Real Time

Last night I felt good enough to start the 30 day real time workout challenge from Bodyrock. I've gotten a subscription to their Sweatflix system and for $9 a month you get unlimited access to all of their workouts and they play on any laptop or device via an app. I love the workouts - lots of HIIT stuff. I can do anything for 30 seconds, so it suits me well. I found all my gear and got to it. My cold is pretty much gone now so I have no excuse. I like real time workouts where I workout with someone...I'm pretty lazy if I'm on my own.
This morning I got up and did day 2  so well done me. 2 whole days. Ooh ah. I am a bit stiff but nothign too bad so far although I need to get up a bit earlier to make sure i have more time for stretching after. I pressed snooze a few times and I had to rush to not miss my bus. I figure this 30 day plan should bring me right up to my surgery so I will do my best to stick to it and get as fit as I can before my surgery on March 14.
J will be home today some time and our friend Rocket will be here to visit for a few days too. She is the is much younger (mid 20s) but is still a wonderful friend...it's strange to connect with people far younger than you, but really...if I ever had a daughter I would want her to turn out like Rocket.  It will be good to see her for a bit....she moved to Montreal with her fiance in the fall and has been lonely and missing all her friends so she's come out to visit for a while here and in BC and Alberta. There is a big event this weekend I'm helping put on (well OK I'm just looking after the bar...) where JJ is doing lasers at as well so I have a fun time to look forward to at the end of the week. Tonight I have to run and get groceries and will try and get tasty healthy food. A  new grocery store opened in my neighborhood and it's their 15% off day so I'll get all the foods and ooh and aaah at the place a bit.

For now - I must go have my lunch and get back to it. It's been a busy work week.

Portlandia

I just spent a week in Portland for management training. It was amazing.
Not only is Portland a neat little city, with lots of great food and beer but the training was invaluable. Even though it rained the whole time we were there I had an amazing time.

I'm very lucky to have a boss who understands that people aren't born leaders...and has encouraged us to go and take training wherever we can to be better at our job. Normally I am leery of training and assume it's going to be crummy buzz-word filled feel-good rubbish. This training was not that. It focused on looking at ourselves and discovering how to be more trustworthy. How to look outward, and how after we work to get our own mind in order we can work to support and help the people we live and work with to be better as well. So much of this was like a whack across the head with a 2 by 4 - so many things to apply in my personal life. Literally life changing.

Being on my own allowed me to explore and enjoy and learn and think...and also eat donuts in bed and have tasty beer and horchata and coffee in the morning. I went to training with a few coworkers who I get along with who also love to try new food and beer and walk so we explored a lot of Portland. I even had family drive down from Vancouver for the day to visit and we drove around exploring the city together in the rain. I got to fangirl out and head to te Old Portland - the wine bar opened by the lead singer of the Dandy Warhols that's attached to their recording studio and have wine there...and chat with the owner (squee)...good Bordeaux and conversation. I find it so refreshing to meet people I've admired for decades and find them to be nice people after all. Sometimes that isn't the case so that was a bonus. Add in Powell's books, Voodoo donuts, the tram, the amazing medical centre at the university, great Lebanese, chicken and waffles, ramen, kimchi and cheese croquettes and tonnes of craft beer and it was definitely a good trip. My healthy living derailed about halfway through, but I did walk a lot and I worked out a few times in the hotel gym (which was amazing). I am stressing out because my surgery is mid march, but it will all be fine. My brain keeps panicking and wants to be thin for the fat grafting so I don't go and lose the fat I'm having transferred later, but that's not reallyhow it works so I need to just relax and work to be healthy. I'll be resting up for a few weeks after so it will just be what it will be. Thankfully the weather should be nicer by then so I can go for lots of walks while I heal - walking really is the best thing when you're healing. And, best of all, it'll be my last surgery related to my cancer treatment. Thank frog. Finally done. (knock on a forest of wood)

I caught a head cold on the way home and have felt very tired and lethargic all the past week. I finally feel almost normal, although I feel all jiggly and bleh again, so I'm getting back to regular exercise again this week now that I feel up to it. J has been away most of the week in BC for a few shows with his lasers and it was good to be lazy and sick while he was away...he's driving back with our friend Rocket and should be home tuesday. He's been having a good time out there and it's good to see him doing what he loves with a crew and musician he's worked with before.

But - it's monday AM. I should get to it. I have work to do and then I hope to sneak away at lunch for yoga. I have some delicious split pea and ham soup for lunches this week (I bought a big old ham on sale last week and have been eating off of it...mmm...).

Have a good week :)