After our last fitness test in January, I gave myself some goals to reach before the next test. More than my usual, just get to practice and see how much I improve. This time I really did push myself, sometimes a little bit too much.
Bench press max weight: goal - break 100lbs (stuck at 95lbs since last August); realised: 105! I might have been able to do 110lbs if one of my spotters wasn't a such a complete idiot - I had to try it 3 times because of her and finally stopped because I could see I was tiring out. Argh.
Bench press reps: goal 70 reps; realised: 74!
Bench row reps: goal 80 reps; realised: 88!
Back extension: goal 6:30; realised: 3:40 (got a cramp in my left leg from my calf all the way up the back of my thigh, v. disappointed)
Sprinter run reps: goal 200; realised: 229!
Sit ups: goal 70; realised: 73!
Push ups: goal 20; realised: 20!
Chin ups: goal 1; realised: 0 (despite all my visualizing, positive thinking and really "seeing" my goal - argh!)
Anywhere where we have to do our maximum reps, we have 90 seconds to go full out.
So proud of myself. Granted, I still can't do a single chin up but I will.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Visits
Visited another condo this afternoon and have one to visit tomorrow. I gotta say, I really did not expect to be looking at so many places. So far nothing has really impressed me.
And really, the only fun part about visiting all these places is that mostly I can be all judgmental in my head and nobody will think I'm a bad person. Also - I must be some kind of neat freak because some of these places are so filthy and crammed with stuff and ugh, I want to bring extra socks in my purse so I can change after walking on their nasty dog/cat hair balled floors (today). Does this make me a bad person? Maybe. Maybe not. But really, people at least make your damn bed (last week)!
And really, the only fun part about visiting all these places is that mostly I can be all judgmental in my head and nobody will think I'm a bad person. Also - I must be some kind of neat freak because some of these places are so filthy and crammed with stuff and ugh, I want to bring extra socks in my purse so I can change after walking on their nasty dog/cat hair balled floors (today). Does this make me a bad person? Maybe. Maybe not. But really, people at least make your damn bed (last week)!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Who wants chocolate?!
Montreal Mix is selling chocolate again to raise funds for various competitions this summer. I have lovely Belgian (though of course, not nearly as good as Swiss ;) chocolate - caramel filled, coffee flavour and dark, as well as dark chocolate squares with caramel filling. I'll tell you now - it's ALL good!
Please buy some so I don't eat it all. Heh.
Please buy some so I don't eat it all. Heh.
Friday, March 20, 2009
More visits
Stopped by two more condos last night. Both were good sizes but the oddest layouts! In one, the bedrooms were larger than the living room and in the other, all the rooms were these small squares exactly the same size. Very weird.
Have another place lined up to visit early next week and am also going to expand my search area into Côte St-Paul/Ville Émard area to see if I can get more for my money there. The one thing I have noticed so far is that the further west you go, the higher the municipal taxes are - ouch.
Have another place lined up to visit early next week and am also going to expand my search area into Côte St-Paul/Ville Émard area to see if I can get more for my money there. The one thing I have noticed so far is that the further west you go, the higher the municipal taxes are - ouch.
Monday, March 16, 2009
The visits
Not off to such a great start. Visited five condos on Saturday and none of them I would even give a second thought.
Condo #1: bank repossession - hasn't been taken care of in a long time. Water tank had leaked, ruined the floor and part of the wall in one area, top of radiators were rusty, walls were filthy, kitchen in dire need of complete remodel.
Condo #2: 3rd floor above a hair salon, on busy street. Large but needs a complete gut job. I'm talking floors, walls, ceiling, doors, kitchen, bathroom and back porch area (the floor sagged and was soft under foot).
Condo #3: 2nd floor on an avenue in Verdun, close to the metro. Clean, bright but living room, dining room are smaller than what I have now and the kitchen is half the size of what I have now. There was a good sized second bedroom and balconies in the front and back. But apparently not such a safe avenue.
Condo #4: 2nd floor unit, in the process of being renovated haphazardly. New floors, new kitchen, new bathroom but they didn't replace the windows, half of which don't/can't open. No outside space. Building not secure in a sketchy area.
Condo #5: Remodeled 2 floor unit. Main floor with updated kitchen (not much cupboard space though) and half-bath but no room for a table. Oh and no closet on the main floor - where do you keep your boots? Or if you have a table, then you don't have a living room. Bedrooms upstairs, both irregular shaped, hard to fit furniture. No outside space, no extra storage space.
Was a little disappointed by this search. But my agent has already sent me links to a couple of other places. He'll try and get some more information for me and set up appointments this week. Suivant, next!
Condo #1: bank repossession - hasn't been taken care of in a long time. Water tank had leaked, ruined the floor and part of the wall in one area, top of radiators were rusty, walls were filthy, kitchen in dire need of complete remodel.
Condo #2: 3rd floor above a hair salon, on busy street. Large but needs a complete gut job. I'm talking floors, walls, ceiling, doors, kitchen, bathroom and back porch area (the floor sagged and was soft under foot).
Condo #3: 2nd floor on an avenue in Verdun, close to the metro. Clean, bright but living room, dining room are smaller than what I have now and the kitchen is half the size of what I have now. There was a good sized second bedroom and balconies in the front and back. But apparently not such a safe avenue.
Condo #4: 2nd floor unit, in the process of being renovated haphazardly. New floors, new kitchen, new bathroom but they didn't replace the windows, half of which don't/can't open. No outside space. Building not secure in a sketchy area.
Condo #5: Remodeled 2 floor unit. Main floor with updated kitchen (not much cupboard space though) and half-bath but no room for a table. Oh and no closet on the main floor - where do you keep your boots? Or if you have a table, then you don't have a living room. Bedrooms upstairs, both irregular shaped, hard to fit furniture. No outside space, no extra storage space.
Was a little disappointed by this search. But my agent has already sent me links to a couple of other places. He'll try and get some more information for me and set up appointments this week. Suivant, next!
Friday, March 13, 2009
The search begins
Will be visiting 6 condos tomorrow afternoon with my real estate agent. Two of them look good from what I can see on mls, the other four it's too hard to tell. I will try to remember to post my reviews tomorrow night.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Expressions & Sayings
Some of the funny or odd things the kids said in Belize:
"Ca'isee?" - Can I see?
"What o'clock?" - What time is it?
"We ball!" - Our ball
"Where you done gone?" - Where did you go?
"Back!" - Pick me up
Miss Julie, Miss Jenna and Miss Janet - Julia, Jen and Janice (as for me, half the time I was Miss Stephanie, the other half Ma'am!)
Instead of saying "Hi" or something similar, people in Belize actually greet you by the time of day with good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night. So even at night, if someone enters a room, store, etc. you get a "good night" out of them as they're coming in, even though they're not saying good-bye. It took a few days to catch on to this but I quite liked it.
"Ca'isee?" - Can I see?
"What o'clock?" - What time is it?
"We ball!" - Our ball
"Where you done gone?" - Where did you go?
"Back!" - Pick me up
Miss Julie, Miss Jenna and Miss Janet - Julia, Jen and Janice (as for me, half the time I was Miss Stephanie, the other half Ma'am!)
Instead of saying "Hi" or something similar, people in Belize actually greet you by the time of day with good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night. So even at night, if someone enters a room, store, etc. you get a "good night" out of them as they're coming in, even though they're not saying good-bye. It took a few days to catch on to this but I quite liked it.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Sold!
At last - I have sold my condo!
Nearly a year to make it happen, but finally it has happened.
Since putting it back on the market in February there has been a steady stream of visitors which in itself gave me hope that a buyer would turn up soon. However, I wasn't expecting somebody to see it once and then present an offer 6 hours later. That is what happened though.
After hearing the offer, going through it all with the agent and then (not) sleeping on it, I decided to accept. The offer is very nearly 95% of my asking price. Naturally, I would've liked even more but after a year, the current market conditions, I think it would be too risky for me to ask for more just for the sake of another two or three thousand dollars. I would much rather accept, sign and move on!
I'm thrilled, excited and scared. Now I have to find a new place to live!
Nearly a year to make it happen, but finally it has happened.
Since putting it back on the market in February there has been a steady stream of visitors which in itself gave me hope that a buyer would turn up soon. However, I wasn't expecting somebody to see it once and then present an offer 6 hours later. That is what happened though.
After hearing the offer, going through it all with the agent and then (not) sleeping on it, I decided to accept. The offer is very nearly 95% of my asking price. Naturally, I would've liked even more but after a year, the current market conditions, I think it would be too risky for me to ask for more just for the sake of another two or three thousand dollars. I would much rather accept, sign and move on!
I'm thrilled, excited and scared. Now I have to find a new place to live!
Saturday, March 07, 2009
February 7
Saturday
Up early this morning for a half day trip out to Caye Caulker. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It started off a little chilly but warmed up beautifully and was clear and sunny all day.
Caye Caulker is a small island off the coast of Belize. Very small and caters exclusively to tourists but looks like a decent place to stay for a couple of days. Julia had been before so she took us over to a quiet little place right on the water where we had our breakfast picnic. My breakfast tostadas never tasted so good! We hung out there for a while, got some sun and recapped bits of this week. We walked around the town a little, stopped at the market stalls and bought some earrings. Back on the water taxi by noon feeling very much like I'd just spent a whole day relaxing, not just a few hours.
We stopped at the Robateau's to pick up Keith and then back to the church while Jen and Janice packed. For lunch we finished off the last of the tostadas. I'm embarrassed to even think how many I've eaten by this point. Probably just as well we're heading home tomorrow.
Got Jen and Janice to the airport for 2:30pm and then Keith, Julia and I drove out to the eco-reserve park to go for a swim. There weren't many people there so we were all pretty happy about that. We all had a swim (chilly, but I made it in!) and then warmed up in the sun.
Back at the school we had our last dinner together. Julia and Keith played a bit of hockey with some of the kids and by 9:30pm everyone had gone.
Major Robateau apparently told Keith that at first he wasn't too sure about having a team of four women come down to work for the week, but after seeing what we could do and did do, he said next time keep the guys away and bring us back!
It's been great working with Keith and Julia again and also a lot of fun getting to know Janice and Jen (Julia's cousin).
Oh - this afternoon, as we were getting ready to pull out from the school to go to the airport, all of a sudden, behind us this little head popped out from the back seat and there was Ishmael! Even funnier was that we'd been joking last night about him doing exactly that kind of thing!
Anyway, it was sad to see the girls go. Really felt like our group was breaking up. We worked well together and enjoyed each other's company. With any luck, we'll be able to do it again some time. Soon, I hope.
Up early this morning for a half day trip out to Caye Caulker. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It started off a little chilly but warmed up beautifully and was clear and sunny all day.
Caye Caulker is a small island off the coast of Belize. Very small and caters exclusively to tourists but looks like a decent place to stay for a couple of days. Julia had been before so she took us over to a quiet little place right on the water where we had our breakfast picnic. My breakfast tostadas never tasted so good! We hung out there for a while, got some sun and recapped bits of this week. We walked around the town a little, stopped at the market stalls and bought some earrings. Back on the water taxi by noon feeling very much like I'd just spent a whole day relaxing, not just a few hours.
We stopped at the Robateau's to pick up Keith and then back to the church while Jen and Janice packed. For lunch we finished off the last of the tostadas. I'm embarrassed to even think how many I've eaten by this point. Probably just as well we're heading home tomorrow.
Got Jen and Janice to the airport for 2:30pm and then Keith, Julia and I drove out to the eco-reserve park to go for a swim. There weren't many people there so we were all pretty happy about that. We all had a swim (chilly, but I made it in!) and then warmed up in the sun.
Back at the school we had our last dinner together. Julia and Keith played a bit of hockey with some of the kids and by 9:30pm everyone had gone.
Major Robateau apparently told Keith that at first he wasn't too sure about having a team of four women come down to work for the week, but after seeing what we could do and did do, he said next time keep the guys away and bring us back!
It's been great working with Keith and Julia again and also a lot of fun getting to know Janice and Jen (Julia's cousin).
Oh - this afternoon, as we were getting ready to pull out from the school to go to the airport, all of a sudden, behind us this little head popped out from the back seat and there was Ishmael! Even funnier was that we'd been joking last night about him doing exactly that kind of thing!
Anyway, it was sad to see the girls go. Really felt like our group was breaking up. We worked well together and enjoyed each other's company. With any luck, we'll be able to do it again some time. Soon, I hope.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)