The Only Weight-loss Aid You'll Ever Need

Self-love is the only weight-loss aid that really works in the long run ~ Jenny Craig 

Well that explains it. The last statement from my previous post that is. Do I really care more about others more than I do myself? Is that why I don't take time for myself? Or am I just ignoring what I don't like about myself. There are days I am so busy I don't even take the time to eat and that can have detrimental effects on state of mind, job performance and more. Plus, not eating will only lead to more weight gain. Protein being extremely important for growth of hair and nails. The body uses protein to build and repair tissues and is an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. So eat more, but move more as well. Below is my favourite Chilli recipe that you can substitute the lean ground beef with ground turkey if you'd like. 

Corinne's Charged Up Chili Brown 1.5 lbs lean ground beef & add to 1 can brown beans (in molasses), 1 can dark red kidney beans (drained), 1 ltr chunky salsa (32 oz), 1 small can sliced jalapeños with juices, 1 can sliced mushrooms (optional) & 2 Tb chilli powder in crock pot & simmer on low for at least 2 hours. Top with grated cheese of choice & serve with corn chips or cracker chips.

Learn to Love and Honour Your Body

This will be a touch chapter. Good thing its' a short one. And an easy one. Make peace with your body. Simple as that. Yeah right. Just like most woman I know, I am forever struggling and never succeeding to lose that last 10 pounds, which has turned into 20 since quitting smoking September 21st of last year (yay me). What woman is truly happy and can accept their flaw filled body? Positive body image is very important and for me only successful when I can camouflage it's flaws with fashion! (yay me) But most importantly you must nourish your body with healthy food and pure water, which other than way too much red wine, I only drink water. No pop, Koolaid, iced tea, Lattes or coffee. Green tea or iced water and as much as my downfall is sweet potato fries or Miss Vicki's potato chips, I try to limit myself to once a weekly treat only.

Even after a few unsuccessful temper tantrums at work to convince staff to stop bringing sugar and fat laden treats (aka garbage) they still continue to leave them in the kitchen for everyone to share. Yes, it's just my will power to say no, but since we are ALL in the same overweight boat, I am thinking about their health too. I guess the weekly Platinum Health and Fitness "Todd's Tips" on the radio must go in one ear and out the other. They either just don't get it or just don't care. BUT I DO! I care about others more than I care about myself. Mom Syndrome at work? Healthy? Not? Talk amongst yourselves. lol

Finishing Touches: The Art Of Fashion Accessories

Perhaps too much of everything is as bad as too little ~ Edna Ferber

Oh Edna, how much I agree... and that there IS such a thing as too much of good thing! Remember, less is more! I sure have less accessories than most women I know, but ever since my first Lia Sophia jewelry party, I have increased it dual fold by my second party and now have an entirely new collection of bangles. They mostly sit on the dresser and look pretty since I just keep wearing the same favourite one over, and over, and over again. My signature piece? Kind of like my new pair of black Anne Klein pumps that has such a lovely comfortable low heel that I wear them to work every day! If accessories are the finishing touches that define us, then I am a Lia Sophia Anne Klein nut but only if it's in black! I really need to dare to wear another colour. Most importantly, Sarah says the most essential fashion accessory is a generous heart, spontaneous smile and sparkly eyes. Bring it on baby, bring it on.

April 10 - Trompe l'oeil: Thrift-Shop Pleasures

Yesterday's chapter was about the joy of recycling, but not the bottle and can kind. I usually don't find pleasure in going to a thrift shop because I am never in the right mood and can never find exactly what I am looking for. Today I went to a thrift shop and was successful! We call it VV Boutique aka Value Village. It's the perfect place for costumes although it's not Halloween. We are dressing up on Saturday night for a fundraising event for the Monarch Theatre. I found the perfect dress to wear as a 2nd Class passenger on the Titanic! It's the 100th anniversary of the "Unsinkable Molly Brown" 's sinking, and we will be dining at The Patio Cafe with other "passengers" dressed in period costume before heading to the theatre to watch "A Night To Remember". upon arrival, we will find out whether we survive like Margaret Brown or not, accompanied with copies of passenger manifests and information about who they or rather "we" were. $16 for the outfit from VV, $5 for silk flowers from Dollar Giant and armed with a glue gun to decorate my hat, I'm all set for Saturday Night!

Sarah writes of the joy of recycling in the steals of deals to be found at thrift stores on fashionable items for your wardrobe that are a fraction of a cost. Trompe d'oeil means "fool the eye", which I hope to do with my outfit to look like period clothing from 1912, but there are day to day clothes and special occasion items that you can find when on a treasure hunt at a thrift store that will fool the pocket book!

Affordable Luxury

April 9 - "Luxury need not have a price - comfort itself is a luxury" ~ Geoffrey Beene

Simple Abundance has erroneously been equated to the frugality movement of the 90's which is based on fear, and rather than attract abundance, fear repels it. This book is not about deprivation but about the comfort of joy and moderation, and replacing the feeling of poverty and lack, with prosperity and affluence. Start by pampering yourself with affordable luxuries as simple as adding real whip cream to a cup of cocoa, or buying a cord of wood for the pleasure of enjoying said cocoa in front of a blazing fire. There are a lot of examples to choose from in this chapter to indulge in simple pleasures, some of which I already do, or should do since they are affordable and attainable, or did do this weekend. I bought an egg dying kit and indulged in the luxury of spending Easter Sunday painting fingernails and hard boiled eggs with Ray's granddaughter rather than doing any of the cooking or cleaning!

More Dash Than Cash

Today's chapter is about your material wants and your wallet not matching, but creativity can spark the spirit of your own special gifts to satisfy your soul. Winning extra cash would certainly help that out! Even though it's Easter Sunday, this chapter title reminds me of Christmas and a contest on the radio. Dash for Cash, or Dash for CHRISTMAS Cash! We would jump in the station cruiser and park in front of listeners homes who entered at select locations and told us where and what time they usually listened to the radio. Unfortunately the listening all day "at home" or "at work" entries had to be tossed aside since no address was given! lol We then announced where we were parked and who had entered and they had 10 minutes to come out to the vehicle and collect their prize.


If no one responded, the prize rolled over to the next event and so on. Twice a day, every week day for 10 days announcers were out and about giving away cash for Christmas and what a wonderful response we got to the contest! It was, however, a little creepy sitting in the cruiser, in the dark, with a man just his bathrobe and slippers at 7:30 in the morning. Next time I have to make up the schedule, the guys will be going out first thing in the morning and I'll stick to daylight hours to give away prizing!

Come Alive With Color

or "Colour"

"...If you don't dare, you are doomed to dullness" ~ Shirley Conran

I was aghast when a friend repainted her lovely classic, muted toned rooms in her tastefully decorated home with a Harley Davidson orange feature wall in the living room,  a Big Bird yellow kitchen and a fluorescent lime green bathroom, but now I think it looks fabulous! She dared and she dared bold!

When we bought our first home in Sherwood Park, AB I was a General Williams gal and painted all the bedrooms in muted greens but was daring enough to go dark purple in the bathroom. One splash of colour in the entire house, but that's all I dared. A few years later, I pulled a "While You Were Out" on my daughter and painted and redecorated her room with new light maple furniture, round mirror and checkered duvet cover from Ikea as well as a beautiful warm brown that reminded me of chocolate milk. I usually am good about before and after photos but that is one room that I was so excited about redoing that I totally forgot.

My next house in Midland, ON was a rental. Since the same furniture from the last house was moving in, I repainted with the same muted colours but dared to go a really bright green in the bedroom so the white Ikea furniture would really pop. Paint is a perfect way to cheaply and easily upgrade your home as well as show off your personality. I like a pretty environment with calm colours to come home to after work and to calm me after being "on" all day. I lived there for less than a year but the landlord sure loved me for leaving the place nicer than when I had moved in!

The next 2 houses, the rental duplex and the one I bought in Medicine Hat, AB, guess what colours I chose??? SAME SAME! I mean, it matched my furniture beautifully!!

I only got as far as painting the living rooms in both homes and in my first home that I bought on my own, I ran into trouble at the entrance way. The vaulted ceiling and lack of a large ladder stopped me in my tracks. At the time, I was single with a profile on a dating site called Lavalife and after ignoring a fellow for a year (who showed interest by "winking" at me twice in that year) I finally dared to reply even though he didn't have a picture and his handle that began with Countryboy. To me, it sounded like someone who was a country radio listener and I didn't want to date someone who had a preconceived notion of who I was by what I sounded like on the radio. Mind you, it's the norm for country radio dj's to use their real names and it's all about being your real self on the radio so I am who I am and it's a great compliment when people say I sound the same on the radio as I do in person!

Well it turned out to be a good decision to respond AND he had a big ladder! Along with a truck to deliver it to my place! I was a little concerned about not hitting it off with him and him finding out where I lived as well as having to see him again when he picked up the ladder. We met for the first time at a bowling alley where my friends were in a league. I invited him to join us for a beer before delivering the ladder so my friends could check him out. I worried for not. He actually went to high school with my friends and they had known him for years and if they gave him a thumbs up then it would be safe to borrow his ladder.

I finished painting the entranceway but never picked up a brush after that since I was so busy getting to know him, going dancing, meeting his family and embarking on a new relationship that was far from dull. Now, over 6 years later, through ups and downs and the trials and tribulations of a blended family, I have picked up the paint brush several times. I have repainted rooms at his place as well as mine,  which we completely repainted and renovated and sold when my daughter moved out to attend university in Edmonton.  I also dared to change my colour pallet to Rona's recycled paint collection with the same classic tones but a bit bolder colours. Dune. Stone. Beach. Cotton. Unfortunately I ran out of time to repaint the basement bathroom in a beautiful blue/green called Ocean so have saved the unopened can to use at his place...OUR place... and now I look back and smile. I dared to change to new bold colours just as I dared to change my life with a new, bold, exciting and daring man who makes me smile to this day.

April 6 ~ Classic Chic 101: The Colour Story

Today's chapter is about rethinking your wardrobe, your style and the role "colour" plays in your life. Actually, in the book (Simple Abundance, A Day Book of Comfort & Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach) this chapter is actually The "Color" Story but as I am Canadian, and my mother an English teacher who's Mother hails from England, I am constantly changing it's spelling and suppress the irritation when I see it on Canadian websites etc. My father was a French teacher so no matter what language I spoke growing up, I got corrected. Now, I wish I had paid closer attention in class and had I grown up in the US, Spanish would have been the second language. My kids spent 6 years growing up in Bangor Maine where they learned how to count in Spanish on Sesame Street, unlike the French that was counted on the Canadian Sesame Street. Yes, Big Bird is actually Tri-lingual! lol

Anyway, I digress, back to the original topic of building a wardrobe with staying power by investing in classic colours, which are black, white, navy, grey, beige, camel, tan, khaki, ivory and "reds". There are many shades and hues of red that include wines and russets, but find the red that looks best on you and boy oh boy to I ever get compliments when I don the sweater that I am wore for photos for the station website. I think I only have 2 red shirts in my entire closet including a pashmina that I just don't have the nerve to wear. It's just soooo bright and so out there and it might just draw attention to me. I don't really like that. I like anonymity when I am out, unfortunately the minute I speak, people (listeners) know who I am. Having a distinctive voice is GREAT on the radio, but at the grocery store, park or pub, when I want to be "just me" and not the nice lady with the nice voice on the radio, I must remember to keep my mouth shut!!

Whom Do You Admire?

Revealing who you admire could reveal your hopes, dreams and personal style. Sarah Ban Breathnach gave lectures and work shops after her first book about Victorian family traditions and prople expected her to look the part and she did not disappoint. After she embarked on the Simple Abundance path, she moved away from what others expected of her and moved toward her own true identity. Sarah focuses this chapter on discovering your sense of style that focuses on looks whereas my work life focuses on sound.

April 5 ~ "Undoubtedly, we become what we envisage." ~ Claude M. Bristol,

Funny, I envision myself as a tall slender blonde, but alas I am not. And that is what others envision me as also. Most say I "sound" like one on the radio and when they discover I am not, are rather surprised, or shocked? disappointed? This short brunette doesn't really know how to take comments that I "sound blonde" on the radio, but I will take it as "at least they are listening" and that is what's important in this business. I think I have just as many listeners on the midday show in the Hat as I did on the midnight show on CISN Country in Edmonton. I sure miss the 2 hour request show I did back then and remember Y2K when the engineers, managers and staff gathered in the studio around the board to see what exactly would happen at midnight.  Plus, the listeners where THRILLED to get through the phones lines to call in for the very first request of 2000. Ah yes, "Those where the days my friend, we thought they'd never end..."

An Elegant Art: Learning That Less Is More

Elegance is also the art of restraint and quiet self-assurance. The focus of this chapter is to focus on the woman, not on a cluster of bangles or the brightness of the dress, but the culmination of shape, colour, fabric, value and appropriateness. "You need less when you know more"

Less is More. I love that saying. It reminds me of a radio promotion in Edmonton years ago, and old Les could never remember the station catch phrase correctly which made it even funnier. Les was the only octonegarian to work for Corus Edmonton.

Secret Lives: Gleaning tips from Our Imaginary Selves

Ha! I first read it as CLEANING tips, but that's not today's chapter topic

 gleaningpresent participle of glean (Verb)
Verb:  Extract (information) from various sources.
           Collect gradually and bit by bit.

Sarah asks "What are you going to be when you grow up?" She wants us to think about paths not yet taken, your secret imaginary self, like a mountain climber, film maker, potter or radio disc jockey! HA. I guess I can skip this chapter since I already discovered that when I was 34 years old.

I got a part in the chorus in My Fair Lady, an Acadia Theatre Company's production in Bangor Maine. My dance partner was a country music DJ at Q 106.5 in Brewer. After a tour of his radio station, I new EXACTLY what I wanted to be when I grew up. Even the director of the musical was an instructor at the New England School of Broadcasting, but the course there was 2 years and we were only going to be stationed in Maine for one more year. During that year I took a pre-college writing class and when we moved to Victoria, I got on the waiting list for the Applied Communications Program at Camosun College. After another English Course, I started the program while working part time and husband at sea 6 to 8 months out of the year. It was the most challenging and fulfilling time of my life. Even the kids pitched in to help, from my daughter being my subject for photography assignments and my son helping me with HTML or java script for desktop publishing class. After the first year, I got one of the jobs at the college radio station and the rest has been exhilarating! The fantasy became my reality and I am living my dream job! Middays and Music Director and even Assistant Program Director to boot! I love my life!

Verve: The Secret of Personal Style

Verve: The talent of pulling something with panache, with passion, and with zest. Learning how to do so is paying attention to details (like the silver splash on my new shoes I got yesterday?) Sarah wants you to always be on the lookout for those items that move you, excite you and engage you. Trust yourself and it will come!

Playing Dress-Up: Empowering Your Authentic Self with Fun

Learn the craft of knowing how to open your heart and to turn on your creativity. There's a light inside of you ~ Judith Jamison

Today being All Fool's Day is the perfect day to remember to lighten up. I'm pretty light headed from the night on the town last night but I don't think that's what Sarah means. Today we're supposed to play dress up, but I don't even want to get out of my pj's to finish shopping in Havre with the gang. We're to grab a friend and go through the closet and try on clothes in different combinations than usual. It wasn't my closet but there were lots of clothes to try on at the mall and I got 2 pairs of Anne Klein 2 shoes in brown and black with little silver bangles for over 50% off! Now THAT's creativity at it's finest!