#insomnia

I have been waking up every night the past week around 4am and can't get back to sleep usually until 6am. It's annoying when I have to work the next day. I picked up this bad habit when I got pregnant with my son about 5 years ago and have not been able to shake it off. I would go for weeks without the insomnia but then it would come back. I don't know what is triggering it: stress, exercise or lack thereof, diet, work, ...? I have no idea.

Canvas Print

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Cheerful Christmas invitations for your friends and family.

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Tips for cross border shopping from Toronto

We are planning a trip to Pennsylvania. We are stopping at Erie first to hit @marshalls @macys @tjmaxx @target. Then we will stay over night in Grove City for the premium outlets. Any tips for us?

Backyard transformation

We recently renovated our backyard.  I'm so happy with how everything turned out!  Here are some photos of the process.

Before the work started

Removed Interlock 

Removed grass

Installed gravel

Started installing the stones

All Done!

Dukan Diet - end of week 7

I've only lost 1 more pound this week so I've lost 14lbs overall. Even though my rate of weight loss seems to have slowed down, I can't get over how easy it has been to lose this weight so far. Where has this diet been all my life?

Although it has been thrilling to see my new weight and have clothes fit so much better on me, I think these PP and PV days are starting to wear out on me. I better get to my true weight soon or I might just move on to the Stabilization phase sooner.

I only have 6 more pounds to go!

Before and after

I can't believe I grew grass from seed!

Baby Proof by Emily Giffin - a book review

Since Where We Belong was such a good read, I decided to pick up Baby Proof by the same author. I burned through this book almost as fast as WWB - 2 days instead of 1.5. I liked WWB slightly better maybe because the ending in Baby Proof was more predictable.

Baby Proof is about a couple who got a divorce because he wanted kids and she didn't. She goes on to explore a new relationship, gets asked to be an egg donor, and to support her best friend's pregnancy and miscarriage. Her interactions with her friends and family forces her to reassess her decision and she finally comes to terms on how she really feels about her ex-husband. [spoiler alert] in the end, they get back together. Big surprise (insert sarcasm).

To me, the theme of this story is that the grass is not always greener on the other side. True love often comes with compromise and sacrifice but if both people are committed to each other, every problem has a solution.

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin - a book review

I picked this up the other day from the library's "best bets" section. I burned through it in 1.5 days which is quite a feat considering I have a full time job and 2 kids to entertain at night.

The book is about the ripple effect of 1 secret/lie, how it affects all parties involved and the reconciliation process of undoing the secret/lie.

I really enjoyed this book as it caused me to think about my own family secret which started almost 30 years ago and remains a secret to some to this day. It made me think of what would happen if/ when this secret gets exposed in the open. What will happen to each person affected? How will everyone react to it? When and under what circumstances would this occur?

Don't worry, even if you don't have a deep dark family secret, this is still a good read.

Dukan diet - end of week 6

I have lost 13lbs! My target is to lose 20lbs so only 7 more to go. I can't believe the scales. It's like my fat is melting away everyday. I went for a 5k run this week and I felt so much lighter. We only did 5min runs/1 min walks but I was able to keep up a conversation the entire time. I felt great afterwards. I can't believe what a big difference 13lbs makes.

I am planning a cross border shopping trip with some girlfriends to buy some new clothes - very exciting!

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Reframing children's ministry

Pastor: I brought 2.5 people to Christ today
Pastor's wife: that's great! 2 adults and 1 kid?
Pastor: no, 2 kids and 1 adult. The kids have their whole life ahead of them, the adult only has half his life left.

Dukan Diet - end of week 4

It's been 4 weeks of doing the Dukan Diet and I've lost 9lbs so far.  I'm still feeling great.  I'm still doing alternating PP and PV days and I've gotten into a great routine.  I start with oat bran in the morning.  I mix 2 tbsp of oat bran with 3/4 cups of  lactose free skim milk and microwave it for 2 minutes and let it cool for at least 5 minutes.  As it cools, it expands and becomes creamier.  I've grown quite a liking to it. In the first couple of weeks, I was also eating a 2-egg omelette for breakfast but this past week, I didn't even need that.  I have been taking Metamucil capsules every morning and sometimes even at night when I remember but constipation hasn't really been a problem.  I am enjoying the unlimited protein and veggies.  Every night, I eat 1 serving of fat free yogurt for dessert to end my day.

The positive reinforcement that I get each morning when I weigh myself is amazing.  I can't believe it.  My clothes fit me better and I feel great.  I don't have any carb or sugar cravings.  I don't really have the urge to reach for that slice of bread or whip up a batch of cookies so despite the limitations of this diet, it has actually been very liberating.  My plan is to continue Phase 2 until the end of Aug and then reassess how I feel.  I'm supposed to lose a total of 20lbs to reach my true weight.  If I haven't reached my true weight by then, I may just proceed to Phase 3 or I may continue Phase 2 until I reach my true weight.  So 11lbs more to go!

Bad experience at Payless Shoe Source

I bought a three pairs of shoes at Payless Shoe Source on July 6. One was a every day item with no discount the other 2 were $34.99 but there was a buy one get one (BOGO) at half off deal at the time so I got one pair for $34.99 and the other pair for $17.50.

Unfortunately, one of the $34.99 shoes broke after a couple of weeks so I went back to the store today to get an exchange. The shoe is no longer in stock so the store clerk told me to find something that is $34.99 for the exchange.

After a long search, there were many shoes on display but not many that I wanted to buy, I finally found a pair that was $29.99. Upon further examination of my receipt, he told me he could only exchange for a $17.50 value because the receipt didn't say the shoes were bought on a BOGO deal.

I told him it was for sure a BOGO deal or else I would not have purchased 3 pairs of shoes that day.  He eventually agreed with me but then he told me that he couldn`t give me the sale price of the shoe I found today.  The original price of the $29.99 shoes is $39.99 so he told me I could get 50% off $39.99 which meant he wanted me to pay $2.50 for the difference.  I didn`t think it was right because the shoes are currently on sale for $29.99 so I should get 50% off $29.99 and actually get a $2.50 refund.

After arguing for a couple of minutes, I didn`t want to waste my time and the time of the couple of people who had formed a line by then.  In the end, I asked to get a refund for $17.50.  I will never purchase shoes at Payless Shoe Source again. They have just lost a customer for life over a couple of dollars.  I also buy shoes for my husband and 2 kids so they actually have lost 4 customers.  I'll be taking my money elsewhere from now on.