Canned Heat

UZOMA: not just a pretty name!

2007-04-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

if you're into knowledge, innovation, canadian economic development, and/or fancified names - check these 2 local Vancouver guys out: www.uzoma.com.

they're brand-spankin new, but they're already well on their way to breaking thru into the great unknown that is Web 2.0!

hi 2000 bloggers!

2007-01-22T15:37:00.000-08:00

so, i randomly ended up on this site of bloggers, not quite sure how. i am, however, getting a lot more hits! hello to all of you who've stumbled upon my pretty basic blog! i've been a bad girl, and haven't blogged in a long time... my apologies! in the meantime, enjoy what i've got, and drop me a line to say hi!

adios, mi amiga

2006-12-28T11:17:00.000-08:00

Around this time of year, in the lull between the frenzy of Christmas and the debauchery of New Years, I often indulge in remembering what my life was like throughout the year closing, and, 2006 was definitely a doozie!

This past year has challenged me, rewarded me, saddened me, enlightened me, and loved me beyond words. It feels like only a blink of an eye ago Rudy and I were making our way through orange county, both sick and in bed for most of the trip - while having cold stone ice cream with friends as many times as humanly possible! All of the sudden an entire year has come and gone, and its pretty freaky! Remember when as a kid, time was your worst enemy? It took foreverrrr until school let out for summer, then it took foreverrrrr for school to come back so you could hang with your friends! Class periods took foreverrrrrr to end so that you could run to the caf and watch your hunky crush from a far .. and now, as each year passes they pass with a vengeance! They zoom by you so quickly its as tho they were never even there..

My life has come (almost) full circle. If there's one thing that this year has taught me, its that though I thrive off it, I'm not the best while dealing with change. After 3 years of living in Vancouver, I finally feel at home. After almost 3 years of being with an amazing amazing person, I finally feel at peace with our beautiful relationship, and confident in letting someone in. I've gone from entrepreneur to public servant. I've actualized a few very substantial personal goals, and the feeling that brings is monumental! I finally feel like I've gained a really healthy perspective on what I want, where I want to be, and who I am. And I really love it, and me! It's funny, as children most of us are taught to be humble, modest, and to not be arrogant. We're (I'm) so conditioned that pride can be dangerous and/or offensive, that we (I) tend to forget to praise ourselves for what good we do (do). I feel like 2007 may be the year where that shifts.

This year has showed me so so much, and really knocked my socks off! I saw the wonders of wild BC first hand - camping on a rocky beach in the Harrison Hot Springs with nothing but a bikini and a shovel (eek!)... I watched my first girlfriend walk down the aisle, and was in awe of just how beautiful my loved ones are, and how my heart sings when I'm with them.. I held my newest nephew just 10 hrs after he came into this world. Its amazing that one day that little boy will grow to be tall, strong, smart, loving, and successful .. I can't wait to hold his hand through out that! I watched the sun set over the pacific ocean in Mexico, while etching my worries out in the sand and letting the ocean sweep them away.. I've decided to take my Masters Degree (!!!) and am SO stoked to be doing that! I'm also learning guitar! Who knew?! I found the most beautiful apartment, and have finally found a place to call home in Vancouver - and have already held some dangerous parties (yowza!) .. I met so many beautiful and inspiring people, and am super honoured to have done so.. and, again, this year I fell in love over and over again .. (sigh..)

This year was radical, and what's awesome is that each year just keeps getting better and better. As I fondly bid farewell to 2006, I welcome 2007 with open arms ..

i need a docta!

2006-11-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

seriously now. i've lived in vancouver for almost 3 years, and have yet to find myself a stand-up family doctor.

(the one i currently see is a cosmetic surgeon/gp ... she's so bloody botox'd i can barely tell whether her lips move while she talks to me!)

So, if you have a great, good, or even so-so family doctor, and is female (preferably), please pass their contact info my way. I'm a self-diagonosed borderline hypochondriac, so please please send me to someone good !! :)

love y'all!

i broke up with her!

2006-10-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

omg! i finally did it! i broke up with my most problematic client! *cue the choir of cherubs singing hallelujah!*

ok.

life is .. uh... crazy. my life is crazy right now. absolutely fucking manic. maybe this is part of growing up, but my days zoom by, challenges plop themselves one on top of the other relentlessly. i have little time for myself, friends, family. and what time i do have seems to be stressed out!!! jebus! thankfully, i think the eye of the storm has hit, and will slowly start to pass. i took a big step (for me) today, and 'broke up' with one of my freelance clients. i dont want to get into specifics, but from day 1 she has been problematic and very high maintainance. i, being the non-confrontational-sheepish-wimpola that i am, had a hugely hard time say no, drawing boundaries (and sticking to them) and keeping on top of this client. this is why i need a partner in crime (enter rudy, stage left). he helped me see (after a very emotional client call this morning at the brink of day - she was the emotional one) that i dont need this kind of drama. sing it mary j! no more drama! she's out of my life - hopefully. ugh.. i still have the stink of that dirty call on my skin. blech!

good news:

1. we're still in our amazing place, and i love it love it love it!
2. we went swimming last night! rudy's cousin has a beautiful olypmic size pool in his condo and we went for a frolick and a steam last night! so much fun!! and swimming laps felt really good on my out of shape bod!
3. we had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend with rudy's family and some friends! i absolutely LOVE thanksgiving and think that its definitely my favourite holiday! (sorry MJ and Tanya for not making it to your place monday night, it was just such a busy weekend, and we were spending family time on the monday... i'd love to make your next one tho! keep me posted, and email ME not just rudy (he's unreliable with the joint emails) hope you had fun!)
4. my sister is almost due to have her baby! Pepper (his prenatal nickname) is due in 2 weeks, and I can't wait to meet him!
5. i stopped drinking coffee!!! 3 days, no coffee. and i'm good! (altho the 2nd day i went to sleep at 8pm and woke up at 730 am!)
6. its almost home time for me, and i'm stoked to see my family and friends back east. can't wait to shop in TO!! 1 more month!
7... i think thats it!

oh, i need a new computer bad... if you know of anyone who's looking to sell let me know! i'm kinda tight on moolah, so used might be the best for me!

peace!

bollox!

2006-10-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

life has been so hectic lately. starting with a whirlwind trip to our nation's capital... a 4 day trip to Ottawa - parliament specifically. i've never felt so patriotic, and proud to be a part of the machine that works for every beautifully complicated person in our beautifully complicated country. it was awesome to be back in ontario, but bizarre to not be in toronto. the air in ottawa was thick with electricity, smog, and heat. there were people on the streets at all times, pubs glowing with jazz, politics, and a tim hortons on every corner. jet lag aside, the trip was fantastic!

then, back to vancouver to prepare for a very gruelling and quite monumental move. rudy and i finally shed our 1 bedroom hell hole and moved right on up to a beautiful 3 bedroom flat right in the heart of the west end. but, right in time for our big move i pulled a muscle in my back, and have been hopped up on muscle relaxants, stretching and advil. its getting a lot better, but the timing couldn't have been worse. i've been walking (hobbling) around like a little old lady, and making sure to bend with my knees. it was a great wake up call tho, and hit home how important health is.
our move was a bit of an ordeal. it took the movers 6 hours from apartment to apartment. the old tenants didn't clean ANYTHING - talk about gross! our building is quite old, and so is the electricity. laptop and pc both got fried as a result, and all the work that wasn't backed up recently made both our lives flash by our eyes. scary shit! luckily, we're able to salvage most of the data on all of the hard drives, but holy fuck... back your work up people!!

aside from work whooping my ass, and a hectic couple weeks, life couldn't be better! i'm stoked for you all to see our new place - it is so so so perfect, and we couldn't be happier! i get to see all my lovely ladies in about a month when i head back to TO for jennie's wedding... my newest little nephew will be born in about 3 weeks!! and my newest pseudo neice or nephew will be born shortly after (can't wait lauren!!), and then both my mom and my bff rayms will be heading back to Van with me to meet all the wonderful peeps who west coast it with me and jam it up on this side of the globe! STOKED!!

so that's me. done - for now ;)

Get down on it!

2006-08-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

so, over the last couple of months some funny and strange things have been happening in the middle of the night, while i'm sleeping. it started out with simple sleep talk - random jibberish that i started to babble to poor little sleeping Rudy and to no one in particular. it then went to me waving at people in my sleep and saying 'hi!' and such.

from sleep talking i journeyed to sleep walking. i ended up waking up in the middle of our living room one night a few weeks ago strong in my resolve that i was in the wrong bed. i remember thinking that i was in the wrong bed with 2 other people, and i just had to get the hell out of there asap!

after that came the night where for no reason i jolted up, eyes open, and began shaking Rudy awake asking him if there was anyone else in our bed. that, no doubt, scared the shit out of him, and he checked around (kinda scared that there might actually BE someone else in our bed) and told me no, there wasn't. i then started to go back to sleep and told him to do the same!

well.. if all of that wasn't odd enough... last night apparently takes the cake... my poor freaked out boyfriend was woken up - yet again, by me, in the middle of the night... only this time, i was snapping my fingers to some jazzy beat that only i could hear - and i was completely asleep. he said that i must have been doing it for some time because it was loud and long enough to wake him up. he was waiting for me to start talking, but all i was doing was jammin in my head!

i don't know what's happening in the middle of the night.. but i'm seriously tempted to set up a cam or something... either Rudy is totally pulling my leg, or something funky is happening in my dreams...

the chick, the jerk, and the other guy

2006-08-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ok. So, Night With TV #2 plays out a little something like this:

Rudy: what should we watch tonight?
Iris: Not sure, lets check the listings...
Rudy: ok, we've got austin powers, mission impossible, full house, jeopardy, that shitty dance off show, the other shitty singing show, the shitty rockstar show, and more shitty reality shows...
Iris: how bout the simpsons?
Rudy: Not on the list.

I seriously can not understand how brilliant shows like Arrested Development were CANCELLED for the crap they've got on TV now... It's like all America wants to watch are weirdo backwoods hoochie mamma's named Brandine trying (unsuccessfully) to dance to Britney Spears songs only to be judged by the stereo-typed panel of The British Jerk, The Ethnic Chick, and The Other Guy! SPEAKING OF WHICH!!!!

They should call TV "All of the Washed-Up Has Been's Wanna-Be Come-Back Shows". Do you people realize that BOTH David HASSLEHOFF AND MC HAMMER are JUDGES on reality talent shows?!?!?!? who approved that??? is this bizarro land! have the masses forgotten how much of a joke all of these people are in REAL LIFE? MC Hammer??? DAVID HASSLEHOFFFFF???? I'm shocked and appalled.

it got to a point last night (several times) where I begged Rudy to let me change the channel from the dung that we were watching! I was SO embarrassed and uncomfortable while watching 'American has talent' (or whatever the F its called) and the shitty dance off show. Something about watching these people hopelessly expose themselves to the likes of former/washed-up cliche'd popstars, and have these said popstars give them feedback (both positive and negative)... *shiver* it gave me the heebie jeebies. ("GET OFF THE STAGE!!" "OMG!" "I can't believe this is on TV!!" and so on)

highlight of the evening: 2 seinfeld episodes back to back - again! I should just cancel cable and fork out the cash and buy the seinfeld DVD's...

what's the deal with cable?

2006-08-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

last night was our first night with cable! what an experience! we watched a plethora of shit - from the weird/lame dancing competition/american idol-like dance off shows on much music, to the city confidential-esque murder mystery shows on the network stations, to the classic movies (a la 3 amigos), and probably the most annoying aspect of tv: full house re-runs! we were saturated with junk! wow! and don't even get me started on the commercials! more than once Rudy and I looked at each other and said 'what have we gotten ourselves into!?'

the highlight of the evening was watching 2 seinfeld episodes back to back followed by a fresh new episode of the daily show! maybe tv's not all that bad after all...?

Finally got my phone!

2006-08-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

Its absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I love love LOVE my new phone! Took it away with me for the long weekend (post to follow...) and it took AMAZING pics, has a soothing alarm tone, and of course has my favourite Nokia ring! i love it!

stay tuned for pics and more updates!

check out Yvonne's blog for details about how you can get the phone!

I'm looking for:

2006-08-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

Got it? Wanna sell it? Know someone else who wants to sell it? Let me know!

MP3 Player - Nano, Ipod, 1 gig or 2... new? used? my MP3 player is busted and I need tunes!!
Bicycle - London Drugs had a sale on for an 18 spd mountain bike at $79 bucks/pop! I missed out and am kicking myself. I am will to spend more than $79, but if its cheap and runs well, i likes it!
An apartment in the West End - Rudy and I are moving (See "New Digs") and we're looking in the West End. Got a place? Know someone who's moving? We are looking for an Oct 1 move in.
A kitten and/or puppy - must be young, we want to train it to go for runs with us! "cute as can be" is a definite asset!

We're biting the bullet...

2006-08-02T13:00:00.001-07:00

So, after years of fighting the system, Rudy and I are giving up... we're ordering cable.

It seems like all my life I've been denied the right to watch TV. As a kid I was always banned from TV and if I was allowed to watch it, it was always monitored in some way. I developed into a (pseudo) latch-key kid, and TV became a really great friend of mine.

Seasons and seasons went by, and watching the goings on in the New York apartments of Seinfeld, Friends, Seattle's Frasier, and of course 732 Evergreen Terrace was my life. I memorized episodes, became mezmorized with character arcs (pfft!), and did what kids these days call geeking out.Thanks to TV I can make small talk at parties, nerd out and quote random lines from various shows, as well, do fancy dance moves like the robot or the running man.

You'd think that with such a strong hertiage with TV I would be more excited to actually have it back in my life again... but I don't and I'm not.

You see... some years ago my friend TV and I had a falling out. I was a starving student, and TV decided to become expensive. I turned to pirating, and TV just found new people to make friends with... people who could afford TV's sweet sweet loving...

I've decided to try and re-kindle the love affair. I'm ramping up for my new favourite shows - LOST!!!!!! and others - to start up again in the Fall, and TV and I will be ready for all of the passion, obsession, and heartbreak!

yay for flickr!

2006-08-01T14:29:00.000-07:00

just spent the last 2.5 hrs resizing, naming, sorting, trashing, and uploading pics to my new flickr account. have yet to actually tag them in my flickr album, so bear with me, and make assumptions gallore about who and what you are seeing ;)

omg..

2006-07-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

so my new phone came BUT! i was out seeing "little miss sunshine" and missed the fedEx guy!!!

AHHH!!! i'm so obsessed about getting this phone. i'm quite sad now.... maybe tomorrow...

and i'm off!

2006-07-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

summer time and the livin's easy! i'm off to galiano island for the weekend; we're talkin sand, surf, and uh.. oh sun!! expect me to be as brown as can be!

west end girls

2006-07-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

so, as the hunt for a new home begins, rudy and i have been seriously considering becoming westenders... there are a ton of really interesting looking (brownstone-esque) buildings that we are going to check out on monday. if all goes well, we'll put our names down on the waiting list, and let the apartment god's do the rest. i'm extremely excited at the prospect of living downtown! Its been far too long since i've been a city girl, and these burbs are killing me! thats what blows me away about vancouver... i've lived in the south granville area for about 2 years and i feel like i live in a suburb! is that an indication of how hip and happening the downtown core is? or, is it an indication of how small vancouver actually is, that 5 minutes over a bridge puts you in no girl's land??

who knows, in 6 months you might catch me strolling down robson in hot shorts, a van dutch hat, stilletto's, and mini-pom in hand! oh oh! and i can't forget my $1800 chloe clutch! jebus...

She's a close talker!

2006-07-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

I'm observant... a little too observant at times. and, now that I am back in the working world, and specifically working amoung a group of about 30 people, adapting to quirks, personalities, and ... uh... alright, I'll just come out and say it: annoyances, adapting has been an interesting experience!

since I love my job so much, and am extremely happy to be here, I've decided to let the little things slide. which is a huge accomplishment for someone like me, who can chalk up all of her possible pet peeves in a person within the first 2 minutes of meeting them. don't get me wrong... I am a lover of the masses. and, whether I've watched one too many Seinfeld episodes, or I'm just completely neurotic, I don't know. Its probably a little obsessive compulsive cocktail of column A and column B ... I also acknowledge that this quality of mine isn't the best aspect of my personality ... but good god! sometimes people just get under my skin!!

here's the situation:

2 days ago:

Close Talking Co-Worker (she's my main focal point in the office at the moment): (charges into my office and scares the living shit out of me) "Hi Cassie!!"
(Shocked and stunned) Me: "It's Iris"
CTCW: "Oh Right! You must get that all the time!"
Me: "Nope... not really actually..."
CTWC: "OK!! do you want to give me some money for a birthday cake???"
Me: "uh... ? "
CTCW: "I'm going around asking for change for a birthday cake"
Me: "ok...?"
CTCW: "its everyone's birthday in July so..."
Me: "right."

Yesterday - In general staff meeting, she's sitting beside me, nodding off and falling asleep as our Regional Director is addressing the team. After agenda is exhausted, we dig into the cake that everyone contributed $$ to. I'm raving to a few people around the table about the best cake I've ever had - the Tuxedo cake from Save-On Foods!! I look to my left (where CTCW is sitting) and she's swaying aggressively from side to side and staring at me (think of Mike Myers as the Hyper Hypo from the old SNL skit from years back):

CTCW: (rocking back and forth and side to side) "I knew a guy who worked at the factory where they make those cakes!!"
Me: (Scared) "oh yeah?"
CTCW: "Yup! He made them!!"
Me: (still scared) "cool..."
CTCW: "he'd bring them over to my house, and we'd eat them!"
Me: "nice"
CTCW : "Yup! They were soooo (increases the rocking) goooood (licks her lips)!!"
Me: (Suppressing full body shudder) "ok..."

Today - I'm walking down the hallway leading to our reception area I hear her yell my name from the other end

CTCW : (she stops dead in front of me - somewhat close) "Hi Iris! "
Me: (inches back a smidge) "Hey there"
CTCW : "I'm leaving today - at 12 (pause) I just GOTTA go! I just GOTTA get out of here! I just GOTTA start my weekend early!!! (starts laughing)"
Me: "ok..."
CTCW : "anyway (she's really close to me at this point), I need to send this contract out, can you remind shannon to get it from elaine at 3??"
Me: "Sure (backing away)"
CTCW : (moves closer to me to close the gap that I've made) "Great! so just send it to this address"
Me: (so awkward, so annoyed, she's SO in my personal space) "Ok"
CTCW : (smiles and steps closer) "Great! OK, I'm off, I"m going to go pick sea shells in a lake this weekend, HAHAHA!!"
Me: (walking in the opposite direction as fast as I can without running) "OK! Have a great weekend!"

end scene.

bloody hell...!

2006-07-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to quit coffee - it makes my stomach hurt.

Well I've traded in a sore tummy for drowsy eyes, foggy head, and all around sloth-like lethargy!

Oh, Juan Valdez ... why must you tempt me with your sweet sweet magical energy potion! BLAST!!!

Hellooo NOKIA!

2006-07-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

What an awesome Monday; I've had a brilliant morning filled with successful client interaction, the 1st meeting with my very cool new manager, and, best of all - I qualified for a brand new and very fancy Nokia Smart Phone!

Thanks to my blog aficionado - Tanya I found out that a very cool, Toronto based, marketing company called Matchstick. They are looking for bloggers for a new Rogers/Nokia promotion. The whole concept for their campaign is Viral Marketing - very very cool! Tanya gave me all of the contact info over the weekend, and I spoke with Yvonne from Matchstick this morning! After answering a handful of qualifying questions ... ta da! I've got my free phone, and awesome accessories! Thanks a bunch Tanya!!

Yvonne is still looking for bloggers, so check out the info below, and conact her !!

I work for a word of mouth marketing company called Matchstick and I’m looking to give away brand new multimedia smart phones to a number of qualified individuals [snip]. Please have a look at the criteria and feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. I am looking for existing Rogers customers who meet the following criteria:

Hosts a popular blog with 400+ hits a day
A current Rogers cell phone subscriber (phone only supported with the Rogers network)
Between the ages of 22-35
Keeps his/ her blog updated on a regular basis with pictures and video
Very socially active

We think you will thoroughly enjoy this product and its features, and if you do, we would encourage you to talk about it. If you or someone you know fits these criteria we would love to hear from you!

Thanks for your time, I hope to hear from you soon.

—
Yvonne
Matchstick Inc.
yvonne@matchstick.ca
416-530-8000

the devil wears orange wedges

2006-07-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

So, today was day 1 in my new orange wedges... running to the catch the bus has never been as entertaining! Lets just say my feet were fashionably sliding out the sides my shoes as I was gracefully treking down the street! These shoes are mega hot, but man am I paying the price! Thank god they're totally comfortable otherwise.

Is there an art to the wedge? have our 70's soul sisters been keeping something from their 2000's wanna be daughters?? or am I simply getting worked in ??

2006-07-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

THINK FAST SURVEY
Finish the sentence:
1. My ex is... fat. (sorry, its the first thing that came to mind!)

2. I am listening to... a very loud colleague talking on the phone about her ear lobes.

3. Maybe I should... take a nap later - i'm a bit sleepy

4. I love my... life, family, and boyfriend

5. My bestfriend(s)... are missed very much!

6. I don't understand... the rules on how you're supposed to conjugate verbs in French [male, female, positive, negative, post partative.. (?!?!?)]

7. I lost... MY YOGA PANTS!!! brand new! argh..

8. People say... i'm a dreamer - but i'm not the only one!

9. The meaning of my screen name is... my nickname as given to me by my lover, Rudy.

10. Love is... powerful and engulfing!

11. Somewhere, someone is... trying to pronounce my last name, without luck.

12. I will always... love my mother

13. Forever seems... awesome!

14. I never want to... sky dive, hang out with a pack of birds and/or fish, eat sashimi.

15. My mobile phone is... getting to be garbage

16. When I wake up in the morning... i hit snooze way too many times!

17. I get annoyed when... people chew with their mouths open and/or insist on being right ALL the time

18. Parties are... made for dancing!

19. My pet(s) are... coughing up a fur ball at my mother's house in Ontario - oh Pierre, mon petit chow chow!

20. Kisses are the best when... they happen in the sun!

21. Today I... ate a lot of carrots

22. Tomorrow I will... try and haul my hung over ass to yoga - without any yoga pants.

23. I really want... to find my yoga pants.

turkey lurkey!

2006-07-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

i know you're out there. i can see your hits. post a comment, or a rant, or something!! don't simply tease me with your IP address, give me something to chew on!! throw me a fricken bone ! ;)

New digs!

2006-07-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

A wise man once told me - if i wanted something to happen, or for my dreams to come true, i had to put it out into the universe and let another amazing soul pick it up and run with it! (or something along those lines)

well, i want something to happen - so here it goes, catch!!

rudy and i are looking to move from our shoebox to something more spacious and inviting!
criteria:

Move date: Sept 30th
of course, we can not move to the burbs, or even all that far from a main artery.
we are willing to go east (cambie, main, commercial), west (no further than macdonald), north (downtown!!), or south (no further than 24th).
north/east facing
we're looking for a 2bdrm, or 1 bdrm + den/solarium.
1 bath is fine, 1.5 - 2 would be better.
carpet or hardwood - doesn't matter
pet-friendly would be ideal, but not a must (we're looking to make some additions to our little posse)
unfurnished
apt or house
a newer building is preferred
elevator would be nice
balcony and parking are not necessary
again, space space space!!
and finally, we'd like to keep it under $1200 if possible.

SO! if you or anyone you know is moving, has a friend who is moving, has property, or knows of any stellar places, please send them my way! We are totally stoked to be getting out of our current place, and are really bent on finding a great space.

Your help is much appreciated!!

also, i'm considering hiring an agent to find us a place (to rent) - what are your thoughts/experiences on that? Any suggestions on how to find the perfect apartment?!

pilates?

2006-07-06T14:33:00.000-07:00

i'm looking for a pilates studio in Vancouver, does anyone have any suggestions?

or maybe a yoga studio that offers decent pilates classes?

its been a long time, shouldn'ta left you... without a dope beat to step to!

2006-07-06T10:50:00.000-07:00

so, i've been enjoying summer way too much and haven't really blogged since April! *gasp*

but i'm back! and after reading Tanya's blog about getting a free phone, i'm determined to whore out my blog and get as many hits and free things as possible!!

that said, whats been going on with me? here are some brief (and soon to be expanded upon) notes:

- i went to Mexico for the first time -

it was heavenly...
i have never been waited on 24/7
woken up to screetching (sp?!) parrots
fallen asleep to the warm pacific breeze and the sound of the ocean crashing into the beach
been harrassed by vendors - talk about customer service!!
i got scortched (again, sp!?) and sunburned - then turned as dark as my dark brown bikini
drank a lot of tequila (one day only) and then passed out - blech!
fell in love a bunch of times, romance is so romantic on a beautiful sunset drenched beach!
lost at cribbage too many times to count! grr!
thought i was going to die on the flight home from LAX ... (then i came home and started watching "Lost" Hi!! Valium, anyone?!)
AND! the best part of the trip (in brief notes) ... i picked up some Spanish! and dirty French swear words! FACHE!!!

- Rudy left for a month to go back to Victoria for his 2nd and final residency at Royal Roads

i was sad and lonely, but spent some QT with Lynne, Karl, Nathan, and Zeynep! WHO I LIKE!!
for the first 2.5 weeks scared the crap out of myself every night before falling asleep, and every time i came home to an empty apt (obsessively checking for scary things behind doors, in closets, in the washroom, and the like).
substituted my boyfriend and roommate for a monkey (you know the one) and pillow (cuddling and such).
had a very rambunxious girl's night! yee haww!
relished in the boy-free (and fart-free) zone that was my apt!!
had fun on skype - its great being able to talk without the echo!!
at the end of the 4 weeks, took a very rewarding and exciting trip to Victoria to bring Rudy home, meet his classmates, and tear up the tiles at his end of res bash! (read: i got really hammered on cheap red wine and danced to "foot loose" "mambo no. 5" and "sweet home alabama" to name a few.)

- i found out my sister Erika is having a baby Boy!!

his nickname is Pepper
and i've felt him kick up a storm in her belly!
love it, can't wait till November!

- i won a 12 day all raw challenge, and felt amazing!

thanks Rudy!

- i was an extra in a film

wow! what an experience!
2 x 14hr days of sitting in the mainframe building, running away from a gun toting disgruntled worker
met some uber cool peeps
had yummy organic snacks!
learned a little bit about the crazy process that is film making!
i'll post the link to the film when i get it...

- i made a major career change!

i'm now working as a public servant for the Federal Government of Canada! YEEE HAWW!
i love it!
i decided to leave design (for now) and persue a career with the gov't.
i'm feeling much more fulfilled ( i will get into more deets on the new job in future blogs)
i get full benefits!
Rudy and i have finally decided to call ourselves Common Law (*gasp!*), because...
he's now my dependent. jebus! little iris is growing up!

i think that about does it for the brief notes, i'll expand on this and more shortly!!

what's been going on with everyone? how has summer life been treating you?

for tanya

2006-06-30T15:04:00.000-07:00

i tried posting this on your blog as a reply, but it banned it - suppose it may be too long... anyway couldn't figure out how to do a guest post and since this topic is a bit outdated, i thought i'd post it here for u!

i'm a day late (times about 20) and a dollar short, BUT i have some info on this thyroid issue...
funny enough, i was just discussing thyroid issues on the raw food board that i'm a member of... one of the other members was experiencing symptoms similar to yours Tanya. here's some info that was posted on how FOODS contribute to over/under active thyroids:

------
(part 1)

Anytime I hear someone say the raw food diet makes them tired I like to warn them about goitrogens. Goitrous foods are foods which prevent your thyroid from uptaking iodine. If you don't uptake iodine your thyroid function can be affected. The thyroid gland producing low hormones can affect your metabolism, hair, skin, nails, etc... so say you happen to have an underactive or sensitive thyroid and you eat a raw diet including many foods on the goitrogen list, you may effectively feel like just sleeping all day, like you took some tranquilizers. So if you want, I can send you the list I have compiled of the foods just so you can make sure that is not the problem.
I think that many people thrive on these same healthy foods because they are not sensitive to them or have an overactive thyroid to begin with. It is very confusing to see someone totally exhausted after eating when another is full of energy. We are all very different.
A short list includes, peaches, strawberries, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, omega 3 seeds and oils, flaxseed, kale....
there are also many foods that promote thyroid function, like coconut oil.... I can post my notes if there is interest.

(part 2)

Ok, here are my notes from reading in some books and on the internet, I post them every once in a while here.
Here are all the foods I found to be listed as goitrogens.
Foods which can suppress the manufacture of thyroid hormone by interfering with your thyroid's ability to process iodide, they are called "goitrogens" or "goitrous foods." Goitrogens can cause a sporadic goiter, a type of thyroid growth.
You may experience symptoms of hypothyroid (listed below) after ingesting any of the following foods:
PEACHES
PEARS
STRAWBERRIES (info conflicts on this one, one site recommended it being good for the thyroid)
POLYUNSATURATED OILS/NUTS
FLAX SEED
HEMP SEEDS
PUMPKIN SEEDS
PEANUTS
PINE NUTS
MILLET
SOYBEANS/SOY/TOFU/EDAMAME- also I suspect may include other foods with phytoestrogens may affect people with high estrogen already because estrogen causes an increase in the amount of circulating thyroid binding globulin (THG). THG is a protein that "soaks up" freely circulating thyroid hormone, turning it from "free" to "bound" thyroid hormone. So even though your thyroid levels might be normal, less of what your have is active. This contributes to weight gain, less energy and dry skin. Excessively high estrogen may diminish the effectiveness of your circulating thyroid hormones.

TURNIPS
SPINACH
KALE
KOHL
RABI
MUSTARD GREENS
CASSAVA ROOT
RUTABAGA
SWEET POTATOES
CABBAGE
BROCCOLI
CAULIFLOWER (ALL BRASSICA FAMILY VEGETABLES)
LIMA BEANS
BRUSSEL SPROUTS
NITRATE-RICH FOODS- LUNCH MEATS
RADISHES (may be beneficial or suppressive)

ALSO AVOID:
DAIRY(also iodine from salt licks, hormones)
WHEATCAFFEINE
ALCOHOL
FLOURIDE (toothpaste)
CHLORINE (tap water)
IODINE(TOO MUCH, OR UNNATURAL FORMS)CAN CAUSE THYROID STORM CRASH which can produce manic-like or psychotic symptoms
PROCESSED FOODS
ANTIHISTAMINES
SULFA DRUGS
LITHIUM (CAN SUPRESS THYROID)-also known to cause acne
CARBOHYDRATES-too much can create chemical in your intestines that suppresses thyroid

All these foods above can possibly interfere with thyroid function.
Just by supplementing iodine and L-tyrosine you may increase the production of your thyroid gland. They are the two things used in the production of thyroid hormone. People with high blood pressure have to be careful with L-tyrosine.
Other supplements that may help thyroid health: Vit A, B-complex, Vit C, Vit E, zinc, selenium, and iron.

Herbs that may help hypothyroid(low thyroid):
Horsetail(helps hair), oatstraw, alfalfa, gotu kola, kelp(natural source of iodine), bladderwrack(iodine), irish moss, coleus foreskohlii, cinamon bark, sargassum, bayberry, black cohosh, ginko biloba, golden seal(short period of time), licorice, rose hips, rosemary

Oils that may be helpful in stimulating the thyroid:
Olive oil and coconut oil(highly recommended, both good for cooking), coconut oil tastes good, it doesn't taste like coconut.

EFA's may be deficient with thyroid problematic people,

Foods recommended for hypothyroidism (low thyroid)that may help thyroid function:

ALFALFA
LEAFY GREENS(NOT KALE or SPINACH)
BEET TOPS
CARROTS
GREEN PEPPERS
PARSLEY
SEAWEEDS
SPROUTS
WATERCRESS
APPLES
APRICOTS
CRANBERRY
GRAPEFRUIT
GRAPES
PINEAPPLE

Herbs listed that may help lower cholestral:
guggul, hawthorne

People who eat goitrous foods and/or have unstable thyroids may experience muscular weakness and constant fatigue, weak slow heartbeat, sensitivity to cold, thick puffy skin, slowed mental process and poor memory, constipation, goiter, hair loss, eyebrow(lack of hair,especially outer third), ridged nails, brittle nails, recurrent infections, skin problems, acne, weight gain, edema, swelling tissues, joint pain, and painful breasts(sensitivity to estrogen).

I saw a paper on the internet which stated the following, but, my gynecologist had never heard of it:
Supplementing iodine is known to cure fibrous breast tissue because iodine and estrogen compete for the same receptors. If there is not enough iodine filling receptors then too much estrogen gets absorbed, producing fibrous tissue(may be early road to breast cancer) and painful breasts. I do notice eating edamame(soybeans, phyto estrogen rich) makes my breast hurt the next day.
People with blood type O may be more suseptible to unstable thyroid function, more likely to be sensitive to these foods. I read that from the author of "Eat Right For Your Blood Type," Peter D'Adamo. He has a website at www.dadamo.com

People with unstable thyroid functions can experience thyroid storm or crash with too much iodine or the wrong form(they may be extra sensitive to iodine supplements), as far as I can tell the most recommended iodine supplement form is seaweed, they sell it in the healthfood stores. I bought the flakes to try.

Even if your thyroid has been tested, many sources say a person can read normal, but still be suffering the symptoms of this problem. Like if you have too much estrogen and too much bound, unusable thyroid hormone. A more accurate test is to take your temperature in the morning(without moving, the first 15 minutes) use an accurate thermometer. Take it about 5 days in a row and if it is consistently below a certain temperature( 97.8) then your thyroid is not functioning optimally. Usually TSH is measured by the doctor first, but, there are other tests that can be done to pinpoint the problem if your temp is low and your TSH came back normal. The temperature taking is the more accurate overall picture of function. A friend of mine read that it is suggested for women take their temperature the morning of their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th day of your period for accuracy. A womans temperature dips low around ovulation.
I have personally noticed extreme fatigue and breakouts after eating a lot of goitrous foods over a course of days and weeks. I end up in bed feeling poisoned. I had loads of hair loss after taking flaxseed oil for six months. It ended abruptly when I switched to fish oil (it may have contain iodine?) and I started having major regrowth. However, too much fish or fish oil can over stimulate. Seems like finding the right balance is the key.When I avoid these thyroid suppressing foods I have many more days with normal energy, better mood. When I supplement L-tyrosine and iodine, I tend to have much more energy, no cold feet at night. Easier to wake up, better sleep. No hair loss. More productive days. My skin seems to be breaking out more, however. On the other side, eating the suppressing foods makes even worse breakouts and I feel terrible. So hopefully since I am feeling better with the avoidance of the food and supplementing the iodine and L-tyrosine my skin may get worse before it gets better? We'll see.Your thyroid gland is resposible for regulating your basic metabolic rate,hair, nails and immune response to the intestines(food allergies, reactions), your body temperature(regulates burning of energy to keep you warm).I put together this list of foods and thyroid information from reading about 15 different articles on the internet and from a few different textbooks(Merck manual). As I read, most of the infomation was repeated and confirmed by most sources, so I assume it is reliable. However, I have no medical training and am not accredited to evaluate the validity of any internet site. I did my searches on google.com by typing in +"thyroid"+"goitrogens" or phrases like +"supresses thyroid", if anyone wants to see the articles I came across. Don't just take my word for this, read on your own before changing anything in your diet, also realize many people may benefit by eating these foods if their thyroid is OVERactive. So each person has their own individual situation and each person needs different food choices, a different balance.I consider the information above valuable because if a person has low thyroid or an unstable thyroid and inadvertantly tries a raw food diet choosing too many foods on this list they may end up in bed with no energy, hair falling out, skin breaking out, etc... They may think it is a normal detox process, which is the only answer people had for me. I knew it wasn't a good thing, I couldn't do it longer that 2 weeks. I suspected it wasn't detox because I did sustain a raw fruit smoothie diet with sashimi and eggyolks with high energy for a month. So it was only when I did the raw salad diet that I felt so tired and sick.

-----

i find that food greatly affects my energy levels, moods, weight, and health and well being in general. i always like to explore more organic ways of dealing with illness or issues before i medicate - especially when it comes to children.of course, its lifestyle is a personal and intimate domain, so i hope that you are able to find what works best for you and continue to maintain your peak health :)

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-05-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

OMG! this movie was SO UBER FUCKING FANTASTICALLY COOL!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!

i went in with zero expectations - i hate tom cruise, and haven't seen any of the other MI movies, so i was seriously impressed, and wow. we even stood in line and bought our tix 45 mins early - by default, all other shows were sold out. and, we ended up going on opening night - again, default. BUT!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

some highlights:

FELICITY (aka Keri Russell) WAS SO ROCK SOLID!!! if i were a spy, SHE is who i would want to be!
i don't think i exhaled thru out the whole movie! from start to finish this movie was KILLER!
i was actually somewhat impressed with Tom Cruise - and speaking as a Tom Cruise hater, that says a lot!(major redemption for cruise - seriously, he was cool in this movie!)
HOLY ACTION!
HOLY COOLNESS!!
phillip seymour hoffman made me SO ANGRY!
there was an ORANGE lambourgini or ferrari or something like that - va va va VOOM!
i dont want to give away too many details... so...
GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Crazy8's Film Fest Trailer

2006-04-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

Check out the trailer for the new film that Rudy and some of our friends are working on!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2NlzTuNVMk&search=crazy8

super cool!

2006-04-25T10:03:00.000-07:00

check out this link - its a website that gives you cool info about your birthday. it may even tell you the day your parents got fresh with eachother :O!

http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp

what NOT to do while making homemade popcorn.

2006-04-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

1. do not use too much oil - since its on high, you run the risk of starting a kitchen fire.

2. do not put too many kernels in the pot - since a little goes a long way with popcorn, you dont want to have too much popcorn in the pot, and run the risk of having the popcorn pop the lid off the pot, and have popcorn spill all over the stove, floor and burner, and then run the risk of starting a kitchen fire.

3. do not crank the heat - it may seem like a good idea at the time, but remember, if you happen to have popcorn overflowing from the pot (because the lid has been popped off by the overflow of popcorn) and the overflowing (still popping) popcorn falls on the really hot burner, you may run the risk of starting a kitchen fire.

4. do not start a kitchen fire.

5. if you do start a kitchen fire, don't pour water on it. you may just run the risk of practically singe-ing your eyebrows and new bangs right off. as well, the flames just get higher - use baking soda or something like that.

6. did i mention, not starting the fire?

7. definitely don't do that!

mischief managed; so long 25!

2006-04-18T12:01:00.000-07:00

the years leading up to me turning 25 were all great in their own little ways. each exciting, scary, funny, memorable, etc etc. what they all had in common was the fear that i had of actually turning 25. to me, it was the age of no return. being 25 meant losing all rights to chaos, frivolity, and unabashed recklessness! then i turned 25.

in the last year of my life i have:

fallen in love (over and over again)
left my ball and chain of a dead end job
become an 'entreprenuer' ( i put that word in quote because i dont even know how to spell it)
taken up a beautiful and healthy lifestyle
debated darth vader's emotional attachment to luke and leia
danced a turkish jig, a regular jig, and a drunken falling over jig at numerous parties
learned an enormous amount about who i am and what i believe in
supported those i love thru hard times, and always had the support from those i love in hard times
rekindled my love affair with reading
celebrated my mom's retirement!
memorized all of the words to all of the star wars, harry potter, ali g, arrested development, and curb movies, shows, episodes!
I LIKE YOU!!!!!!!!
walked into a church of scientology, alone!! (THANKS A LOT RUDY!!)
'i took a trip to garden grove...'
watched my older brother find true love
felt my brand new nephew or neice in my sister Erika's belly!
got to know my beautiful neices and nephews - especially my special German ones!
shared many jolly early mornings at Bon's
got licked by a cow! (yich! their tongues feel like wood!)
learned how to live, work, and breathe someone for 23 hrs/day 7 days/week in approx 600sq ft - and still be in love with eachother!
laughed till i've cried, over and over again
cried (hard) at episode 3 (in the theatre, desperately trying not to let lynn, karl, francois, mj, and everyone else see, only to break down in the car after sobbing 'why did he have to turn bad??? why??? ugh!! its so sad that he turned against all of the jedi!! why?!?' etc etc!)
watched shooting stars and sattelites on soft sandy beaches with great friends
drove up and down the western coast of north america
danced with some of my most deadly demons (and fittingly told them to f off.)
become bossom buddies with all sorts of wonderful people - and sadly said goodbye to some closest to my heart
.. the list goes on and on...

what stands out most to me is a promise that i made at the beginning of this year, to live each day to its fullest! i started my 25th year with this resolve strong in my heart, and now, finishing it today, i really feel like i have seized the day if you will! and what happens when you do seize the day, is that all of the sudden, the year is done, and you're 26. :P

i'm really excited to be here - vancouver, life, with you, etc. i'm more excited to see what the next year brings with it! i am keeping my 25yr old resolve, and adding on another one for 26:
live each day to its fullest while watching those i love be happy, healthy, and successful! there's no greater joy than to be around those that u love, and seeing them happy just puts the (raw) icing on the (raw) cake!

25 was a great year, and I'm sad to see it go...

4 more years till i'm 30!! good god! HELLOOO 26!!!

thanks for being there with me

enough with the slagging ... errr.. slacking!

2006-04-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

alright. i've been lax with the blogging. i do apologize to anyone who gets excited when reading new blogs that i write :P

we're now into week 2 of our 12 week program. that means, only 10 weeks left until we are running a full hour! *GASP!*

today was day 2 of our 2nd week. it was extremely difficult to roll out of our warm, cozy, and inviting bed, but we did it! we went from running 1 minute to 2 mins/rep. 2 minutes, generally, is not that long. but when you go from running for 1min/rep to 2min/rep, 2 minutes is a lifetime! our first day (tuesday) of the 2nd week was reeeeeeaaaaaallly hard! really hard. i felt like i was going to keel over. its amazing how quickly your body becomes accostumed to a habit. every rep at the 1min 10sec mark i would ask rudy how much time we had left - thinking we were almost done. without fail, each rep was '50 seconds!', and 'oh my god... i'm going to die'. lol... thankfully today was much better!!!

one awesome awesome thing that happened on our first run of the week was we had a 3rd running buddy! about 1/4 of the way into our run, we stumbled accross a little curious kitty. this cat came running at us in the opposite direction, and seemed to be happily trotting down the street. well, then all the kitty changed her course and ran ahead of us. it continued to run ahead, and run behind us, until she decided to walk ahead and beside us, as we walked. it was awesome! i wasn't sure if she was intentionally sticking with us, or if we just happened to be on her morning walk path. as we crossed arbutus, she ran into the middle of the road and stopped. we were waiting at the corner for the light to change, and she just stood still and waited for us. it was really cute and really scary at the same time - i was worried she was going to get hit. we joined her and crossed the road and continued on our way!! SO CUTE!

since we run and walk in the mornings, we were thinking we would freak her out once we started running. sure enough, we did. we started our run rep and she spazzed out and took off. i thought we had lost her and was pretty sad... until about 1 min later when i heard a big meow from behind us! i turned around to see where she was and this fricken cat was running down the street after us, meowing all the way!!! we couldn't believe it! unfortunately we were too far ahead of her, and we never met up again. but she definitely made our run really wicked!

this morning - no sign of the kitty.

she did inspire rudy and i into getting a kitten. so, once rudy gets back from res in june, looks like we may be getting a little addition to our posse!!

you had me at fuck off

2006-04-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

my friend had this posted on another site, and i just found the title/subject so amusing, i had to stay true to it lol! enjoy...!

Two Names You Go By
1. Iris
2. Thunder Cat

Two Parts of Your Heritage
1. japanese
2. croatian

Two things that scare you
1.being chased
2. falling off bridges

Two of Your Everyday Essentials
1. music
2. water

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now
1. patchooli oil
2. my old leather wrist band [that i got just after i first met rudy... *sigh :)*]

Two of Your Favorite Bands or Musical Artists
1.jamiroquai
2. stevie wonder

Two of Your Favorite Movies
1. Any Star Wars
2. Any Harry Potter

Two Physical Things that Appeal to You (on others)
1. Lips, teeth ... the mouth in general
2. hair

Two of Your Favorite Hobbies
1. Dancing
2. laughing (they usually happen at the same time.)

Two Things You Want Really Badly
1. NEW SHOES!!!!!!!!!! For god sake! I'm A MESS!
2. health, happiness, and success for all those i love
(3. to be able to run that 1hr in 11 weeks time!!)

Two Places You Want to go on Vacation
1. MEXICO!!!!!! HOLLA!!!!!!!!!
2. London - to finally visit the city that stole my heart at age 8.

Two Things You Are Thinking About Now
1. i really need to wash my hands (i just peeled a juicy orange)
2. can't wait to be out of the office (d'oh! i just got here!! blast 8 hr work days!)
(3. god damn my triceps are like jelly!! i did some tricep work this morning.. thats right!)

Two Stores You Shop At
1. shop? what's that?
2. ohhhh! where you have money and pay for something and then get to wear it/use it/eat it/stand on it/etc etc?
3. yeah, that doesn't happen.

Two favorite web sites
1.http://www.rawfood.com/cgi-bin/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=1&submit=Go
2.http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum

Two Favorite Sports
1. i like to watch soccer
2. and tennis (when a special someone is playing), and recently american football.

Two People who will fill this out
1. i think it really annoys people when i fill these out
2. so i'm going to say no one, and be pleasantly surprised if i'm wrong

Two things you did last night
1. ripped my apt apart looking for my birth certificate - no luck.
2. watched "closer" - don't watch it, its garbage.

Two shows you like to watch
1. curb your enthusiasm
2. arrested development
3. the daily show

Two Favorite People:
1. you
2. and ESPECIALLY you *wink* *wink* (you know i'm talking to you!)

Two Favorite Subjects In School:
1. history
2. law

Two Favorite Places to eat:
1. mongoli grill
2. my sister erika's house

Two things you like about yourself:
1. i love a lot of things, and mainly people
2. i laugh a lot - its fun!

Two thing you ate today:
1. its only 9:18am, so not too much, but i started with a boiled egg (YUM!!!!!!!!)
2. and, an orange - not together, there was a gap.

Two people you last talked to:
1. Bobby (co-worker)
2. Catherine (co-worker)

Two Things You're doing tomorrow:
1. getting up early to have breakfast with rudy
2. working for the MAN

week 1 - CHECK!

2006-04-07T09:05:00.001-07:00

week 1 is over folks!!

today was a tough run. i'm not sure why, exactly. could be a number of things going on - perhaps i'm not eating the right fuel-your-body type foods, perhaps i'm not getting enough sleep, or maybe even not stretching properly... but man! today's run was a biotch. i had to give it my all to keep up with running superstar Hans'n'Franz (he's so good, he's both characters) and then after i got to work this morning i've been feeling might queasy... i think that might have something to do with the fact that i shoved a bunch of vitamins in my gob and didn't give myself enough time to digest... yich.

aside from that, i'm stoked that we made it thru week 1. week 2 will be more challenging, but obviously more rewarding. looking forward to monday!

its friday night, and i'm stoked for the weekend!! hopefully it'll be nice weather and good times. what is everyone up to? we should go dance a jig together!

can't stop, addicted to the shin dig..

2006-04-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

this morning was our 2nd running day. it was fantazmical! we ended up covering more ground - we were snappier than day 1! we both had rough days off (running days off) and were looking forward to our run today - which still blows me away.

anyway! day 2, week 1 - check! can't wait for friday - which is day 3, and our final day of week 1. i'm actually considering going for a run tomorrow morning - an off day! and!!!!!! i get my new runners tonight, which is very exciting since they'll make me run faster ;) and, they'll help my little feet feel better than they have been!

Still trying to figure out bday plans - any ideas??

blech..

2006-04-04T10:53:00.000-07:00

So, didn't go for a run this morning, and infact, it took me about 1 hr to roll myself out of bed! I'm feeling like trash and really really looking forward to our run tomorrow morning. Everything just seems to fall together quite nicely when you start your day with a jump! I am happy to be able to see the instantaneous effects of activity versus none. That being said, watch out 6am! Here I come!!

On another note.. I have to figure out plans for my bday... its April 18th, but we're celebrating on the 21st. Any ideas?? its getting right down to the wire, so fire away! (remember that song.. hit me with your best shot? FIRE AWAY!!)

Run, Forest!

2006-04-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

this morning was Day 1, Week 1 of a running plan that rudy and i have put together! and, for those of you that know me and know me well, you'll be surprised to know that it went really well! i am by no means a runner of any sort. at best, i run down the street to catch busses (that eventually don't let me on anyway...). I've tried to take up running a few times - all unsuccessful. i just never believed that i was a 'runner' or even could be one.

today was definitely awesome tho; we're starting slow, because.. well, we have to :) but! it was extremely satisfying to make it thru the 30 mins of walking/running. we set our alarms for 6am, got out of bed 20 mins later, and then finally got out and started just after 630.

our plan involves intervals of walking and running. week 1 is:

5 reps of 5 mins walking, 1 min running/jogging.

our focus is to keep our heart rate steady and not to over exert ourselves. and, for someone who really despises running, i loved it! if you're interested in taking up running or jogging, i definitely recommend this plan!

its only 11 am and i already feel like i've accomplished so much! hazaw! ;)