Dear Lady at the Gym,...

Um, I am not sure if you got the tour when you joined, so I thought I might mention that we do indeed have a lockerroom here. It's quite large, with many lockers...some tall, some small. It is located just past the weight area where you seem to spend most of your time. I promise that it is very clean and there is lots of room to maneuver.

I only mention this because it is really inconvenient for you to have your bag, your jacket and your scarf & gloves sitting in the midst of the gym. If you have a look around, NO ONE ELSE HAS THEIR SHIT SITTING OUT HERE. It is especially inconsiderate of you to pile your crap on top of a set of steps that people (and by people, I mean ME!) need to use for their workout.

It was lovely of you to apologize when you realized I had to move your stuff out of my way in order to use the equipment, and although I smiled, I was really annoyed. Soooo...if in the future you could be like everyone else and use the locker space provided conveniently in the change room that would be swell. If you are concerned about theft, a lovely little padlock can be purchased just about anywhere for a whopping $3!

I hope you take this note in the matter that it was intended. A public service anouncement for you not to be a dumbass.

Thank you and happy crunching!

"If I don't go now...

...I'm not gonna go."

This is what got me up and out the door this morning. Logical thought don't you think?

The new plan around our place is that I'm going to get up and drive DBF to work three days a week. This gets me up to go the gym, plus saves him having to leave an hour early just to find parking...and also saves him from having to walk 15 minutes to the base from his parking spot. (Don't get us started on how the largest employer in town doesn't offer parking to anyone that doesn't have at least 15 years of service!)

Last week it worked out well, so we're going to keep it up.

This morning however, DBF had to take his own car because he's taking it in for service this afternoon. This worked out great for me because I didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn with him...I could sleep until about 15 minutes before I wanted to be at the gym. Gotta be careful with that though! Bed was so warm and cozy I really didn't want to get up at 7:20 when the alarm went off....and I ended up not heading to the gym until 8:30ish...instead of the 7:45 I had planned.

But I went, and that's what matters!!!

Cold gets better; Weather gets worse

Thankfully, this seems to be just a cold and although yesterday I was pretty tired because of it, today I'm already starting to feel better. I got myself up at a reasonable time and went to the gym and feel even better now. Hopefully this keeps up and the whole thing just blows over and goes away.

Mother Nature decided to send us some more snow today...so my plans for keeping myself busy with errands today have been altered a bit. DBF was supposed to work tomorrow, but it was switched to today, so I was going to try to find some new gym shoes and then maybe spend some time downtown at one of the nicer Starbucks. Instead, the snow decided to start piling up while I was in the gym, so I opted to get Starbucks to bring home and grabbed a couple of movies instead.

I was A LOT more confident out in the weather today. The roads stayed pretty clear, but by the time I was heading home the snow was starting to stick and parking lots were getting yucky. I'm glad I came home when I did because there was already about an inch in the driveway and anymore than that would make it hard to park properly without having to shovel it. Blech. Hopefully it doesn't keep going all night because DBF is off at 8:00am and it would suck if he had to shovel the driveway before he could pull his car in.

Maybe....maybe....maybe.....if it stops snowing later today I'll go out and shovel his spot....but I'm not promising anything. I have a date with some sushi and a couple of chick flicks (and some bad reality TV on the DVR). Plus I have this cold as an excuse to stay bundled up inside for the rest of the day. ;)

How I miss being a full-time corporate whore!

You know that my routine has definitely changed here because I JUST finished off the Starbucks card my Mom gave me for Christmas TODAY. Unreal. Almost three months for me to use up $25 worth of the Bucks goodness. It's silly really. (Of course, it should be noted that I obviously made a few trips without my card...and I wasn't using it for buying coffee beans.)

Now that I'm up and going to the gym three mornings a week, my Starbucks intake will increase exponetially. Conveniently, I drive by two of them on my way home....so no more home brew coffee for me on gym days!

Now the trick will be to continue sticking with my venti mild or bold...and staying away from the yummy lattes and such. Thankfully the baked goods here aren't near as yummy or yummy-looking as the stuff back in Victoria, so I generally don't feel the need to indulge in anything from the display case.

Yet another reason I hate the weather here!

Yes, I just posted this on my other blog....but for those of you that don't read that I thought I'd post it here too. You can tell I'm pissed right off because I want to make sure everyone knows about the bigass icefest we had here yesterday.

Sooooo.....yesterday I was all excited to go to the gym. I planned my work day carefully so I could leave early enough to get to the gym before the after work rush. I got all cleaned up, dressed into my workout gear, tied up my shoes....and proceded out to my car. Except I never made it to my car, because I slipped about half-way down our front porch stairs on the ice and landed on the cement at the botttom. Ask me how impressed I was about that...I dare you!

Let's just say that I have a MASSIVE lump on the back of my leg and it hurts like hell. Not fun. So obviously no gym. Booooooo!

In true Halifax form though, the weather has taken a 180 degree turn and the sun is out today so I will try again to get out there...

Again with the storms!

And just because I always have to post and bitch about the crappy weather, here I am!

Yup, that's right. The Haligonians lied to me. The snow did not end in February. That's right people...today is March 1st if you hadn't noticed...and yes there is white stuff on the ground. Mhmmmmm. Almost a half a foot of it actually.

Fortunately it did stop snowing. Unfortunately now it's windier than shit and raining sideways. Rattling the bedroom window again so I'm guessing sleep is going to be another night of wondering if the roof is going to blow off. Boooooooo! Hopefully it will rain enough to wash away the snow though, so I don't have to shovel it tomorrow.

Sadly, because I knew the storm was starting and I'm still leary of having my car out in the snow/ice I didn't stay at the gym after my first introductory sessions. I would have liked to have put in a small workout with the details I learned today, but well, I sissied out because of the stupid weather. They were excellent introductions to the cardio equipment and circuit area so I am excited to put my knowledge into action before I forget what I'm doing. Hopefully tomorrow the roads are clear and I'm not totally plowed into my driveway.

Edit: not 5 minutes after I posted this, I got a note on Facebook from a friend telling me he just posted pictures of the cherry trees at home. Ya, that's right, Spring is springing there and I'm stuck with Maritime stormy slop.

Bi0nic gets ripped!

As Angie pointed out, February 29th only comes along once every four years, and since today is the day it should be marked or celebrated in some fashion. Soooooo.....I took this as a sign that I should get off my arse and do something I've been putting off.

I joined a gym!!!

This is HUGE for me. I haven't belonged to a gym in a few years, and even when I did it was just the Y and I didn't really know what I was doing. I like to work out with buddies, and I was using that as an excuse to not join since we moved here...because I don't know very many people, I don't have a buddy. It's silly really, because even when I had a buddy for working out we didn't do the same routine so basically we just arrived and left the gym together. But it was good moral support.

I miss my kickboxing class because it was fun, I had close friends to partner with (which also served as motivation because you never want to disappoint your partner), we always had an instructor to make sure we knew what we were doing, and it was intense enough that even if I didn't do anything but go to those two weekly classes I was burning a good amount of calories and building up my cardio.

So now I need to be my own buddy...my own butt-kicker...my own motivator!

After looking online and asking around a bit, I settled on Nubody's Fitness. It's a local chain with a good reputation, and as luck would have it the closest one to us is fairly new and ladies only. Not that I care if there are guys there, but it'll help until I'm comfortable with what I'm doing.

It's money well spent I think. They had a good deal of $99 for the first 3 months, plus a deal on signing up for 5 personal training sessions (saved about $50 on those). I signed up for a year to get the better monthly rate of about $50 (after the first three months, obviously) and they include 4-5 hours worth of introductory classes to learn how to use the equipment, etc. The woman that was signing me up chose a trainer for my first session, but I am welcome to change to someone else if it isn't a good fit. From what I've seen on the website though, and by the recommendation the manager gave her I think she will be just what I need for a good kick in the pants.

I'm nervous, but sooo excited! My first intro classes are tomorrow for cardio and the circuit equipment. Tuesday night I learn about weights. Then next Saturday I'll do the stretching/ab intro, followed by my first personal training session. OMG, what have I done?!!

:)