February photo-a-day

 

Day 8: Sun

What a great subject on a sunny February day :) We were running around, picking stuff up for our new puppy, waiting for the breeder to call us to say she was home. With nothing left to do but wait, and two sleepy bugs in my backseat, I pulled off the highway and sat in my car to read for a bit. The long afternoon sunshine was beautiful, out in the country, away from the noise of the city:

Day 9: Front door

We have 3 doors leading into our house: a glass door for the sunporch, a screen door, and our storm door. It’s a lot to bump and shove open when your hands are full and your keys are at the bottom of your purse!

Day 10: Self-portrait

A little puppy had a rough night, and I wanted a nap. I bribed my kids to sleep with a pyjama/movie night so that Gracie and I could do this:

Day 11: Makes you happy

I love to cook. I love to try new recipes and ideas. Some are great, some are disasters. And most of them, my kids won’t eat :(

So, when I find two recipes that turn out fabulously, AND my kids gobble them up? Well, that makes me happy indeed!

Day 11: Inside my closet

With Leith always on the road, there is always a significant absence of clothing in our house. When all the clothes are actually washed, folded and put away (!!) and I see these empty hangers, it makes me miss him even more…

January: a month in review

Detox 2012 already has one month in the bag! It’s been a good month, but it went by so quickly…I guess all my dreaming and wishing for Mexico has paid off ;)

  • I started running again – yay!
  • I registered for the Footstock 2012 half marathon in June
  • I went back to physio for some lovely IMS needles
  • I made it to 9 Bikram yoga classes!
  • I walked 15.5 hours –> that’s 54.25 miles!
  • I made it to 133lbs
  • I booked blood work to find out why I am so tired, instead of just ignoring it
  • I read Little Bee by Chris Cleave, How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway, and started My Life in France by Julia Child (!!)
  • Spent a LOT less time yelling and more time breathing
  • We went on several family “dates” all together, since Leith was home until January 29 :)
  • I took care of myself first, so that I could give my family the best of me
  • I cooked and baked a myriad of tasty meals and snacks from scratch, exploring and expanding my creativity
  • I spent a weekend with my oldest, dearest friends celebrating milestones
  • I played outside with my bugz in this beautiful weather
  • I celebrated my mother-in-law’s birthday with our family
  • I enjoyed new tea flavours in my mug – a chance to unwind and reflect
  • I started counting all the things in my life that I am grateful for
  • I spent at least one day a week with friends, letting our kids run wild

And most importantly? I spent most of January as a very, very happy person :)

February photo-a-day

I’ve wanted to do a photo-a-day challenge, especially after two (or three?) years of watching Heather’s. Unfortunately, I lack the discipline ;)

Enter the monthly photo-a-day. I enjoyed watching Natasha post her January photos, so when I was invited to do a February challenge, I thought, “Why not?”

So here we go!

Day One: your view today

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My girls playing in the car – we were a bit (a lot) early for my doctor’s appointment today, so I let the have free range of my car :)

Will you play along?

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A few favourites!

It is blissfully quiet here at the Acreage right now. Kit-kat is playing with stickers, and C-boo is snuggled up with Daddy because they both have upset tummies. I took advantage of the peace and slathered my hair with coconut oil. Surrounded by the tropical aroma, I started thinking of a few of my favourite things right now :) _uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();

1. Coconut oil!!
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways! You are a fantastic cooking oil, first of all. You have that odd smell that olive oil does, but you impart a slight sweetness to whatever we cook that is utterly delicious. But that’s not all! You’re better than butter on my toast, because you melt instantly and taste like a vacation!
And then there’s the body care! I have a horrible skin care routine – as in, non-existent. Coconut oil has become my fabulous night creme, my everyday eye creme, and my once-a-week hair mask! It rinses cleaner than an olive oil mask, smells beautiful, and keeps me petting my hair for days :)
2. Raspberry Chocolate Truffle K-cups!
I haven’t been a fan of flavoured coffee since high school. I’ve since grown some taste buds and can be a bit of a coffee snob at times. I watch the baristas when they pull my espresso shots, counting the seconds before they “die” in the cup. But this? Wow! I found these K-cups at Erin’s wedding shower, and I’ve been obsessed with them ever since! The raspberry smells heavenly, and the chocolate doesn’t overpower the coffee. It doesn’t taste fake. It tastes like a bite of chocolate-covered raspberry, washed down with coffee. Perfection :)
3. My infinity scarf!
photo courtesy of www.lululemon.com

I won’t lie – I’m not really a huge fan of lululemon anymore. The hype has worn off, and while their products are great, I hate that they’ve outsourced overseas at the expense of quality. Still the same price point as the early years, with a noticeable decline in quality even if it does still last a long time.

BUT! My sister bought me this scarf at Christmas, and rarely a day goes by that I don’t have it wrapped around me! It is about 4 feet by 18 inches, and snaps together on the ends. It is ridiculously soft, unbelievably warm, stretchy and versatile. I usually wear it like the model in the photo, but I can pull it up over my head as a hood, or wrap it like a shawl…I’ve even been shown how to make it into a sweet shrug/vest! Best. Christmas. Gift. Ever!!
It is also good for puppy-wearing my “neice”, Kina ;)
Our well water dries my hair out horribly. Add the ginger locks I was sporting this summer, and you have a rats’ nest of broken, damaged hair despite my stylist-sister’s best efforts. I only wash my hair twice a week (tops), but I condition it after every shower. The coconut oil helps, but Original Sprout’s Tahitian Hair Oil is my on-the-go favourite! Natasha introduced me to it after a Bikram class, and I fell in love. It’s like the lighter version of my coconut hair mask – I can run a pump or two through my wet hair after class, and my hair is lush and silky when it dries! I also use it for the bugz’ hair, because it tames their wild electrocution-style curls into soft princess locks.
courtesy of www.aholyexperience.com
I’ve read along as several bloggie friends have counted their blessings past 1000, and it was something that inspired my own Gratitude posts. This year, however, I decided to take the challenge of counting to one thousand (and beyond). There is a fabulous iPhone app that I downloaded to help me journal every little thing that I am grateful for, and I love it! I can enter simple text, or upload a photo. I am so lazy about pen-to-paper journalling, so this was a nice treat to discover :)
Oh, Instagram! I love this quirky photo app more than you will ever know! I never have my “good” camera with me, and I am so lazy about editing my own photos. I love having this instant photo fun in my purse at all times. Any of the uncredited photos in this post are from Instagram. If you have an iPhone, get it. It’s free, it’s fabulous, and it’s utterly addictive. Snap, layer on an effect, post. The community is fun as well!! And follow me – magzd :)
Now that my coconut oil has sat on my hair long enough (too long, actually!), it’s time for a shower and the rest of my Saturday! 
Happy weekend to all :)

Starting Friday…

I will:

  • sleep
  • watch Treehouse
  • do crafts
  • clean my office
  • get the bugz’ passport applications in!
  • bake bread
  • get ready for Erin’s shower and wedding!! (eeee!)
  • snuggle my bugz
  • detox my hair
  • run
  • play outside (note: need winter boots!)
  • teach ballet
  • visit
  • did I mention sleep??
  • Skype with GG
  • blog more
  • visit Sku
  • travel to see Leith
  • work on my 101 in 1001 list
  • read
  • catch up on True Blood ;)
  • plough the snow out of the forest trails (if it ever snows)
  • print photos (hahaha)
  • make Christmas gifts
  • enjoy life_uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();

Hi!

Just so ya know, I haven’t abandoned you!!_uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();

We went to Jasper this past weekend, and the weekend before I was in an amaaaaaaazing course with Interior Fitness’ Julie Wiebe, and in the week in between I was crazy busy mixed with deathly sick.
Yikes!
Work is work… I was on a later schedule for September which was hard with Leith’s schedule and our day home schedule, but things are back to normal.
Then, all of a sudden it’s October 4 and I have a crazy old man bolting a satellite dish to my roof while my communications-guru husband grinds his teeth because Crazy Old Man doesn’t fly to his standards.
Pretty sure C.O.M. isn’t tied off up there on the roof. If he falls off, do you think we will get a few free months of service?
I hope so…
I am so stinkin’ excited to sit on my butt tonight and watch TV. It’s been THREE YEARS since I cut our cable. We survived, but I’m tired of long winter nights and somedays I just want to veg in front of the TV. Thus, I caved…
The price we pay for rural satellite is ridiculous though…all because we are 5km too far away from civilization. Stupid cable companies.
Meanwhile, I’ve been blogging over here. It’s pretty cool stuff, you know. It even got me into the Rising Star category for the FIERCE Awards on October 20! 
Just a small aside ;)
There’s a change I’m debating in our lives right now…nothing crazy, but I still have some convincing and crunching to do. Lifestyle choices – weighing the pros and cons!
What else, what else?
We are hosting 12 freaking adults and 5 freaking kids at our house for Thanksgiving. I don’t know how I manage to convince myself that this is ever a good idea, but I am low-maintenancing the event and doing a LOT of prep work on Saturday. Then, I will open a bottle of wine and watch TV.
BECAUSE I CAN NOW! HA!
However, I don’t want to get too caught up in my new TV land that I neglect you. My goal is to blog much, much more in October. I miss you all.
Forgive me though – I need to go ensure that the Crazy Old Man hasn’t fallen off my roof.
Ta!

No rest

I’ve been go-go-go-go for so long now that my poor blog is being neglected. I had the best intentions this weekend: I was going to update this one, post in my professional blog, get a photo blog up…

Needless to say, I didn’t achieve any of those bloggy goals. Sigh…

I sit at a computer all day long. When I get home, I barely even turn my iMac on. I eat, wash, clean and go to bed. I don’t even really read at home… I’m feeling technologically overwhelmed and I miss all of you!

So what’s new? Lots has been going on, despite my online absence. I’ve been visiting people in real life (gasp!), planning a family vacation to Mexico (tickes purchased!), cleaning my house like a madwoman, and generally drifting through life.

Some goals for the next few weeks? Get my health on track. Get my nutrition back on track. Get my basic, foundational fitness back on track so I can run safely. Get my energy back up…I’ve been so tired with the lack of activity in my life… Stop eating after 8pm because I’m bored. Stop drinking wine during the week. Stretch. Get to physio…all that good stuff.

Get my ballet student’s started on their Winter Showcase piece. I’m excited to be choreographing :) Start planning out my long-distance running/duathlon training for the winter because I am totally looking forward to racing again next year dammit!

Planning out our winter budget (yawn) so that we can finish our kitchen reno from 2 years ago…finish the flooring in our sunporch before the snow flies…and maybe one day get all the energy upgrades done to our house.

Did I mention Mexico?? I can’t wait for February :) :)

I’m excited to start Vampire Diaries dates with Sherrie again this week. I’ve missed our date nights. I may even go crazy and order sallelite for our house so that we can split date nights. I haven’t had “real” TV in our house since September 2008….

I’ve got professional things coming up too…an online television show on the 22nd, articles to write. I’ve started 2 courses at NAIT from my original program – one as a refresher, one that provides a new certification. I have a workshop coming up in a few weekends that I can’t wait for.

Busy, busy, busy. Not enough hours in the day… But the peace of mind that comes from full-time work is so worth it. I love leaving my work behind at 4:30 and having my evenings and weekends be for me and whatever I need.

Life is good. Busy, but good._uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();

Busy body

I am falling behind as my life speeds up, and things around here are becoming neglected!!_uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();

  • my house
  • my blog
  • my fitness
  • my projects
My goodness! I spent all day today purging and cleaning the main floor of our house. I essentially dumped both bedrooms out on the floor and slaved away until they were done. I scrubbed each bathroom and vacuumed and washed all the floors. In the midst of all of this, I made frequent trips down to our laundry room, swapping and loading clothes and blankets and towels, trudging baskets back upstairs to put away.
I wonder if I would get more laundry put away if it were on our main floor…
Doubtful!
I haven’t been for a run in two weeks. I feel achy and lazy and bored. I’m teaching a 90-minute ballet class, but we all know that teaching ballet falls on the minimal-exertion end of the scale. I’ve figured out a schedule that will get me running and keep my body strong so that I can fight the early onset of Office Azz.  We do not want to be victims of Office Azz over here!! Especially with the cold weather around the corner and the treat counter in my office…
I’m also going to start more long-distance running now that my energy isn’t used up teaching. I want to do a half-marathon early in 2012 so that if I decide to do a full marathon, I’ll still have lots of time. I also got that rotten multi-sport itch when I saw a triathlon going at the TriLeisure centre this weekend. Another duathlon in my future, perhaps?? I’d love to get out to Footstock again…
Not only has my activity level sucked, but my diet has too. I know that it is instinct to crave comfort foods in times of stress, but at some point I need to recognize the power of my own mind! I need a slap upside the head…
My blog…oh, poor bloggity-blog. I miss you! I honestly just don’t have the energy when I get home to type up a post for you :( These once-a-week postings are shameful. I need to put more effort into blogging random stray thoughts to keep you all entertained :) :)
My projects! Oh my!! I’m working on my professional site, with so much to say and too little time to say it. I’ve been invited to be a guest on fusedlogicTV’s Mommy Time segment on September 22. I had an article published for Mommy Connections. I have more interest in my pelvic floor and core training than ever!! It’s nice: I can do as much or as little as I want to and just work on enjoying what I do.
I’ve been madly editing photos. I’m still finishing up Erin’s engagement shoot, and I just shot a wedding on Saturday! I have 350 photos to give them, and I am SO happy with how they all turned out :) It was a beautiful day with a gorgeous bride and stunning wedding party. But no, I am NOT doing another wedding ever again. This was a one-shot special favour ;)
Other than all that craziness, life has been good :) Leith and I relaxed with a couple of movies last night. The bugz have been as good as 3-year olds can be. Work is still great, even when it’s busy. I’ve had some great get-togethers and am just enjoying the ease of this newfound freedom in my life.
I may be falling behind in some areas, but I am enjoying every moment of the ride!

On my mind

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Tonight…

I am cooking ground beef, ground turkey, and maybe even stew meat in preparation for my Big Cook tomorrow. It’s been too long since I did a Big Cook, and I’m tired of coming home hungry at 6pm. On the menu: shepherd’s pie, lasagna, baked pastas, sweet potato burritos, beef stew, broccoli cheese soup and potato corn chowder! Everything is loaded with fresh veggies too – yum!

Oh, and the grand total for groceries for 30 meals? Under $300. That’s right ;) And all of them make enough for next-day lunches for Leith and I.

I made chocolate pizza tonight. I’ve wanted to for SIX years! It was so worth it. Yum! I’m hoping that it kills the cold I’ve been trying to ward off for the past four days…a girl can dream, right? I’ve also been stuffing my cold with lots of sleep and liquid colloidal silver.

I’m still on my 90-say challenge. Shakes for breakfast rock, if I do say! And it’s kept me from gaining weight as I transition to a sedentary job. I’m going to start packing a gym bag to work as well – I get 75 minutes for lunch, which means I have time to go for a run! Yay :) I’m just sad that I don’t have the early lunch shift, because there are great noon hour classes that would be awesome to spice things up :)

I have to give a shoutout to Kim from My Nature Baby. My Reiki session last weekend was incredible, and much needed. I can’t believe how powerful energy healing can be!! Obviously, there’s been a huge amount of stress and change ind the past 3 weeks, and that session made all the world of difference in my ability to handle things. Thank you so much, Kim!

I’ve got a little side project in the works right now…I’m still playing with the name, but it’s a professional outlet of sorts. Somewhere to send people for information and advice about what I do. I’m deciding between two versions of a name, and then it will go live! Can’t wait :)

I have to admit: there are been a lot of people I have cut contact with until all the legal fun of leaving my business is over. That part sucks. There are friends that I lost unfairly, who shouldn’t have been put in that position. I didn’t ask it of them, but they chose nonetheless. For the rest, I made the decision for them so that they wouldn’t need to choose sides. So here is how it stands: if I met you via my former place of employment, I won’t contact you until the legal ink is dry. I don’t want anyone making false presumptions or accusations about your actions or mine.

I’m getting ready for a single parenting stretch this week. I’m surprised how easy it is in the mornings when Leith is gone, but at the same time, things run much smoother when he is here. It’s only 3 or 4 days though, so we should be fine. And I LOVE his away-work paycheques. If I didn’t like having him around, I’d kick him out for the whole summer. 80-hour work weeks make for some pretty pennies ;)

Those pennies also mean that we can go to Mexico this winter – yaaaa! We are doing a big family trip and I can’t wait. It’s been two years since we’ve had any kind of holiday together, and it’s been 4 years since we were in Mexico. The bugz are so excited too. They’ve been talking about it nonstop since I told them yesterday :)

That’s all for now, bloggy friends. I have a couple posts to write later on – maybe I’ll set them to auto publish throughout the week so that you don’t miss me so much :D