Sharing Time!

Where to begin folks.

Where.
To.
Begin.

So, there's been some stuff brewing around here I've not shared with too many people.

I'll start with the professional side of  life. (Me, with one of those!)

Back in March, I had applied for a very short, temporary position with our local Chamber of Commerce. I ended up having to turn down the interview due to a scheduling conflict at the bank ( I was booked in to work).

Then, last week, my cell phone rang. I was hoping it was a store I had a raincheck at, calling to tell me my blender was in. Imagine my surprise when I was asked if I was interested in coming in for an interview....at the Chamber of Commerce office.

So I did.

I was offered the position yesterday. I will be the Executive Director at the Chamber of Commerce for the next year.

It's a part-time position. A fantastic opportunity to learn a whole new skill-set, get to know even more about the community we are planning to make our home, something I think I'll really enjoy.

I am also happy that I'll be able to continue on in my current casual position. I've said it before, I really love the work I do there.

Fingers crossed I can make it all fit. I plan on doing everything in my power to be successful.

Thinking I'll save the rest for another post. Need to sort out all the swirling in my head. Last night was somewhat sleepless. Either I was too excited to sleep, or nervous about everything on the horizon.

Pretty sure it's both.

Kitchen to Treadmill

Dreary and grey, but at least it's raining (currently) and not snowing (possibility).

Spring Break is coming to end for my kidlets. For some reason, here in our little town it's always at Easter, not March when most places do it. This year, Easter was late, so break was late. When they go back on Monday, they'll only have 2 months left until Summer Vacation.

It's been pretty quiet for us. Spending time, catching up on projects and chores that have been pushed to the side.
Son #3 and I made our famous family biscuits with homemade soup one afternoon. It was fun working with him in the kitchen. The boy has talent too! They were delicious....no pics, we ate them all.

Today the Littlest and I will be busting out the mixer to whip up a batch of breakfast cookies ( called cereal cookies in my house growing up). Our special edition: chocolate rice crispy cereal! Maybe there will be a photo addition later....it's a huge recipe, there should be some left.

Started back running this morning. Running might be a grand term for what I was doing, but I say it stands. (I despise the word "jogging", for some reason it makes me feel less badass)

After the eye-opening 5k race we did a couple (few?) weeks ago, I finally had to face the truth: If I don't move my arse, all the races we have registered for will suck. I want to finish every race feeling accomplished, not beat up, wrung out, and down on myself.

So, my training goals are:
1. Do the work.
2. Finish every race to the best of my abilities

Yup. That's it.
I am slow, plodding even. However, I have never quit a run or a race. Out of shape, and a bigger shape I might be....but not a quitter.

***It occurs to me that a blog post starting with baking and ending with running might be an odd combination. Meh, both are things I love to do.***

Smells Good, Tastes Good....

I got called in today!

It was a pleasant surprise to get a shift today. Short, sweet, but better than nothing at all. Let's face it, I need all the practice that I can get!

Spring has yet to fully uncoil itself. Bit of snow last night, more in the forecast tonight. Brrrr.....either Winter is having a hard time with the break-up we all want, or Spring is just too shy to step-in and take  over. Personally, I'd just like to see a little bit of green.

In keeping with the current weather, I thought a nice warm soup would be good for supper. I had a hambone left from our meal sunday, and split-pea soup seemed like a great idea.

I stuck everything in the pot, got the water boiling....seems I was a wee bit low on split-peas.

I've never been one to let a lack of correct ingredients stop me in the kitchen. Grabbed another bag of dried split pea/lentil/barley mix....low and behold, it was nearly done too!(Who does the shopping around here? Oh yeah....nevermind)

There was no going back at this point folks. Soup was what was going to be for supper! So, instead of traditional split pea soup, I am calling it split pea-ham-potato-corn-chowder. It's ugly, smells delicious & tastes pretty darn good (according to this taste-tester).

The Point of the View

So....momentum....yeah

Seems that it was not long-lived.

Getting things moving along in most parts of my life has been harder than  it should be.


Spring. Every time it feels like it's finally here, winter stomps back in like a toddler that doesn't want a nap.

This was the view from my sister's deck the other evening (photo courtesy of my Dad's cell phone)

This next photo is the view from our deck yesterday morning

Anyone else hear the tune "One of these things is not like the other"

While I know that the end is near, the snow in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow has "BLECH"  written all over it.

We started a little Spring Cleaning all the same. Hubby took the plastic off the windows, cleaned the gunk out of them. I cleaned the tops of the kitchen cupboards today. Yuck. 3 hours of washing all the kitschy thingies I keep up there (a collection  of old dishes handed down from family, candle holders, that sort of thing). Everything looks shiny now....and I have packed away a bunch of it so that next time I have less to clean.

My knees are crabby thanks to all the climbing, so I stayed home from Zumba tonight. Well, to be honest, that's only part of the reason....I just couldn't face going. I find it a real struggle to keep up in class right now. Between my stupid knees and the extra weight.....I crash around even more than usual. (Definitely more hippo than gazelle of late).

I should have gone. I always tell the kids the only way to get better at something is to keep trying.

There is so much to look forward to, to train for in the coming months. I need to get my head straight, make a plan and get moving.

I am done my last scheduled stretch of work, so I have plenty of time to get organized.

Bright side.

Momentum

Another blog post?

 Indeed it is. It's part of the new plan: keep the momentum going. I'm going to try an apply it to all aspects of my life.

After last week's wicked cold bug, I was feeling better. Ha. Ha. Ha. Joke's on me, it seems to have circled around again. Such is life in a large family. Patient 1 tends to get it again after it goes through everyone else in the house.

Today I took a trip over to my old job. Littlest wanted to donate some of her toys to the daycare there. She informed me that she's too old for little girl toys. *sniff* She asked me if we could take them to the daycare kids. She's really getting out of that little girl zone, well on her way to tweendom. (I'd just like to point out here, that my spell-check did not question the word "tweendom").

It was nice to see the kids and my old co-workers. I was surprised that some of the kids remembered me!
I chatted with a few people, caught up a bit, bought a raffle ticket (for a Mother's day ring, so gorgeous!)....I really miss those wonderful people.  Going for a visit was so nice, I really should have done it before now....and should do so more often. However, because I know everyone there has a job to do and I don't want to get in the way, I'm not sure when I'll head back. Too bad they don't have a casual coffee morning like some other places we've lived. Hmmmm.......

Final thought:
Anyone watch the TV show "Hannibal"? I missed the first season, and have just started watching the second. I find it disturbing and fascinating. Also confusing. I'm thinking that missing season one could be the culprit there.

A Body in..... Motion

Been a bad blogger (as I often am). There have been periods since my last post that I wrote and wanted to post.....then thought better of it. I figure I shouldn't put anything out in the world when I'm grumpy/frustrated/dissatisfied/it's my birthday.....dark, grumpy thoughts should not be left running loose, who knows the havoc they could wreak!

My birthday has passed (with a whimper, not a bang), and I am feeling less frustrated with my world. Time to try this writing thing again.

Work:
Still liking the job, not liking the casual-ness of it. Yes, I realize I was hired in a casual capacity. It sounded fabulous when I was in pain & post surgery. After this month, I really have no work coming my way. That makes me sad.

I am also struggling with the fact that I still don't feel like I really know what I'm doing. 

There is so much to learn, I can hardly believe it. I am enjoying the challenge, but I want to master at least a piece of it! Not being there on a regular basis, there's a lack of continuity. Without the daily reinforcement of the skills I'm learning....well, I just need to come to terms with the fact this will take longer than I think it should.
I am lucky that I work with some very patient people who answer my (repetitive) questions, and don't roll their eyes when I inevitably make another mistake. Colour me thankful.

Running:
Our first race is on Saturday.....I might die. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration.
Seriously though, it'll be more walk than run for me. I haven't run a 5k for.....better not to think about that.
I am doing some serious self-coaching.
*It's perfectly fine to walk
*It's a starting point for the rest of the running season
*I will not compare myself to the other (faster) runners
*If nothing else.....I get a new shirt.

I am angry at myself for not moving my arse more. I've let too many excuses get in the way. While there has been illness,injury,and recovery to deal with, there has also been a good dose of winter apathy.

So, let the Spring Fling be the catalyst that gets me moving in a forward motion.