MHB- Week 35- Posting To Stay Motivated

Another week and I'm sticking with it. I know this must be extremely repetitive but I think posting these once a week really helps with my motivation. I think if I didn't have this post, I wouldn't care as much about getting up early and running. The idea at 5:30 in the morning is never appealing but because I have this blog, I get up and do what I said I'd do.

MONDAY-

Day 1- Jogging on the treadmill for 20 minutes. Hey look! It's me- doing my post workout selfie. Did I do it right? Bad hair- check. Sweat is visible- check. Confused/Exhausted look on my face- check. Well, there it is folks- my work here is done.

 WEDNESDAY-

  Day 2- more treadmill fun. Alright, so again we have bad hair, sweaty and exhausted. Man, I'm getting so good at these MHB workout selfies. Alina apparently takes a pretty decent selfie these days as well.

FRIDAY-

 Day 3- treadmill bliss! For some reason I think it's clever to take a picture of me before I start running because I look so tired and hopeful that something will come up that will justify my going back to bed and ignoring all of my responsibilities for the day. For the record- that's never happened. Alright, today's selfie includes better hair, I must admit. I don't look as sweaty and I have an unnecessary boob shot. You're welcome.

  Happy Friday! School's good, my baby daughter is a total ham, but also good. Rob had an incident on Monday where he took an auger drill and tore right into one of his fingers. He had a very rough time on Monday, but since then he's been stitched up sans nail and pumped full of antibiotics. Interesting beginning to the week, but now that it's Friday, I am one happy camper. Surprise, surprise..

Poop Will Always Be Funny

 So I might just be wicked immature, or perhaps everyone is like this and I'm just brave enough to admit it.. Poops and farts are funny. They're funny because everyone does them and everyone has a few poop or fart stories up their sleeves.

 Have you ever noticed when the subject of poop comes up.. (And I write when because it always eventually comes up with me. Perhaps if is a better word for the rest of the poopulation. See what I did there....? Funny!) Anyways, when the subject of poop comes up, people start giggling and sharing their own hilarious stories and everyone is having a good ol' time. At least that's what happens every time it comes up around here. At work the other day our 'boss' suggested we should keep track of how often we clean the bathroom. I suggested we create a log book to record all of our bathroom cleaning duties. My coworker and I burst into fits of laughter and he just rolled his eyes and called us children. BUT-not without a grin on his face. Poop is funny.

 Anyways- to the point! Alina poops, just like we all do. But one advantage I have, (and don't have, depending on how you look at it...) she poops in her own pants. Meaning- I get to see her do it. It's not like she's exactly subtle about it. Me, being kind of a strange person to begin with, has to take pictures of her making her legendary Alina Poop faces. They're just too funny...

The first sign of 'something' going on...

  So she's eating her lunch, minding her own business. Then there's a rumble in her tumble...

She tries to ignore it, but ... it just can not be ignored.

 She continues to nibble on her cracker, but her face shows that there's some distress going on. Her eyes get all red around the rims and she starts to tear up.

At this point, she has stopped eating. She can't keep direct eye contact, she needs to just concentrate and push.

 Since it's pretty apparent that this is happening, she decides that she should just get right to it. Eating time on hold, pooping time in full swing.

Success!

 Well it took some pushing and effort on her part- but the deed is done. Some might say she fulfilled her duty. She could document her duty in our log book at work- har har har.

In conclusion...

 And that, folks is how one poops in one's pants. Done and done- now, back to lunch. If only it were that simple for the rest of the world. Oh wait, it kind of is. How many people are going along their day, doing what they do at work and oh, well isn't that uncomfortable and unnecessarily persistent. You weigh the pros and cons of ignoring this one. Is it worth it? Will I be in pain if I just carry on with the day? Personally, I almost always go for the "it's worth it" approach. You take your business to the washroom where you do what you do in this particular circumstance. (Use Alina's pictures as reference.) The very next moment you're back to the computer at work, acting as if nothing happened. (When in fact, something very much did happen.) Pooping is funny that way. It's totally gross but completely and utterly normal.

 The next time you feel embarrassed about having to go somewhere less than convenient, image the Queen sitting on her royal throne, fulfilling her royal duties. (Heehee) Everybody poops, just join the giggles and share your story.

MHB- Week 34- New Treadmill!

 I decided that even though I'm going to work from 9-5 and do my school work from 8-10, I don't really have an excuse to not workout. Especially since we bought a treadmill to store in our basement. I miss doing Rushfit but it's such a time commitment that I just don't have right now. So what I've decided to do, is get up at 5:30 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to run for twenty minute. I listen to the comedy station on my Slacker Radio App and it makes the time fly by. This week, it's been difficult getting up so early because it's still so dark at 5:30. I didn't know if doing this would burn me out but, if anything it's brought my mood up.

MONDAY-

  I know, I know- I look gooooood. My pictures are going to seriously lack in creativity because all I'm doing is running in an empty room on a treadmill for the next little while. So sweaty selfies are all I have to offer. Perhaps next week, I'll just have to write; Yeah, yeah I did my workouts, trust me.

WEDNESDAY-

 Introducing our new treadmill! It cost us $200 and the person was asking for $400. She bought it a few years ago for over $2000 at Canadian Tire. We looked it up online and it had really great reviews. It was a complete bitch to carry to the back of the house (as in I couldn't even lift it. Rob carried it on his back!) and even more insane trying to fit it sideways through the door. We removed the door, removed some pieces from the treadmill (not on purpose) but eventually, after some swearing we got it in. I'm pretty excited about it. It's in great condition, it has a fan built into it, speakers for Iphones and it's better than I expected.

FRIDAY-

 I decided to take a picture of how much I didn't feel like getting up this morning. I thought the after picture would show how happy and energized I was after the workout. Instead I just look like crap in the first picture and more awake but still like crap in the second!

 So it's Friday and I'm a happy camper. All I have left for this week of school work is to go over all of the material I just learned and make notes in my book. I like this method very much. I read the material throughout the week and do the activities and quizzes and then at the end, I go over it one more time and that's when everything really seems to come together. My sister in law is coming this weekend, Rob is away in officer courses all weekend (home at night) and Alina gets to go a birthday party. She hasn't seen this group of friends since her birthday, so I'm excited for her to see all of her old buddies from my maternity leave days.

 I was introduced to Hosier a few weeks ago by Rob. I guess I had heard "Take Me To Church" a zillion times at work but I hadn't really noticed. He had me listen to it in the hot tub and I liked it. But, I have since heard it too many times and it's getting old. Rob had me listen to his other song, "From Eden". What an incredible song! This guy was born in 1990 and he has such a soulful, sexy, captivating and totally different voice. Rob said that this song should be used for a wedding video.

Student In Pajamas

 Okay, so I'm a little late in the game to be 'going back' to school. Last weekend was my ten year high school reunion in my hometown. I missed it. That's okay and totally besides the point... It's my ten year reunion and I'm finally getting an education to further myself in life! Talk about a late beginner!

 So last Monday was my first official day of 'school.' It's funny because I'm taking online courses through Selkirk College and I feel like such a kid all over again. Monday evening I was in a tank top, with a pair of over sized pajama pants on, ready to start my courses. Rob said, "Oh, is that what you're wearing for your first day of school?" Technically it was my first day of school and yes, that was what I was wearing. Online courses are kind of awesome for that. I'm in the comfort of my home, in charge of what I'm learning when and where and for how long. It's kind of awesome. The not so awesome bit is the constant feeling of anxiety. I'm consumed with worry and doubt in myself. I fear that I won't have enough time to learn the material, I worry that I won't retain enough of the information in front of me and then there a zillion other little things to be concerned with. But, that's not the point. The point is that I'm finally bettering myself with an education. I always dreamed of going to school, sharing a dorm room with a roommate, having my college friends and of course, the best part would be having the education and great career afterward.

If I had a student i.d. this would be it. Just saying..

 So I'm taking Pharmacology and Management of Drug Distribution Systems this fall semester. Then in January I will be doing Product Prep and Professional Practice. By April I should be finished my courses but then in April there's the Evaluation Exam followed by the Qualifying Exam in September. Then, dun dun dun... the Jurisprudence Exam in November of 2015. All three of those exams are pretty heavy and incredibly stressful. So much so, that I don't want to talk about it anymore...

 I'm finally doing what I always wanted to do. It's not exactly what my 12 year old self imagined; the dorm room, frat parties and big classroom settings. But, it is what my current situation will accommodate, so I can't complain. I still get to see Alina after work for my three hours before she goes to bed. Then I do my school work for two hours. On mornings that I don't run (we got a treadmill- yahoo!) I get up at 6 and read for an hour before I shower for the day. The mornings I run, I wake up at 5:30 and run then read for an hour. All in all; I get about three hours of course work in my day. I'm hoping that this will be enough. The weekends help me out with review and getting anything I need done, done! I go over my course material in both classes and then I physcially write out my notes. So far it's been very helpful.

 So- if I'm absent, the reason is school and that I'm being stretched into too many directions. I have to go by priorities and Alina, Rob, work, sanity and then sadly, blogging comes in close to the bottom of my list!

 Don't worry, with my mind preoccupied Alina has learned a few simple things to help us out around the house. She's pretty smart...

She drives herself to daycare now. She's a quick learner.

A Me Moment

A girl's closet can be her very best friend. I think that means girls like to shop and love their clothes. But to me, my closet has become a sanctuary. No joke. When my in laws were in town, I found myself suddenly in my closet just taking a moment for me. I think once you become a mom, it gets difficult to take time for yourself. Like truly take time. I can sit here while Alina is napping and write a blog post or two. But wouldn't it just be so sublime if we could just say all of Saturday is for me? This would never happen and not because it can't but because we carry this crazy thing called "Mommy Guilt." Oh Mommy Guilt is a real bitch. It's a mom's worst enemy because no one can control it but you. There's no escaping it. It's just there. Lingering in the back of my mind, waiting for that moment of doubt.. The moment to whisper; Reading a book are you? Shouldn't you be folding Alina's laundry that's been sitting in the basket for days? There will always be something more useful to do... it's whether we can overcome that feeling of guilt and do something a little selfish, a little more enjoyable instead.

 My closet is that one place where I can truly escape from it all.  It could be one, brief moment where I just need peace. Inside that closet I find calm. There's a mirror that I can look at myself in with a knowing smirk and shoulder shrug that says; I get you.

 Alina could be following me down the hallway and I'll just disappear for a moment in that little room of quiet. I'll hear her little footsteps smack against the floor in the opposite direction. Sigh. A Me Moment.

 I even considered doing my schooling in the closet. I told Rob that if everything is just too noisy and I need some peace and quite to study, I'll just escape to the closet. I can tell that he thought that that was a bit odd. Is it? I don't think so. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I always had a small space for my bedroom. No, I wasn't a Harry Potter living in the cupboard under the stairs. But I had a little space for a bedroom and I bet I find peace in little rooms because they remind me of times when I was almost completely worry-free as a kid.

 There's no point in analyzing it any further. It's a quirk. I like my walk in closet because it gives me that Me Moment I am always searching for...

(**Side note: I took some pictures of my closet after I wrote this post. Then I liked it so much in here, I decided to edit and post my pictures in the closet. I received a phone call from my husband who is working on something outside. He asked if I wouldn't mind making him a sandwich... Even in the closet I can't escape the demands of being me...!**) 

A Token

 Sometimes when life seems like it's getting away from you. All you need is a little reminder that brings you back. A little token of appreciate from somebody to show you that you are still on the right track in life. It's been awhile since I got one but just yesterday, it was received.

 It was a really sunny, enjoyable Saturday. All week it seemed pretty apparent that summer was very much over and that fall had shuffled in quite easily and quickly. Then Friday came around and the weather decided to give us another taste of summer. Rob had fire truck driving practice at 10:00 so we were rushing around in the morning to get ourselves organized enough to hit up a garage sale or two in the sunny weather. We only ended up going to one but we scored with a great shelf to put up in Alina's room and an air-hockey table to add to our basement of fun. Alina came home for a nap. She had a pretty rough morning. She woke with my cold and ended up falling face first onto the floor from tipping her high chair forward. All I can say is that my girl is very, very tough. If I went crashing down face first into the floor I am pretty sure a toy fire truck would do very little to cheer me up.

We were in the midst of buying new chairs for our new table. Alina had nothing for a few days .. perhaps we should have just left her on the ground. The fall would have been much shorter...

After Alina's nap and Rob's driving lesson we decided to go for a drive and realized that it was still really, really nice out. We went for a walk downtown, browsing in the local shops. We came across one store that had really cute touques and we had to buy one for Alina for this winter. I was holding Alina so she wouldn't go after everything she could possibly touch in the store while Rob was digging in my pockets for change to pay for the touque. After he made his purchase he put some change back in my pocket and grabbed the baby. After awhile I decide to buy a couple of sets of chop sticks. I asked Rob for some cash and he said to check my pockets. I dug around and found this ...

 On the back side of the charm it reads 'love'. He just smiled at me. He saw something kind of cutesy and bought it for me. But to me, it means more. Women! I know, we're ridiculous. A guy buys something cute that he thinks his wife will like and we turn it into a million things. Lucky for him this time, they're all very good things.

 I think every relationship gets mundane. Life gets out of hand and it's hard not to get carried away with the schedules, the planning dinners, the dishes, the laundry, feeding the baby, bathing the baby, studying for school, waking up for work, the list can go on and on. I think the best thing that could have happened to our relationship was our move to this bigger house. Not only did it make our surroundings new, but it introduced so many new activities to our lives. The hot tub. We both agreed that our hot tub has brought us so much closer. We go in and we talk for hours in there. But it seriously is the best medicine for a relationship that needs a little kick start in the exciting department.

 The token Rob gave me symbolizes that our love is still there. He never was a big romantic and I never was very good at public displays of affection. But it is always nice being thought of. So each morning when I go to take my birth control, or go to put my make up on or my perfume I'll see that little symbol of Rob's attention. The symbol of his love for me.