2010 - the year can only get better :)

Well that’s it… the Olympics are done! And what a great run it was; at the begin of the games there were comments in regards to our nation not winning a GOLD medal on our own turf since hosting the games in Montréal (’76) and then in Calgary (’88), well we officially killed those comments and now will be known as having won the most GOLD medals (14!!!) by a single country at a Winter Olympic Games!!! There are several moments during the winter games that made me so proud to be Canadian – witnessing our first GOLD won by Alexandre Bilodeau, women’s bobsleigh when we took GOLD and SILVER, Joannie Rochette’s story, Jon Montgomery celebrating with a pint, Team Martin’s shutout victory… but by far the moment that made me scream and shout in jubilation would have to be the last medal event when our Canadian boys won the GOLD medal for men’s hockey. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G game!!! I must say that with only seconds left in the 3rd period when the US tied the game up (2-2) I got a little nervous, but I never lost faith… and 7 minutes and 40 seconds into the sudden death overtime period sid the kid scored the winning goal. Whatta a way to end the Olympics!! Especially one that we hosted…

So now that the Olympics are done… what to do, what to do…? I guess I can focus more on my school work as I’m nearing what feels like a never ending journey to obtain my degree and designation. Only 2 more papers to go and 4 more presentations… then exams!!! Oh dear, I don’t like thinking about that... quick, divert!

I’ve been wanting to try moksha yoga for almost a year… I finally found the time and motivation to just do it! And it’s been an amazing week; they have this 1st timer’s promotion - $20 for an unlimited week. It was definitely different, I’m used to physical exercise were I am over exerting myself, breathing heavily and being able to barely talk in order for me to sweat my face off; whereas with moksha I’m holding a warrior pose and sweating just as much! Weird, I know!




Moksha (90mins class) consists of 40 poses practiced in a heated room (37C to 39C) designed to promote openness through your hips and strength through the upper body while detoxifying your entire body. Both standing and seated poses are practiced, giving a balanced cardiovascular workout (mokshayogaedmonton.com) they also offer condensed 75 and 60 min classes.

It’s pretty intense, the first class I went to I laid inside the room prior to the class start, I remember thinking how nice and humid it was, bearable, but as the class started and everyone’s heavy breathing persisted throughout the 60mins class it just hotter and hotter and the more I dripped of sweat. I like it though and moksha boasts many benefits such as de-stress, relief of back/knee pain, headaches, insomnia, depression, scoliosis, poor digestion, arthritis, and poor posture.

A family friend of mine, Joe, is certain that bikram is where it’s at… I might have to try that one out too. This place charges $30 for an unlimited week. Look out for the verdict bikram vs. moksha in coming weeks.

Oh yes make a shout out to my girl Mary trying to get as much exposure and experience in this market, I played her assistant during the photo shoot of one of my dearest friends, Celeste. Derek had forgotten his cell phone at Celeste and Matt’s place the night prior and I thought I would go along for the ride…

Check out more professional photos here. I caught some good pics of Mary, E3 Studios, doing here thang.

ramblings...

WOW… august 19th is the last time I posted anything! My goodness. Well it’s been far too long and what better wat to get back into it than by some random ramblings?!?!?

Have you ever driven down a street, time after time for a period of your life whether it be for work or because you lived in that area, and one random day you use the same route and realize how much the area has changed? It’s amazing how much it can change in years or even so, in a matter of months!

Derek and I went to see a movie this evening and decided to go to the Grandin Theatre in good ‘ol St. Albert… ahhhh I miss St. A, I used to work out there for a year or two… I totally didn’t even know they had a theatre hahahaha! When going to work I used to use the back roads… and any Edmontonians that read this, just a head’s up --- 167th Ave leading into St. A is JACKED! There’s now a set of lights that lead to the back roads which are all windy and weird that lead you directly to Boudreau Road rather than Campbell Road… so weird, like, what if you wanted to take Campbell to 156 Street? No options! I guess it’s all for the planned Anthony Henday so it’ll be exciting to see what the final infrastructure will look like, those comments strictly coming from the construction manager in me :)

So yes, where was I? Grandin Theatre… that’s a weird one! You gotta go see a movie at this place… so $$$ cheap and oh so ghetto! Ahahahaha, I guess I lived a sheltered life. Oh and have you heard of this ‘Hot 107’ radio station? It’s new to Edmonton, my brother and I switched cars for a bit and that’s what it was set to when we got in… best radio station ever, er... for now. They needed to change it up, I'm tired of what our radio stations in Edmonton have to offer. I never listen to radio stations if I do it’s the Bear in the morning, because of Derek, and sometimes CBC One on the way home to figure the traffic situation… otherwise it’s all Group Step music, I’m doing the steps in my head practicing what I would verbally say in class aloud while driving, it’s all about timing, in any sense of your life… timing/cueing.

So if you ever see me driving and it looks like I’m talking to myself… I’m actually trying to be the best damn GROUP STEP instructor ever!!! Teaching is actually going quite well, I got a permanent class at the club nearest to my house on Sundays @ noon and I might scoop up a class in the southside on Tuesdays! It’s exciting; I’m getting better and better as I teach more and more classes. Hard work and persistence will get the results that you want. It’s all about keeping your eye on the prize and constantly working towards your goal. So if ever… you wanna come to my classes let me know I can get you a pass! Oooooh and tell your friends to come too!!!

eeeeek!

So I did it! I sent in my tape… “what tape?”

As previously discussed in my last post; I’ve been working at becoming a Group Step Instructor at my gym. After taking the 2-day training course you are required to attend 5 rehearsals and then submit a tape of you leading a class of at least 5 people through the whole routine for grading, to see if you PASS or FAIL.

I taped mine yesterday and whoa man! Was it ever nerve racking, I was a mess the whole day… I know I did little mistakes here and there. But like the 2 senior instructors told me, “You did fine!” and that “they don’t expect perfection… so just submit it, AND DO NOT watch it… just submit it! If you’re a perfectionist then you’ll want to re-tape it”. It was like they were peering into my soul… because I am a perfectionist. It took a lot for me to talk myself into not watching it, I’m glad I did because now I can move on learn the new release that coming out and get to tandem teaching so that I can get better at being in front of class. Everyone says I have the personality to do it. I’m not sure when I should be expecting my grade, I’m praying it’s a pass so I don’t have to do the whole taping bit all over again! Wish me luck and keep me in your prayers!!!

oOoOo and the cutest thing ever… Derek knows how to make me smile after a long and stressful day… actually I laughed out loud for this one.

So, NO, Derek didn’t leave me. We were watching some sort of TV programming and I jokingly said, “babe, if you ever lose a leg or I have to tend to you 24 hrs a day because you cannot tend to yourself… I gotta leave you. sorry. I’ll put you in a live-in 24 hr care center… but I gotta…”.

So, yesterday I got a call from Derek, after his doctor’s appointment. Apparently Derek coming off his crutches was a bad idea, he was only on them for a few days and then we rented him a cane… and then after a few days on that he started just hoping around with no support. Yup… again BAD IDEA he just made it worse. He messed up his MCL and ACL, he now was to wear a full leg brace and can’t play any sports that calls for rotational movements for a year and a half! Crazy right!!! And we play on a Recreational Soccer League! Any ways so when I got home after my taping I found that, picture above, I laughed… found my husband… and planted a big kiss on him.

it's been so long...

Well it feels like it anyways…

It’s been kinda slow at work and my New York vacation fell through so I’ve jumped on a few committees to help plan and execute a few functions.

July 11th we are holding a Hockey Tournament, August 8th is my Districts Family Picnic, and August 12th is our United Way Pancake breakfast.

On a personal level, I’ve been working on my Step Class Instructor program, starting my own business and planning our friends camping trip.

As you can see I’ve got my hands full and to top it all off… I’ve got a handicap husband! Bahahahahaha I know it’s not suppose to be funny, but I always laugh when Derek gets hurt, it’s just what I do :)

He got injured last week during our first soccer game, causing us to lose our first and our second game… just kidding! But on a serious note, he was on crutches up until this weekend when we rented him a cane, and had gotten his knee drained as there was blood pooling behind his knee causing it to swell. He is scheduled to see the doctor again on July the 2nd when they will inform him if he needs surgery. Eeeek! On the lighter side Derek will be attending our games this evening to yell profanities from the sidelines.

With that said I’ll try and keep you posted throughout the summer with the happenings in and around Edmonton… OoOoOoO I almost forgot! My Godsister Celeste just started doing standup, she’ll be performing tomorrow (June 24th) at the Laugh Shop at Londonderry Mall. I’ll try and secretly tape it and post something on here… She’s really good!!

Till next time, keep fit and have fun!
-Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod

Dream Job

I was never really active when I was younger… nor in my young adulthood. One of my good friends actually started to encourage me to go the gym, and I got a lot of motivation once Derek had proposed to me… actually to this day, I still have image issues, but I’m the way that I am and I’ll have to learn to appreciate it.

Recently, I’ve been looking at obtaining a part time job, as everyone cannot complain to a ‘lil extra cash here and there. While in my search I considered various points that would help decipher whether or not I would apply such as; hours - part-time/casual, minimal weekend hours, I have somewhat of a life… and I would like to continue working on my health being able to work out, location - it’s all about convenience, pay - anything over minimum wage would be perfect, and finally attire - being able to wear whatever I like and not having to wear a uniform is ideal.

Well I think my search has ended - I’m taking a course this weekend to become a group exercise instructor! It only made sense, it meet all or most of my requirements; hours – super casual, and hour here and there to teach a class and I’m killing two birds with one stone… getting paid and meeting my healthy goals! Location – I can teach at all clubs across the city including at their affiliates. Pay – not sure what this entails… but I’m pretty positive that they’ll pay for my gym membership which is a bonus considering prices went up just recently. Attire – ultimate! I could totally live in my gym clothes!!!

So wish me luck, it’s gonna be an intense weekend… I’m super nervous, but this is definitely something that I want to do and to top it off I’ve gotten a push from two wonderful godsisters… they believe in me, so I believe in me too!

WEEKDAY UPDATE:

* My first ever RUN - we did GREAT!!! I’m super proud of my girlfriends considering we only had one practice run the Monday prior to. Amanda and I teamed up and Sarah and Theresa were buddies… it took Amanda and I 30 mins to complete… unfortunately I didn’t check my watch when Sarah and Theresa crossed the line… oops! My bad… but they did wonderfully! So proud and I can’t wait to do it all over again… when’s the next one?!?!

* Met my quota for goals in soccer on Tuesday night… got what I call and incomplete hat trick – scored 3 goals, but it doesn’t qualify has a hat trick because I scored ONE goal during our first game of the night vs FC Shinkickers and TWO goals in the second game against the Finger Puppet Mafia. ** New personal goal - get a hat trick this season**

I did it!

I did it! I did it! I DID IT!!!
Oh my, I signed up for my first ever run this year and in my life…

A family friend of mine blogged about the Little Big Run

The good thing about the Little Big Run, which started back in 2007, is that the Little Big Run is a non-profit event that encourages physical activity and healthy lifestyles with all proceeds going directly to kids' programs throughout the capital region. If looking after your personal health is not a good enough reason to keep and active lifestyle, then I don't know what is.

This is something I’ve wanted to do in forever… well basically since I’ve started becoming active, and considering that I just enrolled 13 days before the event I’m happy I don’t have to fundraise! I don’t mean to sound like a biotch but I just don’t have time… I got corporate challenge events this weekend, a research paper that I must complete by next Wednesday and life!

I’m a little wary as it is my first run and my family friend has already started training… he’s doing the 10 km, so naturally I’m only doing the 5 km.

Wish me luck!!!

Rapid Relief

Oh - site life - how I will miss you… as you have shown and taught me sooo much!

What’s this?!?!? Another notch to add to the love of site life…

Derek and I have recently joined a local co-ed recreational league for outdoor soccer; the team compromises of family friends that I’ve grown up with and extended friends of friends. When our captain tried to enroll us they notified her that we were the odd team out, so if a team didn’t join in time we would either have to (1) wait for next season or (2) find enough people to make a SUPER team - splitting us up into two groups… or like hardcore’s like my husband and I, play both games. The league made it easy for us by scheduling our teams’ right after each other - one team plays at 6:30 and the other at 7:30.


I’ve never been part of a team before and nevertheless played soccer, so I was a little skeptical at first, our first two games were last week and it was AWESOME I never came off the field once and we won both games!!! This week, however, my right quad muscle was a little tight/sore before the game I tried to just work through it, but I couldn’t run… it hurt! So at half time my husband told me to sit it out and stretch otherwise I’ll just make it worse. Well as soon as I stopped moving it got worse and moved throughout my whole upper leg causing my hamstring to tense up. This, was not a nice time… it actually was hurting so bad that it was making me feel nauseous. After rubbing some tiger balm and stretching until the end of the second game I went home to do the whole cold/hot treatment at home. This morning, it felt a whole lot better as it felt the evening after so I thought after my shower I would practice the cold/hot treatment again. I grabbed the ice packs threw in the good ol’ magic bag for a few minutes, thinking it’ll be just at the right temperature by the time I finish drying my hair, as I was staring into my closet to find a top to wear to work… I paused… what’s that I hear?... oh eff! The microwave was still on! I hightailed my little bottom to the kitchen as fast as I could only to find a heavy smoke wafting on the first floor and a very burnt… BADDDDLY burnt, magic bag in the microwave. I somehow set the microwave for 30 mins instead of 3 mins -- oops!


* I blame this mishap, on the fact that it was 3:30 in the morning… had to get up to drive Derek to the airport… he’s in Vegas, remember!?!?!*


I, of course told everyone, all my friends here out on site about the calamity… our project is slowing coming to a close and they started to pack up files, supplies and such today for the downsizing. As they were going through the first aid department they came across some items that could have really helped me yesterday… I know this, because they are sure helping me out right now!

Best things ever!!! Totally gripping some of these and keeping them in the soccer bag... next time I'll be prepared.

Best Thing Ever!!!

Lately I have been fighting to stay on the treadmill and finish my workout at the gym, so last week I decided to run my ass to the gym... My own husband didn't think I was going to do it... but I did and I beat him there!

I found this sweet site where you can measure the distance of your run or walk, just type in the "Edmonton" or the city were you live and start tracking!

It's great - you can get an accurate reading of the distance even if you run through trails and side streets in your neighborhood; another sweet option is switching to satellite mode, I started mine right from my driveway/sidewalk... hahahaha you can honestly see our ferocious van parked outside our house! - check it out!

my life...

I’m leaving in FOUR days for Mexico! ... and when I told my nephew that I would be missing his 11th birthday… to say the least he was upset and so I planned a whole day event to make up for my absence, which actually turned into a whole weekend celebration.

I kicked off our Saturday by making breakfast for my little monsters and Derek, the kids requested chocolate chip pancakes and I whipped up some frrrench toast for the hubby. Then we made our way to Justin’s Tae Kwon Do promotional test… (he's the one in the red).

His promotional tests usually last around 2 hrs... this time, however, it was more like three! I started to worry that we wouldn't meet our timeline and do all the things that I had planned on doing... we quickly grabbed a bite to eat and made our way to our first destination, the Edmonton TELUS World of Science to see the art of the brick

As you can see, everything was pretty sick, it's quite unbelievable that everything is made out of LEGO... I thought that there was going to be more pieces, but then again it was all made by one artist.


"Nathan Sawaya is based out of New York, his creations are constructed from nearly one million pieces they were built from standard bricks beginning as early as 2000… Sawaya’s art form takes shape primarily in 3-dimensional sculptures and over sized mosaic portraits…"



We then went to our city's famous tourist hot spot for a round of mini golf and to get the little guy some birthday presents... he's quite fond of reading so we let him pick up a few books to fuel his mind and expand his vocabulary. I'm all for the gifts that get used, I'm the aunt that gives clothes at Christmas and books for Birthday's, I've learned my lesson through the years... the TOY may get played with for a few days, but they get bored and a new and better toy will be released... clothes are my favorite gift to give because it'll get worn for a good year or two, and how can you go wrong with a good book? I had planned to also catch a movie at the mall but while we were playing mini golf... Derek couldn't resist to get a little competitive and wager a bet; it worked out that if Derek won, he could lay on the couch and watch the Oil game or watch a movie with us... to cut this story a lil short, Derek gave our hometown team some luck and the Oil had beat the Canucks 5-3... I didn't lose our bet that bad either... Derek had won by two points too!

The kids and I did end up watching a movie -

This 3D movie was pretty awesome with a star studded voice cast of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Rainn Wilson, Kiefer Sutherland, and Stephen Colbert. Watch it... I promise you won't be disappointed!


So that kicked off our Saturday Events... Sunday was a little more relaxed with some Jesus time, a little indoor Soccer Mini World Cup action and some fantastic family dinner time at the Wokkery.


***
FYI - even with the lack of soccer skills I have... I think I could play for the women's Filipino team... my niece could too... they SUCK!!!! it's kinda embarrassing...

*personal goal... play on team next year, at least it'll be good exercise!