Saying No to Chips.

I love to watch movies late at night when it's quiet and dark outside. I'm not a scary movie fan per say, because I have found I can't go to sleep if I watch them, but I like to escape into a good story, and for 2 hours be transformed somewhere else.

One of the habits that I got into of late was snacking while I watch, and I have to admit that the snacks were not always nutritional. Chips were my favourite. But since my "on the verge of diabetes diagnosis" I am forcing myself to log on a website called Sparkpeople, everything that goes into my body. I am learning that if you eat chips on top of everything else you eat in a day, that would be consuming tremendous amounts of fat. I thought I was eating healthy, and maybe the meals I was eating were healthy, but when you add everything together, it is too much. I was eating way too much, and adding foods that would spike my blood sugar, and then I would crash. It's all starting to make sense.

It's starting to make sense. It's like someone has turned on a light switch. It's one thing to hear about living healthy, is another to live that way. And through trial and error, and making the choice of a healthy life I am choosing LIFE. On movie nights when I want a snack, I'll trade chips for popcorn. Making movie time enjoyable for me, and my waistline.

Naturopath Visit.

Well yesterday I went for my Naturopath appointment. I have been going to see her since the end of November 2008. She is a wonderful woman who is helping me get to a healthier place. Since November, I have lost 25 pounds, and am on the road to shedding the unwanted excess of twelve years of unhappiness. I often look back and wonder why I wasted twelve years of my life in this state, but I had to go through those experiences in the 12 years to get to the place I am now. Which is ready to live.

I have hit a plateau with my weight loss. It is partly due to the fact that I am having a hard time staying away from sugar, and partly do to the fact that I don't eat enough small meals throughout the day, so that when I do eat I gorge.

Yesterday at my appointement my Naturopath said I am on the verge of diabetes, and we need to get my blood sugar under control, and insulin levels back to normal. When I look at pictures like the one above I almost don't recognize the outer shell of me. I have come a long way in these last few months, reducing my BMI by five points and losing 25 pounds, but that is not enough. This is a journey I am on until I get it right. Losing 75 more pounds will put me into a healthy BMI category, and that's my goal. The weight, and my eating habits are causing my body not not function properly, and exericise which once was enjoyable, is becoming harder because I'm injuring myself carrying around all this extra weight.

So yesterday, I worked out a diet plan with my Naturopath, and this morning I am going for a walk. Starting with small steps to success. When I think of getting off track I have a question to ask myself. Why are you trying to cheat yourself out of more time living a healthy life? The only person that can get me to a healthier spot is me, and the only person preventing me from getting to a healthier place is me. And yersterday, ME got a wake-up call.

So as I blog from down here on Inverness, I am going to also document my journey from this moment on. How one day at the Naturopath, changed my life.

As I come in the driveway to my new humble abode, I am greeted by a plant that is not familiar. It looks like giant rhubarb or lily pads on stalks. I am no garden whiz, but am amazed that in the ten years I have been working with plants, this one has escaped my learning. I guess that is one reason that I like gardening as much as I like teaching. I'm always learning or trying something new, finding out how something works, and why something is the way that it is. It's fun to find out how to make things grow best. With the right ingredients, nutrients, and environment it will flourish and hopefully expand and grow. These enormous plants obviously enjoy Inverness as much as I do. We both are flourishing here.

That's what I'm always seeking for my children at school. The right ingredients, nutrients and environment that they will feel free enough to grow and flourish. I introduced an idea to my kids in music today. I learned how to play Hot, Hot, Hot on the marimba on Friday. As soon as they listened to it, they started moving, smiling and couldn't sit still. Right away, I knew it was a winner. What if...we played this for the grade seven graduation? They immediately loved the idea...and wanted to start right away. So as I taught them the melodies and harmonies that began the music, I felt a joy rise above it all, the students settled down in a real groove, and ebb and flow of rhythm. The environment to try something new + the ingredients of a good song + the nutrients to fuel the passion=an excellent music class.

Thoughts from Inverness

This is my first attempt at blogging. Others are doing it. Why shouldn't I? I used to spend hours writing in a journal, and today felt like writing again. I am spending a lot of time infront of the computer these days finishing my action research project for my Masters degree, and thought I would try what others are already doing...Blogging.

I am living in a rental house on Inverness which is very close to the beach. It is more than I would like to spend on a rental, but I deserved to live somewhere relaxing and nice, so I am renting a lifestyle. I am not overspending on the day to day things, just on the rent.

What drew me to the place was the character of the house and the beautiful yard. I love to garden you see, and have spent every summer for the past ten years gardening for my Uncle on his beautiful property, and this summer I am not. For the first time since I started working at fifteen, I am taking my summer off. I plan on working on my finishing my Masters degree in Educational Leadership, and tinkering around in my own yard. I am calling it my sanctuary, my escape from the everyday. I feel I want to be here more and more, and find myself taking fewer trips to town. It is a wonderful breathing space, and I am looking forward to getting acquainted with it as the season goes on.