The True North Strong and Free!

Canada Day tomorrow. This will be our first cottage weekend this year! Can't wait to get up there and breathe. I think I'll rig a contraption for the kids to scoop up lake creatures. I know my mom made my sister and I little net thing-ys out of wire coathangers and pantyhose. Quinn and Hazel are at that age where they are equally intrigued and appalled by creepy crawlies. They'll race around the house trying to catch a moth but if it actually lands on them all hell breaks loose. Hazel in particular should be entertaining, as she has managed to inherit my abhorrence of wasps/bees and of course even if it's just a fly buzzing around, she's horror-stricken. We're going to set up the bunk beds when we get up there, which should be a lot of fun for them. I know that was a huge treat for me when I was a kid, getting to climb a ladder into bed on the rare occasion I stayed at a house with bunk beds! Now we just need to deal with the issue of who gets the top bunk. They really ought to make bunk beds that are just two top bunks, and use the bottom for storage or desk space or something. Hey! I think that's brilliant! I'd better go patent that before someone reads this and steals the idea. Offline for a glorious 4 day weekend!!!

The Mummy Gets Yummier!

Proud to report that I am feeling really good with my G.I eating regime. 1.5 weeks into it, the weight isn't really coming off (only about 2 pounds) but the inches are. Plus, I am feeling great in terms of energy levels. It's amazing how you can slip into old patterns and feeling "blah" just becomes the norm. Anyway, I'm now on top of things and really pleased that I got back into it. NOW, if my local Moksha Yoga place would hurry up and have its grand opening I would be SOOOOOO happy! It was supposed to open in June but they had some unforeseen problems with the construction of the studio. Ah well, at least with its opening delayed a bit, I have a chance to get even more on top of my eating, body image, etc so I can throw myself into my Moksha with vim and vigor! Hmm...I'm pretty sure the yogis out there would balk a bit with regards to the vim and vigor thing since yoga's supposed to be all tranquil and stuff but I just gotta be me! Tranquil yoga is just not my thing. Pushing myself to the limits, pouring sweat, swearing under my breath....now THAT's my kind of yoga!

The earth moved....

Whoah. I just experienced my first earthquake. Craziness! I'm sure the peeps on the west coast are saying "pshaw!" to the 5.5'er we just got here but for those of us who are tremor virgins, that was nuts! What a feeling to be completely at the mercy of the earth. Very humbling. Gotta say I have a newfound appreciation for engineers. Thank you very much for making buildings that are capable of bending and swaying!

G.I Sarah!

What a dolt. I managed to lose all kinds of weight and was actually smaller than BEFORE the twins, and now I've gained it ALL back. It's not like it's a surprise, as I've had to buy myself a ton of clothes recently and I don't think the dryer just all of a sudden started to shrink everything! Grrrr....I'm so mad at myself. How could I throw away all that hard work? :( Anyway, as of last Friday I'm now back on my G.I way of life (it is NOT a diet!). The G.I "Diet" is really just common sense. It's low fat, low sugar, high fiber, and portion control. That's all there is to it. Anyway I'm now armed with a recipe book called 500 Low Glycemic Index recipes so at 3 meals a day...let's see here...500 recipes divided by 3 meals a day...about 167 days of NO EXCUSES!! I should be the size of bloody Kate Moss by that point. Anyhoo, the encouraging news is that I took my measurements today and have already lost 1/2 inch from my waist, and 1 inch from my fattest hip spot. Woohoo!! I'm on my way!

Reflections on my dad

Father's Day was yesterday, and I took the kids over to my parents' place for a visit. I find it hard to believe that he's 77 years old. It really makes you realize that every day is something to treasure. I've always felt a bit resentful that my parents were older than was typical back when they were starting their (our) family. But now it's not so much resentment, but rather panic that has set in, thinking about their mortality. The joy of having kids is bittersweet in a sense...you celebrate their milestones and birthdays and yet each event brings a sense of your own age and that of your parents. Anyway, this is getting depressing so I'll change course a bit...here is a tribute to my Dad.

When I was 6, I broke my leg skating. Dad and I were out together, not sure where my sister was but my mom stayed home. I think Dad was in more pain than me when we heard the "snap" of my tibia. Well, maybe not. But he was trying so hard to be calm and gentle with me while he ran across the field with me in his arms, to get me to the car, skates still on my feet.

When I was 10, my dad and I were out cross country skiing together in a remote forest. My dad slipped, fell down, and proceeded to turn whiter than the snow. He'd broken his ankle. I was in a panic. If I left him alone in the snow to get help, I might get lost, and the cellphone hadn't been invented yet. My dad somehow managed to ski on one leg, holding on to me, all the way to the car...which he then drove with his LEFT foot all the way home, with not a word of complaint. It turned out the break was so bad it required surgery to insert pins into the bone.

When my mom went through chemo last year and we weren't exactly sure how things would turn out, my dad was there for her that made me so proud, and so very envious of the kind of selfless heart that he has.

My dad is a very quiet man. He never asks for anything, but he gives everything. And he does it in a way that's so understated. Not to put too serious a spin on him, because he's also got a fantastic sense of humour and can be hysterically funny. His jokes and limmericks really aren't all that great, but he cracks himself up to the point of tears streaming/silent/shaking laughter, which of course gets everyone else going.

OK,well that's not nearly good enough, but for a blog post I think it's a start. I love my dad dearly and hope that the best of him has found its way to me. Happy Father's Day, Dad!

It's ALL about me!

I've been writing in journals in fits and spurts since I was about 10 years old. It's always been a source of therapy, a place to hone my writing skills (I WILL be a world famous author one day, dammit) and if I'm completely honest, provides me the joy of self-indulgence. So it's a little odd that I'm jumping on the Blog bandwagon this late in the game, but here we go.

This is going to take a bit of practice, because I'm realizing as I'm writing this that my journals have always been for my eyes only. Writing with the intention of sharing is a different story! I wonder if letting it all hang out with self indulgent navel gazing is the way to go, or if there should be some attempt at filtering. Hmmm...something to ponder.

OK, so here's the Coles Notes on me: thirtysomething, mom of twins, corporate office dweller, beginner knitter, aspiring writer and lottery winner (ah, that's ASPIRING lottery winner).

This blog, I think, will serve as a one-stop-shop for any and all random thoughts, adventures, and reflections on me, my family, and the world around me. I look forward to catching up on the 21st century technology!