Friday, December 21, 2012

Christmas is Coming - I started this on DEC 12 !!!!

Dec 12, 2012

Brace yourself.... I do not enjoy Christmas. I put up with it for friends and family but in reality I just want to run away the entire month of December. I want to go far far away to somewhere where they do not celebrate Christmas or they just don't make such a big deal. I don't enjoy parties, I don't love a turkey dinner. I know I am evil. All I want to do on Christmas is give my kid a gift from Santa and sit in my jammies the rest of the day. That isn't happening though. Most days I can suck it up but some days I just can't.  Anyway, that is my rant.

Beyond that pretty uneventful week. Last week H and I went up on the mountain so he can try snowboarding. He loved it. We had a great day because they also have a winter wonderland thing on the mountain we went to. Santa, reindeer, outdoor ice rink, Christmas movies in the movie theatre.... wait a minute? I bet you are thinking didn't Jen just right a whole paragraph about hating Christmas? I hate Christmas, I like winter.

Winter = snow/cold.   YEAH
Winter = rain/rain/rain  NEY

It was fun. I haven't skated on an outdoor rink in years. I have pictures of both me and H however they are on my camera and I am too lazy to get the pics off the camera onto the computer onto the blog. I want a fancy new camera that can somehow do that. I hear they exist.

This is where I was going to post some pictures. Then blogger kept flipping them upside down. I gave up. Also our computers have died. Both. Blogger on the tablet is annoying.

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Dec 21, 2012

Today is Simon's birthday. Happy Birthday! that is about as sappy as I get. pretty emotional eh? Sorry no pics. Now our home computer died so I can't do it there either so I am quickly doing this on a work break.

Things I am sucking at right now; eating right, exercising, drinking water, walking the dog, relaxing...

Things I am doing great at; drinking diet coke, watching TV, eating potato chips, letting work get to me...

So I am trying to be all positive about this Christmas thing but I am not feeling it this year. I am not going to apologize. I will do what I need to do and hopefully next year will be better.

Do you know grumpy cat? you have to. me and grumpy cat are now one in the same. her words are mine. even Pinterest is not making me feel happy except for my buddy grumpy cat. I wish i was not allergic to cats cause i would get a grumpy cat and we can sulk together.



Merry Christmas.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

it has been a while

i know i am a bad girl. beyond not blogging which is bad i also have not been working out a lot. this is odd for me. my schedule has been off and i am not forcing myself to get up early or workout after work. so that pretty much means i have been working out 2x a week. a couple of other days i may walk (to Starbucks) but that is about it. i have been pretty good with my diet though and sticking to about 1300-1500 calories a day.

i will do boot camp tomorrow. i shall also get workouts in Thursday and Friday too. i will do it. i swear.

besides that nothing huge going on. last week was my little man's 7th birthday so that is why my schedule was so messed. adjusting work for dinners/soccer/hockey games. i made that cake. well betty crocker helped. i made the icing. it didn't work out to swell but it was sugary and on top so i guess it worked?

besides that my child has been a hellion since his bday. can a child become adhd over night? maybe he is just coming down from all that sugar on the cake but seriously!!he  had a poor sportsmanship meltdown at soccer on Saturday and hockey on Sunday (this has never happened before), can not sit still at all, sulked the whole time at a big Albanian dinner thing we were at. maybe he turned 17?

well i gotta work. just thought i would let you know i am alive.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Vegas!

I guess better late than never. This blog is going to be heavy on pictures. I met some bunz in Vegas. Who are bunz? Bunz are some GALS i have been friends with online for 4 years. 4 years! that is insane? am i an insane for flying 2.5 hours to meet a bunch of strangers that could murder me? guess so.

well i am happy to report there were no murders or mischief. for those that have online friends it is always so weird when you finally meet in person. it is odd because you know people so well but you have never been in their physical presence. you kinda feel like you should hug but it would be like hugging a co-worker you see and talk to every day which would just be weird. it is an odd feeling.

so we (s&i) flew into Las Vegas on Friday morning. I met J (WAVEDANCER7), A (MARLIE13) , S (WAVEDANCER7'S FRIEND) and H (HOPERY) in our hotel lobby to drive them out to get their race packets. Honestly I was a bit skeptical the race is going to happen at this point due to some weirdness on the internet the week before. the race did happen though as you will see. We drove out to the lake to a little village and they got their packets. we returned back to the hotel and met for dinner at a little Italian place at the Venetian called the Trattoria Reggiano. Tiny restaurant and the Italinan waiter/owner were really concerned about part of our party being late. I took this picture while we were waiting for D (ZIRCARDIA) and her husband/sister to come.

 
Trattoria Reggiano









 While we ate some yummy pasta (well the GALS were carb loading for their marathon) there was a pink gorilla staring us down. A and H love this gorilla. I am not sure of their reasons but who is to question why?
That night the running bunz had to go to bed early. So S and I met up with my parents who also happened to be in Vegas and we did a little gambling (penny slots) in our casino at the MGM Grand. We partied it up and were in bed by midnight bwahahahaha.

My alarm was going off at 430am so I could go and get the halfer bunz to take them out to the race. When i got off the elevator to go into the lobby there was some girls looking a little rough. I noticed they had no shoes on, then i noticed they were not even carrying their shoes. They must have had quite a night when they gave up on their shoes. We went out in 2 groups. H and D went out earlier because they were running the full marathon (crazy bunnies).

So we drove the 45ish minutes out to the race in the dark. Driving through the desert. We found the race and it was still dark. We saw the sunrise in Vegas which is something I will never probably see again. It is really pretty out at Lake Mead. However, if I was ever going to live somewhere warm it would be tropical.

 Derry our friend came out too. 


Guess who isn't running?
This race was just nasty. It started up this huge hill. The whole race was hilly so I felt sorry for the bunz. My calfs would have died on that first incline. What a way to start a race!
J starting the race up that dang hill.

A saying Hi!


So I knew the course would be hard. I brought a book to read but I didn't have coffee so I drove back into Boulder City to get myself a Starbucks. I also stopped briefly at the Hoover Dam which I have been to before. Driving through the desert I kept signing that song "i've been through the desert on a horse with no name..."  while i drove. That killed a bit of time. I came back and sat on the edge of the desert waiting for the return of my friends. Hoping a coyote or rattle snake or some tumble weed has not taken them out. Eventually they all did return and they were all smiling. The finish line is beautiful. You got to run down hill and towards the lake. Very scenic. Here is some pics.

Best Friend Butts

Gangnam Style Finishers

I had fun driving them. Once home everyone around here keeps asking me why I didn't race. Most people assume I am still running. They don't know I stopped. I will be honest. I didn't even really have a twings of "i should be racing today" too while i watched the race. I enjoyed being a spectator.

We didn't wait for H and D to come in for their marathon as it was going to be at least a couple of hours.

At that point we went back to our hotels. S and I went to the pool for a couple of hours. I needed my vitamin D. i was hoping to meet up with my bunz later that night but my back deteriorated throughout the early evening. We went out to Henderson to see my parents for dinner. When we got back to the hotel I hurt bad so I ditched the bunz (sorry gals) and ended up just playing some penny slots again. What show did you end up going to h and a? i don't think you ever said. 

The trip did have one hitch. My BACK. the day before we left I twinged it. It has been a mess since even with chiro. I thought it was getting better than a few days ago again I was cleaning the kitchen table and it went out again. i don't know what is going on. so i have been doing some light cardio when i can. I was sad to miss my boot camp class.

Also this is the first trip that both S and I have left H alone. Yes he has been away from us. For even weeks at a time but usually it is him going somewhere with my parents or something and not us leaving him. He kept calling and calling and calling. S didn't believe me until I showed him my cell with like 8 missed calls on it. I think part of it was boredom. He also doesn't understand the concept of roaming charges. I will be showing him my cell phone bill for sure!

So now I have 2 bunz left to meet (SKYFYRE, BRUIN2).

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

vegas time is coming

10 days bunnies until i can meet you guys! it is coming. it is coming. hoping your race works out for you and actually happens. if it doesn't happen i still get to meet ya. yeah!!!! don't forget to check out this bunny above at the vegas airport!

i haven't written in over a week. not much to say. working, working out, running h around, shopping, eating, sleeping, watching tv....

last week i finally sucked it up and did the boot camp at the gym i have been walking by for 2 years and watching from the comfort of an elliptical machine lately. my friend kept egging me on to come. it is intense. there is no rest for 75 minutes. basically it is set up in stations which you go through twice. it is 90 seconds at each station. there are no rest stations. examples of stations are trx stuff, ab stuff, cardio stuff, core stuff, kettlebell stuff... i know that was really specific. it was super hard and fun. when i was done i was exhausted. i have only felt that exhausted after running a half marathon. i do not joke. like i need a nap now but omg somehow i am supposed to work today??

the best part of it was i skipped, with a rope, for 90 seconds without stopping or tripping. seriously you don't know how exciting this is. do you remember the 80's? do you remember jump rope for heart?? it was a way of fundraising for the heart and stroke foundation. well my dad was in charge of it for basically all of western canada. he travelled/coached with skipping teams all over north america and did fancy skipping demos for schools and for competitions. stuff like this (video link to youtube with fancy dancy skipping). i on the other hand have never mastered the basic jump. so skipping for 90 whole seconds made me feel like i made my daddy proud. i suddenly felt like 8 year old Jenny. look at me daddy. unfortunately i ended up stopping to change stations and my dream died.  it was very very very exciting though for those 90 seconds.

i plan on doing the class again tomorrow.

anything else going on? hmmmmm.

i have ran twice in the last couple of weeks. running is probably not what i should call it. intervals i guess. both times i felt like my insides were going to rip out. i bet you loved reading that. odd. hurts a ton. "running" for 2 mins and walking for 1 minute. my dog enjoyed it. he is about the only one that did.

i haven't been eating well lately. most days i am over my calorie allowance. i am still tracking. i am proud i am tracking even though i am going over. on days i do not exercise i am always over. i am not that motivated to exercise lately beyond my 30 mins 5x a week most of the time. i am not enjoying spinning lately. the world may have stopped spinning?? however, i am not eating too much so not a huge deal. i am just not planning and planning is the most important part. having leftovers helps too so i stop eating on the run.

ok. i'm out. catcha on the flip side.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

i am boring

ok, not much going on to write about around here. last weekend was thanksgiving here and it was a nice weekend. weather was nice, being off work for 3 days was nice, no sport things with h was nice, and time with family was nice.

on saturday we went to the pumpkin patch. first time in my life it wasn't a messy muddy mess. seriously like in 35 years. ok i have not been to the pumpkin patch every year of those 35 but i can say for the last 5 or so it has NEVER been this dry. the weather has been amazing this fall. on monday the kids were actually playing in the sprinkler (24c). crazy. it has been foggy though the last couple of days and the RAIN is supposed to be here by the weekend. so sad. so i am being proactive and planning a sunny holiday for february. i was thinking cancun or cuba again. so was s. now he is thinking orlando which i am not so excited about. i will win. yes i want to disney/universal but i want to relax more. the thought of theme parks, driving, eating, ... makes me anxious. i think cuba/mexico and i sigh with relaxation. i seriously just sighed. i love holidays. if we do orlando i think i want to do it with more people.

i am drinking a herbal mojito tea. i was hoping it would magically transport me to somewhere tropical.
nope, i am still here.

here is a picture from the pumpkin patch. my son and 3 out of 4 of my nephews. this is what happens when there is a gang of boys around. i can not show you the pictures when they included the little pumpkins as another male part of the body. seriously, they are embarrassing.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

So bad but SO good

So this is what i am making for dinner. Oh my gawd it is good.  I have been sneaking mouthfuls of it all day and it was yummy BEFORE i put an entire pack of cream cheese in. Next time i will use half a pack or none. I added bacon. Of course i added bacon.

So yummy.  Pinterest link below.


Saturday, September 22, 2012

How you doing? (say it like joey, come on i know you want to)

so how am i doing? i am doing well. adapting to working full time still and trying to squeeze life in. we seem to be doing ok. mondays and tuesdays i am now working a couple of hours earlier so that means i can be home for dinner 2/5 week nights a week and home before he goes to be every night. that is definitely a huge bonus. i am enjoying being a supervisor but i would not want to do my normal job full time. i think i would go nuts or nutser? right now i am supervising until the end of november and then we will see where life takes me. wow, that was very chill for me. ommmmmm.

besides that i have not been exercising a ton and when i do it isn't really intense. i did strength train twice this week and i hadn't done that a while. i also did not ride my bike this week but i do not care to discuss that right now. i am walking and doing the elliptical mostly. i am not burning a crazy amount of calories or working out nearly as intensely as i used to. you know what i have noticed? i am not having huge hunger cravings nor junk cravings. i am able to stay in my range of 1200 net calories most days. when i used to exercise the way i did i would think about food all the time. ALL the time. now i do believe part of this is because i am working all day for 5 days and i am not home alone and somewhat bored so turn to food.

nothing else really exciting going on. trying to figure out our vegas trip. s keeps flopping back and forth if he is coming or not. then he was going to go with a friend for the same weekend but not stay with me? weird? i refuse to sleep in a room with another strange man cause i have never even met this dude. i would like him to come with me and when i am spending time with my girls he can spend the time with his guys but i would like to come home to him at some point. oh, vegas is dumb expensive on the weekend. seriously. 2 nights is going to cost us what 4 weekday ones usually cost us.

we are also looking at a trip south in February. likely cancun or mayan riviera. however, i found a package to panama that looked pretty cool and was on sale. only issue flight to panama is almost 8 hours compared to 5.5-6 to cancun. i haven't been to either but panama obviously feels more foreign. not sure if it matters if we mainly stay on the resort anywhoo.

below i put another picture from Kauai which i stole from s's facebook page. it was taken at a place called Queens Bath. very pretty. pictures never do places justice.






tata for now! gotta go finish cleaning my oven. i am using a way i found on pinterest.


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

change is hard

why is change so hard sometimes? i am not even talking about crazy big life changing experiences.

 having a baby?
getting married (ok i never actually bothered to get married)?
moving?

the above all are easy peasy compared to say slightly changing your everyday routine.

today i went out for a bike ride before work. i rode (walked up the hill) with h to school and then off i went. last night i preplanned my route. i decided i was going to try something new. i usually do an out and back route for a few reasons; easy to calculate time/distance, flat farm road with little to no traffic, and it is predictable. the only time i usually deviate from this route is when i need to find a hill cause we have no hills close to where i live so my 'hill' is going over a bridge. ok, back on track. so i started out, same route i normally do, when i get to the point where i normally would turn around but i am 'planning' on continuing i start to feel physically ill, nervous, panic, resisting the urge to just turn around... i actually physically stop, get off my bike, 'stretch' for a moment before i suck it up and continue on my way. yes there is more traffic the way i continued but there is bike lanes and the roads are still flat farm roads. i survived, i didn't die, i got home and still got to work on time.

oh yeah, i wore gloves this morning. the weather is dry and clear but it was about 10c while i was riding. when i got home i took a hot long shower. i haven't had to do that since i stopped running and the weather has warmed. fall is officially here.

side note on running: i have run (intervals) on the treadmill a couple of times. i am guessing as the weather gets yucky i will probably start running a bit on the treadmill. it would be silly for me not to since i have a treadmill at home which i pass by every time i go up and down the stairs. i am not planning on counting any running miles or doing any races soon. running for now is just a cardio means to an end.

i am still tracking. my bunz who followed me to myfitnesspal are super motivating. i am eating within range most days. still have not seen a real 'weight loss' yet. sigh. going to keep plugging along. this week i will be working out 5 days in a row. i will likely take saturday/sunday off. next week may be a bit different as some days i will be starting at 930am so i can't really workout before work. i guess i could but getting up before 7am is just ridiculous.

Seriously ridiculous.     

i made a yummy quesadilla for dinner tonight at work. so yummy. i forgot to take a picture before i ate it. it wasn't complicated at all: flour tortilla, marble cheddar cheese, orange bell peppers, 1 chicken thigh and mrs dash chipolte something seasoning. really yummy though. trust me. yummy.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

I know, I know

I know I haven't blog in a while. Kauai was wonderful. It depresses me cause I am not there. I would move there in an instant. I don't want to tell you too much cause I don't want to let the world know how great and wonderful it is. I do not want it to change and end up like Waikiki or even Maui. It is mine. All mine. Bwahahahahaha

I am also waiting for my parents to return from Hawaii because they have a bunch of pictures I would like to include.

I am writing this from a massage chair while getting a pedicure. Whoa it is bouncy. I am going black with sparkles.

My work/union was on a one day strike. I walked for 4 hours this morning. I was exhausted after. I had planned on a long bike ride but I ended up just doing 4 miles with the dog trailing behind me.

Been tracking food. Exercising consistently and I am gaining weight. Seriously annoying. Not going to give up.

I see Miss Amee has blogged. I need to go read that.

Laters

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Aloha!

Tomorrow we leave for Kauai around dinner time. I am so excited to get away. I love being on vacation. I work FOR vacation. I love to travel. LOVE it. ok, i actually don't like the transportation part of travelling. I find airports stressful. The stress though is so worth it.

I just looked at some pictures on facebook from our last trip to this exact same place. It was in 2008. What is different this time? First S actually is coming and he is excited. He resisted Hawaii for so long. Seriously what is wrong with you to resist going to Hawaii? Last time I said screw it and went without him but with the rest of my family. I was skinny last time I was in Hawaii. Really skinny. I am going now with 20lbs extra. I would be happy with just 10lbs extra. H was also 2 last time we went. He was so cute and tiny. After getting knocked by a wave in the ocean on the first day he refused to step into the ocean again. This time he has asked for surf lessons! What a difference! Here is an old picture of him from then. Isn't he just cute? Yes I know I am a bit bias.


H August 2008
 So I have been working out and working hard. I have been tracking. I have lost 1lbs. Progress. I am going to continue on tracking when we get home. I am committed to getting my weight back into the 140's asap. I went for a nice bike ride last night. 16km. I have been doing at least one ride a week since I stopped running. i have tracked 10 (TEN) days in a row.  I am going to get up at 530am (it hurts to type that) tomorrow for a spin class before we head on our trip in the afternoon. I have also lured 2 of my bunz from Sparkpeople to track on MyFitnessPal. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

We spend our first night in Honolulu and then will be on Kauai from Friday to Friday. This time on Saturday hopefully this is where I will be.

Lawai Beach Resort Bayan Pool

 Aloha!!


Friday, August 10, 2012

track that

i am a tracking machine. i have tracked now 10 days in a row. a spark friend of mine announced she has motivation lately and she should take advantage of it. i was like, whoa, i do too so i need to run with this too. run figuratively not literally. thanks patty for making me aware of this too.

i have not run yet. we are still broken up. i have done 1 minute sprints on the treadmill for Making the Cut a few times but no more than 90 seconds at a time. Not really running. I need a "running sucks" shirt from like the one S got from Nike.

besides that nothing too exciting to report except 6 more days until Hawaii!!!  We have booked a tube ride through this company http://www.kauaibackcountry.com/tubing.html and we may do some surf lessons. unsure. i have no yearning to surf but S, H and my dad do so who knows?

nothing really going on this weekend. H has hockey tomorrow and we may go see my sister on sunday and do our annual hike to Quarry Rock.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

long weekend

this weekend was the bc day long weekend. oh my it was hot. like unusually hot. like mid 30's people which RARELY ever happens around these parts. so humid and gross. our house is 30c upstairs. thankfully we have the portable ac in our bedroom but the rest of the house and even downstairs is like 28c. gross. there is no escape. actually there was an escape. h and i spent like an hour in walmart to just get out of the heat. $100+ later, that was expensive!!  

on saturday morning we went to the mall. disney xd was in town for free skateboard lessons. h told me about it late so there was no room so we went early and got on through the waitlist. he was so excited. they taught him all the correct lingo so now i don't understand him sometimes. there is a pic of him from the event. he is not little anymore and needs to stop growing asap. the attitude coming off the kid lately too is unreal. i know he is testing but seriously he has had me on the verge of crazy a few times.  however, the big baby (aka husband) is driving me more crazy.


Beyond that i have been doing mtc. i am sore which is great. i have been tracking, which is great. i had 2 bad days when i went over my calorie allowance. nothing crazy though at about 1800 cals. besides that i have been below 1500 calories since last wednesday. have i lost weight? nope. i wasn't even going to weigh myself but i got the dang scale out and wish i didn't. i have been doing mtc at home with no ac, pls note the temps above. on saturday morning i did my workout, showered and then we headed to a birthday party which i continued tho pour sweat for at least another hour. today i am going to go for a ride while h is at ball hockey. he has hockey school 1x per day this week and then next week he has skateboard camp for 4 days then we are off to HAWAII!

Friday, August 3, 2012

it's on like donkey kong


so nothing really new or too exciting to report. been working full time a few weeks now so the house is a mess but besides that it seems to be going well. i think i am enjoying it. we will see if i feel the same way at the end of the year or if i will be begging to go part time again.

last week we were in whistler. i love whistler. i don't ski (often, last time about 12 years ago) but i love whistler in the summer. it is hot. there is so much to do like hike, swim, bike trails galore... this trip we spent most of it beside the pool watching the kids on the waterslide. i actually have a tan!!  i didn't really take any pictures besides some waterslide ones so you have to use your imagination.

i am cheating on sparkpeople too. a coworker told me about MyFitnessPal app. i told her about spark years ago but she told me she likes this app better. i downloaded it and it is so much faster than the spark app and has an oh so cool barcode scanner. i literally scanned my breakfast yesterday, it was so easy! i haven't ventured to their actually website yet though. maybe that will be what i do tonight (exciting friday night).

been biking at least 1x per week, plus spinning, plus tennis and weights. i am going to Hawaii in 14 days people. i need to tone up. i know at most i can lose is a couple of lbs but i am in need to tone. so what does a girl do when she needs to tone? Making the Cut. it's on like Donkey Kong.



i am cutting my calories. i am miserable. i have warned the people i love to stay clear and do not tempt me with junk. we had pizza the other night and i only had 2 slices people!! so proud.  been eating pretty good too. yeah me.

Friday, July 20, 2012

survived

i have survived my first week back at full time. i will be full time for the remainder of the year. i haven't worked this long full time in 9 years! 9 years peeps! crazytown.

nothing else too new or exciting. played a TON of tennis this week. H is obsessed. 2 hours the other night and i had to draw the line. the kid can exercise like crazy. yesterday he had 1 hour tennis lesson, 1.5 hrs of ball hockey and then still FORCED me to a tennis death match for 1 hour after hockey. he is a nut. (like his mama). i have only ridden once this week. bad me. oh well.

urban outfitters
i am wearing purdy pink flat shoes today. crazytown again.  i like them though and got them last time i was in vegas. here is a picture. i still can't believe i bought pink shoes. pigs are flying somewhere peeps.

tonight i am going out to dinner with some friends. i haven't seen one of them since her wedding last summer. that is so bad. you think i need to get out more? home is so cozy and safe though?

Saturday, July 14, 2012

What I have been up to

I have not run this week. Me and running have officially broke up for now. As with any dysfunctional relationship I am sure we will get back together at some point but for now I am DONE.

I may still do intervals on the treadmill for fitness but training for races at this point is done. I de-registered from the half in Vegas in November.

  So if i didn't run what did I do all week? I rode. I did one spin class and 2 outdoor rides on my bike. I also installed, all by myself, a bike computer on my bike. yeah me!  i actually attempted this twice. once with 2 drinks in me which did not work out too well. the next morning i found the install surprisingly easy? duh. what do i have to do now on my bike? find some hills. i live surrounded by farm land. i can do 20k without any real traffic which is great however it is just flat which can get boring. I ALSO HAVE TO GET MORE COMFORTABLE RIDING IN TRAFFIC. I AM A CHICKEN SHIT.  i did intervals on the bike the other day, hard for 1 min and then rest for 1 min. my bike is not super fast so i pludge along at 20-25km/hr while people on their $10000 fancy dancy road bikes fly by me effortlessly. i know they have been riding longer, duh, but it appears effortlessly ok???? i know if i got smoother tires too that would help with my speed. i also bought new cycling shoes. the ones i have been wearing were always too small. i didn't realize they were 2 sizes too small. ouch eh? so much more comfortable now and i can wear real socks apposed to pantyhose type skinny ones.
my bike

Besides that i have been kid free all week while my parents took h away "camping" in their 40' motorhome. it has been weird being totally kid free. i enjoyed it but i also miss my baby.  he has tennis lessons this week. you know how hard it has been for me to resist buying him some little white shorts and a white sweater vest. so cute.


NOT MY KID BUT YOU GET THE IDEA

 
other exciting news. i have gotten a temp supervisor position for the rest of the summer starting monday. so that means i start monday-friday type hours on MONDAY instead of September. woo hoo! 

Saturday, July 7, 2012

long time no entry

i didn't blog last week because i was saving up to write about the Canada day run i did on july 1. i wanted to wait and see if there were any good pics from the race but there weren't.

race report, drizzly and wet. perfect for running since sometimes it is too hot for this race. felt like garbage the whole run. fyi i feel like garbage during all my runs lately. running is never fun anymore and not sure what i am going to do about this. all it is right now is the quickest way to burn some calories. at points running has been about burning calories but i still enjoyed it. not enjoying it right now. i always hurt. no matter how much i stretch my muscles are getting stiffer and stiffer. i am sore all the time.  wow, that got off track in a hurry.

when i checked my results though it said 44 mins. wow that is smoking fast for me. i didn't wear a watch again so i approximated my time at about 47 mins.
 well the course was short and not a complete 8km. this is my normal 8k route so it was probably 0.4 miles short by my estimation. so hence my speedy time. when i mapped out the course just less then 10mm which i am happy about. lots of speedy runners making me feel like a turtle. i even got passed by an 84 year old woman. seriously i suck. a woman with ZERO muscles (not exaggerating as i ran behind her for a while so i could study this, before slowing down with exhaustion). how is this crazy ass 84 year old running 930mm with ease with NO muscle?  i am complaining about being stiff and sore and this warrior woman can zoom past me at almost 50 years my senior. it was like a scene out of a horror movie. this route pretty much goes right by my house and my parents and i thought about sneaking off the route and just going home. a couple of years ago i was one of the zippy runners and now i am pulling up the rear.

i am sorry about the random placement of the pictures. it won't let me move them.  i love that h loves to run and is so competitive. he pushes himself so hard. he was near puking after running a sub 5min/km. still smiling though. this is one reason i have kept running as this is something we are starting to do together. the pics with the mountain? that is from a hike h and i did at golden ears. after about 2k he wanted to go back cause he had to GO. he refused to GO in the bushes so we jogged back the 2k on the trail through mud. we had fun. he seems to be a lot like me and likes to get stuff done asap. efficient. running is more efficient than walking.

is this blog all over the place or what. are you able to follow along?

Friday, June 22, 2012

summer is here, time to refocus

summer has arrived. well sorta arrived. arrived for a day or so at 22c then back to rain and then back to sun but i will take it. better than rain rain rain.

here is my food picture. english muffin, tomato, avocado, feta and fried egg. yum.

i know typically in the summer my running mileage dips. i am not going to worry about it this year. bunz getting ready for your marathon. happy running. i will pick it back up again in the fall. i will run a minimum of 10 miles a week. i am taking the focus off calories and weight loss and i am going to exercise for both fun and to get outside. i am also going to eat for fun. i am not going to scrutinize and stress about everything i put in my mouth. i have been doing this on and off since january with NO weight change so i am letting it go.

so what did i do this week. i ran, i hiked, i gardened. i didn't do any weights but my gardening for 3 hours made up for that. with all the bad weather we have had everything is overgrown and out of control. it is now in control again!! 

on wednesday i drove to the north shore to go do the grouse grind. this is vancouver in a nut shell. weather can be horrid for weeks but one beautiful day and we all seem to forget. it was super busy. i expect this. you can read about it here if you wish (grind info). it is only 2 miles but it is 2 miles UP hill. there is no flat. NO FLAT. 853 meters straight up, that is 2,798 feet for my American friends.  i thought i could do it in an hour. i was humbled as i clamored to the top in 1h18mins. at point i thought i may day or my lungs may burst. i started off too fast which caused lots of issues. i also didn't bring my inhaler so i took it "easy" if you can call it easy. here are some pics from the hike. i took the gondola down. going down is probably harder than going up since there were points i actually crawled up rock faces.

up up up and up



snow at the top!
view from gondola ride down, the bottom is where that lake is on the right (ocean at the top/left)

Friday, June 15, 2012

just cause i said so

i VOWED to right about something food related and here it is. i was going to write all about my homemade perogies but i forgot to take pictures. so you get a salad picture. this is what i ate pretty much everyday for lunch this week.

*italian blend lettuce
*feta
*raw pumpkin seeds
*apple or pear
*strawberries
* balsamic vinegar/grapeseed oil dressing

ta da!
I went on my killer run on monday after work. why is it killer? well out of the 4 miles, 2 miles are up hill. 1 mile stretches of up hill at a time. i took this picture at the top. this bridge is literally in my back yard. this bridge made my commute go from 45-60 mins to 15-20mins so i love it. i didn't love it on monday. especially when a chick pushing a double jogging stroller passes me. seriously. she is a monster. i will always say when i pushed h around in the stroller i was in the best shape of my life. it sucks and you push yourself to get it done as soon as you can but seriously chick? my ego is very fragile right now. my feet also fell asleep. both of them. trying running down hill for 10 mins with sleepy feet. then cause i was so beat i decided to cut across the field/gravel/tall grass. not so smart with sleepy feet. i survived without a twisted ankle even when that little brown snake scared the begeezes out of me.
this is the new skirt i bought and me being a jackass. i like it (the skirt). don't love it. for the price though it is good. legs don't creep up and it is better than shorts for a long run.  i also ordered a black skirtsports skirt i found on sale. yes i know black is boring but it goes with everything so i love it.

i took a 6 month full time posting. come september i will be working a monday to friday 9-5 type shift. however, in july and august my shift just sucks. i am going away for almost 2 weeks this summer so i decided to suck it up for the other 6 weeks. i can do it. six weeks. i will be working friday, saturday and sunday evenings (woo hoo!) then another couple of days a weeks. days could be afternoon to. means to an end, means to an end... well that is what i keep telling myself.



Sunday, June 10, 2012

nothing new or exciting

i ran a lot last week. like 15 miles. that is just crazy talk for me lately. didn't make it to a spin class. i plan on spinning this week on Tuesday. many of those miles were on the treadmill with netflix. right now i am watching the first season of justified and breaking bad. seem to be enjoying both. i am a bit off 90210 lately after a couple of downer episodes. i strenghted train

weather is so crappy still. rain, rain, and more rain. we get a couple hours with no rain but not really any sunshine to speak of. tomorrow afternoon and Friday there are supposed to be brief windows of sunshine so i will be all over them and outside if i can.

i am vowing (wow that is serious) to create one food related blog entry a week. when i started this blog that was my goal and i don't believe i have ever posted anything about food or a recipe on her.

going to have a hectic week thanks to h's ball hockey playoff schedule. if they keep winning they will have 4 games in the next 7 days. in my opinion that is a bit much for 6-8 year olds. if they win they go to provincials. they won their league regular season but have been struggling in the playoffs so now are in the lower brackets which means more games!

work, sigh. i don't even want to write about. looking to the job gods that something comes along better for me soon within my own company. i need a change desperately. i am not desperate enough to leave my well paid unionized corporate environment though after putting in so many years here. 13 years with the same company. yikes!
i met a friend for a coffee the other night at Waves and got this. well it wasn't coffee. it was some sort of roobios tea lattee? i have no clue. lots of foam. i love foam. do you love foam? i normally request extra foam.  it was purdy and an odd colour. i think i liked it.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm



i thought i had posted a blog with my results of ripped, run and ride but i guess i did not. you will never know.

bwhahahahahahaha!

well i have been to vegas and back. great trip again. we love mandalay bay. can't wait to go back in november to see my bunnies. we saw ka. it was really good. blew my 6 year old's mind. well blew my mind too.

since i have been back i have been eating well and working out a ton. ok, yesterday was not well due to alcohol and doritos but it was my one bad day since i got back. i know that alcohol leads to doritos so that is why i tend to avoid the alcohol. however, it was pitt meadows day which is a super fun community filled day. seriously, my kid looks forward to it more than christmas. seriously. started the day with a parade and ended it with fireworks. pretty good.

so i am done working full time and i liked it. yes krissy i know you think i am nuts. however, after 8+ years of shift work and having a different schedule every week i loved just knowing what was going on. i had a sense of routine. i am a routine person by nature so unsure how i survived this long on such a crazy schedule.  right now i am working 3-4 days a week normally. usually 4. even with sometimes 3 days off i still felt unrested. also i have been stuck on afternoons a lot lately so i loved being able to see my kid every day. the down side is right now i have 3-4 days a week i can workout without worrying about what to do with my kid. working days i will have to worry about this every work out. however, h is a bit older now and for most practices and such this full i should be able to just drop him and literally RUN if i want to. even worse, i may have to get up at the crack of dawn or during the winter hours before the crack of dawn.

next holiday to look forward to? hawaii in august! august can't get here soon enough. we are having awful weather since we got back from vegas. rain, rain, go away!

your also welcome for the random pictures of flowers in my garden. come on summer!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Ripped, Run and Ride - Update

so a few weeks ago i posted about what i was going to challenge myself with. in short doing 20 workouts in 25 days with a focus on strength using Jillian Michaels 'Ripped in 30.' i have been doing pretty well except for my recent 3 day rest streak which i am not too proud of. i have been rocking my workouts but not my nutrition. not saying i am eating horrendously but not well enough to lose weight obviously. oh yeah, remember i said 'I am not trying to lose weight however if I do I will not complain.' well i haven't lost weight and i feel the need to complain. i leave in less than a week so what is done is done. i will have fun. need to get in 3 more strength workouts before i leave which will be no problemo!

on to the video. i am enjoying it mostly. enjoying that she always doesn't use weights for strength exercises. there are a few exercises i physically couldn't do like... how do i describe it...  start standing... roll onto back... lift legs ups perpendicular to the floor lifting hips... roll back up onto feet and stand. kinda like half a forward and backward somersault??? gymnastics and i do not mix. never have. never will. i am ok with that. also she does a lot of plank type moves which seem to flare up my plantar facitisis. lunges seem to flare it up too. so did them in moderation or did alternate exercise if my feets were hurting.

i have gotten out on my rode bike 2 times now. yeah me!

nothing else to add for now.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Ripped, Run and Ride

I am one week into a challenge I have started for myself. I am heading to Vegas on May 21 and need to tone up. I am not trying to lose weight however if I do I will not complain. My main goal is to get back into strength training. I have started working full time again and have not been to the gym once. I honestly miss my morning spin classes. I don't like a couple of the afternoon instructors. I miss the gym but that doesn't mean i haven't been kicking but at home. I named my challenge Ripped, Run and Ride.

The RIPPED comes from me using Jillian Michaels' Ripped in 30 for strength training. If you know me you know I love Jillian. I love her workout formats. Her book Making the Cut changed my life both personally (met some lovely bunz) and physically. Ripped in 30 is pretty much the same as 30 Day Shred. She uses the 3:2:1 method of:

3 minutes strength
2 minutes cardio
1 minute abs

the video is 3 sets of this. the video runs for about 25 mins per workout. the weights are not super heavy which is perfect for me at home as i don't have any super heavy weights at home. while i am on a Jillian love fest you should also check out her podcasts on itunes. I like listening to them when i run instead of music sometimes. especially on long runs.

The RUN and RIDE part is self explanatory i think. running minimum 12 miles a week and ride when i can. I am easing into riding my road bike this year so i don't kill my neck and lower back. i don't think i will be able to ride my bike to work this summer which is a bit of a bummer. the route i need to take i very heavy in construction right now since they are building a new bridge and fixing the highway.

so my goal is to do 20 workouts in the next 25 days. all workouts will include strength and the run/ride comes secondary.

Monday, April 16, 2012

they changed my sex!!!

that is quite the title i posted that will probably get a bunch of pervs to find my blog.

welcome pervs.

so these are my new sun run stats since i am no longer a man.

overall
11768

time
1:00:12.3 

age group  F30-34
650/2769

gender place
3909/21619

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Sun Run

So i did my first ever Vancouver Sun Run today. Living in vancouver and running for as long i have it is very odd that i just lost my sun run virginity. Why have i avoided this race? Maybe 50,000 people trying to complete a 10k? Complete madness? Well the race did have all that but i did survive. this year there was only 48,904 entrants.

I got into vancouver in plenty of time to park, pee and get to my start line corral. I even had time to play words with friends with amee. The race started at 9. My corral didn't start until 9:26ish. (first finisher was 29 mins something). It was really crowded and i was super cold. Shaking. convulsing. it wasn't pretty. to think i had originally thought i was going to wear a tank? it was about 9c but windy.i decided just before i left from my car to change into my long sleeve shirt.

Side note: have you ever tried to swap out a sport bra for another in your car in a very busy parkade? Very awkward! 

Ok, back to the race.  very crowded. Many places i don't believe i could have ran any faster if i wanted too. I could only do it if i was super aggressive and pushy. with approx 15-20,000 people ahead of me that would be a lot of work though.

Oh, i forgot this is my first race in 4 years i didn't use the garmin. It was very hard for me to leave it home. very hard, like i almost turned back. However, i enjoyed racing without it. Well i think i did? no i did. I did wear a normal watch to get a general idea of time but i wasn't constantly watching it which i tend to do with my garmin.  i ran behind these 2 dudes half the race but of course i am not in this picture. the overalls were really tight!

Elite runners race along Georgia Street having fun , at the  start of this year's Vancouver Sun Run in downtown Vancouver on April 15, 2012.
This run does go over 2 bridges. Not too hilly but getting onto the bridges the on ramps were super steep. I knew this before hand so that is when i chose to do my my short walk/water breaks.

ok, the finish line area. first the last km is over a bridge. so that means the last half km or so is really down hill! excellent! except you are squished into an off ramp so it is hard to run fast or people were running out of control fast. so about 200m or so from the finish line i kick it up. i was kinda ticked i had so much kick. a little regret i had so much left. i think i even muttered to myself "it is go time" since i knew i was so close to the 1 hour mark. so i kick it into gear and dude ahead of me stops dead and i run full speed into him swearing and a yelling. i kinda rolled off him. neither of us fell. guy behind us is screaming at the guy (i never actually saw the screamers guys face). i hit the finish line and know i have done the race in 60 mins give or take 30 secs. i blame the idiot walker for my 13 seconds away from my goal. RUNNERS MOVE TO THE RIGHT!  seriously there were signs every 100 m or so that said this.

well my official time is:
overall
11744
time
1:00:12.3
average km pace
 6:02  (9:42mm)
bib
 9477
gender place
7836/17224
category place
1237/2312
category
M30-34

you notice my category is off? i have emailed them to see if i can get that changed.
there were over 24000 women compared to 17000 something men. if would be in the 3000something of 24000 if i was in the women's category.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

saying goodbye

today i had to say goodbye to an old friend....

my black "gym girl" skirtsports skirt is dead. i am so sad. i am not joking. so sad. it is my favorite. it has survived my dog trying to eat and me sewing it back together. it has traveled with me on hundreds of miles on the road and trails. the inseam of the compression shorts have been rubbed through which the last few times i wore it caused me bonus chaffing and i still couldn't let go.

June 2010

 i know from pictures i have run at least 2 half marathons in it.



i have been holding onto it for over a year trying to replace it but nothing is the same. i have even bought the same skirt from skirtsports and it is different. the material of the new one seems heavier and the skirt is longer. it isn't the same. i do wear it but always longing  my old one.

if this isn't bad enough my blue "gym girl" skirtsports skirt is also dead. i can't bare to let 2 go in one day though. all i am left with right now is my memories. i so wish skirtsports didn't change what i felt already was perfect.

goodbye my friend. 

goodbye.


Saturday, March 17, 2012

the battle begins

sigh.

because my great bunny friend blogged today about no self loathing i am going to be as perky and positive about this.

i seem to have a flare up of plantar fasciitis. i have no idea why? why? so frustrated. i haven't bumped up my mileage, i haven't been doing heavy speed work, i haven't changed my shoes, my current shoes only have about 100 miles on them. it is in both feet. right foot is worse. i have been icing, rolling and even caved and took ibprophen. this week i have ran less than normal even. (i am averaging 15 miles per week right now which is not much. besides pronating issues i know tight calves can be an issue and my calves are always tight. so why the flare up? why? why? why?

unsure if i will do my planned run tomorrow or not. so far i am on track for my sun run training plan. this week i even chose to run my 7 mile lsd on a hilly route and got my hill run in.got my 2 strength workouts in. one heavy weights arms and the other a tabata style workout.

what else is new? not much. kiddo is on spring break. the weather here is the pits. rain, snow (not sticking), wind, sun... that is all in an hour.  h has a hockey tournament this weekend so i am driving a ton. spent most of this afternoon at the skatepark. what do i do at the skatepark? read a book. this is what h does. he is actually really good for his age, well that is what the older kids tell me. trick scooters are what are cool here right now. some people skateboard but most scoot??? not sure if "scoot" is a cool word?

here are a couple of his youtube videos.

For H's kick ass moves click here

now i am going to go google plantar faciitis exercises.

i'm back. nothing new in the pf world of exercises. i never have actually done the picking up marbles one. i have no marbles so i used h's Mighty Beans. i can barely do it with my right foot and easy peasy with my left. can you be leg dominant? is it normal to be opposite your dominant hand? i have no clue. just thought it was odd one side was easy and the other i could barely do. 

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Update

I am typing this on my phone so I apologize if you have to use your brains to figure out things that may be autocorrected. FYI, often I type I's instead of O's.

I am so nervous about my 10 k race in April. My runs have been a struggle lately and I can't imagine running a whole 1 minute per mile faster per mile without it possibly killing me.

I need to stop living in my running past. I may never be "fast" again. I am carrying around 20lbs more than when I was in my running glory. I don't spend as much time running. I expect the same results?

I am wearing compression socks right now. First time. Compression sock virgin. My legs have been so tire lately and saw them on simon's dresser and thought I would try it. Didn't wear them in the run but after. So my legs are toasty warm. Results? Unclear and unknown at this time.

Also, check out my kids video on you tube. He is patiently waiting for the number of views to go up.

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwHe7tT4fGA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Sparkle

Sparkle. Razzle dazzle. Are your jazz hands waving? Well my pedicure is pretty sparkly. You may want to put some sun glasses on before you look at the photo.

Hmmm. What else is new? We are headed to Seattle for the weekend. So need the get away.

Running is going well. I have stuck to the plan mostly. Not sure if I am enjoying being on a plan again or not. Yesterday was the first time I skipped a planned run. I was just grumpy when I got home from work. Decided a night laying in bed watching trashy tv was more needed than a run. I am in a bad mood a lot lately. Did 7 miles on Monday and it felt pretty good.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

home with a sicko

my son is home sick today from school with a tummy bug and bad headache. s was home this morning so i still got my spin class in before he had to leave for work. keeping my fingers crossed that i don't get it. well, my parents have it too so they asked if i could get them some milk. so i dropped off the milk at their house. as i was getting back into the car i decided to try to knock myself out with the corner of the car door.


 

nice goose egg and cut eh? i have had a tension headache in my shoulders for a couple of days now. well now my headache is in the front. maybe i should sell this as a solution to relieve tension headaches? i could make begillions!! i have also stubbed my toes several times today. i think i may be trying to kill myself?




I started my Sun Run training officially yesterday. Mondays are going to be my long run days. However, the race is a 10k so i am maxing my long runs out at 8 miles. so yesterday i did 5.25 miles in the sun. this is my run entry from dailymile.com.

beautiful day. cool. crisp. sun shinning. on the way back a coyote decided to sit in the middle of the dyke. just sitting. normally i don't care. if i approach they move. however, when i have my dog i worry. worry about how my dog will react and of course how the coyote will react. i could tell the coyote was waiting to cross the road to the airport but there was some traffic. a few minutes later it finally crosses into the field.


I always have my dog on a leash when i run. we have lots of coyotes in our area. i am so surprised with the amount of people that have their dogs off leash. especially their little yappy dogs who will go at a coyote and lose.  also this trail and area has lots of people and bikes too so people are just asking for their dogs to get hurt.

so i am eating meat again. i can't seem to get enough protein when i don't. i should rephrase that. i technically get enough protein but then i snap cause it seems only meat satisfies the craving.  i am not eating much meat but enough so i don't snap again and eat a whole safeway roasted chicken by hand.

tonight i made some soup for dinner in the crock pot. this is what i threw in the crock pot:
  • ground turkey
  • celery
  • carrots
  • 1/2 an onion
  • 1 box chicken stalk
  • 1/2 cup uncooked barely
  • pepper
  • basil
  • water
i will let you know how it turns out. 

Monday, February 6, 2012

mileage

well i have been running since 2007. i did run before that a bit here and there but i started actually tracking my running properly in 2007.

mileage
2007- i can't find this anywhere

2008- 830 miles, crazy year, 3 hm and so many other races. probably too much for a first full year of running which is why...

2009 - 430 miles probably from too much the year before, i know i had my nose surgery in the summer as well as hip issues all year

2010 - 560 miles. making the come back?

2011 - 600 mileage climbing a bit. (this is 50ish miles per month)

2012 ???? i think i am going to aim for the 650-700 range. which is approx 55 miles a month which is doable. i think.

i look back at my mileage of 2008 and i am in ah. seriously. i remember loving running so much. i remember being skinny. yes SKINNY. skinny not i a great way although part of me loved it. i was down to 127lbs (now i am 145ish again, size 8ish). 127 on me is a size 2/4 and i look gaunt. i remember a 5 mile run being done with ease in 50-55 mins and being an "easy" run.

just babbling. ignore me if you wish. i have no idea where this came from or if/when it will go anywhere.

however, my life has also changed now. i have a kid who i can't force to come on every run with me in the stroller. i don't think a 6 year old would like the jogging stroller too much nor would i like to push him. my son still joins me in the good weather on his bike but even then i am limited to his stopping and starting - i wouldn't change that though. i think if i was still pushing a baby around i would run more. i can only stand so many miles on the treadmill which is probably why my mileage dips so bad in november/december and july/august (hate the heat). also those are the times of year for me that life just gets crazy.

historically my heavy mileage is january - june then tapers off.

hmmmm. nothing more to add except this picture from my run this morning. isn't it purdy out there?


hope that is the runway right there that tad can land a plan on. ok?