2015 Goal Update & New 2016 Goals

Well we scratched a few goals off our list from 2015.  A few are better than none right?  The ones we have achieved are:

1.  Twin 1 has started working with the dogs and taking them out running.

2.  We thought about running another 1/2 and have decided that maybe when we are 40.  We did our first one during year 35 so maybe the second at year 40?  We'll concentrate on getting back into running and tackling the shorter distances first.  Another 10k would be nice.

3.  Use credit card only in extreme circumstances....except around the Christmas season.
4.  Stay positive.  This is a work in progress.
5. Twin 2 made a dentist appointment and has been back a few times.
6.  Twin 2 has possibly become a little more domesticated...
7.  We have both become a little more social...well in December anyway lol
8.  We both made eye appointments and bought new glasses.

So I guess we got a little more checked off our 2015 list than we thought.  The biggest ones we didn't keep up with were our fitness goals.  Maybe in 2016.  Speaking of which, here are our new goals for this year:

2016

Fitness:

Twin 1: Be as fit as I used to be and take care of myself on a regular basis
Twin 2: Make healthier choices
Both:Bike/run total of 2016km this year and finish the JM workout program once and for all!

Finance:

Twin 1: Pay off Credit Card and bring Credit line down to a manageable amount so that in 2017 if property in NH becomes available like a few did this past year then we could make a purchase.
Twin 2: Pay off bills and save for a football trip

Personal:

Twin 1: Be more adventurous and social.  Cook better meals for the family with more variety.
Twin 2: Be positive and stand up for myself/opinions when need be.  

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

This past year certainly didn't seem as exciting as the previous year.  We didn't really have any races to train for after the 1/2 last year and nothing big planned.

January: 

Twin 2 bought a new house and sold her old one.  That was pretty much the highlight for her year EXCEPT at the end of January the BSB movie "Show Em What You're Made Of" came out.   The year could not get any better for her.  In January, the 27th to be exact, the snow started to fall and it didn't stop until March/April.  This had a hand in starting the year off miserably. 

February:

The Superbowl was on February 1st.  Twin 2 had a party and the crowd wasn't overly large but it still was a great time except the stupid Patriots won...will it ever end? Also, more snow.

March:

Dweebs died on March 11.  That wasn't a fun start to the month but it had to be done and he's in a better place with no pain.  A group of us went and got our firearms license.  That was a fun day.  No one has purchased a gun yet but if we feel the need there is nothing holding us back.  Until then we'll all be legit while firing Dad's when we go home.  Also, more snow.

April:

Easter was in April.  Mom and Dad came up this year and we had Easter dinner at Twin 2's house and the annual Easter Egg hunt. We DID NOT go to Mexico this year.  That will change in 2016.

May:
Sister Wi turned 30!

June:

We signed up for the Sole Sisters race again this year.  This was CS' first race.  We trained with her a little bit in the spring for it.  It rained the whole day right up until race time then the rain stopped.  We had a good time.  Will we do it again in 2016?  No big plans to.  They are actually having a 5k course, a 10k course and a 1/2 marathon course in 2016 and it will be timed (if you so choose).

July:

BIRTHDAY MONTH!  Twin 2 went to Montreal with a co-worker to see a Taylor Swift concert the week of our birthday.  And we celebrated birthdays all month long including our big birthday BBQ bash.

August:

The weekend of August 1st we had our family golf tourney in PEI.  It was a great weekend with beautiful weather and just to get away and stay in a cottage altogether was fantastic.  We hope to go away and do that every year now.  Also, this was the month that Twin 2 brought Gilly home.  Him and Lou are starting to tolerate each other but there is still constant fighting.  Gil just wants to be loved by Lou.  That may never happen.

September:

One year ago this month we ran the Army Run 1/2 Marathon.  We really haven't run since except for a few practice runs before our Sole Sisters and BLT 5k.  We hope to get more in this year and be more consistent.  Twin 2 finally had her first dentist appointment in 5 years.  

October:

Twin 2 had an emergency tooth extraction then went to Vegas for a week with her hubby.  It was nice but not a place she would return anytime soon.  It's checked off the bucket list.  We also signed up for the BLT run again this year and ran that on the 24th.  It was a good time.  We had about 7 running in our little group.  We didn't really run much before this race and the day of we wished we had of trained a little bit but it was great fun.  We then went to Twin 1's house for some coffee and cake.  I'm sure this race will become a yearly tradition.

November:

Twin 2 had another tooth extraction.  We believe this is her last and final one.  Still have a few little cavities to fill and as long as she keeps up with her dental appointments she'll be good.  The highlight of November is the Parade of Lights.  This year it rained the live long day and during the parade.  We had a group of us that had plans to go but with the weather there were only three of us that ended up going.  We dressed appropriately and had a great time.

December:

CHRISTMAS!!  And parties, parties, parties. 

Anyone have any 2016 goals/resolutions?  We will post ours tomorrow.

Wha'd Up?

SNOW!

That is all.

Tip Tuesday

As 2015 draws to a close and we start to make resolution/goals for 2016, here are a few tips to help you succeed in the new year:

Motivational Monday

MERRY CHRISTMAS

From our family to yours.

We will have a Christmas update in the coming days once the hustle and bustle dies down.

XMAS EVE

It's Christmas Eve and we have a busy day ahead.

Twin 1 is working until lunch and then heading home to clean and get food ready for everyone who is coming over to open up Stockings!!  My take the dogs out before hand if it stops raining as its pouring now.

Twin 2 is off but she has all the company staying with her so her hubby and G are going to see Star Wars then head down to the Keeping's famous seafood chowder and then to Twin 2's for Stockings!!!

We will have pictures of all the festivities in the next few days we hope :-)

Wha'd up?

We are in the process of getting ready for Xmas as tomorrow its Christmas EVE!!!

It was haircut day this past Saturday. 

Here is Twin 1's hair before and after pic.  She was going to grow it with Twin 2 but it became too much for her to deal with so she chopped it again.

And on the way home we treated ourselves to these.

Ashburn is now open to take the pups so this is the view every night.  We made it through the longest day of the year and now it is on its way to getting lighter every day earlier now.

Wiww took some Xmas pictures of her little ones.  Shatner wasn't into the Tree pictures but Mooney was.

And here are the two.

 

 

ITS CHRISTMAS WITH G TONIGHT!!!

Tip Tuesday

Ditch your working lunch

Munching on your lunch while at the computer could lead to mindless grazing, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. People who ate their midday meals while playing a computer game ended up eating more cookies 30 minutes later than those who hadn't been gaming. So carve out 20 minutes a day (we know, you've got a million things to do, but … ), and eat in your conference room (or outdoors!). Your whittled waistline will thank you.

Motivational Monday

We want to wish CF some big CONGRATS who won the women's portion of the weight loss challenge that her and Twin 2 were involved in.  Along with a weight loss of 6.26% she scored herself $160!  New challenge starts in January!

Friday Funny

Wha'd Up?

Less than two weeks until Christmas!!! We got our gifts bought, trees are up and we are ready for the big day and to spend time with the fam.

Twin 2's bus driver is in the Christmas spirit.  When she got on the bus yesterday morning Christmas decorations and an elf bus driver greeted.  Can't beat that service.  

This past Saturday Twin 2 had her annual Christmas party.  It was a quiet one but it was nice for everyone to get together.  It usually happens twice a year, one during the birthday bbq in July and the other at Christmas.  We planned on having a fire because it was such a beautiful night but the wood was too wet so that plan failed.

This past Sunday Twin 1 and her hubby took a trip to Truro to meet a friends baby boy for the first time and watched some football while there.  Meanwhile Twin 2 went to a co-workers Christmas open house.  

Neither of us socialize much throughout the year but it seems like we make up for it the month of December.  That's enough.

Christmas haircut this weekend!! Still not sure if we'll continue trying to grow out the hair or chop er all off again.  We also have Christmas with Greg this weekend.  Whoot!!

Tip Tuesday

Turn your cheat day around

Feeling guilty about that giant ice cream sundae you enjoyed on the weekend? Don't beat yourself up! It takes a lot of calories—3,500—to gain a pound of body fat. "So really, that one off day doesn't usually result in any significant weight gain," says Newgent. It's about what you do the next day and the day after that's really important—so don't stay off-track. So be sure to whittle away at those extra calories over the next day or two, preferably by boosting exercise rather than eating too little. Starvation is not the healthy answer!

Motivational Monday

Friday Funny

Fitness Survey

So we found a fitness survey online and thought it would be fun to fill it out.  We'll each fill it out and it will be interesting to see how similar our answers are.

1. What do you eat for breakfast?
Twin 1: On workdays usually oatmeal and banana.  On the weekends usually shreddies and banana.

Twin 2: On workdays usually a banana and either yogurt or oatmeal.  On the weekends it's always toast with pb and banana.
2. How much water do you drink a day?
Twin 1: I drink about 3 water bottles a day.  Weekends usually only a few glasses if any at all.

Twin 2:  I usually drink 2 Costco water bottles at work and try to drink one full one in the evening...the weekends are a different story.  I could go all weekend without taking a sip of water.
3. What is your current favorite workout?
Twin 1: I would have to say Jillian Michaels videos as they are only 1/2 hour...and of course walking the dogs at Ashburn now that its open for dogs.  I did community Bootcamps on November which were enjoyable but I'm being cheap this month. (They weren't expensive to begin with)

Twin 2: I do enjoy the JM workouts because they are only 30 minutes but I also enjoy anything Chalene Johnson because she's fun but currently I enjoy the bike because there isn't much to it and you can read or listen to podcasts or watch Netflix.
4. How many calories do you eat a day?
Twin 1: I would estimate between 1200-1500 during the week. maybe about 4000 on the weekend HA!

Twin 2:  More than I should.
5. What are your favorite healthy snacks?

Twin 1: Apple & peanut butter

Twin 2: Cucumber and hummus
6. What do you usually eat for lunch?
Twin 1: At the moment I rotate between two eggs and a can of tuna with baby carrots.

Twin 2: Something mixed with tuna or egg.  Twin 1 got me onto Tuna 
7. What is your favorite body part to strength train?
Twin 1: Biceps

Twin 2: Arms or abs
8. What is your least favorite body part to strength train?
Twin 1: Legs

Twin 2: Legs
9. What are your "bad" food cravings?
Twin 1: Chocolate!!

Twin 2: Chocolate/baked goods
10. Do you take vitamins or supplements?
Twin 1: Nothing regular at the moment but some protein powder at times and Greens.

Twin 2: Not on a regular basis.  Sometimes protein powder or greens that Twin 1 got from her neighbour. 
11. Do you eat fast food?
Twin 1: No usually.  Once or twice a year me and the Twin go to A&W for the Teen Burger Combo!!

Twin 2: No.  Most fast food does not agree with the belly.  However if I had to pick it would be A&W Teen Burger Combo all the way.
12. Who is you biggest supporter?
Twin 1: My Sista's

Twin 2:  Twin 1 of course
13. How often do you eat out?
Twin 1: Maybe once every couple of months.  I'm too cheap. 

Twin 2:  Not too often.  The husband and I rarely do (sometimes we will get pizza on Friday evenings but that's it) and some days at work if there is something to celebrate but that's not too often.
14. Do you have a gym membership?
Twin 1: No but I might start going to Twin 2's gym depending on price.

Twin 2:  I have a membership to my home gym which rarely gets used.  Anyone wanna join?
15. How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
Twin 1: 7-8...unless I stay up late watching Netflixs or whatever is on the PVR.

Twin 2:  Roughly 7.
16. Do you have a cheat day?
Twin 1: Not really....but Saturday and Sunday I basically eat whatever whenever as I'm not on the same routine as Monday - Friday

Twin 2:  Everyday is a cheat day.
17. Do you drink alcohol?

 Twin 1: No

Twin 2:  Nope

18. Do you have a workout buddy?

Twin 1: My sista's

Twin 2:  Twin 1, CF at work (whenever we can get it together...we do talk about it a lot though) and Sista Wi.
19. What is the best thing that has changed in your life since adapting to a healthy lifestyle?
Twin 1: No much but since I started taking Onyx out on some run/walks she cuddles with me.

Twin 2: Not a whole lot but I guess meeting new people and feeling like you belong in the running community (when I ran lol)
20. What is the last healthy thing you did?

Twin 1: Ate lunch

Twin 2: Didn't eat dessert last night lol

What'd up

Dr visits! 

Does anyone else have to wait a loooooooooooong time to get into the Dr even though you have an appointment?  Do they overbook or show up to work an hour late?  That was Twin 1's question while waiting over an hour to see her Dr yesterday.  Her appointment was for 10:30 and she didn't get in until 11:30. 

 
It was just a yearly check up with the family Dr but seriously why not just do walk in's as it would go much faster. 

We googled reasons why Dr's are late and this is what we found:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living-pictures/9-real-reasons-your-doctors-running-late.aspx#01

Is your Dr late on a regular basis?  Or do you have a Dr?  They are definitely hard to come by.

Twin 2 decorated her tree this weekend.  It took all Saturday morning because after the lights were on the free toppled over all on its own and there was a mess to clean up.  It's tied to the wall now so all's well.

If you are wondering how the Advent calander is going...it's going.  Twin 1 is doing a whole lot better than Twin 2.  We're thinking we may go back to the chocolate calanders next year.  We, so far, have gotten a mix of hot chocolates/tea/biscuits and a chocolate but it's not really wowing us.  The tea so far has been the only disappointing thing but we do like our chocolate.

Twin 2 had a little former co-worker get together on Sunday (thanks to Twin 1 for assisting in the preparations.  She was rewarded with leftover desserts).  Twin 2 searched 'the Google' for some snack ideas and found these which were very easy to make and festive:

There was also a few more munchies and some desserts.  It went over quite well and it was great catching up with everyone.  Some haven't seen each other for about 3 years.  

And we'll leave you with Pearl relaxing by the tree.

Tip Tuesday

It's a common mistake with a heartbreaking result.  The starting gun sounds and you take off - fast.  Inevitably, the swift start takes its toll, and you slow down and miss your goal.  Oops! A more effective way to nail a time is to run a negative split - that is, starting conservatively so that you run the second half of the race faster than the first.

Motivational Monday

Friday Funny

Wha'd up?

ITS CHRISTMAS!!!!

and

ADVENT TIME!

So Twin 1 comes up with the GREAT idea that we can not open up our daily window for our treat until we do our workout for the day.  This makes Twin 1 get up and get her workouts done but not Twin 2...but it's only Day 2...maybe she'll learn to.

Twin 1's Day Tree

Night Tree

Twin 2's tree...we put it up last night and will let it fall and decorate later in the week.  We're going to see how Gil gets along with it as well.

He's curious.

Over the weekend Twin 1 dog sat Susie for her Sister in Law

Her and Pearl played the whole weekend!  It rained all Saturday so therefore Pearly was a mess along with the floors.

Tip Tuesday

To build up for longer runs, start by extending your longest run of the week by two to three miles.  If you normally run seven to nine miles every Sunday, work up to nine to 12.  And do a medium-long run during the middle of the week every other week

Motivational Monday

Black Friday

Wha'd up?

Wednesday came and went without notice.  So we have a blog post for you for today.

Today is the beginning of the Holiday Season with a day of Football and Festive Specials from Swiss Chalet.   YUM YUM

Two weeks ago now Twin 1 got her furnace cleaned and the gentleman noticed that the pipes from the furnace to the in floor heating were leaking so her hubby and his friend fixed them.  With that being said, their furnace is way back in the laundry room with no easy access to the side of it so they had to cut the wall out to reach it.  As you will notice in the picture this is not the first time they have had to reach the side of the furnace.  This time Twin 1's husband said he would put a little door in there but she has yet to see that door.  She predicts it will still look like the below picture come the new year.  The one that is temporary is usually lined up with the wall but Aunt Bib came over and Pearl was so excited that she pushed her into the wall.

And she sleeps with one eye open to make sure she misses nothing.

We saw these in Lee Valley catalog which are good to have for running in early mornings or after 5pm.  We have yet to purchase any.

We thought this was a treat of the past as we had only ever seen them at Target but HERE THEY ARE AT WALMART or SUPERSTORE (forget which flyer)!!

Speaking of runs Twin 1 did a run Tuesday morning with a neighbor friend. And we are walk/running with our Wittle Sister Wiwwia.  More on that on another blog post.

Also Twin 1's neighbours keep trying to get her to buy products they are selling and she keeps caving because she has a soft heart :-)

I believe we showed you the IT works Global stuff she got from the neighbor across the street and this time its the neighbours behind them.  The coffee is good but she has since tried the Lattes and really likes them (or did the one cup she had so far).

Tip Tuesday

Motivational Monday

Friday Funny

Wha'd Up?

Seems like forever since we had a Wha'd Up post.  Last Wednesday was Remembrance Day and hence forward it's been everything Christmas.  Three things that signal the start of the Christmas season for us is: 

1.  Peppermint Marshmallow candle and Peppermint Mocha

2.  Candy Cane Donuts

3.  Peanut Butter Cups

We have 4 batches made so far....only about 4 or 5 more to go.  We're hoping to be done by the end of November.  I don't think we've gotten so many done this early.  That means we can enjoy December.

So Twin 2 turned her tablet on the other day to play Candy Crush as she had a few spare moments and hadn't played it in a while.  Looks like she won't be playing it again anytime soon.  It will be approximately 231 years until her next life becomes available.

So we're not going to say Lou and Gill are friends but they now kinda tolerate each other...this doesn't happen often and when it does it's not for long.

So both of us are attempting to grow our hair...not long mind you but just grow it a little.  It's not going the greatest at the moment.  We'll stick with it at least until our next appt on December 19th.  Then we will decide if we chop it all off again before Christmas.  So we had our appt this past Saturday and we got no length taken off only thinned. Again, only thinned and look at the pile of hair on the floor.  That was just from 1 of us and not both.  It's crazy!