On fitness and getting away.

On Fitness

Last year, I decided that I want to try out weight training.  However, I had no idea how to start doing this without hurting myself.  I decided to get a personal trainer two times a week to help me with this.

At the end of about seven months, and even after my first trainer moved to Calgary, I decided that I would continue because I had really enjoyed the experience.  I saw such progress in my personal fitness, and just overall energy levels, that I decided it was well worth the cost.

My second trainer (who was actually really scary intense) moved away at the beginning of the fall, and I ended up with a third trainer, who ended up being my favourite (even though I liked all of them).  I kept seeing a lot of progress in my conditioning, my strength, and my energy levels, but my body weight has stayed the same over the past few months.  However, in December I was diagnosed with a pesky medical condition that least it explains why the needle on the scale won't move.  (Although I have lost a lot of body fat, so that's nice.)

Last Thursday was my last day with my trainer.  I felt a little bit emotional at the end of it, like I graduated from school or something.  I'm at the point where I can work out on my own quite fine, with workouts based on what we've been doing.  However, I'll definitely miss the accountability of absolutely having to work out (and always pretty intensely).  On the plus side, not having set appointments is great.  If I'm done work early, I can hit the gym ASAP instead of having to kill time before my appointment.

Yesterday was my first workout on my own.  I did something I call "factorial rowing", where I row 100 m, then do 12 squat-presses with dumbells, row 200 m, do 12 more squat-presses and so on until 1000 m.  I killed it.  One plus of training is that I know what a good workout feels like, and I can't inadvertently cheat myself. 

Today was actually kind of nice out. The weather app on the phone claimed it was -7 degrees, but it felt warmer because it wasn't windy, and it was sunny out.  I opted to skip the gym, and do a training run instead. (Another perk of no long having set times.)  I did a decent 7K.  I've been forcing myself out in some rough conditions, that running today felt SO EASY, even though I guess it was still kind of cold.

To keep myself accountable on workouts, my goal is to take some time on Sunday nights to plan my exercise for the week in my fitness journal.  For each planned workout I do, I get $5 towards an extravagant purchase.  If I skip a planned workout, I will deduct $5 from my total. 

At the end of the day, I'm super proud of myself for keeping my 2013 fitness resolution well into 2014.  I'm a stronger more energetic person who like exercising, and I'm training for a half marathon which I'm super excited for.  I'm pretty good with clean eating too.  I'd give myself a solid B for my eating.  That's a great improvement from a solid F.  :)

On Getting Away

This has been a ROUGH winter.  I'm talking ice storms, something like 33 extreme cold days, and constant misery.  I'm not heading anywhere tropical, but the spring-like temperatures in London and Paris are more than good enough for me.

Today I was thinking about how I'll be able to wear shoes in both these places.  SHOES.  OUTSIDE.  It blows my mind.  I'm not even sure how you do that anymore.  (Note: I must remember to bring my cute red booties home from school tomorrow.  I want to wear those outside.)

I also realized I'll be able to wear fun things like my jean jacket.  What the what?  And I won't have to pack mittens, a fuzzy scarf, nor a toque.  Mind blown.

I want to go for one run in London, and one run in Paris to keep up a bit with my training.  I realized that I no longer know how to dress for warmer temperature runs.  How many layers do I wear????

I'm also going to do lots of fun things too, and I'm excited for that, but honestly, the lack of snow is what I'm looking forward to the most.  At my parents' house, they still have banks of snow that are five feet high.  It's awful.

Seriously, lack of snow might just bring me to tears of joy.  Be forewarned Claire & Becca T.

Is it awful if....

...as I read facebook post after facebook post, and have conversation after conversation with my friends who have children and houses who tell me about their weekends of shovelling show and waking up at 5:30 am to sign up for swimming lessons, and how their date nights turn into an opportunity to go Home Depot and buy paint for their bathrooms, and are out for dinner with their sweaters on inside out...

...that I feel really really grateful that I'm sitting on my sofa, in quiet and still, watching a dumb TV show, drinking wine, and dreaming about the reality that I'm flying to London and Paris in a few short days?

Being here

I discovered this song yesterday when my Zipcar did not have an audio connector thingy so I could hook up my phone to the stereo.  (There was my problem with my usual Mini Cooper, so I had to drive the Audi down the street.  It was great except for the lack of connector.)  Not one to be stuck to the radio, I grabbed a handful of CDs (remember those?) as I headed out the door with my grumpy cargo (Rilo) in tow.

One of the CDs I grabbed was the Arts & Crafts 10th anniversary retrospective that I got at Field Trip 2013.  It made for great road trip music as I drove Rilo to Stratford for safekeeping at my parents' house as I head off to London/Paris in a few days (!).



Most of the songs are old faves for me, but the above Stills' song from 2008 was a new find and great listening for a road trip.  It also made me remember of how I used to obsessively listen to the Stills' "Lola Stars & Stripes" back in 2003 before they were on AC.



Anyhow, it's been a pretty good past week, and a good weekend too.  I am really excited for my upcoming trip, and have to dig out my spring coat and wash it.  After weeks of extreme cold and tonnes of snow here, the 10 degree temperatures of London/Paris look amazing.  I can't wait.

Heavy rotation on the CBC.

Writing hasn't been coming to me easily at all lately.  I've though "oh goodness, I haven't blogged in awhile" but then realize that I'm not entirely sure what I'd even write about.

The past couple weekends and the days in between have been great though.  I had a nice birthday relaxing at the spa, doing a little shopping, and heading down to Stratford to visit my parents.  Last week, I had a packed social schedule, including a great Blue Rodeo show at Massey Hall with a friend who is recently back from teaching a semester in Italy. 

This past weekend was really busy too.  On Friday night, my friend Fea and I had a joint birthday party at a favourite neighbourhood restaurant.  I had a really nice Saturday hanging out in the city, and on Sunday, I went bridesmaids' dress shopping with my friend Wendy.  (I'm in her wedding.) I had to take the bus to Hamilton for this, but I did watch the hockey game live on my phone, and was really happy to see Canada repeat its hockey gold.

We got nice bridesmaids' dresses, which is great for me, because I'm going to wear mine in another wedding this summer.  I'm getting good value out of my dress.

The Olympics were super fun watch, eh?  This year, I wasn't feeling too excited about them, but then they happened at I had to go out and buy the new mittens and Canada sweater etc.  I'm such a nerd.

I just remembered that my favourite awful TV show is on tonight: The Bachelor.  This is great news, because I bought myself some fancy new wine glasses for my birthday, so it's the perfect time to open a bottle of my favourite Portuguese red and try them out.

Still pretty good year. (Birthday edition.)

Tomorrow is my last day of being 33.

I was comfortable with the number 33.  For some reason the number 34 feels a little surreal to me.  Maybe it's the fact that it marks the mathematical beginning of my mid-thirties.

I still like being in my thirties way better than being in my twenties.  I'm more confident, more willing to take risks, and more open.  But still, sometimes being more open and willing to take risks can lead to being hurt, which is exactly why I kept closed up a lot of the time in my twenties.

Regardless of my apprehension, 34 will come, and I'm certain it will be a good age.  I have a feeling things are on an upswing.

Usually for my birthday, I have a big dinner & drinks event for my friends but this year, I didn't feel like planning one.  Instead, I'm going to spend the day doing EXACTLY what I want.  I'm getting a massage, eating a free three-course meal at the spa, going shopping, and then taking the train home to visit my parents.  And I will have red wine on the train.  I don't think I need anything else.

Awww.

Becca T left this morning.  :(  What a short but awesome visit with my bestie.  Last night after work I went to the Bay and bought us the 2014 Canadian Olympic mittens and we watched the Olympics (and The Bachelor... my shame) while wearing our mittens and drinking red wine.

We also did silly things like send our pal Mathew hints of jewelry we liked from the Tiffany website, and I swear, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

The good news is that I'll see her in exactly a month tomorrow.  I booked my Eurostar train from London to Paris for March Break, so hey, Paris here I officially come on March 12th!

Even though, I'm still feeling a bit mopey coming home to an empty house tonight.  Even Rilo seemed a little bit sad/concerned when I walked in.  She was very talkative, which is not usual for her.

Luckily, I have more Olympic to watch, and thanks to Siobhan for hooking me up with the new Beck song.  What great moping music!

Baby you're a firework.

I had a busy week getting used to a new semester.  Five days in, and I think that yet again I'm blessed with great classes, although I do miss my old ones.

On Thursday, I had a little bit of time to kill, so I started reading Robyn Doolittle's book on Mayor Rob Ford at a bookstore.  As you all know, it's a rather sordid dark affair riddled with addiction, crime, and corruption, and sorts nastiness.  Doolittle is one of the Toronto Star reporters who saw the infamous tape and was integral in breaking many of the scandals associated with our mayor, and she recently published this book.  I had no interest in reading it, but then I picked it up in the bookstore, started to read it, and it was quite the page-turner, so I bought it and finished it in three days.  There's not a whole lot there that I didn't know before, but reading it all together in one place makes me realize how it's crazy that this awful man with no ethics or integrity is mayor.  I used to feel sorry for him because he obviously has addictions and demons, but his stubbornness and unwillingness to do the right thing (i.e. step down), negates him from any sympathy in my books.

Anyway, I also watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics at my friend Mathew's house on Friday night.  He made a Russian goulash.  It was tasty, and watching the opening ceremonies was fun.

On Saturday I had a good sleep in, then sat on my couch and watched a good three hours of Olympics.  After which I got myself and my home ready for my dear Becca T's arrival!  We had a super fun evening: we caught up on music, funny things on YouTube, ordered Swiss Chalet, and watched the Katy Perry movie.

I had an excellent Sunday.  I went for brunch at a friend's house so I could see her house and her new baby.  Then I came home and went for a nice outdoor winter run in the snow.  Becca T and I met up with some friends for sushi for dinner.  What a nice day.

Oh, also on our walk home from sushi, I came across a February Metropass (monthly TTC pass, cost = $133.75) on the ground.  We ran up to the girl ahead of us on the street to see if it was hers, but it wasn't.  There was no one else around.  I feel bad when people lose things.  Anyway, Becca will be able to use it tomorrow to get around town, and then I'm going to give to a colleague at school to give to a student in financial need. 

That was my week/weekend.  As always, the weekends go so quickly!

When you float like a cannonball.

Point form summary of the past few days:

1) The National is playing three shows at Massey Hall, and I was unaware.  Once I became aware, I checked and most of the tickets were sold out, but I could still find some decent single seats for one night.  I figured why not?, and bought one for myself.  I like taking myself on dates to see bands.

2) I got sick on Thursday.  I think it was food poisoning or something.  Anyway, I was lucky that we had a morning exam, and I left as soon as I could to go sleep.  I even had to cancel my usual Thursday workout.

3) Thankfully I felt better on Friday.  I had an exam on Friday morning, then spent the afternoon preparing for semester two. 

4) After school on Friday, my friend Fea and I went to the spa and then out for dinner afterwards.  It was really relaxing and really nice.

5) I got back into the winter running groove this weekend.  I did a short run (4.8 km) yesterday, and a long run (9.7 km) today.  My feet got wet, but I stayed warm.  I enjoyed both runs, and I'm thankful for the cemetery for being a great place to run; not a lot of slush builds up on cemetery pathways.

6) I finished all of my semester one marking last night at the neighbourhood Starbucks with my pal Fea.  Yay!

7) I scheduled a hair appointment for 4 pm today, but as I was hopping on the streetcar, my stylist called me to tell me he was running late, and asked if I could come in an hour later.  That meant I had an hour to kill in Kensington Market which was great!  I went to Fresh Collective, which is one of my favourite indie clothing stores.  They were having a massive sale, and I scored a dress and two pairs of really nice shoes (for spring though) all for about $100.  I saved over $324 off their full prices.  I can wear the new dress tomorrow but the shoes will have to wait.

8) After my hair cut, I stopped by the vinyl store Sonic Boom, and found a limited edition live album by Damien Rice.  He hasn't put out anything new in years and year (in fact he only has two very good LPs to his name), but the one time I saw him (in the fall of 2007) was one of my favourite shows ever.  Anyway, this little live album is great, and a nice reminder of how much I love his songs.

9) Oh, my friend Karen scored us tickets to Neko Case at Massey Hall in May.  Yay!

Well, I should get ready for bed.  I no longer have first period prep, so I have to get to school earlier to avoid stress.  Hope you all have nice Mondays!

Adorable

It's exam week.  First semester is on its last legs (which means I'm almost 50% to summer).  This also means that I have to say goodbye to my classes of the past five months, which is always a little bit sad to me.  I have a speech that I give on the last day, about how I've truly enjoyed teaching each and every one of them, and how I will miss them. (And it's always true, even though it sounds cheesy.)

Today my grade tens wrote their exams.  As a kid hands in their exam, I like to shake his or her hand, and congratulate them on finishing their exam.  When it comes to quizzes, tests, and exams, I'm known for my thoroughness, and finishing my exam is an accomplishment.  The first couple of kids who hand in their exam and get a handshake look at me like I'm a weirdo, but then they all warm up and get into the congratulatory handshake.

As I shook one student's hand, he paused and then said to me "Miss, thank you for being my science teacher for the past two years."  (He had me in grade 9.)  My heart melted.  Maybe you had to be there, but it was one of the most earnest, heartfelt thank yous that I've gotten, and it really made my day.  I think it was especially meaningful because he was a quiet kid, and he said it in front of the rest of the class, and it was just very touching.

And it totally reminded me why I love my job.

Too cold.

Last weekend I was all about the winter running.  This weekend, not so much.  I couldn't even drag myself out in the cold to run indoors at the gym. 

Friday night I had dinner & drinks with some friends, then came home and went to bed pretty early.  It was super windy and cold out and I was glad not to have to go anywhere.

The rest of my weekend was devoted to a little bit of errand running, lots of time marking with my friend Fea at our local Starbucks, reading, and sleeping.  And, huge drumroll please, I am actually done with the monotonous overwhelming chore that is marking.  Well, until Wednesday when exams start rolling in.  But it's nice to be caught up, and I'm going to relish it for awhile.

And that was my weekend.  I'm sure now that I'm all caught up with my marking, I'll have time to think of more interesting things to blog about this week.  Until then, happy Monday everyone.

I'm in misery where you can seem as old as your omens.

I've recently really gotten into Chvrches.  I love the album The Bones of What We Believe and this song especially.



Oh January, I keep trying to like you, I really do.  But you're so cold and dark, and you're going on for what seems like an eternity.  When it comes to my life, I feel like I'm in this weird limbo where I'm waiting for something to happen.  I have lots of things to look forward to starting next month (visit from Becca T, my birthday, Blue Rodeo, then my March break trip to Europe), but I gotta get through the work and drudgery that comes with this month. 

I think this is at least my second post complaining about this month.

But, I do have down time, which I have been craving so badly after the whirlwind that was the entire year of 2013.  I'm rocking at the healthy living thing: I'm continuing all of good habits around making my own lunches and eating clean during the week.  I'm exercising lots.

I'm reading a lot.  I'm on my fourth book of the year.

Also, I feel that lots of good things are on the horizon, but I'm a little impatient for them during these dark cold days.

I just want some sunshine.

The cold never bothered me anyway.

I never thought that I'd come to enjoy winter running.

I've been running consistently for almost three years now (I did my first race in 2011), and I'd do all of my training on a treadmill when the temperatures were cold, or it was raining, or when it was too hot.  I actually didn't mind treadmill running: it was easier, and there was zero discomfort.

However, I've come to the point where I detest the treadmill, and love the challenges that come with running outdoors.  This is the first time that I've been running into the winter months of December and January, and I'm getting addicted.

Yesterday was a lovely day for a winter run.  It was sunny out, perhaps about -2 degrees Celsius, and there was no wind.  The pavement was mainly clear of ice and free of slush, unlike the messy conditions last weekend, and my easy short training run was a breeze.

Today I had to do my long training run of 8 km.  (My long runs are going to progress in length and I keep training for my half marathon.)  It's cloudy today, about -5 degrees Celsius, there's a bit of wind, and it wasn't snowing when I started, but by the time I was 6 km, there were big flakes of snow steadily coming down.

The last bit of my run was super challenging: I was running uphill into the wind, and I was trying to finish in a certain time.  I managed to do it, and I felt super happy that I was able to battle the wind and snow. 

I managed to plan my run so that it ended a few metres away from my neighbourhood Starbucks, so I warmed up with a coffee which was really nice.  I watched a few other runners go by on the street and saw a girl with purple legwarmers.  I think I need purple legwarmers. 

I hope next weekend's running conditions are as nice as this one's.

And I'm in love with this song these days.

Epic Sleep and Epic Planning

Yesterday I was TIRED.  I went to bed at 9:30 pm and had the most epic of sleeps.  And I think it made for a good Wednesday.

School was pleasant.  I played test review Jeopardy! with my grade nines and the game got heated.  I love it when when kids get excited about nerdy things like playing Jeopardy!  Especially when it's the kids who aren't the most "scholastic" if you will.  I'm good at tricking them into learning despite themselves.

After school I went marking with a friend, then had a great workout at the gym.  Oh and before the gym I bought a black tshirt with birds because I believe in putting birds on things a la Portlandia.  In fact I put a bird on it, before that was a thing.



After that, I came home booked my flight to St. Louis for the long weekend in May.  I'm so excited that this trip came together.  All friends are book in, hotel is booked, flight is booked.  All we need now are the baseball tickets.

Then I marked a bit.  But then a friend texted me to see if I wanted to sign up for the Yonge St. 10K race in April and I said why not and planned that too.

Then I got a text from a faraway friend about a potential fall visit.

I'm liking 2014 so far.  I feel like I'm going to see so many amazing people and do lots of amazing things.  :)

Weekends come and go too quickly.

So quickly in fact, that I didn't even have time to blog about it.

I had a rather productive weekend.  My marking was neglected, but I got to household chores like laundry, taking down my Christmas decorations (a little late), grocery shopping, cooking food for healthy lunches all week, and even giving my fridge a good scrubbing.  I was pleased.

Of course, I got up to a lot of fun too.  And, I found out that my idea of a 31-day fast from alcohol, was well, maybe not doable at this time.  I wanted to detox after an indulgent holiday season, and also felt like 31 days without a drink could help me with my health and fitness goals.

But then my colleagues organized a fun dinner/drinks after school on Friday, and I'll be honest, it had been a long dramatic week at work.  My best intentions were vanquished, and there I was having beer, a burger, and then a fried Mars bar at a Scottish pub.  (I'm really excellent at making the most of my sanctioned cheat meals.)  It was all needed.

On Saturday, in between all of the household chores, I got my nails done, and then went to see the movie Frozen with my friend Elaine.  It was rather adorable.  Go see it if you need a nice little fairy tale with a funny snowman as comic relief.

On Sunday, the thought of going to the gym displeased my soul, so I laced my up my runners and decided to brave an outdoor run.  It had warmed up over the weekend, but there was still lots of ice and slush leftover from the yucky winter weather.  Most stretches of the sidewalk on main streets were pretty clear, but there were areas, such as the sidewalks by the cemetery, that were awful, and I had to stop running and walk over ice covered with slush and water.  My feet got soaked.  However, overall it was a pretty good run, and it was my official first run in my half-marathon training program.  Crazy to think that after that easy & slow 4.8 km, I'll work my way up to 21.1 km by May!

My pal Mathew needed to go a mall out in the suburbs (Vaughn Mills) to return something, so I went with him just for fun.  And, even if my self control is lacking when it comes to alcohol, I managed to leave the mall with only spending $8 on a new water bottle and root beer candies.  Yay me!

I wasted my Sunday night watching the Golden Globes.  Meh.

And then I survived this Monday.  Four more days until the next weekend.

London & Paris

Flights are booked!  And the price was fairly reasonable!

I leave Toronto on Friday March 7th, and arrive in London the next morning, where I'll stay chez Claire for a few days.

Then, I'll take the Eurostar to Paris to see my dear friend Becca T for a few days.  I'll return to Toronto on Sunday March 16th, and will be in bed by 10 pm for the next school day.

That's a great cure for the January blahs.

Little Cures for the January Blahs

Even though the holidays and the new year with its shiny new glow aren't too far behind me, the January blahs have hit, and they've hit me hard.  January is a yucky month at work: the final push of the last semester.  I'm trying to cover the rest of the curriculum, finish all of the term marking that I neglected over the holidays, write exams, do report cards and then prepare for the new semester in February.  It's a busy but not fun time, and of course, I am dealing with the mountain of work by procrastinating.

On top of that, the weather's been atrocious.  I had my fingers cross for an extreme wind chill day today, or even a snow day yesterday, but that didn't happen.  The Toronto boards rarely declare snow days: I've had one in almost ten years of teaching here.  Even with the awful weather, my thinking was highly wishful.

As I was blah-ing home from work, I realized that I needed to make myself an internal happy list of things that make me feel better in this cold, dark, month that's void of any real fun.  Here's what I've brainstormed.

1) My Hunter boots with fleece lining: I don't know what it's like to have wet or cold feet anymore!  My Hunters are one of my best purchases ever.

2) Hot Chocolate - even though I'm trying to avoid the white stuff (sugar), an evening mug is my one allowance at the end of the day

3) Exercise - because I was sick this weekend and yesterday (and it was too cold last night to leave my place), I went three days without exercising.  I was in a foul mood after work today, but I went to the gym and had a great workout and I feel so much better.  Even the vast influx of new year's resolutioners didn't annoy me too much.

4) Books - I'll always have books.

5) Trip planning - last night, a couple of friends and made plans to have a tri-blogger conference in St. Louis at a Cardinals game over the long weekend in May.  It looks like I'll be booking my flight shortly. 

Also, I started browsing March Break flights into London and out of Paris.  I'll be booking that soon too. 

6) Sleep - I love a good sleep.  Since it's too cold to go out, I can sleep more.

7) The Bachelor this season is rather hawt.  That's my love-to-hate show and I'm glad it's back. 

8) The fact that it's now less than six weeks until a long weekend in February.

Hurrah!  I feel a little less blah now.

End of (holi)days.

I always get melancholy when the holidays end.  I'm doing my best to keep my spirits up today.  On top of the end of holidays, I've also succumbed to an annoying cold, which has caused me to hibernate for most of the weekend.

I went out yesterday to see my friends Jon & Ali.  When I saw them in November, Jon realized he got his haircut in my neighbourhood, and he decided that he would use his haircuts as a strategy to get together more often.  Whenever he'd get his haircut, he'd text me to see if I was around, and we'd go for coffee.  Ali was able to leave their kids with the neighbours, so I got to see both of them!  I guess that's how friendships go in your thirties... you need things like haircuts and neighbours to bring you together.

Anyway, it was great seeing them, and Jon is prepping to run an entire marathon in the spring, so I got to ask him some advice before I start training for my half.  I realize that when I go for my longer runs, I'm going to need to bring an energy source (gels? Gatorade?) with me.  I asked his advice, and he passed along a great trick: a gummy bear every five minutes.  Apparently one gummy bear is the energy you need for five minutes, and if you keep eating them continuously through a long run, they should get you to the finish line.  I am so excited to try this out!  That's a reward for every five minutes!  Love it.  I'm excited to try this.

Today I slept in and dragged myself out to buy a new dress that I had my eye on, because wearing it tomorrow will give me something to look forward to, right?  I also stopped by the library, got a latte, got some cold medication, and got groceries.  Now I'm making some veggie chili to eat for dinner and also have for healthy lunches during the week.  Yay for starting the new year off with good habits.

I'm also starting my one month alcohol fast today.  So no drinks until February 5th, with an exception: there is an off chance that I might get some good news, and if that happens, I get to break the fast.  But it might not happen just yet.  (This news will happen eventually though... just a matter of when.)

Okay, dinner, a little bit of reading, then I have to do some marking.  Oh school nights, how I have *not* missed you.

So this is the new year.

Well, I've made it through the first two days of 2014, and I'm liking this new year so far.

NYE was a fun day/night.  My pal Vern (Go9) came down, and we got pedicures at the nicest nail spa in my neighbourhood.  Then we dropped by my local cheese emporium, and got the most delicious brie that we enjoyed on crackers with mimosas while sort of watching the movie Pitch Perfect.  We then met up with friends for an amazing dinner at Harlem Underground (fried chicken + waffles = OMG).  Finally, we topped off the night by sticking it out for both of Elliott Brood's sets at Lee's Palace.  I got home by 3 am, which is a sign of a great New Year's.

Yesterday, I just stayed indoors and watched a bunch of Dateline NBC online.  My friend Mathew is obsessed with Dateline, and somehow I've also gotten hooked.  I know there are better things on TV but yesterday, I just needed something to numb my senses, and watching something like 7 episodes did the trick.

Today was a super fun day.  I hosted two of my work pals and their four-year-old daughters for lunch.  I made chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, and the kids tried to coax Rilo out from her hiding spot.  Rilo is used to adults, and is the friendliest cat around adults, but she was really confused/alarmed by small energetic humans.  Eventually, the girls started to build forts using my blankets and furniture, and let Rilo be for awhile.  After forts, they started to draw maps of how to find Rilo, and Rilo ventured out while they were busy drawing.  She sat on my loveseat, which had its cushions removed to make it into a slide, and had a look on her face reminiscent of someone whose house was destroyed by a natural disaster.  Once the kids left, she spent the rest of the day sleeping harder than usual.

I went to the gym, ran some errands, then met up with a friend to see the movie "Inside Llewyn Davis" which I totally recommend.  Seriously, today was a great day!

I haven't yet written about my goals for 2014, which I think I usually do at some point.  It's always nice to have them listed somewhere where I can review them as need be.  I also find the blogging community to be super supportive, so it's always great to share them with you guys.  So, without further ado,  here are my goals for this new and awesome year.

1) Run my first half marathon.  I registered officially on the first, and now that I've paid $75, there's no going back.  I'll start my official training program on the 16th, which is supposed have me ready by May 4th.  Sometimes when I think about the fact I've committed myself to running 21.2 km, I think WTF, but deep down I know I'm ready to do something more than a 10K.  I'm actually really excited for this.

2) Return to eating clean.  I really did improve my eating habits in 2013.  I feel like I went from a grade of F to a solid B in the nutrition department.  Admittedly, I slipped over the holidays (see NYE food above) but I'm happy to get back on track.  I also want to see if I can go the next month without alcohol, because I indulged a lot over the holidays, and I could use a break from it.  (That fast will start on Monday.)

3) Get organized and decluttered at home.  I did a tiny bit of this over the holidays, but it needs to be an ongoing project.  Perhaps if I schedule myself one task per week (i.e. clean a specific closet or shelf) I'll make good progress.

4) Entertain guests more often at home.  I commonly have friends come visit me from out of town, but I rarely have my friends from Toronto over.  I had so much fun today that I definitely need to do more entertaining in the new year.  My friends from today realized that my place would be a great spot for them to take naps when they need a break from their families, so maybe my flat will become the place to be for 2014.

Those are my goals.  I'll check back in when the year is 25% done to let you know how I'm doing.

My Year in Lists: Concerts of 2013

• Feb 1st - Blue Rodeo @ Massey Hall
• Feb 22nd - Hayden @ The Rivoli
• March 20th - Stars @ Danforth Music Hall
• March 21st - Stars @ Danforth Music Hall
• May 31st - Young Galaxy @ Lee's Palace
• June 8th - Arts & Crafts Field Trip: Broken Social Scene & Feist as headliners @ Fork York & Garrison Common
• June 11th - The Postal Service @ ACC
• June 14th - Hayden and The National @ Yonge-Dundas Square
• July 4th - Toronto Urban Roots Festival (She & Him, Joel Plaskett Emergency and Camera Obscura) @ Fork York & Garrison Common
• July 6th - Fun. and Tegan & Sara @ Downsview Park
• July 7th - TURF (Belle & Sebastian, NEKO CASE, Whitehorse and more) @ Fork York & Garrison Common
• Sept. 1st - Stars @ Nathan Phillips Square
• Sept 20th- The Soul Motivators @ The Junction Music Festival
• Oct. 11th - Basia Balut @ The Polish Combatants Hall
• Nov. 1st - Matthew Good @ Massey Hall
• Nov. 2nd - Joel Plaskett @ The Danforth Music Hall
• Nov. 29th - Hawksley Workman @ Midland Cultural Centre
• Nov. 30th - Hayden @ The Danforth Music Hall
• Dec. 12th - Two Hours Traffic @ Lee's Palace
• Dec. 31st - Elliott Brood @ Lee's Palace

My Year in Lists: Books Read in 2013.

For posterity's sake, I always like to save my annual reading and concert lists to this blog.  I used Goodreads to take screenshots of the 31 books that I read in 2013.  They are in reverse order from last read to first read.

Of the books I read, I'm going to pick the top five most amazing reads of the group (in no order).

- Salt, Sugar, Fat by Michael Moss (an amazing look into how the food industry manipulates the consumer to make unhealthy choices)

- February by Lisa Moore (an amazing novel about loss)

- My Maasai Life by Robin Wiszowaty (a fascinating book about how a woman immerses herself in Massai culture in Kenya)

- The Spark by Kristine Barnett (a story of how a mother was able to help her son escape a grave diagnosis of non-verbal autism, to become a physics genius as a teenager)

- A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout (a gripping read about how a young woman goes from being an avid adventure traveler to being kidnapped by extremists in Somalia for 460 days)