30 By 30: Open an RRSP Account
Are we adults now? I’m not sure.
This picture was taken just before David and I got married. It was used as one side of one of the table number card designs as a humorous and not so subtle hint towards the wedding gift of choice. Instead of the text on the white card I’m holding it read #4. The other side read sqrt(16) because we’re geeks like that. So we got married (very adult) but still poked fun at the wedding process (less so). Also we had a Super Mario themed wedding cake (much less so).
Days before the 2011 tax season is over, my husband and I opened our first retirement savings accounts at the bank. Except the intention of the money isn’t for retirement. It’s to use with the Home Buyers Plan. Either way it all feels very grown up.
The wealth of D&D minitures, video games, board games, and other less than grown up pursuits seem to indicate otherwise.
Happy Valentine’s Day Geek Nation!
[via Geeks Are Sexy]
Low Carb Vegetarian – 3 Week Review
After some inspired reading I embarked on an experiment of one with a goal of reducing my carb intake to less than 100 g on a good day, 150 g on a bad day. Although the low carb enthusiasts would gasp at such “large” numbers of carbs it is a 2/3 reduction for yours truly. I haven’t been following much of a Paleo diet with all the wonderful milk, cheese, and legumes but grains have been out.
The 2-week results are in. The first couple of days I was more tired and sluggish than normal. I was having a hard time meeting my minimum number of calories for the day. I’m not used to eating with higher fat foods. When I cut out the low-fat food options (with carbs as fillers) and added more nuts I was golden. My energy was back up and better than normal. And it’s stayed higher since. The weird part is that I’m not as cold. I’m normally an incredibly cold person and I’ve been warmer than my husband on some days. And who knows if anything is a coincidence but I’ll take what I can get. Also, I’m down 6.8lb in 3 weeks, a rate personal best.
Zucchini “Spaghetti” with “Meatballs”
Via Nom Nom Paleo
I went through the recipe index from Nom Nom Paleo and searched for vegetarian-friendly recipes. Zucchini “Spaghetti” looked like a quick and simple start. To modify this recipe I used “meatless” meatballs and added some cheddar cheese. Wow, it was delicious! And fast!
Paleo for Vegetarians?
I happened upon the documentary, Fat Head on Netflix which discussed the obesity epidemic. The filmmaker goes on a 28 day fast food diet as a parody to Super Size Me. But instead of super-sizing his proportions he maintains a daily caloric intake of approximately 2000 calories, which would give him a daily deficit of 500 calories. This is actually not that hard since I’ve been a follower of the Canadian style Tim Horton’s diet. The filmmaker also makes a point to limit his carbohydrates to ~100g/day. Low carb diets are not new but the film did discuss some interesting scientific studies which has led me to do some more reading. Interestingly enough the filmmaker lost more weight in the 28 day period than predicted by the calorie-balance hypothesis, which is what I follow. This is very interesting to me because I am always losing less than that predicted for the calories in – calories out equation.
So this topic lead me down a slippery slope. I bought a book on Amazon Kindle and I also did some internet reading. One of the blogs I regularly read is an avid Paleo enthusiast and I normally ignore the Paleo posts, but inspired I read his really long Paleo explanation. And I have to admit I am minorly convinced.
But can one maintain a Paleo-esqe diet (limit grains, sugars, dairy) and still be a vegetarian? I wonder. So I’m going to try a modified version of this whole Paleo thing for a few weeks and conduct a non-controlled study of one (very scientific!). At minimum this experiment will force me to make real dinners, not just boiled perogies, pasta or cereal. A step in the right direction in any case.
More Time-Lapse Beauty: Yosemite National Park
I fall more and more in love with time-lapse videos. I need to figure out how to make one of my own!
The Antigua Wrap-Up
David and I travelled to Antigua in January 2012 for my friend’s wedding. We celebrated with Megan & Eamon, played volleyball on the beach, rented a car and drove around the island, and took a circumnavigation tour on a catamaran. Good times! The following are my journal entries for my trip:
Circumnavigation Antigua: On Board the Excellence Catamaran
All aboard the Excellence! At first I wasn’t so sure. The weather was poor and I was having flashbacks from a cold and bumpy boat ride in the Greek Islands. But soon the clouds cleared and the sun came out. The scenery was beautiful and I got a sweet spot on the netting at the front of the catamaran. And then we arrived along the Atlantic side of the island. The best part of the trip. The waves were so-much-fun! Dave and I stood at the front of the boat while the rest of the passengers cowered under cover. We got soaked!
We stopped at Green Island for snorkelling and lunch and then continued west around the island back to St. Johns. We toured through Nelson’s Dockyard and got to see the cliff formations from the ocean. We ogled all the million dollar celebrity owned mansions. Turns out the money isn’t just in the marina. And finally we were let off in St. Johns, finishing off the tour the way it had started – rain! It’s just too bad all the water splashing around reduced the effectiveness of my spf-8 sunscreen. Ouch!
Devil’s Bridge, Antigua
Devil’s Bridge is a geological formation where an arch has been carved out of the limestone by the crashing seawater. It’s really pretty when a wave breaks on shore and shoots water between the mainland and the bridge. I heard some tourists at the resort talking about walking over the bridge to the other side, in Crocs no less. Probably not the best decision considering the bridge’s origins:
Devil’s Bridge was call so because a lot of slaves from the neighboring estates use to go there and throw themselves overboard. That was an area of mass suicide, so people use to say the Devil have to be there. The waters around Devil’s Bridge is always rough and anyone fall over the bridge never come out alive. [Antigua Nice]
It definitely looked like there was no coming back after being smashed into the coastline. Needless to say Dave and I just took photographs of the bridge instead of crossing it. On the other side of the mainland point there was a blowhole which is pretty neat too. The water on the Atlantic side of the island can be rough. I hadn’t realized how lucky we were to be sheltered from it at the resort in the beautiful turquoise bay.
Keeping to the Left: Driving Adventures in Antigua
We rented a car in the morning from Lion’s Car Rental that was based in our resort. Too many people who woke up way earlier than us rented all the economic cars and we were left with a jeep and an extra $30 cost. The rental agent said in her charming Caribbean accent; “The jeep is a much smoother ride.” It was not a sales pitch. She spoke the truth. Narrow roads with potholes, speed bumps and sudden stops for oncoming traffic made the jeep more than worth the extra $30.
Dave got the hang of left hand side driving right away with only the occasion slip trying to flip the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal. His concentration was unwavering. And it had to be. Narrow winding cliffs that barely fit two vehicles dominated the afternoon along the southern coastline.We followed the local map which lacked most of the street names. The points of interest were conveniently marked with a star on the map but inconveniently a legend explaining what they were was not included. So we headed to Nelson’s Dockyard first, a name of description in itself. We stopped in English Harbour and walked along the restricted access pier ogling the multi-million dollar boats. One even had a helicopter on it! Sometimes I dream of winning the 50 million dollar lottery in Canada. I don’t think the grand prize would even cover the purchase, maintenance and operating cost of these floating mansions!
We thought that “Nelson’s Dockyard” was just the pier and marina area. So we went in search of nearby Shirley’s Heights when we came across the actual Nelson’s Dockyard. For an $8USD admission we could tour the grounds of a working Georgian-era dockyard with eighteenth-century buildings. The highlight was actually following an unmarked trail. There is a set of stone stairs on the left-hand side of a stone wall. Following them we found the trail to Fort Berkeley and some great views of the bay. Having successfully found the real Nelson’s Dockyard we embarked for Shirley’s Heights which turned out to be an extension of the fort and a superb lookout.
We drove along the southern coast toward St. John’s, the capital. The winding roads were beautiful. Too bad Dave didn’t get much chance to enjoy the scenery since he was otherwise occupied trying to keep the jeep on the road. We stopped at the first beach after we passed through the mountains and waded through the water. Driving further we completely bypassed Jolly Harbour and Boggy’s peak (now named Mount Obama!) which were points of interest.
Arriving in St. Johns was a bit of a let-down after the beautiful coastline. It was very busy and touristy since that is the point where the cruise ships dock. We picked up some rum and cigars at the duty-free quay, had a $5USD syrup-heavy “smoothie” at a cafe, walked around for a bit and then decided to head back out to the countryside. After unsuccessfully looking for a point of interest at Pelham Bay we headed back to the resort.
