Live! From Fort Nelson!!

Hello all! I know, it's been a long time...again. What a busy few weeks!

I've just finished my first week in Fort Nelson. I moved up last Saturday, with the help of my parents. We loaded up all that we had left that morning, and drove up. I didn't think we had that much stuff left, but it took John's company truck with the canopy on, my truck and my dad's truck to get all of our stuff, and we still had to leave a few things behind! Our house hasn't sold yet, so it's no big deal. We have to go back down the weekend before Christmas to bottle some wine, so we'll bring the stuff back then.

My mom went out to check on the house yesterday, and we have a little guardian angel who has been shovelling our deck, and snow blowing our driveway - my dad's co-worker Chris. He took it upon himself to keep the place cleaned up for us, which is so nice, considering I've never met the guy even though he lives a few houses down from us. It's so nice of him. We haven't had anyone come to walk through yet, but it's nice to know that if we do have a showing, the outside will look good.

My weight is still high like it was in Fort St John. I haven't tried to lose at all, because this week has just been so hectic. Work has been super busy. 3 out of 5 days this week I worked overtime, which is huge for me. I usually never work overtime. I've been so tired because of it that I've been going to sleep at 8. Yep, at 8. It's kinda pathetic, really. The first few days I just couldn't keep my eyes open. And my feet have been hurting so badly that I haven't wanted to unpack much, so my house is still in a state of disarray. John started setting up our workout gear last night, so hopefully he can get it finished today so I can at least attempt to work out. I bought some gel soles for my shoes, so hopefully that will help with the pain so I can work out in the evenings.

Well, that's this week in a nutshell. I'm going to try to blog more, but all this week, I was much too tired. We'll see :)

I'm back!

Wow, it has been a long time since I've been on here. Sorry for the absence peoples! I've been busy getting packed, and getting ready to move, and honestly, I've been a bit depressed, and for once, I haven't turned to writing to help me with that. Maybe this will be the turning of a corner!

Today, I had a health screening at work. I wasn't going to, but it was free, and scheduled for me, so I thought why not. Initially, I wasn't going to because I didn't want to have some nurse or health care worker tell me that I was obese and to get my ass to the gym and start eating only salads. I was ashamed. I didn't want someone else to see how bad off I am. She doesn't know that at this time last year I was 28 pounds less than I am now, but all she would see was that I'm way overweight. But, I decided to brave it. Wanna see my results?

Height: 164cm (64.5 inches)
Weight: 214 lbs
Waist Circumference: 41 inches
BMI: 35
Blood Pressure: 120/96
Glucose: 5.6
Cholesterol: 175mg/dL

So, what does it all mean?

Well, my BMI is high. I'm right in between the high and very high risk category for developing health problems. Not a good place to be. But, BMI is not a perfect determination of health. My waist circumference is high, but not too high. For women, waist circumference should be 35 and under. That's only 6 inches that I need to lose. It's not that hard, I don't think. I looked, but I can't find my old measurements from last year around this time, so I can't compare, but I think 6 inches should be an achievable thing.

My blood pressure is good! Yay! It's not a good example, because it can change within minutes, but at that moment, it was good. Perfect (or normal) is 120/80 and as long as I'm under 120/100, I'm ok.

Glucose was good - normal is between 4 and 7.

Cholesterol was good - as long as it's under 200,  I'm good.

I also talked to the lady (I'm not sure if she was a nurse, or a nutritionist, or what) about my risk factors of getting pregnant while I'm at the weight I'm at. She thinks that I would be ok, because there are a lot of other women who have babies just fine when they're bigger than me, but she gave me some options to think about. She thinks if I get into the 180s, my health risks will go down a lot, so I should have no problems. It was nice to talk to a professional about it, especially about BMI. It's such a hard thing to get a grasp on. I mean, for me, if I look at the BMI table, I should be anywhere from 138 pounds to 145 pounds. Now, for those of you who have seen me, can you imagine me at 145 pounds? Considering that I'm 214 pounds now, and no one believes me? I spoke to her, and we decided a realistic weight for me is in the 160s. I'm totally ok with that. That means that I have about 50 pounds to lose. I can do that. I know I can do that.

Now, I feel renewed. I feel like I can do it - again. I think it's time to start focusing on food. Right now, my ankle is still bothering me, so I'm not sure about how much cardio I can do, but I know I can watch what I'm eating. But, I will need some support. So, here's the deal. I need each of you to email me. Yes, if you read this, I want you to fire off a quick email. Even if it's just to say hello. I need places to email when I'm feeling frustrated, or that I can't do it. I need support. You don't even have to read the email. Just email me back some encouragement. Let me know that someone has seen that I'm struggling.

My email is kara.anne@live.ca. I look forward to hearing from you all!

Anyways, back to work. I have such a good perspective now, which is great. I'm naturally a pessimist, so this is nice.

Also, this week has been a week of good news - and I'm going to add my good news onto it. A friend just told me she's pregnant, and another friend (my ex) just got engaged! Good week.

Small World

So, we're finding that Fort Nelson is a small town. Very small. Yesterday, John met someone who remembers me from years ago when Acklands in Fort St John was dealing with Fort Nelson. It took me a bit to remember who he was, but he knew exactly who I was. Then today, John had his first day of hockey, and he's playing with a guy who is from Golden, that knows my grandpa and used to work with him. I'm pretty sure I remember who he is, and I'm sure I'll know who he is as soon as I meet him. I definitely know his brother through hockey.

Just brings it back that it's such a small place, and that there is always going to be connections.

Food Of the Week

This is my food of the week - banana bread with cauliflower puree! Yes, that's correct. Cauliflower. It's from Jessica Seinfield's book, Deceptively Delicious. It's fantastic. Totally fantastic. I had my dad taste it, and he didn't know there was anything different in it. I had it with peanut butter on it, and it was amazing...I can't wait to try more things! I have a bunch of cauliflower puree and carrot puree in the freezer so that I can try new things throughout the week!

Random Thoughts...

I think, today, I'm just going to post random thoughts throughout the day. Should be interesting to see what I think up during my work day!

• I'm thinking about declaring next week (Mon-Fri) a carb free week. I need to kick my own ass, and get back into working out and eating right. I think the first step will be eating right. So, no carbs (other than fruit before 2pm) for 5 days. I did it for 17 when I did the 17 Day Diet so I think I can do it for 5. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to do it once a month, cut out carbs for 5 days, just to keep my metabolism up. And when you don't eat carbs, you lose weight. Perfect!
• Along with that same thought, I'm thinking about making another 5 day week a meat free week. Just stuff to keep my body guessing, and to help me try out new foods!
• And, in addition, I'm going to try out a few other things, even when I'm not on my 5 day carb free, or meat free times. No carbs after 2 pm. It worked before, so I'll try it again. It makes sense. Carbs are hard to burn, so why have them an hour before you go to bed, when it's just going to add fat to my ass?
• As you know, I sprained my ankle back on October 9. I feel as though after 12 days, I shouldn't be in pain anymore. But I can't even jog across the street without being in pain. It's been a very long time since I've sprained anything, and I'm impatient to know how long I'm going to have to deal with this! Should I wear an ankle brace? Should I just do nothing? When can I do a real workout without pain? Can I even go on my tread climber? So many questions. I guess it's time to Google.
• Great. Google didn't tell me anything good. It could take weeks or months to heal. Dammit. I don't have time for this!
• I really am tired of this job. Thank goodness we're moving. Since this job is only a temporary assignment, I was hoping that I would be able to find something else within the company after that two months, and that I would be able to continue. Man, I'm glad I don't have to do that. I'm in HR, so I see all of the competitions that have been open since I started, and nothing is appealing to me. The amount of entitlement most of these employees feel makes me so mad that I can't even talk to them. Honestly. Government employees are the worst. I can't wait to be out of the Union. Some people like the protection of the union, I hate it. There are so many incompetent people here that are going to be here forever because they can't get fired. Ugh.
• I am freezing! Usually everyone in HR is freezing, and I think they're crazy, but now it's me! Usually, over in IT (yes, I work with HR and sit in IT) it's so warm because of all of the computers going up here, but today I'm frozen! It was -3 this morning, but I've been in the office for over an hour and I'm still cold. I need a heater!
• So, yes, I sit in IT. When I first started, there was an empty desk in HR, so I used it. Then they had another permanent employee start, so I got booted. There wasn't any room for me, so they stuck me in a corner in IT. It's not all bad. They boys are quiet, and I get a lot of freedom because there is no one breathing down my neck all day and making sure I'm not screwing everything up, which I'm sure our director thinks. When I was in HR, I got to look out a window at an awesome view, and now I'm stuck in a corner looking at walls. Not as cool.
• I'm currently very irritated with my husband, and I am trying so hard not to be. Last night, he didn't call me until 9:40pm. He was just getting home, which is fine, but I was trying to sleep. I was pissy already because he didn't call, and then he called and disturbed me. And he didn't even apologize for it! Then I was up until after midnight. I am trying so hard to not let it bug me, because it'll be a Chetwynd situation again where all I am is mad at him, but man, I'm pissy. It's so bad that I don't even want to talk to him. I'm glad that I have plans tonight with Lisa so that I don't have to deal with him until late. I'll call him tonight super late and see how he freaking likes it.
• Speaking of that, Lisa and I are going on a movie date tonight to see "The Good Year." I think it looks great! I'll tell ya about it tomorrow!
• Now my husband is sucking up to me and making me feel bad for being mad at him. Argh!
• I've decided that I want to travel more outside of the country. I'm back to talking to my husband because I want to know his opinion, but I'm still mad at him! He thinks Vegas, which would be ok, but I was thinking more like China.
• Maybe a cruise around the Caribbean. That would be fantastic. Spend a few days in Miami, then get on a boat, go to the Bahamas, Turks and Cacaos, and back. Yes, I think that sounds fantastic.
• It's snowing. Yes, snowing. I don't think it's going to stick around, but it is snowing. Mark your calendar friends; today winter begins!
• Ugh. It's still snowing. Harder now though.

Ok, I think that's it for today folks! Almost time to go home! Yay!

Abortions

Yes, I'm going there. Just stay with me.

A few days ago, I read this article about how in Mississippi they are trying to put a constitutional ban on abortions. Even just reading the title made me so angry - instantly angry. Then I read it. Apparently they have some of the most strict laws on abortion in the US, and there is only one clinic in the whole state that will perform abortions.

So, I posted on Facebook this status:

Isn't the US taking a step backwards in seeking to put abortion bans into state constitutions? All that work of women's rights activists, making it a woman's choice, going down the drain. Makes me sad.

Honestly, I didn't think anyone would disagree with me. Might have been naive of me, but I figured, that after all of the work of women's rights activists in the 60s and 70s, that this would be a general consensus. Apparently not. Half a dozen of my friends "liked" the comment, and posted that they agree. But then there was another friend.

She is a young mother of one boy, and has a girl on the way. I'm not 100% sure, but I think she had her son when she was either in high school, or just out of it. She is totally against abortion with these arguments:

• If women used their rights in a mature manner, this wouldn't be an issue
• Women (and girls) are walking into these clinics every time they mess up and aborting left and right
• People are dying to adopt and if these women (and girls) are heartless enough to murder their babies, then giving them to good, loving, caring families shouldn't hurt them

And basically stated that if you're stupid enough to get yourself into that mess, you should have to deal with it, unless it's justified. She had more to say, but it was all along this line of thought.

And honestly, though I completely disagree, I respect her opinion. I think it's an immature opinion from someone who is basing her opinion solely on her experience and stories she has heard instead of fact. Maybe not just fact, but maybe on hearing different opinions.

Then, I got an email from another friend about the flip side of this issue, the side I take opinion with. She speaks from the experience of having to get an abortion, and it being the best decision for her and the baby at the time. I think that we can all agree that there should be a better system for abortions, and that you shouldn't be able to just get one, that you should have to go through a course of some kind before you do it, so that you are prepared to deal with it afterwards. She said that it took her a couple of years to deal with it, and that she wasn't super young when it happened. She also told me something that totally surprised me. Apparently, at our local junior high school, counsellors are taking girls as young as grade 9 to get abortions without telling their parents. Can you believe that? You can get an abortion if you are under age without parental consent! OMG.

Don't you think that if the make abortions illegal, there will be more back-alley abortionists, and that women who want to get an abortion will end up very sick or dead? Shouldn't it be a personal choice, not a governmental one? Isn't that what everyone fought for?

I completely agree that there are women out there that are making a bad name for abortions. The women who have 3 or 4 or more abortions as a form of birth control, or because they are just too dumb to close their legs make a very bad name for the women who actually make the decision responsibly and don't abuse the system.

I can say, for myself, that even now, as a happily married woman, who is financially sound, I would consider an abortion if I found myself pregnant at this moment. I know that might sound harsh, but it's the truth. I don't know if I want to be a mother, and I think I'd rather be sure than end up a bitter woman who hates her kids.

I just am so glad that I live in Canada, where we believe (for the most part) in freedom of choice. It's obviously still a work in progress, but damn, at least we're not taking steps backwards like the US.

I know this is strange, me voicing my opinions like this, but I just can't get it out of my mind. I needed to type it out. If you have opinions, please comment below!

Vlog?

So, I didn't get a chance to make a vlog, since my Epicure/Tupperware party went longer than I thought, and I didn't get home until after 10. Maybe I'll be able to do it next week!

Anyways, off to bed!