Dodgeball Update

First off: we still suck. But today was the best game we've ever played! Seriously, it was so much fun, and we probably won about half of the matches :)

PLUS, my favourite dodgeball moment happened tonight! Sometimes people get very serious about the game. Wearing uniforms, watching the ref like a hawk, being a stickler for stupid rules. Anyway... this one girl got all upset because she said she hit Mr. A in the foot (which she didn't cause he says she didn't, and usually the person who gets hit knows. Unless they are a liar, but I assure you that Mr. A is not). So anyway, she was like "Umm... I was watching, and I know it hit you in the foot." So he humbly left the court. The match went on for a bit...

THEN... someone caught a ball, and Mr. A got to go back on. Once she was the only one left on her team, lots of side comments started coming from our end (i.e. mostly me). Comments like "Oh! I saw that hit her foot!", and "Oh, I was watching, it definitely didn't bounce!", and "FOOT". I was probably being somewhat immature, but she had irritated me.

THEN... Mr. A actually DID hit her in the foot!! She went off and our entire team cheered in victory! It was amazing. Best dodgeball moment of the season.

The End.

Running Update

I can actually say for the first time in my life that I went for a run outside and enjoyed it. I don't know if it was the actual act of running I enjoyed, or the triumph of having a minor success in my personal challenge, but that doesn't matter. Either way I felt great!

A few weeks ago I had taken a hiatus from running. I was sick for a while, and I got busy with all of my house-hunting. So running (not exactly a high priority) took a backseat. Turns out that in running terms, two weeks without training can be a long time. The longest I had ever ran before without stopping was just over 4K (that doesn't seem like much, but it was a huge success for me!). When I started again post-break, I could only do about 2K without wanting to die. Now, don't get me wrong, 2K is still a triumph for me, considering I use to want to give up after 30 seconds, but it was disappointing.

Well, realizing that gave me the motivation I needed to continue training. I run at a very slow pace, but I'm making progress and I'm proud of that. I ran on a track at the fitness centre and realized that I enjoyed that more than my go-to treadmill, and that I could still run the same distance. That got me thinking that maybe I would enjoy outdoor running, so I tried it and I did! About 2.5K at a very slow rate, but I did it!

Unfortunately, that was in Edmonton, and it's still a little snowy/icy for me to feel comfortable running outside in GP, but it's getting warmer outside. Let's hope this motivation stays with me!

Goal reminder: Be able to run 5K (with my best friend in Ontario in May!)

Chickpea Tomato Curry

So, I was looking in my cupboard, and was in a cooking mood, so I decided to try something new.

Turns out that when you google "chickpeas and tomato" this is one of the common recipes. Also, something that I conveniently had all the ingredients for...

Anyways, I'm sharing because it was yummy :)

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tbsp. ground ginger or ginger root

1/2 tbsp. curry powder

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 can chickpeas (drained)

1 can diced tomatoes (not drained)

1-2 cups cauliflower

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt to taste

(cilantro if you want... I don't like it)

The recipe is easily doubled for more people. The amount I made could serve 4.

Heat onion, garlic, ginger, and curry on medium heat. Just until onions are soft.

Add tomato, chickpeas, and cauliflower. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, and salt (and cilantro if desired).

Cook rice separately.

Serve together. Yummm :)

Messy Puppy...

Hahaha... I actually laughed out loud when I saw what Joop did tonight. I was working away, doing some scrapbooking and whatnot. Meanwhile Joop was chewing on all his toys. Apparently he couldn't decide what to play with and kept going back for new toys, leaving a trail of discarded toys behind him to prove it! (note the basket of toys at the back of the pic!).

Seriously the cutest puppy in the world.

Happy Flowers

This week I was sick. Lying in bed for days sick. Lying around doing nothing but coughing and sneezing :( But then the adequately named Mr. A came over and brought me these beautiful flowers! He also made me dinner. He's the best. A very welcome surprise.

It is especially welcome now that he's gone to BC for work for 5 days. See you soon!

Buying a Home

I'm pretty sure it's ok to start posting about this... considering most of the people that read this blog already know. But...

WE'RE BUYING A HOME!!!!

Buying a home is no easy feat. In fact, there is much more thought that needs to go into home buying than I initially thought. (It's not just about whether it looks pretty!).

Here are some of the questions we had to ask ourselves:

• What are our deal breakers (i.e. fence, big backyard, close to parks, open green space, garage?)
• What can we live without (i.e. ensuites, finished basements, 4 bedrooms?)
• What can we realistically afford? How much can we put down? What will our CMHC fees be? What is our interest rate? When do we want our payments t0 be? (fyi - we're doing accelerated bi-weekly). Do we want fixed or variable rate?

{this required many trips to the bank, many budgets plans (one for each potential house)

and many re-calculations of mortgage payments, taxes, etc.}

{Mortgage calculators became our friends... }

• Where do we want to live? Are we close to family? Close to good (key word!) schools? What are the property taxes there?
• How long do we want to live there? If we have to move, how long will that be? What are the additional costs of moving soon?
• How much are renovations (new bathrooms, paint, finishing basements, etc.) gonna cost? What's a realistic timeframe for that?
• Do we need to save money for other things? (i.e. trips, babies, weddings...)

We're not buying our dream home just yet (that will come many years down the road when we can afford an acreage), but we want to buy a home that we will be happy and comfortable in. It's a very exciting time, but there are a lot of variables to consider.

I've done some research on my own, and luckily my man has been through all this before (this is his second home). He was really great at explaining things to me, and helping me figure out budgets, etc.

It's a fun and exciting time, but also a huge learning curve! I'll share some more later :)

5 Reasons I Am Happy It's March Already!

I've never considered March to be a very exciting month. Ever. But there are a few reasons that I'm excited to see another month come along this year!

1) It's feeling like Spring! Not only has the weather been very mild and walkable, but the sun it out earlier and staying out longer! I love when my walks with the pup are sunny in the morning, and sunny in the evening :)

2) I'm going to Whistler this month! Never been. Heard UH-Mazing things. Really pumped! But don't worry mom, I'll wear my wrist brace when I'm skiing...

3) The ice is gonna melt soon, and I'll be able to start running outside. I've never been excited about this before. But I'm hoping the nice weather will motivate me.

4) I'm going to see Lady Antebellum in concert this month!! I love them so.

5) It's one month closer to my big trips to Nfld (to see my friend and her family!) and Ontario (to bring my man to meet my family!!!). SO EXCITED. But it's not until May... just one month closer.

I'll leave you with a wonderful Lady A song :)

SLP Humour...

I sent an e-mail to my colleagues today with this as an attachment....

LOL. It may be due to the fact that it was a Friday afternoon, and people were stir crazy and ready to go home, but I got e-mail after e-mail from SLP colleagues who laughed at the photo. Seriously, all these things are true. I do think I could save England.