Declaration for Change

Unfortunately, I have gained some pounds over the last three years(though mostly I think it's from last 9 months) and I have decided to get rid off them. So tomorrow Troy and I are starting "no sweets, no fast food" diet until Thanksgiving. I will be allowed to eat candy on halloween but that's it. One of my friends nicely pointed out that the amount of weight I have put on is like a "sack of potatoes". So no need for Russet potatoes around my waist or hips. If you see me touch anything that looks like cookies, brownies etc, slap my hand! 

Does anyone have any good ideas on weight loss?? I will be running about 4 times a week so that should help, but I would love to hear anyone's experiences on the issue. Or if anyone wants to join me on my challenge, it's always easier to have more people supporting you.

I do have to confess that Troy is kind of forced into this diet, but a girl can't be healthy if the hubby is allowed to have sweets around the house. I probably seem like such a dictator to people...

My Husband Loves Me

Yes, I can even prove it to you. I went to check the mail few days ago and there was the declaration of Troy's love for me. I pulled it out the mailbox with excitement. My first issue of Runner's World had arrived. As Troy and I discussed possible anniversary present options, I told him that I loved reading this particular magazine and it would be nice to get a monthly reminder that he loves me. Don't get me wrong, he does tell me that he loves me on daily basis, but more tangible reminders are nice too:)

I'm in a "I want to be a hardcore runner" mood again. Since high school, I have identified myself as a runner. Back then I did the sprints and now I'm doing the long-distance; however, all I needed was a pair of running shoes to feel good about things.

How do you identify yourself? Obviously we all have several things that identify us, but what is your favorite?

P.S I am signed up for Tucson Half-Marathon on Dec. 7th. If anyone is interested joining me or just training with me, let me know!

Inspiration

I am one of those people who reads strangers' blogs because I find some of these blogs so inspiring. Few weeks ago, I came across a blog by a woman whose sister had been in a plane crash. The sister and her husband were both burned quite severely. They have four little children. Some of you might have even heard about her; she seems to be quite the hit as "blogger mom".   This morning I happened to go and read the blog again as well as the sister's blog; I was amazed by their positive attitude, their faith and love for life. What a great reminder on a Sunday morning to count my blessings and show more love to those around me. 

Back to Blond

So I am back to being blond and I totally love it. I don't think I'll go dark anytime soon again. They say that blondes have more fun and I have totally noticed it. It seems like the last three weeks have been like a big party. OK, I'm so kidding. Life has been crazy since Troy's surgery and school started. Luckily Troy's mom came and stayed with us for few weeks because Troy wasn't able to drive and I wasn't able to drive him to all of his physical therapy appointments plus to classes etc. So Troy's mom really saved us and also pampered us. She made us breakfast in the mornings and cooked dinner. She even made lunches for Troy. We have never been spoiled like that before so we absolutely loved it. 

This is the sight that welcome me back one day after school. Homemade cinnamon rolls and dinner on the stove:)

So I got some layers going on with blond highlights. Troy wants my hair even lighter but this is as light as they would go since my hair was pretty dark. 

So I'm doing a psychiatric nursing rotation for the next 5 weeks and work one 12- shift a week while Troy goes to school 4 days a week, has twice a week PT appointments and works 35 hours a week. We don't get to spend much quality time together, but I sure love being married to him. We just celebrated our 3 year anniversary on Wednesday. Our celebration mirrored our lack of energy: macaroni grill take out and  watching Jane Austen's Emma movie. Also my friend introduced us to Skinny Cow ice cream. So now I feel better about eating an ice cream sandwich that has only 140 calories in it. Of course, I never knew how many calories were in other ice cream brands but now I feel like I have more self-control!

Blessing of Going to Church

Since our trip happened to go over the weekend, we decided to visit the Banff ward for the Sunday meetings. We literally received two blessings right away from going to church that day. There happened to be a special broadcast from Calgary with Jeffrey R. Holland as the speaker. The huge blessing was our surprise meeting with Cheryl and Lonnie. We didn't have any idea that they were visiting Banff as well. I don't think Cheryl and Lonnie even recognized Troy and I at first since I had my glasses on and brown hair now. We ended up spending the afternoon with them and loved every minute of it. 

I lived with Cheryl and Lonnie for two semester during high school after my family moved back to Finland and I wanted to finish high school in California. They are one of the most generous and loving people in the world. Just the fact that they would take two teenage girls under their care after their own kids were gone shows their kindness and patience:) I hope Anna and I didn't cause them too much stress! Being part of the Smith family for the last seven years has been such a blessing. We really don't see them often enough but enjoy any and every occasion to be with them. 

Not Quite the Smoothest Trip

Troy and I flew separately to Calgary since we had United frequent flyer miles and US airways credit. We were scheduled to land at midnight; Troy's flight about 2 minutes before mine. As I was wasting time at the Denver airport during my three hour lay-over, Troy calls me to let me know that his flight is delayed from Tucson to Phoenix. OK, not a big deal since it's only about a 20 minute flight. However, right before my flight is about to take off he calls me with the bad news. There happened to be a sandstorm in the Phoenix area and Troy's plane did not take off for 3 hours, which meant that his connecting flight to Calgary left Phoenix while Troy was still sitting in Tucson. I have traveled quite a bit and I think of myself as an independent person; however, when Troy's with me, I am more than happy to have him take over and handle the details. So I land in Calgary, turn my phone on and get a text saying that he won't get there until the next day and what the hotel name is that we(now of course just I) are staying. Luckily, Troy's parents were home and able to pick him up from the airport so he wasn't deserted there for the night. He ended up catching the "early flight"to Calgary, which landed at 3 pm.  At that point, I was just happy to start our vacation together.

On our way home, both of us missed our flights. Troy arrived at the airport little too late so the airline rep did not even let him check in. So his 7 am departure turned into a 2:30 pm departure. For some reason, United was having a difficult time with check-ins. The check-in line was so long that by the time, I made it to the desk, she said that I could try my luck and run to the gate or just take a later flight. Since Troy was stuck in Calgary until the afternoon, I chose to stay with him. What a sweet gesture of love. We ended up taking short naps one at a time and ate lunch before I thought it would be a good time to go and line up for the customs. Yes, you had to go through customs and passport control before your flight. So my one hour cushion before the flight was not enough apparently. I even passed about 20 people in line and I barely made my flight. As I ran to the gate, they were waiting for me and called me name as I approached the gate. 

We stayed in this cute cabin on the first night. It was very authentic and we decided to use the fireplace. The ventilation didn't work well so the smoke alarm went off twice and they had to bring a fan to blow the smoke out. Talk about spoiling the romance:)
We stayed at a hotel called "Fox" for our last night there. We loved how they had carried the theme in everything. Plus it was nice to have the hotel in downtown Banff after all the driving and hiking we had done on previous days.

P.S I know there is quite a bit writing on these posts; they are little bit of a travel journal for us. So I apologize if it's boring:)

Banff The Beautiful

Right now I just want to share some sweet pictures from our trip. We spent four days in Banff National Park, Canada. I will write about it tomorrow when I have little more energy. We got back yesterday around 8 pm  and both worked 12 hours today so we are pretty tired. And of course, Troy is getting his knee done tomorrow (ACL reconstructive surgery) so we'll have to be at the hospital at 6 am. 

View of Lake Louise from the mountains

We visited the "Upper Hot Springs" to relax our muscles.

The top of our 9 mile hike called "Plain of Six Glaciers"
I found a candy store with Finnish black liquorice
Lake Minnewanka--too cold for a swim but so peaceful to look at

Lake Louise-the pictures don't do justice to how turquoise the water is.