Thursday, August 19, 2010

Put on Your Red Shoes and Dance the Blues

It has been well over 20 years since I last donned my tap shoes, but it looks like I'm going to have to dust them off cause I went and joined an adult tap class at a local dance school. I'm a little bit anxious but mostly excited to start the class which is running from September to June, one evening per week, culminating in a dance performance extravaganza! Costumes and all! Woo whoo!

It's all a part of my new health goals. While I have been running and walking more, I feel these kinds of exercise are a chore because I really don't enjoy them. It's a struggle for me to find motivation to get on the treadmill because it's so monotonous. Dance on the other hand doesn't even feel like exercise to me, which is why I need to be doing more of it. I even enrolled Ethan in a hip hop class for 3 - 5 year olds. He is so excited to start his class. When we went to register for the classes, he was so sad when we left cause he thought he was going to be dancing right then and there!

I'm also going to start Ethan in swimming lessons this fall. We had such a great time at the lake this past summer and enjoying our local swimming pool that I feel Ethan is finally old enough to get something out of an organized swimming lesson. He also expressed an interest in soccer, but I think with pre-school starting this September as well, he's got enough on his plate.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Am I A Big Loser?

I sure hope so... I hope I'm the biggest loser. My girlfriend decided to create a challenge for her friends to motivate us to lose our unwanted and unhealthy pounds. One of my health goals for this year was to lose some weight anyway, so now I have a little cash incentive to make that happen. (We each had to ante in $20.)

So now, the challenge is on. I'm actually taking steps to living a more healthy lifestyle. For example, if I'm in the mood for a snack, I reach for a fruit or veg first, before indulging in comfort food like cheese and crackers. I'm drinking more water throughout the day. I'm also actually using my treadmill every night. Hopefully, these little changes will help. And at the end of the challenge, I'll be happy to have lost any weight at all. Winning all the money would just be an added bonus!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Take Me To The River



Last time Andrew was down, we took the boys to the beach... sort of. We drove up to Fort Langley and found a camp ground with a stretch of sandy beach. So we got out to play. It was funny to watch Rueben crawl backwards downhill to the edge of the water and stop when he realised it was wet. Then he crawled along the rivers edge and every once in a while put his hand out in the water to see if it was still there. So funny!
Ethan had fun playing with his digger in the sand and Lilly played with her frisbee and a stick. We capped off the afternoon with fish and chips for dinner. Delish.



The Pleasures of Summers and Grandpas







Tuesday, August 3, 2010

I Need Home For A Rest

WOW! Who knew going on vacation would be so tiring! Andrew arrived in Vancouver last Thursday, and we took off on Friday for a week long camping trip on the sunshine coast to an area called Pender Harbour. His family has been camping at the very same lake for well over 30 years and this was our first year back to Hotel Lake since moving back to the lower mainland. We sure had a lot of fun, and the boys did as well. Ethan loved playing with his toys in the sand on the beach with the other boys and girls, and Rueben enjoyed swimming in the lake with me. They both loved spending time with and getting to know their extended family better.

The week wasn't without incident though. Ethan was sick the second evening in the tent and by sick, I mean he 'got sick' in the tent... disinfectant was required... Luckily our tent walls are almost completely mesh lined so it was easy to air out. Rueben wasn't feeling that great on the drive home, and he also got sick in the truck. Nothing that a few wet wipes and a change of clothes couldn't fix.

Andrew drove me straight from the Horseshoe bay ferry terminal to the Tssawassen ferry terminal so I could escape for the weekend with my sister and a few friends to our family cabin on Pender Island, in the Gulf Islands. The last time I was at the cabin was several years ago for my sister-in-laws stagette weekend and of course, nothing has changed. It's always a fun time to get away with the girls. I've been living life in 'single mom mode' for so long now and it was really nice and refreshing for me to have a few days away from the boys. I LOVE them SO much, but sometimes, a mom just needs to breathe! The weekend was full of laughter, jokes, great food and drink, and fun activity and games.
But, it's nice to be home now. Time to retire to bed so I can get back to my usual crazy life.