Time for an update.... soon!

I am teaching my Grade 10 computer class how to blog.  Today they are setting up their blogs with cool templates, backgrounds, and all sorts of modifications.  I figured it was time to update my own personal blog as well, so I added a new picture and am thinking that next class I will write an update on a bunch of awesome things.  It's about time!

Spammity spam spam!

I am getting tons of spam comments on the post below so I thought I'd bury it a bit with this new one in the hopes of cutting down on the number of comments.

Happy Thursday!

Weight loss goal = surpassed!

Ok, again with the huge lapse in blogging.... anyway, here I am again with another update, and again it's about my weight loss journey.  I have reached my goal and am still going!  I've taken up jogging which has proven to be a challenge, but I am improving day by day.  I'm aiming to run a 5k in September, and maybe one in June too if I decide to sign up (I probably will).  I've done 2 practice runs so far, and I've clocked in at 36:48 for the first 5k attempt, and just today I did the same thing in 34:34.  I'm definitely not super fast, but I'm still very proud of the progress!

When I started my weight loss journey I weighed 174.3 pounds (June 2012).  This morning I weighed 138.8 pounds, which is a total loss of 35.5 pounds.  Crazy!  I'll be very curious to weigh myself on the exact date that I started, one year later, and see where I land.

So, now some photos.  Remember these pants?  They started fitting quite loose after I had lost about 15 pounds.  35 pounds gone now and they are RIDICULOUS.  Actually "laugh out loud" funny.  I can't imagine these being tight at all, but I certainly remember the feeling.

Will be glad to ditch these pants for good!

I also remember trying on a pair of very cute yellow shorts in LA last March.  A teacher friend who was shopping with me (we were there for an education conference) encouraged me to try them on, and also to buy them.... I didn't.  I told her that I'd never be comfortable wearing them in public, even though she thought they looked good.  I knew what I WANTED them to look like on me, but I wasn't seeing it in the mirror.  Regardless, I took a picture.  Now, fast forward a year, and I've actually just purchased FOUR pairs of shorts.  This is crazy for me.  I finally feel good wearing them, and can walk around without being self-conscious (except for when they do that weird riding-up-in-the-crotch thing... this has to happen to other people too, right?).  Anyway, I am so very happy to finally be able to wear shorts and feel good!

Love my new shorts... $19 and fun, funky patterns/colours!

I take pictures of my scale when I weigh myself in the mornings so that I can track my weight over time.  The picture on the left was taken in January, which was after 9 pounds of weight loss - remember that I did reach 174.3 last June, and 175 was the highest weight I ever saw on the scale (although I may have actually been heavier than that in the picture with the yellow shorts).  Part of me wishes that I would have taken more pictures at my heaviest weight, and yet I understand why I didn't want to... I didn't like the way I looked, and I certainly didn't want to admit the number on the scale.  Either way, here's a noticeable difference of 26.5 pounds on my scale over the span of 4 months.

When Jeff and I went to Mexico in 2011, I had a stranger take the picture on the left.  We were at Xel-Ha for a day, and I had been snorkelling.  I wanted to record that memory, and it's one of the only shots of me in a bathing suit from that entire trip.  The picture on the right was taken about a week before we left for our Mexico 2013 trip.  I've lost almost another 10 pounds since that photo, although I'm not sure if it has made a significant change in the shape or size of my body, as I still think I look very similar to the photo on the right. (PS - I can't believe I'm posting this photo... but it's a good reminder for me of how far I've come!)

Mexico 2011 vs. Mexico 2013

And here's what I look like today - 138.8 pounds and feeling fantastic in my new clothes!

Weight loss journey @ mid-point

Despite my best attempts to publish these photos in order, Blogger had another idea and jumbled them up a bit.  Oh well!

I have been trying to lose weight for quite a while, and until now I haven't really had a great deal of success.  I've been using the MyFitnessPal app on my iPhone, where I track everything that I eat and drink throughout the day as well as any exercise I've done.  It allows me to log my calories and track how much I'm consuming, including what percentages of daily value I'm consuming for major nutrient groups (carbs, sugar, iron, protein, Vitamins A and C, etc.).  I know how much I need to eat to reach my goals, and I have gotten fairly good at finding the foods that I can and can't eat to feel satisfied (ie. Greek yogurt for 100 calories is an awesome source of protein for breakfast and keeps me fuelled until lunch).  I was working out at the gym in the mornings before work until about a month ago when I strained a ligament in my knee.  I was on crutches for a few days and although it is mostly healed now, I am still recovering from it a bit (I iced it today after taking Jennie for a walk).  I have continued to lose weight though, just by watching my caloric intake each day.  It's working!

A couple weeks ago (February 1st) I hit 15 lbs weight loss, and took pictures of the pants I wore to work that day.  Those pants had formerly been too tight to wear on most days - I remember needing to figure out my teaching schedule for the day before I chose to wear the pants, because if I was teaching classes that I'd be sitting down in, they would be too tight and cut into my stomach.  I'd only wear them if I was standing up teaching band all day.  Anyway, I made a collage of what those pants looked like on me that day, then another collage of the (size medium!) yoga pants I bought on my way home from work that same day.

Yoga pants from One Tooth - Size Medium

Dress pants - Formerly too small, currently too big (yay!)

Then I put on the yellow t-shirt I bought this past summer a few days later, and I couldn't get over how big it was on me all of a sudden!  It inspired me to create a collage - it was (and is) so rewarding to see the side-by-side pictures and to really notice the difference.

So, in June 2012 I weighed in at (my almost highest weight) - 174.3 pounds.  The highest I ever weighed myself at was 175 in May 2009.  My goal for now is 140.  I am currently (as of this morning) at 155.5 pounds.  I am very close to a 20 pound weight loss!  I had done some work to shed pounds last June, and I had gotten down to about 166 (from 174) but then was busy and traveling all summer, and got very busy during the fall back-to-school rush, and gained back some of that weight until I was at 169.something in about the second week of December.  So, since December I'm down about 14 pounds.  It feels great!  There's still a ways to go, but I am really proud of where I'm at right now and in what direction I'm headed. :o)

Took the picture last night, and I figure most people won't see this so the risqué bare skin is ok!

My bright coral t-shirt is noticeably bigger today (also yay!)

About 15 pounds to go!

I might just need to wash and shrink these pants again, but I AM down 10 pounds from the picture on the left, so maybe...

I packed these capris for my trip to LA last March and couldn't fit them. They were also a lot tighter in July than they were yesterday!  Feeling good!

Inspirations

I am really enjoying the inspirations I've been finding online lately, so I figure it's time for a quick photo post again.  Love these!

15 lbs gone, 20 more to go...

Athens and Rome 2013, here we come...

Me 2 days ago - loving the new nose ring!

Best buddies at the grocery store!

Little ladies at cousin Belle's birthday party

Photes 'n Quotes!

I had some fun with photo editing these past couple days.  I straightened my hair for fun, and took advantage of the photo opportunities while I had a different look.

"People with many interests live not only longest, but happiest." - George Matthew Allen 

"One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure." -  William Feather

"As I grow to understand life less and less, I grow to love it more and more." - Jules Renard

Happy Saturday!

Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!

The title, of course, comes from one of my favourite classic Christmas cartoons, How the Grinch Stole Christmas: "He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.  Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.  Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!"  You bet it does.  So on this, my 27th Christmas, I am taking a moment to express my thankfulness for my awesome life and the people in it.

I just finished a great semester of teaching at Rivier (in my 5th year already - where does the time go?!).  I have amazing students who left me super great cards and thoughtful gifts on Friday before we headed out for the Christmas holidays:

This is why I love my job.

I have a house in a safe and friendly neighbourhood, the means to renovate it and make it my own, and a brand new deck that I got to build with my mom and dad this summer.... and on beautiful winter mornings the view from my kitchen deck door looks like this:

Canada: Freezing but beautiful!

I have the cutest twin nieces in the world, and I love them more than I could ever imagine.  2 days ago we got to paint sugar cookies with them in their jammies.  They were so adorable, and were busy busy busy making their beautiful creations!

Picasso(s) in the making

I got to spend this Christmas morning with my beautiful sister and her husband, and the sweetest little ladies around.  My parents were both here too, and everyone is happy and healthy (aside from little Emily who has a double ear infection... poor beaner!  After some Tylenol she was her regular happy self though, thank goodness.)

Santa came with lots of presents!

This month I booked 2 flights to Athens, Greece for this July.  A couple days ago I bought 2 flights from Athens to Rome.  My friend Scott and I will be embarking on a crazy 10-day adventure together where we will be visiting Athens and Rome and seeing some of the most amazing sights while having tons of friend bonding time and outrageous shenanigans.

The Sistine Chapel, Rome

The Parthenon, Athens (atop the Acropolis)

Life is good.  Period.  Here's a quick snapshot of my life in photo form.  

Optimism: It's contagious!

Saskatchewan... home sweet home. :o)

My 2 loves, having a snooze on our couch (so bad but so cute!)

One of my favourite quotes ever.  LOVE Emerson!

Amen!  And with sheet music at that!

I get to meet up with some of these crazy wonderful people in 2 days.... winter getaway Pt. IV!

Merry Christmas to everyone reading this.  I hope you have many reasons to smile, today and every day, and that you carry happiness in your heart wherever you go.  Be conscious of your blessings and the wonderful people and opportunities that surround you.  Tell people that you love them.  SHOW them.  Be kind to others.  Try new things.  Take risks.  Laugh.  Take care of yourself.  Take care of others.  Be vibrant.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Bobby the original

As you all have gathered, when I'm not traveling overseas I update my blog very irregularly.  That being said, those close to me know that a week and a half ago I lost one of the most amazing men in my life, my grandpa Orris Steinburg, or "Bobby" as he was referred to by my sister and me.  It was only a couple posts ago that I wrote about losing my grandma Connie, and in real time it was only 7 months ago... it seems so unreal to have lost both of them in the same school year.  Those of you who knew my grandpa would have known him as a gentle, kind, and witty man.  An artist.  A musician.  A family man.  The most gentle and sweet guy you've ever known.  The kind of man that cried at the end of "The Little Mermaid" when King Triton sent Ariel away to be with Eric because he knew that she loved him, even though it was hard for him to let go as a father.  That kind of guy.  A total softie.

So today I put on my new "Happy Hat" because I was on Face Time with my mom and I thought I'd show her.  I took a picture of me wearing it, then edited it online.  The quote that I put on it reads "You were born an original... don't die a copy."

And then it struck me.  You know who was an original his whole life?  Bobby.  The use of those art terms is also so fitting for someone who painted for his whole life too... right up until almost the day he died.  I had done some abstract painting with him when I went to visit in February.  I wanted some "Lauren and Bobby" originals to hang on the wall of my jacuzzi bathroom in my new (perpetual renovation-zone) house.  He had never done it before, but at age 85 he decided to give it a shot.  We bonded over our painting sessions in his studio, he gave me tips on how to blend the colours and where to put other colours to balance the whole thing out.  Even though he was achy and sore with bone cancer (a diagnosis he had received only a few months prior), he still kept such a positive attitude and helped me out with my project.  They now proudly hang in my still-unfinished bathroom, signed on the back in our own handwriting, "Lauren and Bobby."  (We also did a little pink one for Avery and Emily, signed "Auntie Lauren and Great Bobby" - seen below.)

When I went to visit him in Hamiota again on March 30th, he asked for help putting a scanned image of a sketch he had just done into Photoshop.  Now that I had gotten him on the wavelength of abstract painting, he wanted to experiment with some abstract combined with the realism of the string trio he had just drawn (he was always up for a new challenge or learning something new at any age).  So I helped him open his image in Photoshop, and off he went on his new project.  And, after our brief but meaningful visit, off I went, back home to Saskatchewan.

After he passed away on April 28th, I immediately took a week off of teaching and drove to Hamiota for the third time in only 2 months.  When I arrived there the house was empty - Auntie Donna, mom, and Karyn had taken the twins to Brandon for the day and weren't back yet.  I walked around the house, just taking it all in.  In my grief, everything seemed so still and empty, despite the mess that was left from two busy 18-month-old girls and a house full of people trying to prepare for a funeral.  In my wandering, naturally I walked into grandpa's studio, which he affectionately dubbed "Studi-O" for Orris.  The sight that greeted me got me instantly choked up.  There on his easel was the project he had started, unfinished.  Mid-process.  As though somehow magically he was going to come around the corner with a handful of freshly-washed brushes and get right back to work on it.

And if that, ladies and gentlemen, isn't the best example you've ever seen of someone doing something they love for their whole life, then I don't know what is.  Here is a man who had cancer in every bone in his body, who was widowed twice, and despite all of his hurting he made the most of every day of his life, even right until the very end.  I don't think he could have left a more poignant gift than the unfinished musician painting.  This will stick with me as one of the best life lessons my grandpa ever taught me.

This man was an "original" for his whole life.  He inspired others by just being himself.  He did everything he could to make sure that all of the important people in his life knew that he loved them.  He came to graduations, musicals, concerts, sporting events... everything.  He would tell silly jokes and do funny things to make us laugh.  He was never ever a "copy," just the one and only Orrie, Bobby, grandpa.  He was an original in every sense of the word.

"You were born an original... don't die a copy."  It strikes me now more than ever that even mere days before he died, this man was CREATING another original.  If I can take one lesson from his passing, it is to be eternally grateful for all of the blessings that I have in my life, and to keep on doing what I love even in the face of adversity.  If I can be half the person that Bobby was, I will be very proud.  He was a great man, and the best darn original I've ever known.

Before and After

I have a compulsion to take "before and after" photos every time I clean something. It reminds me of how messy it was before, I suppose - a visual side-by-side of how great it looks once it's done. Tonight was very productive at my house. I took my car for a wand wash first:

Then I came home and cleaned my kitchen, did the dishes, ran a load through the dishwasher, swept the floors, lit some candles, etc.:

Finally, I cleaned my room, did a load of laundry, made the bed, and swept the floor:

TADA!

My super cool July 2012 opportunity

This past fall, I Google searched a youth camp that I went to for one week in the summer after grade 9. I was thinking that it'd be fun to work there as a camp counsellor if they needed extra help. Fast forward about 3 months, and I've applied for the job and then been hired as the camp facilitator, in charge of organizing and programming the activities for the 2 weeks of camp. Very cool! Then, right before Christmas, I receive an e-mail saying, "What are you doing on (insert dates here)? The international conference is in Washington, DC and I think it would be good if you could go." Umm, YES PLEASE! So cool. Here's a snapshot of what my summer might look like, a la USA capital city:

Capitol Hill - the Capitol building and Washington Monument

The Washington Monument

The Capitol Building

The White House

The Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial (check out Honest Abe in the middle!)

Thomas Jefferson Memorial