~ Whoa, twice in one week ~

Amazing....I know. Two blog updates in one week.

But I forgot to mention the movie I went to see. It's not a movie for everyone....it's got 'stuff' in it that I know some would not find amusing. However I am not everyone, and I am slightly sinful most of the time. So me and my two pals that went to see it....loved it!! It is literally a movie about me. Not because the story has anything to do with me at all...but just because a bunch of stuff is said or done that is exactly how I would have said or done. In fact a couple times D leaned over and said....that sounds like you. Or " you totally would have said that". I'm my own girl....take it or leave it. Anyway, we had a great time at the movie. Nearly 4 years we've lived here and never gone to the small local theatre, will be frequenting there more often.

I came home and said to my wonderful husband that I adore....any chance you could be ripped and Irish? He rolled his eyes.

That's it...laundry, kids and GST returns are calling.

~ Snow Days ~

Today is the second day of cancelled school due to the extreme cold. My children are in their glory....I am not. I love my children dearly, really, but I need my time away from them. Being home all day everyday is taking it's toll on my patience. They only had three days of school this week anyway, now they'll be lucky to have one. And to add to the festivities, my neck is so stiff. I don't know why, but it is adding to the joy.

So I've been challenged. Challenged by 3 different people to train for a Triathlon this summer. Actually to train for 3-4 different Triathlons. I'm excited and intimidated. Running and biking...no problem. Swimming, I'm not a good swimmer. I have six months to whip into shape....or drown and be done with it all. Started running again last week. Really running....running the whole 5k no matter how long it took me. This week I haven't done anything yet as this neck is having issues...but I still plan to hit the treadmill at least 3 times. I love running. I love how hard it is sometimes, but how satisfying it feels when I finish. The biggest challenge with training is the time factor. There is limited time that I can put in. And even more limits on the time that my children allow. Swimming is proving to be the challenge as the lanes are only open at certain times and many of those times do not fit into my schedule. There isn't babysitting at my pool, so another obstacle. I'll figure it out, while I fret about drowning.

It's tax season. My life is crazy busy all the time, but in tax season it takes on a whole new level. Tax season changes my job from part time that feels like full time.....to full time that feels like I never leave my office. So many of my clients show up at this time, some well organized and others with their paperwork looking like they crumpled it up and put a hose on it. This year I'm lucky to have my friend K working for me and helping with the file organization. That really helps...but the pressure is still on. So if I don't update my blog regularly, it may be because I drown, but more likely because I'm filing GST returns.

Tyler started Lacrosse last week. We're lucky to have a new league starting up in our town. This has allowed for the coaches to offer a winter training session that is no/low contact and teaches the boys the game. I'd looked into Lacrosse for him before, but it was really expensive and dove right into the season. I knew he's take one hit and we'd be done. This is perfect, he learns the game and gets eased into being beat up on the field. He loves it.....loves it. Came out of practise last week and pulled off his helmet to reveal wet sweaty hair and the biggest grin I've seen in a long time. "That was great mom!". He's growing up so fast, I can't believe it. He's turning 11 in a couple months.....what happened to my little boy.

On to the good stuff....

1. TV is crappy lately. Stupid writers strike. Who are they really punishing....me. My decompress time at night is in my bed watching all my favorite shows that I've PVR'd. Now my choices are Miss America Reality Check, dumb Canadian shows that have bad acting and worse dialogue.... GIVE ME BACK THE GOOD STUFF. I have been taping American Idol lately, which I never really got into before. "Let my People GOOOO"....oh, that was a good one. What are these people thinking. You're 900 pounds, a transvestite and can't carry anything resembling a tune....but let's audition for American Idol. No wonder Simon is so bitter.

2. Doesn't it get cold in Korea? We have lots of Korean exchange students in our town. They do not wear coats. It's minus 50 kabillion outside and they're walking to school in a hoodie. Welcome to our country, this is called a touque.

That's it. Only two today, sorry. But here is what so many of you have been asking me for.

Zero to 5K in Eight Weeks Program - Weel 1 - look to the sidebar.

You can do it!! Get started, and next week I'll give you my commentary on the things I changed and the challenges I faced.

~ Sick....again ~

I'm sick again....what the heck?!?!?!? I'm usually very healthy and rarely get sick at all. But my kids have been awake a lot in the night, which means I'm awake. I get run down, and my immune system weakens, and I start getting migraines again. So craporama, I'm sick again.

So Friday night I was invited to play in a 3 on 3 basketball tournament. First of all let's make is very clear, I am not a good basketball player. I'm 5'8", so people have always assumed that since I've got a bit of height that I play.....no no no. I chased boys in high school, not a basketball. I think Cheryl, the organizer, was desperate for bodies so she called me. I've been out to play at the weekly girls game night at the church, but I do a lot of talking and not a lot of shooting. In fact I do A LOT of talking, it's to make up for my lack of skill. Anyway, it was fun. The first game we got our butts kicked, as there were some girls on the other team that were there to really play, not just have a fun time. The second game was pretty fun though. We were a little more evenly matched and knew each other pretty well.

Though I had fun, I've been regretting it ever since. First of all, I'm a runner. So my motion is all forward. Basketball is not all forward, we were playing half court so there was no running really. My legs and butt are KILLING me. I'm walking like a zombie. Owen even said to me as he's watching me try to climb the stairs, "Why are you walking like that Mommy?" "Oh because mommy thinks she's tougher than she is...and is now finding out that she's not back in shape yet". The tournament was supposed to be Friday night and Saturday. I didn't make it to the Saturday games. I woke up with a really sore and swollen throat, which is even worse today. I should have done better on the Saturday as they played full court and I could have put my running into use. Whatever. I never professed to be a good player.

I've been getting comments lately that my blog isn't quite what it used to be. The slightly offensive, mostly "hit the nail on the head" comments that everyone else thinks but only I say. So since I'm not working today, I make my own schedule so I think I should be able to play hooky when I can hardly talk because my throat is so swollen. I thought I'd bring back the glory of my cynical self. Lucky you!!

1. I don't understand piercings. I know I've said this before....but really what is the point. You have holes in your skin.....whoa you must be tough. I think it's even more interesting on girls. What exactly are you trying to say about yourself. I'm tough than you because I can take the pain of nails being driven into my skin. In this basketball tournament on the weekend, there was a girl there with a bunch of piercings. She was a good player, definitely a committed athlete. The had the body and the Lulu lemon clothes to prove it. But she had a piercing at the back of her neck...like right at the top of your collar. That's a new one, haven't seen one there before. So we're playing, well she's playing and I'm staying out of her way so she can just get the basket and not hurt me in the process....and all the sudden she run to her friend saying...."Ow ow, help me, my hair is caught on my piercing."

2. I'm shopping over the holidays.....by myself, a rare treat. In line, a pretty long line since it's boxing week sales. The family behind me is yelling at their kids....not scolding, not sternly warning...Yelling. I've gotten pretty angry at my kids in public, they can put on quite a show when they want something...and I've hauled them out of places none too sweetly...but at the top of my lungs yelling at them....wow. Through the course of the yelling it comes out the possibly they're acting like hellions because it's 2:00, they haven't had lunch and they've been in the mall for 5 hours. Huh, what was your first clue?

3. My next favorite thing is when people allow their children to run around store. Run...like playing tag in between all the racks of clothing. They're off in dream world and the kids are dodging through the mannequins. Shouldn't there be a course or certificate you need to have with the following prerequisites to being a parent.

a) Wipe noses within 3 minutes of the drip actually reaching their mouth and the tongue being used as a windshield wiper.

b) Stripes and flowers do not go together as an outfit.

3) Sweatpants are not church appropriate attire.

4) "You're it" and grocery store are not compatible.

5) The higher the decibel of your disciple does not prove to people that you are a good parents, even if you're disciplining in Wal-Mart.

4. I have a huge pet pieve with people talking out loud during church. We teach our children constantly about revernce, and yet parents spend the entire meeting doing any communication in their outside voice. Do you think no one can hear you? So there are three teenage boys sitting behind us yesterday, and no parents. I knew it wasn't going to turn out well. Sure enough, they talk out loud the whole meeting. It's very distracting. You're trying not to listen to their conversation, but how can you not. It was physically refraining myself from turning around with a sweet smile and shushing them. But one of them has a mother that if she saw me doing that, I'd be tried and convicted for child abuse. So I grimmed and bared it. But really.....you're in a church meeting and my 15mo old is quieter.

5. Why do husbands think that practise makes perfect? Practising more is not going to make a cuter child. It's genetics not rehersal.

6. Since the writers are on strike, many of my favorite shows have gone off the air. So I've taken the time to check out some new ones....or at least PVR some new ones. Since I've been sick the last couple days....I've watched some. First of all Miss America Reality Check. Let me start by saying that I could take notes and make multiple blogs entries about this show. They're all pretty and thin, I'll give them that. But don't tell me that there is a stigma against Pageant girls that is unwarranted. Watch this show, it's worth the laugh.

7. Some of my favorite shows at the moment. Jon & Kate plus 8. I so 'get' this mom. She and Jon have almost the identical relatinship to Brian and I. I have also been told this about Ray and Debra on Everybody loves Raymond. People think we are snappy with each other a lot. It's just how we are....we're actually pretty big fans of one another. Next...Men in Trees. I like this show, good looking guys....simple story....I enjoy it. Of course there's Greys, and ER and Prison Break (which is getting more and more disappointing lately). I never really got into 24 or Lost...always catch up with the DVD sets later, my BIL has them all.

8. In addition to TV I've also been catching up on movies over the holidays. This week we watched 3:10 to Yuma, Rescue Dawn and Wild Hogs. All decent. Then I watched on my own....The Illusionist and the The Prestige. Which quite frankly, are quite similiar. Anyway, nothing witty about either of those points....just some info on my entertainment choices lately.

9. The brain is still fuzzy from all the drugs....so I'm stopping here today. Will attempt to get back to my usual shocking self next week.

~ New Year ~

Happy New Year to all!! Hope your holidays and Christmas season were fun, restful and free of children fighting (ya right!!)

I've had some requests to post the rest of the running schedule that I began with last year. I will do that...just need to get the sheets together again....keep looking back.

I was reading Heather D. White's blog and enjoyed her review of her year. Thought I'd follow suit.

2007 in review

1. What did you do in 2007 that you have never done before? I began a running program. I have never been particularily athletic, nor done really regular excercise. However I was encouraged when a running program began in our paper and I put on my runners that day and got on the treadmill. Since that time I lost 20 pounds, ran two 5 km races and have even bigger goals for this year.

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions and will you make more for 2008? I did keep my one New Year's Resolution to get in better shape...and I'll be making more loafty goals for 2008. But as any person, there were some that I failed miserably at...keeping the house organized, talking nicely all the time...blah, blah, blah

3. Did anyone close to you give birth in 2007? In 2007 a baby was born and brought to our family.... she is now my neice. I don't know her birth mother, but the mother who loves her now is a special person in my life.

4. Did anyone close to you die in 2007? Yes I lost my Aunt Linda in 2007. She was an amazing woman who I have many memories of growing up. I was always closest to her son Jim and we got in plenty of trouble together. She made me a better person, she continues to.

5. What countries did you visit this year? I visited the US of A in March and Mexico in December.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? I would like to have more patience with my children, more acceptance of those around me, more empathy for those who mourn and more gratitude for those that serve.

7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? October 5, 2007 is the day my baby turned 1 year old...and our life of babies ended. Our family is complete with the four children we have. It was a sad day as I have always loved babies, but a happy one as we look forward to our life with these children.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Crossing the finish line of my first race. I didn't win, but I didn't lose. I had set a goal to train, had worked hard and had accomplished something....that is a fulfilling thing.

9. What was your biggest struggle in 2007? My biggest struggle of 2007 and any other year is to understand my son.

10. Did you suffer any illness or injury in 2007? I puked for the first time in about 8 years.....do you want to know that?!!!

11. What was the best thing you bought this year? I didn't buy it....my husband bought if for me...but it has to be my PVR. Man I love that machine.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? I think any of behavior you see when I put on my 'Primary President" had merits celebration. It is generally out of character for me, and my friends get a real kick out of watching me when I have the hat on.

But beyond myself I have to high five the behavior of my youngest brother Devon. He's made some astounding changes in his life....that have brought him back into my life. I can't express how happy I am about this and how much I look forward to spending time with him.

13. Whose behavior dissappointed you? That would be my own...I dissapoint myself on a regular basis.

14. Where did most of your money go? Most of our money goes to living....everyday regular life. But I did save for 7 months to take our family vacation to Vancouver, and I did save for 5 months to go to Mexico. It's amazing how much a free trip can cost you.

15. What did you get really really excited about this year? My trip to Mexico.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007? I'm always a fan of Nickelback....those guys kick my butt when I'm running.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: much happier, much nicer or richer? We are a little richer as the shop Brian runs is doing really well and we're starting to see the benefits of that....but no one is retiring yet. I'm definately happier as I'm very content in my life and love right now. And Nicer....well that depends on who has annoyed me lately.

18. What do you wish you had done more of? Really listening to my children, it's one of my goals for this year. Really hear what they're saying to me.

Talking to Terra....I miss her.

19. What do you wish you had done less of? Over thinking issues and words that only affect my life because I let them. As my good friend says.... "Don't own it"

20. Did you fall in love in 2007? I fall in love with Brian every time I see him playing with our children...he's an amazing father.

21. What was your favorite TV Program in 2007? The Amazing Race

22. What was the best book you read this year? Really enjoyed the Vampire books....you know which ones....is there a name to the series??

23. What was your greatest musical discovery this past year? Really enjoyed Josh Grobans christmas CD.

24. What did you want and get? I wanted to lose that baby weight from that last baby. Got it. This year...want to take off some more....hope to get it.

25. What was the best movie you saw this year? They weren't even the best ones out there...but I have Catch and Release on my PVR...that boy is pretty. I also really enjoy The Family Stone, I laugh out loud at the movie no matter how many times I watch it.

26. What did you do on your birthday and how old did you turn? My birthday is on Thursday...so is that last years birthday? I was 32 and we went out for dinner with the kids....sort of the same plan this year.

27. What one thing would have made your year more satisfying? More satisfying...I'm still working in figuring out that special ingredient in my life that would let me fall into bed everythday feeling like it was a productive day on all the levels.

28. How would you describe your personal fashion statement this year? I hope I improved my fashion statement. As I lost weight I saw that you have to look good for every pound. You can't wait until you have th weight off to buy cute clothes and look put together. If you always feel good about yourself then it shows. It's hard when you're losing weight because you don't want to buy clothes that you'll be out of in a month or two. I'm still experiencing that...but spend the money to have a few good things....maybe have them altered after that...and then buy some new stuff. My alter guy....what he supposed to be called, not an alternator, that's in a a car. Anyway....he's worked some miracles on some of the items I liked, but were too big.

29. What kept you sane this year? My friends, pure and simple. They listen to me vent, they put up with my ranting and cursing at times. They just 'get' me.

30. What celebrity did you fancy the most? I always appreciate a good gene combination....aka...a good looking guy. So Timothy Olyphant is the pretty boy in Catch and Release. I've been a drooling fan of Johnny Depp since his 21 Jump Street Days. His work can sometimes be a little odd....but oh is he yummy. Orlando Bloom is scumptious in the last scene of Pirates.

31. Who did you miss this past year? Terra.

33. Who were the best new people you met this year? Funny to say....but the best person I met this year was my brother Devon. I've never really known him until now.

34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned this year. It doesn't matter what other think of you...only what you think of you, and what your Father in Heaven thinks of you. Everyone else can deal with their issues = )