Work hard...
He who is carried on another's back does not appreciate how far off the town is.
------------->African Proverb
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Weekend Getaway
There aren’t too many things that can hold a person’s attention anymore. There aren’t too many things that captivate our over-stimulated, short attention-span brains. There aren’t too many ways to get a person to stop dead, take a minute, and really take a scene in.
For me, that one thing is Canada’s Rocky Mountains. I have been a lot of places in my life. I have travelled a fair bit, and I have seen a lot of different places, but I have yet to find a place that takes my breath away, time and time again, never fail, like the Rockies do. No matter how many times I go there, it never gets old. I have been going steady since I was five years old, at least once a year. Now, as an adult, I make a point to make it out at least twice a year to go skiing. We are on our second trip of the winter right now, and we have one more planned.
Lake Louise
I have never, ever grown tired of looking at them. I can guarantee you that I never will. The Rockies are incredible to me. They make me proud of my country. They make me smile. They make me believe there has to be a higher power, because they couldn’t have happened by accident.
Something that beautiful had to be in someone’s plan.
me and the beautiful weather on Saturday
Nicole and I soaking it all in
Sid right in the middle of the crazy powder we got to ski
And the boys, having a blast! Once again, Gareth and I didnt get a picture
I really dislike winter, but I really do love skiing.
Shauna xox
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Quote of the Day
As a writer, I find it REALLY annoying when people use big words, when small ones will do.
When people take 100 words to say something that could be said in 20.
When poeple make themselves feel smarter by making sure no one understands them.
Because at the end of the day, aren't the smartest people the ones who speak to their audience? The ones who use the plainest language to get their point across?
Hence, my quote for the day:
"Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood. "
William Penn
xox
Shauna
When people take 100 words to say something that could be said in 20.
When poeple make themselves feel smarter by making sure no one understands them.
Because at the end of the day, aren't the smartest people the ones who speak to their audience? The ones who use the plainest language to get their point across?
Hence, my quote for the day:
"Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood. "
William Penn
xox
Shauna
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Up The Ante
Good morning!
Good “sore” morning for me! I was with Leah this morning, my lovely trainer (can you hear me gritting my teeth when I say that?!). She is catching onto me, and today proved how far she is willing to push me. She definitely upped the intensity today, and my body is tired tired tired!
I forgot to post last week’s workout, I think it’s because it was a toughie and I couldn’t do it on my own. It involved a tractor tire, flipping it across the gym, and a large rope...and a skipping rope. It was the first time I was SORE the day after. Leah’s caught on to my limits, and she’s pushing them.
Today:
Warm up on the track:
Jog ¾ of a lap, sprint the last ¼.
Do v-sits for 1 minute.
Repeat Twice.
Into the gym
Shoulder presses with 15 pounds. 15 reps
Arms at your sides, keeping them straight lift them straight up to the side. 10 pounds. 15 reps
Repeat both twice
(This was super hard and I was SHAKING!)
Onto the Bench Press
65 pounds today!
1st set I did 10 reps (BARELY!)
2nd set I did 8 reps (Barely!)
In between I did twenty leg raises while lying down, raising them from side to side (ab workout)
Then onto Legs
50 squats with the yellow kettle bell. Do as many as possible at a time, take as few breaks as possible.
Walking lunges around the combative room.
Back to arms. She lined up 3 bosu balls in a row. I went in front of them
1 push up, then hand walk to the side to the next one.
2 push ups, then hand walk to the side to the third one.
3 push ups, then hand walk to the side back to the second one.
4 push ups, then back to the first
5 push ups.
Took a break (OBVIOUSLY, I was dying!) then back to it. This time, I did the push ups ON the bosu ball, and did:
1, 2, 1, hand walking in between them.
Leah then had me sit on the bosu ball for 1 min, with my legs up, for abs. Twice. Then I was DONE!
Thank goodness. It was a really hard day. But I’m startin to get me some muscle definition, which is always awwwwwesome!
I’ll be back in a bit to let you know how my clean eating is going.
Shauna xox
Good “sore” morning for me! I was with Leah this morning, my lovely trainer (can you hear me gritting my teeth when I say that?!). She is catching onto me, and today proved how far she is willing to push me. She definitely upped the intensity today, and my body is tired tired tired!
I forgot to post last week’s workout, I think it’s because it was a toughie and I couldn’t do it on my own. It involved a tractor tire, flipping it across the gym, and a large rope...and a skipping rope. It was the first time I was SORE the day after. Leah’s caught on to my limits, and she’s pushing them.
Today:
Warm up on the track:
Jog ¾ of a lap, sprint the last ¼.
Do v-sits for 1 minute.
Repeat Twice.
Into the gym
Shoulder presses with 15 pounds. 15 reps
Arms at your sides, keeping them straight lift them straight up to the side. 10 pounds. 15 reps
Repeat both twice
(This was super hard and I was SHAKING!)
Onto the Bench Press
65 pounds today!
1st set I did 10 reps (BARELY!)
2nd set I did 8 reps (Barely!)
In between I did twenty leg raises while lying down, raising them from side to side (ab workout)
Then onto Legs
50 squats with the yellow kettle bell. Do as many as possible at a time, take as few breaks as possible.
Walking lunges around the combative room.
Back to arms. She lined up 3 bosu balls in a row. I went in front of them
1 push up, then hand walk to the side to the next one.
2 push ups, then hand walk to the side to the third one.
3 push ups, then hand walk to the side back to the second one.
4 push ups, then back to the first
5 push ups.
Took a break (OBVIOUSLY, I was dying!) then back to it. This time, I did the push ups ON the bosu ball, and did:
1, 2, 1, hand walking in between them.
Leah then had me sit on the bosu ball for 1 min, with my legs up, for abs. Twice. Then I was DONE!
Thank goodness. It was a really hard day. But I’m startin to get me some muscle definition, which is always awwwwwesome!
I’ll be back in a bit to let you know how my clean eating is going.
Shauna xox
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Dress to Impress
I would like to discuss something with you that I have been wondering about for ages.
Why do people dress in clothing that is less that flattering on them?Why do people get dressed in the morning, and think "This will do"? Why don't people want to look fantastic all the time?
Don't get me wrong. I'm so guilty of this. I have those clothes that I wear to work that are "doable", "wearable"; I have those pants that don’t quite fit right, but I always think, "whatever they will do".
My first question, how do these items make their way into our closets in the first place? Why would we ever buy things that are just okay, just fit okay, things that are not the best but they'll do? Why do we spend our money on these items?!
There are those items that used to fit. They have either stretched out, lost their shape, or our shape has changed. Gained a few pounds, lost a few pounds, maybe we have some pants in our closet from high school when hips were unheard of. Whatever, they don't fit anymore. WHY DON'T WE GET RID OF THEM?!
And yet I also have those work outfits that I look rockin’ in! And I don’t wear them anywhere but to work. I always want to switch up my wardrobe, to wear something different, and yet I have these great outfits, these clothes that fit well and look great, that I don’t wear when I’m around my friends and family, because I wear them all the time. SO?! If they look great, I should be wearing them ALL THE TIME!
When I lost weight a while ago, I cleaned out my closet with the help of Gareth. Anything I questioned, I asked him his opinion. I decided that I wanted to look GREAT in my clothes. Every outfit that I put on I wanted to be flattering, beautiful, and suitable to me. Not okay, not fine, GREAT! Too much to ask? I don't think so.
And yet I still have items in my closet that are "fine". I wear them, I don't feel great in them, but I do it anyway. Why?! We have to get dressed in the morning, one leg in those pants at a time, so why not pull on a pair of pants that fit perfectly, as opposed to that pair that sit a little high, ride up a bit, are maybe a bit too short. Why not put those legs into pants that make us look taller, slimmer, that show off our best assets, instead of walking around all day feeling “okay” because of what we’re wearing?
One of my problems is that all of my dress pants have been tailored to be worn with heels. They're all hemmed to that length, and with the amount of working out I've been doing lately, some days my legs are just too tired and sore to bear wearing heels. So I hope I've solved this by hemming a couple pairs of dress pants to wear with flats.
Next on the list is to buy a couple pairs of new flats are "great". That way on those days that I'm too sore to wear heels, I'll still have nice shoes to wear.
I've also banished wearing hoodies to work. They can be great, but I don't want them to have a place in my work wardrobe (Ok, unless I'm sick or I'm going to be cleaning out a storage room!)
I also no longer wear my holy sweats to the gym. I'm trying to utilize the nice things in my wardobe. The holy sweats can be worn around the house. Don't get me wrong, I'm just wearing yoga pants instead, but they look just a little better than those awful sweats.
My goal, from now on, is to be super aware when I'm buying clothes. I want to think to myself, ‘Will I wear this a lot? Does it fit well? Is it flattering?’ Some days I really don't know where my head's at when I'm buying clothes. There is a definite possibility I will always ask someone else’s opinion when I buy something, or take a picture of myself, to see how I actually look, since that mirror image can be so deceiving.
So that's my goal! To look as good as I can, as often as I can. It's not 100%, it won't happen all the time, but what's wrong with wanting to put my best foot forward, as often as I can?
Shauna xox
Why do people dress in clothing that is less that flattering on them?Why do people get dressed in the morning, and think "This will do"? Why don't people want to look fantastic all the time?
Don't get me wrong. I'm so guilty of this. I have those clothes that I wear to work that are "doable", "wearable"; I have those pants that don’t quite fit right, but I always think, "whatever they will do".
My first question, how do these items make their way into our closets in the first place? Why would we ever buy things that are just okay, just fit okay, things that are not the best but they'll do? Why do we spend our money on these items?!
There are those items that used to fit. They have either stretched out, lost their shape, or our shape has changed. Gained a few pounds, lost a few pounds, maybe we have some pants in our closet from high school when hips were unheard of. Whatever, they don't fit anymore. WHY DON'T WE GET RID OF THEM?!
And yet I also have those work outfits that I look rockin’ in! And I don’t wear them anywhere but to work. I always want to switch up my wardrobe, to wear something different, and yet I have these great outfits, these clothes that fit well and look great, that I don’t wear when I’m around my friends and family, because I wear them all the time. SO?! If they look great, I should be wearing them ALL THE TIME!
When I lost weight a while ago, I cleaned out my closet with the help of Gareth. Anything I questioned, I asked him his opinion. I decided that I wanted to look GREAT in my clothes. Every outfit that I put on I wanted to be flattering, beautiful, and suitable to me. Not okay, not fine, GREAT! Too much to ask? I don't think so.
And yet I still have items in my closet that are "fine". I wear them, I don't feel great in them, but I do it anyway. Why?! We have to get dressed in the morning, one leg in those pants at a time, so why not pull on a pair of pants that fit perfectly, as opposed to that pair that sit a little high, ride up a bit, are maybe a bit too short. Why not put those legs into pants that make us look taller, slimmer, that show off our best assets, instead of walking around all day feeling “okay” because of what we’re wearing?
One of my problems is that all of my dress pants have been tailored to be worn with heels. They're all hemmed to that length, and with the amount of working out I've been doing lately, some days my legs are just too tired and sore to bear wearing heels. So I hope I've solved this by hemming a couple pairs of dress pants to wear with flats.
Next on the list is to buy a couple pairs of new flats are "great". That way on those days that I'm too sore to wear heels, I'll still have nice shoes to wear.
I've also banished wearing hoodies to work. They can be great, but I don't want them to have a place in my work wardrobe (Ok, unless I'm sick or I'm going to be cleaning out a storage room!)
I also no longer wear my holy sweats to the gym. I'm trying to utilize the nice things in my wardobe. The holy sweats can be worn around the house. Don't get me wrong, I'm just wearing yoga pants instead, but they look just a little better than those awful sweats.
My goal, from now on, is to be super aware when I'm buying clothes. I want to think to myself, ‘Will I wear this a lot? Does it fit well? Is it flattering?’ Some days I really don't know where my head's at when I'm buying clothes. There is a definite possibility I will always ask someone else’s opinion when I buy something, or take a picture of myself, to see how I actually look, since that mirror image can be so deceiving.
So that's my goal! To look as good as I can, as often as I can. It's not 100%, it won't happen all the time, but what's wrong with wanting to put my best foot forward, as often as I can?
Shauna xox
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Clean Eating
I'm trying something crazy. I've said it before but never **really** learned how to do it right. I'm attempting to eat clean.
I borrowed the book The Eat Clean Diet from the library, and it has enthralled me. It makes so much sense! Eat with purpose, know what you're putting into your body so that you can get the results you want. You know I'm working out with a trainer, so I'm working hard in that department, but I really wasn't seeing many results. So...I'm going to try to kick it up a notch with clean eating.
The book is amazing. I read it in 2 days. It gives so many great tips and tricks of how to do this in the real world. It's going to be very tough at times, but I really, REALLY want to succeed at this.
The basis is that you eat 6 times a day, and every meal has a lean protein and a complex carb in it. When you eat the two together, I guess amazing things happen. You also eat whole, real food you can recognize. What a concept! The nice thing is that you can eat whole wheat bread, you can have whole wheat pasta and rice noodles. But no white flour and minimal sugar. Doable!
I'm on day 2 of it right now. yesterday I ate wayyyyy too much! I measured, I followed her "typical day" eating, but I had to sub a few things as I didnt have everything. Didn't work out the greatest.
Today is going MUCH better! I cut back a bit on my portions, because I think it's going to take some juggling to figure it all out. I've eaten 2 meals already!
If everything goes according to plan, I'm going to get the body I've always wanted, finally!
Wish me luck!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Three Cups of Tea
...anyone?
I am so behind on updating my blog! Jeepers.
I have long since read "The Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson.
Go out. Buy it. Read it.
It was amazing. This man is amazing.
The jist of it is this American man went to Pakistan to climb K2, the world's second tallest mountain. It didn't work out, he had to turn back. He lost his guide, was seriously ill and he ended up in a tiny remote village called Korphe. The village chief took Mortenson in, and in return Mortenson promised to build the village their first school, which was desperately needed.
From there, the story is full of crazy hard work, total ignorance of how to get this school built, and more heart than I ever thought could be packed into 1 book.
The book totally and completely got me when they announced the towers crashing on 9/11...while Mortenson was in Afghanistan.
Read it. Do it now.
Shauna
xox
By the way, Mortenson's project to get 1 school to Korphe has turned into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. I'm really lookingo forward to reading his second book, Stones into Schools.
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