So this weekend is going to be another BIG weekend. We're headed down to osoyoos because I have the Oliver Half Ironman! it's half the ironman distance so: 2km swim, 93 km bike, 21km run. I've been pretty nervous for it since I was so sick for the last 5 weeks and have not been really training, but it will just be a good and fun training day for Ironman Canada in 3 months. Last year I had trained to do this race in under 6 hours before my foot, this year I am not thinking about time. Infact I dont even plan on wearing my watch, that way I will not feel like I'm behind or be thinking about my pace. I am just going to listen to my body throught the day and do the best i can.
We have had beautiful weather here in Revelstoke, and I got out for a short 30 minute run this morning in the sunshine and I felt great! What a good way to start your day! This week I'm just taking it easy, as I dont want to burn myself out. I'll do a short bike tomorrow, another short run thursday, and a short swim friday before we head out of town. Just relax on the boat saturday, race sunday, and then it's my bithday monday! And the best part is my dad is coming down with his boat too!
PS I am so glad I stopped the CFA course, the exam would be this Saturday! AHH! it would have been just another stress ontop or moving, wedding, and training.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Whirlwind Weekend
Ben and I headed to Calgary this weekend for 2 main reasons: 1) to find a place to live and 2) for Ben to run the Calgary marathon for a 5th time in a row! and both of those were a sucess but boy was it ever busy. We were up early saterday and hit the ground running and didn't stop until our heads hit our pillows at 11pm that evening. We went to the gym, and by the time we got home we were already running behing schedule as it was 10:15 and we had an appointment to meet a landlord at 11 (and we were in cochrane at my mom's house). So we had a quick shower, shoved some breakfast in our mouths and hit the road. We were late meeting the first landlord, which then had a ripple effect and we were late meeting every one after that. But in the end, we found a place! Actually the place that I wished for!.. well kinda. It turns out the exact one we were supposed to see was rented out but they had another one that would be available on June 15th (when we need it), and it is AWESOME! There is a dishwasher AND laundry in the suite! ALso a huge balcony for our bbq! We are so excited! We grabbed some pho for lunch (mmmm jsut like I hoped) and then drove across town to get our race packages for Sunday morning. It was super busy, but we got our race bibs, then remembered that my goggles are broken and I have the oliver half ironman next weekend! To top it off we only had an hour to get back across the city to get a new pair, so back in the car we went. I found some great ones, so hopefully there won't be any issues next weekend. By this point we had been driving around with a car pack to the roof with stuff so we then had to head to my dad's house who is graciously letting us store some stuff there until we move in to our new place in a couple of weeks. After unloading the car we headed to the jewlery store to purchase our wedding bands. We had picked them out the weekend before in Kelowna, but decided to wait till we were in calgary to buy them because of the difference in taxes, which saved us a pile of money. We then had an hour to get downtown and meet my dad, sammy, angie, jenny and baby jack for some pre race pasta.. mm.. But Ben and I decided that after 8 hours of running around looked like bums so we stopped in at winners on the way and walked out with some new clothes to wear for dinner! We had a great dinner with my family, then headed back to cochrane for a good night sleep, although short!
Sunday morning we woke up to frost on the windshield and 0 degree weather!It was chilly! Ben's race started at 7, so we left the house around 6am and had to be up at 5! It was early, and we were tired and cold. We met up with Jacque and wished Ben good luck and he was off. We started a half hour later. It was a good race, we had fun and got across that line without stopping. Infact, I have not been able to run 10 kms since I got pneumonia a month ago, so it was a good confidence booster for my race next weekend. When we crossed the finish line my dad was there with my little nephew Jack. We had a couple hours to kill until Ben would be coming by, so we let jack run around the park. Ben hadn't trained specifically for this marathon, and thought he would take maybe 4 hours. But we went up to wait for him around 3 hours 20 minutes and thank goodness we did because he came by 9 minutes later with a time of 3 hours 29 minutes! We passed Jack off to Ben, and Ben carried Jack across the finish line, it was pretty cool. Infact, the Calgary herald snapped this picture and they got on their website!
Ben's Mom and Bill even made just in time! We then went to my mom's for a birthday lunch since my birthday is in a week, had a nap, then hit the road! It was a crazy weekend, but all in all a sucess!
Sunday morning we woke up to frost on the windshield and 0 degree weather!It was chilly! Ben's race started at 7, so we left the house around 6am and had to be up at 5! It was early, and we were tired and cold. We met up with Jacque and wished Ben good luck and he was off. We started a half hour later. It was a good race, we had fun and got across that line without stopping. Infact, I have not been able to run 10 kms since I got pneumonia a month ago, so it was a good confidence booster for my race next weekend. When we crossed the finish line my dad was there with my little nephew Jack. We had a couple hours to kill until Ben would be coming by, so we let jack run around the park. Ben hadn't trained specifically for this marathon, and thought he would take maybe 4 hours. But we went up to wait for him around 3 hours 20 minutes and thank goodness we did because he came by 9 minutes later with a time of 3 hours 29 minutes! We passed Jack off to Ben, and Ben carried Jack across the finish line, it was pretty cool. Infact, the Calgary herald snapped this picture and they got on their website!
Ben's Mom and Bill even made just in time! We then went to my mom's for a birthday lunch since my birthday is in a week, had a nap, then hit the road! It was a crazy weekend, but all in all a sucess!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Revelstoke Review
Well, we are headed to Calgary this weekend to find a place to live! It is crazy that in 3 weeks we will be moving... again! I love that I have this blog, because I have been able to look back to some of our older posts before moving to Revelstoke last July, such as this one. It has made me realize how much Ben and I have grown. We have learned so much about ourselves and what is important in our life. So we will be ending the Revelstoke chapter, and moving on to something better. We have had a great year here and I think we will look back fondly on our time here.
The summer was amazing, filled with awesome weather and great times. One of my favorite things to do after work was to bike up past the revelstoke dam and jump into the lake. It's a steep hill, and the sun beats right on the road so you're really hot and sweaty by the time you get to the lake. But then jumping in the lake is just that much better.. and man it was awesome! Then after a quick dip I would hop on my bike and ride home. Followed by a nice BBQ, mmmm and some serious champ time. We even managed some awesome hikes this summer despite my broken foot, including thedisasterous interesting trip up mount begbie.
Then there was this winter. Filled with amazing powder days, I think Ben got over 40 days in this year, including one day catskiing. We had people coming out to enjoy the awesome skiing nearly every weekend and we loved the company.
So after another great year together, this one in the mountains, we are excited about starting yet another chapter in our life, back in Calgary. I have learned that sometime dreams don't turn out exactly like you imagined, in which case you have to dream up new ones. So that is what we are going to do.
-Jen
ps. It is rainy and miserable here today, so guess what Ben did. He left work at his lunch and brought me a hot chocolate. It was such a treat seeing him in the middle of the day :). Should make the afternoon go that much faster! I have the best fiance ever.
pps.. 93 days until Ironman and 100 days until we get married!
The summer was amazing, filled with awesome weather and great times. One of my favorite things to do after work was to bike up past the revelstoke dam and jump into the lake. It's a steep hill, and the sun beats right on the road so you're really hot and sweaty by the time you get to the lake. But then jumping in the lake is just that much better.. and man it was awesome! Then after a quick dip I would hop on my bike and ride home. Followed by a nice BBQ, mmmm and some serious champ time. We even managed some awesome hikes this summer despite my broken foot, including the
Then there was this winter. Filled with amazing powder days, I think Ben got over 40 days in this year, including one day catskiing. We had people coming out to enjoy the awesome skiing nearly every weekend and we loved the company.
So after another great year together, this one in the mountains, we are excited about starting yet another chapter in our life, back in Calgary. I have learned that sometime dreams don't turn out exactly like you imagined, in which case you have to dream up new ones. So that is what we are going to do.
-Jen
ps. It is rainy and miserable here today, so guess what Ben did. He left work at his lunch and brought me a hot chocolate. It was such a treat seeing him in the middle of the day :). Should make the afternoon go that much faster! I have the best fiance ever.
pps.. 93 days until Ironman and 100 days until we get married!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Wishing Wednesdays
It's already wednesday that is crazy. The long weekend really throws my week off, not that i'm complaining I loooove long weekends. Well since one of my wishes came true last wednesday, I thought I'd try it again! This week I wish for :
1)To feel better! This is starting to get silly, I have been sick now for over a month with very limited training. Which is not good since Ironman is now into the double digit countdown!
via
2) That during our trip to Calgary this weekend we find a great place to live. We have a couple of places to look at but there is one that seems perfect....so hopefully it's not rented between now and saturday!We're being a little bit picky since we'll be there until we can buy something, and this place pretty much meets all our criteria
3) That I find a job in Calgary sooner rather than later. Mind you not just another job, but a career that maybe even uses my degree and my interest in finance.
via
4) That our invitations come! Because we really need to get these things out! I'm really excited to see how they turned out as I made them on snapfish. If they don't come this week I think they're officially lost in the mail since it has been over 2 weeks.
5) That I get to eat me some peanut sate pho while we're in Calgary! It's my favorite but I haven't had it since January since there isn't a place here in Revelstoke.
MMMMMMMM!
Have a great wednesday. What are you wishing for?
1)To feel better! This is starting to get silly, I have been sick now for over a month with very limited training. Which is not good since Ironman is now into the double digit countdown!
2) That during our trip to Calgary this weekend we find a great place to live. We have a couple of places to look at but there is one that seems perfect....so hopefully it's not rented between now and saturday!We're being a little bit picky since we'll be there until we can buy something, and this place pretty much meets all our criteria
3) That I find a job in Calgary sooner rather than later. Mind you not just another job, but a career that maybe even uses my degree and my interest in finance.
4) That our invitations come! Because we really need to get these things out! I'm really excited to see how they turned out as I made them on snapfish. If they don't come this week I think they're officially lost in the mail since it has been over 2 weeks.
5) That I get to eat me some peanut sate pho while we're in Calgary! It's my favorite but I haven't had it since January since there isn't a place here in Revelstoke.
Have a great wednesday. What are you wishing for?
Sunday, May 22, 2011
The Two Week Curse
I am seriously cursed. I keep getting sick/injured 2 weeks before my races. Seriously. 2 years ago, 2 weeks before the alberta challange olympic triathlon I was coaching hockey and I tripped on the ice and landed smack on my elbow. While all the 5 year olds were laughing I was trying not to pass out. I went to the hospital and it turns out I fractured my elbow. So into a sling I went. I decided to do the race anyways since my elbow wasn't broken right through. The swim was interesting as I kept swimming sideways because my left arm had no strength. The bike was funny because if I was in the drops I couldnt put any weight on my left arm. The run was tough but that was just because running is always hard for me. Doing the race probably wasn't the smartest thing to do because to this day it still aches ocassionally, but I finished and I did my best.
Then there was the big disaster of last year. Where I fractured my foot 2 weeks before the osoyoos half ironman. And guess how I did that? getting out of the SWIMMING POOOL. Yes, my arms were tired, I slipped and I bashed my foot. Convinced I was fine I went through the entire day before finally going to the hospital, where they told me I was fine.. because I mean who breaks their foot getting out of a swiming pool right? Finally, a foot specialist and a bone scan later it was confirmed that I had fractured my cuboid, and had to miss the race. Then almost the entire summer since I was in a air cast and crutches until August.
Well, the race organizers last year were understanding and postponed my race until this year, and it happens to be in 2 weeks from today. Remember how I was super sick and was put on antibiotics. Then I thought I was either getting sick again or having terrible allergies. Well, turns out I was getting sick again, and the cough came back. Then this past week I was SOOOO exhausted. Like getting out of bed was a chore. I was light headed, and was short of breath even just chewing food and walking around the block. Finally friday I decided to see the doc. Well he listened to my lungs and decided that the bacterial infection I had 2 weeks ago was back.. and that it wasn't just any bacterial infection it was pnuemonia. Aparently when you have pneumonia but can still somewhat function it's called walking pnuemonia... which gives me the mental picture of a bunch of infected zombies walking around (which is pretty much like how I felt.) So he put me on some MEGA antibiotics. The kind that is going to kill pretty much anything in sight, including good bacteria so the pharamists also put me on probiotic pills to take as well. Ugh. The doctor ordered me to rest. SO what does rest mean to a triathlete? cutting your 3.5 hour bike into a 2 hour bike of course. I did get 2 hours in yesterday but I had to make sure my heart rate stayed pretty low so that I didn't start coughing up my lungs.. literally. Then today I tried to run, but that only lasted 15 minutes because my breathing became very laboured and I was coughing hard. Not the best thing for your ego when you have a race 2 weeks away. For this coming race I have no expectations except finishing the darn thing.
So there you have it. I am cursed. 2 weeks before my races something always interfers and I dont think I've ran a race healthy/injury free.... ever? Oh well, that doesn't mean Im' going to give up... I'm just going to do the best I can. That's all anyone can ask for. Ben asked me the other day if I enjoy training, and the funny thing is I do. I love going for those long runs and bikes. But aparently my body disagres.
Then there was the big disaster of last year. Where I fractured my foot 2 weeks before the osoyoos half ironman. And guess how I did that? getting out of the SWIMMING POOOL. Yes, my arms were tired, I slipped and I bashed my foot. Convinced I was fine I went through the entire day before finally going to the hospital, where they told me I was fine.. because I mean who breaks their foot getting out of a swiming pool right? Finally, a foot specialist and a bone scan later it was confirmed that I had fractured my cuboid, and had to miss the race. Then almost the entire summer since I was in a air cast and crutches until August.
Well, the race organizers last year were understanding and postponed my race until this year, and it happens to be in 2 weeks from today. Remember how I was super sick and was put on antibiotics. Then I thought I was either getting sick again or having terrible allergies. Well, turns out I was getting sick again, and the cough came back. Then this past week I was SOOOO exhausted. Like getting out of bed was a chore. I was light headed, and was short of breath even just chewing food and walking around the block. Finally friday I decided to see the doc. Well he listened to my lungs and decided that the bacterial infection I had 2 weeks ago was back.. and that it wasn't just any bacterial infection it was pnuemonia. Aparently when you have pneumonia but can still somewhat function it's called walking pnuemonia... which gives me the mental picture of a bunch of infected zombies walking around (which is pretty much like how I felt.) So he put me on some MEGA antibiotics. The kind that is going to kill pretty much anything in sight, including good bacteria so the pharamists also put me on probiotic pills to take as well. Ugh. The doctor ordered me to rest. SO what does rest mean to a triathlete? cutting your 3.5 hour bike into a 2 hour bike of course. I did get 2 hours in yesterday but I had to make sure my heart rate stayed pretty low so that I didn't start coughing up my lungs.. literally. Then today I tried to run, but that only lasted 15 minutes because my breathing became very laboured and I was coughing hard. Not the best thing for your ego when you have a race 2 weeks away. For this coming race I have no expectations except finishing the darn thing.
So there you have it. I am cursed. 2 weeks before my races something always interfers and I dont think I've ran a race healthy/injury free.... ever? Oh well, that doesn't mean Im' going to give up... I'm just going to do the best I can. That's all anyone can ask for. Ben asked me the other day if I enjoy training, and the funny thing is I do. I love going for those long runs and bikes. But aparently my body disagres.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Looks like wishes do come true!
Well, it looks like my wishing yesterday paid off! We found out yesterday afternoon that Ben got the job!
So lets rewind. Ben and I have been discussing moving out of Revelstoke for some time now. Although we love the mountains, in the last year we have learned alot about us and what we want in our life and Revelstoke just doesn't seem to be able to provide it. So, we have both haphazardly applied to a handful of jobs in the last few months. After not hearing back from anything, we didn't really think about the possibility of moving and accepted that we were going to stay the summer and move in the fall. But then, Ben got a call last tuesday for an interview with the WCB (workers compensation board). Since he has fridays off he drove to Calgary friday morning, nailed the interview, and then drove back to revelstoke. That's 8 hours of driving for an hour interview! He definitely could have stayed over night at one of my parents house but he wanted to come home to hang out with me (isn't he awesome!). So this is for a job as an adjucator with the WCB, as in he reads claims and decides if they get benefits. It will actually combine all of his experience with construction, safety, customer sercice, and his kineisiolody degree. It has a great wage, good benefits, and great work environment that really supports health and wellness (compared to construction which supports the local pub and strip bar).
Anyways on Sunday they emailed him to let him know they were contacting his references and yesterday they phoned to let him know he had the job! There was no doubt in my mind that he would get it, I mean he is awesome as long as someone gave him a chance with an interview he'd be a shoe in.
So, Ben will be trading in his karharts for polos, and his tools for a computer. Looks like we're going to have to go shopping! He starts on June 23rd, so we'll have to be back in calgary before then. Yep, that is 5 weeks from today. So, now comes the crazy moving back to calgary part. Luckily we're going to be in calgary next weekend so we can have a look at a couple of places. We will also bring as much stuff back with us each time we head to calgary to make sure the move is smooth.
Then I'll have to get looking for a job. There is an oil and gas career fair on June 10th, so I'm hoping to go to that. So it looks like we'll be in and out of calgary a few times in the next 5! we're pretty excited! Happy Thursday!
So lets rewind. Ben and I have been discussing moving out of Revelstoke for some time now. Although we love the mountains, in the last year we have learned alot about us and what we want in our life and Revelstoke just doesn't seem to be able to provide it. So, we have both haphazardly applied to a handful of jobs in the last few months. After not hearing back from anything, we didn't really think about the possibility of moving and accepted that we were going to stay the summer and move in the fall. But then, Ben got a call last tuesday for an interview with the WCB (workers compensation board). Since he has fridays off he drove to Calgary friday morning, nailed the interview, and then drove back to revelstoke. That's 8 hours of driving for an hour interview! He definitely could have stayed over night at one of my parents house but he wanted to come home to hang out with me (isn't he awesome!). So this is for a job as an adjucator with the WCB, as in he reads claims and decides if they get benefits. It will actually combine all of his experience with construction, safety, customer sercice, and his kineisiolody degree. It has a great wage, good benefits, and great work environment that really supports health and wellness (compared to construction which supports the local pub and strip bar).
Anyways on Sunday they emailed him to let him know they were contacting his references and yesterday they phoned to let him know he had the job! There was no doubt in my mind that he would get it, I mean he is awesome as long as someone gave him a chance with an interview he'd be a shoe in.
So, Ben will be trading in his karharts for polos, and his tools for a computer. Looks like we're going to have to go shopping! He starts on June 23rd, so we'll have to be back in calgary before then. Yep, that is 5 weeks from today. So, now comes the crazy moving back to calgary part. Luckily we're going to be in calgary next weekend so we can have a look at a couple of places. We will also bring as much stuff back with us each time we head to calgary to make sure the move is smooth.
Then I'll have to get looking for a job. There is an oil and gas career fair on June 10th, so I'm hoping to go to that. So it looks like we'll be in and out of calgary a few times in the next 5! we're pretty excited! Happy Thursday!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Wednesday Wishes
Today I'm linking up with Brooke, who is adorable, from here; where every wednesday people write what they wish for.
I wish:
- That the weather is nice in Osoyoos this weekend so that we can have a good long weekend full of swimming, biking, and running in osoyoos.
- for Ben to get the job he interviewed for last week, and that this job is what he has been looking for... and that we find out soon if he did so we can focus on moving
- That our wedding invitations arrive in the mail soon so that we can send them out!
I wish:
- That the weather is nice in Osoyoos this weekend so that we can have a good long weekend full of swimming, biking, and running in osoyoos.
- for Ben to get the job he interviewed for last week, and that this job is what he has been looking for... and that we find out soon if he did so we can focus on moving
- That our wedding invitations arrive in the mail soon so that we can send them out!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Purple it is!
So, this week with all the allergy issues going on I haven't trained since tuesday. Ugh. Maybe I do actually have a cold? but that's the thing with hay fever you get allll the syptoms of a cold plus itchy eyes and ears (which I have both)... so I guess it's definitely allergies... or maybe both? Although I did just get over a terrible cold. Who knows, all I know is that tomorrow morning I have a 2 hour and 50 minute bike, followed by a 40 minute run, then a 40 minute swim. The race is coming up fast and I better start feeling better!
The one good thing that has come out of it is I decided that I cannot have real flowers at my wedding. I do now want to take a chance that I'll be this ill. So, I was looking online and I found an amazing website that most people in the blog world know about called etsy. If you haven't been there you should definitely check it out. It is basically an online market of a whole bunch of different people with various hobbies. Trust me you will thank me, although your credit card may not since there is sooo much cool stuff on there! anyways, I ended up finding the perfect flowers for our wedding:
Aren't they so pretty! And it was a total steal, way way way cheaper than real flowers. So my sinus' and our bank account are both happy with this decision. I'm thinking black bridesmaids dresses would look pretty awesome with them. I have been up in the air about colors for the wedding, but with the purchase of those flowers I guess it has been decided with purple!
Hope everyone has a great weekend! Ben is just about home from his interview and we're going to hang out tonight. I guess it went really well, so now we'll just wait and see if it's meant to be! If it is he could start as soon as June 23rd!
The one good thing that has come out of it is I decided that I cannot have real flowers at my wedding. I do now want to take a chance that I'll be this ill. So, I was looking online and I found an amazing website that most people in the blog world know about called etsy. If you haven't been there you should definitely check it out. It is basically an online market of a whole bunch of different people with various hobbies. Trust me you will thank me, although your credit card may not since there is sooo much cool stuff on there! anyways, I ended up finding the perfect flowers for our wedding:
Hope everyone has a great weekend! Ben is just about home from his interview and we're going to hang out tonight. I guess it went really well, so now we'll just wait and see if it's meant to be! If it is he could start as soon as June 23rd!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
The Allergen Equation
Well, when we arrived back from Calgary I was sooo happy to see the green grass and the leaves coming out. Then, I remembered... I have really bad seasonal allergies. Usually I would take an extra strength reactine and I'd be on my way. The problem is that there is this
It allll started on monday, I took my bike out for a solid hour and ten minute bike ride. By the time I got home my throat started getting itchy... then sore. Tuesday was a beautiful 24 degree day and it was quiet at work, so I decided to sit outside waiting for the phone to ring... Surrounded by all the beauty of the mountains and nature.. and of course allergens of new grass and freshly budded trees. My eyes started itching, watering, and my nose started running. While running that evening, I was having trouble breathing since my asthma acts up with my allergies. So I cut my run short and headed home. By yesterday, it felt like I had a TERRIBLE cold. Seriously, if you do not have allergies just imagine having cold like symptoms PERMENANTLY! AND I just got over a BRUTAL cold turned lung infection! UGH!... So feeling aweful, I laid on the couch all evening, skipping the swim workout I was to do. This morning, feeling especially sorry for myself and frustrated, I opened the medicine cabinet and decided I was going to take ANYTHING that would make me feel better. So, I proceded to take 2 extra stength reactines, 2 extra strength sudafeds with pseudoephedrin, and a large cup of coffe.. All to combatt the itching, watering eyes, the stuffed up sinus', and the extreme fatigue. And guess what, I am finally feeling a little bit better!
Then concerned that I may have overdosed, I proceeded to call my pharmacist and she assured me that I would be ok, just not to take any more than that per day. Phew! Now that I am feeling better I can actually think about training tonight and this weekend. So, for now I will live off (sudafed + reactine) squared... hopefully the pharamcist doesn't accuse me of making illegal drugs by the end of the summer because of the large quantites of sudafed I will be going through just to be able to function.
On another note, please keep Ben in your thoughts tomorrow. He is driving to Cagary and has an interview for a job that could be the answer to our prayers. Ben has struggled with finding a career, and this could be a very exciting opportunity for him!.. and it could mean moving sooner than we thought!
Enjoy your Thursday!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Said "Yes" To The Dress
This weekend was a very busy, but very sucessful trip to Calgary. We didn't get to my mom's house until after 7pm but we were greeted with a delicious roast beef dinner (a treat since I have yet to learn how to cook meat in the oven.. such as chicken, roast beef, ham.. ect) Then my Mom and I talked excitedly about wedding planning until way past our bedtime.
Saturday we left the house early for a day full of errands. First we headed to the forzanis mother's day sale where we all got some awesome deals. Then Ben went to meet up with my brother and my nephew at the zoo. We laughed because they probably looked like a gay couple at the zoo together with Jack. While Ben was preoccupied, I went dress shopping with my mom and Beccy. We hit up one store, and found the perfect dress within an hour! It's a simple, A-Line, no train, dress in white with a little bit of bling and the best part... it was under $500! So, I bought it! I was debating buying a dress online from lightinthebox.com, but since this one wasn't that much more expensive and I know that I like it we figured it was less risky. So, now it is hanging in my mom's house hidden from Ben. I dont have any pictures, since my mom doesn't trust that I won't show ben, so you'll just have to wait like Ben to see it. After the excitement we went out for lunch, then hit up the mall and I bought my shoes and a garter, so I'm done! My wedding day atire is bought and its all perfect and was quite a bargain. Now we just have to find Ben a suit.
We also decided on the invitations which we'll order this week, booked a photographer, and got mini mason jars that we're using for our favors. So all in all it was a sucessful trip for wedding planning.
Saterday night we had yummy burgers at my dad's house to celebrate my little brothers birthday, then Ben and I passed out at around 10. I guess we're not used to all the excitement of the city. On Sunday for mothers day we went for brunch with my mom and my grandma then drove home to a sunny Revelstoke.
This morning we woke up to a gorgeous day here, and I have the afternoon off today, so I plan on getting outside for a short run, then a bike with Ben after he gets off from work. Hope you have a great week! It's supposed to be nice all week, so we're hoping to get lots of training in... only 15 weeks until Ironman, and 16 weeks until we get married! eek!
Saturday we left the house early for a day full of errands. First we headed to the forzanis mother's day sale where we all got some awesome deals. Then Ben went to meet up with my brother and my nephew at the zoo. We laughed because they probably looked like a gay couple at the zoo together with Jack. While Ben was preoccupied, I went dress shopping with my mom and Beccy. We hit up one store, and found the perfect dress within an hour! It's a simple, A-Line, no train, dress in white with a little bit of bling and the best part... it was under $500! So, I bought it! I was debating buying a dress online from lightinthebox.com, but since this one wasn't that much more expensive and I know that I like it we figured it was less risky. So, now it is hanging in my mom's house hidden from Ben. I dont have any pictures, since my mom doesn't trust that I won't show ben, so you'll just have to wait like Ben to see it. After the excitement we went out for lunch, then hit up the mall and I bought my shoes and a garter, so I'm done! My wedding day atire is bought and its all perfect and was quite a bargain. Now we just have to find Ben a suit.
We also decided on the invitations which we'll order this week, booked a photographer, and got mini mason jars that we're using for our favors. So all in all it was a sucessful trip for wedding planning.
Saterday night we had yummy burgers at my dad's house to celebrate my little brothers birthday, then Ben and I passed out at around 10. I guess we're not used to all the excitement of the city. On Sunday for mothers day we went for brunch with my mom and my grandma then drove home to a sunny Revelstoke.
This morning we woke up to a gorgeous day here, and I have the afternoon off today, so I plan on getting outside for a short run, then a bike with Ben after he gets off from work. Hope you have a great week! It's supposed to be nice all week, so we're hoping to get lots of training in... only 15 weeks until Ironman, and 16 weeks until we get married! eek!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Summer is here!.. or at feels like it
We had a great trip to Calgary. I'll write more about that tomorrow when I have a chance. But I just wanted to note that when we drove in to Revelstoke we were surprised at how much changed over the weekend. The buds on the trees are now full leaves, the grass is green, the melting snow piles are completly gone, and it was sunny. That`s the pic I snaped driving into town. It reminded me of how awesome the summer time is here, keeps you going through this crazy rain. We're planning on enjoying it before we move back to Calgary in a few months! We stopped at the grocery store and got groceries for the week and we picked up some chicken, corn, potatoes, and veggies to bbq and had a delicious dinner. Man, I LOVE summer. It is definitely my favorite season!
Dear Mom.
Since it is mothers day I thought I'd write about just how awesome my mom is. I mean seriously, she is amazing. I would not be who I am today without her.
My dream when I was little was to get a hockey scholarship, even though I wasn't even playing hockey at the time. Infact, I started playing ringette when I was in grade 2 and played all the way through grade 10. Her and my father spent countless hours in cold arenas, chauffeuring me around, and cheering me on. Then, in Grade 10 I decided to switch to hockey and try and get that scholarship. Something most people thought was impossible. So what did my parents do? They encouraged me, signed me up for hockey camps, the National Sports Academy, and never let me give up on my dream. The extraordinary sacrifices, both with their time and money, was taken for granted. Then, with alot of hard work in grade 12 I made the Female Alberta Major Midget League (AAA) hockey team with the Bowness Bruins in Calgary, the first step to getting that scholarship. The next step was getting my name our there, so there I was with my mom making hockey resumes and videos and sending them to every school imaginable. But the work didn't stop there, my MOm became like my personal agent. She called following up with schools and coaches, organized a trip to the states for us check out interested schools, all while I was being an impossible teenager. Then finally, after 2 years, alot of time and money, I was packing up to head to Holy Cross in Worcester Massachusetts to play hockey, and guess who brought me down there and made sure I was all settled in.. my Mom. And I'm not sure I ever truly thanked her for everything that she did to make my dream come true. So, Thank you mom, I appreciate everything you did. I would not have achieved my dream if it were not for you believing and supporting me.
My mom is patient and kind. Understanding but strict. She left her career and committed 15 years to raising me and my siblings. She was always there, through every heartbreak and success. She believed and fought for each one of us and made us feel special. She was the glue of our family, and although at the time we didn't always appreciate family fun nights and no tv during the week, looking back I am thankful for everything she did for us. Thank you mom. I love you. Happy Mothers Day.
My dream when I was little was to get a hockey scholarship, even though I wasn't even playing hockey at the time. Infact, I started playing ringette when I was in grade 2 and played all the way through grade 10. Her and my father spent countless hours in cold arenas, chauffeuring me around, and cheering me on. Then, in Grade 10 I decided to switch to hockey and try and get that scholarship. Something most people thought was impossible. So what did my parents do? They encouraged me, signed me up for hockey camps, the National Sports Academy, and never let me give up on my dream. The extraordinary sacrifices, both with their time and money, was taken for granted. Then, with alot of hard work in grade 12 I made the Female Alberta Major Midget League (AAA) hockey team with the Bowness Bruins in Calgary, the first step to getting that scholarship. The next step was getting my name our there, so there I was with my mom making hockey resumes and videos and sending them to every school imaginable. But the work didn't stop there, my MOm became like my personal agent. She called following up with schools and coaches, organized a trip to the states for us check out interested schools, all while I was being an impossible teenager. Then finally, after 2 years, alot of time and money, I was packing up to head to Holy Cross in Worcester Massachusetts to play hockey, and guess who brought me down there and made sure I was all settled in.. my Mom. And I'm not sure I ever truly thanked her for everything that she did to make my dream come true. So, Thank you mom, I appreciate everything you did. I would not have achieved my dream if it were not for you believing and supporting me.
My mom is patient and kind. Understanding but strict. She left her career and committed 15 years to raising me and my siblings. She was always there, through every heartbreak and success. She believed and fought for each one of us and made us feel special. She was the glue of our family, and although at the time we didn't always appreciate family fun nights and no tv during the week, looking back I am thankful for everything she did for us. Thank you mom. I love you. Happy Mothers Day.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Slow and Steady
So this week I have slowly been trying to get back into training. Tuesday I attemped to run in the morning, and well... it didn't go great. I pretty much felt like a asthmatic smoker who was trying to race a 10k without any training. Seriously, I did a small loop that I can typically do in roughly 25 mins and tuesday morning it took me over 30.. ugh. But, I did it that's all that matters. Tuesday evening Ben and I decided to go do some weights at the gym, I didn't have much energy so after a short warm up bike I did a quick circuit. Wednesday I headed out on the bike since it was sunny, and my lungs felt alot better and was feeling pretty good, even thought about attempting to run after. But by the time I got home I was freezing and ben was already home, so motivation to run waned quickly. Thursday we were supposed to swim, but the pool has changed their hours and they aren't open after work anymore until 7:15 so we took a rest day. This morning we got up early and I hit the pool for a swim at 6:30. I was feeling a bit run down and could feel my lungs so I only lasted 25 minutes. But, that was the first swim in 2 weeks and it felt good to get in the water. As you can see this week I haven't done much but it's more than the last 2 weeks and I don't want to jump right back in and end up way sicker. However, I do have the half ironman in a month from tomorrow, so I better ramp this up quick and get back at it. The longest bike I have done to date it 60 km, the longest run was 18 kms, and the longest swim was well over 2000m. So I only need 20 more kms biking and 3 more kms run to complete the half ironman... piece of cake. Last year I was training really hard for a sub 6 hour half ironman, but this year since it's not my main race I'll be happy with more like 7.
This weekend we are headed to Calgary. We were planning on bringing our bikes out and biking the 70 kms from my Mom's house in Cochrane to my Dad's hous in far SW calgary on saterday for dinner and then bike back on sunday for brunch, but it's supposed to be pouring rain so we're just bringing our running shoes. Hopefully we'll get a couple good runs in on our old stomping grounds.
I'm also going dress shopping with my mom and my cousin this weekend! I have a dress that I've been eyeing online, but I want to try some on and make sure that I like the style before I go getting it custom sized and shipped! So that's exciting. While I'm off doing that, ben's got a list of errands such as FINALLY putting some summer tires on the stealth fighter (our car) and then hes hoping to hit up the Zoo with our adorable nephew and my brother.
Have a great weekend! and make sure you spoil your mommy! because mom's awesome! don't know what I would do without mine!
This weekend we are headed to Calgary. We were planning on bringing our bikes out and biking the 70 kms from my Mom's house in Cochrane to my Dad's hous in far SW calgary on saterday for dinner and then bike back on sunday for brunch, but it's supposed to be pouring rain so we're just bringing our running shoes. Hopefully we'll get a couple good runs in on our old stomping grounds.
I'm also going dress shopping with my mom and my cousin this weekend! I have a dress that I've been eyeing online, but I want to try some on and make sure that I like the style before I go getting it custom sized and shipped! So that's exciting. While I'm off doing that, ben's got a list of errands such as FINALLY putting some summer tires on the stealth fighter (our car) and then hes hoping to hit up the Zoo with our adorable nephew and my brother.
Have a great weekend! and make sure you spoil your mommy! because mom's awesome! don't know what I would do without mine!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Friday Date.... at the hospital.
As I briefly talked about, I have had this terrible cough for the last 2 weeks, and it was only getting worse. Poor Ben, he was getting a headache from the insistent coughing. I tried cough medicine, doubling my inhaler, and cough drops and nothing was giving me a minutes relief. So, finally friday evening Ben said I had to get checked out. Instead, I decided to phone health link BC. If you don't know what health link is, well you should because it's pretty great and paid for with our tax dollars. Basically you get to talk to a registered nurse about health related questions. So, I called to find out if it's normal to have a cough for this long. She went through some questions, such as do you have asthma... yes; are you coughing up green stuff.. yes; for how long... 2 weeks; are you having trouble breathing... yes, walking around the block. Aparently that was enough for her to urged me to go to the hospital. So off we went. Good thing too, because it turns out I had a bacterial lung infection, and had to get on some antibiotics. It wasn't anything life threatening at the time, but since we live in a very small town the clinic is only open monday through friday so I would have had to wait until monday at which point it would have been much worse. Instead, I got on antibiotics on firday night, and by yesterday evening the cough was a million times better. Ben is no longer ready to kill me at night because I can't stop coughing, and I finally got a good night's sleep.
Ben has been training all weekend, he got in a couple hour run yesterday, and a couple hour bike and a short run today. He's gotten back in the groove after he was sick so much. I attemped a bike this morning, but training while still having a bit of a lung infection isn't the best idea and I only made it about 10 minutes. Oh well , I'll try again tomorrow.
This weekend, however, has been beautiful. A glimpse of summer! 24 degrees and sunny! the leaves are just starting to sprout, and flowers are blooming. It's beautiful. We went for a long walk to enjoy the the sunshine this afternoon, and sat by the river. It was awesome.
Ben has been training all weekend, he got in a couple hour run yesterday, and a couple hour bike and a short run today. He's gotten back in the groove after he was sick so much. I attemped a bike this morning, but training while still having a bit of a lung infection isn't the best idea and I only made it about 10 minutes. Oh well , I'll try again tomorrow.
This weekend, however, has been beautiful. A glimpse of summer! 24 degrees and sunny! the leaves are just starting to sprout, and flowers are blooming. It's beautiful. We went for a long walk to enjoy the the sunshine this afternoon, and sat by the river. It was awesome.
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