I hope wherever you are and whatever you celebrate you have a day filled with love, hope, and peace. 🙂
xoxo
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Day 5 of 20
24 DecDay 5 of the 12 Days of Fitness!
Lemme tell ya, this was a good one! 😀
I had a bunch of stuff to do around my parent’s place and earmarked today to be the day of getting shit done. Before that all started though I decided to go for a walk, in -12C (that is before windchill, I’m not actually sure what the temp with windchill was but the wind was going at 11km/hr and I sure felt it!), while it was snowing…I never claimed to make smart decisions lol
So out I went and I have to admit, I kinda liked it. It was cold, at about the ten minute mark I seriously considered turning back because the wind was cutting through my pants in a brutal way and my legs were burning from the cold but I know from past winters that if I just keep going eventually the pain goes away. It isn’t that I acclimatize, it is that my legs stop feeling temperature, or anything for that matter lol 😉
I fast walked for about 20 minutes then had to turn around due to a road and weather. On the way back I decided to jog a bit so on the parts of sidewalk that were cleared I jogged. When crossing roads I walked because they were super slippy and I really don’t need to fall and get injured right now. Some parts of the sidewalks were un-runnable thanks to snow and ice but I think I got a pretty decent jog in there. I passed two people who were shovelling snow while walking in the one direction and when I was passing them on the way back at a jog they both looked at me like I was a martian lol Admittedly, I wasn’t dressed like a runner so maybe it was my outfit that was confusing them, and not that I was running in that type of weather?
I got wicked windburn on my cheeks from this walk!
Once back at my parent’s place I shovelled snow from their back porch, the front path, and the driveway. By that point I was cold but wasn’t going to start feeling any colder so I figured might as well get it all done at once.
About an hour later you’d never know I shovelled since it had kept snowing and everything was white again *rolls eyes*
I did other things around the house that kept me busy but those two activities are what I am counting towards my fitness for the day for the challenge.
I’d say I can quite confidently check mark this day as a success! 😀
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Day 3 and 4
23 DecI was too busy to write yesterday, sorry!
Today’s post is about Day 3 and Day 4 of the 12 Days of Fitness.
Are you still on track? I sort of am…kind of…maybe?
Yesterday was more of a weight workout type of day vs a cardio workout, which is what I tend to do.
My brother came over to my parent’s place when they were out (I am staying here for a bit over Christmas) and we put up a bunch of art work for my parents. This may not sound like a workout but it was multiple, heavy framed, pieces of art, most of which got put up on high or hard to reach areas. This meant that while my brother did the math for where to place the hooks so each piece was displayed to the best it could be, I was the one holding the artwork up so he could look at it. I was also running up and downstairs grabbing things, moving all over the house while helping with the whole decorate-the-house project and basically just moving a lot…while carrying heavy stuff…I feel that should count.
Do you think it counts?
I dunno…maybe I am fooling myself. I remember at the time of doing all that work thinking “damn, this is harder than expected, this definitely counts as my workout today” but now, looking back, I am of course, doubting myself. *rolls eyes*
For now, let’s assume it counts. Ok?
For today, Day 4, it is my birthday! Yay birthdays! 😀
I have a little tradition for my birthday. I got to WEM, I shop the sales, I enjoy the teeny tiny 5% sales tax that this wonderful province has, I meet up with a friend and we either go for a meal and then a movie or just one of those, or something else completely, and then I make sure I am home in time for a family dinner where the menu was of my choosing.
Oh, I also let myself sleep in a little because if you can’t sleep in on your birthday then when can ya? 😉
I thought to use my walking of the mall as my exercise, which may sound stupid, but that really was the plan! It is a big mall and the stores I wanted to visit are not all that near each other soooooo I figured walk as fast as the crowds will allow from one store to another and get a bit of exercise in. The crowds weren’t that bad, but the line to buy things in some of the stores were unfortunately long and slow, which kinda messed with my plan by (1) making me not able to visit every store on my list and (2) not giving me as much walking time as I expected. The bonus though was that because I was now more time constricted I was walking even faster than I had planned, so maybe that helps to balance things out?
Look! At WEM even the penguins go mall walking! And if it counts as exercise for penguins it should count for people as well, don’t cha think? 😉
Again, I don’t really know if it counts. After dinner and dessert and time with the family I intended to go downstairs, dragging my laptop behind me, and workout to either one of my dvds or a workout video from YouTube but I am just toooooo tired! All I want to do is have a cup of tea, a shower, and crawl in to bed, which is exactly what I am going to do, because really, when you want to pamper yourself what better day than on your birthday?
Detecting a bit of a birthday theme here? 😉 lol
I think I am going to count both days as complying with the rules of the challenge. After all, the rules didn’t specify certain exercises must be done, just that you had to be consciously active and both days I was. Admittedly, with odd activities, but still, I was active! Plus, both days I worked up a bit of a sweat and I definitely felt strain in my arm and shoulder muscles when holding the framed pictures up high for extended periods of time.
So yeah, ok then, while writing this I have decided that both days count. So there! 😉
Tomorrow I may do a more traditional workout though, just to get a bit more on track…maybe…
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Day 2 of 12
21 DecAlrighty peeps, it is Day 2 of the 12 Days of Fitness and I’m sure everyone has been active today, right? Right!
I was up earlier than any human being should be when on vacation but that is what happens when you are staying with parents who wake up early…and when you are going to a morning WW meeting lol
Today was a happy day, went to my meeting, down a pound, entered a new weight decade, out for brunch with the parents, ate a delish meal at Cora’s. It was a random mixture of healthy and non-healthy foods, as most meals out are.
I got Theo’s Omelette which is an omelette filled with oh so many vegetables, covered in cheese, and served with a side of potatoes, fresh fruit, and toast. I asked them to make the omelette with half the normal amount of cheese because restaurants always seem to drown food in cheese and I think it came out with a pretty decent amount.
After brunch it was errand time, borrowed my Dad’s car for a while and bonus points for me, I returned it in the same condition it was in when I left the driveway. 🙂
This evening after dinner I realized that even though I had parked far away and walked when going to all the shops I hadn’t really done anything worthy of being called exercise so I grabbed one of the exercise dvd’s I brought and started working out.
Tonight I did the 5 Mile Walk dvd by Leslie Sansone, it is a “walk at home” dvd which means you are walking on the spot, or forwards and backwards, or side to side, in random combinations and taking her word for it that eventually you have walked 5 miles. I tend to jog for large parts of it, and incorporate more arm work, so I get a better work out.
The woman, Leslie, is so annoying, ugh. But she keeps you moving which is the important part. Normally I play the dvd on my laptop with the volume down low and watch something on tv while walking but my mom joined me this evening so we kept the volume up high and we kept being told to “walk! walk! walk!” lol 😀
My fear that I would fail this challenge by Day 2 has been relieved. Now on to figure out where to fit something in on Day 3!
Did you work out today?
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12 Days of Christmas Fitness Challenge
7 DecTis the month to gain ridiculous amounts of weight super fast if not careful! With so many social gatherings, and treats, and just general feelings of wanting to eat alllll the food this month it can be easy to wake up January 1st and realize your jeans aren’t fitting quite as well anymore.
I so don’t want that to happen to me!
Yes I know that being healthy is 80% what you eat and only 20% exercise but let’s be real here people, there will be food aplenty all over the place and I am sure I will end up eating more than planned.
So the idea is to help minimize some of the food damage I will end up doing by ensuring I stay active this month.
Here is the plan…
The challenge begins December 20th and goes to December 31st. You don’t have to be out there running marathons, or making massive gains at the gym, I’m not looking for crazy changes in fitness activity. All I’m looking for is fitting exercise in to the daily routine over those days when so many of us skip exercising.
Just because there are a million and one things to do over the season doesn’t mean we should stop finding time each day to take care of ourselves. How else do you expect to enter 2017 feeling your best if you load up on food in this last month and don’t at least try to burn some of it off?
Some ideas for exercise could be:
- a walk around the block
- mall walking if you are somewhere cold
- during the commercials do some squats, or sit-ups, or planks, or push-ups, or whatever you are able to do
- take the stairs instead of elevators
- park far away from the doors of the places you are going
- snowball fight! build a snow fort! basically anything with snow!
- pop in an exercise dvd
- play tag with your kids, or nieces and nephews, or your friend’s kids
You get the idea!
So who is with me? Who is willing to try reeeeally hard to make the time everyday, for 12 days, over the busiest time of the year, to be good to ourselves and fit some exercise in to our days?
C’mon, you know you want to!
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Remember
11 NovSome poems, for Remembrance Day. Freedom is not free, the cost is high, please take a moment to honour those that fought, and still fight, to keep us free and safe.
In Gratitude of Silence
By: Debbie Holick
Silent now the soldiers sleep, their tales long laid to rest.
I knew them not yet still I weep and place a poppy o’er my breast.
They were husbands, brothers, fathers, sons; so valiantly they fought.
On shores stained red,on hands and knees; it was our freedom that they sought.
Courageously they stood their ground but freedom carries a cost.
Thousands of men were wounded and countless lives were lost.
So in gratitude of silence and all those who have served,
sleep now, you have earned it. Your peace is well deserved.
The Eyes
The eyes are all the same today,
Actually it’s the stare within.
The stare tells their sad, glorious tale,
Of just where they’ve all been.
It’s not a physical, worldly place,
That marks these men as brothers.
‘Tis a place in each and every mind,
That links them with each other.
Dark nights, cold days or searing heat,
Thick jungle or windswept beach-
Geography doesn’t bind these men:
‘Tis what they did beseech:
“Dear God; I’m scared and tired and sick.”
“Dear God; I’m hot…I am cold…”
“Dear God; I don’t want to kill no more,
Nor be here ‘til I am old.”
“Dear God; I’m so tired of losing,
And I’m tired of burying friends.”
“Dear God; Please bring these hellish war
To a quick and merciful end.”
It’s in their eyes, the cost of war;
Their eyes, their aged eyes,
They speak of fear and pain and death.
They speak of sad good-byes.
One minute friends are by their side,
The next they’re gone for good.
But you fight on. You must:
Consumed by guilt-the could, the should.
“It could be me, now lying dead,
Not him. This isn’t fair.
I should be with him, he’s my friend,
He’ll think I didn’t care.”
Those eyes. They saw men at their worst,
And at their best, as well.
Those eyes saw men risk life and limb,
In places worse then hell.
Those crinkled faces, years ago,
Were boyish, young and strong.
Now on this day, though resolute,
The boyish look, long gone.
November 11th, Remembrance Day:
Look at their eyes and see;
The boys that were-the men they are.
They fought so we’d be free.
But that’s the one thing they all lost,
War took their freedom away.
Though they came home, a part of them
Caught in the war, did stay.
One day a year they come as one.
Soldiers standing side-by-side.
To remember a past they can’t forget.
To remember those who died.
Do not begrudge two minutes,
For they’ve given all their lives.
And those who died? They’re legacy?
Their daughters, sons and wives.
They’re bent with age and hard memories,
You think-old folks in disguise.
Not disguise-Soldiers-one and all.
Look close: It’s in their eyes.
© Margot Leolyn Hedden November 11th 2011
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All About Adele
5 Nov
I realized my obsession with the spider infestation, pest control visit, and subsequent clean-up from “spray day” got me derailed from my writing about my Washington DC trip. The horrors!
October 10th was the Adele concert. Adele! wOOt! wOOt!
Truth be told, prior to the concert I wasn’t a huuuuuge Adele fan. I mean, she has a gorgeous voice, obviously, but I didn’t go out of my way to listen to her music. Most of the songs I know are from an older album. Since the concert? Let’s just say that has changed and I think she is awesome! 😀
She was funny, and chatty, and entertaining (not only with her songs but with her conversations with the crowd), and while sure, she is mega-rich and nothing like me, she makes you feel like you could totally sit down with her to have a cup of tea and end up friends. Weird huh?
According to Adele, she gets huge stage fright so she uses her chats between songs to calm her down and she babbles because “they” never let her out so she uses the two hour concerts to finally get to talk to someone lol
Did you know, for this tour, she wore the same dress to every concert? She wanted one perfect dress that she felt good in and that looked nice that she could wear to each show and well, being that she is Adele, she got what she wanted. She also chose to wear flats so she could be comfortable. We discovered this when she pulled two people up on stage and she commented on the ladies heels, there was this lovely little chat about shoes and she points to hers and said (and I’m paraphrasing here) “I always choose flats” in this funny sing-songy voice. Love it!
I actually found video on YouTube of that encounter, and other parts of her concert, if you want to watch here it is, the encounter with the two people starts at about 3:37 but I say watch it all because Adele is hilarious!
During her chat with those two she discovered they are best friends, the one person had recently moved to Texas so she flew back for the concert, Adele thought they were so cute, and she apparently picked them because they looked sooooooooo excited, that she arranged for them both to go to her concert in Dallas. Who does that?
Other things she did was have her person Liam go find the two people in the stadium with the worst seats and bring them to the front row seats she had kept open. She also did that thing where she asked the crowd who was there for an anniversary, lots of people put up hands. Who was there for a birthday? Lots of people put up hands. Who was there because they were forced to be there? Two people pointed fingers at one guy! lol They were on the floor so everyone could see them. Adele thought it was hilarious, said there was at least one at every concert! She also walked around the perimeter of a smaller stage that was set up in the floor area and struck a ridiculous pose that basically had her butt in the air and her face closer to the level of the people in the crowd so people could take selfies and get a good shot of Adele in the picture. Like, for real, she went around each side of that stage and stopped multiple times along each side so everyone in that area could snap a selfie. She did all kinds of sweet things for various fans that she didn’t have to but I guess just felt like doing…or if I want to be cynical it is part of how she builds her image and brand but let’s not be cynical today ok? 😉
I took a horrible quality video of her performing the song Rolling In The Deep, it was her encore song. It is a tad blurry at the beginning but gets better and towards the end I stop pointing at the stage to get images of the papers falling from the ceiling (don’t worry, I go back to the stage eventually)…sorry! But hey, I never claimed to be a videographer and I was busy enjoying the concert, not worrying about balancing my camera lol Turns out the microphone on the camera is pretty good though, so that’s a nice thing to learn! 🙂
I never would have thought to go to this concert, mostly because I don’t have that kind of money, and this concert was so far away from where I live. If it wasn’t for the amazingness of my friend Nic I never would have had this experience and I only hope that one day soon I can find a way to repay her. If you ever get a chance to go to an Adele concert jump at it, it was such a great experience! Until then check out YouTube, there are so many videos taken from her concerts so you can see for yourself how funny, and kind, and entertaining she is. Oh and bonus, you’ll also get to hear her sing which as we all know is something she does exceptionally well. 😀
It took a ridiculous amount of tries to get a decent pic of us, and look at my sunburn! I look like a freakin tomato!
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Washington DC Memorials
21 OctCouple weeks ago a friend and I went to Washington DC for a short, fun-filled, trip. I wanted to post about it as soon as I was home but I came home ridiculously sick and just wasn’t up to it. Lucky for you (assuming you like what I write that is) I am now feeling well enough to regale you with stories and pictures from the trip. So grab a cup of tea, get comfy, and be prepared for I’d say 2 to 3 posts in a row about Washington DC! 🙂
My friend was travelling from Alberta, I was leaving from BC, we met in Montreal and then had the same flight to DC. I had an early flight but not disgustingly early, I did however have a lovely nap on the plane, yay for sleeping while someone else transports me somewhere! Sadly, they don’t feed you on flights across the country so all I got on the plane was tea, *big epic sigh* I made sure to take snacks with me though because heaven forbid I not have food at my fingertips! 😉 I bought the overpriced fruit salad while in the airport along with a hummus and crackers, both were tasty and I gotta say, I think the fruit was a brilliant idea because it not only filled me up but helped me to stay hydrated, something I always find a challenge when flying.
I got to Montreal first and while walking down this long, practically empty, slightly creepy hallway, on the way to the border guards I came across this piece of art…
Random moose sculpture…
Once I met up with Nic in Montreal we headed to our next flight which was in a little plane and had not only no food but no entertainment…practically barbaric!
No tv! No wifi! The horrors!
Lucky for me I always take a book when travelling. 🙂
We didn’t do too much that first night. Grabbed an Uber from the airport to take us to the hotel, settle in, took a walk to a local pub where I ordered this yummy meal…
Meal Number 1! Chicken burger with fries.
There were no obviously healthy options on the pub menu and nowhere else to go try out so I figured roll with the punches and get something ridiculously tasty lol It is a battered chicken burger with cheese and a sauce I can’t remember the details about and sooooo many fries. It was freakishly good! I cut the burger in half and split the fries in half. I ate half of each and boxed the rest. I had every intention of finding another day to eat the remaining half but every time I thought of it I figured I could find something healthier to get so I never did go back and finish off the burger and fries. I really hope housekeeping cleaned out our room’s fridge…
Our first full day of being in Washington DC was full of all the touristy stuff! 🙂
We had decided to walk to as many places as we could which meant an approx 40 minute walk from our hotel to just about anywhere. This made me super happy as my hope was all the walking would help offset the food I would be eating lol We had time to kill before a walking tour we were taking at 2pm so we wandered with the ultimate goal of going past the White House. Turns out every building in DC is large and old and important looking so we passed quite a few that we tried to figure out what it was and if we should be taking a picture of it or not lol
There were statues everywhere!
Random building I liked the look of.
Some more statues…
Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Front of the White House
So funny story…Nic and I are walking past this building, see all the fences and guards and people taking pictures, we look at each other and ask “what is this?” Turns out this is the front of the White House! We had only seen the White House via pictures or shots in movies and they always showed what we thought was the front but turns out it is actually the back. So this is the front…kinda boring…the back is way nicer!
There were Secret Service allllll over the place but mostly around the White House – obviously. The guard in the above picture isn’t so hard on the eyes 😉 hence my taking a picture at that particular spot lol
Part of the line up of people waiting to get in to the White House garden tour.
The view of the White House I am used to seeing…
So close and yet so far from President Obama!
It appears to be a golden sword on fire…
The above is the Washington Monument, built to honour George Washington, the US’s first President. It is a 555 foot marble obelisk that you used to be able to go up (there is an elevator and stairs inside) but people aren’t allowed inside anymore. If you look closely you can see where the marble changes colour partway up…they got the monument partially built then had to pause for war an stuff, by the time they got around to finishing it the quarry they originally got the marble from was empty so they had to source marble from somewhere else and the colour is a bit different. Apparently when they started using the new marble they thought the colours matched but as the monument was exposed to the elements it became more apparent they were different.
There is a whole story behind the KillRoy part of the monument but it is too long to put here so go google it, trust me, it is interesting and worth the search!
Vietnam Memorial…
The Three Soldiers Statue at the Vietnam Memorial
Good ol’ honest Abe…do you see how his hands are loosely signing “AL”in American Sign Language?
The Korean War Memorial…once you enter the area there is always a statue that is watching you…instead of writing all the names like in the Vietnam Memorial they put the images of actual people who were involved in the Korean War on the wall. Rumour has it Alan Alda’s face is on there somewhere (that’s the actor from the tv show MASH), I didn’t see it but there are so many faces on the wall it’d be super easy to miss if you didn’t know exactly where to look.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial…
So that wraps up Day 1! I have waaaaaay more pictures and stories from this day but this post is already freakishly long and it has taken hours to get the pictures to upload and I wanna go to bed lol
More tomorrow! 🙂
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Happy Canada Day!
1 Jul
Here are some cute Canadian memes and videos to enjoy! 🙂
Yes we show our Canadian pride in beer commercials, deal with it. 😉
Sure we have guns, water guns. The ones with bullets stay at home.
This is what happens in our back yards…
These are some of our Olympic athletes…you’re welcome. 😉
Wouldn’t be Canada Day without mentioning maple syrup!
Canadians on Pinterest…
This is one of my favourite jokes about Canada…
Let’s end things with a picture of our easy-on-the-eyes PM holding quite possibly the cutest animals in existence…
So there ya have it, some jokes at our expense, a video showing our pride while another shows our bear neighbours enjoying the pool, and some attractive guys, oh! and maple syrup! Can’t mention Canada and leave that out!…what do people in other countries use on their pancakes? Such a big deal is made about us and our love of maple syrup I’ve often wondered what other people use…
Have a great day, party hard, eat lots, drink even more lol, be kind to one another and if you aren’t Canadian well that’s ok, I’ll raise a pint to you anyways cause you’re still a friend! 🙂
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The Sweater Experience
12 DecFor Christmas I am flying back home, which I am very excited about! However I am not flying home alone. Nope. Not this year. This year I am bringing this lovely fella with me. 🙂
That is Striker reminding me he is more important than the book I was reading by laying down on top of it lol
The thing is, I am from Alberta and it is coooooold in Alberta! They get real winter as opposed to the rainy not all that cold weather I get here. The poor little guy does not appreciate the drop in temperature he feels when we step out of the airport at night. He flew home with me once before and he was so quiet during our travels people didn’t even realize I had a cat with me…until we stepped out of the airport to get a cab and then he became quite vocal!
This year I thought I would make things easier on him and I bought him a sweater. Yes, yes I have become that person who bought an animal clothes. I know I should be ashamed but oh man, the experience of getting him dressed in the sweater was so amusing (to me, not him) that the sweater was worth every penny just for the laughs I had.
He was cuddling on my lap, innocent as to what was about to happen to him. I grabbed the sweater, leaned in as if for a hug and boom! got that sucker over his head and around his neck all in one easy move. Well, sort of easy move, there maaaay have been a tad bit of wiggling and dodging but I was faster lol
Turns out I made a slight sizing error and bought the sweater in too small of a size, which is unfortunate because it is a striped pattern and the combo of stripes, and tightness of fabric, makes him look a tad, umm…husky? rotund? thick around the middle? any and all of those apply…which kind of makes the whole thing funnier 😛
The poor guy, he did that thing cats do oh-so-well where, as soon as the sweater was on, he did a full on, dramatic, body collapse. Just poof! One second he is ok, the next he is collapsed on my lap, unable to function because horror or horrors, he has a sweater on!
I found the cat’s kryptonite.
I tried getting him to stand but as soon as I removed my hands he magically became unable to bear weight on his paws and collapsed again.
Unfortunately for him he was on my lap when I put the sweater on him so every time he collapsed he collapsed on to me, meaning he couldn’t get away from the evil person who was inflicting this torture on him. He did however refuse to look at me…
I eventually got him to turn his head a bit…this was the nicest of all the looks he gave me…
As you can see the tag is still on the sweater so I will be returning it for a larger size. Striker probably wishes I would burn it and send it back to the hell it came from but sadly (for him) that won’t be happening.
The Amazing Shrinking Woman 