January 2018: Recap

So much has already gone on in 2018, I feel like I need to write it all down so I don’t forget.

  • Presented my team strategy at work to the CEO and got approval
  • Attended and presented at work Sales Kick-Off event
  • Team won 2nd place in the Dragon’s Den contest at said event
  • Took on a new mentoring project which has been going really well
  • Started a new courseware development project
  • Completed several Daily UI challenges
  • Got a talk accepted to a conference in the Netherlands
  • Transitioning into new role as Chair of the Waterloo, Wellington and Area chapter of the Institute for Performance and Learning
  • Started designing and developing the first of 4 key facilitated sessions that will become a key piece of my company’s new training program
  • Did a singing video for fun because someone asked and it was well received
  • Donated to the Humane Society
  • Joined YW Kitchener-Waterloo
  • Walked over 163k steps (so far, looking to increase this number in February!

And it’s not even fully over yet.

2016: Lots of goals!

Darts- Let's hit the target!The first of the year has brought with it a lot of excitement for me. My mind is swirling with possibilities, and I have a ton of goals I want to achieve.  These can be summed up pretty well with a couple of themes:

Give Back:

I want to give back, and I want to keep track of where my giving is happening so that I can better target my efforts to the things that mean the most to me.  I’ve done a lot of volunteering with arts and education organizations, but I want to start doing more monetary contributions as well, and more personal contributions in the way of acts of kindness. I’m planning to do an act of kindness each day in 2016.  To start off, I’ve donated to an organization local to me that does great work: oneROOF.

Get Better:

As someone who is constantly striving to improve, this is a theme that applies to me across the board. I want to learn, I want to grow, I want to develop. I also want to improve my health and strength.  I’m planning to get 30 minutes of vigorous activity each day, I’m planning to engage in a regular regimen of self-care and I’m planning to learn, advance and achieve in my professional life as well.

Go the Distance:

As an “ideas person” I have a million things I want to do and a ton of projects in my head or on the go at any given time.  This can get overwhelming, and I can get  to the point where I start a lot more things than I finish in the course of a year.  I love action! But I think I can focus better.  So this year, I’m looking to finish more (and reflect more on those things I have finished)!  I’ve set some reading goals for the year so that I can work on finishing all the books I’ve started (I have a long queue and lots of half-done books).

What are your goals and aspirations for the new year?

October updates

I can’t believe it’s already October! The leaves are all changed on the trees, the weather has cooled off and is beautiful, and we’re firmly in the season of pumpkin-flavoured-everything. The summer was nice, hot and fun but not too eventful for once. Here’s some updates about what has been going on over the past little while.

Photographer: Angela Clayfield

Theatre

The Horribly Horrifying Fun House of Death has closed, and it went super well! I was totally hands-off once the show opened, so I don’t know all the details, but everything I heard was that the show went awesome. It was so nice to be able to work on a show without basically giving up my whole life for 2 months, especially since I have a little dude and other obligations to take care of. I didn’t want to just stop doing theatre altogether, especially when it meant working with people who are super awesome.

And don’t they all look so nice in their costumes, and the set was awesome as well! Thanks to Ange for the lovely photo- I wanted to make sure I had a shot of everyone in costume. 🙂

Choir

I went to the Grand Philharmonic Choir’s Sing-in on September 29th, and it was pretty fun. They’re doing the Mozart Requiem this fall, which I haven’t done in quite a while, actually- so it was really fun to sing some bits from it again. It was fun to see all my GPC friends again as well! Their concert is October 20, and will no doubt be awesome.

Church choir has started up again, and that has been nice. We had our first Evensong service last week, and are already hurtling madly toward Advent.

Traveling

No, we’re not planning a big trip or anything, though we are going to the states in a couple weeks, because Wesley needs to have his NEXUS interview! Trevor and I both have NEXUS cards, because we cross the border enough that it was a good idea, but if we want to bring Wesley along, he needs to have one too. Next time we take a trip to or through the US (we often fly from there as it’s much cheaper), our border crossing will be faster!

So we’re planning to take him for his interview then, and do a little cross-border shopping as well (a good time to get Christmas shopping done!) I’m looking forward to it!

Running

I signed up for yet another 5k race- this one is called the Santa Pur-suit, and requires that runners wear SANTA SUITS. This is AWESOME, and I am totally excited about it. It’s December 1st, so a little while away yet, but I can hardly wait. The race is close to my neighborhood, and requires dorkiness, so it’s like it was created just for me. 😀

Catching up

It has been a while since I wrote a post. I have obviously been busy with taking care of Wesley, but lots of other things have gone on as well. So I think I’ll use this post as a bit of a catching-up point, and hopefully start to write more regularly from here.

Wesley

Me and Wesley
Obviously one of the main occupiers of my time lately is our new son. After some initial troubles with him eating, and him being jaundiced and losing weight, we’ve started to settle into a bit more of a routine, and his last checkup showed he’s doing quite well. He’s certainly not sleeping through the night yet or anything, but we’re definitely getting more sleep than we were at the beginning, which is awesome. He’s had a bit of a cold this week, which is unfortunate, but he’s doing well otherwise.

Once he is over his cold, I think we’ll start having more adventures during the day. As it is, we pretty much hang out at home unless there are doctor’s appointments, or we’re taking a quick trip down to the mailbox with him in his carrier. But starting next week I think we’ll go out to the library and the Early Years Centre and other places around town more.

I took a little video of him the other day- it’s just him flailing around, and then at the end he sneezes. He’s not really interactive yet, but he can still be fun. 🙂

I’ve been putting together an online baby book for Wesley that I’m sharing with my family (from scratch- I couldn’t find a service that did what I wanted) – I might, at some point, make a public version of it as well. It has been fun to put together!

Maternity Leave

I have to say, being on maternity leave is strange, but not quite what I expected. For those not aware, maternity and parental leave in Canada adds up to a year, and a parent on leave is eligible for employment insurance payments (like unemployment) for 55% of their normal salary, up to a certain amount. I’m about a month and a half in now, and have gotten my first few EI payments.

I think this system is how it should be everywhere. Parents are able to do all the caregiving for that first year if they want, I think it makes women more likely to return to work as well. I feel like I’m able to do what I need to do and still stay connected to my workplace, and I don’t have to worry that my job won’t be there when I get back. It really takes a major stressor off new parents who want to maintain the two-income household. I feel like a shorter unpaid leave would be a lot more stressful.

Singing

I’ve been singing, which has been good. I still have to convince my brain that I have my normal breath capacity back- my mind thinks I’m running out of breath a lot sooner than I really am, which makes me breathe more. But things are getting back on track in that area which is good.

I managed to record a track for Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir this time around, which was cool! I always wanted to do that, and I’m glad I got the opportunity this time. I’m looking forward to when the final video is released!

Back to the gym!

I’ve just passed 6 weeks postpartum, which is the time that people generally start exercising again. I probably could have increased my activity before now, admittedly, since I had a pretty decent recovery. However, the demands of a newborn and all that made it easy to hold off.

But today, I’m going to head out to the gym for the first time in a long time. I don’t have any expectation that I’ll be anywhere near where I was last year at this time (when I was training for a half-marathon) but I think a brisk walk and some weights will do me good! I might look into taking up yoga again as well. I still have some pregnancy weight to lose, so increasing my activity will definitely help with that, as well as being a great mood-booster. Definitely excited.

House

Nursery
In the past couple weeks, we’ve put the finishing touches on the nursery (and it’s becoming quite nice in there actually, I don’t mind hanging out there for late night feedings). There’s a rocking POANG from IKEA, some printed out pictures on the wall in inexpensive frames, and I hung up a nice quilt we got from a relative. There’s a small hanging drying rack for diaper covers, a bookshelf with a little stereo to play music, a few books and toys. Right now his bassinet is still in there, since he’s not sleeping in the crib yet (we’ll be transitioning him this week once his congestion clears up- the bassinet mattress is slightly angled so he can sleep easier with his cold).

We’ve been planning to finish the basement for a while, and we’ve finally gotten started on that project, in that we’ve picked a contracting company and put a deposit down. Work will start in March, and it will take about 5-6 weeks. I’m hoping the weather is decent during that time so that if it’s loud or what have you in the house, I can head out for a walk with Wesley.

We’re putting in a bathroom and a rec room type area down there, plus some storage space. It should increase the living space in our house quite a bit, as well as make it easier for us to have a proper guest room and a decent play area for Wesley. I imagine once it’s finished, we’ll be spending a lot of our time down there.

The current family room will become a double office for Trevor and I, and Trevor’s office will be the new guest room.

So my office is already moved to the current family room- once the basement is done, the family room furniture will go down there, and Trevor’s office furniture will move in here. I’m actually considering seeing if a moving company would lend us a couple of guys for an hour to move the furniture around our house- I’m not looking forward to negotiating all the stairs with a couch.

I think that’s enough for now! Hopefully I’ll write more often so that this doesn’t become a monthly thing. 🙂

April 26, 2011 Updates

Running

Over the weekend, I managed to run a whopping 13.3 miles (that’s a tiny bit longer than a half-marathon, or Pikermi, as some call it). It was definitely hard, but I did it! I ran a route that took me through town, so I was dealing with traffic, and a number of different surfaces- trails, asphalt, concrete.

Now that I know I can do it though, I’m going to think about when I’d like to do the half-marathon as a race. There’s a marathon and half-marathon in town coming up May 1, but The Odd Couple is closing the night before that, so the likelihood of me being properly rested for it is pretty well nil.

There’s several others coming up though that I can consider, and lots of shorter races- I’m already committed to doing a 5k Fun Run on May 29, and another 5k in July, and I can always do some 10k races here and there.

Speaking of The Odd Couple…

Theatre

I’ve been doing a little bit of running crew work for The Odd Couple, which is going into its final week of the run this week.

It’s a good show! I wish I could watch it properly, but I’ve been pleased to get to work on it in a backstage capacity. I’ve gotten to meet some great new people, and hang out with others I had already met but didn’t really know. Good stuff!

Choir

This past weekend, we sang Bach’s St. John Passion. The concert went really well. I don’t find myself enjoying St. John as much as I did St. Matthew, music or text-wise, but it was still quite good. Rufus Müller was fabulous as the Evangelist, as expected, and the turnout was pretty good.

Next up will be the Chamber cabaret concert on May 7, and then singing for Holst’s The Planets with the KW Symphony. Should be good.

Voting

I voted at my advance poll last Friday, because May 2 will be a little too busy for me to drive across town 2 extra times in order to get to my polling place. It is my first federal election as a Canadian! I was excited to finally get to vote in the country where I’ve lived for the past 6 years. We’ll see how the election turns out- the reports thusfar are quite varied.

Movies, weather, music, and running


I finally saw The King’s Speech this past week, and it was awesome! And not just because of Colin Firth. 🙂 The costumes were really quite splendid as well, the screenplay was good, the acting was superb. I really enjoyed it.

This week also brought some very welcome above-freezing weather. Up to 7 or 8 degrees a couple days in a row! A lot of the snow melted, and everyone got a taste of that mental and physical perking-up that spring brings. It was awesome. I went out without my snow boots on! There’s something really awesome about the first day you can go without snow boots or a coat. Even if it is in February and the winter weather is still going to come back again before spring arrives properly.

Was back at the gym this week after a few weeks of not going, as well. I did lose a bit of speed in those couple of weeks, but I managed to get through one long-ish run last night (just over 6 miles) so that was good. I needed it.

Starting to work on the St. John Passion in choir. I never thought I’d say this (being a long-time anti-Bach type) but it’s nice to come back to Bach. I think I’m just now starting to realize why the big Bach fans feel the way they do. It’s a different challenge from the 20th century stuff we’ve just finished, and there’s something very comfortable about baroque tonality, even if the actual singing can be quite difficult sometimes.

Life and other things

Lots of other things going on for me right now- so continuing in that sort of “blurb” format!
Back to the Future Poster
Enjoyable Outings: I went to see Back to the Future on the big screen at the Princess Cinemas on a couple weeks ago. It was awesome. That movie was such a huge part of my childhood, and it was awesome to see it in the theatre- I was too young to have done so when it came out. Aside from the big screen and sound, the audience and experience was awesome. Everyone clapped when George McFly decked Biff, and at the end! I haven’t been. in a theatre that applauded in several years, it always adds to the magic.

Last weekend I went to a ceili for the first time, which was so much fun. For those not familiar, think of like, Irish square dancing, I suppose. The music was great, and the dancing was fun (I actually remembered some of the dances from years past) and I totally want to go back again. It was near Robbie Burns day, so I got to try haggis! It wasn’t bad, but I probably won’t seek it out int he future. 🙂

Both of those outings were in relation to friends’ birthdays- so yay friends for having birthdays!

Yoga: I was taking yoga classes at my work, from a co-worker who teaches at GoodLife gyms in the area. She’s stopped giving classes at work, so I was kind of looking for a new place to go, because I really enjoy it. I thought about just going to the GoodLife classes, but couldn’t seem to get out to do it, and I was looking for something with a little more to it than just the exercise/physical aspects. I tried out the community class at Queen Street Yoga last night (after Stacey recommended it), and it was pretty awesome. Definitely going back. I might add in some classes from GoodLife as well, but Queen Street has a great space, and the approach is a lot more body/mind and not so much just exercise.

Theatre: I’ve made a deal with myself that I won’t do any theatre for a while. I’m planning on working on a show next winter, but between now and then, I’m going to just take some time away. I work on projects for KWLT outside of shows (specifically the website), and do so much other stuff that I wound up not having enough time for myself or my friends or family, and that’s lame. So taking a break. Should be nice!

Choir: There’s a concert coming up for choir, and I’m finding this season that I’m starting to feel a little choir fatigue. Maybe it’s just the way this season shook out, and maybe it’s just because I’ve been overwhelmed with other things, but That said, the upcoming show will be awesome, and I’m looking forward to that and the rest of the concert season. I just wish there wasn’t so much work to do between now and then.

Video Games: I started playing Starcraft II, and it’s super fun. I’m not very good at the game yet, but I did start playing a custom map called StarJeweled, and I am pretty good at that! Basically you play a game of Bejeweled and that lets you build units and stuff to beat the other players. It’s really fun! If anyone wants to give me some tips on how to play proper Starcraft, feel free. I’m good at building stuff, but not at winning. 🙂

I also bought Dr. Mario on the Wii over the holiday and that’s pretty fun. We played it like crazy, all New Years Day!

Other Games: Playing my first in-person game of Diplomacy this weekend. I’ve played online with people before, but never with the board and in person. It’s a long game, and I’m not great at it, but it should be fun!

Running

I started running early this year, as I had signed up for a 5k race in April in a fit of  joiner-ism and wanted to finish it without completely embarrassing myself.  After the race itself, in April, I thought I would stop running- it’s fairly high impact exercise, and I could burn calories other ways, so why keep on with something like that when I could bike or walk or do the elliptical or the arc trainer!

So I didn’t run for a while.  I did a lot of walking and so on through the late spring and summer.  But late in the summer, on a hot and humid day, I decided to go for a run.

And you know what?  I love running.

It’s hard, and it can hurt and I’m not good at it.  I get horribly sweaty and I jiggle.  But I love it.  No other exercise seems to give me quite the same satisfaction as a good hard long run.   I feel exhilarated afterward.  I feel like I’ve accomplished something.  It seems to chill me out.

I signed up for another 5k race in October, and was 4 minutes faster than my April time.  I’m a lot faster already than I was when I started- I’ve gone from a 13 minute mile to a 9:30 mile.  Not superhero- or athlete- fast, but pretty fast for me!  I’ve been running 8k regularly at the gym (on the days I do weights, with cross-training and yoga on other days).  I’m thinking about building up to a 10k race at some point next year.

So I guess I’m a runner, then.  Weird.