I'm not lucky

I haven't bought new clothes in over a year and a half and the last new item was a suit for interviews.  My husband calls me cheap.  I prefer the term frugal.  The difference?  cheap implies skimping out on things that would make your life better; to me frugal means living within your means and saving for things that matter.

I must have heard a dozen times before coming down to California about how lucky I am to be able to take a month off and go on vacation.  Luck, I would say has nothing to do with it.  We all make choices.  I choose not to buy clothes, or other toys but instead to have adventures.  Last year it was TransRockies - a 7 day race from Fernie, BC to Canmore, AB.  Long before that it was kayak trips in Mexico, backpacking through Central America and mountaineering in Alaska.


I'm not saying that adventures are better than clothes, or electronics, or cars, or whatever.  But, I think that it's important to choose what will make your life more full.  For me, it's about experiences.  I would call it Good Livin', but then I'd have to pay a royalty to this guy; and that I'm too cheap for.

enjoying a chai tea and some sunshine in Ventura, CA with my wonderful husband

This time I won't forget my shorts....

Jeremy leaves on Sunday for some well deserved sunshine in California.  And, before you go feeling sorry for me, I follow him down there next Saturday and am staying on for 3 weeks!

I've decided to put all responsibility on hold for a while... not that I have much.  I've been teaching contracts off and on for 4 years in high schools around Barrie and Orillia and inbetween have been a supply teacher.  Think back to your days as a youth when a SUPPLY TEACHER would walk into your classroom.  NOW feel sorry for me.

So for 3 weeks, this supply teacher is taking some time off.  WHAT? the summer holidays aren't enough.  Well, they probably should be, but it is time to put some perspective into my life and what better way than logging some hours on my beloved bicycles and some time on the beach in the sunshine.  I've been taking an online course in Special Ed which started a few weeks ago. I'm hoping that a change in my career path from classroom teacher to Spec Ed fits my personality a little better.  I seem to be one of few people who want to work with students with learning disabilities (I spent most of last year working in the field), so I'm also hoping that it will help me find something more permanent on the job front when I return.

Falling Down

Often the first thing my dad would ask me when I came home from ballet, or skating practice was: 'Did you fall today'.  If I answered 'no', I would get the disapproving dad look.  Why? Because not falling meant I didn't take any chances, didn't try anything new and subsequently, had learned nothing. 

Today, over 100 women  took over the bike park at Joy Ride 150 for their first ever, but hopefully annual Women's Weekend. It was amazing to see so many women out riding their bikes and each one pushing their comfort zones a bit.  It was also incredible to see everyone cheer on their new friends as they mastered new skills.

I conquered a few of my own fears thanks to Charlotte who forced me to fall today.  And I mean, she actually made me unclip out of my pedals and fall off one of the higher logs.  It was what I needed to get over my fear; I think we all need that push sometimes.  Two summers ago, my husband Jeremy fell off his bike and broke his knee cap in two.  I've been pretty afraid of trying stuff on my bike since then because I am afraid to fall.  Today, after my forced fall, I was able to ride a bunch of stuff I've never been able to (or willing to try to do) before, because it forced me to get over my fear.  And a couple of times, I did come off the bike, but not all falls are catastrophic.  Most of them, teach you that you are not yet on the right path and need to make some adjustments.

So, today I took some chances, I fell and I learned.  Did you fall today?

LIGHTS OUT

This post is dedicated to M.F. and V.V.   and in thanks to P. Glassford.

"America is the home of the brightest and the best and the sickest people in the world.  We hold the lead in productivity, eating disorders, SAT scores, diabetes, cutting-edge technology, heart disease, and cancer.  In our culture, people boast how little fat they eat and how little sleep they can get by on.  These two accomplishments are an outward declaration of our ambition and stamina.  Our national motto is, "You snooze, you lose".
from Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival by T.S. Wiley

I haven't yet finished this book, but I'm well on my way to getting consistent good night sleeps.  The premise of the book is kick your carbohydrate addiction and turn off the TV and go to bed.  Back in the day when we lived in caves, carbs were hard (and in the ice age - impossible) to come by.  When we're eating lots of carbs (back then fruit and veggies) it meant it was summer time.  Summer time means pack on some pounds, cause winter is coming.  Winter would come and we would stop eating carbs.  Then we'd live off the fat stores and the cycle would start over in the summer.

As a society with places to get food 24 hours a day, winter never comes.  And our food sources, as we've been told they should by the experts come form predominately carbs.  To make a long story short (it is a whole book I'm sumarizing here), we put on fat and eventually we add so much fat that our insulin production goes into overdrive, then it shuts down... enter Type II Diabetes.  Also, during the summer, nature had us sleep less.  For one, the sun is up longer, secondly, we spent every last minute foraging for food before winter.  Eating lots of carbs tricks our systems into thinking we should be awake and we should be stressed about gathering food.  Because we can get us much food as we like, we stress over other things instead.

Sleep hasn't come easy for me for the past year.  There, my secret is out in the open.  

For the last 3 weeks, I've been kicking my carb addiction.  Those who know me, know I'm pretty sensitive to food, so I've also started eating paleo (no grains, beans, dairy).  The first few weeks were awful.  I felt like crap - especially in the afternoons.  My body didn't know how to live off fat and protein and veggies with just a bit of fruit around workouts. Eventually my system figured it out.  Now; now I wake up before my alarm, I can't stop myself from falling asleep at night and during the day, I have tons of energy.

And the cravings for carbohydrates, well - I still think chocolate melted all over a banana sounds like heaven, but I'll take the good sleeps instead.

The man...

The man I am speaking of is Barry Near, owner of Trek Store Toronto and Barrie.  For those of you who have had the privilege of meeting Barry, you know that he is passionate about cycling and always giving to the cycling community.  As the wife of the Barrie Trek Store manager I have been privileged to receive much generosity from Barry.

So... when Barry asks you to do something - you just have to DO IT!  Hence the birth of my blog.

My goal with this blog is to share with you the adventures of my life as a full-time teacher and part-time athlete whose perfectionism is forever pushing me to be smarter, faster and healthier.

Time to mark some exams...