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These items were on my wish list year.
I can never have enough bubble bath. I use it a lot. The Margarita is at Sephora. The Calm One, Calm All is at Shoppers or Target.
Cargo Liner for the Yaris.
Decanter for all that red wine we are saving. We should start drinking it.
Beeswax for our wood bowls.
We might be taking "a little bit at a time" to the extreme. We have however made a tiny little bit of progress in the office. Emphasis on the tiny. Hiding in the back of the closet we found some prints and posters that we have been hoarding.
The thought of having them all custom framed was enough to make the credit card scream. And as all but one were odd sizes we couldn't go with our usual choice - Ribba frames from Ikea. Instead we took them to Costco and had them block mounted. We also had the Sydney 2000 poster mounted - the frame it was in was cracked.
The next step is to actually hang them all. I told you it's slow progress. We did however make some progress. See all the routers, external hard drives, etc etc? Aren't they an ugly mess?
Not any more. Hubby added a shelf to the unit we added a couple of weeks ago. Now all the computer crap hardware is all organised in one area.
Blasted Church is one of our favourite wineries. Why wouldn't it be?
The story is the town of Okanagan Falls needed a church. A nearby deserted mining town had one they weren't using. So a crew set of to dismantle the old wooden church and bring it back. The demolition man, Hatfield, blew up the church. Kind of. A controlled blast of dynamite loosened the nails and spared the wood. Except the steeple. It didn't survive. The 108 year old church now stands in Okanagan Falls.
When Chris and Evelyn Campbell bought the winery it was called Prpich Hills. How exciting is that? Not! So the winery got a new name and new labels. And this year they retired those irreverent labels and are introducing equally good, if not better new labels.
Our favourite wines? All of them! Seriously. What we have in our wine rack right now:
Hatfield's Fuse 2007 x 2
Hatfield's Fuse 2009
Chardonnay Musque 2006
Mixed Blessings 2008
Nothing Sacred 2007
Big Bang 2009 x 2
We're going to the Midnight Service on October 8th. Anyone want to come with us? Memphis Blues BBQ provides the food, Ruthie Foster is the entertainment and of course the wine is Blasted Church.
OMG! So not happening. Maybe I should have taken a day off between level 1 and 2. Today was also a run day which didn't help. Level 2 is brutal. The plank features prominently in level 2. I hate jumping jacks, but I REALLY. REALLY. HATE. THE PLANK. HATE. IT.
Warm up - arm crosses, backwards windmills, jumping jacks, high kicks, neck circles,jumping jacks. These I can do!
Circuit 1
strength - walking push ups, dumbbell row in squat position, repeat. I did the modified version of the walking push ups, but could only manage one set of the dumbbell rows.
cardio - high knees (running on the spot), squat thrusts in the plank position, repeat. High knees I can do. No way in hell I was doing the squat thrust thingys, I did one set of the modified version and skipped the second set altogether
abs - crunches with raised leg, repeat with opposite leg raised. These I could do.
Circuit 2
strength - static lunge with a medium grip row, pendulum lunges with hammer row, repeat. Okay so the static lunge& row I can do. The pendulum lunges & hammer row brought out my lack of co-ordination. I had to do the lunges with out the hammer row. My head just could not process the forward lunge, then the backward lunge and the hammer row movement all at once. Maybe tomorrow.
cardio - oblique twist, skaters, repeat. The twists were doable, the skaters not so much
abs - oblique crunches with legs, double crunches. Again these I could do.
Circuit 3
strength - military press with leg extensions, chair squat with a v raise, repeat. I did both sets of the military press/leg extensions. I did the v raise without the squat for the first set, and the squat without the v raise for the second set. There was no way I could do both at once.
cardio - plank jacks, double jump rope, repeat. Yeah, not a chance on either of this. I wanted to yell at the TV.
abs - plank twists. These I managed...but only just.
Cool down - the stretching is the same as level 1, and the stretching I can do.
I am resorting to bribery. Yep, I am bribing myself. I gave myself a reward for finishing level 1. I found this pretty flower ball necklace on ebay (while searching for something totally unrelated), and as a bonus it matches my sweater. (I mention that just for you Kyla!).
For level 2, I'll definitely need a bribe. I have my eye on a pair of grey suede shoes. Normally I would wait until I can find a promo code or they go on sale. I very rarely pay full price for a pair of shoes. But if when I finish 10 days at level 2 of the 30 day shred, I get to treat myself and buy them regardless. And if I don't finish level 2? Then no shoes for me at any price. So lets not go there.
I've been running with the default setting on the Nike sensor. Today was as good a day as any to calibrate. It's a relatively simple task. Go into settings, choose if you are going to run or walk, select the distance you're going to run or walk, then start.
There's a trail near us that runs along the river from our house to the airport. It's part of a network of trails in the area. And lucky for me there are markers at each km. Well there should be. The 13 km marker is missing.
Running - it took me 8 minutes to run from the 12km marker to the 11km marker. According to the iPod I had run 1.26km. Not sure which is more correct, but I set the iPod to match the markers.
Walking - As I had to walk back along the trail I figured I should calibrate the walk setting as well. It took me 14min 20 sec to walk from the 11k marker but to the 12k marker.
The iPod said I walked 1.38 km! I don't necessarily trust the city or parks or whoever set the markers, but for now I'm going with them. Even if I like what the iPod says better.
In week 2 of the C25K it's run 90 seconds, walk 2 minutes. Running the whole kilometre wasn't as bad as I thought. 8mins is slower than I used to run, but for now I'll take it. When I was done, I probably could have kept running a little further but not much. It'll definitely be another couple of weeks before I'm ready to tackle a full 5km run.
I keep telling everyone that we have no wall space left to hang anything. But then I see something I really like and I'll move everything round to make room.
Nathalie Parenteau is originally from Quebec but now makes her home in the Yukon. I noticed her work everywhere in Whitehorse when we were there this summer. This is the piece that caught my eye. I must have gone back to the North End Gallery half a dozen times to look at. Why I didn't buy it, I have no idea. Sea Otter and Volcano, 2006, Limited Edition of 750, $100.
Another Yukon artist whose work I really like is Jim Robb.
"Jim Robb has called the Yukon his home for over 30 years. He specializes in recording by camera, ink or watercolour and pastels the "Colourful Five Per Cent", a phrase he coined to describe the colourful and unusual characters and historical buildings of the north. He defines his drawings as the "exaggerated truth" where shapes, angles, colours and features of his subjects are emphasized and embellished to express their inner strengths and character. "
The piece I looked at over and over again at the Midnight Sun Gallery is At Home in the Klondike, Limited Edition, $86.00. I can't find a photo of it, and it's not on their website, but they do have it in stock. Here's a couple of other Jim Robb pieces to give you an idea of the style.
Next is a series of three prints that I would hang above our bed. Appropriate as they are titled 'A Very Tired Wombat', by Renee Treml. Aren't they adorable.
Saw this sign as we were driving between Osoyoos and Oliver. We didn't see any turtles - happy or sad.
Last year I mentioned to a friend that I need to exercise more. She gave me the 30 Day Shred DVD, commenting that it was awful and she hated it. How's that for a good recommendation? I tried it once or twice but couldn't get motivated. Last week when I started running again, I figured 'd give it another try.
30 Day Shred is by Jillian Michaels of Biggest Loser fame. She's been called the meanest trainer on TV. And lets just say I'm glad she's not actually in the room with me. I don't need her yelling at me.
There are 3 levels, each level is a mix of cardio, strength and abs. I started at level 1. The first day I seriously thought I was going to pass out or collapse in a screaming heap. Here's my run down of day 1...
Warm Up - 20 seconds each of arm crosses, windmills, jumping jacks, hip circles, knee circles & jumping jacks. This part was easy.
Circuit 1
Strength
Cardio - 30 seconds each jumping jacks, jump rope, jumping jacks and jump rope. I hate jumping jacks, always have. I can do them, just hate them. I had to do the modified version of the jump rope - smaller jumps, the full version made my shins hurt.
Abs - 30 seconds each of basic crunches and reverse crunches. I was expecting to not to make it through the minute of abs. But surprise, surprise, this was the easiest part.
Circuit 2
Strength
Cardio - 30 seconds each of butt kicks, punches, butt kicks, and punches. By this part of the video I was exhausted. I did the modified butt kicks and did the punches standing up rather than in the squat position.
Abs - 1 minute of oblique crunches. Again I had no problems with the crunches. My core is stronger than I thought. Although it still needs work.
Circuit 3
Strength
Cardio - 30 seconds of each of jumping jacks, butt kicks, punches, jump rope
Abs - 1 minute of bicycle crunches. I lasted about 30 seconds. Then just laid on the floor, praying for chocolate.
Cool Down - 2 minutes of stretching. Yeah, I m not flexible as I once was. Oh to be 18 again.
Okay, days 2 and 3 were not much better. I'm not sure why I didn't just give up, that's what I would have done in the past. I can't tell you what's different this time - besides my need to prove to myself that I can do it.
Days 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 (today) got a little easier each day. I can almost do the full versions of all the exercises. The exceptions are:
My shoulders still yell at me with every movement, but it's getting easier.
I'm going to do level 1 for days 9 and 10. Then Thursday I'll try level 2. I expect to have jelly limbs through the weekend. We'll see.
I survived week 1. After my first run I had made some notes for myself:
This week I ran on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. But I want to switch it to Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I didn't want to go 3 days without a run, therefore I ran a 4th time today. I'm averaging about 1.4 miles in the 20 minutes. That will only increase as the running portion increases. I'm actually looking forward to running longer in week 2. The intervals are run 90 secs, walk 2 mins for 20 minutes. After my run I stopped my the Farmer's Market. Today was the last day. Unfortunately this morning started with a thunderstorm so many of the vendors weren't there. No kettle corn, no cupcakes, no corn. But I did get a loaf of sourdough bread. And a loaf of seed bread, which I had for dinner with fresh raspberry jam.
Followed by a raspberry almond tart for dessert. The lemon tart and the chocolate pecan tart are for when hubby comes home from Reno. Good thing I went for a run this am. I am going to miss the Farmer's Market.
This morning I looked after my friend's two boys aged 6 and 10. Mr 6 was supposed to go to hockey training at 7am, but would not get out of bed. So we didn't go! Yeah I'm a pushover. When my friend, Andrea got home, we headed down to Bellingham for lunch at the Olive Garden. It's been years since I've been there. I had the Grilled Chicken Flatbread - grilled chicken, mozzarella, roasted red peppers, Alfredo sauce and basil. (I asked them to hold the garlic spread. Yummmmmmm!
After we had fueled up, we hit Pier 1 for some Halloween decorations. Yes, we have Pier 1here, but even allowing for the exchange rate, stuff is cheaper in the states. The purple stuff is stretchy spider webs, the spiders (which are purple and sparkly, not black) are tealight holders and the pumpkins are just decorations.
Followed by Target. I love Target. I wish we had a Target. This is only a very small selection of what we bought. I can't show it all - that would be spoiling some Christmas surprises. So what can you see:
After we spent a good couple of hours in Target, apparently it's the place to be late Saturday afternoon, we headed for Bath & Body Works. (The boys loved that, NOT). Yes, I know, we have two Bath & Body Works in the lower mainland now, but they are not particularly close to my house. Besides once again the price is better in the US. I stocked up on the foaming hand soap. The hand lotion was a free sample, and the candle was because I had a coupon - spend $10 get a free candle. It smells like pumpkin pie. Hubby will be disappointed when the house smells like pie, but there's no pie to eat.
Last stop? Cinnabon. After we ate a very healthy dinner of cinnabon stix and cinnabon classic rolls we set out for home. A great day. Stay tuned next week for the challenge Andrea and I have set each other.