What's new?

Hello there.

So, here I am, fairly settled in my new home, in my new city, in my new job. In the new 10-20 pounds I think I've gained (haven't weighed myself for awhile...).

I have lots of news to share with you! As you may or may not know, I moved to Waterloo at the end of August to start a new job. I really LOVE my job. I have my own office, I like my coworkers, and I have benefits... and I'm still not over the novelty of getting a paycheque every two weeks. I've never had a "real" full-time job - when I worked as a contract college math instructor, there would be long breaks without pay between semesters, and once it took almost a year of me badgering them to be paid for some work I'd done.

The beginning of the Fall semester was extremely busy, and I had to work a lot of overtime. As the semester progressed, though, I got more settled in and things ran more smoothly. Now, I've made it through my first term, and I'm getting ready for January. My second semester should be much better than my first, although I will be coordinating an extra course - and it's a course that I never took. Even though I have a Masters degree in math, I never encountered the material I'll be covering... Anyone out there have experience with Fourier transforms? :D

In other news, my mother has also moved out of Toronto - all the way to Bobcaygeon, Ontario (near Peterborough)! It is an adjustment not having my "home base" in Toronto. My sister is still there, but it's strange not having my parents there. Happily, my mom seems to be thriving in her new home (and I love it, too). It's a bit of a trek for me to get there from Waterloo: I have to take a bus from Kitchener to Toronto, then another bus to Peterborough, and then be picked up and driven to Bobcaygeon. (Now that I'm out of Toronto, I am REALLY feeling the need to get my driver's licence!)

And the most exciting piece of news for me right now is that my family is going away for Christmas! My mother, sister, and I are going to Cancun this Friday. We have been wanting to go on a trip together, and we felt it would be good for us to do something new and different over Christmas. It will be our first Christmas without my father, who passed away last January.

I haven't really travelled outside of Canada (aside from New York) and I am beyond excited. I bought a couple of new bathing suits online that I am actually comfortable in, and I am desperately in need for a week of lounging on the beach and not doing anything.

So, that concludes my life news... I will be back with another post about what's been happening with my exercise and eating habits, and what I am thinking about for the future (I'm a sucker for good set of New Year's Resolutions...)

Crazy Day

I had every intention of blogging last night to update you all on how my Ease Into Summer Challenge is going, but my day took a crazy turn. Hearing about the Eaton Centre shootings was unsettling enough, and then my mom and I were in a small car accident. Fortunately, we're both totally fine.

When trying to merge onto the highway, my Mom had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the car in front of us (which had suddenly slowed down), and we were hit by the car behind us. After exchanging info with the other driver (in the pouring rain), we were able to drive home. Unfortunately, my Mom's brand new car (the first new car she's ever owned) is quite damaged... Anyway, these things happen, and it could have been a lot worse!

I think I've been doing well with the challenge so far. On Friday, I was volunteering at a high school math-a-thon to help the Grade 9 Applied Math students prepare for the EQAO standardized test happening on Monday. It was a lot of fun, and involved a pizza lunch. However, right as we were diving into our pizza, the fire alarm went off and we were all outside in the pouring rain for quite awhile. Since everyone was soaked, they actually ended up dismissing all the kids early! So Friday was rather crazy, as well.

On Saturday, I started my day with some delicious oatmeal, a la Kath Eats Real Food.

I cooked it with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, a banana, some cinnamon, and vanilla extract. I sprinkled some ground flaxseed on top. This is rapidly becoming my new favourite breakfast!

I can't remember what I had for lunch--I think I had a few snacks instead. I went to the gym, even though I was STILL sore from the workout I'd done on Wednesday. After the gym, I made myself a green smoothie. We were out of spinach, so I used arugula.

Note to self: In future, do NOT use arugula in a green smoothie. It will taste like arugula.

 For dinner, I made some black bean burgers. So simple and delicious!

Everyone was a fan! I put mine on yeast-free spelt bread with avocado, tomato, and arugula (I later remembered that Joshi doesn't allow tomato. Oops!).

Delicious!

Unfortunately, I went a tiny bit off-track when I got home after the car accident. I was really hungry (and shaken up), and in the mood for eggs. Eggs are allowed on the detox, but I had them with whole-wheat bread, as I had eaten the last of my yeast-free bread... A minor transgression, in my opinion.

This morning, I got myself to the grocery store.

 Lots of goodies, including bananas, black beans, and brown rice sushi for lunch!

I wanted to mention, also, that I was so thrilled by the comments on my last couple of posts. Thank you, everyone! I'm so happy to be back to blogging. :)

Exciting Times

In my last post, I mentioned that I had some big news about this fall...

I'm going back to school!

Andrea, you were right. You win... a mention on my blog! ;)

This fall, I am going to teacher's college... in Thunder Bay! I have been teaching at the college level for a couple of years, and I've realized how much I love teaching. To increase my chances of one day getting a full-time job, I made a last-minute decision to apply to teacher's college (although I know it's not exactly easy to get a high school teaching job at this time...). There were only two Ontario schools still accepting applications in April, when all this happened, so that's how I arrived at Lakehead University way, way, way up in Thunder Bay.

I am super excited (and only slightly nervous) about this decision. I am ready for a change. The program is set up so I have 9 weeks of classes, come home to Toronto for my practicum and Christmas holidays, go back for 9 more weeks of classes, then come home for practicum again. My main concern is finding housing in Thunder Bay without actually going there to scope it out (which isn't really feasible for me this summer, moneywise and timewise).

Anyone familiar with Thunder Bay that might have some advice?

I am very motivated to use this summer to get closer to my goal. I want to be happy, healthy, and confident for this next chapter of my life! :)

Busy Bee

The past few weeks have been a bit hectic, to say the least.

The end of April brought the end of the Winter semester and exams, and my move back home. It was slightly traumatic having to sort through the contents of my beloved one-bedroom and decide what to get rid of (like my couch and TV), what to put in storage (like my collection of Sweet Valley High books), and what to bring to my parents' condo.

As I was moving home, I also had exams at school. I had to mark them VERY quickly, because immediately after exams, I had scheduled a trip to New York City with my dear friend Megan!





I had never been before, and it was AMAZING. We went to a Broadway show (Baby It's You), the Top of the Rock, saw Letterman (Betty White was on!), and did a lot of walking around and subway-riding. And if you happened to watch The Today Show on May 6, you may have seen me waving at the camera at one point. :D

Upon returning home, I had to get ready for the summer semester (and attempt to do some unpacking/organizing). Soon after I began teaching again, my boyfriend and I made the impromptu decision to take a weekend trip to Montreal! So, last weekend, off we went!




In between all this travelling, I've also been adjusting to life back at home, and planning for some major life changes coming my way in the fall (more on that soon). My dad was also in the hospital again, briefly, which brought its own batch of stress (including an awful all-nighter in the emergency room). He's home again now though, thankfully.

Living at home again isn't without its challenges, but there are also some great perks:

• saving tons of money (I am paying some rent, but not very much), which will help with the life changes I alluded to above
• gym IN THE BUILDING (I really have no excuses)
• indoor and outdoor pool (again, no excuses)
• hot tub!
• cool downtown location (yes, my parents live in a cooler neighbourhood than I used to)
  

I have been doing my best to exercise and eat well, although I've honestly had so much going on that I have not been as consistent as I'd like to be. Things seem to be settling down now, though, and I am optimistic about the summer ahead. AND I was down 3.8 pounds at my meeting yesterday! (Still up overall, but let's not dwell on that...)

Stay tuned for my news about this fall. Any guesses?