Family Day

I am lucky enough to live in a province where we celebrate Family Day, which meant that Matt had the day off.  We decided to celebrate by heading down to Olympic Plaza to see what they had going on there.  Once we arrived, we realized that a 4 month old baby doesn't really benefit from ice skating and hot chocolate, so we just wandered around for a few minutes, checked out my brick, and then left.  We were happy to spend the time together and outside, so it wasn't a total loss.  I snapped a few pics of the day.  Can you spot Zoey?

I can't really see her!

I think that's her grey hood!

My brick! (and my aunt's)

The home stretch!

Life has been a whole bunch of working and training!!

I swam lots this month, and it really improved my speed and technique.  I'm feeling great, and hoping I'll make my swim well within the time cutoff for the race.  Biking has been another story... Not too many rides on the real roads so I'm really going to focus on that after my half marathon.

Speaking of the half on the 6th, I'm getting really excited for the race!  Matt and I are heading out early and taking my gramps to a red sox game, and we'll have a little time in Vermont to relax before the race.  I'm told there's a little lake nearby, so I plan on doing a few swims there for training.  My running hasn't been exactly where I want it for the race, but I feel confident that I'll do well, and if I don't get under 2 hours, which is my goal, it's not the end of the world.  I know I have it in me, but if the weather is too hot, I think I may fade a little.  I went for a training run in the heat a couple of weeks ago, and it was BRUTAL.  It's very hot in Vermont right now, so it's not looking amazing, but I'll wait and see.  I'll do my best, and that's as well as I can do!  This race is about Team Alzheimer's, family, and enjoying myself, so if I can't perform the way I want, I will still get lots out of it.

After the race, it will be ALL about the bike.  I will have my ass attached to that seat as much as I possibly can.  I am slightly worried about the bike time cutoff for the half ironman.  I am not allowed to continue racing if I finish the bike over 5 hours after I start the race, which means the swim plus the bike can't equal more than 5 hours.  I really don't have an accurate estimate of what I'm capable of, but I just feel like I could take 4 plus hours to bike 94 km.  I guess once I get out for a few long training rides, I'll know a little more what kind of time I'm looking at.  I am a little nervous though, I'm not going to lie. 

That's about that!  Next week will involve a lot of flying and driving, but then fun and relaxing with the fam!  Wahoo!

Time to grovel

Most of you read my sister's blog, so you know that she is running the Vermont Covered Bridges Half Marathon for team Alzheimer's.  Well, I am too!

She is all over the fundraising thing, and I'm, well, not as much.  I figure now is the time to ask for your help.  I'm no good at asking people for money, especially when I have a hard time donating to things myself.  I'm saving for a wedding and have little to spare.  I know most of you don't have money to throw around, but every little bit counts. There are lots of ways to donate even a little!

1$ per mile = $13.10
1$ per kilometer = $21.30
5$ per mile = $65.50
5$ per kilometer = $106.50

Or any other lump sum.  You have $5 to spare?  Awesome.  10?  Great!  I really do appreciate anything you can give.

Not only is this going to a great cause, but you would also be supporting an "active lifestyle" for our family.  While Kristen and I are pretty active, some people in our family aren't.  This race has given them a reason to exercise, and it will be the start of their new, active life.  Kristen really was the brains behind this operation, but I'm just happy to be part of it. 

Again, I know it's not easy to spare some cashola, but I appreciate anything you can do!  You can e-mail me at moulton(dot)heather(at)gmail(dot)com.

If you'd like to visit the team Alzheimer's website to see where the money goes, here's the link.   There should be some bios on that website in the next couple of days.  Kristen also wrote a nice post about it, and you can read that here.

Thank you for your help!

Too much sitting

Tuesday morning I woke up to my phone ringing at 4:50 am, with work telling me I needed to fly to Moncton, NB in order to work a flight the next day.  I had to get all dressed up in my uniform just to sit in a seat allllll the way to Moncton.  When I got there, I was definitely in need of some activity!  I changed went down to the hotel gym right away.  Luckily, there were a few TVs in there, so I biked and ran my way through the women's boarder cross and watched Canada get the first ever gold medal in that sport!  I had so much fun and actually cheered in the packed gym when we won!  Other people were watching too, so it wasn't too out of place.  I watched some more Olympics that night, and then fell asleep with the TV on!

Yesterday I had the entire day in Toronto, so I spent it at Matt's parents house.  I had such a nice time seeing them (since it had been August since the last time I saw them) and his brothers.  I had almost every minute scheduled and didn't get to watch the hockey game, but I got some updates via text message and we caught a few minutes of it on TV when we were picking up his brother from hockey practice.  I also went to an AMAZING gluten free restaurant with his mum and grandma.  The food was out of this world delicious.  The bread was light and fluffy (not usually something that goes hand in hand with gluten free), and they had a great variety of food.  I wish we had a restaurant like that here!  I got to fill them in on all things wedding and we chatted about the shower coming up in April.  good times.  When I finally got back to my hotel I caught the last 5 minutes of the hockey, and our two medals in bobsleigh!  What a great day for Canada.  I'm just so proud of our athletes.

I've got a run scheduled for today, but my head is currently pounding, so I'll pop some advil and see what happens.  Running and headaches don't really mix too well, so I'll have to wait and see if it goes away.

I wish the time would go by slower; I'm not ready for the Olympics to be over!!

Mmmmmuffins

I made some muffins today. They are pumpkin carrot. I haven't actually tried them yet, so I can't say if they're good, but they smell good! I made them with chickpea flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, ground flax, applesauce, pumpkin, carrot and other normal muffin things. I also made a corn and bean salad to bring with me on the road. I met with my dietitian again today and she told me I don't get enough grains. Well duh! So together we came up with some ways to get more grain in my diet, hence the muffins. These ones, since they're homemade, are much healthier than other muffins and have added sources of fiber. We came up with some other meals that I can eat on the road too, so I have a list of 4 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and a few different snacks. Once I get used to these, we can come up with some others. They aren't too far off from what I eat, but there are a few differences. The addition of grains, (but I can't seem to find gluten free wraps), making sure there's protein, which I try to do but doesn't work super well, and honestly, it's a little more food than I normally eat. Anyway, I'm learning, and Sarah the dietitian is helping.

The race weekend went well. I made my personal record, barely, of 26 minutes. I got 26:57 for my 5Km. I didn't specify that it had to be 26 or UNDER, so in my mind I made it. I've learned I'm terrible at pacing myself. I really need to work on that. Kristen and Jordan did well, but were a few minutes off their goals. Still did great though. I managed to see Kristen, Jordan, and my mum cross the finish lines, so I was really happy about that. We had great spots to cheer them on and every one of them heard me cheering, so I felt very successful. My family met Matt's family as well and we had a great time, so that was another notch in the successful column.

Matt started his job as an electrician apprentice this week after a horrifying trip home which I'll save for another post. The flying wasn't the bad part, but the almost NOT flying was. I'll elaborate later. His second day on the job went swimmingly and the third even better. It started a little rocky, but he loves it now. I hope everything continues to get better and better!

All in all, we've had a great weekend/week!!

Enough.

I was getting really grossed out every time I went to my blog and saw the story about the puking, and then reading the comments about "guess what this kid had for lunch"... Enough. No more puking.

I leave tonight for my big Vegas adventure. I borrowed my mum's camera so that I can be as touristy as I can (and since my camera has seems to decide when and where it wants to take pictures, leaving no control whatsoever upon me). I think I'm going to focus on the shopping... My hotel is apparently just blocks away from the Fashion Show Mall where it seems that I can find pretty much everything. AND, a friend has informed me that if I go to the customer service desk at Macy's and tell them I'm Canadian, I get 11% off everything in the entire store. Sounds good to me! I'm hoping to hit up Bath & Bodyworks, Macy's, and really that's all I know. I don't have much money to shop for myself, but shopping for Christmas will hopefully be successful. I have to remember as I'm packing that I plan on buying a crap load of stuff, so I can leave a little room in my suitcase.

Does anyone know how much stuff I'm technically allowed to bring back to Canada from the states in 22 hours? I'm sure I'll buy way more, but I figure I'll just write down everything and hope I don't have to pay too much extra when I go through customs. Maybe I can sweet talk the customs agent... though I will be wearing multiple clothing items made of polyester, so maybe not. Darn.


So I just checked the Vegas weather... Thursday 20 degrees, Friday 17 degrees. Feels a touch better than here, where on Thursday it's supposed to be minus 8 degrees, and Friday where the HIGH is minus 19. Maybe I'll fall ill in Las Vegas and have to stay there for a few more days to recover.

That's all I've got. I swear if someone pukes on my flights, I'm going to snap.

Weekend Update

So thanksgiving has come and gone, and good thing I took two days off the cleanse for the drunken fest the other night and Thanksgiving. I ate SO much, I could barely move. It was kind of out of hand. But so good. Turkey on the barbecue is like nothing else. Same with pumpkin pie. So very delicious.

Anyway. I worked at Starbie's Saturday night and Sunday morning, and then got my veggie (green beans) and dessert (fruit and dip... very innovative I know) ready to bring to my dad's house for the dinner. Then the 29 other people showed up for the dinner, and the gong show began. Actually it was surprisingly not so gong showy ish considering there were 30 people in a house for a sit down dinner, so that's really good. I think we were all a little concerned about what would actually happen. It worked out, and the thing I am thankful for this thanksgiving is that I don't still live with my dad and therefor didn't have to clean up this morning.

After dinner I chilled for a while at the house and moaned because my stomach was so full, and then went to Shillelagh's for a drink (which was actually water) to say bye to the Lethbridge crew before they went back today. Stayed there till it closed and then came home and watched Project Runway and then went to bed. I'm not really sure why I'm telling you every single thing I did, but I for some reason feel the need so I will continue.

This morning I got woken up at 11:30 ish by my new ringtone, which got incorporated briefly into my dream and I think I may have been canoodling with Justin Timberlake, but then realized that it was actually my sister calling me to ask "are you awake yet???" to which my answer was "um, no? yes? what?"

Since then I've been sitting on my couch, looking at random shit on the internet, slowly getting up to pack for my trip up north tomorrow, and watching a CSI marathon and also a Survivor 1 marathon. Survivor used to be so ghetto compared to what it is now, but I'm realizing that Survivor is exhausted, and nothing special anymore, so I'm pretty much only watching the CSI marathon.

My little adventure up north starts tomorrow, where I fly to Grand Prairie and will be met by the family I used to nanny for and we'll then drive me to St. Isidore, where I will stay until Sunday. I think we'll basically chill, relax, and make me feel so old because the four year old boy I nannied is now almost 7 and the almost two year old is now 4 AND there's a new baby who's almost 1 who didn't exist when I was there. I feel old. Very very old. Anyway, I'll be chilling up there with Marc and Monique and the chitlin till Sunday, which is when their new nanny will be arriving. I'm excited for that because I haven't been back for a year and a half, and I love just hanging out with Mo. It will be great.

Tomorrow my sis and Jordan also leave, but them not so much up north but more eastward towards O-Town. (Yes, you do live in a tv made boy band). I hope they had a good visit and even though they didn't ACTUALLY toast to WestJet last night, I know they both owe this visit to me and should buy me gifts of appreciation. Well not actually. I'm happy to give them the chance to come home. For real. Anyway, I'm glad they had a good visit.

That's about it for my weekend update, though I'm no Tina Fey or whoever is doing it these days on SNL.

On a side note, why do people in apartment buildings listen to super loud music with loads of bass all the time? Normally it annoys the piss out of me but I don't say anything because it's not like it's super late at night or anything. But for some reason I'm very annoyed by it today and it's grating on my nerves, more and more every time there's a big low note playing. Should I ask them to shut the hell up? (though perhaps a little nicer) or slip them a note when I know they're not home, or just not do anything? Does living in an apartment mean I have to put up with that? And, how do I know that they aren't as annoyed with me and MY loudness... I don't think they KNOW they're being obscenely loud, so for all I know my tv and music are super loud as well and they're having the exact same ill feelings towards me as I have towards them? What a predicament.

Hope everyone had a good long weekend!