Taking it Easy (Mar.26, 2023)

It was my usual this morning, coffee and tv.

I got caught up on a few of the vloggers I like to watch.

Meanwhile at work - Jason was cooking up donair meat for the guys.

He made a lot of it.

It looks like it turned out really well.

I asked him to bring me home a slice to try.

Yum Yum.

It was a bit colder outside today than yesterday so I was kind of flip flopping on whether or not I wanted to go out there.

I thought maybe I'd just get on the treadmill but my back was still hurting and sometimes the treadmill aggravates it so ultimately I decided to go outside.

I've been running down the highway because it's nice and clear (from snow and ice) but this is also the time that the bears are waking up and a hungry bear is the last thing I want to meet up with on a run so I decided to stick to an in town route today.

The roads are really icy and my back was sore so I wasn't sure how much running I was going to do, if any.

I started off walking then when I felt warmed up, I just started running.

I started my activity tracking and ran .6k.

Then I walked for a bit but I just left the activity tracking going.

I walked for 1.4k then at 2k, I started running again.

I ran until I hit 4.4k so now I had a total of 3k (running) then I walked for a bit again.

I did one more short section of running, .55k to be exact then I walked the rest of the way home.

So out of the 6k I logged, 3.55 of that was running and the rest was walking.

My exercise details.

My average pace and splits.

You can really see the difference between when I was walking and running.

I normally don't like to walk and run like this - I always want to push myself to keep running, no walking.

But I'm not sure why - it's all activity and if I have to run and walk, so what?

My back was really hurting when I got back to the house so I had a hot bath again then I got my heating pad out and sat on the couch with it.

I did get my Florida posts all finished up and posted - it feels so good to be all up to date with the blog.

Just in time for us to go away again but at least this trip is only half the time.

Shouldn't take me as long to get caught up upon our return.

I always take the computer with us when we go on trips so I can try to keep caught up but I never end up using it so it's like we are dragging it along for no reason so I think this time, I'm going to leave it at home.

After I got the blog updated, I started a new book.

A New Day at Tanglewood.

It was a pretty easy read and I ended up reading the whole thing this afternoon.

Apparently it is a series and this isn't the first book in the series.

Maybe I'll have to see if I can find the others and read those as well.

I did like the characters.

I didn't do much else except laundry.

My back is really bothering me so tried to take it easy.

I had leftovers for supper today and then Jason did bring me home some donair meat and I ate all of it with the donair sauce he made too.

I went over my daily points allotment but not my weekly extras but I'm sure it will still have an affect on my weigh in tomorrow.

Losing weight is tough but I'm not quitting.

Alivia had dance competition in the city this weekend and they won silver.

She has another in April and I'm going to be in the city that weekend because Freya has a dance competition too so I'll be able to see Alivia dance then.

Haylee and Crystal are going to the city for the whole weekend and invited me to come along so I've booked a room and I'm looking forward to it.

Jason has to work but maybe I'll see if Morgan wants to join us for the weekend.

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

Longest Run For Me Since The Marathon (Mar.25, 2023)

I was up fairly early this morning, made myself a couple coffees and watched a couple episodes of Heartland.

I wanted to get out for a run today and I was hoping to run at least 5k.

I got ready and set out and while I had an idea of how far I'd gone, I didn't look at my fitbit at all.

I had a route planned out in my mind and decided I'd run it and then look at my fitbit to see how I did.

It ended up being just under 6.5k which I was really proud of.

I even conquered one of the tough hills so that's a big step in the right direction.

It's coming along slowly but it's coming and that's the main thing.

My exercise details.

My average pace and splits.

The snow is really going down - the highway is clear but the roads in town are still pretty covered.

We got a dusting of snow last night too so that made it even more treachourous since it covered up the ice and you couldn't tell where it was.

So I had to go really slow in some places - I definitely did not want to fall.

So my average pace is up in the 8's but that's perfectly fine with me.

My endurance is more important to me than my speed right now.

When I got home I grabbed my book and hopped in a nice hot bath.

I finished it off today.

It was just ok - I kind of didn't care about that characters that much - it wasn't pulling me back to finish reading it - but I did anyway.

I have a goal of reading 50 books this year and it's already the end of March and this is the first book I've read.

I need to get moving.

Mom wanted me to take her down to get some groceries this afternoon so I did and I picked up some brussels sprouts for supper.

I roasted the brussels sprouts in the oven, cooked up some halibut and made a salad to go along with it for our supper.

It's not often Jason comes home to a home cooked meal - he's normally the one who does all the cooking.

The fish was a bit on the dry side but not terrible.

It was such quiet day today - kind of relaxing.

I got mom's taxes done which I feel really good about - I always leave them to the last minute even though they are dead simple to do.

I also got a couple of blog posts from our Florida trip finished up and posted.

I have a couple more days to catch up on but my plan is to get those completed tomorrow.

My lower back was bothering me quite a bit today.

I'm not sure if its from shoveling or what but I could barely get up from the couch a few times it was so painful.

I hope it goes away soon.

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

Countertop Shopping (Mar. 24, 2023)

Bonnie and I planned on heading to Whitecourt this afternoon with Nadine to look at some countertops for her new place.

So at lunch time, I drove home and walked back down to the office.

That way I could get some steps in and also when we got back to town later, I could get them to drop me off directly at home instead of having to transfer stuff into my car at work then get it all out again to haul into the house.

I was just planning on walking down in the morning and not bringing my car at all but I had a box of stuff I wanted to drop off at the second hand store so I needed to get that down to the office.

Plus Dustin was bringing me eggs today so I had to get those home.

 

I did make a short list of a few things I needed.

Cat food is getting more and more expensive all the time.

Ever since he had his issue with the crystals in his urine, we've been buying this high PH stuff from the vet. I guess it's just salty which makes him drink more which keeps him flushed out.

The first time we got it, it was right around 100 for a bag and today when I got it, it was 140.

Karl was at the hardware picking up the flooring he and Nadine had picked out so we met him there and we all looked at the countertops.

We ended up picking it out really quickly - amazingly, we all agreed.

We also picked out a sink and tile for the back splash - I think it's all going to look really good when it's completed.

We stopped at Walmart afterwards to get a few groceries and things then since we were in town, we decided to go have some supper at Original Joe's.

Bonnie is following the Atkins Diet right now, she's doing really well too.

She stayed on plan and ordered a salad that was low in carbs.

Nadine and I.

I also ordered a salad - when I looked it up, it was a lot of points, 23 actuallly which is my daily allotment.

I skipped the avocado that came with it and changed out the blue cheese dressing for a balsamic vinegrette so I think that helped a little bit.

I'm not sure looking at it why it was so high in points - it did have bacon so maybe that bumped it up.

In any case, I don't think it was a bad choice and it tasted delicious - I cleaned my plate.

Paddington lays in the funniest ways.

I needed some more steps when I got home so Jason and I went for a walk.

Freya and Haylee are gone to the city for the weekend with Crystal and Zepplyn so it's going to be a quiet weekend.

Maybe I'll actually get some stuff done.

Ha ha.

I sure am.

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

It's Official, Grand Baby #2 Is On The Way! (Mar.23, 2023)

I was watching Tik Tok this morning and I saw a video on doing a bun a different way than I normally do that is supposed to give it more volume so I gave it a try this morning and it kind of worked. 

Also - I put some earrings on today and I kind of liked it.

I rarely wear them, I'm not sure why?

I used to be into big earrings like hoops and dangly things which I don't like any more but I'm kind of digging these little circles I found in my stash.

Alivia had a dance competition in the city today.

I wish I could have been there.

I think she has another one in April thought and I'm hoping to attend that one.

We kept getting these snow squalls out of nowhere this afternoon then they would leave as quickly as they came so I was waffling back and forth on whether or not I should try to run outside or if I should just go home and get on the treadmill.

Ultimately, when it was time to go home, the snowing had stopped and thes sun was back so I left the car at the office and walked home.

Then I changed into my running gear and ran back down.

In my mind I was planning to just get back to the car and not try to get further than yesterday but I knew as soon as I got out there, I would scratch that and try for further and I did.

It was tough but I made it to the next lamp post after the office turn off before turning back.

It's a long, uphill stretch so it's very tempting to skip but the hills are good training for me.

I ended up with 3k today.

Baby steps are better than no steps at all.

My exercise details for todays little run.

My average pace and splits.

That last second really threw out the average but overall, I'm pleased.

Morgan was going to look at a house for rent tonight so she asked Mom and I to come along.

It's a really nice house at the top of the hill.

I think the heat and electric are going to be super high but she wants to give it a try and she's determined so I think she'll do it.

It isn't available until June 1st and it's also on the market for sale so it may not happen but if it does, I'll be happy for her.

I had some cabbage soup for supper that I doctored up with some lentils and ground beef.

It was really good, a little on the salty side - I added too much seasoning salt.

Still good though.

Haylee said her appointment went well today, she's 8 weeks along so her due date is Nov.2.

So it's official, I have a new grand baby on the way and I'm very excited.

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

Making Progress (Mar.22, 2023)

 Freya had her dance pictures taken last night and Haylee posted a few of them this morning.

I love the little costume her dance instructor picked out.

She looks so darling.

A little sass.

I decided to leave my car at the office at lunch time and then I got Bonnie to drive me home so that I could walk back down after lunch and my car would be there.

Then after work, I walked home, changed into my running gear and ran back down to pick up my car.

I tried to go a little further today so I ran to the second lamp post after the office driveway.

It was hard but I have to push myself if I want to see progress.

My exercise details for today.

My average pace and splits - I'm still improving so kudos to me.

Although right now, I'm more concerned about improving my endurance rather than my speed but I guess if I'm doing both that's ok too.

When I picked up the car, I decided to stop and pick subs up for supper for Jason and I.

On the way, Kody called and said that Freya wanted to come over so I picked her up on my way home.

She and I hung out on the couch and took some selfies.

She was being silly.

Then she decided she wanted to make some videos so we did some tik tokking.

She saw Auntie Zepplyn doing this one so she had to try it.

Num num num.

Of course she always loves the creepy.

These moving photo ones were so cool.

We tried it out on a few pictures but it worked the best on this one.

When Jason got home, she ditched me and played with him for the rest of the evening until Kody came and picked her up.

Haylee is heading to the city tomorrow for an ultra sound to see how far along she is and Freya is going to go with her.

I'm excited to find out when the new baby will be here.

I was going to take the day off and take her but turns out her grandmother is off tomorrow so she is going to take her instead.

Alivia and her friends were posting some selfies of their own.

She's growing up so fast now.

Truly heartbreaking and I speak from experience.

I don't know why this struck me as so funny but it did.

I'm not really a mean person and if someone actually did this I wouldn't like it at all but as a joke, it's funny.

We watched the new episode of the Madalorian tonight before heading to bed.

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

Improving Already and Irresistable Home Made Bread (Mar.21, 2023)

I was feeling pretty tired this morning - I guess that is what happens when you stay up too late.

When I got to work, I was busy right away and I almost forgot all about going to pick Freya up to take her to school.

We got her there but we were a few minutes late.

Poor little thing was tired too.

Alivia and a bunch of her classmates were off to Barrhead today for a Bell competition.

I have a box of stuff near that door to take to the second hand store next time I go.

Professor Snuggles has claimed it as his new resting spot.

I walked back to the office at lunch time with the plan that Jason would bring the car down after work, we'd walk home together then I would walk back down to pick it up.

And that is exactly what we did.

I tried to go a little further today, I ran past the turn off to the office just to the first light pole then back in for the car.

I think I'll keep trying to go a little bit further each day.

So I ran 2.5k today.

My exercise details.

My average pace and splits.

Didn't even run 3k so not much data but it is an improvement from yesterday.

When I got home, Jason was taking a beautiful loaf of bread out of the oven and it smelled divine!

He made it for Mom because she likes bread and he likes making it.

There was no way I could resist it though, especially warm like that right out of the oven so I had a slice.

He bbq'd up some pork slices for us for supper and made a tomato cucumber salad to go along with it.

I also might have had another slice of that delicious bread with my supper.

My sister called and she decided she wants to come out for a visit this summer with the boys for a couple of weeks and I am so excited.

I started looking for places in BC immediately, couldn't find much and couldn't book either because I'm not exactly sure of her dates yet but I'm really looking forward to it.

So far, they've only come in the winter, summer will be so much better.

I spent the rest of the evening working on my blog.

I'm still working on the posts from Florida - Jason had some things I wanted to add and some videos I wanted to post so I went through all of that, got the videos posted to YouTube and added the links to the videos all in the proper places on the blog.

Also added in some of his pictures too.

The blog really is a lot of work and sometimes I wonder why I even do it but it's so nice to be able to go back and just see all the things we've done.

The big things, like vacations, I remember of course but some of the smaller, mundane, every day things are what I love looking back on the most.

So I keep doing it just for myself and also - I figure that Freya may enjoy looking back on it when she gets a bit older.

Anyway.....

Jason is back to work tomorrow and I was still tired from my late night last night so we were off to bed at a decent hour.

Still getting all my steps in and following and tracking on WW so feeling good.

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