Slowly Getting Back to Running (Jan.28, 2026)

I was late for work this morning because I had to take Freya to school and drop Eden off to Haylee.

 

It wasn't very nice out today so it was back to the treadmill for me today on my lunch hour.

I did a 1 and 1 run today.

I do my run at a 4.0 which is slow but I'm doing some running again and that's what's important.

It feels good to be back at it.

I was busy at work so the afternoon flew right by.

I finished off my latest book today, Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales.

It's the third and I think last book in the series.

I enjoyed it.

I really loved the narrator's voice.

Now I have to find a new one to listen to now.

I still need some steps when I got home from work so I headed out for a walk.

Jason was already out for a run.

We met up when he finished his 10k and he walked with me while I finished up the rest of my steps.

Kody and Haylee have dentist appointments early tomorrow so Freya is spending the night with us and I will take her to school in the morning.

She was swimming with Zepplyn so Jason went down and picked her up.

I had a craving to do a puzzle so instead of doing paint prep like I should have been doing, I started a 1000 piece puzzle.

We want to clean out Jason's office on the weekend and work on making it a room for the girls and my craft room needs a cleaning too so I'll focus on that and maybe get to the painting next week.

Got all my steps in - almost a full month now.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!

Drawing Contest (Jan.27, 2026)

 

It was shaping up to be a beautiful day today.

I was torn between getting on the treadmill on my lunch hour so I could get some running in or going for a walk outside because it was so nice out.

I opted for the outdoor walk - when you get a nice day in winter, you have to take advantage.

I had girls after work because Haylee and Kody were both working.

Freya and Jason had a drawing contest.

She had me judge which one I liked best.

Then when Kody came over, she had to show him.

They drew sheep - this was Jason's.

This was Freya's - it amazes me that she can just draw this out of her head.

I think I'm going to frame it.

Eden wanted to draw pictures with Jason too.

Kody ended up getting called back out to work - he had to leave at 10 pm so the girls spent the night with us.

So I didn't get any painting prep done today.

Got all of my steps in again.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!

Weigh In Day (Jan.26, 2026)

Monday means weigh in day (and back to work).

I was 235.8 lbs. 

That's down 3.2 lbs since last week and I'm happy with that.

Haylee called and asked if I could go take Freya to school - she didn't want to go on the bus.

So I did of course, I'm glad she's feeling well enough to be going to school.

She made me promise I'd pick her up after school so she could come visit for a bit.

I stopped at Nadine's on my way home for lunch to drop off some stuff I picked up for her and helped her with her Cricut.

So I don't know why but I didn't really feel like running anymore when I got home - I did still get on the treadmill and I just walked and watched more Fixer to Fabulous.

Even though progress is slow, just working on my goals makes me feel better.

After work I hopped on the treadmill again - I told myself at lunch time that I'd run after work but I didn't, I just walked.

Jason was out for a run and when he got back, we went and picked the girls up so they could come visit for a bit.

Freya and Jason were having an art contest - they were each drawing a picture then Eden and I were supposed to vote on which was the best drawing.

They drew sheep - This is Jason's.

This is Freya's.

Of course Freya was the winner.

While they did that, Eden and I hung out.

She's going to be losing that baby bottle soon and I'm not ready for it.

I wanted to snuggle but she is just not a snuggler.

When I try to snuggle her, she gives me her little angry growl which just cracks me up.

Luckily, Freya loves snuggles so I get lots from her.

I did manage to convince her to sit on the couch with me eventually though.

I think she resists the snuggling with me sometimes because she thinks it's funny.

Awww - I love her so much.

I got her to show me her angry face.

She just grits her little teeth and balls her hands up into fists.

Ha ha.

Showing me her angry face.

Grrrr!

They enjoyed their visit and didn't want to go home when the time came but Jason and I both have to work in the morning so we had to take them home.

They were fine with it eventually which is good because I hate to have to take them when they are crying and not wanting to go.

They were happy and running around at home with Kody when we dropped them off so all good.

I think tomorrow I'm going to pick up some paint on my way home from work and tape up the walls in the kitchen to prep for painting one more time.

The third and final time!

Got all my steps in!

That's all for today, until next time, be happy.

Sick Girl (Jan.25, 2026)

We ended up having a pretty rough night last night.

Freya woke up in the night complaining that her belly was hurting and she wanted me to rub it.

So I did but then about 10 minutes later, she vomited copious amounts all over the bed.

Luckily we had a room with 2 double beds so we moved Eden(who slept through it all) into the clean bed, cleaned Freya up and put her in with Eden then Jason and I cleaned up the vomit as best we could.

We covered the wet spot with some towels and Jason got into that bed on the side that was clean, I got in with the girls.

I set a plastic garbage can on the table by the bed just in case and Freya did wake up again for another bout of vomiting but into the garbage can so I was able to easily clean it up.

She went back to sleep then woke up with an awful case of diarrhea - poor thing, I felt so bad for her.

She did go back to sleep though which was good.

I woke up around 8 but everyone else slept in quite late - I think they needed it.

When we did get up, we arranged a late checkout to give us time to get ready.

Jason walked over to a coffee spot near the hotel, Gratitude Coffee.

 

It looked promising - very clean and open inside.

Looked very new.

Jason sent me a picture of the menu - I ordered a London Fog Latte.

He also sent a picture of some of the goodies they had.

Freya wanted nothing - neither did I as I had treats yesterday so wanted to skip them today.

Eden pointed to the pastries at the bottom of the picture.

They were savory - Jason brought her a ham and cheese one and a pizza one - they were vegan.

I tasted both and they were surprisingly good.

Freya was feeling a bit better and said she wanted to go to the mall so we checked out and headed over that way.

I did strip both of the beds in the room and left the maids a nice tip just because.

I had to stop and return the suitcase I bought a few weeks ago first.

I decided that I wasn't a big fan of the yellow.

We had stayed in Sherwood Park so the mall was a good 40 minute drive and on the way, Freya started not feeling well again.

She wanted us to open the windows for her for fresh air.

Jason had picked up some ziploc baggies just in case she needed to vomit in the car and she did.

So I suggested we skip the mall, just stop at Walmart for what we needed then head straight home.

Freya agreed that was a good idea.

At Walmart, I got her settled comfortably in a cart and pushed her around while I picked up what we needed.

Eden was in the cart too so it was like Tetris packing things in around them but it worked.

Freya didn't put her head up once from watching the phone, she didn't ask for one single thing so I knew she was feeling really terrible.

After Walmart, we stopped in at Firehouse Subs for something to eat.

I got the turkey sub on whole wheat bread.

It was so delicious.

I got a large and ate half, I'll have the other half for lunch tomorrow.

I also picked up a Hat Trick for Kody as a treat because he works so hard.

When we got home, Freya laid on the couch and immediately fell asleep.

She had been starting to perk up for a bit on the drive home, had Jason get in the back with them and was playing and talking, but that only lasted about an hour then she was back to just kind of laying there and saying she hoped her belly would be better soon.

I did get her some gravol and gave it to her so that might have kicked in.

I got a bowl to put near her just in case and Eden decided it would make a good hat.

She has really been doing well at using the potty, in the hotel she'd tell me when she needed to go and I'd hold her on the toilet and she'd go.

She was afraid for me to let her go on the toilet so we picked up this thing at Walmart that is steps and a little potty seat that go over a regular toilet for our house.

Jason set it up when we got home and she needed some help climbing the stairs but she did it.

Kody came over after we got home and had his sub, I think he liked it.

Freya slept the whole time he was there and we were just going to keep her the night - I decided I'd work from home tomorrow so I could take care of her but just as Kody was getting ready to head with Eden, she woke up and wanted to go home too.

I had needed about 7000 steps when we got home from the city but I walked around upstairs and on the spot until I made my step goal.

It took me a couple hours but I did it.

I could have just gotten on the treadmill - it would have been faster but I had stuff to do and I wanted to stay with the girls and visit with Kody while they were there.

After they left, Jason and I watched some videos on things to do and places to eat in Palm Springs.

I'm really looking forward to our trip there in early March.

I did read a couple chapters in Time Hop Coffee Shop before heading to bed.

Got all my steps in again.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!

City Trip - Spark Chef, Millennium Place and Chop Steak House (Jan.24, 2026)

My friend Denise from back in NS was looking through some old photo albums and came across this picture of Kody so she sent it to me for a laugh.

 

What a little cutie he was.

The girls had a bit of a sleep in this morning and Jason went out for a run so we didn't get on the road as early as I would have liked.

It was 11:30 by the time we left town.

We were going to take the girls swimming at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park.

They have a really nice pool there.

We were hungry though so our first stop in Sherwood Park was at a restaurant.

I found this place online that had a high rating and good reviews, Spark Chef.

It had a 4.9.

Freya 

Eden

As you can see, they are both more entertained by the phones than by us.

It's a good thing and a bad thing.

We don't want to rely on it too much as an entertainment source but sometimes it can be helpful.

They had this special drink and I can't remember what it was called but it had basil seeds in it and ice cream.

It sounded good so we thought we'd give it a try.

It had too strong of a rose flavor to it for me but Jason thought it was ok.

Jason ordered this dish called Devil's Pepper Chicken.

The description said it was Sri Lanka's famous devilled chicken with seared peppers, onions and mild spicy-sweet devil sauce for a fiery finish.

I tasted it and thought is was ok, Jason thought it was kind of one note and you couldn't eat a whole lot of it.

I got the Pad Thai which I did like but it had a spicy kick that built up and after a few bites, I couldn't handle the heat any more.

Freya had the chicken out of my pad thai then we also ordered her the lasagna.

she didn't eat very much of it.

I tried it and thought it was ok.

The food was just ok - I would never rate it as a 4.9.

It wasn't horrible but we will likely never go back.

After we ate, we hit up the pool.

It has waves and a lazy river and a hot tub.

It's a great place - only 31 dollars for all of us too which is a fraction of the cost of the Water Park at West Edmonton Mall.

We swam for a couple hours then called it a day.

I can never take any pictures because I don't want to take my phone in the pool area so I ordered myself a water proof pouch.

Next time we go swimming with the girls, I'll be able to take some pictures!

We went and checked into our room - we were staying at the Four Points - I love their beds and bedding.

There was a Chop across the street, we made a reservation for 7:30 and walked over with the girls for supper.

They brought the girls the little kids appetizer again and Eden ate up all of the cucumber and oranges on her.

Then she ate Freya's cucumbers too.

Miss Freya - she was really looking forward to having her steak.

Shennelle said their steak bites were good so I ordered those as an appetizer, they came with a spicy mustardy sauce and then a horseradish sauce.

Both were good.

I cut some of it up in really small pieces for Eden and she ate it all.

Jason had the Chop Salad with steak for his meal and I had the beet salad with a chicken breast.

The food was really good.

We ordered the cheesecake with raspberry coulis for Freya - she ate most of it.

I had a bite - I could have eaten more but was trying to stick to my points.

Then back to the hotel.

I still needed some steps and Jason needed to lift weights so he and Freya went to the gym so he could do that.

I stayed in the room with Eden and walked on the spot and around the room to get steps in thinking when Jason and Freya got back, I'd go down to the treadmill at the gym to finish up but managed to get all the steps in that I needed.

Then we just chilled in the room, Jason took the girls down and let them pick out snacks at the front desk.

We watched some tv then called it a night.

We had two double beds so the plan was for Jason and Eden to take one, Freya and I would have the other.

But both girls wanted to sleep with me so Jason got a bed to himself.

It was unusual because Eden normally is all about Papa but I'll take the snuggles when I can get them so I was ok with the arrangement.

Going strong - 24 days now of 12,000 steps or more.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!

Change of Plans (Jan.23, 2026)

Our plan was to take the girls and head to the city today for the weekend so I decided to work through lunch and then just went home early.

 

I hopped on the treadmill as soon as I got home to get a bit of a workout in.

I just walked but I figured that I'd hop on the treadmill at the hotel tonight and get a bit of a run in then.

I wanted to pack and be ready to go when Freya got off school.

I packed and Jason went to pick up the girls.

I saw him pull in the driveway and leave again then when he did come back, he only had Eden with him.

He said when he got there, Freya didn't want to come because she wanted to have sleepover with her friend.

Eden did come but when they pulled inot the driveway, she started crying for Mom so he just took her back home but when they got there, she cried to come to Papa's and wouldn't get out of the car.

A bit later, Kody called and Freya wanted to come over so Jason went and got her.

She really wanted to have Theia (her little friend), come and sleep at our house so I called Theia's dad to see if she could.

He said she could and brought her over and Freya was ecstatic.

They ran around and played and so obviously, we did not go to the city.

While they played, I went down and got back on the treadmill to get the rest of my steps in.

I didn't feel like running so I just walked but I got it done.

Jason took the girls to the store to get snacks and food for tonight - they requested cheese pizza.

He cooked it up for them.

I decided to do a puzzle, I had another 500 piece one that I'd picked up on clearance after Christmas.

I finished it in a couple hours while the girls played.

I finished around 11:30 and then wrangled the girls up to get them settled into bed.

I was just going to get them set up in the living room but Theia decided right at that point that she missed her mom so I called her dad and he came and picked her up.

Freya was upset but I explained that kids sometimes missed their parents.

They got to play all evening until quite late and we would have taken her home early since we are now heading to the city in the morning so really, she didn't miss out on anything.

Plus it made sleeping for me a much nice prospect as I was going to sleep on the couch to be near them but I wasn't really looking forward to it.

Now I could have a comfy sleep in my own bed.

Everything was packed and ready to go for our city trip so hopefully we will get an early start in the morning.

Got all my steps in.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!