Crunch Time

And no, I don't mean situps, unfortunately (sigh!). In fact, lately my workouts have been sparse and I'm starting to feel it...

Crunch time refers to where I'm at in writing up my dissertation for school. I have two studies and the first one is written up and ready to go, and now I have the second one to do which I'll be working at all week. My advisor is going away for all of the month of July and she informed us that we have until June 25 to hand in anything to her that we would like her to read before she goes. I have to make that deadline because I want to be incorporating her feedback while she is off in July. Then, by mid-August, I have to be ready to submit my copies to my examining committee so I can defend in mid-September and submit FINAL copies by September 21 if I want to graduate in the Fall, which I desperately do. So my life will be crazy this week trying to make the first of many deadlines to come.

Back to the workout dilemma. I'm having a really hard time getting in the number of workouts per week I should be. I'm averaging 1-2 a week this past month which really, really sucks! And being busy is no excuse as we all know. I know getting up super early in the mornings is not an option for me right now because I'm getting to bed so late from working on the computer. So, I just have to get better at getting in a lunch time workout even if I can only spare 20 minutes. Then once I get my dissertation draft in, things can get back to normal. Anybody got any cool suggestions about what works for you workout-wise when you're crazy busy?

1:09:30!!

So it's about frickin' time I updated my blog! So sorry that I've been out of touch (that is, if anyone even comes here anymore). I thought I would get back into blogging on a positive note. I just got back from my 10K run and I did it in 1:09:30!! That's just over a minute better than my time last year. I would've liked to have run it a bit faster, but hey, my goal was to beat last year's time and I did! It was a beautiful night for running: warm but not too humid. Here are some pics:




Otherwise, there's been a lot that has happened over the past few months. I didn't get that supervisor position at work that I was mentioning. There were some rumours going around that the process may not have been done fairly and that was upsetting at the time, but I have moved on and since realized that not getting the position may have been a blessing in disguise.

Things with school are going well and it looks like I'll be done in September! I just have to write up the results and discussion for my dissertation and then defend it. It almost seems too good to be true. I'll finally have time for other things in my life besides writing papers, reading journal articles and studying!

I'll try to be better at keeping up to date here. To those of you who still check up on me, thanks for your patience. I hope you are all doing well!

Interview Time!

Today, I finally had my interview for the clinical supervisor position. I think that overall, it went pretty well, but it's hard for me to judge how I compared to the two other candidates. None of the questions they asked were a real shocker, and the atmosphere was fairly relaxed. I was still a bit nervous and I could feel myself shaking a bit, though I know my voice was very calm. The shaking was probably more to do with the fact that I was cold. It was about -37 degrees Celsius today with the wind chill, so it was hard to get warmed up even inside! The executive director said he hopes to have a final decision by the end of the week, so I guess I'll know soon enough how I did.

This past weekend was a super busy one. On Friday night, we had 10 of Kyle's friends over for a b-day party. It was a house full of yelling and screaming and oh so hyper 5-year olds! They kept wanting to play tag in our hallways and I really thought someone was going to get hurt so out came the structured activities: bingo, hot potato, and the movie Cars (thank god for Cars, let me tell ya!). Kyle had lots of fun, so it was worth it!

Saturday, we had a b-day dinner for me at mom's house. That was A LOT calmer than Friday night! I got to have my mom's yummy lasagna (a real cheat treat for sure!) and I got some nice gifts too: Gap "So Pink" body mist, A Stone Temple Pilots CD and Pearl Jam CD I've been wanting for awhile, and a beautiful blouse that my mom got me. I wore the blouse today for good luck at the interview :)

Then, yesterday, we had a family party for Kyle at our place. There were about 35 people over for lunch and everyone seemed to have a great time. Kyle got some skates (among other things) as a present, and he got to try them out on the skating rink that Scot made in our yard. It was Kyle's first time ever on skates and he liked it so much that he was kind of mad when it was time to come in! I was so pooped by Sunday night that I fell asleep while watching Deal or No Deal Canada!

Good times for sure!

Just Me and the Kids

I got to spend some quality "mommy time" with the kiddos this weekend. Scot was out at a parent and kid convention the last couple of days to promote his DVD for work. Yesterday was so cold that we stayed inside and played games and stayed cozy by the fireplace. Today was much better weather wise, so we went out and played in the snow. Kyle and Emily particularly liked it when they tackled me in the snow! I must admit, I liked it too. It brought out the kid in me :)

The mommy time was extra great because this past week, I was on-call for work and the phone was crazy, so I felt like I didn't get to see them very much. Yep, the first night I got the phone, all was going well until 8pm when I got a call that some of the kids in one of the residences ran away, followed by a call about a girl from another residence who slashed her arm and needed stitches. After that, I was on the phone for 3 hours straight trying to make staffing and other arrangements! The next night was not much better since the same girl needed to go back to the hospital, but was refusing to do so and needed to be brought by the police. The last of the calls that night came at about 12:50am. And of course, after that, I had a hard time falling back asleep because I kept expecting the phone to ring again!

No news yet on the clinical supervisor position. I'm still waiting to find out when the interviews will be. I'm hearing that they will be within the next couple of weeks, so we'll see what happens.

This week promises to be busy too. On Friday, we're having Kyle's b-day party for his friends at school. Then, Saturday, we're going to my mom's for a b-day supper for me. Then Sunday, we're having a party for Kyle with all the family. And our birthdays are not actually until next week (mine on Feb. 6, Kyle's on Feb. 7), so I'm thinking it will be 2 very busy weeks! But, hey, it's a fun kind of busy, so I don't mind!

My 2007 so far

Happy Belated New Year to everyone! Is it REALLY already the middle of January? I swear time passes by faster every year!

Anyways, I've got some new stuff going on that I thought I would share with you all. First of all, at work, they have internally posted for the clinical supervisor position, and I decided to submit my resume. This position has been vacant since the Spring when the former supervisor left and it has been really tough on the clinical team to be working without a supervisor. We've kind of been relying on each other to bounce ideas off 0f. In my opinion, whoever the new supervisor will be has big shoes to fill. Our last supervisor was awesome and she really knew her stuff. Plus, she had a clinical psychology Ph.D and lots of experience working in the field. I could go to her with questions or issues about my clients and feel confident that I would get good advice. It's weird because although I think I would be a good candidate, in comparison to her, I still have so much to learn! I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens. If they do choose me, I'm planning to see if I can work 3-4 days per week until I'm done my Ph.D which will likely be around September (HUGE yay!!) and then move into the position full time. I'll keep you posted...

Right before Christmas, I got an email reminder that it's time to start thinking about registering for the 10K race coming up in May. I'm definitely going to enter and my goal this year is to beat last year's time. I'm in the process of planning out my training schedule. A friend from work who is a runner recommended the Runner's World magazine website that gives great training advice, schedules and tips for races of various distances, including the 10K. So I'm using some of the info there to come up with a master plan. Up until last week, we hardly had any snow so I was doing some runs outside, but this week, we got hit with snow and much colder weather, so I'm going to have to start planning some treadmill workouts. I have to say that overall, the last few months have sucked workout and nutrition wise, so starting to plan for this 10K has gotten me excited about shaping up again. I'm going to have to take some more dreaded before shots (sigh!) so that I can really see my progress over the weeks. Once my training plan is finalized, I will post it here.

I hope you are all doing well and keeping up with any resolutions you made :)

I'm ALMOST done my Christmas shopping!

First off, thanks to all of you who gave suggestions for how to deal with Emily's nighttime fears. We're still having a rough time in that she's still getting up in the middle of the night and wanting to come in bed with us. I'm taking two weeks off of work over the holidays, so that might be a good time to put some new strategies in place without worrying too much about the consequences of added sleep deprivation! Will keep you posted.

Before I forget, Amy and Tom, how can I access your blogs? When I clicked on your names, I couldn't get in and your old links don't work anymore.

OK, now on to the Christmas stuff. How is everybody doing in the shopping department? I have Tuesdays off of work, so I hit the mall with Emily today hoping to get the last of my shopping done. I almost did, but I still have a couple of small things left to find. I am one of those people that is always shopping during the last week before Christmas. Every year, I keep telling myself that I'll try to have the shopping done by mid-December, but nooooooo, of course I wasn't able to. Same thing with getting my Christmas cards written and sent out. I always mean to do them early too, but here it is December 19, and they only went out today. Most years it's because I procrastinate, but this year, it was more because there were just too many other things that HAD to be done school, work, and family-wise before I could even start thinking about Christmas. So mark my words, NEXT year will be the year I get it all done early. Is that a "YA, RIGHT JULIE!" I hear you saying? :)

As promised, here are a couple of pics so you can see the new do.


BTW, I've officially been a blogger for over a year now!! Thanks to all of my wonderful blends for all your support!

I miss my blends!

Hey gang,

It's been a ridiculously long time since I've updated. So what's been going on with me in the last month and a half? Hmm, let's see....

Well, for one, I chopped my hair!! I got it cut to just above my shoulders which I haven't done in years. I'd been thinking about it for awhile and then I just realized it was time for a change. I didn't tell Scot ahead of time because he loves long hair and I didn't want to be talked out of it. I wasn't too sure what I thought of the cut at first, but now I love it! As for Scot, well, I think he was disappointed because when I asked what he thought, he said, "As long as you like it." Oh well, he's used to it now! I'll post a picture soon so you can see for yourselves.

Here's where I can use some advice from you moms out there. About a month ago, Emily woke up one night screaming like I've never heard her scream before. I was terrified but then when I went into her room, I realized she was just having a nightmare. Ever since that night, bedtime has been hell for us. Emily thinks there are monsters in her room and I've moved the bed away from the wall to show her there aren't any and also taken a flashlight to help her do searches in her room to prove to her there are none. She has even started saying there are no monsters in her room, but she still starts crying and continuously getting out of bed each night. I'm wondering if part of this is just attention seeking. We've tried cuddling her, night lights, music, stuffed toys, bath right before bed, the "hard line" approach (i.e., "If you get out of bed, the music goes off, etc.). It takes about 2 hours before she finally falls asleep but even then, she wakes up several times and eventually ends up in bed with us because we have to get some sleep. I think I'm going to have to call the SuperNanny soon for pete's sake! Any advice?

Fitness-wise, I've changed things up again. Working out during my lunch hours at work did me well last year, but things have gotten so busy, that I simply can't get out often enough. So, I've been starting to do Body Pump classes with my sister-in-law some evenings. Also, my friend from work gave me her elliptical because she wasn't using it, so I've been able to do some cardio while watching tv (yay!!). There's still much to be desired in the eating department but I won't give up until I find what works for me.

Other than that, life is continuing on with its hectic pace. School is busy but going well. I won a bursary that will give me some extra money each term, and I'm almost finished another course as well as some data collection for my dissertation. I'm still thinking I'll be done in about a year to a year and half. Can't wait!

And now, I can go catch up with the rest of you. Yay!