Tomorrow, I’ll be throwing a leg over my mountain bike and doing my first “real” mountain bike race in probably 8 years. The Nimby 50 is tomorrow morning and seeing as it’s about 50ft from the backdoor, I’ll be giving it a go. My goals are simple:
1. Don’t die.
2. Don’t break any bones (except, maybe, for the one that’s still broken. That’ll give me reason to go ahead with the surgery I don’t want).
3. Finish before they start pulling down the Finish Chute and still be capable to eat the burgers/drink the beer!
4. Reinforce my race mantra that there’s no shame and walking and that chatting to volunteers is the best part of the day.
5. Ride faster than the mosquitos on the uphills.
I asked the boys if they’d come and cheer for me. Will replied:
“Yeah, maybe. We’ll have to see what the weather does”.
Touching.
I hope to have a full & fun report up soon, as well as some good before/after pics. The big decision I’m wrestling with right now is whether or not to bring a camera. Sigh, first world problems.
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On a similar note, the boys are really into their bikes right now and have set a goal for the summer of riding all the “Blue” trails in Pemberton. We’re off to a good start!
It’s been a while since I’ve posted, mainly because I’ve been mopey. Nobody wants to hang around mopey, much less read about mopey. So I’m trying to move past mopey into more hopeful. Mopeful, maybe?
My body is nowhere near 100% fixed, as much as I like to pretend it is. Watching the winter pass me by has been very frustrating – particularly not being able to ski. I miss skiing and feel like I am missing out on a lot with the kidlets.
I’ve tried a few days of skate skiing without poles which was ok, but otherwise my workouts have been limited to the gym, pool running (ugh) and the wind trainer… endless hours on the wind trainer. Actually, I’m pretty proud of myself for the workouts I’ve developed: they are based solely on TV characters. When character A comes on, I spin 100 rpm. When his enemy comes on, I spin 80 rpm, etc. etc. It actually makes time fly. As much as time can fly on a wind trainer at 5:30am. Maybe I’ll trademark these workouts and become an infomercial superstar! (Wait… do infomercials still exist?)
I celebrated 1 month post-op with a 1km run on the treadmill in the garage – which I then had taken away from me by a well-meaning physio who told me to back off again. I may or may not had shed tears of frustration. Not having the ability to run daily has had a huge effect on my ability to manage my anxiety, so for both my physical and mental health I’m hoping to get back at it sooner rather than later.
Baby steps, I suppose. In the meantime, while I build my body back up, I’ll continue to lurk on race websites, read blogs, try to pick up a hobby, follow people’s twitter updates and will the snow to melt and my body to heal so I can once again get out and play.
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Know thyself
A few weeks ago, I was headed to the city to run some errands and let the boys know I’d be picking them up some tees and hoodies as they’d outgrown/destroyed the ones they had. Rory piped up that he “wanted a pink t-shirt with a skateboarder on it, but if they don’t have that, I’ll just get whatever”.
Not a dude.
Will looked at me and said “I don’t want to be a dude”. I was a little confused by this comment and replied “but you’re a boy, therefore you are a dude.” He elaborated: “No, no. I don’t want to be a dude, like who skateboards and wears pink shirts and stuff. I like Lego and books and calmer stuff. I just want a plain blue t-shirt”.
It’s interesting to me that at 6 years old, he’s pretty self-aware. And so very, very different from his brother.
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Meanwhile…
I bought Anja a new coat as she’d outgrown her current one (belly coats, anyone?) She came downstairs, saw it and said “OH MINE GOODNESS! It’s Beee-ooootiful”!
I like an appreciative kid.
Never undressed.
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Completely unrelated to anything
I was at one of my recent 298374 doctors appointments waiting for the doc when I saw this:
I must have been having a bad day because it infuriated me. I’m no feminist, but COME ON. Set your daughter up with some slightly higher standards than “Diva”. I hate that moniker applied to little girls – never mind newborns. How about “Astronaut in Training” or “Athlete in Training” or “Average, healthy kid in training”? Anything is better than Diva.
*steps off soap box*
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Don’t ask.
I gave up chocolate for Lent. I’m not religious, nor have I ever given anything up for Lent. I wonder what possessed me this year. So far so good. But The Chocolate Easter Bunny better watch his back March 31. And his ears. And tail.
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Yesterday
It was the first warm and sunny day we’d had in a long time. I spent a lot of it thinking about Mum. She used to love early Spring days and would bundle up into her coats and blankets, drag an old chair to a sunny spot somewhere outside and read her book till the sun became shade. I think that early spring days will always remind me of Mum and some of her ingrained habits. I can’t believe that it’s already been 6 months without her.
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I’m back at work! Bring on the sitting, office snacks and the fluorescent lighting. And hopefully more positive blog updates.
They take care of me by taking care of themselves. Sometimes.
I spent the weekend in Vancouver with the kids, the plan being to take in the Stanley Park Christmas train, city lights and the Santa Claus Parade. Then, this happened:
Being sick when you are little sucks. It’s hard to communicate what you feel and you can’t help much beyond back rubs and cuddles. And midnight/2am/4am Tylenol and kleenex doses. Thankfully, they both seem to be on the mend.
Rory and Will rallied for the parade, Anja fell asleep…
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QOTD:
(scene: Rory is having a hissy fit because we’d planned an adult evening without him).
Me, to Will: “What’s going on?”
Will: “Oh, Rory’s losing his marbles because you’re leaving”.
Me: “Hmm, well – are you ok with it?”
Will: “Me? Oh yeah. You should go, you guys totally need a break”.
(scene: Rory, on the couch, legs in the air)
“I feel a celebration coming on!”
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Knee surgery looms in January. In the meantime, I’ve been running and kind of biking (and by kind of, I mean hanging on for dear life on the rollers while staring at a dot on the floor so as not to lose focus). I’ve also been trolling the internet and planning 2 types of race schedules.
1) The one I’d do if I were single, rich and responsibility-free (read: Phuket, South Africa, New Orleans, Texas, Mexico, Hawaii… just to name a few destinations).
2) Reality. I’ll be coming off of surgery, have 3 kids to focus on, don’t have that much race mojo anyway. Any suggestions? Oh, I’ve been talked into the Test of Metal after a 9 year hiatus.
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The cooking project continues and I’ve been diligent about trying new recipes. In the process, I’ve learned a few things. First, don’t try to fool the kids with things like “These quinoa burgers are just like real burgers”! They’re kids, not idiots. Truth helps.Next, I’m much more of a 1 dish kind of gal. If I have to cook a main and 2 side dishes to all be ready at once, something is bound to be over-done, under-done, too hot, too mushy, etc. Plus HEY LOOK SOMETHING SHINY! I’m too easily distracted and there are always 3 little people talking to me at the same time between 5-6pm. Finally, I keep waiting for that love of cooking to spark. But I’m thinking this is one blind date that’s going nowhere…fast.
On the bright side, I made myself laugh the other day when Will came barreling into the kitchen demanding to know what was for dinner. I answered “Windowsills. Now get out of my kitchen”. Verbatim what my Mum used to say to me…
Aftermath of the gingerbread house building event. I had to wrestle the beer from Rory.
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If, like me, you harbour romantic notions of living in Canada’s north, do check out Tandi’s blog. A healthy and funny dose of reality!
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It’s here… another ski season. Day 1 for me started with these two and it was both painful and awesome. Anja delights in folding in half and laughing when she hits the ground. Rory seeks jumps like it’s his job. The two of them collided more than once and I ended the day with sore legs (snowplowing is evil) and a full body sweat. Here’s to more days on the hill and less days of plucking them off the ground!
Have you ever seen anything cuter? No, you have not.
Yeah, you’re all dying to know. Did I or didn’t I bail on the week 1 cooking challenge do-over?
I attempted a few new recipes and re-jigged a few kid favourites (to their ABSOLUTE HORROR.) Among other things, I “invented” a veggie stir-fry that I really liked, the kids thought it was essentially poison. Have you ever watched a 4-year old pick grains of rice out of a plate one-by-one? Entertainment at its finest. Chocolate pudding? WINNING. I didn’t tell them it was made with avocado.
I’ll continue on with my personal quest this week and see what I manage. True confession, though: it’s a lot easier to learn to like wine than it is to like cooking…
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What is it with this time of year that ignites my inner consumer? I’d been doing a pretty good job of purging and keeping my desire to acquire things in check, but lately every time I turn around I see something that I have. To. Have. It’s ridiculous.
I think I need to initiate some kind of reward/earning system for myself to justify some of this desire… (that being said, I can pretty much talk myself out of anything, so maybe that’s what I need to be working on). That elephant ring on Etsy? Must cook 15 original meals. That new cycling kit? Must… um… earn it somehow?
Is this something you do? Tell me more, if so. How do you justify your treats?
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Rory, trying the guacamole I made: “I don’t really like it but I kind of love it”.
Will: “Sometimes, when you slow down, things come to you rather than having to chase them”.
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CITS is kind of in hiatus these days… it’s just me and my bike. I can’t run comfortably so I’m trying to get re-acquainted with my mountain bike. I wonder why I like riding more in the cold and wet than in the warm sun? Weird.
Who’s excited for the season?
Did I or didn’t I?
(I did not.)
I’m feeling pretty hard core.
Me: A. Kids: F-
Clearly not a food blogger. HA. Perhaps I need to work on plating?
I’m happy Hallowe’en is OVER for another year. I suppose I don’t hate it as much as I used to now that we have kids, but it’s still one of my least favourite “holidays” of the year. I didn’t like it as a kid; I disliked the pressure of finding “the perfect” costume, and since I grew up on a farm with a Dutch mom, trick or treating was rare, so I never cared about it that much. I particularly hate that most costumes for girls/women have been taken to soaring heights of slutiness. That’s just annoying. Anja will henceforth be an old fashioned ghost, white sheet and all, until she’s 21.
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CITS is creeping along through the fall and early signs of winter. However, CITS #8 and #9 have been run with a boy. That being said, he can hold up his end of the conversation and walks when I ask/tell him to, so we shall continue until it has to turn into Chicks in the Snow… which means ski days.
I’m trying to decide what, if any, races to do next. I’ve damaged my knee so it either needs to be soon – before the doctors kibosh more running, or post-op. Suggestions welcome.
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Our home office is close to the kids playroom and it’s actually kind of nice to be in here working while they play together (we have a door we can close when we don’t have to break up fights). The best part is eavesdropping on their conversations. It’s quite something listening to a 6 year old explain to a 4 year what “outnumbered” means. Or listening to a 4 year teach the 2 year old how to count to 20 (who needs 12 and 14, anyway?)
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It’s November 1… which means no more perusing cooking sites with guilt-free pleasure. My cooking challenge starts today. What was I thinking?? We head to Kona tomorrow as a family which is great but we’re joining friends who happen to be great cooks. Some would see this as an opportunity to learn. I see it as pressure!
That being said, please send me some of your go-to recipes so that I don’t have to spend my days on Pinterest! Maybe I should have started small, as in one new smoothie recipe a week – I can handle that!
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QOTD
Will to Rory, late one night. “It’s in my dreams to have you come to school with me”.
Rory: “I’m so glad the world isn’t made of black pepper otherwise my whole body would be so itchy”.
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Kona-bound tomorrow. 3 kids. 6am flight. I’m not asking you to feel sorry for me… but think of me with fondness as you roll over in bed at 7. Oddly, one of the things I am most looking forward to about this trip is being in the US for the election. I’m curious to watch the coverage without the Canadian twist.
Hard to believe that when we come home it’ll be one week till opening day at WB!
Aloha!
New long underwear. If we don’t hide them, she insists on wearing them every day.
First snow day in Pemberton
CITS…
Pretty nice destination for a run
Just, you know, having some toast. NBD.
Hiking Lumpy’s. The things I’ll do for kids. Wow.
I wish he’d be this quiet in the house.
brothers.
The old girl made it!
Leafs.
You’d be correct if you assumed she got the most candy.
Some days, it’s best to take your cue from vintage Calvin and Hobbes.
“Life is like topography, Hobbes. There are summits of happiness and success, flat stretches of boring routine, and valleys of frustration and failure.”
The SMO's stories 