Our first Canada Day weekend

For our very first Canada Day weekend we decided to skip the parades, fireworks and city crowds and go on a trip instead. Mum and Dad are here so they hired a car and took us to Manning Provincial Park which is a 3 hour drive East of Vancouver, near the US border. We stayed in a cabin at the resort there so we could have a few amenities - a pub, a bistro, a little shop, a swimming pool etc

Manning Park was lovely and the weather turned out to be glorious. There are a good mixture of trails - long day hikes up the mountain peaks, shorter lake loops etc - it's also the starting/finishing point for the Pacific Crest Trail which goes all the way to Mexico . I wanted to go on the upper alpine trails to see the summer flowers as they are supposed to be amazing, but we were too early and they were still snow-covered. So we settled on some of the shorter trails instead, and a drive up to the Cascades viewpoint where you are surrounded by Canadian and US peaks.

On Canada Day itself we left mum and dad behind and kayaked on Lightning Lake for two and a half hours and it was just beautiful. We had a real Kodak moment when a deer came out and stood on the shore, just in front of a pretty bridge with tree-lined and still snow-capped mountains in the background, but unfortunately we didn't have a camera with us. Could have floated around on that lake all day but I must admit I was feeling pretty tired by the time we got back to shore. We arrived just in time to hear people singing the national anthem at a birthday cake cutting ceremony (Canada is 140 years young) attended by a nice mountie. We didn't get in line for the cake though as we were too busy jumping on our kayaks to try and deflate them.

We all managed to have a great weekend there doing different things. The only thing that spoilt it was the midges - Graham's head is twice the size now because of the amount they bit him! We didn't come prepared for that.

We stopped off at Bridal Veil Falls near Chilliwack on the way back to Vancouver - much more spectacular than I was expecting as it is so wide and tall and the water cascaded down the rocks at all sorts of different angles, rather than just in one long straight line like a lot of bigger waterfalls around here.

Photos here

Wine whine

Last night was a bit of a disaster on the health front. We went to a work fundraiser Beatles Night. I drank more than my intended 3 small glasses of wine because Graham wanted a second bottle and for some reason I couldn't say no.

Because of this (and the fact that I was still peckish after dinner) I couldn't stop myself from eating the nibbles when they came out. So I ended up drinking and eating my way to over 2000 calories. Which wasn't so bad in itself as I did lots of exercise yesterday, but because it was crisps and cheese I ate far more fat than is healthy.

I have been doing so well since I started trying to lose weight again (lost 3lbs in this, my first week) that I'm cross with myself for not being able to control what I put in my mouth when I'm drunk (and cross for getting so drunk in the first place).

Never mind, it's just one setback and won't hurt in the long run. At least now I know that I can't trust myself, so I'll have to be more strict about stopping drinking after 3 glasses.

It was quite a fun night after we got a bit drunk and started dancing. The band sounded better after a few drinks anyhow, and we stayed until the end (midnight). Felt really hungover today though and it's been a bit of a non-event as I felt so lousy and the weather was horrible. This month's ivy pull was this morning and we didn't go so I'm feeling a bit of a slacker, but there was no way I could have gotten out of bed and to Stanley Park by 9.

Hopefully tomorrow we will go out for a nice hike so the weekend is not a total loss.

Exercise

At the moment I'm on a diet, which seems to be working as well as it could be without doing anything totally drastic, and without doing any exercise. I'm replacing 2 meals a day with a meal replacement shake and a piece of fruit, and eating a nice yummy third meal (usually lunch because I feel it is better to spread the calorie load throughout the day, and I don't want to go through the whole day feeling deprived of tasty food - that would make me overeat when I do get to eat proper food). I'm eating a small healthy snack in the day if I feel the need, but that has only happened twice so far as most of the time I am feeling full. I've also cut down on alcohol consumption and have cut out fizzy drinks altogether.

Dolly at work gave me some brand of meal replacement shake that also comes with tablets that you take half an hour before the shake, supposedly so that you burn more fat/calories. In actuality it seems to be an appetite suppressant so that I feel full after my shakes. Unfortunately the shake itself tastes a bit nasty but it is not inedible and seems to contain a lot better stuff than your average Slimfast kind of shake. Also unfortunately, the shake and pills only seem to be offered as some kind of pyramid home marketing scheme, so when the powder runs out I won't be able to get any more because I'm not signing up to something like that thank you very much! I've bought a couple of different brands of shakey stuff to mix it up a little for now. They taste better, which is a good thing as they'll be the brands I'm using exclusively after Dolly's freebies have gone.

Although I know I've lost at least a couple of pounds, I've done practically no exercise since starting the diet last week, apart from a couple of hours of kayaking at the weekend. I need to start getting back into a daily routine so I can lose weight a little faster, be healthier and more toned and get rid of my aches. I'm going to start doing my long walks in the morning and/or evening again (might even make it a little jog in the morning) and hopefully go kayaking at least once a week. I also intend to throw in some cycling and maybe some badminton or skipping on the aerobic side of things.

On the stretching/toning side of things I've decided to give pilates a go as it seems to offer an all-over body workout which targets the right muscles and also helps with flexibility, coordination, posture and balance - the areas I most need help in! I've bought a big ball and a stretchy thing and a short DVD to start me off - I shall start that tomorrow morning and do it on the days I don't go out for my morning walk.

I'm aiming for 3-4 days a week doing 30 mins of basic, gentle pilates and 4-5 days a week getting in at least 45 solid minutes of aerobic exercise.

9 months

I can't believe we have been here for 9 months already. The time has totally flown by. I'm glad we didn't just come out here on a year's work visa!

I thought it would be a good time to document some of my favourite moments, experiences and memories since I got here, in sort of chronological order.

Arriving – just being in the city again, not knowing what was to come but excited about the possibilities.

Lazy sunny days at English Bay/Sunset Beach

Canucks v Flames pre-season game, seeing Luongo in action

The 2 hours sitting in the sun on the rocks at Sunset Beach after deciding to quit Urban Fare

Both hearing good news on the job front within half an hour of each other. Having lived like poor people for the previous month we were unsure of how we should celebrate!

Evening strolls at Coal Harbour, waiting for the 9 o’clock gun to go off.

Arriving back from our short trip to England, really feeling like we were coming home

Seeing the mountains and ocean every day

Cheap good food – especially food courts and the abundance of sushi

Cycling the seawall around Stanley Park, English Bay, Sunset Beach and Yaletown

Finding out that my job is much better than my last

Discovering the world’s best burrito

Discovering the best cheap margheritas in Vancouver

Becoming a true Canucks fan

Hiking Lynn Canyon and Lynn Headwaters

The first snow

Snowshoeing for the first time at Cypress Mountain

New Year’s Eve celebrations at the Yale with tequila and Blues

Mum and Dad coming to stay

Finding a new friend in Kirsty when she came to visit

Galliano Island – ferry sailing, hikes, views, finding Boomer and the log cabin with its wood burning stove

Settling into our new flash apartment

Discovering nachos in Original Joe’s

Getting engaged

Discovering beautiful heritage houses

Walking the seawall from Monk McQueens to Kits

Amazing Spring blossom

Volunteering at ivy pulling in Stanley Park

Ade and Ellie arriving. Celebrating my birthday and new old job with them.

Cruising up Indian Arm

Kayaking on False Creek

Hearing the news that my job is to become permanent

Seaplane flight above the city

Special dinners – Christmas dinner with Jack and his mum and friends at the Sylvia Hotel, revolving around at Cloud 9 with mum and dad, our engagement celebration dinner at Granville Island Hotel, Celebrating Ade and Ellie’s arrival at Monk McQueens.

Fun in the sun

We've just had an ace time with Ade and Ellie. As well as their fabulous company we have had a long stretch of lovely sunny weather which made everything the more easier to do.

Highlights of our week off with them included:

1) Dinner at Monk McQueens to celebrate their arrival

2) A luncheon cruise from Coal Harbour, passed Deep Cove and up Indian Arm for my birthday (great views, lovely food). I really want to kayak around Deep Cove as soon as we can, but it takes a long bus ride to get there so I'm not sure when we are going to manage it.

3) A seaplane flight over the city - amazing and we got a lot longer than the 20 minutes we expected

4) Kayaking around false creek - not in our kayaks but we rented a couple of double ones from Granville Island. This was my first time kayaking since I was 13 and to my delight I abslolutely loved it (apart from the part where I nearly steered us into an Aquabus) which is a great relief because it means that I haven't just blown $500 on something I'll never use.

5) Hiking in Deep Cove and having our lunch on a clifftop overlooking a beautiful view

6) Celebrating my new old job with bubbly and cocktails and a nice big steak at Cactus Club Cafe - my position is to become permanent as of June 1st - Hurray - vacation and sick pay, benefits and a pension!

7) Lots of fun and conversation. I've missed having a good girl friend these last 9 months.

They left yesterday. I wish it didn't hurt so much. But we're trying not to think about it too much - planning to be active this weekend whilst the weather is still gorgeous. If I manage to find myself a cheap life jacket we can actually go out on our own kayaks! And also this weekend a load of Heritage Houses in the city are opening their doors to the public so that might be worth a look. I think it's a little too hot to go for a long hike unfortunately but we shall see.

I put on about 5lbs whilst they were here - Adrian ate like a horse and lost 1lb the blighter. Graham and I are going to be eating more sensibly from now on - well, until mum and dad arrive in 3 weeks!

So I bought a kayak...

An inflatable one, but a good inflatable one. Now I just need to buy a pump to pump it up with, a paddle to propel it with, and a lifejacket to save my ass with. Then I can get out there and do me some kayaking…

See more progress on: learn to kayak

Awesome

I had such a great time pulling up all the ivy in Stanley Park. I thought it would be a good thing to do but I never realised I would enjoy it quite so much. I felt really happy and energised afterwards (though I ached for the 2 days after – muscles not used to the exercise).

Can’t wait till next month!

See more progress on: Volunteer

I've found my willpower!

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been really focussed on helping myself lose weight.

1) I bought myself some scales last week and weighed about what I thought I did, hammering home the fact that yes, I do need to lose 40lbs. I weighed myself Saturday morning and have been disciplined enough not to weigh myself again all week, so Saturday will be weigh-day from now on

2) I’m doing really well at only eating when I am hungry and have started to retrain my brain into thinking of food more as fuel rather than pleasure. I’ve also been eating out a lot less because of this.

3) I am getting up early and going for a long walk before work – which makes my 10 minute walk to work an hour walk to work.

4) I am also walking a lot in the evenings after dinner, rather than staying in and watching TV (the Canucks bowing out of the playoffs early has been a bit of a blessing). This has the added bonus of stopping me from drinking alcohol so much during the week.

5) I continue to hike through my heel and joint pain. Last weekend we went for a hike and I had absolutely no energy and was very achey, but about 50 minutes into it I started feeling really good and so we carried on for another 3 hours.

See more progress on: Lose 40 lbs

Walking

Now that the weather has turned all nice and sunny I’m doing a great deal more walking. I started off by going for a long walk after dinner every other night, but now it has graduated to getting up early to go for an hour’s walk along the seawall before work, and about an hour’s walk each evening too.

I’m really enjoying exploring more of the city, plugged into my ipod and smelling the flowers of spring. I’ve been around various different parks, and walked around expensive neighbourhoods with wide tree-lined streets and huge mansions to look at. It sure beats staying in, watching hockey and drinking, or staying in bed an extra hour.

Still doing a longer hike at the weekend as well, and this Saturday I’ve got 3 hours of pulling up Ivy in the park so that should be good.

When I’m feeling fitter and less of an old arthritic woman, I’m going to think about incorporating different forms of exercise too. When we eventually move to our new apartment I’m going to replace seawall walking with swimming, but that won’t be for many months yet. Maybe it’s time to start seriously thinking about getting back into my badminton.

See more progress on: exercise regularly

Good

I’m still doing really well at this, to my surprise. I’ve been very disciplined and even when I am feeling jealous at all the nice things other people are eating, if I’m not hungry then it isn’t going in my mouth.

Yesterday, because I ate a donut (it was free!) about an hour before lunch I wasn’t hungry so I went out for a long walk instead of eating, then had a small snack in the afternoon.

I’ve stocked my locker at work up with things like baby carrots, small tins of tuna, rice crackers, dates, canned fruit and a snickers bar so that if I just want a snack/light lunch instead of a big hot lunch I’ve got stuff right there and I don’t have to think about what sort of level of hunger I am at and where I’m going to go. I’ve also got chewing gum for when I feel like chewing but am not hungry.

I’m starting to re-train my brain a little into thinking of food as fuel rather than food as pleasure. Well, rather that food can be pleasurable but that I don’t have to eat what I crave every time I crave it.

See more progress on: only eat when I'm hungry

This weekend

Well I’ve signed up to become an Ivy Buster in Stanley Park this weekend, and I managed to get Graham to agree to come as well. We are both passionate about Stanley Park so it seemed an ideal way of starting to get into the volunteering spirit.

If all goes well we should be doing something we care about whilst meeting new people who share a common interest and getting some good exercise to boot! Hopefully this will become a once a month thing.

I’m not taking this off my list just yet as I haven’t done it yet. And even when it’s done I don’t think I’ll take it off my list as I’d still like to find myself a volunteer position somewhere where I can make a more frequent contribution than once a month.

See more progress on: Volunteer