Fitness Test Results

Last night we did an abbreviated fitness test. Only 4 exercises.

Chin-ups: Take a wild guess! Go on ... you know the answer. I did zero. What a surprise :(

Back extension: 4 minutes, 7 seconds. About 30 seconds longer than last time.

Sit-ups: 84 in 90 seconds! This is 10 more than I did in January and 4 more than our coach set as the benchmark.

Sit & Reach: Long story short (involves sitting, reaching, a tape measure, some math), my flexibility is above average.

While I was glad not to spend 2 hours forcing my body to its absolute limits, I must admit I would've liked to see if I'm stronger at bench press, faster at bench row and at sprinter run, and if I can do 50 push-ups in 90 seconds. I think I can but will have to wait to find out.

Grandpa

Found out this morning that my Grandpa died last night. My heart is breaking.

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Update

Here are some photos we found in Grandpa's room and some others I found in my photo albums. More will be added as I find them.

#82 - Check!

#82 - Be the first to borrow a book from the library. Check!

It took me nearly two weeks to realise this but I did it! I was all ready to take this back to the library tonight but when I opened the back cover and realised I was the first person to take it out, I had to bring it back home and take a picture as evidence.

Somehow I've managed to cross three things off my life list this month. How cool is that?!

#90 - Check!

#90 - Buy a lottery ticket. Check!

Today I did it!

Did you know there is no tax on a lottery ticket? Actually, I'm sure there is but this must be the only thing in Quebec where the GST/QST are included in the sales price. Who knew?

Have started keeping track of the items I'm checking off my Life List on flickr, you can check out that set here.

#50 - Check!

#50 - Bake a soufflé. Check!

I wanted to take a picture of it when it came out of the oven but some friends had just stopped by with their 2 week old baby ... so I had to wait half an hour.

Notes on baking a soufflé: Not as hard as it you might think. Delicious!!!

#67 - Check!

Was going through my Life List today (thanks for the reminder, Mighty Girl) and have discovered that I can cross another item off my Life List! Woot!

#67 - Have a great big soaker tub and use it weekly.

Well, I moved last June and got the big soaker tub. I don't use it weekly but it's pretty darn close. Yeah me!

Also, am setting myself a deadline on two goals. This month I will cross #50 (Bake a soufflé) and #90 (Buy a lottery ticket) off my list.

I wish with all my heart I could cross #89 (Do 2 pull ups) off the list but it is not so. YET! I am trying very hard at every practice by using the cheater machine (not a technical term, go figure) and also by doing reverse training. It's not helping. YET!

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Update March 4 -

Thought of my third goal for this month while I was on the elliptical trainer this morning. Although it's not on my life list it's something I've been needing to get done since last August.

Buy a new rim for bike tire.

Spring is coming. Can't smell it yet but I can see it when I leave work and it's still light. All of a sudden I'm almost feeling light-hearted. Weird.

Gougeres

No practice today so I tried a recipe I've been dying to try for ages now. Here's the result.

43 Push-ups

Have I mentioned that I can do 43 push-ups in 90 seconds? I know I have. Just not here.

Here are the latest results from the fitness test at the end of January:

Bench press max weight: 105 (same as my best to date)
Bench press reps: 67 reps (7 less than my best to date)
Bench row reps: 95 reps (best ever!)
Back extension: 3:35 (not great but still better than last time - argh)
Sprinter run reps: 228 (1 less than my best to date)
Sit ups: 74 (same as my best to date!)
Push ups: 43 (personal record shattering best ever!!!)
Chin ups: 0. Sigh.

I felt pretty good about the results but not great. I let stress get the better of me that night. Our own team plus another were both doing fitness tests at the same time so the gym was jam packed. You couldn't move and it was crazy loud.

Until our next fitness test (no idea when) I am working hard at the chin ups. Every practice I use the cheating machine (whatever the hell it's called) and I try to do assisted chin ups and also negative training (that's what some of the guys call it - you get into position of a chin up and then release slowly to work the same muscles as you would use pulling up). No success yet but I'm trying.

Summer Plans

Because January is so horrendously long and it's months until the next long weekend, I had to give myself a little lift this last week. A lift in the form of summer vacation plans. After much searching and about a dozen calls back and forth with my travel agent, I managed to get a return flight to Basel, Switzerland, in August for just over $1,000, taxes and everything included. Rather pleased with that.

...

Meant to post this last weekend. I forgot.

Now I can move on to complaining about the horrifying cold. It was -33C with the windchill when I left the house at 5:30am. That was not funny and quite painful.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

It's oh so quiet

After the hubbub of pre-Christmas stuff last week, the departure of Nick & Family and getting myself back to work for a few quiet days, everything seems almost too quiet. The kind of quiet where you start to think you're in the wrong place, at the wrong time, on the wrong day. Like this morning when I arrived at work and all the lights were off and all I could think was "Crap - today's the 31st and the office is closed and I'm such a loser for being here." Then I realised that actually, it was only the 30th, the office was open, I was just the first one on the floor (at 8:30am - late by my standards).

Which reminds me of a little story I meant to share earlier this month.

On December 3, Eric's girlfriend Sam successfully defended her PhD thesis (yay Sam!). To celebrate they invited some of her friends and family out for drinks. First we were going to meet at the bar around 7pm. Then it was decided to meet closer to 5:30pm. Things were busy at work for me at the time and I knew I wouldn't leave work much before 5:30pm but hurried to get there as soon as I could. What do you know? Even though I arrived around 6pm, I was still the first person there! Even when I'm late, I'm early. Sigh ...

I should embrace my neurosis (does punctuality qualify as a neurosis?) and live with it. Why do I feel obliged to apologize for it? Seriously, I am sick in the head.

Christmas Day

I've probably said it the last couple of years but I'll say it again - Christmas is really about the kids. This year Wesley and Darcy made that perfectly clear. Talk about seeing two overexcited kids. I don't think either of them were quiet for more than 2 minutes in the 8 or so hours I spent in their company yesterday. That's a lot of excitement, a lot of chattering, singing, running, screaming, bouncing, yelling, laughing and anything else you can throw in.

While Darcy and Wesley opened Santa's presents at my parents' house in the morning, I got caught up on a little quiet time of my own. And it was a good thing because once I got to my parents', it was all noise, all the time.

We went to visit my grandparents at the senior residence to give my Mom a bit of peace while she finished preparing our huge turkey dinner. Grandma and Grandpa were thrilled to see us all but of course more interested in hearing and seeing Darcy and Wesley. It was very sweet to see Darcy give her Great-Grandma a hug and kiss and to see Wesley shake his Great-Grandpa's hand.

Back at the house, once Eric & Sam, Marc, and Bob & Gayle arrived, we sat down for Christmas dinner. For the first time in quite a few years we actually celebrated Christmas on Christmas Day with the entire family. There were 12 of us around the table and the table was loaded with food. Mom is a great cook and she's especially good at feeding masses of hungry people amazing food. She never disappoints. Well, for me at any rate. My Uncle Bob and brother Nick were ready to call Christmas a bust because this year Mom didn't have time to make the fudge "mice" she usually makes. The 14 other kinds of cookies and bars apparently meant nothing.

After dinner we took a break from food to do our Secret Santa gift exchange and give the kids their gifts. From the noise, I'd say Wesley enjoyed himself. Then it was back to the table for dessert. The evening ended with our traditional Annual Titcombe Pit Extravaganza. This year's winner by a landslide was Sue! I lost miserably.

And that's it. Christmas is over for another year.

If you want to see some pictures, check them out here.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve - It's been a long, fun, loud, laughing sort of day. I'm beat.

This morning I joined Nick, Sue, Darcy, Wesley and my Dad for tobogganing. Instead of heading up to Mont-Royal we went to Westmount and enjoyed a smaller, more kid-friendly hill, local kids and families, and free parking. The weather for this was perfect. Not too cold with just a sprinkle of snow coming down.

Last year when we went tobogganing, Wesley screamed basically the entire time we were there, unless he was being held by Sue. This year there was no screaming. Only laughing and laughing and laughing. Wesley could have stayed there all day. He loved going down in the toboggan and was all ready to go by himself! He was so funny - all bundled up in his snowsuit, he could hardly move but that didn't stop him from doing anything. He ran, he climbed, he threw snowballs! He didn't stay interested in the tobogganing for too, too long but the park next to the hill caught his eye and we spent a fair bit of time there with him. He went on ALL the slides (think there were 4 different ones), the swing, those stationary wobbly animals/car-things. His favourite was the slide. Any slide, but the bigger, faster and more dangerous the better. We had to keep a close eye on him because he seems to invite danger or at least know where to find it, and fast!



Darcy enjoyed it too but in her own way. She is clearly more independent and not interested in having to go down the hill with an adult. But coming up the hill on her own was another matter! She found out that wasn't so much fun, especially if you had to pull the toboggan.

The funniest part of the morning was when Nick and Darcy went down the hill and suddenly there was Wesley running down the hill after them! As it was, he could hardly move in his snowsuit but that didn't stop him. He managed to run his bouncy little run for longer than you would've thought before he face-planted into the snow. But up he got and off he went again. There was no stopping him. People walking up the hill laughed at the sight of him too. It was hilarious.

The kids had a quiet afternoon at home before Eric & Sam came over to celebrate Nick's birthday. Instead of going to a restaurant to celebrate (that's the usual thing) we ordered Chinese take-out this year. It was easier mostly due to MonkeyBoy (aka Wesley) who could at least be let out of his booster chair when he'd had enough of sitting around the table with us.

Both Darcy and Wesley were a little shy around Eric & Sam when they first came in but soon warmed up to them. By the end of the evening Wesley was all over Eric, to the point where he even managed to drool onto Eric's face, which we all thought pretty funny.

It was my turn to put Darcy to bed and once again she asked if I could sleep over. I don't know what I've let myself in for, but I've gone and said that maybe, if she comes back in the summer, she could come and sleep in my extra bedroom, in the chair that turns into a bed! Darcy was pretty excited by that idea.

Tomorrow will probably be another long, loud and laugh filled day, so I'd better get to bed.

Happy Birthday, Nick - hope you enjoyed it!

Firsts

Yesterday I had the honour of participating in Darcy's (my niece) first movie theatre experience. It was fun!

Nick, Sue, Darcy and Wesley flew in to Montreal on Tuesday afternoon. They're staying with my parents until Sunday. Nick & Sue had a bit of Christmas shopping to do, so we decided to meet at the mall close to where I live. I met up with them there and Sue, Darcy and I went for lunch at the mall, while Nick took Wesley home for his nap.

To say Darcy was excited is putting it mildly. Or maybe it's a stage. But she was full of jumping and dancing and loud talking! It was pretty funny - the more excited she got the bigger her eyes would get. Anyway, Darcy insisted that I sit beside her for lunch and then had to have some of my sushi. Next time she gets her own!

Sue went over the movie rules with Darcy. Rule #1: get popcorn. That's my favourite one. The others are all the usual: no talking, if it's funny we can laugh, if it's sad we can cry, we have to sit still.

Here's a picture of Darcy at the movies, popcorn and all.

Previews are a lot more interesting with a 5 1/2 year old. Darcy would like to see Toy Story 3 and Ocean. Girl has good taste. None of us was interested in seeing Cats & Dogs.

The movie we saw was Disney's The Princess and the Frog. Darcy did really well. She sat quietly and watched the movie. It was only towards the end, at the sad part, that she got upset and cried. But Sue was great letting her know it would all turn out in the end, and of course it did. As Sue mentioned on her facebook status, "Darcy laughed and cried. It was better than Cats."

Us girls made our way back to my place on the bus. Darcy was thrilled to be on the look out for the right numbers on the bus and had to stand up on the ride, even though more than one person offered their seat to her. Nick & Wesley showed up shortly after we got home and we all had tea and cookies. Dinner was spaghetti and I was pretty amazed that the kids ate my sauce. I didn't tone down the spices or puree it and although they were both excited and a little on the tired side, I would say they did pretty well.

Darcy managed to spill her cup of water twice and that did earn her a time out away from the table. But that was really the worst of it, so I think it was pretty successful. Wesley could hardly finish eating his cookie before wanting the broom to sweep up his mess. What a funny little guy. At the mall in the morning he would hardly look at me. But after half an hour at home, running up and down my hallway, sitting on the bench at my vanity and looking at himself in the mirror saying "Me!", he was quite happy to have me spin him around in the office chair and even played a bit of hide n' seek with me, behind the dining room curtains.

More pictures of the day here.

Any Requests?

Have got 6 kinds of cookies made and 2 kinds of chocolate bark done. Have one more cookie to make and 2 types of bar/cake. But to bring the total up to an even dozen, I need one more. I'm willing to try something new but nothing too fussy or time intensive. Any requests, ideas or suggestions?

Christmas Baking

After leaving things very much to the last minute, and in fact, until after Christmas altogether, this year I have started my Christmas baking with plenty of time. Got two batches of cookies baked this morning!

Of course, last year we did celebrate Christmas nearly a week late so it was OK. This year though, it's happening on the day so that that means it all has to be done on time.

Too bad I can't be this organised getting birthday and Christmas presents off to England on time ...

Signs of winter or H1N1

Seems to me it was about this time last year that I got sick as a dog. So either the cold that I woke up with on Friday morning is either a sign of winter or I have H1N1 flu. Hmmm.

Probably not Swine flu. I kept the "Decision Chart" I got in the mail a few weeks ago and according to their list of symptoms, whatever I have is probably just a flu and I should stay at home and rest.

Maybe this is just my body's way of advising me winter's a comin' after all.

Signs of winter

Sign that winter is coming:

- had to break out my cashmere scarf this morning

Signs of winter

Ooops, meant to post this yesterday.

Sign that winter is coming:

- the carpets are down in the elevator banks at work.

Signs of Winter

Sign that winter is coming:

- The carpet is down in the gym locker room.

H1N1 Humour

Read a funny joke on facebook today:

A bear, a lion and a pig meet.
Bear says: "If I roar in the forest, the entire forest shivers with fear."
Lion says: "If I roar in the jungle, the entire jungle is afraid of me."
Pig says: "Big deal ... I only have to cough and the entire planet shits itself."