Baby It's Cold Outside

This week, Trent and I spent a little time out at his brother and sister-in-law's place outside Drumheller. I really like them, and their daughter's adore me, so I can't complain - other than 2 year olds are exhausting.

One of the afternoon's we decided to go sledding. Seeing as Kurt and Meg live on a pseudo acreage, we had our pick of private hills. And I conveniently hadn't taken mine and Michelle's sleds out of the back of the car since I moved to S'toon.

Trent and I went together first to show Tate how it's done.

We're champs like that.

It was a good run. Right up until we went over a ledge and the front of our sled planted firmly straight down where it landed, launching Trent and I straight down into a snowy face-planted, tumbled heap. I killed myself laughing.

We're champs like that.

But watching us disappear over a ledge, didn't deter this two-year-old. She was ready to go when we got back up. So off her and dad went. Then she wanted to ride with me. Let's do it.

After a run or two, Trent wanted to race us down. Deal.

Halfway down, I'm really not sure what happened; we collided, but not in a BAM kind of way, more like a bump kind of way, yet somehow it caused both of us to roll. Trent thinks he bit it first and afterwards, Tate was proud that she made uncle Trent roll, so maybe that little devil really did do something. Either way, all I know is that I barrel-rolled over Tate, taking the brunt of it on my head as I dove over her.

After a quick glance at Trent and I who were laughing, she said, "Let's do that again!" Not gonna lie, I was impressed. A tumble like that coulda been the end of all our fun given any other toddler.

I'm actually not sure she ever would have admitted defeat to the cold or exhaustion. She didn't want to stop sledding when we wanted to head over to a bigger hill Trent had spotted and wanted to take a run at before we went in.

After carefully side-stepping down a little so he could see over the edge, our big hill didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. Trent went further over though and decided on a spot he thought he might survive. So I pulled out my camera.

The first run actually went really well. The hill was steep, but the ride was smooth and there was a nice, snow-covered, frozen pond at the bottom to ride out on.

In true brotherly fashion, since Trent had successfully done it, Kurt had to do it too. So I waited my turn up top with Tate so that she wouldn't get any bright ideas. She wanted to try it too.

Pics really can't do justice the steepness of this hill. You can't see the slope from the top. It's like a rollercoaster when you come over the top of a rise, right before you plunge back down, and then do. It was totally wicked.

Once the three of us had tried it, Trent decided it'd be safe enough for Tate to ride down too. At first he figured on someone's back because sitting wasn't really an option, but then they decided to have her lay under Kurt on the sled.

It worked like a charm and that girl is fearless.

Meg came out and joined in the fun too.
And this is probably the best pic to illustrate the fact that you're sledding over an edge into the unknown. Pure adrenaline.

Since Trent's first "risky" run on this big hill turned out not so risky afterall, he explored the original area he had checked out, the area with the actual drop-off. He decided to try the safest looking section.

It was an impressive run. Until he flew into/wiped out over the only three wood stumps sticking up out of the snow. Then it was just hilarious. He pulled the stumps out and did it again to redeem himself.

This hill is a gold mine.

All in all it was a great day, but man it was cold.

Dr. Seus

Since I'm out here and married and all and haven't had a doctor in the city I live in for 5 years, I finally figured I should have one in S'toon. So the hunt began.

And as all good searches go these days, mine began on the internet. I googled dentists accepting patients in S'toon, which conveniently and immediately shot me a list of just that. Then I proceeded to systematically scroll through the list and pick out any name that sounded white. If you're offended by this plan then feel free to stop reading now. It's not that I'm racist. I just didn't want a language barrier with my doctor... and I may have had a couple questionable experiences with some walk in doctors. So this was my plan.

Once I had my list, I took it to the best place I could think of to narrow my selection: rateyourmd.com
Such a wonderful place. A place where people can say whatever they want about their doctors. A place where I can see which doctor has the best rating and comments, and the worst.

After that I came to my conclusion: Dr. Gavin Daniels. "Best doctor I've ever been to."

I called and set up an appointment, and went and filled out the forms and waited. And low and behold who walks into the room and introduces himself as Dr. Daniels... but a very "tanned" man. I almost laughed out loud. After all my rigorous work. It was meant to be.

The good news is, he lived up to his rating. He was very kind and happy and "clear spoken" (that may have been mentioned in one of the comments, I should have guessed then). So all in all, the internet didn't fail me, I seem to have found a good doctor!

You never get what you think you will in life, but sometimes, you get better.

Redemption

Also known as Valentine's Day.

Here's the thing about Valentine's Day.
Does it need to be a big deal? No.
Is it a wonderful surprise when it is? Yes.

Here's how I see it.
Valentine's Day is guys' chance to do one of two things:
1. Forget or be lazy and lose major brownie points; or
2. Remember and even the smallest thing is worth a million.

Does it need to be a big deal? No.
But it IS a chance for redemption.
Redemption from any little mistakes, slip ups, forgetfullness, or just for not saying or doing anything sooner.
It's a chance to say and do the things you think of every day, and really mean to, but maybe just need a moment, a day per say, to take the time to.

For me, it's not what is done specifically, but the fact that time was taken to do it.

Valentine's Day could be any day, it should be every day. But once a year we have a chance to catch up. Once a year the world has given us a moment to really think about the ones we love.
I think Hallmark has it right. It's a chance to say, "I love us."

Yesterday was a crazy day at work and by the time I got home I wasn't really wanting to go out even though that's the plan Trent and I had made. But you know what, I'm glad we did. It was nice to just go out and be together in the name of love.
I love us.

Weigh In Confession

Maybe because Biggest Loser was on tonight, but either way it's weigh in time. Last week I went to the gym 4 times. Goal accomplished.

I have a confession to make, though. Everyone has their pump up music, right? I have plenty of favourite workout tunes. But you know what song gets me through the last 5 minutes of my run every time? It might be "Sexy Back"... yup. Is that so wrong? I could run at least another ten to JT. Yup.

D'Angelo and Amanda Tango Live to Dance Finals

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Just in case you didn't do as you were told and youtube them, I just had to add this little treasure. He is so intensely adorable.

And I love "Shall We Dance" and that's what this song always reminds me of, and now in my mind it's attached to these two as well?! I wish I could dance. Dang.

D'Angelo and Amanda Audition

So these two kids are my heros. I adore them. And they just won half a million dollars. Pros at 9 and 10 years old. Incredible. You tube them. You'll love them.

Trent and I have been following the Biggest Loser this season - each for our own reasons...

MY reasons:
- I find some of the competitors so impressive - Courtney lost 100 lbs before even starting the show, Rulon is a freaking olympian, and man I love Tongans.
- I like seeing people succeed, and the huge change
- I love watching the numbers drop - Moses lost 41 lbs in ONE WEEK, and he's almost lost my worth in weight in 6 weeks, I mean really people!
- It helps motivate me and remind me that I need to go to the gym; if they can do it, I can do it. And I never want to be in their position.
- Out of sight, out of mind - watching the biggest loser keeps me seeing and thinking. When you wear scrubs day in and out, it's easy to let things go out of sight... I bet I could gain 20 lbs and my scrubs would still fit.
- Sometimes it's just straight up entertaining.

In edmonton I stayed really active, playing soccer and handball and going to the gym nearly every day. It's not that I've dropped off the planet with marriage, but definitely off the wagon. My exercising has been sporadic at best ever since I got engaged even. Planning a wedding is exhausting.

So now that I'm settled and have been watching the show, that's it, it's time, game on. Last week I sat and watched biggest loser, eating a brownine and ice cream. Enough. I've been to the gym a few times this month and so far this week I'm 2 for 3 days. (In my defense, I'd be 3 for 3, but when I got to the gym today, I didn't have any change for the meter.) My goal is to go to the gym 4 times a week. There I said it. I have made myself accountable.

I'm sorry if I've bored you with my personal ambition, but it needed to be stated so I will do it. In my heart of hearts I'm going to try to post at the end of each week to report back. If not for your sake, just mine. You and me both know I've got the competition in me. On the treadmill last week I saw the girl next to me was running 2 km/h faster than me. So I turned my speed up 2 km/h. And almost died by the end. But I don't like to be beat. So I will win this goal.

Weight has nothing to do with it for me. It's all about being in shape and feeling good and looking good. So my personal competition is not the biggest loser, but the smallest figure. Boo ya. So here's to being in shape!

The Castle Bevans

Or the Bat Cave. Still under debate.

As privately promised and since most of my friends and family will never get to see our place... today is your lucky day!



Welcome to our first place!



Come on in. Directly to your right is our wonderful storage closet. Though not the most attractive first room to show you. We adore our ample storage room.


Right beside the storage closet is the bathroom.


Still standing in the entryway, directly to your left is our kitchen - the selling point for us when we got the apartment.



And this is where we eat.


So go back to the entryway and straight ahead is the master bedroom.

Oh look! It's the duvet cover of my dreams! And yes, I still adore it. No buyers remorse for this girl.

Next door is Trent's room. AKA the office. AKA the den. AKA just Trent's.


Keep walking down the hall, or around and through the kitchen if you please and you come to our living room. Ta da!


Well, thanks for coming over guys. I hope you enjoyed the tour! Come back any time!


Love!

The Budgeteer

I now budget. I am a budgeteer if you will.

Trent and I have been reading financial books - a huge change from our regular fantasy genre - and pretty much simultaneously we started talking about setting up our own budget.

We went through our finances back in the summer when we were dating, kinda figuring out where we stood before and after marriage and where we'll be by the time Trent is done school. The numbers weren't pretty.

So now that we're married and fairly settled as far as income and expenses go, we re-calculated. The numbers still aren't pretty. But it was good to work out all the fixed expenses, because I think both of us needed to see that number on paper. Helps me re-establish my will-power to be smart about money.

Because here's the thing: I love shopping. But I'm really good at not spending money by just not going to stores. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Well here's the kicker: the office I work in is in a tower, in the mall. So every day I walk through the mall to get to the elevator to go to work, and back through to go home. Seeing all the pretty things and sales and such kills me. Especially when Aldo is having a massive sale. And the whole mall had a "double your closet" sale for a week. Life is hard. But budgetting is good. Because now I'll have to be super accountable for every shirt, shoe, or even shampoo that I buy. Which makes me think twice before I buy anything.

Some of the girls at work think I should be able to enjoy my paycheck and not be so tight with it. But I don't actually feel restricted. I feel smart. Besides, I have plenty of clothes anyways.

Cheers to the Budgeteers!