Family Man & Software Developer
Yesterday was such a nice day we couldn’t not get out an enjoy a little bit of the above zero temperatures. It was just Caile, Noah, and I so we went for a walk at the marsh and enjoyed a little treat afterwards.
We had a beautiful snow fall the other day where the snow stuck to the trees and left everything bright white. The snow didn’t seem to stop the birds from coming out an enjoying the seeds in the bird feeders that were put out in the backyard. Today the squirrels were coming and enjoying them as well.
Yesterday Jen took all the girls to Moncton on an overnight trip so they could watch the So You Think You Can Dance tour which came. They all love the show and love dancing in general so it was awesome this opportunity came up for them to go.
This left Noah and I home alone for the evening and night though! As they were having a fun get away we decided we would have our own fun here. Instead of coming right home after school we decided to go get our selves a little treat. I had an awesome coffee while he had a peanut butter brownie treat. The weather was awesome for this time of year so we decided to make use of it and head out for a walk around the marsh as well.
By the time we were done it was pretty much time to eat. Noah had a few different ideas for what he wanted for super, but finally decided on going to Boston Pizza. He worked hard on the activities in the kids menu until his food arrived and even beat me at a few games of X’s and O’s.
It couldn’t be all fun and games though. Once we were home from supper we quickly did the things around the house that were needed for the next day and did his reading homework. With those things out of the way we had the rest of the night to relax with each other. One of his favourite things is to play Go Fish using the Jetpack cards I picked up while at the Grand Meetup for work. While we were playing he made me laugh. I’ve obviously set some different expectations in him by my past actions. He asked me if when I change jobs if I would have to give the cards back to work :-). He remembers cell phones and other things I had to return previous employers. Not this time little man. For one I have no intentions on going anywhere, and I’m pretty sure they’ll let me keep the cards.
We finished off the night with a bit of a snuggle on the couch with some carrot sticks as a snack and then off to bed.
I had a rough night sleeping, I’m sure from a combination of not used to sleeping alone and being worried about over sleeping or not waking up if Noah needed me in the night. As it turns out he slept all the way through. I told him in the morning Mom would be mad because he slept all night. He was confused and asked mad at me or you? At you I told him. She’s going to say, how come when Dad is here you sleep all night for him, but when I’m here you get up and come see me in the night? His response was, Dad you told me to stay in bed all night. HAHAHA!
Today we are visiting Ross Farm Museum for their annual winter frolic event. As we were walking from the car into the snow we were talking to the kids about the different activities that were on.
There is sledding, snow shoes, horse sleigh rides, and hot chocolate. At the mention of hot chocolate Caile pipes up:
That’s my favourite winter activity!
If there is one thing I can take away from today is that I finally think I’m making progress. For the past couple weeks the scale has been seeing a steady decline, although not huge. I’m putting in lots of km’s running, and tracking my calories has helped me stay on top of my eating. But this isn’t the main progress I’m pleased about right today.
For some reason today I woke up with a poor attitude. Without even knowing the reason I’ve just felt down all day. These days happen sometimes and they go away fairly quickly thankfully. Normally when these days happen though my default to get through them is by eating. Eating a pile of food that is not good for me and not needed. In the end it always makes things worse because then I feel down about all the food I just ate for no good reason.
Today, even though I still feel the same way, I stuck to eating the way I should. Just a few minutes ago I came very close to grabbing a bag of chips along with a homemade muffin and cookies, but instead I grabbed a little container of yogurt and am now done eating for the day.
The plan is to wake up tomorrow feeling like myself and make sure I force myself out for a run, as that in itself has a way of clearing my head and making me feel better. All the while keeping my eating in check so the progress can continue.
Awoken shortly after getting to bed
Winds from the winter rain storm trying to get in
Windows rattle and the whole house sways
All glowing lights suddenly flash off
Laying here awake, thankful
Thankful for a warm safe home
Thankful for a still sleeping family
Thankful it’s all rain and not snow
Morning will come soon
Hopeful sleep will as well
That dawn will bring peaceful weather
And the lights and heat will once again be on
This morning I was awake right about 5:30am because I had managed to get to bed at a decent time last night. It looked like a beautiful morning out even though it was a bit chilly I decided to start my morning the way I used to all the time.
Early morning used to be my favourite time to run but I had fallen away from that. Granted that used to be in the summer and warmer periods where it was pretty much light out already and I didn’t need a bunch of layers to stay warm. However this morning reminded me why I liked it so much. The world is still fairly still and quite that time of morning except for a few people likely making the commute to work. It also gives me quite time in the morning to just clear my head and start the day on a positive. The sky was very clear with the moon and the stars still out so the scenery was nice to take in as well.
Not sure I’ll keep this up especially as the weather gets even colder, but if I do it’s also a great way to get my Fitbit steps in. This morning before 7:30 am I had over 8000 steps in!
So far I’ve been wearing my Fitbit for almost three weeks and have come up with a few interesting observations about it. For the most part I really enjoy tracking everything and having a record, but at the same time there have been parts which have been depressing.
My water intake is really good, I drink plenty each day without even trying. I get more sleep than I thought I did, but I’m not confident in the awake restless times it tracks. It could be something that is built into me from all those years of pretending I was still asleep in the morning so I could get five more minutes before school. Now I’m so good at it Fitbit can’t tell I’m really awake.
There have been a few instances where the GPS when tracking runs has been off by a bit, but nothing enough or frequently enough that will stop me from going to it only for tracking my runs soon.
The biggest observation which I’ve make that is depressing is the lack of movement I do in the run of a day if I don’t specifically force myself to do something extra. Most days I’ll go for a run. A 5k run typically takes me about 30 minutes and I get about 5000 steps in during that time. The rest of the day combined, especially on days I’m working, I struggle to get that other half by the end of the day. If I don’t run it is almost impossible. The other thing is it is far to easy for me to go grab something extra to eat that I don’t really need.
If I don’t watch myself every single day and be extra vigilant it is now very easy to see why my weight can go up so quickly. Since starting to track I haven’t really lost any weight, but I haven’t gone up either. To get down to where I want to be I’m going to have to cut out the snacks all together and focus on moving even more. It’s probably about time Jillian Michaels and I get reacquainted again.
Many things in life seem to come in twelves. The number really does seem to have a hold in our daily lives. When I wake up in the morning and look at the time it is in the twelve hour format. Most clocks analogue or digital have twelve hours. Continuing with time there are also twelve months in a year, twelve signs in the zodiac, and twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. Along with time there are also other measurements like 12 inches in a foot.
Many things come in twelves. One common item is going to the store to pick up a carton of eggs. You can then use those to bake many delicious things like a dozen cupcakes. Road trips used to include a box of twelve donuts. A case of pop comes in twelve, or one of my old favourites a case of beer. Most of these things I try to severely limit or have given up entirely.
This time of year we end up doing a lot of celebrating. We have Christmas and New Years and as part of that you often hear or sing about the twelve days of Christmas, but that isn’t the twelve I’m thinking of right now. Today I should be out buying a dozen roses, and I would but, Jen doesn’t really like when I buy her flowers. Today marks our twelve year wedding anniversary!
Twelve years ago today I was on a river boat on the Mississippi River in New Orleans getting married to my best friend. We’ve been through a lot over the years all of it making us stronger and my love for Jen grow even more. She brings out the best in me and I can’t imagine a better wife, mother, or friend in this world. I’m looking forward to many more years celebrating our life together.
It’s been a couple days since I’d been for a run and I was missing it. The weather has been cold and snowing so I wasn’t looking forward to going out. Today I was missing it though and decided I needed to go out.
Dressed up in a few layers and put on some of my new winter gear to head out and it was actually really nice. I didn’t feel too cold at all even though it was around -11. There was one short length in my loop where the wind was blowing the snow right in my face and that wasn’t great but other than that I didn’t mind it at all.
Things did go a bit slower as there were some slippery spots and snow built up where the plows hadn’t been by for a while. Took it easy and didn’t fall or even really slip at all.
Now that I have the first one out of the way, Jen is convinced I’m crazy, but I feel good about heading out running in the snow now. It was actually really relaxing and peaceful.
Sandy McFadden 