This year I made a few resolutions so I’ve decided each month to go back and re-visit them. To re-cap, my resolutions were to:

1. Learn how to cook
2. Eat healthier
3. Feel better about myself
4. Train for a half-marathon
5. Lose 16lbs (get back to my wedding weight)

So how am I doing with my goals?

1. Learn how to cook
   I’ve definitely been trying and making a big effort in this department. This has been a rather expensive little goal because previously all of our meals came from packages, so I had no spices in the house with the exception of pepper, salt and cinnamon. Purchasing all the spices I need has been expensive, but it’s been worth it. I’ve made a few things that my family has loved: Banana bread, Low-Fat Turkey Chili, Tuna casserole, Beef stew, Beans & Bacon Saute (These recipes can all be found on my Fitness Cheerleader site) and I’ve made some stuff my family hated: Tufu & Veggie Stirfry in a Peanut Sauce (Peanut Butter FAIL), The Best Ever Mashed Potatoes (Parmesan Cheese FAIL). I also made a Quinoa & Black Bean Salad that I love and have been bringing for my lunches.
2. Eat healthier
   This goes hand-in-hand with learning to cook. So far I’ve been successful with this. We’ve definitely eaten a lot less packaged foods, though there have been a few nights where my kids ended up eating a bowl of grapes and a peanut butter sandwich for dinner because the meal I tried to cook didn’t turn out very well. I’ve had a lot of healthy left overs for my lunches, and I even made healthier choices the few times I did eat out. Oh yeah! I almost forgot! I CUT OUT COFFEE!! I’m now drinking decaf green tea instead. I haven’t completely given up caffeine though – I do have one caffeinated green tea from Tim Horton’s each day. This is as much a social thing as a nutritional day because I walk over, and line up at Tim Horton’s every day with one of my co-workers. The nice part about this is that I now sleep WAY better! Yay!

3. Feel better about myself
   This one has been really hard, though I’m starting to be more aware of my mood cycles and have picked out some triggers. Such as:
   • Sleep (or lack of it)
   • Too much caffeine
   • Processed foods
   • Not exercising
   • Missing hubby

Thankfully most of these things I have control of. I can go to sleep earlier, minimize my caffeine intake, eat healthy (clean foods), exercise. I’ll keep working on these things over the year.

4. Stop rushing around and plan ahead
   I did well with this for the first two weeks of the year but I’ve totally slacked off in this department. Brooke has been sleeping horribly (she’s transitioning to a big girl bed) so I’ve been “too tired” in the evenings to pack stuff up, then sleeping in because I’ve spent an hour or more listening to her whimper and try to fall back asleep each night. I’ve done a great job planning meals, grocery shopping and having food on hand. I really need to make more of an effort on the packing and preparing lunches ahead of time thing.
5. Train for a half-marathon
   I’ve really done a great job over the past month sticking to my training plan. This week has been a bummer due to my calf injury, but I got my 10K in this weekend which was completely awesome!
6. Lose 16lbs (get back to my wedding weight)
   I have no idea why being larger than I was 6 yrs ago bugs me so much. I have had two kids after all. But I know I can be fitter, leaner, stronger with more energy – the kind I had before kids. The training, sleeping, healthy eating and planning are all helping with this goal and so far I’m down 6lbs. Not bad for 5 weeks! At this rate I’ll be down to the weight by our 6 yr anniversary on April 6, 2010.

How are your resolutions going? Have you been sticking to them? Don’t worry if you haven’t – you can start over again any time. Every meal and every day is a new fresh start!

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PS – CBC and Cold-FX are currently running a contest for a free trip. When filling out the form you can tick a box that says “Yes I would like to receive more information and a free sample from COLD-FX.” They will then send you a free sample of Cold-FX. Who knows you might win the contest too and get a free trip to a sunny destination.

Click here to order your free sample of Cold-FX Canada now

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30 Skills Every Woman Should Have Before Turning 30

1. Hard boil an egg – Ummm does sort of count?  You put an egg in boiling water, but for how long?
2. Diplomatically tell Mom to butt-out – NOPE 
3. Ace a job interview – I hope so – I had one today
4. Ask a man out – YES – that’s how hubby and I began dating
5. Send a thoughtful thank you note – YES
6. Listen to a friend in need – YES
7. Ask for help – YES
8. Effectively end an unhealthy relationship (romantic or platonic in nature) – NOPE
9. Beautifully wrap a gift – YES – I worked as a gift wrapper one Christmas
10. Say “no” gracefully – NOPE
11. Whip up a great dinner with the five items in her fridge – NOPE
12. Forget pleasing him, by 30 a woman should be able to tell her man exactly how to please her – YES
13. Sew a button – YES
14. Mix a kick-ass cocktail – NOPE – but I know how to order one
15. Take off her bra without removing her shirt – YES
16. Apply lip gloss in the dark – YES
17. Balance her checkbook – NOPE
18. Create a budget – YES – but staying on the budget is another story
19. Find the best deal – YES
20. Negotiate a salary and/or pay raise – NOPE
21. Read a map – YES
22. Hail a cab – YES – Here cabby, cabby, cabby…
23. Say something in French just for the hell of it – YES
24. Apologize when she’s wrong – NOPE
25. Dress for her body type – NOPE
26. Change a flat (or know whom to call to come change it) – YES – called hubby to rescue me 2 yrs ago
27. Spot a fake (handbag, diamond, potential friend…) – NOPE
28. Feign interest – NOPE
29. Know what to tip on a $25 dinner bill – YES – 8 yrs of working in the service industry helps
30. Hold a baby (Hey, someone you know is bound to have one sooner or later) – YES – by 30 I had also given birth to a baby

I scored: 16.5

How did you do?

<hr>

Thanks for stopping by!
-Janice aka @momontherun

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DAY / DATE / CITY & STATE / VENUE / ON SALE DATE – ALL TIMES EASTERN STANDARD
(ALL DATES/TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

- Sat 3/07/09 Hidalgo, TX – Borderfest – 1/26 @ 10a
- Mon 3/09/09 Tulsa, OK – BOK Center – 1/24 @ 10a
- Tue 3/10/09 Bossier City, LA – Century Tel Center – 1/24 @ 10a
- Thu 3/12/09 Ft. Myers, FL – Germain Arena – 1/24 @ 10a
- Fri 3/13/09 Orlando, FL – Amway Arena – 1/24 @ 10a
- Mon 3/16/09 Nashville, TN – Sommet Center – 1/30 @ 10a
- Tue 3/17/09 Greenville, SC – Bi-Lo Center – 1/24 @ 10a
- Thu 3/19/09 Baltimore, MD – 1st Mariner Arena – 1/24 @ 10a
- Fri 3/20/09 Hershey, PA – Giant Center – 1/24 @ 10a
- Sun 3/22/09 Erie, PA – Erie Civic Center – 1/24 @ 10a
- Tue 3/24/09 State College, PA – Bryce Jordan Center – TBD
- Wed 3/25/09 Portland, ME – Cumberland County Civic Center – 1/24 @ 9a
- Thu 3/26/09 Syracuse, NY – OnCenter – TBD
- Sat 3/28/09 Niagara Falls, NY – Seneca Niagara Casino – 1/23 @ 10a
- Sun 3/29/09 London, ON – John Labbatt Center – 1/23 @ 10a
- Mon 3/30/09 Ottawa, ON – Scotiabank Arena – 1/23 @ 10a
- Tue 3/31/09 Manchester, NH – Verizon Arena – 1/23 @ 12p

You can purchase tickets HERE

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"We’re not going to be drinking pina coladas, we’ll be serving them!" Joey McIntyre says.

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• NKOTB Welcome Cocktail Party
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• 2 Additional Deck Parties with DJ’s
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(Now if only I could win the lottery sometime between now and then so I could report to Deck A to attend Danny Wood’s Fitness Class *wink*).

Thanks for stopping by!
-Janice aka @momontherun

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Today I persevered and headed out for a cold blustery run during my lunch. I say cold and blustery because it was -22C (-7F) with a windchill that made it feel like -29C (-20F). Yes – to quote my best friend, ‘It was buttf-cking cold out there!".  I had totally planned ahead – I brought lots of layers to wear, I made sure I had an extra change of socks and underwear, charged up my iPod, figured out how to unfreeze the iPod and even remembered the little Nike+ receiver for it. I was all set so I headed out for one of the coldest 3km runs I’ve ever done…

(I was going to show you the run profile from Nike + but it was so effing cold out that my ipod froze (literally) 3/4 of the way through my run and my run data was lost). 
Hey Garmin!  Wanna send me a forerunner to test drive & review?

After my run I pulled the frozen meal I’ve had waiting for me in my work freezer for the past 3 months out and cooked it.

Arrrgh!  It smelled horrible and just didn’t look right if ya know what I mean…  Because I no longer had time to pick up a lunch I had to raid the vending machines and paid $2.75 to eat this for lunch:

I choose the peanut M&M’s because of the “protein” in them – they’re nutritious right?

Thanks for stopping by!
-Janice aka @momontherun http://www.twitter.com/momontherun
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Hurry and VOTE for me, I’m #25! The contest for the Best Mom Blog Header Contest ends on January 31, 2009 and I need a TON more votes to beat out momdot.com.

Profitable Mommy Blogger (www.profitablemommyblogging.com) is having a blog header contest!

And Ed of A Viking Running was kind enough to nominate me (thanks Ed – you rock!). 

My header was designed for me by the very talented B. Woods of B. Woods Design.  I was looking for a simple clean header that I could use to help with branding, along with a 125×125 ad I could use for entrecard.  After a few emails back and forth, she was able to have a new header to me within 24 hrs!  Thanks girl – you also rock!

So how can you help support Autism?

The winner of the blog header contest will get $100 added to their Paypal account.  Although I could sure use $100 (yanno – to buy a replacement iPod for my ever freezing 1st generation piece of crap one), I’ve decided that if I do win I’ll donate the whole prize to a charity that helps families living with Autism. Yes – I’ll donate the WHOLE prize to: The Autism Foundation of Canada.  So please help me to support Autism by visiting  and leaving a comment with your wish to vote for header #25.

Hurry! Voting in the contest is only open until January 31, 2009.  Thanks!

Thanks for stopping by!
-Janice aka @momontherun

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But now that I have kids finding the time to exercise is far harder.  OK, I admit it.  Finding time is damn well near impossible!  Those darn kids can’t look after themselves.  (Well they could, but then the CAS would be on my ass).   Now wonder so many of us parents have gotten fat.  Eating too much and exercising too little has a tendency to do that to us.  Now that its the New Year and I’ve set all these amazing resolutions I’ve found that there are essentially 4 different times in the day I *could* exercise: before work, during lunch, after work, or after the kids go to bed.  In an attempt to find the best time to exercise, I brainstormed my excuses for not exercising:

Before work:

• It’s too hard to get up that early
• What happens if I wake up one of the kids while getting ready to workout/run?  Is it fair to leave my hubby to tend to the child I woke up? 
• What if hubby is away on business? (Hubby travels quite often).  If one of the girls get woken up by me then I will have to look after her and won’t be able to workout anyway.  (It’s just safer to stay in bed).
• When will I shower?  The kids will want to join me in the shower or will beat the crap out of each other while I’m showering (for the record, I shower at night after the kids go to bed).

During Lunch:

• I’ll get too sweaty and stinky
• When will I eat my lunch?
• Won’t I be too hungry?
• When will I run errands?

After Work:

• Who will pick up the kids?
• Who will cook dinner for the kids?
• Will the kids miss me?

After the kids go to bed:

• I’m too tired
• There are too many other household chores to do
• When will I be able to relax (and blog)?

After reviewing my list of excuses, I came to the realization that my lunch time excuses were the easiest to overcome.  I don’t sit near anyone at work so who cares if I stink?  Who cares if I get sweaty?  A quick wipe of my face with a towel and a spray of perfume can fix that.  My hair?  Who cares!  I wear it in a ponytail most of the time anyways!  Hungry?  I can eat a small snack before I run.  Lunch?  Who needs an hour to scarf down a sandwich and a few carrots?  Errands?  Those can be done after work, or even better, after the kids go to bed (The WalMart near us is open 24 hrs and so is the grocery store!). 

So for the past week I’ve ran on my lunch.   And you know what?  I highly recommend it!  I actually liked my lunchtime runs.  After running I felt way more alert and productive.  My runs helped me to think problems from the morning through. It also helped me to stay on track with my eating.  Much to my misfortune I found that I didn’t have time to pick up an extremely fattening burger and fries – I only had enough time after my run to eat the healthy lunch that I brought – helping me even further to reach my goals.   So if you’re having a hard time finding the time to exercise, why don’t you try exercising during your lunch hour?  Like my twitter friend and I , you may surprise yourself and rather like it.

Remember:

You can have either fitness or excuses
But not both!

Thanks for stopping by!
-Janice aka @momontherun

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The girls have gymnastics at the same time on Sunday mornings.  Brooke’s class is a parent & tot class so hubby does it with her, while Sierra does her kindergym on her own: "I’m a big girl mommy, I don’t need you anymore…".  That leaves me with 45 min to myself on Sunday mornings – Yay me!  Last week I brought my laptop and worked on a blog post offline.  This week I decided to use my time more wisely, so I got dressed in my running stuff and prepared to go for a run.  Unfortunately we had 10 cm of the beautiful cold, wet, whitestuff dumped on us overnight last night Bummer…

But I ran anyways!

It was an absolutely brutal run – I felt like I was running in the sand, which may be fun when you’re on a beach, chasing a volleyball, but its not so nice when it’s -5C, cold and wet. 

While I was forced to run on the somewhat clear roads because residents hadn’t cleared their sidewalks, I was reminded of the Ben Wicks inspired commercial that aired in 1985.  It featured the voice of cartoonist Ben Wicks as he reminded the residents of Toronto to "Be Nice, Clear your Ice":

It would have been a much easier run if people took the time to shovel their sidewalks. 

I’m not sure how far I actually ran.  My Nano has been acting up on me and occasionally "freezes" making it impossible to record my run with my Nike+Sport Kit.  Sigh.  I could track it out on Gmaps Pedometer – but today I’m just too darn lazy.

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