It is Alive! It is Alive!

Yes, I'm not dead.

I haven't touched this blog in ages (has it really been over 6 months? Yikes!) and I just am so unbelievably busy, I really don't know where the time has flown. Yeah, it's the truth, and not an original excuse, but it's the only one I've got.

And although I hate to leave you hanging again at the risk of abandoning my blog for another 6 months, I always seem to blog (or attempt to blog) when I really should be asleep or, rather, should be doing something else entirely. Right now, I should be sleeping, as it's 5am and I've been awake for the past 3.5 hours, mostly on my computer (doing inane research, the occasional $100 online shopping cart, catching up on one of the Steven Seagal greatest hits that always seems relegated to these wee hours on TV...you know, typical insomnia routine!).

Ah, screw it. If I crawl back into bed now, the husband is just going to do his sighing thing and start complaining that I didn't get any rest.

Better to feign dead on the couch.

Maybe I'm not alive after all!

Spa Review: A Touch Above Electrolysis & Esthetics

I haven't blogged in weeks, but I wrote up a review today on Yelp, about a facial I had. I thought I'd post it here until I get a chance to write something more meaningful.

A Touch Above Electrolysis & Esthetics: a Review

BMO Vancouver Marathon.... Part 2

I'm writing this a month later...so my memory has faded somewhat....

I guess I never really finished my last post because I was yapping too much about everything BUT the race! So here's Part 2 about the real nuts-and-bolts of what happened that day, again, based on whatever I can remember!

Despite being a rainy day, I managed to make a PR, beating my previous record by over 5 minutes. I had ran with a 2:11:00 pace band, and kept up with it, for the most part. Up until halfway through, I was beating pace by a couple of minutes, but by the time I had reached Prospect Point and that damn hill, all that shaved time crept back up and I was "even" again. I even succumbed to the evils in my head and (gasp!) walked for 30 seconds near the peak of the Point (that lady screaming that we were almost at the top obviously didn't walk that rest of the way to see how inaccurate she was!) But I gained some time on the nice downhill stretch between about 9 and 11 miles, leaving Stanley Park.

Everything on the route was labelled in kms, so I had a pace band in kms splits. I had no idea what I was really running in miles, since I had missed the 5-mile marker and only caught the 10-mile marker. Didn't matter, because by the time I got to the 17-km mark, I was almost ready to pack it in. I don't know how I managed to keep some kind of pace during the last 5 km. All the landmarks I passed made it seem so close to the finish line, yet as I passed ANOTHER familiar landmark, I realized that I was not as close as I thought!

As I approached the Finish, I could finally see the clock, and it was over about a minute and a half slower than what I been going by on my wristwatch. How could that be, I thought. If their km markings were accurate, there's no way my watch is that off! It turns out that in the chaos occurring in my mind at the time, I did not clue in that the clock was showing the Gun Time, and not Chip Time (as in MY Chip Time...how selfish of me!), therefore my clock I was going on was accurate to within a second of my official Chip Time. I can't say, though, that if I knew this at the time, if I would have had the energy to sprint to the Finish like a mad woman to break my goal of 2:11:00. Perhaps me stopping for 30 seconds at the top of the hill back at Prospect Point really did throw off my pace that much to cost me the 14 seconds I needed to make goal. I finished the race in 2:11:14 (former PR was 2:16:27).

But I can't dwell on little things like that, since it's these little things that can wreak havoc to the self-esteem, and I think I still did pretty well, with all the training I had done, to still be able to achieve a PR.

Now, I need another goal to achieve.

I think I'll try running just to run...until my next race, that is!

BMO Vancouver Marathon.... Part I

Today was the day....the day I had been training months for, since October of last year.

The BMO Vancouver Marathon!
My head is full of stories and thoughts during the run that I wish were able to have been instantly typed as they occurred: the people I observed, port-a-potty wonders, the numerous fails I experienced here and there...

Yes, FAILS!

Fail #1: Transit

I decided to take the bus this morning, since I received free transit passes on twitter from @bmovanmarathon. And this way, the hubby and the kids wouldn't have to wake up so early just to drop me off.

So, I arrived at the bus stop at 5:30, awaiting arrival at 5:37. Yup, the time came and went! And numerous taxis suspicious stopped close by and I finally caved and flagged one down. Turned out that the same taxi was circling me like a hawk, and good thing, because that bus never came. Taxi bill = $16.55 + $2 tip. After being dropped off at about 6:20 am, I made a firm commitment then, during, and after the race, that I would demand a refund from Translink for their misinformation on their Trip Planning website. Turns out, I selected tomorrow's Monday morning schedule and not Sunday's morning schedule. Dammit...you are off the hook, Translink...for now!

When I got there, I remembered what I heard John Stanton (Running Room founder, and Order of Canada recipient) said yesterday at a Guest Speaker presentation at the Sports Expo when I picked up my registration package: when you get here tomorrow, head straight for the port-a-potty. So, I did, and got to pick out any of the two-dozen parked by the entrance: no line-up (yet!). Going early, the port-a-potties were "fresh" from being recleaned.

Almost-Fail #2: Almost dropping wallet down port-a-potty!

Yes, almost! I have a neoprene pocket that clips to the inside of your pants that can hold some ID, keys, some cash. I clipped it the back of my pants, at the small of my back, and nearly forgot about it as I pulled my pants down. Good things I secured that baby well --- I usually don't! Yikes....that would have been bad, very bad....

I go inside the main building, where tons of runners are milling about, keeping warm. It's not terribly cold outside (about 6 degrees C?) but it's a lot more comfortable inside. I find my way to the back and got to Gear Check. I didn't bring anything to check except for the long sleeve shirt I was wearing on top of my souvenir technical tee; meanwhile, everyone around me had huge baggage reminiscent of being at an airport.

It was at this point I realized my decision to not bring my phone was a wrong move. People were surely checking in valuables despite a request not to. I could see their point, since bags could fall into the wrong owner's hand unknowingly, however, I highly doubted that someone would be accepting another's gear if they could recognize the monstrosity of their own baggage through the cloudy, crinkly plastic gear check bag.

A Running Post: My Final 10 Miles

1:23 in traffic delays and 10 sec because I was going in the wrong direction!

Including these delays: 1:43:04 was my time, which is a 10:17 pace. Without the lights and the misdirection (trying to recall the above map while running was constantly on my mind!), my pace was an ok 10:08.

Not as good a pace as I was expecting, but maybe during race time I'll be able to gain some speed.

I started slow today, waking up not as early as I hoped, at 6:30am. I scoured the kitchen for something to eat, and there was no yogurt, and the bananas had seen better days. I popped in an Eggo waffle, hoping it wouldn't cause cramps. I was out the door by 7:10am.

My 1st mile split was a slow 10:00 flat. I tried to keep it slow, so that I would last through the whole run.

It wasn't raining, so that was a great bonus. I still wore my tights and L/S shirt but I didn't need gloves. It was a tad windy but that came and went periodically.

During the quiet part of my run (it was pretty early in the morning), I could hear my left shoe cracking/squeaking! It was bugging the hell out of me! Something must have tightened up when the shoes got wet weeks ago. Argh!

Overall, the run went well. I hope I'm ready for the race next week! Now it's time to taper: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday is 4 miles, 3 miles, 2 miles, respectively. I'm thinking of driving over the route to familiarize myself with the race, so I don't get so freaked out.

It's still freaking me out anyways.

Just a Litte Tear Drop

I've been sick, as you know, and not liking it one bit.

I've worked five whole days since March 25 and I'm sure my coworkers are coming to some conclusion by now that this is getting rather ridiculous.

I couldn't agree more.

At the risk of providing TMI, I'll spare you the details of how gross my sputum has become and where it's decided to lodge itself permanently and set up house. Whether what I've got is indeed pneumonia or not (I'm on Avelox, at $7 a pill!), it sucks even worse when compounded with excruciating lower back pain which boldly surfaces whenever I have to suddenly cough (and expel said sputum!).

So, in addition to Avelox, I'm also on Robax, an OTC medicine for backpain. Containing some magnesium, I have to delay taking it in the morning because of reduced absorption of the Avelox medication. So in the morning, I've got no meds to numb the back pain, usually until about noon. Afterwards, I'm good to go, popping two of those suckers every 6 hours, the max dose allowed. 500mg of Methocarbamol, a muscle-relaxant, and 200 mg Ibuprofen in each pill and I can at least get up from the toilet without crying out Momma.

But the physical pain doesn't compare to the mental anguish I got today from watching my kids leave the house with my parents. My 16-month old slept over at my parents' place last night, the second time ever, and twice this month, and I had a feeling he might stay over again tonight. It was really nice to not have to wake up in the middle of the night and rock him back to sleep as he requires, usually both of us cranky at this point, and waking up in the morning because you felt like it was actually a good time to get up. (Frankly, the only reason I got up was to pop an Avelox so I can take my Robax by noon, and not, as most would think, to pop in some waffles in the toaster oven for the The Big Kid's breakfast -- priorities, people!).

Although I'll see The Big Kid later tonight, I quietly cried at the window as my parents piled the two kids into their van. I can't carry my growing 25-pounder, nor kiss him lots, for fear of getting him more sick (he's still got a bit of bronchialitis); my back is too painful to cart him around like he likes me to. And suddenly a waft of sympathy fell over me, a little sliver of the pain my cousin's wife must have felt as her daughter was carted away from her as she battled her fight with cancer. Then I lost it completely, crumpled to the ground, reliving the agony.

I'm not equating my silly little ailment to something monstrous like cancer, but I felt a tiny twang of pain than must have been a billion-fold more horrendous for my dear cousin-in-law who passed away last October, leaving behind her husband and the sweetest little 2 year old you'll ever meet. I understood it then, but I feel it now.

But now is not the time to reminisce about something still so painful to our family. No, the focus is to take things into perspective and just get better!

Health is pivotal to everything in life ... doing daily tasks, caring for my family, and yes, doing the Daily Grind and working your ass off. I'm sure my husband would appreciate me getting better, as he (un)intentionally makes me guilty of him doing all the laundry and tidying up for me (I swear, being home all day does not benefit the beauty of our home, and in fact it's on a downward slide) and making dinner (oh, who am I kidding --- my cooking hiatus started way before I got sick).

So, my tears fell because I miss my life. I want everything to return to normal, whatever normal is. Just not THIS. I want to return to work, I want to return to running, I want to return to caring for my family.

But all that will have to wait until I return to health.

Sick of Being Sick

I tell you, this is the last time I don't fill a prescription right away!

I saw my doctor on April 1st, before the Easter Long Weekend, about this cough I've had for a month. It had escalated to some kind of flu during that week and I was afraid I had pneumonia of some sort. I was told my chest is ok, and given a puffer to use for a couple of weeks (it was a trial size, good for a month) and that I should be able to continue running with this.

And she gave me a prescription for antibiotics, should I eventually get (TMI....) gross-tasting, thicker phlegm. Being so straight-laced and having a penchant to listening to instructions really well, I pocketed the prescription, hoping I wouldn't have to fill it.

Well, the Long Weekend came and went, with a few people encouraging me to just fill the prescription, just in case. I know, I said, but never did. Well, last week I did really want to fill it, but now I realized I lost the bloody prescription!

And so the story goes...

I'm hacking away, coughing like there's no tomorrow, the phlegm coughing itself up, not quite making itself out, then back down where it will attempt to inhibit my breathing again at the most in-opportunistic time.

I've hunted high and low for that piece of paper, which I remember I folded in quarters, stuffing it into different pairs of jeans that first weekend, at the hopes I would pass by a pharmacy and be willing to fill it. Laundry's been checked, my bag and wallet taken apart. my jackets' pockets emptied: nothing.

Just sick of being sick!

5 Years Ago Today....

.... my first little boy was born!

I can't believe how much my life has changed since my firstborn! Although he can be a little stubborn and grumpy (aren't they all at this age?), he's just the apple of my eye, and my heart melts each time I see him smile: his eyes crinkle, his cheeks plump up, his little dimple in his chin appears. Then he says I love you, Mom! Awwwww.....

Everywhere I go, I get told he's a handsome boy. He is, in fact! LOL I like to think he's looks like me but maybe I really wished that I look like him! With his right-shade-of-brown hair, and fair skin, I wish I could ingest a bottle of his good looks!

He loves sports and has been able to swing at an overhand ball since two years old. I thought that was normal until I was told otherwise from strangers, whose sons awkwardly demonstrated this to be the case. He has a good swing but an even meaner wrist shot: he loves hockey like his Dad. Learning to skate is his biggest hurdle to date, but I know when he masters that, there's no looking back with this kid!

I love him to bits and can't wait (yes, I can!) to see him grow up. I know one day I'll be wishing for the time he was five again.




Happy Birthday, Gabey! Mommy loves you lots!

An Update...Yes, Another One!

I've been bad again, at not writing in my blog. I've been preoccupied with many things recently, and don't have much of an excuse.

1) Running

I'm in the last four weeks of training for my Half Marathon on May 2nd. I've been concentrating on getting my training runs in: four times a week, around 20+ miles mileage per week. My weekday runs have become long enough that I've started running to work in the mornings, to get it out of the way, and so I don't use up so much of my lunch hour and then some, as those runs were about 45 minutes long.

But I got hit hard with some kind of flu last week and it crippled me. Today I ran my first 3 miles in about nine days, and it was a bit difficult to push myself. I missed running 20 miles while sick, and I'm not about to give up on my training now. I have 18 miles to run by the end of this Sunday, and I'm going to have to do it slowly and without injury...I can't afford to screw up a knee or a shin this close to "Game Day".

2) My Blackberry

I've upgraded my simple candy-stick Sony Ericsson W810i white cell phone to a swanky BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone! Ahh, what love! I've been pining for a BlackBerry since the Fall, and a smartphone in general for a year or two. Ever since my beloved Sony Clie is no longer supported by Sony, with my battery dying on it, it's been acting up and I've been missing all the apps and games I've loaded on it. I've been itching for more organization in my life, and despite a gynormous family calendar on the face of our refrigerator, I need something I can edit on the fly. And, well, reading my email without being at my netbook is a big plus too!

So, I've been enthralled with it for the past month: hugging, kissing, petting it, sleeping with it...LOL. My husband would cry out in anguish, admitting that I indeed have found his replacement in my life.

And, with my new-found love, comes along my obscene desire to keep up with my Twitter account. If you haven't already read any of my tweets on the right pane of this blog, I can be followed on Twitter as @mystery_of_me. I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of interest from my family in joining Twitter, but it doesn't derail me that much...I've made new friends and have a great time conversing with people who I only know through their avatar, if that is indeed them in the first place!

And don't get me started on Foursquare! I've been waiting to get on this new social media site for a while....I just needed a smartphone! For those who don't know, Foursquare is a site where you can "check-in" your whereabouts, letting your friends know what you're up to, while discovering new places in your city, and earning you "badges" for visiting and seeing new places. A social media game, if you will. Insanely simple, yet addicting. With Easter Week recently, I "checked in" so many times at my church, I became "Mayor" of that location (for being the most frequent visitor)!

Ah, I love my Berry!

Cheryl 's Fitness Blog -- RunThere March 2, 2010

Cheryl 's Fitness Blog -- RunThere

Another running update. :)

Olympic Adversity

adversity. noun. 1, adversity. a stroke of ill fortune; a calamitous event

We all have adversities in our life. Some call it bad luck, others call it fate. But we learn to deal with it, regardless of how wrongly victimized we are. We learn to rise to the occasion, from the occasion.

This triumphant human spirit rejoices in the hearts and minds of all who were touched by the powerful and wrenching story of the Canadian figure skater, Joannie Rochette, whose mother passed away from a heart attack within hours of her arrival in Vancouver, a mere 2-3 days before Joannie would take to the Olympic ice for the 2010 Games.

Joannie maintained her third place ranking throughout her two skates, ultimately winning the Bronze Medal. Adversity fell in her lap, with the potential to cripple her, yet she somehow managed to stand, and stand tall she did, isolating her mental pain and anguish into bittersweet gratification. I can only imagine how deep and reflective she had to be, intentional or not, in order to pull those performances out of her.

Now, I'm not trying to over-dramatize. Although I used to be a huge figure skating fan at one point in my life (remember: Battle of the Brians, Kerrigan vs Harding, Midori Ito, the Jumping Bean?), I no longer follow the sport but an appreciation has remained for the hard work involved. But even then, my interest has waned. No, I'm way more interested in the human interest stories around these athletes, these Olympic athletes, specifically. They fascinate me with both their physical ability and their mental tenacity.

Take Slovenian cross-country skier Petra Majdic, who caught some ice and fell into a three-metre deep ravine while on a training run, broke four ribs (some reports say five), punctured a lung, and still managed to qualify, then make quarter-finals, then semi-finals and go on to win a Bronze medal.

How's that for conquering adversity?

So, now, I keep in mind: when kicked to the ground, there is always a way to get back on your feet again...you just need to dig deep within yourself to find out how.

I Believe.

Parlons Francais, Part Deux

So, we accepted the enrollment spot for french immersion in the Fall.

It took over a week to finally hash it out with my husband, the pros and cons. I was already set on it, having mulled it over while driving to and from work, during running, before drifting off to sleep each night, during commercials of Olympic coverage. I just needed to go through the formality of having actually having a discussion with the hubby before making a final decision.

Technically, we have until this Monday, Feb 22, 3pm, to inform them of our acceptance. I wanted to confirm before the weekend though, in case, through a slight oversight, should the school decide to rescind their offer, pulling a fast joke on us or having had placed their bets that we would never have called back in the first place.

Hubby was hesitant, of course, to agree with me, without so much of an argument, though. He's a brooding-kind of debater, if there was such a thing, and getting him to speak his mind succinctly is like arguing with the wall.

He was concerned with how he would learn to spell dog or cat if they weren't going to teach him that. We would have to help him, by continuing to read to him in English at home, I say. But we're so busy in the evenings as it is, he argues. We'll have to change that, I insist.

But, bottom-line, he just wants him to go to a good school, learn well, and be "more smarter than his father".

As I see it, since hubby hit the nail on the head by admitting out loud his education goals for his son, whatever decision we made is ultimately the best one.

Internet Woes

My internet connection crapped out before the weekend, and I had to call my ISP and get a technician in.

After three days, 2 new modems (and a partridge in a pear tree), I am finally connected again.

Oh, the withdrawal I've had!

I'm CONSTANTLY online, much to the chagrin of my husband ("You prefer it to sex, don't you" -- hmmm, no comment...LOL) and I have been shaking (literally) as a result, my hands trembling from not typing, from not being connected. It was kind of a good thing, as I got some much needed cleaning around the house, though not enough. I would probably have to be offline for a whole week before I start doing the WHOLE house. But, thank god, it was only three days!

So what sucked about being offline:

One major shoot-me-now was missing out on Clearly Contacts free eyeglasses giveaway this morning. First 500 people in Vancouver to use the emailed code sent this morning would get free eyeglasses. I paid $89 last week to get my prescription updated so that I could get a chance at free eyeglasses. My last pair cost me over $600, granted, they were imported Nikon glass lenses, so FREE sounds good to me. So what I can get a pair of glasses on the site from $38? Isn't it the principle that I COULD get it FREE? Besides, the designer frames on the site do cost closer, if not over, $100, so free or not free, it's a decent deal. I'm just bummed that I couldn't even try and get free glasses, just because my modem crapped out. C'est la vie, non?

And, after finally checking my email after these few days (I got no less, I kid you not, than 100 emails over the weekend), I started getting Comment Spam on my blog. After finally deleting all the comments, I have one thing to say to this commenter: Go spam a Chinese-written blog! For f&*k sakes, how am I and my readers going to read your spam if it's not in friggen English?? Seriously, use SOME marketing skills!

So, now you'll see I've had to moderate my comments for my blog. Don't take offence. I used to think that comment moderation was pointless until now. Now I understand. I hope you do too.

So, I have a few days of catching up on everything: Twitter, Facebook, email, etc. I may need the whole week to feel like myself again; the weekend wasn't the same with my computer!

Parlons Francais!

So, today, that long-awaited letter (ok, maybe it just felt like ages!) arrived today, informing us that my son has been guaranteed a space in French Immersion this Fall for kindergarten.

I'm so stoked!

Everyone who got accepted -- about 44 kids -- were to find out by this Friday, Feb 12, if we were accepted or put on a wait-list. We got the letter saying we got in! It was about a 1 in 2 chance of getting into the program, given the number of applicants for spaces.

So now my husband and I have about 10 or so days to talk it over and decide what we're going to do. If we accept the spot, we forfeit our spaces at the other schools we've applied to, which makes sense. We did, at the same time, also receive a letter from our default school that we've been accepted there too. We just haven't heard yet from the third school if there are spaces available and if we would fill one of those spots.

But, assuming we were accepted to all three schools, which school would I choose?

The dilemma in this is that whatever we decide will drastically impact my kids' (yes, BOTH kids) education AND life.

Option 1: Choose the French Immersion school

Pros:

• My younger son would be able to be automatically allowed admission into the program, as would any other siblings that follow (ahem, none yet!);
• My kids would automatically be allowed admission to the French Immersion high school, which happens to be a very good, well-respected school (great Fine Arts & Science programs, complete with IB program too, with grads going to Ivy League schools), a school we probably wouldn't have a chance to get into if he studied "in English" since we'd be out-of-catchment;
• kids in French Immersion grow up and "stay together" through the years, going through school, so they'll have a tight relationship (and I heard the parents are nice too!);
• it's a small school, with a lot of personalized attention and resources;
  
• he gets a chance at a bilingual future, unlike me, who missed the boat when I moved here from Montreal when I was 8 years old.
  

Cons:

• it's only half-day kindergarten next year, while most other schools will be full-day kindergarten. Possible daycare costs to be incurred;
• it's an Annex school, meaning after Grade 3, he'll have to go to the Main School, a little farther away, meaning I'll eventually have two kids in two different schools most of the time;
• until we move, the school is actually in the opposite direction from work, and across a major artery, so morning traffic will be a bitch;
• I still don't know how after-school care will be handled when he's a little older;
• will I still be able to help him out with homework, despite my limited French.
• his English reading and writing skills will likely lag for a few years, taking a while to catch up.
  

Option 2: Stick him in a regular English classroom

Pros:

• his reading and writing skills should develop at the usual rate.

Cons:

• he won't have the same level of French proficiency had he started in FI instead.

As you can see, there are not that many issues when dealing with the English-track curriculum. Not so in the case of the French route: possibly more pros and cons I haven't listed yet.

I'll be doing more research, but I'm leaning on sticking him French Immersion and hoping for the best!

Me Bad! Another Update

I have been just terrible at sitting down and writing any posts! My intentions are good, but I never get a moment to just write and not worry about the content!

And I just wanted to say hello to some of my new followers -- Hello! -- as I meant to say hi earlier but just haven't had the time to do so.

And one of my favourite things to pass the time is going through Google Reader and catching up on blogs posts I follow (and there are a lot!), but I just never have the time these days.

But if it matters, I had started a few blog posts....but just didn't finish them. Is there a still a point of posting them. Hmmm.....

So, in a nutshell, I've been dealing with:

1. Kindergarten Registration: my 4 year old is going to school in the Fall and I had to register him last month. I registered him at his (English) catchment school, which he'll default to if no one else accepts him, and I registered him at the French Immersion catchment school, at which there is currently a lottery underway to see who'll get in.

One of my blog entries I never posted was my take on the whole French Immersion issue, so I won't discuss it here right now.

I also registered him at an out-of-catchment (English) school, a process which included me lining up in front of the school at 5 am, in the dark, until the school opened at 8 am, to secure that possible availability of accepting out-of-bounds students. There's nothing particular terrific about the school, 'cept that it does have a lower ESL (English as a Second Language) percentage than our regular catchment school, and that my next door neighbour has been on the PAC (Parent Advisory Committee) for years, and is currently the Chair. My take is that an excellent PAC that works well with the school administration is a school that takes pride in where it's going in the years ahead and makes for a pleasant school experience.

I'm waiting word this week if we get accepted into French Immersion. My next choice would be that out-of-catchment school I just mentioned, but we won't know if there's any space at the school until about March 1st.

2. Half-Marathon My 12 Weeks training starts tomorrow. I've built up a 100 mile base since October 2009, of which 48 miles were run in the past 4 weeks alone. I'll be following Hal Higdon's Half Marathon - Novice like I did in 2003. The schedule totally works, as I was able to complete my first half marathon in '03 in 2:16:27, and that was just running 3 days/week, not 4 as the schedule suggests. I'm planning on continuing to run 4 days a week, as long as the shins stay injury free, so I'm hoping to break my Personal Best. Here goes!

3. Weight Watchers I officially quit my WW Online subscription, after 8 months. The weight loss has stayed off (35 lbs - yay!) and I've been having trouble tracking my foods for the past 2-3 months. I've been burning over 1200 calories per week for a month now, and I'm eating for fuel for my runs. Again, I have a post I'm in the middle of editing, that shows how you can try WW without having to shell out any money like I did (which wasn't too much, and since it totally worked for me, was so worth the money).

I could babble for longer, but I won't. I'll be back soon, I hope!

If you want a daily dose of what's going on...head to Twitter and follow me . You can also read my recent tweets in my blog's side panel, on the right ---->

Kindergarten Registration

I didn't think that kindergarten would come so fast!

Recently, I've had to really start thinking about where to send my son for kindergarten. I actually didn't about it early enough, since registrations began November 2nd of last year. Had I any smarts, I would've called my prospective schools and inquired about Information Sessions.

Case in point: one of my considerations was French Immersion. Apparently all the FI schools in the city have information nights in mid-November.

Mommy Fail #1: missed those.

Now, I've heard that boys, somewhat lag behind their female classmates in FI, and sometimes struggle severely enough to transfer out of the program. And, FI, in some sense, has been termed elitist in some circles. On the first point, of the kids I know who are in FI, one girl and two boys, all at different schools and different grades, are all enjoying themselves and excelling well. Perhaps, given the chance, my son will excel as well. On the second point, being in an FI program can be exclusive, given the lack of resources to have more schools in the city, but as for elitist, I beg to differ. It doesn't cost more to send kids to a public french immersion school, so family income isn't an issue. It's a matter of personal choice on the parents' part: anyone can apply, but a lottery is usually how most people get in, due, again, to the lack of supply-and-demand principles.

Throw in the curve ball that 60% of Vancouver elementary schools will be going full-day in 2010. The remaining 40% will assume full-day kindergarten (FDK) in 2011. FI schools will only have FDK in 2011, discouraging me from considering applying for any french schools: he's so ready for full-time school.

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See my 2011 Update here.

Happy New Year...About time I Blogged!

Hello, and, finally, Happy New Year!

I hadn't forgotten about my blog, but simply I just hadn't had the time to put a post up. I meant to write a decent-size post about what's been going on lately, yet I kept delaying it, convinced I didn't have the time to write what I thought would probably be a lengthy post.

So, here I am now. I'm not promising a long post, but let's see how far I get....

1. Back At Work:

Yes, my maternity leave is now over and I'm back at work. The year (or, rather, the 14 months) has gone by waaaay too fast, and I now Reality is here to stay. I'm sad that Life has to go on and I must return to my job, yet, who am I kidding, I love the money. I had been officially on paid vacation since Nov 23, 2009, so getting a nice paycheque for the following 5 weeks weren't hard to take! But now I have to actually DO some work to get paid so, sigh, off to work I go!

2. Work at Work:

My life at work is super busy! I can't believe that I have been given so much work to do! I work in a laboratory and they've got me re-training for a whole friggin' month! Normally, the duties I've been assigned to do are only a one week rotation, because no one's crazy to want a whole month. Yeah, so that's what they give me! AND, to top it all off, I got zapped with the highest specimen load we've ever experienced: normally we receive 10-15 specimens a week but I friggin' got 39!!!! THIRTY NINE! No wonder I was tired last week! No breaks, just 1/2 hr lunches, but mostly 15-20 min lunches, and working overtime. There was no one more happier than me to see the weekend!


3. The Kids:

My parents have decided that they want to watch the kids while I return to work. Save your money, they said, we'll watch them. So far, it's been pretty good. I drop the kids off by 8am and arrive at work by 8:30. If I left work at the time I was supposed to, I'd be back by 4:30 to pick them up. As per #2 above, I was working a few hours of overtime last week, so I haven't exactly established a real routine yet.

I don't want to put my parents out too much, as they're technically not on my payroll, so I try to head over as early as I can get out of work. It's so different than dealing with full-time daycare like I've done in the past. I've decided to give them a monthly allowance, for them to do as they please, just as a little thank you. They're still saving me a ton of money, so what little I can give them, I'm happy. My mom already offered to beat me when I gave her the money. Nice mom, huh? LOL Yet, she hasn't tried to return the money to me since!

4. Half Marathon

Yes, this is still in the works. I have 16 weeks before the BMO Vancouver Marathon on May 2, and if I want to run it, I have to start training. I ran about 50 miles in October, one run in Nov, and about 5 runs early December. I need to build a base before starting my 12 week training in a month. So I've started running at work this week. Work as somewhat leveled off and I can at least find time to hear myself think at my desk! I got myself a locker of my own in the common locker room down the hall, and can make no excuses about getting dressed for a run now.

I ran 3 miles yesterday and 2 miles today. I have another 3 miles to run and a 4-miler for my Long Run on Sundays. I plan to repeat this 3-2-3-4 pattern for the next 4 weeks until my training starts. I have been writing a running blog since I started running again in the Fall, and you can read that here. It's not the best online running blog to use, but it works for now. I've signed up for dailymile.com but haven't used it yet. My current running blog is set on private and I haven't really shared it with anyone, and the dailymile.com site can be linked to Facebook, being touted as a social training log.

Let's hope I can continue with the running and not get injured like I did with shin splints in October!

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That's all I can think of right now to share. I'm sure there are tons of things I could write more about but my head is just fried! I honestly don't know how I will manage all these weeks of waking up early, getting the kids ready, going to work, coming home, racing this way and that for after-school activities, get home, perhaps cook some dinner, wash dishes, prepare for the next day, still have some Me time on my computer, and STILL get a decent night's sleep before starting the whole damn thing over again!

Deep breath...