Well day two down and I have done not a hell of lot at work. The good thing is I am getting paid, the bad thing I am not producing. I have no computer, no login ID, no clue as to who is whom, and what I am going to do the rest of the week. We are working tomorrow and taking Friday off which is much better especially for the guys heading home to Toronto or Calgary or Edmonton. I plan on hopefully being organized and having a place to live, and shopping for said place this weekend. Nothing is more fun than buying stuff for a new house.
I sent a nasty lil email to the hiring agency I come under. Seems the question I asked them 3 TIMES and emailed them again to CONFIRM , was not enough for them to get me the correct answer. I asked them to confirm I had a vehicle, and they said yes every time, so I was good to go right up until the time I got to site. Where it was confirmed “NO vehicle for you!” I won’t dwell on this now as I am really pissed off right now. So on with the show……..
The hotel I am staying at is great, comfortable, friendly, great price; great breakfast in the morning and a great location for a visitor to this hamlet er city of Regina. I just realized it takes 20 minutes to get to anywhere’s in the city pretty much. I am going to look at an apartment tonight and it is 4 minutes by car from the refinery. I am contemplating maybe getting a bike and riding to work. That would be kewl!
The city does have two YMCA but of course the swimming schedule at the one near my place favors retirees, pregnant woman, EI beneficiaries and Stay at home moms and dads. All the family swims are during the night hours and adult swims during the day. It is opposite at the other one downtown. Hopefully a member hip is good at both. I would like to use the YMCA, but I would like the choice based on the facilities.
The people here are really friendly it seems, except when they have a steering wheel in front of their face, and then they become Beowolf! I think the green Saskatchewan license plate means “Student Driver” or Stupid driver? They seem to be really aggressive here, more so than Alberta. Maybe it is just me driving in unfamiliar territory, and I am not use to the Regina rush hour requirement.
I think I will be ok here, just will take some time to get use to the place. Wish me luck on the house hunting tonight.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sum it up..BBQ..Golf..Planes...and Travel!
Wowzer, it has been 4 days since I posted something and I actually had some grief from a couple people, so I guess I know at least 2 people are reading this besides myself.
Well the last 4 days has been busy, I have been trying to get ready to head to Regina and get some of the last minute things done. Ironically I also had two BBQ Friday and Saturday and a golf game Saturday to squeeze in. So It was hectic and I do apologize for not updating this blog. I am striving to do it at least every other day.
So I have been successful in the weight loss front again. I have hit the 250 mark which means at least to me, I will be in the 240’s starting next week (I hope) and I have not been in the 240’s in over 5 years! Pretty neat eh! I just have to get into the hotel gym while in Regina and make sure I work out. I haven’t ran the last couple days because Cathy and I (more Cathey than I!) decided to weed the front lawn as it looked like the Amazon forest. We spent over 2.5 hours picking weeds, but it got done. That was on Friday. My legs still have not recovered! I ran a couple miles after that and that was a bad idea. So I have taken two days off to try and not be walking like a duck from all the squatting to pull weeds!
I had Mikey and Vaughn over for a BBQ Friday, and it turned out really nice. It was my first time meeting Mikey’s partner Vaughn, or Von as I call him(less typing!) We had steak and potatoes and salad and broccoli and Wine and I made them lava cake and ice cream for desert. It turned out really nice. We chatted and ate and they left at around 10:30. Mikey was happy that both Von and I behaved whatever that was suppose to mean haha.
Saturday I had to golf and actually had a decent game. I couldn’t hit anything the first 3-4 holes but I got better as we went along. I ended up with a 96 (not including the 6 or 7 mulligan’s) But still I was happy with my improved game. I even drove the green on the last hole 296 yards. Now if I can just get a little more consistent I will b happy. After golf, I had the Kutryk clan over for another BBQ. It had been a while since they had been over for a dinner. We did steaks again dinner and then watched a movie. It was quite nice. I even baked pies in between my golf game and dinner (the crust sucked this time).
So as I mentioned I was heading to Regina, and I did manage to get all the things done around my house, I managed to pack all my belongings EXCEPT my camera little point and shoot camera. I could not find that sucker anywhere’s. I had seen it earlier in the week, and I had even picked it up to make sure it was in the case, because I wanted to bring it with me. I searched for that camera until 2:30am Saturday night; I had to get up at 6am. Needless to say I was a bit tired. I was a little pissed off as I was completely organized with everything else. I had my bags packed the night before, my MP3 players loaded up, house cleaned. I was set to head to Regina, and then 1 teeny tiny thing drove me crazy. But Alas no camera. So I decided I would check all bags again, and recheck them when I get to Regina to see if I packed the darn thing.
So the trip to Regina was pretty uneventful. I was up at 6am, in a Taxi at 7:30am, in a plane at 9am, and in Regina on time at 12pm. I mean the trip was painfully boring, no crashes, no hijacks, no in-flight emergencies, no rushing to catch a plane/taxi/car. It was pathetic. I arrived safe and sound, and checked into the hotel downtown I will update you on my first couple days in regina tomorrow! Must run to and get ready for that thing they call work!
Well the last 4 days has been busy, I have been trying to get ready to head to Regina and get some of the last minute things done. Ironically I also had two BBQ Friday and Saturday and a golf game Saturday to squeeze in. So It was hectic and I do apologize for not updating this blog. I am striving to do it at least every other day.
So I have been successful in the weight loss front again. I have hit the 250 mark which means at least to me, I will be in the 240’s starting next week (I hope) and I have not been in the 240’s in over 5 years! Pretty neat eh! I just have to get into the hotel gym while in Regina and make sure I work out. I haven’t ran the last couple days because Cathy and I (more Cathey than I!) decided to weed the front lawn as it looked like the Amazon forest. We spent over 2.5 hours picking weeds, but it got done. That was on Friday. My legs still have not recovered! I ran a couple miles after that and that was a bad idea. So I have taken two days off to try and not be walking like a duck from all the squatting to pull weeds!
I had Mikey and Vaughn over for a BBQ Friday, and it turned out really nice. It was my first time meeting Mikey’s partner Vaughn, or Von as I call him(less typing!) We had steak and potatoes and salad and broccoli and Wine and I made them lava cake and ice cream for desert. It turned out really nice. We chatted and ate and they left at around 10:30. Mikey was happy that both Von and I behaved whatever that was suppose to mean haha.
Saturday I had to golf and actually had a decent game. I couldn’t hit anything the first 3-4 holes but I got better as we went along. I ended up with a 96 (not including the 6 or 7 mulligan’s) But still I was happy with my improved game. I even drove the green on the last hole 296 yards. Now if I can just get a little more consistent I will b happy. After golf, I had the Kutryk clan over for another BBQ. It had been a while since they had been over for a dinner. We did steaks again dinner and then watched a movie. It was quite nice. I even baked pies in between my golf game and dinner (the crust sucked this time).
So as I mentioned I was heading to Regina, and I did manage to get all the things done around my house, I managed to pack all my belongings EXCEPT my camera little point and shoot camera. I could not find that sucker anywhere’s. I had seen it earlier in the week, and I had even picked it up to make sure it was in the case, because I wanted to bring it with me. I searched for that camera until 2:30am Saturday night; I had to get up at 6am. Needless to say I was a bit tired. I was a little pissed off as I was completely organized with everything else. I had my bags packed the night before, my MP3 players loaded up, house cleaned. I was set to head to Regina, and then 1 teeny tiny thing drove me crazy. But Alas no camera. So I decided I would check all bags again, and recheck them when I get to Regina to see if I packed the darn thing.
So the trip to Regina was pretty uneventful. I was up at 6am, in a Taxi at 7:30am, in a plane at 9am, and in Regina on time at 12pm. I mean the trip was painfully boring, no crashes, no hijacks, no in-flight emergencies, no rushing to catch a plane/taxi/car. It was pathetic. I arrived safe and sound, and checked into the hotel downtown I will update you on my first couple days in regina tomorrow! Must run to and get ready for that thing they call work!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
From one Extreme to another less one
So the last couple days I have been feeling a little bit loss more so because I was geared up to be at work this week. I think that having completed most of my running around last week, has made me create things to do this week, one being my favourite thing shopping! But that is bad because I am spending unearned money! So today I woke up fairly early, and ended up messing around with my network for about an hour. That threw my plans off for the day. I had planned on several things including running, driving range, baking, cleaning the den and garage. So far....none have been struck off my list. However I am planning on running right after this blog is complete and my clothes dry(I just threw them in the dryer cause I forgot about them!) I suspect I will get a few things done today, and what i don’t complete today I will rally to do tomorrow.
So a couple positive things happened in the last two days, I found a ring I thought I had lost on the golf course. I had put it in my golf bag, and about halfway through the game, I noticed the zipper pocket was open, probably from me getting replacement balls for the 9 that I had lost...anyways, when I searched the pocket I noticed the ring missing. We had been driving like maniacs and hitting speed bumps so I figured the ring had joined my lost golf balls. The ring actually was wedge in my spare glove I kept in that pocket. So that really made my day. The other thing is my cleaners called back and are going to start cleaning again next week. I had to lay them off due to me not working but now that i am back in the work force I can afford a clean house again!
I have started back down the weight loss path again, after going up and then remaining for about 5 days. Since then, in the last two days, I have dropped a couple pounds again. I am back on target and hopefully with a couple days of running, I will be right on target. I have a new goal. I was playing around with the BMI(Body mass index) calculator, and instead of shooting for 245 by 10 July I am now shooting for 244.9...why you ask??? Well it is because at 244.9 for me, I go from being “severely overweight” to “Moderately overweight” Doesn’t that sound much better...Moderately....”He was moderately over weight.....He was moderately late....He was moderately annoyed...He was moderately ugly” It beats being severely over weight or severely ugly! The other good thing is I went from “Extremely Over Weight” to “Severely Over Weight” since I started. Now that hard part is losing the weight. I have to lose 9.7 lbs in the next 18 days, which will be a feat, that’s almost half a lb a day! I think I can do it, and I think once I am in Regina working it will be easier. I am staying at a hotel with a gym and a pool and I plan on making use of both. It has been years since I swam but I know swimming is one of the best exercises for me.
Well I have completed my blog for today, and I am now ready to take on the rest of my list. Until tomorrow...have a moderately nice day!
So a couple positive things happened in the last two days, I found a ring I thought I had lost on the golf course. I had put it in my golf bag, and about halfway through the game, I noticed the zipper pocket was open, probably from me getting replacement balls for the 9 that I had lost...anyways, when I searched the pocket I noticed the ring missing. We had been driving like maniacs and hitting speed bumps so I figured the ring had joined my lost golf balls. The ring actually was wedge in my spare glove I kept in that pocket. So that really made my day. The other thing is my cleaners called back and are going to start cleaning again next week. I had to lay them off due to me not working but now that i am back in the work force I can afford a clean house again!
I have started back down the weight loss path again, after going up and then remaining for about 5 days. Since then, in the last two days, I have dropped a couple pounds again. I am back on target and hopefully with a couple days of running, I will be right on target. I have a new goal. I was playing around with the BMI(Body mass index) calculator, and instead of shooting for 245 by 10 July I am now shooting for 244.9...why you ask??? Well it is because at 244.9 for me, I go from being “severely overweight” to “Moderately overweight” Doesn’t that sound much better...Moderately....”He was moderately over weight.....He was moderately late....He was moderately annoyed...He was moderately ugly” It beats being severely over weight or severely ugly! The other good thing is I went from “Extremely Over Weight” to “Severely Over Weight” since I started. Now that hard part is losing the weight. I have to lose 9.7 lbs in the next 18 days, which will be a feat, that’s almost half a lb a day! I think I can do it, and I think once I am in Regina working it will be easier. I am staying at a hotel with a gym and a pool and I plan on making use of both. It has been years since I swam but I know swimming is one of the best exercises for me.
Well I have completed my blog for today, and I am now ready to take on the rest of my list. Until tomorrow...have a moderately nice day!
Monday, June 22, 2009
To do list day...and internets
What a boring day today was. I did get up pretty early by EI standards, and I did do some paperwork involved in the new business, but I didn’t do much else. I managed to get my QuickBooks software to work after talking to the help desk that you seen in the Movie “Slumdog Millionaire” that was shot in India. Was passed around to a couple of people, and found myself getting frustrated and even raising my voice to a couple people. The funny thing is these people in India on the help phones react better to a pissed off customer than a calm one. The other thing they did is they kept trying to sell me shit, unlimited help support for $19.99 a month, upgraded version of the software, more licenses for more computers. Again this started to piss me off. They even called back and asked me if I had thought about it and decided to buy more shit. I explained that if I want more shit I will buy more shit! I am a professional shopper but I only want to buy shit when I want shit, not when they want to sell me their shit!
I then called CRA and sat on hold for an hour, and as i was waiting for the red answering to clear, I was surfing the web, and I was able to set up my payroll account on the internet in 7 minutes. So after wasting 53 minutes on hold, I was able to do what the government pay others to do in hours, in 7 minutes! I thought that it was kind of neat that the government is getting it, and allowing us to do more on the internet, which means less time on hold.
I almost have all my “To Do List” completed before heading off to Regina. I am not sure how often I will be back or which days I will be back (like a weekday) so want to have everything done that has to be done. Anything I can do VIA the internet is good.
So after I decided to go for another run, and managed to get another 4.1 miles in today. That’s almost 10 miles in two days or 16.5KM in 2 days. That’s not bad, but I was feeling a lil soreness in my knees so I need to take it easy. The good news is, as i have been avoiding talking about the last 4 days is, I have lost weight again. I had gained 1lb on Friday after doing a restaurant t lunch and then pizza and cheese bread for supper. The next day I weighted the same and then the next day after the BBQ Saturday i put on .2 lbs. Now it may not sound like a lot but when you are celebrating every gram of weight you lose, gaining even a lil bit is frustrating! Now the good news is have lost the 1.2lbs I gained and another .2 lbs today when I weighed in. I am hoping that tomorrow will have a similar result, and then I will be back on track. I have 18 days to lose 10lbs before my reunion in Ontario. (That’s my new goal after reaching the last goal 3 weeks early!)
Well must go make myself some dinner, its left over broccoli, rice and feta chicken! Mm mm good!
I then called CRA and sat on hold for an hour, and as i was waiting for the red answering to clear, I was surfing the web, and I was able to set up my payroll account on the internet in 7 minutes. So after wasting 53 minutes on hold, I was able to do what the government pay others to do in hours, in 7 minutes! I thought that it was kind of neat that the government is getting it, and allowing us to do more on the internet, which means less time on hold.
I almost have all my “To Do List” completed before heading off to Regina. I am not sure how often I will be back or which days I will be back (like a weekday) so want to have everything done that has to be done. Anything I can do VIA the internet is good.
So after I decided to go for another run, and managed to get another 4.1 miles in today. That’s almost 10 miles in two days or 16.5KM in 2 days. That’s not bad, but I was feeling a lil soreness in my knees so I need to take it easy. The good news is, as i have been avoiding talking about the last 4 days is, I have lost weight again. I had gained 1lb on Friday after doing a restaurant t lunch and then pizza and cheese bread for supper. The next day I weighted the same and then the next day after the BBQ Saturday i put on .2 lbs. Now it may not sound like a lot but when you are celebrating every gram of weight you lose, gaining even a lil bit is frustrating! Now the good news is have lost the 1.2lbs I gained and another .2 lbs today when I weighed in. I am hoping that tomorrow will have a similar result, and then I will be back on track. I have 18 days to lose 10lbs before my reunion in Ontario. (That’s my new goal after reaching the last goal 3 weeks early!)
Well must go make myself some dinner, its left over broccoli, rice and feta chicken! Mm mm good!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
The father the son and the cool new drill!
So I am writing this a little later than normal as I had a busy today, no not because it was father’s day, although I did celebrate since I have a father, and know several others. So what better way to celebrate than on the golf course? I was up early , 3rd time this month to an alarm clock, and I was home late last night after going to my friend Bill’s for a bbq with other friends. It was an awesome night. I enjoyed the company and the relaxed atmosphere, and let’s not forget the wonderful fattening food! Anyways, I left after 10 and was in bed around midnight to get a half ass sleep before golf today.
It was funny because I thought the golf tournament today was suppose to be yesterday and originally I had booked my flights to be in Regina, well my Regina trip got delayed a week which allowed me to play today which I am glad I did because although I still suck at golf, played better today. AND I won a real neat expensive rechargeable drill with two batteries and a charger! How cool is that! And I also won a shirt and a bag! So it was a great father’s day for me. Thank god my father lives way far away so i get to keep my bounty for myself!
I did call my dad today....right after golf and he was enjoying a drink with my little sister and my mom. It sounds like my brother and sisters remembered to call him and visit as well. Its good because although it may seem like a little thing now not to call, to a dad no matter how grumpy he is, or how much he pretends it doesn’t bother him, it does. As our dads get older well you end up running out of them father’s days. I always think of that song, the Harry Chapin song “Cats in the Cradle” when I think of Fathers day. I have lived away from home since I was 17 years old. That’s a long time. I think i want to try and get home a couple times a year to see the family more so now because as we get older as well, family moments are harder to come by, so again you have to try and make them frequent.
After golf today I designed my new business cards with the help of my friend who designed my Logo. As you can see I added it above. I think it looks fancy enough without over doing it. Who knows, maybe I will be famous some day! If a circus guy can become a billionaire why not me!
So after screwing around with my business card i realized i did not get my 20km run in this week. My friend Danni came by yesterday when I was about to start my run and well we ended up schoosting. So feeling guilty and the fact that I had two BBQ steaks two days in a row, I through my gym gear on and went and ran...5.05 miles! That’s right miles! That’s about 8.5KM. I feel great that i did it, and it was after 7pm, and I did play 18 holes of golf today, but still, it felt good. I have to admit I needed a good day of exercise to jump start me again as I gained .2 of a pound again today. So hopefully when I jump on the scale tomorrow morning I will be down below the 254 mark or close to it. I have a feeling I will be seeing 253. Wish me luck.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Weekend Warrior...
So I missed a day, which isn’t bad I guess. I baked some really healthy bread Thursday a friend of mine gave me the recipe too. It turned out pretty decent. Maybe I will post the recipe here at the bottom of the post. A buddy came over and we played Xbox and did some schoosting as he calls it! Killing terrorizers on the game Vegas Rainbow Six. We often play Vegas 2 however it has been a while since we played the first one. Now that i have two Xbox's and two TV’s set up, we have our own screens to play on, which is more fun than sharing!
Yesterday I played some poker with a group that I hadn’t seen since Christmas. They have a group of guys that have had a monthly poker game for the past 4 years. A couple guys worked with me in Bantrel, that’s how I got invited to this. Well the night started out bad, I think I was down like $200 at one point, when cashed in for another $50. The rules are pretty simple, $50 buy in, and then you can buy in again once you are below $50. So if you have $49 after folding, you can go buy $50 more. The good thing is, it keeps you grounded when you are only cashing in $50 at a time, when you do the walk of shame over to the money pot. I did it 5 times!! I had no shame! Haha! So by the end of the night I finished up winning the last hand with an all in bet no one called on. I ended up with $200 in front of me and only down $50. The big winner was Jeremy, one of my old colleagues’ sons up $750, and the biggest loser was one of the guys that left early down about $300. So probably out of 10 guys 2-3 were down $50 or so and 2-3 were up $50-100. So it is a pretty good game. And to some this may sound like a lot, but most of these guys are engineers, lawyers and managers so they can afford it.
So my plans to travel to Regina tomorrow were delayed as I mentioned earlier, and I am glad now as I thought a golf tournament I was in was Saturday, and apparently it is tomorrow! Maybe that’s why the delay happened, someone taking care of my mistakes for me. None the less I am now filling in my next week here in Edmonton. I am going to go golfing most twice next week, I am going to visit the Boys at the Bantrel office and I am going to attempt to clean the house. I really have let that go , the cleaning part. I think the house is clean for a single standard, but i know it is not clean by big momma’s standard. That being said, I will reserve a day next week to go through the house top to bottom cleaning. I am bringing my cleaners back to do it for me now that I am working again, but I want to have the house in a decent state before they come back. Isn’t that always the way, clean the house before the cleaners get there!
I was planning on baking some pies today but i think I have procrastinated enough that I won’t have time to do that and get my run in before heading off to a friend’s BBQ for dinner, so it is either running or baking some scrumptious fattening pies, and I have chosen running, I really must be changing! Noticed I did not mention anything about weight loss today, well that's because I am having a bad couple days and I don't want to talk about it!! Haha hopefully an update tomorrow!
Oh on a final note, I went back and realized how bad my spelling really is, I normally work with spell check on because I type so bad, that my spelling sucks! Have taken the time to go back and correct my spelling and grandma errors! (most of them anyways) Now it looks a lot better!
Here’s the recipe as promised......
Bread - Whole Wheat, Multigrain, Garlic and Basil Bread Recipe
Makes 42 servings (12 Slices per Loaf)
Ingredients:
3 cups of warm water
2 packages of active dry yeast (or 1 1/2 tbsp)
1/3 cup of honey
2 1/2 cups of White Flour
2 1/2 cups of Whole Wheat flour
30 ml of basil
5 cloves of Garlic
5 tablespoons of butter
1/3 cup of honey
1 tbsp salt
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup , Original Red River Cereal
Directions
1. In a large bowl mix 3 cups of warms water, with honey and yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes
2. Add 2 ½ cups of whole wheat flour, 2 ½ cups of white flour, 1 cup of red river cereal (it looks like bird seeds) basil and garlic. Mix it all up get your hands dirty if you have to, in order to make sure all is blended well. Make sure you have washed your hands though you might be adding unnecessary flavors to the bread. Let the dough rise until it is doubled.
3. Once dough is doubled my favorite part is to punch it down!!! Then add 2 cups of whole wheat flour, honey, melted butter and salt.
4. You may need some counter space for this. Once I have the dough mostly blended, I dump the rest on my CLEAN! counter and knead the dough until all is blended in well. The dough should be slightly sticky.
5. Weigh the dough and dived it by 3 and separate the dough into 3 loaf pans. And let the dough rise until doubled.
6. Preheat the oven to 350F while waiting for the dough to rise
7. Once the dough has risen and oven preheated, bake the bread for 25 – 30 minutes. DON’T OVER BAKE! This will cause the bread to be dry and hard
8. Once the bread is baked let it cool a little and brush on melted butter to keep the crust moist instead of hard.
9. Eat and enjoy
If you want the nutritional information go here as I published my Sean's bread online:
http://caloriecount.about.com/bread-whole-wheat-multigrain-garlic-recipe-r222835
Yesterday I played some poker with a group that I hadn’t seen since Christmas. They have a group of guys that have had a monthly poker game for the past 4 years. A couple guys worked with me in Bantrel, that’s how I got invited to this. Well the night started out bad, I think I was down like $200 at one point, when cashed in for another $50. The rules are pretty simple, $50 buy in, and then you can buy in again once you are below $50. So if you have $49 after folding, you can go buy $50 more. The good thing is, it keeps you grounded when you are only cashing in $50 at a time, when you do the walk of shame over to the money pot. I did it 5 times!! I had no shame! Haha! So by the end of the night I finished up winning the last hand with an all in bet no one called on. I ended up with $200 in front of me and only down $50. The big winner was Jeremy, one of my old colleagues’ sons up $750, and the biggest loser was one of the guys that left early down about $300. So probably out of 10 guys 2-3 were down $50 or so and 2-3 were up $50-100. So it is a pretty good game. And to some this may sound like a lot, but most of these guys are engineers, lawyers and managers so they can afford it.
So my plans to travel to Regina tomorrow were delayed as I mentioned earlier, and I am glad now as I thought a golf tournament I was in was Saturday, and apparently it is tomorrow! Maybe that’s why the delay happened, someone taking care of my mistakes for me. None the less I am now filling in my next week here in Edmonton. I am going to go golfing most twice next week, I am going to visit the Boys at the Bantrel office and I am going to attempt to clean the house. I really have let that go , the cleaning part. I think the house is clean for a single standard, but i know it is not clean by big momma’s standard. That being said, I will reserve a day next week to go through the house top to bottom cleaning. I am bringing my cleaners back to do it for me now that I am working again, but I want to have the house in a decent state before they come back. Isn’t that always the way, clean the house before the cleaners get there!
I was planning on baking some pies today but i think I have procrastinated enough that I won’t have time to do that and get my run in before heading off to a friend’s BBQ for dinner, so it is either running or baking some scrumptious fattening pies, and I have chosen running, I really must be changing! Noticed I did not mention anything about weight loss today, well that's because I am having a bad couple days and I don't want to talk about it!! Haha hopefully an update tomorrow!
Oh on a final note, I went back and realized how bad my spelling really is, I normally work with spell check on because I type so bad, that my spelling sucks! Have taken the time to go back and correct my spelling and grandma errors! (most of them anyways) Now it looks a lot better!
Here’s the recipe as promised......
Bread - Whole Wheat, Multigrain, Garlic and Basil Bread Recipe
Makes 42 servings (12 Slices per Loaf)
Ingredients:
3 cups of warm water
2 packages of active dry yeast (or 1 1/2 tbsp)
1/3 cup of honey
2 1/2 cups of White Flour
2 1/2 cups of Whole Wheat flour
30 ml of basil
5 cloves of Garlic
5 tablespoons of butter
1/3 cup of honey
1 tbsp salt
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup , Original Red River Cereal
Directions
1. In a large bowl mix 3 cups of warms water, with honey and yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes
2. Add 2 ½ cups of whole wheat flour, 2 ½ cups of white flour, 1 cup of red river cereal (it looks like bird seeds) basil and garlic. Mix it all up get your hands dirty if you have to, in order to make sure all is blended well. Make sure you have washed your hands though you might be adding unnecessary flavors to the bread. Let the dough rise until it is doubled.
3. Once dough is doubled my favorite part is to punch it down!!! Then add 2 cups of whole wheat flour, honey, melted butter and salt.
4. You may need some counter space for this. Once I have the dough mostly blended, I dump the rest on my CLEAN! counter and knead the dough until all is blended in well. The dough should be slightly sticky.
5. Weigh the dough and dived it by 3 and separate the dough into 3 loaf pans. And let the dough rise until doubled.
6. Preheat the oven to 350F while waiting for the dough to rise
7. Once the dough has risen and oven preheated, bake the bread for 25 – 30 minutes. DON’T OVER BAKE! This will cause the bread to be dry and hard
8. Once the bread is baked let it cool a little and brush on melted butter to keep the crust moist instead of hard.
9. Eat and enjoy
If you want the nutritional information go here as I published my Sean's bread online:
http://caloriecount.about.com/bread-whole-wheat-multigrain-garlic-recipe-r222835
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Oh what a day.....
So I started the day off positive yesterday, was down some more weight, was feeling good, heading out the golf course with my new shooting iron, and from there it just seems the lil things bothered me. I played horrible, no wait...terrible...no wait...umm...I played REALLY (capital words) BAD! i could not hit anything. The company was great Marv and Don and Ian from Calgary, but the rest sucked. It was so warm and muggy, yes muggy in Edmonton. I felt like I was back in Houston. It was so uncomfortable, and as they say a bad day at golf is better than a good day at work, when your unemployed, a bad day at golf really sucks! On top of that I lost one of my rings that fell out of my bag, the dent place called and couldn’t fix my the ding on the front, the new job called and delayed my start date by a week, and for some reason my email account is getting bombed by stupid friggin spam. I HATE SPAM! It's like unsolicited phone calls from salesmen, I want to cut their throats! Spam is worse cause you can't track the f@ckers! I will never buy or visit any sites from Spam; I think there should be a movement against companies that send unsolicited emails! Boycott the bastards!! Ok, sorry I was ranting instead of rambling. So needless to say my day was not a great one.
So I sat down today and thought about it and you know what, it is not that bad(EXCEPT THE DAMN SPAM!) The golf although I played bad, I enjoyed being out exercising (and I did a lot of that walking in the woods finding my lost shots) I was with awesome company, the guys at the dent place fixed about 93% of the ding in the hood and i can hardly see it, and they charged me NOTHING because it was not perfect,( FYI The Dent clinic, highly recommended!!) My friend Danni loaded windows 7 on one of my laptop for me, I had a really great meal last night, I even cheated and had cheese puffs, and still was down in weight today, and I now have another week to ie up loose ends before heading to Regina, so overall the day was good. I suppose I could focus on the negative but when I look at the positives, the day was good.
So today i have done this blog a little late, I woke up late, went and had lunch with a friend, and then an appointment with an accountant to discuss what I can write off as business expenses and what I can't ect. I understand a lot more both from my friend Debbie as she owns her own business and from the Accountant, but I still am a little confused on other stuff. One thing I do need to do is set up a payroll account to pay myself some moola to live. I think I need to pick up an accounting program, and start to track my spending ect so i can be organized and know what I am going to pay myself. So I will have to do a business plan budget and a personal one that separates itself from the company.
So Today was ok, a little bit of a slow down and break. I was down another .8 lbs so the cheesy gods were kind to me. I don’t think I will run today, as I am feeling a lil burnt out, but will tomorrow before Poker.
So I sat down today and thought about it and you know what, it is not that bad(EXCEPT THE DAMN SPAM!) The golf although I played bad, I enjoyed being out exercising (and I did a lot of that walking in the woods finding my lost shots) I was with awesome company, the guys at the dent place fixed about 93% of the ding in the hood and i can hardly see it, and they charged me NOTHING because it was not perfect,( FYI The Dent clinic, highly recommended!!) My friend Danni loaded windows 7 on one of my laptop for me, I had a really great meal last night, I even cheated and had cheese puffs, and still was down in weight today, and I now have another week to ie up loose ends before heading to Regina, so overall the day was good. I suppose I could focus on the negative but when I look at the positives, the day was good.
So today i have done this blog a little late, I woke up late, went and had lunch with a friend, and then an appointment with an accountant to discuss what I can write off as business expenses and what I can't ect. I understand a lot more both from my friend Debbie as she owns her own business and from the Accountant, but I still am a little confused on other stuff. One thing I do need to do is set up a payroll account to pay myself some moola to live. I think I need to pick up an accounting program, and start to track my spending ect so i can be organized and know what I am going to pay myself. So I will have to do a business plan budget and a personal one that separates itself from the company.
So Today was ok, a little bit of a slow down and break. I was down another .8 lbs so the cheesy gods were kind to me. I don’t think I will run today, as I am feeling a lil burnt out, but will tomorrow before Poker.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Art of networking
I am amazed at how many calls I have received for job opportunities in the last two weeks. I figured that once things picked up I would receive calls for a job opportunities, However, most of the calls I am getting are not related to the work picking up, rather just normal every day jobs. This coupled with my networking with people I know, I have been given several choices of positions. Now I did accept the Regina job, and I do believe in a bit of loyalty to at least go there and work and see if it will be ok. I would have liked to have made more money, and I think I could have made more money in a couple other roles however, time will tell with this job.
On the health front, I am noticing that when my Blood pressure is a lil bit elevated, my heart rate is down and when my heart rate is up my BP is down, weird eh! I also notice that my BP in the morning is much lower than my BP at night and the opposite for my resting heart rate; it is higher in the morning and lower at night. I am a fraction away from achieving my next weight goal of losing 35 lbs. I Jumped on the scale today and was down to 255.6 Here is this month’s progress so far:
Not bad eh! There is actually a front portion of this spread sheet, but this is the important information that I use to help me keep track of what’s happening. I think if all goes well and I am diligent in Regina, I will be able to drop the 45 lbs before my reunion on the 11 July. If not well I have already reached my golf for this month and in 1.4 lbs I will have reached the reunion goal so I am still doing great!
Well time to shower and get ready for golf, got to try out the new club bought!
On the health front, I am noticing that when my Blood pressure is a lil bit elevated, my heart rate is down and when my heart rate is up my BP is down, weird eh! I also notice that my BP in the morning is much lower than my BP at night and the opposite for my resting heart rate; it is higher in the morning and lower at night. I am a fraction away from achieving my next weight goal of losing 35 lbs. I Jumped on the scale today and was down to 255.6 Here is this month’s progress so far:
| Calories Used by Activities | Daily Calories Burnt | Calories plus/minus | Weight | Weight Plus/minus | RHR | BP |
| 397 | 2927 | -1043 | 269 | 1.20 | 77 | 128-82 |
| 856 | 3376 | -1527 | 267.6 | 1.40 | 0 | 0 |
| 393 | 2903 | -1082 | 266.8 | 0.80 | 74 | 120-78 |
| 743 | 3253 | -1324 | 265.4 | 1.40 | 75 | 122-69 |
| 2085 | 4595 | -1804 | 266.4 | 1.00 | 70 | 122-76 |
| 636 | 3146 | -1516 | 266.6 | 0.20 | 69 | 122-77 |
| 684 | 3204 | -1600 | 267 | 0.40 | 65 | 121-75 |
| 342 | 2852 | -1453 | 264.4 | 2.60 | 70 | 126-79 |
| 453 | 2943 | -1601 | 262.8 | 1.60 | 70 | 123-78 |
| 415 | 2905 | -41 | 261.8 | 1.00 | 68 | 115-75 |
| 297 | 2807 | 637 | 262 | 0.20 | 0 | 0 |
| 1870 | 4360 | -2630 | 261.6 | 0.40 | 67 | 121-80 |
| 622 | 3102 | -1355 | 259.8 | 1.80 | 70 | 129-81 |
| 353 | 2833 | -1661 | 259.4 | 0.40 | 65 | 124-75 |
| 296 | 2766 | -1301 | 257.6 | 1.80 | 63 | 120-77 |
| 845 | 3305 | -2140 | 257 | 0.60 | 67 | 120-79 |
| 2450 | -2450 | 255.6 | 1.40 | 73 | 115-74 |
Not bad eh! There is actually a front portion of this spread sheet, but this is the important information that I use to help me keep track of what’s happening. I think if all goes well and I am diligent in Regina, I will be able to drop the 45 lbs before my reunion on the 11 July. If not well I have already reached my golf for this month and in 1.4 lbs I will have reached the reunion goal so I am still doing great!
Well time to shower and get ready for golf, got to try out the new club bought!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Summer days and Summer are wrong
Well I had another great couple days on the weight loss front. Down to 257 even, as of today. That’s an even 32lbs gone. I even went out yesterday and had dinner and a dessert, and skipped the run. It was a busy day ok! I had to go to the bank and get my business account set up, and go sign my assignment paperwork. It didn't help that I didn't get up until 11:15am! Next week is going to be rough starting back to work.
While at the bank yesterday the banker noticed that my corporate name is spelt wrong. Instead of MSM Materials Management, the company that I paid a small fortune to do it for me, Spelt Management as Mangement. So NOW I have to spend another $160+ to get the name changed to the right name. I emailed the company and they said it was my fault, cause I put it on their website that way when I requested the name, I have no problems taking the blame HOWEVER, in my account on their website it is spelt correctly. Without going too far into this I had a bit an email battle with the lady at "Corporationcenter.ca" (Never use the guys EVER!) If you’d spell it right on my account online then, if you registered the wrong name, which is now the corporate name, which makes it the right name, then what you entered on the website is wrong. lol, I know I am playing with words with here but they wanted to charge me an additional $99 plus the $160 to have THEM change the name!! Sounds like an EPCM company, when we make a mistake our clients pay for it, so we make more money by making mistakes.....ok I am done ranting.
Back to me....so I am going to try and get some things done today, haircut, call an accountant, visit the car repair shop for the ding in my BMW and if I have time stop in Bantrel and say hi! If not, I have 3 days to get 'er done! I golf tomorrow with my friends from CEF and I golf Saturday. So I should go hit the driving range as well today if I have a moment. Yeah being busy is great again. I have a lot more energy as well, and I think that is helping with the weight loss and BP ECT.
I need to Call Cathy as well; she has been hiding from me! Shopping day!!! Gotta run!
While at the bank yesterday the banker noticed that my corporate name is spelt wrong. Instead of MSM Materials Management, the company that I paid a small fortune to do it for me, Spelt Management as Mangement. So NOW I have to spend another $160+ to get the name changed to the right name. I emailed the company and they said it was my fault, cause I put it on their website that way when I requested the name, I have no problems taking the blame HOWEVER, in my account on their website it is spelt correctly. Without going too far into this I had a bit an email battle with the lady at "Corporationcenter.ca" (Never use the guys EVER!) If you’d spell it right on my account online then, if you registered the wrong name, which is now the corporate name, which makes it the right name, then what you entered on the website is wrong. lol, I know I am playing with words with here but they wanted to charge me an additional $99 plus the $160 to have THEM change the name!! Sounds like an EPCM company, when we make a mistake our clients pay for it, so we make more money by making mistakes.....ok I am done ranting.
Back to me....so I am going to try and get some things done today, haircut, call an accountant, visit the car repair shop for the ding in my BMW and if I have time stop in Bantrel and say hi! If not, I have 3 days to get 'er done! I golf tomorrow with my friends from CEF and I golf Saturday. So I should go hit the driving range as well today if I have a moment. Yeah being busy is great again. I have a lot more energy as well, and I think that is helping with the weight loss and BP ECT.
I need to Call Cathy as well; she has been hiding from me! Shopping day!!! Gotta run!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Rolling Along and along and along
Well having a couple days now to absorb the fact I have accepted a job in Regina, I have so many things running around in my mind, and I know I have a lot to do this week before I head there. There is the setting up the bank account for the business, signing the paperwork with the hiring agency, cleaning the house and garage, taking in the car to get an appointment to get the hood fixed. This is a lil over whelming considering the high light of my day the past 4 months has been checking the TSX !
The good thing is I am going to be able to get back to work and I love working! This coupled with my desire to lose weight and the running and stuff, will fill my weeks up nicely. I am excited again, going to working away, even if it is Saskatchewan haha. I love traveling and I love a non boring life. The last few months allowed me to recharge, refocus and relax.
I will also be able to afford to get some things done on the outside of the house now, the lawn or fence or patio. I think the patio this year, and then the grass and fence next year! I want to pay off the lil debt I have and get some more money in the RRSP's.
I signed up for WCB on Friday, and I think I will invest in some health insurance through Blue Cross as well as some liability insurance for "The company", I might as well be prepared just in case.
Speaking of weight, I think I will be in good shape this week to lose a couple more pounds. I think my metabolism has picked up a lot and I am feeling a lot better now. I worked out in the garage today and I was sweating because of being busy and because of the heat. But I felt very energetic. I decided not to run today because I had a sore on my leg from chaffing and I figured I would let that heal for a day and make sure I wrap my leg tomorrow. I also want to get into running every other day and do weights the other days. I know I will have to start working harder to lose weight so I might as well start now!
The good thing is I am going to be able to get back to work and I love working! This coupled with my desire to lose weight and the running and stuff, will fill my weeks up nicely. I am excited again, going to working away, even if it is Saskatchewan haha. I love traveling and I love a non boring life. The last few months allowed me to recharge, refocus and relax.
I will also be able to afford to get some things done on the outside of the house now, the lawn or fence or patio. I think the patio this year, and then the grass and fence next year! I want to pay off the lil debt I have and get some more money in the RRSP's.
I signed up for WCB on Friday, and I think I will invest in some health insurance through Blue Cross as well as some liability insurance for "The company", I might as well be prepared just in case.
Speaking of weight, I think I will be in good shape this week to lose a couple more pounds. I think my metabolism has picked up a lot and I am feeling a lot better now. I worked out in the garage today and I was sweating because of being busy and because of the heat. But I felt very energetic. I decided not to run today because I had a sore on my leg from chaffing and I figured I would let that heal for a day and make sure I wrap my leg tomorrow. I also want to get into running every other day and do weights the other days. I know I will have to start working harder to lose weight so I might as well start now!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Lotsa fun in Calgary, now Back to Work!
Well my trip to Calgary was great. Seen some old colleagues, and had some great meals, way WAY over my allowable calorie count for the day, both days!! BUT it was worth it. I had a few beers for the first time this year, and I met up with my best buds Danni and his bro, who drove back to Edmonton with me. Actually Jon drove because Danni and I had beers. It was the last day of work for many of our friends in Bantrel in Calgary. We went to a lil Irish pub on Macleod Trail.
The mood at the party was not that sombre, it was pretty positive and upbeat. I think people were well prepared for the lay off and I think Bantrel did a great job preparing them. My good bud and former fellow functional manager Hal showed up. We chatted about a few things and my thoughts leaving there was "I hope the business picks up". Calgary is like a doom and gloom city. It’s like the heart was ripped out of downtown. The busiest place was the new court house there. We had lunch with the lady that brought me into this business, my first boss. She had lots great news, bought a trailer and travelling, going to be a grandmother, she was promoted to Director of Procurement. It was nice to hear all that in light of the cloud over the city.
I met with Encana to discuss an opportunity, and it was good opportunity, but not one I think I would want. I am going to try and set one of my friends up with the opportunity though, because........................I took the job in Regina. I am still not happy about the rate of pay and in this economy I am not complaining. My issues is I think they are taking advantage of the market and it will come back to bite them should oil prices spike and all the projects come back. The good news is the package is better and the guy I will be working for is someone I like. SO mark your calendar 22 June, Marty no longer a leach on society.
Oh yeah by the way, all that eating and over indulgence in Calgary, I still loss weight!
The mood at the party was not that sombre, it was pretty positive and upbeat. I think people were well prepared for the lay off and I think Bantrel did a great job preparing them. My good bud and former fellow functional manager Hal showed up. We chatted about a few things and my thoughts leaving there was "I hope the business picks up". Calgary is like a doom and gloom city. It’s like the heart was ripped out of downtown. The busiest place was the new court house there. We had lunch with the lady that brought me into this business, my first boss. She had lots great news, bought a trailer and travelling, going to be a grandmother, she was promoted to Director of Procurement. It was nice to hear all that in light of the cloud over the city.
I met with Encana to discuss an opportunity, and it was good opportunity, but not one I think I would want. I am going to try and set one of my friends up with the opportunity though, because........................I took the job in Regina. I am still not happy about the rate of pay and in this economy I am not complaining. My issues is I think they are taking advantage of the market and it will come back to bite them should oil prices spike and all the projects come back. The good news is the package is better and the guy I will be working for is someone I like. SO mark your calendar 22 June, Marty no longer a leach on society.
Oh yeah by the way, all that eating and over indulgence in Calgary, I still loss weight!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Trips and Speedtraps Hellos and farewells
Well I headed to Calgary today to see some friends, and say hi to some old work mates that have recently been laid off. Tomorrow is their last day at my old company Bantrel, and they are having a get together at a pub here. The trip was good, and I managed to dodge 3 speed traps by our newly appointed sheriffs on the Alberta highways. We can afford more meter maids to make money writing speeding tickets yet we can't solve 50% of the murders in the province. Then again there is no money in murder!
Also some friends of mine from Edmonton are flying back from San Diego into Calgary tonight so I met them for dinner, and they will drive back with me tomorrow night.
As I planned this trip, ironically a friend from Bantrel called me and told me about a work opportunity as well, and I managed to set up an interview with EnCana. The job is a short term job, about 6-8 months up in Ft Mac. I am not overly excited but hey, it’s a job should I take it. I have been negotiating with this other opportunity in Sask, and was suppose to get a call back today on the rate proposed. Nothing yet. I would have liked to have had the offer in hand before today, as it would make tomorrow’s meeting a mute point. None the less, I will head off and see what they are proposing. The way my week has gone, I suspect I will get a call as I am heading into the other interview.
On the weight front, I decided to not worry about ode and tomorrow when it comes to my calorie count. I did run 5km before coming on the trip, and I only ate 600 calories before coming down, so I had lots of room in the diet for a hearty dinner, and it was hearty!! It was my favourite appetizer and dish at one of my favourite restaurants, Moxies. I had the dry ribs and the Penne Tuscana. So good, so fattening, I was stuffed, and I didn’t finish the whole meal! Probably a good thing, as my body was already rejecting the fat in the ribs by the time I got to the hotel.
The good news is though, I lost another lbs. today, and bad news is I think I will find that and maybe an extra 1 or 2 during my trip down here. That’s ok though as I golf on Friday and I will run this weekend. Oh and I did bring my stuff to run tomorrow so it’s all good, I hope no weight gain and with the running I can just maintain my weight, either way it’s all good!
Also some friends of mine from Edmonton are flying back from San Diego into Calgary tonight so I met them for dinner, and they will drive back with me tomorrow night.
As I planned this trip, ironically a friend from Bantrel called me and told me about a work opportunity as well, and I managed to set up an interview with EnCana. The job is a short term job, about 6-8 months up in Ft Mac. I am not overly excited but hey, it’s a job should I take it. I have been negotiating with this other opportunity in Sask, and was suppose to get a call back today on the rate proposed. Nothing yet. I would have liked to have had the offer in hand before today, as it would make tomorrow’s meeting a mute point. None the less, I will head off and see what they are proposing. The way my week has gone, I suspect I will get a call as I am heading into the other interview.
On the weight front, I decided to not worry about ode and tomorrow when it comes to my calorie count. I did run 5km before coming on the trip, and I only ate 600 calories before coming down, so I had lots of room in the diet for a hearty dinner, and it was hearty!! It was my favourite appetizer and dish at one of my favourite restaurants, Moxies. I had the dry ribs and the Penne Tuscana. So good, so fattening, I was stuffed, and I didn’t finish the whole meal! Probably a good thing, as my body was already rejecting the fat in the ribs by the time I got to the hotel.
The good news is though, I lost another lbs. today, and bad news is I think I will find that and maybe an extra 1 or 2 during my trip down here. That’s ok though as I golf on Friday and I will run this weekend. Oh and I did bring my stuff to run tomorrow so it’s all good, I hope no weight gain and with the running I can just maintain my weight, either way it’s all good!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Feast or Famine
It is very typical it seems that when you are looking for a job it is difficult and once you find a job, you get more offers! The last two weeks have been insane. I have been interviewed several times. Just this week I have spoken with 4 potential career opportunities, well not speaking to the opportunities but to the people that are presenting the opportunities. Last week I was speaking to two more, and today I have had two more calls. I was heading to Calgary tomorrow to visit with friends and say hi to some old colleagues. Now it has turned into an interview on Thursday with another client company.
This is great news EXCEPT I have to sit down and make a decision soon. The hard part is a couple opportunities are things I really like, a couple opportunities are great career mores and a couple other ones are big bucks. None are the job are jobs I really like that are great career move paying me the big bucks! That’s called the perfect job I guess. Anyways I hope by the end of this week I have offers in hand and I can make the "A" decision on what I want and move ahead. If things go the way I think they will I will be working by 22 June.
My next dilemma is figuring out this contractor stuff. I set up my own company but I have no idea on how to run it. I don't know what to charge for things, what to expense, what are the rates, what I can write off, what are tax breaks ECT. I am asking questions and trying to understand but I am still lost. I need to investigate more and maybe get some help from an accountant and others that have a company. I also need to set up a bank account, and get a credit card and blah blah...gawd ...seems like a lot work to have a company, and I don’t even have work yet!
Seriously though, it’s been a good start to the week, with the interviews and opportunities and I dropped another 1.6 lbs so I am on target to meet my weight goal for this week and this month, Tomorrow I am off to Calgary to visit friends have a laugh do another interview and then come home Thursday night. I golf Friday, so again I am staying busy which helps when you’re unemployed. I think that this will be short lived and I will be back to not having enough time in my days for the things that need to be done.
Til tomorrow....
This is great news EXCEPT I have to sit down and make a decision soon. The hard part is a couple opportunities are things I really like, a couple opportunities are great career mores and a couple other ones are big bucks. None are the job are jobs I really like that are great career move paying me the big bucks! That’s called the perfect job I guess. Anyways I hope by the end of this week I have offers in hand and I can make the "A" decision on what I want and move ahead. If things go the way I think they will I will be working by 22 June.
My next dilemma is figuring out this contractor stuff. I set up my own company but I have no idea on how to run it. I don't know what to charge for things, what to expense, what are the rates, what I can write off, what are tax breaks ECT. I am asking questions and trying to understand but I am still lost. I need to investigate more and maybe get some help from an accountant and others that have a company. I also need to set up a bank account, and get a credit card and blah blah...gawd ...seems like a lot work to have a company, and I don’t even have work yet!
Seriously though, it’s been a good start to the week, with the interviews and opportunities and I dropped another 1.6 lbs so I am on target to meet my weight goal for this week and this month, Tomorrow I am off to Calgary to visit friends have a laugh do another interview and then come home Thursday night. I golf Friday, so again I am staying busy which helps when you’re unemployed. I think that this will be short lived and I will be back to not having enough time in my days for the things that need to be done.
Til tomorrow....
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Weight was worth it....and the pros and cons
Well I awoke today eager to weigh myself and see if I lost weight after a couple of disappointing days of gaining. BAM! Down 2.6 pounds! I think that weighing myself everyday leads to some disappointment as a friend told me however I like to see what my day is doing overall and maybe tweak it as I go. I did eat a bit less, and I made sure I did not eat in the last couple hours before bed. Not sure if that was the reason but I do know that I officially am down 25 pounds! I just reached a day later than I was (secretly) hoping for. See I try to set a few goals so if I achieve 1/4 then it’s a day in the win column. My basic goals are to lose 3-5 pounds a week for June, 2-3 pounds a week for July and 1-2 pounds a week for August-December. This would allow me to achieve my BIG goal this year of being down 100 pounds. Now that would be me hitting all these targets at the max each month. Realistically, not going to happen, I have holidays planned, bbq to go to, popcorn to eat and beer to drink. But I think that I can achieve over 60% of that goal which means 60 pounds lost in 2009. During the winter I can work on another 20.What I would like to do is play hockey and racquetball this coming winter that would help me get/stay in shape and add to my fitness and enjoyment. It’s been a while since I played either.
Enough about the health nut kick received a couple emails today in regard to some work. One was a reply to me asking if I was still in the running for a job with Agrium, and the other was unsolicited for a job in Russia. The Agrium one is being revamped and they will notify me this week and the Russia one I just filled out a form for the hiring agency. Still I am always excited when I can get some action on the job front each week. It means things are moving forward. Shortly after that I received a call on a job in Regina Sask, and it was from an old client of mine I worked with when I was with Jacobs. He is now with Worley Parsons and is the Construction Manager on the Coop refinery upgrade. Surprised the hell out of me! Without going into too much detail, he basically was calling me to get me onboard and come on the project. I was pretty excited at this point about the project and working with him again. The only thing we were off on was the salary but not that far off that we couldn't reach a deal.
So about 2 hours later the hiring agency called me, to tell me some of the details that my friend had already discussed with me, but the salary they mentioned was again lower than I had discussed with my friend. So I countered with an in between number, about 10% lower than I wanted originally and now I am wondering if I should have. I mean I know I am worth more, and I know that the other two positions I have applied to would pay me a lot more as well, but not working for so long I am eager to get back. They were offering 17% less than I wanted which took me is way below the adjustment in the market place from the recession. The good thing is the job pays an living allowance, bad thing no vehicle, good thing 5 x 10 hour days means more money , bad thing travelling home to Edmonton for a short period of time.
Lotsa pros and cons and lots to think about. This week I feel will be entertaining and exciting to see what offers are made in writing. I am already thinking about buying a work truck for my newly formed company MSM Materials Management! More updates tomorrow. Oh yeah I am in Calgary Wednesday and Thursday so I may be a lil slow in updating this but I will try again tomorrow.
Enough about the health nut kick received a couple emails today in regard to some work. One was a reply to me asking if I was still in the running for a job with Agrium, and the other was unsolicited for a job in Russia. The Agrium one is being revamped and they will notify me this week and the Russia one I just filled out a form for the hiring agency. Still I am always excited when I can get some action on the job front each week. It means things are moving forward. Shortly after that I received a call on a job in Regina Sask, and it was from an old client of mine I worked with when I was with Jacobs. He is now with Worley Parsons and is the Construction Manager on the Coop refinery upgrade. Surprised the hell out of me! Without going into too much detail, he basically was calling me to get me onboard and come on the project. I was pretty excited at this point about the project and working with him again. The only thing we were off on was the salary but not that far off that we couldn't reach a deal.
So about 2 hours later the hiring agency called me, to tell me some of the details that my friend had already discussed with me, but the salary they mentioned was again lower than I had discussed with my friend. So I countered with an in between number, about 10% lower than I wanted originally and now I am wondering if I should have. I mean I know I am worth more, and I know that the other two positions I have applied to would pay me a lot more as well, but not working for so long I am eager to get back. They were offering 17% less than I wanted which took me is way below the adjustment in the market place from the recession. The good thing is the job pays an living allowance, bad thing no vehicle, good thing 5 x 10 hour days means more money , bad thing travelling home to Edmonton for a short period of time.
Lotsa pros and cons and lots to think about. This week I feel will be entertaining and exciting to see what offers are made in writing. I am already thinking about buying a work truck for my newly formed company MSM Materials Management! More updates tomorrow. Oh yeah I am in Calgary Wednesday and Thursday so I may be a lil slow in updating this but I will try again tomorrow.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Sundays and spreadsheets
So I woke up around 10:30 this morning and the next time I looked at the clock it was already 2pm. I did my normal routine, get up, go to the bathroom, go out and make coffee and then weight myself. I put on .4 more pounds from yesterday. I am baffled at this as I had the perfect lifestyle change day yesterday. I ate 400 cals less than my target of 2000 a day. I walk/ran more than a mile more than my normal 2.5 miles (I did 3.75 miles) I had tons of fruits and vegetables with my meals. So I need to know what I need to change or tweak to help me stay motivated.
So I sat at my laptop and was working on a new spreadsheet for my Lifestyle change and vitals monitoring (BP and heart rate) I came up with a pretty decent spreadsheet I think. I have decided that I have many goals now which include the obvious weight loss, getting in shape, better diet, and healthier living. I want to track all the KPI's (key performance indicators) that affect my day, the work outs, the food, the sleep, the types of food and I want to benchmark each one of these to help me meet my goals in the end. I also included my Blood pressure and resting heart rate on the spreadsheet as I stated before these are KPI's (key performance indicators) as well that are helping to guide me. I color coded everything on it, red bad, green good , pink kind of bad, light green pretty good. The biggest change I see so far besides the 22 pounds dropped is my resting heart rate and Blood pressure. It amazes me how much of a difference all the lifestyle stuff affects them two items and how fast the change came! My resting heart rate has gone from poor to excellent in 5 weeks! My resting heart rate this morning was (I took it three times to confirm) 58-63-61.
My Blood Pressure has also improved trememdously. As I stated before, I was high in both numbers. Now just have to work on the upper number but again this morning my BP was 121/75 which is pretty much normal!
So I guess although I haven't lost any weight the last couple days I feel better knowing that I am improving in other areas so the overall assessment for this week for me has been good. i am still down .8 pounds and I am feeling pretty good about things. Tomorrow I will list my goals in the various areas and see what the weigh in brings!
So I sat at my laptop and was working on a new spreadsheet for my Lifestyle change and vitals monitoring (BP and heart rate) I came up with a pretty decent spreadsheet I think. I have decided that I have many goals now which include the obvious weight loss, getting in shape, better diet, and healthier living. I want to track all the KPI's (key performance indicators) that affect my day, the work outs, the food, the sleep, the types of food and I want to benchmark each one of these to help me meet my goals in the end. I also included my Blood pressure and resting heart rate on the spreadsheet as I stated before these are KPI's (key performance indicators) as well that are helping to guide me. I color coded everything on it, red bad, green good , pink kind of bad, light green pretty good. The biggest change I see so far besides the 22 pounds dropped is my resting heart rate and Blood pressure. It amazes me how much of a difference all the lifestyle stuff affects them two items and how fast the change came! My resting heart rate has gone from poor to excellent in 5 weeks! My resting heart rate this morning was (I took it three times to confirm) 58-63-61.
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| Top number (systolic) in mm Hg | Bottom number (diastolic) in mm Hg | Your category* | |
| Below 120 | and | Below 80 | Normal blood pressure |
| 120-139 | or | 80-89 | Prehypertension |
| 140-159 | or | 90-99 | Stage 1 hypertension |
| 160 or more | or | 100 or more | Stage 2 hypertension |
So I guess although I haven't lost any weight the last couple days I feel better knowing that I am improving in other areas so the overall assessment for this week for me has been good. i am still down .8 pounds and I am feeling pretty good about things. Tomorrow I will list my goals in the various areas and see what the weigh in brings!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Frustrations and Expectations , golf and travel
Well the last couple days have been frustrating for me on the weight loss front. I have been stalled at around 266lbs. I actually broke the 265 range before this, but somehow the last 4 days has not allowed me to lose any more. I have been doing exercise, and of course golfing and the driving range, all of which adds physical fitness side and burn calories. I think one of my issues is I see that I am working out so I eat a bit more. BUT my calorie intake is still less than my calorie burn so technically I should be losing weight. I know it can be something as simple as water retention that is creating this, and I have had the same thing happen a week or so, but still to see progress on a regular bases and then not see anything for a few days makes me wonder if it is worth it. I know I know I know it is, but I am speaking from a motivational stand point. I know that the first few days my body adjusted to the lower calories and in the first week it allowed me to lose 9 lbs. They say .5-2lbs is what one should lose a week, and I guess this week I am down 1 lb from 7 days ago which is that range, and I should be happy I am losing weight even if it is only 1 lb. I know this is going to be a marathon and not a sprint. My expectations are still too loose 35 lbs by the time I head to the reunion in Ontario on the 10 July. So I need to lose 12 pounds by 9 July. That’s 33 days, so I must lose 1/3 of a pound a day. I need to buckle down and make it happen. I guess I just made the first step to making it happen!
I golfed yesterday and it was the best game so far this season, although my score was 106 it was still good. My drive is frustrating me, and even though I have been at the driving range 3 times this week, I have not been able to correct many faults. I would my irons have improved and my putting is getting better. My Short game has really improved. If I had to peg how many strokes I screwed up yesterday it would be probably 20 and of the score I had at least 5 penalty strokes. So If I can improve my next game by 20% I should be able to shave 5 strokes off. My goal yesterday was 105 and below. I missed it by 1 so my next games goal will be 104. I think I can do it!
I booked my flights yesterday for my trip to Ontario. I booked 3 flights all in business class for less than a price of 1 seat in business class normally! I saved 230% on the overall cost. Not bad eh. I guess I am spoiled in that I hate travelling in economy in the smaller seats. However now that I am losing weight, maybe economy won't be as uncomfortable. I will be in Ontario for 10 days so I should expect to put a lil weight back on, but I will try and control my calorie intake and do some exercise (TRY). We do have golf planned during that time but also several BBQs and parties. And let’s not forget moms home cooking! Well I guess I will just have to take longer walks at night, or go to the gym on base and work out. Unless I lose more than 15 lbs and then that will be my treat to eat normally and if I put a lb or two back on it won’t be that bad! haha always the planner!
I golfed yesterday and it was the best game so far this season, although my score was 106 it was still good. My drive is frustrating me, and even though I have been at the driving range 3 times this week, I have not been able to correct many faults. I would my irons have improved and my putting is getting better. My Short game has really improved. If I had to peg how many strokes I screwed up yesterday it would be probably 20 and of the score I had at least 5 penalty strokes. So If I can improve my next game by 20% I should be able to shave 5 strokes off. My goal yesterday was 105 and below. I missed it by 1 so my next games goal will be 104. I think I can do it!
I booked my flights yesterday for my trip to Ontario. I booked 3 flights all in business class for less than a price of 1 seat in business class normally! I saved 230% on the overall cost. Not bad eh. I guess I am spoiled in that I hate travelling in economy in the smaller seats. However now that I am losing weight, maybe economy won't be as uncomfortable. I will be in Ontario for 10 days so I should expect to put a lil weight back on, but I will try and control my calorie intake and do some exercise (TRY). We do have golf planned during that time but also several BBQs and parties. And let’s not forget moms home cooking! Well I guess I will just have to take longer walks at night, or go to the gym on base and work out. Unless I lose more than 15 lbs and then that will be my treat to eat normally and if I put a lb or two back on it won’t be that bad! haha always the planner!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Lifestyle and career changes...
So here we are 4 days later after my first my entry, and like I said i am not that diligent in keeping up a diary or blog. Ironically I did write a diary(before blogs were invented) and had some interesting stuff in it. It was from when I left the military and was looking for work. It was the last time in my life where I had decided to change jobs without already having one. I also had a lot of ramblings in there about shoulda coulda woulda, and as I look back to that day now, 14 years later, I see a success story...well...professionally anyways. I never thought I would be where I am today and achieve what I have achieved. I must admit I love to work, love my profession and loved most of my jobs. All my friends in the military now are all senior people in the higher ranks and i often wondered if I had stayed in the military, whee would I be now.....but alas I made the change...fast forward 14 years...The 3 month break for me now has allowed me to refocus, get healthier, play golf and sleep lots! my Blood pressure has been the biggest change. I used to have an average BP of 140s/90s and my resting heart rate was always in the 90s. not very healthy nor good. The last month since I started eating healthier being more active and dropping 25(75 to go!) my resting heart rate is in the mid 70s and my blood pressure is down around 120's/70 and 80s which is fantastic! I am happy with this because a good friend who is also struggling with some weight gain has been recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. He has a lot more on his mind as he has a family, wife, 2 boys, and I told him the other day he was my motivation to change. I don't want to say diet or working out as much as i want to say a healthier lifestyle. I think DIET is negative when your over weight, Lifestyle change, sounds more positive. Also this is not just about loosing 100 lbs and then going back to the old way, I used to be so active, hockey, refereeing hockey, racket ball, squash, karate, ball hockey volleyball,softball etc. I use to play a lot of sports, i was not very good at most, but I enjoyed playing. Now as i get older, its golf although in all honesty once I am able to shed a few more pounds I am looking to get back into the racket sports as they were so much fun! Speaking of golf....gotta run
Monday, June 1, 2009
First Blog...EVER
Well I have never done a blog so bare with me and my inconsistencies. I have a friend that had a blog and i found it interesting to read his thoughts on a regular basis. We often have had many discussions on different subject, but since we now live in different places and dont see other online much anymore, this was a great vehicle for seeing what was happening in his life.
That being said, my first blog ....I have been out of work for just over 3 months, as I left my previous job for a new opportunity that died right after I resigned. Although this was a bit frustrating, the time off for me actually has been a blessing in disguise. The past three months has allowed me to slow down and relax. You see I was working 12-14 hour days 6 days a week pretty much the last 10 years. I made some positive changes during that time, but also some negative ones. Positive being quitting smoking, negative being putting on over 90 pounds. About 5 years in the last 10 I spent traveling a lot for work, and alot of hotels, airports and fast food, that combined with no activity has made me into a person I never though.
SO I expected to be back to work by now so I was basically sitting around all day waiting for the phone to ring. About 5 weeks ago I had an AHA moment. I was walking out to my car from a restaurant with a friend and I looked down and seen my shadow, and I realized I was the BIG FAT GUY that we used to make fun of. I mean it's not that I didnt know I was the fat guy, or heavy guy, or stocky guy before this, I just didn't realize I was the BIG fat guy.
When I got home I pouted over a bowl of ice cream, and several other snacks on what I was going to do. I went online and found a site called calorie count http://caloriecount.about.com/ and wa amazed at how many calories i was sucking back a day. I decided I was going to make a change so I signed up. I started on the 4th of May to try and limit myself to 2000 calories a day. Wasn't so tough, and in a day I lost a pound. So I started to look at labels, buy different foods, cleaned out my pantry and gave away 10 bags of sweets and junk food....yes 10 BAGS!
I told myself I want to loose 20 pounds the first month and after I loose 15 pounds I am going to start to walk/run again to achieve the first goal and i did loose the 15 pounds about 8 days ago. I started walk/running last Monday and walk/ran 27KM last week AND I am now down 22 pounds since starting and reached my goal of loosing 20 pounds the first month. I have lost about 25% of my goal weight in 1 short month. Amazing eh. And the great part is I did it by healthy eating and Exercise, not by pills or fad diets!
Ok rather than make this any longer, I will save some for tomorrow. I will try and give you some more history on me, and what I have been doing, maybe update you on my golf, and some other goals of mine!
Now I know the next 70+ pounds are not going to come off that fast. I know I am going to have to work harder and run farther and eat healthier to achieve that, but it sure the heck felt good reaching the first goal. My goal for the month of June is now 12 pounds more. I have a reunion with some old army buddies on 11 July and I want to be down at least 35 pounds before then so hopefully I am not the fastest guy in the room!
That being said, my first blog ....I have been out of work for just over 3 months, as I left my previous job for a new opportunity that died right after I resigned. Although this was a bit frustrating, the time off for me actually has been a blessing in disguise. The past three months has allowed me to slow down and relax. You see I was working 12-14 hour days 6 days a week pretty much the last 10 years. I made some positive changes during that time, but also some negative ones. Positive being quitting smoking, negative being putting on over 90 pounds. About 5 years in the last 10 I spent traveling a lot for work, and alot of hotels, airports and fast food, that combined with no activity has made me into a person I never though.
SO I expected to be back to work by now so I was basically sitting around all day waiting for the phone to ring. About 5 weeks ago I had an AHA moment. I was walking out to my car from a restaurant with a friend and I looked down and seen my shadow, and I realized I was the BIG FAT GUY that we used to make fun of. I mean it's not that I didnt know I was the fat guy, or heavy guy, or stocky guy before this, I just didn't realize I was the BIG fat guy.
When I got home I pouted over a bowl of ice cream, and several other snacks on what I was going to do. I went online and found a site called calorie count http://caloriecount.about.com/ and wa amazed at how many calories i was sucking back a day. I decided I was going to make a change so I signed up. I started on the 4th of May to try and limit myself to 2000 calories a day. Wasn't so tough, and in a day I lost a pound. So I started to look at labels, buy different foods, cleaned out my pantry and gave away 10 bags of sweets and junk food....yes 10 BAGS!
I told myself I want to loose 20 pounds the first month and after I loose 15 pounds I am going to start to walk/run again to achieve the first goal and i did loose the 15 pounds about 8 days ago. I started walk/running last Monday and walk/ran 27KM last week AND I am now down 22 pounds since starting and reached my goal of loosing 20 pounds the first month. I have lost about 25% of my goal weight in 1 short month. Amazing eh. And the great part is I did it by healthy eating and Exercise, not by pills or fad diets!
Ok rather than make this any longer, I will save some for tomorrow. I will try and give you some more history on me, and what I have been doing, maybe update you on my golf, and some other goals of mine!
Now I know the next 70+ pounds are not going to come off that fast. I know I am going to have to work harder and run farther and eat healthier to achieve that, but it sure the heck felt good reaching the first goal. My goal for the month of June is now 12 pounds more. I have a reunion with some old army buddies on 11 July and I want to be down at least 35 pounds before then so hopefully I am not the fastest guy in the room!
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