October Recap and November Goals

So, October has been one heck of a month for us! My mom falling being hospitalized, having surgery and being cleared as cancer free, my father-in-law being hospitalized, and thankfully released yesterday, starting my new job and trying to stay sane. I posted my goals at the beginning of the month, and I thought that I had failed miserably on them. But, I am pleased to say that some things worked out:

- Running: I did do my virtual 10k races, which I won two! prizes for. I will definitely model my new gear once it comes in.
- Personal Development: there has been less ice cream and more carrots and tea. I am drinking more water, staying socially involved despite my long commute to work, and falling into a good routine.
- Work: I am still employed, so I think I am doing ok! Lots of clients, I am starting to feel like I am a part of the team, and sometimes, I even feel like I know what I am talking about. Still lots of improvement to do here though.
- blog - first giveaway done! I am also reading and commenting on a lot of your blogs when I can.

So on other things, I have not done as well. My new office has Tim Horton's runs every Thursday and Friday (Tim Hortons = the Canadian Dunkin' Donuts for you Americans) and I have failed on self control. My runs have also not been happening. Sad but true.

SO, in the past couple of days, I have been setting myself up for a good November. My friend and I have set up a healthy challenge to try and get fit. Basically, there are positive things and negative things that you can do, and a dollar value attached to each. So going for a 5k run = $5 in the bank, and eating a donut = $2 lost. The goal each day is to have a positive amount to put in the bank for a splurge item in the future. This will start tomorrow. She is holding me accountable, and vice versa, so I hope that my eating will get better.

Secondly, I decided to sign up for a gym in my neighbourhood today. It will be open in the next month or so, and will have a hot yoga room, group fitness classes, spin classes, a 25m pool and aquafit classes, lots of treadmills and is open 24 hours a day for most of the week. I know I should run outside over the winter, but I am convinced that with the days getting darker and the weather getting colder, it won't happen as much as it should, and I wanted a backup plan. This way, for the cost of one fitness class a week, I am getting access to a variety of different fitness options. Two friends in my neighbourhood have also joined, so I am sure to have gym buddies to keep me accountable!

So, with all that said, my November goals are:

1) Run more often. Nuff said.

2) Eat healthy - I would love to avoid the sweets 6/7 days a week. I think I will cave on one of the donut days, but if I am good the rest of the time it evens out. I want to try and not eat after supper, which is my worst snacking time of the day. Keep my water consumption up.

3) Keep going on the rest of my October goals. I don't want any behaviours that are positive to go to the wayside.

What are your November goals? How are you going to keep life interesting and keep yourself active as it gets colder?

When it Rains....

In my life, I have been led to believe that things often happen in threes. Whether it be good news or bad, I find that the same type of things (deaths, pregnancies, job promotions, divorces etc) seem to happen around me in threes. And of course, there is that general sentiment that when it rains, it has a tendency of pouring.

Well, fast forward to today, when I was on the phone with a client, and one of the assistants in my office came in with a post-it note saying that my husband was on the other line, and it was an emergency. My husband is a no BS kind of guy, and isn't frazzled easily, so I immediately was concerned. Was the kidlet hurt? Was my mom's health in question again?

Unfortunately, my father-in-law has been hospitalized for some serious bleeding problems. No need for details, but I left work really quickly to drive almost 90 kms to get to the hospital to support both my husband and my father-in-law, and definitely don't regret my decision to put my family first. Father-in-law is having surgery (I think, the doctors are French, and I only have partial comprehension) on Friday, and will be under observation until then.

So despite the wonderful weather in my area this week, the running is not meant to be. I feel guilty at my laziness (ok, also at the ridiculous amount of chickpea curry I ate for supper after running around) and really need to get back on track. Luckily I have a friend with a plan to curb my eating and increase my activity level, which I should be starting on November 1st. I'll explain what it is later, but for now, I am just focusing on keeping my family together and getting through the week.

Sorry I have been such a Debbie Downer, but hey, that's life, right now mine is throwing me a curve ball. Hopefully no one else is hospitalized in my life to complete the trilogy.

CSN Winner!!!

Well, my CSN Stores Giveaway contest is officially a success!!! I am happy that there were 40 entries received, and a bunch of new followers. Welcome to everyone! I wish I had enough gift certificates to give away to you all!

Random.org did my draw for me, and the winner is entry #15!!! So congratulations to LAURIE from the (Mis)adventures of a Jogging Stroller Mom who has won my $30 gift certificate!!! I think it is ironic that Laurie won this, since she was also the one who identified 3/4 of my fake Friday Facts way back in August. So Laurie, send me an email and I will get you your gift code asap!

As for me, no more snow thankfully, but my knee has decided to have an awful twingy pain all weekend. Hoping to still get in some slow runs, but I am taking it easy since I have no goal races to work towards right now. Still need to sign up for the Resolution Run 5k, and have started thinking about what my races will be next year. I might be thinking of another fall half. Maybe. I am starting to forget the pain and the time invested, and thinking about getting a better PB. I am in, as long as I can find a running buddy/coach/pacer. We'll see. I will put a list of races out here in bloggyland soon, but for now, here's my question to you:

Have you thought about your races for 2011 yet? How many are you planning on doing? Any new distances or new types of competitions? What should I consider?

Snowy Saturday?

I can't believe it, but for the past two days, there has been snow falling in our region. Sure, it's sporadic, and sure, it's not staying on the ground, but really? The minute I see snow, I start to re-evaluate my overall plan to run outside all winter. I am VERY cold adverse, and Ottawa frequently sees temperatures of -30 to -40 with windchill (so -22 to -40 for you Americans) which makes me believe I might just end up chickening out and staying in my warm bed.

I have been looking into other options, the prime ones being either buying a new treadmill, or signing up with a local gym. One is opening in my neighbourhood, will be 24 hour, and has decent rates ($40/mo) for people who sign up now and in the gym's early days, but I am still hesitant. I mean, it still takes a lot of dedication to get out of bed and drive over to the gym on a cold wintery day, even if that gym has a pool, hot yoga room, and 20 million treadmills.

Going to head out for a run this afternoon, and this week is looking like above normal weather, so for now, I don't have to worry about snow-covered ground screwing up my runs.

On some positive notes, I recently won a set of Ryder sunglasses in Laura's Jog for Joubert Syndrome !!! They look awesome, and I can't wait to try them out on my runs. I have been using my husband's discards (he goes through a lot of pairs of sunglasses) and it will be nice to have a pair of my own. Since they are pink, I am pretty sure that he's not going to steal them. Will need to double check Munchkin doesn't try to nick them though!

Lastly, you have one more day to get your entry in for my $30 CSN Stores Giveaway!!!! Glad to see that I have gotten more entries than before, but I am still hoping for more to roll in before tomorrow. Good luck to everyone (and welcome to my new followers!!!)

Cancer Free!!!!

Ok, so I guess my title for this post gives it away, but we finally got the results back on my mom, after a long surgery and a few problems with her recovery, she is healing well, and is CANCER FREE!!!!! So glad to hear that news last night.

This news, linked in with the sad news that Tall Mom on the Run's Dad passed away, makes me think of how much you need to seize the time you have in your life, and the time you have with others.

Life is for living, and enjoying with those close to you. Try not to stress too much about work; it is a means to financially support the things you love. Take up a hobby, tell a joke, always say I love you. Just make sure that you control your life and make the most of it. You never know when the world as you know it will change, and you will regret not doing the things you wanted to do.


P.S - only 10 comments on my CSN Stores giveaway??? I think we can do better!!! Go enter here:
http://runningfromlaw.blogspot.com/2010/10/csn-stores-giveaway.html

CSN STORES GIVEAWAY!!!!

So with my running season practically over and my financial situation looking up, I am starting to wind down and actually take a look at the things my life has been missing the past few months. One is the ability to spend some money to take care of myself and my family, above and beyond the basic daily necessities.

My focus has been on “upgrading” our home - trying to get rid of the furniture I purchased in college days and upgrading to newer and better things. I noticed a lot of bloggers hosting giveaways from CSN Stores, and I had to go check them out. They have SO MUCH STUFF!!!! There are accessories for bed, bath and well beyond. Paintings, furniture, even pet supplies and shoes!

Personally, I have been investing quite a bit of time searching through their dining room chairs, tables and sets to try and find one that can replace our big-box-store, wobbly-chaired, crystal light stained table with something that is a bit more classic and durable. I have narrowed them down to my current favourites:

#1 I love the design of this table, and that the chairs tuck under the table perfectly, but can't get past the thought that backless chairs don't seem very kid friendly.

#2 Softer, Cozier set, with a little flare. Love the base of the table and the padded chairs.

#3 - More of a classic design, I really enjoy the dark wood and sturdy large rectangular table.

#4 - The inlays on this table is what makes this set really stand out. Having the leather covering on the chair makes it a nice modern set.

#5 - I LOVE the backs of these chairs. The seats look cozy, but cream/white is not the most forgiving colour of upholstery when you have kids and spaghetti sauce all in one place.

Since I loved the store, you can imagine how THRILLED I was when they offered me the opportunity to give away $30 to spend in their store! Note: Canadian followers, CSN does ship to Canada, but you may face some international shipping charges. Just FYI!

Here are the requirements to enter:

#1 - REQUIRED - be a follower of my blog!

#2 - Tell me which of the dining room sets above you think is the best!

#3 - One entry for each blog, tweet or FB post about my giveaway!

Please post one comment for EACH entry. I will draw for the winner on October 24th!! Good luck!

Doubling up...

So, you know you are officially a runner when you agree to double up your runs, going out with two different people in one day. On Monday, after running 10k for the 10/10/10 virtual races, I wake up to my husband chomping at the bit to go out and run. He doesn't invite me often anymore, so when he asked if I wanted to come (probably because he thought my legs would be tired and I would keep better pace for him) I happily agreed. We only did a quick 2.5k, but it felt nice.

I get home, have a quick shower, and get a phone call from my original half marathon buddy. She asks me to run with her, but she's all the way across town, and I have to run out for a few things. She says it's ok, so I go about my merry way.

I get home, and out of the blue a friend who now lives about 5 hours away gives me a call - she is in town for a wedding, still has her bridesmaid hairdo and is functioning on 3 hours of sleep, but do I want to go running with her? Since I haven't seen her in forever, I put my running clothes back on and do 5k more with her. I know it doesn't seem like a big accomplishment, but I think running twice in one day shows some level of dedication (or insanity).

On a final note, I finally caved and bought bright red nail polish for my toes. My philosophy at this point is, if they are going to fall off, I don't want to know until it happens. So they are back to looking pretty!

I think I might have a giveaway coming in the near future. Keep your eyes peeled!!!