The Heart of the Matter

As I was outside washing my windows today, Sunday, I got to thinking about the Sabbath, and God's command to keep it holy. I wondered about the people driving through the parking lot, if they were religious and what they thought about me "working" on a Sunday. As I sprayed and wiped and thanked God for such a wonderful sunny day, I imagine that He was probably more concerned about the state of my heart than whether or not I cleaned my windows today or tomorrow.

Giving Thanks

Today I am most thankful for my family. Specifically, I'm thankful that we all live close by and can celebrate this holiday together.
(With lots of turkey and gravy and stuffing....mmmmm....stuffing.)

Heyday

Sigh....only 47 more pages to go. The book is very good, but very long, and also overdue. Unfortunately somebody has requested it, which means I can't renew it. So back to the novel I shall go, in hopes of keeping the fines to a respectable minimum.

Do a Little Dance

The other night I was in the kitchen doing dishes wearing my bright orange and red chili pepper apron while plugged into my iPod. It doesn't take much to make me move, and soon I was dancing up a storm while drying off my Ziploc and putting away the cutlery.
It occured to me that, while I dance pretty well in my own mind, I probably look a little something like Elaine, from Seinfeld.
If you don't know what I mean, have a look at her little dance here.
Some people can dance, while other just move awkwardly and inefficiently. I'd like to think I fall somewhere in between.

It's Good to Be Back...

...in my own body. A few days ago I went for a run in what felt like someone else's body. It wasn't a particularly tough run, just strange. I was plugged into my iPod, which may have been the problem. I'm used to running sans music, and the tunes were throwing me off my rhythm. Although I appreciate, almost need, my music when I'm walking, it seems to be more of a distraction when I'm running.
So tonight I went out for a quick 20 minutes. It was very refreshing and just what I needed to wipe away the last traces of a headache. I played around with my speed, and have to say my favorite half-a-block was when I ran full out, feet barely touching the sidewalk (or so it seemed to me!), arms and legs pumping, heart and lungs working overtime.
Satisfaction. It comes in the simplest of forms.

This I Know

Some observations from tonight...

~ I don't like it when appliances go on the fritz, because I know nothing about what might be wrong with them. My first resource is to pray that God will make the problem go away, and I have to say that many things have been fixed this way. I'm afraid that my washing machine will need an actual repairman, however.

~ You shouldn't eat 2 burritos and then run 5 km.

~ I like to run in the rain.

~ I can run 5 km in 30 min (new record for myself).

~ Some people are good at writing books, and some people aren't. Just having a story to tell doesn't make you a writer. If you're bound and determined to get your story on paper, perhaps you should have someone else write it for you. (I'm thinking specifically about 2 books - one that I just finished that was absolutely inspiring, and one that reads like a high school essay and has quite a negative feel. Both books are on the same subject, making it easier to compare them.)

~ I'm very glad there's a long weekend coming up.

No Spring Chicken

I climbed, tumbled, and slid. I rolled, jumped, and crawled. Most of all, I realized that I am no longer a kid. My twitching forearms reminded me that I sit at a desk all day, and am not used to hauling myself up and through plastic tunnels.
I accompanied my 5-year-old niece through the tunnels and slides of the Fun Factory play structure today. Technically it can fit and support an adult, but I sure had to bend my body in ways it is not used to, to make it fit!
Having said that, though, I have to admit it was also fun. There's something special about just playing; climbing, sliding, crawling and laughing. Forgetting for a few moments about the housework, laundry, and bills.
Pretending that you're five again.
Thanks, Tori, for inviting me to play with you.

Semantics

...still studying Excel, and smiling at the phrase "exploding pie piece." Who knew that could refer to data charts? (Probably a lot of people, but that's beside the point.)

Mmmm....pie....

One Day at a Time

I'm taking a class on Excel and am in the midst of learning about functions. Putting my newfound knowledge to good use, I calculated that I am 10,745 days old.
Somehow that actually seems a lot less than 29 years.

King of All Farmer's Markets

I spent a few days in Calgary this past week, and discovered a new favorite store - The Calgary Farmer's Market. Ikea has nothing on this paradise of fresh produce, homemade goods, imported treasures, and the best gelato in the country. Mmmmm...if you ever go, you must try the mango gelato from the gelato place (I don't remember the name of the booth). It is the creamiest concoction, and I'm sure it must be 98% mangoes, it's that flavorful.
I also happened upon a Christmas present for my sister. It's something I've been looking for for awhile, and wouldn't you know, it was at the farmer's market. (I think this was the moment the CFM moved into the #1 spot in my mind.) Also on the menu that day was a fabulous Ukrainian lunch of perogies and sour cream, schnitzel and sauerkraut, cabbage rolls and fresh squeezed lemonade.
Those of you who know me well, know that I also tend to be a bit of a collector, and at the moment my fetish is trying different kinds of root beer and ginger ale, (adding the bottle to my collection once said drink has been consumed.) I was pleased to find a root beer from Quebec with the label on upside down. Excellent.
Finally, being a bit of a honey buff as well, I spent several minutes at the Golden Lane Honey booth. I sampled various flavours of honey before settling on the orange blossom unpasteurized honey bear. I haven't cracked it open yet, as I still have a bottle and a half of the stuff I imported from Florida last year.

The rest of my trip was filled with some time at Ikea (where I managed to spend all of $7), a morning run along the Bow river, a drive out to Canmore for the day, a delightful movie experience (went to see Hairspray), and a lot of relaxing.
A good time was had by all.

Gnarly

Pop!

Once upon a time, in a far away land

Saskatchewan

Sunburst

From the car window, en route to Canmore

Shout Out

A big thank you to my friend Sherri, who at the last minute said she would come over and feed my cat while I'm away in Calgary.
I'm sure Isabelle will be pleased, as I think Sherri is her favorite person in the whole world!

Unbelievable.

I found my camera. After spending all of my bike money on a new one.
Unbelievable.

Stick a Fork in Me, I'm Done

After a slightly disappointing couple of days at Waskesiu last weekend, Nicole and I had the perfect day at the lake today. We drove to Martin's Lake this morning, a pleasant hour and a bit drive. We spent the better part of the day in the water on our floaties, sunning ourselves and talking. The little concession on the beach provided our lunch, and the other people provided our entertainment.
Martin's Lake is very much a family place, and there were lots of kids having a ball. The beach was not too crowded, and the lake had a nice sandy bottom. In the swimming area, that is. We tethered ourselves to a buoy that was unfortunately surrounded by seaweed and a very mucky, sinky bottom. I'm sure it was quite comical to watch us float ourselves over to the buoy and tie our rope around it, all the while trying not to touch the lake floor.
The only downside of today is the lobster look I'm now sporting, thanks to too much sun and not quite enough sunscreen.
Oh well, break out the aloe vera I say.

Milestone

I am on week 5 of my learn-to-run schedule, (4 sets of run 4/walk 1 = 20min) and I reached a milestone tonight. I have been running the same course for the last month, but tonight it was not long enough. There were 2 minutes left in my last set when I got to the end of my route! I felt totally in the zone and had a strong, fast run.
I feel...satisfied, in the richest sense of the word.