New Car and New Gaming Laptop

Wow, I am so glad to be back!  I've had such bad luck with my electronics but everything is better now.

First my camera broke.  Then my phone battery wore out and it went so slowly. Then my 20 year old truck broke down and I didn't want to put any more money into it. Then my laptop screen cracked open.

In the past month, I've had to get a new camera, upgrade my phone, shop for a new (to me) car, and after all that, I ended up ordering a new gaming laptop.  Is it wrong that I'm the most excited about the laptop, lol?  It arrived a few days ago, just in time, as the hinge on my old laptop broke and wires started showing.

So it's been a busy and stressful time, followed by an exciting time as I enjoy my new toys.  I'm on a fixed income but luckily had put money aside a long time ago for the new vehicle and laptop.

So here is my new, to me, car.  It's a 9 year old Nissan Versa and I love it!

My new car!

It's so nice to have a reliable vehicle. It drives like a dream and is super quiet.  It has Bluetooth for hands free calls and a sunroof too.  I've had lots of fun trips to the beach with this.

My new computer is an Acer Nitro 5, with intel i7.  It's a gaming laptop and works like a dream.  I've only had it for a few days.  Here's a photo

My new gaming laptop

That's just a stock photo, but it's exactly what my computer looks like, except for the red backlit keys are much redder than they appear in the photo; they're a bright deep red, not orangey at all.  That's the screensaver the computer came with, but I changed it to a pretty night camping photo, with a sky full of stars.

I've been doing a lot of bike riding, including my longest distance yet, a 42 km bike ride!  I am editing a video that I took with my new action camera (which I bought to replace my broken camera) and will post it when I'm done.   I also did a short bike ride video (25 km condensed into 5 minutes) and will post that once I upload it to youtube.

So that's what I've been up to.  I was stressed out over having to spend so much money so quickly and am a bit anxious about finances...if things break, there is no more money to replace them, lol.  I am blessed that I was able to put enough aside to replace these items; I've been saving that money since I sold my house 4 years ago.

Well, I hope you all are having a nice summer. Its still super hot here in the North, but at least we have been spared the awful fires that are blazing all around us.

Take care :-).

Wow, it's been so long!

Hi Guys,
OMG, I have been AWOL for quite some time.  I blame my bike, lol.  As soon as the snow melted I hopped on and so far have not stopped riding.

I'm having an amazing summer and get out whenever I can, weather permitting.  We've had a crazy hot summer...global warming is real when we have a heatwave in Northern Ontario, Canada!  We had an entire week of temps higher than 100 F, which we are totally not used to.  Some nights it was even hot at night.

I was having to wait until after 7 or 8 pm to ride my bike, which meant short rides as it gets dark at 9:30 PM here.

Thankfully we're back to our normal weather now, and yesterday I was able to leave the house earlier than usual. I spent the entire day on my bike and it was wonderful.

Here are some photos; I hope you'll like them.

This is an abandoned building near the bike trail.  I think it is cool looking.

 This portion of the hub trail is so pretty; it follows the river and I love seeing the blue sky over blue water.

I stopped and had a nice break on this bench.  The wind gusts were up to 40 km/hour so it got super windy, but it was a nice relief from the heat.  I was so hot my clothes were soaking wet and I drank my entire bottle of water and had to buy more. The wind was lovely and dried me off, lol.

The trail runs behind the Bushplane Museum, and it's fun to see the tiny water and bush planes. Some are still in use and it's amazing to watch them take off and land in the river.

On the way home I popped in to see the wildlife on Whitefish Island.  There were several beavers, ducks, geese, loons, squirrels, chipmunks, and redwinged blackbirds here.  The chipmunks were angry because I didn't bring seeds for them.  One tried to climb my bike, lol.

I stayed to watch the sun set and enjoyed watching the clouds and sky change colours.

 My favorite time of day is just before sunset, when the sun casts golden shadows over the treetops.

 Here's my bike on the walkway over the beaver pond.  I sat there for at least half an hour, watching beavers eat.  They float on top of the water and remain almost motionless, except for their little paws stuffing food into their mouths, lol.  It's so funny.

This shot, below is my favorite.  Geese on the pond under cotton candy clouds, which are reflected in the water.

 The geese swam over to see if perhaps I had some food for them.  I felt bad that I didn't, lol.

 I stayed until dark, although it's hard to tell in the photo below. My camera lightens everything up quite a bit.

I ordered a new camera, an inexpensive offbrand GoPro type of deal, and can't wait until it comes in.  I'm planning another bike camping trip for August, but in the meantime, I am thinking of riding out to the beach tomorrow, just for the day.  It will be almost 20 km one way, so a 40 km bike ride round trip.  I'll have to wake up early so I can ride in the morning, spend the afternoon at the beach, and ride home in the evening, before it gets dark.  Yesterday's ride was 25 km and exhausted me, but it was super hot.  Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler, so we'll see.

Thanks for popping in. I hope you're having a nice summer too!

Chunkers' New Treats

I just wanted to share this adorable video of my hamster Chunkers checking out her new toy, bowl, food, and treats.

1 Year Surgiversary, 134 Lbs Lost

Today is my 1 year Surgiversary!  I had RNY Gastric Bypass Surgery, which is a weight loss surgery, 1 year ago today.

Before and After, 134 Lbs lost

I weighed 304 Lbs at the start of this journey, and today I weigh 170 Lbs. I've lost 134 Lbs and 103 inches so far, including 12 inches from my chest, 15 inches from my waist, and 17 inches from my hips.

I was wearing a size 4X or 24W pants, and size 3-5X tops.  Now I am wearing size 12 or medium pants, and they're loose, and medium tops.

My health has improved dramatically.  I have an entire cupboard of meds that I no longer need. Instead of taking 6-8 asthma meds per day, I am down to only 1 rescue inhaler.  I used to need my rescue inhaler 4-6 times per day, and now I can go months without needing it at all. I only need it when my asthma is triggered by a cold or flu, allergens, or super cold weather. That is a life changing to me.

I couldn't walk for 10 minutes before and now I can walk for hours, swim laps for 1-2 hours, and ride my bike all day long.  I so miss bike riding, but there is about 5 feet of snow on the ground right now, lol.

I used to have to shop at Pennington's, and now I can shop anywhere, and the clothes are much cheaper. I'm wearing a top that cost $7.00 and pants that cost $12.00 right now...before the weight loss I could never find deals on clothes like this. 

I am happier and feel hopeful about the future. 

Me fitting into 1 leg of my old pants

 I was thrilled that I could finally do the "fitting in 1 pant leg" thing today, lol.  I am half of the woman I was, and couldn't be happier about that.

Me in one of my old tops

 The black hoodie below was and still is my favorite. Sam and Dean Winchester from the TV series Supernatural (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) sold it to raise money for mental health awareness. I was very depressed at the time, and the words "Love Yourself First, Always Keep Fighting" spoke to me. I knew I had to learn how to love and fight for myself. I knew I had to lose weight because I was living in constant pain, both physical and mental.

My old favorite hoodie

Side view of my old favorite hoodie

I'll keep this hoodie forever, even though it's so big on my now. I still even wear it around the house at night; it's super warm and cozy. 

I had a great year, and I'm not done yet. I still want to lose more, so I can reach my goal weight.