Set up for Success

Hello, all! I'm a happy gal because I finally have groceries. I managed to coast along without any food for a couple of days--surviving off of a lone box of Cheerios I picked up at a nearby convenience store, the kindness of my new roommates, and the orientation barbecue I attended yesterday--but last night around 6 pm, I set out to find food.

I wandered around my new neighbourhood, starving, when suddenly a small food store appeared. I ventured in, and it turned out to be a vegetarian take-out place that also sells some specialty food items! The store is called Bonobo's Foods. I bought some Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery Squirrelly bread (which I've been meaning to try for awhile) and I got a veggie burger with a salad for dinner.


This was maybe the BEST veggie burger I've ever eaten. The salad was also delish! I really lucked out finding this place. :)

This morning, the lovely Tiffany took me to get the rest of my groceries. I was a bit shellshocked by the amount of money I spent today, but I was really starting from scratch. Not only was I buying food, I had to buy laundry detergent, toiletries, some food containers, and other things that I couldn't bring with me on the bus. I won't need anything else for awhile!

I am really excited about doing some cooking, making healthy lunches to bring to school, and all that jazz. It's honestly been AGES since I cooked anything.

And what's this I see?!


Why it appears to be my Ultimate 3 Month Tracker! That's right, today I began tracking again! I have decided to stop going to Weight Watchers meetings while I'm up here to save some money, but I do have the tools to follow the program on my own for awhile.

There's just one thing missing... I have no scale up here! I think this will be a good thing, however. If I feel good and my clothes feel looser, I'll know I'm succeeding. And maybe I'll see a great number when I'm back in Toronto again!

My goals this week are to track everything, bring my lunch to school 3 days out of the 4 days I have classes, and workout once. I feel this is totally doable. My tuition fees include a gym membership, so I plan to take advantage of that.

Yesterday, I met a bunch of people from my program at orientation. Everyone was very friendly, and a few people mentioned they want to utilize the gym. Hopefully I will get some gym buddies asap!

I just love back-to-school season. Don't you?

Settling in.

This morning I stumbled off a Greyhound bus after more than 20 hours of travelling and a night of just dozing in my seat between stops. I somehow got my excess baggage into a cab, remembered my new address, and quickly arrived at my new (temporary) home in Thunder Bay.

While being driven through this new city for the first time, it struck me that I was about to live in a house I've never seen, with people I've never met, in a city I've never visited, while attending a school whose campus I've never set foot on.

Now I've met two of my roommates and a close friend of theirs, who are not only very nice, but also provided me with a delicious dinner. I've unpacked most of my things into my new bedroom. I made the short walk to campus, wandered around to find all my classrooms and even managed to buy a few textbooks. And it all felt good. The things I was most worried about have all happened now. Now that this is taken care of, I'm sure the actual school part will be fine... right? ;)

Summertime Blues

Hi all. Where have I been all summer? Honestly, I don't know. I kept meaning to post but I never did.

Maybe I've avoided blogging because I haven't had anything particularly uplifting to say. I usually consider myself a very positive, optimistic, happy person, but I haven't felt like that lately.

This summer has been a really transitional time for me in a lot of ways. I feel like I've just been sitting around waiting for change - some of which will definitely happen (like moving to Thunder Bay and starting school next week), and some of which depends on me (eating well and losing weight again).

Another reason I feel like I'm in transition is the fact that I've been living at home temporarily. I had been living on my own for a long time, and adjusting to being in very close quarters with my parents wasn't easy.

To further complicate matters, my dad's health has not been great. I haven't mentioned this on the blog before, but my father is disabled. He is diabetic, and has had to have both of his feet amputated (the first was 9 years ago, the second was 4 years ago). He now also has congestive heart failure after his second heart attack last summer. Needless to say, this has all been very difficult for my family. We've spent more than our fair share of time in hospitals. While I'm exceedingly grateful that my dad has made it through his health difficulties with such courage and strength, and I am inspired by his attitude, it's something that I have a very hard time coping with. Lately, this has been especially difficult for various reasons.

In other news, my boyfriend and I broke up at the end of June. (I promise I'll say something happy soon so this post won't be a total downer!) Obviously that wasn't fun, but as breakups go, it was pretty amicable, so I guess that's something to be happy about... right?

I have one last piece of bad news, and then I'll finish up with some good stuff. Last week, I found out I have gallstones! I have to see a specialist before I know what happens next, but I have a feeling it might be surgery. In the meantime, I hope to somewhat overhaul my diet (and blog about it soon), and at the very least, cut out really fatty, greasy foods.

Somehow, amidst all of this drama, I actually accomplished one of my new year's resolutions! Moping around boyfriendless means a lot of nights spent with Netflix and knitting, so I was actually able to finish a sweater!


Okay, okay, it was a baby sweater (for my cousin's new baby), which wasn't exactly in the spirit of my resolution. But TECHNICALLY, I knit a sweater, so I say it counts! (I've also finished two pairs of mittens, a lace stole I started more than two years ago, a cowl, and one sock! I've been slightly obsessed...)

And finally, most exciting of all, I leave next week for Thunder Bay! I get on a bus in Toronto on Wednesday, and I arrive in Thunder Bay a mere 20 hours later. I cannot express how excited I am at putting that much distance between myself and my current situation. I have never been more in need of a change of scenery and a fresh start.

But before then, I have to figure out how to pack enough stuff for 9 weeks in a sane number of suitcases.


Oh, and mark a huge pile of final exams. I can't wait to be a student again. :)