Motivation Comes From Within

Sometimes, I have a tiny bit of problem with motivation.

Don't get me wrong – I manage my own time well enough. I set goals in the real world and are able to see them through to completion, often with great success. I tend dream big and on occasion manage to bring even the most outrageous plans to fruition. I have no problem with sacrificing something if it is a means to an end.

But despite it all, when it comes to certain things (or perhaps more accurately certain times of the day) I have a motivation problem. Case in point, this morning – my son arrived at my bedroom door the allotted time for our prearranged work out date (5:45am for anyone interested) and my (gloriously creative) brain quickly calculated everything needed to convince my son to allow me to sleep for another 45 minutes or so. Turns out my son didn't need a whole bunch of convincing and we both went back to sleep.

When I woke up I was disappointed in myself. When I went to bed last night I wanted to get up to go to the gym, I really did. I was even looking forward to it. So what’s wrong with me? How can I motivate myself in the morning and stop sabotaging my best laid plans?

As you might have guessed I am not a morning person. I know for a fact that I require about 7 hours of sleep to feel rested, but I like to stay up late so often there are just not enough hours in a day to have it all. This is no excuse, though. I have decided that my health and wellbeing are a priority for me and I have to find a way to motivate myself to carry through with this goal.

So it was pretty fortuitous this afternoon when an email arrived from livestrong.com about understanding motivation. Not one to believe in coincidence, I opened it up right away.

I learned there are "six stages of change," which according to University of Rhode Island researchers James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente, are: pre-contemplation (mindset before you even think about making a change); contemplation (the stage in which you start to think about making a change); preparation (the stage during which you start to get ready for a change); action (in the midst of changing); maintenance (remaining consistent with new behaviors); and relapse (falling back on former behaviors). You can read more here.

Currently in my grand scheme of things I am somewhere between preparation and maintenance. I set a goal to make myself healthier in 2010 and I have put into action all sorts of lifestyle changes in my near success of achieving that (not quite there yet). I really want to get started with this new phase of working out that I have outlined for myself, which of course will aid in the maintenance of the other changes I have made.

What I need to do:

1. Remind myself why I WANT to do this.

2. Outline a specific plan for getting this new workout regimen in place for the next three months.

3. Solicit support in achieving this goal (in this case go with my son).

4. Realize that I am also helping him achieve his goals and I need to be supportive.

5. Start small and celebrate the continued successes.

6. Do some form of exercise daily - make it a habit.

7. Go to sleep earlier on the nights before work out mornings.

The next morning the alarm will be going off is this Thursday. I'm hoping now that I've declared my intentions publicly that I will hold myself accountable. The best motivation is self motivation!

Rock Down to Empire Avenue...

Empire Avenue is a new Social Networking site developed by a team of people based out of Edmonton, Alberta. Empire Avenue is "a revolutionary online influence stock exchange" that measures influence and allows users to convert that influence into revenue.

Empire Avenue is still in the beta testing stages and will go public on July 20th 2010. If you would like an invite to get into the site before then, please contact me to ask for one.

My stock can be viewed and purchased here. Duncan is here, Wesley here and Raven can be found here.

Down the Rabbit Hole...

Everyone Needs an Escape Hatch

Available escape routes during emergencies when other means of egress are not readily available can be an opportune gift. It can also be, as Alice discovered when she tumbled down the rabbit hole, a means to adventure outside (or inside) our mundane world.

And in this crazy world where stresses and responsibilities sometimes force us to forget to play, everyone could use an escape hatch. I'm going to remember where I found this one - just in case of "emergency!"

School's Out for Summer!

Junior High is done!

Today was the Junior High Award Ceremony at Raven's school. Raven earned her IBMYP Diploma and graduates grade nine with honours. In addition to these distinctions she received Best in Subject Awards for Art, Mathematics and English.

All her determination, hours of homework, studying, flash cards and practice tests have paid off. Congratulations Raven - you deserve it!

Losing It

They say you learn more from losing than you do from winning. I think this is, for the most part, true - yet depending on what exactly it is you are losing you might just be winning too!

This year I have lost about 55 lbs. I say about because, as anyone who has struggled with weight gain and weight loss knows, this has been a complicated process where some pounds have been lost over and over again. The picture above shows me last July (left)and me this month (right), significantly sized differently. Mostly this weight loss is a result of a medically supervised diet I partook in from January - May of this year, but more important than losing this weight is what I learned while I was losing it. I learned alot but I am going to select five things to write about here.

The first thing I learned is we eat way too much in our culture. We are taking in so many extra calories our bodies have no choice to store them as fat even if we are active. While for the most part this is a straight numbers game (eat calories over what your body needs and you will gain weight, eat less and you will lose) not all calories are the same. You need to choose your food wisely and cut the portion sizes - way down.

The second thing I learned is that we do not drink enough water. While I was on my low calorie diet I was drinking between 60 and 100 ounces daily. It is amazing the affect drinking water can have on your weight loss efforts, but also it makes you feel great and get's your system moving again. Try it.

The third thing I learned is that most of us have a metabolism that isn't functioning properly (mostly due to over eating or eating the wrong/same foods) and that no matter how hard you try to lose weight if your metabolism isn't working you're not going to lose anything. You might just have to kick start it first.

The fourth thing I learned is that sugar is in everything and you have to avoid it. I switched to sweetners and eliminated refined sugars (no junk foods, etc) and tried to focus on the raw foods with the lowest sugar counts. This change made a noticeable difference right away.

The fifth thing I learned is that protein is used by your body and not stored. You need to eat protein as an important part of any diet regime so your muscles can function properly. Since your body eliminates the protein that you don't use or need you can focus on good protein sources as a healthy part of a weight loss diet.

Father Can You Hear Me?

Kananaskis Country is beautiful country

Once we left Canmore (our trip in early June) we decided to drive through the mountains, along the Spray-Dorien/Smith Trail, into Kananaskis Country. Duncan and I drove part of this roadway ten years ago but we've never done the entire trip. Needless to say it was beautiful, but better than the more populated touristy areas in the mountains there was hardly another soul. Just us and the wildlife. We stopped along Spray Lake (pictured above) and the silence was wonderful - just the wind in the trees and some loons calling to each other across the lake. These are the types of places in the world that soothe me and put me at peace. In the absence of noise you can hear... everything.

If you're interested, pictures from our Kananaskis Country road trip can be found HERE.

Faith is an island in the setting sun...

But proof is the bottom line for everyone.
~Paul Simon

I'm Photoblogging!

Don't forget to check out my other blog at fotojournal.com. It's direct link is here.

Also, the links to the left of this post house my other homes on the web, come along and visit me there!

It's Ballet Recital Season!

Raven on stage for her recital dress rehearsal

Raven dances with the Lecky School of Dancing, which holds its annual recital at the Citadel Theatre (on the Shoctor Stage). It's a wonderful venue for such an event and it's always lovely to see your child perform on stage in front of an audience. Her actual recital is this weekend, but it's a lot easier to take pictures at the dress rehearsal of her up on the stage. I love this picture because of the smile on her face at this moment - I know she loves what she is doing!

I Can Haz Geek Pedigree?

Tonight I attended the inaugural Edmonton Girl Geek Dinner. It was a wonderful gathering of like minded women from the Edmonton area and I am very much looking forward to being a part of this new community.

At the dinner we were asked to introduce ourselves and part of that introduction was to describe what makes you a geek. This got me thinking about my geek "credentials" and as I listened to everyone list off theirs I realized, with some shock, that EVERYTHING I do makes me a geek. More so, I've pretty much been a geek forever - even back when it wasn't cool to be one.

I'm not sure if people still hold stereo types of the traditional "geek" but for all intents and purposes I look/act fairly normal (or so I think). So, what makes me a geek under the hood?

1. I love the internet. Twenty years ago I was using the "internet" in the army before it was even the internet. Two years later I was Co-Sysoping a 10 line STS Chat system, using new technology called "dial up" from a computer in my own home - a snazzy new 486 that I don't even want to think about how much I paid for. The internet has come a long way since those times. I grew up in, and live in, the Internet Age.

2. I work in the Technology Industry. I work at a local software company called Yardstick Software Inc. and we offer a proprietary software that allows our business partners to offer training, testing and certification - online, of course. I'm not a programmer but I work with some real uber geeks so that's got to count for extra, or something.

3. I'm a Gamer. I spent many childhood hours in a place called an "arcade" plunking quarters into games like Pac Man and Space Invaders, but my life changed forever around the age of 10 when my Dad brought home our first home game console - the ColecoVision. Sometimes I would wake up in the night actually hearing the sounds of Frogger even though everyone was asleep. By 1985 Nintendo ruled in our house and gaming was an entrenched part of life. I once actually got tendinitis from playing too much Super Mario/Duck Hunt and had to wear a wrist brace for 6 months! I'm nearing 40 (no, not really) and I still game - Diablo2, Civilization, Dragon Age, HALO, etc. I can't imagine a time in life when I won't want to game. Actually I like to imagine a time in life where I am inside the game itself... holodecks, virtual reality, the matrix - here I come!

4. I love all things SPACE. From the first time I stayed up all night just to watch the stars move across the sky, to the first planet I ever saw, the first time the Space Shuttle flew over me to actually knowing someone who was on the International Space Station... my dreams have always been somewhere in outer space. When I was a child I wanted to be an astronaut more than anything else and even though today that is highly unlikely I now live in an age where space is perhaps more accessible to me than it ever could have been then. If I wanted I could even be buried in space!

5. I love technology and the gadgets that come with it. I remember taking a course 20 years ago to learn something called DOS so that I could use the new "laptop" computer we had in the army. While I was fairly impressed with that piece of kit back in the late 80's/early 90's I still would not have guessed (and if you had told me I probably wouldn't have believed you) that I would one day carry around a small tablet like device that could access the entire world via the internet, satellite and telecommunication systems - in my pocket. Today I can't imagine not using a tool like my iPhone.

6. I love the geekdom of popular culture. Before I was even 7 years old there was Star Wars, Battle Star Galactica and then Star Trek to cement a life long obsession with Science Fiction (I recall having quite the crush on Starbuck - then fast forward to 2004 to find I once again had a crush on Starbuck). I later developed a love affair with fantasy (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter), anything that offered some form of societal critique and the the early internet meme's like HI BINGO, All Your Base, Weeeee and Badger, Badger).

7. I live in a Social Media world. Given my relationship with the internet, online social networking makes a lot of sense to me and my web presence grows accordingly: I've been blogging since 2003; Flickring since 2003; Facebooking since 2005; Twittering since 2007; and, starting this year trading on Empire Avenue. I have, and will continue to, used social media to meet people in places I travel too and to converse with celebrities whom I previously would not have had access too.

8. I have Geeky hobbies and interests. This is where it is hard to nail everything down. I collect things (like hockey and Pokemon cards, rocks and shells); I love firearms, explosions, jet fighter planes and am awed by weapons technology; I appreciate a good car (a Lamborghini will make my heart skip); I am interested in both politics and religion and LOVE to mix them whenever I get the chance; I adore "end time prophecy" and know more ways for the world to "end" than most people dream up in their nightmares; I am fascinated by things like UFO's, crop circles, ghosts, theoretical physics and afterlife studies. Oh, and Terry David Mulligan signed my grade 12 yearbook at my graduation. Now that's geeky.

Technology is propelling us into the future by leaps and bounds but to me it seems like a logical flow. The events of my grandfather's lifetime must have seemed more abrupt - he went from horse and buggy to man on the moon, what a whirlwind of excitement that must have been. I'm not sure I can imagine the kind of world my children will raise their families in but I sure am game to get my geek on!

The Bear Necessities

Duncan's Black Bear

This past weekend Duncan and I traveled south to visit a town called Canmore. Canmore is a small mountain town, nestled in the Rockies, which is close to almost everywhere you want to go in the Banff National Park area. Duncan and I first stayed in Canmore about three years ago and since then we've been steadily drawn back time and time again. We look forward to our next trip there and sometimes even talk about moving there. It's fair to say that Canmore is very much a Duncan and Allie kind of place and we've become quite enamoured.

This past trip saw Duncan as a speaker at a conference so I had a day in Canmore largely to myself and then the rest of the time we spent together exploring the area around Canmore. The day we left to go home we drove from Canmore south along the Spray Lakes Road into Peter Lougheed Provincial Park (in Kananaskis Country). We've never been all the way along this road and I must say it's some beautiful territory. I can't wait to get the pictures online. We saw loads of wildlife, including this black bear (pictured above), who literally appeared about 2.5 minutes after Duncan said "I hope we see a bear on this trip." Soon the pictures from the trip will be viewed here.

Fears No Foe

Family picture June 6th 2010

Our family commemorated the 66th Anniversary of D Day in a special way today - we attended Wesley's Graduation Parade at the Battle School that marked the end of his 4 month long Basic Military Qualification course.

Graduation Parade

Wes has been participating in a program that offered a Co-Op opportunity for high school students to complete their first stage of military training during school hours and receive credits for work experience towards their diploma. So he attended school in the morning and BMQ in the afternoon and also take two of his courses as correspondence on his own time - nothing short of a challenge, but he was focused on what he wanted to do and he got it done.

Wes now starts parading with his unit, the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, this Wednesday. I know he is excited. I hope he is proud of what he has achieved because I know we sure are.

My Summer Bucket List

Inspired by Duncan, Alex, Andy and James, I too am putting into writing a list of things I would like to do this summer.

Albertan summers tend to be too short (imho) so you need to be organized to make the best of it. In addition, this summer is already getting quite full with the kid's activities so more than ever I need to focus to ensure we don't lose a moment. Obviously my summer activities will include supporting Duncan in his stated desires but I won't re-list anything he's already posted and hopefully my list won't create any conflicts time wise.

It's fair to say that since we have a National Park Pass this year I have been more focused on spending time as much time in our National Parks as possible, which you will note as a theme in the bucket list. So without further explanation, here is the list:

Visit the Fallen Four Memorial in Mayerthorpe
Pilgrimage to Lac Ste Anne
Experience a Train Robbery
Visit Waterton National Park for the first time
Visit Spirit Island in Jasper National Park
Visit Banff National Park
Canoe on Lake Louise
Watch a Meteor Shower at Elk Island National Park
Do a 5km Running Clinic

Less specific desires (but still important):
Go Camping/Hiking (maybe in Lac La Biche)
Get my bike fixed
Spend most of my lunch hours outside
Lose another 10-15lbs (by September 2010)
Try five new foods (I've never tried escargot!)
Continue to photograph Alberta's Grain Elevators

It's worth mentioning as well that I've already hammered off some great things this year, like visiting Vancouver and Victoria, our road trip to Jasper, having a photograph published and losing 55lbs! I'll write more about my diet later and if I can bear it I will post before and after pics for comparison.

Dare to LIVESTRONG!

This year I've been focusing on certain lifestyle changes aimed at living and feeling healthier. I've read and learned a lot about diet and activity but some of the best information I've found is on Lance Armstrong's website Dare to Change Your Life. I highly recommend it, both as a resource and for inspiration.

Introducing fotojournal

I have a new blog at fotojournal, which is specifically for photographers and photoblogging and is a gorgeous looking site (and an easy interface to use). I highly recommend it to anyone who might be interested - please go check it out.

Happy Bloomsday!

Here are Raven's Bloomsday 2010 results:

Finish Time (12km): 1:17:59
Pace: 10.5 mins a mile (avg for age group 14.47 min)
Placed 70th out of 638 14 yr old female runners
Placed 183rd out of 1887 13-15 yr old runners (age group)
OVERALL: 10,981 out of 49,674 runners

Faster every year! Congrats Raven!

West Coast Spring

Those that know me well know that the winters here in Alberta drive me almost right round the bend by the time spring has sprung a province over in BC. The winters here are long, cold and brown (and did I mention frozen?).

Since I can't make spring come any faster here I find that I have to take myself to spring, which means a semi annual trip out to the coast to smell the flowers, sit on the green grass and enjoy the sunshine. Traditionally it means I hook up with my childhood best friend Dawn and we hang out near and around her home for a weekend while I get my fix.

This year however, since our kids are older, we decided to travel together. We spent two days in Vancouver and two days in Victoria. We had a tonne of fun and talked and ate things that were not even remotely on my diet!

We were meant to be in Victoria for the Royal Visit of Princess Alexandra to my unit (the C Scot R) but her trip was canceled due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland. That was a little bit disappointing but did not deter us from carving out a grand adventure in our own style. You can see pictures of Vancouver HERE and Victoria HERE.

Happy Easter Weekend!

For Easter long weekend Duncan and I went to Jasper for a mini vacation. It was the first time in a long while that the kids were gone for a weekend to visit their Dad in Calgary so we thought it was the perfect opportunity for a spring road trip!

Canada's National Parks are beautiful in all seasons and I love exploring them at every chance. April seems to be a wonderful time - everything remains frozen but it's not too cold to enjoy yourself. This year we actually have a Parks Pass so I am hoping to get in as many trips as possible to Jasper, Banff, Elk Island and perhaps even Waterton.

Here we are standing together on the frozen Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, one of the most beautiful places in the world. A passer by was kind enough to take our picture for us.

You can see more pictures from the trip HERE.

Published!

My picture of Walt Disney World's Typhoon Lagoon was published in The Color Companion to Walt Disney World (March 2010) - it's on page 326! I took this picture on our family trip to Walt Disney World in 2008.

Turning 38 years old...

Happy Birthday to me!

For my birthday this year I was spoiled! Gifts, new clothes, a 5 hr Spa Date, two meals out, a trip to IKEA and gorgeous weather that made me happy! A wonderful day spent with my family to celebrate getting one year older (but not yet 40). 2010 has been a really great year so far and I think this was one of my favourite bdays of all time. Thanks everyone for making my day!

Congrats Private Smyth!

Enrollment with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment

Last year, on his 16th birthday (in July) Wesley submitted his application to the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve. After a five month recruitment process (that included exams, training, physical testing and a few minor paperwork glitches) he was accepted!

We are very proud of him and his efforts. This is what he has wanted to do since he was a small boy, but more importantly a year and a half ago he asked what it would take for me to give permission for him to enlist at 16 - I told him and he worked tirelessly towards achieving what I had outlined for him. This is a result of that focus, hard work and determination.

The Olympic Flame

The Olympic Flame arrives at the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton, Alberta on its way to the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

sights unseen

Raven standing outside the Works Gallery Space in Edmonton, where her Still Life in watercolour is showing in the "sights unseen" art show (running from Jan 11th to Jan 15th, Works Gallery Space 10635 - 95th Street).

It was a delight to go there with her on Opening Night and see her art hanging on the wall. This is certainly an activity I could get used too!

Merry Christmas!

Baby, It's Cold Outside...

Here is a graph showing the "14 Day Trend" for Edmonton, Alberta:


The white line is our historical average daily high temperature (around -5°C for this time period). The yellow line is our projected/expected daily HIGH temperatures... Looks like starting Friday the temperature is set to plummet into the realm of -30°C and colder. Time to buy a winter jacket?

UPDATE: Edmonton was the coldest place in North America Saturday night and the second coldest in the world! We registered a new record low of -46°C (-59°C with the windchill). You can read more here: Only Siberia Was Colder (Edmonton Sun 14 Dec 2009)

The Larks Still Bravely Singing Fly

Happy first full day of Fall Edmonton!

I've done my best to try and enjoy this day - lunch on a patio, ice cream with my hubby and BBQ with family to come. This is gorgeous weather, who knows how much longer it will last? Seize the Day!

Happy 09 09 09!

Did you know that September 9th 2009 is the last of the single-digit dates for another 992 years?

Birthday of a lifetime!

There are many reasons to celebrate/recognize today. We have our own reasons!

Anniversary Trip Part 2

We flew over the Columbia Icefields on the way home

I finally got the pictures from the second half of our anniversary trip in July finished and posted (Part one was our trip to Victoria). We took the train up island, from Victoria to Courtenay BC, to visit with friends and explore areas where I'd never been, like Mt Washington. It was a great choice, lovely and relaxing, like we got two trips in one. In a way I guess that's what we did! You can view the pictures here.

And the Enlightened Savage is....

You think I'm going to tell you? Head over to the ES Nation and read it for yourself!

The State of the Nation

I have long been, perhaps more than, a fan of the Enlightened Savage. I, like many others in Alberta, enjoy his contributions to our political dialogue and find them to be always relevant, of a high calibre, honest and fair.

I've been considering all of the differing opinions in this anonymity debate going on in the blogosphere right now regarding the true identity of ES and I have decided that whether or not ES is anonymous has no bearing on my enjoyment of his postings. I wish ES continued blogging enjoyment (for my reading pleasure) and regardless of the outcome of this debate, I remain a proud member of the ES Nation.

And you too can show your continued support by purchasing and wearing Alberta's infamous SavageWear, just in time for the fall fashions.

Anniversary Trip Part 1 - Victoria BC

We celebrated our wedding anniversary with an adventure to Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It turned out to be both a perfect bookend to our anniversary trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia last year and a great way to be reminded of our Honeymoon trip five years ago.

The Fairmont Empress Hotel

The Empress Hotel is part of what makes Victoria's inner harbour and downtown area. I couldn't resist taking many pictures of the empress from all angles. The Edwardian château-style hotel was designed by Francis Rattenbury (the same man who designed the Parliament buildings) for Canadian Pacific Hotels and completed in 1908.

The BC Parliament Buildings at night

At night the BC Parliament buildings are lit up by over 3000 lightbulbs, making it the most spectacular part of the Victoria night skyline (it dominates the day time skyline as well). This is the iconic view that most people associate with Victoria.

Traditional Victorian carriage rides

We almost took a carriage ride around Victoria... It really was fun to be like a tourist in Victoria while on our vacation, doing as the tourists do. But since I grew up on Vancouver Island I just couldn't bring myself to pay the amount of money they were charging the tourists for those carriage rides (99.00 each for 15 minutes!) so every time we did go to get a ride I changed my mind!

Whales are a sight to behold

In sharp contrast to the carriage rides the money we paid to go on our whale watching tour was worth every penny - and I'd recommend anyone going to Victoria do it. For three hours we zipped around the waters off of Vancouver Island (and the San Jaun Islands in the USA) viewing spectacular scenery, jumping the wakes of bigger boats and, of course, enjoying the wildlife. We saw Killer Whales (two resident Orca pods that we stayed with for an hour), seals and porpoises (which were too shy for me to get a picture of). So much fun I wanted to do it again as soon as I got back.

The totems of Thunderbird Park

Thunderbird Park is an awesome greenspace (of which Victoria has a lot) beside the Royal BC Museum and across from the Empress Hotel. It's a lovely place and we enjoyed laying in the grass here together, absorbing the sunshine and watching the people go by.

A Hero's bagpipes return home

One of the reasons I wanted to go to Victoria on our next trip was to reconnect with the history of my unit, The Canadian Scottish Regiment, which has it's home and Battalion Headquarters here. In particular I really wanted to see Piper Richardson's bagpipes, which had recently been found. Richardson won the Victoria Cross for "most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when, prior to attack, he obtained permission from his Commanding Officer to play his company "over the top". As the Company approached the objective, it was held up by very strong wire and came under intense fire, which caused heavy casualties and demoralised the formation for the moment. Realising the situation, Piper Richardson strode up and down outside the wire, playing his pipes with the greatest coolness. The effect was instantaneous. Inspired by his splendid example, the company rushed the wire with such fury and determination that the obstacle was overcome and the position captured. Later, after participating in bombing operations, he was detailed to take back a wounded comrade and prisoners. After proceeding about 200 yards, Piper Richardson remembered that he had left his pipes behind. Although strongly urged not to do so, he insisted on returning to recover his pipes." I've often thought to myself I would follow bagpipes anywhere and this piece of history has always been close to my heart.

As you can see we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in Victoria (it's taken me this long to get the photos up online!), which was the first part of our trip. You can see the rest of our Victoria Trip here. Part 2 of the trip should be up soon.

One Giant Leap for Mankind...

I would not be born for another three years, but this event would change the life I was to live. NASA gave me my heroes and fueled many of my dreams. I spent my childhood nights exploring the night sky, peering upwards and dreaming of being an astronaut and where the human race might possibly be going in the future. I didn't have to sleep to dream.

Still, years later, the heavens hold my fascination. I love that I grew up in the space age. Happy 40th Anniversary of the Lunar Landing NASA. And thank you.

Sweet Sixteen

My Birthday Boy

Wesley has had a great year - I am so proud of him! I wish him many many more years of happiness and great success!

Happy Anniversary to my Somebody

I want somebody to share
Share the rest of my life
Share my innermost thoughts
Know my intimate details
Someone who'll stand by my side
And give me support
And in return
Shell get my support
She will listen to me
When I want to speak
About the world we live in
And life in general
Though my views may be wrong
They may even be perverted
Shell hear me out
And wont easily be converted
To my way of thinking
In fact shell often disagree
But at the end of it all
She will understand me

I want somebody who cares
For me passionately
With every thought and
With every breath
Someone who'll help me see things
In a different light
All the things I detest
I will almost like
I don't want to be tied
To anyone's strings
I'm carefully trying to steer clear of
Those things
But when I'm asleep
I want somebody
Who will put their arms around me
And kiss me tenderly
Though things like this
Make me sick
In a case like this
Ill get away with it

Happy Canada Day, Eh!

That Time of Year Again

Another school year finished! Let the summer vacation begin - and by that I mean could we please have some warm/hot weather, green grass and flowers? I don't know what's up with our seasons this year but winter was too long, spring too late and now we have no rain for anything to grow!

But enough about the weather and more about my Honours students. They both worked really hard this year and I am proud of them! Congrats you two!

Wesley completed Grade Ten with Honours

Raven completed Grade Eight with Honours

Spring in the Canadian Rockies

I finally finished getting all of the photos up from our weekend trip to Banff National Park in April. Duncan and I had an amazing weekend exploring the park together and we really did manage to make the most of our two days there together. Here are some highlights of the trip:

From the Top of the World

I highly recommend a trip up Sulphur Mountain on the Gondola if you are visiting Banff National Park. This was my first trip up and I found it to be the highlight of my trip - the views were amazing! In this picture you can see the Bow River snaking through the Townsite of Banff on its way to Calgary, the famed Banff Springs Hotel and Lake Minnewanka in the distance (top left).

Banff Springs Hotel with Wapiti

Spring is the perfect time of year to see Elk herds. This group of Elk we watched forde the Bow River while we were visiting the Bow Falls. We walked over through the Banff Springs Hotel Golf Course and caught up with them to take this shot. Sulphur Mountain can be seen in the background of this picture, where we also enjoyed some time in the hot springs.

Into the Wardrobe

We found this old/abandoned freestanding gateway alongside the Bow River whilst exploring. We couldn't resist going through it - and into the magical world that awaits those with an adventurous spirit in the heart of the Canadian Rockies...

It's still winter at Lake Louise

We traveled up to Lake Louise to see the Glacier as we haven't been there for about 4 years. We were only half surprised to find that it was snowing there - it is a bit higher in elevation than Banff. The view of the Glacier was mostly obscured by the snow, but it was gorgeous anyway. We enjoyed an amazing meal at the Chateau Lake Louise and headed back towards Banff as the areas around the Chateau were closed due to the spring/winter conditions.

Life on the Edge

The Mountain Sheep of the Rocky Mountains are fabulous creatures and we were lucky enough to find a large herd while driving the Lake Minnewanka Road loop after we returned from Lake Louise. Living remnants of the ice age, these big horn sheep are uniquely suited to living in the Rocky Mountains.

You can see more pictures from our Banff Trip here.

Cleanliness is Next to Godliness...

Turns out that the first step in preventing the spread of any kind of virus is the easiest for us to do - increase the quality of our hygiene and health habits. This means that simply washing our hands regularly (the CDC recommends that you wash with soap and warm/hot water for at least 30 seconds while rubbing your hands together vigorously) and limiting how much we touch our faces (eyes, nose, mouth) significantly decreases our chances of contracting influenza.

Some other steps you can take to prevent contracting or transmitting the Flu:

• Avoid sick people and stay home if you are sick (coughing/sneezing can affect an area up to 6 feet around the person);


• Disinfect surfaces (desks, counters, doorknobs, etc at the home and office)


• Stay healthy - drink lots of water, get regular excerise, get enough sleep, indulge in a healthy diet, remember your vitamins and reduce your stress;


• Remind friends and family (even young children) to sneeze or cough into the crook of their arm rather than covering their mouth with their hands;


• Consider carrying an alcohol based hand sanitizer for the times you can't get to soap and water;


• Prepare food that you eat with utensils rather than finger foods.

Stay informed about the Swine Flu so you know its symptoms and its severity, its prevalence in your region and what to do if you or a family member becomes sick.

If you live in Alberta and you think you might be sick the provincial government is asking you to call Health Link before deciding to go to a facility. The number is 780-408-5465 (Edmonton), 403-943-5465 (Calgary) or 1-866-408-5465 for all other areas.

Resources for Info:

Health Canada || Alberta Health and Wellness || Center for Disease Control || US Dept of Health || World Health Organization

You can also follow @CDCemergency on Twitter for pertinent updates.

Alberta on Alert for Swine Influenza

Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health is asking Albertans to take precautions against the influenza virus and help stop the spread of infection.

"We are asking anyone who develops a fever or cough and has recently returned or had contact with someone recently returned from Mexico or the southern U.S., to call HealthLink Alberta for advice BEFORE visiting a physician’s office, medicentre or emergency room."

Albertans can call Health Link Alberta toll-free 1-866-408-5465. In Edmonton the number is 780-408-5465 and in Calgary the number is 403-943-5465.

Read the News Release HERE.

Read City of Edmonton News Release HERE.

The Beginning of Wonder...

On January 25th 1985 I saw the Space Shuttle Discovery for the first time. On a three day mission launching the day before, the Shuttle flew over my childhood home on Vancouver Island in BC. I remember that only the second day was clear (clouds are a hazard of living near a temperate rainforest) and I patiently waited outside for the Flyby all by myself.

Since about the age of seven I have spent nights outside gazing at stars and other objects or phenomenon one might find in our skies. I often (and still do) feel somewhat insignificant while doing so, a small being on a tiny planet in the vastness of our universe. This day was no different for me and I wondered about all the things in the heavens that there was to know and discover.

When I saw the Space Shuttle Discovery come into view I was at first excited but I quickly became quite intoxicated with the idea of what I was seeing. There were people on that craft in orbit around our planet and we had put them there. Suddenly, for the first time in my life I felt truly significant. It dawned on me the great potential that we humans, myself included, actually had. It wasn't really the beginning of childhood wonder, but it certainly was the moment that I realized such wonder was justified. If I hadn't wanted to be an astronaut before that moment the dream was certainly set firmly in motion!

I felt the same way seeing the Space Shuttle Discovery again tonight, 24 years later. Obviously, now, I am more likely to find my way to space as a tourist rather than an astronaut but that reality does not dampen the dream that space conjures. This time the Discovery was trailed very closely by the International Space Station and seeing them both together was amazing. As a species we really can come together and do great and wonderful things.

The Story of an Idea

We watched this short video tonight at our Red Cross Disaster Management course. It describes the origin story of the Red Cross movement and the birth of the Geneva Conventions.

When I was in the army we studied military law, the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law - basically the rules of war - from a vastly different (but surprisingly similar) viewpoint than I study it now. Human nature has demanded this body of law evolve (sometimes in leaps and bounds, like after the second world war) because of the new and interesting ways we increasingly find to hurt each other... There is an inherent inhumanity within our humanity, one can not exist meaningfully without the other.

This is both a familiar and unfamiliar place for me. Perhaps it is only my perceived role that has changed within this scenario - to go from a soldier actor to a neutral actor, but it feels like I have come full circle.

Albert Schweitzer (winner of the Nobel Peace Prize) said "When Humanity finally learns to control the elements, when the winds will be quiet and the earth can not be torn apart, when there will be no loneliness, no destitution, no war; when the last hungry man, woman or child is fed, only then will there be no need for the Red Cross."

Humanity. Inhumanity. My struggle has always been to find the appropriate balance. You can't have one without the other.

Look Who's Flying By - Updated

Space Shuttle Discovery

The Space Shuttle Discovery left Earth last night on a two week construction mission (STS-119)to the International Space Station (ISS). This is the 28th shuttle mission to the ISS. The timing of this mission favors sky watchers in North America and Europe, so as long as the weather cooperates, here is a list of times you can see the Flybys:

*UPDATED TIMES *

March 26
SS Discovery 9:38pm - 9:40pm 29° W
ISS 9:39pm - 9:41pm 29° W
(Will appear right after each other in the sky)

March 27
SS Discovery 8:29pm - 8:32pm 45° W
ISS 9:39pm - 8:30pm - 8:33pm 44° W
(Will appear right after each other in the sky)

March 28
ISS 9:39pm - 8:57pm - 8:59pm 27° W
(SS Discovery is landing today)

*UPDATED TIMES *

Times are for the location of Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada. If you are in another location within North America and would like to see a flyby schedule for your area, use this link.

Dreaming of Spring Time

Spring blossoms much earlier in BC

Seems like we will be in the grips of -27°C to -34°C weather for the next little while, with more snow (if that's even possible). I am sure hoping this counts as "in like a lion" because I could sure go for the "out like a lamb" part of March.

I'm Not That Old!

Acting my age... Wait, What's my age again?

Tonight my darling son gleefully told every stranger that would listen that I was turning FORTY. I didn't fully realize the extent of his mischievousness until the cashier at the drug store turned to me and told me that I looked really good "for my age."

I was momentarily speechless, not quite understanding what was occurring, until I noticed that he had turned a slight shade of red trying to stifle his laughter and I put two and two together. "I'm not that old," I informed her, trying to regain some control of the situation - which only made it worse as she backtracked with "oh, of course you're not." So I just smiled.

But what I should have said is that the birthday card my darling, clever son was buying, the one that said "Happy 40th Birthday," was a joke - a mild teasing of my getting older that is all in good fun.

Why I feel the need to reiterate that I am not turning forty (just in case anyone hadn't surmised that yet) I don't know, but I really do.

I am looking forward to the awesome forty year old that will be me when my time comes, but I am not there yet... and what's the rush? I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

Twitter is the New Blog...

Summer's Daydreams has been around now for six years (cue Blogiversary music). Sadly, in the past three years a couple of jobs I've had made it difficult to blog and I seem to have fallen out of the habit.

I want to blog more, I really do. Often I have all sorts of things and opinions rolling around in my head that yearn to be blogged and discussed. I sometimes regret not blogging about some things that I normally would have been all over... watching them pass by while the blog remains too silent. It's true I have a bit of a time issue these days and finding the time to sit and write a blog post has been a small challenge in itself.

But what I really blame is Twitter. Twitter steals the blog's thunder everytime. Sure it only gives me 140 characters but that is often enough to throw my thoughts out there - quick and easy - and that diminishes the need to blog.

Twitter is the new blog.

So I am going to think about how I can make my blog relevant to me again and try to recommit to it once I do. Hopefully I can set the tone for the next six years of Summer's Daydreams.

Happy blogiversary to me...

Tis the Season for Student Politics

I don't know Emily Rowe from Western but this is very clever. Student politics still touches my life for various reasons (mostly Duncan) and I love when it gets entertaining. Boom-Di-Ada!

Dare to Dream

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Girl Effect

GirlEffect.org

Live Your Life on Purpose

While pondering what my New Years Eve blog should be I decided that I wanted to avoid anything too cliche and perhaps focus a bit more on the personal for 2009.

2008 has been a wonderful year for me, perhaps even one of my favourites. It has been a year full of opportunities, adventures and growth, family, fun and friends. In a sense, a near perfect year.

As I gaze upon 2009 there are some thoughts that I have for myself, and one of them is that I would like to be more forgiving. Learning to forgive through out my life has enriched me, my experiences and my relationships in so many ways that I can only be grateful for that first awkward attempt at real forgiveness - an action that brought my best friend of 24 years back into my life after two years of bitterness. All in all I think most people I know would call me fairly forgiving already... but it really is a "work in progress." Just before Christmas I heard a story on the radio about an Amish family who publicly forgave the man who killed their children AND went to his funeral. Knowing what resentment remains in my heart means knowing I have a long way to go to being a forgiving being. I'd like to work on this.

When I think of the people who inspired me in 2008 I find Randy Pausch and Barack Obama topping my list. What I learned from both of these people, for different reasons, was to believe in myself and dare to dream, for if you neglect the dreaming part of life you really can't get where you want to go. My motto for 2009 should be "follow your dreams, they know the way."

The source of my content joy and happiness this year has certainly been my family. We have all grown up in some fashion but have been able to grow together at the same time. Our bonds have grown stronger and that is something I would like to continue building on in 2009. Life has shown me that no matter what else you have going on in life if you don't have your family close to you there is no such thing as true happiness in your heart. This year I got a job that I thought was my dream job and was everything I had been waiting for, but when I saw how much time it was taking away from my family I chose my family. And that should be the case every time: Family First.

As I said so eloquently to Edmonton's Brittney LeBlanc, if I were to describe this year in one word it would be "Change - for good or bad, or perhaps even both, 2008 was about change." Now, as is the result of opportunity that change brings us, 2009 will be clearly what we make of it.

I wish you all a safe and peaceful year in 2009. Happy New Year!

It Makes a Difference to this One

A few days ago Raven and I were returning home when we noticed that there was a fish tank set out beside the big garbage bin. Even though it was -25°c I trudged over to investigate - mostly out of curiousity more than anything else. as I got closer I noted that there was still some water in it and when I lifted the lid off I was horrified to see there was a goldfish in there - nose down and barely moving in the freezing water. I picked the tank up and struggled back over the snow and ice to my home, where I put the tank on my table for it to warm up and hoped that it would be enough for the little guy to recover.

I don't understand how someone could do this. To me it seems a horrific disrespect for life - to leave an unwanted pet outside to freeze when I am sure, with a little bit of effort, a home could be found. It's a act of cruelty devoid of compassion. Sure, it might seem like one tiny insignificant life, an inconvenience easily discarded... but the reality is that we are no more or less important than that one fish. We all go through life depending on the generousity and care of others, and we all have opportunities presented to us to help those we meet along the way. No act of kindness is ever to simple to make an impact in some way.

This reminds me of a fable I heard recently. "As the old man walked the beach at dawn, he noticed a young man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. He asked him why he was doing this. The answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left until the morning sun. The old man politely pointed out that the beach went on for miles and there are millions of starfish, insinuating that the young man's efforts were futile. The young man looked at the tiny starfish in his hand and then threw it to safety in the waves. It makes a difference to this one, he said."

Make Glad the Heart of Childhood

Another Christmas Zooms Past

This has been a great Christmas Season - good times full of friends, family, celebrations, traditions and food. I love the Christmas season and look forward to it for most of the year; things like decorating the Christmas Tree, sending out Christmas cards, seeing the winter come alive with bright lights, and most importantly, the excuse to spend time with friends and family. It's those memories that I will cherish always. For me, that's what Christmas is all about.

Luckily I have a generous amount of holidays, which means time to relax, get reacquainted with my family, read some books, play some games, travel south and hopefully, take some pictures. Speaking of which, my Christmas Photos can be found here.

Mommy, Santa Came!!!

I woke everyone up this Christmas morning

When my kids were tiny the best part of Christmas morning was being woken up by their excited declarations of "Mommy! Santa came! Santa came! Mommy ... WAKE UP!" I would drag myself out of bed, watch them go downstairs and see their faces light up when they saw the presents under the tree. If I was lucky there would be just enough time to get some coffee while they unwrapped items found in their stockings. I'm so not a morning person.

Christmas morning activity naturally evolves as children age, but the biggest change to my Christmas morning came seven years ago when Duncan joined our family. You see, Duncan does not usually sleep on Christmas Eve, being excited enough for all the children in the Northern Hemisphere. Our very first Christmas together he awoke at 4:30am and begged to wake the kids up - I resisted of course, but my resistance only bought me a couple of hours more. Fast forward to last year, where Duncan didn't really sleep at all, seems to me like he asked me every 10 minutes if we could get up... I don't know how I survived the next day! I usually employ some sort of blackmail/bribery to try to ensure my long winter's nap but it usually falls on deaf ears.

So this year I made it clear to everyone that we were going to sleep... at least until some time after a six registered on the clock. After making all the usual Christmas Eve preparations I went to bed quite late and I was looking forward to my four hours of sleep.

This morning I woke up with a painfully advanced cramp in my leg muscle - I tried desperately to hop around the bedroom quietly (I had every intention of going back to bed) but to no avail, I awoke Duncan (who had no interest, since it was 6:05am, in going back to sleep). My muffled cries of twisting agony also woke up Wesley who wasted no time in waking up his sister.

And so, ironically, did Christmas morning begin in our home this year.

Warmest Season's Greetings from Canada!

Bright Nights at Hawrelak Park in Edmonton, Alberta

We are celebrating Christmas Eve tonight with a lovely dinner (Duncan made a Roast Lamb!), some fresh Christmas baking, tracking Santa, carols and a sleigh ride through Candy Cane Lane. Our family would like to wish you all a happy and safe Christmas.

A Chance To Be A Little Less Alone

"... and uncountable in our history are the number of men and women, forced by society into marrying the opposite sex, in sham marriages, or marriages of convenience, or just marriages of not knowing, centuries of men and women who have lived their lives in shame and unhappiness, and who have, through a lie to themselves or others, broken countless other lives, of spouses and children, all because we said a man couldn't marry another man, or a woman couldn't marry another woman. The sanctity of marriage.

How many marriages like that have there been and how on earth do they increase the "sanctity" of marriage rather than render the term, meaningless?

What is this, to you? Nobody is asking you to embrace their expression of love. But don't you, as human beings, have to embrace... that love? The world is barren enough.

It is stacked against love, and against hope, and against those very few and precious emotions that enable us to go forward. Your marriage only stands a 50-50 chance of lasting, no matter how much you feel and how hard you work.

And here are people overjoyed at the prospect of just that chance, and that work, just for the hope of having that feeling. With so much hate in the world, with so much meaningless division, and people pitted against people for no good reason, this is what your religion tells you to do? With your experience of life and this world and all its sadnesses, this is what your conscience tells you to do?"

Adventures in Edmonton

It started innocently enough… but then, isn’t that always the case?

A woman in a semi-frantic state approached us at a store in Terra Losa while I was picking Duncan up. She said “My kids are in the hospital. It’s an emergency, can you give me a ride?” We were only about 5 minutes from the hospital so how could I say no to that? We weren’t in the car for more than 45 seconds before she asked me if I could cash a cheque for her. I said “No, I can not” in my best Hillary Clinton voice.

What I should have asked her was if she needed a ride to the hospital, because, well, I just assumed. When I got to the hospital and went to turn in she told me to keep going as she actually wanted to go to a house a couple of kilometers away. That irritated me a little but it was cold out so I figured a couple of kilometers couldn’t hurt.

It only took me a few seconds to change my mind. She looked at me and said “We know each other... the last time my kids were kidnapped you gave me a ride. We went to California.” I glanced at her, thinking this was going to be the longest two kilometers I had ever driven, and decided there was something very wrong with her but that she wasn’t much of a threat.

When we finally got to the street she wanted it was kind of dark and a tad bit too deserted for my liking. She said to keep going to a house down the street with a light on where people were “waiting for her.” That was enough for me; I pulled over and told her this was as far as we were going. She did get out then but walked up to a different house. We kind of had a chuckle at her crazy antics, until I got home and found a cheque book belonging to some guy on the floor in the back of the car. It had a few cheques in it written out for 1000.00 each, obviously forged. So in addition to being used as a free taxi (or perhaps a get away car) Duncan and I had to spend a good portion of our evening in the community police station relaying the story to an officer whom I am sure has heard it all.

Best reaction to my story so far goes to Adam B. who exclaimed “Geez Allie, you’re like frickin’ Gandhi!”

Maybe I am too nice.

The Alberta Meteor Event

Happy Birthday Mickey!

Eighty years looks good on you!

PS I miss you. We should reconnect soon!