I was out for my #morningwalk and as I passed a particularly New Orleans themed restaurant in the Byward Market, I was amazed that music was blaring out into the streets – at 7 a.m. hmmm. I guess today is Mardi Gras.
Two of my Bollywood For Fun buddies are performing tonight at Shattered Ceilings at the Mayfair. Because today is International Women’s Day.
Vegan pancake recipe - just 'Cause
So here we are, in a crazy messed up city of snow and ice, with a sect of folks being encouraged to spend the day indulging in a mass of pancakes and other excesses, as they prepare to give it all up for the next 40 days , until they then again indulge in a mass of chocolate or whatever to bring about their major religious holiday that will take place in April.
Painted Ladies photo by california cowgirl1
And there is the notorious concept that in a particular city down south of us, there are potentially thousands of young women making the choice to expose themselves in exchange for strands of plastic beads. I can only imagine the chaos, having only heard about this from my second belly dance teacher many years back, when she actually experienced it first hand and shipped the beads back to make her own very special “mardi gras” costume…
The juxtaposition of this against the posters I have seen all over for the “I’m not a feminist, but…” films at the National Archives tonight, along with the event my colleagues are performing at, gives me pause.
Are we better off for the opportunities we have, as women and people in general, to both indulge our own excessive behaviours at the same time raising awareness of the numbers of women around the world who would be horribly treated or even killed if they chose to flash someone in public exchange for a bit of pretties?
Or are we really a very messed up society that is still trying to find it’s way beyond religious influence, beyond defining ourselves by extreme behaviours, or even find a way to redefine extreme behaviours as “normal”, and then what kettle of fish does that open? Who keeps fish in a kettle anyway?
Fire and Flux- what a fun installation!
Artist Christine Irving and her crew have created an amazing adventure to be enjoyed behind the Museum of Civilization during this opening weekend of the National Capital Winterlude Celebrations!
I was honoured to volunteer for a few of the many hours put into set-up and was part of last night’s safety crew while folks lined up to dance, swing and sway on the platform so that they could “make fire!”
Thanks to Leslie for having let me know about this opportunity, and while I am fully booked for the rest of the weekend, I hope you get a chance to go see it today or tomorrow – during the day it will be just as spectacular!
Click through to see some fun video of both it in action and the fabulous fireworks from last night’s opening ceremonies! Great job to all involved!
Love living in Ottawa!
… It wasn’t a full on hour walk, but it was more than I’ve managed during the cold spell we’ve had. Yay for -13 celcius!
Anyhoo, I got to thinking, as I always do during my morning walks- or any walks for that matter, about the upcoming Dancers’ Bazaar and what I have to prepare for it.
One thing with running TAV Creations, which is mainly custom sewing & design, I really like doing what folks need/want/request etc. It means that my work has a purpose. I get to create something that someone has envisioned in their own head but are not in a position to make themselves.
Some beadwork done at the hands of TAV Creations
Or I get to design something for them, using that special piece of fabric they were given, bought on a trip, or for any other reason, and that fabric has brought them joy and can now be put to practical use and bring them more joy.
This process works with both my bridal work and my costume work. And even alterations can be fun when it’s with something pretty and sparkly!
I have tried over the past decade+ of Dancers’ Bazaars to have items that are basic and simple, so that they can complement existing bedleh sets, add that final piece to an outfit, or be the base that the whole ensemble is built upon at a later date. This burgundy one started out that way, and then found it’s owner and we finished it off!
made a few years back, but you get the idea
I have found that pre-making a complete set, including beadwork etc. has worked on occasion, but I often don’t have the time to produce a fully decorated set with all of my regular client work, classes etc.
So what journey will I go one for this coming Bazaar? I have some ideas – that I will share when I actually start to implement them, with full on photos of the work in progress etc.!
In the meantime, tell me something: What are you looking for in costuming these days? What’s your belly dance costuming need for the upcoming season of shows that will start in now time? Leave me a comment below and soon I’ll get a new poll up for you to take too 🙂
Today I was able to enjoy an early lunch with the Friday Office gang and a girlfriend whose schedule now allows her to do more stuff during the day.
It was very interesting listening to her talk about her life and what she’s doing these days – we have haven’t hung out together much in smaller settings for a while, so it was nice to be able to chat.
It reminded me that for my whole life, I have liked rotating through friends – that sounds weird I am sure, but I have always liked to have a diverse selection of folk to spend time with and alternate my social scene when I can. It makes me appreciate them all more.
And it was nice to listen to the conversations – some silly, some intense and that’s the very nature of FridayOffice that @wtl loves so much.
Honestly, I can only take it in small doses, and today was just right! Another reminder of who I am – I like spending time with girls. I like boys too, but I like them for short periods of time – like today. And the men I know are amazing men – no worries there – no brutes amongst them! But spending time with boys means I have to get out of my head and open myself up to new conversations.
Sigh.
That’s a good thing, I know, but I am a selfish girl and like to talk about things I am interested in. I like to talk about things I know about. And challenging myself comes at a price to my ego – I may be wrong about something and have to change my views – GAH! Or merely think more than I feel like at that particular moment.. again, GAH!
Again, just a bit more insight into me! Perhaps more than you need to know – but if you know me already – this isn’t that big on the news front!
So, after a lovely lunch, my girlfriend and I walked out into the beautiful sunshine and parted ways a few blocks later. I continued on home in the sunshine thinking.. What a beautiful day…
Hope you have had a great day too! it’s not over yet!
There are so many things I think about when I am out walking that I would love to share – then I get home and get busy. <sigh>
Last Friday morning, I had a great morning walk – the first in weeks that really felt like I was almost back on track with them. As the days get shorter, I, like many others, am directly affected and wish to spend much more time in bed than I probably should. So sleeping in until the clocks finally changed was becoming a dangerous norm. Now that I’ve got sunlight to awaken me again, my morning walks have a chance at resuming at their prescribed early hour, so that I can get the walk in before too much traffic hits the streets and makes it noisy and too unfun!
As I was on my walk last Friday morning, I felt so compelled to share my little journey through the ups and downs, the busy times and making time for me/ hubby/ and how my life gets a bit crazy if I neglect these important aspects. There was flowery language, deep thoughts and all kinds of impact filled revelations that were going to be expressed. Then I came home and began sewing and just didn’t do it.
Friday evening rolled around and I was able to head out to a great gig and then a post gig visit with friends that was late, but very enjoyable.
That started a weekend of busy moments bookended by enjoyable social time.
Saturday evening took me to City Hall for a lovely event that went very well, until I realized during my finale performance, my static treatment was inadequate, my system of attachment was not functioning properly and I became a broken winged butterfly for the last half of my song.
Will link up to Eurika’s pics here when she uploads them!
I did my best to recover from it, but moments like that can be so disappointing and full of self recrimination – should haves and would haves that really only help in the “hindsight is 20/20” department. At least I had great company and we continued on to support a friend at another social event that was a lot of fun.
Sunday took us to Montreal. Family visits with the in-laws are always an adventure, and being there to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday was great. The live fish being cooked and served to us was a new concept for me, and one I really have to think about in the future { filed under: things that make me consider going vegetarian for real}. The drive back was punctuated by a quick stop off the highway to deliver a client’s bag of goodies that made her life and mine much easier, and it gave me a quick break from the headlights in the rearview.
Then Fortune smiled and provided a parking space directly in front of our favourite Shawarma place on Dalhousie and @wtl was able to pop in to get us some much needed Lebanese food to round out the international fare of the day – we started with good ole Canadian food { Tim Horton’s}! And Scott Pilgrim Versus the World entertained us as we wound down after a fairly busy weekend.
Thus today = taking time off for me. I needed my hair trimmed- done. I wanted to simply write a bit of personal journey stuff – doing that now. I also wanted to do some retile therapy – about to head off to do that shortly as I go pick up some shirts for @wtl.
And I am glad to be able to take some time for me – I love my friends and family, but really do need that quiet time to recharge and take a break from it all. And when I don’t, I suffer for it – which means those around me suffer for it.
So, a few more hours of me time, then off to teach classes tonight – choreographies are pretty much done, but I need to video tape them for the learning process and then we talk costumes. Tomorrow night = classes and then a gig. Next weekend = more gigs and a craft sale. Each weekend has something booked or the potential of something to be booked.
Monday’s will once again be my time off methinks, making Monday a good day.
So, this is one photo from our August holiday – if you click on it, you can see many more and check out our Algonquin photos as well in my hubby, WTL’s sets.
I am a very lucky person. I have a great husband, I am self-employed doing jobs that i love, and while I still have things to work on [ don’t we all?], I really like where I am in my life and will stop gushing now!
This summer’s holiday adventures included a lot of nooks coming up to join us on our camping trip – and it was so cool. Each person brought a different element of experience, learning, joy and smiles – and maybe a bit of eyeball exercise – as we all took some time to get to know each other a bit better in a new space and time.
So thanks to all of you for joining us and adding such great memories to our trip. While @wtl did not post pics of you all, we do have them in our person collections and will treasure those moments!
the list: Mark, Gail, Ramanda and Justin [ on their own site], Kristina and Gabriel, Susi and Chris, Jocelyne, Gailene, Ginny, Glen, Matt and Warren[ on their own site], Alex, Julie and Richard, Megan and Dan – Hope I did not miss anyone!
Thanks to all who so kindly brought us little tokens – be it drinkies, goodies, snackies etc. – all of your generous contributions/ gifts were most appreciated!
We had a wonderful time on our own as well, as we both really needed that down time to relax, sleep, read, walk, canoe, relax, sleep etc.
Once we got back into Ottawa for a couple of days, we really only had time to sort through things, do some laundry and then pack for Fan Expo. And another great weekend of adventure began with an early morning train ride with @suzemuse and @G_Reg to Toronto! It was fun meeting the other group at the back of the train – those young pups who had some great knowledge and appreciation of the oldies as well as the new stuff in sci-fi, comics etc. Claire, Krystin, James? and pink haired girl with the knitting were all great fun to chat with. and to share my baking with! Recipes later for the vegan oatmeal cookies!
I had a great time meeting so many new people and running into Ottawa folks there – even if it was only for a few minutes in line at the hotel! And next year we’ll bring more Ottawa folk out to have some fun!
While this post is pretty superficial, suffice it to say that I really appreciate and am grateful for the blessings of August – they always get me good and ready to start my own personal new year in September.
Going back to school is a perpetual part of my life – September always brings on the new round of work/classes[ since I teach now]/and begins a fresh start, especially as the weather starts to cool off – not today I know with this heat wave – but soon!
I am really looking forward to what this season will bring as I begin my new bellywood classes, ramp up my regular belly dance classes and then teach some sewing in October! and the Dancer’s bazaar return in October as well, only weeks away so much to do for that as well!
I have lots of prep to do over the next few weeks and tonight’s demo will be my first actual sharing of the bellywood stuff, so I hope those who come out will be kind 😉
An hour from now, I’ll meet with my first appointment of the fall, and I still have info to put online and more promo/ marketing work to do for the many things coming up, so I’ll sign off and wish you all a happy First day of September!
@wtl, my DH, has often said something along the lines of when we take a break, it’s for resting, not doing. And I think he even broke down the differences in his own personal views of the terms, “holiday” and “vacation” – but I couldn’t find it easily on his blog, so I’ll just ramble on with my own thoughts! He can add his later in the comments 😉
ON my walk this morning – lovely August morning at 17 degrees Celsius with a fair breeze to keep me cool – I was in heaven! – I started to think about the words: holiday and vacation, and wished I could just create a blog post in my mind and send it out from there! Maybe some day….
Defining things a bit:
Holiday: |ˈhäliˌdā|
noun: a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done : December 25 is an official public holiday.
[as adj. ] characteristic of a holiday; festive : a holiday atmosphere.• chiefly Brit. (often holidays) a vacation : I spent my summer holidays on a farm | Fred was on holiday in Spain.
verb [ intrans. ] :chiefly Brit.spend a holiday in a specified place : he is holidaying in Italy.
ORIGIN Old English hāligdæg [holy day.]
Vacation: |vāˈkā sh ən; və-|
noun: an extended period of recreation, esp. one spent away from home or in traveling : he took a vacation in the south of France | people come here on vacation
[as adj. ] a vacation home.• a fixed holiday period between terms in schools and law courts.2 the action of leaving something one previously occupied : his marriage was the reason for the vacation of his fellowship.
verb [ intrans. ]take a vacation : I was vacationing in Europe with my family.
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French, or from Latinvacatio(n-), from vacare ‘be unoccupied’ (see vacate ).
Pretty similar concepts.
I like the idea that vacation comes from Old French/ Latin – “to be unoccupied”. Considering the time I spend in my brain, does that mean I actually will be vacating that cerebral space while on my break? Probably not, but definitely exiting certain areas and visiting others in there for sure!
And holiday – a day where no work is done. That’s where I am headed as well.
Hmmm… maybe based on the classic definitions, it’s merely whatever word you prefer to use, and then choosing your own definition of the break you are taking.
Ambiguous and Wishy-Washy that!
Well, my break will include much of nothing. And the smatterings of doing will contrast with the extended periods of nothing.
Balance is what I am always seeking, in everything I do, and I think balance in my vacation/holiday will come pretty naturally.
I find an ever present spark of guilt gets me up and moving, and moments of self preservation offset it with a demanding whine that lets me stop and relax for at least a while!
And it takes a lot of work to take a break, whether it’s simply having friends over to visit, or actually taking time off and getting away from it all.
There are always preparations on so many levels and when camping is involved, you cannot let yourself slide into relaxation mode before the tents are set up and ready to house you for X days/weeks etc.
If you relax too quickly, and let things slide [ ie. don’t put the tarps up] that’s when the rain will hit and then everyone suffers. But put em up right away and it’s all good!WTL used to try to interrupt the momentum that carries me through to the end of any given preparation, now he just does his own thing and keeps up, stepping aside when I am in full steam ahead mode so that he does not get run over! As do our friends who have camped with us and are there for either set up or take down 🙂 and of course:
XKCD comics are most funny
I am actually writing this to help in keeping the momentum flowing …
We still have things to do to get ready for our trip, including trips to see both of our parental units and errands, and last minute tying up of loose ends! And of course Sunday Brunch before our first real journey begins!
How do you define the breaks you take to recharge, reevaluate, and rejuvenate your spirit/body/mind?
Do you find it more important to go out a do things – try new activities, explore new places, be out and active, when you take a break from your daily life?
Or do you seek peace and quiet, finding somewhere comfortable and relaxing, where you can simply be, with no pressure to be “doing” anything at all?
What began as a journey into defining what’s a holiday and what’s a vacation, evolved into some fun with Google Images – thanks to everyone out there who tags their photos so that silly folk like me can borrow them for their blogs!
and the return of my inner FanGirl – who came to life last year for the first time!
Some Fan Girl time - Click on the pic for more shots!
So, don’t call, don’t email, feel free to post some comments here, search through my recipes, watch some of my mini lesson video clips and remember me fondly while I’m away and generally take some time for me and @wtl to relax.!
I’ll see you in September!
Oh, and if you want to know about my many classes – check the Class info tab!
MWAH – Hugs to you all!
And check the Dancers’ News for other happenings here in the area and beyond coming up – as well as, please post any news you want to share in the comments area way down at the bottom of the page!
Hey Kids [” kids” is a positive term, reminding us to laugh and play – or act like a baby goat… your choice!]
So, I’ve been going for a morning walk every day – practically- since late January/early February and it’s been amazing. Some mornings are tougher – cold mornings after a warm spell are killer – it just feels out of order! I’ve also had a cold the past week so each morning has been a bit slower, but I am still getting out there.
I’ve had a lot going on lately, a lot of changes, a lot of decisions and stuff to process and think about. The walks help me work out some of the stressful angry talk that should never be said out loud, but I can rant in my head and release it that way.
My walks last about an hour, and the first 10 minutes is often spent thinking, coffee,coffee,coffee… Then after I’ve left Bridgehead, I eat while I walk and start getting my pace set up by the time the last few dribbles of coffee are drained from my travel mug. The next 20 minutes or so are the ranting time, organizing time, and general rehashing of whatever has been allowed to wreak havoc of my life that week/previous day or whenever!
After that, I usually hit the park nearby – either on my side of the river or the other side, depending on the route I have chosen for that morning. When the sun shines, like today, it sparkles and dances on the surface of the river and brings me to that happy place. And finally, I have a little while of really and truly living in the moment and seeing the beauty all around me.
I wanted to share this today as many of my friends are also dealing with a lot in their lives, and well, if this note helps you remember to find your happy place for at least 10 minutes in your busy day, then YAY…
Just back from my morning walk, a new habit I am forming, and I composed a fabulous blog post while walking. It’s just too bad that I cannot dictate it while I am walking, but I’ll try to capture the essence of it to share my journey with you all!
I am one of the oodles of folks who has had issues with weight since I born. Much of it came from being called fat as a child, and then being bigger/ taller than everyone in my grade all the way through elementary school and even into early high school. I was never super active, but I was not completely sedentary either, as I walked or biked everywhere as a kid/teen in our small town. I delivered newspapers as my high school job – was not into babysitting at all – and until my final year when I was allowed to use our moped, I walked the route every day.
So, throughout high school I maintained an average weight of 160 lbs. Briefly, I went down to 145, but mostly stayed at 160. I am 5feet 8 inches tall and I apologize to all my metric friends for the imperial measurements – but that’s what I can relate to!
And I believed I was fat. I was cool, I was smart, I had friends, and great hair and funky clothes { it was the 80s}, but in my mind, I was fat. I was not fat – I know this now!
There’s another 20 years ish to cover if I was going to relate my entire weight story, but I’ll skip ahead and gloss over to speed up the process!
My late teens into early 20’s = in design school and poor, so basically in shape
My 20’s = emotional roller coaster ride, lots of angry but walking helped keep that in check and my weight fairly stable – still in the 160-170 range.
My late 20s, early 30s = Major emotional shift to happiness and the right marriage = UhOh – happy newlywed fat crept in during the first 3-5 years of our marriage.
2003 = Seeing myself in a dance video from a friend’s recital, and watching my “disco ball” baladi dress creep up my thighs, as I was really too big to be wearing this dress…my weight had crept up to 225 lbs. This photo is of me in December 2002, a few months before the disco ball dress incident!
I was teaching 9 belly dance classes per week and still performing when I could, but I was not stopping myself from eating the huge pots of pasta, hot turkey sandwiches and fries and so much more. I was also not alone on this journey into the world of excess – my hubby was right there by my side! He was up to 270 lbs when we both made the decision that things had to change.
*SNAP*
July 2nd, 2003, we embarked on our own version of the meal replacement/ calorie counting plan – the big one that has bars and shakes – cause they were on sale at our local grocery chainstore, and I still needed to have chocolate in my life!
By late December/ early January, I was back down at 170 and so pleased to finally be able to buy a pair of pants at a regular store again – as opposed to having to go into the large size stores!
This photo is from December 2003 – the layers poured off as we counted calories and reduced our portion sizes – along with using the meal replacement bars to get a good start on the process.
Over the past few years, I have fallen into a new cycle of yoyo-ing with my weight and now want to explore settling into a good place and staying there.
The cycle goes something like this:
Less work = less stress = time to eat healthy, get into shape, take more care of myself…This would be the winter months mainly, with a break in August to try to counter bad habits incurred over the summer. I lose weight and feel pretty good about myself until….
More work = more stress = more take-out, less time to cook, etc. This takes place from the late spring, through the summer, and continues into the fall.
The Plan: Continue what I have started since January:
1-Counting calories
2-Doing it together with the hubby makes it so much easier and increases my accountability!
3- Walking more [ I am still teaching 5-6 hours per week, but I want to increase and change up my activity options and walking I enjoy.]
4-Keep losing the pounds until I hit 160 – I have lost 13 pounds already since January 2nd, and am on track to reach my goal by mid/end of March. So yay me.
5- Stay within a 5 pound yoyo range – well, maybe 10 pounds, if I start to build more muscle – it could happen!
The main tool I am using are Lose it[Ipod Touch/Iphone app] but any tracking system that works would do it! I have heard of Spark, and I used the MyCalorieCounter.com system for a while too – they all have good ways to encourage you to get healthy!
January 16, 2010
So, here’s where I am today: 174 pounds and walking 1 hour every morning for the past week and a half.
Thanks for reading – I hope this has given you some ideas!
Halyma
YOUR TURN:
How are you doing on finding the healthier you?
Or have you already done it and have some hints to share to keep on the path?
Feel free to leave some comments, mention any tools you are using, or what has worked for you!
I was out for my #morningwalk and as I passed a particularly New Orleans themed restaurant in the Byward Market, I was amazed that music was blaring out into the streets – at 7 a.m. hmmm. I guess today is Mardi Gras.
Two of my Bollywood For Fun buddies are performing tonight at Shattered Ceilings at the Mayfair. Because today is International Women’s Day.
gets me up and moving, and moments of self preservation offset it with a demanding whine that lets me stop and relax for at least a while!
