Merry Christmas 2012... Happy New Year 2013! From the Wisemans
First- sincere apologies for the terrible formatting in this blog. This is my first post and I refuse to spend another minute trying to figure out how to keep the text within the left & right margins. Argggh!
It's late December, cold outside and raining- surprised?! Some of you are talented writers- I salute you! My writings generally don’t come out smooth and easy, rather more comparable to chunky, natural peanut butter that requires copious amounts of stirring (wooden spoon) so get ready for the full meal deal here while I tell my stories.
Grab a glass of whatever you prefer, sit down and relax- I’ll try to keep this “Wendy Goudsward story” a recount of the year in reasonable length, entertaining yet thought provoking.
BTW- as I write, I have Grooveshark open in a window and am listening to a variety of Mariah Carey Christmas songs. I know, I know, she’s annoying BUT nobody sings O Holy Night anywhere near as good as her.
The morning of January 1, 2012 found me once again decked out in running shoes, woolies, and neon orange toque ready to run the 8 km Resolution Race at Crescent Park in South Surrey. It’s become somewhat of a tradition for me these last few years and this year I even won a fantastic pair of Sugoi shorts! Score!! Of course, the night before was our New Year’s Eve house party so I think I was fairly useless the remainder of the day after the race...
Also in January, our fam-jam went up to Grouse Mountain and did a memorable hike up the snowshoe grind. The idea is to snowshoe up then run down (with snowshoes on) or slide down the snow shoots from other previous tired snowshoers. We pretty much slid down. I was only slightly embarrassed to learn that the 75 year old in front of us runs up and down the snowshoe grind twice a day and never resorts to the butt slide. Sigh.
The rest of the month and into February was fairly uneventful-except I do believe I enjoyed several free McD coffees for one glorious week in February. Now that’s worth writing home about, hey!
Big Month of May- as in Vancouver International Marathon month. This was my first full marathon and it was an amazing experience. I completed the 42.6 km in 4 hrs 17+ min. I think I ate a whole house the next day! Well that kinda’ sums it up.
The Home of the Brave hosts some of the most well organized, famous running races. I participated in the Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon and completed it hills and all in under 2 hrs. Not a PB but Good Golly leave it to the Land of the Free to END the race at the top of a “Super Sized” hill. UGH.
Dominic brought in his 12th Birthday in May with some friends shaming Spider Man’s moves by climbing the walls at Coastal Climbing gym. This is Dom’s new sport and he is GOOD. He’s always been limber and displays amazing, humble talent when versed with cliffs and boulders. Dom also enjoys playing the clarinet. He’s tough, and smooth!
Now, I will brag. One of the best things about being a mom is who I get to be mom to! My boys have grown up a lot this year, and made several personal achievements in their lives. They aren’t rock stars, or mvp’s but they are perfect, made in God’s image, excited about life, humble, well mannered and inquisitive. I am proud of them and super happy that they are satisfied with the simple pleasures in life- like Lego, books, romping around in the Gully, hanging out with friends. All in all they make my mom job fairly easy.
July reminded me to “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” Thanks Dr. Seuss! As usual I was grateful for the sunny evenings (curses to being in the office all day!) and weekends that inspired evening gardening, late dates with the lawnmower, bbq’d beer chicken, dirty dishes, rejected and shunned laundry, and general disregard for housework. Good thing I don’t live in Sunny Colorado. My house would never be clean!
June 2012 included bbqs with friends, and unfortunately preparing to say goodbye to a dear friend who moved across Canada! On the fun side, I took a couple trips with girlfriends across to the U S of A for important items like Kraft Easy Cheese in a can, cheap gas, and a cute dress from the Dress Barn (yes, that’s correct but it’s not really a barn).
Sunny August was a fantabulous month of vacation days and travel. We took our annual trip to Ontario to visit the other zany Wisemans in Huntsville Ontario at the family cottage on beautiful Harp Lake. We enjoyed mostly good weather, the Summer Olympics on tv, the Snapping Game, and The Postie board game which kept us entertained when the inevitable thunderstorms came.
Last but not least in August David and I conquered Mt St Helens. This was our third trip up: Once approx 20 years ago, last year in September we attempted but failed because of torrential rain and wind. This time we made it to the top and lived to tell the tale! Plus, I have more than one picture to prove it! Hands down the hike was more physically challenging than my marathon in May. Running is a tough, mental challenge- hiking up a huge mountain takes enormous determination and HOURS of hard work.
We also made our way to Niagara Falls and rode The Maid of the Mist, did plenty of walking, and ultimately made good value of our all day parking. What seemed like the hottest day of our vacation was spent wandering the miles of paved pathways and riding ridiculous roller coasters at Canada’s Wonderland. Jacob’s favourite attraction was the Splash Zone on the Log Ride! Oh, the day after that, I made my first epic trip compliments of my running shoes, a few gels, lots of water and ran from town (after dropping off our car rental) back to the cottage. I think it was 18km total in hot, humid Huntsville. Call me crazy or call me cheap- I could have called a taxi.
September and continued sunny days brought a face-lift to our house thanks to David’s assiduous, and tormented effort. Hours of scraping and grinding off old paint from plenty of surfaces was required before fresh paint could be applied.
All this brought to you by recent unemployment and what David often refers to as his schedule suddenly becoming very wide open, or being on sabbatical. No regrets and little worries- we have hunkered down on our spending and shouldn’t have to sell any of our large, worldly possessions as they are already paid for. We’ve been anticipating David’s unemployment for about 7 years. Also thanks to my continued employment at IVES Training, we still have Christmas gifts under the tree this year so no worries about us, ok! Plus, God hasn’t promised us riches here on earth- only riches in heaven so I’m good with that.
September also marked the Inaugural Surrey International Music Marathon which I ran dressed hawaiian style in grass skirt, bikini, lei (mahalo) in a respectable time of 1:57:14. This was the first Marathon/ Half Marathon EVER in Surrey so I had to do it!
October came and went leaving me a year older, tired of turkey and maybe a bit grouchy. On the bright side, Jacob also had a birthday and turned a fantastic 14! We celebrated by sending him and a few friends to Laser Tag to shoot each other. Pizza and chocolate cake followed at our house and finished up with the world famous Wiseman movie night, starring Birthday Boy himself. Oh, I did manage to cheer up by the end of the month and hosted our first ever Costume Partay! It was a hit- maybe we’ll do it again.
November/ December. What can I say- it’s been raining a lot. Also in November my industrious sons picked up a paper route here in our ‘hood’ to join the working class. My sister and I, with help from mom threw a big party for my dad, John who turned 70. I even got dressed up in an old suit, glasses, fake nose & moustache for a special skit.
We Wisemans rarely have a quiet weekend. Nevertheless, we always welcome expected and unexpected guests. If you are in our neck of the woods feel free to drop in for a visit. I can’t promise a tidy house but at least it will have been recently vacuumed.
That wraps it up to current day. If you are still on that first glass of whatever beverage you picked up before you sat down, go get another. Live, laugh, love but don’t forget to share that cheer with your fellow man.
Grab a glass of whatever you prefer, sit down and relax- I’ll try to keep this “Wendy Goudsward story” a recount of the year in reasonable length, entertaining yet thought provoking.
BTW- as I write, I have Grooveshark open in a window and am listening to a variety of Mariah Carey Christmas songs. I know, I know, she’s annoying BUT nobody sings O Holy Night anywhere near as good as her.
 |
| Resolution Race, Jan 1 2012 |
Also in January, our fam-jam went up to Grouse Mountain and did a memorable hike up the snowshoe grind. The idea is to snowshoe up then run down (with snowshoes on) or slide down the snow shoots from other previous tired snowshoers. We pretty much slid down. I was only slightly embarrassed to learn that the 75 year old in front of us runs up and down the snowshoe grind twice a day and never resorts to the butt slide. Sigh.
 |
| Snowshoeing @ Grouse Mountain |
The rest of the month and into February was fairly uneventful-except I do believe I enjoyed several free McD coffees for one glorious week in February. Now that’s worth writing home about, hey!
March 2012 David was very excited to purchase a new Dyson vacuum cleaner, and let’s just say his vacuuming skills are far supreme over mine, so I let him at it and stay out of the way! We didn’t take a tropical holiday as we had last year to Belize and previous years to Mexico and Hawaii. So part of the month was spent reminiscing about the beautiful beaches, and many adventures we enjoyed during previous vacations.
Also in March, while David stayed home to vacuum, I went away with my fellow Sunday School leaders for an amazing retreat weekend at Harrison Lake House. It was a refreshing, encouraging, and hilarious (yes, at times) weekend away with great people and some of the best taco salads, hamburgers and coffee ever consumed. I am so grateful for the opportunity to volunteer with these amazing people and work with super fun kids.
Indoors I finished the Hunger Games books and probably avoided lots of laundry/ dirty dishes etc, and outside I was getting some good mileage on my running shoes. March marked my second race of the year: Golden Ears Half Marathon. My sister suggested a clothespin on my nose because the bridge straddles a sewage treatment plant. Ew. While I can’t claim any bragging rights for a new PB it didn’t matter- the race was fun! I am so grateful for a few good friends made this year through my running group- we committed to training together and racing a full marathon (my first) in May.
April- the glorious month of Easter, warming weather, birds singing, flowers popping up… and rain. I held my annual Easter egg scavenger hunt for my boys and some of their die-hard, chocoholic friends. The clues were challenging, the candies rewarding, and the kids got plenty of exercise travelling by foot and bicycle from one neighbourhood to the next. It was a great day! Next year I am going to ‘up the ante’ and create a scavenger hunt worthy of an article in the Surrey Leader. April also included blessed tapering toward the end of the month. Not to be confused with tapestry- that’s entirely different and I’ve never done that.
Our fam jam did the Grouse Grind a couple times in May. On one ascent to the top, Jacob defined me as the new “Lard Ball” in the family as I was the last person in our group to reach the top. *OUCH!* Essentially, it was my motherly graciousness that enabled everyone else to beat me to the top.
Also in March, while David stayed home to vacuum, I went away with my fellow Sunday School leaders for an amazing retreat weekend at Harrison Lake House. It was a refreshing, encouraging, and hilarious (yes, at times) weekend away with great people and some of the best taco salads, hamburgers and coffee ever consumed. I am so grateful for the opportunity to volunteer with these amazing people and work with super fun kids.
Indoors I finished the Hunger Games books and probably avoided lots of laundry/ dirty dishes etc, and outside I was getting some good mileage on my running shoes. March marked my second race of the year: Golden Ears Half Marathon. My sister suggested a clothespin on my nose because the bridge straddles a sewage treatment plant. Ew. While I can’t claim any bragging rights for a new PB it didn’t matter- the race was fun! I am so grateful for a few good friends made this year through my running group- we committed to training together and racing a full marathon (my first) in May.
April- the glorious month of Easter, warming weather, birds singing, flowers popping up… and rain. I held my annual Easter egg scavenger hunt for my boys and some of their die-hard, chocoholic friends. The clues were challenging, the candies rewarding, and the kids got plenty of exercise travelling by foot and bicycle from one neighbourhood to the next. It was a great day! Next year I am going to ‘up the ante’ and create a scavenger hunt worthy of an article in the Surrey Leader. April also included blessed tapering toward the end of the month. Not to be confused with tapestry- that’s entirely different and I’ve never done that.
Our fam jam did the Grouse Grind a couple times in May. On one ascent to the top, Jacob defined me as the new “Lard Ball” in the family as I was the last person in our group to reach the top. *OUCH!* Essentially, it was my motherly graciousness that enabled everyone else to beat me to the top.
 |
| Still standing and smiling after Full Marathon |
 |
| Finished Full Marathon! |
Big Month of May- as in Vancouver International Marathon month. This was my first full marathon and it was an amazing experience. I completed the 42.6 km in 4 hrs 17+ min. I think I ate a whole house the next day! Well that kinda’ sums it up.
The Home of the Brave hosts some of the most well organized, famous running races. I participated in the Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon and completed it hills and all in under 2 hrs. Not a PB but Good Golly leave it to the Land of the Free to END the race at the top of a “Super Sized” hill. UGH.
Dominic brought in his 12th Birthday in May with some friends shaming Spider Man’s moves by climbing the walls at Coastal Climbing gym. This is Dom’s new sport and he is GOOD. He’s always been limber and displays amazing, humble talent when versed with cliffs and boulders. Dom also enjoys playing the clarinet. He’s tough, and smooth!
Now, I will brag. One of the best things about being a mom is who I get to be mom to! My boys have grown up a lot this year, and made several personal achievements in their lives. They aren’t rock stars, or mvp’s but they are perfect, made in God’s image, excited about life, humble, well mannered and inquisitive. I am proud of them and super happy that they are satisfied with the simple pleasures in life- like Lego, books, romping around in the Gully, hanging out with friends. All in all they make my mom job fairly easy.
July reminded me to “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” Thanks Dr. Seuss! As usual I was grateful for the sunny evenings (curses to being in the office all day!) and weekends that inspired evening gardening, late dates with the lawnmower, bbq’d beer chicken, dirty dishes, rejected and shunned laundry, and general disregard for housework. Good thing I don’t live in Sunny Colorado. My house would never be clean!June 2012 included bbqs with friends, and unfortunately preparing to say goodbye to a dear friend who moved across Canada! On the fun side, I took a couple trips with girlfriends across to the U S of A for important items like Kraft Easy Cheese in a can, cheap gas, and a cute dress from the Dress Barn (yes, that’s correct but it’s not really a barn).
 |
| Harp Lake, Huntsville, ON |
Sunny August was a fantabulous month of vacation days and travel. We took our annual trip to Ontario to visit the other zany Wisemans in Huntsville Ontario at the family cottage on beautiful Harp Lake. We enjoyed mostly good weather, the Summer Olympics on tv, the Snapping Game, and The Postie board game which kept us entertained when the inevitable thunderstorms came.
 |
| Niagara Falls, ON |
Last but not least in August David and I conquered Mt St Helens. This was our third trip up: Once approx 20 years ago, last year in September we attempted but failed because of torrential rain and wind. This time we made it to the top and lived to tell the tale! Plus, I have more than one picture to prove it! Hands down the hike was more physically challenging than my marathon in May. Running is a tough, mental challenge- hiking up a huge mountain takes enormous determination and HOURS of hard work.
We also made our way to Niagara Falls and rode The Maid of the Mist, did plenty of walking, and ultimately made good value of our all day parking. What seemed like the hottest day of our vacation was spent wandering the miles of paved pathways and riding ridiculous roller coasters at Canada’s Wonderland. Jacob’s favourite attraction was the Splash Zone on the Log Ride! Oh, the day after that, I made my first epic trip compliments of my running shoes, a few gels, lots of water and ran from town (after dropping off our car rental) back to the cottage. I think it was 18km total in hot, humid Huntsville. Call me crazy or call me cheap- I could have called a taxi.
What’s almost as impressive as hiking Mt St Helens twice in a lifetime is the fact that David and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary in August 2012! I’m so lucky to have met such a wonderful man so many years ago, and so thankful we still are enjoying this wonderful journey of life together.
 |
| Top of Mt St Helens, WA |
All this brought to you by recent unemployment and what David often refers to as his schedule suddenly becoming very wide open, or being on sabbatical. No regrets and little worries- we have hunkered down on our spending and shouldn’t have to sell any of our large, worldly possessions as they are already paid for. We’ve been anticipating David’s unemployment for about 7 years. Also thanks to my continued employment at IVES Training, we still have Christmas gifts under the tree this year so no worries about us, ok! Plus, God hasn’t promised us riches here on earth- only riches in heaven so I’m good with that.
 |
| Re-pointing the chimney; new colours! |
 |
| Surrey International Music Half-Marathon |
September also marked the Inaugural Surrey International Music Marathon which I ran dressed hawaiian style in grass skirt, bikini, lei (mahalo) in a respectable time of 1:57:14. This was the first Marathon/ Half Marathon EVER in Surrey so I had to do it!
October came and went leaving me a year older, tired of turkey and maybe a bit grouchy. On the bright side, Jacob also had a birthday and turned a fantastic 14! We celebrated by sending him and a few friends to Laser Tag to shoot each other. Pizza and chocolate cake followed at our house and finished up with the world famous Wiseman movie night, starring Birthday Boy himself. Oh, I did manage to cheer up by the end of the month and hosted our first ever Costume Partay! It was a hit- maybe we’ll do it again.
 |
| Never too old to dress up! |
We Wisemans rarely have a quiet weekend. Nevertheless, we always welcome expected and unexpected guests. If you are in our neck of the woods feel free to drop in for a visit. I can’t promise a tidy house but at least it will have been recently vacuumed.
 |
| New tile & refinished wood floors! |
Our best wishes to you and yours for a healthy, prosperous 2013!
Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Luke 2:11-12
The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. ~Eric Hoffer
Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Luke 2:11-12
The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. ~Eric Hoffer
