It's been an interesting 2 weeks between bad weather, instructors leaving, the director at work quiting, school buses not running and my van getting a check engine light.

Such fun.

The director quiting is a long story with lots of office politics and disgruntled ex-employees and a board member who is on their side. But, with her gone, things could get much better.

I spent two days getting the van fixed. They found the problem the first day, but had to order in the part, so had to take it back the next day. I took advantage of the downtime by going to the mall and xmas shopping. The second day, I got the shuttle driver to take me to the Big Fancy Mall - it was lovely to have a personal driver! LOL! This mall opened a new wing with lots of expensive, designer stores, many of them firsts for the city. I though I'd buy my mom a designer scarf for xmas, but OMG a Burberry scarf costs $230. CHOKE! Sorry mom, not going to happen. Anyway, since it was Black Friday in the US, some of the Canadian stores are also doing sales. Even the Apple store had iPads, and iPods on sale. No, didn't buy anything, just played with them for the fun of it.

The instructor of the Tuesday exercise class was supposed to have his last class this week. He didn't show. This is Mr. 3B (black, bald, beautiful) and I'm almost in mourning about his leaving. His class was so fun, had so much energy and was so motivating. And he was hot. It's going to be hard to get used to someone else. :(

On Friday, after the van got fixed, I had time to hit the gym. It was a bit creepy at first when I realized that other than the gym monitor, I was the only woman there! A few did show up later. I forgot my iPod, so I watched/read the TV while I ran on the treadmill, and did 27 minutes non-stop. I was pretty surprised! Usually I get too bored, but the the TV was on the Discovery channel with an interesting show about the collapse of the shopping centre in Hong Kong(?) And two other men were also running, and I find it easier to run when other people are too. Then, I tried the stairmaster. This isn't a step machine, it's actually stairs that rotate so that you constantly climb. I did 15 minutes, and climbed 47 stories, just over 1 mile! It wasn't hard, but my legs are just a bit sore today.

I'm going to have to try running outside again soon. I did buy the YaxTrax Pro so I can run on snow and ice, but most of it has melted off the roads & sidewalks.