So 5 years ago or so my sister in law Kari and I got this hair brained idea to start running...actually she probably wanted to give it a try and asked if I wanted to give it a shot also... :)
Anyways, we started taking classes and training for races and we were doing pretty darn good. But over the past few years with having 2 more babies and having a couple encounters with cancer my training and racing were pushed aside.
Months ago a few of us in the family registered for the Calgary Marathon (I in the 10 km, Mike, Josh and Rebekah in the 5 km) and had every intention to pull up our socks and train our butts off and conquer this goal that we had set out for ourselves...
Then we did NOTHING!! Ok, that's not ENTIRELY true...we had a pretty good few weeks after registering with hopping on treadmills and ellipticals but that quickly faded! LOL.
Today was race day and instead of backing out (I really wanted to) we got up at the crack of STUPID and headed down to the race. My 10 km started at 7:30 a.m. so we parked and hopped the CT train to Bridgeland! It was COLD, but turned out that it was FANTASTIC weather to run in. I would take this over the heat any day!
I managed to keep myself at a really steady pace of SLOW and jogged non-stop for the first 2 kms (which is really good for me). I remember thinking at around 5 kms "Seriously? Only half way done?" Then around 7 kms I said " I HATE 10 kms"!!! LOL.
But as I rounded the last corner I tried to bust out the last of my energy and get my butt across the finish line before passing out! I heard my name being announced and saw the medal waiting for me and it was a lovely moment. I finished slower than I would have liked but chalked it up to a successful re-entry into the running world.
Mike, Josh and Rebekah were up after I finished to embark upon their first ever 5 km race and they did so good!!! So proud of them for finishing and having such a good time! We definitely all learned that actually training for our upcoming races might be a good thing next time!
Now I am so excited to plan my next race because I have learned this week that we all must have some kind of GOALS to work towards. They help to keep us motivated (or they should) and give us something to look forward to!! Who knew running could be so much fun?? Although my opinion might change greatly when I attempt getting out of bed tomorrow morning! LOL...but it was all worth it and I am so happy that I completed it! It's the good kind of pain!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The ultimate battle...WEIGHT LOSS...Blarf!
I got to thinking today that I have had this CONSTANT goal for it seems the past billion years to get in shape and lose weight! There has always been some kind of excuse like pregnancies, life's too busy, oh, another pregnancy, cancer, cancer surgery...blah blah blah!!!!! Bottom line: I can always find an excuse to NOT do something about it and can never seem to find an excuse TO do something about it. I have about a million REASONS why I would like to lose weight and get in shape but they always get pushed to the back burner.
I have to break free from all of the excuses and do something just for ME! I am a happier person when I am working out and eating well because I can be proud when I drop a pound or 2 or make it through a whole day not consuming a million calories. I am tired of looking at myself in the mirror and HATING what I see. All I see is the flaws with my entire being from the blemishes on my face and the flabby arms to the gross stomach and this in turn makes me HATE the attitude that flows from me.
One of my many issues is that I am a results kinda gal! If I am busting my butt and trying to change my exercise and eating habits then in my head I think that I should IMMEDIATELY see the results I am trying to achieve. We all know this is insane, but if I don't start seeing anything in a relatively short period of time I QUIT and call it a day!
It's too bad that our body doesn't just say "Oh, good for you, you just ate an apple, 0.25 lb off the scale NOW" or "Yay, you just walked for an entire hour at a pretty good pace so we'll take off 0.5 lb from your rather robust bottom" or "WHAT?? You made it the whole day eating well and you fit in your hour of exercise??? Well then, you get a whole POUND today"!! If only it worked that way eh?? THAT would be AWESOME!
But it doesn't so I should accept that and move on!!
Insert declaration of healthier life here...
I WILL NOT promise anyone that I will lose a certain amount of weight by a certain time because I am afraid of letting everyone down, including myself...but I will promise to try my best and make better decisions when it comes to food choices and making sure I do my walks every day at lunch.
I also joined a gym so I have a workout all set up there but that will have to wait until the girl's soccer is over to really hit that hard!
GAME ON...thanks for keeping me accountable everyone!
I have to break free from all of the excuses and do something just for ME! I am a happier person when I am working out and eating well because I can be proud when I drop a pound or 2 or make it through a whole day not consuming a million calories. I am tired of looking at myself in the mirror and HATING what I see. All I see is the flaws with my entire being from the blemishes on my face and the flabby arms to the gross stomach and this in turn makes me HATE the attitude that flows from me.
One of my many issues is that I am a results kinda gal! If I am busting my butt and trying to change my exercise and eating habits then in my head I think that I should IMMEDIATELY see the results I am trying to achieve. We all know this is insane, but if I don't start seeing anything in a relatively short period of time I QUIT and call it a day!
It's too bad that our body doesn't just say "Oh, good for you, you just ate an apple, 0.25 lb off the scale NOW" or "Yay, you just walked for an entire hour at a pretty good pace so we'll take off 0.5 lb from your rather robust bottom" or "WHAT?? You made it the whole day eating well and you fit in your hour of exercise??? Well then, you get a whole POUND today"!! If only it worked that way eh?? THAT would be AWESOME!
But it doesn't so I should accept that and move on!!
Insert declaration of healthier life here...
I WILL NOT promise anyone that I will lose a certain amount of weight by a certain time because I am afraid of letting everyone down, including myself...but I will promise to try my best and make better decisions when it comes to food choices and making sure I do my walks every day at lunch.
I also joined a gym so I have a workout all set up there but that will have to wait until the girl's soccer is over to really hit that hard!
GAME ON...thanks for keeping me accountable everyone!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
The Mother of all days!
Today was and I guess still is Mother's Day and mine was pretty fantastic! When we woke up this morning the first thing Taylor wanted to do was give me her "surprise" from school. So she passed me her tissue papered package and a card. It was the cutest, most beautiful card ever. I couldn't help but have flashbacks of things that I made my mom over the years like glass jars covered in different types of hard pasta and then spray painted gold...LOL...ahhh, the good old days!
I opened up my present and it was a clay bowl that was glazed!! So awesome! Just seeing it gave me another flashback because I remember making my mom one of those too (and I'm pretty sure she still has it)
We then headed out to Kananaskis for a nice drive, stroll and picnic. The kids got to run around and it was so nice! The day was topped off with a lovely BBQ with some even lovely-er guests and some hockey (had to sneak the sports in there...HA). The kids are now all tucked into bed and before Rachel walked up the stairs she gave me a hug and said in this tiny voice "Happy Mother's Day Mommy!" Melt my heart!
Today was one of my favourite Mother's Days!!! It wasn't centered around gifts or big extravagant events. It was nice and simple and filled my heart with so much love and joy. I am so blessed to have these 3 angels in my life and such a fantastic husband!
It was so refreshing to actually enjoy a holiday for what it is supposed to be and not have it lose its meaning by being over commercialized! I hope all of you Moms out there had a fantastic day filled with a billions special moments! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
The inside of Taylor's card!!
Friday, May 7, 2010
The day of the roaches
If someone told me that I would have a daughter that was going to want to do a report on cockroaches I would have never believed it. But today our Miss Taylor stood up in front of the class and talked about the wonderful world of COCKROACHES.
The assignment: a presentation with visuals about an insect. Most kids would come up with bee, ant, butterfly, etc. But not our Taylor!! We are all about the cockroaches in this house right now.
Never in a million years did I ever think that I would ever want or need to learn about cockroaches but I now possess more information on the creepy things than I care to admit. Like did you know that cockroaches can live for a week without their head?? I know, you are all so very jealous of my newfound knowledge! LOL.
But it was awesome to see her up there in front of her class so proudly sharing her info with all of her friends. She answered all of the questions from the audience with confidence and I noticed that she has somehow managed to master the gift of "fake it til you make it"! Even though she didn't know all of the answers to the questions she sure made it sound like she did. She definitely got this trait from her Dad. HA!
Another super duper proud Mommy moment kinda day!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Cockroaches anyone?
Ever since I have started doing the daily blog thing I find myself walking through my day trying to think of something to write about or when I stumble upon something, trying to remember it. So needless to say there has been a lot of thoughts going through this head, none of which I can remember! LOL
Tonight was filled with plastic cockroach hunting. Taylor is doing a report at school on insects and she chose to do the cockroach so I thought it would be cool to find some plastic cockroach looking things that we could stick to her poster board to create some 3D visual stimulation. Sounds pretty easy eh? WRONG! Turns out it was a bad idea because you can't find them ANYWHERE. We found spiders, worms and butterflies. Then we found tubes filled with farm animals, safari animals, and even insect ones but of course none of those insects even remotely looked like a cockroach. RIDICULOUS! I seem to recall seeing bags of insects practically everywhere over the past few years and now all of a sudden, not ONE store has them! Amazing how that happens. So now Taylor is going to make some of her own cockroaches out of pipe cleaners. She's such a problem solver!
As mentioned yesterday I have come down with a cold that our 2 little ones have so graciously passed on to me and this sore throat is freaking me out! It's silly I know but everytime I get sick or some kind of pain or whatnot happens in the general area of my neck I FREAK! Then the mind starts going..."oh no, is it just a cold or is it something else? Should I get it checked out or am I just being a weirdo? Uh oh it's not getting better, maybe it IS something else..." Crazy right? Well, welcome to my head!
We really are our own worst enemy sometimes...
Tonight was filled with plastic cockroach hunting. Taylor is doing a report at school on insects and she chose to do the cockroach so I thought it would be cool to find some plastic cockroach looking things that we could stick to her poster board to create some 3D visual stimulation. Sounds pretty easy eh? WRONG! Turns out it was a bad idea because you can't find them ANYWHERE. We found spiders, worms and butterflies. Then we found tubes filled with farm animals, safari animals, and even insect ones but of course none of those insects even remotely looked like a cockroach. RIDICULOUS! I seem to recall seeing bags of insects practically everywhere over the past few years and now all of a sudden, not ONE store has them! Amazing how that happens. So now Taylor is going to make some of her own cockroaches out of pipe cleaners. She's such a problem solver!
As mentioned yesterday I have come down with a cold that our 2 little ones have so graciously passed on to me and this sore throat is freaking me out! It's silly I know but everytime I get sick or some kind of pain or whatnot happens in the general area of my neck I FREAK! Then the mind starts going..."oh no, is it just a cold or is it something else? Should I get it checked out or am I just being a weirdo? Uh oh it's not getting better, maybe it IS something else..." Crazy right? Well, welcome to my head!
We really are our own worst enemy sometimes...
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The usual Tuesday night!
NCIS night!!! That's pretty much it for exciting events for the day. I have had an insane sore throat which left me with practically no voice at work and was up all night with Rachel so I welcomed our usual Tuesday night event...NCIS followed by NCIS:LA...gotta love it!
Josh and Rebekah came over and it's just relax time in my jammies! It was a good night with great company...can't ask for much more than that! Besides of course maybe waking up in the morning fully rested with no sore throat...LOL...
I can dream can't I?
Night all!
Josh and Rebekah came over and it's just relax time in my jammies! It was a good night with great company...can't ask for much more than that! Besides of course maybe waking up in the morning fully rested with no sore throat...LOL...
I can dream can't I?
Night all!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Soccer Mom - 2010 edition begins
The plan for the day was pretty straight forward...go to work, come home, get the kids to soccer, come home and get them ready for bed. Seems pretty stress free...in my head!
Today was day 1 of soccer season 2010. Mike decided to coach Taylor's team this year which is on Monday and Wednesday nights and we put Rachel in for her first year and she is on Monday nights. So, unfortunately Mike will miss out on all of Rachel's games and I will only be able to make it to half of Taylor's games, but oh well, as long as they're having fun.
I walk in the door from work and Sobey's with a chicken, salad and buns and immediately start running around trying to figure out who has been fed, who hasn't, and who doesn't want to eat. LOL. Then it was "Taylor, where are your soccer shoes?" Followed by a "I don't know, you put them somewhere", then a "Taylor, you just had them, where did you put them?".............."oh here they are, behind something" (go figure!)
Rachel is running around trying to understand why Taylor has her soccer shirt already and she doesn't and Caleb is just getting excited because he sees everyone getting their stuff on so immediately he thinks he's going somewhere...so much fun!
Auntie Rebekah had come over to watch Caleb while I ran Rachel to soccer because the weather was horrible with the impending rain and the horrible wind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I couldn't bear to leave him here when he was so excited so he came along with us...that and Rachel looked at Rebekah and said "You coming to my soccer field?" Then without giving her a chance to respond she said "Ya, you are!" Discussion ended and we were all apparently going to soccer.
Now I remember vividly going to Taylor's very first game of soccer when she was 4 and for the entire hour she stood in the middle of the field and either sulked or cried. But wouldn't move from that spot so everyone had to play around her. So tonight I asked Uncle Paul to come along for the maiden soccer game for Rachel because Mike couldn't be there and I figured that maybe he would be able to bust her out of her shell if she started to turtle like Taylor did.
So there we all were freezing in the horrible weather trying to get everyone organized with their team and their fields. Surprisingly Rachel went and joined her team at first but that was the end of the voluntary cooperation. She talked to no one and just wanted to stand there and hold onto her soccer ball. But at least she wasn't crying right?
After 20 agonizing minutes we decided to pack it in and go home. We will try again next week and hopefully the weather is a whole lot better and she won't be so shy...but it's all about the baby steps! The one thing she does love about soccer so far is her soccer jersey...and if at the end of season that's still the only thing she likes then that's ok too!!
As for Mike's coaching debut, all things seemed to go without a hitch other than all of these petite girls wearing HUGE jerseys but they ended up winning their game 2-0 so they are off to a great start!!
I had almost forgotten how crazy things are during soccer season...but it's a good kinda crazy!
Today was day 1 of soccer season 2010. Mike decided to coach Taylor's team this year which is on Monday and Wednesday nights and we put Rachel in for her first year and she is on Monday nights. So, unfortunately Mike will miss out on all of Rachel's games and I will only be able to make it to half of Taylor's games, but oh well, as long as they're having fun.
I walk in the door from work and Sobey's with a chicken, salad and buns and immediately start running around trying to figure out who has been fed, who hasn't, and who doesn't want to eat. LOL. Then it was "Taylor, where are your soccer shoes?" Followed by a "I don't know, you put them somewhere", then a "Taylor, you just had them, where did you put them?".............."oh here they are, behind something" (go figure!)
Rachel is running around trying to understand why Taylor has her soccer shirt already and she doesn't and Caleb is just getting excited because he sees everyone getting their stuff on so immediately he thinks he's going somewhere...so much fun!
Auntie Rebekah had come over to watch Caleb while I ran Rachel to soccer because the weather was horrible with the impending rain and the horrible wind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I couldn't bear to leave him here when he was so excited so he came along with us...that and Rachel looked at Rebekah and said "You coming to my soccer field?" Then without giving her a chance to respond she said "Ya, you are!" Discussion ended and we were all apparently going to soccer.
Now I remember vividly going to Taylor's very first game of soccer when she was 4 and for the entire hour she stood in the middle of the field and either sulked or cried. But wouldn't move from that spot so everyone had to play around her. So tonight I asked Uncle Paul to come along for the maiden soccer game for Rachel because Mike couldn't be there and I figured that maybe he would be able to bust her out of her shell if she started to turtle like Taylor did.
So there we all were freezing in the horrible weather trying to get everyone organized with their team and their fields. Surprisingly Rachel went and joined her team at first but that was the end of the voluntary cooperation. She talked to no one and just wanted to stand there and hold onto her soccer ball. But at least she wasn't crying right?
After 20 agonizing minutes we decided to pack it in and go home. We will try again next week and hopefully the weather is a whole lot better and she won't be so shy...but it's all about the baby steps! The one thing she does love about soccer so far is her soccer jersey...and if at the end of season that's still the only thing she likes then that's ok too!!
As for Mike's coaching debut, all things seemed to go without a hitch other than all of these petite girls wearing HUGE jerseys but they ended up winning their game 2-0 so they are off to a great start!!
I had almost forgotten how crazy things are during soccer season...but it's a good kinda crazy!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Gonna give it a whirl
Well, I'm going to try my best to make this work....the every day blog! While I was visiting with one of my super awesome friends we got to talking about our blogs and I confessed to her that the reason I don't blog all the time is because I feel like I'm depressing everyone...which isn't my intention obviously! But I do really appreciate everyone coming along on this journey with me.
So, I am going to do my best to just blog about my thoughts, feelings, life in general on a daily basis. I want to have this so my kids will have something to read and see what I went through, what they went through and what we all went through together. It will be hard for me to get myself out of the mindset that when I blog I have to write a whole novel practically but I'll give it a shot!
And game on...
Today was a pretty spectacular day...although I did FORGET to drink my coffee this morning which was devastating when I realized it was sitting unopened in our house and we were in the van on our way to church...DOH! Ah well, what can ya do?
Anyways, today was Taylor's spring concert at our church and she has been dedicated to this performance for the past few months! Every week she was always so excited for practice and couldn't wait for all of us to see her on stage. She forbid us from listening to the CD that they all received to memorize because it needed to be a surprise!! So cute! We would hear tiny bits of her singing along to the music in her room on her iPod but that was about it.
Our little Taylor never ceases to amaze us. We are so proud of her!!!! She always has this "I can do anything attitude" no matter what. I envy that about her and I'm so glad she has that spark her! When I was her age I was HORRIFIED to be a part of anything that required being in front of an audience but she wanted to sing, dance and she even auditioned for a solo part!!! That is way out of MY comfort level and I found myself being scared and nervous for her. Although she didn't get a solo she was still so excited that she was part of this play.
Today was the spring musical and she was up there smiling, grooving, singing and dancing along with the rest of those wonderfully talented children! She rocked it and I admit that I had a tear in my eye! She looked so grown up on that stage and I flashed back to memories of my little 5 pound miracle. She can't be growing up that fast can she??? Man...
On the way out of church Mike and I told her that she did great and that there was no reason to be nervous right? She just looked at us and said "Uh, I wasn't as nervous and you guys this I was you know"...well, ok then! LOL. It was such a relief to hear that!
I smiled so much today, watching the performance, watching Caleb playing peek-a-boo with people through the chairs, watching Rachel wave at Taylor because she was so excited to see her up there and my niece trying so hard to say hi to Taylor whenever she found her again on stage. We then had a GREAT family lunch and it was so awesome seeing all the kids running around together playing and having a fantastic time...I am so glad we live near family and the kids can be close.
Life is so precious and I just smiled at it all today! It felt really, really AMAZING!
So, I am going to do my best to just blog about my thoughts, feelings, life in general on a daily basis. I want to have this so my kids will have something to read and see what I went through, what they went through and what we all went through together. It will be hard for me to get myself out of the mindset that when I blog I have to write a whole novel practically but I'll give it a shot!
And game on...
Today was a pretty spectacular day...although I did FORGET to drink my coffee this morning which was devastating when I realized it was sitting unopened in our house and we were in the van on our way to church...DOH! Ah well, what can ya do?
Anyways, today was Taylor's spring concert at our church and she has been dedicated to this performance for the past few months! Every week she was always so excited for practice and couldn't wait for all of us to see her on stage. She forbid us from listening to the CD that they all received to memorize because it needed to be a surprise!! So cute! We would hear tiny bits of her singing along to the music in her room on her iPod but that was about it.
Our little Taylor never ceases to amaze us. We are so proud of her!!!! She always has this "I can do anything attitude" no matter what. I envy that about her and I'm so glad she has that spark her! When I was her age I was HORRIFIED to be a part of anything that required being in front of an audience but she wanted to sing, dance and she even auditioned for a solo part!!! That is way out of MY comfort level and I found myself being scared and nervous for her. Although she didn't get a solo she was still so excited that she was part of this play.
Today was the spring musical and she was up there smiling, grooving, singing and dancing along with the rest of those wonderfully talented children! She rocked it and I admit that I had a tear in my eye! She looked so grown up on that stage and I flashed back to memories of my little 5 pound miracle. She can't be growing up that fast can she??? Man...
On the way out of church Mike and I told her that she did great and that there was no reason to be nervous right? She just looked at us and said "Uh, I wasn't as nervous and you guys this I was you know"...well, ok then! LOL. It was such a relief to hear that!
I smiled so much today, watching the performance, watching Caleb playing peek-a-boo with people through the chairs, watching Rachel wave at Taylor because she was so excited to see her up there and my niece trying so hard to say hi to Taylor whenever she found her again on stage. We then had a GREAT family lunch and it was so awesome seeing all the kids running around together playing and having a fantastic time...I am so glad we live near family and the kids can be close.
Life is so precious and I just smiled at it all today! It felt really, really AMAZING!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)