovers lasted longer than expected and we replaced Taco night with Chili taco night.  We are being really flexible yet sticking to the essentials of the plan. The only time we ate off the plan was last Friday when my in-laws unexpectedly picked up dinner for us. It is hard to say no to free food, especially on a Friday night when we were feeling lazy.

With the organized menu, we have increased our vegetables intake which was one of my goals.  Lots of salads and steamed veggies with dinner, and I am getting super into sweet potatoes. I mashed one today and ate it with a sandwich at lunch time. It was amazing! We have also ramped up our use of the bread maker, as I've been making tonnes of buns, loaves of bread, and weekly pizza dough.  Home made bread and buns are cheap, easy to make, and taste delicious!

In terms of cost savings, we actually spent more on groceries this month than we normally do. I think it is a case of spending more on the front end and over time it will be cheaper for us.  We bought some staple items that we won't have to buy monthly (a 10kg bag of flour, 2 jars of yeast because they were on sale, etc.), and my freezer is currently a stockpile of meats that will last well into February.  Just based on the amount of food we still have, I am predicting that February we will spend less than we normally do.

The plan for next month is to repeat the meals we had in January, accommodating for the minor adjustments we made.  I think this is a plan that will stick for us!

Freezer Meals - Steel Cut Oats

I love the idea of Freezer meals; just pull something out and heat it up. It's home made fast food. Actually making the food takes time, but the time saved when I am hungry is totally worth it.

I eat steel cut oats everyday for breakfast, and if you've made them before you know they take about thirty minutes to prepare.  That doesn't work for me everyday.  According to the package directions, prepared steel cut oats last 5 days in the fridge, so I used to make them in 5 day intervals.  That didn't work for me either. I first thought about freezing them while watching my friend Betony freeze meals for her daughter using ice cube trays. I did some internet research and discovered that prepared steel cut oats can be kept for 30 days in the freezer and that adults get to freeze their foods in cupcake pans.

Start with Steel Cut Oats.  Have you tried them? I think they have so much flavour and I love the texture.

Cook oats as per package directions. I cook 5 cups at a time, in two different pots, so I end up with 25 portions for the freezer.

Scoop hot, cooked oats into freezer containers.  I use a cupcake pan and a mini loaf pan, each portion measuring about 2/3 cup.

 
Freeze for about 2 hours.  Remove from freezer for about 5 minutes to loosen edges. Remove portions from cup cake pan and put in a resealable Ziploc bag and return to the freezer.

Pop in microwave when ready to eat and enjoy quick steel cut oats.  I eat mine with cinnamon, 1 tbs dried cranberries, and 2 tbs chopped walnuts.

Buckets Full of Green

Part of my new meal plan is scheduling salad.  Believe it or not, my mind doesn't generally think of salad when it is thinking of side dishes. French fries? Sidekicks? Whipped potatoes? Those things I can think of no problem.  But salad I have to schedule.

Along with scheduling salad, I also have to remember to wash my lettuce/spinach on the day I buy it, or it is pretty much a guarantee that I will not eat it. Cutting up vegetables for a salad is hard enough, so I become a whiny little girl if it is almost dinner time and I have to wash lettuce too. "Aw, do I have to?" Most likely I will just skip the salad if it is not easy to make. I learned long ago to wash lettuce the day I get it, and it will always be ready to just mix and serve. No whiny me needed!

I used to store the lettuce/spinach in large Ziplocs, but recently picked up some plastic containers and they are just perfect. 

Yay salad!!

Meal Planning

John and I are starting a new 4-week meal plan today. We already cook most of our meals at home, but we aren't really organized about it. For example, if we bought a box of hamburgers to have hamburgers one night, we would often times end up eating them for multiple days in a row. We don't tend to keep the fridge/freezer regularly stocked, so we often default to what we have on hand.

                                             John: "What do you want for dinner?" 

                                             Me: "Uh...Well, we have hamburgers. So...hamburgers?"  

It is really easy for me to eat hamburgers three days in a row.

A burger on the third day still tastes pretty awesome.

A downfall of not having enough food on hand, is that we often only have half the ingredients for five different meals, so we can't make anything without going to the grocery store first.  Living out of town, those trips eat into our budget with not only the cost of food, but the needless expense of gas and putting extra KM on the car.  Also, when we go to the grocery store to pick up only one or two things, somehow multiple bags of chips, and/or candy, and/or chocolate end up in the cart too! Hopefully our new meal plan will equate to less trips to the grocery store and in turn less impulse buys in the snack aisle.  

Hey! Who put you yummy things in my cart!

Another bad habit of not having enough food on hand, is I tend to freak out if it is going to take to long to a) buy groceries and b) make dinner.  On those occasions, it is just easier to pick up take out.  So having a meal plan will hopefully curb our take out spending as well.

Our current plan is to:

Eat Healthier:

-Eat a variety of foods we already like, while eating more vegetables
-Eat vegetarian two times per week
-Eat less chips, chocolate, candy (treats)

Save Money:

-Only buy groceries we know we will need for the month
-No wasted gas/KM on impulse trips to the grocery store
-Home made whenever possible; use the bread maker to make buns, bread, pizza dough, etc.

With our freezer, fridge, and pantry FULL of food, we are going to try to stick to our plan for the next four weeks and see how it goes. I am so excited to not have to say: "What should we have for dinner?"  I already know what is for dinner for the next 28 days! January 10th? Shake and Bake chicken legs with steamed broccoli, carrots, corn and a side of mashed sweet potato. Jan 23rd? Tacos.  Mmmmmmm...... 

Purposeful Cycling - By The Numbers

This time of year we eat a tonne of corn on the cob, and our local grower is so close to home that I got the idea to bike ride to corn! I put on a corn carrying backpack, made sure I had my wallet, and set off to get us some farmer corn.

Distance traveled on bike to get corn: 4.5 KM (each way)

Number of corn purchased: 6 (we can't eat a full dozen before it goes off)

Cost of 6 corn: $3

Weight of backpack full of corn (as measured on a mostly inaccurate bathroom scale): 8 lbs

Amount of transit time it took on my bike: 40 minutes

Amount of time it would take in the car: 8 minutes

Number of KM not put on car: 9 KM

Number of degrees it was outside: 27°C

Number of degrees it felt like carrying corn on my back: a million°C

Number of corn eaten by me: 2

Spring BBQ

A few weeks ago when we had those Summer Days in March, John and I fired up the BBQ and had us some Spring steak.  Food and I have been amazing friends this year - we can't get enough of each other!  I keep telling myself that I'm going to stop eating everything soon, but everything tastes so fricken' good.  My new plan is to start walking to work so I can keep up this steady pace of eating.  Google Maps says it will take 3 hours to walk the 17 KM it is to get there, so I better set my alarm early on Monday!  Or maybe I could just exercise at all.  I'll get there.  Until then, here are photos of yummy steak dinner!!

Oh Those Summer Nights

Time is moving so fast for me right now and I don't want to miss out on summer.  I almost had myself convinced that I couldn't do summer activities because I get home too late from work (6:00pm) and by the time I have dinner it is too late to do anything. Not true!! The weather has been so beautiful over the past three weeks and it has lasted well into the evening.  It is daylight until almost 10:00pm so I have time.  What I often lack is the 'get up and go' energy after being at work all day.

Wednesday night I knew I needed to get outside, but after dinner I felt tired, and the urge to do nothing started creeping in.  John encouraged me to go out on my bike anyway, which I slowly got ass my ass in gear to do, and I woke up in a big way.  It was only my second bike ride of the season so I wasn't sure how far I could go.  When I got on my bike, it just sort of drove itself to the beach.  Once there I kicked off my shoes and got almost knee deep in the beautiful, clear, warm, gorgeous water. The wind was blowing, so there were also big, beautiful waves that kept crashing into me. I didn't have my swimsuit with me, so I just enjoyed the water on my feet and the sights and sounds of the beach.  It was just lovely and I wholeheartedly agree that life is better at the beach.

The bike ride home is uphill the whole way and I really got a good work out doing it.  Halfway home, John met up with me in the car, to offer a ride if I was too tired to bike the whole way.  I was happy and energized and was more than able to make it home (up all the hills), but I find it sweet that he cares.

Thursday night we finally got a parking pass so we drove down to the beach for a quick swim.  I'm overjoyed that the water is not freezing at 8:00pm as I really want to spend as much time in the water as I can this summer, and after work is my prime time to enjoy it.  I will get to enjoy some daytime swims this summer too, as I had a day off yesterday and my Bro's came up and we spent three wonderful hours at the beach.  Looking forward to going back sometime this weekend and then every beautiful evening for the remainder of the summer.  Can't wait!

Cat Yoga

This morning Gary thought she would help me do some Yoga.

Gary inspects my Warrior pose

Gary kicked me off the mat and began her own Yoga routine

Maybe this is the cat version of a Torso Twist?

Such flexibility!  I think Yoga is working for her...

Doing her cool down...

In Winter, Every Day is Blue Monday

Yesterday was widely reported as being Blue Monday, or the most depressing day of the year.  Unfortunately, the "science" that decided it was the most depressing day of the year is based on arbitrary factors and funded by people trying to sell you stuff.  In other words, advertising that sounds like truth.  But I guess it makes a good news story, and a good leaping off point for a blog...

Yesterday was actually a great day.  The sun was shining, I got a full nights sleep, and I got a pile of work done.  In winter, days like that can be rare.  The noticeable absence of the sun, the constant threat of snow storms, having to wear a coat, boots, hat, mitts, and a scarf AND STILL be really freaking cold all the time, can be a real downer.  Despite how beautiful winter can be, and despite how much I love cuddling in blankets and wearing sweaters and pajamas, winter kinda sucks.

For one thing driving is harder.  I recently got my first car so I am still really hyper about it, so icy roads, white outs, and heaps of snow covering the car are my new enemies.  Thankfully my car came with snow tires, so I am feeling less edgy about driving in the wintertime than I have in previous years.  Even with the tires, winter driving is still a lot less fun than clear-blue-skies summer driving.

Another thing about winter is the constant gray days and the dark nights that stay well into the morning and come back far too early in the evening.  Even the days where the sun does show up, it is -20°C or colder out, making indoors the only wise place to be and cabin fever something you have to fight off.  No wonder it's hard to stay happy!

One of the ways I am trying to combat my Winter Blahs is by dosing myself with Vitamin D.  I take 1000 IU per day and hopefully that makes my body happy, regardless of all sun it is missing out on.  I have also been fighting cabin fever by engaging in hobbies that keep me from going crazy, redrum style.  Scrapbooking, knitting, writing, and reading are all key to my indoor mental health.  I also have to make sure I get regular exercise, as exercise is definitely a mood enhancer for me.  I have some work out videos that get my heart pumping, and on any sunny day that is above -5°C, I'll brave the cold and go out for a walk.

Even if there had been hard evidence, I don't agree that yesterday was the most depressing day of the year.  I would place such a day somewhere in February, as that is when we realize we still have a month or more of this shit to get through.  One of these days I'm going to get myself some snow pants so I can at least try to enjoy the snow while it is here.  Until then, bring on summer!

You Say You Want A Resolution

Happy New Year!!  New Years is that wonderful time when the calender changes and we tell ourselves it's a good time to start fresh and accomplish all those things we put off last year.  I think this someecard is pretty fitting:

www.someecards.com

So like everyone else this time of year, I am actively trying to eat better and exercise more.  Mostly I am just walking more and have made a clean break from all the junk food that had been a staple in my life since Halloween.  Things are going well so far.

One of my new habits is eating Oatmeal in the mornings.  Oatmeal is a regular breakfast for me, but until last week I was instant packaged all the way.  I had myself convinced that not only was cooking oatmeal way more work, it also tasted gross.  I discovered that I was wrong on both assumptions.  For the past eight days I have cooked the oatmeal and it takes about as long as boiling the kettle.  As for the taste, it tastes good for you - but not in a bad way.  It is also hearty, so it feels like I am eating a meal.  Plus 10 packages of instant oatmeal costs $2.00 for only 400g.  A bag of Quaker Quick Oats is $2.50 for 1000g.  It's an awesome deal too!

Here is how I have been preparing my morning oats:
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup quick oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 cup chopped walnuts

Bring water to boil and add oats.  Let simmer on low for 4 minutes, adding cinnamon and ginger while cooking.  Pour into a bowl and add walnuts.  Enjoy!

I am going to check out Bulk Barn sometime this week and see what other fun things I can add to my oatmeal.  Do you like oatmeal?  What do you add to yours?

Backyard Explorer: Forest/Marsh Behind the House Edition

It was a beautiful sunny day out there today so we went exploring in the forest behind the house.  It is wonderful being outside at this time of year; the air is so fresh and the bugs are minimal.  The woods are wonderful too - I find bushwhacking to be really fun exercise!  Plus there are many neat and interesting places to explore in the woods.  Sounds like an adventure!

Sunny day on the marsh #1

Sunny day on the marsh #2

More marsh.

Look what a beaver did!

Good job beaver!

Here's another beaver take down!  And this is a big one!

Nice marsh reflection #1

Nice marsh reflection #2

I'd Take the Summer Heat Over a Summer Cold

Achoo!   *Blows nose*  
Achoo!   *Blows nose*  
Achoo!   *Blows nose*

Blurgh.  :(

I woke up yesterday with a runny nose and a scratchy throat.  And I blew through an entire box of Kleenex, pun intended.  I have a stupid summer cold!  It is not completely debilitating but it is definitely irritating!  My nose is already bright red from having to blow it so much.  Boo!  That is my reward for having a fun weekend, I guess!

On the positive side of things, I haven't had a cold since last November, so way to go immune system for keeping me healthy for so long!  Great job!  Another positive is that I spent my sick time yesterday reading Fool Moon, the second of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.  Butcher writes fun stories and being sick isn't so bad when there is an entertaining book to read.

I'm taking it easy, dosing myself with Tylonel, vitamin C, and green tea, and trying to stay positive.  Here's hoping I feel better soon! :)

Life's a Beach

This is the public beach that is a simple bike ride away from my house.  Feeling exploratory yesterday, I took a tour down to the beach to see how far away it actually was and see if it was plausible that I could ride there, swim, and ride back.  I discovered that not only is it super quick to get there (15 min) the ride there is mostly downhill. Beautiful.  Which begs the question, how have I not done this before now?

Recently I have gained a tremendous amount of confidence in my bike riding.  I used to think places were much farther away then they actually are, and I also underestimated my energy/ability to get to and from a destination.  For whatever reason I believed that my body was going to give out or break or something equally awful that would leave me stranded wherever I set out to be.  Anxiety is really stupid, isn’t it?  All my positive bike rides this summer have allowed me to let go of most of these fears and gain the confidence to go anywhere I want to on my bike.  I am not trained to do a Tour de France or anything, but within safe distance it is pretty much a sure bet that I can get there and back on my own energy.

I wasn’t just fighting anxiety on this one, I was also suffering from a case of not remembering where I am.  Because I live here, I often forget that I live in cottage country.  Near a lake.  People struggle through horrendous traffic on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons to enjoy this, and I often ignore it.  Shameful.  To my credit, the past few summers have been rainy and about eight months of the year is cold or snowy, so it has been relatively easy to forget.  Also, the beach has become more and more privatized over the past few years, so there are only a handful of public access points and even less parking spaces.  There is an increase in ticket-happy by-law officers who have no problem writing $60 tickets for anyone parked in the wrong spot.  We luckily have a parking pass, but it is still a gamble whether there will be a free spot and we only have one pass, so if there are more people who want to swim than seat belts, it is an added complication.  So how happy am I that I figured out that I could ride my bike to beach and not worry about parking?

I did my test ride to beach last night and if the sun keeps shining l might take myself of a trip to the beach this afternoon.  Very excited. :)

Public access point to the beach.

One of the "Township-owned beach areas"

The trail to the beach with my happy bike.

 Art shot of my bike at the beach.  The kick stand just sunk into the sand,
so I had to hold it up.  Hence the close up.