5/30/2007
To weigh or not to weigh
I have been dreading this visit to scale since I was not very disciplined this week. Lots of work usually means less time for home meals and exercise and more late night eating so after breaking the 20 pound loss plateau last week. I am sad to report I am up by 2.6 pounds in the last 7 days so my total is now back to 18 pounds. Maybe there is something to this weight training theory. Hmmm...
5/28/2007
I've been plagarized
So there I was, minding my own business when I decided last Wednesday to start a thread on www.racingstalkers.com about these 100 calorie packs of snack food you can now buy. I don't think I commented on the quality or flavour. Most of my comments were about the lame name and it's french translation. In English, the product is called "Thinsations" and in French it's even worse "Mince Alors!" And you will also notice the French name gets an exclamation point.
I was kind of disappointed that no one responded but on Saturday while I was enjoying a week late Victoria Day weekend, I go online to the homepage of my favourite video blogger, the lovely and talented Kate Bilo and what is she talking about? 100 calorie packs of snack foods. Talk about borrowing a great idea. I think I should get a writing credit and 50% of the royalties.
Of course, after watching her blog about my topic I am now jealous. Mainly because she has a lot more options in these 100 calories products. All I've seen on the shelves of my small town A&P and Walmart stores has been Nabisco mostly. Oreos, Chips Ahoys, graham crackers, and shortbread cookies. I think I have also seen Sun chips and Doritos. Maybe I just haven't been looking hard enough? Maybe it is time for me to cross the border and visit my favourite grocery store in Watertown NY. Or better yet, Miss Bilo should send me some as the first payment on the piles of money she earns on all these video blogs.
I was kind of disappointed that no one responded but on Saturday while I was enjoying a week late Victoria Day weekend, I go online to the homepage of my favourite video blogger, the lovely and talented Kate Bilo and what is she talking about? 100 calorie packs of snack foods. Talk about borrowing a great idea. I think I should get a writing credit and 50% of the royalties.
Of course, after watching her blog about my topic I am now jealous. Mainly because she has a lot more options in these 100 calories products. All I've seen on the shelves of my small town A&P and Walmart stores has been Nabisco mostly. Oreos, Chips Ahoys, graham crackers, and shortbread cookies. I think I have also seen Sun chips and Doritos. Maybe I just haven't been looking hard enough? Maybe it is time for me to cross the border and visit my favourite grocery store in Watertown NY. Or better yet, Miss Bilo should send me some as the first payment on the piles of money she earns on all these video blogs.
5/23/2007
Weekly weight loss update
I forgot to climb onto the scale this morning so you'll have to be satisfied with yesterday's result which was down 1.4 pounds from May 15th and a total of 20.6 pounds. Now I have been told I need to lift weights to increase my lean muscle mass. Isn't dragging a 40 some pound lawnmower up and down a steep hill once a week enough?
5/22/2007
Job security
I think I know the perfect career if you want to have 1 job for your entire life. Become a travel agent. Granted you won't get rich but just trying to navigate all the possible permutations of choices in helping people get from Point A to Point B and back to Point A again. It makes my head spin and I'm not even seriously considering a trip right now.
This all began with a complaint about airline prices on a flight from Victoria to Winnipeg for a wedding. Unfortunately, or fortunately for them, there is no competition in Canada. You can fly Air Canada or you can fly WestJet and they don't serve near as many cities as AC. Harmony just went out of business, Air Transat doesn't offer domestic flights anymore and there are only a handful on Skyservice.
Since I sort of work in the travel industry and I'd like to travel someday. Perhaps Lotto 6/49 will tell me I am worth $25 million at this time tomorrow then I'd be traveling somewhere in the next week. I thought I'd see what kind of prices I could find for the Martinsville fall NASCAR race weekend. I chose Thursday Oct 18 for departure and Tuesday Oct 23 for my return since midweek days usually offer cheaper ticket prices. I started with flights from Toronto to Greensboro, NC because they are the closest cities to deal with.
So here are the results of my research, such as it is.
Airlines flying out of Toronto to GSO. (All prices in Canadian dollars provided by the airline or in US dollars and then calculated at www.xe.net using the current, live mid-market exchange rate at the time.) Prices were also rounded off to the nearest dollar.
Air Canada $628
American $747
Continental $630
Delta $618
Northwest $630
United $627
US Airways $630
Next option was Toronto to Raleigh-Durham.
Air Canada offers a direct flight for $544
And with 1 stop; Midwest Express charges $541, US Airways $510 and Delta $550.
And lastly, Toronto to Charlotte. Both Air Canada and US Airways offer direct, non-stop flights. And not much to choose from here in terms of different prices.
Air Canada $550
US Airways $547
Delta $554
Now be prepared to be shocked when I change my city of departure and am willing to drive a little farther to reach an airport. I limited my research to US Airways and Delta because I know they serve each city. (Again, all prices are in Canadian dollars and please no wagering.)
Buffalo to Greensboro, NC
Delta $210
US Airways $287
Buffalo to Charlotte
DAL $268
USA $375
Buffalo to Raleigh
DAL $150
USA $148
Rochester to Charlotte
DAL $264
USA $366
Syracuse to Greensboro
DAL $186
USA $255
Syracuse to Charlotte
DAL $248
USA $334
Syracuse to Raleigh
DAL $217
USA $233
Watertown to Greensboro
DAL $185
Watertown to Charlotte
DAL $358
Watertown to Raleigh
DAL $270
Just look at the different prices, just for different flights to Greensboro all flying on the same days.
Cheapest from Toronto is:
Delta $618
Fly out of Buffalo that price drops to:
Delta $210, thats $418 cheaper for those keeping score.
From Syracuse, Delta will fly you to Greensboro for $186 round trip and even from tiny little Watertown, NY it's $185 or $433 cheaper than flying from Toronto.
And don't even get me started on those travel websites that promise BIG savings if you book your flight, hotel and rental car at the same time. You know the ones, like the talking garden decoration one. From Toronto, the cheapest package was around $980 and went up from there. From Buffalo, prices started around $775. Looking by myself I came up with a rough total of $640 Canadian.
And on a humourous note for those who know the story. The Greensboro Coliseum Travelodge was one of the options for those travel packages and from the customer comments, it seems the place is still as big of a dump as it was in 2004 when I had the "pleasure" of staying there.
This all began with a complaint about airline prices on a flight from Victoria to Winnipeg for a wedding. Unfortunately, or fortunately for them, there is no competition in Canada. You can fly Air Canada or you can fly WestJet and they don't serve near as many cities as AC. Harmony just went out of business, Air Transat doesn't offer domestic flights anymore and there are only a handful on Skyservice.
Since I sort of work in the travel industry and I'd like to travel someday. Perhaps Lotto 6/49 will tell me I am worth $25 million at this time tomorrow then I'd be traveling somewhere in the next week. I thought I'd see what kind of prices I could find for the Martinsville fall NASCAR race weekend. I chose Thursday Oct 18 for departure and Tuesday Oct 23 for my return since midweek days usually offer cheaper ticket prices. I started with flights from Toronto to Greensboro, NC because they are the closest cities to deal with.
So here are the results of my research, such as it is.
Airlines flying out of Toronto to GSO. (All prices in Canadian dollars provided by the airline or in US dollars and then calculated at www.xe.net using the current, live mid-market exchange rate at the time.) Prices were also rounded off to the nearest dollar.
Air Canada $628
American $747
Continental $630
Delta $618
Northwest $630
United $627
US Airways $630
Next option was Toronto to Raleigh-Durham.
Air Canada offers a direct flight for $544
And with 1 stop; Midwest Express charges $541, US Airways $510 and Delta $550.
And lastly, Toronto to Charlotte. Both Air Canada and US Airways offer direct, non-stop flights. And not much to choose from here in terms of different prices.
Air Canada $550
US Airways $547
Delta $554
Now be prepared to be shocked when I change my city of departure and am willing to drive a little farther to reach an airport. I limited my research to US Airways and Delta because I know they serve each city. (Again, all prices are in Canadian dollars and please no wagering.)
Buffalo to Greensboro, NC
Delta $210
US Airways $287
Buffalo to Charlotte
DAL $268
USA $375
Buffalo to Raleigh
DAL $150
USA $148
Rochester to Charlotte
DAL $264
USA $366
Syracuse to Greensboro
DAL $186
USA $255
Syracuse to Charlotte
DAL $248
USA $334
Syracuse to Raleigh
DAL $217
USA $233
Watertown to Greensboro
DAL $185
Watertown to Charlotte
DAL $358
Watertown to Raleigh
DAL $270
Just look at the different prices, just for different flights to Greensboro all flying on the same days.
Cheapest from Toronto is:
Delta $618
Fly out of Buffalo that price drops to:
Delta $210, thats $418 cheaper for those keeping score.
From Syracuse, Delta will fly you to Greensboro for $186 round trip and even from tiny little Watertown, NY it's $185 or $433 cheaper than flying from Toronto.
And don't even get me started on those travel websites that promise BIG savings if you book your flight, hotel and rental car at the same time. You know the ones, like the talking garden decoration one. From Toronto, the cheapest package was around $980 and went up from there. From Buffalo, prices started around $775. Looking by myself I came up with a rough total of $640 Canadian.
And on a humourous note for those who know the story. The Greensboro Coliseum Travelodge was one of the options for those travel packages and from the customer comments, it seems the place is still as big of a dump as it was in 2004 when I had the "pleasure" of staying there.
5/16/2007
Quick update
Sorry for the brevity of this post. I am down another 0.8 pounds for this week for a total of 19.8 pounds, that's an even 9 kilograms.
5/15/2007
Feeling artistic
Sitting here waiting for the dog to come in from doing her business outside I'd thought I would show you a couple more photos I took. These were taken today after something I saw yesterday.
I don't live in the most glamourous neighbourhood and there is a lot of activity nearby. We have two sets of rail lines, a busy 4 lane street, the factory of the largest employer in town and lots of retail with some residential thrown in. But the lake is only a few minutes of walking away.
On Sunday morning, I took the dog for a walk downtown so I could deposit my whopping (insert sarcasm smiley here) paycheque into my bank account. On our way home we walked through the property that used to be home to the Canadian Pacfic Railroad station. The original building has been torn down and replaced with a little pre-fab box.
As we got closer to the street, off to my right I could see some purple and yellow in a pile of rubble behind the restaurant on the south side of the tracks that must have come from the garden they used to have before they expanded. I thought it was just some weeds that had taken root but when I got closer, I could see they were tulips.
I don't live in the most glamourous neighbourhood and there is a lot of activity nearby. We have two sets of rail lines, a busy 4 lane street, the factory of the largest employer in town and lots of retail with some residential thrown in. But the lake is only a few minutes of walking away.
On Sunday morning, I took the dog for a walk downtown so I could deposit my whopping (insert sarcasm smiley here) paycheque into my bank account. On our way home we walked through the property that used to be home to the Canadian Pacfic Railroad station. The original building has been torn down and replaced with a little pre-fab box.
As we got closer to the street, off to my right I could see some purple and yellow in a pile of rubble behind the restaurant on the south side of the tracks that must have come from the garden they used to have before they expanded. I thought it was just some weeds that had taken root but when I got closer, I could see they were tulips.
5/10/2007
The puppy and other stuff
Combining a couple of topics into one post just because it's late and I am in need of my beauty sleep (Yeah right, not even a beauty coma could help me).
First of all, it's Wednesday so that means weight loss update. Little by little the number gets smaller. So I am down by another 1.4 pounds for this week for a total of 19 even. Yes I have given up on posting everything in metric, the math took too long.
Secondly, my birthday was last week. It was OK I guess. Nothing spectacular or memorable. As Tennessee Ernie Ford sang in his unmistakable baritone voice.. "You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt"
Lastly, my poor puppy dog had a very rough day on Tuesday. Angel is allergic to flea bites and when it happens she gets a rash called a hotspot. To help heal this condition the fur in the area has to be shaved to allow air circulation. Normally, this is not a big deal, at least it hasn't been until this year. Everytime my sister tried to trim the fur, the dog would either cover her head with her paw or try to push my sister's arm away.
So first thing on Tuesday morning, sis called a dog groomer who agreed to help. Into the van Angel went and half an hour later she came back with the same amount of fur she had before. Apparently, she didn't appreciate what the groomer was attempting to do and put up a fight.
So my sister then called the vet and explained the situation. Down to the vet they went along with another dog who had an appointment at the same time. Angel was taken into the examination room and was given a sedative. When the vet returned, Angel was sitting there staring at her because the shot had no effect on her. The vet then returned with another needle and a stronger sedative. This one made Angel drowsy and she laid down but as soon as the shears were turned on, she woke back up and again fought so the vet finally decided to have her knocked out with a couple of valium and another drug so the job was finally done. The vet also provided a steroid spray to help heal the area and Angel runs away anytime someone approaches with that!
First of all, it's Wednesday so that means weight loss update. Little by little the number gets smaller. So I am down by another 1.4 pounds for this week for a total of 19 even. Yes I have given up on posting everything in metric, the math took too long.
Secondly, my birthday was last week. It was OK I guess. Nothing spectacular or memorable. As Tennessee Ernie Ford sang in his unmistakable baritone voice.. "You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt"
Lastly, my poor puppy dog had a very rough day on Tuesday. Angel is allergic to flea bites and when it happens she gets a rash called a hotspot. To help heal this condition the fur in the area has to be shaved to allow air circulation. Normally, this is not a big deal, at least it hasn't been until this year. Everytime my sister tried to trim the fur, the dog would either cover her head with her paw or try to push my sister's arm away.
So first thing on Tuesday morning, sis called a dog groomer who agreed to help. Into the van Angel went and half an hour later she came back with the same amount of fur she had before. Apparently, she didn't appreciate what the groomer was attempting to do and put up a fight.
So my sister then called the vet and explained the situation. Down to the vet they went along with another dog who had an appointment at the same time. Angel was taken into the examination room and was given a sedative. When the vet returned, Angel was sitting there staring at her because the shot had no effect on her. The vet then returned with another needle and a stronger sedative. This one made Angel drowsy and she laid down but as soon as the shears were turned on, she woke back up and again fought so the vet finally decided to have her knocked out with a couple of valium and another drug so the job was finally done. The vet also provided a steroid spray to help heal the area and Angel runs away anytime someone approaches with that!
5/03/2007
Good news
In one of my first posts, I think I mentioned visiting the dentist and the hygenist finding a "lump" in my mouth, then going to see an oral surgeon and finally referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist. That appointment happened this morning and took all of 15 minutes. To make a long, internationally copyrighted story short. Everything is fine and no problems, no surgery and no cancer. To celebrate I bought a 1/2" thick ribeye steak and threw it on the BBQ when I got home.
5/02/2007
Yay me!
Boy I've been a busy little blogger the last few days. But I guess that's what happens when you are self-employed and you have extra time on your hands.
Anyhoo, I am pleased to report that I have passed my first weight-loss goal. Actually I passed it a week ago but I wanted to be sure that I wasn't going to bounce back up again. I am down 1.4 pounds for the week and 17.4 total.
Anyhoo, I am pleased to report that I have passed my first weight-loss goal. Actually I passed it a week ago but I wanted to be sure that I wasn't going to bounce back up again. I am down 1.4 pounds for the week and 17.4 total.
5/01/2007
Happy Birthday Riley!!!
This handsome young man, is my nephew, Riley Vincent. Today, May 1, he turns the big oh-three. Have a great day buddy and your uncle will be *cough cough* years old on Friday.
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