Operation Healthy Balance

Let's just say week three was very uneventful:)  No excuses just didn't get in any mileage.  I did have three great workouts with Sarah; worked on legs mostly with back and core strength.  One day was an intense workout with weights and cardio circuits.  It was pretty tough.  Thank goodness my gym routine isn't slacking....and week four of running doesn't have any choice but to be better!  Right?

I hope that this post doesn't come across as bragging but I have some exciting work related news. I'm usually very modest when it comes to my nursing career and to be honest, my family and friends really don't even know what I do at work; they know I am there from 830 to 430 and then I come home.     On Wednesday, my manager announced to our team and then to the rest of the health unit that little old me would be the new team leader for the "Infectious Diseases Program".  I am honoured to have been promoted to this position and I am excited about my new roles and responsibilities (and the small increase in wage).   It's unreal to think that less than two years ago I was just beginning my nursing career.  I never dreamed that I would come so far in such a short period of time.   It wasn't that long ago I was a novice nurse trying to find my way and now I hold a valued leadership role in my organization. It is a very satisfying feeling when peopl...

Another week has passed and to my delight I completed the necessary three runs for my training this week.  Here is my week in chart form thanks to my Endomondo app:)  I love tracking my run with my phone to be able to plot out my course and get accurate distances.  I find it very helpful with training as well.  Helps me with pacing and also motivates me to keep going to catch a new personal best time or distance. My long run was just done today and I despite it being a bit cold, it was awesome.  I think it shows that I am gaining strength as a runner when after 7km I finally felt "warmed up" and had enough fuel to complete  the next 4 kms in under 6 minutes each.  I ended up shaving a couple minutes off my 10 km time too (1h:01m:41s)....getting closer to under an hour:)  The roads were slippery but I was still able to maintain a great pace throughout.  I do like taking the backroads to avoid traffic but I'm pretty sure the roads were only s...

This past wednesday I attended a quilting day class at Picket Fences Fabrics in Brockville.  My mother had signed me up for this class as a Christmas present (thanks mom).  The class was for a friendship braid quilt so I picked out my colours and away I went.  The quilt consists of 8 strips of "friendship braids" and then borders are added.  I worked the entire day at the class and got 4 1/4 of the strips done.  Waking up early before I went to work, I ended up completing the 8 strips by friday morning which allowed me to grant myself permission to go pick out border fabrics and batting on friday.  Saturday I plugged away at the borders and voila....here is the quilt top finished.  It measures 66" x 74" and I am soooo happy with how it turned out. Here is a shot from a different perspective with careful photography so you can't see my disastrous bedroom:) And one more picture to show the back of the quilt top.  I love looking at the backs o...

All of the fancy and really talented quilt bloggers out there always do a year end summary of their quilt finishes for the year.  They usually have so many that it is a picture collage and they are absolutely beautiful.  Since I only have two project finishes for the year (c'mon give me a break, I only started in September) I thought a photo collage would be a bit overkill;)  So here they are: A table runner for a thank you gift that I gave to an awesome Halloween party host. And my first ever quilt.  FYI, my teacher has it hanging in her quilt shop as a display quilt for the beginner class.  I took that as a huge compliment.  She even wants me to enter it in the local quilter's guild annual show/contest (not sure what it is called) in the category of first quilt.  I took that as a compliment too. But I digress....these are my finishes for 2011.  I think it is obvious that my personality would warrant a challenge to myself.  Can I fini...

What is it about the start of a new year that makes me so happy?  Is it the idea of a clean slate that is so appealing or the vast array of people who are trying to improve their lives through resolutions?  Whatever it is, I love it. That being said, 2011 was a fabulous year for myself and my family.  Many important milestones and experiences have occurred and lasting memories have been made. I think my most significant event in 2011 was being able to take my mother to Alaska.  She has always wanted to go but really if it had been left to her abilities it would have never happened.  So, it was great to see her experience many firsts at the age of 61.  Seeing her:  take her first airplane ride, get excited about the Rocky Mountains as we were flying over them, to watch her step onto a humongous cruise ship, to see whales up close in the ocean, to visit a small native community in Alaska, and the list goes on and on.  Sure, there were times on t...