Weird Dream

I had a weird scary dream last night that there were a bunch of people in this strange car that had no top and it was driving through a mountain. All of a sudden, the car stopped at a platform and some of the people got out. Then, without warning, the car started moving again and there was this flashing sign saying that it was empty, but there were still people in it. Then, it plunged off a cliff and I could see the look of horror on the people's faces who were still in the car and I could hear them scream at the top of their lungs. Don't ask me where I was. I know I wasn't in the car or on the platform. It was like I was outside of the whole thing just watching. I woke up after the screaming part with my heart pounding. It was one of those dreams where I immediately had to get up and check if the kids were OK because I thought "Omigod, someone's been hurt." The kids were fine and nothing was weird around the house but it was 4:15am and I was wide awake. Then I started thinking about my sister who flying back from Cuba this weekend and I hoped the dream wasn't symbolic of a plane crash or anything like that. Well, I got an email from her tonight, so I know she's OK too. So after about an hour of crazy thoughts, I finally fell back asleep but it took me awhile to convince myself that sometimes a dream is just a dream. Lets hope the dream wasn't saying that I'm going to fall off the fitness bandwagon!! Just kidding: there's NO WAY I'm gonna let that happen!

Last Week at a Glance

Geez! This is the first time this week I've actually had a chance to sit down and update here. I also haven't had the chance to respond to many of your blogs, but will do so shortly.

I'm proud to say I did some major ass kicking at the gym this week. I went five days straight from Sunday to Thursday. Let's see... Sunday was upper body and a 20-min. treadmill run. Monday was legs, back, and abs and a 20-min. run. Then Tuesday, I did a 45-min. spinning class. I went in not knowing which class it was since I was running late. I thought for sure it would be interval or strength since it was endurance last week, but it was endurance again (remember, that's my least favourite class, but it's a good one 'cause it forces me to be very disciplined!). I thought about leaving after that class, but I just couldn't resist getting an upper body workout done first so I did. Wednesday, I just did some elliptical work. I had planned to do a full legs workout as well, but work was so busy I just simply did not have time. I was glad just to get 30 min. of cardio in. Then, Thursday, I did upper body and 20 min. on the treadmill. And (drumroll please...) I was able to do two sets of pullups with only 35lbs of assistance!!! OK, I could only do 6 reps in both sets, but I was still super happy. To think, that last year at this time I was using 80-90lbs of assistance! I've come a long way, baby!!

Eating was so-so. I definitely crave those goodies and for the most part I am able to fight it off. I just wish I could find some way to make it a bit easier. I mean, I'm not doing that badly if a bag of Hershey mint kisses I bought at the beginning of January is still sitting in my drawer at least half full. I have one here and there and I'm usually good at keeping it to just one. Not that long ago, that bag would have been gone in less than one week for sure! I've just found the clean eating part tough this week and I get frustrated with myself because most things in my life have come pretty easy to me, but this constantly tests my willpower. I won't let this beat me, though. It's just annoying as hell!

Now, on the "proud parent" front, I was volunteering in Kyle's class yesterday and the teacher says to me (in French since he goes to a French school), "Kyle can read". I smiled and said yes, because he's been able to read in English for probably about two years now and more recently, I've noticed him reading in French. The teacher seemed surprised that I already knew and she asked how long he has been reading, so I told her. She mentioned to me that the other day, she had noticed him reading his clues that he had brought in for the "Qui suis-je?" game (French for "Who am I?"). I guess most of the kids in his class need help with this because she said it surprised her that he was reading the clues. So, she took out a French book and asked him to start reading to her. She was so surprised that she took him to the principal and the grade 1 teacher and asked him to read to them. Apparently, that grade 1 teacher has been teaching for 20 years and Kyle is only the second student that she has seen been able to read like that in 4-year old kindergarten! So, the teacher and principal were talking to me about setting him up with some enrichment classes or something like that next year to make sure he does not get bored. We have a meeting at the school in a couple of weeks to discuss different options. OK, I know I did a little bragging here, but I'm just so proud! Besides, it's my blog, so I guess I'm entitled to brag a little, right?!

Was it Fate?

I don't know how many of you out there are believers in fate, but to a certain degree I am. At the very least, there is someone out there (for me it's God) who watches over us....

Yesterday, my city was hit with some crazy Winter weather starting with freezing rain in the morning which turned to regular rain. Then, the temperature dropped really fast and we had flash freezing and whiteouts late in the morning and throughout the afternoon. Normally, I would not go out on a day like this, but I had to attend a meeting at 9:00am. It was a meeting of several agencies in the area that provide services to youths who have drug and alcohol addictions and my agency was invited to make a presentation about our program and to get some feedback about changes we will be making over the next few months. So, since we were guests, I did not want to back out. Before the meeting, I had to drop my daughter off at my mother in law's place and at that time, the roads were more slushy rather than anything else. I got to the meeting with no problems.

When the meeting ended, it must have been about 10:45 and the wind had picked up big time (you know, the kind of wind that when you try to talk literally takes your breath away it's so strong) and the roads were starting to freeze over. I made my way back home and at one point on the highway, there was so much blowing snow that I literally could not see one car length in front of me. It was scary as hell and I thought "Oh my God, what am I going to do?" I thought of pulling over but on the highway in those conditions, that could be even more dangerous than just moving ahead slowly. So I went on and luckily after about a minute, the snow drift cleared up. I made it the rest of the way home without incident, but things were slow and slippery.

Here's the next part of this story. When I got home, I ate some lunch and then turned on the tv. I flipped to a local news and weather station and I found out that there had been a massive accident on the highway involving several dozen cars right at the exit you would take to get to my place. At least a few people were killed and many were injured. That was bad enough in itself, but then they announced the time it occurred and it was literally five minutes after I had been on that stretch of highway coming home. That reality hit me like a ton of bricks and I realized how lucky I was that I hadn't stopped for gas or something like that because I could have easily been in the middle of the whole thing. It's moments like that where I think about how life is short and how it's so important to appreciate what I have. I really think someone was watching out for me....

Still Going Strong

This is week 4 and I'm still going strong in the gym. Yesterday, I had an awesome workout which started with an endurance spinning class. For those of you who know spinning, endurance is the one where you pretty much sit your arse down on the bike for the entire 45 minutes. It's really a great fat burning class and builds your cardio base. I prefer interval and strength classes because I get to get up and simulate hill climbs and it's not as butt numbing, but endurance is good because it forces me to be disciplined in a different way by staying in that seat.

After spinning, I did a great upper body workout. I was totally stoked because I was working out to my favourite tunes on my new IPod shuffle. Wahoo!!!! My husband gave me that as my birthday gift this past weekend (nope, it wasn't personal training lessons as I had thought, but it was still pretty damn good if you ask me!). Before this, I didn't have any kind of portable music player that I could bring to the gym and I have to say, somehow, having my own music made me feel like I was more in my own world and that made me super focused on my workout. Nothing like a little Aerosmith, Collective Soul, Pearl Jam and selected others to help me get my gym groove on! I got some great assisted pull ups in (still working at 40lbs assistance but I'm planning to reduce that soon) and I did chest, biceps and triceps. Some other gym goodies that I got for my birthday this past weekend were weight gloves and some chocolate flavoured whey protein powder. I think it's really cool that my families are recognizing and actively supporting what I am trying to do, and their gift choices prove it. I got some other great non-gym related stuff too :)

The eating has been pretty good overall, but there are still some changes I have to make. Why are sweets so damned addictive? I'm sure I've said it before, but I believe that sugar is as addictive as any drug out there. I have definitely been better in the sweets department but those cravings just don't go away. It does feel good though when I can discipline myself to "just say no" and it makes it a little easier the next time. My latest "better for me than chocolate" concoction has been plain low fat yogurt with a teaspoon of vanilla and either fresh strawberries or a low-fat crunchy granola bar mixed in with it. Yummy! If any of you guys have some tried and true sweets replacements that are working for you, I would love to hear about them.

So all in all, some good progress I think. I have been getting some comments that I look like I am slimming down, so that's good news. I think I will have to take some photos again, probably after week 6, so that I can compare them with my before shots. I just hope I will notice the differences too. Ok, off to do some marking (statistics assignments for the class I TA at the university....yipee!) and then off to bed.

My Sweet Little 5-Year Old

Today is Kyle's birthday and I can't believe he is already 5!! I'm so proud of the little boy he is and of how fast he is learning and growing in every way. This past weekend was busy with his parties. Having all those 4-year olds running around the house on Saturday was exhausting. I really needed to have eyes in the back of my head. After they left I was so pooped I had a nap on the couch! The family celebration on Sunday was great too. Here's a picture of Kyle with his cake (made by his grammy Joanne):


Here's a family shot of us after Kyle opened all of his presents. He got LOTS of Sponge Bob stuff: clothes, games, even sheets for his bed. Most importantly, though, everyone who loves and cares about him came to spend time with him and help him celebrate.


Then yesterday, we celebrated my 30th b-day. I had a great day overall. I arrived at work in the morning and the heat wasn't working, but that was the only downfall of the day. One of my friends at work took me out for lunch (a wrap with chicken and veggies but no sauce, and salad instead of fries-hey, I knew I would have some cake later, so I was at least going to be good for the rest of the day!) and she got me a really awesome pair of pants and after I tried them on she said they nicely show off the hard work I've been doing-yeah!! Then, Scot and the kids took me out for supper at a restaurant we like to go to together (roasted chicken and potatoes with salad, NOT creamy pasta) and then came home for cake which I thoroughly enjoyed. Here's a pic of me and the kids right before cake time:



Scot said I will get my gift this weekend when we celebrate with the families and the only hint he gave me is that it's related to the gym. Could it be personal training sessions???!!! I can't wait to find out.

I Feel Like I've Walked a Thousand Miles...

....and I didn't even need to step foot into the gym! I've been running around like a mad woman cleaning up the house today because we are having two parties for Kyle's 5th birthday this weekend. I swear, cleaning the house is almost as good as a run on the treadmill. I'm exhausted and I'm still not even done!

Tomorrow, we will be having 10 (yes, that's right, I said TEN) four year olds over. That will be the party with his school friends. I'm so excited because this is Kyle's first friend birthday party given it's his first year of school. It will be busy but fun! I have fond memories of my birthday parties as a kid and I hope Kyle will have memories like that too.

Then, on Sunday, both of our families and some close friends are coming over for the "family" party. That's gonna be about 35 people not including us! I know, I know, you think I've lost my mind having back to back parties, right? Well, I'd rather have them both in the same weekend and then relax (if there is such a thing) next weekend. Plus, we will be celebrating my 30th birthday next weekend. My actual b-day is Feb. 6 and Kyle's is Feb. 7. That means I was in labour with Kyle on my 25th b-day, so that's a b-day I'll certainly never forget!!

I can't believe I'm nearing the end of my 20's. Where does the time go?! But I'm not at all depressed about the big 3-0 because I'm proud of what I have accomplished in my life so far and I believe things will get even better. Plus, they say your 30's and 40's are some of the best years of your life because by then, you pretty much know who you are and are comfortable with yourself which I feel I am in most ways. so 30's, here I come!

I'm still on track with the workouts and with eating pretty well this week. One of my coworkers told me yesterday that she can really see some differences and it hasn't even been 2 weeks since I started giving it all I have. She says she thinks I'm looking more buff (Wahoo!) and that I'm leaning out in the face and waist. As I promised myself, I took off more weight on the pull up machine this week. I am now doing my pullups with 40lbs of assistance instead of 45lbs like I was doing last week. I tried 35lbs, but that was still a little too tough (or maybe it's because that day I had just finished a lot of other arm and chest exercises). Anyways, I'm getting closer and closer as the weeks go on.

Ok, now that I've had a mini break, it's time to go bake a cake, clean the washrooms, vacuum, fold the clean clothes, mop the floor, and.... AARRGGHH!! SOMEONE STOP THE INSANITY.... or send a maid.... that would help too!!