Summer Bucket List

I've decided that I need a plan for the summer and in to the fall. I like lists, I like plans, and I like having a purpose. Here are some of the things that I want to do, and I hope to add to it as I think of new things.

1. Make summer journal.
2. Go on boat.
3. Have a picnic.
4. Hike the fury path.
5. Hike the Liscombe Lodge path
6. Hike around the cape.
7. Write a children's book.
8. Go to Magic Valley.
9. Go to Hopewell rocks.
10. Run a 10K.
11. Blog at least 1x/week.
12. Start 365 picture project.
13. Teach Gage colour recognition.
14. Starting practicing piano and guitar 2x/week.
15. Take kids to the beach.
16. Write a lesson plan each week.
17. Make teaching portfolio better.
18. Make business cards for teaching.
19. Cut hair.
20. Have yardsale.
21. Go see Jocelyn.
22. Go to Moncton to MacArthur weekend.
23. Finish organizing/purging house.
24. Start sewing again.
25. Make curtains for bedrooms.
26. Read 5 books to Gage everyday.
27. Set up library for Sahara and Aidan, and get them reading everyday.
28. Start weekly art projects.
29. Complete sensory kit for Gage.
30. Start family history project.
31. Get pictures developed and put around house.
32. Go to Saltscapes restaurant.
33. Go to Victoria park.
34. Hike Fairmont.
35. Go to Cafe Italia.
36. Eat vegetarian 1 day/week.
37. Start Bible in 90 days.
38. Drink at least 8 glasses water/day.
39. Time drive to East Antigonish Education Centre.
40. Time drive to Tamarac.
41. Time drive to Chedabucto Education Centre.

We'll see how it goes!

*Update- It's August 12th, and many things still need to be crossed off my list, but at least I have started some of them!

Back from my funk

So I've been in a bit of a funk lately. Well, to be perfectly honest, pretty much all winter, and especially the last couple of months. For various reasons I have felt pretty numb and during this time I haven't had the strong desire to write anything on here.

I'm starting to slowly come out of it though, and that makes me want to connect again, and voice my opinions again. So hopefully I'll be more motivated to keep up this blog and use it to share what I love, and connect with other people who love some of the same things that I do.

One thing I do love right now is my "new-to-me" jogging stroller. It's great and Gage loves going in it. I do admit that it is a little bit harder jogging with that than just with my own body weight, but hopefully that will help me become a better runner. And...if we could stop having all this rain I would be able to go out more.

Running gives me a time to clear my head and a good time to pray. It also gets Gage out of the house. All in all-a total winner.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday-Crispy tofu triangles with fried rice
Tuesday- Indonesian chicken satay with peanut sauce
Wednesday- Spaghetti bake
Thursday- Leftovers, Chili potatoes with sweet peppers
Friday- Grilled caramelized ginger salmon, veggies, rice pilaf
Saturday- Italian sausage linguine with grated carrots
Sunday- Deer roast, veggies

I think this will the last menu plan with tofu in it, as I'm not really a fan to tofu, I realized.

Menu Plan Monday- or in this case, Wednesday

It's a very beautiful winter day here in the country, although in other places of the province it's blizzard like. Winter has settled in, and I find that I've been wanting heartier meals- which isn't really that helpful for losing weight. But a well-fed Jiselle is a happy Jiselle, and by extension a happy family.

Here's the plan for the week.

Monday- Switched from Meatless Monday, to Matt's Monday- He made a chicken stirfry
Try It Tuesday-Maple glazed pork tenderloin, roasted vegetables and stuffing
Wednesday-Leftovers and snacks
Thursday- Pork chops, mashed potatoes
Fun Friday- Spaghetti bake
Saturday- Calzones
Sunday- Venison stew- Promised to be made this week.

This is my last week working fulltime, so hopefully meals will get a little more exciting!

Remembering Jason

It has been fifteen years since that horrible day. Awakened with the sounds of dogs barking, knowing something was not right...then the knock on the door. Listening from the doorway, hearing the RCMP tell the unthinkable to Mom, a scream leaving my lips. Then a day filled with phone calls, travel arrangements, visitors, people crying that I never expected to see crying, and the piano. A day that reminded too much of days 18 months before. A day that a 11 year old should not be going through.

So much has changed since then. I have grown up, graduated high school, finished three degrees, got married, and become a Mom. So many opportunities and experiences missed that we could have had. So many what ifs and what would he have become. Yet, he is always in my thoughts, he will always be a part of everything I do, just like Dad.

I choose to remember the best things- how great a brother he was, how he always treated me with respect, even when I was bothering him. How he never made me feel like I was a nuisance, even though he was a 19 year old boy when he died. How he loved music and reading, television and movies, and our family. He took on the role of the man of the house, and did the best that he could, even though the pressure was so high. He was FUNNY. Laugh out loud, great twisted view on life that I loved. He was king of parodies and quick on the draw. He loved to mock Mom, in a loving matter, never to hurt, just to point out the idiosyncrasies. He was a good friend-loyal, caring, committed. This was evident at his wake and funeral-so many people at the funeral that the church was full and people stood in doorways, halls, the basement, and outdoors-even though it was a cold February. Some friends still call and check in with Mom occasionally-and come to my wedding. He would have been a great uncle-his nieces and nephews are missing out-but he will be remembered. They know he is in Heaven with Grandpa. I miss what we could have become-not just an older brother and his younger sister- but more equals. I miss that we never got to see him find the one, get married and have children. I miss that we never got to see him grow up. He never got to see me fall in love-he never got to meet my husband. I mourn the loss of the relationships he would have had with his brother-in-laws.

We were a family of five, then four, and now three. While I understand that their deaths were of God, and there was a purpose, I miss what we had. Most of all, I miss them.

The Week That Was

I've decided it is time to start giving a weekly update on what has been happening in our household. Although often nothing exciting has happened, with the children being the ages they are, time goes by quickly and it would be nice to be able to look back and document all that has happened.

So here it goes...
This past week was filled with work, sleep and getting ready for Sahara's 8th birthday. Her birthday was Saturday, and we had them this weekend, so it was extra special, because we think it is the first birthday that we've ever had her. We got her a pretty pink scooter and cool helmit, so she was a pretty excited little girl. Matt calls her 8 going on 18, so it was nice to see her happy with a "kid" gift. She got to pick her birthday meal-hot dogs-and I made her a ice cream sandwich ice cream cake, which she thought was pretty cool. Saturday afternoon before we dropped them off was full of excited children running around playing together. I love seeing Gage interact with his siblings, and have the opportunity to be teh youngest, when usually he is the only one around.

Gage has decided to start talking a lot more. Still not where I think he should be at, but getting better. This week he has added "doggy", "Kia", "help", "please", "beep beep beep", "Gloria" to his expressive language. Yes, they were mostly repetition, but some was spontaneous. He delights in all things boy, and was a real trooper, as he got babysat by some different people this week.

I got a couple of outdoor runs this week, and realized that I really want to do a couple of races this spring/summer. Running is a great stress relief, and although I am not the best at it, I love the feeling of accomplishment when I'm done. Hopefully the weather will improve, and I'll be able to go out for more!

I'm anxiously waiting the arrival of my new niece or nephew as my siser is due in 9 days. It will be great for Gage to have another cousin, and since she only lives 7 or so hours away for this birth, I may actually get to see the baby when it is an infant!

Menu Plan Monday

It's a little late, but here's my menu plan for the week:
Meatless Monday- Tofu stirfry
Try It Tuesday- Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup
Wednesday-Venison stew
Thursday-Grilled chicken salad
Fun Friday- Homemade pizza
Saturday-Chicken Pot Pie
Sunday-Spinach Lasagna Rolls

I'm feeling rather uninspired with cooking lately. Maybe it is because I have been struggling with fatigue. Hopefully I'll get over this soon, because I do want to try a lot of new recipes that I've seen lately.

Cruisin along

I'm pretty pumped today. Today was weigh-in day, and I have now officially lost all of my baby weight. It's taken 18 months, well, really, probably only 4 or so months, but I am down 33 lbs! I have a bit more to lose until my goal weight, but still. Exciting times. This past week I got to go on a run with my husband- something that doesn't happen very often but hopefully will become more of a regular thing, and I've done a couple of Turbo Fire classes. I'm really enjoying Turbo Fire, although I don't know if I'm getting the full effect of it, since I spend a lot of time just trying to figure out what they are doing. They move FAST!!! The music is awesome, though, and the moves pretty interesting, and I'm always a sweaty mess, so I think it is a winner. Chalene is very energetic and encouraging, and it makes me think I should get doing Chalean Extreme again. Some sort of hybrid thing. I feel like it has given me the boost in endurance needed to start jogging/running again, and I plan for this to be a big part of my life from now on. I want to run a 5 K in June, and a 5 mile in July, and then work up to 10Ks and half-marathons. A lot of training and learning how to run properly, but I think that it will be worth it!

Gage has been great lately, although he is very busy. He's been going out to be babysat while I'm at work and I think he really enjoys having different people give them their undivided attention. Although he isn't really talking much, he is starting to verbalize a lot more than he used to, and copies our speech a lot. He has some words that he uses often, but it would be great if he could talk more. Talk more, less crying. He still really likes music, and has gotten a new obsession this week-Froot Loops. I know, I know, the cereal is just full of sugar, but at least he his eating something. Once this box is done, though, it'll be a Froot Loop-less house for a while. When I stop working I think it will be get Gage to expand his palate days-also to get rid of the bottle.

I did it!

I did something that I've never done before, last night. I went out for a jog after Gage was in bed. Well first I got myself dressed to brave the elements, and I set out, put my music on, and jogged 5 kms without stopping!!! I was stoked! Not bad for running in the dark and it being all winter like. I was pretty nervous I'd encounter some wildlife since I live in the country, so spent a lot of my jog thinking of contingency plans, but it was smooth sailing. Now if I can just keep this up, I'll be running longer distances in no time. It may be the year for me to run my first 5K race. Yay!

Weekly update and Menu plan Monday

So, I'm coming off another busy weekend. It was filled with travelling, children, exercising and reading and fellowshiping. A great weekend, but busy nonetheless. It was our weekend for Sahara and Aidan, so that required the trips there and back to get them. A lot of time was spent sledding down our driveway. There really are some benefits to having a very long and hilly driveway. Gage is not a big fan of the sled. We took him out on Sunday, but after a few minutes of screaming, we figured it was time to take him back in. He'd rather be in the house causing havoc, then being confined to a sled.

The week on a whole was fairly busy. I worked all week, and on Monday had my first ladies Bible study meeting. It is a twelve week program that focuses on bringing me closer to God, by focusing on how He is my Abba Father. Hopefully I 'll learn a lot from it.

I've started following a weight loss program this week too, with my neighbour. I've been following it loosely for the last few months, but we decided to work together with it and hold each other accountable, especially with consistency. I've almost lost all of my baby weight (it's about time!) but I wasn't exactly where I wanted to be before I got pregnant with Gage. I'm thinking of it as a competition, so I want to win! I've also been working out, as I've mentioned before, and I'll be giving a bit of review on that in the next few weeks.

Finishing up my catch up post, I feel the need to post the plans that I am hoping to adopt in our family life. While I'm at work, Matt does most of the household cleaning when he's home with Gage, but isn't able to get to some of the more nitty gritty parts. As I'm not a natural homemaker, and wouldn't say I'm the most anal about cleaning, I felt that it was important to start some chore lists and plans for our household. Sahara and Aidan have a chore list for the weekends they're with us, and in the next few months I'll try to get Gage doing some age appropriate cleaning. For my part, I'm going to follow a chore schedule that Darlene at Time-Warp Wife has posted, with my own changes.

Cleaning Schedule:
Monday: Kitchen
Tuesday: Garbage, Bathroom
Wednesday: Bedrooms
Thursday: Floors, and vacuuming
Friday: Groceries, running around
Saturday: Clean car

It's also Menu Plan Monday! As we've been looking in to many ways to save money and have been working on eating up our pantry, I believe it is important for me to start menu planning. Especially because after I come home from work I don't really want to have to be starting a meal from scratch.
So here's our menu plan for the week:
Monday: Potato soup and baked Potatoes (Meatless Monday)
Tuesday: Chicken Enchilads (Try It Tuesday)
Wednesday: Cheesy rice bake
Thursday: Chicken pot pie
Friday: Homemade pizza (Fun Friday)
Saturday: Spinach Lasagna rolls, Lasagna soup
Sunday: Venison stew, biscuits

I'm looking forward to some great meals this week and I have a lot of new recipes to try out in the next few weeks! It looks like it'll be a tasty winter.

And we're back...

So, 2011. A new year, and a chance to do things differently. I don't really do the whole New Year's resolution thing, but I have decided that there are a few things that I want to accomplish this year. Well, actually, quite a few things, but I don't want to set myself up to failure by listing them as resolutions. Really, I want some lifestyle changes this year, which I think will make everything in my life a little bit easier.

I've decided to adopt a theme word for the year. I know that sounds kind of new agey, or lame, but, nonetheless, I think that it is useful to have something to focus on through the year. I realize that I need to be more consistent with things, something that my sister has pointed out to me also, therefore CONSISTENCY is my theme word. I need to be more consistent with positive attitudes towards my circumstances, more consistent in my parenting, my eating and working out, and especially my relationship with God. I am great with coming up with plans and starting them, but I am not so great with the follow through. My ability to come up with excuses is top-notch, though. So if I accomplish anything at all this year, I hope it is to be more consistent.

I also want to make more connections with people this year, and to maintain connections and relationships that I have. I am not a good friend or relative. I seldom write, phone, or anything. Not because I have anything against my friends or relatives-I'm just lazy. I want that to change, and so I'm going to try harder to keep in contact with all those that I love in my life.

Fitness wise, I've got a lot going on. I was in quite the funk for a while after Gage was born, and I wasn't doing much of anything, but things have started looking up recently. I am about 10 lbs away from what I weighed before I had Gage and I am looking to lose quite a bit more this year. Along with losing weight, I'm working out again, and I'll discuss what I'm doing in a future post.

Gage is doing great, and it is very exciting seeing how much he is advancing in various things, although, his ability to be stubborn is hard to deal with at times. I think that with Gage, you just have to let everything happen at his pace.

I'm pretty discouraged regarding jobs around here. My present job's term is up the end of the month, and I don't have any real prospects until July when the job starts up again. Also, it isn't in my profession (teaching). In order to get a teaching job it looks like we would have to move, and that isn't really something that we would like to do. I don't know if I should stay with the teaching, or try to do something else. Right now I'm leaving it up to God, and hoping to find direction soon.