Apr 30, 2010

Provider Appreciation

2 comments
So, there was this little article in my agency's newsletter this month -- I thought it was well worth repeating.


May is Provider Appreciation Month:

Being a child care provider is not an easy job, but it certainly is one of the most important.  It is also one of the lowest paying and least celebrated.

The wages childcare providers receive certainly do not reflect the importance or the demands of their work.

Further, even though child care providers work hard and have a very important job, sometimes the nature of the job means that they don't have access to health care or other important benefits.  As a profession, they don't always get the respect they deserve.  And, working with children all day, even though it is rewarding for many child care providers, is also isolating work with little adult contact.

Provider Appreciation Day is a yearly even for parents and the Community to recognize the importance of childcare providers.  This year it is celebrated on Friday, May 7.  Providers support families and make it possible for many parents to work and contribute to the national economy.  Provider Appreciation Day began in 1996.  A group of volunteers put it together to bring attention to and applaud the every day dedication and good work of child care providers.  Since 1996,  it has been on the Friday before Mother's Day.

Some things to do for your provider: gift certificates, a paid day off, flowers, cards, candy, anything that will let them know that they are important to you!

I repeat this not because I'm asking for gifts, but becuase I think a lot of the time, people don't realize what my job is.  Sure, I stay at home, but I also lack adult contact, must adhere to strict rules and regulations regarding cleaning/sanitizing, and make less than $4/hour.  My home is my work, and my work is my home.  I chose this knowing full well what I was doing -- but not understanding how little appreciation others would show me.

Thankfully, the children that are in my care have wonderful parents who tell me often how much they appreciate me.  I often get "I don't know how you do this"  and the truth is, there are times when I'm not sure myself.  In the end, I love my job, I love my kids and I love their families.  The idea of Provider Appreciation is nice, I'm just thankful that I get it more than just once a year from the people who matter most to me.

Apr 28, 2010

T-shirts!

1 comments
So, I decided to try it out, why not??  Setting up a shop on CafePress.com to see if I could earn a little extra dough.

I'm going to do one saying every few weeks...got about 7 or so as it stands, but if you, my lovely, loyal readers, should have a favorite -- let me know!

Click HERE to shop!

Enjoy!

Apr 26, 2010

Books I love...

3 comments
...and ones that I love to hate.  Let's start with the latter. Wait a second...let me don my bullet proof vest, as I'm sure that I'll be getting a ton of lash back on this.

Okay -- first is The Twilight Saga I'm sure that if you've lived on this planet, you know about this book series, which went all freak out and ended up being a movie.  I have to say right off the bat here that I have NOT read this series.  I have not so much as even touched one, let alone opened it's cover to read the "amazing" story within.

See - I have this thing with reading books that, well, are geared towards ME -- you know -- a middle aged woman with this amazing thing called -- a brain.  Thank God I am no longer a teenager suffering the pangs and angst that these characters (I'm told) are.  Nope, I have no intention of reading this series any time in the near (or distant) future.  In fact, if I do read a novel about vampires and such, I'll probably read one from Anne Rice who wrote The Vampire Chronicles.  I think that the reason that this book bothers me so much is the fact that you have these middle aged women all over America (and let's face it, the world) who have gone bat sh*t  crazy over the stuff.  It's a BOOK people.  A book!! It's a fictional story -- as in NOT real.  It kinda reminds me of the NKOTB phenomenon (another fad which I failed to jump on the band wagon with -- scary stuff that!) Read the book, sure.  Enjoy the book, sure.  But 30-40 year old women putting up posters of New Moon and wearing t-shirts that say "suck me" = creepy.

My next set of books that I think are ridiculous are the Harry Potter ones.  Now - I don't not like these books.  In fact, my stepson read them (and I along with him) and now my daughter is peeking through them (though still not really all that interested) -- my problem with this book is once again, it is a series that is aimed towards children (even worse than the Twilight thing which was aimed at teens) -- Harry Potter is aimed at children, yet adults have gone to this crazy frenzy over them.  It's a great story for kids to read, I agree.  It's filled with adventure and allows them to use their fantastic little imaginations.  J.K. Rowling can be credited for bring a love of reading back to our children.  Yay.  I'm happy for that, really I am!  I'm not happy about the grown adults wearing Witch hats and walking around talking to "muggles" and such (unless it's Halloween, that's just freak-O-rama, people!)


So after blowing a little steam on my Facebook Fanpage one of my followers asked me what type of books I do like.  I mean, reading my thoughts so far, you would think that I am a book burning freak...dancing around piles of flaming books and giggling with glee.

Sorry to disappoint folks!

I have nothing against children's books, by the way...I'll be the first to pick up The Cat in the Hat or Mud Puddle or Brown Bear, Brown Bear  -- the thing is -- I don't get my kicks out of reading these things.  Sure, I freely admit to loving both Dr. Seuss and Robert Munsch, but I don't read their books during my own personal reading time.


I like books.  I like books that move my heart or stimulate my brain - or better yet, both.  I loved, loved, LOVED "The Time Traveler's Wife" this book was amazing.  A romance, a sci-fi, a tragedy.  There was nothing, absolutely nothing about that book that I did not enjoy.

I also really enjoyed "Fall on your Knees" - a book that took me a while to get into...so much so that I had banned it as a "bath tub book" (ie, a book that if it falls in the tub it's not that big of a loss) -- then one day in the tub, I got past the initial strangeness that starts it off, and the next thing I knew, I was halfway through and my bath water was cold.  It was very good -- creepy, sad, but good.  It's the kind of book that you either like, or don't.

I read The Kite Runner which was also very good.  Another sadly depressing book (sheesh, I read a lot of those!) but very nice all the same.

Tuesdays with Morrie an amazingly inspiring true story.  The author also wrote The Five People You Meet in Heaven which was also good.  These books are both short, sweet, and to the point.  You will need a box of tissues though for each.

There are the classics that I've read time and time again...such as Flowers for AlgernonNineteen Eighty-Four , Jane Eyre and To Kill a Mockingbird (which some fool was trying to ban becuase it contained the word "nigger" in it...can you believe that??  A book teaching about justice and equality and how every man deserves it no matter the color of his skin??)

I like much of Stephen King and of course the classics like Shakespeare.  I enjoyed "The Kite Runner" -- there are many many books that I like.  I just don't like what much of the mainstream does.


Apr 23, 2010

I want to be a "Learned Woman"

11 comments
So - I've been slacking in my exercise postings -- that's becuase I've been slacking in my exercises!  After about two weeks of sitting on my duff and thinking about exercising, I plugged in the 30 Day Shred and was barely able to make it through level one.  Ugh.  Back to square one!

I'm going to continue to do this though... I"m thinking roughly 3 days per level...ie, 3 days on Level 1, then a day of Yoga Meltdown, then 3 days of Level 2 and another day of Yoga meltdown...you get the pic.

What I'm really waiting for however, is school to be done.  I have a couple of spring courses happening right now - and as soon as they're done, I'm signing up for belly dancing!  Yup -- there's this place right here in the city that offers belly dancing classes - it's called Raqs Al Almeh - which apparently means "Dance of the Learned Women" -- sweet is what I call it.

Why Hethr -- you're a Muslim -- don't all Muslim women belly dance?  Isn't that part of your religion??

Uh  -- NO.  That's kinda like saying that all Christians must know how to polka. Gimme a break.  And yes, that was an honest to God question that I was asked.  *roll eyes*

Anyhow -- the women running this place seem to be really funky and neat -- open to everything.  I like that.  It's also the right price -- working out to just $10/class.  I also love that they've researched so much and offer so many different types of belly dancing.

Oh -- they also have a facebook group, just in case anyone wanted to join.

I can't wait to get started!


Apr 21, 2010

More Unhappy Moms

4 comments
So, I've just replied on a post that I made a while back.  It gets quite a few hits (upwards of 50/day -- which I think is a lot considering that people are googling "unhappy mother" to get to it) You can read the original post here.

I quickly realized that my latest reply should be a post in and of itself.  You see -- there are all these women out there (and even a young girl who searched for "Why is my mother unhappy") -- I think that we all need to realize that motherhood does not equate instant happiness.

Here is my reply to a response to that original posting:

First of all, thank YOU for being brave enough to comment...I get a LOT of hits on this page, and it's the rare person who comments.

I think that there are a lot of mothers out there with these same feelings -- we love our children, we really do, but it can seem as though something's missing. I hadn't been able to put a finger on it until I started blogging...what's missing is knowing that it's NORMAL to feel this way. You hear me? N-O-R-M-A-L

Ironically, I'm also very introverted. It will take a lot to get me to open up in public unless I'm very comfortable with the people I'm around. That's slowly changing with wisdom (or is it just age??) Everyone else was so into things that I'm not. Throwing lavish b-day parties for my kids, caring about the clothes that I wear, or the house I live in or the car I drive.

I mean...really...WHO FRIGGEN CARES???

I don't care. I don't care if they like me...quite frankly, I don't care if YOU like me (no offense meant)...I'm tired of being someone else to please everyone else...and really, when you're trying to be a "happy mother" who are you trying to please; you or society?

In deciding to start caring about myself, I found something -- I like me...I may not like my faults, but they are part of me, and I LIKE ME. I am not happy all day long, I'm not always nice, I'm not the most popular person out there...but guess what...I'm happy now.

I think that the saddest thing about all of this is that it's taken me more than 30 years to come to this realization.  I do not need to change who I am for other people to like me.  It's okay for other people to not like me.  Even more - I'm okay with the fact that other people don't like me!  For as long as I can remember, I would go around and be different "hethrs" for different people.  There was the funny hethr, the cool hethr, the smart hethr, the tomboy hethr, the hethr who liked to party...etc... But none of those hethrs were me.

I am me.  I like me, warts and all.  That's what matters.

Apr 18, 2010

Jealousy has an ugly face

11 comments
and it's MINE.

You see -- through my school we have this fantastic opportunity to go to Mexico for a practicum tour.  It costs a God awful amount - but you get to see amazing places and help needy children.  The point of it is to get an idea of how the things that we've been learning are being applied in a real life setting -- plus the bonus of total cultural immersion.

I. Want. To. Go.

Alas -- money is tight, and I've sketched this Mexico Practicum into my plans for my diploma year -- it will be a "graduation gift" to myself.  But -- one of my school mates, a pretty spunky little lady, is going.  I'm jealous.  I'm so jealous that I'm worried her plane is going to fall out of the sky.  It's bad.

She's blogging about it.  She's called her blog Experiences in a Life Time.  I'm incredibly jealous.  You see...before she started blogging about all of the wonderful places she'll be going to, and things she was going to see, and even the casita that they're staying in (by the way -- casita in that sentence is just dripping with my jealous sarcasm....) before all that, I was fine with it.  Sure, I'd really like to be going now, but I was very apathetic about the whole thing.

Now...I know what I'm missing.


Apr 14, 2010

Disney Channel Rant

6 comments
So, as I'm waiting for my little red light on my reader to change to green (I told you, the battery was DEAD!!)  I'm sitting in the same room as my children who are playing together like a little flock of angels.

Oh..who am I kidding?  They're fighting and getting into things that they shouldn't be.

However...my daughter is trying to watch TV.  She's old enough that the baby television shows (which Isaac would still watch, but won't admit to liking), but young enough to think that the majority of the crap that's out there is good TV viewing (and, admittedly, I may have a skewed opinion on this...as a person who enjoys things like The First 48 and LOST or just about anything on Discovery Channel).  However, Iman's current TV viewing habits have me more than a little perplexed.

You see, since I'm surrounded by children all day long, I tend to know a lot of the kids shows.  I've had posts before about children's shows that I hate yet I had not been introduced to a whole new type of show; they're geared towards tweens and they SUCK...I mean, horrible!

First of all, there's Hannah Montanna (or, as she's lovingly referred to in my home, Hannah Moncrappy).  I. Hate. This. Show.

Why? Well, thank you so much for asking...let me just clarify the many reasons for this pure hatred of all things Hannah:
  1. The acting, like almost every other tween show, is pathetic.
  2. The writing, like almost every other tween show, is pathetic.
  3. The idea...the main idea of the show...is just wrong!  Why...why do they have to all be about being a rockstar?  Why do they have to be rich and famous?  Why do they have to wear trashy clothes and bat their eyes and act like fools around a) boys, and b) large groups of girls?
  4. I won't buy into Hannah Montanna -- not the theory of it, not the pathetically materialism of it, not the "I'm going to dress my 9 year old like a wannabe hooker.  Nope. Not happening people!  In fact, I groomed Iman well.  I remember, when we were shopping for grade 1 clothing and I was shocked that we went from pretty little girl clothes, to Hannah Montana inspired trash.  A sales woman at Walmart was helping us (yes...it's true...they do have staff there!) and said "well, the Hannah Montana line is really popular"  and Iman, at 6 years old, looked up to her and said "Uh...we don't support the Hannah Montana empire." 
Next comes  The Suite Life of Zack and Cody  I hate this show for all the same reasons that I hate Hannah...except this one's worse.  It's filled with snotty rich kids.  There's twins (*shudder* -- I'm reminded of the damn Olsen twins off of Full House).  Yup...snooty twins who are terrible actors...except these ones are boys.

There's The Wizards of Waverly Place -- which is borderline with me.  Some episodes are okay, but some are not.  I'm still deciding on this one.

I'd just like to know why there can't be more shows like iCarly (which is not, by the way, on Disney, but on a Canadian tween channel called YTV)-- this show is about a fun and spunky teen who has a quirky family life but is down to earth, smart and polite.  She's not rich.  She's not rude.  She's not throwing herself at boys.  The show is centered around her unique family and her little web show that she puts on (no, not a creepy sexual thing) It's something that I could see my own kids doing...turning on a camera, doing stupid tricks like making milk come out of your nose, and having fun.  I like that she's smart and proud of it.  Too many of the other shows have their leading ladies dumb it up.  I think brains are good and ought to be emphasized a little more than the naked shoulder or barely there skirts (I don't care if you have opaque tights on underneath..not on my 9 year old!) -- oh...and why won't Disney Channel air this show?  Why is Disney grooming it's young women into such sexualized young women??

There's another show that's broadcast here in Canada on YTV network... it's called How to be Indie.  I really like this one too.  This show is about an immigrant Indian family and their daughter -- she's trying to find a way to maintain her culture and be Canadian.  Very cool.  It's borderline on the dumbness -- but when she acts stupid, there are usually repercussions to it (other than a concert gig)..and she learns that brains are better than trying to impress.

Okay...my little green light came on...off to read...let me know what you think of the Disney shows aimed at our young girls and the fact that teen pregnancy is not only on the rise, but happening to younger and younger girls....coincidence??


*sigh*

0 comments
So, I'm done homework.  Finally...just a few minor revisions before I send it off -- but that's just waiting on a confirmation from the instructor before I do.

In the mean time, I have a whopping 10 days before the next class.  Know what I'm going to do??  I'm going to play with this.  Yup, this little do-dad is the gift that one of the most amazing daycare parents bought for me as a gift.  I know that Chantilly is grateful for the care I provide her little man, but I sure as heck hope she realizes how grateful that I am for the sanity that she gives me.  How nice to have a parent who realizes that their child is not a perfect little angel and may, at times, frustrate me (just a bit!).

I'm just a bit sad to say that I simply haven't had the time to read this.  My life lately has been one long, dreadful text after another.  However, I've got...uh...4 maybe 5 books downloaded on this little baby and I'm practically quivering in anticipation at getting to reading them.  Sure, they're books that I've read time and time again...but I still enjoy them.

A little aside here -- if you're interested in the books that I'm talking about, please don't be shocked.  I am reading The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.  I am not normally a fan of fantasy books, but an old high school pal slipped me this book (sans cover, and I'm sure he did that on purpose so that I'd give the book a chance) when I was in my last months of pregnancy...it got me through that pregnancy, and as the series went on, it took me through 5 more pregnancies!  I love it (and have book #12, The Gathering Storm sitting on my kitchen table reminding me to get a move on my current list of "to be read" books)

Anyhow -- the reason that I'm sitting here blogging instead of reading is becuase the poor thing's battery is dead...like D-E-A-D dead.  I have to wait (and wait) for it to charge before I can snuggle on down with it (and hopefully with kids tucked nicely into bed) so that I can go ahead and read.

I'm also debating downloading two other books for it...wonder if anyone has read them...




Under the Dome: A Novel


Stephen King -- one of my favorites..creepy and everlasting.  The first book of his that I ever read was The Eyes of the Dragon (which looks like it may be a hard book to get a hold of now).  Loved it.  Fell in love with his writing from that moment!  I've heard his The Dark Tower Series is great, but haven't yet read them.  Oh..and The Green Mile (which I can only find as a DVD, and not as a book -- which is sad, as the book is so much better than the movie)...that was a moving and emotional story.  Stunning.

Okay, my other read that I'm wanting to get now is



Master Your Metabolism: The 3 Diet Secrets to Naturally Balancing Your Hormones for a Hot and Healthy Body!


But I'm not sure about this one...the reviews are iffy...some good, some bad.  Then again, I find that I'm the same way with most books; I either love them (like I felt about The Time Traveler's Wife or hate them, the way I felt about Middlesex)

One other thing that I'd like is to get a cover for this reader.  It came with a little foamy thing  -- but I'd really like to get a leather cover.  They come in red, black, and brown.  They're $25 from Amazon.com, but I'm in Canada, by the time I pay customs and duties and such...I'll pay the $40 that they are here in Canada (but not on Amazon, only at Best Buy or Future Shop) -- but they only have black here.  *le sigh* what's a girl to do?


Shred Challenge - final thoughts

2 comments
Okay, I'm well beyond my 30 days of Shredding.  I thought I'd come in with some final thoughts and statistics.

Do I love working out any more than before?  No.

Do I have a new love for Jillian?  Not really.

Have I noticed changes?  YES...energy, clothing wise, even my skin looks better!

The results:
  • Total Weight loss = -1.7 lbs.  This doesn't seem like much - but I can see a massive change.  I lot of my blubber changed into muscle.  Don't be dissapointed if you do this workout and don't see your scale moving much
  • Waist = no change
  • Chest = +1.25 inches (hell yeah!)
  • Hips = - 1 inch (hell yeah!)
  • Thighs = - 1.25 inches (hell yeah!)
  • Calves = + .5 inch (oh yeah!)
  • Biceps = + 1 inch (yeah baby, yeah!)

So...now what?  Well, I honestly haven't gotten off of my butt for the last few days...busy with life. There's also a major change to my work schedule starting - and I'm already waking up at 5am.  I will NOT be getting up at 4 to exercise.  I'll have to figure something out though.

I still can't decide if I love The Shred or not.  I certainly like the fact that it's short...long enough to make a difference short enough to be over quickly without being bored out of my mind.  I'm debating whether or not I'll do a level a day or something...I just hated level 2 so much.  All in all though, I'd highly recommend buying this video.
I really like Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown - that's a workout/relaxation in one (and Jillian's not yelling at you).
My friend gave me a dvd to try -- it's Lindsay Brin's CORE Fitness which I hear is tough...I may try it...or it may gather dust.

I'd sure as hell like to enjoy working out.  I really want to want to get up in the morning and do it. Thing is, I'm lazy...lazy, lazy, lazy.  And lately, I've been making excuse after excuse to not do these things.  Am I just in the wrong place right now?  Maybe.  Or maybe God just intended for me to jiggle and shake.  Who knows?





PS. Blogger has completely changed the layout of blogging. I really like it!! Maybe I'll have a couple of posts testing out the new features!

Apr 13, 2010

Judge not lest ye be judged

8 comments
So I've written many times about my struggle with keeping my teen on a straight path. He's a tough cookie, and stubborn (don't know where he gets that from)...but deep down, he's a good kid.

Then it came. Freedom. I'm not going to get into the details but suffice it to say, I lived through them myself at his age.

This is what's sad though. All my life with him, I have touted again and again the importance of getting your education. "Don't be a drop out like me!" are words that I've said thousands upon thousands of times.

Yet, day after day, I get reports of him failing to show up at school. I've talked to the teachers, I've talked to the counselors...and at this point they're saying "he has to make the decision."

I get that -- I really do. But the problem is that he won't make a good decision. He will make the huge, epic, failure of a decision that I made at his age.

We've had a touch and go relationship since the last blow up when he left home -- and facebook was my way of keeping tabs on him. Today I made the mistake of commenting on his status which was something like "F****ing kids..all talk, talk, talk, with nothing to back it up. F***** faggots" (or something to that effect. Yeah...proud moment for this mama. So I let him know it. I responded with "Wow. A drop out and now a bully....boy am I proud. :("

He removed me from his friends list.

I know it's pathetic, but I was really hoping that we'd be able to reconnect. We'd have some serendipitous moment of togetherness where we'd sing and dance together and flowers would rain down on us as God smiled on our reunited and happy family.

I know it wasn't likely to happen. But good God...I raised him better than that! I did not raise him to be a racist, I did not condone his rude and belligerent behaviour. This is not the child that I raised!!

It really hit me today -- reading that lovely little status of his. I used to see people on the news; people who'd been harmed by someone shouting at the offender's family "What did you do to him? Why is he this way?" And I'd judge. I'd sit there in the comfort of my TV with the remote in my hot little hand, and I'd judge those families. She must never have held him. They must never have told him they loved him. I bet they were never even around and he was left to fend for himself.

Well -- now it's time to be judged. I am the mother of a delinquent. Oh -- he may not have done anything illegal (yet) and he may never...but he is a delinquent all the same. Disrespectful, rude and ignorant -- and completely opposite of the child that I raised.

Where did I go wrong?


Apr 12, 2010

About a mom...

1 comments
This weekend was amazing. It was Inspiring. Emotional. Moving. It was more than I ever thought it could be, and I'm not allowed to say anything more than that. Boo.

But -- while I was gone on this amazing adventure -- my mom was here watching my kids. She's a really great woman. She's the type of grandmother who buys my kids crap that they don't need just becuase she knows they'll have fun. Whether it's clothes or toys, used or "first hand" as my son calls it - she's the grandma who's taken the position of spoiling.

So, this weekend she spoiled me. She cleaned off my kitchen counter - which wasn't horribly bad, just a little disorganized. She dusted (I hate dusting) and she did laundry.

Yup -- you read that right. She messed with my schedule...she did laundry for my kids based on *gasp* lights & darks!!!

I came home and see her folding some laundry. Whites with pinks and yellows and light blues...and my OCD went into overdrive. I do my best to say thank you (did I really say the words??), I calmly go over to my fridge and pull of the schedule to show her. It's posted on my fridge, over each child's laundry basket, AND in my laundry room. This schedule is my life!!

It turns out, according to my friend's mother (who was with me) that I, apparently, overreacted. Me...overreact? Well...yeah, I guess I did.

I mean, yes, it helped. True, I don't have half the amount of laundry as I'd normally have. Granted, my kids didn't die becuase their whites weren't given the extra boost of BAM! Oxy Clean...but I know...you see? I know!!

So -- I blow my top...well, okay, I didn't really blow it...maybe popped is a better expression...that was Saturday....so Sunday comes (and I'm busy again with things that I am not yet able to mention) and when I come home...once again -- she did MORE laundry!



Eeek.

(how pathetic is it that I have to do deep breathing at this point just to continue blogging??)

Oh - she also let my kids eat all over the house...in the living room (only allowed when LOST is on), in the play room (NEVER EVER allowed). Do my kids pipe up and tell her this?? no, they do not. What do I find this morning? A plate full of half chewed cantaloupe (thanks Adam), yogurt drips on my couch that have hardened over and crusted (thanks Isaac) and candy wrappers stuffed down between the couch cushions (thanks Iman).

My mom gets emails of my blogs automatically -- so I don't want her thinking that I'm ungrateful, because nothing can be further from the truth. She's probably at her desk right now laughing and confirming her co-workers thoughts that she really is a crazy old bat.

Oh -- and mom...I never did find the straw!



Apr 7, 2010

Doh!

5 comments
Why is it that when I'm faced with a crap load of life, I choose to blog instead? I've got homework up the yin-yan, more housework than I can handle right now, and a family to take care of. What do I do instead...sit down and try to think of something to blog.

See -- I've been in a funk. Hold on to your seats folks, 'cause I'm about to rock your world. I have nothing to complain about lately.

I know...shocked the hell out of me as well...but seriously -- nothing is happening! My shred and yoga workouts have been fun (I forgot to mention that I lost yet another inch of my thighs!), my kids have been (relatively) well behaved, and there haven't even been any daycarisms. What the heck is a complainer to do??

There are some serious big things happening this week -- which are causing my fingertips to nearly itch off in a little blogging frenzy -- yet I can't. I'm bound by contract to keep my lips (and my fingers) under tight control. Damn you lawyers!! (can you see me shaking my fist at them in fury??!?!)

Maybe tonight I'll be inspired. 2 of my 4 daycare children are being taken care solely of by the leading men in their lives. They're both good men though -- so not sure if I'll be able to find humour.

I need to sit and watch some crappy tv or something with the kids...Hannah Montana or something equally as horrid. Advice? Thoughts? Anything to trigger another blog rant (don't call me though!!)

Apr 4, 2010

Come to St.Albert - where the Rich folks are!

3 comments
Yup – that was my immediate though as soon as the news began publicizing the protests about the building of a Habitat for Humanity project.

"St.Albert – where we’re better than you because we have money – because everyone knows that when you have money, you don’t have problems like drugs or crime or abuse. The police never need to come to a rich person’s neighbourhood and the IQs of their children are proportionate to their income." That's not a quote -- just the vibe them Rich Folks are sending us lowly scum of the population.

This is just sick to me. I used to live in St.Albert and found it quite nice -- in fact, if I could pack up and move, I'd like to move there again. I want to make it clear that not ALL people of St.Albert are racist bigots...just the select few, I'd say it's limited to the fools who write to the St.Albert Gazette and the idiots who stormed the city council to protest the development.

What do you think?

Yoga Challenge

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So -- Level 3 of the shred is a joy (seriously people). Still can't make it through all of the exercises - but that 20 minutes is gone before I even know it and I enjoy every second of it. However, this weekend, I chose to do the Yoga Meltdown.

My husband doesn't like when I write online about him...not even in a status update, so let's just say that I talked to "someone" and teased him to death until he decided to do the yoga with me. I pop in the video and we start doing the warm up which just consists of standing there and waving your arms up and down.

I should put a note here - I'm competitive. Nope, more than that, I'm the type of person who will work as hard as I can to do better than you then I'll do a little "hoo rah" dance in my head when I do extremely competitive.

We start getting into more moves. I know that "someone" isn't all that flexible - but I thought "anyone can do yoga" yet, someone proved me wrong. He's tipping over and falling and for most of the moves just laid there (or stood, depending on the position) while we both pretended that he was still doing it.

Can I just say how much I loved this? He's struggling and stumbling, and I'm flowing from one pose to another and, in a total un-yoga like manner, I was secretly laughing and pointing at him and saying "na na na na boo boo, I do Yoga better than you!"

Yes, I'm pathetically immature that competitive.

Later, becuase I can't possibly let him get away with the yoga failure and feel the insane urge to brag wanted to make some conversation with my dad and his family, I start talking about our Morning Yoga Session together.

His response "my body's not built right for it."

Last night, he challenged me to a Shred Off...but he's only willing to do level 1. I think I may just take him up on it.

Apr 1, 2010

Level 3 - for real this time

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Okay - I'm thoroughly convinced that I'm warped -- and am a little disappointed that I didn't give level 3 more of a chance this morning.

I went back to do it tonight -- thought that maybe watching little A do it with me might bring some humour to the workout. After the psychotic plank/superman poses - the rest of the workout was pretty fun! Don't get me wrong - it was Jillian tough - but it was fun. I didn't mind level 1, I absolutely hated every second of level 2, but level 3 brings some of my favourite moves from level 1 (punches, but kicks, etc) and adds even more fun in there. There's this move where you're in a plank position - lift up one hand to your torso, bring it down, then raise the leg, bring it down...I really like this move. It's hard - but I enjoy it! Same with the "traveling push-ups" I'm a freak...I know it!

The thing is - I'd heard tales that level 3 was this giant torture session, but I really, really like it. I think that, for me, level 2 is my personal level 3! I'm so happy to have an exercise that I enjoy again! Woo hoo!!

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