Learning Something New

So I tried making sushi rolls for the first time last week. It was fun. I had the bamboo sheet to roll them on and I kept it simple. Tony was very impressed. He came home thinking I was all upset with him because he stayed out to late at the mall after work and he came home to 'sushi Ala Catherine'. I made avocado rolls, shrimp rolls, cucumber rolls, and a combo roll. I have done a little more research and I want to practice before I try out doing the whole raw experience on my own. I feel I should leave that to the experts for now. I would really like to take a sushi making class.

So I registered to Athabasca University. I want to get a Psych undergrad. Hopefully this whole long distance education degree form this University isn't considered a joke. If I discover it is than I will be looking to do it elsewhere. Do you know of any good long distance programs that are considered reputable?

My talk on Sunday went really well. The topic was humility. It was really long and I commandeered almost 25 minutes which is a crazy long time to public speak but it went surprisingly fast. Jacob was crying and reaching for me while I spoke. Tony had to get him away from the sound of my voice so he would stop crying for me. Then when it was Tony's turn to speak I was running around the church looking for him at the intermediate hymn and then he rushed to the front just at the end as we switched off the kid. Tony's talk was on integrity. It was better than mine. It had a good infusion of humour throughout...

Well those are the new things I learned last week.

My Son Has Rhythm

Many months ago I found a musical instrument set at Costco. It is a giant drum filled with different items that make noise including two drumsticks for the drum itself.

My kid is drumming all day long on everything. When he watches his Baby Einstein's and the music is playing he drums. He drums to the music from his Winnie the Pooh car, he drums to his Leap Frog gym music, his Fisher Price Pirate ship music. He drums on everything, everywhere.

For example, he takes the drum sticks and drums on the air intake vent on the wall, on the tables, on the TV, on the hardwood flooring, the closet doors, the bath tub...you name it he's banging on it. And if he can't find his drumsticks? He bangs and things with his hands, knocks on the windows and TV screen...whatever he can do to make noise.

The most hilarious of all is when he sets up his drum and tambourines next to each other, runs over to a toy to set off the music, and then runs back to his drumming area and plays his little heart out. I can tell he feels the music no matter how fast or slow with his whole body. I wonder if he will always feel this way about music.

3 totally different thoughts

Thought number #1:
My kid looks so good in overalls. If I could only put him in overalls I would but sweat pants seems to be his favorite so he mostly wears those. If I had a daughter I would spend so much money on clothes for her that my husband would take away my credit card. So hopefully I won't get a daughter in order to keep us out of the poor house.

Thought number #2:
Because the car is in the repair shop this week we have a rental vehicle. A Kia Sportage. I love this car, as I love most newer vehicles because...the key tag that unlocks the car at a click of a button. When you have a diaper bag and a toddler trying to unlock the door manually is tricky. Same with the trunk for all the groceries. I also love tinted windows because when it is sunny and the bright light shines in Jacob's face he doesn't just cry...he screams like he is being tortured. I like a SUV type car because I like being higher up to see better and I like having 4-wheel option in the snow because I feel safer. The most annoying thing about our old Jeep is it doesn't have cup holders. You don't know how irritating it is to not have a proper cup holder in a moving car until you don't have one especially on road trips! So whatever the next vehicle is that we get I want it to have tinted windows, key less entry, 4-wheel drive, and cup holders.

Thought number #3:
Today is a good day because...

1. I went out with a new friend from church and she has a daughter the same age as Jacob. So I was able to communicate with another female adult. Good thing!

2. Tony came home for lunch and brought with him a new sandwich from Quizno's my favorite place to eat. It was a BBQ chicken. Very Good thing!

3. Jacob slept through the night which means I will be able to work out on the treadmill when he naps instead of floating through the day in a zombie state. Another Good thing!

Well that summorizes my ramblings. Back to work.

My life is at a standstill.

I feel like everything is in a holding pattern and yet life is passing me by. Everything is linked to our house investment in Calgary. We aren't buying things we need or want until the house is complete and sold. I feel I can't make plans like putting Jacob in a weekly class or maybe get a part-time job because of transportation crunches by being on one vehicle. Something that will change once the house is sold. Its hard to settle into our new city and get involved in church with callings etc because we are always going to Calgary on weekends to work on the house. Everything is when the house is done...when the house is done...when the house is done.

I know one thing for sure. I'm done.

The house is looking really good though. There is just so much riding on four walls and a roof that I can't bare the thought of it not working out to meet all our hopes and expectations.

Well this was light and perky wasn't it?

I am so out of shape.

So I put in my "Get Ripped" workout DVD yesterday. I bought it before Christmas and hadn't tried it yet. It uses a lot of free weights and is mainly exercises you would do in a gym. Squats, lunges, dead lifts, blah blah blah...I am in so much pain today!

I can hardly lift my arms because there is a section of push-ups, which I couldn't finish because I am so weak. I couldn't make it through the video...my legs had had enough! Out of the 60 minute video I did 45 minute only using 2 lb weights and sometimes 5 lb weights.

I can't walk up the stairs or down the stairs...and I was taking the easy on this workout. Next time I do it I am going to use no weight at all and forget all the pulsing. I think this video is going to be awesome however, once I get to the point I can get through it without wanting to scream, or die I am not sure which. Those push-ups are going to haunt my dreams until I can get through it.

I refuse to have another baby until I can get my body to the point that it at least recognises its reflection in the mirror again. I used to have such nice abs...boo hoo. When you have a baby it feels like your body is on lone for 2 years. The first year because you are growing the baby, and the second year because you are healing and breast feeding, and getting back in shape. If I can get back into "wicked awesome holy crap you look amazing" shape before I get pregnant again than I'll have a fighting chance after number two.

At least that is what I keep telling myself. There are definitely things that will never be the same again. And all my girlfriends that have had babies know what I am talking about....

Calgary trip wasn't a winner

So I had big plans for my social life this weekend. I was looking forward to seeing my friends and having fun. We have been trying to see a movie for months and it never seems to work out!

As soon as we rolled into Calgary...the second we pulled into the driveway Jacob threw up in his car seat. It was all down hill from there. Because he had puke all over him I had it all over me so I threw his clothes and mine into the wash right way and got him settled. The next morning I discovered that in my haste to get the puke off I forgot that my video iPod was in the pocket of my hoodie. My cherished iPod went through the wash rinse and spin cycle!!! I am still mourning my loss because i use it all the time! Then we ended up in the hospital early Saturday morning after being up all night. And since we were in a hurry to get there we didn't eat anything or sleep all day as well.

If I was more aware of what Croup was I would have caught it earlier and it wouldn't' have progressed so far. They were saying he would probably be admitted by Saturday night. Thankfully after two rounds of treatment (that probably scarred my child for life due to his Dad and I having to restrain him and hold his head for several minutes each time) the oral steroid had kicked in and he was stabilizing.

You should have heard his little crackled and barky voice every time he wanted to say anything it would break our hearts. Well he is on the mend now. He just is really putting up a fight every time its nap or bed time. I would have thought feeling miserable would make him want to go to bed. I guess some things don't change no matter what.

Heading to Calgary Tonight

So we are packing up and going to Calgary this weekend. I really am hoping to see some girlfriends and have some fun while my husband slaves away on our house. That doesn't really seem fair though, maybe I will help him out for a few hours. I am in serious need of kicking back. Grandparents are looking after my little terror and I can experience "FREEDOM" and sing hallelujah praises that I can actually use my right and left hands at the same time as they aren't filled with 27 lbs of toddler or toddler related items.

I was up half the night with him and he didn't seem remotely tired or interested in sleeping. I would dose off while he played in bed next to me and then he would crawl on top of me and put his face like an inch away from mine and say ,"HI!" How's that for a wake-up call every 2 minutes? And I thought he would at least sleep in to make up for not sleeping in the night...also a no in that category. So now I feel like a I am half dead and can hardly move. How am I going to pack up or do my run today? I almost poured juice on my cereal and almost put lotion on my tooth brush.

So of course I have my priorities straight and the first thing I organise is an eye brow shaping appointment. The woman I see for my eyebrows is AMAZING. You know how some women feel about their women doctors? That is how I feel about my eye brow lady. Total commitment!

Music Manic

So my husband got me a gift card to iTunes and I am on the iTunes website in all my spare time. I love listening to music that's new and old music that I loved once and totally forgot about. And with $50 of song credit I feel like I am shopping for fifty different things...which rocks!

I am on the hunt for the perfect running and workout play list. So if you have a running play list please let me know what you recommend. At this moment I am listening to 'Chasing Cars' by Snow Patrol. I also downloaded a few songs by Fray. But my favorite song choice of all right now is 'Take Me Out' by Franz Ferdinand which I got hooked on by playing 'Guitar Hero' on the 360 with my husband till the wee hours of the morning. I am a total rock star when I play that song. It makes me want to play it while sliding across the livingroom floor on my back. And then throw myself towards my vast array of fans for a little crowd surfing. (Just Kidding...okay maybe I'm not).

Boy, I can not handle a late night like I used to especially with an early wake up call from my little guy. I guess with that in mind I am not much of a rock star.

Healthy New Year's Resolution..and this year I mean it!

So I started my workout on January the 5Th. It went way better than I thought I would and I did a lot of stretching afterwards and I wasn't sore at all. I thought I would be in a lot of pain the next day or day after..but no problem.

When I went to the Maritime's with my sister in June she went for a jog and I joined her. I kept up pretty well, even though I was slowing her down, and finished with a good stretch. The next day however....the pain was unbelievable I could hardly move. This pain continued even worse to the 2ND day after and we were on route to the Bay of Fundy/ Hopewell Rocks to watch the Tide go out or come in whatever may be the case at the time of our arrival. To get there you have to walk down a thousand steps..and when your done you walk up a thousand steps. Sometimes I would turn around and walk backwards because it was easier on my aching knees. So I will never, "just go for a jog," when I haven't jogged in months ever again!

I also started a new eating plan to get healthier and help my husband get healthier. I am using YOU: On A Diet and The G.I. Diet (short for glycemic index not G.I. Joe's) for recipes and eating styles.

So far the Harvest soup and whole wheat pizza have been huge hits! If anyone wants the recipe let me know. At the start of the week I make a big pot of soup and cut up veggies for easy access and put in fridge. Then when hunger strikes and your feeling lazy you have something healthy and ready-to-eat and it tastes better over time because ti marinates. I also portioned out nuts and dried fruit for snacks. It seems to be working. I usually eat like crap when I am too tired to make something healthy and when your tired your blood sugar is low and that's when you crave bad food. So having ready made choices are a really good idea.

I am such a sugar junkie that my body is going through withdrawal. I am also off pop which means I am also going through caffeine withdrawal. Hopefully this will end soon because the headaches are terrible. I think all the fibre, vegetables and water will help because it flushes all the crap built up in your body.

Well hopefully this New Year's Resolution won't patter out like it usually does. But my goal to run the 13 miles on May 27Th is a good motivator to keep up on the treadmill. There is the constant state of motion that I am in having a very active little toddler around me to keep me on the move!

A Little Momento

So my son who is 18 months old and hardly talks, except for his own language, cracked me up this morning when I made him breakfast.

I made him cinnamon french toast and cut it up into little squares put it on a plate and let him eat it in front of sesame street while I went to have a shower.

And before I even got my hair wet he marches into the bathroom and knocks on the shower door. I open the shower and he holds up his empty plate until I take it from him. He gives me a single nod of his head and then says," Yummmm...."

I reply with, "would you like some more french toast?" And he simply says, "Yep!" And then marches back out of the bathroom.

So I am left standing in the shower holding an empty plate and laughing.

This goes out to my sista's!

My sistas's are my favorite women in my life. My real sister Alison and my sister-in-law Shannon.

So we are going to run 13 miles on May 27th!!! This can't be true. We have a little less than 20 weeks to train for our half marathon and it can't be done unless I know people are counting on me to do it. Watching my every move, checking up on me like I am a 3 year old. So I am going to track my progress on this blog so my friends can cheer me on or get on my case if I am not hitting the treadmill with intensity.

So I am writing this down so that my chances of succeeding are better and to give a shout out to my running sistas!

p.s. i have a cold so I am going to start training tomorrow.