Will Bike for Beer

A few months back I started thinking about how I wanted to celebrate my 40th birthday.  I wanted to do something special that was not something I would do regularly, something unique and fun that I would always remember.  Last spring we did a test bike on Urban Pedal Tours, on one of the first Calgary rides, and it was so much that it seemed like the perfect way to celebrate with 19 of my best friends.

So while I was the one to plan and organize the ride, my friends surprised me with these matching shirts!  They were perfect!  Surprisingly, Travis, our tour guide, said we were the first ride to ever wear matching shirts.  Let me tell you, us 40 year olds know how to do it right!

Sadly, we forgot to offer Travis a shirt until after the ride was over.  His shirt, I earned this beer, was pretty sweet to, and trust me, we certainly earned our beers as well.

This bike is harder than it looks to operate.  There is no motor, so if you don't pedal, it doesn't move.  The first round I sat at the back and heard Travis tell the ladies up front that being at the back is the hardest. I certainly agreed, at this point I felt like I was doing a stand up spin class and was starting to sweat.  A lot.

Next round I sat front and center because that is supposed to be the easiest, and I was still sweating.  I'm pretty sure I was the only one pedaling the bike.  Ha!  The bike does have a brake though.  When I was sitting up front and we approached the back of the car I casually asked if we had a brake, I was getting a little worried as we rolled up!

At each stop we had exactly enough time for one drink.  Or one drink that you ordered and a shooter that someone else ordered for you.  I went into the afternoon with a 4 drink limit and I think I past that after the first stop.  Oops.

We weren't having any fun at all....

It was such a great afternoon.  It was like a wedding of sorts.  It isn't very often you get to have all your friends in the same place at once.

Seawheeze 2019

I am still coming off a high of spending last weekend with these ladies and completing my 3rd half marathon.

This was my second Seawheeze half marathon which is sponsored by Lululemon.  While their running of the event was the worst I've ever seen and I told them so over the course of several emails leading up to the run, the event itself is the best I've been to.  Yes we train and run like any other run, but the swag and the non running events are top notch.  Not to mention the location... I am starting to love Vancouver.  I love the quick getaway to a city on the ocean where you can walk almost everywhere you need to be. Great food, great spas, great company equals a recipe for success.

My running history is less than ideal.  I have chronic IT band issues and had to walk close to 5 km in my last half.  It was so disappointing and I held back tears as I hobbled over the finish line to find my friends.  It is so disappointing when your body lets you down after months of training, working through an injury, stretching, rolling, and strengthening.  I was hoping to not have to relive that this year.

Early in my training, my IT band started to cause knee pain for the second year in a row, putting a halt to my training.  I didn't give up.  I went to pysio and chiro countless times all while pushing myself to continue to train.  I got custom orthotics for my shoes and started to run with them 1 month ago.  My longest training run was only 14km instead of the 19km I was aiming for.  I went into the race with my fingers crossed that I could push through he last 7km with no pain.

And I did.

At about 17km I found myself getting so emotional at the thought of running across that finish line.  Not only did I run but I sprinted the last km  I ran with everything I had left in me (which wasn't a lot!) through the cheerers and the encouraging signs.  My favorite of which read 'You Paid To Do This'.  Another favorite read 'All You Get for Finishing is a Free Banana'.

The runner's high I had running across the finish line was indescribable.  That is why I run.  Setting a goal and seeing it out.  Not being discouraged by the obstacles that may stand in your way.  Getting up at 7am and running as it started to rain because you needed to get that last run in.  That is what it is about.  Supporting your friends as they reach for their own goals and elebrating the victories together.

Sign me up for next year!

#forty

This week I turned 40.  I wasn't looking forward to it.  I like the sound of 39 way better than I like the  sound of 40.  Yet, I've watched many of my friends join the club this year, what is the big deal?  Forty sounds old.  I don't feel old.   Until I look at my wedding picture. But as I've told many people in the past month, it is just another day.  I was officially one day older than I was the day before.  Not a decade older like it sounds.  

As the big day approached, I found my attitude looking up.  It is a milestone.  Not every one lives to see their 40th birthday and mine came and went.  I spent the morning with my Mom who surprised me with a weekend visit and the rest of the day with my birthday twin celebrating us.

Over 40 years I've accumulated a husband and 2 kids.

I have 40 years of memories.

I have 40 years of friendships.

I have 40 years of accomplishments.

I have 40 years of health.

I have 40 years of happiness.

Over these 40 years I've learned a lot.

I've learned it's okay to say no.

I've learned to not care what others think.  Wear the red lipstick, buy the mini skirt.

I've learned who my real friends are.

I've navigated parenting with some success.

I'm working hard to just be me. Because the me that I am is not so bad.  Even at 40.

Day 7: Trying to be the Fun Mom

Today I finished my third book of the trip.  I like to read.  I never have time to read.  On vacation I WANT to read.

Reading on a towel because my beach chair was stolen by a child

The kids have given me a hard time calling me a book worm and telling me that I never go in the pool, which is totally not true.  I just don't go in as much as they do.  Truthfully, I hate the pool, they are great to look at but they are cold and I hate getting my hair wet.

How do I convince them that they are wrong?

Yes, they see me read.  But on the contrary, I see them on their devices doing whatever they like to do.

I ask them to go for walks and most of the time they all say no and I go solo.

How do you get away from being called the 'book worm' and make them remember that I do go in the water.  Today I went running in when on the second round of snorkeling of the day when they spotted a turtle that they know I missed the day before.

I night swim. I snorkel, I go in the pool sometimes.  I'll go down the water slide and I'll play catch.  But I also cook and tidy while on vacation.  Don't us Moms deserve some time to do what we want to do?

I want to be remembered as the fun mom.  But apparently my fun factor is low with the kids.  Whatevs.  The kids are old enough to understand compromise and maybe, just maybe, I'll accept their gaming if they will accept my reading.  Deal.

Day 2: Daily Runs

I am sitting here at 5am writing this while everyone sleeps and I look out the window into a black abyss. The sun hasn't even started to rise yet.  Back home, today is swim registration day which means I needed to be at a computer at 9am home time.  I don't mind the quiet, besides, it means I will have time for my morning run.

I told myself before we arrived that i wanted to make exercise in the morning a priority.  in the last few weeks by lunch time workouts have been over taken by parent teacher interviews, physio, and chiro appointments and i wanted to put m first on vacation and give myself 20 minutes a day to just be active outdoors with a fantastic view.

First day was a success!  20 minutes later I was sweaty and ready for the day.

What was very sweet was while I wanted to go solo and a run, Grady wanted to come and keep me company.  So off we went for a 10 minute walk together.  I returned him to the hotel and then I went for my run. 

I hope I can keep it up every day, alternating between running and walking, some days with a little walking companion and some days not.  There is no other way I'd rather start the day then looking at this.

That and it will counteract a little of the chocolate covered coconut macadamia nuts I've been consuming.

A Hair Affair

I got a call every woman dreads last week.   My hair stylist was no longer with my salon.

Say what?

I've been going to Adria for almost 10 years.  I've been going there since before I was pregnant with Cooper.  And she is just gone?  No warning, nothing.  I don't even know her last name.. how am I going to find her on Facebook.  Thankfully, with an unusual name and me thinking her last name started with a G I was able to send her a message.  Apparently, she was fired during an argument with her boss and did not have a chance to grab her contacts.  She assured me that she was already in talks with another salon and she would be in touch ASAP.

Well now I was in a pickle.  

With only 2 weeks before leaving on vacation I needed to get my hair cut and colored.  The salon offered me 30% off my appointment if I was willing to try someone new.  For 30% off a $300 hair bill it was well worth it for me to try someone new and snag a discount.  That and I didn't really have an option since Adria had not secured a new salon yet.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I showed up at the salon.  It had been 10 years since I had a new stylist and it felt like a first date.  I showed her the pictures of how I wanted my color to look and she asked me how often I wanted to come since the colors I chose were very high maintenance.

We talked about what I wanted my maintenance to look like and also gave me tips to prolong the ash color I wanted in between appointments.  It's purple shampoo in case you were wondering which I came home with.  She was full of knowledge but also super slow.  My appointment that usually lasts 2 hours was well over 3 hours and I hated that I spent so much time sitting in a chair.  Thank goodness for podcasts!  I'm currently listening to a crime one called Serial suggested to me by Sara.  So far, I am really enjoying.

Back to my hair...

The other reason I was optimistic about trying something new is that I've been having trouble growing out the front of my hair.  I wish I would have taken a picture to explain but I wasn't planning on blogging about my hair appointment today.  It was very Jennifer Ansiton like from the 90s with lots of layers and I didn't like it. I would tell Adria not to cut the front hair very much because I wanted it to grow.  Time after time I ended up with what looks like a mullet.  

This time, the stylist explained to me it could be due to breakage, especially if I was side sleeper, which I am.  She suggested a hair mask every 2 weeks to condition the hair and prevent it from splitting.  She explained that once the hair is split you have to cut it off.  Though cutting hair while you are growing it seems counter intuitive, she said that the faster you can get to the split ends the less you have to cut off.  After consulting with my product guru friend we decided I should order this one from Sephora.

She was really knowledgeable, or just a great sales person.

I am really happy with the finished product.  While she did not go as drastic as the photos, I think she nailed the color.  She suggested that when I come back we could add more in to ease into the more bold lighter color just in time for summer.  I liked this idea.  I told her that I didn't want to show up at work the next day and have every single person comment on my hair.  So far, only 1 person has noticed, so I think she nailed it.

Now the tough question is do I continue with the new stylist or go back to Adria who has now secured a job in the same mall.  I rebooked with the new gal but I have time to decide.....  1st world problems.

Did I mention that the salon is in the mall?  I always go an hour early or stay an hour later to browse the stores, something I rarely do.  I found a teddy bear jacket at Aritzia that finally fit me properly and didn't make me feel like a fuzzy blimp.  I told the woman that I wanted it in cream but they were sold out.  She told me the beige color is the most popular because Kendall Jenner was spotted wearing it in December.  Though I wasn't sold on the color initially, I loved the style of the jacket so I took the plunge.  I think it will be great to wear watching the kids play soccer in what is usually very cold spring weather.  I wore it to hockey last night and it was so warm!

I'm happy to report that trying a new stylist wasn't as bad as I thought.  Having a different perspective isn't always a bad thing and if I can outgrow my mullet then I will be a happy lady!

Mommin' ain't Easy

Today's post is coming straight from the heart.  I had planned to write about the great weekend I had with my new hockey Mom friends but instead I decided to just right about how I am feeling right now.

This Mom life is hard.

This week I am feeling overwhelmed.  My job is busy and I've lost my extra day off for most of January.  I am in the middle of planning a hockey tournament for Cooper's team.  We are doing some house renos, and to top it off I've been out of town for the last 2 weekends.

I am too busy.

My thoughts this week just keep coming back to when it will be time for me.  When do I get to read the uncracked book on my nightstand, or take a bubble bath.  When will I find time to paint my nails or catch up on The Bachelor.

When will I learn to say no.

The trouble is, I want to do it all.  I want to go away on the weekend to Edmonton and Panarama.  I want to manage Cooper's hockey team.  And I certainly want to read books and watch trashy TV.

So what do you do when you feel stretched thin?  When you feel like you just need some time to yourself?  Schedule it in? But where?  

It's hard for me to imagine my life before kids when I thought I was busy.  That the eff was I doing?  I wish I could go back to my younger self and tell her to do all the things and go all the places.  Because once you have a family there ain't no more time for that.

Tomorrow I will probably wake up and read this post and think about what a drama queen I was being.  But right now, at this exact moment, the feels are real.

You know what always makes it better?  A giant glass of wine and a little trash TV.

Don't mind if I do.

Why I don't make Resolutions

I originally wrote this post for TBB last January.  It seems everyone is talking about their resolutions, or lack there off, for the new year.  I proudly stand by what I wrote last year, I don't do resolutions, I do lifestyle changes and make goals, not just on January 1, but all year.

What is the point of making a resolution to do something that 99% of the population is not successful and truthfully never had any intention of being successful.

I've made a conscious effort to only make new year's resolutions that I actually plan to do.  I have been successful at exactly 3 resolutions.

The year I was in grade 12 I decided to start exercising every day.  I literally woke up on January 1, 1997 and started doing step aerobics every single day for 20 minutes.  Eventually, I lost 75 pounds.  Success!

Another year, I decide that I was no longer going to put sweetener in my coffee.  I read somewhere that putting sweeteners in hot beverages was bad and I just decided that Jan 1 I would drink my coffee black.  Now I use real sugar, but I still don't use sweetener.  Success!

Finally, I decided to stop drinking diet pop. I was having up to 2 a day and I didn't like the way it made me feel, not to mention that apparently I was turning against sweetener.  I started drinking club soda and juice to satisfy that fizzy craving.  Today, I drink sparkling water instead.  Success!

When I googled resolutions I was interested to see that the first thing to pop up in the search was about the top resolutions made (and broken!).  Per Neilson's, this is a list of the top 10 resolutions made in 2015 and something tells me that the list hasn't changed much in the last few years:

1.Stay fit and healthy                                           
2. Lose weight   
3. Enjoy life to the fullest                  
4. Spend less, save more                                      
5. Spend more time with family and friends
6. Get organized
7. Will not make any resolutions
8. Learn something new/new hobby
9. Travel more
10. Read more

I am not surprised to see that staying fit and losing weight are the top 2 on the list. Every second person you talk to has some sort of new health thing going down in the new year. In my opinion, this is a direct result of eating all the food over the holidays.  Doesn't everyone gain 5 pounds over the holiday season?  I don't need to make a resolution to just start eating normal after things go back to normal.

I think many of the others are directly related to Christmas.  People want to spend less since they over spent on gift in December.  Or maybe on themselves.  I find it hard to pass up on all the Black Friday and Boxing Days sales!  Not to mention that we need to organize our houses, or in my case closets, to get all the new stuff in.  If you have kids, a toy overhaul is always required after the grandparents spoil the kids with new toys!

I was happy to see that I am not the only one that chooses not to make resolutions as it topped number 7 on the

Instead of making resolutions I choose to make goals.  these goals do not have to be set on Jan 1, they can start any time of year.  No time like the present!!  I don't need a new year to set goals for myself when in reality I do this all year long.

I have many goals that I aim to achieve on a regular basis, to name a few:

1.  I aim to exercise 3 times a week.  When I had young kids I had to work really hard at this one, now I blow it out of the water most weeks.

2.  I aim to update my annual photo book monthly.  I love printing a book of my favorite photos of the year but instead of making it a big annual project, I do it monthly to make it less stressful.

3.  I aim to blog 3 times a week.  2017 (and 2018!) was tough on this goal.  2011 throgh 2016 and I blogged consistently 3 times a week, this year I had way fewer posts.  It isn't because I have less to say, it is probably a reflection of finding the time to dedicate to blogging.  I want to work on that this year.

4.  Eat healthy.  I aim to choose healthier foods and to eat others in moderation.  I am not ready to give up pizza or wine but I am willing to make healthier choices during the week to allow myself to indulge a little on the weekends.

It isn't an accident that I started each of my goals with 'aim'.  While it is my goal to do these things, I don't beat myself up if I don't meet the goal.  I set the goals within reach so I won't fail.  Rather than beating myself up because I didn't meet my goal, I want to congratulate myself because I did.  Life is too short to set your self up to fail.

All this to say I don't do resolutions and it's our little secret if you don't either!  Let's resolve to not make resolutions together!

Adventures in Teeth Whitening

I've always wanted to whiten my teeth.  I've always felt like they weren't white enough. They aren't so bad that I don't smile in pictures but I always find myself staring at my own teeth and wishing they were whiter.  And straighter.  Close your eyes mom since I know how much my braces cost you... I should have worn that retainer.

When given the opportunity to try an at home whitening gel with customized trays and I was all in.  I couldn't wait to see the results.  Head on over to TBB to find out the lessons I learned in teeth whitening and also for my before and after shots.

Crushing Goals

This weekend was my redemption weekend.

It has been a tough running season for me.  I ran my first 15k organized run in the spring and injured myself.  When my knee started to hurt, instead of walking the rest, I continued to push it.  I pushed it to the finish line with a mix of walking and running.  Despite that, it was my fastest 15k, but on the downside, my knee was angry with me and my long distance running came to halt.  It was very very angry.

My A type personality wouldn't let me quit and I continued to train for the half marathon that I finished only 4 minutes slower than my first one last summer, ,uninjured.  I walked across the finish line almost in tears.  I  put so much work into my training, stretching and strengthening ans still  my body was letting me down.

I picked out another 15k in September and in my head I was training for it.  I refused to register for it until I knew i could run across the finish line, I wanted to finish off my run season on a high.  So when the last week of August I crushed a 14k I went home, registered for the run and emailed my running buddies to see if anyone wanted to join.

I am not going to lie.... this run was HARD.  I woke up the day before with a sinus cold.  I wasn't breathing properly which meant I also wasn't sleeping properly.  I was sick, tired, and ready to run regardless.   

My goal was to finish in under 90 minutes.  I wanted to beat my previous record set in April when I was injured.  It should be possible, right?  In the end, we crossed the line in 89:58.  For reals.  I beat my goal by 2 seconds.  You know what? I am okay with that.  I worked my butt off during that run.  I cut out my walks and really cranked it up to meet my goal.

I am proud of myself.

I love to run and I am not going to let some little IT band injury stop me from doing what I love.  What this injury has taught me is that I have to listen to my body.  When it tells me to stop, I stop.  While not always easy, it will be my goal from now on.  I'd rather be able to run short distances than not at all.  I don't think I am full marathon material but running one half a year is a good goal for now. 

10 Things About Me

Today you are going to get to know me a little better....  Well, maybe.  You see I'm not one to hold things back, if you ask, I'll tell.  I sometimes feel like I'm an open book, maybe sometimes too much so. Is that possible?  Anyhoo, I tried to put together a list of 10 things you may not already know about me.  Here we go!

1.  Today is my anniversary!  On September 10th, 2005, my hubby and I tied the knot on a very very wet and rainy day.  It literally started raining at the rehearsal dinner and was still raining as we left our reception more than 24 hours later.  It rained 64.8 mm that day.  Many people commented on the rain bringing luck to your marriage and maybe that is true since today marks 13 years for us.

2. I am a CPA.  In Canada this is also known as a Chartered Accountant but we recently have adapted to the CPA name and merged accounting associations.  blah, blah, blah.  I chose this career because my girlfriend was majoring in accounting and she told me that CPA was the best.  It was either that or nutrition and I was sure I would find a job easier as an accountant.  Turns out I was right!  When I wrote my CPA exam I was top 50 in Canada, while this was great, I truly was only aiming to pass.  I guess that means I studied too much.

3.  When I was 17 I started a weight loss journey that ended with me carrying around 75 pounds less than when I started. I started with a new years resolution to exercise every day in Jan 1997, my senior year of high school. In the first 6 months I only lost 15 pounds but after that the weight started sliding off and over the course of 18 month I reached my goal weight.  Weight is still something I struggle with every day though you may not see it.  It is more a mental thing.  The desire to eat vs the desire to not go back to an unhealthy lifestyle.  A healthy diet (in moderation!) and exercise are still a part of my life daily.

4.  Deena (from the blended blog) and I met on the first day of kindergarten when she asked if she could play with me.  The rest is history!  We survived the mean girl phase, going to different high school, and living in different cities for well over a decade.  We get together as often as we can and have annual girls trips with our tribe.  She is my 'true blue friend' and always will be.

Circa 2007

5. I traveled to Africa for work. Twice. About a decade ago I worked at an international oil and gas company and all our wells were in Algeria.  When we got a new accounting system someone from Canada had to go to train the Algerian employees and that was me!  I had the opportunity to go into the dessert and see camels, oh and an oil rig.  The Algerians commented on my blue eyes all the time, often commenting in french assuming I didn't understand... until I said 'Merci' back!

6.  I weighed 9 pounds 4 ounces when I was born.  My mom said that I was the baby demonstrator used for bath time because I was the biggest in the nursery.  My mom also noted that she did not have an epidural. Ouch!

7.  I come from a blended family.  Both my parents are remarried which leaves me with an extra large family.  I have one 'full' brother, 2 half sisters, and 3 step siblings.

8.  My grandma is still alive at 85 years young.  She still lives in her own house, has 2 dogs and a beautiful yard like you wouldn't believe.  I've got good genes given that my great grand mother passed away a few years back at 100 years old.  I've got a good long life ahead of me....

9.  My favorite movie of all time is Dirty Dancing. I can still recite most of the movie by heart.  I must have watched it 30 times growing up, it never got old.  I've always loved a good dancing movie, and really, I still do.  I get it from my mom.....

10.  My fave food is pizza followed closely by burgers. I would eat pizza every day if I could.  We order once a week mostly from the same local pizza place, Spiros.  It is the deep dish kind and the kids don't like it so we now also order from Boston Pizza which they will tolerate.  If it were up to them we would be eating Papa Johns.  While it is not my favorite, I literally will eat any pizza.

I hope you learned a thing or two about me! Peace out Monday!

This is 39

Yesterday was my 39th

I thought I would care about the number that continues to get higher every year. 

I don’t.  

I thought I would care about the wrinkles that show around my eyes when I laugh. 

I don’t. 

I thought I would care about the grey hair that has finally forced me to dye it again after a decade of au natural.  

I don’t.  

I’m really starting to understand that each year we get is a gift.  I am grateful for another year of memories.  Another year of laughs.  Another year of tears.  

This year it was the little things that made the day special.  Grady made me a homemade card without being told it was my birthday.   Two friends dropped off gifts unexpectedly.   James surprised me withta birthday cake.  To top it off, I ended the day with a glass of wine with my newest friend that just happens to live next door.  

Sometimes when you expect the day to just be ordinary it can turn out to be pretty extraordinary.  

Here’s to my last year in the 30s! Let’s finish off this decade with a bang!

Blogiversary!

On December 31st I celebrated my 10 year blogging anniversary.  Let me say that again, I've been blogging and documenting my life on the internet for 10 years.  My blogging debut was to announce my first pregnancy.

When I started the blog on that day it was purely to document my pregnancy since my family was far away.  At that point I didn't read any blogs so I am not sure what my motivation was or how my blog feed now contains 107 blogs that I follow regularly.  That's a story for another day.

I didn't have any intention of blogging forever or even past the baby being born, but somehow I continued and you know what, I enjoyed it.  Grady was a tough baby that needed to be held all the time so I set my goal low at once a month and just when I started to get back into blogging more, bam, I was pregnant again and wanted to document that pregnancy the same way I did my first.

After 3 years of blogging, I found I was actually enjoying it.  I like writing. I like connecting with others.  I have the gift of the gab verbally and apparently that was coming out in written form as well.  Unexpected since I am a numbers gal and an accountant by trade. 

What you may find interesting is that while I don't hide my blog, many of my IRL friends don't know that it exists. I find people have mixed feeling about putting themselves out there for the whole world to see. I've always been an open person by nature.  That is how I connect, by talking and by listening.  I tell you all about me but you better believe that I am going to have 101 questions for you! Too many my Mom tells me.

This is my scrap book.  I love the idea that I can look back and read about our trips, the first days of school, Christmas', and birthdays to name a few.  You'll often hear me say 'let me check' my blog when I want to remember a movie name or the year that something happened.  It is the story of our life and I hope that when the boys are adults, they will show interest in reading about what I had to say about them as kids and to read stories about their childhoods.  Maybe their wives will be interested, or their kids.... But really, I just blog for me.

I often think about being a little old lady in my rocker and reading the blog books about the best years of my life.  I don't care about the page views my blog gets, how many comments I get (but I do like to read them!), or even how many people read at all, because in the end, I blog for myself.  Because I like it.  I like documenting my life. 

I am different person today than I was 10 years ago.  Over the past 10 years, I've become a mom of 2 boys, an aunt to 5 nieces and nephews, I've changed jobs 3 times, I've driven 3 different cars, I'm no longer a newlywed, I've changed decades and am close to turning the big 4-0.  My life has changed and so has the content of my blog. You see more recipes, fashion, and life stuff now that my kids aren't babies anymore and I've been able to rediscover myself.  I often wonder what I will think of the outfits that I've worn and posted pics of.  I am certain that when I am on that rocker I will be shaking my head and wondering what the heck I was thinking when I was 'young'!

If I could go back and tell my 28 year old something, I would tell her that blogging is worth it.  Don't give up.  There have been many a day when I think about packing the whole blog thing in but when you are 38 and you want to remember what your kids looked liked when they were babies. You will have it right at your finger tips.  In only a click you have the last 10 years of your life at our disposal. 

Just the other night as I was writing our post about NYE Grady crawled on the couch beside me and wanted to see the pictures I was looking at.  He asked what I was doing and I told him I was blogging about our night away.  He asked if it was on the internet.  I said yes and asked if that bothered him because he wanted me to prove that my blog was on the internet.  I thought he was concerned about it.  It turns out that he was excited about it and was making sure that I wasn't lying to him.  Our kids live in such a digital world that the prospect of being online excited him.

We spent the next 30 minutes choosing random years and months to see what we were up to at different points of our lives.  He asked to see pictures of me in the hospital when he was born and what he looked like as a baby.  We looked at our vacation pictures and outings to the Flames games. I finally told him it was time to go to bed.  Whether he was procrastinating bed time or not.  I love that he was interested and that this was something we could do together.

I would tell my 28 year old self that you will survive the baby years and that you will in fact get back to the things you like to do, like shop and read.  There will come a time when blogging isn't a chore, it is choice.  I would tell her blogging is worth it.  That she is worth it.

Cheers to blogging and all the good that has and will come out of it! Now let's get back to documenting the next 5 years as well as the last 5!

A Letter to my UPS Guy

Dear UPS guy,

It was such a pleasure to meet you last week.  I saw you run up the steps and leave something behind.  Lately I've been ordering a lot on line so I rushed to the door to see what goody you had left me.  I didn't expect to see you when I opened the door to retrieve my purchase, but there you were carrying 2 more boxes up the steps.

It turned out that my Christmas cards arrived COD.  Darn Shutterfly, first they charge me in USD, then they want more cash on delivery?  A rant for another day...

You asked if I was Christy and I replied yes.  You have met Jasmin, my nanny, many times over the past few months as she mans the house while we are away at work.  Imagine your surprise when I swung open the door instead!

As you pulled out your visa machine I asked if you were always the UPS person on this route and you looked up and said yes.  I suddenly flashed back over the past 6 months and how many things I've ordered on line from Wayfair and most recently Amazon Prime.

I hesitantly asked you if you have delivered all my packages over the past months.

You looked up with a smirk and told me that I order very heavy things.  He glances over at the 70 pound hockey net that he literally just placed on my step.

On the bright side, it help yous stay fit.... right?

I run through my online binge after moving in and remember all the rugs that I ordered and I also remember that I sent all but 2 of the giant rugs back.  Which means that you had to deliver my rugs and pick them up to take them back.  Sorry friend.

On the bright side, I don't have a dog that barks and I live on a quiet street.  I realize that you are one of my favorite people, but I am probably not one of yours.  Do you ever wonder what are in my boxes that get delivered almost every other day?  I promise they are not elaborate.  I even told you that it is all amazon prime faults and you told me that your wife has started shopping the same way.

If I can buy it online, why would I go to the store?

Besides, my online shopping is keeping you employed.  I will also add you to my Christmas list since I've made you work so hard this year.

My promise to you is that I will try and bunch all my Amazon purchases in one order rather than ordering 3 separate times in one day because I now know that if I order together that they will come in one box.  You won't need to make as many trips to the door and I won't have to deal with so much recycling.  The struggle is real.

UPS guy, I am so happy to have met you and I hope over the next year we become the best of friends!

Your new friend,
Christy

Back to School: Picture Day!

Today I am linking up with TBB to talk about school pictures.  The good, the bad, and the ugly. Can I just say that the pictures get worse the older I get?  My theory is that it is hard to make a 5 year old look bad but by the time I reached the 7th grade (by far my worst photo!) it all went down hill.

I start out so cute with the open mouthed smile like celebrities now do in selfies all the time.  The bowl cut bang and the the cute pick dress.

Kindergarten

Moving right along into Grade 1 where it seem that I still have the bowl cut bangs with the added curl and a partial open mouth smile.  I'm not so sure on the blue turtle neck.  Were those ever cool?

Grade 1

Growing up I think that this was my fave school picture.  From the missing tooth grin to the green tunic with the roses and deer.

Grade 2

If I remember correctly, grade three was the year that my Mom forgot it was school pictures but managed to put me in my first communion dress which would hopefully make up for the fact that my hair wasn't styled.  At all.

Grade 3

Jumping forward a few years to grade 7 and I introduce you to my worst school pictures full of reminders that I grew up in the 80s/early 90s.  The scrunchy, the big bangs full of hairspray, and the guess jeans tshirt.

Grade 7

In grade 8, I traded in the big bangs for a big bob and homemade necklaces.  Obviously.

Grade 8

For my first year of high school I apparently thought it would be a good idea to dress like a man.  Also noted as the year I got braces.

Grade 10

Still have braces, still wearing a man's shirt.  I must also add that this was my fave shirt for months.

Grade 11

And finally grade 12, my final school photo.  Braces are off, hair is curled, big smiles and it looks like this was the year that my friends held me down to pluck my eye brows.

Grade 12

I hope you had a good laugh at the progression through my school years, I certainly did.

Now, if you came over here trying to identify the celebrity school pictures I posted on TBB, here they are.

From top left to bottom right:  Justin Beiber, Channing Tatum, Jennifer Aniston, Lauren Graham, Ellen DEgeneres, Justin Timberlake.

Now before you start working for the day, head over to see Deena's school pictures.  I promise you that her hairstyles were as extravagant as mine, maybe more!