That Ache

I love that "I haven't worked out in two weeks and my body is killing me after doing weights last night" ache. So much as it limits my mobility, it really means my body was working. Mmmouch.

Sprinkles, please

Usually an "Old Fashioned Plain" girl, today I opted for a sprinkle doughnut.

It was a good choice.

Desk oatmeal

Five minutes of warm, sweet, cinnamonny desk oatmeal.

The Byward Market

I went to the Byward Market in Ottawa this weekend and had a fantastic time! There is something special about the Byward Market...it's not as bohemian or pretentious as Kensington, not as crowded as St. Lawrence and much more 'homey' than the Queen Victoria in Melbourne. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and I was able to snap a picture of these cute little painted pumpkins.

Schadenfreude

There's this huge pimp-looking guy that rides a stupid electric bike to work each morning. It's dumb. It's half motorcycle, half scooter...it's just ridiculous. He always cuts me off and never signals. He rarely obeys the rules of the road. It's very frustrating.

Today, he decided that instead of riding on the road, he was going to ride on the sidewalk. Keep in mind that this guy was probably going at least around 20km/hr - this is dangerous to have on the sidewalk!

About a minute into his ride, a police officer popped out from around the corner of the building and stopped this guy. I didn't see what happened, but this guy totally got his ass handed to him and I hope -HOPE- he got a ticket. Stupid guy.

Schadenfreude really makes me smile sometimes.

Colour-coding

A label maker, a stack of documents and a new box of bright file folders. I really get off on colour-coding.

Fall time!

Cool weather, crisp air, leaves changing and baking; fall is here! I love it when the house smells like spicy orange-date loaves or roasting vegetables, and I can't get enough of long walks with warm coffee, sunshine and a cool bite to the air. I love love LOVE the fall!

The Milk program

I was listening to the radio the other morning and there was a commercial advertising for a milk program at elementary schools. It reminded me of being in elementary school and going every lunch to grab myself a milk. I wasn't a juice girl, I wasn't a pop girl;

I was a 2%, white milk child.

Since I bought milk every day, I had my name entered in (every day) to win "Milk" prizes and won a bunch of them. I have a notebook with cows dancing on the front of it, another notebook with cow spots, a wallet with someone surfing on a glass of milk...I won a ton of things from Milk.

Rustle rustle

In Toronto you don't fall asleep to the sound of crickets; you fall asleep to the sound of old Chinese women rustling through your recycling bin, looking for bottles to return to the Beer Store. I hear they make good cash.

Fresh flowers on the kitchen table

Coming downstairs to find freshly picked wildflowers on the kitchen table. A small bouquet of oranges, reds and yellows left by roommate Liz is a great start to the week.

Slow rides

I realized last night that biking can be very enjoyable and relaxing when you're not zooming around trying to get somewhere quickly. I tend to try and get places fastfastfast when I'm on my bike, but if I take my time and enjoy the ride I can see a lot more and don't get all sweaty and gross at the end of it. Imagine that.

I am the Biggest Loser

We've been doing a "Biggest Loser" competition at my workplace and today was our final weigh-in. Everyone threw $100 in the pot and had a goal to lose 7% of their body weight between June 1st and Aug 31st. I was worried I wasn't going to make it and even got up extra early today to go to the gym and workout/sweat my ass off in the sauna.

Turns out I made it (and then some!) Yeah! That means I'm down 17lbs in three months. Bam.

TrainerJamie says that I'm working out a lot and should be losing more weight than I have been. I'm guessing this means calorie restriction and tightening up on my diet. Ugh. Goal is to lose another 15 by end of October.

Anyways, I suppose this post was a tad more "personal" than most days...but not losing $100 really made me smile.

Today

Today I smell good, I look good, the bike ride into work was good and I even had 10 minutes to spare so I grabbed a coffee from Tim's; it's sunny and cool, I got a few cheques last night so I can pay a bill or two, got to bed at 10:15pm so I feel nice and rested...

Not even 9am and today frigging RULES.

Little Avocado Roll

I told my trainer that I was going to have sushi for dinner. Here’s the conversation:

“TrainerJamie: Okay, so what will you eat?
Jenny: Brown rice, avocado rolls, veggies…no raw fish.
TrainerJamie: Avocado? Be careful. There’s a lot of fat in them. Good fat, but still fat.
Jenny: Good fat! Like me!
TrainerJamie: Yes, just like you. You’re my little avocado roll.”

He called me his little avocado roll. Isn’t he the cutest?! He’s single, ladies…

Good friends

You've had four too many drinks and can hardly stand up. Good friends hold your hand, get you water and take you home. Thanks, friends. You make me smile between advil and visits to the bathroom.

Fate, conincidence...whatever

Call it whatever you want - "fate", "coincidence" or "walking the blueprint of life" - but when you run into someone in a place you'd never think to see them, it always makes my stomach vibrate. Earlier this week I ran into an old friend in my building at work. As it turns out, she is on a temp assignment for the entire month just six floors below me. This has happened once before with another friend that was in the building for a week. It totally floors me.

If I hadn't left work five minutes late and chatted with my co-worker for two minutes in the lobby, I never would have walked by her and we could have gone the whole month not knowing that we were working so closely together. Think of all the wasted lunch dates and after-work drinks!

This happens all the time, it seems. You run into someone you haven't seen in ages who just happens to be at that exact same spot at the exact same time. Impressive for a city so huge. Even more impressive when it's in another part of the country or overseas.

I don't know what it means or why it happens, but I do know that it makes me giddy whenever it does. And hey, now I have a lunch partner for the month, which makes me even happier!

The buddy system

Walking by a group of day camp children that are using the buddy system. Bright shirts, floppy hats and sunscreen happily assault my senses.

Catlove

When cats do that "rub my mouth on you and curl around your legs" thing. Even when they're hairless, it's still awesome.

When great things happen to my friends

The older I am, the more excited I get for my friends when good things happen to them. Weddings, babies, trips, promotions, new houses...I genuinely share in their excitement and love to see them happy.

...even though I'm sure I get a tiny bit jealous every now and then.

Friendly and creative homeless people

There are a ton of homeless people in the city, and the creative, quirky and friendly ones always make me smile. A guy outside my workplace last night had a sign that said “Obama wants change…so do I!”; the man that I see various places around town dressed in red, holding a sign under his bushy beard that says “The sleigh broke down”; the guy that sits outside of Lee’s Palace who I tried to give a granola bar to once and he refused – he was lactose intolerant and the bar was coated in chocolate. There were two guys in my old neighbourhood that loved reading so I always gave them my old books. They would joke around with me and brag about how fast they finished the latest Dan Brown or Mark Billingham I gave them. There’s a man who holds the door for people at Tim Horton’s who always comments on my rosy cheeks and says I have a beautiful glow.
I wouldn’t necessarily call these people optimists, but it’s always nice to see people who are so down and out be polite, friendly and have a sense of humour.