Bridesmaids With My Bridesmaids...

Saturday was sushi...

And Bridesmaids...

With my bridesmaids...

The movie was hilarious! It has so many funny moments that I didn't know what to do with myself - laugh or pee! :) It was also a great reminder that your best friends are your best friends because they love you for who you are, flaws and all! And your girlfriends will be there for you through every phase in your life, no matter what! It was the perfect movie to see with my best girlfriends who also happen to be my bridesmaids! I felt very lucky sitting in that theatre!

Pasta.... lovely, delicious pasta!

Everyone knows that I L.O.V.E. carbs... I love rice and crackers and good crunchy sourdough bread. But my absolute favorite thing IN. THIS. WORLD. is pasta! I love all pasta - penne, fettuccini, spaghetti, rigitoni, angel hair, shells, orzo, ravioli, tortellini, etc., etc. etc.

However, pasta and my waistline do not get along, so I've had to resort to whole wheat pasta, and only once per week if anything.

MMMMMMMM... Fettuccini Alfredo!

So I've made a deal with myself: Once I lose 10lbs, I'll treat myself to a night out with a big bowl of hearty white pasta with alfredo sauce. I'll work out before and all the next day, but this will be my reward for my hard work. My first love and I will be reunited for a brief moment in time. :)

I'm working really hard to shed my spare tire and jiggly wiggly bits, but every girl needs to indulge in something. I've traded in the booze and late-night Denny's covered-not-smothered hashbrowns for diet rootbeer and white pasta, so my indulgence will be a reunion with this old stand-by friend, and that is enough to get my butt in gear at the gym 4 days per week!

Keep moving, friends!

Our Weekend...

Friday night we stayed home with a big bowl of comforting Chinese Noodle Soup because my eye was infected and I really didn't want to do anything!!!

Saturday morning I went to my second WW meeting, and I was down 4.1lbs!!! All of my hard work paid off!!! My trick, you ask??? Lots of water, whole grains, move more, eat less. Simple!

Then I was off to meet Lisa and Lizz for brunch on Commercial Drive, did some produce shopping, and then home to meet up with Aaron for our date night!!!

We did a bunch of running around, then off to Metrotown for sushi dinner and Thor.

I thought that the movie was cute (nice love story) but super cheesy! It wasn't my favorite of the Super Hero movies, but it wasn't a horrible way to spend 2 hours considering that Chris Helmsworth took his shirt off and even Aaron was impressed! :)

Sunday we picked up Calista's new Princess bike, and off to her 4th birthday party!

I can't believe that she's 4 already! Next year she'll be in school! I love this little girl (our flower girl) to pieces! She's full of personality, she's smart, she's funny, and she's just a loveable, polite, loving little girl! When Aaron and I secretively went out to the car to get her new Disney Princess Bike, we looked up in the window and she was spying on us with giant brown eyes and jumped up and down screaming "I GOT A NEW BIKE!" It was hilarious, and we were frozen not knowing what to do. Thankfully the excitement of the day made her forget until we presented it to her later (with her other Auntie Behnaz and Uncle Tory), and she was so super excited! What a great moment!!!

Then it was grocery shopping, shower, and Canucks time!!!

We took down the Sharks 3 - 2, and won our first game of Round 3!!!

Dinner, some PVR'd tv, and off to bed!

AHHHHH! Another great weekend... wish it wasn't over already!

Come on down...

The family (Mom, brother, brother's girlfriend, Auntie R, Uncle T, me, Aaron, our family friends, Linda and Ryan, and Ryan's new gf) went down to the River Rock Resort theatre to watch a live episode of The Price is Right last night... and who should get called but.... ME!

Tara Legare... come oooooooooooooooooooon down!

So nervous as I ran down the stairs to applause. They brought out a fuseball table, I guessed $350, and I LOST! Big time! The answer was around $129 so of course the last contestant shouted out $1 and won.

Oh well, it was a good time and Aaron wound up with my consulation prise - a PIR t-shirt and a legendary platter from White Spot! So I guess it was worth it, at least for my man! :)

A Thursday Giggle...

I DVR'd the Royal Wedding of William and Kate like many others, and was entranced! It was like a fairy tale I'm sure to them both, as well as all the world that was able to watch it. And when I saw "The Hats" as they will forever be called, I gasped and then laughed. And here is a great little picture to illustrate the fairy tale:

My Walk to the Woods...

Yesterday I decided that after my lunch of leftover vegetarian chili, I'd go for a walk. The rain had disappeared for the day, and it was turning into a lovely afternoon. I'd worn comfortable clothes to work in preparation of working in our sample area, so I really had NO excuse to not be active.

I left at 12:20 for my walk with no clear vision in mind of where to walk to - I just... walked. I ended up at Burnaby Lake which isn't far from my work at all, but a place I'd only ever been to once in the 8 years I've worked in Burnaby. And I must say that it made my entire day! This is what I saw in the parking lot of Burnaby Lake...

As part of my new journey, I'm going to go for a walk as often as I can on my lunch break. I'll walk down to Burnaby Lake and visit my new friends and walk the trails. Especially on days when I don't go to the gym, I'm going to make it a very important goal to walk on my lunch break.

The old saying of "eat less, move more" is certainly true, and I need to start encorporating that into my daily life!

My New Journey...

I was a Weight Watchers member from May 2008 - November 2009. In that time, I lost 25lbs, and was able to maintain it. However, I, like many others, thought I could do it by myself and quit WW to pursue the journey alone. And, like many others, I put 15lbs back on as of last week. I was devastated to step on the scale and see how much weight I'd gained back in the year and a half since I left. So after much deliberation, I got up on Saturday morning, got dressed, and headed to the Weight Watchers center close to home, and rejoined.

When I stepped on the scale again, I felt that same rush of excitement that I felt the first time mixed with embarassment at my failure. But I was starting a new journey to my weight loss goal of 15lbs lost by this October. That is my first large goal. My ultimate goal is 35lbs to lose.

WW teaches you about achieving small goals - 5% of your weight, a pound per week, etc. So I've started with 2lbs for my starting week, and 1lb per week after that. If I can do that, I'll be down to my goal weight by the time Lisa gets married in September. I think it can be done if I stay on track, avoid my usual temptations, be dedicated to my regular workouts, and believe in myself.

So this is my plan so far:

• Stay on track with 29 daily points



• Go to the gym 4 days per week



• Ride my bike to and from the WW meetings - 35 blocks each way



• Walk at least twice on my lunch breaks



• Move more



• Eat less - be conscious of portion sizes, weigh and measure food



• Believe that I can do this!

As I move forward towards my goal, I hope to experience new challenges and overcome obstacles. I'm looking forward to looking better:

FROM THIS:

BACK TO THIS: (my lowest weight)

Wish me luck! :)