I Ate Cake For Breakfast

Stephanie said it was okay.  So I did. 

Day 54: I have survived for 30 years

Yay me (and my parents)!  I celebrated my 30th birthday on Monday and what a truly incredible thing that is.  I was up in Swan River for the not-so-momentous occasion so I spent the day literally doing what I love: hanging out with my niece, enjoying nature, doing photographs, and chilling with the family.  I went to bed at 9pm that night.  Welcome to 30! 

But seriously, I don't get the hype over the 30-panic.  To be honest, I am happy that I am out of that confusing time period called my 20s and God help me if I ever find myself in some of the situations I got myself into then.  Seriously, I feel that my 20s were all about me (which is okay!) but more about me trying to FIND me and thus, getting lost in a sea of other people.  Weird how that works, right?  You spend X amount of years trying to be other people in an effort to find yourself...what the heck?  (these are the wise words of a 30 year old...listen up, young 'uns.)

I know a lot of people equate turning 30 to death (or near to anyhow) but I truly feel accomplished that I have A) survived this long!  and B)achieved what I have wanted to achieve by now.  Woot woot!  I was also tallying it up today, I think I have shot 30 weddings by the time I turned 30...how cool is that? :D  Timing is impeccable I think. 

                 

Here is a fun exercise to do.  Look back 10 years from where you are right now.  For me, that would be 20 years old.  Now list all of your accomplishments for the past 10 years:

1)Move to Korea to teach English.
2)Got a black belt in Kuk Sool won
3)Lost 90 lbs
4)Won a gold medal at World championships
5)wrote and published my first book
6)Survived and grieved the passing of my father
7)Managed to make 6 figures
8)Became one of the top sales person for a weight loss company (ironic, right?) (and as a result had the opportunity to do yoga with Ellen's yoga instructor!)
9)Traveled to countless places
10)Started my own photography company
11)Bought my first car over $2000 (and I love her ever so much!)
12)Moved to Scotland and escaped (a story for another time!)
13)Evaded Interpol
14)Bought my first house
15)Sold my first house
16)Quit a "respectable" job to indulge in my life long joy of photography
17)Been published a few times on blogs, in print, etc.
18)Witnessed my nieces and nephews being born
19)Have moved into an amazing apartment
20)Moved out of amazing apartment and into an amazing relationship
21)Successfully started my own vintage clothing store
22)Took ballet








(I found this while I was looking for pictures.  Another achievement: Supper with Drew from Degrassi!!  I didn't know who he was at the time :P EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!)

And these are just the top 22ish that I can think of off the top of my head.  It may sound like you are bragging or being boastful about your accomplishments, but it is amazing to see where you have come from or all the things that you have pushed yourself to learn in the last 10 years.  As you start thinking you will keep adding things in.  I think it is important to appreciate everything that you have done in your life and even if you might not think that it was "special" someone else may find it quite inspiring. 


A wise person once said, "Just think!  You beat out 4,999,999 other sperm to be the person you are today.  I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty special.  What makes you better than 4,999,999 other possible people?" (Jesh de Roux said this at our workshop last week :D So awesome)
But it's true!  Obviously you were stronger, faster, and more persistent than the other lazy oafs, so why stop there??  Why not make the most of this life and do it for all those other sperm that didn't make it.
                     


I thought I wanted to do something absolutely, crazy, amazing, and fabulous for my birthday, but then I realized...I am already living an absolutely, crazy, amazing, and fabulous life! 
Tomorrow is a new day and I shall get my habits back on track (before I head off to BC next week!!)  Tomorrow will be ALL veggies and fruit!!  And water.  Lots and lots of water!

Date: October 9, 2013!
Current weight: dunno

Goal for the day: I hung in and around trees and abandoned houses today
What is your plan for food today? 

road food: bison jerky and protein bar

Planned water intake: 108 oz (5 water bottles full)

Day 51: Farm Life

I spent the last 3 days driving and photographing all the things.  Well, that may be a slight exaggeration, but I have been quite busy with driving up to Swan River, making time with the family, shooting a wedding and a swackload of family sessions and just being on the farm in general.  You have already joined me here once before and I have to say I did a much better job the last time, than I have so far this time.  It could be because my mom brought 2 containers of jujubes and gummy bears.  It could be that my sister brought tons of baking for my brother.  It could be that I literally didn't have time to actually prepare food before my weddings and shoots this time.  But yes, I have not been as stellar as I was before.  I have been quite active, however, which will hopefully work in my favor.  Plus, I still have 2-3 days to redeem myself!

Things that have been consumed within the last 72 hours (in no particular order, just how I remember them)

Katy's Kookies X 3

3 handfuls of gummies

3 scones with jam and/or fresh maple syrup (scones made with whole wheat flour)

a roast beef dinner consisting of potatoes, carrots, coleslaw and of course, roast beef

copious amounts of caffeine

1 piece of cheesecake

2 pieces of skor bar cake

2 pieces of ham and pineapple pizza

2 dry ribs

a bit of caesar salad

a Tim Hortons sandwich

5 timbits (assorted)

diet pop (causing headaches)

3 protein pancakes

equivalent to about 6 handfuls of almonds

crackers and cream cheese spread

1 whole wheat pancake with butter and maple syrup and 3 pieces of bacon

So what does all this mean? Well, say hello to immediate acne returning (awesome!), stomach upsets, gurgling instestinal tract, yucky skin color, etc.  I.  Do.  Not.  Like.  This.

So, as you can see this food is lacking a certain food group....VEGETABLES!! I am at the farm for crying out loud...there is no better place to get vegetables.  I mean, my mom left here with a huge bucket of fresh carrots...I need to get me some of those!!

Other than the crappy eating though, I have been immensely enjoying myself doing exactly what I love and being surrounded by everyone I love (except for this f*ing fly which keeps landing in my hair, on my hand and on the screen and I am about to FLIPOUT!)  I also have felt a bit of a head cold coming on and I rarely get sick so it bugs me when I don't feel "right."  I am trying to drink a lot of water and should probably drink less coffee and more tea.  Yes, this is what I shall do tomorrow :D  Here is an overload of cuteness to get you through the night :D

Date: October 6, 2013!
Current weight: dunno

Goal for the day: wake up and not feel like crap
What is your plan for food today? 

blech

Planned water intake: 108 oz (5 water bottles full)

Day 48: Told you I'd be back!

G'day! I was reluctant to write tonight because I have so much to do before tomorrow morning, but alas, I told myself I would so I will.  Today was actually quite phenomenal, starting off with a great photo shoot this morning with Vicky Dee.  As well, I made sure to drink at least 1 bottle of water before my morning coffee.  Your body is at it's most toxic when you wake up so no need to add more acid to it, I cleansed it first, then fulfilled my caffeine needs.  Also, today I was feeling very fall-esque with this lovely orange polyester number I found at the thrift store and decided to take a picture of me beside my car, because we match!

 

After my photo shoot with the lovely Vicky, I headed home for some lunch (hard-boiled eggs and toast with pb/jam) and downed another 2 bottles of water.  Then it came time to head downtown to pick up new ballet tights, my prints, and hang around sneaking a parking spot near the Crocus building before my ballet class.

 

Ooh! Also for the first time I tried a skinny vanilla latte (I parked at the Starbucks parking lot so I could go to Shoppers to mail some parcels, but the ticket people were hanging about so I had to make it look like I was buying something from Starbucks.)  It wasn't too bad, actually.  I still prefer my coffee black I think.  Afterwards, I still had some time to kill before ballet so I headed to Gorilla Jack's to get some Katy's Kookies for the trip tomorrow and to grab some more protein.  The guy that helped me was extremely helpful when I told him my goals which I definitely appreciated.  He pointed out the pros and cons of certain protein powders which I definitely appreciated.  He deserved his commission (if he makes any...if not, maybe I will tip him next time.)

 

Date: October 3, 2013!
Current weight: 239

Goal for the day: ballet class
What is your plan for food today? 

breakfast: Eggs

lunch: toast and jam/pb

Supper: katy's kookie bar

Planned water intake: 108 oz (5 water bottles full)

Day 47: Agh. Sorry.

Okay. Okay.  I have not been super consistent with writing lately but I have been up to so much stuff!  No excuse, I know, but it is true!  I am finishing off the last weddings of the season, working on my shop, and venturing into the world of Fine Art Photography.   In addition to that, winter is fast approaching (sob, sob) so I am trying to do as many photo shoots as I can while it is relatively nice outside!  A lot of other things have been slacking as well, house upkeep, cooking, preparing, etc.

But seeing as this IS my life, I need to make this a priority.  Being healthy, that is.  Not necessarily blogging, but I find that blogging keeps me more accountable.  Yay for writing!  I haven't been eating bad, but I haven't been as cautious as before.  I will say, though, my body is very quick to respond now, when eating something that it does not appreciate (ie. bread).  Not only does that make for an uncomfortable, bloaty day, but also it makes public appearances a lot more.....stressful.

Good news!  I haven't had any chocolates from the fridge yet.  Woot woot!  My sign is working haha!  Because Ryan and I have both been extremely busy these last few days we actually stopped at this place called Supper Central and picked up a bunch of different prepared meals which is definitely helpful.  Last night, Ryan cooked me salmon and rice.  Yummy!

 

Prior to that, however, we had indulged in Stellas for breakfast where I caved for my usual Mexican breakfast.  Delicious but dangerous.  As you can see, Ryan likes to steal my guacamole.

 So, what am I going to do about this?  I am going to stop being a slouch and start getting my ass in gear.  I will once again blog every day or night even if it is a small bit.  I will keep track of my water intake (also slacking) and I will start preparing.   This weekend I have my last wedding of the wedding season and a ton of fall photos up in Swan River, so I will have to be prepared for those events.  In addition to that, my 30th birthday is next week! Yay!

 

As for my soul, I had the most immense, intense, educational experience on Monday where I was fortunate to be able to go to John Maxwell's Conference and then take part in Jesh De Roux's Beloved workshop.  I was so overwhelmed with inspiration from both events that I actually broke down crying on the way home.  I literally felt like my soul had heard everything that it needed to hear on Monday and it just reinforced exactly what I feel, how I shoot, and how I run my business.  It was an extreme honor to meet Jesh and experience his passion for what he does and see how he changes people.  Amazing.  

Anyhow, here is today's delightfulness:

Date: October 2, 2013!
Current weight: 240

Goal for the day: CLEAN THE HOUSE
What is your plan for food today? 

breakfast: Eggs

lunch: almonds and salmon

Supper: green smoothie

Planned water intake: 108 oz (5 water bottles full)

Day 43: The C Word

It makes us squirm when we hear it.  It makes us uncomfortable.  It causes immediate apprehension.  Women absolutely hate to hear it.  Men don't understand why we hate it so much:

Cramps.  F*ing cramps. 

So why am I bringing up this horrific and unpleasant experience?  Because within a month of eating healthy I have been healed! (imagine me saying that like a preacher....much better, right?)  I am not even joking and this may be bordering on TMI, however, since this is a science project to report my findings is a necessity and part of my journey was so that I would prevent myself from downing a bottle of Advil once a week every month.  One of the beautiful symptoms of PCOS is dreadfully painful cramping during menstruation and again, not sure if I have PCOS 100%, however I can tell you that I have passed out before due to the intensity of cramps.  I'm a strong girl, so to be taken out by something so stupid as my uterus is ridiculous. 

                        

Anyhow, this time around I still experienced cramping, but it wasn't near as severe as usual.  I can only assume that me cutting out all the crap (but mostly the starchy goodness and straight up sugar) has played a huge role in the alleviation of lady part pain.  That in itself is enough for me to cut out refined sugar for good.  Seriously.  If I don't have to subject my liver to an overdose of drugs, that would be stellar.
                                                                     

Now that we are out of the icky subject, let's move on shall we!  Today I am shooting a lovely wedding out in Richer, MB so I took Chantelle's advice and whipped up some protein pancakes.  You can find the recipe here.  This time I got a little creative because I only had chocolate protein powder, so I threw in a handful of unsweetened coconut as well so I'd have chocolate, coconut, banana pancakes! Delicious!

 

 So delicious.  I also paired that with some mango (they are super fresh at Safeway right now!) and got myself fed for the day!  I shall pack a bit of almonds in my camera bag to munch on as well.  I have this wedding and then one more wedding next weekend and then I shall start heading to the gym or working out because I need to get my butt moving!   Anyhow, I have to drive out to Richer now so I shall bid you adieu and wish everyone a lovely Saturday :D

Date: September 28, 2013!
Current weight: 239

Goal for the day: wedding day!
What is your plan for food today? 

breakfast: protein pancakes and mango

lunch: 1 protein pancake and almonds (while sitting in my car...)

Supper: whatevs is served :D

Planned water intake: 108 oz (5 water bottles full)

Day 41: It's Just a Little Bit Crazy

I realize I haven't written in about 3 days but I have excessively busy and all over the map.  We drove home from Regina on Tuesday and I have to say that day was quite the write off.  I think being the passenger is even more troublesome for snacking than driving.  We had stocked up on good things from Dad's Organic Food Market in Regina, but when you eat all those good things in the same day it is still a lot of food.

Before we left Regina, however, we met up with Ryan's Gma for some coffee at McDonalds.  Her and her friends get together every week for breakfast there.  It's really cute.  Now this woman knows how to live!! She is 94 years young and still kicking and she has the spirit of a 12 year old!  I love her to bits!

 

However, she was adamant that I eat something with breakfast so I participated in a carrot muffin.  

 During the roadtrip we consumed all the things: pork pepperoni sticks, bean chips, organic gummies, yogurt, water, and tea.  Waaaaaay too much stuff.  In addition when we arrived home, we ordered Boston Pizza to which I had the quesadilla with guacamole.  BUT I have come to the conclusion that I have met my guacamole limit and it almost made me sick.

Yesterday was a bit better in regards to what I consumed.  The only "not so clean" part was the Tim Horton's sandwich that we grabbed while running around downtown.  Last night Stephanie and I planned to go play tennis so I wanted something light to eat, so I made up a smoothie suggested by Stephanie.  The recipe is below.

also, Ryan and I had gone to the local food market and stocked up on lots of nummy things including home made fruit leather.  Granted it was quite spendy, but I would rather spend the money that sit at home for 7 hours waiting for it to cook.  Plus its not something I should be consuming all the time.

 

Today has started off quite well!  I am enjoying my first cup of coffee after consuming a delicious container of cottage cheese with walnuts, 1 tsp of vanilla pear jam from Bobbie, and 1 tsp of cinnamon.  Yum yum yum!!  The rest of the day I will make sure will go swimmingly as tonight I have ballet again!! Woot yay!!  I love wearing my leotard haha!  Sometimes I will just sit around the house wearing my leotard and a skirt.  It makes me feel danc-y.

I will leave today at that, but stayed tuned tomorrow for the C-word.  Duh duh duuuuuuuuuuuh.

Date: September 26, 2013!
Current weight: 240

Goal for the day: walk a bit, ballet, gym time?
What is your plan for food today? 

breakfast: cottage cheese delicious

lunch: bison burger with lettuce

snack: almonds

Supper: something with ground turkey...meatloaf perhaps?

Planned water intake: 108 oz (5 water bottles full)