Still Thriving!

One of my besties has baby #3, a girl named Laura, on May 18, 2016! So excited for them!!! Their oldest is a boy, Michael … I want to say he’ll be 4 in the fall. Number 2 is a girl, Danielle, will be 2 this summer.

This week has gone by quickly with not much exciting … other than above written paragraph!

I found out that Florida Georgia Line will be performing in Vancouver in November. I saw then a few years ago in Penticton and will be buying a ticket to this coming concert, too.

Today I bought a ticket to see Whitney Cummings in Vegas. She is one of my favorite comedians, so this is totally a bucket-list experience!

I did my first 5-week weigh-in/measure yesterday. I’m only down less than 2 pounds but I’ve lost over 4 inches. That’s something and down is down!

Yesterday morning I did a nice long walk … hit my minimum 10K steps before 9:45 am! Even spent a good 20 minutes on the swing set at the park … and I think more adults need to take swing set time! It’s NOT just for the kids. And there were no kids waiting for a swing … in fact, there were 6 swings not in use when I got there. And a young couple (maybe late 20’s) joined me on the swings – it was awesome!

Last weekend I did a small shopping trip. Got some new tank tops, sports bras, sunglasses, make up.

I bought a new ball cap/hat from TNA. And I got a new bag … shoulder bag. The brand is Hedgren. It’s a smaller purse/bag so that I don’t need to use my backpack all the time. Especially in Vegas – I don’t want to haul a backpack around each day. Just something big enough to hold the essentials.

This weekend has been pretty mellow. Today I haven’t done much of anything. I’ve been in my jammies all day (ok, my jammies are workout gear LOL) and had to put on my bra to go to Safeway for a few groceries.

Friday the 13th!

The screens were delivered on time and they fit perfect! Now I can leave my windows open (more) without bugs/bees/flies getting in and without the fear of the cats jumping to their death! Haha

My walk on Saturday didn’t go as planned. I was thinking I’d walk the Stanley Park Seawall … but my brain got in the way!

I ended up walking around Lost Lagoon and then to the Siwash Rock and back. All in all it was about 10+ km, so a pretty decent walk!

I stopped and picked up some lemonade mix and made my own version of Starbucks’ Passion Tea Lemonade. Brew a 2x or 3x strong tea, then mix 25/75 or 50/50 with lemonade! Voila!

Sunday was Mother’s Day and I don’t live near my Mom. But I called her.

Monday was work … and it was a beautiful day! I went for a 90-minute walk in the evening … to Siwash Rock and back. The sunset was gorgeous!

On Tuesday, I felt like my walks haven’t been pushing me quite enough, so I went to the work gym at lunch and did a hard 30-minutes on the stationary bike. I was a hot sweaty mess! Loved it!

Wednesday … what was Wednesday? Oh I got out my Pilates Resistance Bands and did maybe 4 minutes of side-steps with the easiest band around my ankles. Man did that make my glutes burn!

Thursday I woke up with a sore neck and a headache. I took some Tylenol and made my way to work. I was not feeling well … kind of dizzy, light stomach, headache, tired. I stayed 2 hours and then bailed to come home. I spent the day horizontal on the couch – not a very relaxing day honestly. Dinner consisted of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Luckily I slept like a rock during the night!

Today is Friday. Friday the 13th! It’s always been a lucky/good day for me … nothing of importance happened, but it was a nice day. Tonight has been rather chill – just hanging at home with my girls!

Trying something new with my pictures for this blog. Let me know if you like them like this or if you prefer them as individual tiles!

Wind, Water, Sun, Sand, Surf

Yesterday didn’t get as hot as forecast … maybe about 18 degrees. But it was sooooo breezy! And one thing I didn’t really think of is that when the breeze is coming off water, it’s cold.

Penticton, where I moved to Vancouver from, there is Okanagan Lake to the north and Skaha Lake to the south.

And when the wind is coming off the water, it’s cold.

Well when the wind is coming off the OCEAN … it’s COLDER! LOL

The sun was out but the winds were up … about 35 km/h. I only stayed at the beach for maybe an hour – just long enough to eat my lunch and take in the scenery.

I can imagine these beaches will eventually be PACKED, so it was quite nice to be one of only a handful of people down there. There were still tons of people out and about … just not sitting at the beach.

Today’s forecast is 22 degrees with winds of about 15 km/h. Not too bad … I wore flipflops yesterday, so any distance walking was totally out of the question. I’ll likely wear my sneakers today so that if I get to the beach/grassy area and it’s windy/cold, I can just keep going (kind of turn around) and go up to Nelson Park … it’s about 3 -4 blocks NE from my apartment but I think since it’s inland, the park may be more sheltered from the winds or at least they won’t be the “cold off the water” winds.

At 9:00 am today I have my window screens being delivered! I’m stoked … no more flies/bees coming in the apartment, but also the ability to leave my windows fully open without fear of my cats accidentally jumping 6 stories to their death! The apartment owner doesn’t supply screens because past tenants haven’t taken care of them. So now if a tenant wants them, they can get them but at their own cost. I’m fine with it – whatever … it’s a decent $150 spent. But isn’t that what a Damage Deposit is for!?

I think after the screens come, I’d like to walk around the Seawall.

Given the extra distance I need to walk to get to and from the Seawall (path) from my apartment, I would say it’s likely a 11-12 km trip. Takes me about about 2 1/2 hours to walk.

I may be “that tourist” today :o)

Day Off In May!?

Happy Friday! I decided on Monday that since the weather is supposed to be GORGEOUS today, that I wanted the day off! And voila … here I am at home, and not at work, on a Friday! Love it!!!

So what has your week been like? Mine has been ebbing and flowing. My mood was brought WAY down by a negative piss-poor attitude co-worker and it really affected me.

Monday was not too bad work-wise … and weather-wise, too! I have been trying to post a positive-attitude picture or collage each day and this was Monday’s:

So in an effort to rectify the situation, after work on Tuesday I stopped by Bath and Body Works to see if their 3-wick candles were on sale because I wanted a(nother) lilac candle. They were on for $15 instead of $22.50 … so I bought 4 new candles (yeah, it was still $60!)

Tuesday’s Positive Post was:

Yup – I include some humour in the posts LOL

Wednesday was good. Wednesday night was better. I saw a post on FB that Gwen Stefani was coming to Vancouver, so I popped on Ticketmaster to check out tickets.

I ended up getting a ticket to Gwen Stefani & Eve in August and a ticket to Keith Urban, Dallas Smith & Maren Morris in September! I am so stoked for the exciting experiences & memories coming my way this summer!!!

So not only are these coming up, but I have already been to Jamaica this year. Also, I’m going to Vegas in July to see Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood. I’m going to the Okanagan in August. I have tickets to CFL games in June, August, and November. WOOT WOOT!

Since the Gwen concert is a Thursday night, I booked off the Friday :o) It’s such a nice change to be able to request time off on the fly, as opposed to having to request the full year’s vacations at the beginning of the year (as at my previous job) … like seriously, who knows exactly when they want vacation for summer/fall in January!?

Yesterday’s picture was a collage of a couple of pictures I’ve posted (on Instagram & FB) before, along with a positive picture :o)

So now on to Friday … Day Off Friday!

I’ve spent the past hour and bit cleaning up the apartment. I still have quite a bit of cleaning to do as I’ve been uber lazy about it! It’s getting warm out already … it’s 15 degrees and is forecast to get up to 23. After cleaning up, I will plan out a lunch and head to the beach/park for a bit of sunworshipping!

Tomorrow I have my window screens being delivered, then I haven’t any plans … likely the lunch/park/beach thing again! Forecast tomorrow is 21 degrees.

Sunday is supposed to be “cold” at only 15 degrees, but mainly sunny. Not sure what Sunday will hold … it’s Mother’s Day (don’t forget)!

 

#Flipflops #Sunshine

Oh man – my back has been KILLING me for the past … week, at least! When I walk to work or home … or ever, my lower right back/above my pelvic/hip bone aches absolutely insanely!

The chiro I saw in January was able to do small adjustments, but he was never able to actually fix it. And once I stopped seeing him, my back loosened up.

Until now again! I think I need to get him to do his small adjustments to hopefully relieve some of this ache!

Walking is becoming almost unbearable (unbareable?) and that’s not good because walking is my thing!

At the VegExpo last weekend, I had a “spinal analysis” and that chiro even said that my lower right back was “totally jammed up” which is what my chiro says too. I need to get in and see him ASAP!

So this morning I walked to Indigo Spirit (a smaller version of Indigo … a branch of Chapters/Indigo/Coles Canadian bookstore … to return a book I bought a couple of weeks back on stretching. It just wasn’t what I hoped it would be.

I decided I wouldn’t get a different book … but looked around anyways! I happened up the “self-help” section, I guess. It’s a section I have frequented many times in my life!

I saw the book by Shonda Rhimes that I had been pondering, but at $32.00 CAD for a small hardcover, it just wasn’t something I really wanted.

Then I saw “Pretty Happy” by Kate Hudson and it really spoke to me. The catch line on the cover is “healthy ways to love your body” and that’s exactly what my body consists of right now! And it was on sale for $25 instead of $33.50 … ok deal!

I kept browsing and came to the Travel section. My eyes dart towards the Las Vegas area because I (finally) booked my trip to Las Vegas on Friday … I’m going for 5 days in July! It’s my first time there and I’m going solo … so I’ll have the whole time to explore, see, and enjoy! Oh – and I’m going to Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood :o)

So I walk home and decide that I need to grab some stuff and find a nice spot at the beach. But first … I must shave my legs! Ahahaha

Shave done, towel grabbed, books in bag, water gathered and off I go! I found a nice grassy spot and laid my towel out. It was a glorious day – the sun was shining bright (yup – my upper back is a little tomato red)!

I was there for a couple of hours but my brain was going on “what will I buy for lunches this week?” so I stopped by Safeway and grabbed a couple of salads. I also got some chicken strips, and some fruit & veggies.

Once I got home, I chopped up a few items (cucumber, orange, lemon, ginger) and plopped them in some filtered water in the fridge. This water has been delicious! And apparently, if you add acid/citrus to your water, it makes it more easily absorbed inside your body – bonus!

Anyways – enough babbling for today! Thanks for reading & following … and if you have any advice or suggestions for Vegas – please leave a comment!!!

No Sympathy, Please

This is my 9th tax season … of actually working in/with taxes.

This last week of April is almost always the busiest (for those American followers, Canada’s personal tax filing deadline is April 30).

Back in Penticton, we would have a Tax Party after work on the last day of tax season. In Vancouver, it’s the same! LOL

The difference this year and every few years, is that April 30 falls on a weekend, so the actual deadline is pushed to the first business day in May … May 2 in 2016. But instead of having the tax party on Monday night, it done on the Friday night.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this year’s tax party because I’m now working in an office of about 700 people, as opposed to an office of 12-15 people!

Well let me tell you … it was a great time.

PwC had reserved the whole of Lamplighter in Gastown for this function. We were given 2 drink tickets upon entry … 2 tickets … that’s it? Wow – I sound rude!

Well they kept coming around with more drink tickets! I think I ended up with 8 tickets … plus friends/coworkers gave me another 4-5 …

I was feeling good!

Then the shooters started! Oh boy … they did me in! I wasn’t so much drunk when I left, but for sure when I was at home!

My stomach was not kind to me when I tried to go to sleep … but that was taken care of and then I slept.

This is my post for the day … Last night I was “all in” but today I’m “all out” LOL! I am grateful for Thrive to fill in today’s nutritional gaps! I was not extremely hungry … but the food I ate wasn’t of the best nutritional value hehe!

On Thursday, my Le-Vel auto ship order arrived and I opted for the Black Label DFT for the next month! It’s said to be a completely different formula with greater mood enhancers!

I’ve still got 1 week left in my month, so this one is sitting to the side for a bit.

Well folks – that’s all for today and this week! Tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful (today was too, but my couch had my name all over it!) so I am aiming to get out for some good steps. Going to return a stretch book and maybe get a different book … one by Shonda Rhimes.