A weekend away.

One of the things I love/hate the most about Ben is his spontaneity. As long as I've known him he has loved making spur of the moment decisions, like all traits this can be good and bad. So, a couple weeks ago Ben informs me that he bought a groupon for a 3 night stay in Banff and asked what days would work for me. Initially I was annoyed, I generally have to be the party pooper in everything and think logically, however, the more he talked, the more sense the trip made (did I mention he is an amazing arguer, I think he should have been a lawyer).

So, last Thursday we headed out. It was a bittersweet feeling, I didn't know how I was going to survive 3 days away from Ellie. Once we were on the road and the giant lump in my throat subsided, I started getting excited. We arrived in Banff mid afternoon on Thursday and the rest of the day we walked around town, looking in shops and just enjoying the environment, then in the evening after supper we went to the hot springs, which was AMAZING. We had been to the hot springs last fall but it's so much more comfortable in the winter.

Friday was our snowboarding day. I was terrified since I hadn't stepped on a snowboard in 8 years but it was amazing how quickly it came back and after 10 minutes I felt like I got it all back. It was an amazing day and it was so nice to spend it together. Ben was so patient and even though his skill FAR surpasses mine he stayed right along side me the whole day. The weather was perfect and it was total bliss! That evening we went back to the hot springs to ease our tired muscles.

Saturday, I woke up early and went for a run. Man, running in Banff was hard. The altitude is really not that much of a change from Saskatchewan but catching a breath felt near impossible. I'm glad I forced myself to do it though because I got to see some scenery that I wouldn't have otherwise. Friday afternoon we went to Johnston Canyon for a hike. We ended up doing the 11.5km hike and it was good but oh so hard! Somehow it felt like we were climbing uphill both ways.... but totally worth it, I totally want to do it in the summer. Saturday night we went to a movie and then out for pizza which was a nice little night out.

Waking up Sunday, as fun as the trip was, I was PUMPED to go home. We had enjoyed the weekend immensely but I was ready to see my baby! We had a great drive home and getting to see my little girl at the end was the perfect way to say goodbye to holidays. I think the getaway was good for us and I kinda look forward to the next one. Until then, I'm going to play hard with my girl!

Got our coffee's and we're ready to go!
 

Ready to hit the slopes.

What a view!

My view on my run, I could get used to this.

On our hike. Beautiful day!

Runner's High

I think it's time for a running update...Well, already in the month that I've been training I've had my fair share of ups and downs. I've had runs that felt like a chore and ones where I felt like I had super human strength. So, last week I was looking at the schedule and saw that on the 15th I was supposed to run 8km, that didn't seem bad, but then I looked at the following Saturday....15km! Now, Ben and I are taking a trip to Banff next weekend and I knew that I didn't want to take 1.5 hours out of our trip to go on a run and Ben would be able to join me if it was just 8km so I decided to switch the two runs.

All weekend I dreaded that run. Saturday came and went and I never went.... Sunday morning I knew I had to get my butt in gear and just DO IT but I still managed to drag my heals and didn't make it out the door until 4:00PM. The funny thing was that once I was actually moving I felt GREAT! The first km I went at a really relaxed pace and as the run progressed I felt more and more energy building instead of the draining feeling I was anticipating. By 8km I was feeling better than at the beginning and that's when I looked up and my dad was running towards me! He had called Ben to see if he could come with me on my run and when Ben told him I had already left he decided to try to find me.

The last 6km were HARD! My dad kept the pace just slightly faster than I was going on my own and even that slight increase had me huffing and puffing. It also didn't help that while I was breathing heavily he looked like he was gently galloping along without a care in the world, all that being said I'm glad I had him, I don't think I would have pushed myself that little bit extra had I been on my own. We sprinted the last block and that is the most amazing feeling in the entire world if you ask me.

I love pushing my body, I love feeling myself getting stronger, I think I'm hooked....

A season of limbo.

Well, it looks like SPRING is around the corner. I feel like I'm waking up from hibernation, I can sense the energy just boiling inside whenever I step outdoors. The air is fresh, the ground is wet and life feels new. Don't get me wrong, winter is great, but there is something about the seasons changing that is pure magic. As nature begins to wake and stretch it's exhilarating to watch and wait for the beautiful summer that's clearly on it's way, of course on the other hand, it's a time where the puddles are huge, the cars are dirty and potholes abound. I guess you could call spring a 'limbo' season, a period of time where you're really looking forward to what's to come while tolerating the present.

All this season thinking got me mulling about the 'limbo' seasons in our lives. I feel like I'm constantly stuck in a 'limbo' season, looking forward to what's to come while not fully enjoying where I am. Thinking, if only I lose 10 pounds, then I can wear that, or if only I could run 20km then I'd be a legit runner. I've got dozens of these things going on in my little pea brain. Always looking ahead while missing the current victories. I've got all these lofty goals of things that I want to accomplish and eventually I fail, and worse yet, FEEL like a failure. It's like I'm in a permanent Spring, which wouldn't be so bad if I could enjoy it, but instead I'm sitting around complaining about the wetness, the slippery roads, the potholes.

How do we learn to be happy with where we are while still reaching to achieve our dreams? It's easy to come up with the solution, harder to execute it. Wouldn't it be healthy if we could put on a pair of pants and think, "ok, this is good, thank you body for being what you are!" Or if we could go for a run and afterwards say, "wow, that distance was great, you have improved immensely".

I'm making this Spring about embracing myself where I'm at. I'm going to relish the beauty of the snow melting, the roads transformations into ponds, the utter magnificence of the river starting to flow again. I'm not going to gripe about the inconveniences of Spring and the fact that I'm dying for Summer to come. It goes deeper, I'm going to be thankful for my body where it is RIGHT now and be proud of every run I complete. I'm going to try my darndest not to complain about the imperfections. Wasn't it Paul who said, "...I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances..."

Life of a 19 month old.

The other day I went back in the archives and read all about my pregnancy, birth and the first months of Elliotte's life. Something in me has been in the mood to reminisce I guess. I know that this is an exciting time as well but I have no way of looking back and seeing that because I don't document anything! So I figured, maybe it's time for an update!

Elliotte is almost 19 months old, YIKES! The older she gets the more I'm seeing that the baby stage is quickly vanishing and more importantly, that I'm thrilled to see it go. Oh at the time I did enjoy it, but now that Elliotte is a toddler I am obsessed with her, (ok, maybe I was then too...)  I just find her so much easier, I love not having to carry her everywhere, or spoon feed her, and the list goes on.... I'm also quite convinced that she's the smartest kid to ever exist but I'm told I'm biased. 

I think one of the main reasons that I love this age is that she can talk! If she wants a snack, she tells me, if she needs to poop, she tells me, the list goes on. She is quite the chatterbox, as I'm sure all 19 month olds are,  she likes to grab a diaper and pretend to put it on her doll as she talks to her soothingly, it's the cutest. She also talks A LOT about the twins. She is BABY CRAZY, she wakes up saying "baby, baby, Tali sad?, babiesssss". She's in a phase where she's very aware of sadness. Every time the babies cry she states, "babies sad", she loves to turn in her favourite book, Babar to the pages where Babar is crying and say, "Babar sad". I guess she's started to recognize sadness in herself so she can now see it in others, on that note...

TANTRUMS  A few months ago we entered tantrum land and there is no end in site. It's almost comical how when she decides to tantrum she just flops onto the ground like her bones just dissolved in her body. We're trying our best to just ignore them which seems to work. I'd say that if we ignore them, if she's not too tired she forgets she's mad within 2 minutes. I'm nervous for how I'll react when we're in public and she decides she's angry, it's bound to happen. 

Life is so good. There are many days where I think to myself that life really couldn't get any better. I know that's not actually true, but it's nice to know that I'm content where we are. I think for me, getting a full night's sleep has been key, along with exercise. The first half of this winter I was down in the dumps, worse than I've ever had it before, but just since the new year, life seems to be turning around. God is so good, and gracious!  

Date night's have been crucial!

Getting outside is always a treat for Ellie, she hates coming back in.

She LOVES going to the library!

This is a juice-stache from one of the juices I made, she thought it was pretty funny.

She's such a lounger.

The other day she was on Ben's shoulders and she just started to massage his scalp on her own, hilarious!

  

On track for 21km.

Well, it's official, I'm working on a half marathon. I decided to take the plunge and join a running clinic to help me get to where I need to be in order to finish the race, and let me tell you, it's HARD! I knew that I wasn't quite as advanced as I should be to join the group and boy was I right. I'm not one to back down from a challenge though so mark my words, on May 25th I will be crossing the finish line having run a half marathon!

Back to complaining about the clinic...there is something so totally different when running with a group where you are being pushed to go harder, faster, longer. Normally when running on my own I can slow down if I want and really direct my own pace. With the running group you have to keep up and I think it's a good thing. After our run this evening I truly felt like I did some good for myself, after the initial pain in my lungs subsided I felt strong and basically unstoppable!

I like the fact that by joining this clinic I've been given a schedule and all I have to do is run when and how it tells me. All of the pressure of planning my runs is gone, I just look in my binder, put on my running gear and out the door I go.

I'll let you all know where I'm at in a couple weeks, I just have to say that I'm so pumped to actually do something that I've always wanted to do!

Cheers!

The end of the cleanse.

So I did better than I thought but worse than I hoped in the cleansing department. I ended up lasting 7 days. As the days went on, the cleanse got harder and not easier as I had hoped. By supper time on day 7 I was fed up with not eating and had some supper, after that it didn't take long until I was back at my old ways. 

I'm still glad that I did the cleanse as I'm sure it did some good, but boy it was harder than I had thought. All-in-all it felt good to stick with something and to know that I was pumping my body full of rich vitamins and nutrients. I think I'll try to do a 4 day cleanse every 4 months or so just to do a mini detox. 

Cheers.

Days 2 and 3 of juice cleanse.

Day 2

I was pretty encouraged waking up after 1 day of juicing and having lost 1.4 pounds. I'm sure it was all water weight but it's still nice to see. After that day 2 went downhill.... I craved junk food ALLL day, and then to make matters worse we went to a waffle making party with a bunch of friends. In hindsight I should have just stayed home, it was torture to sit there watching while everyone sat around eating my favourite food however I stayed strong!

Day 3

I woke up feeling great today. I lost an even 2 pounds since yesterday making my total for the first 2 days 3.4 pounds. My cravings were essentially gone today and I actually enjoyed my juices. I had lots of energy and even endured a 1.5 hour yoga session without feeling gross.

Due to how amazing I feel I've decided to keep going. I don't know how long I'll go for but I felt like 3 days was just enough to get used to it. I'm aiming for a week, we'll see....