Victoria's Island

Last Gasps of July

Dudes, it is the end of July. Don't bother double-checking your calendar - I already did and it is indeed the last weekend of July. At least it is a long weekend but this also means we're running out of summer long weekends.

They say time flies when you're having fun so I guess we've been having a lot of fun. I do have to say these past few weeks have been really good. My health is back on track - I often forget I have ulcerative colitis.... I'm back to full-time training again. I've got a new job that I really enjoy. Marc is doing super well - and we're both looking forward to Belgium again this winter. 

One thing that is new and I forgot to tell you about is my new computer. My 2007 Macbook died on Friday. So now I have a brand new and shiney MacBook Air. I love this computer (as much as I can love a computer). It is so smooth. No more ten minutes of waiting for Firefox to start. No more restarting everyday. No more randomly deleted text. Now I just have a sleek machine that does what I want it to when I tell it to. Nice.

The week has been pretty steady. Nothing too groundbreaking. Murphy seems to be loving this hot weather and just wants to get outside to eat grasshoppers and patrol the yard. He has taken to sleeping outside. I'm thinking he is really going to hate December. Though this outdoor lifestyle is doing nothing for his girth - somehow I thought he'd lose some weight with this outdoor activity. But lieing around and sleeping are the same - wherever you do them!

Well, I hope you've got a good long weekend to look forward to. If it were up to me, I'd eat gelato everyday, drink copious mugs of steaming chai, eat Indian, Lebanese, Mexican, and Vietnamese food everyday, and end it all with a few good books and movies. But this is a lot to pack into one long weekend even for a type "A" like me - so I'd stick to eating as much gelato as humanly possible - only requirement is that all flavors must have the word chocolate in them! Happy gelato headache!

A Good Flow

If you do yoga or have done yoga, then you'll likely understand my title: A Good Flow. In yoga the series of "moves/positions" are usually called a flow. (Of course this does depend on the type of yoga you do - I do hot power yoga.) A good flow in yoga gets your heart rate up, your muscles working, your heart pumping and your breathe keeps you calm and controled. There really is nothing quite like a good flow in yoga or anywhere else for that matter.

Right now I feel like my life is one big giant happy hunky-dory good yoga flow. Yes, things are that good.

I'm busy with work. I'm really enjoying it. My brain is getting stretched and pulled. I'm able to be creative and I'm learning on my feet. I'm writing about all sorts of topics. I'm stretching my social media muscles and really feeling this groove. 

On the bike, I'm feeling really good. Got in some excellent training capped off with a ride with Marc's team on Sunday. It was nice to be able to handle (for the most) the accelerations these powerhouse riders put out and I still felt fresh at the tail end of the 120 km ride. Definitely a good place to be. 

The cyclo-cross season planning is coming together well. The clothing design is complete and the clothes are being created this very minute. The race schedule is being tweaked and refined. Living arrangements are being finalized. All good stuff.

Perhaps one of the best things to happen this week happened last night... For a while I've been wanting to connect with other people who have ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. I tried contacting my local chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada but received a very surly and unfriendly email from the chapter president telling me that support groups were for whiners so there wasn't a support group... Yes, shocking in so many ways. I floundered a bit and then thanks to the urging of my mom I got busy and decided to test the waters on Facebook. I posted on the chapter page on Facebook asking if anyone was interested in getting together for an "informal chat". Well, guess what? It worked! Last night seven of us got together and just chatted about ulcerative colitis and Crohn's. We talked for almost three hours. It was incredible. It was so refreshing to meet other people who really know what it is like to have this disease. No one held back - there was honest talk about colonoscopies, not making it to the bathroom (when in public) in time, of medication experiences, of missteps with doctors before being properly diagnosed, of different diets, recommended books. And best of all - we now have a new group on Facebook called: Ottawa Area Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis Support Group. So if you're in Ottawa or the area and are interested in this - simply contact me through the group and you can easily join. I'd have to say this was a pretty darn good experience. Oh and even better - we've got plans to meet again!

Yes, so things are going well. I almost feel like I'm going to jinx myself by writing about how well things are. But heck - you only live once so why not? 

I do have to say I did have a few terrible moments on Monday when I listened to Jack Layton give his press conference - he sounded like a ghost. (I didn't watch the press conference since we don't have televsion) But hearing him was enough. I've never met Jack Layton but boy do I ever feel for him. Sometimes life just isn't fair - he has worked and worked and perservered when people doubted him - and now after achieving a big goal for the NDP, he is sick. I can only be as optomistic as he was yesterday and believe that he will return to politics in September. His optomisim is really quite amazing - people facing lesser obstacles would have backed down and given in - this just shows us how lucky us Canadians are to have him helping to guide and shape our country. 

Okay, lets try to finish this on a good note! Go watch the Harry Potter movie - I watched it on Saturday and really enjoyed it. Best of all the Harry Potter movies. And no I haven't read the books - I just watch the movies (because Marc is a super Harry Potter fan).

Darn Good Week

This has just been a great week. Just one of those weeks when everything clicks and each day is super solid.

So last night I dropped two cups of frozen watermelon into the food processor and to this I added one banana (not frozen). I turned on the food processor and let it do its magic! I ended up with super tasty watermelon/banana "ice cream" - sweet and creamy. Oh so good - and a great way to up your potassium levels and get hydrated.

Okay, well this is all I have for you! I know not that much but some days you get less than others.

I'm off to watch the Tour de France - super exciting stage today. Then it is yoga, work, and relaxation. I think Harry Pottter might be on the agenda tonight.

Have a good one!

Busy Times

I swear that I pledge each and everyday to post to this wee little site. But somehow my list of to do's gets longer and longer and posting to my blog struggles to keep top priority. But I'm here now so let's see what you and I will get...

First of all, big news - I've got a new job! I'm working part-time for Blue Volcano Media as a social media assistant. What this means is that I'm handling the digital marketing for two different companies. I'm pretty excited about this position. I've been getting more and more heavily involved with the professional end of social media marketing over the last few years and it is nice to see that my skills and knowledge have lead me to this new position. I expect I'll learn even more about social media marketing and digital marketing over the coming days, weeks, and months. Some of you might be scratching your heads wondering what I'll actually be doing well: managing Twitter accounts, managing Facebook accounts, writing blog content, writing newsletters, writing press releases, writing website content, and doing research about competitors and potential customers. Fun stuff.

In addition to this I'm still doing writing for a number of clients, so I'm keeping pretty darn busy these days. To say I'm happy about this would be an understatement. I've really been working at this for a while now so it is very rewarding to see some good things coming out of all the queries, emails, job applications, and pondering.

(Okay, switching topics here - you know it is a female thing - but at least I warned you...)

You might know that I'm a big fan of a band called Young The Giant. This Califorinia-based band has a song that really hits me in my gut (literally) - it is called My Body. When I first heard this song, I told Marc that I HAD to see Young The Giant in concert this summer. Well, as luck would have it, our local radio station Live 88.5 held a contest for a "win to get in" concert with Young The Giant. The only way to win was to listen to the radio and be one of the first to call in. By Saturday, I was starting to feel a bit desperate and decided that I simply would not be seeing Young The Giant perform on Monday July 18. Well, it is a good thing I married a smart man! On Saturday night on our way to supper, I heard a Young The Giant song on the radio - Marc looked at me and said "CALL". So I did, but the dj told me they weren't giving out tickets. Sigh. But then, about 10 minutes later the very dj said "If you just called about Young The Giant tickets - and we talked and I told you there weren't any tickets - well I was wrong. I won't forget your voice so call in to get your tickets." OMG I called - and guess what - I got the tickets.

So on Monday night, Marc and I hit up one of the most popular music clubs in the city for the Young The Giant concert. It was an awesome night. We were standing right next to the stage and it was just simply electric. I loved the entire night. When Young The Gian played My Body as their final song, I was singing, pumping my fist, and tears were streaming down my face. That song hits me hard everytime I hear it and to hear and see it live - well that was just really beyond words. Definitely the best Monday night ever!

(Uh oh - here I go again - switching thoughts again...)

I've tried out a bunch of new recipes this past week. All of them very good. Check out these links for some very tasty eats:

Gluten Free Apricot Power Bars - very good. I used cocoa powder instead of chocolate chips. Addictive.

Best Carrot Salad Ever - so very good. Very light. I used a food processor to shred the carrots.

Cilantro Lime Chickpea Salad - oh this will change your idea of chickpeas. So good. So easy.

(Switching again....)

I finished reading The Canterbury Trail by Angie Abdou. Excellent. Big fan of this Canadian author. Fantastic writer. Seems like a very nice person - we follow each other on Twitter. Read her books.

(And again...)

Alright, well that is about all I've got for now. Happy Tuesday night. Get ready for Thursday - record high humidex apparently in Ottawa and the area. Oh, and I know I haven't mentioned him in a while, but I just saw some great photos of wee little Henry - yep this kid is adorable (he looks like a certain little brother of mine). Definitely a chip off of the old block!

 

When It Rains It Pours

Yep it has been raining around here. In a good way. Not rain from the sky. Rather raining opportunity. Today has been one of those weeks where all of the emails, queries and resume tweaking has come to fruition. What a great feeling it is to have the hardwork and dogged determination pay off.

I'm happy to report that I've just been hired by a U.S.-based company to do some part-time work for them. This is a really good job for me  - right in my niche and I know I will benefit greatly from the opportunity. Now, don't worry - I'm not moving. I'll be working remotely for this company - in fact the entire company is spread-out through-out the U.S. and everyone works from a home office. Couldn't be a more perfect fit.

On top of this I've picked up a couple of other writing clients that are sending me down writing paths I never thought I'd explore. Versatility is the key to this game and let me tell you I've got my versatile pants on.

So a pretty darn good week so far.

Marc and I had planned to go to Montreal today - we receivd a message from our friend Ignace who was my mechanic and later Marc's mechanic during the cyclo-cross season. He was in Baie-Commeau for the Paracycling World Cup and said he would be in Montreal today before flying back to Belgium. So we decided it would be great to visit him in Montreal and go out for supper. Well, as sometimes happens, things get mixed up in translation... Turns out Ignace flew home on Tuesday. Sigh - we discovered this by calling him and waking him up at 3 a.m.! Ah well at least we got to talk to him. Big disappointment on our part since we really were looking forward to a little get-away to Montreal but the silver lining was that I got lots of work done today and Marc took a super easy relaxed day off.

Not sure what I'll do with the jar of dulce de leche I bought for Ignace. I'm sure I know someone who will crack this jar of tasty goodness open...

Other than this it has been a pretty chilled out week. I made another recipe from my latest Vegan cookbook: Appetite for Reduction. We decided on taco night on Monday night so for Marc I cooked up the regular beef taco mixture but for me I made: Zucchini, Olive and Black Bean tacos. Oh they are so good. Super spicy and very filling - the black olives combined with the heat of the jalapeno peppers are perfect. I ate mine withouth taco shells since I haven't been able to find decent corn tacos. A very tasty meal indeed.

I've started drinking the Vega Choc-A-Lot Shake & Go Smoothie before my rides. I find this digest really well and gives me just the energy I need to get my ride in without hunger setting in. The benefits of this product is that it provides Omega 3 and 6 as well as some super helpful gut probiotics.

Hmm, what else is happening? I still haven't looked into Google+... Waiting until I have the time but with my new position I think the time might be here.

Oh the new clothing design is pretty much complete. It looks so good. I'm super stoked with how my Ottawa.cx kit is going to look for the upcoming season. Puple. Black. Clean lines. Simple style. And pure speed.

Alright, my break time is over - time to stroke a few more items off my to do list. Hope your week is going as well as mine.

Full-On Summer

Finally the heat and humidity has really seriously hit us here in Ottawa. The days are hot and steamy - perfect especially with air conditioning! I'll be the first to admit I don't like the super hot days - must be the Saskatchewan girl in me - I prefer a dry heat.... But, heck beggars can't be choosers and this is much better than snow.

For a lot of you I'm guessing you're in the swing of summer vacations or counting down the days until it really truly is summer vacation time. There is nothing quite like loading up the car with lots of gear, strapping the kids into the back seat loaded up on Gravol and hitting the open road... Yep, we had some pretty epic adventures when I was a kid. Lucky for me and my brother, my parents wanted to expose us to as much of Canada as possible - strange to realize as an adult that not all kids were so lucky.

Marc and I have already had our summer vacation - and an excellent one it was. As you know we hosted our friends from Belgium and were fortunate to see the city and surrounding areas through their eyes. Not to mention a great two-day escape to Niagara-On-The-Lake and Niagara Falls. I really would like to return to Niagara-On-The-Lake - next time with our bikes - I think some pretty good rides could be put together from this pretty little town.

I think the key to summer is really making the most of it. Whatever this means to you. It could be taking Fridays off from work and escaping for three day weekends. Or maybe it is sleeping in on Sunday mornings and having a relaxing day in the backyard with a stack of magazines, a few cool drinks, and ice cream on the horizon.

For me, making the most of it really means just enjoying what we have. All too often we get caught up in what we don't have. Funny but when I was working full-time in high tech and making a pretty large salary, I think I was caught up with consumption - always wanting to buy the next book, magazine, shirt, pair of jeans or gadget. Now that I'm working as a freelance writer and my salary is far from large, I've really come to value and appreciate the simpler things in life.

This might sound corny but a dinner out with Marc or an afternoon hanging out at a coffee shop with a good friend seems much more meaningful now. It has taken a long time for me to realize that I don't need to spend money to be happy. Rather I'm happier just taking it all in - my backyard, watching Murphy patrol the backyard for invisible predators, lounging on the front step with Marc, watching movies at home and just really enjoying it all.

Now I'm not saying that I don't still wander into stores and stare longingly at a pair of jeans or that new purple t-shirt - rather I just don't have the urge to plunk down my debit card and buy those jeasn or t-shirt. My money has much more value to it now than it once did - I remember how hard I worked for it and would rather use it for something more meaningful to me. (Though some purple Chucks would be super sweet!)

Sorry if I'm digressing from the summer theme here. I honestly didn't set out to write about this - but sometimes I just never know what is going to come out. When this happens, I can finally understand authors who say that they really don't know what their characters are going to do until they do it. I used to think this was a cop-out and way of avoiding talking about character and story development but now I understand it - when you're involved and immersed in something it has the strength to take over - the fingers do the talking and the page/screen literally comes alive.

Yep, so summer is here - full-on. And I'm liking it. The days are hot and steamy and there is lots of sunshine to go around. Everyone should be so lucky.

Suburban Friday Night

It is Friday night and I'm sitting out on the front step hanging on to the last gasps of daylight. I've got a big grey cat sitting at my feet (he is keeping  a keen eye on the birds...) and a mug of earl grey/chocolate tea. No complaints here. Marc is out with some young bike racers from the Ottawa Bicycle Club - he is giving them lessons how to ride a team trial event. I'm pretty sure he is having a blast right now.

The week has gone by in a flash. Really nothing too groundbreaking or startling to tell you about. Still sticking to the vegan eating. I did eat meat yesterday. I think that I'll like keep meat in my diet once a week for a bit longer and then make the full-on removal. I'd like to see what my blood count numbers and iron are doing before I completely eliminate it.

I'm keeping a food journal so I can be sure to stay on top of getting all the nutrients I need into my diet. Most important for me are iron and B12. To help with the B12 I'm taking a chlorella supplement - this is basically chlorella in a capsule - none of that nasty powdered greens stuff.... I'm also supplementing my diet with the occassional Vega Shake and Go Smoothie mix. These mixes taste really good and have an excellent dose of carbohydrates, proteins, probiotics, iron and other essential nutrients. In fact this is the only "powder" that I can drink alone - just add to some water, shake and drink. Last weekend at the hotel I didn't have any almond milk so I simply made the shake and poured it over my bowl of fresh fruit - it didn't look that appetizing but what is not to like about chocolate, pineapple and apples?

I'm still readig Angie Adbou's latest novel - The Canterbury Trail. Please ignore the pathetic review in the Globe and Mail... It is not often that I read reviews, in fact I only read this review because people on Twitter were voicing their complete disgust with the review. Yep, they were right - it is a bad review - clearly the reviewer didn't really "read" the book or consider the overall premise of the novel. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Oh and if you're an Anne Patchett fan, definitely head over to the CBC radio website and listen to Shelagh Rogers' interview with her - it is fantastic. This interview has made me want to read Patchett's latest novel - I really enjoyed Bel Canto and her other novels so I'm pretty sure her latest (title of which escapes me right now) will be just as good.

Have been thinking lately of the Camino Trail. Yes, the Camino Letters has planted a seed. My mom is interested in walking a portion of the trail and I think it would be really fun to do. One day soon. It is definitely on the list of things to do soon. I also read about a series of walking trails in France - this would also be fun. Oh, and I still want to go to New  York City. Yeesh, lots on the life list - this is a sign of well lived life I believe - never bored - that's for sure.

Alright, I'm out. Marc and the young guns just rolled in. Have a good weekend.

Long Weekend Catch-Up

I'm not sure what it is about long weekends but it always seems to take me an extra day or four to recover from them. Now lest you get the wrong idea and think that I'm out partying and whooping it up on my long weekends, I best set you straight... This past long weekend was all about family and bike racing - so no crazy partying or whooping it up this time around.

Really we got the best of everything this past Canada Day long weekend with a great visit with my parents in Lakefield. A very chillaxed day and a half of feeding worms to a stray bird (worms are very squirmy and hard to chop up...), playing with Pixie the wonder dog, a bit of trail running, some food munching and general relaxation.

On Saturday Marc and myself and my parents hopped in our respective vehicles and made the drive to Burlington - the site of Canadian National Masters Road Cycling Championships. My parents and I visited the Artist's Walk area in Burlington - very pleasant with some interesting shops and restaurants. After a good meal out, it was off to bed to get ready for race day.

Apart from watching Marc race on Sunday and hanging out with my parents in the race feed zone (place on the race course where supporters are allowed to hand up water bottles to cyclists as they zoom by), the other highight was visiting The Whole Foods Market in Oakville. Whole Foods really is the mecca for food fanatics - lots of hard-to-find items, lots of organic options, very fresh and tasty hot and old buffets - really it is a dangerous place (many people call it Whole Paycheque). I wandered around this tempting store for a solid hour on Sunday morning while Marc snoozed back at the hotel.

I did pick up a very delicious box of tea: Earl Grey/Chocolate with a hint of Berry. Yes, very very good.

Marc had an excellent race. He raced really hard and pushed himself to the max. After starting the winning move, Marc finished in 7th place. Many thanks to my parents for bringing the cold Coke and extra water - definitely needed on such a hot day. After the race we hoofed it back to Ottawa - and I hit a new milestone. For the first time in my life - I drove through Toronto! Typically I do the Ottawa-Kingston leg of this trip or the Oshawa-Kingston leg - but this time I got us from Burlington to Kingston. Yeesh, who knows where I'll drive next?

So all this being said it was a great weekend. And now I'm finally catching my breath. It seems like lots happened that I needed to get up-to-date with. I've got a few small writing jobs that are keeping me busy right now and best of all - I'm back doing real training! Yes, we got the okay last week that I'm good and ready to get back to serious cyclo-cross training again. What a great feeling - I've had a good few days on the bike and will take Thursday off and then back at it on Friday.

The city of Ottawa is currently taken over by BluesFest so this always makes for an interesting time. I don't have plans to go to any shows. Which reminds me, I need to find out if there are any "free" concerts this year in the Byward Market - last year we watched City and Color (awesome!).

In Murphy news - he succeeded in catching a wee little chipmunk and then ate part of it. This resulted in the predictable stomach discomfort that only a chipmunk can create. Luckily things are back to normal today and Murphy is now working hard at catching the elusive grasshopper and odd butterfly.

Cooked up another vegan recipe last night: 2nd Avenue Vegetable Korma from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's cookbook: Appetite for Reduction. This was a very tasty meal. Often vegetable korma simply doesn't compare to that which you can find at an Indian buffet - but I daresay this one came pretty close (with much less cream of course - used 3/4 cup of light coconut milk). If you're looking for a vegan cookbook that offers a great range of healthy recipes that can be mostly be cooked in under 30 minutes then check out Appetite for Reduction.

Okay, I'm almost at 1,00o words so this is the perfect reason to sign off...