An update on life

Well it has been 8 months since my last post.  I apologize, to those few readers, for my lack of blogging.  After Allie was born life got a little hectic.  You can understand that, life just gets busy.  In my last post I wrote about, it was probably more like complaining, about lack of motivation.  Well my husband and I have found motivation, in a big way.  He has lost over 40lbs and I have lost 25lbs.  We finally figured out that not only do you need exercise to succeed, but eating is also part of the equation.  Once we got the eating under control the weight seemed to come off easily.  We are eating healthier and we have portion control.  It is amazing what 6 months can do.  The way we think about food is so different compared to six months ago.  How we much we eat, what we eat, where we eat is so completely different.  I am so proud of both of us.  We did it for ourselves, but Allie's birth had a significant impact.  We want to be healthy role models for her.  We want to be able to impose good eating choices and show her we do the same thing.  We don't want a "do as I say not as I do" model for life.   So we are doing well with that part of our life.

I have also started running.  I have always loved to run, but for some reason, I get into it and then out of it.  This time I am in it for good.  I just love to run.  I ran a 10km race on Mother's Day.  I was hoping to do it in 55 minutes.  I wasn't too much off that, I did it in 56:27.  I came in 27th out of the 99 people in my division.  I was quite pleased with myself.  I enjoy running and do it quite frequently.  My husband isn't into working out, but he goes out of necessity.  It makes him miserable, but he knows it needs to get done!

More exciting news....I got into the four year nursing program.  I applied last year but didn't get in due to that fact I didn't get some courses upgraded in time.  I was hoping for the two year program, but that didn't happen, so the four program will have to do.  If I really want to be a nurse then four more years of school will have be the way it is.  At first I was having a hard time dealing with being 37 when I graduate.  It throws a wrench into our live plans like having another baby.  I have learned that life cannot always be planned and to just let things happen.  So perhaps I will have a baby while in my first year of nursing.  It won't be as busy then because I won't have a practicum and I won't have as many classes to take due to the fact I won't have to take electives.  I know school will be challenging with two children, but I am sure it can be done. I cannot be the only one going to school with children.  I also have a wonderful supportive husband who is willing to help in any way he can, not to mention our wonderful family and friends who are there to help as well.  

Our little family is doing well.  Allie is 17 months old now.  She is so cute and smart.  I cannot believe how fast and well she develops everyday!  She is the highlight of our life.  She brings us such joy and happiness.  My husband's day care is going well.  I guess I should mention that he started a daycare in January.  He has two kids other than Allie and loves every minute of it!

8 months is a long time to not to write anything, so for me to say there is not really anything new seems far fetched, but I honestly cannot think of anything else to tell you at the moment.  The news I just delivered, above, is the most exciting and worthy of writing about. 

MOTIVATION

I need some, in a bad way! There are many things I would love to do, but just cannot find the motivation to do any of them. One thing I really want to do is get back into shape. I was doing great for a while, but then I fell off the Jillian Michael's wagon. I really like how she organizes her workouts, but I find myself bored with sitting in front of a t.v. doing the same thing over and over. I like to get into shape when it involves doing things I like to do. I like to exercise, but more when its doing something fun like riding a bike, or running, yes I said running. I want to start running, and eventually run in a marathon. That is a goal of mine. Here is the problem, I cannot find the motivation. Perhaps I don't want it bad enough, or I want it, but don't want to put the work in. There are things that need to get done around the house, somethings that need fixing up, but I don't have the motivation nor the energy to do anything. Maybe that's what being a parent is like. I spend a lot of energy, which I don't mind, chasing around a very mobile 9 month old. Not to mention the fact that most nights we don't get very much sleep because according to my daughter sleep is an option!

Anyway the point is I need motivation and don't have any. If any readers out there have any to pass along, please do! For now I guess I am just stuck in this rut, but I will get out. I have no doubt that I will do what I have my mind set on, it just might take a bit of time!

September

Today is the first day of September. I like this day, mainly because its my birthday, but also because Fall starts. Don't get me wrong, I love summer, but I think I love fall just as much! The only downside to fall is the season that follows it! Don't act like you don't know what I am talking about. That season should not be mentioned until the day that white stuff starts to fall. I am not about to take the blame for that disgusting season to start earlier than it has to, all because I mentioned it here! Anyway, fall is such a nice season with all it's bright colors. I also love that you can wear a sweater with no jacket! I love sweater season!

I would like to say I love September because that is when school starts, however since I did not get into school, I cannot say that! I guess the nursing program is full and I did not get off the wait list. So that means I get to look for a full time job! OOHHH I am so excited. (insert sarcasm here). I don't mind working, its just that I would rather be in school for something I really want to do. The job I find now just seems like a waste of time! I am 32 today. I feel like my life is beginning later and later. Not that it has started it some aspects. I love my husband and daughter. I am grateful for the house we were able to buy. What I mean is now that I have to wait for another year to get into school. That means another three years until I can begin my career and another 4 or 5 years until we can expand our family! It just seems like, some days, I am going nowhere fast! Well that is the end of my pity party, I promise.

I am going to go out and fun today. I am not sure what we are doing, but it won't be sitting around here all day! My husband and daughter are both sick so it won't be anything too wild and crazy, but just go have fun as a family!

OUCH!

OUCH, is all I have to say about getting back into shape. After not being at the gym for a couple of months, I decided it was time to get back into it! I bought Jillian Michael's (you know the girl from the biggest loser who is mean and makes everyone cry), DVD and I am the one who is crying. It is a 30 day shred. So you workout with her for 20 minutes a day for 30 days, and she guarantees you will lose weight. I am starting day 4 today, and quite frankly I am scared. I am still on the first level, there are three, and you move up when you feel comfortable. I won't be moving for a while. So I do the same exercises each day, but each day I feel the pain! I miss being in shape. It is much easier to maintain. Getting into shape is rough! Every body part, and even ones I didn't know I had, hurt...a lot!! I cannot give up though, I need to get back into shape. It's not even about losing the weight, but about being healthy, and more importantly being around for my daughter. My husband is doing the workout as well. We are both feeling the pain! All I can say is better pay off, eventually!

Just when you think you have gotten ahead....

Just when you think you have gotten ahead, BAM, the universe turns against you. We had a flood while we were on vacation. The insurance settlement is finally on its way and its a lot more than we expected. Of course this is a good thing. We have many plans on how to distribute the money. We are going to be responsible with it. We were all hyped up to pay off some debt. That is until the car gods decided to screw us! We have a 2o year old car. We have already put tons of money into it, and now it looks like we need to use some of our insurance settlement to fix the dumb thing! I am being optimistic in that it won't cost a lot of money, but since it won't start, I am assuming it's going to be a lot. The dumb car won't start! This is no minor thing! The kicker about this whole thing is that we are not keeping this car for much longer. We are getting, a new to us, car in a month and a half! I am so freaking annoyed that we have to spend money on something we are not planning on keeping!! So now we have to spend a lot of money that we don't have right now, which means we will have to borrow it until we get our insurance settlement and we have to wait until Monday to get our car fixed. This means that for three days we are stuck at home, and of course we don't live in town! AWSOME!

I am also super stressed out because my chemistry exam is coming up in two weeks. I am not good at chemistry, but what's more stressful is that I thought I was good at biology and it turns out that I barely passed the whole course. I thought I did alright on the exam and assignments, but nope I passed by the skin of my teeth! Not a great feeling considering the field I want to study which is all about biology! I try to tell myself that it was a correspondence class with no instructor and that for being a new student to this I did pretty well. Some days it works, and some days it doesn't!

Anyway this is my annoyed rant! I hope tomorrow will be a better mood day!

Home Sweet Home

I love going on vacation. It was nice to see my family, and especially see them meet my sweet little baby! Of course they adored her, who wouldn't! As nice as it is to go on vacation, it is just as nice, sometimes even better, to come home! Even with all the problems we had when we got home, it was still nice to arrive! While we were away our basement flooded. Thankfully the cleanup and insurance claim was being taken care of while we were gone. We had a lot of things replaced. Perhaps it was better it happened while we were away. I am sure living without water is not much fun. The water is out of the basement and our hot water tank (the source of the flood) has been replaced. We now are patiently waiting for our insurance claim to progress so we can purchase a new washer and dryer, and a new deep freeze. I hope a new washer and dryer appear soon as we have a lot of laundry to do, especially with cloth diapers.

When we arrived home, we discovered our car did not work. Apparently the parking brake seized. A lesson to all you standard drivers, if you go away for a long period of time, make sure you have someone drive your car, or at least release the parking brake from time to time. Our mechanic told us to drive it back and forth and it would release easy. This was not the case. After ruining our driveway, we figured out that the advice we were given was not as easy as once thought. So my husband had to take the wheel off to release the brake! This wouldn't have been so bad had we realized this at the beginning. For 24 hours we were without a car. This wouldn't have been a big deal, but we had no food in our house, and a screaming 7 month old baby. The little munchkin was so out of whack and so tired that we ended up taking her to the emergency room because we were unsure as to why she had been crying for 6 hours. We thought maybe she had an ear infection from the plane ride. Anyway without a car we had to think fast. At 1230 am we borrowed a neighbor's car, and drove into town to the hospital. It turns out there was nothing wrong, thank goodness! At 2 am we thought it would be a good idea to get some groceries since we weren't sure how long we be without a car. Thank goodness for a 24 hour Sobeys!

We tried for 6 hours to put the little munchkin to sleep, or at least ease, but nothing was working. Finally, at 4 am the little munchkin calmed down and fell asleep. The time change was taking it's toll. 3 hours is a big time change for such a little girl. We have been home for three days and we are still not quite back to normal.

I hope things get back to normal soon. I still have a biology exam to study for, and a chem assignment to finish. I have tried studying everyday since we have been home, but I just can't seem to get into the groove. I think I need to just recover from the jet lag, and start fresh this weekend, once I have had more sleep.

Finally here

Well we finally made it to Alberta! It has been a long wait for my parents to meet our sweet little munchkin! Like most grandparents they adore her, and of course why shouldn't they! We are having a great time here! We haven't been doing anything too wild and crazy, but yesterday we went to the zoo. The little monkey seemed to enjoy herself! There were so many animals to look at, and due to her age, she was mostly interested in chewing on things and babbling. I am quite certain she took it all in, but some things take priority. Today we are going to Heritage Park.

It's crazy how out of whack little babies can get when travelling. A new environment, new time zone, new smells, and people make for a cranky baby! Actually she wasn't that bad, but compared to her normal bubbly self, she was cranky! Sleeping has been a little bit of an issue. She is sleeping in a play pen, but on the floor, which she is not used to. She goes to sleep fine in the beginning, but then for some reason wakes up and ends up in our bed. This means that one of us, my husband or I, ends up sleeping in another bed for the remainder of the night. She doesn't normally wake up in the middle of the night to eat, or otherwise, but due to the change in sleeping arrangements, perhaps she just needs a little comforting! I can understand that, and have to appreciate it. One night she was really upset, and it was stressing me out that she was crying. We are staying at my parents house afterall, and I was worried everyone was being kept awake, and that caused me to be a little annoyed! I know its not her fault she was upset and just needed a little TLC, but I was way overtired. My sweet husband took her, rocked her and told me to leave the room. I have learned that her needs are more important than my stressing about what others think, and that my parents don't care if she cries. She is a baby, that is what she does! We are leaving for B.C on Sunday to visit more family. I am excited about that trip as well.
I am excited about going to the Stampede. I hope time allows us to get there at least one day, just to walk around and take in the sights. I love the stampede and have been going for years. When I lived here, it was my favorite time of year! I think I am one of the few Albertans who still love this tradition. Yes its busy and noisy, but its awsome. The food is awsome, the exhibits are amazing and the people watching is out of this world!