Feb
2015

It’s gymnastics and rock shows all up in here!

IMG_1442I was accepted into the advanced gymnastics program!!! 

IMG_1331He said

There’s only been a couple weeks in this Wellness Challenge and already I am feeling a difference in how my clothes fit. Pants are looser, shirts don’t need stretching and overall I am just feeling better. And, for the first time in a very long time I have been consistently hitting and beating my daily Nike+ Fuel goal for the day. I am down 10 lbs since I started tracking in the Lose It app a couple weeks before the challenge began and I had logged my starting weight.

IMG_1494I definitely am a big fan of the change in diet and have found that the tracking my intake in the Lose It app. It’s made things like what eating a Timbit (85 calories each) get nipped very quickly in the bud as well as helping me to realize that if I want a glass of wine or two at night, it will require a bit more exercise in the bank through the day to make calorie room for the vino. But, this challenge has also gotten me back to a much more consistent exercise routine. And that is the best part. Well, that and that our team has been in the number one place throughout the company from day one. And still are as of tonight!

IMG_1342This week my glasses finally arrived that confirmed, yes I am – in fact – getting older. A few weeks ago I went in for an eye exam with the suspicion that I was going to need glasses being that reading lately had become more of a challenge. Well, that was confirmed when the doctor prescribed glasses for reading. So, with that prescription in tow, Danielle and I started hunting through the glasses at Warby Parker—a company I had admired their business model for some time. And after much testing with their online ‘Photo Booth’ we settled on the Burke frame in the Tennessee Whisky colour. On Tuesday they arrived and I am very happy with them and how they look. And hey, if I have to wear glasses, I may as well look good doing so!

IMG_1520Wednesday night was an evening out for Danielle and I at a raw show. We’re both pretty much huge fans of the band Stars so last fall when their show was announced at The London Music Hall, I bought tickets the second I knew they were available. I think they’re a band we’ve seen the most together, and Danielle and I have an open ended agreement that if they play somewhere that we’re able to go to the show, we’re there. And the best news was the opener on this tour is another band we love in Hey Rosetta. But the added kicker in all of this was our friend Dawn was coming down from Toronto for the show, with our friend Johanna who came in from her doctor gig in South Carolina. They were headed on to meet mutual music-loving friends in Winnipeg the next day but  made an evening out with us and some great music.

IMG_1488By the time I got home from work on Wednesday Emelia was already off with Poppa to her hiphop dance class at the Y. My Dad had graciously taken up the offer to watch Emelia so Danielle and I could go out for the night of music. So, Danielle and I were off to the Old South Village Pub to meet up with Dawn, Johanna, and our other friends Allyson, Derek and Lizz for dinner before heading off to the show. It was a great meal filled with lots of catching up and equal parts laughter—it reminded us just how long since we were last together and how much we missed them too.

TIMG_1359he show itself was amazing! The London Music Hall was not one of our favourite venues for it’s big cement box setup and overly loud acoustics. But, in the last year they had completely gutted and renovated the venue. It has drastically improved the setup such that I will be way less hesitant to see a show there in the future! Both Hey Rosetta and Stars did not disappoint but if I had to pick a winner on the evening it was definitely Stars just because of the connection that Danielle and I have through this band. Every single time they put on a show that leaves us acting and feeling like kids again! It was funny as I was showing Emelia pictures of the show, she pointed to the people with their arms up in front of us and she said “look at those young crazy teenagers!” and I showed her the one of Danielle and I (you can see it along the side here) and said to her, “well your Daddy and Mummy were crazy teenagers that night too!” I think she rolled her eyes.

IMG_1377Saturday was Valentine’s Day and I had to work. But, I did have a few tricks up my sleeve… First Emelia and I had worked on a lovely sparkle heart shaped card for Danielle on Friday night. And then on Saturday I managed to find a beautiful rose gold heart that had embedded sparkly looking diamond-like stones for her Pandora bracelet. And while we weren’t ‘supposed to’ buy things for each other I couldn’t resist the heart in rose gold that would be (hopefully) the only rose gold item on her bracelet so it would both stand out and represent her and I as it is the same rose gold from our wedding set. She was definitely surprised and slightly angry as we were supposed to not be doing any gifting — which was entertaining and thanks enough for me. Plus, I didn’t sign no contract! 🙂

IMG_1510Sunday was a blur of work and then relaxing at home. But it was all a nice set up for today which was Family Day! All three of us with no where to be but with each other for the entire day! We started with Emelia actually waking up and going downstairs all by herself and getting her own breakfast which meant Danielle and I could sleep in a bit more. When 7:45am rolled around and it was apparent I wasn’t going to be able to sleep any more I headed downstairs and hung out with Emelia. An hour and half later Danielle met us downstairs and we enjoyed the first lazy paced morning together in a while. It was perfect bliss! We made it over to the Y for me to get a workout in and for Danielle and Emelia to discover what they had going on today. After the workout and home for lunch and shower and some puttering about the house we made it over to Grandma and Poppa’s for a visit and dinner.

IMG_1463The week was a great mix of a lot of things I really love (family, friends, food, exercising, music and work). And here it is a Monday night and I am looking at another day off tomorrow too! Couldn’t think of a better way to have a week end or begin!

 

She said

This week was another that seemed to go by in a blink of an eye. It was filled with Emelia’s normal activities as well as a few workouts for me (a few less than I had hoped).

IMG_1337Last Sunday I had been talking to Emelia’s gymnastics coach about the next steps for Emelia in her classes. She is far and above the level that the other children are in her class and her current coach the first week pulled me aside and asked how long she had been taking classes because she was not in the level she should be. This put the bug in all our ears about seeing what needed to be done to allow Emelia to be challenged at something that she not only loves but that she has a real natural talent for.

IMG_1504After a few more weeks at her current program, Jenna, her coach said that by invitation only children can be moved to the advanced program. Emelia was technically not at the badge level that they need to be in the program but Jenna had said after the first week of classes she would back that Emelia had completed the two badges she required to move up. So she said I needed to put in a request to have Emelia moved to the advanced program and that she would 100000% back her being ready. So the request went in, the assessment by her coach was submitted and this week we found out she has been invited to move up to the advanced program. To say Emelia was excited was the understatement of the century. So next term she moves to a more focused training class and double the time she is at the gym. We are so proud of her!

That was the great news this week for sure.

IMG_1489Wednesday we had a much needed break from the day to day of this LONG and cold winter. I really needed a break from the cabin fever and a night out with friends, John and music was exactly what I really needed. And to see two of our favourite bands with some of our favourite people could not have been better. All in all Hey Rosetta and Stars is exactly what this stir crazy mama needed. We had an absolute blast and the night went by far too fast.

In the middle of our normal busy week I had been having a horrible nagging pain in my one teeth. This is a tooth that over the years has caused a fair bit of problems, but the pain now was too much to ignore. I tried once again to book an appointment with our dentist. Well, our dentist has limited hours, one night a week that is later appointments but with John’s work schedule and my job limiting my ability to have appointments in the day it was becoming more and more difficult to book appointments. Something had to change.

IMG_1518After asking around to friends we found a new dental practice that had 4 dentists as part of the practice and open 6 days a week. MUCH better for our lives. So last week I was able to get in and get my tooth checked and tomorrow I am going to get this tooth hopefully fixed once and for all. Because the pain at times is horrible.

The week itself went by quite fast, and before we knew it the weekend was upon us and thankfully it was a long weekend to boot! Sadly John had to work most of the weekend again but Emelia and I managed to fill our time and have a great time together. The mission of slowly picking away at her spring/summer wardrobe continues. We had been waiting for an upcoming sale at one of her new favourite stores so we could get a few things. Justice is an overpriced clothing store that you really need to wait for the sales to assure it is even remotley affordable. Seriously for the quality of the clothes the prices are insane. Thankfully Emelia can be quite sensible when I explain the finances part of things that she is willing to wait for the sales and buy a few select pieces from Justice and get the basic other clothes from places like Old Navy that have much better pricing and much better sales.

IMG_1507So with a big sale this weekend she and I took on Justice. Now shopping for clothes with Emelia is like a form of mommy torture, she has not a clue what she wants but she is more than sure what she doesn’t want. She is quite certain she wants to make her own choices when it comes to clothes so mommy suggesting anything is well not well received at times. But we managed to get a handle on the styles she liked and decided to try on more than she wanted or needed so she could really decide what she felt was worth it. I was strict with the budget and she was great about that. In the end she came out with some cute tops and a pair of capris. So we have a start. I also got her some things on a big sale at Old Navy so we do have a good start of the upcoming season, between what we found last weekend, what we got this weekend and what I have found used on kijiji she is getting a good start. And we managed not to come out of the store in one piece! All in all our girly shopping day Saturday was a big success.

IMG_1512Saturday was also Valentine’s Day, and although I swore John and I had agreed that we were NOT going to exchange gifts this year, John did not listen and managed to completely surprise me with a stunning addition to my pandora bracelet. I adore it even though he got a firm we said we were not exchanging gift speech from me! But I do love it, it’s perfect.

Sunday was another busy day, although we did take this at a much slower pace. The beyond frigid temperatures had taken over from the snow storm the day before and we decided that we would take the morning a bit slower. We got our groceries done and then stayed home until we had to venture out to gymnastics. Emelia was in her glory again in her ‘zone’ showing Jenna all that she had obsessively practiced over the last week. I am so happy to see my shy, inward child really come out of her shell in her true happy place. On the floor she is confident, sweet and loves helping the other children learn.

IMG_1513By the end of Sunday however I think she and I had hit a wall with shopping so we came home and stayed warm while I got supper together and then we went out to get John at work. We had a quiet end of a long day and settled in for the night.

And then today, our glorious day off together. This might not seem like much to most people but this entire month we have not had a single day off together the three of us. John has days off, I have days off, Emelia has days off but only Emelia’s and my days off match. John has had to work every weekend and again next weekend so for us to have Family Day off as a family was perfect. We took our morning like we used to Sunday mornings, quiet, having breakfast, vegging and taking the morning at a super lazy pace. It was bliss! By noon we decided we should venture out and so we went to the Y to see what they had going on. They always have a ton planned for Family Day so Emelia was quite excited.

IMG_1334By the time we got there the programming that offered child minding was done so John was able to get a workout in while I stayed with Emelia and we made our way through all the fun activities they had. She did the rock wall, played basketball, did crafts, ran her way through the obstacle course about 15 times. Basically we made our way through as many activities as we could while John got his workout done.

We ended the day with more family time, this time with Grandma and Poppa. So basically a perfect end to a day to celebrate time as a family!

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