PHEW!

so we did it. and we did it in our best time ever - 3 hours and 19 minutes. I am so thrilled that we did so well. climbing the hill was pretty hard...VERY HARD. coming down was a tad easier [always is] and the last 4k were - well they pretty much pushed me as hard as I'd ever been pushed. Rae & Mom were ahead of me and I wanted to keep up. it felt like they kept speeding up, so I just kept the pace. I had some pretty good music playing and it was all good! I have to say, it was all worth it. all the training. all the stuff that it is. next year, I really want to do it again, only minus nate on my back [or the 45 lbs that is nate!!!].

I'll post a picture or two in the next few days - for now, I'm off to bed!

and a tiny bit more...

well, .2 down is still down. for a total of -16.4. I am 3.6 off schedule, but hey, like my mom said today, steph's dog weighs 16 lbs. I am minus a sam. LOL

in other breaking news...

we walked 12k today. we leave for vancouver on friday night, shop on saturday and race on sunday. we don't fly home until monday, so that will be nice. my feet are pretty sore right now, so next week they are going to HURT!

I am off to the running room to get some new socks - just waiting for kids to walk in!! [oh, pic of the race route below!]

where were you tonight?

really, my blog should get a re-title: how cori likes to brag about her exercise. LOL it will subside, soon. okay, maybe not. but at least I'm not little-miss-hot-yoga. [HI ALLISON!!!] well, I guess if I could manage to string together 40 days of hot yoga and look like allison 2 weeks before my 40th birthday, I wouldn't be complaining at all.

enough about her. this is MY blog after all! so I braved the crazy drive down the block and went to lesley's class tonight. HOLY SMOKES. we did a considerable amount of upper body work. and abs. and lunges. mmmmm. I *heart* lunges. [okay, love is a strong word. I have come to sorta enjoy the first one.] and more importantly, we did far too many planks. damn plank. regardless, it will all lead to a little, tight body in a couple of decades or so [at the rate this body wants to drop fat].

AND, I've decided that I have a wee crush on my new mac [computer, not makeup] guy. he's cute. he's funny. and he's paid to spend an hour with me every couple of weeks. UNDIVIDED attention, with no kids in sight. and he laughs at my jokes [maybe he's paid to do that too!]. it's all good. I tell ya. george may have some competition. I don't get the impression that george will mind.

okay, so now I am rambling. I should post a picture. maybe it will be a random photo booth pic!!

xoxo!

a little bit less of me

well, this was a pay off week. not a huge loss, but 1.2 lbs down for a total loss of 16.2. I haven't had a loss week of over a pound since march 7th. that's well over a month. and over a month of intense frustration on my part. alas, I feel like I've turned a bit of a corner. could be that regardless of the scale, I know that all the exercise/training I'm doing is paying off. I did the stairs in the river valley twice this week with yvonne and I walked 16k this morning with my mom & rae. in two weeks we will be in vancouver, shopping and carb-ing up for the big race!! eeekkk! that's just crazy! then they [mom & rae] are talking about beginning to train for the edmonton marathon. we'll see. [we may be on vacation that week!] regardless, these last few weeks have taught me something new about myself: I can manage a stall. I can work through the pain and the tough plateaus and I can keep going. and, I can like exercise. at the 12k mark I wasn't liking it very much, but overall, my body craves it. I really hope that I have turned a new page in the book of my life.

badda bing, badda bang

MY BUM HURTS!

you heard me right. I am literally working my ass off. hehehe! so yvonne & I did the stairs in the river valley yesterday - THREE TIMES. yeah I was sucking wind BIG TIME the first time up. then we walked a bit and did it again. that wasn't happy either. then we did a longer walk - down and around the path and over the river and back and then back up again! the third time back up wasn't so bad. coming down is awful, but that's because I need to look at where I step and then I see the ground underneath, far underneath! not pretty. but, I did it and we're going again tomorrow after school to do it again! yippie! tonight I walked to starbucks and back - a whoppin' 5k. and that, my friends, is why I hurt!

and now for some easter love - easter pics of my sweet boys!!!

one more thing...

I was listening to the tim hughes version of this old hymn today [you can listen to it here...I am not a big fan of the visuals, but the audio alone is pretty good!!] - verse 4 sums up how I feel about easter...

"were the whole realm of nature mine,

that were a present far to small;

love so amazing, so divine.

demands my soul, my life, my all"

as a christ-follower, easter is a pretty big part of the christian calendar and something that is part of my tradition and our tradition as a family. so, if you too celebrate, have a blessed easter.

life in the fast lane

HOLY BUSY, BATMAN!!

going back to school after spring break for a 4-day week is always brutal!

however, it really has been a lovely weekend. thursday night I went for a walk [a FAST walk!] at the y and then to church for a couple of hours of music practice. friday morning we took the boys to church for the good friday service, went for a long walk with my mom & rae [9.5k], cleaned the house, did laundry, bought a few groceries, then had friends over to watch the season finale of friday night lights. a nice evening [even though I wasn't too happy with how it ended...!].

this morning I went to weight watchers and surprise, surprise, I was up .2 lbs. still at a total of -15, but this hovering is driving me NUTS! I talked to the meeting leader today about what I can do, and I have a few ideas. I'll let you know how it goes! when I got home, the boys and I painted some easter eggs. pretty low key egg fun! they are expecting me to hide eggs for tomorrow morning. grrr. this afternoon, I took the boys over to susan's house. the boys literally played for 3 hours. other than a slight mishap with some bubbles, we did not really hear from them the entire time! susan, alyssa & I played with some stampin' stuff. alyssa had stuff that I don't have and I brought some stuff for her to play with, so overall, a productive afternoon! when I got home with the kids, John took the kids to his mom's and I went for a 5k walk. my feet hurt. in three weeks, we'll be in vancouver prepping for the real deal, so we're on the tail end of it. PHEW.

okay, so I suppose you didn't need a total recap of my life. it really is rather boring. I had something else interesting to say, but once again, my brain isn't registering. LOL

have a wonderful easter...

xoxo

playing with some colour!

okay, so I sent Kristina a picture of Nate and she ended up using for her colour challenge! how fun. so, I have some time I am playing along with one of my fave colour combos!!



HOWEVER, my camera is still sitting in a safe, safe place and the bow won't let me scan, so I used the trusty iPhone to take this crap photo...SO SORRY!!



and in other news, I am down 1lb this week...THANK GOODNESS! after the week of intense exercise, I was honestly hoping for more, but hey, a pound is a pound is a pound. and more importantly, I feel better than I have in a long, long time. [other than too much dinner & wine tonight because it's out anniversary and I cooked john a kick-ass meal!!!!]
xoxo

days four and five

ahhhh. it's almost over and I have succeeded in not working and I feel rather rested. I had big plans to go into school, but that hasn't happened yet. maybe tomorrow.

okay, so I've had a strange occurrence. rumor had it that this could happen, but honestly, I though those people were nuts. totally crazy. so, as you know, I have been on a forced exercise regiment this week. since saturday I have logged 26k on my shoes this week. and I was planning to take today off - only, the strangest thing happened. I want to exercise today. I don't hurt today and I really want to exercise. I am craving it. how absolutely bizarre. so how will I solve this problem? well, I'll go to the y tonight and work out. and they open at 7am tomorrow, so I've been plotting how I can get up early and go before weight watchers. EEEEKKKK. all I can say is that all of this work had better pay off on the ol' scale tomorrow. grrrr.

off to finish watching tv with john - he 's not really watching, but who cares. LOL as long as his snoring doesn't get in the way, I really don't mind! [yes, he's home this afternoon!]

day three

I have officially logged in 4.5 hours of exercise this week [since saturday] and this 36 year old body is TIRED! I signed up for a two week trial session at the y today, so at least I have a place to walk while the snow is finding a home down the drains. my mom & I did 8k today, with a break half way through to do some serious stretching. tomorrow I am planning to go back and do a 30 minute session on the treadmill for some incline work. then friday is rest day. and some time this weekend I am going to have to do 10k. next week won't allow me to do this pace/amount every day, but I should be able to go to class [the same one I was at yesterday] on monday & wednesday and then my scheduled walks on tuesday, thursday and the weekend.

the thing I am struggling with is the whole points counting for activity. according to ww, I am not doing intensive exercise, but I know that I am definitely doing harder than moderate. today, I counted activity points half way between. BUT, then do I have to eat all 10 points? because I did, but not with heathy choices - that would have taken me forever! the 7 point cinnamon bun and the 4 point bag of easter chocolates was sure the easier way to go. however, then what's the point of exercising if it's just giving me permission to eat crap? so today I did it a bit differently. I counted the exercise as just 4 points, ate my extra 4 points and all the extras got counted in with my extra 35 point allowance [that I hardly ever use up]. is this wrong? I am SOOOOOO confused! I mean, I am still counting most everything and I am still exercising and I am still drinking a crumb load of water, so really, maybe I am doing it right? do I want to eat all those extra points? yup. however, I really want to eat them in junk food, not healthy food and then that's not quite as good.

okay, officially rambling. if anyone has an answer, let me know!

otherwise, my very sore arse & I are going to bed.

day two

well, glad to report that I went to torture class today and did two gym lengths [the short way] of lunges. did a plank or three. did squats and pushups. and I feel pretty darn good. I am thinking that for april I really need to hit lesley's class twice a week just to cross train.

tomorrow, I am meeting my mom to do a super long walk...takes the heat off for the weekend.

just thought I'd check in!!

xoxo

day one

man I got a lot done today. kids closets purged, some toys gone, dusting done and then the robot did his job. had a friend over for lunch. I walked to starbucks and back [5.2 km]. and that wee walk is the issue I am currently having.

MY LEGS HURT!! yeah, I was just blogging to complain. this whole exercise thing had better pay off. my goal is to walk or do some other form of vigorous exercise everyday this week. I started on saturday with 3k in less than 30 minutes [some of that was running]. yesterday it was an hour at the track with rae. and today. well, I think I need an advil!! all I can say is that this whole plan had better pay off. tomorrow it's off to a class in the morning. wednesday, another walk. thursday...well, maybe some damn lunges in the basement with some even more lovely squats and maybe a plank or two. blah. and it's suppose to snow again. wow. life in edmonton is GREAT!

24 is mere minutes away.

me & my ty

ty is such a wonderful kid. a kid that drives me around the bend, but his personality makes me laugh so hard. I don't always get a lot of alone time with him, mainly because nate demands so much of my attention...BUT, when I do get those few times, I so enjoy it. tonight, we took some pictures and recorded a video. enjoy!

oh, and in other news, I was up .6 this week. all this up and down business is driving me crazy. however, I have walked the last 2 days and am challenging myself to walk at least 30 minutes every day of spring break. I am going to work this a$$ off if it kills me. this way, if the scale doesn't move this week, the measuring tape sure will.

xoxo

a trip to the mall

okay, so that's not really out of the ordinary. actually stepping foot into sephora - okay, ordinary as well. I went in to get another of purity [see picture] - the BEST facial cleaner of all times and walked out with a bottle of THIS: the microdelivery exfoliating wash.

now, I use purity rather religiously. I love that it's fairly gentle on my skin and that it's shower worthy - I can just lather up my face in the shower, rinse and voila...clean face. lately, however, my increase of lines on my face has become rather, well, annoying. I know, I know, I am over 35, but if I don't begin to take care of my skin, it will just get nasty and pruny faster. let's not do THAT. this new stuff, well you are suppose to use it after purity, on a super clean face. it has little chunky/sandy things in it that do some sort of miracle. now maybe I was expecting less lines after the first usage, but I swear there were less. smooth, lovely, clean face. I like. I really like. in fact, I almost want to clean my face tonight. LOL that's right, I CAN! then, the lovely sephora lady answered my greasy face question/issue. people rant and rave about hope in a jar. I've had my jar for a while now and really, I hate it. turns out there's one for dry skin [with OIL in it] and one for regular skin [with NO OIL]. guess which one I own. yup. the dry skin one. I've been putting OIL on my skin. no wonder I have grease dripping from my head by 2pm almost every day. the lady gave me a sample of the regular people one and today, I loved. grrr. and the stuff is UBER expensive. oh well, I'll make my sample last.

oh, and on another note, I was down .2 this week. I need a big loss this week. I NEED IT!!! LOL

9 years ago

John and I hooked up, after a night of drinking, 9 years ago tonight. why does that seem like forever ago? and although we had a lot of crap to work through [mainly on my end, since I thought I was queen of the world, which hey, IS NOT true!], I am really glad that it happened the way it did and that we happened the way we did.

gotta love o'byrnes irish pub on st. patrick's day!

so, I didn't report in last saturday. mainly because I gained .8 which really is quite discouraging. although I totally know that there are good reasons [specifically starting the period from HELL the day before weigh in day], I still get a bit annoyed. however, I walked 7 km on saturday pm and I have plans to walk/run again tomorrow. and I have totally stayed within my points totals [okay, so I always stay within my points totals, but historically an off-week would really mean an off-week which would lead to quitting and then regaining all weight plus 10 lbs]. all that to say this: I AM NOT GIVING UP! I see myself as thin. I want this SOOOOOOOO badly. I will not take no for an answer to a body that is fighting me tooth and nail just because it's old and cranky. I was waiting for the day that exercise would be the key and this week, I believe it's the key that will make the difference. so, alas, this is the story and now I am off to bed, since it is WAY past my bed time and I have to show up and teach tomorrow!!

xoxo

the night - tonight

totally obscure non-meaningful title of nothingness. for real. don't read into it. LOL

I had opportunity to go and see paul young speak tonight. I blogged about "the shack" back in august or july [click here for a refresh!] and have subsequently lent my copies of the book out to many people. I tell ya. I am not often impressed by speakers. lately, I've been impressed by a couple. first, I think I told you that I got to meet romeo dallaire of "shake hands with the devil fame" and then I got to meet [and have my picture taken with!] erwin mcmanus. tonight, I got to be blown away by paul young. and as I stand here telling you about it, I don't have much to say - there is a lot swirling around in my head right now. but, I am impressed. I witnessed an example of humility and compassion that was not wrapped up in either perfection or insincerity, but in love and relationship with others and his creator. there are a lot of people I look up to in a lot of ways - most of them because...well, for some good reasons, but not significant reasons. tonight, I am left with a sense of undoing. the push that I must do something uncomfortable in order to find true healing. although this is unsettling, to say the least and although I am intentionally being vague in this public forum, I must have some moments to think. to think and pray for direction. perhaps this is another excuse. perhaps I just lack in some courage. but it is time for my life, this old, run-down shack to get a make-over. from the inside out.

now THAT's more like it!

yes indeed. it's that time of week. my goal this week was to re-lose the gain, plus some. or, to make it past -15. I did both. down 2.6 for a total of -15.4. the next mental hurdle is -20...in 5 weeks. totally do-able. however, this next goal takes me to the big mental issue I always have with getting under the 200 mark. this is a really big deal to me. but, I did it once and I am determined to do it again - possibly this week.

what I've noticed:

1. my fave belt is on the last buckle.

2. my fave jeans can get pulled over my hips when I don't have said belt on.

3. people are noticing.

4. I can recover from a bad week and not lose all hope and motivation.

5. the more I do this, the better I feel.

6. I totally need the support I get from all my peeps. THANKS!!! you all are the best group of friends a girl could have!!!

and, in all that, I have great plans to craft tonight...perhaps some new pics to come.

HA!

lesson learned, my ass.  [just re-read last week's post!]

so, I am up 2.2 pounds.  and SO frustrated with myself.  I've had two pretty difficult eating weeks and I made my usual mistake last Saturday:  I rewarded myself for my "almost -15".  cori rewards look like wine, nachos, candy, smut mags, movies and chocolate bars.  yeah, and I suck.  if it had only stopped there, I would have re-bounded.  it was followed up with a sloppy week and two days of eating out at teacher's convention.  thursday morning was a breakfast buffet.  the better choice would have been to stay in control of my eating and just order off the menu.  buffet's and I are life-long enemies.  I honestly don't ever feel like I eat the value of the food that I pay for, so then I eat more to make it worth my while.  then on friday it was vietnamese food for lunch and thai food for supper.  like I said, on their own, it all would have been okay.  all together over the coarse of 7 days - +2.2

lesson learned?  I sure hope so.  

on a positive note, I did run without peeing for the first time in a really long time.  I did 35 some minutes on the treadmill walking and then did 15 minutes of 1 to 1's running and walking.  pretty cool, eh?  

lots of work to do this week to take care of myself AND stay in control of my hunger, my food choices and my mindlessness.  one day at a time.

so close!

so close to -15.  -14.8 is pretty darn close.  I am down another 1.4...totally on schedule.  which is good, since I had a rough eating week on a lot of fronts.  for the first time since christmas, I used up all my extra points - on pizza and icky chicken wings and cake and a shot of baileys.  I know that is what those points are suppose to be for, but still, I usually don't use them up like I did on wednesday night!  mentally it was just a tough week and although I am glad that I didn't pay the price at the scale this week, I see now how easy it is to go back to old ways.  I am combating 15 years of bad habits with 11 weeks of new habits.  so, although I know I shouldn't beat myself up over a couple of rough days, I also know that I need to "press on", "persevere" and just "hold on" when I am tired and pms'ing and busy and just plain old tired [oh, I said that...!!!].  alas, all's well that ends well.  and lesson learned.

have a super weekend!

xoxo

new things...

so we did some scrap book pages at club last night...this is what they looked like!  I totally got the paper flower idea from some primas that I had bought awhile ago...I got the replica idea from SCS, I'm sure.  the other flowers just morphed from there and the cut-out flowers I got from kristina's blog...the ribbon thingy with the button is from the papertray blog!  LOVE it all!!!  I also love how dawn uses ribbon and buttons, which got me thinking that I should do more!