Day 14 Wed April 28

This was a tough day. The days after rugby training, particularly early in the season when the coaches feel the need to do lots of playing, are hard.

I got up nice and early, and my legs and back were feeling it. A lot of it.

I wanted my whirlpool in the worst way. Breakfast was an astounding 510 calories from Tim Hortons. A breakfast Belt and a coffee. OK, not the greatest start to a day, but I will go with the weenie mantra "At least I did something!"

Lunch was a little thin, so I grabbed a tuna sandwich from the cafeteria and had my usually awesome lunch.

Dinner was equally cool; but definately not gluten aware; it was Pizza Pizza. Man, it was really good, but just not what I needed to do.

Anyway, before I picked up my children, I stopped by the Burlington Public Library. Seems there is a Celiac's disease fair coming up May 8th. (or 9th.... can't recall) might have to check that out.

Day 13 Tues April 27

I have rugby at the end of this day. That is what got me through this day.

Breakfast was a little different; eggs and veggies. I'm trying to keep up with the Gluten free meals, and so far, as long as the ingredients are there and semi-ready, things go smoothly. It is something I need to keep in mind.

Lunch seems to be the easiet to control these days. I bring a big lunch on Monday, then survive the week eating it. Things just go smoothly that way, and I need smooth at the moment.

Dinner was a bit out of control, but eventually, I got my family to eat the rest of the yams I bought, the rest of the ham from Sunday. Sandwich and soup night at Chez Chesser.

It was good.

I was a little late for rugby, but made up for it with some extra fitness when everyone else finished. It felt good to be able to do that again, as I have not been able to do that type of fitness all winter. For the record, after rugby practice, I did the following, all with a 30 lb KB:

10 x 3 sets one arm Swings (each arm)
3 sled drags
8 x 2 sets KB Snatch
8 x 2 KB press.

Stretch. Especially the hamstrings.

I also tried out a sport KB Long cycle lifts for a few minutes. I need to try that with two bells next time. I think I nearly drowned myself in water when I got home; I think I have two or three litres of water.

Day 12, Monday April 26

I'm so excited about this week; it's short and that's a good thing to hold in front of me at the moment.

I'm trying to get my students scared enough to read this post and continue to work towards getting a credit.

Monday is always tough, man.

Today, I worked a little on the diet; that is I followed it.

Breakfast was really good: steak and veggies. I nuked the steak in the microwave, while I chopped up some green peppers and carrots for the other part of the breakfast. Coffee from Tim Hortons was really good, as always.

For lunch, I had what I prepared Sunday night; chopped vegetables (peppers, carrots and celery) with some tuna (Sweet Thai Chili flavoured) and hummus. And lots and lots of water; about a litre for lunch.

I feel good after eating like that.

Dinner was ham slices from a slow cooker with some yam slices and a salad. It was good, but we nearly finished off the ham.

I splurged for dessert and had a Rice Krispy square or two. That was tasty.

I didn't run today, but I did stretch. That made everything feel good.

Unit Four, Task Two

And now for something completely different:

Here are a few links from which you can glean the general idea of what you should be looking for when picking a topic for your in class presentation on a Social Service or Agency.

Social Services:
Oakville YMCA http://www.ymcaofoakville.com/
Hamilton, Burlington, Brantford YMCA http://www.ymcahbb.ca/
Oakville Salvation Army http://www.salvationarmyoakville.ca/soc_serv.htm
Good Will http://www.goodwillonline.ca/
Kerr Street Ministries http://www.kerrstreet.com/
Halton Family Services http://www.haltonfamilyservices.org/
Mississauga Food bank http://www.themississaugafoodbank.org/

The due date for the presentations are May 3 or May 4.
(yes, I know May 3 is a Monday - April 30 is a PD Day; other wise that would be the day it's due.... we almost done! Wahoo!)


And here is one for your First Aid kit, too:

St.John’s Ambulance:
http://sjatraining.ca/

Day 11, Sunday April 25

Again, this was an odd day, but one with a few advantages.

First of all, I went to church yesterday, and so, didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to get there. That was pretty cool. We stayed around the house for a while,as the weather was not the best; rainy and cold. I got a chance to sleep in until about 8am.

Breakfast was eggs and veggies; a nice series of gluten free calories. Oh, and coffee.
Lunch was an omlette with water
Dinner was steak, yams and a salad.

All really tasty food; nutrient dense and good for me. I'm impressed, aren't you?

The day worked like this:

I like to read the paper on the weekend and it was waiting for me as I went out for my coffee walk. My kids came with me, which made it kind of fun. We were telling jokes and listening to the iPod's new playlist and being, well, kinda silly. Good for the mental health.

After breakfast we kind of did not very much. I went for a drive with everyone to the Organic Garage in Oakville. I wanted my wife and kids to see the place. No one was terribly impressed, but my rabid monkeys did in fact nearly get us kicked out of the store.... no, not really, I'm just seeing who is reading this.

The next place was the Whole Foods place. When my wife saw the insides of this place for the first time, I knew she was impressed. I was worried that I was going to run into a bunch of my students (the other species of rabid monkey in my life ... he he he he just kidding, I'm trying to see if anyone is reading this far ...) but that didn't happen. We looked around for gluten free stuff. I actuallt saw Teff flour - something I'd read on the internet and told the lady with whom I work about. It's a grass from the Horn of Africa that is gluten free, which is capable of being made into flour for cooking.

We bought a few items: gluten free pasta (aka "rice pasta") rice cakes, wafer cookies and chocolate chip cookies. The first one I am going to leave alone for a bit, the last ones were consumed in the van. I had to try at least one; it IS research, after all. They were good cookies, just skinny and somewhat merely OK.

We went out for lunch, and I issued a challenge to my wife: that we eat a gluten free lunch and share. I had an omelette with ham and water to drink. I was offered rye bread, but since I know it has rye in it (duh - the name kinda gave that away) I asked that it not be included. My wife had the steak and eggs (I was so proud). We did ask about the home fries, but since they were prepared in vegetable oil, we thought they'd be ok. It was very yummy - and gluten free.

For dinner, we readied our usual fare of steak and yams; both were really good. I'm thinking the eggs/steak/protein thing is fast becoming my favourite meal, ever.

Oh, after the kids went to bed, I went to do the weekly shopping. Yes, I get to control what goes in the house, which will be to my advantage when it comes time to write up the final report for this exercise. I got a list from my wife and got the veggies, the organic soap and the meat for the week - (ham, tilapia and quick fry steak) Tonnes of veggies - yams, onions, peppers and asparagus. That's going to be really good off of the BBQ.

Finally, I went to the organic section of the store - something I usually associate with socks and sandal wearing hippies. Meh, whatever. I found the pasta made from rice there - for half the price of Whole Foods. At WF, it was 6 bucks for a 500g of pasta. At Metro, it was 2.50.

I wish I made that up.

Day 10 Sat April 24 Rabid Monkies, Aliens and the Devil.

I spent most of this day just hanging out with my family; as such, my diet was better than normal. I did some adventuring with my family, too. More on that later

First, my fitness. Well, when I am taking care of my kids, seems that fitness takes a back end. Except today; today was the day I had to live up to my promise for to my mids. They earned rollerblades. For real. Each has daily tasks they have to do; they do them, they collect stamps/stickers/stars on a calendar. After a few weeks, they trade those stickers for something. They both agreed to live up to their commitments for behavior, respect and chores. So, I had to pony up with rollerblades.

We went "rollerblading" for about an hour together in the park near our house. That was cool - but I forgot to take pictures. Ah well, I'm sure we'll be doing that again. I didn't really wok up a sweat, but I was way more active than if I had been sitting on my rear end on the couch.

I'm still eating the wraps, even though I know they aren't the best for me. But if I m filling the wraps with veggies, then I figure I'm doing ok. Breakfast was late on Saturday morning, some time about 10am. I was hungry, so I had these:

2 wraps, whole wheat.
salad for the insides
red pepper (finally finished)
some ranch dressing

(incidentally, I have since been surfing and discovered that the dressing, more than likely, has gluten.)

Then, I took out the steaks for dinner and left with my kids for some shopping.

I picked up a copy of a Love and Rockets CD I've been waiting for, that and a copy of the legendary movie "Strange Brew". I'm hoping to show at least a part of it to my 3C English class by May 12.

I wanted to get new rugby cleats, but my children were running around the store like rabid monkeys. I'll try again Sunday, but probably by myself.

We got home and I BBQed some flank steaks, perfect for chopping up and eating with some yams and potatoes. I baked them on the BBQ, too. That, and I did some planning for a garden this summer. I now know where I am going to grow my tomatoes and cilantro. Sunday I will go and get the stuff needed.

As for research, which was unforgettably interrupted by a queen bee the size of my middle finger, I was looking at quite a number of sites:

Like Resources for Parents, this one pay site which almost suckered me into paying 20 bucks US a month, and the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse.

The last one was probably the best. I have yet to really find one for Canadians, but I'll just assume that Canadians are the same biologically as Americans. Until the radioactivity in the US changes them into something from District 9.

Seems that adults, like myself, are the ones that will have the toughest time changing from their current life style to one which is gluten free. Talk about a "D'uh" idea. For real? I am going to have changing eating patterns that I have established in the last fifteen years? No stuff...

It also seems that the numbers of people who are gluten sensitive is on the rise, at least since the 1950's, anyway. Research is being done as to why this is so.

Which is why I am pursuing different online friends which support my new dietary needs. Vegans, although usually more than just a little "left of centre" for me (read that as "weird and Communist") people of all political stripes are affected by Celiac
s Disease and people are choosing a vegan lifestyle for all kinds of reasons.

I will, more that likely, not have to go that far. I like steaks and good burgers far too much to give them up. However, getting more vegetables and fruits in my wheat laden diet is always a good thing. I'm really liking the pre-made salads at Metro. It feels like I am cheating, they are so easy to do. Fer real.

I also found out that there will be another Predators movie this summer... Awesome.

My final idea for the day: carbs aren't evil, but they are standing right beside Satan, I just know it.... ;)

Day 9 Friday April 23

Oh. My. Goodness.

If you don't know what the term DOMS is, let me tell you: Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness .. (DOMS). What does it REALLY mean? It means after a long workout, the stiffness in my abs, my calves, my shoulders and my feet. Seriously, my ankles look chewed.

Anyway, got myself going this morning with an awful long look in the mirror .. wondering "Am I getting to old for rugby, or WHAT?) But the scars and bruising on my left bicep look really cool, so we'll just say NO to that question for the moment.

I'm sorry to be so boring, but I had another steak and veggie wrap for breakfast. But a light one, as there wasn't much left of the steak AND today is Poetry Cafe.

Yeah, Poetry Cafe. I love that day.

Basically, once a module I get to eat in class and read poetry. It's a good enrichment activity in the classroom. At least people no longer associate poetry with boredom; now they associate poetry with yummy food. I'm sorry to say that I did not take a pic, but the fruit trays were awesome. Lots of melon, strawberries and grapes. Also, three or four things I had never tried before: middle eastern ravioli, some sort of dessert, some Doritos (which I really do love, but haven't had in a while) and samosas.

Let's do pause here for a moment. Click here for a wikipedia entry on Samosas.

Go read that. I know they are "bad" for me.... but there is just so much yumminess there. And it's for a good cause: Poetry.

I know that is just justification for another gluten-laden meal. Relax, I was kidding. I am also aware that as a part of my making myself "gluten aware" I am eating an awful lot of stuff that isn't helping me get to a better level of health.

DUDE! I just squished a BEE in my basement! Uggh! The one thing I can't stand about spring are the bugs... man! Thing was the size of an APC!

Right, for dinner had a veggie wrap (no steak left) and some water. Off to skating.

After skating, had a snuggle with my kids, put them to bed and then went back to the Y for a late night whirlpool to try and get my body a little less sore. Watched some NHL hockey for the first time this season and went to bed. Golf! Leafs Golf!