Oh no.......diet tracking!

Well, July is almost here, and time to start tracking!  As the month of July was mentioned for this, I just gulped, worried that now it’s going to be right out there as to where my weaknesses are (hmmmm chocolate).  I think I am probably going to discover just why I am one on the team, who is not down a pant size!

As for our families diet, it’s pretty good.  We’ve got the lets hurry meals because we have to have someone somewhere, but overall, we eat pretty healthy.  We are very conscious of what we eat and are into the label reading.  Unlike some people who need little to survive, our entire family is one who definitely needs food.  We would never last on Survivor, and would be first voted off because of extreme grouchiness! 

Although I am a little nervous as to what I will discover, I think it will be good for me.  Logging, for me, has turned out to be a great tool.  It has shown me just how much or how little I’m doing.  It’s right there on paper.  I have realized as I add up my numbers, 50,000 of this or 1000 of that, are not unachievable.  It has actually given me a little push thinking “I bet I can beat that number.”  Of course this is on some of my requirements, not all.

So for this diet tracking, all I can say is please don’t judge.  As we are on holidays, I will probably, ok for sure, eat a good old hot dog or two and a few nibs.  As the saying goes in our house when we indulge on that piece of pie or chocolate, “how many push ups is that worth?”

Alana Regier 

The Month of June

The month of June is flying by.  For our family, and probably many more, it is an incredibly busy month with the winding down of school, the start of holidays and yard work.  A couple of Fridays ago Sifu Brinker was doing the math, showing us just how fast time is going and how little time we have left until grading day.  Yikes!   A tad of anxiousness is setting in.  To add to my list, I have 6 weeks till race day.  What have I done?

Focusing on exams right now is a priority in our home.  Our oldest is in grade 9 and writing finals.  These marks are going to help determine what classes he gets next year in high school. That said, I haven’t been making it to all the evening classes I would like to lately, fortunately the morning classes are working well.  As for the running, I’m not exactly where I was hoping to be at this time thanks to hip and knee issues, but it is coming.   Right now with all the poplar fluff flying around I sound like Darth Vader running through the bush.  

We have well deserved and much needed holidays coming up as soon as the kids are out of school for a couple of weeks.  So what does this mean for training?  Well, on our holidays kung fu books always come with us (just need to open them more).  The shields are going to have to be packed, the foam mats and the good old running shoes.  A person can run anywhere, so that’s easy.  Although I need to keep going with my training, I also am discovering the benefit of rest and relaxation, both physically and mentally. Without taking that time to wind down and spend with the people I love and doing the things I enjoy, I will be one stressed out, grumpy basket case (my poor family). 

Alana Regier

Which Relationship Do I Want to Mend?

About three and a half months ago, at the start of this journey, I was stumped as to what relationship in my life I should choose to focus on mending.  I haven’t had major falling outs with anyone, but rather ones I have lost in the business of life.  As people get busy, move away or just grow and change, relationships can get distant. 

At the same time as I was going through my list of people who I have grown apart from or those who I would like to better my relationship with, I was memorizing ‘ Mastery’ by Stuart Emery.  What kept standing out for me in that memorization was how who and what we decide to surround ourselves with help determine who we become.  “Try surrounding yourself with friends who ask more of you than you do.”  This phrase kept coming to me as I looked at my list and realized that some of the people on it, although I care about them, were probably not the best for me to hang around with in order to become who I want to be, where I want to go and the difference I want to make.  Some relationships are best kept in the past or allowed a little distance.

Two weeks ago at my son’s track and field, I happened to run into a person from 20 years in my past.  Twenty years ago I hurt this person, not intentionally, but hurt none the less.   If we would have run into each other a couple of years ago, I probably would have hid behind the closest tree or tried to lose myself in the crowd because I felt bad and wanted to avoid feeling uncomfortable.  However, I chose not to go that route.  Instead I went right up to talk to them.  I was given the chance again to truly apologize.  This person kind of laughed and couldn’t believe that I still worry about that sh..!  (Their words not mine).  In the end this person thanked me and said my words were appreciated. This wasn’t the relationship I had chosen to mend, but one that circumstances presented me.   I left the school that day feeling happy, first of all because I was given the opportunity and second because I actually took advantage of it.  I don't want to just work on one relationship because it is a requirement.  I want to seek out opportunities continually to better all the relationships I have been blessed with, and to look for ways to right ones where I have done wrong.

As for the relationship I have specifically chosen, it was one that needed attention.  It is one that is close and important to me.  This requirement for I Ho Chuan, has proven to be incredible for me.  It is one that has had a very positive impact on my training.  It has changed where I am mentally and has put me in a better place to tackle what I have set out to do.  Days like two weeks ago are an encouragement for me that I have grown and changed and moving in a better direction to be the person I really want to be.  We can’t change our past but we certainly can learn from it and make better choices today!

Alana Regier

9 Additions

About six weeks ago we had 9 little additions to our family.  It’s been quite some time since we have had a litter of kittens, especially a litter so big for a small first time mom.  The kids, alright myself as well, had been waiting for a long time.   Our little mother kept getting fatter and fatter until finally the big day.

With a litter of 9, these little guys had to fight for food.  So in the process of pushing and clawing at each other to get first dibs, they beat each other up a little, how typical of brothers and sisters!  Needless to say, out of nine, there were at least one or two runts out of the bunch.   So we had started supplementing their meals.  I spent a lot of time every day trying to get them to eat out of a bowl.  I’ve fed the tiny ones separately and watched closely to make sure they were getting their share.  With a little more attention, now you can no longer tell who the runts were.   Three times a day I go out and watch them devour can after can of kitten milk and food.  Man can nine little fur balls ever pack it away.  They have turned into such little people kittens that with the sound of my voice, they come scrambling out of their house full tilt, pushing and climbing over the heads of their siblings.  They are so cute! 

So how can I make this an advertisement for free kittens to good homes and a tidbit of a lesson in my training?  Well short and sweet, time and attention equals growth; whether it is related to kittens or specifically, right now for me, my forms.  I am at a point where I need to fix a lot of details in my forms.  With knee issues, and more recently some sciatic pain, I’ve felt a little uncomfortable with some movements.   So what an opportunity for me to not concentrate so much on practicing an entire form each and every time, but to rather pick out portions and work specifically on some detail within that chunk.  I am hoping with extra time and attention on these, that what I may improve on in one form, will translate into my other forms as well.    

Now I’m at the point where I need to find homes for 8 little kittens.  This is proving to be sooooooo hard.  I have become very attached. I know Darc, I can’t keep 9 kittens.  I think everyone, adults and kids alike, need a cute little kitten companion in their home.   Hint hint……

Alana Regier