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Monday, August 29, 2011

Discombobulated.

That pretty much sums up how I'm feeling.

The last week has flown by and been a whirlwind of emotions. One minute up, the next minute down.

I've spent the last two weekends with my family: aunts & uncles and cousins galore. One weekend happy, the next sad.

I've watched my aunt and uncles struggle as they watch their big family dwindle in numbers. And now there are three. In the past year, they've lost two nephews younger than them, too.

And then the call this morning. That my dad's friend lost his brave battle with the big C on Thursday. He stood up with my parents when they got married. And now he's dead at 61, just like my dad. My heart is aching for my dad's friends that are left, for my uncle who just got home from his sister's funeral, only to turn around and bury an old friend, and for me.

Because I just can't wrap my head around this anymore.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Thursday Run

It almost didn't happen...I got chatting with my neighbour, and then it got hot out, but I bit the bullet! It wasn't far, it wasn't fast, but I don't care. I ran. And considering that I saw two elderly gentlemen in wheelchairs en route, I'm pretty damned grateful that I *can* run.

3.5 km
27:30
7.51 km/h
277 cal

Tomorrow I'm off to yoga in the morning (Dear Mat: I have missed you like you'll never know. I'll see you bright and early. I promise!) and then back on the bus heading for Red Deer. Mom's picking me up and we're going to my aunt's house for the night and then to Bonnyville for a funeral Saturday morning. It's a whirlwind trip, since I've got to be back to work on Sunday afternoon. It's hard watching my dad's big family dwindle to nothing...

Anyways, must sleep so that I can get all bendy tomorrow!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

What was I thinking?

Going running at mid-day? Oh right, I didn't get up till late, then dilly-dallied around and before I knew it, it was 1130! Take note, H-woman, you are a morning runner!! Must go to bed before 0200h so getting up and out the door is easier.

Run/walk intervals:
40:40
7.54 km/h
5.15 km
408 cal

Walking(at the end):
12:36
9.19 km/h
1.35 km
87 cal

Not fast, but heck, at this point, I'm just happy to get out there!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Weekend Recap

A numbered list, because I'm still feeling tired, hung-over and a little lazy!

1. Traffic issues on Deerfoot delayed my bus 45 minutes. Grrr...but I did get quite a bit of knitting done.

2. Costco in Red Deer, even on a busy day, is better than the Calgary version.

3. I'm an emotional girl. I cried when I saw my cousin for the first time in 10 years. And introduced her husband and kids to my brother and his family.

4. Mojitos are good. Very good.

5. The waterslides were FUN! I took one for the team and drew blood. I apparently did not keep my elbows in (as the sign advised) on the Kamakazee. I also have a nice bruise to go with it.

6. We cemented our place as favourite relatives when my nephew spotted the moose! Mark (my cousin's British husband) has been to Canada 3 times and never seen a moose. It's all he's wanted to see since day 1. So what do we find, not one, but TWO moose on the way home from the waterslides! Yeah, we can do no wrong now!

7. We BBQ'd, made s'mores, drank, ate some more, drank some more and barely slept. It was a good weekend.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Let the Weekend Begin!

Have I mentioned how much I love days off? Today marks the start of my four day weekend!

Of course, because I *could* sleep in, I awoke bright and early at 0500h. After trying to go back to sleep for an hour, I just bit the bullet and got up. I got my application for my Anusara Immersion completed and sent in, bills paid, breakfast, packed for the weekend, went for a run and got some yoga in all by 0930h!

4.03 km
30:27
7.33km/h
326 cal

I'm enjoying a second mug of tea in the sunshine and waiting for Sam to drop by so she can get the low-down on how to feed Nerm.

This weekend is going to ROCK! My cousin and her family are here from England! I haven't seen them since I stayed with them immediately after 9/11. My brother and his family are here, too. We're gathering at my mom's today/tonight and then tomorrow we're hitting the waterslides at Sylvan Lake. My brother's got his boat, so there may also be some tubing! We're going to have a BBQ, complete with s'mores, and I'm harvesting my mint so there will be mojitos all around.

Happy Friday!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

I did it!

Got out for a run, that is! I slept in (my own fault, stayed up way too late watching YouTube videos of my favourite Anusara yoga teachers) and have to be at work early today (massage therapist is coming to work and I have an appointment!!). Yikes! Didn't leave me with much time, but I wanted to go out and see if I've kicked this cold-turned-sinus-infection to the curb.

The verdict: I think it's gone!

19 minutes (hey, it's better than the no minutes I've been running lately!)
2.58 km
7.25 km/hr
207 cal

I'm a sweaty mess and sipping a cool coconut water with ice and lime to refresh. Now, to revamp my training schedule to be sure I can finish Niagara upright, smiling, uninjured and .... drumroll, please....in under 6 hours!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Busy Monday Morning!

Especially since I slept in! =)

I had set some chickpeas to soak overnight, so I drained them and put them on to cook. 1 hour and 45 minutes later--beautiful chickpeas with nary a preservative in sight! They've been aliquotted into 2 cup servings and frozen (keeping some back for my lunch, of course).

Then, 25 pounds of apples got cored and sliced and frozen to become applesauce, apple crisp or apple pie at a moment's notice in the dead of winter when you'd kill for some tasty, fresh fruit!

Lunch was a new recipe (that I of course adapted):
Mediterranean Greens
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts
4-5 cloves crushed garlic (I used garlic scapes and 3 cloves of garlic)
1 onion, sliced
2 bunches chard, rinsed and chopped (I used a mixture of chard, beet greens and kale)
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted/chopped
1/4 tsp sea salt (I omitted)
1 cup chickpeas, cooked
feta (for garnish)

Saute pine nuts until golden about 3-5 min. Add oil, onion and chard stems and saute until they begin to soften.

Add garlic (and scapes) saute 30 sec, more.

Add greens and saute until wilted& bright green, about 3-4 min.

Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients.

Garnish with crumbled feta and enjoy!

OH. MY. GOD. So fresh and so tasty!! And an excellent way to use up things that appear in my CSA veggie box each week. =)

Off to plan my yoga class for tonight (I've got it all in my head, just need to put pen to paper) and then brave the rain to teach.

Friday, August 12, 2011

$230 and 62.8 pounds

That's the groceries I bought today! I had to restock my cupboards, they were looking pretty bare. Other than some soap and sunscreen and toothbrushes, everything was REAL food--fruit, vegetables or meat.

And I carried all 62.8 pounds of 'em home. That is my strength training workout for the day.

Off to work. Thank God it's Friday!!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Healy Pass



18.7 km
1192 cal (I don't believe this at all--I had to adjust my hrm half way up (I know my heart rate was greater than 72 on the way up!) so it's probably more like 1800 cal)
4:41
9.36 km/h

620 m elevation gain

This photo doesn't even begin to do it justice! Iris took most of the photos, so once I get more I'll post them. The wildflowers in the meadows were in full bloom. The sun was shining. There was still snow up on the ridge...it was truly a sight to behold. It reminded me that I am a part of something much, much bigger.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Shine Your Light

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
— Marianne Williamson (A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles)

Today's yoga class with Judy was about letting our light shine. It was about shining so brightly, from the inside out, that our hearts lifted as we bent back into the unknown. And bend, I did!

The more I study Anusara, the deeper I go--mind, body and spirit. I shone so brightly this morning, I did a drop-back from Ustrasana. I'm not sure how close I was to a drop-back from standing, but I know that I was closer than I have EVER been before. And all because I courageously opened my heart and allowed my light to shine? Really? That's all it took? It's true. Everything I need, I already have. It's in there, I just have to dust it off and let it shine.

The three A's of Anusara were all there: attitude (set the intention--shine brightly), alignment (root to rise) and then the action (trust the Divine and bend back!!). I'm continually amazed that even on a day when I'm not feeling my best (darned sinus infection and sleep deprivation), the three A's can make me as giddy as a school girl, turn my day around and leave a huge grin on my face. Who needs anything more?

So go ahead, shine your light brightly. And just see what happens.