Weightingfor50's Blog

It’ll be two more Wednesdays before Michelle and I resume our Wednesday morning coffee meetings…..which means, Michelle’s famous finger will be MIA today and next Wednesday.  Dennis KINDLY stepped in, and photographed his own finger with his camera phone while he was out and about today.  :)

We’re silly!!!!  :)

I AM happy to be photographing meals with the mascots again.  This morning, Grover posed with an english muffin with almond butter and a banana.

I took some fruit to eat mid morning, strawberries, blueberries and some mango.

My friend Kremena made me some little cinnamon cookies too, which were excellent with coffee.  (they are little pieces of leftover whole wheat pizza dough rolled with cinnamon and brown sugar.  YUM – thank you Kremena!!)

All week, I’ll be coming home at lunchtime in order to put up my foot and rest.  (holy smokes, this thing SWELLS – despite being half elevated under my desk – gross!).  I had a ham sandwich when I got home.

As well as two Hershey’s kisses and a mini bunny that were leftover from Easter.

As you can see below, Neva attempted to “heal me” as I was on the couch this afternoon….

….and she was very pleased with herself!  :) “I have healed, and now you rest!”

Dennis and I continue to be ships passing in the night this week.  He was out and about, so I made myself a tuna melt on a fold it for dinner.  It was FAR from a pretty meal, and my attempt at food styling by sprinkling dried spinach on it is a pretty lame effort to make it nicer to look at.  Oh well, it tasted really good.

I’ll leave you tonight with some words of wisdom courtesy of a google search that took me to animalcapshuns.com.  Happy Hump Day to all!

 

 

It’s been a while since I’ve had a regular “what I ate today” post.  I can’t lie, as I’ve been recovering, counting points/measuring portions etc hasn’t really been my top priority.  (actually, it hasn’t been ANY priority, let alone top) We ate well for the MOST part, but we also had our share of home-baked treats, pizza, cupcakes, chips, burgers other “non point friendly” items.   (don’t get me wrong though, fruit and some vegetables were also consumed…just not as much as normal)

My clothes feel exactly the same, so I don’t think too much “damage” has been done, but the time is almost here to put some thought and energy into healthy foods, and MAYBE by the weekend, I’ll be standing long enough to cook a couple of meals.   Dennis has been a fantastic chef, but I really have missed the creative process of cooking, and look forward to getting back to my postage stamp sized kitchen as I was before.  (And looking cute – if you believe the vintage ad below!  :) OMG…can you BELIEVE how HILARIOUSLY INAPPROPRIATE this is????  Sexism was alive and well and living in the 50′s….as well as this woman’s cereal bowl apparently. Had to share.)

Still working mornings only, and before I left for work I had a mini bagel with two slices of light swiss.

I took a little fruit salad with me to work – strawberries, blueberries and 1/2 banana.

Dennis is out tonight, and the timing for dinner for us if we ate together would have been either too early for us, or too late for a good sleep.  So, we decided to switch lunch and dinner around today.  For lunch, we had reheated leftover turkey meatloaf, leftover “skinny” mashed potatoes and some peas.

Later in the afternoon, while I was lying on the couch with my foot up watching daytime drivel, I had a little piece of pumpkin/pecan/chocolate chip loaf that my friend Alison made for me.  (Thanks Alison!!)

And eventually, I had a ham/swiss bun with mustard and tomato and a little spoonful of leftover potato salad from yesterday.

Ok…time to publish and get my foot elevated again.  I’ve been at the table for a while, so have gone from the character below BACK to big foot.  Hope everyone had a TERRIFIC Tuesday!!!  More tomorrow….

Happy Monday to all.  Hope your weeks have started out well.  Not a long post today, I’ll be quick.

I had my stitches removed this morning.  Just another step (HA!) closer to recovery!  Buh bye stitches…

Gone for good!!!

I can shower without the plastic boot tomorrow too….things are moving forward.

The doctor advised me to work half days for the week, as I still need to keep the foot up for several hours each day.  So after my appointment this morning, I went back to work.  I was shocked how wiped out I was after the 4 hours….I came home and slept for almost 3 hours.  3 hours???  I slept through Anderson Cooper???  I KNOW!!!!

What is also getting back to normal is my food posts.  My appetite today is REALLY off, but I’ll share my meals for part of the day. I still haven’t eaten dinner but want to get this posted.

I had melon and berries for breakfast.

And lunch was a turkey and swiss bun with tomato and mustard.  We had a scoop of potato salad on the side.

I’ll leave you with VERY exciting news on the kale seed front.  As I mentioned over the weekend, we had unseasonably warm weather over the last few days, and apparently, that made my kale very happy.  They have SHOT up over the weekend.  I can’t wait to see how long it’ll be before I have a harvest.  Have a good week everyone!!!

To all of you who are Moms, Happy Mother’s Day.   To my OWN Mom Jennifer, BIG HAPPY MOM’S DAY!!!!!   I’ll see you next week for extendo Mother’s Day!

And BIG Happy Mother’s Day to Dennis’ Mom Dorothy who I wish I’d met, and his step mom Ruth too!!

Today, there are two photos taken by “guest photographer” Dennis who was out and about this morning.  Gorgeous flowers in the neighborhood….

And “what are you lookin’ at cat”.  Funny…

We had record-breaking temperatures and gorgeous sun today, so we went out for a drive.   Look what stopped beside us at a red light.  I wanted to burst into “Greased Lightening” from Grease…actually, I did.  Sorry Dennis.

On our way out of the city, we crossed a bridge that is being twinned.  We are on the little dumpy bridge on the right, the new one is on the left.  The new bridge looks massive.  Hopefully it helps alleviate some of the bad traffic issues we have.

Our ultimate destination was to a man-made lake out in one of the suburbs of the city, Como Lake.  Neither of us had ever been before, and we thought it would be a nice place to go and explore.  We drove there, parked ourselves on a bench and sat and enjoyed the views.

We weren’t the only people just sitting around the lake.

We heard a bit of a fuss just down from our bench so went to see what was going on.

Get ready to AWWWW…..and how appropriate for Mother’s Day…look at the family we found.  AWWWWW!!!   A set of goose parents and 7 little goslings.  (I wonder which of the Goslings is “Ryan”.  Oh dear…terrible joke, and I apologize to Ryan Gosling for that!)

We also saw some VERY early blackberries!!!!  YAY…I’ll be mobile by berry season!!  Bring it on.

On the way back, Dennis had heard of a French Canadian Community Centre to check out.  Dennis is born and raised in Montreal, and it’s true, you can take the French Canadian out of Quebec, but you can’t take Quebec out of the French Canadian.  (Little Dennis trivia to share – I know when my husband is REALLY mad, he reverts back to his youth and swears in french.  When I hear the curses en francais, I know it’s time to find something to do in another room! )  What a cute little square that celebrated French Canadian settlers making their way out west.

It appears that I’ve either lost a leg, or am trying to climb my husband in the photo below.  Funny.

There was a teeny tiny art show at the Place des Arts….so we took my cane, and the elevator and had a little look.  (it’s funny….little things make you realize your limitations, I would NEVER take an elevator one floor, but today, there was no way I could walk up or down stairs.  Oh well…things are getting better, so no complaints)  I love stumbling on little things like this!

I found a dance partner in the parking lot!!!

After our outing, we went out for lunch.  It was so hot, I felt well enough to have my first beer in weeks.  (I also had a monte cristo sandwich….regular food photos will start again tomorrow)

I’m not sure if it was the beer, the after effects of yesterday’s migraine, or just being out and about, but I was EXHAUSTED when we got home and I had a nap for two hours.

My stitches come out tomorrow and I’m planning on going back to work, though I think after seeing the stamina (or lack thereof) I had today, I may not be working the full day.  We’ll see….

Again, Happy Mother’s Day to all Moms….especially mine!

Lately, I feel like I should change the name of this blog from weightingfor50 to whiningfor50 ’cause it sure feels like I’m a whiner.  I KNOW I’ve had surgery, so I’m entitled to a little whining, but still…..I promise whining will cease and desist soon.

However, today’s post is very brief.  (and a bit whiney in this paragraph) Why?  I woke up with a migraine this morning, that didn’t start to clear until around dinner time tonight.  We had planned on going for a nice drive because it was a beautiful day, but that didn’t happen.  Instead, I slothed on the couch watching a “Storage Wars” marathon, drinking water and holding a cold cloth to my forehead.   I admit, I like Storage Wars…but still….episode after episode?  Not the best way to spend a sunny day.

However, early tonight, the fog started to lift and I was back on the mend.  I hadn’t eaten anything all day and I had a craving.  Only Froyo would do.

Here we are on the drive to Menchies. (note the lack of protective sock in the protective shoe.  I’m living on the edge!! Stitches come out on Monday, so the big ass bandage around my foot may soon be gone too.  YAY!)

Here are Dennis and on the way from the car to Menchies.

And the Menchie’s wall.

I had a bit of the mango sorbet and the coconut.

Dennis “modeled” the spoons.  I think his hand is giving Michelle’s a run for her money.

I topped mine with some crushed chocolate wafers, blueberries and chrysalized ginger.

It was disgusting….  :)

I noticed on the way out that one must wear a shirt to get yogurt.  It didn’t however say anything about pants…..

And I’d guess you could wear this jaunty hat and no shirt and still get yogurt.

We saw this little fella on the way back to the car.  He was NOT amused and evidently wanted yogurt himself.  This rivals the best stink eye Neva can EVER give!  (and is so homely he’s actually cute!)

So that’s it for my Saturday.  I hope everyone had a little treat like we had tonight, and that your weekend is rolling along well.

Another rip-snortin’ day of excitement here at weightingfor50……not really.   However, there are a few photos to share of us being out and about for a little bit.

As you can see, my kale seeds continue to flourish in the container on my deck.  I think I’m a couple of months away from salads…FUN!

The outing of the day was a drive to the liquor store.  Exciting huh???  :)

Personally, I’m ‘livin’ the dry life’ right now until I feel more myself.  I’m off all meds, so it’s not an issue if I wanted some, but the idea of beer or wine…just doesn’t appeal – and I still feel like I’m missing brain cells and in a bit of a fog.  However, we were in need of a top up in supply, it was a lovely afternoon, so off we went.

On the way back, we passed one of the large parks here in the city.  My foot gave directions on how to get there.  (silly)

We pulled up to the little pond with the hopes that the baby ducks that usually emerge at this time of the year would be swimming around.  I’m still walking with a cane and on one heel, so there was none of our normal walking around the park…..but we did manage to stop the car, find some viewpoints and take some photos.

Sadly, there were no baby ducks to be found.  We saw three adult ducks, but there was no indication the eggs have hatched and babies are out and about.  I’m sure it won’t be long, so we’ll go back next week.  In the meantime, here are a few shots of the pond which was lovely nonetheless.

While we were driving about, we ran into a film crew.  No celebrities were spotted.  Damn!

And we also stumbled on a graduation or prom or something.  There were a whole lotta “young ‘uns” dressed to the nines and taking lots of photos.  I’m old enough to be these people’s mother.  Just stayin’…

After that, it was home, Anderson Cooper, and R&R for the night.  Because I can’t resist, I’ll leave you with this adorable photo of Neva….looking VERY pensive.  WHAT is she plotting???  :)

We had some plans for the weekend, but have delayed them a bit because I’m not healed as much as I’d hoped to be when I made them.  Oh well, I’m sure we’ll get out and about for drives etc and the weekend will fly by.  I REALLY need to take some time and catch up with my favorite blogs.  I have had NO concentration span over the last few days, and haven’t done much reading of any sort.  Hope all of YOU have some fun plans too.

Our cat is NOT a normal cat, nor is she ladylike……just sayin’.

Today’s big adventure was a brief  afternoon errand/road trip.  Here was my view in the passenger seat.

OK…call me childish, but I posed my foot so it looked like I was booting the biker in the bum.

And wearing his helmet.  See?  Childish…

From the “what a dork” file….look at this idiot on the ramp we have to take to get on the freeway.  He was biking down the wrong way, with no helmet, no protection, no nothing.  Seriously…this guy is a hazard to himself and others, and I’d hate to think how he’d fare if a truck zoomed up on the ramp and couldn’t swerve to not hit him.  Yikes.

Yuck….highway/freeway traffic.  Yuck!!

We made it to our ultimate destination.  Ta Da.  Home Depot!!  :)

We didn’t go there specifically for plants/containers etc, but while we were there we went to the garden centre.   Dennis liked the zero gravity chair – it looked like a dentist’s chair.

And he rode the rider mower.  (we live in a condo with a small deck….so Dennis’ chances of riding rider mowers that are actually running are slim to none for now!  But it suits him, doesn’t it?! )

We hobbled around the garden centre (actually, I hobbled, Dennis walked with little effort)…..it smelled really earthy and good!  (is that weird – that I was breathing in the smell of dirt??)  Again, I attempted “art shots”.

We bought a couple of oblong containers to hang on the rail of our deck, some herbs and a weird curly grass thing that “spoke” to Dennis.

Later on, our friend Laura stopped by for a visit.  She came with a big salad that we had for dinner.  (we’ve had so many friends come by this week bearing gifts – we are very very lucky!!!)

We added some chicken that was still in the fridge, a hard boiled egg, some blueberries, a bit of cheese…just everything that needed to be used – and it was DELICIOUS!!!)  Thanks SO much Laura!!!  Good luck with the studies!!!  :)

And that was my day.  I’m getting better as each day passes, and look forward to my energy and brain cells being back to full strength very soon.   Anyone else love Home Depot as much as me???  :)

Today was a brighter day than yesterday.   I’m still not back to the recovery stage that I was a few days ago, but I feel much more optimistic today that this whole hoopla is a work in progress, and before I know it, I’ll be back on my feet.

It was a LOVELY, albeit windy, day today, and I needed to get out a bit, enjoy some sun, and move a little.  I walked 4 blocks and back…yay me.  It took me a LONG time, not only because I was slow and walking with a cane, I also stopped to take a few pictures of some local flowers that have bloomed since I was out and about on that road 10 days ago.   I would like to clarify that this has NOT become a flower blog, but I can’t resist posting and sharing.  (and hey, it’s MUCH more exciting than shots of the inside of our apartment!)

This is officially the last of the cherry blossoms in the neighborhood.

I found a SEA of white rhododendrons.  The trees went all the way around a building, and it was gorgeous.

Miscellaneous “one-offs”.

I found a bright pink rhododendron, and I just LOVED the long stamen that looked like eyelashes.

This bee liked the stamen too.  (our little Canon point and shoot comes through for the macro shot again!!!)

This sign was on the street.  I guess a neighbor is making little planters and greenhouses.

I was out for about half an hour, but I was worn out….I had a LONG nap this afternoon.  Thank goodness I woke up in time for Anderson Cooper.  (kidding, kidding, kidding….but now my “crush” on Anderson Cooper has become a running and frequent joke among our friends.  Funny)

Our friend Sally stopped by later this afternoon, and came bearing gifts.  Does she now me well???  YUP.  Thank you SOOOO much for my dried figs from Trader Joe’s! (a friend of Sally’s was cross border shopping).  Thanks too for the fun visit and laughs…next time you’re here Sally, wine will be consumed!)

That’s Wednesday.  Hope the flowers weren’t dull….and just think, this time next week, I should be getting back to healthy eating and recipes.

Hi Everyone….SUPER quick post….

Had a “mini setback” today, no biggie….and apparently all part of the healing process.

I’m off to relax, and have Dr. Neva look after me!

OMG…isn’t that AWFUL????????????   Face in Hole.com is hilarious, and I see many a silly (really silly) photo being created, but still…a white coat does NOT flatter a white cat.  Funny…

Back tomorrow!!!!

 

• whine about medication, side effects, surgical recovery, etc, etc, etc….enough of that!  It’s been a week, it’s going fine, it’s a complete roller coaster, but to use the most over used and ridiculous expression I swore I never would use “it is what it is”. 
• even think about the points/calories I’ve had consumed the last few days.  It’s not pretty!!!  Focus on that can start in another couple of weeks when I’m feeling more myself and a little more back to normal.  In fact, there is no option, focus on that MUST start again soon, or damage will be done….
• post any more than 6 photos of Neva (HA!  OK…maybe I’ll actually only post 2), though I’ve taken MANY in the last 48 hours….she really is cute.  
• go into any great details of the excitement in our neighborhood today, which involved police, bailiffs, many neighbors and all kinds of hoopla that was ALMOST more interesting to watch than my new boyfriend Anderson Cooper.  ALMOST…..  (OK, that sounds WAY juicier than it was…but still, our quiet little neighborhood had some hoopla).
• make a comment that I think Anderson Cooper ALMOST “came out” on his show today.  Just sayin’….
• be remiss and thank my friends Kathy who came by this afternoon with treats and  Janice and Karen, who stopped by tonight with dinner.  None of those visits pertained to the police presence that was here today and Dennis and I loved seeing all of you!!!!!  And to our neighbors Fran, Ori and Eleanor who also hung out with us for a while – great to see all of you too.  

So as you can see, it was just another day in paradise recovery.  I’ll leave you with a few photos from the day for your viewing pleasure. (and assure you that normal, healthy eating/living posts REALLY will come back soon!).

Neva as promised – one taken through the screen while I was out on the deck.  We’re too high up and she’s too deaf and “climb-y” for us to take her out on the deck with us.  I would be terrified she’d go over the edge if instinct kicked in and she saw a bird fly by. AWW.

and one that should clearly be called “Roz has too much time on her hands”.

A spider on our deck.

Dennis and I doing the “tandem foot shot”.

Dennis pointing at my foot (it was a lovely day here, and was the first day this year that we could sit outside without freezing our you know what’s off)

The wonderful healthy dinner that Janice and Karen brought (salad to die for, chicken, potatoes – yum)

And Janice and Karen, tonight’s cooks!!  (see, normal posts are already returning!!)

That’s it for Monday.   I hope all of your weeks have started out well, and on the right foot.  HA!!  sigh.   What a bad joke.  And I can’t even blame meds for that.  That corny reference to my foot was just “all me”.