More decisions. lol

Hey there loyal blog fans......LOL.......maybe one or two anyways.
I just wanted to let you all know that I am back, going to the gym 5 days a week, I have decided to re-apply myself, get going and continue applying for the RCMP. I will try to fill you in in the next little bit, but right now, I am exhausted and am showering and going to bed.
ttyl

I'm not dead yet

Lol. Just a year older. Just had my birhtday yesterday and am 1 year from 40. AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!! Just wanted all to know that I am still alive. I am in the proccess of finding a gym and stuff so that I can get back into training. lol. I will be a 40 year old rookie when the CPS accepts me.
Anyways, off to work. I will try to find the time in the near future to update you on everything and what has been going on.
ttyl

I'm ALIVE!!

Hey there folks. This is a quickie to let you know that I am alive and life is changing yet again. LOL. OMG, what a summer. I have been very lazy and haven't really worked out or ran in quite a while. I am still going to be a Police Officer, just have to wait for about 16 months before I can apply. Anyways, that isn't why i got lazy. lol. I just did. My daughter came out for the month of August and I just stopped.
Also, we are moving to Calgary to be closer to work for me, and airport for my 2 daughters and son as well as the Children's Hospital for my step-son. We have a place in Riverbend and move in on the 4th of October.
Also...lol...see the pattern here....I am thinking of changing my focus from the RCMP to the Calgary Police Service. My wife and I have been talking about the future and I feel that stability and security and a permanent home for our kids would be better than moving around the country and dropping kids off all over every 3 to 5 years. I will be able to pursue the same avenues for work in the city as I would in the Mounties. lol. It was and is still a tough decision. I think a big part of me really wants the prestige and such that comes with the serge. However, that is pretty selfish for me.
When I step back and look at the larger picture that includes my wife and 7 kids, as well as two exes(mine and Jodi's) it makes more sense to stay in one place and become a city cop.
Due to our finances over the summer and what happened, I need a year from January to get it all together and on more solid footing before I will be considered.
My wife and I are going to take the year to get solid and ready for it. I will hit the gym and road again when we get moved and settled. It also gives me over a year to get in the best shape that I can.
ttyl

Just a hi there

Hey y'all. Just want to let you know that I am alive and kicking. This summer has been a bit of a challenge for my wife and I and we have had a few setbacks here and there. lol. The biggest right now in regards to the RCMP is that my pardon has been delayed upto another 6 months, I think. Basically a court clerk messed up the info when she was entering my info into CPIC...where my record is a permanent record. lol. Anyways, the long and short of it is they have to redo it the government way.
One of two entries are written correct and the second is incorrect. The number that corresponds to the Criminal Code section is absolutely wrong and for something totally different. Anyways, the courts in Surrey do have the correct info in their records. They have to write a letter to the RCMP asking them to change the information in their records to match. The RCMP has to do that and then send it of to Ottawa so that they can redo their records and then I may have to reapply from the start. lol
It sounds like the National Parole Board...the entity responsible for issuing pardons are the ones that caught the mistake. That means, I think, that my Pardon was about 2 weeks away from being in my grubby little hands.
On top of that, we had my daughter here from Victoria for Part of July and August and I got very lazy. I haven't really been to the gym in over a month and what is cardio again. lol. On top of that.....and the list goes on and on this summer.
I will have to dig deep to get motivated to get back at it, but I want to be a member of the RCMP in a bad way...so I really have no choice.
I am off to work again. Take care and check back now and again
ttyl

Been a real long time

Hey there to all my loyal fans. lol. It has been a while since I have been here and I just wanted to say that I am alive and kicking and all is well. I am still waiting on my pardon so things are pretty much the same. I did get together with my trainer and we have started a new program again. This time it is more running. We are setting up an obstacle course to mock the RCMP PARE course so that I can get some experience with that and get used to the go go go of the course. Should be fun. lol. She also wants me to run stairs. Not just any either. The 45ish degree incline of the stairs in the local grandstand at the fair grounds or the stairs at the local arena. I still think she gets a kick out of being cruel. lol.
Anyways, until my pardon comes in and things get kicked up again, I will be here now and again. Off to work I go.
ttyl
me

Been a while

Lol. I guess it has been a while. Oooops. I took a bit of a break from everything except work for a bit. Working some OT. Getting back to the gym and cardio next week. I need to phone my trainer too and get busy with her.
Just wanted you all to know that I am alive and am waiting for a pardon before I can continue with the RCMP application proccess. August is still my goal to be in uniform and posted somewhere. Jodi doesn't want Pangnirtung though and I can't figure out why. lol. Tundra and 24 hour sunshine...who could resist. lol
Anyways, I am off to bed
ttyl

Ouch

Hey there gang!! How in the heck are y'all doin' this mornin'??? I am doing good myself. Very sore and stressed out today though. lol. I pushed myself hard at the gym yesterday and will pay for it for the next couple days, I suppose. lol. Oh well, no pain, no gain I always say.
I have to remember to phone Rose too so that I can update my physical program. Should have started that this week however, I have just been continuing on with my current one. I will probably start new next week. I also HAVE to start running again. I have been very lazy on that front. I did do a good bike ride last night too, but I need to push my cardio a lot harder.
Where does the stress come from? Good of you to ask and let me tell you. lol
Ricky has another nasty test today to do. He is having a nerve conduction test done. They use a "TENS" machine first. This sends an electrical pulse into the muscles and they can tell a bunch of stuff with that. That is the easy part. Then they will actually have to put needle right into the core of many of his muscles and they can then tell something else from that. Maybe the pain threshold of an eight year old? Anyways, my stress is that I can't be with him and Jodi for the whole day. I have had to miss to much work and we are way behind still. Not as bad as we were, but the cheques aren't stretching from payday to payday so I have to be at work more. Currently I am working as much OT as I can and I will have to only meet them at the hospital and be there for the appointment. It would be nice if all the bills would just say, don't worry about us for a couple months. lol. Oh well, we know they won't do that
ttyl folks

Trials and more trials and more................

Hey again, well, this should just be another quickie, I have to fill out my RCMP fitness log for yesterday. I finally got back to the gym. It was nice to unload a little stress. I had 2 wisdom teeth pulled on Friday and that has been hurting and enough to keep me away for a few days. lol.
Went to the hospital with Ricky yesterday so that he could undergo some minor surgery. He came through with flying colours. It was REALLY funny to watch him come out of the anethstesia. Lol. When they first gave him an IV he said that everything looked like a cartoon, then he fell asleep. lol. He didn't even know that he had the procedure done. We are happy that he flew through though.
Anyways, along with that trip was no work for the day...when we EXTREMELY need what I bring home from work. I took last week off to do paperwork and such for the RCMP and I should have just stayed up later. We are strapped yet again and no closer to being OK at all. It is really making it tough for me to carry on with any aspirations of becoming a member of the RCMP. Jodi will read this and get feeling guilty, which is not my intention. My intention is to keep a diary of my journey so that, if I make it to the RCMP, you can all see that you can too. :-0).
It is just frustrating when you make good money and in today's day and age you can't feed your family and pay the rent at the same time, it has to be one or the other. Now with gas prices where they are.........what are you supposed to do. If I get another job to get the ends together, I can pretty much kiss the RCMP goodbye and any kind of social life. If Jodi works outside the home, there is childcare and time off for Ricky which can be anytime any day at all.
We keep getting glimmers of hope and then they seem to get flushed down the toilet just as fast as they appear.
Jodi is also having a very hard time with Ricky and dealing with all of that, which adds to it all as well. If you don't know, just a quick update...Ricky is our 8 year old and has a severe case of osteoporosis. He almost has "glass" bones and can't do alot of what his friends can do. He also has some major bowel challenges as well. His intestines are all there, just not how they should be which causes him problems. Then there is a neuro muscular condition(we think and almost hope) that makes endurance challenging for walking and such. Anyways, Jodi is the mother and one of her babies is sick and she can't "fix it". That has been extremely tough on her and she is having a challenge coping with that.
Again, I am not complaining at all. I don't need sympathy. I do have hope that all will work out, it is just tough not to quit and roll over and give up totally. I do need hard evidence that there is a light at the end of the tunnel though...one that is permanent and not just a tease.
How can I continue with training and such a major undertaking as that which I am doing now when there is so much !@#$*%& that is out of control and shows no signs of letting up? I don't know, but have to. I want it!!!

Just a quickie

Hey y'all, I am still alive and kicking. Things have just slowed down a bit with paperwork and all. I am waiting for information to be mailed about jobs and other stuff so that I can figure out the last 10 years of my life. lol.
Also, I am waiting for my pardon to come in. That won't take as long as everyone thinks. I also have to start prepping for my interview and the PARE.
I will admit with my training, I have been a little lazy. lol. This weekend i have an excuse however. I was in the dentist chair yesterday. I had a filling done and two wisdom teeth removed. He told me to stay away from heavy lifting and running for a couple days. lol. I DO have to get moving next week though. My application has been put on hold, but it will get moving again before I know it and then I will not be ready for it at all.
I am off to go shopping and get my yard pretty. Good think I have two 12 year olds who are the epitome of good work ethic. lol. I wish
ttyl
Me

Decisions made and changed too

Clear August 2009 for my grad for the RCMP!!!!!!!!!
Just a quickie tonight y'all, I know that there is a lot of you. lol. Anyways, to make a long story short tonight. The above is when I will be a regular member in the RCMP.
My son blew my socks off tonight and my wife's as well. I told him about my decision to send him to live with his mom for at least a year because I figured there would be more stability there and thought it would be fair to him to be with his mother when I go to depot. He told us that he didn't want to. He knows the routine here and says that it is stable here. He doesn't want to risk crashing there and starting over trying to get into a new routine and way of life and so on. It was a very mature, thought out decision and I am VERY PROUD of him for making it. We didn't prompt or bribe him at all.
Anyways, I have to work tomorrow and am am exhausted. I am going to keep posting here so come back and read about my Road to RCMP graduation in 2009!!!
ttyl
Me

Setbacks and decisions

Hey there gang, and I know that there is a lot of you out there. lol. Especially that I have been so quick to put posts here lately. lol
Anyways, I hit the gym hard yesterday and do need to keep that up. I am 2 days behind and lots behind on my cardio. My trainer wants to start me on an obstacle course to help me out with the PARE.
To the title of this post. I had some questions about my application package and some of the forms and so on. I sent an e-mail to the RCMP recruiters in Regina. If you do not know already, I do have a criminal record. I thought that all would be OK as I have started the process to get a pardon. I knew that it might hold up the process a little bit and was expecting that. However, they want me to have a pardon "in hand" before I can continue. I totally understand where they are coming from and do agree. It would be pretty hard to explain graduating from Depot and being posted as a Police Officer with a visible criminal record. lol. Anyways, they have had to temporarily close my file until I have a pardon "in hand". I totally felt as the the wind was taken out of my sails, still feel like that now. It probably wouldn't have been to bad as the Commissionaires who are doing my pardon for me told me that they had the process down to 4 - 6 months...a private company can have it done in 18 - 24 months, and that is quick. However, when I called them and said that I had the info about my charge and stuff I was told that they had to call Ottawa because they didn't believe what they were told and needed to hear it again. Anyways, they are now able to do the pardon........in about a year. I felt like I was totally kicked all over. I was psyched and stoked about the PARE coming up and figuring that I would be gone to Depot by January at the latest and so on and so on and so on. Oh well. It is just a minor set back, I know. I just took it really hard.
FOR THE RECORD AND IF ANY PARENTS ARE READING THIS................................................... IF YOUR KIDS GET IN TROUBLE WITH THE POLICE..................BE HARD ON THEM. I have had this on my record for 20 years. I never thought I would need to worry about it or need to have a clean record. It has come up and bit me in the ass big time. lol.
IF THERE ARE ANY KIDS/TEENS READING THIS..................LISTEN TO YOUR PARENTS.... YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE PERFECT, BUT PLEASE, HEAR THEM.
Anyways, it will make it easier to build up a little savings and get a more solid foundation here and also allow me to get into better shape for the PARE and Depot. This should put a minimum of 5 months delay into everything. Could be worse. lol
The decision part started with me possibly leaving to Depot between Sept and Jan. My 12 year old is living with us here and his mother lives in another town. The big decision is to send him to his mother or keep him here. There is a slight possibility that I will still go to Depot during the school year and I think it is only fair that he lives with his mother or I. My wife is more than willing to keep him here so things stay relatively the same, so that isn't a worry. It is trying to decide what is best for him. I also have my daughter from my first marriage with her mother and another daughter living far away. Lol. I don't think a move for my son out there would be a bad thing, but we don't know until it happens if it is the right thing or not. I think part of it is that I also don't want to be far away from my kids. It has been difficult to get to see my two daughters and I don't want to miss all of them all the time.
Just a very nasty day today. I am really trying to turn it around and be positive about it, but I am having great difficulties.
I WANT to wear the Red Surge and Stetson. I WANT to be the perfect father, step-father and husband too. lol
Anyways, I am off for now
ttyl

Easy night

Well, tonight I did a ride along with a relatively new Constable in town. What an AWESOME night it was. Went in a little early and filled in paperwork and such, met the officer that I would be riding with, got a tour of the detachment and such then went out to the car...6B16. That was cool. I have, believe it or not, been in the back of a police car before, but never in the front. lol.
He showed me how the radio worked in case I needed to use it, then the lights and the sirens. Man, I don't care who you are or how old you are, that has to do something for you. What a blast. It is very different from the front of a car when you are on a ride a long.
Right out of the gate we pulled a car. It was only a headlight, but it was cool. We had a good time. I yakked his ear off, I am sure. I asked him any question I could think of and he answered me.
At first I knew that he was young, didn't think as young as he was though. lol. I must admit that I did judge a little bit. He came across as nothing less than absolute professional and good at what he does. He has a lot of pride for the RCMP and all that that stands for and what it means and it was quite evident in how he carried himself. He was pretty laid back until the lights went on or a call came in...then it was all business. He is definitely a credit to the RCMP
I ended up getting dropped of early due to the nature of a call that came over the radio but I would go back out with them in an instant.
What an experience and I want to be a part of it!!!
Of to bed for now.
ttyl
Me

Been a while.lol

Hey gang. I know that it has been a while but what the hey. I semi voluntarily took most of the week of and am now panicing greatly. I think I let you know that my son bruised or cracked my rib at a football game. Well, I backed off of the workouts and running to let it rest up a bit.
Anyways, I developed a slight panic attack and am kicking myself in the butt for not sucking up a little pain and at least running. lol
I got a registered letter yesterday that congratulated me for doing well on the RCMP aptitude test and said that they want me to continue with the selection process. I also got a link to a webpage where the application package is located and printed off about 200 pages of stuff that they require to have filled out and in their hands 21 days after the date of the letter, which gives me a week to figure out the last 10 years of my life and answer the polygraph questionaire and get it in the mail.
I also have to take my PARE, the physical test, on June 23rd. AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH. That is where the panic comes from. lol. OMG, I have a mountain of hardwork that I have to do in the next little bit and my trainer will turn up the intensity when I call her and let her know.
I am very stoked and nervous right now.
I am off to do yardwork and get ready for my ride along tonight.
ttyl
Me

Just a quickie again

Good morning to all my loyal readers...I think I am up to my mom now. lol. Not sure who is reading this. Let me know if you are.
Anyways, I am sore today. I went to the gym and pushed it last night. My back was stiff and sore yesterday and it still is. My ribs are still sore and were more sore yesterday and this morning that they have been later in the day.
Oh yeah......good news......lol......I can now do 7 push-ups in a row, if I push myself. hehehehe. I will get to where I need to be. lol
Anyways, that is it for right now. Gotta run tonight....yay!!! I think that is my weakest link, so I have to work on that on hard.
ttyl
Me

Fun weekend

Hey there, it's me again. lol. Had a good weekend. I went to my 12 year old's first official football game ever on Saturday. That was fun. I was showing off and I bruised a couple ribs. lol. At least no one there knew or I wouldn't here the end of it. Anyways, I went to the gym and had a good go at a workout and my ribs didn't hurt at all. I drastically increased my weight, however, I think I still need to add more and push more. I still have very little strength in my shoulders and chest. I really have to build on those. The requirement for those muscle groups is going to be really important at Depot. I have to be able to do push-ups till I puke(which is about 6 right now, lol) and overhand pull-ups which is currently at the whopping zero mark. lol. My running is still tough and not where I would like it to be. I am gonna need to go full blast for about 4+ minutes to get past the physical test. If I push, I can do a good clip for almost 2 minutes. I have to get some sandbags and tape them together to see how I can do the "carry" portion of the test. I don't think I will have a problem with that.
On the family front. Lol. Jodi and I are very stressed still. Things keep piling up on top of us and we are having a real tough time keeping on top of the stuff on top of us. Most of the stuff dealing directly with the kids, especially Ricky, has slowed down and is letting us breathe, but the cost of living is giving us a big boot in the backside. I have always believed that we are never given more than we can handle. If that is the case, Jodi and I should have capes and super powers. We are getting so far behind that we think we are winning the race. We have had to live from pay cheque to about a week and a half or so to payday. I am having troubles with the fact that I am making a very good wage and can't get us through yet another rough patch. We need to figure out a one time infusion to get us caught up with everything. Jodi has to start her dayhome again, and we are screwed until that adds in to the budget. We really don't know what we are going to do in the mean time.
I am telling all of this so that you will know what we have gone through to get to where we are going. This is a diary and my story of the voyage to become a regular member of the RCMP.
We have had a tough time since we decided to get married. Do we regret that? NO WAY. Jodi and I are more in love with each other today than we were yesterday. She will back that up. Even with the financial stress and kid stress, we both know, and will say, that we will be together for life. There is no doubt in our minds about that. Our life,"behind closed doors", is extremely intense and extremely emotional in an awesome way.
We just really hope that we don't actually sink financially before we can claw our way to shore and get out of this jam that we are in.
I also hope that the RCMP will here our circumstance and still select me when they get wind of our position. They look for healthy finances too. We shall see.
I am off to work
ttyl,
Me

I hate schedules. lol

Grrrrrrrrrr. And just like that I am back off track. I was supposed to run yesterday and was unable too. We had a meeting and it took way longer than I thought that it would and before I knew it, the day was done and gone. I have done no cardio yet this week and will be sore as heck when I finally get around to it. There is a perfect flight of stairs at work that I could get a great short workout from, but I can't wear my runners at work, I have to wear my boots. I will have to think about out here what there is, or maybe start to get up earlier and get a reflective vest and hit the road. We will see. I am worried that I won't be in good enough shape to get in.
ttyl
Me

Back on track

Well, so far anyways, I worked out at the gym yesterday and today and did a 10 minute run on the treadmill yesterday. Did a hard work out tonight and am exhausted and off to bed. Hopefully I can get caught up on a little sleep in the next little while too.
Ttyl
Me

Guilty, guilty, guilty

Lol. So much for taking the weekend off. Lol. I didn't work out or run at all this weekend and I am feeling a little guilty. I was going to start yesterday and get back into the swing of things. Guess what happened? Life. Jodi wound up being late getting back into Calgary and when all was said and done, we were late getting back home. Her kids got home shortly after that and we had to get them settled down as it was a school night.
I will have to go to the gym tonight and tomorrow. To make up for some of the cardio missed, I will start biking to and from the gym as well. I will take the direct route there and the longer way home. That should help out a lot. I will hit the bricks and run again on Thursday and get back on track with that. I hope I haven't lost a lot of ground. I want to increase my weight again every time. I also want to pick 3 exercises from my last round and add one to each day.
Anyways, I am off to work.
ttyl
Me

Hiya

Hey gang, just thought I would tell you all that I want it so bad that I have taken the whole long weekend off. lol. With permission. My trainer told me that she was thinking about giving me some time off between stuff so that I could heal and recuperate from my workouts and stuff. She said that every athlete needs a break. I decided that I would take this weekend off to spend some time with my family. It is good that I did because this has been yet again another challenging weekend for the Sutton/Donnett Clan. lol. The GREAT part of the weekend is that my 16 year old daughter came out to visit with her 14 year old monster brother. That has been awesome. One weird part that made me feel a little old though. Lol. My daughter has her learners license and I let her drive our minivan. That is quite a feeling being driven by your daughter. lol.
Another good thing is that Jodi's kids are with their father. Now the reason that that is good is it gave me some more time with my daughter almost alone. My sons are here too. I have had a challenge bridging the parenting gap with her as we have been almost estranged for many years. It has only been a couple years now where I have been making an honest effort to reconnect with her and it is tough to say the least.
Anyways, another good reason that I didn't go to the gym and that her kids aren't here this long weekend is that Jodi had to fly to Saskatchewan. Her sister just had a complicated birth and just when everything was looking good and healing up, she had to be rushed back to the hospital...and I do mean rushed.
Jodi had missed the birth of Brooke Tyler and wanted to REALLY be there for her sister. Especially after the birth was so trying and difficult. Jodi was feeling down about that and this time HAD to go. I was upset, but I do understand why she had to go. The biggest upset was that it was a long weekend and my daughter was here and I wasn't going to the gym and we could have some rare time together. lol. How foolish of us to believe that.
The positive is that this we good practice for when I go to Depot and we are apart for 6 months. lol.
Anyways, I am actually going to go to bed I think...after I call Jodi and...........................................................................................................
;-)
ttyl
Me

I want it baby!!!!!!

I absolutely want to be a member of the RCMP. It is becoming a dream the more I look at it and the more I think about it. My trainer Rose gave me a nice compliment. I did a couple killer exersises that she gave me and went pretty hard. She was very impressed with my effort, said most of her clients would have quit then and I think she was a little proud too. I have no clue if I will make it through the application process or not. Lol. I don't know how they will view our current situation and all, but we shall see.
I have been reading fact sheets on the RCMP website and looking at different detachments around, mostly BC and AB, and love what I see.
The RCMP would allow me to have a dream job, I think. They interact with society. All of it, not just a certain part or area. They are charged with protecting all of society and letting people feel safe.
I have always wanted a job where I work with people. Thought maybe a teacher and working with kids, but that is such a different scope. I would be dealing with a certain age group only, always. I don't know how I would handle that. I am at an age where I have to decide NOW what I want to do and get it done. I would be looking at 5 to 7 years of university, which I was prepared to do, but I would be close to mid 40's when I get out. Cutting it close. lol
The more I have investigated and checked out the RCMP, the more I like it.
It would be a difficult adjustment to make. There is more than likely a lot of shift work, holidays, overtime and so on. Some detachments are 6 on 4 off, 10 to 12 hours. Court dates, graveyard shifts, day shifts. We will see. Jodi is excited too. The kids don't know that they are yet. lol
Anyways, I am gonna stop for now
ttyl
Me

Hey there

Guess who. lol. Me again. Just got back from the gym. My trainer likes pain. lol. She had me doing some workouts that are painful. Lol. She changed a couple to put a more advanced level on it and my legs should be screaming by morning. lol. On top of that I had to bike to the gym because I thought that Jodi was going to get her nails done. I did a long bike home too just to make sure that my legs don't want to get up with me in the morning. Anyways, got home and saw Jodi upstairs doing something with the rabbit. lol. Oh well. The ride was good and I think I will continue to bike to the gym on gym nights and run the other nights. Well, that's it for now.
ttyl
Me

Just a quickie

Hey there. Been a couple days, thought I would update a little bit now that my feet are back on the ground. lol.
Well, now that I have passed the aptitude test, now it is on to the physical test. I am going to hazard a guess that I will be doing that within 5 or 6 weeks. I have no clue if I am supposed to book it somewhere or if they call me and tell me when and where. I am going to give it about a week and then I will call Cst. Tsui(the recruiter) and see who what where and when. I will go from there.
The nice thing is that, now, I am not just going to the gym and showing up getting into shape. Now I have a total purpose to be there. It is no longer a question of if I get to this stage. I am there. lol.
I will have to push myself more now. Originally, I thought that I would have at least 3 months and my training program has been set with that in mind. Now I may have no more than a month to get ready.
I will have to go to the lumber store now and get to 50 lb. bags of sand and tape them together. That will be similar to the "torso bag" carry that is part of the test. I have to pick it up from the ground and walk it 15m. I will also have to see what I can make for a couple of small (knee high) hurdles as well as a 3 foot vault. Should be easy and I will just need some wood and screws for the most part. There is a park here with some picnic tables that I can use as stairs.
The biggest push will be the running and the gym. I will also have to be VERY careful at the gym too. My second 4 weeks has some exercises that can really hurt my back too. One is a sit-up thing with a 6kg med ball on a decline bench and another is leaning over to each side in turn with a larger weight and coming back up. I can feel them both in my back and will have to be very careful.
I went for my first "really" tough run last night. I did my regular route and then the street in my house. I still did intervals but instead of a walk/jog thing I did more of a sprint session instead of a slow jog. I walked for between 2 light poles and sprinted between 3. I did that most of the way and it felt really good. Couldn't breathe after the sprint, but that came back.
Did my first workout at the gym on Monday and am a little stiff today in the back. lol. Wasn't to to bad yesterday and today I can feel my whole back is stiff. I will have to really stretch that today as I am in the gym tonight and tomorrow instead of Friday. My trainer thinks that she can have a date night with her husband or something on Friday. lol. Of all the nerve.
Anyways, I must go to work now. YAY
My chances of being a Mountie are looking a lot better now
ttyl
Me

YEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAW

Just got a letter in the mail today and I found out that I passed the RCMP Aptitude Battery (test) with flying colours. We are SO EXCITED here!!!!!!!!

Second 4 week set

Well, I talked to Rose, my trainer, briefly last night and we are getting together this evening at 7 pm at the gym to get me started on my second 4 weeks. I am currently at 3 sets of 12 and she has said that she is dropping it to 3 sets of 8, which means a big weight change I think. lol. We shall see. Should I be nervous? We shall see. :-0

Oh yeah. A couple of days ago, my cockatiel buddy, passed onto the great aviary in the sky. My wife said that she was squawking and flapping all day. I couldn't see her in the cage at dinner time and asked where she was. My son Zach thought he saw her bent over on the bottom pecking at the stuff there. I went to check and she wasn't pecking. She was curled up in a corner. :-(. We don't know what happened. Maybe the cats got to her finally. They used to all like playing. Buddy would tease the cats and play with them through the bars. Who knows.

Made up for the bad

Hey, I can be lazy when I want to, but I made up for my last miss. I ran on Friday and went to the gym and did a hard work out too. lol. I also ran yesterday and am taking today off. I do have to call my trainer and get ready to start my next 4 weeks and see what happens. Anyways, of to do what little I can for my wife on this Mother's Day.
ttyl

Im very bad. ;-(

Shoulda, coulda, didn't. I got lazy last night and let the laziness win out. :-(. We have yet another snow front move through yesterday, my wife had an appointment that went late, I was grumpy and the kids were grumpy and I wimped out and ended up not running yesterday. Well, ya know, it was snowing.....running on the streets is better than the treadmill.......streets were slippery and dangerous......gym is on the other side of town. Still managed to drive to the store on those roads and go shopping though.
BAD SEAN!!!!!!!

Can't let that habit develop. I am off to the gym tonight for sure. This is the last of my first 4 weeks. Things should step up next week a little more than they are now. Yay. I am excited for Rose. She gets to inflict more pain
ttyl

Stiff and tired today

Hey, to all my loyal readers. lol. I did a workout last night and now my back and legs are stiff today. I have also been doing some OT at work for some extra money and have been running no more than 4 hours sleep a night. lol. I am tired and stiff and want to go back to bed to cuddle Jodi.
Off to work I go.
ttyl

Above is just some snaps of my work out last night. Including a couple shots of 2 0f the 7 kids. lol. My son Zach who is 12 and just signed up for football and my wife's daughter Jenni who recently turned 11 physically and thinks she is about 22 or so mentally. lol

At it yet again

Hey there again. Just a quick message as I slept in a little bit and the tooth fairy is on the desk infront of me too. lol. Jenni lost a tooth at the gym last night. Yes it happened naturally. lol. Anyways, I had a great work out. This morning I am stiff as a bugger. I really pushed myself last night, although, other than muscle fatigue, I don't feel any "burn" that you hear associated with people working out. I am getting muscle though and do see my trainer next week to start the 2nd cycle.
Anyways, Jenni took some awesome pictures and I will post some more soon. It will be perfect when my Jenny can be here to take some pics too.
ttyl

Hey again

Hey there gang,
Lol. I know that you have all missed me. Again, lol. Anyways, things have been going good. I had a great workout on Friday and jacked all my weights up a lot. As a result, however, I have been a little stiff.
I ended up having to take Saturday off and was going to run instead on Sunday. Well, instead of running, we had a pair of roller blades and I did that instead. I guess I need lots of practice. I had a stiff back as a result of Friday, I think, and rollerblading wasn't the ticket for that. Posture was partly to blame and also the fact that my balance appears to be that of a plate atop a stick. lol. I will stick to running as that hurts the most and will have the most benefit.
We shall see.
I am still very nervous as to my marks for the exam and may find out today. I also have to get a pardon and haven't heard anything back from Ottawa regarding my finger prints and such yet.
On top of that, we are having an incredible amount of challenges with kids, cars, and life in general. lol. My son drove his bike into the door of my car when my younger son decided to get out of the car. No one was hurt, thank God, however, my door now has a nice crease in it. Our van had died about a month ago now, maybe more. Anyways, we were given another one that was a Plymouth. Our previous one was a Dodge. Voyageur vs. Caravan. NOT THE SAME. lol. Our new van has a bad power steering pump and it has a slightly different engine et al. configuration than the old van. The old van has nice stock aluminium rims on it and they wont fit on the new van etc. lol
So far it seems that the cards are way stacked against us this year and we have yet to hit bottom. On top of that, I also have to take some training on my own and pay for that, as well as some medical checks and so on. Jodi is really feeling the effects of it all and is more stressed than I have ever seen her. I just wish there was magic and I could just wave a wand and make it all better, especially for her. I am very concerned about being accepted into the RCMP and having to leave for 6 months straight. I am sure that her kids would like the break from me......lol. My main concern is for Jodi however. I know that if she can handle the stress and crap now, that we will get through this next year of uncertainty with me and what I am trying to do, that we can handle it all.
On top of that, if I go through training, we are GUARANTEED to be moving after I am out. I don't think there is any chance of us staying where we are or even going where we want to. lol.
The RCMP does have "compassionate" postings where they look at you and your circumstances and will, at times, consider that and work with it as best they can. Oh well, I guess we shall see.
I am just hoping that, is we ever hit the bottom, I can keep us on our feet so that we can climb back out of this hole that we seem to be in.
BLAHHHHH
ttyl

More weights.......surprise

lol. Yep. Yet again, I was at the gym. Surprise. I had a good workout last night though. I did increase all the weight for what I did last night. A couple, I didn't know if I would finish or not and even, inadvertantly, of course started to cheat on a couple and bent a joint more that I should have. hehehe. Would have been a good day for anyone to be a fly on the wall. My face was red as a tomato at times and veins were popping out a bit too. lol. Along with the gutteral grunts and stuff, it was quite entertaining. I really have to work on my shoulders, chest, and abs more too. I am still not all that sore so I will have to ask my trainer if I am doing it right or not. I also have to hit my cardio WAY harder as well. She said that I would be dragging my but and really tired. I thought that I would ache a lot more and drop at night. Hasn't happened yet. Maybe I just need to work harder. lol. We shall see.
Till next time
ttyl

Running and the joys...........

Well, I did a road run tonight and am a little let down by my performance. I managed to run that 2.5 miles on the treadmill nonstop the other night and had to do intervals tonight. Guess I know what I need to work on.
I will definitely have to hit hit the road more and not the treadmill as much. I was about the same distance tonight as on the treadmill.
More work. Work, work, work. Everyone work!!!
:-)
Till next time y'all
ttyl

Hey hey hey

Hey there. Lol. I am getting lazy already. Well, I only have a moment as I slept in this morning. Sunday I went to the treadmill again and RAN 2.5 miles. Pushed a little at the end but came out feeling on cloud 9.
Yesterday I went to the gym and my reps went down from 15 to 12. My weights are all up too.
Anyways, off to work I go and I will try to add some more later after running tonight.
ttyl

Friday

Hey there, just wanted to drop a quick line. I skipped out tonight at the weights. My back is still a little sore, so this is my night off this week. lol. I will hit it tomorrow night and see how it is. I am on a good road and want to maintain the increases in weight that I have been adding. We shall see.

Just a quick not for my mom. Hi mom. The test on Monday wasn't really what I was expecting. Basically, if you have a general knowledge of comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and punctuation, there isn't a whole lot of studying. The vocabulary surprised me however. There is now way to truly be ready for that unless you eat, sleep, breath, etc a good thick dictionary. They even threw in English Literature words. That was fun.
With the "police" skill side, again, there isn't a lot of studying that I found that I could do. The available study material on the web was very generic and I guess it is more to open your mind to puzzle solving and looking for logic and at a scenario logically. I think that is why I don't have a "solid" idea as to how I did. I think I passed, but I am not really sure. I will have to wait for the marks and see. Then it gets fast for a while. I will be doing the physical in about 7 weeks, the interview after that, then the background check and polygraph and so on. the background check is apparently akin to hitting the brakes in a car. We shall see.
Anyways, that is it for now
ttyl

Some good news though.....or a bad scale

Lol. Oh yeah, according to the scale there, I am down about 6 or 8 pounds. Good and bad as I thought that muscle weighed more than fat and some of them are definitely getting firmer

Stupid coveralls

OK. I do my weights last night and feel awesome. I increased the weight in just over half of my exercises and afterwords was worried about feeling sore and crying. Nope, I felt great. Some of my muscles felt fatigued but nary a sore spot. Cool. No I can jack everything next time and feel really good.
I get to work this morning, all is well and perfect. I am getting set up and then have to get my coveralls on. No problem, been at it for years. Lol. As I am shrugging into them I feel a "feeling" in my lower back that I get when I know it is going to hurt for a day or three. WONDERFUL.
I went to the gym for some cardio tonight and that went well. Did about 5 miles on the recumbent bike and then a quick 2 min. hard run in the treadmill. No worries. My back is a little stiff and achy, but now I have to take it easy with my weights. GRRRRR. Lol. Oh well. Still got time to get to where I need to be.
Off to bed. ttyl

humph

Of all the things to do. lol. I will have to be careful with my cardio tonight. I was putting on my coveralls at work this morning and I hurt my back a little. I hope it is only here tonight and gone tomorrow. I have to do weights tomorrow and don't want to shy off of what I am doing.
Oh well. We will see, one way or another
ttyl

Guess what? More weights tonight

Yay. I am so excited. Just got back from the gym a bit ago and actually feel really good tonight, just a little stiff but not to bad. Must be working. Guess that means I have to start increasing weight. Oh well. Little bit of pain...lotta gain.
Now if I can get my cardio stronger, in a shorter time. I may have to run the PARE in as little as 7 weeks and my endurance isn't there yet. Should be OK by then.

Oh yeah, I think Jodi is getting a little excited too. She has noticed a few bumps here and there that weren't there before and a little more firmness in places too. HEHEHEHEHEHE

I guess my form will change quicker than I thought
Off to bed y'all
ttyl

Two down and only a lot more to go

Wrote and passed the RCMP Aptitude test, I think. lol

Oh yeah. lol. Did you all notice that hot and sexy double chin? I would like to know who had the audacity and nerve to give that to me and when the heck did they

More ouch.

Hey there, thought I would add some photos that my 7 year old took of me today at the gym working out. :-) Then you will know that I am serious. lol

Feel the burn on your end??? I did!!!

Enjoy and I will see ya all again soon

I am SO excited about my workout tomorrow

Hey again from the wonderful world of pain. Hehehehehe. I am still stiff and sore. I had to go to the gym and run on the treadmill today. Like last weekend or maybe 2 ago when we got about a foot and a half of snow...we have another foot on the ground. During last week we were up in the teens for temp and it was all going away and now it has been snowing since yesterday and is supposed to continue on til Monday. When I may just have to drive from Calgary up to Red Deer to make it in time for my test.
Anyways. I am a little disappointed with my run. I only did about 3 kms, although, I think it was a little more run than my normal pace. I guess I measured the distance on my block wrong and maybe it is not a whole km after all. Oh well. I do know that cardiovascularly, I will be ready for anything that depot can throw at me. :-D
I may never have full use of my arms again, but I will be ready. lol.
Anyways, I am relaxing with a couple beers, my wife and a..................................................................................hehehehe. Movie
ttyl

Hmmm. Yep, still ouch!!!

I did back to back weights and did my third one last night. Man, even muscles that I had that I thought I used regularly hurt. lol. She did give me a weight break until Sunday though. It would normally start up on Monday, however, that is the night of the RCMP aptitude test.....GULP.........I am a little nervous about that. I think I should get through it though. Then it will be the big push to the PARE. Speaking of which..Rose, my trainer said something that almost made me cry on the spot. Next month I will be starting push-ups and such. In conjunction with my running.....she is going to take me to the hockey arena(at this point, I looked at her quizzically) or the fair ground grandstand(at this point, I knew EXACTLY what she meant and I think i actually sobbed momentarily). STAIRS! Not just any stairs, arena stairs or grandstand stairs which are notoriously steep. Lord have mercy upon my lazy, lethargic soul. lol.
Anyways. Today my but and legs protested regularly in perfect concert with my still very sore arms. Yesterday and today was my triceps screaming loudly, until the rest moved in. lol

The weather is bad here. It is snowing heavily(it's not July yet. lol)so I guess I will have to postpone my cardio. lol........NOT!!!!! I have to go to the gym and hit the bikes and treadmills etc.
Oh well. No pain, no gain
Talk to ya all later

Double ouch

LOL. My trainer wants to kill me. I did some more weights tonight and she put me on my but big time. Man am I out of shape. lol. It will be fun to get to where I have to go

OUCH!!!!!!!

Oh my gosh!!!!! I did my first weight session tonight. By first, I mean ever. lol. My trainer has me doing mostly upper body and arm stuff with a little leg and back too. My arms feel like over stretched rubber bands and I am sure I will be rather sor tomorrow at work. I know that down the road I will feel better and healthier and stronger.......WATCH OUT BABY...hehehehe. I am not going to type this for long as I am having trouble moving my arms.

Just keep running

lol. Yep, that about sums it up for now. Did my 5 kms today. Tomorrow I start weight training with my trainer at the local college gym. I am a little worried. I have been doing heavy things most of my life, however, the past few years have been a little lacking thanks to the weight of steel. 1 sq. ft. of 1" plate weighs about 4o lbs. The sheets I move are 32 - 50 sq. ft. lol.
I am now only a little worried because, aside from a little stiffness and achey, I feel fine. I guess I will know by the end of the week if I can still walk or not. lol
That's it for now. I get to go and eat. YIPEE
later

Just a little background on us. lol

Now, I think, that I have a moment of relative solitude. lol. Jodi is in bed and her kids are at there fathers this weekend. My 2 daughters live on the west coast and my son is visiting his mother.
I think that it wouldn't be to much to give you a little bit of a background on us and what has been happening over the last little bit.
I am not looking for sympathy by telling you any of this. I just want you to know that, I don't think, life is supposed to be a perfect "bowl of cherries". The things most cherished in life are not achieved with out effort and purpose.
Here goes:

I first met Jodi officially in July 05. She had actually been stalking me since about May, so I guess it was inevitable that we would meet. I guess she actually liked me prior to meeting me and had been dropping all kinds of hints and saying things to try and make me jealous and such. Lol. Me being a man, caught nothing at all. Go figure.
I will say that our first meeting was a little tense at the beginning. Jodi had a couple girlfriends over and was a little choked at one of them, because this girlfriend did herself up and, now that I know her, was probably trying to weasel in. Jodi hung back in the background. I was there to see her and do have some manners. lol. It obviously paid off, because now, here we are. hehehe.
If you are good at judging pictures and dates, you will probably figure out about what time Connor came into being. hehehehe.
I am not saying that to say at all that we got together for him and not us. That wouldn't be true. We are both out of divorces and have kids. We wouldn't use another one as an excuse.
Anyways...on with the story. I can't say, or wouldn't admit to "Love at first sight", however, we meshed right away and started dating as much as we could. I started coming to her place every weekend(at the time, Zach and Jenny were living with their mother). Jodi was going to college in the hopes of attaining a psychology degree. She was doing this pregnant and with 3 other crazy kids at home. I was totally supporting her in this endeavour. It was tough work and unfortunately she had to give it up. She ended up getting ill for most of the pregnancy and couldn't do the commute to school or stay in class so she had to quit.
You will have to forgive me but I am terrible with story dates and will leave most of them out, or just get them wrong. lol.
Connor was born in March of 06. I think, although Jodi would never admit it, the pregnancy was extremely hard on her. Not only did she have a new boyfriend, 3 kids of her own and had to drop out of school, but she was living with her mother and undergoing major life changes and rediscovering who she was. By the way...she has turned out to be an all around AWESOME lady, wife and mother.
Anyways, on with the show. We were going great and definitely developing intense feelings for each other, although we would never admit the "L" word. lol. I moved in in May after Connor was born.
That is when the fun started. hehehehehe. Jodi's kids were willing to give me a chance, I think. However, they were not pleased(from the start) that mom was seeing someone other than their father. James and I have the biggest challenge together. He really wants to support his dad, which I totally support for all of the kids. The conflict there is that he likes me a lot, but doesn't want to "commit" to a deeper relationship with me yet. He is an awesome kid and is turning into a strange teen. lol. He is at the age where he thinks that all the girls think he is James Bond or something. lol. I am looking forward to him growing up and seeing what he will turn into. James and Zach are now getting along really good too. Zach has been living with us for 2 years now. Jennifer Leigh(Jodi's) is coming around too and starting to let me in to her emotional life as well. She definitley doesn't like being told what to do....especially by me...but she is 11 going on 16 and thinks that the world should revolve around her and her alone. lol. Pretty typical, I think.
Then there is Ricky. We are developing a pretty cool attitude. Both him and Jenni call me dad unless they are mad at me or not happy with me. lol.
Anyways, onto Ricky. He is Jodi's "special" child. I don't say that to try and single him out from the others, but he is. He has always been slight and frail looking, except as a baby. When he was a baby, he didn't move around a lot, never very active and always quiet.

By the way...When you read this Jodi, if I miss something or said it wrong, please correct it.

Anyways, when he was 3 Jodi and her ex started to take him to doctors and such and try to figure out what was up and if anything was wrong at that time. The long and the short of it is that, at that time, they didn't find out a lot. I think they found some "structural" concerns with him, but nothing major at the time.
Since I have known him, he has always been as active as he can. He gets tired easy and tries to get out of work with it. He has never been a big eater and at times, my bird would eat more than him. We always used to argue with him aobut needing to eat and so on and so on. lol. I will get to the point of that in a minute. lol. At the time, we did nag, because we never understood what was wrong.
Anyways, try to shorten this a bit. lol. We took him back to a clinic in Edmonton where he had gone as a toddler and had them look at him again. We had no clue what was wrong, Jodi had her suspisions and so on. The doctors looked again and figured it was all structural and away we went. They set up an appointment with a Pediatrician for us and we went to see her. Both of Rickys legs turn slightly to the right below the knee. She sent us to rheumotology at the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary. To a Dr. Lakonia. He is about 200 years old and has hampsters growing out of his ears. He is an "old school" british doctor. Ricky was not having a good day at the time. His stomach was distended a bit, he was lethargic, pale and looked sick. The Doctor immediately picked up on it and said that he wasn't thriving. I am very thankful that Ricky had a bad day and we saw this Dr.
After the first time, when Ricky was 3, there was nothing conclusive so Jodi just had to go on and muddle through. She always new something was wrong, just not what.
Dr. Lakonia got the ball in play immediately and we have been back and forth for different test...none of whitch have to do with his "structural" or neurological challenges. We went to GI to try and see why he wasn't eating and see if they could figure it out. He knew that Ricky didn't need his department so he was setting up orthepedics and got us into Endocrine(something to do with bones and such). We were looking at about 6 months to a year to get in to some of the departments. We have been to all but Neurology in the last 6 months. lol. We see neurology and back to GI next month.
Basically, by total fluke, we have found out that Ricky is definitely a very "special" boy. None of what we have found out has been related to his fragility and structural stuff. For the most part.
We have found out that his small and large intestines are absolutely messed up. His small intestines are in the position of a surgery that is performed to correct a more serious issue that people have. His Large intestines are "draped" together on his left(?) and his appendix is located just above his groin. This isn't as serious as what else we found out though.
With Endocrine, they decided after the initial exam to do a bone density scan. These are very routine and normal. Anyways, the results of that showed that Ricky has osteoporosis.
An average child will have a score of 0 or 1. Ricky is a -4. The doctor phoned Jodi with the results, usually they would book an appointment to go over the results. We have had to mostly shut him down from most physical activities. They don't want him riding a bike, playing sports, climbing of playground apparatus and so on and so on. Pretty much any activity that an average boy wants to do, he can't. It has been toughest on Jodi and Ricky is pretty stressed by it too. The biggest concern is actually not a full break of the bone. "Micro fractures" can develop more and can cause a lot of pain. More like splintering than breaking. That doesn't mean that it is unlikely for a full break at all. That can happen easier with him than not.
Needless to say Jodi is borderline unglued and will never admit it. Ricky is very concerned as well. Yes, I am too. I have had my hidden moments of fear, not knowing the future, fear of losing him and so on. I will deny that if questioned. lol. Jodi has experienced all of these and on top of that, being a mother and not being able to fix her child. It has been a challenge. Jodi had no real answers for 5 years and now all of this has been dumped on her in the last 4 months or so. It has been like a heroin trip

I am saying all of this so that you know where we are coming from and what we are up against here. Yes, there is more. lol. One thing that I want to say upfront and I know that Jodi will agree with this is that, yes, this is an immense stress on our marriage. It is also a test of sorts. Our marriage is stronger than I can say. I know that we are going through an immensely tough time right now, but I have absolutely no fear that we will come out in the end, regardless of the end results, stronger and still married to one another. I truly believe that we are soulmates and mean t to be.

Anyway, we still have to finish finding out what is totally wrong with Ricky and go from there. On top of that, we have the other kids as well. They are all feeling scared about Ricky and are still at the age that they can't deal with all of the emotions involved and are acting out a little more than normal. They have had to deal with what we have had to as well. We are all adjusting to it. The kids are turning the corner and starting to treat Ricky better and so on.
Next.....there has been the finacial side of things. lol. We both had debt coming in of some sort or another. All was good and we had no worries at all. Then, somehow, the bottom dropped out. lol. We have no clue when or how or what actually happened, but it has been a tough ride. We did have to get a loan to make sure that our wedding went off, again, we weren't worried at all. All was good. Jodi was in a Florist program and had a job when she got out. No problem. Then, she had to quit her job. She has had some health/dental issues that have come up and pretty much stopped her cold for a while. lol. There have been childcare issues, bill issues, loan issues. General financial crap issues, running kids around issues. Recently we have had vehicle problems with both of our cars. Mine were fairly minor. Our mini van was recently condemned. That gave us the stress of making doctor appointments. I have said from the start that I will be there whenever. The initial plan was to go to "major" appointments and then Jodi would go to the minor treatment ones and so on. Now we had to look at me going to all of them. I live an hour away from where I work, so I would have to book the whole day off and lose my wage. We have been on the fastrack for that so I have missed a lot of time. Then I got a bad bug and was in bed for about a week.
That is the long and short of it. I think we are being given all the challenges that could happen over the total life of an average marriage in a short time to make sure that we have what it takes. lol. I KNOW that we do and so does Jodi. We will get through it all, but it is #&%^$@ tough to say the least.
Anyways. That is what we have on our plate for the most part. On top of that, I want to join the RCMP and Jodi is totally supportive of that.
My wanting to join the RCMP was a snap decision too. lol. Thought about it about 3 weeks ago, talked it over with Jodi. Everyone in the family is supportive and excited, so here i am.

The way a lot of things are working out in the past 3 weeks, both Jodi and I think that this is the road we should be on.
Yesterday, someone gave us a mini van. Didn't cost us a thing, just a thank you. It is a year newer than ours with about half of the mileage. Our finances have been working out a bit, although we have had to make a SERIOUSLY MAJOR decision in regard to that. That is still working through, but is looking positive and slowly better.

Everything has seemed to point us on the road to near uncertainty and the RCMP. We are totally looking forward to it and scared to death at the same time.
My wife says that she likes adventure and so on. I don't know how ready I am yet, but I guess I will find out soon enough. I think that I can do it and become a regular member of the RCMP.
That is what is exciting me.

I don't want sympathy from anyone. That is not my intention in writing this. This is my public diary and I think it is fair to tell you where I come from and who I am and what I am facing. More importantly...what my family and I are facing and where we are going and what we are going through to get there.

Talk to you later

And now...the piece-de-resistance...and the reason you will all probably run screaming. lol. Here I am, fresh home from work and getting ready for my first official run. lol

This is Jodi
She is my true soulmate and the reason that I breathe and can attempt to do what I am accoplishing. She is my strength and gives me the belief in me that I will need to join the RCMP. She is absolutely the best friend and lover that a man can hope for and I would be able to do nothing without her beside me through all of this and over the next year or so.
I love her with every fiber of who I am
Thank you Jodi

Here is the reason that Jodi and I breathe and exist.

l to r: Zach(my 12 yr. old), Connor(our surprise. :-)), Tyralea(my 16yr old), Jennifer-Lea(my 10 yr old), Jennifer Leigh(Jodi's 11 yr old), James(Jodi's 12 yr old), and Ricky(Jodi's 8 yr old)

Run Forrest Run

Well, I think today would actually qualify as my first real official run. lol. I am starting with intervals, so I guess it was my first official walk/run using the fartlink technique. From where I live to the end on my street and back is approximately one kilometre. I just did 5ish kilometres total and I survived. I may just make it through this next 12 weeks. My trainer wanted me to do a 1 min. run to a 1 min. walk. It is to much to concentrate on with breathing as well so I gave up counting minutes. Currently, I am using fartlicking, or guesstimating. Our street is broken into sections by cross streets. I walk one section and run the other. They are all different lengths so I get different durations of walking and running. It worked good and I feel GREAT. I am getting pumped about the RCMP and know that I will be physically fit for it. Of course, if I get accepted. lol
I will be posting some "before pics" right away too

Well, this will be a little shorter for all of you that are reading this. lol
Today was an excersise day off. I did some studying for my aptitude test. Did a grade 9 level math entrance exam from the apprenticeship board, which is supposed to be the level the test is at. I got about 85%, my wife couldn't count how many i got wrong and originally gave me 83%. lol. I don't feel so bad then. Anyways, I am ready for that part of it. Next I have to tackle the logic part. Soduku puzzles can help for that as well as logic questions. I am having a bit of trouble with those. It would be nice if they weren't so confoundedly written. lol. Guess that takes the logic part out of it then.
You know the type...there are 9 players in 2 groups, 5 and 4 respectively. the starting line-up has 3 of the 4 fastest skaters who are.......a will start if d does. c will not start if d does. the 4 fastest skaters are......Who will start? etc, etc, etc.
C'est la vie.

I can almost taste how bad I want to get accepted

Oh yeah,
This is supposed to be my trip to a buff bod too. I could have read my previous posting, but, the heck with that. lol.
I have started running and biking for cardio. OMGosh, am I out of shape. I have done two days of biking, and that was OK. I tried running today for the first time in almost an eternity. The last time I really ran was with my dad when I was 13, I think. Man, did it hurt. lol. I am doing an interval thing of 1 minute walk:1 minute run. I stopped trying to actually mark the time and just guesstimated distances. Anyways, the first minute run wasn't to bad. Definitely got my heart rate up and breathing. lol. Foolish me thought that the minute walk in between would be good to relax a bit. Yeah, right. Man, oh man. By the third interval i think I gave up swallowing my spit and it was flying everywhere out the side of my mouth. At first my I tried to regulate my breathing and shortly gave that up too. lol. My plan is 3 sets of 4 weeks each. This first 4 weeks is going to hurt I think. My trainer said that I will be in pain and suffering and that if I am flopping into bed by 8:30...enjoy it while I can.
RCMP Depot will be fun, but not a stretch for length of day. Currently, I am lucky to be asleep by 11:30 or midnight and am up by 4:30am. I will LOVE sleeping in until 5:30 or 6am at Depot. lol
Oh well. Off for now

Here goes

Hey anyone who has the fortune to read this.
My name is Sean Sutton and I am 38 years old. I am currently living in Olds, AB and have been married for 8 months no. Yes, it is the second one for both my wife and I. We have combined two families. Jodi, my wife, has 3 kids. 12 and and 8 year old boy and an 11 year old daughter. I have a 12 year old son, and a 16 and 10 year old daughter. We also have a 2 year old son togehter. Yes, that is 7 kids. However, only 5 live with us in Alberta. My daughters live on the west coast.
I am currently working in a welding shop in Calgary and have for 5 of the last 6 years. I am getting bored at work and have looked at changing over the last few months. Mostly looking at the education route and getting into something via university. That will take 4 to 6 years and I am not getting any younger.
Then the out of the blue solution came to me and I saw that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are looking for a lot of good bodies. The more I checked it out, the more I like what I saw. I think that my wife was flabbergasted to say the least. lol. However, she, along with almost everyone else that I have talked ot thinks that it would be good for me and that I would be good for them as well. lol. Go figure. Even my 10 year old daughter said that she has always pictured me in a policeman's uniform.
I went for a career presentation with my wife and have decided to go for it. I write the aptitude test on the 24th of this month (AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH). If I pass that, I am of to the physical testing and further interviews, polygraph, probing background check and so on and so on and so on. lol. It will take anywhere from 6 months to a year I figure. The Constable that gave the presentation said that some people can make it sooner than the 6 month mark so we shall see.
Anyways, I am and have been an inactive person for years. I smoked for about 23 years or so and managed to give that up for a year and a half so far. I am far from good shape.
The past 2 days plus today have marked the most active that I have ever been. Yesterday and the day before I biked about 8 or 10 kms(give or take) and today I ran and walked for about 20 - 30 minutes. OMG, I have a lot of work ahead of me.
I have hired a personal trainer who is writhing me up an intensive 12 week plan. I will do weight training for 3 days of the week and running/biking 3 days of the week also. up to 45 minutes each session. It is going to be one of the hardest things that I have ever accomplished in my life. I am very pumped and terrified at the same time. lol.
We shall see what happens. My goal is to pass everything first time so that I can get it over and done with.

I figured that I would start a blog to keep a diary of my progress for all to see and that starts today. lol.
Feel free to read along. I will start to post pictures later in the future. Maybe a few before and after shots soon. That should scare some of you away first off.
ttyl