I've been tagged!

Thanks for the tag BB! So the deal is, go to your folder where your photos are kept...pick the fourth folder...fourth picture...and then post it and describe...and then tag four others!

Well this photo was taken in Calgary, Alberta, Canada this Christmas at Miss Sadie's GG's (Great-Grandad) house. This is Christmas morning (probably afternoon by this point!!) and the Little Miss has mastered the unwrapping of prezzies! This is a beautiful white bear from GG. Oh how I love the little dress she's wearing - it makes me so sad to know that she won't be able to wear it much longer (and yes I still make her wear it even though it's no longer the holiday season - it's just too darn cute!)

Oh dear...I don't think I can tag anyone - everyone's done it that reads my blog I think...and if you haven't done it and read my blog - stop lurking, say Hi :) heh heh...well alliwilli, if you are updating your blog..tag your it!

CaliAlly
xo

Kickboxing

Tonight I did my first Kickboxing class...aside from my business, this is the single most exciting workout I've done in a really long time!! Within 20minutes, I wanted to be sick...35minutes, I saw stars and 60minutes, couldn't wait until next week for our next class...I only wish it was offered twice a week!

I'm not sure I'll be able to pick up my beautiful baby in the morning...but all for a good cause - becoming a yummy mummy!

The best part is the instructor is from one of the expensive cardio-kickboxing studios down the street and instead of paying top dollars to attend one of his classes...I get it for less than $5 at our fitness center here! Sweet!

I'll be sporting chic purchases from Gilt in no time with this class!

CaliAlly
xo

Work Life

So my new work life rocks!

Seriously...today my business attire (I have a meeting with the other Franchise Owner who operates the territory adjacent to me - we are aligning our strategies versus competing with each other - yey!!!) consists of my favorite Lululemon capris and tank...and my brand new wind shirt from Lucy - I love it!

Yes I'm going for a run - that's how we are conducting our meetings...sure it's a little tough to take notes, but that's okay, we will follow up with a coffee if need be!!! I'm so excited. This IS my new career...while I will miss my Advertising and fabulous Fashion days...this is so exciting! A whole new area of Fashion that I've only dabbled in up until recently...workout fashion! heh heh

Plus when I make my fancy purchases from Gilt (thanks YM), they will feel all that more special to me...as they will not become something I wear everyday - and they will not be taken for granted.

Lucy and Lulu, I'm sorry to say, you probably will be taken for granted!

Off for my run, er my meeting (ps did I mention we are pushing our kidlets in the stroller?? Yes the little ones even get to come!!!!!!!!!!!)

xoCaliAlly

CaliAlly, ACE-certified!

That's right! I wrote my ACE Personal Trainer exam this past Saturday and I passed! Weehoo! DONE! And boy am I ever! I'm exhausted still and it's Sunday evening! My girlfriend babysat Sadie for me on Friday morning so I could do some last minute reviewing and when she dropped Sadie off, she took one look at me and told me I look exhausted and sooo tired...aka crap!!! heh heh And I was, and still am! As I sat studying my flash cards on Friday night I thought to myself...if I only had one more week...and then I thought Who am I kidding? I'm so done and so fed up of this material...I can't do this anymore. Hours every single day, long study sessions on the weekends...and keeping my exam date a secret from everyone because I was so worried I wouldn't pass!

But I'm done now...I don't feel guilty updating my blog - don't feel like I should be studying instead. I enjoyed a long walk with the fam (doggy included) this afternoon, complete with hot chocolate...and thought to myself, I've missed you Ws...so much! xo

So now one more exam and I'm certified to teach my classes...which couldn't come at a better time considering I launch the business on March 4. So my goal is to see if I can hammer out this last exam - specialty in Prenatal and Postnatal - this week and be done by Feb 1 and spend the month of February gearing up for a fabulous Grand Opening and first session...and oh yeah, learning more about this franchise that I purchased.

But for now...I'm going to watch some no-brainer TV and when I go to bed and my head hits my pillow, there will only be a million things running through my head - nothing Anatomy/Biomechanics/ACE related :D

xo CaliAlly

My heart...

Right after my love for my family (Diesel included), is my love for handbags...not any handbags...but Coach bags - I love them. I love their classic look, their functionality, their colors, their hardware, their quality...their look, feel, even their smell - no haven't tasted them yet!!!

And with the fabulous weather we are having, it's very hard not to get too excited about Spring!

Meet Penelope


And Peyton

How I love you both...who wants to come home with me?! (Dear hubby, my birthday is coming up you know?!?!)

xoCaliAlly

Should Have!

Should have gone to that hotel afterall!!! Sadie was up all night other than between 12-5:30 on and off crying (not sure what is going on there :( boo) and didn't see hubby from about 4:30pm onwards until this morning - he is feeling better though - which is great. I've been carrying around hand sanitizer and after touching everything have applied a liberal amt - I DO NOT want to get sick!

But I'm tired and didn't get any studying done last night or this morning...time to put the coffee on!

Would It Be So Wrong??

Miss S got the tummy flu on Friday night and it looks like hubby has it now! He and I are both cleansing like mad-woman/man now but I think it might be a little late for him - fortunately I have been yet to be hit by the bug, as I have spent most of the weekend in our apt complex's business center studying my butt off! Thank goodness, because that's 6 chapters that I covered this weekend that wouldn't have been done if I was ill in bed...so I'm very grateful for hubby watching Miss Sadie and getting sick in the process!

But...would it be so wrong?? I allowed myself to fantasize during one of my study-breaks! Since everyone is sick right now and I'm trying so hard to study like crazy, what if I were to check into a hotel...for one night only - would it be so wrong?!

I'd check in now - nowhere fancy! The new Hotel Sierra down the street would be fine. I'd settle in and start studying, all while sipping deliciously brewed-in-room coffee. Around 7pm or so, I'd order up room service (hey I wouldn't have to cleanse, I'd be down the street from the germs!), get into my cozy Lulu sweats and tshirt - turn up the heat to make it nice and warm, climb into bed and enjoy "dinner in bed" while watching a chick-flick movie on that I ordered. I'd climb out of bed after the movie, hop into the bathtub and enjoy a soak...and oh what a soak it would be - with bubble bath, a magazine, music playing, and just take my time until the water got cold! I'd get into my cozy pjs - not the pretty ones, not the sexy ones but the cozy ones and climb into bed, after giving myself an at-home facial, manicure and pedicure...while sipping a Chamomile Tea, I'd turn on the telly and watch a show or two, until I fell asleep in the comfy bed with the amazingly warm and heavy comforter. In the morning I'd wake up and study for a bit...hop into the shower, deep condition my hair, style it and call room service to bring up breakfast. While I dined on my eggs and fruit salad and sipped my coffee, I'd review my notes and flash cards...keep studying until check out and happily hop in my SUV and head home...

...oh how that would be lovely! Of course I'd miss my hubby and little girl...but I've been missing my "Me-time" for a long time now!!

Instead this is how our night will go...

It's almost 5pm now, I'll study until 5:30pm (quality studying I tell ya - a whole 30min!) then I'll prepare dinner for Sadie. I'll wake her up (she's napping like crazy trying to catch up on the sleep she missed on Friday night) and wake up hubby from his sick-room (aka our master bedroom!). We'll cleanse while Sadie eats...we'll play for a bit until bath-time, which I assume I'll do since hubs isn't well. Get Sadie ready for bed and into the crib by 7:30pm. I'll then race to the business center and study until 9pm...run home, grab my cookbooks and shopping list and calendar and do our meal-plan in front of Desperate Housewives until Sadie will wake up around 9:30 crying. I'll go in and rock her until about 10:15pm, then crash on the couch or in bed (depending on the "sick-ick" factor going on in our master). I'll hopefully not wake up (do you hear that wish, Sadie?!?) until around 6am and start studying, with a nice cup of coffee and then Sadie will wake around 8:00am and we'll begin our day - diaper changes, meal preps and eats, playing and playdates, etc...

Yes I don't get a lot of studying in, I don't get a lot of "me-time" in...but I get a lot of cuddles, a lot of smiles, a lot of "Mummas" and I wouldn't change that for the world!

...but really guys and girls, would it be so wrong?!

Twitter!

Thanks YummyMummy! A new obsession ;) heh heh Seriously this is so fun and right now I don't have a ton of time to blog as whenever Sadie is sleeping, I should be studying...but I can totally afford two seconds to update my Twitter! FUN!

Exhausted!

I've been shouting from the rooftops lately it seems, what a wonderful sleeper my daughter is...well, apparently karma is coming back to me! This child has slept horrible this weekend - not sure what is going on! All I know is it was 1am when I went to bed last night after over 3 1/2 hours of cuddling and rocking Miss Sadie and I have a huge day today - a big work meeting at 11:30am with one of the locations I'm offering my classes (to go through details) and a playdate at the museum this afternoon (that will be fun with a cranky Mummy and baby!!!!) and on top of it all, I'm cleansing today...great day to be without comfort foods and caffeine! I anticipate I will go to bed by 7:30pm tonight (yes, right after The City!!)...that is until Miss Boo wakes up at 9:30 and screams and cries to be held and rocked.

It is definitely NOT All things Ally right now...it's all things Sadie!

Year of Me!

As if having a blog All About Ally wasn't enough!!! I've decided that 2009 will be All About Me...right after Sadie and hubby...okay no seriously, I'm going to make me more of a priority in 2009!

For the first time in a few years...I own my body!!!!!! In 2006, my wedding dress owned my body - watched what I ate...worked out 24/7...and was so happy with the results though :)

Love this photo of my Dad walking me down the aisle - memories!

In 2007, my baby in utero owned my body for most of the year - which of course, I loved every minute of it after that first trimester, but due to my being very sick in the 1st...I was very inactive during my pregnancy and gained way too much weight!!!












I never said it was pretty, folks (9 months and probably 29 days)!!











In 2008, Miss Sadie owned my boobies, er, I mean my body! Nursing for most of 2008 left me exhausted, run down and still not fully able to put my body through whatever I want (certain foods, certain workouts, etc). But of course, I wouldn't change it for anything...and sshhh truth is, I miss nursing the little one so much!!! Not so much the actual act of breastfeeding, but the moment that was hers and mine...alone...no one could give her what I could...so powerful and such a bond.







Hello, tired Mummy and cutie Sadie!!!

















Well like I said, 2009 - you are mine! All mine!!! We don't plan to start trying for Little One number 2 until Fall so that means for the next 10 months I can use you and abuse you...kidding (that was in my 20s!) - I will worship you and treat you like the wonderful machine you are...anything you want and need is yours...what?? A Grande Vanilla Latte?? Okay well who am I to deny you...it is 2009 - All About Ally!

Apologies!

Happy New Year - I'm sorry it's so late!

As you may or may not know, I've recently bought a franchise - Baby Boot Camp :) Yep that will be me out in the parks in Santa Clara and North Sunnyvale getting those Pre and Post Natal Mummys back into Yummy Mummy status. I'm so excited...but before I can launch my business, I need to write the ACE Personal Trainer exam...so any moment that I have when Miss Sadie is down...I'm furiously studying away. I'm almost sick to my tummy with nerves...but I try to break it down into small steps and try not to get overwhelmed...easier said than done ;) heh heh

Anyhow, quickly...okay I'm not actually studying - I'm watching a movie with hubby but I'm not very good when it comes to thrillers and scary movies and this one is killing me...so I'm trying to pay more attention to the computer than the movie on tv!!

Okay so quickly, holidays were amazing! I had an awesome time with my in-laws and staying at Hubby's Grandad's house (Sadie's GG - Great Grandad). (EEK! Sorry had to cover eyes for a few minutes...I'm such a scaredy cat!!!) I ate all 7 Favorite Festive Foods (see below post - not sure how to link to the post), received most of my 7 Wants for Christmas, no celebrities...imagine, no one showed up!!! And my most favorite of all - I got one of Christmas wishes already...Sadie started walking!

Anyhow, wanted to pop in and say a quick Hi and apologize for my absenteeism...I will pop in whenever I can and of course once the exam is over, I'll be back :)

ps I think I need to change my background on my blog..the black is sexy but a bit depressing, no??