A Brief Glance Back at 2013

I am not usually someone who looks behind me. I prefer to rush headlong and enthusiastically to the next adventure… often somewhat naive but always eager.

But today is the last day of 2013 and I am feeling a bit nostaligic.  I have had a really wonderful year and I am going to prolong it a few hours longer.  I want to savor some of my favorite memories of 2013… like the 5 km run that The Captain and I did together to kick of the new year.

I started the year with a new part-time job as a meeting room receptionist with Weight Watchers.  I love greeting and weighing my members each week at the different locations I work and have come to enjoy great camaraderie with many of my co-workers. I love that the program is concentrating more and more on whole, natural foods, and encouraging exercise and good routines and habits. 

I also participated in my first Whole 30 Paleo Challenge in January and have fully embraced this way of eating.  The few times I have eaten rice with my sushi or gluten free bread since then, I have paid for it with bloating and stomach pain.  I know that it is not for everyone, but it IS for me.

The Captain and I have come to love our inner urban environment and the activities that it affords so much that we finally let the sloop that was our home for 11 years go to new owners… an oncologist and his lovely wife, getting read to retire, and whom we hope will love her as much as we did.

We have continued to enjoy walking to different local markets for groceries, growing flowers, herbs, strawberries and some veggies on our balcony garden, and have found living so close to the beach as good as being on the boat… especially in big storms!   Definitely do not miss wakeful nights on the hook worrying about the anchor giving way.

Running took a bit of a back seat this year to other types of exercise.  I participated in two of Tina Reales’ Besty Body Boot Camps and loved them… and they gave me a hunger for more strength training.  I started reading and doing research and found Tom Venuto and his programs.  I managed to complete and whole 12 week lifting program, and have just started another based on his theories as well. 

In the early Spring I was lucky to win a Goodlife Fitness 30-day pass and thoroughly enjoyed my new exposure to group fitness classes… Flow Yoga, Spinning, and some Les Mills classes, too… Body Flow and my favorite… Body Pump.  I will never be a gym rat but I did love those classes.

My theme word for the year was KAIZEN - which is a Japanese word that roughly translates to DAILY IMPROVEMENT.  I think it fit quite well and I kept it in mind throughout the year.

I have found a wonderful immunologist who is working with me to get to the bottom of my health issues.  We have found that my body is making antibodies and that my immune system is much healthier than I had feared which was a big relief to me.   And now we are trying to find out why my body seems to be leaking protein through my gut.  I am convinced my Paleo lifestyle is helping with this because the amount of edema I have in my legs has decreased significantly.

I have added blue algae to my diet, too, in the way of ENERGYbits.  And I have become a brand ambassador because I believe in them so much.

I have worked with some awesome corporate partners this year and have been honored to offer some fun and generous products to my readers via giveaways. 

So, as I ready myself to head out for my final run of the year, and then celebrate the start of 2014 later with The Captain over a lovely homecooked seafood-fest, I am remembering how blessed I am, and grateful for the wonderful year that 2013 has been for both of us.

I hope to see you next year!

What is your favorite memory of 2013?

The Great Turkey Run-Off

Well, I can honestly say it likely wasn't the turkey... or the sweet potato, or even the bright green peas.  And it probably wasn't even the 84% dark chocolate, which I don't think I even really like.

It may have been the 4-olive martinis... or the Chardonnay, but I think it was probably the cookies, or the the candy cane... yeah, that darned little candy cane... made my tummy pretty upset this morning and feeling quite bloated and poochy.

The fix? Why getting the day off to a great start with a nice breakie and a 5 km run.

I checked my log and the last time I ran a whole 5 km was on September 17th.  Since then my runs have been in the 3-1/2 or 4 km range, and quite few and far between.  I was determined to get out there today and when The Captain said he would like to come along, I agreed, but admonished him that it was going to be VERY slow... and boy, was it!  39 minutes and every step of it was hard today.  But it's done; I have stretched and now had some lunch, and sitting here, in my fat jeans, making promises to myself about the clean eating I am going to do till the end of the year!  GROAN.

Are you in the same shape today?  Or were you smarter than me, and didn't over-indulge?

Happy Boxing Day to all  my Canadian and British friends... and Happy Day After Christmas to the rest!

#onesmallchange … Breathe

This week as I link up to Marcia’s  final #onesmallchange post, I have gratitude and humility on my mind.

Yesterday, The Captain and I got bundled up against the cool wind and walked downtown.  We had several destinations in mind… a stop at our insurance broker to renew my car insurance, a bank deposit, a nice lunch in Chinatown, a visit to the Fairmont Empress Hotel to wander through the Christmas Tree display,  and where we also purchased a couple of new lighted ornaments for our own little tree.

We have had this little tree since we first moved onto the sailboat in 2001 and have been collecting an ornament every year we have been together… it is so sweet and very meaningful to both of us.  We have lots more room now but still haven't been able to give up this little tree for a larger one.

We took several of our ‘cheer’ bags along and as we walked, we noticed even more people than usual, quietly sitting in doorways, or standing on the side of the street with caps out for donations.  We greeted them with a smile and a ‘Merry Christmas’ and made sure to make eye contact and connect as we passed each one a ‘cheer’ bag.  And I made sure to ask if I could give their dogs  their own ‘doggy cheer’ bags, too.  Every one of them thanked us and as we exchanged smiles and greetings, I felt blessed.  What really  bothers me most about homelessness and the street life is that it tends to makes people anonymous, and I wanted  each of these folks to know that we SAW them, and cared about them.

We came home realizing that we can keep this little project up through the rest of the Winter… it doesn’t have to be just about Christmas.

Over the past several weeks I have committed to these #onesmallchange challenges… and for the most part I am doing well.  The bedtime routine continues to plague me… and I have come to realize that it is likely not as important to me as I THINK it should be.  But I am getting to it more often so that is a positive change at least.

1. no eats after 8 p.m.
2. drink 64 ounces of water each day
3. take my supplements
4. uplift at least one woman each day
5. be extra nice to a difficult woman each day
6. have enough pre-workout fuel
7. nutrient combination of 20% fat, 35% protein, 45% carbs
8. pre-bedtime routine
9. allow myself to be IMperfect
10. one yoga session per week
11. step back from social media
12. patience

This week my #onesmallchange is to just BREATHE and ACCEPT.  Let it all flow.  I am so READY!

What about you?  Can you make #onesmallchange this last week of the year?

Friday… Finally.... Phew

This morning I completed my last workout in my 12-week strength training program and I am so EXCITED to have it done…

I cannot TELL you how happy I am to have it over with and finished.  

Not sure if it is because it means I get a break now for a short time, or if it means I am looking forward to something NEW or if I am just plain ole proud of myself for having stuck with it till the end.

Likely all of those things… yes,

HURRAY for me.

And here are some other things making me happy this week:

The box of Promax Nutrition bars that arrived after I won them on a Twitter contest.  They have a whopping 28g of protein each.

I was able to find my 2 favorite holiday teas on sale at a local market this week.  They are only available this time of year so I stock up.

The Captain picked up this bag of key limes for me – he knows I like to have a fresh lime squeezed into a glass of water every morning, to start my day, and these are so sweet and just the right size.

Our little ‘cheer’ bag project is bringing me lots of joy right now, too.  We have assembled some treats and goodies into zip lock ‘Snowman’ sacks to give out to people we encounter while out walking, who look they could use a smile or a handout.  We put some together for the doggies who live on our city streets as well.  So nice to share a smile and a moment with strangers.

What is rocking your world this week?

#onesmallchange Patience, Grasshopper

Can you name the tv show that line comes from?  Or the actor who played the part of Grasshopper?  One of my favorite old time television shows and I would gladly sit through all the eposodes again and again.

But PATIENCE has never been my strong suit.  I like to say my older sister got it all and there was none left for me.  But I keep trying and do sometimes even succeed in flexing my ‘patience muscle’ and so I feel like I am not a complete failure in this area.

Patience will be my challenge this week as I link up to Marcia’s #onesmallchange post again.  At this time of year I think it is even more important to remember to be patient… with other drivers, other shoppers, my co-workers, and even my darling husband!  I am sure he appreciates it, too.

In past weeks, I have made these #onesmallchange commitments:

1. no eats after 8 p.m.
2. drink 64 ounces of water each day
3. take my supplements
4. uplift at least one woman each day
5. be extra nice to a difficult woman each day
6. have enough pre-workout fuel
7. nutrient combination of 20% fat, 35% protein, 45% carbs
8. pre-bedtime routine
9. allow myself to be IMperfect
10. one yoga session per week
11. take a step back from social media regularly

How is your patience muscle… do you ever need to work on it?

Did you remember the tv show?  It is called KUNG FU, and the actor who was called Grasshopper was David Carradine, the star of the show.  One of his teachers called him Grasshopper as a child.