Monday, January 31, 2011

tell someone.

Super cute video for your Monday morning!



I think I need help on the other end of the spectrum.. DC was over this weekend and I'm pretty sure I said, "I love you" like a thousand times. I am grateful for his unwavering patience :)

Thursday, January 20, 2011

rain rain go away..

This is from Wednesday's run.

Stats
Time: 6:30am. ~36 mins
Length: 3 miles
Weather: +5Cish
Feeling: Rain rain, go away...

I didn't eat anything before this run, and boy did I feel it. Running in the morning is great, because I'm done early, but not having anything in my tummy is a serious disadvantage.

My Caribbean dance class started up again! They were going to offer it twice a week, but unfortunately there's not enough interest. Boo. The class is hilarious - I like to pretend I'm a professional dancer. Except there's a mirror in the room, so once I catch a glimpse of myself, that fantasy is pretty much shot (ha!). But it is a lot of fun, and it's all women (and most of us are uncoordinated) so it's not scary at all. I literally have to prevent myself from ogling the instructor during every class though, because it should be illegal for someone to be able to move their hips like that. Talenttt

Sunday, January 16, 2011

winter running.

If you don't know this already, you should know that I am a HUGE baby when it comes to the cold. I have three favorite places in the winter: in my bed, snuggled deep under the covers (new and improved by a fantastic synthetic duvet.. thanks Mom and Dad!!); my couch, snuggled under a blanket and accompanied by a warm beverage; or a HOT bath, with tons of bubbles. You'll note that none of these places involves venturing outdoors. I quite often feel that I should have been born in California.


I'm going to blame this innate hatred of cold weather on the fact that I haven't been on a run in .. well, to be honest, I think I've only run twice since I did the half marathon at the end of *ahem* August. I can't believe I just wrote that. I have tons of excuses. Moving on.

I woke up Saturday morning thinking that I really, really should go for a run. I'd been planning my outfit for a few days (it's important, alright), and the sun was shining. I took too long to get ready, considering I was going to go get sweaty anyways. I layered like a pro, topped it off with gloves and a toque (yessir I'm proud to be Canadian!), and on the way out the door, I grabbed some library books to return. The books made me feel like I was running with a football. Ha!

I ran about 5.7 kms (~3.5 miles) and it took me around 45 mins (the clock kept running while I waited for crosswalk lights and returned my library books). The initial "I'm-going-to-die-why-do-people-run" phase was tougher than I remember, and hills kind of sucked, but I was surprised at how easy it was. My legs are a bit sore today, but I went to a yoga class at Lululemon this morning and I think that helped.

On another note, I made up a new word:

frogini (frō-gĭ-nĭ, or fro-gee-nee): a yogini (female practitioner of yoga) who only attends free classes.

Yep. That's me!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Taylor, BC, and CBC.

CBC Village on a Diet.

From the website:

"Nowhere is this health crisis more critical than in Taylor, B.C. — a small town with a very big problem: over 60 percent of its population is overweight or obese. Collectively, they've vowed to lose literally a ton of weight in just three grueling months. To help motivate and educate them, a die-hard team of experts has come to town, including a doctor, dietitian, chef, psychologist and two of the most hardcore trainers Canada has ever seen. On top of dramatically overhauling their lifestyles, each week the people of Taylor will face tough new diets and fitness challenges that challenge their commitment to losing weight."

I'm alternatively appalled and encouraged. I watched Episode 2 and cried when everyone made it up the hill. But then I went back to Episode 1 and my eyes bugged out of my head when I heard that some of these people don't like fruits and vegetables, or have never cooked vegetables. Are you kidding me?! I know they're in a small town, but.. do they have the internet? Jeepers..

Good for them though. I look forward to seeing how this turns out!

Monday, January 3, 2011

I saw Jesus at the spa.

Happy Belated Holidays to you all! My December was eventful, although the blog did not reflect that. Whoopsie.

I received a free pass from my nail technician (I don't really know what to call her. I don't know her official name.. so that's what I'm calling her. nail tech. PLEASE someone in the aesthetics business correct me!) to attend the Planet Beach Contempo Spa here in Halifax. It opened early in 2010 (the spring I believe) and offers a variety of self-serve spa services. It's great if you're busy (each service is only 20 mins) or if you want a massage or a facial without anyone touching you (no small talk necessary!). Each service (minus tanning) is $40, or a membership is $80 a month. It's an interesting concept, and I was happy to accept the freebie, but I'm not sure I'd pay for it on a regular basis.

The three services I chose were the Hydro-Derma Fusion, Luminous Facial, and Teeth Whitening. I did the first two services a few weeks ago, and I go back for the teeth whitening this week.

The Hydro-Derma Fusion. Oh baby. Basically, you get naked, and hop into this giant pod with your head sticking out. The pod heats up to 50C and releases warm water vapor, and you then sweat out "toxins" while listening to relaxing music with rainforest sounds in the background. You get to pick the scent of the steam (I picked "Aloe"), and the pod is also equipped with cool multicolored lights that cycle through the colors of the rainbow. Apparently this is relaxing. To be honest, I did enjoy it, although I couldn't help but think that I was destined to be on an episode of "1000 Ways to Die", and they would liken me to steamed asparagus, while being too stupid to escape before I cooked all the way through. The pod doesn't lock, so if I got too freaked out I could just jump out. Thank goodness.

Not me.

The second thing I was scheduled for was the Luminous Facial. It wasn't ready yet when I was so they stuck me in the Cyber Relax Chair for ten minutes. Apparently it has more than 5000 settings, and they told me it was from Japan. I'm pretty sure all this meant was that they stuck a little Japanese guy in the back of the chair because it felt like little fists were needling their way up and down my back. I'm sure glad I was alone in that room, because I'm certain my facial expressions would not have been great advertising for the spa..

When I was ready for the Facial, one of the employees walked me through it. They make you pay $10 for the facial wash, then cream, then post-facial cream (but apparently you can make it last for a few sessions if you use it sparingly). I declined eye protection (MISTAKE) because I thought it would be fine, I'd just close my eyes.

The machine looks innocent enough. Lean back, close your eyes, and enjoy the feeling of the lights supposedly smoothing out my complexion.

And then I saw Jesus.

Seriously. We had a chat. Went for a 20 minutes stroll down the streets of gold. The light was so bright that I found myself involuntarily squinting. *Edit: My eyes were CLOSED. I was squeezing them shut so tightly my face looked like a raisin.* I had to force myself to not squint because I'm sure that was canceling out the point of the facial (who wants NEW wrinkles? not me thankssss). It took a good ten minutes for my eyes to adjust to the regular inside light after it was over. Get the tanning goggles. Unless you need some quality time with the man upstairs.

Verdict: Ask for a gift certificate for your birthday, or splurge before a big event. Don't bother with the membership, unless you live right next door and can go every day.