i had an extra long labour day weekend because of my work schedule and since we’d planned to have a bunch of friends up to the cottage that weekend anyway (the cottage is about a 3 hour drive away from here), we figured we’d make an entire week of it. as luck would have it, the weather didn’t really cooperate. it was cold and rainy all weekend long. after our friends left and we enjoyed the one sunny/warm day there was going to be, jon and i hightailed it to his parents’ farm, about 30 minutes away from their cottage, for the rest of the week. although the farm isn’t home for me, it sure feels like it.

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we didn’t have the relaxing week we originally planned (thanks, weather), it was wonderful to be at the farm anyway, as always. we ate loads of good super fresh, local food, worked hard at putting veggies away in the freezer for the winter [a great big pot of ultra veggified pasta sauce (which i'm calling my 500 metre sauce, since everything we put in it came from within 500 metres of the kitchen we cooked it in!, 2 gallons of crushed/stewed tomatoes for making chili with this week (and oh what chili we made this week!!! at least 17 quarts put away in the freezer), and a bushel of red peppers chopped up and frozen]. we went to a small town country fair, played with kittens, watched movies (and napped) and it was good.

i think this photo (taken on my iphone with the super fun ShakeIt app) really captures the beauty of the country (big open blue sky), fall, and the colourful energy of the fair. shortly after i took this, i proceeded to eat a big bag of cotton candy. ohhhhh was my tummy ever not happy about that! (it was certainly enjoyable to eat, however). i’d never been happier to see vegetables again.

we came back to regular-old-at-home life for a week, but come monday, the craziness begins again. i am flying off to the great city of winnipeg for a work conference and then immediately after i come back, i have a half marathon to run! my training over the last few weeks has been pretty abysmal (i blame the weather again.) i’m sure i’ll make it through, even if not super quickly! i’ve been to winnipeg once before, but only very briefly (i flew into their airport and had lunch at a quizno’s before driving out northwest to a wedding. not so exciting) so i’m hoping to have a bit of exploration time.

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in other, more creative news, i have been working on a lot of projects, art and otherwise. sadly nothing concrete to share yet though! in august i got an email about a super fun sounding workshop that one of my favourite bloggers (elise) was running on how to make minibooks (like a scrapbook but on a smaller physical scale {hence the “mini”} and with a much more casual concentrated or super stretched out approach). my dining table is covered in all kinds of fun new supplies so i can start making and doing. the workshop was 2 weeks long and i learned tons of neat tricks and ideas.

also, another favourite blogger (kal) is running a different kind of workshop right now, which i am also signed up for. it is called “nurture your creativity and be bulletproof”. i’ve been through a bunch of stuff at work over the past year and a half that i really could have been a bit more bulletproof for (who couldn’t!) so i figured the class would be more than useful just for that. the nurturing my creativity bit is a bonus and pairs perfectly with elise’s class that just wrapped up. i am really looking forward to the next 4 weeks!

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last month i finally joined the twenty-first century and ditched my ultra crappy super old pay as you go plan cellphone, which had a battery that only lasted a day (without use) and no other redeeming features (which meant that it was usually left at home, battery uncharged, with no paid time on it! not so useful). i bit the bullet and got an iphone4 (expensive but SO LOVELY), which i guess i was lucky enough to score right when they were released to canada – everyone is out of stock now. having the internet in my pocket has made things so fun and easy! i plan to do a lot more on the fly adventure blogging, once i find a good app for this. any recommendations? i’m signed up for posterous, so i might go that route, but it would have to be separate from Training to Live here. the wordpress app has left me unimpressed (photos only at the end of the text? no thanks!).

other favourite apps so far:

teuxdeux (amazing amazing. i went through a whole bunch of to do type apps before i settled on this one. i love that you can have multiple accounts. and that it automatically pushes everything you didn’t do today onto tomorrow. i also love that you can go back and see what you did on any given day. and that you can assign tasks into any day in the future). also it automatically syncs with the web version, so you can enter everything on your computer at home and have it with you on the go.

doodle jump – super fun and a great game to play when you’re staying put for a bit. i just downloaded tetris for an alternative for my upcoming trips.

shakeIt – just like your old favourite polaroids

mobile banking

mindbody (so i know what yoga classes are being offered where, RIGHT NOW). i’ve been missing from yoga since june and i’ve made a pledge to myself to try and get to class at least once or twice a week.

starbucks (mostly to seek out free wifi. when i was in chicago last month and didn’t have roaming data, i discovered that just being in the vicinity of a starbucks would give me the internet. it was awesome. plus, you never know when you’ll need a pumpkin spice fix! this is good for being in new cities). also, for newbs to the ‘bucks, you can create your own drinks!

alarm clock pro – my alarm clock that i’ve used for the last 5 years recently stopped working (sort of) and i have since been trying to find a good replacement that wouldn’t set me back a ton of money. i came up short. until the day i decided to try out alarm clock pro, for the low low price of 0.99$, it is everything i’ve ever wanted in an alarm clock without a) having to spend a ton of money and b) adding more crap to my night stand. perfect.

and of course, tweetdeck. i still heart twitter!

what apps do you go to?

yesterday we attended the funeral of a 24 year old young woman. heart heavy sadness. as with funerals (and weddings), it brought a lot of family together, and i did have the chance to meet many wonderful people from jon’s side. if only the circumstances were lighter… it was a nice service, anyway, and though i never had the chance to meet melanie during her all-too-short life, it seemed to do her spirit right. many happy memories were shared.

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jon’s parents sent us home with a trunkload of farm goods: a big bag of yellow and green beans, a sack of new potatoes, beets, zukes, a jar of blueberries and a big basket of red tomatoes. my own little garden patch is bountiful (even a little out of control) with tomatoes, peppers and varied herbs (basil, mostly). i decided that a big pot of pasta sauce would be a delicious way to use up many of the tomatoes and some other vegetables and be a great excuse to try out my newest toy: (whilst at the same time, crossing one thing off of my mighty life list, which i know, i haven’t quite posted my own yet. it’s coming)

the pasta express! it has 12 different attachments for all kinds of different shapes to extrude. it even does pretzels, bagels, and extrusion cookies!

jon’s sister was cleaning up her house last weekend and getting rid of unnecessary clutter. for some reason, this lovely pasta maker fell into that category for her. i happily took it off her hands, since i’ve been wanting to make pasta myself for ages now AND it’s an easy item on the list to cross off! hooray for fun, new (free!) appliances.

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making pasta sauce from scratch is fun, but it can get pretty messy! i basically used this recipe.

first you have to score the tomatoes, so they are easier to peel. i used a mix of romas from my garden, littlish rounds (also from my garden) and the big rounds from the farm. although my plants originally came from the farm, the tomatoes that stayed seem to have grown much bigger!

blanch for a few seconds and dunk in ice water before peeling

squeeze the seeds and goop out into the compost and squish the flesh

onions are required. i don’t like them much, but they cooked long enough to not be noticable.

basil from the yard along with a few cloves of garlique.

cook down and add tomato

add a bit of alcohol. wine is good, but i didn’t have any, so i went with a splash of fortified and then i simmered my sauce.

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we took a break to visit a nearby farmer’s market for some fruit.

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then it was pasta time!

i sadly don’t seem to have any pictures of the plated meal. i guess we ate everything up too quickly! the pasta was delicious. it’s hard for me to say whether or not it is better than bought, since i am obviously biased, but jon seemed to really enjoy it a lot! there will be much more experimenting with this in the future. much more.

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this is part of our veggie patch (before we finished weeding!!!) taken back in may. tomorrow i will try to get a picture of it now so you can see just how crazy the situation is. i literally have tomatoes coming out of my ears, and those pepper and basil plants in the foreground have been engulfed. my vegetables are a great source of happiness in my life right now.

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bike race tomorrow and a 60th anniversary party!

i feel so far behind on blogging! i’m going to start with this weekend and work my way backwards over the next couple weeks to get back into the swing of things. that way when i go to the HLS #2, i will feel like a real blogger.

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so yesterday, we drove about 2 hours west to the quaint little town of Port Colborne for a bike race jon had signed up for. Port Colborne is right on Lake Erie and the Welland Canal (and the welland river, i think), and this weekend was “Canal Days”, which is a festival of tall ships. This meant that all the lift bridges were raised (i no longer can love lift bridges anymore! now i just find them annoying), and getting around town was a bit (ok, a lot) of a challenge. nevertheless, it was a pretty fun day.

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while jon prerode the racecourse, i walked around town. i came across a lot of antique type cars.

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i’m a bit of a bridge nerd (another post on that to follow, soon!) so i had to capture these.

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port colborne is a pretty cute place.

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on my walk, i saw a non-tall-ship-ship

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i didn’t take a whole lot of pictures at the actual race. on the left is right before the starting line. jon is in the university of waterloo jersey. he came in 1st in the single speed men’s category on the right (in the middled, with the ridiculously large medal)

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then we went to check the festival out and see more of the town.

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the festival itself was a little disappointing. all of the tall ships (there were only 3!) were docked and none of them had their actual sails up. the rest of it was mostly just your average small town fair fare. there were also a whole lot of people. we did see one interesting thing while at dairy queen after the fair (it was WICKED HOT and i needed ice cream, stat)

check out this teeny tiny house! it has it’s own little sort-of driveway, and a deck (which is probably the size of the rest of the house). also note the air conditioning. it has it’s own electrical hookup and a house number completely separate from the white house on the right, which led us to believe that it actually is completely it’s own house, but we were unsure.

last weekend, for the third year in a row, i went to a 24 hour bike race with jon. i was the team’s support crew, although this race doesn’t require too much in the way of “support” because cabins, showers, bathrooms and meals (even sports drink if you’re interested) are provided! i was mostly just there for moral support.

jon had a team of 4 men. there were about 7 mens teams, 1 all women team, a bunch of solo male riders (including 1 adorable 12 year old!), 2 solo females, and 5-6 tag teams. it was really laid back and ended up being an awesome weekend. they had an 11km course set up on the trails and over the 24 hours, the team members took turns doing laps. we started off with a round of single laps, switching to doubles and then doing triples overnight (giving the other team members more sleeping time!). different teams had different strategies- the team in the cabin next to ours stuck to singles. our friends that were a tag team of 2 did 5 laps on, 5 laps off. any way you look at it, racing for 24 hours is kind of insane. the solo riders are by far the most hardcore – the top 3 riders probably rode for about 20 of the 24 hours (stopping only for eating and bathroom breaks). yikes. nutrition is definitely a challenge, as you don’t have much time to really eat OR digest (and you are taking in an excess of carbs for race fuel), so it kind of does a number on the tummy.

we set up a tent next to our cabin for working on bikes in in case it rained. we ended up not needing it at all! (i did use it to get away from the bugs for a bit though)

they always do something a little bit different for the start of the race. the first year we did it, it was a le mans style, with helmets on the bikes. last year was just a regular start. this year they did le mans but helmets were on the racer’s heads. jon is good at these things, and got a spot near the front of the pack, giving his team a bit of an edge.

jon is in the yellow and black jersey.

i wore my vibram five fingers on the first day and ended up making tons of friends! everyone wanted to chat about my shoes. it was pretty awesome. they are definitely a great conversation piece.

some reps from IMBA (international mountain biking association) were there. i love their vehicle!

some pictures from the weekend:

jon on the left // xavier on the right

second solo female and her 12 year old son who rode with her // the two solo females

three solo male winners // female team

mixed team // third place men’s

second place men’s team (team doppler effect!!!) // first place men’s

youngest (and cutest) rider // 3rd place tag team

second place tag team // first place tag team

what i loved most about this race was the sportsmanship. so many people had mechanical issues with their bikes. on our team, jon’s fork was not working 2 days before the race, part of jeff’s fork was damaged the night before the race, jon’s seat post was not staying up during the race, then right before one of his laps, the collar holding the seat post in broke, one of jeff’s pedals came off, some guy on another team cracked his frame, etc, etc, etc. it was awesome to see everyone step in to help each other out. competitors offering up spare parts so other teams could go on – quite inspiring. also, it makes me happy that in my sport, there isn’t much chance of a mechanical failure ending my race.

it was a fun but exhausting weekend. i was happy to have monday off from work to recover and sleep! three years ago, the guys entered a 5 man team and missed 3rd place by a hair. last year, they had a 4 man, 1 woman mixed team and placed 1st in the mixed category (which had 3 teams last year) – they would have been 3rd in the men’s category with the number of laps they did. this year, the 4 man team they put together came in 2nd. improvement is good!

I am ashamed to admit how long it has been since the house was deep cleaned. I absolutely adore clean things (clean everything, really, makes me ridiculously happy. clean sheets, clean socks, clean me, clean boy, etc) but I don’t really enjoy *cleaning*, and so I don’t do it nearly as often as I should. This results in the house being messy/dirty/chaotic which then leads to a stressed out mind. Not healthy and not balanced. On Saturday morning, when I had finally had enough of the (somewhat gross) upstairs bathroom, I decided it was time for a good scrub. I pulled out my Vim + Bleach and sponges, etc and got down to business. That’s when I realized why I hate cleaning so much.

I refer back, once again, to The Happiness Project, commandment #8: identify the problem. A careful examination of my problem behaviour can often end with a really simple solution, which results in multifold happiness. Consider the cleaning issue. What did I hate the most? Every time I clean, the bathroom especially, my hands burn from all the direct bleach contact. Scrubbing the soap scum off the tub floor kills my arms and no amount of bleach seems to be able to loosen it up. I inhale an unhealthy amount of chemicals. Lugging around a heavy bucket of water and a mop is a big pain and often results in more of a mess to clean up. How could easily I fix this? Back to the Happiness Project to indulge in a modest splurge . New cleaning products (and the proper tools) would make cleaning more of a fun project (novelty makes us happy) than a boring, unpleasant chore. I have been meaning to green my cleaning supplies for a long time, but I never actually acted on this. Since last week was “Earth Week” (and since I didn’t really do anything special for Earth Day because my life is already pretty green as it is) I decided it was time. I got myself off to my neighbourhood Canadian Tire to check out their selection while the boys were off biking for the day. I was pleasantly surprised with the lineup! I saw some brands that I recognized (Seventh Generation, Mrs. Meyers, etc) and some new ones (Method, Naturals from Simple Green, etc). I was particularly charmed by the Method products: they had good scents, a wide range of options, and gorgeous packaging, which really appealed to the designer in me. I picked out a variety (in case Method wound up being terrible, my investment wouldn’t be a totally loss), and a new mop and skipped my way back home.

kitchen lineup: counters and floors

bathroom cast: toilet bowl, tub scrub, and tile/counter top spray

multi-surface spray, i plan to use it mostly in the kitchen

Verdict: Method is awesome. Seventh Generation is just meh (though it is considerably cheaper than the others). The thing that I dislike about it compared to all the other products is that when you spray and clean/wipe, you need to wait a few minutes and wipe it off with a wet cloth after. This is an annoying extra step. Naturals floor cleaner gets mixed results – good clean but there seemed to maybe be a slightly sticky-ish film, but this may have also been due to other causes. Cleaning the floor with a spray bottle and a spongey mop is sooooooo much easier than a bucket of cleaning solution and water (this is likely why people buy the swiffer wet jet). My hands didn’t burn at all! My lungs enjoyed the lack of harsh chemical fumes and the pleasant mild smells instead (I particularly enjoy the eucaplytus-mint of the bathroom Method line). Having the proper tools makes all the difference in the world. I stole a sheet of the ScotchBrite Jon bought for cleaning bikes, etc, squirted some tub cleaning cream on it, and got to the soap scum, and HOLY MOLY. I was a tad worried that the enamel on the tub would scrub right off, but it didn’t – just the soap scum! Hardly any effort was required, and now the tub is sparkley white. I still need to pick up a few more products: mirror/glass cleaner and something for the wood floors.

Green products aren’t cheap, but this was a very “worth it to me” splurge. Additionally, I feel better about the healthiness of my home now that toxic chemicals aren’t everywhere. We also washed and folded allllllll the laundry last night, and I vacuumed all the carpets/rugs in the house. Life is good!

ughhhhhh at least the rain isn’t supposed to start until 12:00. that gives me about 2.5 hours after the race start. i expect to finish in around 3:30 (but who knows! anything could happen)

check out the killer hill right near the end! i have saved my best songs for mile 16, when i’ll need as much extra fire as i can get my feet on!!

the last 200m are inside of Copps Coliseum, the big sports arena here. i hope to have the rocky theme song going as i do my final lap (cliché, i know, but motivating anyway!!).

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we are stopping for a post race lunch on the drive home at a new chain of restaurants: south street burger company. i am excited and can almost taste the milkshake i’m going to have. yum!

gotta get back to my prerace activities – wish me luck!! i’ll be back later with a story.

sunday was spent having brunch with a few lovely ladies at a vegetarian restaurant in the fashion district (not kensington market, sadly i was mistaken) at a great meetup that angela organized. the restaurant (fressen) was only just so-so – the food was a little meh, pretty expensive for what it was, and the service was just ok. i’m not sure i’d go back, though i’m not really their target demographic, being carnivorous and all. the company was far more enjoyable than the food, and i really loved getting to chat with people that i already knew i had things in common with.

(picture from Angela’s camera – I failed to take actual photographs at the event)

Kristin, Kristen, Christina, Steph, Kelly, Nienke, Morgan, Alex, Julie, Karly, Jaclyn, Noelle – thanks for a great sunday morning!

After brunch, I headed off to MEC for a bit of shopping. (Clearly i am not fashionable or trendy enough for the Queen West district, but I do appreciate a good cycling jersey, some new running tanks and a season’s supply of sharkies!). Passed this condo-to-be on the way

so ridiculous!!

The work week was not super eventful. My manager did announce that she is going away for a year to do a different job for a while which is surprising, exciting (for her) and sad (for us, as she is an amazing manager). I also discovered that someone that I have been dealing with over the phone and through emails for the last year and a half, under the very clear impression that the person was male is actually female! How embarrassing! Luckily I never sent her any letters addressed to a Mr! (At least I hope I didn’t…. I kind of don’t want to go back to check, just in case)

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I finally ordered my vibram sprints! Ashley and Kelsey have been raving about them for months and I’ve been waffling on if I could pull them off. I finally gave in and put in my order. I wasn’t able to try them on first (MEC had none in stock), so hopefully the size is right. I should have them in a few weeks.

squeeeee. I also ordered a couple pairs of injinji socks in case it is still chilly when they arrive. i couldn’t decide between the colour above and the bright blue/grey like ashley’s, but they were out of stock in the blue/grey, so i thought it must be fate and got the aboves!

so. i fail. i spent all of thursday away from computers and the interwebs. i didn’t come home on thursday night (dance party! stayed at the fancy pants hotel downtown), so i couldn’t blog. then on friday morning, after only 4 hours of sleep and a shower, i went to work.

fun fun!

i came home in the evening and collapsed in bed. after a few eps of the new adventures of old christine, i fell asleep. jon woke me up when he arrived around 10 and then we turned the lights off shortly after. bad blogger!

i have fun pictures to share, hopefully tomorrow. today was pretty tiring. feels like i was standing in the kitchen all day long – wish i had a cork floor or something else nice and soft. my feet are protesting.

i made:

a big fruit salad with pineapple, clementine, honey crisp, banana and pomegrate and a dressing of agave, lemon and ginger. we had it with a dollop of greek yogurt + granola.

grilled cheese sandwiches

kath’s crantastic crockpot chicken (the breasts were wonderfully done after 4-5 hours on high. perfect texture)

roasted brussels sprouts with bacon, balsamic and cranberries

pureed squash (still unsure of what variety it was, as i bought it from the farmer’s market a month ago and i don’t remember what they told me. it looks kind of like a buttercup, but it was orange. i don’t love buttercup squash and i didn’t love this one, but the texture was lovely. the taste was odd. jon liked it)

a pumpkin pie (though i always make it with a crust, half of this recipe)

now i’m resting on the couch, playing some online games and waiting for my pie to be finished. i still have very little energy and my right calf is quite sore. 4 hours of crazy dancing will do this to me, apparently. my impromptu living room dance parties are insufficient training. i promise to try and be a better blogger tomorrow! we won’t talk about the lost 2 days, nablo. i’ll make it up somehow. promise.

riding my bike to work is one of my favourite parts of the day, so i thought it would be good to share with you since it makes me really happy. although i don’t bike in the super wintery months (dec-feb), i do bike in some pretty cold weather – so far the lowest has been -7°C (20°F) – and finding exactly the right things to wear has taken some trial and error. i’d say this wear is appropriate between -10 and +5. anything above that requires less layers. i’m not sure i’m hardcore enough to ride below that.

The Software

On Top

i don’t have a vest, which is really good for keeping your core warm while biking, so instead i wear a tight tanktop (this one happens to be biking specific – you can maybe see the little zip pocket on the back but i usually just use running tops) and a long sleeved shirt on top.

  
this is a cycling wind breaker, but i wear it around as my general fall/spring jacket. it’s got lots of reflective striping, goes down a little lower to cover your bum while biking (but not so low that it looks silly for just wearing around town), pit zips for extra ventilation, and good velcro closures around the wrists (sorry i didn’t picture those)

On the Bottom

  biking shorts and running tights underneath to keep my legs warm. i do not have special cycling leg warmers or knee warmers. so far my running tights are doing just fine. they are lightweight enough to not make me hot but solid enough to keep my knees and leg muscles warm. the biking shorts are a must if you are riding for more than 20 minutes. i could never go back to riding without padding! i’m on the lookout for a pair of biking tights so i don’t have to wear these layers (getting dressed and undressed is annoying) but i haven’t seen anything for less than $80 yet. i might have to just cave.

Accessories

  
these are a very recent purchase – lobster claw gloves! they are amazing. i have extremely poor circulation in my hands and feet and no matter how many pairs of gloves i wear, my fingers still get cold. lobster claws are mitts for a cyclist. they are super warm, plus since you group some fingers together, you can share internal warmth while still being able to brake and shift. they are fun. my only complaint is that i am unable to give stupid drivers the finger with these gloves

  
clockwise from top left:nike skull cap. it’s meant for running but it does really well in blocking wind under my helmet. it’s also got a nice ponytail hole.nike headband. for the extra cold days where my ears need more warmth than just what the hat provides.fleece liner gloves. for when it’s below -5 to wear under my lobsta clawsneck warmer. it’s like a scarf made out of tecnical fabric that won’t get caught in anything! best valentine’s day gift ever.  

woolen socks are a definite must for me and my perma-cold toes. when it gets really chilly, i will layer with thin running socks underneath the woolies for ultrawarmth.
and that is what i wear to ride my bike to work. it’s about 12.5km (almost 8 miles) and takes me between 35 and 45 minutes, depending which way i’m riding. (going into work is more downhill, coming home is more uphill) part II, hardware (gear) will be next!

i am sad the weekend is over. the party i went to last night wound up being pretty fun. we stayed in a hotel nearby instead of camping out in the backyard like we planned (that may have been too hobo like…

it was weird staying in a hotel so close to home (no one was in any shape to drive, public transit stopped running all the way to my house, and a cab would have been ridiculously expensive). the spare bedroom in the house was taken and sleeping on the couches would have been waiting up until the party died down and i was far too tired for that. luckily our friends had booked and paid for this room in a not entirely dodgy hotel that they were not going to be able to use, so we got to use it. there was even free breakfast with make your own waffles in the lobby! (i want my own waffle iron so badly. have i mentioned?)
we came home and i made two big batches of soup because jon is getting a root canal this week and i assume he won’t be able to eat solids. i’ll share recipes soon – a big soup post is coming!

back to work tomorrow! i’m going to a conference for 2 days this week, so that should be interesting. mix things up a bit.off to watch last week’s top chef. nighty night.

quiet evening at home by myself. jon wants to go mtb biking tomorrow morning and the good trails are near his place in waterloo. we’re going to a party tomorrow night so for the moment, i am enjoying the relaxing quiet and the company of julie and julia, in book form tonight. i may catch up on some tv in a bit!

the cookies were a hit. i bought a litre of milk for one coworker and me to share in the afternoon, over a few “death by chocolate” bites and some conversation in the office kitchen. the milk was a great pair with the chocolateyness. we’ll do it again with the rest of the milk on monday (because no doubt, i’ll still have cookies left over!). all weeks need to end with milk and cookies, i think.

i’ll be back in the morning with a good post. promise. cross my heart. no backing out!