Bellini-induced Brain Freeze

Sunday was another beautiful day to add to my weekend of fun. The familia and I went to the Calgary Zoo to finally visit the penguins in the new Penguin Plunge. I was excited but I had no idea just how stunning it would be. The penguins are sooooo close! Crazy Kid got splashed a couple of times from penguins leaving/entering the water. It was surreal -- and mercifully cold -- I could have stayed with the penguins all day if they let me. The heat drove us out of the zoo by the afternoon so we checked out Smashburger for lunch. Mighty tasty burger! I had the Calgary burger. Dare I say that it could have used less bacon? Not that it was heaped with bacon but because the bacon was so salty it almost spoiled the whole burger experience. Mushroom poutine, while not original, was divine! Plus, I truly appreciate their ice tea bar. Yes, one of the options is American unsweetened iced tea but I'll take it. The siblings and I even had time to hash out a workout at the gym and a dip at the ...

Augh, I can't do it anymore. Date #2 was exasperating. It's bad enough that I have had to make the decisions for both dates (If I want to always be the one planning the dates then I may as well stick around with Aidan.) but the guy -- I can't even think of a moniker for him -- and I have nothing in common except for the Calgary Flames...so that's stretching things preeeeetty thin. Our points of view on the economy and business (can you even believe these words are coming out of my mouth?!) clash too much. It's a shame, really, 'cuz he's a very nice guy but the more he tried to make conversation or entertain me the more I felt frustrated and irritable. I really hope I did not let it show; that would have been beyond rude. However, other than playing mini-golf with me (which already made him feel uncomfortable, he said) his idea of a date was feeding the arcade games coin and watching me play...not even playing along with me! *sigh* I couldn't even bring...

What a wonderful weekend! Such a great beginning to the new year. On Friday I got to enjoy calamari and pizza at Manie's . Anyone who knows me has to know that I absolutely love the pizza (and really, all the food) at Manie's so it was a great way to "binge" before I started my diet back up in earnest. And to make the meal even more enjoyable I got to dine with Civic and Daisy. The original 3 out on 17th again! Complete with my big bowl of Vietnamese coffee at Caffe Beano and it was fabulous beginning to the weekend. Even though I had to work on Saturday (and really I don't have much to complain about since we only work one Saturday a month now between all of us!) the day was not for naught. Weird Kid treated me to my first ever lower bowl experience for a Flames game! We were in row 12 -- a fortunate number, of course -- and I was able to celebrate in-house when my beloved Iggy scored his 500th career goal with the Flames! An amazing night, to be sure. Have ...

Ha, that song title is a couple of nights too late. But I just saw an adorable video starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Leavitt so I'm loving the song at the mo. Hello 2012! Although I don't like the concept of New Year's resolutions I must admit I have a lot of work to do with you: lose weight, gain money, attain love (non-family), organize, organize, organize. Where to start? Ideas: For losing weight: keep up the Aqua Fit and incorporate laps (start with once a week), get back on the South Beach Diet train, get back to my weight training at the gym (start with 1x a week), on off days -- when my muscles can take it -- pop in a Jillian Michaels workout or do my Your Shape workout on the Kinect. (Just got it for Christmas thanks to my fabulous bro, the fitness quiz alone practically knocked me out. LOTS to do!) For gaining money: I think a second job is becoming more and more imperative at present. I don't really want to go back to retail but their hours work bes...

“Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.” ~ Albert Einstein There is an Einstein exhibit going on at the Telus World of Science and you know I had to just go and check it out. Unfortunately, there was not a lot of hands-on science-y stuff to do re: Einstein. But what I didn't learn about Einstein's discoveries I DID learn about Einstein the person. A lot of the exhibit were letters he had written to various people (presidents, fellow scientists, journalists, and lovers. Yes, lovers. Apparently, Einstein was quite the ladies man. *thinks about whether she would have fallen for Einstein's charm back in the day*) The quote above wasn't at the exhibit; I found it in an article later on. But you've got to admit...how much of his brilliance was he holding back from us by being a normal guy and doing daily "normal guy" things? The quote also made me think of my current schedule. I t...

I sighed as I saw the numbers on the scale scowling back at me at the end of my workout today. It definitely was not a surprise but most certainly it was a wake-up call. Almost all of the great work I had done over the past few years is now gone. Talk about sitting on ones achievements. And not even half an hour before that I had a terrible scare. My "regular" elliptical trainer workout was difficult...so difficult. I slowed my pace, figuring so long as I put in my time on the machine it was better than blasting through a shorter period of time. My knees were starting to ache, my legs were rebelling against the workout, walking backward (in my futile attempt to develop a butt. I have since read that there are NO exercises one can do to create a more prominent bum than the one you already possess. Woe is me...but that's for another time) was choppy and lacked any fluidity whatsoever. Two-thirds of the way into my session I debated whether I should give it a rest f...

I have found myself in a deep and sad little funk as of late...and who knew it would be weight-related?! At my heaviest I didn't care about my size. I was happy, I loved clothes, I had fun and really did not see anything wrong with me. But since I "crossed over" I realized the thinner world was such a delicate place to be; I would almost say it lowered my self-esteem. The old Leah went on dates and enjoyed herself. Now she goes on fewer dates and worries that she looks awfully big compared to other girls these guys must have dated. And then she starts to wonder why they are even willing to go out with her. Was I a freak? Achieving a better body is supposed to build confidence, not shatter it. I thought I was awesome back in the day so what happened?! So then I figured there must be a happy medium. I all but gave up following my diet. It brought a little bit of joy back but not the right kind. As you will recall I was in a very toxic work situation so I tried to...

Last week was the traditional Calgary gong-show we all know (and some love) as the Calgary Stampede. And while I still had a great time this year the exhibition grounds left me wanting. I do not usually complain about the price the way others do. I figure it's only once a year and I can't understand the griping over the cost of admission when it is comparable to going to a first-screening movie. But this time I did notice the prices getting gouge-y once you were already in the gates. 9 dollars for a "pizza on a stick" or a "london broil cheesesteak" is simply uncalled for. A 2 dollar increase in my "Whack-A-Mole" -- plus the hunch that the carnies are starting to recognize me and try to keep me off my skilled game -- takes quite a bit of fun out of it. But even things that were still, I suppose, reasonably priced , were not as enjoyable as they once were. After one mini-donut I really did not feel like having any more. The smells of all th...

My computer is terminally ill, once again...I think. My brother (I think I used to refer to him as "Weird Kid" here) would call it "a piece," I'm sure. By no means am I a computer whiz but it seems to be doing the same thing it did the last time...which in my opinion was not that very long ago. If I have to buy another power supply and that thing with un"popped" capacitors then I may as well junk this old monstrosity and buy myself a new computer. *sigh* An expense I really do not need right now. But everyone loves having new things. I am definitely not an exception. With my (exciting) progress in weight-loss-land I am itching to buy myself some new clothes. However, common sense and my mother tell me to wait a while and not go buck-wild on a wardrobe overhaul. At the very least I need new bottoms. Belts, accessories I have never been a fan of functionally, have become my friend. But they can only do so much. On a recent outing with the big...

It was going to happen sooner or later. There was a time in my life when I was anti-diet. I was all for exercise; no problems with that. But tell me I am DENIED food and I will eat it right in front of you just to be defiant. What a miserable life it would be if I could not drink when I wanted, eat what I wanted, indulge how I wanted...I'm sure you catch my drift. A few years back I got to know an uber sweet guy who turned out to be an Atkins-diet success story. He showed me a picture of him back in high school which was a great lot different to the guy who I met in person. I was incredibly impressed and admired his insane dedication, but there was no way you could ever get me to give up my carbs. NO. WAY. Unfortunately, he has also become a cautionary tale of an example. I did not get to see him often but when I did he would be bigger than he was the time before. And the time before that. And the time before that. I have not seen him lately -- and I hope that he has not...