Skip to main content

Wimpy or Wise?

If you don't complain about the weather at least once a week, I believe your Canadian citizenship can be revoked. Okay, I'm kidding, but complaining about weather is a national past time along with watching hockey and drinking double doubles from Tim Hortons.

Unlike most sane folks in this fair country, however, I have always hated the heat of summer more than the winter cold. But I have noticed that my tolerance of the cold has declined in recent years. It started when I was pregnant with Little A. Usually pregnancy makes women warmer...not me! That winter, which admittedly was a very bad winter, I just couldn't shake the chill. Several times in March of that year, when I was 9 months pregnant and it was still bitterly cold, I even called in sick to work because I just couldn't take it anymore.

This year I'm struggling again and I'm wondering what has happened to me. All through grad school, I would ride my bike ALL winter long, yes, you heard me...neither rain, nor sleet, nor hail, nor a massive snow storm would stop me. Nutty I know. Now fast forward to last week. Monday was chilly and there was some snow on the ground and even though the streets were clear, I could not bring myself to bike to physio. So I paid $8 to park for an hour and undid all the good the physiotherapist had done by driving home from my appointment (sitting in the car aggravates my hamstring more than anything else). I ended up regretting my choice. Today it is -8 celcius (18 fahrenheit) and while it is colder and there is a bit more snow than last week, the streets are clear. I have been wrestling with how to get to physio all morning. When I got back from dropping off the girls, my nose and toes were numb. Cosy slippers, hot porridge and tea have made me feel better, however, the idea of biking for 30 minutes each way in this is daunting. But Adam has the car today and if I take public transport (either 2 subways and a bus or 2 bus rides, depending on which route I take), it will take me forever to get there and back, I'll have less time to get school work done AND I will be super late for Little A's holiday concert/party at daycare. At this point I think I've convinced myself to ride my bike wearing: waterproof pants over my jeans, warmer winter boots than I had on this morning, an extra fleece vest layer under my winterjacket and my full face mask on my head. Yes, I know, I won't be a pretty site, but this is not a time to worry about appearances. I just want to get there and back in one piece without frostbite on any of my extremities. Okay, let's see if I still have it in me...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Japanese 7-Spice Kelp Noodles

I love trying new spices and seasonings, so I am very excited that the President's Choice Black Label line now has a bunch of new spice blends available.  My most recent find: Shichimi Togarashi, or Japanese 7-Spice blend. It's a combination of crushed red chili flakes, sea salt, Szechiuan peppercorns, black and white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, orange zest, wasabi powder and nori seaweed flakes. I make Japanese-inspired dishes all the time, but resort to the same old flavours most of the time: miso, soy, sesame, ginger and garlic.  I was so excited to be able to liven things up a bit. This dish is easy and tasty, although be warned that this seasoning packs punch.  I used 1 tsp, which ended up being too spicy for me, and I have a high tolerance for heat!  I recommend 1/4-1/2 tsp, or, if you don't like heat at all, make your own at home and omit the red chili flakes.  You'll get all the flavour without the heat. I served these noodles with a mix of seafood (

Blackfly Coolers: Product Review

Summer is over! Well, at least if you're a student. Officially it doesn't end for a few weeks, and it certainly still feels like summer. Yeah, I hate it. This f*cking hot, humid weather needs to end NOW! We made the most of our last weekend of the summer with our annual trip to the CNE on Friday, with a crowd of friends. It wasn't unbearably lot, thank goodness, and the girls and their friends had a blast on the rides.  Saturday I had to work, and Sunday was errand day. Monday we took the girls berry/apple/pear picking but didn't last long due to the heat. I organized the house to prepare for the construction workers starting back up yesterday, while Adam took the girls for a swim in our neighbourhood pool. Yesterday was the first day of school. Grade 2 and Grade 5. Yep, the girls are growing up.  We are fortunate that the girls don't have much anxiety about school, they are so much more confident than I ever was as a kid! But now, in the midst of our reno ch

How to Look Like a Celebrity

Okay, I know you're going to be interested in this post! I am sure virtually every woman in North America has wondered how Hollywood celebrities achieve such 'perfect' bodies.  Well, at CAN FIT PRO last week, one of Hollywood's top fitness trainers, Eric the Trainer , was there to tell us fitness professionals the secrets! Eric the Trainer, gave several presentations, and I caught the one on Celebrity Secrets, and it was most interesting!!!  I also found some of what he said rather disturbing. First off, he was very upfront about the fact that celebrities come to him for improve their appearance.  Not to improve their health or athletic performance.  To look their best.  He admitted that his approach then, is entirely dedicated to that end. Male and female celebrities are trained in completely different ways because Hollywood wants women to be lithe and thin and in his words, "look like they dropped out of heaven looking this way without every having ste