PLUS DE PLUIE!

Welcome to my lovely département, The Alpes-Maritimes, in the greater Provence-Alpes Côte d'Azur region!

Well, as of today, I once again feel like I live right on the Mediterranean Sea! Why all the exclamation points, Monique? Oh that's because after months and months of yucky rain, ominous clouds, fog and evil Mistral winds, it finally is getting to be weather you'd typically expect from this little beach region. Never-you-mind that we're on about the same plane/latitude as the Eastern Canadian border, ok?

Regional météo forecasts indicate that over the course of the next few days, we'll be seeing weather anywhere from 15 to 17 degrees Celsius. Hello mid-60s and possibly even 70s on Thursday! That's what a girl from California likes to see.

I'm also pretty stoked on life right now because one of my afternoon classes was canceled today, so I basically had to work from 8:30 to 10:00. And after I eat lunch/give myself an hour, I'll be making my merry way back to the gym. Speaking of the gym, I've already lost about two kilos since I've been back from my "vacation" in the United Sates -- which, by the way, I flew home exactly one month ago today!! Since then, I've been making a point to do cardio exercises for about 35-50 minutes a day. I've stopped eating past 9 p.m. and for the most part, I've cut out lots of added sugars (and alcohol)!

And the best part is that IT'S EASY! I mean, I get a few cravings every now and then -- I'm allowed to cheat once or twice a week, I think that's the key to longevity -- but I'm quite impressed how easily I can say "no" to dessert or even the 28,482 pastry shops I pass each day. Ok that's a little exaggerated, but yeah point made right? (Oh yeah, and I've had a little help from this diet. Too bad they don't include the recipes online, but I ran across it in a fitness magazine when I was home in February and decided to give it a try! It really does work!)

***EDIT: I searched and searched online and I actually found the equivalent diet for men in the Men's Health Magazine. Their website has included a few of the recipes for the male version, some of which cross over for the ladies too. Hey, I'm all about it, new recipes and we all know how much I do love me some smoothies!