Mother's Day On the Prairie

Mother's Day - a great day to take it easier than normal and enjoy your family! Both boys had to work today, so between shuttling them back and forth, Marc and I went on a great drive. We usually head west when we go for our drives because of the mountains and all of the wildlife we usually see. Today though, we decided to head east and I'm really glad we did. True, driving east from Calgary means many, many large, mostly flat wheat fields, but the sky is sooo amazing...

We also decided to follow a sign that directed us to an island. We thought it a bit of a strange sign because we were, after all, in the middle of many large wheat fields. We took the sign at face value, and we're glad we did. It turns out that the prairie opened up into a river valley and we found some things we didn't know even lived in Alberta......

PELICANS!

And LOTS of them!

We also saw some beautiful ducks!

We stopped for a little break for Buster, and saw some more interesting things

Then, in honor of the opening weekend of the new Star Trek movie, we took a little side trip to Vulcan

And then we ended the day with a fabulous dinner cooked by my awesome husband and our first fire of the year!

Hope all of you mothers had a fabulous day being spoiled by and enjoying your families!

Cathy

Life on Wheels

Once upon a time I was quite an avid rollerblader. When I lived in Moncton with Becky and Baylee there was a place that I went to on a fairly regular basis to rollerblade. I seemed to take to rollerblading like a duck to water - I LOVED it! I loved going fast on fresh, smooth asphalt. I loved the feeling of the wind rushing though my hair. I loved the awesome workout I got from it, and loved that I finally seemed to have found a passion for exercise.

Well, since moving to Calgary, I had not yet pulled out the rollerblades. Not even once. That's almost FOUR years people! So much for passion right? Anyway, inspired by a Prevention magazine I got this weekend (Walk Yourself Fit - get it people....it's awesome!) I decided that I would pull out the 'ole rollerblades and give it a whirl. What could possibly go wrong? I'm a natural right? I'll put them on and exercise all evening right? What on earth could stop me? Marc and Jeremy went to a movie so after they left I went rummaging through the basement, trying to find the little wheeled pieces of torture....err.....heaven.... Ahem.....

I decided that I would not take Buster with me on my first trip out - after all it's been four years and I figured I needed to get my feet under me first (turns out that was the best decision I'd made all day!). So, I strapped on the rollerblades (gee, are they supposed to be this tight? My memory is a bit dim....) and then I had to get my helmet on. Oh shoot.... it's behind the freezer. No problem, I'll just wheel on over there and get it. Oh... easy girl, you almost wiped out in the garage before you even left - can't admit to that one! :-)

Well, finally I had my helmet securely in place and I was ready to take off! Down the sidewalk I went.... a little bumpy, but no sweat for a natural like me. Uh oh.... there is a small child riding her bike down her driveway straight towards me. Wait.....I don't remember how to stop!!! Watch out little girl - I don't have a license for these anymore! WHEW! She saw me! Crisis averted!

So continued the rest of my little adventure. Well, obstacle course really, what with outrageous cracks in the sidewalks, surprise piles of dirt and/or grass on the sidewalk, ladies walking with little dogs and me calling out to them that I have no ability to control my movements, so please step out of the way! Not to mention other small, unpredictable children at the bottom of a hill (well, incline really, but I can't stop, remember? ) causing me great stress. Add to this my new-found fear of falling (this was surprisingly lacking in my rollerblading glory days) and I was never so happy to see my house as I was today..... now, just to make it up the incline to my garage door so I can get these crazy things off!!!

Then, with the rollerblades successfully off, I realize that I have a cramp in my left shin so severe that I can't walk normally..... sigh..... my former rollerblading self would be ashamed! :-) I have to say even though I greatly feared falling, I actually made it home without falling once. Had a few close calls, but managed to stay upright, and avoid all children and dogs!

Well - at least I got them out right? I think I might stick to the walking plan for a bit, at least until I feel a little bit more coordinated so I won't fear small children and ladies with small dogs quite so much. I'm also happy to report that the terrible shin cramp is gone and I'm able to walk properly once again!

Now, off to have some homemade hummus! Hope you are all having a great night!

Cathy

More Pictures....

Some Random Picture of the Last Few Years

Just thought I would catch you up on some of the pictures you may not have seen while I wasn't blogging over the past few years!

Hope you enjoyed it! Stay tuned for more!

Cathy

Oh..... I see spring really HAS started....

I was pleasantly surprised to go out in our yard today and find some definite signs of spring....


Like here....


and here.....


here......

here.....

and especially here....

Happy Spring Everyone!

Oh sweet summer..... where are you?

I'm trying to remind myself.....

how beautiful.....

this really is......

Even at the end of April.

Seriously

Life with an aging dog

Buster..... how I've grown to love this bundle of fur. He's alway so happy to see us, bounding full of energy and excitement! Doesn't like his kennel so much, in fact he's starting to wear his teeth away because he's chewing on the metal bars on the door..... silly dog!

I had him to the vet today for his annual check-up, and it's becoming more and more clear that our loveable canine is getting old. He turned 10 this spring and is showing some signs of wear. He's been losing weight, likely due to a reaction to the food he's eating, so we're in the midst of finding out what food will work for him. The vet still has a few tricks up his sleeve for this, so we'll see how it goes.

I also found out that Buster has developed a heart murmur since his last checkup. The vet can't be sure what the cause is without an ultrasound, but it's likely due to an aging heart. He isn't symptomatic at this point, so he doesn't need any medication at all, but we have been instructed to limit the amount we let him run, as this can cause extra stress on an already stressed heart and can accelerate the progression of the disease, whatever it is. So, nothing immediately life-threatening, just our poor boy getting older. We'll have to do geriatric exercise with him now :)

You wouldn't know there was a thing wrong with him if you had seen him at the dog park this morning though (before the vet visit). He was running and springing through the open fields like a deer! Other dog owners at the park couldn't believe how much energy he had, or that he's almost 10! He HAS been sleeping most all day since then though! Here's to a few more years of geriatric health for our pooch!

Duck Duck Goose

Marc has been sick for most of the week with a bad sinus infection and was suffering from extreme cabin fever, so we went for a drive this afternoon. It was great to see lots of signs of spring. We drove past many little ponds that are completely melted with ducks swimming around getting ready for spring and baby duckings to love and teach. We also met Mr. and Mrs. Goose...

Mr. and Mrs. Goose were having a great time just basking in the warm sun, much like Marc and I were.

Buster and Marc were having a great time while I was playing with my new camera lens. We had a fabulous day! Here are a few pictures from our day

So Far From Home....

Well, for those of you who may not know, my mother was in a very serious car accident last weekend. She managed to escape any serious injury, but was quite shaken by the experience. She was extremely sore after the accident, but seems to be coming along fairly well. She still has some bruising coming out, but seems to be on the mend.

It's at times like this that I feel so far from home. There are so many things that Marc and I love about Calgary. It's wonderful to live so close to the mountains - they are so amazing and awe-inspiring to visit. It's wonderful to live in a city that, although somewhat affected, seems to be weathering the current economic downturn fairly well. It's wonderful to be involved in such a vibrant, fabulous church. Still..... when something like this happens, what I really want is to be home with my mother. So I can see her in person instead of judging her condition by the sound of her voice. See her in person instead of considering sending in one of the RT's I know to get a "professional" opinion. See her in person so that I can give her a hug and tell her how much I love her. She has a fabulous circle of friends and family who have been wonderful to her - staying with her, cooking for her, taking her to appointments and doing her laundry. I am so thankful to them for giving her this help, but I still wish it could be me, there, helping her out like that.



I love you mom, and I wish I could be there!

First Day Out of the Gate

Well....... Today is a fresh start. Did lots of exercise yesterday. About 30 min of cardio (Shape boxing on Wii - pretty good workout actually!) and then I did a Jari Love video. For those of you unfamiliar with Jari Love, she's a fitness instructor here in Calgary and has several resistance training videos out. They are FANTASTIC and extremely effective..... I suppose that's why I feel like I've been run over by a truck this morning! It's a good pain though..... it means that I challenged my muscles yesterday..... with time I will be less sore and start to see results :) Eating didn't go as well yesterday, but I'm off to a good start so far today, so I'm going to forge ahead with that.

Hope you're all having a fabulous day!

Cathy

I'm going to be brave..... in spite of myself!

Well, the truth is that I would like to lose weight. I want to lose weight in order to maintain my good health (because it will inevitably not stay good if I don't lose weight). I also want to lose weight to help improve my self-image because, frankly, it's terrible right now. I think that one key thing that I've been missing when trying to lose weight in the past is accountability. So.... I'm asking people who read this blog to help keep me in line. I'm going to use the blog as a bit of a diary to keep track of my exercise and eating habits. Not that I'm planning on going in gory details or anything, but I feel that I need help keeping on top of it.

I've also decided that I'm not going to have a goal weight or a particular goal size in mind. I've done that before and it's never worked out very well for me. Sooooo, I have a very simple daily goal (simple.... but not necessarily easy for me). Every morning I will resolve to eat a healthy, balanced diet and get some form of exersise for that day. That's it.... nothing more involved or complicated than that. No long term focus.... just one day at a time. Part of the reason I am doing this is so that, if I have a bad day, I won't feel like it has ruined my whole plan..... just get back on the wagon the next morning with the resolve for that day and that's it....

I'm not sure that this will work better than anything I have tried in the past, but it seems to make sense to me. I've spent so much energy trying to change my phyche in the past and I've just realized that my brain works the way it does.... it's extremely difficult, if not impossible to change that. So, instead of fighting my phyche, why not work with it?

Please help me on my quest to stay accountable for one day at a time.....

Thanks!