NEW Fun Ways to Burn Calories...

I found out yesterday, a new and FUN way to burn some extra calories!

RockBand!

Yesterday I was talking to my neighbour and he mentioned he was trying to sell his whole XBox collection including RockBand.. ooooooo I thought, I've always wanted Rockband! " I'll buy it!" I blurted out spontaniously! ... ooooh.. okay he says! and I'll set it all up for you too !! bonus ! I thought!

So last night, after watching LOST, I set up the Rockband drumset, and started to rock hard for a full 30 minutes. ( I played drums in High school, so my Rockband level is set at ' Hard' ) I was still wearing my Bodybugg, so it would be very interesting to see how many calories I would actually burn doing this... Voila! I burned and extra 300 calories... and it was fun too!!!

Friends in Far Places...

Today I received an email from my very best friend, Brynn Albanese who lives in Cambria, California. She has booked her flight, confirmed to come and visit me on my 50th Birthday, July 23, 2009. I’m so excited to see her!

Realizing, myself this morning that I have so many friends that live in far away places. How that comes to be, is mainly because I’m a musician. All professional musicians have met and made friends around the world. It just comes with the job! Working and living in Holland for 20 years, you meet many, many new people, who too are coming from somewhere else; this was the case with Brynn.

You see Brynn came to Holland to audition and later did win a major position with the “Residentie Orchestra” in The Hague. She grew up in L.A., but later moved to Boston to become a regular performer with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestra. They too toured the world! I remember driving down to Paris to see Brynn perform with the Boston Symphony that was on its European Tour at the time. My other ‘Worldly’ friend; Kathy, came down too! ( Kathy was the link to meeting and making friends with Brynn)

Driving to Paris, I remember it was about the spring of 1995, Kathy and I climbed into my really old and beaten up Peugeot 205 and made the only 5 hour drive from Amsterdam to Paris. Brynn was able to organize for us that we could stay in the same hotel as her and the BSO (Boston Symphony Orchestra) , at the same orchestra rate! $$..Cool.. very handy.. and which hotel you ask? Well of course the “Paris Hilton” My room with balcony had a bird eyes view of the Eifel Tower! WOW ! Now this is cool!

The BSO, with conductor Seiji Ozawa was to perform twice in Paris, and we had tickets to both. Both being major programs of Brahms and Mahler! Wow.. what a trip, staying in the Paris Hilton, seeing Brynn, and enjoying Mahler too! Also added bonus, was seeing my old University and TSYO friend, and now principal horn of the BSO, Jamie Sommerville. He was shocked to see my the Hilton Lobby .. he.. he.. I kind of scared him, and sort of jumped out at him as he was just walking through the lobby…

Only there was one huge draw back of this trip … I was SICK as a dog.. I had the FLU.. really badly too! Major fever and everything. It was so bad one day that I just stayed in my Hotel bed for one whole day I was there! Such a waste! The other days I just dragged my ass out of the bed, determined to see Paris, and attend the concerts!

I also went to the Louvre, and saw the Mona Lisa, *warning ! .. to all those that would like to do the same, keep in mind that the whole firkin world wants to go to the Louvre, so be prepared to stand in line for up to 5 hours just to get into the museum ! Yuup I did this too, with Kathy and Brynn , and with a 40 degree fever. Well ya do want ya need to do!!

The concerts were amazing. The BSO is a very fine orchestra, no wonder Bernard Haitink loves to conduct there as well. He calls the BSO his little Jewel!


Click on this link to see and
listen to amazing Brynn's group - Cafe Musique ( I designed their website!)


This picture of Brynn and Milo was taken in the spring of 2001 at the beach in Zandvoort, Holland

Nature in the City

Yesterday I was on my way to work and stopped in Starbucks for my morning Latte. When I came back to the car, to which my niece was waiting in, she was all excited and yelling and screaming about a big bird killing something! She pointed out down the way a bit, and low and behold a giant what I thought was a Falcon, but really turns out to be a Red-Tail Hawk, was devouring a pigeon that it has just swooped down from and sky and killed. This all took place right in the downtown core of Toronto, on a pretty pedestrian, car heavy traveled road. I was in shock. Of course I had my camera with me, so I started taking pictures of this phenomenon, and a little video. Of course this type of occurrence is very common about 3 hours north of the city, but NOT in the downtown core! And the bird was totally oblivious to the pedestrians walking by, or stopping to take pictures with there cell phone and such. Quite the unusual site for the typical Torontonian! That’s for sure! Although we do see in the downtown area during the summer months lots of: Squirrels, Chipmunks, Raccoons, Groundhogs, Skunks, Rabbits, Mice, Rats and other specials birds, such as Falcons, Hawks, Blue jays, and Red and yellow Cardinals.

Ah Canada ! I do love thee!

My Very Talented Friends!!

Bryce Kulak... my friend, my neighbour , singer, songwriter, pianist and one Canada's Jewel of a talent!

This video, taken from the CBC studio here in Toronto, for a live CBC Radio 1 broadcast from last Saturday January 24, 2009.

Spread the word....

Menopause- Don't be too quick to believe Oprah!

This week the TV and papers have been full of stories about menopause and hormone therapy.
I have myself done some research on the internet, and have found that 9 our of 10 articles are full of the negative side effects of hormone therapy.

I am getting closer to 50, and really haven’t had any real problems with menopause. I think, and feel my hormones are pretty well balanced. I don’t have sleeping problems, and no hot flashes. Yesterday Oprah’s show was on hormone therapy, and she had invited 2 guests to talk about it. It was an interesting and informative show, but I really feel it was all to one sided. And not really talking about the negative effects of using hormone therapy. We women need to be really careful with out bodies! And people and shows like Oprah can do more harm that help to many of us, because she is so convincing!!

My own experiences say, go to the gym first! If you have tried, dieting, and intense exercise, and getting your self in shape first, and doing this for one year too! And then; after that if you are still having real problems with your hormone imbalances then try other drastic stuff.. but diet and exercise is and should be the first real step, and way healthier too! I’m feeling so much better now, a year later because of my drastic change in diet and exercise regime!

Pills and potions are for the lazy and looking for quick fix!

( I bought Robin McGraw's book yesterday, and when I'm finished reading it, I will also write in my blog about her advice, also with looking at BOTH sides of the story!)

Here are some quotes and results of my research, as to why NOT to undergo hormone therapy.

Contrary to common belief, recent research has confirmed that women who take commonly prescribed doses of hormone therapy (HT) are no more likely to gain weight than women not taking hormone therapy (HT). This is probably because menopause or aging itself is associated with weight gain, regardless of hormone therapy.

The more serious health concerns for women undergoing hormone therapy (HT) include:

• Hormone therapy (HT) increases the risk of vein clots in the legs (deep vein thrombosis ) and blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolus) by about 2 or 3 fold. However, it is important to remember that these conditions are extremely rare in healthy women. Thus, the true increase in risk for healthy women is minimal. Women with a personal or family history of these clots should review this issue when considering hormone therapy (HT).
  


• Uterine Cancer (endometrial cancer): Research shows that women who have their uterus and use estrogen alone are at risk for endometrial cancer. Today, however, most doctors prescribe the combination of estrogen and progestin. Progestin protects against endometrial cancer. If there is a particular reason why a woman with a uterus cannot take some form of progesterone, her doctor will take sample tissue from her uterus (endometrial biopsy) to check for cancer annually while she is taking estrogen. Women without a uterus (including women who have had a hysterectomy) have no risk of endometrial cancer.
  


• Breast cancer: Recent research indicates that hormone therapy (HT), and especially EPT, increases the risk of breast cancer, although the increase in risk is very small. For example, the Women's Health Initiative, a reliable large study of hormone therapy (HT) in menopausal women, predicted that there were approximately 8 extra cases per 10,000 women who took hormone therapy (HT) for 1 year, compared to women taking a placebo pill. The increase in risk of breast cancer associated with hormone therapy (HT) likely increases with duration of use and is especially increased with 5 or more years of use.
  
• Heart disease: Even though hormone therapy (HT) lowers the bad LDL cholesterol and raises the good HDL cholesterol, hormone therapy (HT) increases the risk of heart attacks in women who already have heart disease, as well as in women who do not have known heart disease. Hormone therapy (HT) does not prevent heart attack based on recent research from the Women's Health Initiative.
  


• Abnormal vaginal bleeding: Women on hormone therapy (HT) are more likely than other postmenopausal women to experience abnormal vaginal bleeding. What is called "abnormal bleeding" depends on the type of hormone therapy (HT). With cyclic therapy, in which 5monthly bleeding is expected, bleeding is abnormal if it occurs when it is not expected or is excessively heavy or long in duration. With daily continuous therapy, irregular bleeding can last for 6 months to a year, therefore, irregular bleeding that lasts for more than a year is considered abnormal. When abnormal bleeding occurs, a doctor usually takes a sample of the lining of the uterus to rule out an abnormality or cancer in the uterus. This procedure is usually done in the office. After the evaluation is done, if nothing is found to be wrong, hormone therapy (HT) doses will often be adjusted to minimize further abnormal bleeding.
  
• Stroke: Hormone therapy (HT) slightly increased the risk of stroke in women studied in the Women's Health Initiative. The WHI predicted that there were 8 extra strokes per 10,000 women taking hormone therapy (HT) for one year, compared to women taking a placebo (sugar pill). Because of the possibility of increased breast cancer, stroke, and heart disease risks, women who have no major menopause symptoms may choose to avoid hormone therapy (HT). The effects of other types of hormone therapy (HT) (aside from the Women's Health Initiative types) on breast cancer risk are still unclear.
  

Hormone Therapy At A Glance

• Hormone Therapy (HT) refers to either estrogen or combination estrogen /progesterone treatment.


• Estrogen therapy is the most highly effective prescription medication for treating menopause symptoms and in light of recent research is still safe and effective for many women when used for fewer than 5 years.


• Estrogen therapy reduces or eliminates several symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, disturbed sleep resulting from hot flashes, and vaginal dryness.


• Other safe and effective non-hormonal medications exist to address a woman's concerns regarding osteoporosis.


• The use of estrogen therapy, without progesterone (progestin), is associated with an increase in the risk of uterine cancer (endometrial cancer, cancer of the lining of the uterus).


• Treatment with progesterone along with estrogen substantially reduces the risk of uterine cancer (endometrial cancer) so that the risk of developing this cancer is equivalent to that of women not taking estrogen.


• Users of oral hormone therapy (HT) (in the doses of the Women's Health Initiative) for more than 5 years are at slightly increased risk of breast cancer risk, heart disease, and stroke than are nonusers.
  
  This research is from http://www.medicinenet.com/hormone_therapy/article.htm
  
  
  

" Making CHANGE !"

Making Change ... seems to be the theme for today. I'm wearing my brand new V3 version of a Bodybugg, finally! back on track... Making Change!!

And today's theme.. of course the Obama inauguration... Making history is today's theme as well!

We Canadians are all in anticipation on how Obama can fix this giant mess that the ' Bush-a-nomics' team created and left behind for Obama to clean up! what a mess! and what a challenge his has ahead...

fingers crossed!!

Biggest Loser Tips....

Biggest Loser Tips….

I have received a lot of emails and posts lately with questions about my diet, and how much the Biggest Loser has influenced it. After watching the Biggest Loser cast and past winners on Larry King Live that was on tonight, I can say, yes they have taught me a very important lesson, and I think all that want to be successful must follow their advice!

There is as we know a huge obesity epidemic in North America, in both Canada and the United States. I have written one of my past blogs (Thursday, October 16, 2008 Cultural Culinary Displacement Syndrome ) about the food intake problems of North Americans. For myself, yes I was a carb and sugar addict. It’s definitely an addiction as far as I’m concerned. I just simply can not have the food I crave in my house! I do enjoy a 100 calorie snack once in a while, but if I buy a box of 6, I will end up eating the whole box! So in order to help my cravings, I do incorporate one high calorie; eat what you want, day; Usually on Saturday’s. On Saturday’s I usually go out for dinner, many times I go to my local Sushi restaurant, but sometimes also the local Italian as well. I have dessert and I have the basket of bread, with butter of course. But then, back on Sunday and the rest of the week, back on track, and back to the gym and continue to burn more calories than I consume.

As I wrote about my Christmas adventures in the month of December, December was a write-off as far as I’m concerned, but I did get all my cravings out of my system, and didn’t feel too guilty doing it, and come January 1st, 2009 I was back to my regime of counting calories and working out.

Some other tips I can offer is… when you are really craving something salty, or hearty, I usually make myself a cup of instant soup. Also I am eating my more fruit. Especially now that it’s mandarin /Clementine season, I have a big bowl of Clementine’s on my desk in front of me, both at home and at the office. Tea also helps with the cravings, with one little 100 calorie bag of peanut butter cookies. I eat 5 to 6 times a day, Breakfast, then at 11am a snack, like an orange, then Lunch the again a snack at 4pm, usually tea and a bag of 100 calories cookies, then dinner, workout, then a protein shake at about 10pm to end the day. I find if I stick to this schedule, I don’t’ really get hungry or crave for other things.

Keeping your self busy is a must. I don’t watch more than 1 hour of TV a day now. I used to watch up to 4 hours a day. And most of my really bad snacking happened at night while I was sitting on the couch and watching the TV.

I try not to make any lunch or dinner dates with any one. I avoid eating dinner with my sisters, as they always cook stuff I can’t really eat, and end up eating way more than I should. I cook for myself at least 5 nights a week, and never go out for lunch, I pack my own. I don’t drink any alcohol, and completely cut out drinking any DIET soda products. The taste of something sweet like diet coke makes me want to consume chips or popcorn with it!

I still find it hard to go to a movie theatre without eating popcorn with the film. So I do buy the popcorn, a small bag, no butter of course, but then I do cut down on my dinner, or lunch calories to compensate.

You know, last week Oprah said something that really hit hard for me. She talked about making yourself priority number one! That me, my health is the most important thing I am doing right now. That nothing else is as important; because if you do not live a healthy lifestyle, and you get sick, you end up losing everything else. I’m creeping closer and closer to 50 now, and as most people know, your health problems can really start after 50, with heart disease, or other fat related issues.

Eating Healthy and Exercise is the key to living long and healthy and happy!
And besides, with all the stress that I have been going through lately with my workplace at the moment, I know that this new healthier lifestyle has helped me cope with it in a better way!

The Dangers of Being a Musician…

Last week my very dear closest friend to whom I have known and worked with for over 25 years, slipped on some ice and broke his ankle very seriously on his way to his gig. You see he is concert master of an orchestra in southern Holland, and he was on his way, with violin in hand to work for the evening. It was dark, and at the moment it’s very cold in Holland, which is very rare; So most ‘ Dutchie’s are not very used to watching out for ice! But any way’s he slipped and in turn broke his ankle! Poor Martin! .. now he’s at home, in a lot of pain, and not able to work for 8 weeks!

This story makes me think about today’s blog theme and entry …. about how the workplace can be a very dangerous place for artists and musicians! There are many, many stories professional artists can share about their accidents in the workplace. I can too!

Back in 1996 when I was living and working in an Opera Orchestra in Holland; our opera performance in a northern city in Holland, Drachten, had just ended. I packed up my horn in my gig back and proceeded to exit the orchestra pit. I had to step down some steps to exit as the orchestra had been raised up on risers as it was too deep a pit. Only the stage crew had not properly secured the stairs to the risers. I took one step, and BOOM the entire set of stairs just gave way under me, and I fell down straight to the ground landing on my right leg ,4 meters below! CRACK! Yeeks… my leg! Broken!! But funny that was not the hugest concern for me.. I was worried about my horn that was on my shoulder in my gig bag, that was now laying on the ground beside me… "please someone hand me my horn!", as I laid in the most ridiculous looking splits on the ground with my ankle and leg all turned, "I want to see if my horn is okay!" My colleagues were all hovered over me, asking me to wiggle my toes, do you have pain? Here comes the stage hand ( the same one that didn’t secure the stairs in the first place… ) with a can of ‘ Ice spray’ to numb up my leg .

Ouch! This hurts, I knew it was broken. So with the help of about 4 people I got up, hobbled in pain up the stairs to my dressing room, took off my ‘ blacks’ and then hobbled into the orchestra bus to go back to Amsterdam. NO I didn’t’ want an ambulance, and I didn’t’ want to go to a hospital in Drachten, I want to go home to Amsterdam! So off we went, with my leg sticking out into the aisle way of the bus, not the smartest decision I’ve ever made, but I was stubborn! My colleagues to who were very caring at the same time, kept on tripping over my broken leg, as they passed me to get to the front for the bus where the fridge was stocked with Heineken beer! AAAHH… my leg… watch out!! Ooooh.. Sorry Wendy…. Finally after 2 hours of pain we arrived in Amsterdam. My friend was waiting with her car to pick my up and take me to emergency there in Amsterdam. It was now 3am.. of course not to busy so I got my ex-ray and cast ( a pink one) pretty quick. Only in Holland the hospitals do not issue crutches ! WHAT THE HELL! How am I to get out of here!! .. well here’s a wheel chair, to get you to your car.. thanks.. right.. no crutches.. where the hell do I get crutches if the dam hospital doesn’t even carry them! Well you have to get them from your own insurance company, during their office hours of 9am – 5pm. .. tomorrow… ! wow.. now that’s stupid!!

So as you can read, these are 2 stories of the dangers of being a musician.. I’m sure there are hundreds and thousands more stories, the most common, falling into orchestra pits! To which I also knew of 2 people that fell into an orchestra pit, and they very unfortunately did not survive the fall! they died! ( a conductor, and a ballet soloist)

By the way, my horn survived the fall.. no damage at all ! Which was totally a fluke…!!

EXCERPT FROM A PAST BLOG ENTRY....

.... ( from my October 19th blog entry but now with the picture I promised of this memorable moment!... you can also click on this newspaper image to see a larger full view of it.. )


" ...My Dutch costume changed as I got older, and later in life, in my teens I mostly wore a costume from the province of Volendam. ” My mom was contacted back in 1967, by the now defunct newspaper, the Toronto Telegram. They wanted a young child in costume to use in a photo shoot to advertise a new festival. Of course, it was me! So off we drove with my costume in hand, to a Hungarian Restaurant, somewhere in downtown Toronto.
I was about 7 yrs old at the time. Once I entered the restaurant, I saw this huge table placed in the front window that was covered in hundred of desserts from around the world ! I then got dressed in my costume in a small backroom bathroom, and came back up to meet my mom and photographer for further instruction. Learning then, to my horror, that I was to be sitting up on the table in my costume, right in the middle of the dessert extravaganza! So up I went. As the photographer arranged me and the desserts around my body, I had to also hold a huge tray of what looked like, chocolate cream puffs. He then, the photographer, to add insult to injury, proceeded to smear whipping cream all over my cheeks. The visual image of the shot was that I had to pretend to be taking a big bite of this cream puff and have a smile on my face of total enjoyment.

Well, this is a very embarrassing moment! Here was this chubby, fat young girl, in a Dutch costume stuffing her face with a cream puff for all to see. My eyes blinked, and I started seeing white dots, as the photos were being taken. The next day, in all it’s whipping cream glory, was a picture of me, in full colour spashed on the front page of the Toronto Telegram ! . Guess who got teased at school! …My nickname was "whipping cream girl" for several weeks…

Skating for the first time in 15 years!

A Newer Path!

So now it's the new year, and today once again I weighed in, and yuup.. back to 250. Dam! I have been up and down from 245 to 250 for last 6 weeks. Been quite off track these last 6 weeks with all the St. Nicholas, Christmas and New Years celebrations!! I heard today on the radio that most people gain between 2 to 5 pounds over the holidays! So I guess that is all normal. Tonight I am going to my sister place for dinner, then afterwards to perform a " Salute to Vienna" concert with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony. This will be my last 'family' dinner for a while.. I HAVE TO GET BACK ON TRACK!!

Today my new neighbor is moving in. I just brought him and his helpers a nice big pot of coffee to help keep them motivated. This area of Toronto is such an interesting part of town! My new neighbor is quite the accomplished Opera Singer! A Baritone .. His name is Jefrey Carl ( www.jeffreycarl.com) Maybe we can organize a recital together.. I do like his voice!

Maybe all these changes are a sign.... During the last 6 weeks I've been performing a lot, and now a new professional musician as a neighbor could this be all pointing towards a newer path??

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A year has passed.. WOW !! where has the time gone!! I've been on this ' Life Style Change' now for 365 days!

I'm quite proud of myself that I have achieved my weigh-loss goals of losing 120 pounds. Now to the next 100!!

My wish to you all is that you too can achieve your set goals as well !

be strong.. and just take one day at a time!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Marley... I mean Milo and Me!

Today I ventured out on my trusty electric scooter/bike.

I thought, well yes it's cold out, about minus 10 degrees Celsius, but if those ' Ski-Doo' owners can whip around the back roads of Ontario in similar weather, I should be able to too!! So I dressed as you would on a Ski-Doo, and Milo too, in her pink hoodie... only I found out I really need long underwear and better Ski-Doo gloves, as my fingers turned into 10 popsicles !!

oh.. well.. we made it home, and now I'm enjoying a nice cup of hot herbal tea to help me defrost. I wish it could be Hot Chocolate, but no such luck.. not good for the diet.

I saw the film ' Marley and Me' today... 2 Toonie Tuesdays at the local theatre.. I liked it, but didn't like the end part.. sniff sniff.. a real tear jerker!!

New Non-Fat Hobbies

Working out at the gym on a daily basis is not a hobby yet, it's still a huge task and a great effort to do this. Hopefully it will become one , one day soon...

For now a new/old love/ hobby.. I bought myself a Christmas gift of a new Canon EOS Rebel XS is a great hobby!

I have been having fun this holiday season with taking long walks with my dog, and taking some shot in and around Toronto. My dad was a great amateur photographer, as well as 2 of my nieces. So it kind of runs in the family. I missed my Canon SLR camera, where I had to use real film.. way to expensive, so the opportunity came up with a great door crashing boxing day sale from a local large electronics chain store, and I nabbed the chance to finally get a digital SLR camera.

( I received these tulips from my sister at Christmas, to see this picture in full view, click on it, also you can download it and it makes a great ' desktop' picture!)

This morning I jumped out of bed, looked at my BIGGEST LOSER 2009 new wall calendar, and one of the tips for the day was... Set up your equipment in order to do a proper workout. So I changed up my treadmill so that now when I'm on it, I can watch TV! that really helps with making the time seem to go faster. So I worked out for 1 hour this morning before taking a shower and getting dressed ( no one can see me, so I worked out in socks, runners, underwear and a bra.. nothing else!! he. he.... he.. that was fun, and very cool) I took the dog for a 1 hour walk after that, with camera in hand.. and took some winter shots...

tonight back to my 2 hour regime at the gym...

yes.. by the way.. I do have this week off.. no work.. so I do have time to get myself back on track, and back to my workout regime!! and my BIG PLAN !

Arrrggg... I've gained!

Well Christmas is over.. and the biggest gift it has given me is 5 pounds of extra unwanted weight gain!! Well I guess it's not to bad, considering I really didn't hold myself back! I had everything over these holiday from Turkey, to Ham to Chocolate and Candy Cane flavored Egg Nog...

I don't feel guilty, I feel good actually!... I got all the cravings out of my system, enjoyed some great times with my family. And just enjoyed what Christmas means to us all... sharing memories, and making new ones.

Last year I weighed 365 pounds at Christmas and this year I weighed 245 pounds, ( well actually today I weigh 250, but this extra will be gone by next week)  120 pounds lighter!! and to break it down, in 12 months, because I've been on this diet now for a year, in 12 months I have lost an average of 10 pounds a month. That was my original goal I set for myself last Christmas, and so far I have achieved it!

So now on to the next 12 months of my continued quest!

Merry Christmas...

Merry Christmas to everyone!!

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

Today is a day of Joy and Peace, and sharing memories and making new memories with your loved ones.

( my goals and dreams for next Christmas 2009 will be: weighing 150 pounds, and being more financially stable)

My Christmas Card to You !!! Best Wishes

Getting into the Christmas Mood...

This past weekend I have been very busy getting into the Christmas mood! Well … lets rephrase that… because of all the Christmas music I performed, I was transformed on a Sleigh to the North Pole !

I performed with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, and was a part of their Yuletide Pops Program. Here’s the program I performed:

Veni, Veni Emmanuel
Here Comes Santa Clause
JOHN WILLIAMS: Home Alone
Pearsall, in Dulce Jubilo
Sleigh Ride
ROBERT SHAW: Many Moods of Christmas Suite No. 3
Sing-alongs: O Come all Ye Faithfull, Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Nutcracker Excerpts
Twas the Night before Christmas
A musicological Journey Through the Twelve Days of Christmas
Cantique de Noel
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas

As you can read… really all the top ten Christmas hits!!

Crazy when you think of it...We perform, sing, listen to this same Christmas music every year, and enjoy it every year too !... funny how we really don’t get sick of it! At least I don’t.. I love it!! I’m always sad when it’s January 2nd, all the festivities are over and I have to take down my tree… then get ready for 3 cold, dark months of Canadian Winter hell!!

Back to nice thoughts…

On Sunday I was invited to a best friends house for an afternoon of more carol singing… I brought my horn to play, but also found some bells to play during the singing of Jingle Bells!

Now Toronto has been blanketed with 50 cm ( 20 inches ) of snow…

I’m dreaming of a White Christmas will not be hard at all!!

**Click on this YouYube video below, to listen to my favorite peice that I performed ( this exact same orchestral arrangement ) this last weekend with the KWS with a childrens choir: "Somewhere In My Memory" by John Williams from the film Home Alone.. lots of great soaring magical HORN solos.. great fun to play!! it gives my goosebumps everytime I listen to it!

Snacking on Something!

Staying at home at night remains a huge challenge for me. I have this incredible erg to snack something! Therefore I have this bowl on my dinning room table filled to the brim with gum; all flavors, to suit or help some of my cravings. I chew on 1 or 2 pieces for about 30 minutes, then spit it out, and start chewing on another flavor. It may be a bit wasteful, but certainly better than snacking on chips or popcorn or chocolate as I have always done in the past. Even on the BL show, Bob gives advice to do the same. When you really need something sweet just have some Extra gum! … it really does help to keep me busy… and what ever works to make sure I don’t eat 500 calories of junk.. I’m going to go ahead and chew on all the gum I so desire!!

Today I discovered my collar bone! Felt weird to stroke it… It feels very exposed and without any protection…next big bone discovery will be I’m sure my hips…but I guess that will be a while still, as it’s so weird and frustrating that fat loss also happens by gravity. Starting with the bone at the top of your torso protruding first, and lastly your lower body, hips and thighs…

My boobs are starting to look like tennis socks with oranges in the ends…

Oops.. to much information I guess… sorry… strike that last sentence..

OPRAH- The Blame Game

In the January issue of O magazine, out this week, Oprah Winfrey says she weighs 200 pounds and has fallen off the wagon when it comes to healthy living. "I'm mad at myself," Winfrey writes in an article provided early to the Associated Press. "I'm embarrassed. I can't believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I'm still talking about my weight. I look at my thinner self and think, 'How did I let this happen again?' "

Okay.. now everyone has been writing and complaining about this, with comments like:

“oh dam!!.. she has so much money, she has her own chef, she has her own trainer…”
“…she has all the tools and money to lose weight, and with those, should be able to keep it off !…”
“…if she can’t do it, how are we peasants suppose to do it !”

Come’on people… give me a break!!… If I had as much money as her I would be in the same boat too !!…

.. why you ask??

Because the amount of money you make is reflective of how hard you work!!

If you make a shit load of money, you probably work 10-12 hours a day, every day!! To which I’m sure Oprah has pulled several hundred 14 - 16 hour days!

Oprah, is a very busy, busy lady, between having to edit a magazine every month, she has to produce a show every day, plus keep up with all her charity work, plus plus, plus…

I don’t work for Oprah, I’m not her publicist or any thing.. but I do watch her shows, and one has to admit that she has been a great help to thousands of women and men over the years… and taking time for herself is probably the last thing on her daily list of things to do…

I think she has done an amazing job … and we whiney women should lay off the blame game… !!!
If you need to lose weight.. Do it !!

Don’t blame others for your own lack of motivation and discipline!!

Getting Closer To Your Goals

After a weekend of playing my horn, eating some things that were not really on my Diet chart.. but playing some wicked Ping Pong matches with my Brother-in-law, I was rewarded with at least a 1 pound loss...

I even had 2 slices of Hawiaan pizza! the first Pizza I have had in 12 months!!!

Now the biggest challenge.. .Christmas!!

hold on Wendy !... you can do it!!

....only 95 pounds to my goal weight, which the deadline is fast approching of 7 months away!

If Michelle on the BL can lose 110 pounds in 7 months... so can I !! Dam-it !!

check out this video... some really SMART tips!!

How to Lose Weight - Top 3 Weight Loss Mistakes

Toronto's Biggest Loser!

After watching tonight's Biggest Loser Finale... I am once again doubly modivated to continue to reach my goal of losing 200 pounds.
I've already lost 119 pounds so far, with another 81 to go! but my real goal is to lose 215 pounds, and therefor reaching my goal of weighing 150 pounds by my 50th birthday on July 23, 2009.

Tonight once again I was working hard at the gym with my personal trainer.

I thought it would be fun to finally post some pictures of the typical workout I do every day 5 days a week, for 2 hours.

BTW... way to go Michelle.. I'm so proud you won this season's Biggest Loser! as you can see I am a proud black team supporter!

First I start with my personal training my 1 hour complex circuit weight/body training...







































































































after the 1 hour workout with my personal trainer, I then end my 2 hour workout with 1 hour of cardio...






















My personal trainer Sylvie, and the rest of the 'Dream Team' trainers at my gym...

The Week of Ups and Downs!

Boy am I glad this week is over! Wow.. What a roller coaster ride. Some good, but mostly bad turn of events. Starting with Monday; after a heavy weekend, with 2 major events that I had to organize, I ended up eating a whole bunch of really wrong fatty foods. I suffered the whole week because of it! Cursing at the scale on Monday morning, I had gained 4 pounds over the weekend. This was going to be a week from hell! All the while, I had been waiting to hear on some news about a new job I applied for, and still had not heard the results.

Tuesday was my day with my private trainer. I ended up eating my dinner way to fast, and had a terrible stomach ach going to the gym, which resulted only being able to train 10 minutes with my trainer, when she looked at me and said we better re-schedule, your stomach has to settle down, you should eat your dinner 2 hours before we work out, not 10 minutes!! Tuesday night I had to attend an office Christmas party, ( see blog entry Today's Facebook status says it all! ) so with a stomach full of very fatty food once again , I of course couldn’t sleep, not to mention the intense guilt I was feeling about my lack of self discipline! So early Wednesday morning, I was completely frustrated and couldn’t sleep. So at 4:30am Wednesday morning I got up, got dressed and drove to my gym, to be the first one there beside the staff at 5:00am! I worked hard for 2 hours! Then later at 7:00pm I went again, and worked out another 2 hours. Craziness, working out for 4 hours in one day! My bodybugg readings said I had burned 4000 calories that day!!

Thursday I got the double whammy of bad news! I did not get the job I applied for, and I may have to vacate my office space, because of financial troubles! God… what next!? My mom always said, bad news comes in three! So now it’s Friday, today I had given a horn lesson to a new student. That finally grounded me ! I was brought back to my real life! The horn! Thank god for the horn! I escaped to the gym, trying to get rid of all this stress from this week, but simply playing my horn, and sharing all my years of training and knowledge with a willing open soul, did a great job of cleansing my soul. Although tonight I had another training session with my trainer, I was enjoying it much more, with less stress and looking forward to this weekend of more music making. I’m going to great concert Saturday night, and Sunday and Monday I have a gig, and I have to go play with a regional orchestra again.

Playing a musical instrument is very soothing for your soul!

But cautiously as I am still waiting for the 3rd bad thing to happen….

Today's Facebook status says it all!

Today's " My Status" post on my Facebook page:

Wendy is ashamed.. I ate way to much at tonight's office christmas party.. dam those christmas parties.!! 10:32pm
- 4 Comments




Leslie Magowan at 11:39pm December 10
Shame isn't productive, Wendy. You've done amazingly, and tonight was just a roadblock. These parties are not healthy-eating-friendly places, but the season only lasts for a few weeks. Get back on the horse. Or exercise bike. Or whatever....

Roger Smith at 12:20am December 11
you fall (for me-butter tarts last night...) and then you say tomorrow I'm on track...so many are with you on this journey, we appreciate the reality...I got a new GoodLife T-shirt today cuz mine were wore out..I like that.

Wendy Limbertie at 3:26am December 11
Baaa hum bug... Christmas !!! .. how can anyone say NO to a whole tray of Nanaimo bars??? why oh why.. am I not strong enough??

Wendy Limbertie at 3:41am December 11
Yeeks.. I shouldn't have, but looked up the calories in 1 Namaimo bar.. . and they are 300 calories per square!! god help me! I'm not even going to look up what else I ate tonight... sigh!! :-( ...and now it's 3:45am.. I can't sleep cause my tummy and guts are all upset from all this fatty food.. I am looking forward to tomorrow.. I am going to RUN to the gym as fast as I can!!

" December remains a huge Challenge !!! OMG... give me strength!!"

December the Diet Nightmare!

This weekend has been somewhat a disaster as far as staying on track is concerned.. Wow.. This is hard.. And is bloody not fair! I gained 4 pounds this weekend, with not really eating overboard. But still enjoying some Christmas treats at the several events I was participating in. Dam! Such a pity! 4 pounds equals 2 weeks work! 2 weeks of sweat and tears at the gym. All for what! Let me tell you what I had I shouldn’t have, but did.

Friday I ate sushi for dinner, not to bad, right? Saturday I had to produce a multicultural Christmas Festival at City Hall. Now that was hard, comforted by all these delicious treats from around the world. I had some chocolate, some Serbian sausage ( 2, the size of the little breakfast sausages) and then later on at night I had a ginger bread cookie, after I decorated it myself, and a Dutch Croquette. All quite rich in fat and calories, but does that extra fatty food warrant an extra 4 pounds.

I thought you had to burn 3500 calories to lose 1 pound, but does that mean you gain a pound if you ate and extra 3500 calories as well? The extra treats I had consumed this weekend certainly did not add up to 3500 calories 4X3500 which is 14,000 calories .. is WAY Off.. I did not, certainly did not consume 14,000 extra calories!! … that’s not fair !!! and not right… it should be the same, you burn 3500 lose a pound, the visa versa.. life is sometimes just not fair!!

Man I have to work hard at the gym this week.. and Christmas isn’t even here yet!! December is a Diet nightmare!!

No wonder Gym membership sales are the highest in January!!

Dieting and Technological Gadgets

Today I am using for the first time my newest gadget to help me in my diet process. It’s call the “ bodybugg” . I learned about it on the Biggest Loser TV show. All the participants are using this device to help them keep on track. You wear it all day on your upper arm, and at the end of the day hot sync it with your computer through connect the device to your computer through a hard wire usb cable. The bodybugg then sends the data to the pre-loaded software program, and shows you how many calories you have burned during your daily activities. It also shows a chart of you peaks and lows of when you burn the most calories. Of course in my case, it’s when I was at the gym last night.

You then enter your daily food intake, breakfast, snacks, lunch etc…. this then shows another breakdown graph of how many calories you have taken in. Then it calculates how much you need to work out at the gym in order to lose 1 pound.

Basically when you initially set it up, it does a whole sort of body weight breakdown, with your present weight and goals.

So after wearing the whole day, at night you take it off, and sync it with your computer, add in your food intake, and then you can see when you are eating to many calories, or have as they call it calorie deficit of calorie surplus.

I am really excited with this new helpful gadget - The bodybugg, and hopefully will help me with learning to eat MORE! Yes, I actually don’t eat enough on this diet. Food is the gas of the car's engine! If you want to lose weight you need to make sure you eat enough. And with this calories burning device, I can now finally see, and understand that I need to eat more!! But of course eating more of the right foods!! ( the picture above is a ' screen shot' from my computer of my actual stats from yesterday)

New Clothes...

Yesterday I went to the local Wal-Mart and found out they sell + size clothes as well. I didn’t’ know this?? Well of course I didn’t, (a.) I usually don’t shop at Wal-Mart and (b.) + sizes usually meant only going up to 24 or 26 and I used to be a whopping size 38 ! So for years I shopped at Mr. Big & Tall because all the other large size women’s clothing stores only went up to size 28 max. (((SIGH))).. but now I can go to Wal-Mart . I bought some size 22 jeans, didn’t try them on, I just thought , wow these are cheap, only $ 24.95, and I will surely fit into them say by January or something. So when I got home last night, I just thought, lets try them on for fun to see how tight they are… and oh my god.. they fit.. and they were not tight either! ( I do have to have them shortened though.. dam these designers that always produce pants for mega tall women!! )

I’ve found that now I am starting to have to buy clothes at cheaper stores like Wal-Mart because, this is getting expensive. Last night I had a performance with Toronto Sinfonietta, and I was wearing my size 26 black pants, that now look like clown pants because they are way to big now! So now I have to either have them taken in, or buy new black pants… I just bought the pants like 2 months ago!!

Toronto looks like a Winter Wonderland!!

Not to much to report on today, other than did the same ol same ol… Except for our first blast of winter, and got a dumping of snow !!

I went to the gym last night, got my Thursday night TV fix at the gym. I watched all my favorite shows while working on my cardio.

I find my heart is getting stronger and stronger now on a weekly basis. When I first started walking on a tread mill, I would hit my target heart rate in about 1 minute. My target heart rate to burn fat, at my age, is 111.

Back in January I would walk on the treadmill at a speed of 2.0 with no incline, and would easily hit the target heart rate, I would be a huffing and a puffin too! Now, 11 months later, on the treadmill, I have to walk at a speed of 2.8 and an incline of 2.0 in order to reach my target heart rate. And what’s also cool, is that when I do walk at my target heart rate, that I’m not out of breath.. or as apposed, back in January I was wheezing and coughing all over the place when I worked out..
Man I am sooooo much healthier now !!

Bombarded in TV shows on Obesity

Once again the TV can be a great source of information and education in weigh-loss tips. Yesterday I was watching Dr. Phil, which I normally do not watch, but this show was interesting so I stuck to watching it. It was about obese young children. The story was about how and why 3 young children under the age of 8 where more than 100 pounds overweight. Again the fingers were pointed to the adults in this situation. These children got this way because of the adults in their lives caving in to their temper tantrums, and nagging for this bad food. It’s all about choices! If you don’t’ want your child to grow up fat and overweight, YOU have to set the example your-self!

 

As doctor Phil put it… “why do you even buy this junk food!”

 “You should NOT even have it in your house!”

 “You ! The parent have to set the example and be the good role model.”

 Parents have the most influence on children when they are young.  They watch our motions and listen to our voices. We are their role models. As such, it is our obligation to set forth the best example we possibly can for them. Even from a very young age our children begin to pattern themselves after their parents.

 In this case, I agree with Dr. Phil. My house is empty of all junk food, and bad high carb foods. I don’t have it in the house, so I can’t eat it when I’m weak and feeling vulnerable.

 Please to all those parents that are bringing up children, set an example your- self. YOU eat Fruits and Veggies every day with your Children. Do not buy junk food. And eat with your children a home cooked meal at least 6 days a week!

No more eating out every night! Home cooked meals are what every European  family still does today, that’s why they are NOT obese and North Americans are! And believe me, their jobs and lifestyles are just a busy as ours, so that’s not an excuse to not cook!  We have just gotten lazy over the years!

 Then go for a bike ride and or walk with your kids… physical activities a must! But do it together.. otherwise they will not do it! Really !!  the couch is so much easier!

 Believe me I have learned the hard way! Now paying for all these years of body abuse and having to work for hours at the gym to burn enough calories to burn off these years of built up fat!!     

A Positive Direction

Moving from Morbidly Obese to just Obese is still serious but certainly less worrying. In scientific terms, a Morbidly Obese person is someone who weighs more than 100 pounds over their ideal weight. My ideal weight is 150 pounds, so at my present weight I am exactly 99 pounds over it.

Late last night I was watching TV in bed, and channel surfed, by all the exercise machines and excersise videos to the TV channel TLC that had a program airing about the Gastric bypass surgery for the super morbidly obese -over 600 lbs. The show called “ Half Ton Man “ at 1,022 lbs, Kenneth Brumley is the biggest patient Renaissance Hospital in Houston has ever seen. Kenneth is desperate to save his own life and undergoes a series of major, life-threatening surgeries. Texas has the largest epidemic of obese, morbidly obese and the super morbidly obese people in the world! It’s a very sad situation. So many people are suffering in that state from this condition. It’s really turned into a epidemic.

I did some research on the internet and compiled a list of what other people have written as to why there is an obese epidemic in North America: ( to which I agree with as well...)

*****************************************************************

“Convenience. No one cooks at home anymore. Microwave meals, fast food, quick fixes like cookies and chips. It's so convenient that most people don't even give it a second thought.”

“Fast food. Kids CAN'T safely play outside in the neighborhood anymore.Kids don't walk or ride bikes to school any more.Video games, except those that provide physical activity.Computers and computer games. (NO physical activity). Cell Phones instead of visiting friends (not safe to walk or ride bike to friends'). More and more TV channels catering to all sorts of lifestyles.Too many cities don't have mass transit for commuters and we park as close as we can to work. Insidious marketing of sugared and fatty foods.Cutbacks at school where gym and sports go first.”

“Have you seen the movie, "Super Size Me" ??? ... it explains it very well.Too many people consume more calories than they burn, plain and simple”.

“If you travel to Europe, people are much smaller there. People walk everywhere and the food in restaurants is actually cooked there (not frozen food, heated up) The shops close so people can go home and eat normally, so it must be our lifestyle and all the artificial stuff in our food supply. It is not really nourishing, so people eat more empty calories to fill up.”

“Because people can go out and eat at any fast food restaurant and not work off the calories!!!”

“Our lifestyles have changed. In the 1960's and 70's, kids walked of biked to school, now they are driven.We now have more convenience foods, and many of us are too scared to go outside for one reason or another.”

“Fast food has replaced healthy food. And physical activity has diminished.”

******************************************************************

After watching this program, I am once again stimulated and once again driven to succeed on my path to a healthier lifestyle. Veggies and fruit are my friends..

Fast Food is should be re-named Fast Death Food!

Christmas is Around the Corner!

With Christmas only a month away, a new and really difficult challenge for me lays ahead! Christmas parties, dinners and just all around festive celebrations are all centered around food! And lots of it! Yeeks!! This will be the true test of my strength, stamina and self discipline.

Later on today is Toronto’s 103rd Santa Claus Parade. A huge parade will pass by thousands of awaiting children, fulfilling their Christmas dreams. I have great memories of my family Christmas celebrations and although the presents were great, the celebration of food played a central role.

The Dutch December tradition includes 2 huge celebrations: Sinterklaas and Christmas. Sinterklaas is on December 5th and then Christmas on the 25th. Both of these celebrations have wonderful foods associated with them. And here in Canada, by the time Christmas comes around, my mom would place the foods from both celebrations out on the same table. Our Christmas celebration went as follows: ( and still mostly true today in our family) First thing in the morning we were able to sneak out and get our stocking and take them back to our beds to unpack them; full of sweets and little mini toys. Next we had to all get dressed and get ready for breakfast. The tradition was we were aloud to open presents only after we’ve had breakfast, all the dishes were cleaned up, kitchen clean, and mom had decorated the * after breakfast coffee/tea sweets table*. This table was the crazy table! It was full of sweets and cookies that would make any one scream hip hip hooray! *The picture above is an example of the treats that would be on this table! We had to open the presents one by one, making sure to say out loud, ooohh. & aaaahhh and netto! All the while getting up and going back to table to fill our little snack plates of wonderful Dutch Christmas/Sinterklaas treats. My dad always said the same thing every year when my mom finished decorating the treat table.. “ oh oh oh.. you over-did it again! It’s TOO much!! Leid!!” no wonder I grew up with a sweet tooth, and by the time I was 12 years old, every molar in my mouth had a cavity as well as fat and overweight!

This wonderful table tradition continued to appear right up to the year before my mother died in December 2005. My mom died at Christmas time! On Christmas Day, December 25th, 2005, I was holding my mothers hand in Intensive Care and watching her helplessly slip away in front of my eyes, not being able to do a thing about it! She finally was out of her misery and passed away the morning of the 28th. Now Christmas is a very, very emotional time for me and all my sisters. My younger sister has been leaving for Jamaica in December for 2 weeks, ever since this day, to avoid the sad feeling that now comes up with Christmas.

Time does heal though!

Thank god I have wonderful sisters, and we do now continue with the celebrations every though both my parent are gone!

Why did I write this blog entry??.. Well I just found out! ... To remember, and remind myself why my mom died!

She really died because of an element called ‘Fatty Liver Disease’ with this your Liver and then Kidneys shuts down. This you contract from over-eating to many fatty high sugar foods all your life !!. Like the ones at Christmas! So now I have once again found my reason to not freak out at Christmas, and just enjoy my family.. And not the fatty foods, as I do not want to die the same death as my mom!

I just love writing in my blog.. It’s a great therapist!

Bad Habits Die Hard!

Last night I was home…Didn’t go to the gym and ended up watching a movie! Whoops... wrong choice... that old bad habit crept back into my brain.. My God, it really is almost some sort of disease!

I had the erg to eat all bad stuff, like I used to do. I went out in the rain with my dog, ended up at the 24 hour convenience, and bought Smart Food popcorn and some chocolate. Mind you I did end up buying the small bag of popcorn, and a small chocolate bar (popcorn about 300 calories, and the chocolate bar about 300) .. but they could have been as big as my living room … because the guilt I felt last night, and this morning was almost crushing!!

Wow… I really have a bad habit that really needs to be addressed. I haven’t done this in 10 months.. But being home last night, really is a wake up call that my eating disorder is still there, and can be awoken just like that. I’m not off track! Don’t worry.. Won’t do that again! Any time soon.. But I do have to psychologically analyze myself, and try to avoid this situation next time… I want to one day be able to stay home at night, and just sit down on my couch and watch a movie, WITHOUT wanting and needing to eat crap and binge lots of food full of sugar and salt! For now, and tonight.. I have a concert, Sunday I’m going to the new Art Gallery of Ontario around dinner time, and next week back to the gym at night. You may call it escaping from the problems, but for now that seems to be the only solution.

I compare binge eating, a true disorder. Like being an alcoholic. Once an alcoholic always an alcoholic, once they are dry they can never touch it ever again, unfortunately, I am starting to think the same goes for these types of food for me. Well, not all food, but the chocolate, chips and popcorn stuff.. I can’t eat it, I just want more! So I have to just stay away from it…

Frustrating!

My new strong body… a big surprise!

My new strong body… a big surprise!

My exercises with my personal trainer are getting more and more daring every week. More importantly I am totally surprised every week with the new things that I am able to accomplish with this new smaller stronger body. Tuesdays are my personal training sessions. This week, I arrived at the gym early to first join in on a new cardio Salsa class; I only lasted 15 minutes, it was really hard and fast paced ,I was quite sore in my hip, so I stopped and just sat around at the gym for an hour before my private training session was to begin.

I was not of high spirits, starting my lesson because of the failure to keep up with the Salsa dancing. My trainer had said, ‘Wendy we are going to try something new today’.. gulp.. I thought, okay bring it on! Today we are going to do a Chest press on a Stability ball. (see picture ) oh.. yeeks.. me.. sitting, laying on the ball like that! .. okay.. well hold on, don’t let me fall over!… so there I went, laid on my back and slowly walked my legs out, so as to be in the position, holding my hips up with my stomach muscles, then my trainer handed me the barbells, to add even more a challenge to keeping my balance on the ball! Well.. I did it! Yaaa ! I was so surprised with myself! I am so much more flexible and stronger than 10 months ago! And being able to do this exercise really showed me my progress, and that all this money spent on private strength training is really paying off!

Last night I went to gym again, as I do 5 nights a week, and then tried the exercise alone without my trainer spotting me. And again, I did it! Got down on the ball, even while holding the weights ( 10 lbs each) I ever was able to walk slowly back, pushing my back up the ball to get back into a sitting position on the ball, and not just flop onto the floor.. YES!

So every night I do 1 hour of circuit training and 1 hour of cardio. Last night 4 sets were: 15 reps of Chest press on a Stability ball, 15 reps of squats on the stability ball while lifting a 15 pound medicine ball above my head, holding a ‘ Plank’ for 60 seconds ( see picture) then walking 6 times up and down the room holding 45 pound round weight discs in each hand ( I call it the fireman’s walk, weights, not buckets of water) pressing 20 pound barbells in a hunched over position, getting up and sitting down on a exercise bench with holding a 35 pound weight disc, and finally walking around the gym twice in a fast pace while punching in the air with 8 pound barbells. Pheew.. That’s only 1 set too! I had to do 4 of them, equally 1 hour in time.

After the circuit training I then do 1 hour of cardio. 15 elliptical, 15 treadmill, 15 bike, 15 elliptical. Then I go home.. and enjoy my well earned protein smoothie that I make myself, with 1 cup of milk, 4 frozen strawberries, a little 35 calorie container of yogurt, and protein powder.

I’m pooped by the time I sit on the couch and watch 1 hour of one of my PVR recorded shows, then go to bed at about 11:30pm.

I’ve been doing this every night of the week for 10 months now…

Impressed??

I am !!

(The above pictures come from a site I found that has pictures and clear explanations on how to do all these exercises. It's called : HowStuffWorks. The pictures.... ME !! Hopefully in one year.. !! )

Weekly Weigh-in- NOW only 100 to GO !!!

Another 2 pounds off this week!!

Yaaaa!!

the numbers:

Started Diet January 1, 2008
Starting Weight: 365
42 weeks on the Diet= 11 months
Weight lost so far 115 pounds
Current Weight 250
Goal Weight 150 by July 1, 2009

"grown up digital"

Grown up Digital

(view the YouTube info ad on this book by clicking on the link above)

Sorry it’s been a while since writing in my blog…

I’ve been very busy reacquainting myself with my instrument and my deep love and passion of music making. I have been asked to join in and perform with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony all week. It was a combination week of performing school concerts, with introducing classical music to young people between the age of 7 and 13. We, the KWS, performed 3 programs for about 3000 kids! Wow.. great fun! Later on in the week we performed 2 pops concerts with the involvement of more kids, this time on the stage. The Kitchener Waterloo Youth Orchestra, and a  youth stage band that was on tour to Canada from Chile.

This whole week ties in with an very interesting Book Launch I attended on Monday at the University of Toronto, Business school . Don Tapscott has written his newest book “ grown up digital” He presented it on Monday at his book launch. An interesting book about a 4 million dollar study that he and his company initiated in order to study and interview 10,000 young people between the ages of 11 and 31. In this positive outlook on this new “ Net Generation” he quotes that this generation is not the dumbest generation but that they are smartest generation of all time! Now that’s a very relieving statement for me, as I’m the Aunt of 5 teenage nieces and nephews. Although my brother-in-law seems to disagree with this statement, or better said twists it into his own portrayal and calls this generation the slowest and laziest generation ever. He says: “They may be good at all the tech stuff, but they are the slowest and laziest generation ever!  and not willing to do any hard physical labor!”

Now how this all ties in with the book, is that I was very impressed or better said, blown away at the high playing level of these kids that performed with us. Sitting beside me in the orchestra was a 15 year old boy playing his French horn. He sounded great! And much better than me at 15 years old too! I was totally impressed by his high level of playing. Plus these kids that played in the stage band from Chile. They played at a very high level as well!

Now all these kids are exposed to cell phones, text messaging, the internet, TV, video games, ipods, facebook, youtube, myspace etc.. plus hang with their friends and do homework from school ! I tend to agree with Mr. Tapscott, because for all of these kids that performed with us, they not only found time to do all of the above but also found time to practice their musical instruments and rehearse with their bands or Orchestra! I think these kids are the most talented multi-taskers ever! Talk about incredible efficient time management and task development. These kids will no doubt be hugely successful in all their adult lives and careers.

Me as I type this entry into my blog today, I tried turning on the radio for background stimulant or mindless entertainment, and after 5 minutes I had to turn the radio off because I couldn’t concentrate on this task of writing this entry.

I’m one of the “ X-Generation” and as Mr. Tapscott also explains in his book, that we the X-gen, grew up watching TV. In a vegetative state, sitting on the couch and not doing anything else but tv watching. We did not grow up as multi-tasked individuals like the kids today are stars in multi-tasking. So in comparison, kids today can watch TV, listen to their ipod, text their friends, update there facebook status and do their homework all at the same time!!

Now I really understand what TV for the X-Generation really meant:

…. The Boob Tube! …boob as in  - stupid!!