Eat My Dust!

Despite being the daughter of a tennis pro & instructor, I've never been very athletic. I've given thousands of dollars to different gyms and sports retailers throughout my life of course, but that doesn't mean I actually did anything. At least not more than once or twice a year. I trust I'm not alone..??

I did play girls fast pitch in grade school. Tiffany Cox, if you're out there, your parents were the best coaches! They let me play in my jeans - the ones with the faux-leather upper waist bit that (I thought) was so hip. I also joined the Spirit Club for about a week in high school. It required a lot of jumping around. Other than that and a tennis lesson here and there, the only consistent activity in my life has been cycling.

My first bike was a beautiful pink Cinderella BMX with streamers in the handles. I got it for Christmas when I was about 5 and squealed about it for hours. It turned out that a few pieces were missing (or someone couldn't figure out how to assemble it), so it was returned. I never saw it again. Instead, I was given a red boys bike with blocks on the pedals so I could "grow into it!" Anyway, no hard feelings. Since then, I've had dozens of bikes. 5 were stolen, many that died and 3 of which I still have. A vintage cruiser (near death), a clunky city-safe (meaning no one would bother stealing it) mountain bike and my precious hybrid; a yellow Giant.

I've talked about how much I did not enjoy my former office job, but in truth, it did introduce me to a hand full of very important things. One being, the RONA MS Bike Tour. For the past 3 years, I've cycled on a team in one of 5 tours which raise funds for MS research and services. I LOVE IT! It gets me training, connecting with other cyclists and out on the road for a great cause. This past winter, I took up spin to train year round and I've been turned-on to the gym, and exercise in general, ever since.

With that said....here it is folks! My list of the first time working out each day for a full week:
Monday - Body Attack class: 60 min. cardio
Tuesday - cycled 20km and played tennis for 60 min.
Wednesday - cycled 40km on the Humber River Trail
Thursday - cycled 10km and did a 60 min. yoga class
Friday - 30 min. run
Saturday - cycled 88km, Grand Bend to London (3.5 hours)
Sunday - cycled 75km, London to Grand Bend (3.5 hours...I'm always a bit slower day 2!)

It was a fantastic week! And, it couldn't have rolled at a better time because tomorrow, I leave for the beach in Miami and Belize for 10 days and will not be exercising the entire time!

P.S. Thank you to everyone who donated to the bike tour in support of MS! xoxo

Jack Rabbit Roundup

I ate rabbit. Yes I did and I loved it. In fact, I'll go so far to say that it now sits on my top 10 best dinners list. I was at a wonderful little French restaurant this week called Tati Bistro on Harbord and there it was on the menu. So, up on the tree house style roof top patio, I ordered and ate my first rabbit stew.

Despite being so cute and timid (a deterrent from wanting to eat them in my opinion), wild rabbits actually have a history of being little bastards. The famous Western Kansas Jack Rabbit Roundup of 1935 tales one of these times. Rabbits had taken over the area and were eating up farmers crops. It was during the Depression, people were starving, so naturally this pissed everyone off a great deal.

Apparently county commissioners posted an ad. for a massive rabbit drive which drew in 10,000 people on Jan.14, 1935 to arrive, club and kill over 1,600 rabbits in one day! Pretty gruesome. Food farming today is more awful than ever as we all know, but I won't go there.

I wonder if Dong Nguyen was familiar with The Roundup??

FYI - rabbits are really lean and give up a lot of protein; 21% with only 4.5% fat compared to beef which is 16.3% protein and chicken at 20%. So eat 'em up!

Ramble Ramble...Rip!

To explain a bit more about the reason behind this project I'll start by saying that the beginning of the end of my career in not-for profit fundraising largely grew from a gloomy idea that my life was a complacent repetition of moments that really didn't excite me and goals that I barely believed in. You know the plot: alarm, shower, TTC, coffee & muffin on the go, emails, emails, meeting, emails, phone call, emails, lunch. Emails, emails, meeting, 3pm mat-leave farewell cake in the board room, emails, emails, TTC, dinner, t.v, sleep. It was an exhausting routine with limited satisfaction (for me anyway...). Part denial - part resilience, the experience of being fired led me to step to the side to re-evaluate and redirect my ideas and plans. For this I'd like to say "Thank you former boss for recognizing how bored and uninspired I was in my work! Thank you for pushing me over the edge to confront my career misplacement. Because of you, I've done things I may never have. Thank you for reminding me that we're all replaceable and that enjoying my work is critical to my survival because like it or not, I've got 30+ years to go!"


I do confess that I'm a fairly late bloomer. I've managed to avoid the working world with travel and school to the point of spoiling myself a bit. Before the age of 30, my T4 slip had never read more than $12,000! This of course makes me laugh because it reveals how tightly I clung to my student/nomad life. It was a fabulous decade and I regret nothing, but this former lifestyle has certainly made it tough for me to settle into a career. Not that I need or want a 20 year plan set out, but something to build on and be proud of over time would be kinda nice.


This project has become part of my revivial. The coolest part is, I've been noticing and paying more respect to all of the other "firsts" and interesting little things that happen in my life. It's a great reminder of how important perspective is. I recommend paying attention to yours.

OK, OK....onto the "first". This one was a bit odd because it was taking something that I have done (basic waxing), but to the next level. The other day, I had my first Brazilian Wax. Hands down - the most uncomfortable experience of my life. It all started with the price list at my local Korean "Hollywood" Nails shop which happened not to include a price for "Brazilian". In my frazelled state, I awkwardly started making hand gestures to explain what I was looking for. It was very classy and attracted quite a cluster of miniature Korean women laughing at me. Awesome. I soon found out that Brazilian Wax isn't on the price list because "it depends on how much hair". Apparently every women exists somewhere between $20 and $40 on the scale of pubic measure. What?!?

Keeping this PG, I'll skip most details and make only a few comments. Hot wax, probing fingers and RIPPING hair out from the follicle is never pleasant. It is drastically more awful however when you're asked to flip over and " hold here and here" to assist in parting your own cheeks. A Brazilian is nothing short of thorough and as such, I'm pretty confident that this was a once in a lifetime experience. I'l stick to my traditional Bikini. At least I now know the answer to the question on my mind the whole experience....I'm $27 worth! Ha!

P.S. I don't beleive in "owing" to your partner, but Men - I urge you to rush home immediately to demonstrate to your women how much you appreciate their Bikinis & Brazilians! They don't come easy!