It's been two weeks....

.... so I decided that I would go on the Canadian Immigration Website and check to see if there was a status update and where they're at with processing times.  I'm not even going to lie...you know I've been on the website a few times within the last two weeks. lol  I mean, you never know!! Right?  Anyways, while there is no status update YET, I have noticed that as of February 15th the processing times for Step 1 - Assessment of the Sponsor has been changed to 53 days. (It was 54 last time I peeked. After all, it's only been 2 wks) They are working on applications received December 22nd, 2011.

Person to be sponsored lives outside of Canada

Type of application	Step 1 Assessment of Sponsor	Step 2 Assessment of Person Being Sponsored (applicant) (The Call Centre does not have processing times for step 2)
Spouse, common‑law partner or dependent child	53 days (working on applications received on December 22, 2011)	View by country Status available online

This is good. I mean how many applications would they get over the Christmas and New Year's Holiday? So, this could be moving along a bit quick, I think.  I know...I know....PATIENCE!! My friend that is a few steps ahead of us didn't get his Immigration Letter providing his Client ID till last month sometime and his application was sent in October.

In the meantime, I'm continuing with my training while awaiting the arrival of my husband for an extended visit. Woo Hoo!!  15 More Days.

TRAINING - I don't think I mentioned anything about that in a previous post. But, I have been training to run the Toronto Yonge St 10K in April.  Yup...i'm running for fun...lol  Why? Well, I started running about a year ago and after running my first 5K for which I didn't get a medal for (but my hubby surprised me with a visit to support me), I decided I wanted to run another to get some bling.  I think all 5K runs should give out medals.  After I got some bling on my second 5K, I wanted bling from a different 5K, different route.  A RUNNER WAS BORN!!  hahahaha  Running 5K's in addition to climbing the CN Tower stairs...yes, that's 1776 stairs or should I say like 144 or so flights of stairs...for fun mind you. I wasn't this active when I was younger. Go figure! My husband is a runner so you know where all the encouragement comes from. When I started, I was running with my friend Catie from work. But, she works at a different office and lives in a different city. So really and truly, I was doing it alone like I am today....but not for long. He'll run with me.
I dragged my daughter with me once to do a 5K....that was nice. She did no training, figured she'd run on youth and when I was ahead of her....she was letting me go...lol Think she bit off more than she could chew. She didn't realize how hard it was until we turned the bend and she saw how much farther she still had left to get to the finish. It was sooo funny. But, we did it together which is a great memory. (Hubby was there for this also, but he didn't run with us, he ran the Half Marathon instead with his crazy ass!..lol)
I've also had the opportunity to run a 5K race with my husband....at that time he was my fiancee. We signed up to run a 5K race I had already done to support and be there with my cousin Michelle who was supposed to be running her first race. But, things happened and she cancelled leaving us to run the race alone. It was great...crossing the finish line together....it was the same day he proposed to me!! So naturally, a race I will never forget.
I did run a 10K race with a colleague from work in March 2011, training alone but he ran the race with me and made it seem a bit easy at the time. He is also a bit of a runner so he helped keep pace, encouraging me and keeping conversation so the running wasn't too much on my mind as I was doing it. I chose to attempt the 10K because I felt that I had conquered the 5K and wanted to push myself more, but nothing after that.

Preparing to get married, I started dieting and maybe a little treadmill work, but not like I was when I was preparing for a race. I was trying to get into perfect form for my wedding dress, which I did. Following my wedding, I still didn't get back into running. Laziness kicked in big time. So, I did what I needed to do to get myself motivated....I registered for a 10K race, but not just one, two of them. The Toronto Yonge St 10K and the Oasis Zoo run in September.  Oh boy! Oh, but not after registering for something called the Spartan Sprint. This will be one for the History Books!!

God help me!

The registration for the 10K in April is supposed to be like a warm up for me for the Spartan that's in June. I know I need to start working my upper body because the Spartan is an Obstacle Course Race that I know is going to be hella hard. Not quite sure what I have gotten myself into but Furman will be doing it with me.  (Might need him to kiss my boo boo's...lol)  I'm going to be bruised like there is no tomorrow because I already bruise easy. All in good fun...yeah, ok. I'll have a story for each bruise i'm sure and I know my hubby will be there to nurse me back to health.

So yeah, I've been using my iPhone App called Personal Running Trainer in which I am doing the 8wk to 10K program that has me running 4 times a week gradually helping me with speed and endurance.  it helps that there is a small gym in my office building so I have been hitting the gym at work before my shift. I know that when Furman gets here....he's going to register me for "Furman's Bootcamp!" That, I have no doubt.  lol  He will make sure i'm at least close to ready for the Spartan Sprint with his Military Training.

All this, will keep us occupied as we wait for word from Canadian Immigration. Was hoping to get a letter or something from them before he comes, but it looks like that's not how it's going to work. I'll keep checking though....for something.   Stay tuned!!!