Puddles, Pals and Purple Sugar

Yesterday was pretty much perfect, other than me being a bit sleep deprived.

What is this stuff under the snow, brother?

Hurray for slush puddles!

Backyard party with a bunch of our pals!

What is this purple stuff?

Hunter still a bit unsure.... meanwhile Cavan has already started the sugar high!

A cotton candy lover for life now!

Pelly River Hockey Camp 2012

This weekend I scrubbed dishes until my hands looked like shriveled prunes.  I baked dozens upon dozens of cookies.  I made a vat of moose stew.  I peeled dozens of eggs.  I poured cup after cup of coffee.  And then I scrubbed even more dishes.

But wow was it ever worth it!  This weekend, Faro hosted the first ever Pelly River Hockey Camp and it was a roaring successes.  Thirty youth aged 8-18 from Pelly Crossing, Carmacks and Ross River joined up with our own hockey youth for a weekend of torture...errrr training.  Those kids were exhausted once the coaches worked them on and off the ice.  They nearly ate us out of town!  We made a number of runs to the store for more supplies and had to place a few extra calls around town to have more food cooked up.

The kids all seemed to have a great time at the camp.  They left talking about coming back next year, so I guess we will be turning this into an annual event!  The coaches and local RCMP who coordinated and organized this event did a great job and it all went off without a hitch.  There were prizes and awards (a plane ticket from Air North, hockey sticks from Sports North, skate sharpening from Sports North, and heaps more) and every kid went home with something in hand.  Each kid, thanks to the many sponsors of this event, even went home with a really nice t-shirt from the event.

There was even a retired NHLer here for the weekend!  Jarrett Dueling, a Yukoner who played for the New York Islanders, volunteered his time and experience to come and hang out with the kids. 

All of the youth were polite and so well behaved the entire weekend.  The chaperones and parents that came along deserve an award for driving and going with very little sleep while staying with the kids in the gym at the rec centre all weekend.

The volunteers behind the scenes need a pat on the back for all the cooking, baking and cleaning that was done!  I love how in small communities so many people come out to support amazing events like this.  We sure do hope it turns into an annual event and just keeps growing in size each year.  I will start baking weeks in advance to feed them all next time around though!

Craft Goals

My sewing room has been sorely neglected over the last few weeks.  I have been so busy with volunteer activities around Faro, sick kids, and then just enjoying the spring weather that I have had hardly a minute left to sew.  I have still done up some custom orders, but I really need to start building up stock.

I am hoping to do a couple of craft shows in Whitehorse this summer and also do a big one next Christmas.  But if I want to do those, I have got to get these fingers moving!  So since I am such a goal and task oriented person these are my plans:

• one bigger project completed each week (a pair of mittens, a hat or something along these lines)
• ten smaller projects completed each week (key chains, hair items)
• one smaller project completed each week (baby booties, baby mitts, or earmuffs)

 I think if I have one day a week dedicated to cutting out the projects for the upcoming week and the rest of the week I can sit and sew in my free time.  I am going to move my bin of supplies for keychains up to the kitchen table so when I find myself with a few extra minutes I can throw one together.

Time to get my craft on!

Full Contact Jigging

Have you watching this fantastic video out of Iqaluit yet- Feel the Inukness?

My boys watch it at least once a day and just love to dance along to the music.  I finally got a video of them dancing to it and boy does it make me laugh!  It starts with some great jigging, however it quickly deteriorates to full contact jigging which is still pretty darn funny.

So here you go:  Cavan and Hunter Feel the Inukness
Feel the Inukness from Kara Went on Vimeo.

Well that was an odd dream....

I had a dream that Matt was helping a film crew that was visiting the Yukon.  One of the hosts of the tv show was Ty Pennington (from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition).  Matt was standing with them on the side of a road and they were all talking about what they were going to film next when the biggest moose I have ever seen starts walking threw a slough beside the road.  Ty gets so excited that he takes off his shirt (oy those are nice abs!) and he starts chasing the moose through the slough.  The moose takes off and Ty and now part of his crew start swimming after it!  It was just so comical that when I was woken up at 4am by sick kids I had to tell Matt about it.  Matt's response was just as funny: "What, were they up here filming Extreme Makeover: Hunting Camp Edition?"

Sick Kid

The worst part of having a sick kid, is having one kid that isn't sick!

Hunter just wants to laze on the sofa in his pajamas and watch movies all day.  Cavan seems hellbent on making Hunter even more miserable than he already is. 

So far this morning Cavan has:

• stolen Hunter's blanket, 
• stolen Hunter's stuffed dog
• blocked the view of the tv numerous times
• leaped off the back of the sofa so he could body slam Hunter
• stood on Hunter's head so he could jump to the floor

And they have only been awake for four hours!

Today in my Kitchen

So what's cooking in your house today?


With the wind and snow outside, I figured today would make for a nice baking and cooking day.  Here is what is making my house smell good right now:

A vat of butternut squash soup.  Enough to feed us for a couple of meals!  My friend is celebrating a birthday this week and I am giving her the gift every mama needs- supper that she doesn't have to cook!  Butternut squash soup for her family tonight too.

Apple Spice Muffins!  Most of these are destined for a hockey camp that is happening in Faro this weekend.

Buns!  Well soon to be buns.  A few dozen buns to be eaten by my guys as well as shared with friends and our freezer.

And a bonus picture:

A cute picture of Cavan from this weekend.  He fell asleep upright, exhausted from a day outside.

Family Fun

One of the best parts of living in Faro is that within minutes you can easily arrange a family sledding party!  We love the family time that we get by living away from the rat race and we are thankful there are so many like-minded families here to share that with.

The weather for Saturday was looking to be fantastic, so calls were made and a sledding party at the town hill was arranged.  Everyone brought some food and no one went hungry by far!  Kids and adults were sliding down the hill, going on skidoo rides, and enjoying time by the fire.  A perfect Saturday in March!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from yesterday:

Hunter and Cavan unloading wood for the bonfire.

Hunter not too impressed with having to pose with Josie.

My favorite picture of the day!  A friend's husband going down with their two kids in a tiny sled and a wee bit out of control!

People warming up by the fire and getting their fill of snacks.

Cavan and a buddy flying down the hill.

Matt not quite making it down!

A dad and son racing down on a gt.

Custom Orders

I managed to squeeze a few hours into my sewing room over the last week so I could do up some custom orders. 

These booties were ordered for newborn twin girls.  White deer hide, grey rabbit and lined with fleece.

Beaver gauntlet mittens for an RCMP officer.  Moose hide, beaver and lined with pile.  I added a strap with D-rings to cinch them on tight.

Stall, Stall, Stalling.

I knew that a stall hits most people in and around month five after weight loss surgery.  And it seems I am no exception to the rule.

For just over two weeks I have been stuck at my 69lbs loss.  Normally each month I have a 7-10 day stall where I feel bloated and miserable (typical woman, eh?).  But then right after that mini stall the weight keeps coming off.  Except this month.  Nothing.  No movement.  I am still eating well (minus the apple pie day where I chose to have a small slice of apple pie for pretty much all of my meals that day), still going to the gym three times a week, and still doing squash 1-2 times a week. 

MOVE SCALE BEFORE I THROW YOU AWAY!

I know, I know.  The scale doesn't tell the entire tale.  Inches... inches.  Yes they are still coming off.  But dammit I want to hit 70lbs!

Macaroni Madness!

I found a neat recipe for colouring pasta that could be used for crafting.  The boys and I gave it a go a few days ago.  They helped me measure and pour in the ingredients then squish the bags to mix it all together.  A very easy crafting activity that young kids can definitely help their parents do!

Coloured Pasta:
2 cups pasta, quarter cup isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), and 10 drops of food colouring. Mix in a zip lock bag and flip over every half hour for a few hours.  Then empty out the bags overnight to dry.  I laid mine out on dish towels since I thought it might stick to any paper surface.

Six colours of macaroni!

Dry and ready to go the next morning.

Little boys excited to glue macaroni down onto their train pictures.

A great fine motor building activity!

Hunter loved arranging the macaroni whereas Cavan preferred squishing out the glue!

A happy crafter!

Next we are going to dye rigatoni pasta for necklace making!  I might try using the Wilton gel colours in the next batch to see if we can get the colours a bit more vibrant.

Surprise Visit and More Good News

On Friday afternoon I was looking out my window as I was closing the curtains for quiet time and was stunned when I realized I was looking out at my mother's vehicle!  She had drive up from Dawson Creek for a surprise visit.  It was perfect timing.  I have been single-parenting for the last two months and am wiped right out and it is also spring break! 

She just left today and we had a fabulous week!  Relaxing?.... no, not at all.  Productive?.... holy crap yes!  People think that I am a busy bee, but I am nothing compare to my mother.  While she was here we rearrange the entire basement to make room for the three shelving units she gave us.  My sewing room was completely pulled apart and is amazing now!  I have a bulk food storage spot now and my guest room actually looks decent for guests now.  Furniture was moved and the vacuum went into overdrive.  We made 75lbs of sausage and canned 38 pints of moose meat.  I learned how to sew a zipper into my fur muffs and mom made the boys each two new pairs of pajamas.  She hung up all of the art work and pictures that have been off the wall for almost a year.  Then there was book reading, seed planting, skating, back yard bonfire, lots of baking and cooking, and crafting.  I think I am more exhausted now, but completely worth it!

The boys are pretty upset that she had to leave today.  Matt also had to head out for three days to a course for work.  We are just lazing around today and the boys are both a bit sick, so I feel fine with our sloth day. 

And more good news!  Matt will be covering a term position in Faro that starts the middle of June and could last sometime up to a year.  It means no travel to other communities for a while!  Yippeee!  He still has some travel over the next couple of months, but it is sure nice that we will get a bit of a reprieve from it.  The last two months of him being gone for work has been hard on all of us.  The ultimate goal is for Matt to have a permanent position that would keep him in Faro all of the time.  However, we are thankful that he does have a permanent position even if it means travel.

 Here are a few pictures from our week:

Bonfire in the backyard this weekend!  We dug out the fire pit and enjoyed the -4C weather.

The boys helping us make sausage.

Hunter reading his book to Grandma.

Apple pie baking!

Five Months- What A Difference!

Update Time!

On October 1st, I started my pre-surgery diet plan.  That day I weighed in at 319lbs.  So disheartening. 

Five months later, four and 10 days since I had my bariatric surgery, I now weight exactly 250lbs.  I have lost 69lbs so far on this journey!  I know some people believe that surgery is the easy way out, and I just wish those people could spend a day with me and see that it truly isn't.  I still have to weight, measure and track every bite of food that goes into my mouth.  I am changing life long habits and addictions.  I am learning how to deal with stress and other emotions without eating and it is hard.  Really hard.  But I am doing it and I am excelling at it!

I am really proud of my achievement this month.  The gym and I have become best friends over the last five weeks.  Three times a week I have been down there strength training.  I have also been to the squash court twice and bought myself a membership so I can go more often.  The results have already been impressive!  The inches are really coming off.  I will do a post soon on what exercises I have been doing.

Here are my original measurements, then the ones from the middle of January and last the ones done today:
Chest has gone from 51" to 47.5" to 45"
Waist has gone from 52" to 48.25" to 45.5"
Hips have gone from 64" to 59" to 55.5"
Upper arms have gone from 17" to 16" to 15.5"

My hips are really shrinking!  I have lost 8.5" just off my hips.  I love it!  I am seeing a lot more muscle tone in my arms and shoulders.  I guess even just being able to bench press a measly 55lbs is doing the trick!

This months pictures were really shocking to me.  The difference has become so noticeable!  I am really curious how I will look once I get another thirty pounds off and hit one hundred down.

The day before surgery at 308lbs.

Tuesday morning at 252lbs.