Family Day Weekend Wrap Up

Ironically I sit here alone on Family Day.

Lindsay is out babysitting and the boys are at Puppy training class in Vancouver.

I was hardly ever more grateful for an extra day off after the gong show that last week was.

I worked 60 hours........and many of them very intense hours.

I have two huge building projects on the go - one in the last 25% of the project so getting pretty intense with finishing and the other in the first 25% which is heavy with design decisions. 

And then our first ever work Pro-D day on Friday saw me driving a van of staff to Seattle for a great but intense day.

Of course this was also the week that I had to teach a double class of 40 students on Thursday night.

And the whole South African trip flights came together thanks to our wonderful travel agent - but we had to make some quick decisions and make some big payments but we are booked for SA.  Now the on the ground planning can begin....which is exciting and nerve-wracking. So many places to go and so many people to see!  We leave Dec 6 for a month.

By Friday night I was FRIED!

So on Saturday I got up and went to do a cardio kickboxing style Jazzercise class at 8am (GH - shut it).  It was an intense but awesome workout.  I am loving Jazzercise this year and getting there 3-4 times a week.  I have learned to make it a priority and I even walked out of a meeting that ran over time 2 weeks ago so I could get to class! Work-life balance yadda yadda yadda.....

David and Allan went off to soccer and came home League champions!!!  Woot woot - What a great little team they have been this year!  Well done coaches and kids!

After that I got to hang out with Penelope and Parker who where as charming as always - I took them for a long walk to P2 could sleep and Allan and Spanner joined us for most of it.  And it was lovely to hang out with the Hofs when they came to pick up.  Don't move to Edmonton....ok??

On Saturday night we headed next door to catch up with our neighbours over appetizers and wine....they did a wonderful job on the food and we had great conversations right up until they told us that they are listing their house this week...... Nooooo (insert very sad face).  They have been such awesome neighbours who have become our friends.  They are staying local which is great.  Of course I spent way to much time in the night imagining gangsters and hooligans in hummers moving in next door with thumping music and drive by shootings...... so now I am pretty sure I will be fine with whomever moves in but if you know any really nice people looking for a fabulous home (with big in-law suite) and awesome neighbours give them my number!!  We will miss you Watsons.

On Sunday the dog beat the alarm but being old we were up before the dog or the alarm - or at least awake.  Church was great and Allan and I went for brunch while the kids were at youth and caught up with each other.

It was a gorgeous day so I donned my running gear and set out for a gentle 3km.  I ended up running 4.5km and it was my best run ever......had a great time.  If only my t-shirt would stay down, my bra straps on my shoulders and my jacket over my bobbing butt then all would be perfect.  Oh and it would also be nice if my feet didn't go numb at the 3.2km mark.  I used a playlist on my iPhone for the first time and it was AWESOME.....I almost broke into a jazzercise routine on the sidewalk once or twice but saved myself (and the public at large) from the horror!

We had a great dinner and Allan and I walked into Steveston to have a drink with new friends.  We had such a great, relaxed and interesting evening.  You never really know how these things will go (the wives were friends but the husbands had never met) but it was really lovely and we look forward to more evenings of conversation and beer.

Monday was a slower start and after a brunch of pancakes and bacon (David ate 7 pancakes) I took Lindsay and a friend shopping and did groceries while Allan channeled his inner plumber and David worked on his Zulu for his oral presentation on South Africa.

Lindsay then channeled her inner Asian and made steamed BBQ pork buns and green onion pancake for dinner while I went to Jazzercise with my friend SG.  All the songs tonight were Grammy winners from last night - such fun!

So here I sit, another busy 4 day week ahead full of meetings, feeling grateful for the extra day off, for my family, for wonderful neighbours and friends, for the hum of the dishwasher, clean sheets on the bed, a quiet moment to write and gather myself, thinking of my ECD colleagues who lost a friend and the ECD field who lost a leading light, making a long TO DO list in my head and wishing my hair would blow dry itself.

Thanks for reading my rambling thoughts - I do appreciate YOU!