Armed with books and CDs

Back from Canmore but before leaving I hit up a store I always seem drawn to...'Spirit of the West' or something like that. I'm not a huge fan of stores heavy on crystals but this one has a few good finds nestled within the crystals. And some nice jewelry too.

I picked up another copy of 'Eat Pray Love'...Tamara sent me a copy a while back (before all the hype) and its gone missing. I also picked up another book and a meditation CD. I always seem to get 'high' on books and then have a hard time trying to find the time to read them. Once again, I caught myself vowing that "this time" I'm "REALLY" going to focus on these books and get them read. REALLY.

I also managed to start working on my other idea that is still hush hush for now. I got the toughest part done (in my opinion anyway) and now its all about making it look appealing. Its a package. That's all I'll say. A few more things to get ready and then I'll mail it off and tell you more about it. You will probably laugh. But its on the 'dream list'.

The drive home from Canmore was a little tense, I'm not a fan of fog and it was thick tonight. Thankfully, there was a car ahead of me and I followed the red tail lights...thank you whoever you are! I'd come out of the fog into a clear patch only to hit another patch. I am happy to be home.

Back to work tomorrow. We're taking a Christmas photo (just us SLPs). Have a staff meeting at 08:15. Then pretty much a typical day at RGH from there on.

Just watched one of my supernatural shows...are you rolling your eyes? Now to bed and start one of these books!

A horse with no name...

I don't know what to call this blog yet. So I'm just going to write and see what comes to mind. I'm currently in Canmore for the weekend with Kiva. Seems like all I've been doing is grocery shopping and cooking...I've been on a real vegetarian focus and trying a lot of new recipes. The black bean brownies I made tonight were GREAT! Courtesy of Dr. Oz. I'm also hooked on natural popcorn with a smidgen of butter and a whole lotta chipotle seasoning. Salty and spicy, it grabs you.

Its sunny and warmish up here. We went for a nice walk along the river after I had my medium decaf from Beamer's of course! Just going to relax tonight, maybe watch some TV...hasn't been on all day. The only time I actually crave TV is on 'Supernatural Sundays'. I'm loving the child psychics show...especially watching them help with 'cold cases' for the police and families. I get chills at how accurate these kids are with no information! A slightly scary Fortney trait I believe.

I'm not feeling 'Christmasy' at all which is uber strange for me. I usually love love love getting into the feel of Christmas. Hmmm.

Life is a mystery my friends. No road map. Which I like. Most days. My life lately has shifted to eating better, trying to eat more 'veggie' (and its been really easy)...getting massages more regularly, and trying to hone in on my inner voice and see what and where I'm supposed to do and be in 2011. There's a great 'stillness' room at one of my favorite places in the city for relaxation and wellness...a little meditation room set up with all you need (cozy meditation chair, CDs...). I can't wait to book it and try and go regularly.

I have another 2 things up my sleeve for the near future...one is getting my nose pierced and the other...well its a little too Fortney and very Tracey. I'll reveal that one in a bit.

Hope all is well in your world. Peace out.

Kept on truckin'...

Managed to do a 1.5 hour walk yesterday and another 2 hour walk tonight. If anything, it'll keep me at baseline considering I ate 2 Thanksgiving dinners (not on the same night) and probably didn't work anything extra off. But I feel proud of myself for keeping it up over the weekend.

A friend posted a website about '30 days raw' on their FB page and it inspired me to get back on track with that too. The website was about diabetes and the raw food diet, but it was a good reminder to stick with it.

So, starting tomorrow I'm going back to hardcore raw for 30 days and will continue my 2 hour walks home from work. That's the plan.

Time for some rest and relaxation before the work week begins again. Ugh. I dream of winning the lottery or coming into some big money. I could totally do the retirement thing already. I could do it really well actually!

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone (Canadians anyway)...no walks home from work this long weekend and more food than normal I'm sure. Who can resist turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie??? I'm actually baking 2 pies as we speak. I'm hoping to bake 2 more tomorrow but first I have to see how these ones turn out. I plan on giving all but one of them away. The tenants downstairs are uni students from Yellowknife and have someplace to go for dinner but I thought they might like a pie. And the dog daycare people, and family.

Out to dinner tonight and I think an improv show. Man do I need to laugh. But I'll die if its the type of show where they bring you on stage! Tomorrow and Monday are family Thanksgiving dinners, then its back to work. Didn't go out of town to Canmore but it might have been nice.

Tomorrow I'm planning a shorter but decent walk with Kiva along the river. Trying to eat properly this weekend and get some exercise in, even if its not the 2 hours I have been doing after work. Slowly but surely. I keep wanting to see instant results body-wise. Nothing yet after 2 solid days ha ha. Seriously, I WAS really hoping.

Day 2...

Did you already guess that I didn't make the morning work walk? Sleep, resting my sore body, and coffee won out. Hello! But I DID do the walk home again, another 13 km. And I hurt. Mostly my feet (I think a blister is developing on my left heel but I'm ignoring it). That *!!&**! of a hill...19th street...REALLY hurt. Its right at the end of my walk...almost 2 hours in. I actually don't even know how I made it up that hill today. I felt like I was walking on 2 'clubbed feet' or 'stumps'. But I did it. Yay me!

I have realized (yet again) that walking to AND from work is a lofty starting point. My urge is bigger than my ability at this point. Such a Gemini (or perhaps Fortney). Everything seems SO possible and instantly! Of course! Why couldn't I suddenly start walking 26 km each day without any problem? Ugh.

People at work think I'm nuts. I thought about that on the way home. Its not really any different than someone going for a 13 km run, is it? I guess walking 2 hours home after work DOES seem a little odd...old school...especially when there are buses, cars...I laughed to myself thinking, "I've always been a bit quirky though" and I do odd things. Sista G would say this is the Fortney gene. I laugh even more.

Off to bed and really hoping my feet and legs hold out for one more walk home tomorrow. The next day, Friday, is my day off from work and I'm doing yoga with my stepmom yoga instead. I'm really looking forward to that.

Feet don't fail me now!

Walktober has officially begun!

I had to drive to work today because I had an appointment during the day BUT...I DID walk home from work and got a ride back to my car. 13Km one way and took me about 2 hours.

My favorite part was stopping for water at Hill's grocery...a little convenience store in Bankview. The Asian man there has the friendliest face and instead of saying hello to me, he shouted "hey lady!". He kept saying "hey lady" to me after that too. It cracked me up.

Let's see if I can manage to wake up at the crack of dawn and walk to work in the morning. It means I have leave at 5:45 a.m. That will be the real test people. It isn't sounding like such a good idea right now, with a belly full of spaghetti and stiff muscles...but I am determined to try!

And a special shout out to Ozzy Osborne who got me pumped up enough to walk over the foot bridge above rush hour traffic on Glenmore Trail. "Aye aye aye! All abooard!" (Crazy Train).

"Walktober"

Fall is here and I have been feeling like a big lump. Tired. Unmotivated. My newest remedy? "Walktober" (a.k.a. October). I feel like an inventor, only with exercise. I keep coming up with new ideas but not many of them 'stick'. But bare with me on this one, as I have hope for it.

Its beautiful outside, the leaves are changing into phenominal, bright colors...I love the light breezes, the beauty, the smell of the air, and the FEEL of the air in fall. I get a distinct feeling inside of me during this time of year. A yearning for warmth, affection, all that is good and comforting. Just mmmm mmmm good.

And I like walking. So rather than try and run, cycle, do PX90...why not start at the place I'm at? Walking. Hence, the birth of 'Walk-tober'.

The goal is to walk everywhere I can instead of drive. This includes work which would mean about 1.5 - 2 hours one way. I kind of like that though! I'll feel invogorated by the time I get to work and decompress on the walk home. It sounds good right? I can do this. I'm excited about gearing up in the morning and getting out there. And I'm hoping its the kickstart to further exercise once my body is warmed up from all the walking.

Part of the reason that got me thinking of this was P's mom. She always talks about how no one was ever "fat" (hate that word) back in the day because...you guessed it...they WALKED everywhere. She grew up in Rossland, BC...hill country. She and her siblings walked to work and back (including up and down a huge hill every day) and everywhere in between.

It may mean I get home later at the end of the day but what better way to spend time?

My other addition to today's note is...I am in LOVE with the ghoulash and spetzel (sp?) at the Edelweiss restaurant in the neighborhood. Ate there last night and even savored the button mushrooms in the ghoulash and I'm not a fan of the mushroom. A 'must try' if you're in the area.