WARNING: Because I am Canadian, raised by a British father, I use the Canadian/British spelling of the word “colour”. Same applies to “neighbour”, “odour”, “honour”, “favour” and other such words. There is NO NEED for alarm!

I have now been (voluntarily) unemployed for one week! So what have I been doing with my time?

I am nearly finished assessing my wardrobe and purging close to 50% of my clothes! I bought the book “Color Me Beautiful” by Carole Jackson, as recommended in the “What is your Color Season” thread on the forum. When I graduated from university and started working (and therefore had more money than ever in my life), I bought new clothes nearly every weekend! The pace of my purchases gradually slowed down, but I continued spending too much money on things I would hardly wear! Learning how to recognize which colours/styles look best on me has allowed me to let go of the beautiful, expensive clothing that just isn’t right for me. I have a smaller wardrobe, but I am much happier with it because I feel like I have MORE to wear and all the pieces look beautiful on me and go well together. I gave some clothes away to friends and the rest are going to charity. It is easier to part with so much when you realize that there are needier people out there who can use and appreciate quality clothing.

I have also been working on a few of my New Year’s resolutions. I made Broccoli my friend and in turn, he is helping me get more veggies into every day! I don’t much like cooked or raw broccoli, but I have discovered that I do like blanched broccoli. Blanching is really great for retaining the flavour and crispness of veggies while removing bitterness. Now that I am not on a regular schedule, I am actually eating less, but veggies are my top priority and are now making up a larger portion of my day’s food intake, so I am pleased.

I have more time to exercise now, so I have revamped my gym routine and I am doing more yoga and walking (now that I no longer have a car). I am still meditating before bed and I had hopes of doing some morning meditation too, but I find that when I wake up I am so eager to start my day by exercising, eating, or getting on the computer that there is no space for meditation. I guess that is typical of a type O person, so I’m just going with it!

I just wanted to check in, say “hi”, and let you all know that I am still here!

I had my last day of work on Tuesday and I have spent the last couple of days taking it easy, trying to get over the cold I picked up last week. I am also in the process of adjusting to not heading to work every morning. I realized recently that I have been working (either part-time or full-time) since I was 15 years old! Needless to say, I am a little weirded out right now and will be for a little while at least, as I am also starting school, moving, and basically changing everything about my lifestyle and career path this month! Oy. I will write more when I have better collected my thoughts. For now, I think some comfort food is in order…

Chicken Fingers

(OK for types O and A)

Ingredients:

10-12 chicken breast strips

1 egg

¾ cup kamut or rice flour

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper (optional)

½ tsp sea salt

¼ cup ghee

Directions:

1) Break egg into bowl and whisk.

2) Mix raw chicken into egg in bowl.

3) Combine dry ingredients and sprinkle one layer on a plate.

4) Remove chicken from egg (one strip at a time) and coat with flour mixture on plate.

5) Repeat until all strips are coated.

6) Heat large pan to medium.

7) Add half of the ghee to the pan and melt.

8) Place chicken strips in pan and fry for about 2-3 minutes per side, adding more ghee as necessary.

9) Remove chicken strips from pan and place onto a bed of paper towel to absorb any excess ghee.

10) Use your favourite dip – mine is a salsa-like BBQ sauce!

I apologize for the manic nature of my recent blogs – lots of eating, moving, and general disruption in my life right now.

Tuesday was the first of four goodbye lunches with one of my closer friends at work. I ate chicken strips and plain rice. I will really miss this coworker – he has so much energy and is so good-natured; he always makes me smile and laugh at work. He is a classic type O (I’m assuming): loves sports, highly competitive, lots of energy, will push himself beyond physical limitations (continued to play three or four different sports all last year despite major knee injuries, he now needs surgery!). He also has a fantastic family. His wife is also athletic (playing tennis the weekend after their son was born) and his kids are active, loving, well-behaved, and delightful. They discipline their kids consistently and firmly, but with patience and care, such that they are obedient yet still exuberant and creative.

Today I had the second lunch, once again chicken and rice (different restaurant), with my team. I was feeling under the weather, coming down (for the second time this year!) with that same cough that continues to circulate my office. Certainly it is my own darn fault as I spent Monday through Wednesday training my replacement and therefore talking his ear off. Once you get me going, I won’t stop! I talked on Monday until my voice was hoarse, continued on Tuesday, felt worse, then continued Wednesday and I am paying the price. Last night I went to bed at 10pm, but then woke up at 1am and couldn’t get back to sleep again until 4am! I think this has something to do with disrupting all the stuff in my apartment by moving – I’m a believer and user of Feng Shui. All the junky (by BTD standards) food I’ve eaten this week isn’t helping.

This evening I had to load boxes and furniture into a borrowed van to move to my Dad’s house. All my stuff won’t fit into one trip, so at the end of March my dad will move me into residence, then take the rest of my stuff back to his house. My boyfriend helped me, but huffing and puffing up and down between my apartment and the parking garage was not good for my throat. The wings we ate for dinner weren’t either…

Tomorrow is lunch number three, with my first manager at this company. He was the best manager I have ever had, so I am particularly sad to leave him. One day we had a disagreement (sitting in my car in a grocery store parking lot in a rainstorm) and at the end of our discussion he said to me: “I’m really glad we talked about that, because you have helped me learn how to be a better manager. Thanks!” That moment encapsulates the type of man he is and his fantastic attitude. It also illustrates how important a good manager is to satisfaction at work – my current job is more fulfilling, but because he was such a motivating manager, I was happier doing a less stimulating job for him than doing my current job for my current (and good) manager! I think Dr. Phil would agree that he is one of my “pivotal people” (and no, I haven’t read that book yet, but I do own it).

I’d best sign off now – I have to claw my way through tomorrow, drive for a couple of hours, unload the van, celebrate my dad’s birthday, and make it back here alive for my final two days of work and lunch number four on Tuesday!

Just a quick blog to say that I LOVE THE KEG! Some coworkers and I went there for lunch yesterday and I had what I consider to be the best restaurant meal available for me – steak with sweet potato fries! Of course I love steak, but I also LOVE sweet potato fries and wish that they were available in more restaurants. Luckily I currently live around the corner from another place (Summit House Grill for anyone in Toronto) that serves them, but I am moving soon…

I also ordered their “frizzled” onions, which are thinly sliced, breaded, and fried. Wheat = not good for me, but onions are beneficial, right? I love the taste of onions, but it is hard for me to eat them because I don’t like the texture. The frizzled onions are perfect because they are crispy and very oniony. I don’t go to The Keg often, so when I do I indulge. I must have eaten too many yesterday because I am still feeling a touch tired and generally “weird” from the wheat.

I still have four goodbye lunches to eat with various people at work before I am finished on the 28th, and I’m hoping I can eat at least one more of them at The Keg.

Yes, I know it is already February (and not even the beginning of the month), but it has taken me until now to settle on my New Year’s resolutions. I have a poster on my wall full of advice and quotes, one of which says “Write down your short and long term goals four times a year. A class study at Harvard found only 3% of the students had written goals. 20 years later, the same 3% were wealthier than the other 97% combined.”

When I was in high school and university, I never felt motivated by writing goals, probably because they were already laid out for me and reinforced by everyone around me: get into university, finish university, get a job. But what comes after that? Living happily ever after? Now that I have checked some things off the list, figuring out what I should be doing and what constitutes success is much harder.

In 2004 I realized that I was on the wrong career path for me. I don’t believe there is one perfect career choice for everyone, but I do believe that whatever you work at should be a vehicle through which you express the best of yourself and use your core talents, whatever your “job” may be. Writing resolutions in 2005 was an important exercise, because I had a goal of moving to a career that suited me better. I had to set goals regarding money, personal development, research, etc. I also made resolutions about diet, exercise, and daily habits. Here are a few highlights from my 2005 resolutions:

I gave up potatoes, which I thought would be hard but wasn’t! Late in 2004 I realized I just didn’t want them anymore, so in 2005 I went with that feeling. Boy, it sounds like I’m talking about something much scarier than a small brown lump of food… Bonus benefit: I lost 7 pounds at the beginning of the year without trying. I do not need to lose weight, it just came off without making any other changes and it has stayed off.

I saved more money than I even aimed for! I was already saving, but I knew I could really maximize it and I finally had something worth sacrificing for. Retirement saving just isn’t that exciting when you are in your 20’s!

Finally, I worked all year long toward being accepted to the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and I achieved my goal in late December. Without setting goals in my New Year’s resolutions, this would not have happened. I needed to prepare emotionally, intellectually, and financially.

So, without further ado, here are this year’s resolutions:

DIET

1) Follow BTD portion/frequency guidelines: I want to eat more vegetables and reduce my dependence on nuts and grains.

2) Follow the Leptin Way of Eating (LWOE): This means sticking to meals, without snacking in between, and stopping eating at least 2 hours before I go to bed. I experimented with this a bit last year and found it very beneficial to me both mentally and physically.

HEALTH

3) Complete the following protocols: Yeast Fungus Health Support, Liver Support, and Skin Support.

FITNESS & STRESS REDUCTION

4) Follow a consistent and challenging fitness regimen: In 2005 I struggled a bit with exercising consistently and I saw my stress level increase as a result.

5) Reduce stress through meditation and breathing: Last year I discovered that I benefit from meditation and breathing, particularly before bed. This has not only helped me sleep, but also helped me adopt a more patient, accepting attitude.

FINANCES

6) Create and abide by a simple, frugal budget: This is key to making ends meet for the next 4-5 years while I concentrate on my education. My biggest spending area (other than school and rent) is groceries. Food is very important to my health and happiness and I do not want to sacrifice quality, but there are many other areas that I can reduce my spending. I want to own less “stuff” and have more experiences.

SOCIAL

7) Nurture my personal relationships: This means keeping up with email better, keeping in touch with people now that I won’t have a car, and being a caring friend and family member.

KNOWLEDGE & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

8) Watch less TV: This is mainly a weekend problem, as I will sit and watch total junk on TV for hours to relax. I made progress here in 2005, but it makes the list again because it also ties into getting more sleep, spending time with people, etc.

9) Blog regularly: I am enjoying blogging a lot, so I want to make it a priority this year. I’m aiming for at least one blog per week.

10) Read the following books: Automatic Millionaire, Complete Blood Type Encyclopedia, and Meditation as Medicine. These are the same books as were on my list for 2005! I am almost done Meditation as Medicine and I am working on the Encyclopedia.