Lately

July sort of whizzed by! Some parts were slow (like every bedtime), and some were quick (having fun with friends), but all of a sudden it's almost August!

August will bring the Olympics, my birthday, and Matt's triumphant end to working out of town! It also brings me one month closer to going back to work. Boo.

What have we been up to?

We went to a blogger meet up at Leigh's house. It was nice to meet some new people! I'll admit that I  definitely wasn't at my best that evening since Zoey screamed, and I mean screamed, the entire way there and home again. She's been having a few digestive issues and she was feeling the effects of a full belly. I was pretty distracted and had to leave early. It was still nice to be there and thanks again Leigh for hosting us!

I started going to a baby bootcamp in the park, and it's made me realize how little I've done in terms of strength training. I am definitely feeling sore but in a good way!

We've begun the search for childcare. Another flight attendant and I are sharing a nanny so we've been conducting interviews. It's a little strange to be on the other side of the interview table for a change!

Zoey ate some grass and choked in the car. I actually had to pull over and run around, get her out and thankfully she threw up just as I got her out of the car seat.  My heart was racing like crazy but luckily my first aid training kicked in! Yikes!

I went to a back carry class at Babes in Arms to learn how to wear Zoey on my back. I'm a huge fan of carrying Zoey in our Ergo but so far I've only worn her on my front and occasionally on my hip. I learned how to get her in the ergo on my back and also bought a long woven wrap to explore all sorts of carries with that too. The Ergo I have isn't the best fit for my body type and back carries, and though it will work, I might get a little sore after wearing her for a long period of time. The woven wrap is way more customizable for different body shapes so hopefully I'll have some luck with that. It's super confusing right now to learn but with practice I'm sure I'll figure it out.

We are so happy that the heat has subsided a little bit! I can't even explain how much I hate the heat!!!!

This weekend is the Calgary Folk Music Festival, and I THINK I'll be going on Sunday.  Matt is volunteering Friday-through Sunday evenings and so we're hoping to make a day of it as a family.  I don't actually have a ticket and it's sold out, but we're looking on kijiji and I think we've found one.  We shall see!

Zoey is a moving machine! She is crawling, kneeling, pulling herself up to kneeling and sometimes a little higher, and getting into everything she shouldn't. She loves eating flipflops (gross!), sucking on iPhone chargers and sleeping on her stomach. This week has brought a lot of changes for her. Matt will hardly recognize her!

Do you all have fun August plans?

Summer Fun

After the hair posts I apparently didn't have much else to say!

A few fun days have happened since then. Canada Day brought some fun down at Fort Calgary.

Then the Stampede started, but Zoey slept through her first visit so we're going back tomorrow! I can't wait to see her around all the animals!

We also had some fun at Sandy Beach (a little park with a tiny, rocky beach... the name is a little deceiving) and Riley Park (a wading pool).

Also, Zoey started crawling and sitting up by herself! How exciting!  She's doing mostly the army crawl but every once in a while she pops up on all fours and crawls across the floor.

She's on the verge of getting her two front teeth and that combined with the heat wave has made things a little interesting around here in the evenings. (And by interesting I mean terrible.)  I HATE the heat. It definitely brings out the worst in me  so I'm working hard to keep my cool (pardon the pun) when Zoey freaks out at night. Heat, teething, no Matt, cranky me... It could be the perfect storm.  BUT, I'm doing my best and that's as good as it can get!

How do you deal with the heat?

No heat curl

I've always had straight hair. Stick straight. No volume or body. In humidity, it gets straighter. I need a ton of hair spray to keep curl in, and even then, it rarely lasts the day.

One of my new favourite blogs is The Paper Mama, and she has pretty much the same hair type as I do. When she posted this, I knew I had to try it.  If someone with stick straight hair can achieve curly hair that lasts, I want in! What makes the tutorial even better was that she posted a video, so you can actually see how she does it instead of guessing through pics.

Even though my pics are virtually the same as hers, I thought I'd post them anyway.

The first two are after my shower, with damp hair but not totally wet. I've done it before with it totally wet and the curls are a little too curly for me. I use the goody slipless headband so that it doesn't slip when sleeping (hence the name). You just wrap your hair around the headband, picking up sections as you go. Then you go to bed.

This one is after I woke up in the morning. A little messy but still all wrapped up.

This is after I took out the headband. It's a little random and messy, and they aren't perfect curls, but unlike every other day of my life, my hair has body and it's easier to work with. I find I can "do" my hair so much easier with a little curl in it, but I can't be bothered to curl it with an iron just to put it up. 

The hat pictures  in my previous post feature curly hair done with this method. 

I used this method last night before bed, and today I decided to do some messy french braids. Instead of stuck to my head flat braids, I got a little more volume and "oomph" without spending more than a few minutes.

So there you have it! Here is the link to the video one more time in case you'd like to try it.

Another hairstyle I'm doing a lot these days is this one from the Uber Chic for Cheap blog. I LOVE IT. Instead of doing the "gibson tuck" using an elastic as featured in her video tutorial, I just backcomb and pin up. I find I get the little tail of the pony poking through after an hour or so of wear. 

The Hat

I'm not much of a hat wearer. I actually struggled to find pictures of myself in a hat to post here (besides the new one).

Sports hat

Backpacking and I haven't showered in a week hat

Halloween costume hard hat

New Year's Eve Box hat 

One of the main reasons for this is because I don't like wearing my hair down, and I don't find that hair up goes well with hats. As I mentioned in my last post, I decided that I really needed a hat, so I just went out and got one. No one else was there when I chose it, (except for Zoey, who actually cried when I put it on) and I just bought it then and there. (Since wearing the hat at home, Zoey actually smiles and likes it, so that's a relief.)

I wasn't sure what I would think about it or if I would even wear it, but I've gone balls to the wall and worn it a bunch. I'm committed.

Here is the great unveiling!!!

New Hat!

I just liked this picture

I'll have to take some more pictures with various hairstyles. I still am not sure how the whole "go inside, take off hat and hair still looks okay" part will go. I'll get back to you on that.

Let's just all wear our hats!

Vacation

Last week we went on our summer vacation. It revolved around a family reunion in Vermont, but we tacked on a few days in Toronto before for some visiting with Matt's family.

We drove a lot, took some flights, but Zoey was surprisingly resilient to it all.  She was a huge hit with all of the relatives, and loved Max the golden retriever, despite being scared of my dad's tiny dogs at home. (Since being home and seeing the dogs, she loves them. So her fear of dogs was apparently temporary.)

We didn't do too much, which was great. Days were spent sitting on the grass, playing a great game called kubb (right?) and a little drinking tacked in here and there.

Spending the week together as a family was exactly what we needed, since Matt started a new job (yesterday) that takes him out of town. He is on a schedule of two weeks on (and away), one week off (and home). We started our relationship being apart half of the time (with me being a flight attendant and gone 15 ish days a month) so we are used to that dynamic, but having Zoey obviously makes it a lot harder on both of us. Luckily we can skype and talk on the phone lots, and I have lots of help around here for when I may need a little break. What makes it worth it is the week off, which is totally and completely off, so we can spend all day together and do all sorts of things that we didn't normally get to do when he was working a "regular" job. So far we're working on day 2, so in 11 days I may not be so happy about it, but we'll take it a day (or rotation) at a time!


Here are a few pics from the vacay!

Fun on the grass

Zoey and Papa sitting in the most comfortable chair ever

With Matante Kristen

Terrible...

Because you can't have too many pictures of a baby in a floppy hat

After the vacation and seeing everyone in cool hats, I decided that I need one. I have since purchased a hat and will have to blog about it. For some reason me wearing a hat is a big deal. Not sure why...

Calgary Subaru Half Marathon: Success!

I definitely surprised myself yesterday at the Calgary Half Marathon!

I was trying to be very realistic with my goals and set myself up for success, so I went into the race hoping for a time between 2 and 2:30. I really didn't know what to expect for a few reasons:

1. I didn't train nearly as much as I would have normally.  Most weeks I ran twice, once on Tuesdays with the Tech Shop running group, and a weekend long run.  Sometimes I got another run or two in, but not every week.
2. I did ALL my long runs while pushing Zoey in the stroller.  It is much harder to run with her, thus my times were quite a bit slower than I was used to. As the weeks went on, I decided this could work to my advantage mentally and physically. (If I pushed her for long runs, my race would feel easier running without her; if I did a long run without her and it royally sucked, I would be mentally dreading the race.) 
3. In the past two weeks, I ran the Mother's day race, and then one more 2.5 km run.  That's it
4. My longest long run was 16 km.

Sunday morning rolled in and I was jittery, but not as nervous as I normally am for races because I had a little less pressure on me.  I knew that I just wanted to finish with a smile and not hate running while I was racing. I am happy to say I didn't hate it, and it actually went by "quicker" than any other half I've done. Maybe it was because I was very familiar with the areas I was running, or that I knew no one had any real expectations so I was free to just run.

Waiting to start!

I was very thankful to be starting with Kaitlin, Matt's cousin, who was running her first marathon. Her nerves helped me forget about mine. We waited around, questioned a million times what to wear, (I ended up wearing capris, a tank, arm warmers and a headband. I was happy with that), and then just started running.

Zoey was wearing her running shoes too!

I LOVED the start, since we were in the Stampede grounds, (a nice, wide area) so I actually didn't dodge around people at all.  I also may have actually for once started in the appropriate "pace" spot for me, so I didn't waste any energy running in and out of people.  I wore my arm warmers over my garmin because I expected to take them off during the race and didn't want to have to fiddle around with taking it off, and then try to put it on again, so as I was running, I couldn't see the screen. (I ended up keeping them on the whole race... It was chilly!) As the first few kms went by, I decided I wouldn't look at it until 10 km. I was running at a comfortable pace, and I didn't want to let any times mess with my head. At 10 km, I'd look, see where I was at, and decide to push it or just survive at that point.  I ran all 10 & 1's (with the exception of the first "one" which I skipped) so I just listened for my beeps, took my walk breaks, and ran happily to 10 km. When I got there, I was happy to see my garmin said 58:something. I thought "oh, ok, I'm not totally out of it", but I also knew that I had run 10 km lots and lots during my training, and the second half would be harder for me.  I decided to "survive" for the next 5, see how I felt and go re-evaluate from there.

About 1 km later, my right hip started hurting. I don't know exactly where the pain was, but it seemed like it was in the joint where my leg stops and my hip begins. Running hurt. I wasn't super pleased. At every walk break, I tried to take big steps, lunged a little, and was so thankful to see an aid station (I walk for a few seconds at each aid station so that I can sip without choking). (Side note: I felt very pleased with myself that I thought to take my gu out of my belt early so that when I saw the aid station up ahead, I could choke it down while running and then get the water to sip it down and I wouldn't waste any extra time. I don't think I've ever remembered to do that.)  I couldn't physically run up any hills at that point due to my hip, so I was thankful there was only one little one that I had to walk up. I wasn't the happiest, but I remembered that I was supposed to be smiling so I plastered one on my face and kept going. My saving grace was that running faster didn't make my hip hurt any less, so I tried my hardest to keep up my pace. Each walk break gave me a little respite and my hip would just gradually start to hurt as I ran, so I only REALLY suffered that last few minutes of every interval.  As the kms kept ticking by, I got excited thinking about the finish and seeing Matt and Zoey. My mum rode her bike along the back side of the Stampede grounds so I saw her at 20 km. I waved up to her and she cheered. I told her I was in a little pain and she just laughed and rode over to the finish.

As I ran into the grandstand I picked up my pace, thinking that the faster I ran in, the faster I could STOP RUNNING, and I was pissed when a lady cut me off running around the last corner walked. I then turned my head to see Matt getting his phone out of his pocked and yelled "HEY!" and he looked up and was visibly surprised to see me! Zoey was fast asleep in the ergo and I think he yelled something. I booked it to the finish and stopped my garmin right on the finish line. It said 2:06:16.

Finished!

I got a medal, which was HEAVY, and wandered into the clusterf&%$ that was the grandstand. Why oh why would they pile all the finish line food and festivities INSIDE when the Stampede Grounds is literally parking lot?!?!?! It was so chaotic and it took me a good 20 minutes to get water, a banana and walk out front to meet Matt, Zoey and my mum.  At that point, the winner of the Marathon was crossing the line, and I think he got the fastest time ever for a Calgary race! Good for him!  (Another side note: I saw the guy who won my 70.3 running this race, though I don't know if it was a half or the full. He has long dreads so it's easy to recognize him.)  

So all in all I am very happy with this race. My lack of training took it's physical toll, but it felt good to know I had enough cardio to get me through and I do believe had my hip not gotten angry, I had a few more minutes to shave off.  It felt great to know that 7.5 months after having Zoey I could still manage a pretty good time (for me) and that my running life didn't end after having a baby. This was my 6th half marathon, and I do believe my 3rd best time. (7th if you count the 70.3, but I don't really.)

Probably my favourite part of the day, other than finishing my own strong race was seeing Kaitlin finish her marathon. I was tearing up while we were waiting for her to round the corner, and when we saw her I couldn't contain my excitement. I screamed and yelled and cried. It was amazing. She has worked very hard and she wasn't really sure what to expect. She ran in around 4:44 I believe (actually it was 4:41!), with her goal being 4:30-5:30, so she was super pleased. She felt great, and we are so proud of her! 

So another race is under my belt, and more to come. I just have to decide which ones!

My First Mother's Day

This post is slightly tardy, but I've been busy. Okay? (just kidding. well not really about being busy, but about being sassy).

I had a great first Mother's Day.

It started with me running to the start of the Sport Chek Mother's Day race. I planned to race the 10 km with my friend who recently started running, and I knew I would need a few more kms under my belt to feel good about my training for the upcoming half, so I ran from my house to Chinook Centre (the starting line) which turned out to be fewer kms than I thought. I think it was just under 4. I should have mapped it out and done a loop, but I was a little late so I decided to be satisfied with what I did and move on. We walk/ran the 10 km and finished in just under 1:20, which was her goal. We hopped on the train back to my place where Matt had prepared a brunch feast. Both my mum her mum joined us (and our babies) for brunch.

Matt had a card for me and Zoey signed a card for me too. For a gift, I am getting a necklace from etsy (sort of like this one) which I am eagerly awaiting to receive in the mail!

That evening we went to my mum's house to continue celebrating. Zoey got her first experience on grass which she sort of enjoyed, and we got to eat on my mum's back patio.

All in all, it was a great day.  I still have a hard time using the "mother" label on myself, but it is slowly sinking in that I have a daughter, and I'm a mother.  Just a hard thing to wrap my head around!

Sleeping while cuddling my arm

First ride in a shopping cart

I hope you all had a great weekend. I can't believe the half is THIS SUNDAY! Ahh!

Diaper Stripping with a million links

Today is a very exciting day around this household! Diaper stripping day! (cue the sarcasm).

Since I exclusively use cloth diapers on Zoey, they get a lot of use.  We have about 25 diapers (I seriously can't understand how Clara over at young house love survives on 12 diapers! They must wash and wash and wash all day long!) and we wash them every 2-3 days. I used to use Claudia's Choices detergent, but I recently picked up some soap nuts and am trying that for now.  Soap nuts are much cheaper in the long run and are defintiely cloth diaper approved, so we'll see how they work.  I normally hang them to dry using this drying rack hung over either the nursery or master bedroom door, depending on the time of day and when Zoey will be going to bed thus needing to close her door.  Once they are mostly dry (or I've run out of diapers) I throw them in the dryer for 10-20 minutes to soften them up for her little bum.

Big cloth booty!

Every few months, it's important to strip cloth diapers, which essentially means soaking and rinsing them repeatedly to get any soap residues out of the cloth. This helps them not stink and be as absorbant as possible.  We have been dealing with some absorbency issues at night (we actually use bum genius pocket diapers with two liners at night) and if I don't drag my butt out of bed early enough in the morning to change Zoey, she normally pees through her sleeper.  Yesterday I got up around 5 and changed her, but when I woke up again at 7:30 she had already peed through her shirt again. I wondered how that was even possible, and then I realized it was probably time to strip her diapers.

There are many methods to stip diapers.  This blog has a video (and a lot of other funny videos) that describes their method.  I actually don't have either ingredient they use, and so I just am doing repeated hot wash/rinse cycles.  A top loading machine is ideal for this process, since it uses more water and you have the ability to let your diapers soak by lifting the lid and halting the cycle. My front loader doesn't have the option for a soak, and in fact it won't even do a hot rinse, so I have been choosing the "quick wash" cycle, with a pre wash on hot. I have done 3 so far (without soap, which is the key), and will probably continue to do them until this evening and then I'll dry them.  That means that all day she's been in disposables and I'm realizing why I like cloth diapers so much.  First of all, these are probably too small since I bought them back in March for our plane ride to Montreal.  I also have a hard time knowing how exactly to put them on her properly, so she's leaked a couple of times already. Finally, her pants are too big! Those cloth dipes take up a lot of room!

In other news, I'm busying myself with bridal shower plans and running.  The race is coming up quickly!

Also, our baby & me yoga class was featured on shaw tv, so if you'd like to take a peek here's the link!  I am narrowly out of every shot, but it's fun to see the class in action.  About half of the people there aren't regulars at our studio since our instructor teaches the class at three different ones around town, so I had actually never met the girl being interviewed. If you watch the link, you will know why I mentioned that!

Have a nice rainy week!

This weekend

Well I guess people do like reading about Zoey. Imagine that!

This weekend was great. Any Calgarians know that the weather was beautiful. On Saturday, Matt worked earl, so I took Zoey in the new BOB and ran to Eau Claire to meet a friend and see her new condo. I snapped this gem and made myself (and K when I sent it to her) squeal.

Poor little readhead, destined to be pale forever

Matt met us after work and we had brunch at 1886. I think the last time I was there was when Taylor was a baby, and she's now 8. Oh dear.

On Sunday we went to the model train show! Cue the excitement! (not). I expected to be bored out of my mind, but I was mildly entertained. It was beautiful again, so we hung out outside at the beginning while I got some kettle corn.

We then entered the madness and I got a little overwhelmed with people and strollers.  There were some cool exhibits and while I was not so into it, Matt and Zoey had fun.

Today I met up with a friend and her baby and we hit the Zoo! I've been a few times since the penguin exhibit came to town but each time the wait was far too long.  Since Zoey really doesn't care about penguins, it's hard to justify waiting.  Today we got there early enough that the wait was minimal, so we decided to see them.  It was a really neat thing to see, that's for sure. It was cold and fishy in there, and Zoey liked watching them swim and jump around.  She probably would have liked watching squirrels jump around too, but oh well.

Any excuse to put her in this hat is worth it.

The Zoo was packed full of mums and young kids. I forget that other people stay home with their kids, not just people with babies under 1.  There were so many pregnant women with what seemed like 5 kids each.  Oye.  We had lots of conversations about how many kids we wanted and when to have the next etc.  It's crazy to think that is what our "hot topics" are these days.  Our kids definitely aren't old enough to take full advantage of the Zoo, but it is nice to have a change of scenery when walking and talking.  I think getting a Zoo pass was worth it this year, even with Zoey being young.

I was happy to have three great runs last week, totaling around 25 km.  I am feeling a little more confidant leading up to the half at the end of May!

How was your weekend?


*And yes, she wore her jean jacket and hat every day this weekend.  It's too cute to handle. 

6 months

I honestly can NOT believe that Zoey is 6 months old! On Tuesday, we celebrated by going to the dr, going to our mum & baby yoga class, and eating cupcakes. (Zoey just watched us eat ours... she didn't get any).

I've been a little absent from the blog world, and it's really just because I don't feel like I have much to say! I am so busy but I don't feel like I do anything exciting enough to talk about.  I run a little, I play with Zoey, I struggle with sleep problems... I don't feel like you all want to read me complain about not sleeping or Zoey peeing through her diapers at night.  If you do, I'd be happy to share, but I know personally, before I had a baby I really didn't care about babies, so I don't expect all of you to care!  Nicole and Rebecca might care, but I don't think the rest of you do!

I can, however, share a few running related newsworthy items today!

First, I got a BOB running stroller!!  My "old" stroller was a Valco Tri-Mode stroller, which is a regular stroller that can be used for light jogging.  We bought it on kijiji before Zoey was born, and the reasons we got that one over the BOB turned out to not really be valid anymore. I liked that I could add a kid to it later, while the bob is a single stroller with no "extra" attachments. It turns out that I don't use the stroller much at all except while running (and you can't run with the Valco when it has the extra kid attachment anyway), as I prefer to wear Zoey in the Ergo.  If and when we have another baby, I can wear the new baby and Zoey can ride in the bob, or Zoey can walk while the new baby rides, or if I want to run, one kid can stay at home!  I also wanted to save space, but it turns put the bob folds down to smaller than the Valco.  Anyway, I took it for a spin today and I love it! So much easier to control, and the sun shade pulls down a lot further than my old stroller, which is great since Zoey is a redhead and needs that protection. I also liked that it's a little narrower, so I don't constantly hit door frames when I come and go from places.  I ran 14.5 km today (FINALLY got a good long run in) and I am super stoked about the upgrade.  (We sold our old on eon kijiji and used that money plus a giftcard to buy the BOB, so we didn't end up spending much in the end, making it a little easier to handle.)

Second, I have decided not to do the NYC marathon.  We just can't afford the whole trip this year.  Boo hoo.  I would like to defer it one more year, but I found out that you have to pay the fee twice, and spending over $700 for a marathon is just not happening.  I will enter the lottery again next year and that's that.

I think that's about all I have for now!  What races are you gearing up for?

Something light

I've been getting into pinterest lately... It took my a while to "get it", but now I'm all over it. Especially hair tutorials.  If you know me in real life, you know I'm always doing my hair.  I'm not sure where I got my skills, but I seem to be pretty good at doing hair. I just kind of "get it".  I'm often doing friends' hair and my sis is always game if we're going out somewhere fancy. I can all sorts  of styles, though I really do it best on myself.

ANYWAY, I have recently become obsessed with re-creating this hairstyle.

I just absolutely love it.  I was skeptical that it would even work, since I have very fine, thin hair.  I can look a little bald when my hair is parted everywhere.  The first two time I tried, it failed epically.  I know how to do the twists, I know how to do the "gibson tuck", but for some reason the two together just weren't happening for me.  I was getting SO frustrated since this is what I'm good at! I can DO hair!!!  Today I tried again, and was a little more successful.  I'm still not there, but I'm closer.  (sorry about the crappy pics...)

What do you think?

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)

Race update

I really appreciate everyone's input to the race questions I had from my earlier post! After much thought, and a look at my race budget (which is pretty much non existant), I've decided this won't be a triathlon year.  Neither was last year, mind you last year I grew a baby, so it couldn't really be full of triathlons too.  Triathlons are much more expensive, both in race fees and training (dropping into pools, bike maintenance etc.), so they aren't conducive to paying a $350 race fee for NYC.  Yes, NYC.  I would really like to do it.  I would love to take a family vacation there, have a little fun, run a marathon (hopefully with my sister), and cross it off the bucket list I didn't know I had.

In order to achieve that goal,  I will have to really think about my races and my training.  When I was training for the 70.3, I remember saying that 6 months was a LONG time to train for something.  I couldn't stay motivated.  Thinking about that, I have decided that I won't train for the Calgary Marathon in May.  I don't think I could do a bunch of long runs now, and stay motivated to keep doing them throughout the summer and be ready for NYC.  I will train for the half, maybe a little harder than I would normally with a few longer runs, and then once that is all done, I can focus on the real distance runs over the summer (urg) and be ready for a marathon November.

I also have decided not to do a bunch of races "for fun" since they all cost money.  The Glencoe Icebreaker is an awesome race; small, local (the finish line is .5 km from my house!) and the brunch afterwards is AMAZING.  But, 57$ for a fun 10 km isn't really in the cards when I have to pay 347$ for a marathon.  I decided that the Mother's Day 10 km would be a great 10 km to do instead since I'm a new mum, have never raced it before, and I can help motivate another new mum friend get back into shape by training with her.  It's also not very expensive and local.

The Calgary Half is another one I haven't done, but I definitely think I need a half in the spring to keep me motivated and running all winter.  I normally do the Police Half in April, but frankly, I'm sick of terrible weather and race conditions for that run (last year I slipped and fell while pregnant on that race! oops!) and I'm ready for a change.

So I think that about does it.  I may or may not do the Canmore race in September, which would be the 4th consecutive year participating in that event.  It would be fun, but we will just have to see if it's in the cards financially.  We'll keep that on the back burner.

What do you think?  Do I make sense?  (For links to the races, see the side bar on the left!)

I totally forgot to mention that I am going to be helping out with the Tech Shop's running clinics on Tuesdays and maybe Thursdays.  There is a learn to run 10 km, an intermediate 10 km and a half marathon group going and I think I'll be running with either 10 km group.  If anyone wants to drop in on thursdays at 6:30, it's free! If you'd like to join the groups and run tuesdays AND thursdays, they start next week and I think they're about 60$.  I'm really excited to help out!

11 randoms

So Kristen tagged me with the 11 random things, so I will give it a go.  The problem is that I don't know 11 other bloggers who haven't been tagged.  Ooops.

Here are the rules:
1. Post these rules
2, You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you've tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

11 random things about me:

1.  I love shopping. I also shop best by myself. Now that I have another little person to shop for, I will really have to control my spending!
2.  Although I grew up skiing and snowboarding and loved it, the last few times I have gone, I didn't really enjoy myself, so I think I'm over it.  It makes me kind of sad to say that.
3.  I hate napping and am almost incapable of taking naps.
4.  I have "hippy ish" thoughts about a lot of things, but sometimes I'm too embarrassed to tell people because they are so strange.  (the thoughts, not the people).
5.  I don't get stressed out when Zoey cries.  Apparently that's not that normal.
6.  When I was a kid, I had an imaginary friend named Nances.
7. I am extremely vain when it comes to photos of myself.
8. Related to #7, I really wish I had a more pronounced chin.
9.  I have a hard time not correcting people's grammar.  I don't, but I always notice the mistakes.
10.  I don't like chocolate chip cookies.  I have only tasted one recipe that I've ever really liked.  They were not gluten free.
11.  I hate cleaning but get stressed out when my house isn't clean.

Kristen's Questions:
1- When you're in a job interview, what do you use as your "weakness"? (you know, the weakness that you can turn into a positive somehow)
I can be too outspoken (which leads to being able to take charge when necessary).
2- What is your favourite food?
This is a toughy... Carrot cake with cream cheese icing?  Rice cake with melted cheese on top?
3- Why did you start blogging?
Because my sister did it and I always want to be just like her.
4- If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?
Europe with unlimited money.
5- If you're a runner, biker, triathlete, or any other sort of racer, what race is tops on your bucket list?
Oh gosh. I don't think I have a bucket list race. Something disney would be fun. Maybe another 70.3 with fewer hills on the bike?
6- What is your dream job? (pretending that it pays well)
TV broadcaster.
7- Who is your celebrity crush?
Ryan Gosling.
8- Did you or do you play an instrument?
Yes. Flute, piccolo, a couple of saxophones, percussion, marching cymbals (HA)... I think thats it. Oh, and I can dabble on the piano, get by on the clarinet, play one scale on the trombone, and make noise on a trumpet and french horn (which not a lot of people can do!)
9- What is your favourite "guilty pleasure" movie? (you know, the one that you like to pretend you didn't love)
There are too many. If it were a TV show, it would be VIP and the Kardashians.
10- If you had to pick a last meal, what would you pick?
Steak, lobster, risotto, roasted veggies and corn on the cob.
11- Ben and Jerry's or Haagen Dazs?
Ben and Jerry's!


Sorry to abruptly stop the random chain, but I honestly don't know any more people!

To marathon, or not to marathon. That is the question.

If any of you follow me on twitter, you know I've been torn recently.  Last year, my sister and I entered the lottery for the New York City Marathon.  I just did it for fun, and of course, I got it.  I deferred my entry, since the marathon was a month after my due date, and just sort of forgot about it.

Fast forward to last week, where I get an email from the NYC marathon saying "don't forget, you have a guaranteed entry for this year's marathon!"  It got me thinking a little.

I have never imagined that I would run a marathon.  Yes, I ran a 70.3, but to me, doing three sports for an extended period of time is a lot easier than doing one sport for an extended period of time.  Running for over four hours has never been that appealing to me.

BUT, if there was any year to train for a marathon, this would be it.  I wouldn't have to juggle training with working.  I would just have to pop Zoey in the stroller and hit the path.  Yes, the weather could interfere with it (how cold can the temperature be and still be able to run with a baby?? anyone know??) and I may have to stop to feed her on some longer runs (if I couldn't leave her at home with Matt and a bottle), but those things aside, I really have nothing but time this year.  One big downside is the price.  $347 for international runners.  Ouch.  But I could probably save up and try to expedia the crap out of some hotels.  It would be a pricey trip, but it would be fun to be in the city we honeymooned two years later as a family.

So after looking up some training programs, I saw one that was doable that was 18 weeks.  That got me thinking, the Calgary Marathon is 19 weeks away.  And a shiny new route is in store for this year (with a big unveiling today!).  So, maybe I could run the Calgary marathon this May, and then run NYC in November.  Why not run two marathons in one year when I never thought I would ever do one.  Am I insane??

What are your thoughts? Can I train with a baby? Can my body handle it? How slow will I be? So many questions!

A look at 2011

*On my computer, there are random hyperlinks that are linked to ads in my post... I didn't put those there and I have no idea how to get rid of them.  So don't click on them.*

2011 was a big year for me!  At the end of January I found out I was pregnant.  I stopped flying and got a placement in our corporate office working for an event planning team.  This also meant that I was home all the time, which was new for Matt and me.  We had a little adjustment period but we soon found that we enjoyed having each other around all the time.

I struggled to get in with a midwife but after a little coaxing I got a team of 5 midwives for my entire pregnancy care until 6 weeks post pardom.  I was thrilled.

I took a quick little trip to Vancouver with my sis. That was very fun since that marked the start of my second trimester and I got to be really excited about having a baby.

I ran a 10 km and a half marathon in slippery snowy weather.  They were my slowest races, but I will definitely remember them!

I had to stop running in May, which led to a severe lack of motivation to exercise.  I sort of found my mojo again, but I really just wished I could run.

I learned that I was carrying a little furnace and was perpetually hot from June onwards.  That wasn't too fun for me.

Matt and I travelled to Ontario in the summer and spent some time at a lake and watched a Blue Jays game.

As my third trimester began, I really felt the physical effects of pregnancy.  I suffered some terrible heartburn, and was pretty much uncomfortable all the time.  In the grand scheme of things, my pregnancy was pretty easy (no morning sickness), but it was hard to remember that during the last couple of months.

Matt and I celebrated our first anniversary on October 15th.  We had expected to have a baby by then, but the little one held off so that we got to have our day to ourselves.

I worked right up until my due date, which was good in the end since I ended up being 12 days overdue.  Those last 12 days were doozies, but in the end, I was granted a VERY fast labour and had baby Zoey at home and without any major complications on October 17th.

Life with Zoey has been an adventure.  She is really starting to have a personality and it's so fun to watch her interact with various people and things.  I didn't feel like an "instant" mother, since at first I felt more like a machine than a lovey dovey oogling pile of mush, but as the days and weeks progress, I find myself just staring at her in amazement.  I miss her when I am somewhere without her, and I eagerly wait my turn to give her hugs and kisses when other people are holding her.  I didn't know what to expect before I had her, but I am having fun every day and can't wait to see her every morning.  I can't wait for this year to see her learn more things and grow more and more into her own person.

This year I hope to get back into exercise with a vengeance, to keep my relationship strong with Matt, to teach Zoey new things and to appreciate every day I get to spend at home with her.

Bring on 2012!

Feeling like a Mum!

This week has been interesting!

Zoey has been very congested for about 3 weeks.  It started with just a little bit of a stuffy nose, and then two weeks ago it got pretty bad.  She was having trouble breathing through her nose (babies are "obligate nose breathers" so they won't breath through their mouth except when crying or when they are forced to), which made sleeping a huge challenge.  She would fall asleep, and then wake up soon after because she'd choke on her snot or not be able to breath at all.  We asked the midwives, who gave us some solutions and then told us to follow up with my doctor since we were "graduating" from their care a few days later.  We then followed up with another doctor from the office (since mine wasn't working that day), and he gave us the same advice and told us to follow up in a week. (The advice was saline drops in her nose, suck out the mucous with a bulb thing, and use a humidifier).  Everyone agreed that she wasn't sick, just congested.

When I followed up again with my doctor this Tuesday, she was immediately concerned with how much she had to struggle to breathe.  (Side note: I love my doctor.  She is amazing.  She always takes things seriously, she has called me from her own home twice, she asks opinions, and is generally awesome.)  She brought another doctor from the office in for a second opinion, and they both thought I should go to emergency to make sure there wasn't a blockage in her airway.  At this point, I wasn't really TOO worried, and to be honest I was a little relived that I could take action to find a solution.  It has been exhausting dealing with Zoey in terms of sleep.  Otherwise, she is happy, but to hear her breathe just breaks my heart.

In Emergency

So off to the Children's Hospital we went.  I sat in emergency for a while, and at one point a nurse walked by, heard Zoey breathing, and brought me back to super suck the mucous out of her nose.  It involved tubes right up her nose and down her throat, vacuuming, and blood.  Oh and lots of crying by Zoey.  We eventually got into a room, and they hooked her up to a monitor to make sure she was getting enough oxygen and breathing out enough carbon dioxide.  Everyone who saw her was amazed at how healthy she was, but had never heard a baby so congested.  They were all puzzled.  After a while, they decided to keep her overnight for observation.  That was when I started thinking that maybe things were a little more serious than I thought.  Matt joined us at that point and we were seen by quite a few really nice and thorough doctors.  We got moved to a real room around 12:30 pm and Zoey got the royal treatment with her own little hospital crib, an awesome nurse-strength swaddle, and a cool noise machine.  Matt and I shared a single cot!

Fancy/sad crib!

After many theories (structual problems, RSV which caused us to be quarantined and everyone who entered the room had to be in full gown/mask/gloves, multiple viruses in a row...) no one REALLY knew what was wrong with her.  They all just thought she was completely healthy aside from being terribly congested.  Finally around 4 ish in the afternoon (about 26 hours after we arrived!) an ear/nose/throat doctor visited, put a camera up her nostrils, and decided that she has very small nostrils, a small infection, and that combined with our dry climate is causing her congestion.  The solution? A more powerful saline solution, sucking out the mucous with a bulb thing, and a humidifier.  Oh, and she has to grow.  Sweet.  So after all that, poor Zoey just has to deal with it, and every day it should get better with her growth.

Noise machine = awesome!

It was a bit of a surreal experience, since it was her first time in a hospital, and my first night in the hospital since I was born.  Also, the fact that everyone had to dress in full bio hazard attire made things seem a little more major.  Her poor nose was so red and irritated from everyone repeatedly sticking things up and down it, but she surprisingly was in good spirits in between it all.  I definitely felt like a "real mum" after taking my child to the hospital.  There was something about it that felt like initiation or something!

So now we wait for her to grow and hope that it gets better every day!

Has anyone had scary hospital experiences?  This was pretty minor in the grand scheme of things...