My Mammatus Clouds on Atlantic CTV News!

Well, I have to thank Leigh Redstone, a fellow April Mommy and owner of Butterfly Bows, for sharing my post-storm clouds from Tuesday with Atlantic CTV News.  I loved the way the photo was presented and we enjoyed watching the news from all the way across the country.  My favourite parts were where they zoomed on the map over to Regina's weather which was this one special isolated waether report and then gave a shout out to the Riders.  Clearly, the Maritimers know which team to cheer for!   I'll add my own "Go Riders Go!" as they play their first regular season game tonight in Hamilton.

Someday, I will visit the Maritimes and the wonderful people that live there.  Also, thank you to Cindy Day for sharing the photo is such a fun and light hearted way.  It made my day!  (No pun intended.)

Here's the video that was aired...thanks for videotaping it Leigh!  I wonder if I can get a clearer version from their website tomorrow too?

The Great Canadian Blog Bash 2012 - True Cuddles Giveaway!

It's finally here again! Welcome to the Great Canadian Blog Bash!  This is a

great opportunity for blog readers to discover even more great Canadian mommy bloggers who feature interesting info for moms along with lots of reviews and giveaways. For this event in particular, each blog will have a special post so you can learn more about each blog and at least one giveaway provided by a Canadian company and open to Canadians only.  All giveaways open today and will end on July 1st with winners being announced by July 3rd.  I am excited to be giving away a prize package from True Cuddles again this year, one of my favourite websites for Canadian Moms.  Please also check out the host blogs by clicking on the logo to the right for some huge prize packages as you don't want to miss out on a chance to win those as well!

Now, a bit more about me...

I am a Canadian Mommy of two very young kids and I live in Regina, SK. My daughter is two years old and my son will be four in September.  I started this blog when I was on maternity leave although I have been back at work for over a year now and my blogging has slowed down significantly!  I still try to keep up and hope to write more during the summer especially with a trip to Italy coming up!  But enough about that and more about Canada!

I have thought about what to write for this post and decided to use my teaching as a basis.  I teach students from other countries and they have told me why they have come to Canada.  It really makes me appreciate our lives here.  Usually, the first thing they say is that they come here for a better education and more opportunities.  I think they are just trying to suck up to the teacher with that one.  Then, they say it's safe and there is a lot of space so it's not so crowded.  Refugee students are very happy to be here and away from their war torn countries.  They are thankful to live in a peaceful country where they can enjoy rights and freedoms that didn't exist in their own countries.  My students make me realize how lucky we are here in Canada as it truly as an amazing country with beautiful scenery and wonderful diversity.  I love it.

The Giveaway!

True Cuddles has generously offered to give away a prize package worth $75. They actually suggested customizing the prize to the winner which is pretty awesome. They'll give away a "Pirose for Nursing and Fashion" Nursing Cover-up worth $40 as well as an additional $35 worth of "Cuddles" for either a boy or girl.  So I'm not nursing anymore but I'd totally wear one of these scarves as an accessory.. all mommas can make use of these!

Please see the Rafflecopter below for details on how to enter!

Pirose for Nursing and Fashion

Why modern mothers love Pirose:

• Functions as a nursing cover, scarf, shawl, head band and stroller or purse accessory
• Lightweight and breathable for portability and comfort
• Use as a stroller or car seat cover when on the go
• Easily tucks into your purse or diaper bag
• 100% polyester material allows for easy washing and drying
• With more than 12 ways to wear, Pirose instantly becomes your go-to accessory

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I Love Regina "Fun" Run

So the I Love Regina 10 Km race I did last Sunday wasn't exactly the "fun" run I had hoped it would be.  I persevered (perhaps against my best judgment) and ran the race but my head cold and subsequent sinus infection have made me regret it.  I felt pretty crummy during the run but was still able to keep up a decent pace.  I won't run a race again if I feel like that though.  It's hard to even explain the feeling of running into a stiff wind with a stuffed up head....let's just say that it wasn't pleasant.

As for time, my goal was to finish in less than 50 minutes.  If I had been healthy, I might have acheived this goal.  I ended up finishing in just over 51 minutes. I don't know my exact time because it was a fun run and there weren't any timing chips.  Since the whole race was kind of disappointing..mostly because I've felt awful since, I am going to try again on July 1st in Moose Jaw.  I haven't run any races in Moose Jaw before so I am looking forward to some new scenery.  As much as I love Wascana Park, it will be refreshing to take in some new sights!

In other news, tomorrow is the last day classes at our high school and we're onto final exams next week.  It's been a rough couple of weeks since I've been sick so I am glad that classes will be over tomorrow and I can rest up and hopefully feel better for exam/timetabling/meeting week.  Maybe everything will come together and I will be healthy AND it will actually stop raining for more than a few hours at a time.  I have hope!

Does size matter?

Is it weird that I am really excited to have a new suitcase for our Italy trip?  Jeremy doubts that I can fit everything in it that I need but I am determined to pack light.  We are still debating what size/type of suitcase is appropriate for travel in Europe.  I have heard to keep things small and light and I am willing to do laundry if necessary.  I also think that the high temperatures will mean I don't need any heavy clothing so that should help!

If you've been to Europe, I'd love your input into the luggage debate.  What size/type of suitcase did you take and what kind of day pack did you have along for touring?

I bought a 21" Hey's Velocity hard cover suitcase with spinner wheels and it's also slightly expandable width-wise.  It's super small compared to my usual suitcases for traveling but I think it'll be best for train travel and hauling around Italian cities if we need to walk a few blocks from time to time.  We aren't leaving until August so I have lots of time to test it out to make sure it fits everything I need.

So...what do you think?  Does size matter?

RPS Half Marathon

Passing other runners near the end!

This post is very late but I was waiting for photos and finally saw some this week.  I ran the RPS (Regina Police Service) half marathon on April 29th and was very happy to finish in 1:52:50.  I wasn't able to train as much as I wanted to but it was enough to have a good race and I finished strong which is always ideal.  I'd rather finish strong than struggle at the end because I pushed too hard early on.

I also posted some photos of my brother.  I think it's kind of funny how we are both passing people near the end of the race.  Clearly, competitiveness runs in the family.  That's what happens when you grow up with three older brothers like I did.

I am very happy to say that I've been running a lot lately and feel great.  I have been averaging around 25+ miles per week until this week as I acquired a cold from the kids.  Even I seem to get sick from daycare!  Fortunately, I don't feel terrible today and was able to run a 4 miler and test out my legs for a 10km race on Sunday.  I am doing the I Love Regina 10 km race and I am kind of excited about doing something shorter than a half marathon.  I just wish I was completely healthy but hopefully the race will go all right despite having a cold.

I am not sure which race I'll do after this one but I plan on running the QCM half marathon again for sure.  I am a bit concerned about being ready after our trip to Italy but I won't worry too much about that yet!  Hopefully, I can fit in a couple of training runs in Italy although I don't expect to.  On the upside, we'll be doing a lot of walking, hiking and pasta loading so that can't hurt!

Walking to the race - it was really, really cold!

Curt finishing strong!

Curt was much more photogenic on this race day.

Finishing up!  My time was actually 1:52:50. :-

My goal time for the 10 km on Sunday was to break 50 minutes but this cold has made me re-evaulate.  I will do my best not to get too down on myself if I don't reach my intended goal. I hate being sick and seem to get sick before every race I do.  I'll let you know how it goes!