I DID IT

okay, so yoga is tough. it's physically tough, but I have a hard, hard time with dizziness. it's getting better, since I am getting use to the ups and downs of the poses and with drinking more water. trying to smile more and not clenching my teeth totally helps. so yesterday night I tackeld "THE CAMEL". okay to look at this pose, it totally seems impossible [okay, in this picture it TOTALLY is!] but every time I go to to lean back on this pose, I totally get a huge head rush and it puts me in la-la land. well yesterday, I leaned back and grabbed my ankles and held on for dear life! and then I did it again today. yup. I rock. okay - just looking at this picture and I'm scared...do not be mis-led. I do not do this...yet!

and this is Monday

so, a morning of CRANKED music and some rockstars doing their thing...[I believe we were listening to "maneater" by nelly furtado], a trip to the library and then to the park with the cousins [bottom picture!!]. a good monday!

video killed the radio star

okay folks...let's see if this worked!! enjoy!!! it's a bit grainy - I think I must have saved it funny. AND, because it's grainy and weird, you can't see the subtitles under the "insert witty title" which was me trying to be funny. yeah. I just look like I forgot to insert title. LOL

a lovely little storm

so we had a bit of wind through here last night. LOL okay, enough wind to have us racing upstairs to shut all the windows when it felt like the house was going to come down around us. fortunately, the kids slept right through it. the only damage was to a tree in front, and it wasn't even bad damage...just a dislocated branch. there was a tree that got split in half on our street. literally. half of the tree is on the street!

I went to yoga this afternoon. HOLY FULL CLASSROOM, BATMAN! how many sweaty people can you fit into a room and NOT get someone else's sweat on you. yeah. LOL however, I had a great class - a great workout! I have discovered my key to breathing...I have to smile. I totally clench my teeth when I feel a bit funky. and I clench more when I am focusing on breathing. so, today I worked on NOT clenching! I smiled a bit. loose jaw, happy yoga practice.

off to put small children to bed...hopefully THAT is not the battle it has been known to be!

how do you do that?

lot's of randomness today:

1. last sunday we took the kids to the zoo - yes, the pics are mainly of ty, just because I don't think you can buy that kind of cool. not too sure where the kid gets his style, but he just makes me either REALLY angry or REALLY happy! the top picture is a bit blurry, but I still love it. the bottom one is missing the bottom half of his chin - still love it too!

2. there were some questions about my poster in the last post - I made it with pages 09 on my mac. it was a template, and it was super easy!

3. had my SU! open house today. it was a great time and I am so thankful that people took the time to come! now I am going to post the rest of my retired sets on kijiji - if I can figure that out!

4. I barely survived yoga yesterday. I had a headache on thursday and I thought it had gone. yeah. it hadn't. I could hardly get through the breathing exercises, let alone all the standing and balancing poses. sheesh.

5. went to the red piano with some girls last night. GREAT place!

6. I was down 2.2 lbs today. I'm back to the -20.6 mark. same place I was on june 13. WOW. what a month! let's hope that I can squeek out a pound for next week so I'm at the 10% mark.

7. okay, I can't think of much else. ty is having a bit of a meltdown. off to deal.

xoxo!

the party is coming...are you?

okay, so it's not really big...so if you want a copy emailed to you, just email me! plus, I'm a bit annoyed that the photo moved over. at one time it was lined up on the LH side!!! oh well, first time "making" a poster, so whatev!

had a great yoga class yesterday, and hoping for another great one today - breathe, breathe, breathe! I'll let you know how it goes!

xoxo

have you noticed?

there haven't been any pictures lately! mmmm. I'll try to fix that this week, considering I took a ton at the zoo with the kids today. yes, the zoo was my exercise today. I figure that 2.5 HOURS of walking around the little valley zoo merits enough walking for the day. and since I am making the rules up for this challenge, I say that walking at the zoo counts!!! plus, by the time we got home, made & ate dinner, and got the kids off to bed, I was ZONKED. and yes, I am in bed as I type. the wonders of modern technology!!

perhaps I will post some old-ish pictures to keep you all entertained until tomorrow - I have had 2 days away from yoga and I am craving it. I can't wait until 3:30 rolls around tomorrow and I can just breathe. and push both my mind and body HARD. sad, I know.

yeah, can't post pics tonight - I keep getting knocked off the server [or something equally as crazy!]

it feels like sunday

but no, it's only saturday.

and this morning I was pretty pissed off when I stepped on the scale and saw that I was up 1.6 WTF? although I am currently having a moment of over indulgence, I went for a serious walk with my mom tonight [6.5 km] and she gave me some ideas on how to switch it up a bit. I think I was maybe counting yoga as more points than I should of...that is an easy change to make for next week. and I am going to only allow myself to have 4 points after supper next week. I am a bit of a point hoarder and I am using a lot of points with dinner and AFTER dinner. I can tweak that a bit. and then there is the salt. I don't think I am a big salt consumer, but I am going to make sure that my post-supper snacks are not high salt snacks.

friday's yoga was with intention - breathing. in through the nose, out through the nose. sounds really simple, but it's REALLY hard. I think the focus of my next few classes is going to be the breathing. it's SOOOOO hard! I did, however, buy myself [okay, so my mom bought me for my birthday!] a two month unlimited pass. I would love to practice four times a week over the summer. that is the plan!

gonna go chill with the j-man...have a great weekend!!!

Day 7 and already behind!

listening to the kinks - this time tomorrow. LOVE this song. "...this time tomorrow, where will be be? this time tomorrow, what will we see?"

so yesterday was a bust. in the exercise and parenting department - not in the "really nice visit with a friend and her kids" department. then 6:00 hit [après swimming lessons] and yeah. I am once again the president of the bad mom's club. I know you have all been there before, but last night I wore the crown! blah. I didn't exercise today [rain issues!] but I didn't drink either, so I am counting it as a success!! needless to say, I promptly went to bed to begin the day on a fresh note.

and fresh it was!! a 6 am bikram class. my goal today had been to do every pose at least once. fought through the dizziness and totally reached my goal. there were poses I had NEVER done [balancing stick and rabbit!] and today I did them. WOOHOO! and since today is my birthday, I have a 10 am appointment with my guy at the apple store, then a pedi, then swimming lessons, then dinner with my sweet husband at dadeo's [sans kids...they are having a sleep over at grandma's!! man, I'm spoiled!].

you have a good day too...I never blog this early, so I never get to say that! be good to yourself!

on yoga and coffee

so, I did it today. I braved the fears of the hot room and went to bikram this morning with allison. for all my panic and hot issues, it really wasn't that bad. okay, dripping sweat is never that attractive, but I wasn't wearing my date panties or anything like that. I am going to aim to go every day this week and use my $20 pass to it's fullness!! AND, since the studio is SO close to my house, I really have no excuses. I could walk there. okay, so I may faint on the way home, but you know what I mean!

John and I went for a 30 minute power walk last night. we dog-sat steph's dog over night and the boys had a sleep-over at auntie's house. a win-win!

AND, dear, sweet Kathy left me muffins in my mailbox on saturday night. they were WONDERFUL one-point muffins! and now I need the recipe!

back to yoga. LOL I have to say that I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. did it kick my ass? absolutely. it's a hard work out. I was reading on-line about calories burned doing bikram and I think that they guy saying that it wasn't a real workout has never been. [yes, someone said that!] I like a good ass-kicking. and I SO hope that this gets my weight loss kick started. I am committing this summer to my good health and I am off to a good start!

Day 2

walked to starbucks and back this afternoon - BEFORE the thunderstorms hit! 45 minutes at a 10 min/km pace - not too bad! and, in good news, I was down 1.2 today. 30 weeks and down [yes, I really want to use the word "just" here!] 19.6 lbs. that is an average of 0.65 lbs per week. not quite what I had been aiming for, but hey, it's definitely better than nothing [which is what would have happened, if I hadn't started this journey at all!]. if I can kick it up a notch, and make it to 1 lb a week, I could really be down 44.6 by the new year. THAT is a number I do like! BUT, since I often get ahead of myself, let's just aim to be down 1.4 this next week so that I can make the 10% mark. the ever elusive 10%. THEN, we [I] can focus on the next 10%.

okay, enough about that.

if you are not up for an exercise challenge, why not try a 30 day challenge of your own making? try changing just one habit. create a healthy habit. one thing, one month, one change.

as I was walking today, I was thinking that I am really going to aim to blog through this wee challenge of mine too. keep me accountable!

and kathy - YOU ARE NOT OLD!! [or matronly!!!!] not even CLOSE!

xoxo

holy bagina

okay, so I know you are all looking at my title saying "bag-ina" and thinking "HUH????". think no further. it rhymes with vagina. it's ty's new phrase - mainly because I say "holy dinah" a lot. he thinks it's funny. he's right. I have no good reason for using that as my title either - just feeling funny. LOL

so it's friday night. you'd think sitting down that I'd have something to blog about. as I sit here, nothing is coming to me. my life is rather dull when on summer vacation. no busy things. no real stress. so, I think I am going to invent some. for real.

I am going to invent for myself a 30 day challenge. kinda like a birthday-ish lent. no sunday's off. no easter at the end. no 40 days. just 30 days. it's my birthday in less that a week and at this time of year I begin to feel my age, just a bit. yes, I will be 37. THAT FREAKS ME OUT! funny enough though, a friend of mine said to me a couple of weeks ago - and perhaps as a put-down that I took as a complement - that I really like a 15 yr old in an adult body. he had a point. I don't really act my age, mainly because what does an almost [okay, like in 3 years] 40 year old act like??? and if you use icky words like: stuffy, matronly, grey, wrinkled, menopausal - I will scream in your face. let's be honest. I may have a few grey hairs lingering beneath all the dye jobs and I just may have some wrinkles because I kinda like to laugh and I may just be someone's mother, I am not really that old. yet. nor will I ever be. especially if stuffy is part of the definition. okay, sorry about my anti-aging rant. perhaps I protest too much!!!

the challenge - if you wish to participate with me - is such: I will exercise for at least 30 minutes for 30 days. starting today [yes, I walked 30 minutes tonight!] and ending on august 2nd. WHO IS WITH ME??? [oh, and there are rumours about starting hot yoga next week so I can get my ass kicked...let's see if I get up the nerve!!]

AND, tomorrow is weigh in day. LOVELY. last week, I was up 1.4. I'd better be down this week because this is driving me CRAZY!!!

so close

so tonight, unlike last night obviously, I feel like blogging! about what, I do not know...yet. maybe I'll do my list thingy - only it's not really mine, I borrowed the idea from sarah. she looks like she's a nice person, so I hope she doesn't mind.

1. there are 3 teaching days left in the school year. although I am extraordinarily exhausted and on the verge of a big sore throat, I am sad that this year is ending as I feel like it's been my best teaching year ever. I love my class. I loved my job assignment. it wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I connected with my kids in a way that I hadn't the year before. I learned a whole bunch about myself and both my abilities & inabilities and I am excited to try it all over again next year [only without the stress of the leadership course!].

2. there have been some staffing changes at my school. my good friend scott is moving [and taking his family] to germany to teach. scott is the reason I am in jr high and I am already feeling kinda sad about the whole thing. scott and allison are really great people and I'll miss them at all our little get-togethers. teaching across the hall from scotty has really been a ton of fun and he's helped me so much over the last two years. not to mention, he often shows up with coffee. a little sad, and perhaps a little jealous. happy however that yvonne is moving up.

3. get to go to the lake this weekend with some ladies that I hardly know. okay, bit of a lie. I know connie REALLY well and I know two of the other ladies kinda well and the others, well one I don't know at all. regardless, I am arming myself with THE killer margarita recipe. [THANKS, E!] all will be well.

4. I think I have swimming lessons [for kids, not me] every day in July. sheesh.

5. I am contemplating trying hot yoga [allison & michelle's fault] just because I need my arse kicked and I want to lose some serious INCHES over the summer. is it awful to do it just to shock people?

6. I was up .4 on sat. I am SO close to hitting my 10% goal. one pound away. I want the dumb keychain they give away.

7. I have been stamping up a storm this week - cards for everyone! I just need to make something nice for nate's teacher. I can do that. tomorrow, perhaps?

8. john and I started watching season 1 of arrested development last night. freaking hilarious.

9. my kids [nate & ty] are driving me NUTS! however, I have a plan. an elaborate plan that will begin when summer break begins. it's the anti-whining, anti-temper plan. it's just in its formation, so I'll let you know if it works!

10. there is no number ten. there rarely is. that's okay.

xoxo.

soon, I promise.

4 more days left. well, technically 6 but only 4 with kids. I will blog after the chaos is over. I promise!!

xoxo

thoughts on community

the whole process and thought on "community" intrigues me. and even more so today. not too sure what makes today any different, but as I was with the boys this morning, I felt connected to my community - my city - in a strange way. last night I did a stamping show with some parents from my school. similar experiences, different perspectives. it led me to a place in the conversation where I felt that I needed to put my money where my mouth was, sort a speak. there is a little girl in my school who is going through some really intense stuff and I discovered a way to reach out that really is of no cost to me, other than some time. in taking that step, and in making that offer, I was connected, in community to this family. today, I took the boys to the market. although I didn't see any of my friends, we bought cupcakes from seth's grandma [and were invited, yet again to izzy's birthday party!], we visited the honey lady, who told me she had meet up with my cousin earlier this week, we bought pasta from ernesto and I taught the boys how to put money in guitar cases of great musicians. although I don't know these people, I have shared experiences with them and therefore share community or experiences with them. driving back home, I was thinking about this, looking and being struck by how grateful that I live here in edmonton. I really do love this city and it's people. while thinking this I saw a couple of things. a group of hasidic jews walking home from synagogue. families playing in the park. neighbours talking and laughing with each other.

a few months ago dean spoke about a term: communitas. communitas is an intense community spirit, the feeling of great social equality, solidarity, and togetherness. it is also a bit more than this, but this is the piece of the definition that strikes a chord with me. I cannot live in isolation. I cannot raise my children in isolation. I cannot celebrate in isolation. I need my community. I need to create a spirit of communitas with my words and my actions and in how I treat the people in my community.

PHEW!

let's do this post in list form, just because there will be too much rambling!

1. vegas ROCKED. no seriously, I would never take my kids there [too much boobage], but it was really a good time, both personally and professionally.

2. I developed a new love for tequila. I had some SERIOUS tequila and it was ALL good.

3. I bought something at the coach store. no more mockery, no more chant of "c is for cori" because I have become one of them. a person that owns coach - not a bag, however, but a LOVELY pair of sunglasses. and CHEAP!

4. I got to see the fountains at the bellagio. just rather unfortunate [or perhaps fortunate!] that I was drunk or camera-less every time I was there, so iPhone pics were the best I could do.

5. I went for a weigh in last friday and I was down another pound for a total of -19

6. I bought drumsticks for ty at the house of blues. they are ACTUAL drumsticks and he LOVES them! [hence the picture above]

7. he [ty] will be four in one week. wow. my kids are getting old.

8. I really missed them on this trip. missed john even more. I have a great husband.

9. speaking of husband, he wants to see my pictures...gotta wrap up!

10. I work with some really great people. I am SOOOOOO thankful for that! They are wonderful to work with and wonderful to travel with.

it's been a hard day's night

sorry I've been a bad blogger.  all three of you have noticed, I'm sure.  I think I am going to "list" this post, since there are random things to share.

1.  today is the 20th anniversary of when my cousin Liz was killed in a car accident.  tonight, we met some family at her grave site and put fresh flowers there.  she was 17 when she was killed, I was 16.  we don't talk much about her when we have family get togethers, and I think that has been the thing we do - not talking about things that matter.  I am not sure how to change this when many people in my family are virtual strangers, so I'm going to have to think of something.  not something for them, but something for me to do to change how I feel.

2.  there are 4 more mondays left in this school year.  oh golly gee.  EEEKKKKKK!!!

3.  ty is completely potty trained.  now, how do I get him off the potty and on to the toilet?  he is NOT going to make friends in school if the only thing that fits in his backpack is the big ol' portable toilet.  UNCOOL.

4.  I like our neighbours.  this past weekend a bunch of the kids were in the ally, and playing in our backyard.  kinda like when I was a kid.  I like that.  I feel that in many neighbourhoods, we have lost the whole "front porch" mentality - knowing the people you live near and spending time getting to know them.  well, in parkview we do it the back ally way!  put signs up in the back way so that cars don't kill the kids and gather to tell our stories over our short, and in many cases, chain-linked fences.

5.  I was up .6 at WW on sat.  pms sucks.  that and crap food on the friday before weigh in.  today was also a crap food day, but I tracked all of it.  okay, almost all.  does anyone know that point value for a chicken mcgrill wrappy thingy?????

6.  Nate is kicking butt at soccer.  perhaps I am biased, but my kid has some skills. 

7.  this has been one of my best teaching years.  I love the kids in my home room.  I feel that I have been able to build relationships with them and laugh with them and just generally enjoy their teenager-ness.  I like that.

8.  there is no number 8 - nevermind.  there is.  I upgraded my computer.  now I am back to square one and can't figure out my email.  good thing I have my phone [it gets mail] and an appointment with a mac geek at the apple store on sunday.

9.  for real this time.  there is no 9.  'CAUSE 7 ate 9!!!  LOL

xoxo

-17 and counting...

so, it was a good week, on the ww front! -1.2 down today for a total of -17.4. not too shabby, considering the last few weeks have been CHAOS [especially on the whole school front!]. kids have been weird both at home and at school. the weather has been awful and I feel like I've been stuck in "going nowhere fast" mode. oh well, today was the encouragement I needed to get my arse in gear - in the movement department! maybe I am on the verge of being over the top of the hill, and trust me, coming down is always easier.

and in other news:

1. boys got new [to them] bikes today

2. john and I saw x-men: origins last night [me likey!!]

3. ty potty trained himself this week

4. I've done far too much laundry this week

5. I was reminded this week that too much coffee too late at night leads to sleepless nights

have a good weekend, folks!

the blues

I have the post-marathon blues. prior to the marathon I had a pretty set purpose for getting outside everyday. now, I am feeling less motivated. I didn't move on the scale this week and that has me even less motivated. I need a shot in the arse. the "motivation" shot.

and then I think back to the race. it's a bit like my weight loss journey, in a super metaphorical way! the first third of the race is pure adrenalin and excitement. surrounded by 7 000 or so racers all there for the same purpose. it is really exciting. this is the part of the race that goes through east vancouver [just in case you were wondering!] down east cordova. then you take some twists and turns and you enter the park. just then the cops come through on their bikes, leading the way for the top marathon runner to come through. it's like hearing other people's stories - totally encouraging. and then the hill comes. and trust me, it's hard and steep [800 m high] and totally brutal. I feel like this part of my journey is the hill. totally brutal to stay on track, totally needing the loud music and the cheers. in the park, however, there is no one. you are alone. and although I know I'm not alone, I feel that way. I know what my goal is and I know the route to get there, I just need to keep walking. keep going. keep persevering. I can make it to the end. I just need some cheers. [and I am off to bed - it's WAY too late!!]

the pic I promised

yeah. the lone marathon picture. LOVE!