HAPPY PRIDE!!
I am and always will be a proud ally!
NUMBERS OF THE WEEK:
Average Sleep/Night: 6h 32min
My ultimate goal for sleeping is 8hrs/night, but my overall goal is consistency.
Weight: down 1.5lbs
My BIG weight loss goal is to lose 50lbs by the time I turn 50. This means losing about a pound/week. Last week I was even, so I was glad to see a loss this week and hopefully I can stay on track this week.
Average Steps/Day: 5062
My BIG goal is to complete the Portuguese Coastal Camino before I turn 50.
My average steps in March were 3221 and I have been increasing my endurance slowly but surely. Next week I am on vacation, so I am going to do some calculations to figure out my schedule for stepping it up!!!
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK:
I have worked for over 2 decades in a scent free environment that has a tendency to be kind of stinky. So, I may overcompensate a little bit at home . . . but, I love perfume.
When I was kid, my mother had a small bottle of Chanel #5 in a small bureau drawer. I used to sneak into her room and carefully remove the stopper and breathe in the spicy, intoxicating aroma. Ironically she rarely wore it and since I don’t really care for the scent, it doesn’t evoke a strong olefactory response when I notice it on others. Unlike a sniff of Opium by Yves Saint Laurent, which instantly reminds me of my Grade One teacher Miss Halliday.
Every so often, Shoppers Drug Mart will carry a “Fragrance Discovery Collection” of ten perfume samples. I got one earlier this year, and as is consistent with my personality, I systematically trialed each one . . . with notes . . . five times. That way I know the choice I made was well informed. Interestingly, if I went with what I thought I liked best, Gucci Flora, before reviewing my notes, I would have chosen a completely different scent. One that is similar to others I have, fun and playful, but fades away early in the day. Instead, I chose a more sophisticated scent that is smooth and sweet and changes character as the day goes on-La Vie Est Belle by Estee Lauder. It means ‘Life is Beautiful‘ and it sure is.
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah
I joined a Book Club 7 years ago and I absolutely love it! We meet monthly and take turns picking the book. We have different tastes in books but one thing that is consistent is we often support Canadian authors-with writers who are often Queer, Indigenous or new Canadians.
Nasrallah writes the story of Muna, a young single mother who moves to Montreal in the 1980’s to escape the civil war in Lebanon, where her husband was kidnapped and presumed dead. Although she fluently speak French and is a University educated teacher, she struggles to find work. Eventually she becomes employed with a start-up weight loss business counselling people who are struggling with more than just obesity. This is a wonderful story about a resilient woman, mired with the reality of being a widowed refugee and a single mother in a foreign country that is not as welcoming as it could be. She navigates her new life with determination and finds meaning in helping others who also struggle their own unique ways.