In Support of the Canadian Troops

I’m deviating from my normal, witty discourse that usually graces this blogspot to talk about an issue that is not only more serious, but important to me. The Canadian Troops in Afghanistan get a lot of flak for their involvement in the Afghan mission for peace, and the government’s consideration to remove the troops from the Middle East in 2011 has been met with a great amount of controversy. I’m going to avoid a lot of the political issues that surround the Canadian Army and their Afghanistan presence because, truthfully, I don’t know enough about it to really debate whether their involvement is right or wrong. I’m merely speaking from a personal level, taking into consideration that one of my friends is currently “over there”.

I couldn’t be more proud to say that my friend is part of the Canadian Army and is serving over in Afghanistan, but I’m also terrified that one of the times he goes will be the last time I ever see him. It’s a morbid thought, but it’s valid. I feel sick whenever I see the crowds gathering on the bridges over the Highway of Heroes to catch a glimpse of the cars carrying fallen soldiers, and I pray that, every time I hear about another young soldier’s death, it won’t be Buddy Bella (I’m not sure that he would love that nickname, but since he doesn’t read this blog, he doesn’t really have a say in what I call him). I can’t imagine what the families of those fallen soldiers must feel when they hear about the death of their loved one – I would be devastated, and Buddy Bella and I are certainly not as close as he and his family.

It breaks my heart to know that he sees things that no one should ever have to see, and that he has lost more friends in the war than most people lose in a lifetime. He’s changed since being over there, which is no doubt due to the experiences that he endures, and I hate that he has to live with horrible images forever in his mind.

While I can’t say that I completely agree with the Canadian Army’s involvement in Afghanistan, I am behind it because the soldiers need as much support as they can get for the dangerous work that they’re doing. It’s important that those soldiers don’t die in vain, and that they know that their country’s people are behind them and are proud of them as they go about their mission. I just want all the soldiers, Buddy Bella in particular, to have gone through what they have for a purpose.

Every soldier is a child, sibling, parent, spouse, relative, neighbour, or friend – appreciate that they are fighting for our country and for the peace of another, much more volatile country, and don’t let their involvement be in vain. Even if you don’t agree with the Canadian Army’s involvement in the Afghan mission, please support the Canadian Troops and, if you get the chance, thank them for the sacrifices that they make. Even give them a hug... Actually, on second thought, don't do that. They're trained to kill and any physical contact may make them go a little crazy (so I couldn't deviate completely from humour, it's just how I do).

Love,

Bella

Oh Camp, How I Love Thee...

What do you get when you combine a camp, ridiculously rustic cabins, a ropes course, a session that tried to cram in too much information to process on canoeing, and a session on how to make fire primitive style? The answer would be the 2009 COEO conference (Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario).

Now, where do I start? How about the part that perhaps sucked the most: the incredibly freezing weather which we experienced Friday night, into the wee hours of the morning. How cold? Freaking COLD. Granted, my sleeping bag is not rated to cold weather, but I thought that my extra blanket that I brought, my super warm (usually) track pants, and two sweaters would keep me toasty. Wrong. Oh SO wrong. I was up at least every hour because I was shivering. Did you know that you can't sleep when you're cold? Or at least it's really difficult. I'm sure other members of the cabin were cold, too. The cabin had screen netting, but no glass for the windows. It also had rather large holes in it, just welcoming the wind to come in any time it pleased. What the heck happened to the weather we had just two weeks ago? Hot, humid, sunny...nights when you couldn't sleep with blankets because it was much too hot? It's still September, Mother Nature! It's not October, yet! We should have built a fire with the wood that our cabin was made of (actually, if we had of had the primitive fire session yesterday instead of today, we just might have). Apparently the cabin beside us had a heater. I should have acted on my thoughts that I had last night to do a one-man ambush on that cabin. I could have fought off those lucky campers with my hands made of ice!

In the early minutes before breakfast I was finally able to coax myself out of my slightly-warmer-than-the-air sleeping bag. That's when the day started. the first session was a rope course. I've heard of them from my roomies and from people at other camps, but never have I actually done any of them myself. It was interesting, good team work is required for some of the things, though. I went rock climbing for the first time, which was pretty amazing, and scary at the same time. There was another element called the "Vertical Playground" where you had a climb a canoe hanging from a tree with ropes and ladders etc. Can you imagine being asked what you did on the weekend, and getting to say that you climbed a canoe? I didn't get around to doing it, as we were running pretty short on time.

Past that, let's go to the canoeing portion of the day. Aka the time that I felt like I was going to crawl into a hole and not come out. This session said that it was for all levels, including beginners, so I thought, "Hey, cool, why not? I went canoeing two weeks ago, I'm pretty much pro, right?" Again, wrong. The instructor wanted to see what type of levels he was dealing with, so asked a question about who could do something called a J-stroke, and they were asked to go to one side of the room. That was Chinese to me at the time, so I assumed that I couldn't do it. At this point in my life I curse my parents for not showing me or signing me up for canoeing earlier. I was one of 2 people who were left on the apparently VERY beginner to canoeing. Everyone laughed as we huddled together with fear in our eyes. I was told afterward that my dear, dear friend felt bad that he had left us alone and should have stayed with the beginners (even though he is CLEARLY wayyyy past that stage...). I can take the heat, though! (Not really, but we'll pretend!) I thought that we were going to be in the clear, since they were talking about some pretty intense strokes and only volunteers were being used. Naturally, I tried to act super small so as not to be seen by the instructors' eyes. Just as we were about to go outside to attempt solo canoeing, the other beginner and I were called upon to "practice" the strokes in front of all of the superior canoers. F.M.L.

Now, while we were in the room being embarrassed by pushing around "roller canoes", the wind picked up pretty heavily. The instructor then said that there is a combination that he doesn't like for canoeing: Solo, Beginners, and Wind. DING DING DING! We have a winner. In my case, we had all three. So, solo was out for me. I've only ever been canoeing once before, and now they want to get me going solo? PUH-LEASE! The water was a little cold for me to want to go swimming (which is what I'm sure would have happened once the canoe had to be tipped to do solo paddling). Anyways, that was a horror for me, and was possibly the longest three hours of my life; waiting, just waiting to make a fool of myself.

Now, after I arrived back on shore with dry clothes my heart rate started to go back to normal compared to the previous hours' experience. On our way to our next session we saw a group of people throwing spades and knives at a dead tree stump. Way to go, educators! Anyways, after being amazed by a new take on anger management we went on to the last session of the day that had to do with fire. The session was in a very old, very wooden building. So, it's only natural that our presenter gave us materials to try and start the process of making a fire in the wilderness on the wooden floor. No matches, no gasoline, just a few pieces of wood, a knife, and string. Very normal, right? If you agreed with that you may want to seek out psychiatric help, just a suggestion. I'm pretty sure the camp councellors were waiting to see flames engulf the building at any moment. We got the main jist of it! We didn't light the place on fire, though, we felt it would be irresponsible. But apparently our ancestors knew what they were doing at one point in time! Those cabins are lucky we're not there tonight...

Anyways, we came home after a long day. Bring on the warm, windless house with nice, sturdy glass windows!!
Currently snug-as-a-bug-in-a-rug,
Heidi

Let's Re-evaluate...

I don’t have anything to do at work this week besides think about my weight loss goals while constantly trying to fight off cravings. I actually think my job may be hazardous to my health, as I eat in order to stay awake and to avoid boredom as much as I can. Seriously, today, I ate my lunch BEFORE lunch, and AT lunch I ate my snack because I had nothing else to eat. I am getting so sick of having to think of things to make for lunch that I bring hardly anything – not smart, Bella, not smart.

Anyway, one of the main thoughts of the past week has been this whole “quitting chocolate” thing. Thing is, if I tell myself I can’t have something, it makes me want it more. I have a major issue with “no one can tell ME what to do”. Apparently that includes what I tell myself, as well. So, after much deliberation, I have decided that I will seriously limit my chocolate intake, but I will still allow myself to have it.

I bought a bag of Lindt chocolate squares and a box of those 100 calorie Cadbury Dairy Thins, which I have stored in my freezer, in the back, only to be enjoyed in moderation. I have a Dairy Thin after lunch and a Lindt chocolate square after dinner. This is my first night doing this. I’ll let you know how it goes – that is, if I don’t end up in a sugar-induced coma as a result of bingeing on my beloved chocolate that I haven’t had in…one day. Please don’t judge me.

I got my foot tattoo touched up this past Tuesday, so I can’t workout for about a week. Apparently it’s not good for the tattoo to rub against anything as much as it does when I workout – found that out after half of it rubbed off about a week after getting it done. Contrary to what some of you may believe, not going to the gym is maddening!

Anyway, that’s where I am right now on my journey to being lovely and thin on my first trip of 2010 – the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.

Send skinny vibes!!

Love,

Bella

This Is It...Who's With Me?

I’ve decided to use this blog to document my diet and fitness adventures as I attempt to lose inches, tone up, and eventually look like Marisa Miller. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

I recently came across a fitness blog written by Toronto Star columnist David Bruser, who is fantastically sarcastic and hilariously true in his accounts of entering the world of fitness. He’s my inspiration to start chronicling my own endeavours, if only to coerce my readers (read: my family) to read his blog. It really is that good. And, okay, I won’t lie, I have a bit of a crush on him. He’s cute, funny, sarcastic, and he can write well – what’s not to like? But I digress…

Two of my work friends and I have decided to make an honest attempt at eating well and exercising in order to lose weight, feel better about ourselves, and maybe show up a few guys that snubbed us in the past. In order to really devote myself to this lifestyle change, I need to have some sort of accountability, and this blog seems to be a good way to get that. Granted, I have my girlfriends to talk to, but writing down my trials, tribulations, and successes is a good motivator and a good way to cure the writing bug that I’ve had since graduating from my English Literature program and starting my job as a Data Analyst. My ideal job would be one where I could write all day about things that interest me (that was a hint to anyone who reads this and has ties to a newspaper or magazine that is looking for a new columnist…just sayin’).

Along with my fitness and diet issues, my posts will also chronicle my efforts to quit chocolate. I know, chocolate? Just stop eating it, right? Not so much. There’s definitely an addictive quality to chocolate and I am a full fledged addict. Hi, I’m Bella, and I’m a chocoholic.

It’s not going to be easy but I’m hoping that, with this blog, I’ll be stronger and more determined to quit chocolate if I’m held accountable by my readers. I don’t hope to be perfect and, as Bruser states, I don’t hope to quit gracefully, I just want to quit.

So, that’s my plan thus far. I know it won’t be easy, but it WILL be worth it. I’ve got two, maybe three, vacations coming up in 2010 – Vancouver, a Caribbean cruise, and a Contiki tour of Scandinavia and Russia. I do NOT want to be the fat one on those vacations, trying to figure out ways to get thin, or wishing I was one of those fit, beautiful girls that always plague my vacations. I want to be one.

God damnit, I will be one.

Here goes nothing.

Love,

Bella

For the Love of Winter...Hello Fall!

It's back to posts that I initially wanted to start writing a blog about! My Leafs have returned! And it appears that they have returned with a vengeance! The glorious preseason of the Toronto Maple Leafs started up last Wednesday (September 16) against a fellow Original Sixer, the Boston Bruins. Congrats to all of those lucky Coke fans who ended up scoring free tickets to the game. I will be forever jealous of your lives.

The Leafs lost to the Bruins 3-2, which may have deflated the hype a wee bit. However, they came back in the next three games (twice against Philadelphia, and once against Pittsburgh) to win 4-0 and 5-4 against the Flyers, and 5-4 against the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions, the Penguins. In the first four games of the 2008-2009 preseason launch, the Leafs lost 3 of the 4. Looks like we may have reason to be somewhat optimistic this year. *knocks on wood* Then again, once you hit rock bottom (or close to it) there's nowhere to go but up.

Possibly most impressive, besides the newly-Leafed players contribution to the scoreboard, is the powerplay goals that have been rounded up. In the game against Pittsburgh, all four of the goals were on the power play. Now, at first you may think, "yeah, well that's the only way they scored the entire game..." which is indeed very true. That's not the point. In the first game against Boston, 1 of the 2 goals scored were on the powerplay, and against Philly in one game 2 of 5 were PPG. For whatever reason they don't have the scoresheet for the second Philly game posted. The search for that will continue and will be added upon being found. For a team that had an average power play percentage (PPG) of 18.83% for the entire 2008-2009 season (16th in the league), this is quite the improvement. I have a feeling that Ron Wilson is pushing for this type of play, and for good reason!

Anyways, to my great dismay, my current landlord does not subscribe to Leafs TV. I have not been able to watch any of the preseason games to actually see how the boys are playing, but I'm hoping the scoresheets are representitive of a team with some kind of improvement since March. Stepdad Heidi subscribed to Leafs TV, just for me, and I'm not even there to appreciate it at this point in time. Looks like my TV watching hours will have to go through the roof in two weeks time when I am back in Oshawa doing placement.

On a sidenote, I would like to formally welcome Autumn back into our lives, which starts tomorrow! May all of the summer humidity (or lack thereof), rain (maybe it's now a summer thing instead?), and ridiculous number of insects and bugs have a great vacation. Welcome colourful leaves, shorter days, warm sweaters, hockey, and cool, crisp mornings. <3

Ciao!
Heidi

Weighing In On That Fancy Gym Membership

You know those gyms – like the one in “Dodgeball” – where you have to work out before you go work out? The ones where everyone wears really cute workout clothes, has all their makeup on, and barely breaks a sweat for fear of looking or smelling anything less than impeccable? (I’m referring to the women, obviously – it’s not THAT kind of gym). I love those gyms. I know – weird, right? But I do. I love the fancy machines and the saunas and the hot tubs and the beautiful people (oooh, those yummy guys) that go there. It’s motivating! Why would I want to work out next to a girl wearing fabulous clothes and looking fantastic while I have a baggy t-shirt on and a beet red face? Granted, I don’t cop out on my workouts – I push myself pretty damn hard and I make sure that I work up a really good sweat, but there’s a social aspect at those gyms that’s so inviting. It’s infectious. I want to be friends with everyone there (though they don’t seem to share the same wish – maybe there’s something to that smelling impeccable thing).

I joined one of those gyms about a month ago, after I bought a day pass to workout with a friend. I was hooked. I bought my membership from an extremely good looking, young (coincidence? um, nope) membership salesman who is now my boyfriend (unbeknownst to him). Having a model-type sell memberships is brilliant – very few things besides that will increase the membership sales, especially by women. Hell, they probably have some hot girl to sell memberships to the guys – it’s just good business sense (so to speak)! Adding to his looks, he was nice, funny, and engaging and, well, it’s no wonder his job is to coerce people into buying a membership. He totally knew how to play it up. He was flirty, sweet, and made me laugh, and I totally fell for it. Wouldn’t you? Flattery will get a guy far with me. I fully admit that his demeanour was a deciding factor in my choice to join, and I’m perfectly fine with that. If I said it didn’t play a part, something would be wrong. I mean, I’m a 22 year old female, come on now.

On my first venture into my new gym, I was greeted by my new boyfriend, and luckily I had kept my makeup on from work that day – like I said, you gotta look good (though it doesn’t look so good when it’s running down my face from the sweat – again with the positives of not sweating)! I was there by myself that day, and I decided to do some cardio. Five minutes later, I was off the treadmill and searching for something else to do – I get bored easily, apparently. I thought squats would be a great workout – I wanted to build some more muscle in my lower body to make my butt look awesome in my new yoga pants bought especially for this gym. I walked over to the squat rack to see it in use by one of the metal heads that doesn’t even squat properly. Amateur.

That’s one thing I don’t like about these gyms – a lot of the people there don’t know how to workout properly. Brother Bella, a Certified CrossFit trainer, has drilled it into my head that a workout must always be done properly, and that if I can’t use a higher weight because it hinders my form, then I’m not ready for it. Something those guys should learn!

The weight area of this gym is rather tiny, and I can’t say that it smelled particularly fantastic. I’m pretty sure that my face gave my disdain for the smell away, and with the snotty look I had on my face (I call it my you-can’t-judge-me-because-I-look-like-I’m-judging-you look) I think people just figured that I’m a huge bitch. Woopsy.

As I stood at the weights, looking around and staring at the guy using the squat rack in the hope that I could make him move with my mind, I decided that I should probably do SOMEthing to avoid looking even more like an idiot than I already did. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do because I didn’t pick out a workout before hand, so I went back to the tried and true workouts of CrossFit, a circuit based training program that is made up of the most intense workouts I’ve ever done. I decided to do a workout that I came up with myself, but that incorporates some of the CrossFit exercises: 21-15-9 of deadlifts at 135 lbs and push press at 55 lbs (I’m thinking about calling it the Bella, so I’ll have a pole move AND a CrossFit workout named after me). So much for wanting to seem feminine and pretty – I’m fairly certain that I could deadlift more than some of the guys there. Attractive, right? I have no doubt that all the guys there were thinking, “oh yeah, look at her, she’s stronger than I am and her arms may be bigger than mine, too – she is SO hot”. That’s right, boys – if you want to be emasculated by a 22 year old, I’m the one you need to see! ;-)

Stay tuned for more posts detailing my adventures at the gym – I’m sure I’ll have plenty that will be based around the situations that my friend and I get ourselves into. For a little preview, she and I reverted back to children and took turns on the water slide at the gym’s pool. As we scrambled out of the pool to go down a second time (woowee! but seriously, it was awesome), a man walked into the pool area to hear her exclaim, “me first, me first!” and I, in turn, shriek back with “ok ok ok!” There wasn’t any way to make ourselves seem cool after that. But really, what fun is being cool? If I was cool, I wouldn’t have nearly as much fun as I do now making an ass of myself on a regular basis, usually in public places. It’s just how I do.

Love,

Bella

So this one day...in teacher's college...

Well, the days and weeks have come that I was dreading all summer: the arrival of yet another school year. Not only was I completely hating life the few weeks before September 1st, but I seriously considered not going at all. How has everything worked itself out? Amazingly.

I figured that I would spend ridiculous hours a day sitting and listening to 100-year-old veteran teachers tell us how to teach our soon-to-be students, the do's and don'ts, and how to pick the curriculum apart thread by thread. Okay, so I'll admit: some classes ARE like that, and are really tedious. Apparently common sense isn't so common as once thought? So, what do our "teachers" do to us in the mystery of teacher's college that has completely made my outlook do a complete 180? Most of them are incredibly down-to-earth, believe it or not! Sure, quirky, but definitely in a fun way. Of my 8 teachers, 5 of them bring in coffee, tea, and hot chocolate to class for students to devour. I think they're being paid by Tim Horton's, Maxwell House, and the like to get us hooked at an early age to secure the businesses future...

The one class that blew my mind is my focus: environmental education. When I first read the course description I thought, "hm, may be cool...it kind of fits in with my undergrad...". I didn't know that the course would turn more into a hobby than a class. This past weekend we went on an overnight field trip to the Queen's University Biological Station (QUBS) where we completed a Project Wild! course by playing numerous games and running around like grade 3's acting like deer, muskox, wolves, etc. Remember: growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional! Aside from unleashing the inner child, I went canoeing for the FIRST TIME EVER and didn't even tip the boat! I was quite proud, especially now that I can say that I am truly a Canadian. During the evening we went owl calling. Apparently a large bard owl flew overhead. It was only natural that I was looking the other way in the sky. Everyone says it was cool, though. After that, we learned some basic astrology. Heck, we even saw an entire other universe! It kind of looks like a smudge in the sky if you look close enough, where the light that we saw was over 2 million years old. Call me crazy, but that's my kind of course!

What else? Well, we went butterfly catching today. Now, let me paint you a picture.
Imagine 34 kids, each armed with their own sturdy bamboo and silkscreen net.
Imagine a teacher unleashing those kid upon the wilderness of a trail, on private property.
It screams excitement, don't you think?
Now, I'm going to get you to make some changes:
Make those 34 kids be between the ages of 21 and 30.
Also, in that picture, did you actually see butterflies? You might want to erase them, because we didn't see any...apparently it was too cold and windy. Safe travels down to Mexico, Monarchs! May your journey be free of hijackers.
But really, that truly was the only difference between a class of grade three students and us. Some people came back to the meeting place covered in burrs. Actually, maybe the grade 3s actually would have found a butterfly?

What's next on this courses agenda? We will be visiting the Queen's astrology observatory in two weeks, where we will again look at the marvelous burning balls of gas and rock that are further away than you or I can fathom. It has been proposed to go out for dinner beforehand, and to go for some drinks afterhard. Seriously, is it starting to sound more like an outdoors group than a classroom?
Next, we will be making our own canoe paddles from a plank of wood! Again, crazy awesome!

In two weekends from now I will be heading to a weekend-long outdoor/environmental conference with teachers and teacher candidates alike. Apparently Saturday night is a wicked party. Guess it'll be a sweet introduction to weekends away as a teacher...*cough*

Anyways, this B.Ed student should probably get some shut eye, playing with math manipulatives in the morning may be draining!

-a teacher in waiting,
Heidi

"I pole dance on a regular basis." "Really? Can I, like, watch...?"

Telling my male friends that I take pole dancing lessons often results in the question that I have included in the title of this post - something along the lines of wanting to watch the routine that I learn. I won't lie - I love telling guys that I pole dance because I love to see their reaction. There's a sense of intrigue that guys display after learning this bit of information about me, and I like the way that feels.

However, this post isn't about a guy's reaction to pole dancing. Rather, it's about the way that it makes me feel when I do it and the freedom and sense of possibility that I experience whenever I spin around that pole.

Okay, so maybe I'm starting to sound like a woman who just experienced an epiphany about the miracles of feminism or something, but I'm serious! Pole dancing gives everyone who does it, I would say, a totally motivating sense of confidence that makes her think, "hell yeah, I'm hot and any man would be damn lucky to have a shot with me."

When I went to my first class, I was nervous, I'll admit it. But that nervousness went away when I saw the instructor do the first move I would learn - the swing walk. It's a pretty simple move, just holding onto the pole and pivoting around it on one foot, but that one move made me feel like I could flip upside down on that pole (a la the girl in the photo) and it would look effin' awesome. Not that I can't do that now...

Soon, I was doing moves like the Firefly and the Butterfly without any feet on the ground. Those took a bit longer to master and, ya, a few times I looked like a fireman rushing down the pole to answer a call rather than a sexy exotic dancer, but it was FUN. And, better yet, I learned to laugh at myself. What's the sense of being serious about it and getting upset when I have trouble with a move? Hell, if I did, I'd have quit long ago.

I'm on to level 2 now, and the move we've just learned is the Tinkerbell. I've discovered that not only do I not have enough upper body strength to hold myself in a static position on the pole, but I also have the ability to shoot myself off the pole. I think it's a very advanced move, and I'm thinking about calling it The Bella. No one else in the class did it, and I think that if I decide to do the routine for someone, he would think I am extremely talented. Better yet, when I did manage to swing around the pole, my feet would hit the ground and make a nice slap sound that, I believe, is actually very sexy!

Contrary to what most people believe, my class isn't taught by a stripper, but instead by a regular woman who took pole dancing classes and then became a teacher. It's fun, and you learn all sorts of sexy moves, including lap dances. Really, though, the best part about pole dancing is that you feel pretty damn good about yourself. What could be better than that?

Love,

Bella