Mamma Mia!

   First of all, let's congratulate  John who ran his first 1/2 marathon and did better than anticipated finishing in 2 hours 5 minutes.  To celebrate we made him a surprise cake and I invited his parents over for dinner.  We had sweet and sour meatballs, beets and since I hadn't made quinoa in a while I made nutty quinoa to go with it.  To be honest, I opted for the quinoa to show off my new culinary abilities.  I spent a good part of the afternoon preparing the meal and really enjoyed the whole process.

Last week I finished reading Ali McNamara's "From Nottinghill With Love...Actually" again and loved it just as much if not more the second time round.  Where Renee Zellwegger informs Tom Cruise in "Jerry McGuire" that, "You had me at hello.", the main character, Scarlett had me when she mentions Colin Firth on page 13 referring to "Shakespeare in Love",

"Although I'd always had issues with Colin Firth playing the baddie in that film; Colin to me would always be Mr Nice Guy in whatever movie he was in"

I wholeheartedly agree with Scarlett on that one.  Although I first fell in love with Colin Firth as Mark Darcy and will always view him in that light, try as his more elusive characters might, my opinion of him shall not sway in the instances/roles where he plays someone gay (Mamma Mia, A Single Man), or even if he Americanizes his accent, however disappointing this can be (Arthur Newman).

I also finished reading one of the other books I took out from the Parent Lending Library at the school, called "Outside the Box - Why Our Children Need Real Food, Not Food Products" by Jeannie Marshall.  Marshall is a Canadian who now lives in Italy with her husband and son who was born there.  She aptly observes the changes in eating habits and food preparation over the past decades and inspires people to eat real food!  Funny thing happened one day while I was working at my computer after reading part of the book - my kids were watching TV and  a commercial came on for the Jane's brand of frozen fish products.  The voice over stated, "Real life demands real food!" - Really?  I'll tell you one thing - after reading Marshall's book, you would be stupefied trying to figure out the company's motivation behind the ad, because that kind of statement would deter you from buying the product, as it does not meet the definition of 'real food' due to all the processing and additives.

A couple of weeks ago at the grocery store I saw a little girl, maybe 4 years old who would likely be categorized as obese.  I felt pity for this child - her parents being the 'nutritional gatekeepers' of their household.  I had to restrain myself from approaching her mother to inform her of the disadvantages she is setting her daughter up for.  For the past 7 years or so I've been heavily involved with Breast Cancer Support Services and facilitate one of the support groups there.   I have read lots of books on the subject so I now know that not only will this girl be susceptible to being diagnosed with diabetes or heart disease, she is also more likely to develop breast cancer in her future.  Fat cells have higher amounts of estrogen and higher levels of estrogen have been linked to breast cancer.  Breast cancer seems to be more aggressive in those diagnosed at an earlier age.  Exercise and healthy eating habits can help in prevention.

Back to my own issues now - I had my monthly weigh-in at Curves last week and was 136 lbs and I've lost a few inches as well.  My blood pressure is awesome!  Here's some readings over the past couple of weeks:





Then comes Mother's Day!  Remember the entry I talked about the calendar year being loaded up with holiday hurdles that make it hard to stick to healthy eating habits?  Well, as I've mentioned before, I enjoy going to Serendipity for tea and scones, it seems to be my biggest vice!  John tried to make a reservation for Mother's Day but they were fully booked.  An hour later Carla called me to see if I could meet her at Serendipity, and of course I obliged!  Then on Mother's Day John managed to get some scones for pick-up and he and the kids essentially brought Serendipity to me!  It was lovely!!  Tea, scones, little sandwiches and lemon cookies!!!  To add to this, John was off on Tuesday to see a Dr. about his broken finger and we went to Serendipity for lunch again!  Needless to say, I'm back up to 138 lbs (scone induced) and have not met my 135 lb goal yet - and I leave for the airport in a couple of hours for my 2 week cruise!

To be fair to the scones, I have to also admit to imbibing in many wines last weekend when we went to Niagara-on-the-Lake with Carla, Steve, Amanda and Julian!  It was a wonderful overnight getaway!  I will allude to this weekend further, as well as Inspired Wellness in my next entry upon my return.

This week I tried another new recipe - Lemon Rhubarb Chicken!  "It's a real first!" (Emma Thompson in Love Actually).  I, with love...actually...pulled fresh rhubarb from my garden to make this scrumptious meal!

Last weekend we all watched Mamma Mia to gear up for our cruise.  We won't be going to Donna's (Meryl Streep's) resort in Kalokairi but we will visiting Athens and Santorini and you can't bet I'll be envisioning Colin Firth sitting across from me on a lounge chair singing, "I can still recall...our last summer..." on the ship!!!

Must sign-off now to finish my packing!!  I just bought 2 gorgeous new bathing suits from new little shop downtown called Forever Summer!  Valerie, the owner made this venture a very pleasurable experience compared to other shops I've been it.  She wasn't pushy at all and was most helpful!  Who knows, perhaps I'll be brave enough to post some pics when I get back.  This is my first cruise and I'm rather nervous - the thing people talk about most about going on a cruise is the food - the food that is ALWAYS available.  I vow to make good choices while I'm away and continue to exercise!  Since I'm gone for 2 weeks I did make sure to get my 12 workouts in at Curves before I left though!!

Bon voyage!  What do you think the chances are that I will run into Colin Firth near his home in Rome while we are there? Hmm...one can dream!!!!