Stylish? You bet. That's me.

I'm officially the last person on the internet to be awarded the Stylish Blogger honour (thanks, Running Lawyer), but seem to be having some trouble downloading the icon.  I'm sure you've seen it everywhere else though.  Here's seven things about me you NEED to know:



Not really ours -- neighbourhood peer
pressure demands the gray garbage bin
be smaller than the blue recycler.

 1.  I have an unnatural fondness for our city garbage/recycling system and for my personal household set up.  Everything is on wheels and has a special spot in the garage for easy access.  I read the special calendar from cover to cover.  Our garbageman sanitation engineer waves at us every week and gets a very nice Christmas bonus.



The grossest one for sure,
but even the organic waste is manageable.



2.  Perhaps related to (1.), I am the opposite of a hoarder.  I am not sentimental about stuff.  I put my wedding gown in the Goodwill donation box.  My sisters bring their childhood stuff to my house because they know I can dispose of it without guilt.  Needless to say, this does not apply to race medals.

3.  And yet, I never miss an episode of "Hoarders" or "Hoarding: Life Under the Pile of Crap" or whatever it's called.  I've also never had a weight problem (5lb here or there) but LOVE the new reality show "Heavy".

4.  My brother is a physics nerd and teaches at our local high school.  My son, Sam, is in his Grade 9 homeroom and science class.  Apparently, the Toronto District School Board does not consider this a conflict of interest.  Parent-teacher interviews are interesting.  Should anything under an A+ be acceptable?  I got my brother an extra present at Christmas this year.  I'm trying to think of something nice for St. Patrick's Day too.

5.  I hate bananas but love banana flavour.

6.  I go to NYC every year with my sisters and niece.  My new tradition is to get a picture with Batman in Times Square. 



2009



2010. He did lift me up again,but I like
this picture better 'cuz I look like a little
girl meeting Cinderella at Disney World. 


 



7.  I love my midwife job, and I love babies, and I loved my boy babies in particular, but if I had to go back to taking care of a newborn 24/7, I don't think I'd make it through a week.





Like I said earlier, I am the last to receive this award, so can't find anyone else on the internet to tag.  Spoil sport, I know.  Go ahead and tell us 7 things if you want!

Back at it.



Looking forward to spending my day doing this sort of thing. 
Best part is always the feet sticking out of the sling scale.

 Vacation is certainly over.  Lots of meetings and sourcing and e-mails about the new practice I'm starting (expecting the babies to start rolling in by May/June).  No more sleeping all night every night and no more "I'll be there for sure" lunch dates once that starts happening.  Good thing I like my job so much! 

I have been hitting my runs planned, though I've moved some of them inside.  I can take cold, but not wind and slush, unless I'm getting a medal at the end.   Bootcamp starts again tonight too and I'm seriously looking forward to all those burpees and Turkish get-ups.  I promise, they're harder than they look.

Boxing Day 10 miler report and 2011 goals

Yah, I'm a little behind here.  We left for skiing after the race and the wifi was less than optimal at the resort.  I absolutely did not have patience for the slow connection during this vacation because there was so much other stuff to do once the lifts closed -- sitting on the couch watching lurid American ads, for example.  Really?  Penile enhancement TV commercials?  I didn't know what I was missing north of the border.

The second half of the Boxing Day 10 miler in Hamilton was brutal ... don't let Marlene or Cynthia fool you.  I did manage a 13 minute PR (I knew it would be so much better than Acura) but absolutely sucked wind going up the mountain. I had hoped to finish under 1:50 and really really really wanted 1:45 but managed 1:52:20.  I bow to those hills and to those who can run them.  Phil rocked a one second PR for 1:26:xx. 

The snowman mittens are quite cool and the medal may be my new favourite.

We drove partway to Vermont that evening, staying in Belleville using Phil's Marriott points, like we usually do.  Then 5 more hours drive to Smugglers' Notch Resort the next day.  If you're looking for a northeast family ski place, this has got to be it.  Very friendly, easy lifts, lots of stuff for kids to do but you can also avoid them if you want.  We have the exact best 2-bedroom condo figured out -- Willows 24 -- write that down.  Oh and neither of us took running shoes and I'm okay with that.



The weather was amazing and the skiing was great.  I even ventured down my first blue run.  The other three mastered some black diamonds -- no thank you for me.  And this year we only lost one camera and a pair of glasses.  Not bad!

Charlie rocked the Ninja Skier vibe.

As for 2011, I have some goals that I believe are do-able.  Can't commit yet to the full year of races as I'm so unsure of my schedule.

1.  Sub 30 minute 5k -- I think I can do this now, but haven't tried in a while.
2.  Sub 60 minute 10k -- best time so far is 1:07.
3.  Sub 2:15 at Toronto Women's Half in May.
4.  Redemption at the Acura 10 miler in July.
5.  Sub 2 hour at Scotiabank Waterfront Half in October -- stretch goal, but if I can do it anywhere, it's there.

I've devised a plan which may be absolutely unreasonable once I'm back on call, but I dare to dream.  Speed or hillwork every week on Wednesdays, easy mid-distance Fridays, long runs on Sundays, and I'm still doing bootcamp Tuesdays and Thursdays most weeks.

Happy new year!  I'm really enjoying reading everyone's goals.