Figures. I can’t wait for summer.

My husband and I both work full time. And sometimes we can find outselves with a lot of stuff that needs doing on the weekends. I admit we don’t get enough chores done during the week. I always have aspirations to do more but my hobbies and pet projects usually get my attention instead – I opt for a workout instead of tidying my kitchen or blogging instead of vaccuuming.

But what happens, is we end up with the lion’s share of chores needing doing on the weekend. It sometimes feels like we don’t have much time for fun.

Now, part of our challenge is that mini-man still naps, so we have a 2 hour chunk during the middle of each day where we can’t plan on being anywhere. But we’re not very good at using that time wisely either. I don’t know… maybe we’re just lazy. I find the running around shopping and errands of a Saturday morning lead me to want to chill out during that coveted noon naptime rather than, say, scrub my toilet bowl.

To keep the quality in our lives, we try and do one fun thing as a family each weekend, if only for a couple of hours. Sometimes we’ll go swimming, or we’ll go to a park, or an indoor play area when the weather’s bad. There’s storytime at the local library, or even just playing a round of Wii Bowling. I think it’s more important to spend time together than it is that your home is just so.

Having my son in daycare every day gets me down sometimes. He’s there 9 hours each day Monday through Friday, and sadly, we couldn’t live in the community we do – where I grew up and grew to love – if I quit my job to stay home with him… or my husband did. But sometimes I long for a simpler life.

Just yesterday I found myself wanting to pack up and move.

In the meantime, however, I remind myself of how blessed I am to have a good job in this current world, to live in a beautiful community in a great city, to be happily married with a beautiful son… to have a loving and helpful extended family. And while I do find myself longing for simpler days, I still hold out hope that one day I’ll find that beautiful place of balance.

Photo: azrainman on Flickr

Here it is, Sunday evening once again. I find myself wondering if someone has managed to find a way to speed up the earth’s rotation because I’m quite certain I haven’t had a full two days since I switched from work mode to home mode.

Last week’s work week sped by like a bullet train and this weekend passed before my eyes like a parade. I wonder what it’ll feel like 30 years from now?! YIKES.

I find, more and more, the thoughts and plans and things I want to accomplish grow more and more, and yet the available hours of the day in which to accomplish them do not multiply at the same rate. Maybe I want too much. Maybe I strive too hard for things that don’t matter.

Do they matter? What matters? How do I tell the difference?

The Home Front

On Saturday we took mini-man downtown to his first IMAX movie – Wild Ocean 3D – and then to the Chinese New Year celebrations at the International Village and a stroll through Chinatown. Well, okay, the Chinatown part was more for my husband, who was stoked to take home a BBQ duck and assorted sauces for cheap; and the cultural experience of the Chinese New Year celebrations included mini-man enjoying the bouncy castle in the kids’ room, sponsored by the Vancouver Aquarium… But it was a fun family day.

Today was spent at church in the morning, where my pastor delivered quite the funny sermon – I thought maybe he was practicing for a stand-up routine… a bit like the Mars Hill Church guy for a bit. Very enjoyable. Then came grocery shopping, nap time and playing at Go Bananas. Following that brush with every biological organism known to man, mini-man and I returned home to where dinner and a game of Wii Bowling awaited us.

All in all a good weekend.

The problem is, I have so many more things I want to fit in to a weekend. I wanted to get some laundry done, shop for a couple of new tops, go for a run or take a yoga class and do my ironing.

I’m actually kind of grateful my husband isn’t working right now. At least he can take care of the house work during the work week so we can pack in the fun on weekends and I can attend to my various social media conversations, hobbies, blogs and business ideas in the evenings.

Here is just a short list of items on my spare-time agenda:

• Blog my thoughts here so my head doesn’t explode
• Spend more time reading my bible and praying
• Write the songs God is laying on my heart
• Renew my mortgage
• Prepare my business plan for Intrinsic Influence
• Blog some more for Urban Shore & build the community
• Figure out how to customize CSS
• Read more and engage with other bloggers
• Update  Manding Jata to self-hosted WordPress
• Run and snowboard more

The Work Front

On the eve of yet another work week, my head has already shifted to the days ahead…

There are also so many things I want to accomplish for Grouse Mountain before the Olympics come to Vancouver in 2010. It’s just a goal date I’ve picked to have finalized certain new programs, campaigns and communication methods/tools I want to implement, but it’s pretty ambitious for what I want to do:

• Finalize our mobile website – m.grousemountain.com
• Customize GrousePark Sessions as a self-hosted WordPress blog
• Build a better corporate blog and engage more staff in social media
• Completely re-build our e-commerce solution
• Implement a CRM system to help people get the most value out of our products
• Implement a loyalty program mountain-wide including F&B and retail

No small task eh? I know.

I also plan to continue pushing social media engagement as a valid business tool and would love the opportunity to start speaking on the topic at various industry events. I’m not in a hurry, though.

There are times I wish I could slow down the pace of thoughts. Perhaps I should re-listen to that sermon from this morning… Keeping It Simple, Pastor Owen Scott.

Note: This isn’t a sponsored post, though I do work for Grouse Mountain. I may be a little biased.

So I couldn’t help myself. First tracks of the season are awesome no matter what the terrain.

So the decision was made first thing Friday, December 12th that Grouse Mountain had received enough snow to open and would begin winter season operations on Saturday morning, December 13th. Many of the employees had been speculating all week since the significant snowfall on Tuesday, but it was Thursday night’s dump that sealed the deal.

We were ready for it.

One of the biggest perks of working for a ski resort is getting out on the slopes. For those of us who work in this industry I think it’s really important we continue to enjoy it in the way we did when we were first breaking in. I ended up going three years without snowboarding up until last spring. It was only on the staff day at the end of last season that I finally got out on the snow for the first time since mini-man was born. That’s just not right.

I can safely say the hiatus is over.

The mountain opened this morning with the new Greenway Chair and Paradise open. While I hear there were a few technical glitches with the brand new Greenway Chair, by 2pm The Screaming Eagle Quad was running and, with it, The Cut and Side Cut were open.

I got out for a few turns in the afternoon to warm up my early season legs and see if I could remember how to get down the hill. There was a super great buzz about the mountaintop – everyone seemed more excited and friendly than I’ve seen at times before. Must be because we’ve all been itching to get out in the snow, the lineups were reasonable and we were just happy to be finally on our boards.

The snow was good. Very few pebbles, a couple of icy patches, but all in all super for just a couple of feet spread out by the groomers. There were even fresh tracks to be had if you ventured to skier’s right of the Screaming Eagle and were willing to brave some of the tall grass and shrubs still poking through.

My legs held up and I didn’t have to find out how well my new pants would shield me from a roll in the snow. I did, however, determine I need to go buy some new long underwear. I am currently without a decent base layer and it was WAY colder than I’d thought it would be. I picked up some new goggles at Outfitters because I couldn’t find mine and the snow guns were blowing like crazy – in fact, I counted 9 on The Cut and I can’t stand riding without goggles.

On the way back to the Skyride I couldn’t help but pull out the camera to catch a little video of the vibe at the ice skating pond. It was packed and people were having a great time.

[video]

I also just happened to swing by just as Karen Magnussen was starting to give ice skating tips as part of The Peak of Christmas celebrations – notice Santa’s Workshop in the background.

I think I’ll head back up next weekend with mini-man in tow so he can check out Santa and the reindeer… and I’m definitely going to have to work a couple of runs into each work week as a little reminder of how fun my job is.

Photo: ReefRaff on Flickr

Ah, running… So good.

I’m not sure what it is that makes me love running so much. I don’t even mind doing it in the pouring rain – sometimes it’s even nicer like that. It does far more for me than just provide physical benefit.

I just went for my first run this morning in God-only-knows how long. I have been just dying to find more ways to work out… the video I bought is awful and I’ve had some trouble fitting it all in. And while big-man is no longer working out of town, it seems he will be working 12 hours a day for the next 6 weeks or so… with no days off.

So this morning I called my amazing mother in law (hereafter refered to as AMIL) to rescue me (again) and managed to eek out a 45 minute run in the rain while she walked mini-man around the neighborhood (hey, exercise is great for him too!) I was actually impressed that I was able to run for so long given how long it’s been, but it was like a million stresses all faded away instantly, and it was just me and my ipod.

When I’m running I feel like the person I want to be.

I’m strong, and healthy; a lean fighter. My mind and body both somehow recharge while my breathing plays a rhythm in my head. I feel joy and freedom, as if I’m doing something God intended me to do and I feel a little sad for those who can’t use their bodies in this way. I feel more energetic and better equipped to handle the challenges life throws at me. I feel peace.

Now that big-man will be home (and exhausted) in the evenings, I think I may just have to take a night or two each week and run after mini-man is in bed and big-man is passed out on the couch. And maybe my AMIL will continue to oblige a weekly Saturday morning jaunt through the neighborhood.

I wonder if it’s poor form to run to and from church on Sundays? It would mean I’m not really dressed appropriately (or clean) during the service, but I would be able to get in more run time that way. Besides, the bible even mentions running:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. [Hebrews 12:1 ESV]

It must be okay then. Guess I’ll find out tomorrow…

Why run?

• Calories burned
• Increased cardiovascular health
• It’s free; you just need some good shoes
• You can do it anywhere
• You can always go at your own pace
• Each time is different
• You can use speed and duration to vary workouts
• It works your whole body
• It’s good for the soul

What do you love about running?

My afternoon captured in photos:

While they’re off galavanting around the lake, the woods and the water slides, I get a weekend to relax and recharge my mommy batteries.

Today is Friday evening and I have enjoyed sitting to watch the evening news while eating take-out sushi (the sushi isn’t unusual, but the news is – big-man can’t stand watching anything to do with what’s going on outside our apartment… I have yet to figure out why that is). I have also completely cleaned up and re-arranged mini-man’s room, gotten rid of a garbage bag full of my old clothes, cleaned and moved a few large toys that I’ll take to a friend this weekend, and listened to Hillsong United with Brooke Fraser singing Hosanna over and over again:

Tomorrow I plan to sleep in until at least 6am and then do whatever I want for the rest of the weekend

So Thursday night at kickboxing I was reminded of the planned “Champions Social Night” by a few equally unsure individuals who asked if I was going, presumably to know if there would at least be someone there they didn’t feel horrified to try to have a conversation with.

I’ve been training at Champions for something like 8 years now. I’ve basically lost count. The truth is, though, that although I’ve known the people I train with for that time, I’ve not truely gotten to really *know* any of them. Those I did get close with don’t train anymore. To make matters worse, in the last 3 years I’ve taken a collective year and a half off, so friendships have formed and tight-knit clicks abound.

A few people asked me if I would go (the self-critical me figures it was likely out of politeness only) and so I reluctantly agreed to step in and check it out. I arrived WAY too early; I thought it was to start at 7:30 or 8pm… yeah, checking the details would have been a good way to go, but that’s just not my style these days. So I arrived at 8:30 thinking I’d be there late enough to at least be inconspicuous as I enter. Not so. I was the first person there other than Champions staff… nice. That doesn’t make a wall-flower type cringe at all…

Thank GOD for small miracles, one of the gals at the club I’ve been closer to in the last few years showed up relatively soon after I did, so we had a lovely chat. I came to find out she’s got a regular role on Stargate Atlantis, so I now have to watch it even though I don’t like science fiction shows, but it’s just really cool seeing someone you know on TV. Anyway, I digress…

I ended up having a super fun time, more to drink than I’d like to admit, and didn’t get home until 2am even though Mini-Man gets me up well before 6am on a daily basis. Other than being a little tired today (okay, well… a lot tired) I felt pretty good. Not like cardio-class Saturday good, but able-to-drag-myself-and-my-toddler-through-Superstore-for-our-weekly-grocery-shopping-trip good. So at least that was something.

I cringe at the thought of some of the photos that were taken. Something about drinks and dancing makes you feel likely more attractive than you really are. I don’t really want the reality check, thank you very much.