Togetherness apart.

My blog application was down the last couple times I tried to post ...

This post is about a togetherness, even when you are far apart. Yes, it is about Jon and I and how life is without him. I miss him. I do. I mean it is hard to complain too, because for him, it is the last thing he needs to hear. It's his job, his means to sustain himself, our selves and to complain to him does not do anything but make him feel badly. What is the point?

Secondly - to let it get to me is futile. It does not help, it hinders. What do you do when you feel lonely and sad? Nothing productive let me tell you :) So do you ignore it, do you pretend happiness?Yes, that technique does work to an extent, keep busy, have plans, make plans, fill your week with a mix of visiting and quiet evenings. Try your hardest to eat right - make meals even though it is just for one.

The reality of the situation is that in the big picture life is perfect and in the months that Jon is away I have to remember how independent I am. How much I love to spend time with myself and how to take advantage of the time alone, instead of feeling lonely.

Cleanse update

So I went for a 24 hour juice cleanse. Didn't love feeling hungry so I ate peanuts to suffice. Low energy the next day...not really my thing. done and done.

Back to just eating clean and prospering.

yah!

oh Victoria - when are you planning to show off some of your amazing spring weather?!?!

Another busy day at work - 2 workshops - 1 demo, goodtimes.

Cleanse Me.

This Easter weekend coming up I am planning on a 4 day juice cleanse. This is to compliment my current cleanse or diet (however you want to call it), which goes a little somethink like this: no flour, no sugar, no booze, no fun, ha ha ha. This juice cleanse will end Monday at 6pm for an Easter dinner, which will be nice treat. It starts Friday morning with a 9am workout with my trainer and then a facial at my favorite spa (Silk Road).

I feel like my attempts to be as healthy as I can are really paying off. I feel good, I feel strong and I have more energy than I have had in a while. I am a bit of a health nut anyway, so this transition is not challenging for me, it feels more like a natural progression towards how I want to eat for the rest of my life. I mean, realistically it may not be super feasible to have this time and money in other periods in my life, but I hope that I can take a lot what I learn from this 6 week trial  and incorporate into my every day and least as much as I can.

I certainly do not feel like I am starving myself. In fact it’s somewhat of the opposite. I had a big smoothie this morning with a full banana, ½ cup of blueberries, 1.5 scoops of hemp hearts and a cup of almond milk. I just got back from lunch where I had a raw “burger”, which is sweet hearty heaven. Dehydrated type of bun and a patty made out of mushrooms and seeds and goodness. With a sundried tomato “ketchup” and a tahini tasting “mayo”, sunflower seed spouts, lettuce and tomato. I picked up some yam crackers (dehydrated) for my organic black bean soup and avocado I am having for dinner. I also had a mango ball…which is a treat type raw dessert.   I am actually quite full.

Snacks are endless on this cleanse. I eat prunes, raw nuts, veggie pate and wheat-free/gluten-free organic crackers. I buy young coconuts and cut of the heads and drink the water and eat the inside young coconut meat…sounds barbaric but it is sweet sweet stuff. I even made a raw phai thai on Sunday for the hockey game that Jon and Cyn raved about. This recipe came from my friend Susan Prior who has a great raw food recipe book that I highly recommend for anyone interested in cooking raw foods. http://alive-n-well.net/ 

Anyway, just thought I would share a little something, it’s been a while. Plan to write a bit while on my cleanse. Perhaps I will add a journal entry talking to something abstract and not self absorbing J .

Thanks for the distraction, blog

I am thinking of a theme to go with for a note on my blog and I am so full of work thoughts, this morning's thoughts and planning this evening's thoughts, I can barely think or write about anything else. I need some tea and then I will attempt my large list of items that I have to start/complete work on. I think the fact that the list is so enormous makes me less motivated, shorten the list Sacha ------ FOCUS!

Well, at least there is a hockey game to look forward to tonight. I am Canuck crazy and about to get HD for sports channels – super cool! And then wedding invites – the bain of my existence right now. I have to get them out the door – holy smokes! When I am done and they are received by the lucky 14, I will post a couple of pictures of them and talk about them a little, because they are really special to me.

Ok that’s it – thanks for the distraction, blog – but I must buckle down and get this work done.

Whale Awe

Whales.

Oh my god, why are we as humans so completely freaked out when we see whales? Is it there enormous stature? Is it that they are a mammal that breathes and breed in the water? Is it that they travel so far to breed and eat in order to survive? Or is it not just one of these reasons but a combination of them all?

Jon and I are so very lucky to have bought this land. My dreams are being fulfilled by being there at Salmon Beach. Sure the little cabin is great, and the deck and fire pit are great and the heater and stove are great…but the greatest of all is the surrounding area that we look out on too. This past weekend I was in awe and at one point found tears in my eyes as I was watching the whales out 20 meters in front of me mate, or rubbing their barnacles or whatever they were up to. I found myself at one point running down the rocky beach at full sprint to get closer even though I could barely move because of what I was seeing. My binoculars are fantastic – even in the rainy conditions they do not fog up and the view is crystal clear. I would be passing them to Jon and jumping up and down, because even without the binoculars you could see CLEARLY that there were multiple grey whales (or humpbacks?)  in front of us in the ocean. The spouting was all over the sound… their big backs a plenty…but the best was the dorsal fins (?) side fins were exposed and you could imagine them upside-down and the huge 2 meter distance of their body between them. WILD.

Anyway – enough blabbing about it – see for yourself….

The Ucluelet cabin get-a-way weekend

I have been really bad lately by not posting, I know. I usually do my blog posts at lunch and will have to try to get in that routine again. It has been too tempting lately to leave the office and wonder around outside now that the weather is getting a little better.

The Ucluelet cabin get-a-way weekend was a couple back and oh boy was it great. They upgraded us to an ocean front cabin, as we went up on the Friday that the earthquake shook Japan and the Tsunami warnings scared a good number of travelers I guess.  Fair enough. The snow on the pass was totally nuts, the weather was up and down – but mostly raining sheets, good weekend for cabining – not for camping. We did have some good breaks on Saturday to get out for a hike and a surf, but we tried to hang in the cabin for amazing homemade food that was brought up, beer and wine and Settlers of Catan. The cabin had a Jacuzzi so we all managed to get in a hot soak and pampered ourselves with pedicures and face masks.

So the story goes that me and 3 girlfriends from tree planting were really tight one summer and partied and pounded (the trees in the ground) better than any girls at the company we were working for. We were on a close planting crew with great loving people with similar mind sets and at a time of age of freedom and self discovery.

At the end of the summer (and the planting season) we decided to get a tattoo to remember our our strong bond of a friendship we had created with one another.  So, we had the artist in the group draw out a simple stamp like tree tattoo that was pleasant and cute and well, just perfectly fit with what we all envisioned. The foot was chosen as the spot for the ink and we went for it. The tattoo shop was in Smithers, BC and not once have I regretted that decision. I remember the afternoon after getting the tattoo, resting on the grass, in a park with the late summer breeze and feeling totally at peace with the world and with myself. Those were some of the best days of my life. That was almost 10 years ago.

The cool thing is that there have been times where at least two of us have been approached by a person who has recognized by our tattoo, they say “ I know someone with that same tattoo” and we would have to say something along the lines of “I bet I can tell you who it is”.

For the last few years we have reconnected at campgrounds, cabins and in one another’s homes. We keep track of one another’s partners, travels and new life experiences. More recently we are watching and sharing our experiences with marriage plans and babies and the joy and sorrow of these major life changes bring. These girls, even though not close in proximity, are very close to my heart.

Here are some pictures from our last get together (unfortunately one is absent from this trip – but was not far from our thoughts).

Middle Name Thoughts

I replied to my friends blog today. She was requesting thoughts on middle names and I decided my response was something I wanted to share on my own blog, so here we go...

My middle name is Maria - pronounced Mariah, as in Mariah Carey, and to be honest I never loved it because of that. However, I was named after my Grandmother, Mary. Why Maria and not Mary?  I am still unclear of that.  I am not a fan of Mary either, but I do like Maria,  pronounced Maria. This is because of the Spanish “Maria del Mar” - which I sometimes consider to keep in my back pocket for a daughter one day. Maria first name, del Mar being the middle name. It means “Mary of the Sea” and although I am not religious by any stretch, I do love the sea and love the way the name sounds as it rolls off the tongue.