Is it too soon to be googling restaurants in Marathon?
I still have MONTHS to wait.
meh
Monday 25 March 2019
Sunday 24 March 2019
20 years
This time 20 years ago I was looking forward to moving back into my flat, staying at my dads place for a couple of months and listening to Lenny Kravitz "fly away" every time I was in the car. Spring was springing in the UK and I was in countdown mode to my very first Florida trip.
I was feeling very free. For the first time since I was 15 I was young, free and single. Enjoying a good job and doing stuff like eating grapes in bed in the morning, just because. The notion of choosing my own options at the weekend without any discussion with a significant other was new and a real treat.
I have strong memories of that first Florida trip that I documented here in my 1999 trip to Florida
This year marks 20 years of that year. Both Lily and I especially have struggled with not being in Florida this year and I searched the calendar and Expedia for options to go at some point at the end of the year. The want to be back in the Keys especially for me is a daily thought. The girls want Bahama Bay, which given that they learnt to swim in the hot tub there, doesnt surprise me.
Thankfully due to early bird cheap deals and Airmiles reward miles I have found a way and booked a trip for us all towards the end of this year, this 20th anniversary year for me. So now, I am back in a countdown mode of sorts.
I cant wait to see these views again
Eat here again
Run here again at dawn
Between now and then we have the girls birthdays, our early summer trip to the UK to see family, summer time in Nova Scotia and Halloween. All good times to "get through".
I was feeling very free. For the first time since I was 15 I was young, free and single. Enjoying a good job and doing stuff like eating grapes in bed in the morning, just because. The notion of choosing my own options at the weekend without any discussion with a significant other was new and a real treat.
I have strong memories of that first Florida trip that I documented here in my 1999 trip to Florida
This year marks 20 years of that year. Both Lily and I especially have struggled with not being in Florida this year and I searched the calendar and Expedia for options to go at some point at the end of the year. The want to be back in the Keys especially for me is a daily thought. The girls want Bahama Bay, which given that they learnt to swim in the hot tub there, doesnt surprise me.
Thankfully due to early bird cheap deals and Airmiles reward miles I have found a way and booked a trip for us all towards the end of this year, this 20th anniversary year for me. So now, I am back in a countdown mode of sorts.
Between now and then we have the girls birthdays, our early summer trip to the UK to see family, summer time in Nova Scotia and Halloween. All good times to "get through".
Tuesday 19 March 2019
The commencement of my 44th year
This March we hit (as we do each and every year now) two key dates - my birthday and our Canniversary.
I am now 44 years old and ever aware of it. Our Canniversary this year is for 8 years in Nova Scotia.
To "celebrate" this 44th year I decided to do some research on how to be more active and therefore more healthy. I have extensive plans for us when we retire and those plans require us to be fit and healthy. Hubs has taken this on with much energy and is seeing real results with his personal trainer. I, on the other hand, needed something else.
I needed a workout option that didn't steal time from my other activities or "chances of activity". I used to do my workouts at 8pm and for a while that worked until I started occasionally to ride in the evening, or want to walk the dogs at that time, or we went out, or had friends round, or I didn't sleep properly the night before, or I was exhausted or it was Monday, or Friday.
So the 8pm thing wasnt really working for me and I fell off the wagon, constantly.
Someone in my workout group answered my post asking how others scheduled in their workouts with a comment that went "I get up at 5am and look forward to my workout then".
Look forward to.....
Who looks forward to that at 5am????
I decided, on further inspection, that 5.15am wasnt that much earlier than the 5.45am I was often waking up at. I decided to commit to 3 weeks of 5.15am and follow the 21 Day Fix, religiously.
So we are almost 3 weeks in and its working for me. My alarm goes off with a rousing melody at 5.15am, I gather my thoughts and then my "organized the night before" workout gear and down I go.
And I look forward to it. Every day, even the weekend.
The sense of accomplishment is real and there are days when I ride the horse and walk the dogs too. Those days are increasing as the temps go up, so I am really starting to move alot and I can feel it. I can now run up the three flights of stairs at work, complete with purse, coat and laptop bag, without losing my breath. Yes, the burn is still there in my legs but at least I can do it. Maybe the burn will fade... I cant wait to find out.
The downside is that I am in bed falling asleep at 9.30pm but thats ok too.... it means I am not snacking or thinking about snacking or arguing with myself about snacking. Its a true "dinner and done" feat every night.
And I can sit, after dinner, without guilt and just watch Netflix. The guiltfree-ness of it all is tremendous.
So, whats next? On Monday we start the next round, this is 21DF extreme. Finally my annual online subscription to Beachbody is paying off and being used. Bring it!
I am now 44 years old and ever aware of it. Our Canniversary this year is for 8 years in Nova Scotia.
To "celebrate" this 44th year I decided to do some research on how to be more active and therefore more healthy. I have extensive plans for us when we retire and those plans require us to be fit and healthy. Hubs has taken this on with much energy and is seeing real results with his personal trainer. I, on the other hand, needed something else.
I needed a workout option that didn't steal time from my other activities or "chances of activity". I used to do my workouts at 8pm and for a while that worked until I started occasionally to ride in the evening, or want to walk the dogs at that time, or we went out, or had friends round, or I didn't sleep properly the night before, or I was exhausted or it was Monday, or Friday.
So the 8pm thing wasnt really working for me and I fell off the wagon, constantly.
Someone in my workout group answered my post asking how others scheduled in their workouts with a comment that went "I get up at 5am and look forward to my workout then".
Look forward to.....
Who looks forward to that at 5am????
I decided, on further inspection, that 5.15am wasnt that much earlier than the 5.45am I was often waking up at. I decided to commit to 3 weeks of 5.15am and follow the 21 Day Fix, religiously.
So we are almost 3 weeks in and its working for me. My alarm goes off with a rousing melody at 5.15am, I gather my thoughts and then my "organized the night before" workout gear and down I go.
And I look forward to it. Every day, even the weekend.
The sense of accomplishment is real and there are days when I ride the horse and walk the dogs too. Those days are increasing as the temps go up, so I am really starting to move alot and I can feel it. I can now run up the three flights of stairs at work, complete with purse, coat and laptop bag, without losing my breath. Yes, the burn is still there in my legs but at least I can do it. Maybe the burn will fade... I cant wait to find out.
The downside is that I am in bed falling asleep at 9.30pm but thats ok too.... it means I am not snacking or thinking about snacking or arguing with myself about snacking. Its a true "dinner and done" feat every night.
And I can sit, after dinner, without guilt and just watch Netflix. The guiltfree-ness of it all is tremendous.
So, whats next? On Monday we start the next round, this is 21DF extreme. Finally my annual online subscription to Beachbody is paying off and being used. Bring it!
Saturday 2 March 2019
Morning light
I am a fan of early mornings. This of course has a downside, meaning I am typically asleep or at least napping at 10.30pm on any given day, even the weekend, but the magic of the early morning never escapes me.
It started when I had babies, who of course woke me at the crack of dawn and morphed into a way to study when they were small, when I would get up at 5am, creep downstairs, makes a silent cup of Roiboos tea ( I MUST get more of that) and get at least one question under my belt before the house woke up and then work called.
I used to also walk up and down the garden path on those summer study mornings looking for a Virgin Atlantic flight coming into land that you could see, pretty much, from wherever you lived in Horley.
My babies of course grew into toddles, children and now teens, and the exams are long gone (thank goodness!) but the early morning lark has remained. I loved that time to myself when they were little and now I just love it.
As the winter is moving along to Spring, now its dawn when I wake, and I find the light at that time of day (along with twilight light) has a magical quality. I find myself wondering around looking out of all the windows as the the light grows stronger.
Dawn breaking over our back garden:
The pink sky I adore from our front windows
The early morning golden light starts to come through the blinds
Light on snow, 8am on a drive into work
The brightness of the day on a non stormy Saturday winters morning
It started when I had babies, who of course woke me at the crack of dawn and morphed into a way to study when they were small, when I would get up at 5am, creep downstairs, makes a silent cup of Roiboos tea ( I MUST get more of that) and get at least one question under my belt before the house woke up and then work called.
I used to also walk up and down the garden path on those summer study mornings looking for a Virgin Atlantic flight coming into land that you could see, pretty much, from wherever you lived in Horley.
My babies of course grew into toddles, children and now teens, and the exams are long gone (thank goodness!) but the early morning lark has remained. I loved that time to myself when they were little and now I just love it.
As the winter is moving along to Spring, now its dawn when I wake, and I find the light at that time of day (along with twilight light) has a magical quality. I find myself wondering around looking out of all the windows as the the light grows stronger.
Dawn breaking over our back garden:
The pink sky I adore from our front windows
The early morning golden light starts to come through the blinds
Light on snow, 8am on a drive into work
The brightness of the day on a non stormy Saturday winters morning
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