The gift

So, I had the craziest thing happen to me yesterday. It blew my mind. 

It basically started where all my Sundays start, at work. I was just minding my own business doing what I do and a group of about 7-8 people walked up to me. 

"Hi, I know you're busy working but we are hoping we could just talk to you for a minute." 

At this point I would like to stress that I don't know these people, they don't know me, we haven't met and as far as I know we have no mutual friends/family, etc..

Of course I said yes. It's kind of in the job description to be nice and talk to the people that come in. 

They told they do this thing where they give gifts to someone, someone that "he" wants to tell that he loves them. 

Just stick with me here. 

I listened while they told me this, feeling a bit confused and unsure about what was happening I asked who "he" is. After all, they are telling me that "he" loves me. 

It turns out that "he" is God. These people are part of a church group that gets together (I assume after church?) at my work on Sundays. The group is usually about 15-20 people. 

Anyway, the point is, through them God tells people he loves them. He will pick a specific person and these people give gifts to them and just let them know that they are loved by god. 

I feel like this is honestly the craziest thing that has happened to me. And I don't mean to say the people are crazy or anything, it's just a really wild random thing to have happen while minding my own business at work. 

Moving along now. They told me that God had chosen me. He loves me and he wanted these people to tell me that and give me gifts. The man that seemed to be the head of this whole group said that everyone contributes, some like to give handmade things, some buy things and others give cash. I swear. 

And in case you are waiting for it, no one ever said "just kidding" there were no cameras, no "pay it forward. No expectations. No recruitments. 

Being the very awkward individual that I am, I thanked them and as they walked away I put the gift bag on the floor behind my counter and continued my work, trying to figure out what the heck just happened. What did happen?!?!

Eventually curiosity got the better of me and I looked in the bag, having no expectations and nothing to go off of, I can honestly say my mind was blown. 

-Homemade preserved peaches and choke cherry syrup

-A bracelet made by one of the young girls 

-Sunglasses shaped Chip clips..

-Lindt chocolate

-Pictures drawn by some of the kids

-2 gift cards

-$200 IN CASH ?!?!?!?

-And an explanation letter

Here is what the letter says:

"Life is a blessing

I imagine all this is a surprise to you, and as I was praying about the whole idea I felt that a surprise (a good one) is just what you need. Life is full of surprises and it's what you do with them that counts. I've found that it's a good idea to welcome them because in my life I've really understood more about God in all of them. I hope the surprise you've had today helps you understand life in a deeper way and that you can enjoy the goodness of God. This wasn't some random act of kindness, it was a purposes act of blessing. And in that I encourage you to allow the blessing to bring you great encouragement."

And that is it..

Later in the day a lady from the group came over to talk to me. She asked me if they had made me feel awkward or uncomfortable. I said no. Maybe a tiny lie. I'm awkward anyway though.. I told her more that anything I was really shocked by the whole thing. 

Then she asked, "if you think about it, is this something you needed in your life?" 

About that I can't lie. Who does need a little surprise now and then? Some extra cash? Love? 

That's about it. Whether you are a believer or not, and we aren't going to talk about that, you have to admit its a pretty nice gesture. 

Thanks!

xoxo

Passport to the world

Continuing on with my tale of wanderlust. 

Every since high school I've been wanting to go to Africa. When I was in grade 11 my school was starting to plan a volunteer trip to Ghana, Africa to build a school. I was smitten we the idea of going and wanted so badly to be able to. Unfortunately for me, the trip ended up being the year after I graduated so I missed out. Ghana or elsewhere, I plan to see some of Africa eventually. 

My beautiful home country, Canada, has so much to see. We have plenty of culture and history to take in. Landmarks, parks, cities and food to explore. The place I most want to go is one of the places I've already been. East. Our Maritime provinces are so beautiful and have tons to see. Not to mention my love of the ocean that can't be satisfied inland. I was so in love with Nova Scotia and PEI that I must go back and I'll need to see more. Especially Newfoundland, that is a must. A wilderness adventure up north, a food trip to Quebec and a hippie trip to B.C. are also sure to happen too. 

South of our border, the USA has plenty of offerings. Florida has Disney world and Harry potter land. California is, well, California (been there!). New York has New York City. And that about covers USA. Except Arizona (been there too!).. And New Orleans, Seattle and a great many other places I can't think of just now. 

ASIA!!! In the last few years I've gotten pretty excited about the idea of seeing Asia. Lots of it. Exploring jungles, beaches and sand in SE Asia, hot springs and sushi in Japan, the Great Wall and temples in China, Korea... There is just so much to see!!! After watching as much anime as I have, I will be extremely disappointed if everyone in japan isn't wearing a school uniform and doesn't have some kind of weird pet friend though..

I feel pretty fortunate to have been to as many places as I have, but that doesn't mean I don't want more, or that I don't want to re-love the places I've already seen. 

Most notably, Europe. I would absolutely love to revisit the countries I already saw, maybe new cities, maybe the ones I fell in love with the first time. I also feel like I should see the rest of Europe. I didn't go east at all because of my time and money but I would very much like too. In the west, I also missed out on Spain, Portugal and Ireland which are must sees for me. The culture, history, monuments, people and food throughout Europe are so amazing to me that I feel I must experience as much as I can. 

And lastly (last that I'm writing about, not that I want to go to) is lower North, Central and South America. The jungles, beaches, caves, adventure, food, culture and history. Mexico, Brazil, Belize, Columbia, Jamaica, Bahamas, Ecuador (Galapagos!) and Bermuda.. I'd like to think its obvious that there are plenty more countries to see, but these are a few lusty locations. 

Eventually when I get to these places I will be sure to bring you along.. In your mind. You can read all about my travels here when they happen. And if you are feeling like taking a vicarious adventure before then, you can go all the way back to the beginning of this blog and read all about my time in Europe!

Happy travels!

xoxo

The journey

As I'm sure most of you don't know, I have had a long hard struggle with my weight and self image. I've never been huge, but certainly over weight and very uncomfortable with how I looked and felt. Not to say I don't struggle anymore, but I've gotten much better and have learned to love myself.

For most of my teen life I strived for "skinny" but never got there. What can I say, I like food. Eventually though, 2 years ago now, I finally reached my peak. My peak of unhappiness with myself and my peak weight. I wish I knew then what I know now. 

That peak was a pretty significant time for me. I finally realized something really major and something that I hope will stick with me. "Skinny" will get you nowhere. Healthy and fit will actually get you places. Literally. 

At that point I started to eat better foods and much smaller portions. I started to run 5 days a week, do Pilates and continued yoga. I've always told myself I don't like to workout and I don't likes sports, but it turns out I really do. I love to run now. I've always loved yoga. Pilates hurts like hell but leaves me so satisfied. And most recently I've discovered kickboxing and I couldn't love it more. I suppose I just needed to find the right kind of exercise for me. 

I chose to run 5 days out of the week because I'm not really someone who goes half way. I wanted to feel good and I was going to do whatever it took to get there. That being said, as much as it made a huge difference, I think the biggest thing was cleaning up my plate. I stopped eating huge portions, I stopped eating late in the evening and at night, I put fruit and /or veggies into most of my meals and I drank mostly just tea, water and occasionally milk. I think these things made the biggest difference. 

Between April and August 2012 I lost 40 pounds and I've really never been happier with myself. It didn't hurt that this transformation happened just in time for me to go to Europe either..

While I was in Europe the delicious new foods got the better of me and I put some of my weight back on. No sweat though, I was still happy and kept active by walking pretty much everywhere we went all day everyday. 

Moving forward to August 2013, my European weight was still sticking around and I was less happy again. 

Enter Paleo. 

I'm not going to go into all the detail about the paleo diet and what it is, but it is in theory quite healthy-ish. In my opinion. The "diet" focuses on health and natural foods, nothing out of a box or factory. It also has massive amounts of foods that are not considered paleo. Gluten, sugar, caffeine, etc.. Anyways, this whole thing means that most food has to be bought fresh ($$$$$) and the few things that can be bought in packages, cans, etc.. have to be looked at carefully. Read all the labels. All the ingredients. Check, check, check. 

Basically what I'm getting at is that in the end paleo ended up being hugely expensive and far to obsessive for me. In 1 month of eating paleo I lost15 pounds, went through the most painful sugar withdrawals and became completely obsessive in a way that made me feel like I had an eating disorder, somewhere I'm not willing to put myself again.  That was the end. As far as I'm concerned, anything that pushes that way can't really be that healthy. 

That being said, I did learn a lot about eating, food, my body and health. Silver linings, my friends. 

Fast forward to now. I think maybe I've finally got it. Food should be healthy, but cheating now and then isn't going to hurt me. Eating is for nourishment and health, but also very social. 

Being physically active is hugely important as well, but that doesn't mean spending hours a day in the gym or killing yourself doing cardio. 

I do yoga because I love it and I feel great after. I run because it's great exercise and it's quite freeing to just go. Being the aggressive (don't tell anyone!) person that I am, I love to beat the crap out of the bags at kickboxing and get my fitness in at the same time. I love to swim. I love to hike. I like so many things that don't even involve intentionally working out. I've spent this last month going to the gym Monday-Saturday for an hour every morning and I'm mostly just taking away from it how much I hate the gym and it's machines and walls and pressure. 

A last, and very important step. I finally took the batteries out of my scale. I do feel like weighing in every so often is good to keep on track and see where you are, but unless you have serious health issues or really significant weight you need to lose, then those numbers on the scale are just that, numbers. I'm going to put more focus on how I feel and how I look in my own eyes. I've also just cleaned out pretty much all the crappy food from my pantry and fridge and I don't plan to put it back. 

I think the time in life has finally come for me to focus on being happy and healthy and to get those things from doing what I love. 

You should join me. 

xoxo

Coat tales

Snow snow snow!

It's Canada and its winter, what else is there? We have had some wicked cold days this year and they really make me miss European "winter." I have to refer to it as "winter" because it's pretty mild and seems to be lacking snow for the most part, therefore, not winter. 

Here are a few pictures Chad and I took when out for a snowy walk a while back.

xoxo

Dear Me: 10

Having just spent some time with a whole lot of 15-16 year old's in my drivers training class, I was thinking about what I was like at that age, and other ages. This is a "Dear Me" series. Do you think you would be a different person if you could go tell yourself things? Or would young you laugh and walk away because they knew everything?  I probably would have walked away. I'm going to tell my little self anyway, only because she will never read this. I don't think I would realistically change much if I could, life as it has been made me who I am today. 

Today I want to tell my very young and 10 year old self a few things. Keep coming back and you might see what else I have to say to my slightly older self. 

Dearest little me, I know it's so hard right now and it hurts to leave your home, your mama and extended family and to move in with new people. These people will be your family too and it will turn out ok eventually. You don't have to torture them. Everyone who you don't see as often still loves you just the same and you will still see them, I promise. Let's not dwell on that time though, you're strong enough to get through it. 

You're ten years old now. How fantastic is that? 10 will always be one of your best years.

Grandma and Grandpa are taking you and the brothers to Disneyland! 

You are doing well in school because you still like it. 

You have some good friends, those same ones you have been friends with since grade 4. Those girls are the best, don't lose them. Except that one, she'll be trouble. 

I know you love yourself and you have so much confidence, try to hold onto it, it's easy to let it slip away. I also know how much you love to be taller and stronger than the boys, those 6 pack abs and biceps give you a lot of happiness, don't get used to them though. The boys will be taller and they will be stronger and everything will still be okay. Very soon you will have curves and boobs and a round bum, don't sweat it, you'll grow into them.

Junior high is coming up fast now, next year will be a new world. You will do great. I would love if you kept those smarts and used them through the rest of your education though. 

Let's not get to far ahead of ourselves though. Believe it or not, you are still a child and you should treasure this time. You are free and happy and those are some of the most important things to be. Think about your future, but don't run towards it too fast.

And one last thing, I love you just how you are. 

xoxo

The short list

I find that the best way to stay on top of my to do lists and goals is by keeping them short and realistic. Some things are turned into daily or weekly tasks, some are monthly and others are just to do when I can. Writing it here doesn't help either since it keeps me accountable. 

My current short list looks like this:

1. Finish driver training (part 1 is now completed with 100%)

Finishing training also means getting my license. I've told you before, by March 31, 2014 I will be a driver. 

2. Find job #2 

New developments say that maybe I won't be getting another one right now, but I'm keeping my eyes open. Life is expensive! And if I do get another one, let's hope it's great!

3. Pay off visa and debts and save, save, save!

I've always been really good at paying my visa, I've never had an over due payment and I pay off 100% of what I owe before the month is over! That being said, I've never had to put as much on it at once as I just had to so I'll be paying it down ASAP. 

As for savings, I really really want to take that trip I've been planning and I want to take it as soon as I possibly can. 

4. Keep being active and start kickboxing!!

My friend and I have been going to the gym for an hour, 6 days/week between 6-730am and I hoping to keep the physicality going, outside the gym preferably (I'm a bit bored..) I'm also going to start kickboxing. Even though I just did it once before I was so in love with it and I must do it more. 

5. Cosplay! The tickets are bought, the plans are made, the reservations are booked. My last task to prepare for Calgary comic con is getting my costumes going! You should look at my previous post about Cosplaying and help me decide which to make!

Wish me luck!

xoxo