I think I might be dying....but not of cholera.....or polio.

Calories+training= energy. Calories+off season= muffin top!

So recently I learned the term muffin top: "...a generally pejorative, slang term used for a person, usually female, whose flabby midsection spills over the waistline of his or her pants in a manner that resembles the top of a muffin spilling over its paper casing. This generally occurs when an individual wears low-rise, hip-hugger pants, or midriff-baring tops that are too small. " Thank you wikipedia, always so informative! The reason I bring it up is because, with all the holiday treats lately {and a seemingly unending supply of toblerones in our office}, I think I may be developing a mild case of this disorder!!! Not as severe as the specimen above, but I'm definitely getting a little muffiny! Thankfully the holidays are almost over and I have a few weeks to get back into the pool before I leave.

More people called about my car today!! A guy is test-driving it tomorrow so hopefully he'll buy it and it'll be one less thing to worry about. Tonight I was at the mint with Tegan, Cheryl, Dave, Nicky and Cheryl's co-worker, Rob, for some appys, and sour apple martinis. I always like it there, but for some reason, always forget about it when picking restaurants. Maybe because it's underground.

So, Tegan asked to be featured in my blog. I think she was joking, but I think she's definitely worth featuring! We've been friends since we were ten, so we have a lot of history- from eating beef jerky on the lift at Mt. Washington (and losing my retainer in the snow!) to being partners for a hypercard presentation in gr 8 on 'Footwear through the ages'...I will definitely miss her when I move. Hmm what else? Well.... she still uses an ewok (sp?) keychain I bought for her on a school trip to Japan at Tokyo Disney in Gr. 9, and has amazing blonde hair that looks great straight or wavy! Tegan has many talents, but some of the most remarkable are her amazing skills as a photographer, her stunt driving and her sik moves on her snowboard.

Okay, time to get my muffiny self to bed. Lots to do tomorrow (and the next day, and the day after that!).

Maybe the egyptian embassy wants to buy my car......

So today I had two voicemails when I got home- one from a woman at the Egyptian embassy who wants to "discuss" my visa application, and one from a woman called Jane who is interested in my car. I am a little concerned about what the embassy might want to talk to me about, and even more concerned that I might say something that causes my application to be denied! I think I'll call the lawyer first for some advice.....

I am actually quite surprised at the response re: the car- besides Jane, I've had 3 friends say that they have friends or family members interested in it. When I listed it yesterday on craig's list and usedvictoria.com I wasn't actually expecting anyone to call for a while, if at all. I figured with the holidays just wrapping up (ha ha), people might not be thinking about spending money so soon.....but I guess it is "boxing week", one of the best shopping periods of the year! Who knows, maybe someone would like to pick up a shiny 2004 matrix to go along with their new ipod! Actually, I can't think of a better accessory myself!

So keep your fingers crossed for me in the next few days, for the car and the visa!

Anyone have a time machine I can borrow?

When I signed the contract for this new job in early November, it seemed like mid-January was a long way off....suddenly it's less than 3 weeks and I'm not even close to being ready!!!! It would be great to go back in time about a month and check a few things off the list.... I still haven't got my passport back, which is a little concerning, but I guess a delay is to be expected being christmas and all...I just hope it comes soon so I can book my ticket.

So, I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Mine was really nice- it was the perfect mix of chaos and downtime, and of family and friends. Santa was very good to me and brought lots of things that will be useful to me when I move like money, travel books and a leatherman knife (or leatherPERSON as Meera would say!). One of my favourite gifts was from Michael- he burned all 10 seasons of FRIENDS on DVD for me (hmmm I hope no copyright law enforcement people are reading this...) so that I can watch them in cairo when I get homesick, or bored!

Today I met Michelle, Sheena, Kate, Jen and Erika for lunch at Canoe-- it took us about 20 minutes before we noticed the gigantic diamond on Michelle's finger! After 9 years of dating, Sean proposed...on Christmas morning in front of the Mums and the rest of the family. Congratulations guys!!!!!!! Tonight was our secret santa exchange...I got Nicky and gave her..........A MARMOT!!!! I know, I know, it's turning into a bit of an obsession, but it's a good cause and I thought she could use it as an educational tool for her grade fours. My santa (moosey!!!) gave me an awesome pair of pearl izumi running/cycling socks. I love them!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas filled with love, laughter and joy! Santa was very good to me this year (as usual); I hope he visited your house as well! Okay, off to eat more, but here are a couple of Christmas morning pics of some people who are important to me (yes, that's a stuffed marmot...I couldn't resist...the $ from the sale of those little guys goes toward helping save the real thing!!).

No more food!!!

I think I've eaten more this week than I have the previous two months. Seriously.
But yesterday, at practice John, my fabulous swim coach, asked me if I'd been running a lot lately, because I was looking so muscular!!! I said "um no...I think it's fat actually" but he said that I was looking stronger in the pool. I also got asked for ID today (two pieces!!!!) at a restaurant, so maybe this new "exercise plan" is working! ha ha, bring on the crab dip!

Despite being forced to eat so much, and sometimes trying to fit in two events in one night, this week has been great- a lot of friends are here from out of town so it's been really fun catching up with them, especially since it'll be a while before I see many of them again (due to the whole cairo thing). It was particularly nice to reconnect with Chelsea and Bri, who I haven't seen in a few years, as well as all the ACGs at Erika's baby shower :)

Besides eating, I'm trying to get my life in order before I go. Apparently my passport was sent from Milwaukee to the embassy in Ottawa on Tuesday (T2) so I'm hoping it'll be arriving in Victoria tomorrow- WITH a visa inside it. Once I get that, I can book my flight. I also need to sell my car, go to the doctor for shots and the dentist for a check-up , meet with my financial advisor, get a hard case for my bike and maybe buy a windtrainer, move, pack...barely anything really :| I'm also trying to figure out how I can be at a fitness level where I can compete (and do relatively well) in an olympic distance tri when/if I come back in the summer, so am looking into various programs- it's hard since I'm not sure what resources I'll have access to, but I want to have a rough idea before I go so I can stay on track.

an interview with my "boyfriend" Simon Whitfield :)

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Interview/Slowtwitch_interviews_Simon_Whitfield_160.html

T'was the week before Christmas....

I've always liked being busy, but this week has taken it to a new level...I am literally 'booked solid'- with something going on every single night till boxing day- sometimes 2 events in one night!! I feel like a rock star;)

I love the social part of it, but the food is killing me- everywhere I go there are more fabulous things to eat and drink. I always gain a little weight in the off-season but this going to be a banner year I think :| Oh well, I will likely get really sick the first week I'm in cairo (everybody does...the doctor last time said something about an 'adjustment to the environment') so hopefully it'll all balance out....

If you haven't tried Elf Yourself, you must- it's hilarious, here is my family elfed-out!

On a sad note, I saw a troubling article yesterday. A woman I worked with a few years ago is currently lost at sea...she and her boyfriend were sailing from Hawaii to Victoria and haven't been heard from since October. The coast guard has called off their search, but their families remain optimistic, so if everyone could send positive thoughts their way, I'm sure their loved ones would be grateful, especially this time of year...

"Remembering the parts of a goat can be awful confusing...."

Pedis, chocolate, shopping, chocolate, wine...oh yeah....and chocolate!

Yesterday and today were spent in Vancouver with Nicky, Jen, Tegan and Kate. In just over 24 hrs, we managed to pack in sushi, eating chocolates, pedicures (complete with wine), dinner and drinks, a movie, eating chocolates, hot tubbing, crepes, shopping, eating chocolates and coffee- not to mention lots of chatting and a little giggling. The huuuuge box of purdy's chocolates and wine were courtesy of Nicky, whose Gr. 4 students (or more accurately, their parents) brought her all sorts of excellent gifts for the end of term.

The only "black mark" on the weekend was the crappy service we received at 3 different places- the hotel and two restaurants. I'm not sure if Vancouver is having the same issues finding workers as we are here or what, but save one very nice bellman (thanks Neil!), the majority of the staff we encountered seemed totally flippant and as though they had much better things to be doing.


The way home was a little tenuous...the 3pm ferry was canceled due to high winds, so the 5pm was absolutely packed. Every single seat was taken and it was really rough- they made announcements for us to stay in our seats and had left motion-sickness bags everywhere- some of them definitely got used (not by any of us, thankfully!) :P Despite the bad service and near-death ferry experience, we had a really great time:)

It makes me feel a little melancholy about leaving when I think about the great friends I have here, but I know we'll stay in touch and pick up right where we left off. Over the last 10 years the 5 of us have lived in Calgary, Edmonton, Windsor, Vancouver Whistler, England, Ghana, Uganda, Ireland, Spain, Vermont and Korea, and have still managed to stay close, so I'm not too worried about adding Cairo to the list;)

ouch!

Today was a bit of a whirlwind, but I won't write about the monotony of xmas errands, chiro and finalizing tomorrow's Vancouver trip....

On to a much more interesting topic: running! I finally found time today for my first run in a week and it didn't go so well :( Today was typical winter-in-victoria weather: cool and wet. Lucky for me, that's my favourite running weather! Also, I figure I should get all the rain I can while I'm here since Cairo only gets one cm A YEAR!! (as a comparison-- Victoria's average annual rainfall is 66.5cm!)

Anyway, enough with the meteorology...back to the run... over the last month or so, I'd been ignoring a little pain in the arch of my left foot- it wasn't enough to be concerned about or to make me stop my run, just a bit sore. I thought maybe after a week of rest, it might have gone away...but apparently not! Today it didn't really bother me until I was almost at Cook & Dallas (so, about 10 minutes in), and still wasn't too bad, but definitely enough to pay attention to. I am really hoping it's not PF because I'm not sure if I'll be able to find the people I'll need to fix it in Cairo. I had a similar pain about 4 years ago which apparently was caused by other muscles compensating for a weakness in my hip flexor... but I thought I'd sorted that out, and plus, my chiros are really happy with my alignment lately (ha, it sounds like I'm a car!). I have a pair of Nike Frees that I bought a while ago, with the hopes of strengthening my feet, but I'm reluctant to wear them at the moment as I'm not sure if they'll improve or exacerbate the problem.

So, I just re-read this post, and as a new blogger, I still find this medium very self-indulgent and funny. I mean, I just wrote almost two paragraphs about my left foot!! Gotta love the internet ;)

passport= safe & sound :)

Well...my passport made it to Milwaukee in one piece! Now just Milwaukee to Ottawa and Ottawa to Victoria left to go!! If you like sports analogies...in the visa triathlon, it has made it through T1! Tomorrow I have the day off-- most of it will be spent doing errands...but still, nice to have an extra day. Hopefully I can find time for a long run- it's been a whole week since my last run...SO bad! Strata council meeting tonight, then BED to get rid of the cold that's trying to get me.

Godspeed little passport....

So, yesterday I put my passport in a Fed-ex envelope bound for the Egyptian embassy in Ottawa....via Milwaukee. Yeah, not the most direct route, but it has to go to the company's immigration lawyers first to join the rest of the visa application. It made me feel kind of sick sending it off, but the paralegals assure me that this is done all the time and they've yet to lose one ....well I don't want mine to be the first, thank you very much! Apparently once it reaches Ottawa, the embassy will keep it for 2-3 days and decide if I deserve a visa, then fed-ex it back to Victoria (hopefully with a visa stuck inside!).

Apart from visa stuff, things are coming together, the car is @ the body shop getting painted in preparation for sale (my neighbour "kissed" my bumper in the parkade and rubbed a little spot of paint off...nothing major, but still needs to be fixed before I sell it). Next on the list is a plane ticket and a hard case to ship my bike. Oh yeah........and Christmas shopping! I have friday off so hopefully I can make a dent in that, then on Saturday, I'm heading to Van for a night with some girlfriends. Okay, off to bed...I'm trying to stop a cold.

blink...

Um, so apparently I blinked and an entire week went by! The last few days have been absolutely nuts! I haven't run in almost a week and skipped swim practice tonight....so bad! Here's a re-cap of what's kept me busy lately....

Friday night I went to the Butchart Gardens with Erin to see the Magic of Christmas, it was um...magical! As usual there was a (teeny) skating rink, as well as carolers and a brass band playing christmas music. We laughed our heads off at one of the male carolers who would sing sections of scat once in a while...our favourite was "a-humba-humba-humba..."it sounded hilarious in his baritone voice; so for the rest of the night one of us would randomly throw it into a conversation and the other would dissolve into fits of giggles {try it, you'll see!}. My favourite thing is the lights that look like water- not sure how they do that, but it's very cool!

Saturday night was a concert by mum's choir. Everyone was great, but a young woman called Sydney Needham absolutely stole she show, she's only 17 but has a phenomenal voice...I have a feeling we'll be hearing lots more from her in the next while (she's a finalist in Victoria Idol!).

a-humba-humba-humba...

The rest of the weekend was mostly work-related Christmas stuff, including our kids' xmas party- this year we changed the venue to a bigger room and added a bouncy castle...there was tons of food, gifts, and Santa made an appearance, so the kids had a blast as usual, and the bigger room helped cut down on the volume of the screaming (a little!) which the adults seemed grateful for;)

a-humba-humba-humba...

Immediately following the kids' party was the Mustard Seed Christmas dinner... we were short of volunteers so I dragged my parents along to help- we were 'dishers' and worked assembly-line style with about 10 others, assembling dinners so the servers could take them to the guests (I was in charge of the cranberry sauce!). The quality of the food was great and the servers all tried really hard to make it seem like a restaurant (as opposed to a cafeteria or a soup kitchen), taking time to individually serve and chat to each guest. I've helped for about 5 years running because it is a really worthwhile event, but as with every year, I was shocked at the number of families and kids that were there. So sad. If you want to donate online or give to the food bank, click here.

I finally got some news today about my visa... I'd been dealing with the company's immigration lawyers who are in the US and seem a little clueless about certain things....up until this morning there was still a possibility that I might have to "stop by" the Egyptian embassy in Ottawa to sort the paperwork out....um okay, sure, let me just hop on a plane for 6 hours and I'll be right there.... Thankfully they were able to get a hold of the embassy today and it sounds like I can mail the info in...I was really relieved until I heard I have to mail them my passport...no not a copy, the original passport!!!! But apparently once they receive it, the paperwork only takes 2-3 days to process... so cross your fingers for me (for the visa and the safe return of my passport!)

Besides that, I just need to sell my car...anyone want to buy a 2004 matrix??

Butchart Gardens at Christmas...

Wow, some people will go to great lengths to cheat....

http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/Athletes/Ghost_runner_go_86.html

My soon-to-be new home

Swimming, Guitar Hero....... and snow??!!

So, remember how a few posts ago I was saying how you can exercise outside all year round in Victoria because the weather is soooo great.....wellllll, about once a year, it snows here and it seems that this was the weekend it happened. Now people were saying that there might be snow over the weekend, which was a little concerning, since we were heading to Nanaimo for a swim meet on Saturday. When I got up that morning there was a bit of wind, but nothing to worry about... but by the time I had finished breakfast and packing some snacks for the day, there was a thin layer of snow blanketing the ground and lots more falling from the sky. Not good! If it's snowy in Victoria, it's definitely snowy up island...and it WAS! It kept snowing allll day, and by the time we left the pool there was about 15cm on the ground and it wasn't letting up- the drive home was pretty scary- the roads weren't great and there was snow blowing towards the windshield, {like when they go warp speed in Star trek..} and we could barely see 5 feet in front of the car. Thankfully, we all made it home in one piece largely due to Jon's careful and confident driving and, to a lesser extent, the Jeep's 4 wheel drive.

Now, on to the meet itself....4 of us went together- one other swimmer from my team, plus my former coach and his wife, who swim with another team in town. The weather kept a lot of people away, so the field was smaller than usual, but since it was the first meet of the year for us, and we all went into it with the intent only to have fun, it was nice to have a little less competition! I swam 4 individual races- 50 fly, 50 breast, 100 free and 100IM-- the results don't seem to be posted online yet, so I don't have my time for the IM , but I know my fly was slower than last year (43ish) and my free (1:19.71) and breast (48.57) were faster... I even placed in my age-group in two events...no matter how old I get, I still love getting ribbons;) We also entered a couple of relays which were fun...I nearly got us DQ'd in the 200IM relay by coming very close to not finishing on my back: I was swimming back, and concentrating so hard on the turn that totally forgot about the finish and flipped to my front about 2m before the wall! I managed to somehow flip over again just before I touched...oops :| This is why I don't race backstroke usually! But again, the aim was just to have fun, which we all did, so all in all, the day was a success. Some pics....

After we finally got back into town, the evening was spent with some friends, watching FIDO...Canadian-made zombie comedy- (definitely worth renting if you're in the mood for some laughs).... and playing a little Guitar Hero-- I suck, but I am totally addicted.

TGIF!!!

TGIF indeed...it's been a loooong week! Tomorrow is the Nanaimo Ebbtides swim meet- only myself and one other swimmer from our team are going, but I wanted to compete at least once this season and this is the only meet before I leave- so it was this one or nothing! I've been slacking off a little in the pool lately, so I wimped out and signed up for some short races: 50 fly, 50 breast, 100 free and 100 IM- we are going to join with my ex-coach and his wife who swim at JDF for some relays- since we're not from the same team we have to go in the exhibition category or something....oh well, it will be fun just to race and see how it goes. Besides the Thetis open waster race for MS in August, I haven't raced done any swim races since the Vic Masters meet last March! I'm charging up my camera batteries, so hopefully I'll have some pics to post tomorrow.

For the marmot bake sale, I also made these cookies, which I highly recommend, especially if you like your cookies chewy..mmmm...not exactly low fat, but just go for a run or something after eating them