Shin Splints

I turned 36 in August and then a few weeks later I had a visit with my doctor.  These two factors have spurred me into action and as I explained before, the "cleanse" didn't last but becoming a lot more active has and I am proud to say that I have conquered 5 weeks of the "Couch to 5K in 8 weeks" program and tonight I finished the middle of week 6.  I have noticed a huge improvement in my stamina and feel really fantastic afterwards (well after I've recovered my breath).  Tonight is a different story though.  I am feeling the effects of shin splints and tonight was the worst that I have felt after my run.  Ugh.  I really hope there is a cure... any suggestions would be appreciated.

On the bright side, I think I just might be a positive influence on my beautiful oldest daughter, Grace.  This morning she joined the Cross Country team for her school.  She has always disliked running but I might just be providing her with some inspiration.  I am very proud of her and she had a lot of fun this morning.

Just Being Honest...

I need to be honest.  This whole "cleanse" thing... not working for me.  I just don't like it and I certainly don't feel good.  Especially my mood so I gave it up.  Just being honest.  I gave it a whole-hearted try for 4 days... day four was really hard and then I just threw it out the window.  I know what changes I need to make AND I know what I can cut down on.  I learned some great new recipes and discovered quinoa and how easy and versatile it can be.  I know now that I can give up dairy if I want to - that wasn't so hard.  I think the biggest mistake I made is that I gave up too much at one time.  Maybe I should try cutting just one or two things out of my diet for a while and then moving on to more once I mastered that... overall I need to become a lot more healthy and pay attention more to what I eat but the best thing I've learned is that I love to be active.  It just feels good.  Here's shot of my lovely runners after a great run today.  I overcame some hurdles today and that just feels amazing!

I hope we can all find ways to be more healthy - I plan on being around for a while and I hope to run and jump and play with my grandkids so I better keep those runners going.  Although, I really love all the bright, fluorescent colours in running shoes right now... maybe a new pair is in order!

Some super-cute running shoes we bought for the kids today.

Fresh Starts

There's a change in the air around here... fresh new starts is literally on the menu.

I am making a healthy change.  A few weeks ago I began running again.  Once I get myself out the door, running shoes on, music going, I feel amazing.

My Running View

I have only just begun but feeling pretty great and looking for more.  This week I began somewhat of a cleanse.  I mean "somewhat" because it is really hard to just cut certain things out of my diet - dairy is a pretty big part of our eating day - but I am doing my best.  I am also taking away wheat products and alcohol for 10 days.  Hopefully this will give my body a much-needed healthy break and also give our family some ideas we can take way to last us past the 10 days.  Wish me luck!

What I Love About September

Here comes the bus...

Day one of our new school year is over...

We are rolling into another school year; new routines, new lunch ideas, new teachers, new classrooms, new shoes... how exciting!

The kids were very, very excited for school to begin again.  Grace is in grade four which means a new hallway in school, a new teacher, some new classmates and a different area of the school yard at recess.  After the first day of school she wasn't as excited about all of the changes.  After the first week though, she has found a rhythm.  Alex is in grade two and Jean is in senior kindergarten.  Not a lot of changes for them but excitement to get back to school nonetheless.  Our nephew Ross is now in school and shares the same class as Jean which will be nice for both of them.  My volunteer commitments at the school are already underway as well - we have a vibrant library for our students completely run by volunteers.  I love the library.

What is really love about the school year is time to myself.

For the next few weeks I will be canning and preserving.  This week I made crab apple liqueur which we will enjoy in the winter months and later I will be making more jam, salsa, tomato sauce, apple sauce, freezing sweet corn and much more.  Our farm has a bounty of produce available right now and we love to make the most of it.

Off to the Renfrew Fair now...

It Takes a Village... Our Ongoing Story

This morning I woke up with a full list of things to do, arrangements to make and thoughts in my head.  By 10:00am I had an almost empty list, arrangements made and a full heart.  I am again thankful for my wonderful community of friends and family.  I look forward to giving back to them all at some point in time.

Late last week my beautiful Grandma Rimmelzwaan passed away.  As I grew up, she was the Grandma I spent the most time with because my Grandma Bloetjes suffered from MS and passed away when I was 13 years old.
I have wonderful memories of my Grandma Rimmelzwaan; playing on the farm as a child, roaming through their farm house, sleepovers, shopping trips, "Grandma's McDonald's", walking her gardens at their farm and then at the home they built for their retirement, playing rummy; the list goes on.  As I became an adult, I noticed that I look a bit like her.  I am always proud of that. Even through my teens, she was there for me.  She and my Grandpa shared a love that I think is so precious... it took them over oceans, through raising children and creating a successful farm and into their ever-expanding family.  No doubt there were challenges but above all they were happy together and it showed.  It will be a tough few days saying good-bye to her.

It is a beautiful day.  I am thankful to all of the people in our lives that continue to help us out when we find ourselves in a "pickle".  Ian and I could not live our lives the way we do without our friends and family.  Thank you.

Bring on the Cousin-Love

One of the sweet treasures we are giving our children is a close relationship to their cousins.  There is nothing like "cousin-love".  There is something special about having cousins that are relatively close in age - they are playmates, confidants, friends... they can be there for you when all you need is a someone close but not too close, someone like a sibling but removed, a "brother" when you may not have one, a sister if you need one.  This is so evident in our own life - Alex is squished in between two sisters and sometimes all he wants is someone to wrestle with (close to his own size), someone to play hockey with or someone to play in the dirt with him.  Jean loves her girl-cousins that she can play "mommies" with or dress-up with that is also close to her age, size and maturity.  Grace is the oldest cousin on both sides of our family but having cousins gives her opportunities to be a leader and caregiver to others.. not just her brother and sister.

Their cousins live near (4 close by so far) and far (4 far away) but distance hasn't stopped them from having fun together when they are together.  I hope this lasts forever for them.  

Sometimes I Just Need to Step Outside of Myself

Have you ever stepped outside of yourself and asked, "Why are you so grumpy?", "What's wrong with you?  You have a great life -stop being so negative!", "Give yourself a break (and your husband to)!"... many questions come to mind.  This morning I woke up doing just that.  I look back at the past few days and I have been grumpy.  Life is busy these days (it's strawberry season at our farm) but seriously LIFE IS GOOD!  Actually it is pretty damn great.  We are enjoying a very good berry crop, summer has just begun and the kids and I are heading out on a vacation this week (more on that later).  I have so much to be thankful for but there are times when I forget that and purposely rain on my own parade.

This morning I pledge to feel grateful.  I wish I could apologize to Ian in person but he has been up since 4:30am working in the field (I really should be very thankful that I don't have to do the same) and deserves a big breakfast!  He is doing such a great job providing for us so that I can stay home with our children and be there for them every day.  Maybe I should also pledge to be good to myself as well and not berate myself so much.  I am doing a good job around here and someday, when the farm isn't so busy, I will get to clean my house and sit down and play with the kids.  It will happen.

For now, I am taking Alex and Jean's to Grandma and Grandpa Garner's for the week and Grace and I are heading out on what should be a fantastic vacation at her dance competition.  I am so thankful to be able to do that for her!

The Boys of Summer

The Girls of Summer