Spoiled!

Yes .. the island is spoiling us! It's 22°C& sunny. Seriously- I know it's hard to believe. It's GORGEOUS out. I woke up .. put the puppers out& sat on my driveway. Then I made some eggs and took a photo to show you!

This is how I spend my mornings.

Eating plains eggs in the sunshine❤

So after that we headed to the beach. My dog& I interrupted some random couple who were SUPER SERIOUS about fighting. Oh well .. I threw off my shoes, let the pup off the leash and embraced the day.

My shoes without my feet in them! 

Toes firmly planted in the sand.

So, I laid in the sand for a good while& let the pup have a run down and back over the beach. I got some cute shots. Since I love my dog more than most everything else? I'm going to share how sweet he is with all of you lucky readers :D

Scoping out the scene and coming back to hang out with his favorite person :)

More than anything I love my little doggy!

And look how cute his little face is :D

So then poor Squirt was dying from heat& thirst .. so we headed back to the house. When we got back, my brother was sitting outside with music, cell phone& a glass of pepsi. And moccasins on his feet. And plaid PJ pants. So very Matthew. I took some photos. Here they are.

My brother.

Chillaxing& relaxing all cool.

Annddd a photo of my brother including my dog.

I sort of really like this photo. They look like they like each other.

So, now that I've flooded you with photos from my beautiful day on the beach ..I've spent too much time indoors! I'm off to make myself some lunch and head out for an easy bike ride. Oddly, my legs aren't even the slightest bit sore from yesterday. I'm taking this as an excellent sign! Thumbs up for progress.

How you lovely folks spending today?! I hope it is as nice where you are as it is where I am! Enjoy today, regardless of the weather :)

Sunshine.

Yes, folks. Today my little island saw something that we haven't seen in three weeks. We saw the sun. He shone down on us& provided us with some much needed hope. Perhaps it WON'T rain eternally, after all. I was actually starting to pray the world would end on May 21st if it was just going to rain for the rest of my existence.

Even the pheasants tried running away.

No one likes a rain island.

So.. the sun came out to remind us not to wish this island would be scooped up by the sea. It wasn't exactly warm (I may or may not have taken a 15 minute scalding hot shower upon arriving home) but it was amazing to not be fighting cold, wind AND rain. I'll gladly take only 2 of those 3. Cold, wind and sunshine is just so much more pleasant.

So, I bombed through my 50k. I saved about 7 solid kilometres of hills for my final 10k ..obviously I'm not a thinker. I was going about 27km/hr until the last 40 minutes. The wind SUPER picked up .. the temperatures dropped a crazy amount and I was already fatigued. I spent my highway ride home thinking about how all I had all day were some boiled eggs and an arctic bar.

And they weren't even painted pretty like this one.

I had to eat boring old regular off-white eggs. Thanks, chicken.

So I tortured myself with thoughts of food. And thoughts of how I wish my brother could drive because I would totally make him come pick me up. I was not a happy camper in my last 15k of that ride. Ugh. Buttttttt - I survived (as evidenced by this blog post) and it wasn't the end of the world.

Total kilometres clocked today? 51.23 :D I can't really complain about that. I averaged 22km/hr but a lot of that was my last 10 - 15k. They knocked me out. Plus I did a 5 minute stop at Tims that dragged my average down. Without that pee break, I would have been closer to 23 (hey, 1km makes a difference to me)!

So, that's my ride recap. Now I'm off to indulge in a tea with the boyfriend. Bless his soul for coming to pick me up so I wouldn't have to drive.

Awesome.

Today I was planning on a 50k bike ride. I ate boiled eggs. I got dressed. I grabbed my shuffle& my shoes. I started looking for the garage keys.

Why do we only have 1 set? I have no idea. I am getting a second set made tomorrow and they are going ON. MY. CAR. KEYS. Seriously. My brother is in Sydney with no way to get home except a bus and what does he have with him? Garage keys. BRUTAL. It throws off my whole plan for the day.

See how inefficient it is to replace exercise with frustration? This makes it TWO DAYS that I haven't been out on my bike. Which sucks. No one seems to care I have to bike 375k in 3 days in 78 days. Seriously ..I NEED to get out on my bike. And today is actually decent .. it's not raining. Which pretty much ensured that I wouldn't be biking. I should have known this day would be brutal.

So, here is hoping that my dentist trip doesn't ruin my day& I get in 50k AFTER that. Ughhh.. I will report back with 1 of 2 options:

1. I murdered my brother.
2. I got in my ride.


Edited- now I've been to the dentist and I'm prepping to tackle that 50k. Wish me luck. It will be my longest ride so far this season.

Tracking!

So.. I am obsessed with tracking things. I need to know how many calories I eat in a day. I need to know how many miles I am running / biking / whatever a week. I enjoy having these things because I like seeing my progress. I am such a narcissist.

So, since I know you're all DYING to be as cool as I am (right ..right?!), I have decided to compile a list of the best places to track things you do in life. Remember a while back when I posted that I finally got some type of smart phone? Well it's an Android. Go me. My favorite thing about it (aside from compulsively checking Twitter) is easily that I can track my eating instantly.

My first place that I started tracking my intake / exercise with was MyPlate and it is fantastic. It's part of Livestrong.com and has every. food. ever. So that's pretty great. You know what isn't pretty great? They only have iPhone& Blackberry apps. Stupid Livestrong. Why the Android hate?! Jerks. Gosh.

So, instead I had to search and search and search (aka I selected the first app that came up ..so if you have better suggestions lol) for one for my phone. I finally settled on MyFitnessPal! It's actually really good ..I had half expected it to be sucky just because I loved MyPlate so much. It's pretty great. Plus, they are feeling the Android love baby. Oh and also, even if I had an iPhone or Blackberry? It infuriates me when things I can use for free online suddenly need to be bought with cash in an 'app store'. Brutal. So MyFitnessPal gets major points for being free.

So, that's where I track my calories and sometimes I log my fitness in there as well. I have discovered, however, that DailyMile is about 1,000 times better than those food journals. It's fabulous. I've only just discovered it about 6 days ago, but man I LOVE it. It tells you how many miles you clock per week, you can create routes and you can find your friends on there. Sadly, as you will see from my screen shot, I have no friends. LOL!

It's pretty fabulous and I think it's probably one of the best ones because I have noticed it being mentioned a lot on the running blogs I read. I swear that once I survive the Cabot Trail, I'm getting back into running. Maybe I'll do the 10k in the Fiddler's Run? I'll have to wait& see if I even survive the trail ahaha

Oh, and lastly .. I LOVE my bike computer that tracks my speed and distance covered and my crappy heart rate monitor. I am in desperate want of a Garmin though. Actually desperate want doesn't accurately describe.

I own the Sigma. I covet the Garmin.

So a few questions:
1. Do you guys track your fitness / nutrition? If so, what do you use?
2. Do you know any rocking biking blogs?! I need one :(
3. Do you own a really good heart rate monitor? Care to weigh in?
4. Do you bike?! I'm dreaming big here.

Long break!

Sorry folks, I got mad at Blogger for first deleting my post then my comments.

Post has been returned .. comments have not. Still slightly upset about that. Oh well.. moving on to bigger& better.

So, I officially signed up for Tour for Kids Atlantic 3-day Cabot Trail bike event :D It's super exciting. It is August 5th, 6th& 7th. I will not know a soul but am hoping that either the boyfriend or a parent will take some photos of my adventure for me :) I'm going to have to fund raise $1,000 by September 31st. I'm nervous ..especially since I can't figure the stupid thing out. My fingers are crossed .. as soon as I figure it out, I will post the link here.

Tonight I fell off a horse. Her name is Lexie and I hit the gravel hard. Even after 14 years of riding, a fall is still humbling! Oh well .. I got back on her and she was fine. She got spooked by a horse out in the field. No big deal, aside from the fact that I think my hip is going to be mighty sore tomorrow. And I caught myself with my already destroyed right arm. Oh, the joys.

So, now I'm over being angry at Blogger and will be back to posting daily! Hope your weather is turning into the summer kind ..it certainly isn't on the island :(

Edit- You have NO idea how much it would be appreciated if someone random& who I didn't have to totally beg in real life to support me ..did this! I figured out the link to my page for TourforKids .. all you have to do is click the button 'Make A Pledge' and go ahead! You can donate however much or little you want! Any amount helps ..I have to get to $1,000. And I suck at this stuff! Who wants to be my first donation?!

So, without further ado -here is my fundraising page :) Simply click here!

PS you guys rock <3

Exercise!

So, this post is about getting jacked and everything that comes with it! I was training to run a half marathon& also test my skills at a triathlon and then I had to stop. First, I ripped a ligament in my foot and that took forever to heal. Shortly after being able to move my foot again, I tore my rotator cuff. That sucked and hurt WAY more than my foot ..and my foot hurt a lot :(

So, now I'm all healed up (thanks, chiropractor! You rock) and am back on the exercise train. I am restarting Insanity this evening and I took advantage of the nice-ish weather this afternoon and went for a 25km bike ride. I LOVE my bike. Seriously .. it is easily my favorite form of exercise. It doesn't even feel like I'm exercising.

I can't wait to get back to my former jacked self. I am going to lay off the crappy eating& start back up on yogurt& fruits. I genuinely feel so much better about myself when I am exercising& eating well. Some motivation to get back in shape? Me, semi-jacked after P90X. Hello, abdominals! I've missed you in my life. Time to see you again. I really wish I'd taken more photos along the way ..oh well!

So, now that the weather is getting nicer& there's bikinis / swim trunks in your future ... what are YOU doing to get in shape? Any favorite activities or healthy foods to eat? Feel free to post recipes in the comments .. I'm always up for new healthy meals :) Enjoy your Thursday!

PS my day 89& 90 of Project 365!

An ear& forelock from Dewey <3

Keeping it real with 2 different colored eyes! Penny hates me :(

Almost Easter!

Poor Saturday. It's the only day in this magical weekend that doesn't have a designated day. It's just the day between Good Friday& Easter Sunday. So I woke up determined to make it awesome.

I woke up .. changed into clothes that were somewhat suitable for being in public, grabbed my dog and off we went to the back beach. We had a fun walk .. the dog ran in so many circles that I'm surprised he isn't asleep or sick right now! I didn't take my camera though, so there are no photos from that adventure. I will, instead, show you an old photo of my dog that always makes me laugh.

Tuckered out after his birthday celebrations!

Then he refused to come inside so I stuck him on his outdoor leash& got myself ready for a bike ride. First one of the year and it was short. 17km. It still felt great though! Especially since I didn't even come close to almost being run over. Always a perk :)

After that, I came in .. drank some water, ate a Nature Valley bar (peanut butter ..mmm mm) and Mom comes in and says, direct quote, 'Hey, I'm going to wash the Mini but want to attack Dad& Blaine with silly string first?' HECK YES. So we do. I took the camera so there'd be some awesome photos.

Mom& I: 1. 

Dad& Blaine: 0.

So then I came back inside and decided to update my blog. Before that, however, I took some photos of the eggs we painted last night! Garret's eggs won by a landslide. But I don't care .. or at least, I'm trying very hard not to. I SUCK at arts& crafts :(

These are my eggs. Aren't they just so cute& clever.

Or something ..

Garret may be a tad more creative and better at egg decorating than me.

Whateverrrr.

So, that's all for now. There are a lot of photos here .. check back later for my photos of the day. They'll be up in the evening. I think .. I owe you guys 5 days worth, so as long as I find the motivation to edit them.

Enjoy your non-themed& unnamed Saturday!

Bicycling

Bicycles are awesome. I'm sure most people who know me in real life know of my love for the bicycle. As soon as the weather gets nice enough, I hop on my green Devinci and off we go. I have my water bottle& my iPod and usually I'm gone for about 2 hours. In those 2 hours, I'll cover 50 - 60km. Sometimes I'll go for longer .. there's just something so nice about being on my bike and not having to deal with anyone. Except when I get almost get killed.

I am a good bike rider. I ride on the shoulder on the correct side. I go with traffic. All I ask is that you don't kill me while I'm trying to do something I love. Just pull out& pass me wide or slow down to 25 - 30km ("OH MY GOD. SLOW DOWN? I'M IN MY CAR. BITCH PLEASE. MAYBE YOU SHOULD STOP ENJOYING THE DAY." I think this is how most people feel when I suggest this) and wait until you can pass without going to jail for attempted murder. I don't think the judge will care when you mention it would have slowed you down for 3 seconds.

I figured it was time for this post since the sun is starting to shine& in some places, it's already bike riding weather. That makes me sad. In Cape Breton ... I'd be biking in mittens& a face mask.
When it does warm up, however, I would enjoy if drivers everywhere took a moment out of their day and realized that we, as bikers, don't want to be on the road fighting with cars anymore than the car wants us there. Until there are bike roads for us, though, we're there. So suck it up, jackass. Seriously. Get over it. I actually have the right of way on my bike ..the only reason I'm letting you go before me? I'm concerned if you're stuck behind me you'll run me over just to speed up.

Along similar lines to staying alive -crude comments. Please, keep them to yourself. There is no need to yell 'Nice ass' while I'm biking down the road and you pass me in your car. How crass. My ass may be a work of art, but we don't yell at works of art. Think of museums. We admire quietly& from a distance. This is how I'd like you treat me while I'm on my bike. Oh, and people who feel the need to yell things like 'Go a little faster' ..would you like to bike my 55km route? I'd like to see you go up some of the hills I do. Maybe then you'd have a nice ass too. As far as I can tell ..you have a fat ass. Cape Breton, get up off your asses and do some physical exercise.

It'll give you a nice ass yourself, so you'll be less inclined to word vomit about them. It'll give you a release for all your anger, instead of killing the people biking. It's also good for your health.
Moral of the story? Don't kill me .. don't scream at me. Look, bikes and cars CAN peacefully coexist.

To help you coexist with your local bicycle-riding friends, here are some tips I've compiled:

1. If you drive an 18-wheeler, be super cautious. The wind from that can tip me under your wheels. At which point, a helmet won't do much.
2. If you're texting and almost careen into me ..you'll get a fine for texting while driving AND be in jail for murder. That sucks.
3. Same with talking on the phone.
4. If your baby is crying in the backseat, please pull over before attending to him/ her.
5. If you're in too much of a rush to be bothered slowing down to avoid killing me, leave earlier.

Thanks, folks.

Wednesday!

It's a Wednesday .. I'm not in classes. Life is good! If you're wondering where last night's blog post was, I didn't have an internet connection :( I sometimes hate our wireless. Oh well. My day wasn't super exciting, I did Insanity& went to work. At work, lots of things happened that made me an angry worker, but by selectively forgetting I have maintained both my sanity and free from jail. Mostly, one thing get spoken to me SO much that I wonder, do these people really think they're clever?!
1. "Oh, I didn't think anyone was working."
Yes, because we frequently leave the store wide open with absolutely not a soul in it. We turn off the cameras and do a count before we leave and after. This is a check to see how honest people are. Was anything stolen? Was enough cash left for the amount stolen? ..does this seem like reality? No. It's not. Of COURSE someone is here to take your cash and keep you honest. God.

So, now that I have vented about how much I adore my job and my internet connection, I will discuss yesterdays workout. Yesterday I repeated Plyometrics, it was still super exciting and I am consistently getting to do more and more of the program. It was awesome. I feel great after finishing a day, like I can still keep going. That is PERFECT when you consider that most days after a workout, I'm heading to the gym to rock the bosu ball and also run a few miles. Today, I'm headed to the gym with Marg but .. it's a day off from Insanity! I LOVE rest days :)

So, Meg and myself are going to run an 8k in Louisbourg on March 5th. It's called the Slush Run and I'm so excited to do it and keep moving away from 5k into my real preferred distance of a full marathon. I think having that date looming over me, I will manage to pound out a few 10k runs on the treadmill. I reallllly hate running on the treadmill and did manage to run outside for as long as possible. Now, though, the sidewalks are covered in ice and snow, so outdoor running is impossible. It makes me sad and also makes me anxious for spring to come. With spring, comes fresh new sidewalks and outdoor activities. Also, in the spring, I will be breaking out my bicycle and encouraging my boyfriend to come for long rides :D He loves his bike ALMOST as much as I love mine, so it won't be difficult. Speaking of the boyfriend, I am super proud of him starting P90X. You go, Garret! I will be kicking your ass in the spring on the bike though.

So, now the only thing left to discuss is my THREE DAYS worth of photos. I have 2 of them taken (obviously) and today's is still to be determined. So, I apologize in advance for another photo of my dog and here they are:

For 3 days ago, which is photo 18 (I think ..keeping track of these things via day is so hard!), I couldn't decide between just the dinosaur or Garret and the dinosaur. I opted to include Garret. I love this photo because it includes a bunch of my favorite things:
1. Snowy weather
2. Late night drives
3. My boyfriend
4. A dinosaur
5. Adventures due to late night drives
6. Anti-smoking campaign!

So, that's one day done. Now, onto the next. The next photo is one of my dog. Sorry, but let's be real. He is the sweetest little dog you've ever seen. Today, my camera is coming to the gym with me / random other places so hopefully we'll be back to getting some more variety! Like I've mentioned before, I really need more work on portraits so I need to get over my weird thing about asking people to be photographed. I'm not even talking strangers, I'm talking friends and family. So, if anyone is reading this and is interested in a photo of yourself .. please, drop a line. I need help ahaha

And now, today has been productive. I have blogged, eaten a healthy breakfast, reminded myself I need to go buy some yogurt and fruits and made plans to go to the gym with Margy :) I hope you have a fabulous hump day!

Oh, and before you leave my blog .. I will encourage you to check out this lady (Jenn Grant) and her fabulous new song (Getcha Good)!