Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Make it stop!

So happy- nay, relieved - to be back in the office for the day. There has been far too much consumption over the last ten days, and I'm fed up (literally) and worn out! This year has been better than most others - there have been lots more walks (JTM has even been hitting the gym pre-dawn), a lot less meals out, and even a little crafting time with the MIL (Yes! We've been doing CRAFTS!), but it still all feels like too much.

Every year I seem to fall into the trap of using that time between Christmas and the end of holidays as some sort of dietary and consumer free-for-all - a last hurrah of spending and bingeing, before the rigor of broke-ness and New Years resolutions begins. And every year I end up with a lot of extra pounds and merchandise that I just didn't need!

This year, fortunately, the whole holiday consumption machine will grind to a halt a few days early as John's mom is going home on the 31st. I've got a bag set up in the corner of the bedroom for the "many happy returns" - stuff I bought on impulse during the Boxing Week sales and will return on Jan 2, and I'm primed to hit the gym and get back on the Weight Watchers bandwagon ASAP. This is the first year that I feel like I will be working to get back to something, rather than trying to start something. I've made great progress this past year on the exercise and weight loss front (38 pounds down, only 25 to go!), so as the holidays wind down and 2010 arrives, I'll just be falling back into old habits rather than trying to develop new ones. What a great place to be!

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!

What a brilliant day today has been! It started @ about 6:30 am when JTM got up to walk the dog while I thrust a leg out from under the covers to cool off and then caught a few more ZZZ's. Nothing more deluxe than a lie-in, even when it's before sunrise. Sleep-in and dog walk notwithstanding, JTM and I were quietly drinking coffee before the kids and Grandma got up - bittersweet that their Christmas morning 5:00 am wakeups are a thing of the past. Everyone up and assembled before 8:00, tho- sipping juice or coffee and eating homeade cheese or cinnamom bread. Kids loved their netbooks from Grandma Meldrum, and I was beyond thrilled my gift from John - the coolest bike EVER - looks like a cruiser, rides like a hybrid. It's a Norco Rideau, white with lime green tattoos - and I can hardly wait to ride it! Tomorrow if all goes well. I would never have asked for something so major for a gift, but I'm beyond thrilled that John got it for me. I've reached the point where I need to do more than walking, but the foot is less than thrillled by the idea of running - and my old Raleigh (Peggy Hill) is honestly not much use to me anymore. Peggy is old, clunky and heavy - not the bike for hilly Vancouver Island. The Norco will totally do the job for me without looking too utilitatarian - it's the kind of bike that you ride while wearing yoga pants, not crotch-padded spandex!

It's amazing to live in a place where we can ride bikes on Boxing Day, or walk on the beach on Christmas, which is what we did today. Our little family and a hundred others, dogs included, were out at Willows Beach this afternoon enjoying the incredible sunshine. It was well above freezing, the tide was out and the water was sparkling like crazy with the slanting rays of the late December sun shining down on it.

Dinner, well I'm full of it - turkey, JTM's killer stuffing, potatoes, turnips (missing from the last several holiday feasts) and lots and lots of local Gewurztraminer! Later we'll enjoy some sticky toffee pudding when I can rouse myeself to make the caramel sauce.

All in all, a most spectacular Christmas with the family here in beautiful Victoria where I miss the snow not-at-all!

M