Last run of 2010

Today I ran outside. A major feat since I've sworn off winter running.

The above statement is a bit of a lie. To be truthful, I have yet to run outside this winter. Ice scares me. Big time. So I've decided to hoof it on a treadmill this winter. It is damn boring and mind numbing as a count down the seconds before I can push the big red button to end my run. Because today was plus eight, I decided to gear up and run outside. It was nice to breath fresh air for a change.

Today also marked my last run of 2010. I don't know how many times I've ran or how many kilometers I've racked up this year. I lost count in the summer. The Post-it board of all my running tallies is no more. Running is now like second nature to me. If I haven't ran in two days, I start to get antsy and fidgety.

As I write this post, it is hard not to look on the year that was. In some many ways, 2010 was my own Year of Magical Thinking. A lot of crap happened. There was sadness, disappointment, loss and anger. But there was triumph, too. I took back control of my life. In so many respects, I cleared house and refocused my energy in different aspects of my life. I'm a much different person than I was at the beginning of the year.

I haven't a clue what 2011 will bring. Other than running Race Weekend's 10K, there are no resolutions other than to keep on doing what I'm doing. It seems to be working so I'm going to stick with it.

Christmas Week: Next year will be different!

Next year I will not be so disorganized. This is always my lament when December 24 rolls around each year.

Actually, I'm not all that disorganized, but today seems crazy. Trying to finish stories for a deadline, make a salad, wash dishes before tackling my to-do list. Such craziness for one day of the year.

I had another post in mind. However, this one is going to have to do as I simply don't have the time. I'm still not dress. Darling daughter is eating lunch in her pajamas and I need to do some things before dear husband walks through the door.

So dear readers, I apologize for my hurried Merry Christmas greetings, but I wish you and yours a very happy holiday and I hope Santa is good to you.

Christmas Week: handmade Christmas

A lot of our gifts this year have been made by hand. One popular craft has been salt dough ornaments. I made several batches of salt dough ornaments for darling daughter to decorate for Christmas gifts. Many are now hanging on our tree. I think one mitten (or glovies as darling daughter calls them) has about three googly eyes.

Although they were a lot of fun, they were a lot of work in terms of giving darling daughter a bath. Despite the fact she loves to paint, she still manages to get a lot of it on herself instead of the craft.

They are fairly easy to make. In fact, my Kitchen Aid stand mixer came in handy in making the dough. If you are interested in making some yourself, here's an easy recipe.

Salt dough ornaments:

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

1 cup warm water

Mix all three ingredients together and roll out onto a floured table top or counter with a rolling pin. Roll the dough fairly thin. You don't want it to be thick as your ornaments will be puffy once they are finished baking in the oven. With cookie cutters, cut out the ornaments and place them onto baking sheets, preferably lined with parchment paper. Using a straw, poke a hole in your ornaments to thread a ribbon through for hanging. Bake for 300 F for about 45 minutes or when done. Don't let the ornaments brown. If they are going to be decorated by the younger set, you may want to give your ornaments a base coat of paint before the kids go nuts with the glitter glue.

Christmas Week: wrapping paper

I've done very well when it comes to wrapping paper. I haven't bought a roll in two years as I'm trying to slowly eat through my stash that once expanded into two wrapping paper storage containers. I'm down to one. I sold one last year.

This year we made our own. Not enough to wrap all our gifts, but we made two sheets. Earlier in the season, I bought stamps from the dollar store. Darling daughter had great fun printing the paper and herself.

When we were done, we wrapped one grandparent gift.

I wouldn't say making your own wrapping paper is all that economically feasible when bath time is taken into account, but it was fun.

Christmas Week: The tree

Over the years, I've had many Christmas trees, many of which were real. It took a massive tree accident two years ago, an angry phone call to dear husband where I told him it was all his fault the tree fell over, threats of throwing the tree out the back door and the thought of opening my grandmother's Christmas gift (a pre-lit artificial tree to replace her circa 1984 plastic balsam) to get the tree we have today. Yes, it is fake. But it doesn't shed needles. And if it was to fall over, there wouldn't be a massive dirty puddle to clean up.

This year, darling daughter was an active participant in the tree decorating ritual. She tells everyone "I helped Daddy decorate the tree." Actually she told a fellow mom friend that same phrase over and over again last week. We get it. You helped decorate the tree. Oh toddlers, so cute, but so repetitive.

I miss not having a real tree. I was at the Real Canadian Superstore recently and I love walking past the real tree display, enjoying the evergreen pine smell. Sadly, there weren't many trees left. Either there must have been a real run on real trees this year or there are more people, like me, who don't want to deal with pine needles stabbing into feet or cleaning up messy puddles.

Christmas week

My posting record in the last two months has been pretty spotty. Regardless of the fact I have a ton of work to do before Christmas arrives on Saturday, I thought I'd give myself a little challenge of sorts: Christmas Week.

First post this week are photos of our trip to Parliament Hill. We took darling daughter downtown last night to see the lights on Parliament Hill. If you are in the Ottawa area, you have until early January to enjoy the free light show. We also toured the grounds, where darling daughter had to call every statue she encountered "beautiful." We made a brief stop to visit the cats on Parliament Hill. (Yes, there are a colony of cats on Parliament Hill. They've been there since the 1970s and they have an uber cool cat house). A couple came out to say hello before we had to pull darling daughter away because she could have stayed there all night. Enjoy the photos.

How to score free books (and get them delivered to your door)

I've been meaning to blog about how I scored free knitting books. Free in every sense of the word.

I've been on a knitting book buying spree for the last month. While I have established a firm rule for myself that I don't buy books, knitting books have become the exception as they are classed as reference material.

So after using a gift card given to me buy a friend and supplementing my order with own money to buy books earlier this month, I came to the conclusion I could score free books if I wanted to.

However, free isn't exactly free. You've got to have an Air Miles Card to do this. So if you have sold your soul, so to speak, and tell retailers what you buy through the use of points cards you can reap the benefits. I cashed in some of my points and got a Chapter's gift card delivered to my door. Since it seems cheaper to buy books online from Chapter's, I disposed my gift card into my online account, selected the books I wanted to buy and took advantage of Chapter's cheap shipping rates (free shipping on orders $25 or more). Voila, I've got two Vogue Knitting books that I have been coveting for the last month.

So if you find yourself lacking in the book department this holiday season or if Santa has failed to deliver, you too can score free books.

Sometimes being grumpy does pay off

Last week I wrote about how I sent a quick email to my city councillor, complaining how I was being discriminated against by the city's green bin program as the city wouldn't upgrade my bin to a larger size or give me a second bin. I was basically told I had to stick with the status quo of my 47 litre bin or buy a new one for $35.

Upset, I wrote a letter, railing against the whole injustice of it all. Yes, I may sound a tad over dramatic, but in all seriousness, if the city wants me, and other residents who live in medium density housing, to participate in the organics program, it needs to give us the proper tools to do so.

My letter worked! Monday afternoon I received a call from my city councillor's office, informing me that I can get a bigger bin, free of charge, from the city. (So take that, 311 operator!) However, there was a catch. I had to empty out the bin, including the taco soup that pooled out of the liner bag and froze to side, place it outside and wait for the green bin fairy to grant my wish for a larger container.

Today it arrived. In all its shiny green glory, it stood in a snowbank, waiting to be filled with organic waste. And it didn't arrive a minute too soon as I was in desperate need to get rid of the huge amount of organic waste collecting underneath my sink in a bin liner.

I am a happy girl. Thanks city councillor! How says you can't take on city hall?

Crock Pot Mondays

I've been dragging my behind when it comes to Crock Pot Mondays. Let's just say we've been eating a lot of Margarita chicken since we are all so busy.

Yesterday, I decided to stir things up a bit by making a batch of taco soup. I had everything ready to go in my family sized Crock Pot. Instead of bubbling, the soup fizzled as my Crock Pot died on me.

For some reason, it refused to work. Heck, I don't think it got above the warm setting. I was disappointed as I hate to throw out food, but I refused to risk my family's health by serving not properly prepared food. So I dumped the entire thing into my green bin.

What a waste.

For many reasons, I'm not impressed for the simple fact we bought this slow cooker less than a year ago. I'm one slow cooker down. I'm in such a peeved mood that I may not even replace it.

Channelling my grumpy self

It must be Christmas. I'm grumpy. So grumpy in fact that I quickly sent a letter off to my city councillor about the city's green bin program. And I'm not done. I'm going to write a letter to the editor, too because that's how peeved I am.

Dear city councillor,

The reason I am writing you is to make you aware how some residents are being discriminated against when it comes to the green bin program. I wouldn't normally use the word discriminated, but since my tax dollars are going to operate the green bin program, I expect the city to give me the proper tools for me to fully participate in this program.

I live in medium density housing. As such, the city provided me with a 47-litre bin, which is smaller than residents who live in single detached homes. The reason the city gives for giving me a smaller bin is that I don't produce yarn waste. Yes, this is true. However, my bin is usually full to the brim as we prepare most of our meals from scratch as it is a healthier way of eating.

Since the city is now picking up green bins every two weeks, I now have a problem. My husband struggled to get the bin out to the curb this week because it was so heavy. We couldn't dispose of any more organic waste if we wanted to because it was so full. I called 311 to see if I could upgrade my green bin to a larger size or get a second bin. I was told in order for me to have a second bin, I would have to purchase one at a city client centre for $35.

As a taxpayer, I find this ridiculous. I am already paying for this program through my tax dollars. The green bin that I already use isn't free. I paid for it with my tax dollars. In my opinion, the city isn't giving residents the proper tools to participate in this program because the bins are too small. I have friends who live in Pembroke, Ontario, which has been operating a similar organics program for years. The bins Pembroke provides its residents are at least twice the size, if not more, when compared to Ottawa's largest bins.

I refuse to spend further money on this program. So any excess organics waste I produce this winter will likely be put in a garbage bag, which will head to a nearby landfill. I'm sure the city could give out more green bins if it wanted to. I am one of a handful of residents on my street who participate in this program. Most of my neighbours dispose of their waste in garbage bags. So here I am, a resident wanting to fully participate in this program but is unable to because the city won't give me a green bin that fits my needs.

Sincerely,

Me

An update

I've been neglecting my blog. It is gathering dust. To my blog, my sincerest apologies. But I have been busy. Very busy, so I thought I'd write a short update.

House: The reason I've been so busy is that working on my house. More specifically, I'm trying to get it ready for sale. The last couple of weeks have involved major decluttering, finding contractors to do some minor work, working with a realtor, and getting advice from a stager. Although we started looking for a new house, we've put that task off until we get this house ready for sale. Who knew it would be so much work?

Work: I've got a freelance writing job (maybe). It has been more than a year since I've written professionally, so I've been working hard when it comes to dotting the i's and crossing the t's.

Knitting: I'm a knitting machine. I'm taking my knitting everywhere, including on the road. Last weekend I was in knitting heaven: a total of two knitting meetups. I've got projects I need to get done before I start 2011, the year of selfish projects.

Running: Still running. But inside. My friend and coach, C, refuses to run in the summer because of heat. I've decided to refuse to run outside in the winter due to cold. I'm a chicken. I don't wanna. So I won't. Even though the treadmill is boring as old heck, it has become a good friend.

Christmas: I'm out of the loop this year when it comes to Christmas. Since we've been busy with the house, I just don't have the inclination to get in the Christmas spirit. I want to move my couch out before I put up the Christmas tree. It remains to be seen if that happens in the very near future.

Weight loss taboo

You may find the following post a bit vain. But what I am about to write has been on my mind for awhile.

Today I cleaned out my closet. Most of the clothes are going somewhere, anywhere, but other than my closet. They don't fit. Most, from my pre-pregnancy days, are too big.

I've lost weight. This year alone, I've lost more than 15 pounds. I'm aiming for another 10, but we will see how it goes. If I consider my pre-pregnancy weight, I've lost about 40 pounds. There may be something to be said for gestational diabetes as it kept me on the straight and narrow during the last trimester.

Lately, I've been checking myself out in the mirror at the gym. Not in a vain way, but in a curious way. The running shirt I bought in May is too big now. I had to get rid of a bunch of Lululemon clothes recently because they just didn't fit. The shirt that I bought during Race Weekend is starting to feel loose. We sent photos to dear husband's parents and they've said they can see a big difference in the way I look. It is hard to tell because I see myself in the mirror every day, but when you put on a pair of pants on and you are wading in them, then you start to realize you've lost weight.

Although weight loss is a big industry, people don't rarely talk about the losing weight part of it. You've lost weight! How much? Just a bit. Well you look great. End of conversation. Recently, I was knitting some ladies and the subject of weight loss came up. One woman said she had lost some weight and was in the curious position of having no clothes that fit. I can relate. Right now, I'm down to two actual outfits, three if I wear my skirt. It is a weird problem to have. You have no clothes that fit, but you are reluctant to go out and buy more because you either hope or know you are going to lose more weight. I told her that I was in the same situation. Although we both agreed that it was a topic that isn't often talked about (likely people don't want to hear you complaining that you've got no clothes because none of them no longer fit), the conversation soon ended. Again, it is a taboo subject.

I really don't have a solution to what many could consider to be a non-existent problem. I guess I'll keep on doing what I'm doing and consider breaking out the cheque book and buying some clothes.