"Just Incases"

Well, I finally did finish making those mushroom-shaped cookies for The Event, and successfully avoided sampling any of them!  I even gave mine to my friend Michelle who came with me.  "The Event" is the 2nd annual signature event for Breast Cancer Support Services (BCSS).  The theme was Alice In Wonderland's "Topsy-Turvy".  Everything about the event was fantastic and the theme was very well played out - starting with the student actors who portrayed their roles to perfection!  I recognized "Alice" as the daughter of someone we know and queried "Brooke?" to which she replied in character, "I'm not Brooke, I'm Alice" - I'm thinking Brooke may have a very promising future with Disney!  Anyways, I digress...the meal consisted of beef, veggies smothered in butter and what promisingly looked to be some sort of roasted pear, but turned out to be a potato dish shaped, coated, and with a little stick stem disguised as a pear.  I ordered my first Coca-Cola (with lime) since this journey of mine began.  Dessert was ice cream, followed by coffee.  In retrospect I shouldn't have two caffeinated drinks in the evening as I had a hell of time trying to get to sleep later!

Following dinner, there was a live auction, a raffle for a dinner made by local Firemen, such as these...

fine men that Michelle snapped a photo of me with!  There was a phenomenal musician by the name of Grenville Pinto playing violin for entertainment, and Jill Davies as Guest Speaker.  The silent auction then closed and I came home 1 red dress and gift certificate later and headed to bed (which due to my influx of caffeine earlier on proved distracting!)

You know how sometimes when you can't sleep, you start stressing out that you can't sleep and you start a vicious cycle that just makes it worse?  Well, that's how I'm starting to feel with the blood pressure - I start thinking about lowering my blood pressure, which makes me more aware of my heart rate, which makes me think about my heart, which makes my heart beat faster, which makes me think of getting my BP checked soon, which makes me nervous about the results, which makes my blood pressure increase even more....damn!  I really shouldn't have had that caffeine!!!!!

Thursday I spent driving out of town to pick up donations and organize things for my Scrap Cancer event that takes place next Sunday.  I managed to finish a little earlier than I thought so I was able to get a workout in at Curves...and drum roll please...I weighed in at 150 lbs!!!  John was still in Kansas so I had to wait to tell him the good news.  When I arrived home, as it was "pizza night" I started making the homemade dough in the bread maker.  I thought I'd try to make it even healthier and instead of adding 3 cups of  all purpose flour, I substituted I cup of whole wheat for one of them.  Unfortunately, the kids weren't impressed so next time I'll stick to the original recipe - you have to learn to walk before you can run!  I remembered there was some cupcakes left over in the fridge downstairs from my birthday so I sampled some of them (they were all different flavours).  Would you like some cupcake with your butter laden frosting?  Really, it's a heart attack in a pretty paper wrapper!  I never pile the buttercream on that high on my cupcakes! - the rest of the evening was spent on sorting things for Scrap Cancer with Donna and Johanne.  John surprised us by coming home from his business trip early and after everyone left I was able to tell him about my success! ...and this is where the "Just in Cases" comes into play.  Apparently he wants to see the needle below the 150 mark for 2 readings to allow for fluctuations before I can redeem my prize.  In "Love Actually" Jamie (Colin) is hunting for Aurelia at the restaurant after having learned Portuguese for her,  he proposes to her and she responds in English.  She tells him she learned English "just in cases"!  So I have to have 2 weigh-ins under 150 lbs to be sure - just incases it goes up again.

And aptly so, because it just incases did!  Must  have been the cupcakes, since the next day I weighed myself at Curves again and it was back to 151 lbs!  Oops!!  We'll learn from that I hope!  Friday afternoon I left to go to the ranch for a scrapbooking retreat with my friend Michelle.  The staff cook for us and the food is always delicious!  Weekends like this are going to have to be 'free' for me since a) I'm not doing the cooking and b) snacks go hand in hand with scrapbooking & friends  c)  Jackie makes the best snack mix - a perfect combo of sweet & salty, and the retreat would not be complete without it!  That being said, I did make healthier choices, loading up on the fruits and veggies!  I did splurge and have a Coke yesterday, but I am not buying them at home anymore.

Yesterday, we went horseback riding.  I LOVE horseback riding!  This was my horse.  Her name is Gracie.

The weather was a little on the chilly side and there was a soft "Irish" rain - but the whole atmosphere was stunning and breathtaking.  I'm telling you, I was at total peace just taking in my surroundings and marvelling at nature and the beautifully coloured leaves.  A spiritual serenity.  Too bad I didn't have a BP cuff to test my blood pressure then!!  I'm sure it was as low as ever at that point!  When I got back inside I texted John pleading my case for next years birthday present - a horse, instead of a trip to Ireland!  Well, it was worth a try anyways!

Today was our last day at the ranch.  The cook made my favourite pumpkin muffins for breakfast and Jackie made a 'soup'erb Cinderella pumpkin soup for lunch!! - Don't forget to give me the recipe for that Jackie!!  Short Stack Foodie to the rescue!!! I left the retreat happy to have completed as much as I did, and calmer that I've been in a long time!  I guess I forgot how doing something creative keeps my mind occupied and focused.  Janette & Jackie really go all out to make these retreats fun for everyone - and I just want you to know it's much appreciated!!!  As I slowly drove away this afternoon, I paused to stop and gaze at the horses - allowing that spiritual serenity to course through my veins once again.  It really must be true that animals aid in reducing hypertension.

And now, here I am, back at home, back to reality.  It's going to be a busy week prepping for Scrap Cancer so it will take greater effort to make health wise choices - but I'm game for it.  Tomorrow I will head off to Curves and weigh-in "just incases!"

Goodnight Colin - as I smile to myself thinking of you in your reindeer jumper (Bridget Jones)!