My blog has seen a few extra hits in the past couple of days. Most of them directly from Facebook. So, hello to my Facebook friends and welcome to my online rant space. I will be posting about my journey to the MS150 which is short in time and long in work to be done. At the moment, I have no bike. No gym membership and there is still a lot of snow and ice outside making running, walking and biking a bit risky. I think I might be in trouble.
Plans for the bike are this: I am going to buy my first bike that was not handed down from a much larger person at United Cycle as I am joining their team in this event. I am joining that particular team because I have a good friend who is closely involved in United Cycle and who convinced me that if she can do it so can I. Plus, she assures me that if something goes very wrong I could always ride the bus that follows the race. Yeah, right.
And second, I am going to get myself a gym membership. Possibly just temporarily. Because I really hate the gym. But since this requires some serious getting down to business type of training I will need to be in the right environment. Finding a gym has been a challenge. There is one at work but that's 22 whole kilometres from my house and I don't really want to be driving any distance to get to a gym. There is a Curves in the mall close to my house which I could walk to. But it's a Curves which is not the kind of training I am looking for and the hours are not good for someone like me, meaning someone with small children and a husband who works. Seems kind of odd since it's that particular group the organization is focused on. There's a Hardcore gym a reasonable distance away. But it's a little more expensive and it may be a little too hardcore. I just left the World Health Club a year ago partly because it felt too far away from home, which rules out the Club Fit a few blocks away from it. Someone mentioned that the gym at work probably includes another site closer to my house. Hmmm that might work. I will have to check into it early next week.
After I updated my Facebook status with a link to my blog, a friend sent me a personal note telling me about the struggle in her life with MS having been diagnosed in a very dear relative. I want to thank her for her story because it is nice to be able to attach a personal story to my journey. To make the ride hopeful for her and for others with the same heartache. Please take a moment to sponsor me at my donation page by clicking on this link.
Tomorrow I have some funny stories to share about the most important people in my life. In the meantime, wish for Spring to make an actual appearance so I can get on with the training.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Post Partum Weight and a Worthy Cause
Here's the deal: I am not obsessed with my weight. Not really. I feel comfortable most of the time. I feel only slightly limited when doing Yoga, etc. I remain active with work, kid's activities and all of the walking I do. I have not gained any weight since Ruby was born. But I have not lost any weight either. And today I happened across a study which clearly explains why. Not that I'm looking for an excuse. It just is what it is. The less sleep I get as a result of my babies not sleeping through the night, the harder it remains for me to lose the weight. Throw in the fact that I am also a shift worker and I just have to accept that I am going to have a harder road ahead of me than some.
On the upside. I am going to be doing the MS150 from Leduc to Camrose and back in June. It's a lofty plan because I really haven't ridden a bike since before I had children. AND that's well over one hundred and fifty kilometres in two days. AND I have to come up with $250 in pledges in order to participate. Please go here to donate, I am registered under my name and will be riding with the United Cycle team. I am going to have one sore butt, but your donations will make it worthwhile.
On a personal note, I know of no one with MS currently, which doesn't make it any less personal. I occasionally work with patients in the end stages of this debilitating disease and am saddened by what I see. Please, donate.
On the upside. I am going to be doing the MS150 from Leduc to Camrose and back in June. It's a lofty plan because I really haven't ridden a bike since before I had children. AND that's well over one hundred and fifty kilometres in two days. AND I have to come up with $250 in pledges in order to participate. Please go here to donate, I am registered under my name and will be riding with the United Cycle team. I am going to have one sore butt, but your donations will make it worthwhile.
On a personal note, I know of no one with MS currently, which doesn't make it any less personal. I occasionally work with patients in the end stages of this debilitating disease and am saddened by what I see. Please, donate.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A plug for Miss Britt
and her new blog: Buy-Her. She is having a little contest and of course I want to win. If you go over to her site...which is a great women's site and not another Mommy blog, please don't enter the contest, it would just reduce my chances at winning.
It's been a funny day as you all may have guessed from the fact that this is my third post. That and I've started twittering. At some point, somebody should explain to me how to add a Twitter button to my blog. But please not tonight. That's enough for today.
It's been a funny day as you all may have guessed from the fact that this is my third post. That and I've started twittering. At some point, somebody should explain to me how to add a Twitter button to my blog. But please not tonight. That's enough for today.
A little plug for NES
I just wanted to thank NES for she is obviously among the most clever and clearly smarter than me. And so I try it again finally succeed at cleverly crossing out those things which I am thinking but won't necessarily say out loud.
Hats off to her, now go over and check out her blog. She could use some extra love right now because she is going through some challenging growth moments with her girls. NES stands for Not-Ever-Still Life with Girls. I love that her banner subtitle is "We used to depend on an alarm clock. Then we had out girls." We can relate. Thanks again, NES!
Hats off to her, now go over and check out her blog. She could use some extra love right now because she is going through some challenging growth moments with her girls. NES stands for Not-Ever-Still Life with Girls. I love that her banner subtitle is "We used to depend on an alarm clock. Then we had out girls." We can relate. Thanks again, NES!
trying my hand at a new thing
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
This turned into a louder post than I intended.
I've been in blogland now for just over a year. I started writing for myself and to find some feedback on some the craziness that exists in my head. It didn't quite work out the way I had hoped it would.
Apparently, I come from a family which is big on playacting: pretending that everything is perfect, being nice to everyone in all situations and avoiding controversial topics. I had an inkling of this before I started blogging but my blog managed to clarify it quite clearly for me. Now I have a relative who refuses to allow me anywhere near him or his home and another who is not speaking to me and worse, has abandoned her relationship with my children, missing both Christmas and Zoe's birthday. I earned it, I guess. But my children did not. And don't think for a second that my children did not notice. The bigger problem is how it affects the rest of my immediate family and my extended family. So now I'm in a position where Imay have to am going to apologise for things I am not sorry about. I am sorry about how my words made the recipients feel, but I am not sorry for holding the opinions that I do/did. Since I have never subscribed to the "live your life as a lie to make everyone around you happy game", the whole process has been a new challenge for me. I have been working really hard to see and more importantly feel the other side. I have been trying to imagine what life experiences those people have had that have made them feel so strongly about an issue that they are willing to discard children they once claimed to love.
I have been attempting to compose something resembling an apology but I always walk away mad. I am not the only one in the wrong. I feel comfortable holding different opinions than other people and still respecting, loving and maintaining a relationship with them. However, the other parties apparently do not feel the same way. Not holding the same opinion makes me stupid, naive and not better than a pedophile. Worse, both people have taken it upon themselves to discuss the details with the rest of our extended family, going so far as to send them email to be certain that our family takes their side. I'm shaking just thinking about it. I am still not ready to apologise and after writing this I am beginning to think that perhaps my children will be better off not knowing these people for whom anger and personal insult trump love.
It's damn cold here and we are housebound today. My mood because of these circumstances is clearly apparent in this post. My mood, however sour, may have changed the way I write about this situation but it does not change the fact that some if not all of it needed to be said.
Apparently, I come from a family which is big on playacting: pretending that everything is perfect, being nice to everyone in all situations and avoiding controversial topics. I had an inkling of this before I started blogging but my blog managed to clarify it quite clearly for me. Now I have a relative who refuses to allow me anywhere near him or his home and another who is not speaking to me and worse, has abandoned her relationship with my children, missing both Christmas and Zoe's birthday. I earned it, I guess. But my children did not. And don't think for a second that my children did not notice. The bigger problem is how it affects the rest of my immediate family and my extended family. So now I'm in a position where I
I have been attempting to compose something resembling an apology but I always walk away mad. I am not the only one in the wrong. I feel comfortable holding different opinions than other people and still respecting, loving and maintaining a relationship with them. However, the other parties apparently do not feel the same way. Not holding the same opinion makes me stupid, naive and not better than a pedophile. Worse, both people have taken it upon themselves to discuss the details with the rest of our extended family, going so far as to send them email to be certain that our family takes their side. I'm shaking just thinking about it. I am still not ready to apologise and after writing this I am beginning to think that perhaps my children will be better off not knowing these people for whom anger and personal insult trump love.
It's damn cold here and we are housebound today. My mood because of these circumstances is clearly apparent in this post. My mood, however sour, may have changed the way I write about this situation but it does not change the fact that some if not all of it needed to be said.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Top Ten Books from 2008
I am only creating another list because ohamanda is spreading a little reader love. So here are my top ten reads from last year, and last year only. If I had to go back much further right now my brain might explode with the effort:
1. Persuasion by Jane Austen. It is difficult for me to believe that until this year I had never read any Jane Austen. This year I read three. Three was enough because while her writing is lovely and whimsical, it is all the same. I will finish the other three this year.
2. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. I could not put this book down. It was such a page turner. I read the entire old testament while I was in high school (because obviously I had nothing better to do)and while the bible was not page turning, the stories were fascinating. I have to admit that 15 years later they are mostly vague memories, which probably made this book better.
3. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. I shocked myself by jumping on the bandwagon. I talked myself into it out of curiosity...my whole workplace was crawling with this series. I read them all in a matter of hours. Separated only by the fact that I borrowed them from a friend and had to wait for other people to finish them. As far as teen literature goes, they were above average. The second book was my favorite. I am a Jacob fan. Sorry to the Edward fans.
4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Written in first person by Death in Germany during the Second World War but following one little girl more specifically. Brilliant in it's subject, stunning in it's structure. I was a little disappointed by I am the Messenger which Zusak had written before The Book Thief but only because he had set the bar so damn high.
5. Stones From The River by Ursula Hegi. The story of a Dwarf living in Germany during the Second World War. Hmmm. I am seeing a trend here...especially since my favorite book of 2009 so far is The Spanish Bow, also written in this time period.
6. Lost City Radio by Daniel Alarcon. If this list were in order this would most definitely be number one. I can't stop thinking about this book. The prose was beautiful. Crisp and clear. The story absolutely compelling and it did not end well. I have real respect for authors who avoid wrapping up with a nice, neat happy ending. And I borrowed this book from the library. So if you need a gift idea for me...
7. The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu. The story of an Ethiopian immigrant trying to find his American Dream in Washington, DC. Like the book above this is a first novel for this author and WOW. The bar is high.
8. Deniro's Game by Rawi Hage. Filled with angst, this book won the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award which I believe (possibly incorrectly) is the biggest award for fiction in the world. And there is a reason why this book won. The story of a Lebanese boy named Bassam surviving a war torn country in the 1980s and 90s. Wow, I am humbled.
9. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. Oh no. Another world war two book. Only this one was written at the beginning of the war. Carted around the world by her daughters who survived the war. She did not. Fiction but devastating knowing what became of the author. This book makes it very clear to me the cost of war. Had she lived, surely many beautiful works would have followed, instead the world is without.
10. The Assasin's Song by MG Vassanji. The story of Karsan, a young Indian boy who is the son of Shiva, a Hindu god and lives in a shrine with a lamp that burns eternally. It follows Karsan through his life and explores his relationship with his family and with religion. Beautiful. But not for the average reader. I am in love with any author that opens their novel by quoting Rilke. Can't help it, I'm a sucker.
So that's it. The best of 2008. I am looking forward to 2009. And planning a series or rereads. I am going to start next month trying to reread one book a month. I need to make the list of the worthies and get rid of the rest.
1. Persuasion by Jane Austen. It is difficult for me to believe that until this year I had never read any Jane Austen. This year I read three. Three was enough because while her writing is lovely and whimsical, it is all the same. I will finish the other three this year.
2. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. I could not put this book down. It was such a page turner. I read the entire old testament while I was in high school (because obviously I had nothing better to do)and while the bible was not page turning, the stories were fascinating. I have to admit that 15 years later they are mostly vague memories, which probably made this book better.
3. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. I shocked myself by jumping on the bandwagon. I talked myself into it out of curiosity...my whole workplace was crawling with this series. I read them all in a matter of hours. Separated only by the fact that I borrowed them from a friend and had to wait for other people to finish them. As far as teen literature goes, they were above average. The second book was my favorite. I am a Jacob fan. Sorry to the Edward fans.
4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Written in first person by Death in Germany during the Second World War but following one little girl more specifically. Brilliant in it's subject, stunning in it's structure. I was a little disappointed by I am the Messenger which Zusak had written before The Book Thief but only because he had set the bar so damn high.
5. Stones From The River by Ursula Hegi. The story of a Dwarf living in Germany during the Second World War. Hmmm. I am seeing a trend here...especially since my favorite book of 2009 so far is The Spanish Bow, also written in this time period.
6. Lost City Radio by Daniel Alarcon. If this list were in order this would most definitely be number one. I can't stop thinking about this book. The prose was beautiful. Crisp and clear. The story absolutely compelling and it did not end well. I have real respect for authors who avoid wrapping up with a nice, neat happy ending. And I borrowed this book from the library. So if you need a gift idea for me...
7. The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu. The story of an Ethiopian immigrant trying to find his American Dream in Washington, DC. Like the book above this is a first novel for this author and WOW. The bar is high.
8. Deniro's Game by Rawi Hage. Filled with angst, this book won the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award which I believe (possibly incorrectly) is the biggest award for fiction in the world. And there is a reason why this book won. The story of a Lebanese boy named Bassam surviving a war torn country in the 1980s and 90s. Wow, I am humbled.
9. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. Oh no. Another world war two book. Only this one was written at the beginning of the war. Carted around the world by her daughters who survived the war. She did not. Fiction but devastating knowing what became of the author. This book makes it very clear to me the cost of war. Had she lived, surely many beautiful works would have followed, instead the world is without.
10. The Assasin's Song by MG Vassanji. The story of Karsan, a young Indian boy who is the son of Shiva, a Hindu god and lives in a shrine with a lamp that burns eternally. It follows Karsan through his life and explores his relationship with his family and with religion. Beautiful. But not for the average reader. I am in love with any author that opens their novel by quoting Rilke. Can't help it, I'm a sucker.
So that's it. The best of 2008. I am looking forward to 2009. And planning a series or rereads. I am going to start next month trying to reread one book a month. I need to make the list of the worthies and get rid of the rest.
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