Old Habits Are Hard to Break - March 23rd Update

Originally posted on March 23rd, 2014 on KickassOttawa.com

Old Habits Are Hard To Break Update

A few weeks ago I wrote about giving up Pepsi/Coke AND chocolate for lent.  Well…the chocolate bit has fallen by the wayside a little due to the birthdays and frankly forgetting.  I’ve been so caught up on the pop bit that I’ve slipped.

After a few days of horribly insane caffeine withdrawal headaches – I was able to feel relatively normal again – well, as normal as I ever am that is 

Of course – I don’t have the caffeine to keep me awake at work, but it hasn’t been that bad…most of the time.

Some good things have happened linked to my giving up the caffeine.  I weighed myself a couple days ago and I’d lost a total of 6 lbs since Lent started.  That’s insane!!!

I’m sure giving up pop has been a big part of this, but because I don’t drink Pepsi anymore, I’m not craving the food that I would normally eat along with Pepsi.  No more Chinese Food, no more Boston Pizza.  I’m not saying I’ll never have those things again, but it’s not a regular occurrence anymore.

Bonus, I get to save some money at the same time!!!!

Now I’m looking forward to the next few weeks and seeing if the losing weight trend continues.

On Easter Monday, the next ’40 days Project’ will begin and have to do with moving more – walking – exercising.

Until next time.

Julie

Image courtesy of Iamnee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My Mom - Happy Birthday :)

Well, today's my Mom's birthday and I thought I'd let you know just what kind of Mom I have.

Before I begin - this post only scratches the surface of what my Mom means to me and my sisters.  It's only a very small part of it, and there are so many more memories and great things to say.

I'm her oldest of three girls...so of course I'm the best right??  RIGHT??  Come on - someone agree with me!!  Ok FINE then...where was I??

For my entire life she's been there for me through EVERYTHING I've been through - good and bad.  I know she worried about me and my sisters - and boy did we give her reason to, but she never gave up on us.

I remember her getting up in the middle of the night to take care of us when we were sick.  I remember her coming in to my room when I had bad dreams and making me feel better.

There was this one time, after I had moved down to the basement - she woke me up to give me medicine because she could hear me coughing throughout the night.  I don't think she ever slept!...especially when we were teenagers going out with friends :)

She was a grade school teacher so my sisters and I were extremely lucky to be able to spend our entire summers with her.  I won't forget the walks we'd take to my grandparents' house.  We'd play outside the entire day and she'd bring us our lunches and welcome all of our friends with open arms.

I wanted to be just like her.  There was a 2 car garage.  One side was for the car...and other miscellaneous things.  The other side was a little schoolhouse.  We had school desks, a large chalkboard and some school books.  I would attempt to teach my little sisters how to read and do math.  My friends and I would also spend a good amount of time there.

I liked school, I really did, so when the end of the summer came near and it was time to go to my Mom's school to help her set up everything...I was always excited.  As far as I can remember, she was always in the same classroom and I can still picture it.  We'd set up the furniture, the toys and decorate the entire room.  We'd also have lunch with other teachers and that was always one of my favourite days.

See above when I said I wanted to be just like her.  I did a co-op placement in High School in a Junior Kindergarden class.  I very quickly realized that my Mom was EXTREMELY special to be able to do what she did for as many years as she did.  The patience and energy it takes is insane and until you do it, you can't even imagine.

When I was older, she always encouraged me through everything.  She could have thrown up her arms and given up when I dropped out of post-secondary school...TWICE...but she never did.  I always knew she supported me.

Oh - and then there's the boyfriends.  I've made insanely BAD decisions in that department, and I KNOW my parents wanted to shake me until I came to my senses.  I don't blame them either...but all they did was go way above and beyond everything you can imagine to support me.  My Mom was there, talking to me whenever I needed it...then there were the heartbreaks.

She was there every single minute to help me...there to talk if I needed it.  I've already written about my Dad and how I usually talked to him about things, but through it all - my Mom was always there willing to listen and talk.  She did really help me through some insanely tough times.

I know I hurt her at times over the years and I will never be sorry enough for those things.  We gave her grief, many sleepless nights and I'm sure she shed quite a few tears for and about us, but her love for us has never waned.

She showed us how to love and be loved.  She showed us that family is probably the most important thing in your life - no matter what the word "Family" means to you.  She showed us how to give of ourselves to others - how to be there for friends and family - how to care of people.  She gave us so much and never asked for anything in return but our love and respect.

If I had been given the joy of having kids of my own, I can only HOPE I would have been as great a Mom as she was.  I'm not sure I could have lived up to it all.  My little sister has 3 kids of her own, and she's a fantastic Mom and I know she learned from ours.

Je sais que je ne te le dis pas assez souvent - mais je t'aime plus que tu peux le savoir!!

Bonne Fête Mom!!  XOXOX

Julie / @Flip_4

The NHL Trade Deadline Day 2014

For non-hockey fans, this is just any ordinary day.  For NHL fans, it's a day most have been waiting for to see if their teams will make some AMAZING trades and where it will lead them in the hunt for the playoffs and the Stanley Cup.

For me, it meant something different this year.

The possibility that my favourite Ottawa Senators player, Chris Phillips, could get traded to another team.
Chris has been one of my favourites since the day he was drafted and quickly made it to the top of that list. 

Ever since the day Ottawa found out that a group of business men would be going after an NHL franchise, I KNEW they would become my favourite team if we were lucky enough to be awarded the franchise. 

As a fan, I've been through some tough years and some awesome years.  I wouldn't have it any other way.
For a good number of those years, Chris Phillips has been part of the team.  Now all of a sudden, there was a chance that would change yesterday.

I was hoping the team would re-sign him as I can't imagine the Sens without him on the blueline...nor can I imagine him wearing another jersey.

I was nervous during the days leading up to the trade deadline.  I had a bad feeling the Sens were going to be trading my favourite player away.
 
You can imagine my relief when the news came down that he would be a Senator for another 2 years.  I was so happy.  It seems a lot of people know me well as I started getting emails, tweets, text messages and visits to my office to see if I was happy.

Well of course I was.  I even went to Big Rig, his restaurant, to celebrate and watch part of the Sens / Flames game.  Unfortunately, the game didn't go as well as I had hoped, but I can be happy knowing that I'll be able to wear one of my Phillips jerseys to the games for another two years.

Congrats on the extension Chris and happy you're staying.

Julie/@Flip_4

Old Habits are Hard to Break

Originally posted at KickAssOttawa on March 6, 2014

"Old Habits are Hard to Break" all about how Lent can help me get a head start in my health goals.

Taking better care of myself / losing weight / exercising / eating better.

These are all things I’ve said I would do at different times over the years without much success.  This is mostly due to a lack of motivation.  Do I think I have more motivation now?  Not really, but what I do have is a built in excuse to start.

Lent.  I have not given anything up for Lent for years but decided to use it this year to “better” myself.

This gives me 40 days to try to “Push” myself in the right direction…give myself that kick in the a$$ I may be needing.

That’s not to say that I’m changing my whole life for Lent, but if I can make some small changes and stick to it for 40 days – maybe I can do something else in the following 40 days.  Take things in 40 day segments.

What have I given up for the first 40 days?  Pepsi/Coke and Chocolate.  If you know me – this will be sooooo difficult.  When it comes to Pepsi, the reason I chose this isn’t just because I enjoy it, but also because I believe I have an addiction.  I have replaced most of my liquid intake with Pepsi…how is that good for me?

I’m an intelligent woman so I know this is detrimental to my health, but I’ve been unable to stop and it just seems to get worse.  I can’t only have one glass of Pepsi, I NEED a bottle and then another and another…in one day.   I crave it like nothing else.  I will go out in the worse weather to go get Pepsi because I may run out that day.

Originally I gave up chocolate as the backup in case Pepsi didn’t work…but I’ve decided that I’ll do both.  Rest assured though that as soon as Lent is over – chocolate WILL be back on the menu.  No Big Rig cookie for 40 days is not going to be fun – especially since it’s been a while since the last time I had one.

Chocolate isn’t a crutch for me so I know that once the 40 days is over, I won’t be going on a chocolate binge.  Pepsi on the other hand is a much different story…

I’ve given it up before and it went well, but as soon as I started drinking it again – it was back to bottles a day.  I wasn’t able to just have it occasionally or in small doses.  I may have to stay away forever.  *Sob*

I’m now on day two of no Pepsi/chocolate diet and I’m suffering from one of the worse caffeine – or lack thereof – headaches I’ve ever had.  I’m NOT giving up though.  Gotta keep going.

Will keep everyone posted on my progress / success.

Now to figure out what to do for the 40 days after Easter…Mandatory daily exercising?   Takes 6 weeks to create a good habit I hear…

Have a wonderful day

Julie / @Flip_4

 Image courtesy of scottchan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

February 28th - Fantastic Morning

Well - got up this morning to a horrible headache and a windchill of -3000  or something close to that.  Not exactly a stellar morning.

On top of that - the Sens were badly beat 6 - 1 by the Red Wings. 

I was not the happiest of girls.  Walked into the office at 6am looking forward to the day ending and going back home to bed.

I was listening to Majic 100 and started getting MAD because of the most recent "French Language Police" situation.  Social Media is NOT based in Quebec, leave it ALONE!! 

Really - is anything else going to make this morning unbearable???

To the Majic Mornings hosts credit though - they were able to get my day going a little better with the fun that they always have in the mornings. 

But they weren't done!!!

I got up from my desk to talk to a co-worker about the Sens game for a few minutes.
I guess I lost track of time...

Before I continue, Majic 100 currently have a contest that you need to enter where, if they call your name during the day and you call back within 15 minutes - you win $500.  It's THAT easy.  I entered the contest when it was announced.

You see, these types of contests are the only ones I'll enter at any radio station.  If I need to do anything else like answer trivia or anything else really - I don't call.  I only try the - "Be the 25th caller through" or things like that.  All I ever hear during those contests is the busy signal though.

Anyway - back to this morning.  After I finished talking to my co-worker, I got to my desk and my cell phone was flashing.  There were 2 missed calls, multiple tweets and text messages from family and friends on it.  I looked at the time and realized it was passed 8:50.  Saw the first text that told me to call Majic and I knew...

I called and Stuntman Stu answered the phone.  I told him who it was and I heard who I assume were the other Majic Morning hosts Angie, Trish and Procucer Dean in the background cheering. :)

I WON $500. 

I was so excited that when they said Congrats to me the first time - I didn't answer right away because I was reading my texts and tweets and listening to Majic at the same time :).  Guess I'm bad at multitasking!!

I was actually shaking...now, I'm not sure if this is due to winning the money or just having to call in to the radio station.  Probably a bit / lot of both :)

I've been on a high ever since.

Thank you Majic 100 - this has been a huge relief for me!!!

WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY!!!   Thank you Majic 100!!!!!

Thank you Sens

If you’ve ever been to a Sens game, you know that they usually have a video montage that they show before the players jump onto the ice at every game.

This montage has been different from one year to the next ever since I’ve been going to Sens games.  One of my first seasons as a season ticket holder, they had one set to the song “For the love of the game” by Semisonic.  I immediately fell in love with the imagery of the video and how it fit in so well with the song.  I believe this was either in 1999 or 2000.

I’ve watched every season since to see if another video would come close in my eyes but none really measured up.

I tried in vain to obtain a copy of this video from different people within the Sens organization, but no one was able to find it.  Or they thought I meant another video.

A few weeks ago, Paul Beirne, Executive Vice President of ticketing for the Ottawa Senators, posted in a forum I read regularly.  He was asking for Sens fans opinions on ways to improve the whole Senators experience.

Well, I had quite a few ideas and sent Paul a fairly wordy email (honestly, it was more of a book).  Somewhere buried  within that email, I mentioned the video just as an example of what the Sens did that once worked. 

Paul emailed me back almost immediately and liked some of the comments I had made.  I emailed him back and forth a few times, but never mentioned the video other than that first email.

One day, I get home and check my email.  What do I see in there?  An email from Paul saying: “We found your vid” with a link to the video.

OMG, you have ablsolutely NO IDEA how happy that made me.  I clicked on the link right away and watched my video over and over...and over again..  All the players from that season – so many memories.  I might have been on a high for a bit after that.  It made me happier than something like that really should, but I don’t care.

The fact that Paul took the time to ask someone to track down the video for me went above and beyond anything I ever expected from him.  

The person that did the searching and uploading of the video for me is Stan Kertesz.  I'm not sure how long it took Stan to find the video and convert it to an MP4 format, but I absolutely appreciate the time and work it took.  He'll probably never really know how happy he made this Sens fan, but if I ever see him - I'll be sure to tell him. 

I now have the video on my phone and can watch it whenever I want to :)

To see the video that made me so happy - click ===> Video

That kind of customer service, along with a few other stories I’ve heard about, show me just how great the Sens organization is.  

Thank you Paul, Stan and the Sens.

Julie/@Flip_4

Big Rig Review - Best Fried Pickles Anywhere

Originally posted at Kickass Ottawa on February 23rd, 2014,

In a surprising twist - I talk about Big Rig and how great they all are. :)  Originally posted at:

http://www.kickassottawa.com/big-rig-review-best-fried-pickles-anywhere/

As you may or may not know, Big Rig is one of my favorite places to hang out.  There are many reasons for this, but here are a few of the best ones.

First off, they have FANTASTIC food.  My favorites include their fabulous deep friend pickles.  They’re the only fried pickles I’ve ever liked…and I am now addicted.  They also have some great wings with spicy maple sauce.  Mmmmmm.  Their taco salad comes in a Mason jar and is oh so delectable.  Perfect combination of ingredients.   A more recent favourite tasty dish are the ribs and ravioli.  Or Ribs and Rav as we’ve been told they call them.  The ribs are fall off the bone succulent and perfectly marinated and cooked.  The sauce used on them is oh so tasty and I believe might actually be made with the same spicy maple sauce they use on the wings.  Their ravioli pieces are huge and tossed in Big Rig’s homemade meat sauce.  I’m also told their pizza is AMAZING!!! (Editor note: the pizza is fantastic!)

For dessert, my absolutely favourite is their “birthday cookie”, but you can get it even if it isn’t your birthday.  The cookie is the size of a dinner plate and comes warm with ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce.  Easily feeds 6 people, but I’ve been known to order for two of us and bring some home.

That’s one thing about their food portions, many times, you’ll be able to take the leftover home to enjoy the next day.

Another reason I love going there is that they really make you feel comfortable.  As an extremely shy single woman in Ottawa, it’s not easy to walk into a bar/restaurant and feel at ease.  In the almost two years the place has been open, I’ve only ever felt welcome.

It starts at the door when you’re greeted by the hostess.  She’ll seat you where you want and will make sure you have everything you need before your server comes to look after you.  The servers are friendly and extremely helpful.  I’m usually very early whenever I meet my friends, but they’ve never made me feel like I was in the way or taking up valuable space.  I’ve never felt this way anywhere before.

I’ve been to a few events here, including my 40th birthday party, and it’s always so very well organized.   They make sure everyone leaves happy.

Having been to many bars/restaurants in the past, you often see the token slobbering drunk patron who’s always hitting on the women. I’ve never noticed anything like that here.  It really helps with making the atmosphere more inviting.

All in all, I’d be hard pressed to find somewhere I’m more at ease than at Big Rig.

Next time you go – be sure to have the cookie.

Julie / @Flip_4