Two Full Weeks off

Wow I havn't blogged in forever. It's been a great little while and a frustrating little while. My 85 year old gramma was all set to move into an assisted living facility which she needs...then her and my Mom decide she's fine and can stay in her house...after having me drive to Maple Ridge to look at an amazing place for her. Now the whole reason she was moving was for late night security when she's sick. She'll have a call button and someone who can ensure she gets to the hospital, ensures she's getting meals ect. Whe healthy she's fine, but she still panics about if something happened in the night she's on her own in an apartment. I get that it's a big decision but when it comes to my cousin and I having to run out to Maple Ridge to take care of her when she's at her worst that's a lot. I love my Mom but she's 5 hours away and doesnt have to deal with this stuff. So now nothing changes, we wait for the inevitablility that she ends up in hospital AGAIN, ends up scared and depressed AGAIN, and we end up solving nothing AGAIN. Oh there is the promise that she might be moving to the great white north in the next while so I guess that's something...but not much because she's on a waiting list. I just deal with this.

On the good side, we had an amazing long weekend in Tofino, visited friends, ate some amazing food (sorry meal plan) and discovered "The Dark and Stormy" Here's the recipe:

Rocks Glass
Ice
2oz Spiced Rum
1 slice of fresh Ginger
1 Wedge of Lemon (I actually prefer Orange)
Fill the glass with Ginger Beer (Not Canada Dry, not Schweps, real Ginger Beer, I recommend The Great Jamacian Ginger Beer Company)

Let's see what else is going on, I finally got my GTI...apparently if you really want something, wait until it's 10 years old and then find one...if you still actually want one, luckily I did.

Too much freeking Rain...it's almost June, where's summer? I lothe it when people complain about the weather which I just did...deal with it.

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Why Converse Chuck Taylors are just too easy

First let me be clear, LADIES THESE RULES DON'T APPLY TO YOU> I don't know how you make yourselves so beautiful, I won't even pretend to, all I know is you work way harder then we do and it's fantastic, thank you.

Ok, back to the subject at hand. Chucks are amazing, a classic shoe that I love, but honestly, they are EVERYWHERE. Goths, punks, trendsters, hipsters, teens, try hard 45 year old dads. I get it, Chucks are a great look that are almost impossible to mess up. But isn't that the point?

Style isn't about playing it safe. It's important to have "Go to" items, pique polo's are basically my uniform from May through Sept, but sometimes you just have to try harder. I recently had a conversation with a girl I know who is about to graduation High School. I mentioned that I don't think skinny jeans should be for guys. She disagreed and started listing a bunch of guys we both know who, "would look good in skinny jeans and converse." Serioulsy, not even calling them Chucks, just "Skinny jeans and Converse." Maybe I'm wrong but that seriously bugged me.

I love low top Chucks, really want to pick up a grey pair this summer. But, they arn't the only great sneaker out there. People you just need to try harder, I just got an AMAZING pair of canvas sneakers that look almost like bowling shoes. Saw them on a clearance rack by accident while I was looking for something totally different. Bought them, love them, have gotten TONS of compliments on them. Are they as trendy as chucks? No...honestly they arn't even half as comfortable as chucks, but people actually noticed them as opposed to when I wear my blue chucks around.

Summary of this rediculous post, Chucks are amazing, but wear something else once in a while so you don't just blend in.

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Ok That's not totally true

So in the last while I've been really focused on getting my finances in a better place. Inside of another week or two that will be DONE!!! We are also looking into selling our townhouse and moving into a real honest to goodness house. It's in the works right now, Broker is getting us preapproved, and we're going to start meeting with realetors pretty quick to get our place sold...or maybe we'll find out we arn't ready quite yet. Who knows, I'm interested to find out though.

This also inpacts the ability to have a second kid...not sure we can do both at the same time, so do we have a second kid first, and then wait until he's 1 and Sheena's back at work to move, or do we do it now and wait 1 more year...maybe 2 to have a second kid. Not sure. Praying and planning right now.

Totally Lame

I'm still alive, just nothing I really want to post right now.

5:15

Turns out an extra 16 minutes of sleep are WONDERFUL. 2 weeks into being back at the gym, beating even the sun to start the day and I'm loving it. Support and accountability from a buddy don't hurt, infact if it wasn't for Joel I don't think I'd be back at the gym, and even though he and I have never talked about it, I'm 100% sure I'd have fallen off the wagon back into fast food burger and candy HELL. So thanks dude for being dedicated and dragging my massive butt along for the ride, who know's by this time next year maybe I'll be able to do a 6.5k with my wife too.

Meal plan is 3 weeks in, havn't been on a scale but I definately feel better. Sunday will be the 4 week mark and I should be doing a weigh in on Tuesday, will post the lbs per day at that time...based on what I've seen at the gym I'm not continuing the lb a day pace.

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1000 Awesome Things

It's way too easy to get bogged down in the negative of life. I get it it, life is hard, between crazy time commitments, or the general stress of bills and taking care of our homes it's hard to take time and just enjoy this amazing world we call home if only for a short time.

I was listening to Q on CBC Radio this morning and Jian Ghomeshi did an interview with an amazing blogger Neil Pasricha about his blog 1000awesomethings.com. Neil also has a book coming out...oddly enough also called 1000 Awesome Things. The gist of it is that he has undertaken the task of posting one new Awesome Thing every day. A pace that will see the project end sometime around June of 2012. It's simple, some of the postings are sophmoric frat boy humor. But the concept is brilliant. I am enjoying it very much and suggest you do the same.

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4:59...

Is crazy early, and yet, my alarm was set for 5:00, I was up wide awake, "Bright eyed and busy tailed" whatever that means, at 4:59. Turned off my alarm before it made a sound and snuck out of the room...Addie trailing in my wake. Fed the dog, donned my workout garb, put the dog back to bed, snuck a peek at my little girl and I was off. I beat my partner by 10 minutes...apparently there arn't many people on the roads at 5:00am.

As I sat in the parking lot listening to Stephen A. Smith go off about the upcoming NFL draft I was shocked, car's just kept pulling up. By the time we went in to work out there were at least 15 people waiting outside for the doors to open. It was like a big sale at the mall with everyone lining up early.

I love the gym, have for a long time but as real adulthood has taken over my life I suddently found I had zero time for it...turns out all I really had to to was wake up...at 4:59.

The workout was great, and best of all I was able to get home while my house was still quiet and have some time to do a devotion. Discipline is a wonderful thing. I got pretty tired around 9:00Am but that passed and the rest of my day was seriously just a normal day...Granted I was in bed by 10 and slept like a baby, but I woke up on my own this morning at 6:00 wide awake, and low and behold, had time for my devotion again (putting God first by literally putting God first...great concept hey?)

So tomorrow I'll wake up again to hit the gym, and hopefully there will be the same sized group because hey, it's really encouraging to see that many people making the sacrifice to try to stay healthy and to pull a no show would feel like letting them down. Maybe I'll start waking up Tuesdays and Thursdays to swim too. I think I have a new favorite number and I'm gonna set my alarm to...4:59.


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