Exercise Challenge: Days 30 & 31

Lots of challenge, not so much exercise: a frustrating two days in Sprogland. Virtually no exercise whatsoever on Sunday. After a relaxed morning, I eventually got Sprout fed lunch & then headed to the park, but he was too tired to do much but have a meltdown at the slightest provocation. As Oliver was out brewing beer at a friend's the entire day, I was stuck at home for the hour that it took the baby to fall asleep & the three hours he slept. Then dinner, the bedtime routine & I was tired.

Monday's torrential downpour didn't make me all that keen on going outside. I struggled to think of something to do other than go to a mall, but then it was lunch time & Sprout clearly needed his nap. Despite the rain stopping, I was trapped in the house again. I tried to make the best of it by using my (slightly dusty) exercise bike for 35 minutes while Sprout napped.

I was feeling a bit dozy before I got on the bike & afterward I felt energized.


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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

As you may or may not have noticed, I've made a few small changes around here.

• A few minor layout shifts & deletions (bonus points if you can tell me what changed) 
• I've been writing articles for Vancouver Mom for about nine months now: if you haven't read any of my articles there, I've got a handy list of links to them. Just click on the tab above ↑ where it says 'My Vancouver Mom Articles'.
• I've also added a new page of events around the city that we're planning to go to in & around Vancouver. Just click on the 'Events & Fun Stuff' tab on the top left ↑. I've linked to the websites for more information.

Any feedback on the changes? Suggestions are welcome.

List #23: Nine Reasons You Shouldn't Bike with Kids

Sprout heading to the playground. Note the iBert in its
box strapped to my bike. Okay, taped. I forgot the bungees.

Inspired by Brendan Leonard's list of nine reasons you shouldn't bike to work, I have written my own list. I've biked many places with Sprout & he really seems to love it. However, don't think you should try it too. Here are nine reasons why you shouldn't bike with children.

1. It’s too dangerous. Having your child in a trailer behind your bike or sitting in a seat attached to your frame while you pedal at breakneck speeds of 10-20km/h seems insane. & though you're both wearing helmets, will those two cm of styrofoam protect your life? It'd be much better to ensconce yourself in the glass, plastic & steel cage of a car. Nobody ever dies in cars.
2. Biking is slow! How will you have time to go to the gym or for a run, now that you've added needless minutes onto your trips by cycling? I guess you could skip the treadmill or the jog, since you're biking, but really, who wants to combine exercise & transportation? The gym is such a great destination! & while we're on the topic of exercise, why would you want your kids to see you doing exercise like cycling? It's not like modelling an active lifestyle makes any difference to them.
3. Helmets mess up your hair. It's important for you & your child to have a perfectly coiffed do that involves lots of volume & vertical height, thanks to several different styling products. As it's practically impossible to style your hair at your destination, since the aforementioned products are so difficult to carry with you. Having a more natural hairstyle or just wearing hats would be ridiculous, wouldn't it?
4. The route from your home to your office/childcare/errands would be stressful on a bike. There are no bike lanes, or off-road paths on the busy streets. Using a quiet residential street that's parallel to your route would be a needless detour. Though Google Maps & many other free resources online show you the bike routes in your city, it would be ridiculous to plan a way to your destination, right? Crawling through rush hour traffic, merging on & off highways, finding parking spaces & dealing with bad drivers are way less stressful.
5. You could get wet in the rain. Nothing (except maybe helmets, see above) ruins hairstyles faster than rain. You never get wet when walking from parking lot to store or home to bus stop. Wearing waterproof clothing would be silly! Where would you put them once you got there? It's not like they have coat racks or lockers or anything.
6. You & the little one might get cold. Not having a climate-controlled bubble around you for your entire ride would be unthinkable. How in the world could mere clothing keep you properly insulated? Besides, the air that your car brings in from the roadway as you travel is probably much healthier to breathe than the stuff outside, isn't it?
7. You'd have to change your routine. Imagine what you'd be giving up! All that quality time with your child where you're both strapped into seatbelts, a metre apart, with you trying to focus on driving while junior has a tantrum in the carseat? Not to mention the daily brain exercise you get from trying to find a parking space at your destination. 
8. Your kid will hate it. All children love being seatbelted into car seats, right? & the view of the seat in front of them, plus the chunk of blue sky they can see above them in the window is enough. But what kid would enjoy travelling slower so they can see things before they whip past? The near 360 degree view from a front-mounted child seat between your arms would probably bore them to tears. Plus being able to clearly hear & see things like birds, dogs & other vehicles would not be fun at all.
9. Biking with your kid is expensive. Sure, you've already got a bike & a helmet, but now you have to buy them a helmet as well? It's impossible to get these things on sale & spending $20-40 is exorbitant, right? Then there's the seat or trailer. How in the world could you get one of those without spending a mint? It's not like there are tons of people selling perfectly good used ones on craigslist or in consignment stores or anything. Cars, insurance, gas, maintenance & car seats are a much more affordable option.

Can you think of any other reasons I've missed? :)


- - - - - - - -
Why Monday lists? Reading the lovely Chloe's blog, Tea Swamp Park, I found an idea I had to 'steal': a list of all her Halloween costumes, with quite a few photos. She got the idea from Hula Seventy's List Project. I've decided to do the weekly lists for a year that Hula Seventy is doing.

Out & About: Van Dusen Gardens & Ocean Concrete Open House

Friday we biked to Van Dusen Gardens, meeting our friends there. We walked all the way to the other end of the gardens & the hedge maze, stopping for a picnic & some rolling down grassy hills. Sadly we didn't get any photos of the rolling. Here's a slide show of the rest of the fun:

Saturday we rode to Ocean Concrete's big annual Open House. Sprout was actually able to enjoy it this year, doing some colouring, climbing the steps to get into the giant truck, dancing to the music & playing with his balloon. Last year he fell asleep on the way there & slept through most of the event, despite the huge truck horns honking & the amplified brass band at the event.

Here's another slide show with a few photos of the day:

Exercise Challenge: Day 29

Today we biked about 17 km: to Granville Island for the Ocean Concrete Open House, then to the Woodwards Building for the kickoff party for Bike Month/renaming launch for HUB, then home again. I think it was about an hour & 15 minutes of riding in total.

Going up the looooong hill on Ontario Street, I noticed today that it's getting easier. I was panting & glad that we missed the light so I got to rest for a minute while we waited to cross Broadway, but not heart-pounding-gasping. Yay!

Another thing I noticed, somewhat unrelated to fitness, was that Sprout really doesn't seem to mind riding in the rain. It wasn't exactly a torrential downpour, but it was raining lightly on each of the three legs of our bike ride today. I guess being born here, he doesn't know any better. I feel like I'll never really get used to the rain because I spent a lot of my formative years living in places where it doesn't rain six days out of seven.

This week's total exercising: 170 minutes. Goal: 210. Getting closer, but still not there yet.

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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

One month until Kidsfest!

As a mama blogger, I get a lot of pitches to promote various products & services every day. Sometimes they're interesting, but most of them are just for stuff I'd never use. When I was asked by the lovely ladies at Limelite PR to be a Superfan & help promote the Vancouver International Children's Festival, I jumped at the chance. Here's something I could really get behind.

I was already looking forward to going to Kidsfest this year with Sprout, as he's now old enough to enjoy it. Even though the festival has been around nearly as long as I have--it started back in 1978--I never went as a child. I didn't actually move to Vancouver until I was 13, so I'll forgive my parents for not taking me. :) My first time at Kidsfest was actually performing there a few years ago, as Absynthia, the nine-foot tall fairy. Despite the torrential downpour one of the days & one slightly scary kid, it was a lot of fun for me. There were so many seasoned performers to hang out with & learn from between stilting sets. Everywhere I went there were face-painted kids having the time of their lives.

This year, I'll be one of the many mamas trailing along behind their excited kid(s) through the green spaces & performance venues of Granville Island. I'll get to watch Sprout's face light up when he gets a balloon. I can't wait to see his reaction to the amazing performers that will be there: stilters, clowns, musicians, storytellers & so many more.

Even though he's too little for the crafts, learning how to walk on hand stilts & many of the other participatory things that happen at Kidsfest, many of the performers cater to children as young as 18 months old. We're looking forward to seeing Pete the Cat, Will Stroet & the Backyard Band as well as L'Elefantino.

Will you be going to the Vancouver International Children's Festival this year? Which performances are you hoping to see?

Exercise Challenge: Days 27 & 28

Yesterday was more or less a bust, exercise-wise. (Are we seeing a trend here? Hmm...)

Today we made up for it by biking to Van Dusen Gardens & back. I spent a few minutes trying to think of how I'd strap the umbrella stroller onto my bike rack & then realized I should bring the trailer. Duh. It's got a stroller wheel & Van Dusen is the perfect trip for it: a longer ride, the trailer was useful as a stroller in there & not really any narrow spaces to manoeuvre through (except the hedge maze, but we managed).

The ride was about 25 minutes each way, mostly uphill on the way there, so I really got my heart rate up to the point of pounding. Sprout didn't balk at the trailer, as I thought he might.

Weekly total so far: 95 minutes in 6 days. :P


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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

Review: Spöka Night Light

What is it?
Spöka Night Light

How does it work?
Press the top of its head once, it turns on & rotates through several colours. If you want to stop it at one particular colour, press it again. Once more to turn it off.

Why is it good?
Spöka is rechargeable, once charged, you can remove the cord & place it anywhere in the room. The socket for the charging cord is small & well protected, so it's difficult for little fingers to poke around inside. The colour LEDs inside last for years & don't use a lot of power, so it doesn't need to be charged that much. The outside is silicone, so it's quite durable & very shock resistant. The whole unit is sealed so kids can't get into it & it never gets hot, so they can't burn their fingers on it. You can wipe it off if it gets dirty (which it occasionally does because Sprout likes to carry it around & play with it). Spöka comes in two styles: oval white with blue features or round white with pink.

Where can I get it?
Ikea, of course.

How much does it cost?
$17.

*I received no compensation to write this review. We bought Sprout a Spöka a couple of years ago & he really loves it now.

Exercise Challenge: Days 25 & 26

Did a little walking yesterday, but not what I'd call exercise. :P If I don't get out in the morning, lunch time hits & then it's nap time for Sprout, so I'm stuck here for three hours. When he wakes up it's dinner time & then too late for an outing. I really have to work on getting going in the morning.

Today was somewhat better. Walked to Mount Pleasant Community Centre so Sprout could go to the drop-in toddler 'dim', then the library. En route home, I picked up a lot of milk & beer, which must have added at least 20 pounds more to push up the hill in the stroller. :) All together I'd say I got in 25 minutes of walking.

No noticeable impact of the exercise today, other than getting soggy from all this rain--my shoes & my raincoat both leaked.

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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

Wordless Wednesday

Upcoming Book Reviews

Lately I've responded to a number of emails soliciting book reviews & the first two books have just arrived in the last few days: Brendan Brazier's Whole Foods to Thrive & Larry Buttram's Snatch that Cat.

I've read through about a third of Whole Foods to Thrive & tried one of the 200 recipes from the last half of the book, which turned out well. I quickly perused Snatch that Cat while Sprout was napping--I'll read it to him & see what he thinks of it today or tomorrow.

Full reviews of both books are in the works, so stay tuned...

Exercise Challenge: Days 23 & 24

Whoops! Forgot to post on Sunday. A bit of walking to & fro added up to just over 20 minutes, all of which were very brisk, I assure you. As much as I hate walking up that steep hill from the foot of Fraser Street, I know it's good for me. :P

Today was the official I'll-start-my-diet-Monday Monday: My exams, term papers & all that stuff are finished. My schedule has opened up completely & I'm ready for some aquafit! Except the pool closest to us is closed for maintenance! Argh. Bizarrely, they seem to have closed their online schedule for maintenance too. (Huh?) Why can't they just put up the damn schedule for a pool that's supposed to open in six days?

Harrumph. Anyway, not too much exercise to speak of today. Walked to the park & back, which hardly qualifies as exercise. However, the time that I really want to be out doing something in the spring weather (inching closer to room temperature out there, OMG) is when Sprout is sleeping. I'm stuck at home catching up on writing work while he snoozes three hours.

In terms of effects, I'm starting to notice my appetite is increasing a little & I'm not getting the afternoon snoozies as much the last week or so. I can only assume that this is due to the increased activity level ramping up my metabolism a little. So not an entirely bad couple of days. :)


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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

List #22: Greenwashing

The Sprog has gotten noticed, as of late, by the PR companies who are desperate to harness the power of the blogger for free advertising. I signed up for a directory of sorts & since then I've been getting press releases & email offering interviews with various B-list celebs who've branched out into side businesses, authors of self improvement books, as well as a lot of NEW! IMPROVED! GREEN! [fill-in-the-blank]. After reading through & critiquing a few of the latter, I decided to put them together a list of greenwashed products (not quite) in time for Earth Day. I'll include links to each, when I have them, so you can go check them out yourself. Enjoy!

See the list after the jump...

Happy Earth Day! And now back to our regular programming...

Perhaps you'll notice that I don't have any special post up here for Earth Day. This is partly because I've been busy, but also because I don't really believe in doing anything special for Earth Day--I try to be eco-conscious & green 365 days of the year. I say try, because we're still working on a few things, of course.

So today, for Earth Day I will eat organic food; study my notes & handouts digitally, not print them out; take transit to school; use a refillable pen for my exam; change a few cloth diapers when I come home... just like I do every other day.

Are you doing anything special for Earth Day? Or are you planning to make any greener changes to your life after today?

Last exam today

No more pencils, no more books...

Today is my last exam of the semester, possibly my last for a long time. This course turned out to be my favourite class this term: The Science of Speech, taught by Murray Munro. It was a fairly general survey course going over topics like first language acquisition, anatomy of the vocal tract, forensic phonetics, accent & second language acquisition, transcription using the IPA, acoustics, human evolution & more.

I've gotten grades back already for my other two classes--a B in Phonology & an A- in Neurolinguistics--which I'm happy with. I'm hoping to snag an A in this last one. Wish me luck on the exam!

Exercise Challenge: Day 22

Today we biked to Creekside Community Centre & back for the drop-in play gym. The ride there was easy & short but the ride home is nearly all uphill. The majority of the ride home I was pushing hard enough that it was difficult to have a conversation. So let's call that vigorous exercise. :) I'd say the total time riding was 20 minutes.

This week's total: 140 minutes of exercise. Over an hour shy of the weekly goal of 210 minutes. A lot of my exercise comes from walking or cycling to errands or activities for Sprout but everything's so close it's hard to get in a good long ride. Guess we'll just have to start frequenting other people's neighbourhoods for our shopping & baby gyms. :)


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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

O Canada, as sung by babies

A couple of months ago, I was asked to participate in a video that Pampers has put together for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Putting together short clips of babies, they've made a mashup of Canada's national anthem. The first cut is out (unfortunately, Sprout's not in it) & they're looking for more footage. If you're interested in participating, you can upload video of your little one here on their facebook page.

Here's the video I sent in:

*We were given a Canada onesie & hat for Sprout, a package of Pampers & a Kodak Burton video camera for our participation.

Exercise Challenge: Days 20 & 21

Thursday's exercise consisted of walking maybe six blocks total, at three times during the day. Definitely under 10 minutes at a time that I'm shooting for.

Today I fared slightly better. Biked about ten minutes to do an errand, then ten minutes home, with about an hour & a half of toddler-chasing & playground equipment climbing in between. It was a gorgeous day & it's always fun to take Sprout for a ride.



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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

Review: Bravado vs. Glamourmom nursing tanks

Thought I'd shake things up a bit with my reviews & do a comparison  between to similar products this week: the Bravado Essential Nursing Tank & the Glamourmom Nursing Bra Long Top. I've had both for about a year & a half. They've both seen active duty from the endless nursing newborn through to the uber wiggly speed-nursing toddler.

Read the full review after the jump!

Exercise Challenge: Day 19

Walked briskly up to the doctor's office about 15 minutes & then baby pace back home. It's fun to let Sprout walk where we have to go, but man is he slow. Later in the evening we went for a quick bike ride to a park, about 3km round trip--maybe 15 minutes total? So, all together, we'll call that a half hour. :)

Not sure if I'm really getting enough cardio yet though to make much of a difference, but I feel pretty good today.



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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Five minutes alone in his room & Sprout figured out how to get his sleeper off by himself. Almost.

Exercise Challenge: Days 16, 17 & 18

Sunday Sprout & I biked to my sister's place & back, which is nearly 5km in total. About twenty minutes all told of moderate paced riding.

Yesterday was a bit of a bust exercise-wise. Only got in a few minutes walking to the Mount Pleasant Family Centre, about a block from our house.

Today I made up for it by biking downtown for an errand & then through Stanley Park, along the seawall from English Bay to Science World & then home. We intended to ride all the way around the park, but it started raining so we cut through past Lost Lagoon & Ceperley Park instead. The ride to downtown & home again the scenic route was about an hour of cycling at a moderate pace.

Since I've gotten back into cycling, it's getting easier bit by bit. My muscles aren't getting stiff & my body's getting used to the riding position.



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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

Happy Birthday, Nanny

Nanny & Sprout, Christmas 2010

Flipping through my Google calendar a few days ago, I noticed my reminder of my grandmother's birthday. I got a twinge of sadness because she died just over a year ago now, days before her 91st birthday. She had a long, happy life & was very healthy until near the end of it. I really miss her sometimes though, when I get reminded of her. I wish Sprout could have gotten to know her, but I'm glad that she saw him a number of times before she died.

Something that comes to mind when I think of Nanny is generosity. I'm reminded of her often because of the many things she's given me. Some are tangible, like our stroller. Nanny & Grampy paid for strollers for all their great-grandchildren; this was the reason we were able to choose the great quality one that we wanted, not just the one we could afford. Along with the cheque she wrote a little note about how she didn't yet have a car when my mom & her twin were babies & how important it was to have a good quality stroller.

Another important but less tangible gift was the connection with another generation of my family & the perspective that elders bring. I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to get to know her better as a teenager. Until I was thirteen my family lived far away from my mom's parents, seeing them only a few times a year. When we moved to the same neighbourhood I got to visit Nanny & Grampy several times a week. Our chats over tea & her baked goodies helped me get a little perspective on my parents as an angsty teen.

In some ways, Nanny was fairly traditional. She didn't work outside the home once she had children. She liked to bake treats for all her grandchildren & many of my memories of her involve seasonally-shaped sugar cookies, melt-in-your-mouth shortbreads & other goodies she'd make. She gave me a love of homemade muffins, particularly blueberry ones, & I think of her each time I make some with her electric mixer.

Nanny was such a calm & supportive presence in my life & had a very non-judgemental attitude toward her brood of grandchildren. She didn't feel it was her place to criticize us. For example, despite disagreeing with it, she never said a word against me moving in with a boyfriend when I was 21. Quietly watching several of her other grandchildren do the same thing, she came to change her opinion on living together before marriage. Despite growing up in a time where homophobia was more prevalent & acceptable, it was not an issue when her grandson came out as gay. She never showed the racism of many in her generation when several of her grandchildren married people of Chinese, Indian & Mexican extraction either.

Thank you, Nanny, for all you gave me. I miss you.

List #21: Things we don't buy

Why use 'sposies when cloth diapers are SO CUTE?

I read this list of Ten Things We Don't Buy or Pay For  on the Frugal Girl blog, which was inspired by this post on Money Saving Mom. I thought I'd try to make my list of ten too & got a little carried away... Heh.

Check out the full list after the jump!

From the Archives

Just over two years ago I was about halfway through my pregnancy & we'd been calling the baby Sprout for months. Around this time we found out the wriggly little fetus was a boy. I'd thought for the first 20 weeks that I was carrying a girl, so I was surprised.

Thus began months of deliberation over names. Oliver & I agreed on some general ideas, like choosing something with northern European origins & something that wasn't in the top 20 most popular names in BC. Beyond that though, it was difficult to decide. We actually didn't finalize his name until Sprout was a week old.

Exercise Challenge: Day 15

Hm. Not a whole lot of exercise today. Five minutes of walking here, five minutes there, not enough to qualify as proper exercise, really. 

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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

Tide Pods Review: an Update

After a few weeks of using Tide Pods, I've gotten used to the smell. Unfortunately, Sprout hasn't gotten used to the Tide Pods--he's had a mild rash on his torso & neck since we started using them. None in the diaper area, which makes sense as we're using a different laundry detergent for his diapers. If you've got a little one or have sensitive skin, you might want to skip the Tide Pods.

I'm not going to wash any more baby clothes, linens or towels in the Tide & I hope Sprout's rash will clear up. I prefer the unscented detergent we normally use & will go back to that when I've gotten through the pods.

Anyone else out there had a reaction to Tide Pods?


Here's my original review shortly after trying Tide Pods.

For more honest product & service reviews on Spokesmama, click here!

Follow Spokesmama here too:

      

Exercise Challenge: Day 14

We biked to Stanley Park today, which was about 70 minutes round trip at a moderate pace. It's hard to really get my heart rate up when riding in the city with all the stop signs & red lights. The last bit up the 10-block hill on Ontario Street definitely qualified as vigorous though, especially with the extra 27 pounds riding in the iBert. :)

I felt really good afterward--knees & feet aren't sore. I think my calves are going to feel it tomorrow though.


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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

Review: iBert Safe-T seat

The iBert Safe-T Seat

After much deliberation--I've been looking into child seats for my bike since before Sprout was born, reading reviews & articles on safety--we finally bought an iBert Safe-T Seat . We purchased it at JV Bikes, in Yaletown, where I was able to bring in my bike & try out the seats to see how they'd fit before I bought one.

I was originally intending to buy the Polisport Bilby Jr. seat, because the reviews I'd read were good & it was only $70. However, when I actually got to the store & tried it on my bike, I realized it wasn't going to work. My knees hit it as I pedalled & the back of the seat was against my chest before we even put Sprout into it.

So, I took a look at the iBert Safe-T Seat  & that's what we ended up buying. On to the review after the jump!

Exercise Challenge: Day 13

Walked twenty minutes total today, to & from a meetup with my classmates to finish our last assignment of the semester, nothing stellar. It was really nice to get outside in the sun. :)



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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

Confessions

It's been a while since I came to you, my dear readers, with a confession. What is it this time? I'll give you a hint: it has something to do with the story of a birthday cake. Read the full confession after the jump!

Exercise Challenge: Day 12

Another not-so-stellar exercise day: walked up Fraser Street after picking up Sprout--15 minutes at a moderate pace. I hope that once I start doing a bit more & sitting a bit less my joints will feel better. The good news is I've finished school so now I'll have time to do all the fun stuff I've been missing out on the last two semesters: aquafit, maybe some fitness classes, long bike rides & getting back into hiking.

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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

Wordless Wednesday

Scooby Dooby Doo!

Exercise Challenge: Days 10 & 11

Spent a lot of yesterday on the couch with my netbook reading & writing for a big paper that's due tomorrow. The only exercise I got was walking to the kitchen for tea. Consequently, I felt like a lump most of the day.

Today was slightly better, with 10 minutes of walking en route to campus. 

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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

List #20: Hair colours I've had

Natural blonde at 3 1/2 years old.

When I was in my twenties, I experimented a fair bit with hair colour. Eventually I stopped because I started to worry about the chemicals in the drugstore hair dye kits that I was using. I remember sitting there with Blondissima plastered all over my head, thinking, if the fumes cascading down my face are making my tongue go numb, this can't be good for me...


I think the last time I coloured my hair was for a costume party to celebrate my 33rd birthday, nearly four years ago. I like the burgundy colour, though it was a chemical-ridden semi-permanent.

Check out my list (with more incriminating photos of said birthday party hair) after the jump!

Exercise Challenge: Days Eight & Nine

Oops! Forgot to post yesterday. I actually did some real exercise too. We biked downtown to buy a child seat for Sprout. It was about 9km round trip, which would normally take me just under 40 minutes, but I was slowed down slightly by the 50lbs of trailer & baby that I was towing both ways. I'll call it moderate level, 45 minutes.

Today we rode to the library & back, this time with the baby seat, so less weight to haul that the trailer. I'd say it added up to ten minutes of moderate activity. Felt great to be on my bike on a sunny day.

Now we're off to undo the benefits of exercise by eating a huge Easter dinner. Happy first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring equinox, everybody!




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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

What I've been reading lately

Lavery Maiss Auras via Wikimedia Commons

I just came to a realization today. Though I've spent more time reading in the SFU library than any other semester in my loooong academic career, I haven't touched an actual book or journal from that library. I have done a portion of my course reading from three texts, but the lion's share was downloaded copies of articles. One of my courses (LING290--a great intro to all the practical applications of phonetics) had no required text at all: we were given the names of a couple dozen articles & online resources to track down ourselves.

Here's a short roundup of what I've found interesting this week--all of it digital. From my Google Reader feed: balancing work & mothering, sexism in fairy tales & April Fool's a bit late. Plus a couple of eBooks I've read.

Read the full post after the jump...

Spring has sprung

Okay, I'm officially calling it. Spring has sprung. We've had several days of weather with temperatures in the double digits & even a tiny bit of sun between epic hailstorms & rain showers. We got out in the back yard a bit on Friday, wearing just fleece hoodies! Here's what we got up to.

Sprout still doesn't understand the 'no hands' rule for soccer. He runs over & picks it up every time. Maybe he's destined to be a goalie?

More photos after the jump...

Exercise Challenge: Day Seven

Today's exercise was good in terms of quantity, but not so much quality: about forty minutes of walking, none of it at a pace beyond moderate. I'm shooting for  a more vigorous I-can-still-keep-up-a-conversation-but-just-barely pace.

Unless you're doing circuits on a track, it can actually be hard to maintain a good pace in the city, when there are street lights to wait for & signs to take photos of:

Happy Good Friday!


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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight

Being in the studio audience of George Stroumboulopoulos This Afternoon Tonight was fun, though I've kinda been there done that (went to the Vicki Gabereau show with my students a few years back). We stood in line nearly an hour & a half before we finally got into the studio in the bowels of the CBC building downtown.

Including a number of jokes about funding cuts, some prizes awarded to the stalkers keeners who answered trivia questions right, the whole event only lasted about as long as we'd been waiting. It was interesting to be there live & see a little of the behind-the-scenes stuff. George is clearly at home in front of 400 people & he's even more of a ham in person than he appears on camera. George's first guest, actress Sandra Oh,  interacted a little with the audience, but guest number two, amputee activist Paul Franklin, just kinda did his bit & left. Seeing the interviews didn't feel that much different from watching it online or on TV. I didn't really feel like waiting in line even longer just to get a posed photo of me & George, so we left right afterward.

Here are the photos I managed to (okay, I admit, illicitly) shoot:

Apparently the red chairs & entire crew were all flown in from Toronto.

The cameraman seemed to be experimenting with how close to the audience
he could swing his boom.

There's George in the red chair on the left & Sandra Oh in the one on the
right. You can just make out half of her behind the makeup lady. 

Exercise Challenge: Day Six

Squeezed in 10 minutes, then another 16 minutes of walking (with stroller) briskly today. Closer to my 30-minute goal, but not quite there yet.


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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

Gone to see George, back soon...

Flickr Photo: Carol Brown

Did you know that everybody's boyfriend, George Stroumboulopoulos is here in Vancouver, filming his CBC TV show? Did you know that I managed to score some tickets? Yay! I'm really looking forward to seeing Sandra Oh & Paul Franklin on the show. Oh, & George. Heh. I kind of have a crush on George. (Don't tell Oliver)

Also, while I'm at it, I'd like to send out a big THANK YOU to the lovely Kirsten who is taking care of Sprout while we are in the live studio audience.

I'll file a report about the show soon & let you know how it was. :)

The 80s are BACK with a Vengeance: Coloured Denim

photos: Evaan Kheraj

I read an article in the Georgia Straight recently all about a hot trend for this year: coloured denim. Wait, wait, wait, this isn't new, right? Those solid brights have been around for a few years. It's true, but writer Sarah Rowland assures us that colours & prints are really going to be huge this year. I like that she offers some ideas for those of us with actual bums & hips (unlike the stick women in the photos) who'd look, well, less than fashionable in pastel bottoms. Another great piece of advice in the article is if you're going to throw down the gauntlet & buy yourself some coloured python print jeans, don't spend a lot. They just might look a little dated next year. However, none of the jeans mentioned in the article really qualify as affordable, in my opinion.

So I have an idea to get some interesting spring-y denim on the cheap! Read more after the jump...

Exercise Challenge: Day Five

Not a stellar day for exercise: the only thing I did that was more than five minutes at a time was pushing the stroller up Fraser, 15 minutes of a pretty good pace. My heart rate was definitely up there, so I'll call it vigorous. Only had to stop at one light, so I didn't do a whole lot of squats. :)


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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

Wordless Wednesday

Exercise Challenge: Day Four

Walked 10 minutes at my usual fast pace--en route to school--which would qualify as moderate, I guess. I felt good, though I didn't beat the bus down to Broadway, I'd rather walk than stand around at the stop & get annoyed about the bus being late.

Walked 15 minutes uphill most of the way, not sure I'd qualify it as moderate though I was pushing the stroller one-handed with an umbrella in the other. :P



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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

What I've made lately

Though not exactly the season for it, I've gotten into crochet again. I made a hat for myself, based on one I made for my cousin a couple of years ago, but using an alpaca blend yarn & a new ribbed stitch I recently learned:

I also made myself a hairband based on one that I saw on transit. This was a super easy project that only took an hour or two, including some of the trial & error to get it right. I used a wool blend roving that I've had around for ages. Good for bad hair days or just times when I get sick of my fringe:

I finally got around to starting on a 'frankenstein' shirt that I've had steeping in my mind for a bit. I say starting, as I think it needs a collar, but I haven't quite figured out if I want a button down thing or a cowl. It was fun taking two blah ribbed tops & making one more interesting one which now has long enough sleeves for my ape-like limbs. I'd need to add about six inches to most long sleeve tops to make them hit just past the wrist where I like it. Sigh.

Exercise Challenge: Day Three

The fabulous & inspiring Callie Camp of Fit 4 Two gave me a good idea for a way to squeeze a bit more exercise into my routine. She suggested squats & lunges while I'm wearing Sprout or pushing him in the stroller. This is something we often did in all the stroller fitness classes I went to last year.

When left to my own devices, I tend to pick a simple thing like walking, running, skating or cycling & just go. However, none of those activities are really great full-body workouts. Besides cardiovascular fitness & perhaps some flab reduction, I need to work on upper body strength to avoid wrist, back & shoulder injuries from lifting little Sir Eats-a-lot. Since I've actually been to a lot of fitness classes in the last couple of years--which is why I know Callie--I can't use the excuse that I don't know what kind of exercises to do. It's more that I'm too lazy to think up a plan of activities, reps & so on.

Though I've gotten going on the exercise challenge before I finish the semester, I think I will leave this part--figuring out a routine of upper body stuff, resistance training, etc--for when I'm finished classes.

Here's my exercise summary for day three:

• 16 minutes of hauling a stroller up Fraser Street's hill, with lunges at each stop light that I had to wait for
• moderate level that got my heart rate up & made me need to ditch my coat
• I felt a bit silly to be doing lunges in public, alone, but felt more awake afterward (I was nearly nodding off en route to pick up Sprout)

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What is this Exercise Challenge, you ask? Read my post on Day One for details & how you can get involved too.

List #19: Things I love about my neighbourhood

Walking home from Tea Swamp Park

Lest you think I'm a whiner, after my previous list, I'll add in a list of things in my 'hood that I like to brag about. Check out my list after the jump!