What day is it??

The holiday's really screwed me up as far as knowing what day it is.  Yesterday all day I thought it was Monday just to find out that it was really Tuesday.  So I missed my weigh in day but really I didn't miss much.  I expected a slight gain and that's what I got.  I gained about 4lbs which isn't a huge shock considering the amount of food we've consumed this past week.  It started with breakfast at work on Friday, continued with Christmas eve dinner, Christmas dinner and Boxing day dinner.  That's alot of big dinners.  We tried to keep it all realtively healthy but I'm a sucker for Turkey and boy did I enjoy it.  So today is the beginning of a new day.  We have no more really big dinners.  Tonight we celebrate Ashlee's 13th birthday with fondue and maybe sushi.  We cook our fondue in broth though so no heavy oils to worry about.  There will be cake but I will control myself in the icing department. 

I didn't take a picture of the scale this morning but I thought I would share a few pictures from Christmas just because I can:)  Enjoy!

Anna and Christina in their beautiful dresses from Gram

Chrisitna trying to get Drew to play rockabye baby

All the kids and the dog:)

Big kids goofing around:)

Ending the day with a movie and a snuggle:)

And it begins!!!

Well,  Adrian is off to pick up Drew and Ashlee and my brother, Laurence and his girlfriend, Emily are on their way from Florida!!!  I have half a day of work tomorrow and Anna has her last day of school then we are off for the holidays!!!  Unfortunately Adrian works and Meag will have to work a couple of shifts.  We'll still get lots of great time together though!!! 

We have lots of plans with friends and family over the holidays.  I'm getting so excited for lots of great visiting and great fun with everyone.  The kids are excited for Christmas and for Santa to come.  Christina even understands what is going on this year.  Adryanna is starting to learn what the real meaning of Christmas is and is asking lots of questions.  It's hard to answer them all in a way that she will understand but she's a smart little girl and understands more than I realize!  It's interesting right now too because they learned about a few other cultures and their holiday traditions at school.  She has come home every night telling us all about them.  It's very cute to hear.

Tonight I'll have to finish my shopping and then everything will be ready to go!!!  In case I don't get on here again before hand I hope everyone reading has a fantastic holiday!!  Here's hoping the new year brings each one of us great health and happiness!!!  CHEERS!!!

Again, I'll take it!

I started the weekend on Thursday night with a Christmas dinner, moved on to an evening with friends then had our Christmas parties with the baby group and finished the weekend with baking cookies.  That was one food filled weekend.  Add to that no running in a week and it's a recipe for disaster in the weight department.  I am happy to report that the damage was minimal.  Really I don't even consider it damage it was such a tiny difference.  At this time of year my goal is always to make it through the holidays without gaining a bunch of unnecessary weight.  So far so good!!!

I miss running right now but am having a hard time making time for it.  I have so much to do and so little time.  The girls are getting up way to early and are so tired by the time we get home that Anna is having complete meltdowns over the silliest things so I hate leaving her with anyone. I could go after the kids are in bed but by the time they are settled I'm exhausted.  Thursday I have nothing to do after work so I am hoping that I'll be able to get out then!!!!  Here's hoping the kids co-operate with that!  I'm so looking forward to my week off next week and will have lots of people here to occupy them when I need my escape to the pavement!  I will really need my runs next week just to keep me sane!

Almost Christmas!

Here are the toddlers!!  Liam didn't want to sit with the girls:)

I'm getting so excited for Christmas!!  I love the holidays and all the fun things that come with them.  We had our Christmas party with the baby group yesterday and it was nice to see how big all of the kids are getting!!  I can't believe that two years ago we were just getting to know each other and now the kids get so excited to see each other.  Today we made and decorated cookies.  Meag and Anna helped us decorate them and we listened to Christmas music. 

This week is going to be a busy one!  We have to finish shopping for gifts and get groceries to feed an army!! Thursday night Adrian goes to pick up Drew and Ashlee, then Friday my brother and his girlfriend get here.  After that we'll have a full house for the next week.  It will be so much fun.  Lots to do and lots to see. 

I haven't been running as much lately as I would really like.  I'm looking forward to my week off though and hope to get a few runs in during that time.  After the holidays I need to buckle down and get training for the Chocolate Race that is on April 29th!!!  I'm so excited for it because it will be my first 16k run and it's going to be great!! 

Conflicted

Wow what a busy couple of days!!  We have been training for a new computer program at work. The training itself was great and we had a wonderful trainer;) It's the change that is the hard part. The idea behind it is to make our jobs so much easier but I think we have some way to go before we get there.  It's a good program and will get easier once we get used to it.  I'm excited to get started using it but nervous at the same time.  Our team doesn't handle changes really well and we've been through about a million in the last while.  Some good, some bad and some just labour intensive.  I'm ok with change when it has a purpose but have a hard time when the people around me get stressed by it.  I definitely feel their frustration and understand where it is coming from.  This new program is certainly the biggest, most challenging change so far but hopefully we will get all of the wrinkles ironed out quickly and be able to start using it productively.  Until then I'll play around with it and get acquainted with the way it works.  If it ends up being half as cool as I think it will I'll be a happy girl.

Unfortunately the day left me feeling totally drained and I chose to put on my comfy clothes and hang out at home tonight instead of running.  I know running would have had the same effect on my mood and might even have been a good place to let off some of the frustration but I just couldn't do it.  Christina was being a tyrant when we got home and made a huge mess.  I just didn't feel like rushing around to get ready.  I will probably try to get out right after work tomorrow since Thursday night is our Christmas Party and I am working late to support some of our clients.  I am looking forward to getting out Saturday morning too.  We have two parties on Saturday afternoon and evening so starting my day with a nice long run will be just what I need.  I'm going to take the running easy for the next couple of weeks but come January I have to start training for the 16k that I am going to run at the end of April!

Now what I'm sure you're really waiting for.  The scale was much nicer to me this week and I am quite happy with the results.  I was careful not to just eat for the sake of eating last week and I kept busier so that I wouldn't be thinking about food constantly and the results showed! 

Clearly I need to clean up the floor before I take these pictures:)

Resolutions?

I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions.  I don't generally believe that they are good things.  So many people commit to losing weight, quitting smoking, exercise more, etc.  I've never made one and never really even thought about them until now.  Today had me really thinking about them though.  I don't think I will actually make a resolution but I will make a plan.  I'm going to start the year training to run 16k at the end of April followed by training to run a half marathon at the end of September.  I don't see that as a resolution exactly but more of a commitment.  I will be signed up for the 16k run by the end of next week and will register for the half marathon as soon as possible.  I know that I will run the 16k for two reasons.  I will have paid for it for one thing and the second reason is because there is a magazine out there right now with my picture in it and a caption saying that I am running it.  It's a local magazine but one that prints 3 articles each issue by people who I know from Runners' Edge.  There is usually a stack of these magazines on the counter at Runners' Edge which means many of my fellow runners have seen, or will see, the article.  That alone is just the push I need to make sure I do this. 

The flip side of this is that if I am going to train for these runs I am certainly not going to sit and eat crap on the days that I am not running, or for that matter on the days that I am.   I have always known that evening is my worst time for snacking so I just need to learn how to avoid that.  I'm thinking the best way to do this is to get busier.  I don't like to be busy every night of the week but I think if I can add a couple more things to my week I should be fine.  Starting in January Anna is going to be taking a Hip Hop class one evening a week and I am thinking about joining a Zumba class or maybe the YMCA.  The Y has lots of things for the kids to do as well as us so it's a win/win situation.

Now that I have all of this planned it's time to take action on it and get training!!! 

It's like a hill workout for my brain.

Well here we go again!  I know all the things I can possibly need to know about losing weight yet once again I am gaining.  I really, really need to stop this cycle!!!  Yesterday I decided that I was going to make Tuesday my new weigh day because of what I have decided to call my Monday Phenomenon.  Every Monday for the past couple of weeks I have gained weight.  I can usually lose what I have gained in one day which makes me think it is water weight because I don't drink enough on the weekends.  Unfortunately today the number was still up.  I don't have a picture of it because I forgot to bring my phone in with me but the number was 244.8.  I kept stepping off and on the scale hoping that it was wrong but no, it was right. 

So today is a new day.  I know I need to stop this cycle and I will work harder.

Anxious!!

Today one of my very good friends went into the hospital to have her third baby!!!  I'm so excited for her and can't wait to meet her new little girl.  Every time the phone rings or my cell goes off I jump to check it to see if it's from her! 

It's interesting how things in life work out.  When I met her about 12 years ago we became instant friends.  We met at work.  She was a summer student and I hadn't been there very long so it worked out perfectly.  She was the only other person my age with similar interests so it was just natural that we would start hanging out.  We spent a lot of time together and she was the person I went on my first every trip out of Canada with.  We went to Mexico and it was sooo much fun. 

We kind of drifted apart when we started having kids but never lost touch completely and still see each other several times a year.  Our kids are close in age so they play together which gives us time to chat.  We used to go for coffee all the time and recently went out without the kids!!!!  It was a nice break and I think we will start getting back into that routine.

So here I sit waiting anxiously for the big news.  I have to live vicariously through my friends now since I will not be having any more babies of my own!  That's a bittersweet thing I guess.  I definitely know I don't want anymore babies but at the same time there are days where I think about the snuggles and watching them grow and get sad.  Those are the times that I watch my two big, crazy, monsters and remember why we made it so that there won't be more:)