This one is just because...

As I was surfin' and bloggin', I came across a blog with this video one one of them. Normally I would just overlook this kind of stuff, but I was intrigued by the title...
FREE HUGS! <--(click here)
Hope you take the time watch it are as moved by it as much as I was. I think this is what the world needs more of. Not neccessarily more hugs, but more people and strangers reaching out to each other to say hey!! Life can get lonely and sometimes you just need to know someone, anyone is there, even if all you need is a HUG!!
Also, I would like to say thanks to everyone stopping by my blog.
Have a great weekend!
Adrienne

Almost peed my pants!!!

Volleyball was amazing!! I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants! One of the girls brought her insane friend and I have not laughed that hard in ages. I am surprised my belly doesn't hurt. We played for almost 3 hours (supposed to be 2) and I was actually ready to go home. What a great workout! Can't wait for next week. If our gym is available, we are going to have it at our school.

So, I thought maybe Teri and I were going to keep our projects under wraps until we were done and ready to unveil them, but the bugger (I mean blogger!!) has already posted about hers. So, I guess I will do the same. I will give you a taste of what I have in store. Hope you come back to check it out when it is done. I am pretty excited about it. I got these beauties while we were at the VV Boutique last weekend. I snapped them up because they have a lot of potential. Not sure if I will keep them, or give them away as a gift. Will have to wait and see. Enjoy!!!

Adrienne

Another 7km!!

In the last 2 days Adam and I have skied 7 km. I am so proud of us!! We say we are going to go and we go. I really wanted to stay and watch the Ski Cross on the Olympics today, but I did not give in. My willpower and determination and gone through the roof. He is doing great too. I don't want him to totally give up junk, but merely limit it. We were in the grocery store the other day and we went down the cookie aisle. He saw a back of Chocolate Chunk cookies and started to hug it!! 'I miss my old life!" he said. I think we all do, but it just feels so good to know we are doing what's needed to get in shape and lose weight! Chris on the other hand... is NOT exercising and still losing weight. I think I will sneak some rocks into his underwear before he weighs in. At least he is not shooting past me like usual. He has only lost one more pound than me.

On a more creative note, my fantastic friend Teri and I went to the "VV Boutique" yesterday and found some great finds!! I don't want to go into too much detail, but we are both very excited about the items we rescued and are planning an intervention so they can realize their true beauty! Once the weather really starts to warm up, we will start on our projects. Let's just say, there will be dust flyin' and paint sprayin' in our future!! Can't wait to get started.

Weigh in is tomorrow... hoping for a good number. Also, some great news....Volleyball tomorrow night. It's the intense one so I am really excited.
Have a great Monday, I (hope) know I will!!!
Adrienne

You'll never guess what happened to ME!!!!

It's Thursday night, and all is well. No, wait!! All is not well in my little world. I got some very disturbing news this afternoon at school. So bad, in fact that my co-worker (worried about my reaction) thought it best to break the news to me after lunch for fear of the wrath I might bestow upon her. What could be so earth shattering, heart breaking, or gut wrenching? ........

............Volleyball was cancelled tonight due to lack of participants. What do you mean there aren't enough people tonight? This can't be true. I have been JONESING for my beloved volleyball since the 8th. Ten whole days without it. I am truly devastated. If everyone knows what is good for them, Monday night v-ball better go off without a hitch.

On a slightly more SANE note in my life, I forgot to mention that I lost 1 more pound on Monday. I am now at 14 pounds! Very excited about this whole weight loss, healthy living and 'can't wait to exercise' journey I'm on. Due to the impending depression I am falling in tonight because of the absence of the above mentioned sport, I shall take my frustrations out on my treadmill. I would rather beat someone up, but considering my hubby is the only one home at the moment, I will stick to the treadmill. Time to crank the music up, and sweat the 'poor little me' out of me.

So, there you have it. My life at the moment - in a nutshell. Volleyball + Me = Happy!!! Of course, there is so much more in my life that make me happy, but for now, I am not ready to leave my own pity party just yet.

Hope all is well in your little part of the world!!

Adrienne

And the ugliest page goes to......

My wonderfully wacky friend Teri pointed me in the direction of this blog that is having an Ugliest Page contest. Well girls, you can stop bloggin, I've got this one in the bag!!

I HATE this page. I did it while I was in a Book of Me club a couple of years ago. A moment that I would rather not admit to. I should hide it in the back of my cupboard never to see the light of day again. No matter who I show this page to, I always add, "I Hate this page". They graciously reply, "I like it". Oh contraire mon amie...{my french leaves a lot to be desired as well} it is the ugliest page I have ever seen. This was my first try at glitter. I was going for a much more SUBTLE effect, instead of this smathering of glitter and glue. You know how they say "less is more" well, they are right, who ever THEY are!! I was pretty excited once I started putting this page together, but it just didn't come out the way I had hoped. Why I even keep it is beyond me. I guess maybe as a reminder that I can always do better.

I hope you all hate it as much as me. I will be strong, I will not cry when you bestow this honor upon me. In fact, I look forward to it. Finally, someone who will be honest and tell me how horrible it is.

Thanks for lookin'!!! Hope your ugly can compete with mine!!!

Adrienne

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Today is Valentine's Day!!! We are not much for celebrating it, as my birthday is the day after. Why fight all the LUVY-DUVY crowds, when we can go out for my birthday the next day??!! The frame above is a little something I made Chris. I know he doesn't really like this kind of stuff, but I thought it would be nice to make him something, even though it will probably end up in my craft room. That was nice of me hey?!

Adam and I did go back to Wapiti Ski Club today to have another go at it. The weather was not as great as it was yesterday, but still, warm and calm. I did remember to bring my camera with me today. We did our 2km loop and then went to the chalet to have a snack and a drink. Oh, before I forget, as we came to the end of our run, I DID NOT ski down the hill. Adam decided he was going to give it another try and ended up falling. Once he got back up and continued down the hill, he really had to put the breaks on. And, again, he was amazing!! He crossed his skis and then slid to a stop. I am so proud of him. He has taken this exercising and eating right thing so well. From a kid who watched TV, ate junk, and never ate a salad, he had come so far. He, like myself, can't wait to exercise. He has also started REQUESTING salad at dinner. Absolutely in awe of this kid. He makes me so proud. Ok, back to skiing. We finished our first loop, and went for a drink and a snack. We then got our skis back on and went for another 2km. So, altogether, we skied for 1hr and 20 min and 4 km.

I have made myself a deal. I will not watch any of olympics unless I have or will exercise that day. I guess I have my work cut out for me. I have also done some thinking about volunteering at the Arctic Winter Games in March. As I watched to final legs of the Olympic torch run the other day, I really began regretting not going to see it when it came through town. So, with that in mind, I think it would be a great opportunity to be involved in something so great. I don't know what they are looking for as far as availability, but I think it is worth a shot. I will keep you posted on what I find out.

Tomorrow is my birthday (& Family Day) and I am not sure what we are going to do. I do know that I AM NOT making supper. That is one thing that I refuse to do on my birthday. I will make a big breakfast, but I will not make supper. Not sure where we will go.

Take care,

Adrienne

What an amazing February day!!

The weather today was breathtaking. Not a cloud in the sky and it got up to about -5 or so. Not exactly sure what the temp was, but in Northern Alberta, in February, any day above -15 is a blessing. I had an extremely lazy morning. Watched some more of the Olympics and when I say some, I mean probably a mind numbing 4 hours. Ok, I know, a little excessive, but after last night's opening ceremonies, I had to see what's the what. I finally pried myself out of bed and went online to check out the hours for the Nordic Ski Club. Adam and I decided to go cross country skiing for the first time there. It was really great. Beautifully combed and groomed trails. Really friendly people (didn't have a clue which trail to take) to ask about the EASY trails. We did the FOX run which is 2 km in about 1/2 an hour. I was beat. So, as we are coming to the end of our run, we come to one final hill. The whole trail had a couple of hills. No, not HILLS. But they were still hills in my books. That last hill was a doozie. Adam went first and he was spectacular. His skis came out of the tracks and he was a movin'. He did this move, just like you would to stop yourself if you were skating. You know, turn sideways and dig in. Well, I thought that was the end. I was sure he was going to fall, but instead he came to this wicked stop and I was SO proud of him. Next was my turn. I contemplated taking off my skis, but decided to give it a whirl. Oops, my bad! I forgot that I have never down hill skied in my life. It was going ok until my skis came out of the track as well. I thought, if I can stop on skates, surely I can stop on skis. Again, OOPS, my bad. No, not the same. Alas, I fell and yes...there were people watching. So, when we go back tomorrow, I WILL WALK DOWN THE HILL!!!

We'll see what tomorrow has in store for us. I will remember to take my camera!!!

Adrienne

Ta-da...5 more!!

Yep, 5 more pounds. That's 13 so far. In 5 weeks, I have lost 13 pounds and am starting to get those comments! You know, the ones that make all this hard work worth it. I was talking with Adam's teacher after school on Thursday, and she told me that she is really amazed with how good I look. It is such a great feeling when people you see everyday tell you they notice that you have lost weight. It's one thing when someone sees you after a while and notice the weight loss, but to be noticeable to those you see everyday, it is even more impressive to me. I must say, I don't think I would be having these results without my newly rekindled love with volleyball. I am now playing volleyball twice a week, and still LOVING every minute of it. I played this past Monday, and it was INTENSE!!! I have the bruises to prove it. Gotta step up my game for Mondays. As I got out on the court, my heart beating, (pits) sweating, mouth drying, I readied myself for some amazing v-ball!! I really don't know if I would be having the same results without my volleyball nights. I guess I would have found something else to keep me active, but I am so glad it is volleyball. Dreading the moment when someone says it will be over for the summer. NOOOOOO, how will I live without it? Tennis anyone??? I think I will take up tennis for the summer. OK, I feel alright now. I might survive the end of my volleyball nights and replace it with some tennis. Just gotta buy a racket and find a court. So, I should get going. Just finished watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. Breathtaking!! Loved it. Pumped!!! Excited!! Can't think of any more verbs that describe my state of mind right now, so I will leave on this note. I am proud to be a Canadian!!! Proud to live in the TRUE NORTH. Proud to be strong and FREE!!!

Take care!

Adrienne