Summer

Summer finally feels like it's here! Thank goodness. I kind of missed the warm weather. I really missed the variety of veggies/fruits that you only seem to get in the summer months. For cheap. :)

I have some friends that live across the street, Steve & MJ and their wonderful dog Jayden. They are lucky because they have a community garden on their roof and they have an extraordinary garden!!!! I got to reap some of the benefits tonight!!! Steve so kindly loaded up a bowl of wonderful garden delights; lettuce, arugula, spinach, radish's, green onions, rosemary the size of me (I'm not kidding).... so many wonderful things!!!! I came home, washed it and now it's drying on my counter. You wouldn't believe the harvest I got!!! It also included two ants, an aphid and a daddy long-leg spider that doesn't seem to want to be rescued from my kitchen. I eat salad daily so this is a complete treat!!!

-SIDE NOTE- As I'm typing this, I'm sitting out on my deck on top of my lovely garden storage box, drinking a gin martini and the best part......... my boy Fred is sitting next to me giving me the look of love and purring. LOVE IT!

My beautiful friend Heather (and I'm not just saying that because she reads my blog) has taken up a fantastic job on-the-side. It mixes her favorite, hrm, hobby is the wrong word, but LOVE for jewellery and is now doing it p/t and making some coin!!! Heather was made to wear jewellery. No matter how big the piece, she can somehow pull it off. Maybe because she's graceful.... Not sure. Anyway, for the past year I've been thinking about doing something in my spare time. As you might recall from previous blogs, I'm bored. I love my job, but I'm bored. I need something else in my life that's fulfilling.

Let me back-up a bit here... Every time I turn a new decade, I come out with new goals for myself to accomplish that year. In my 20's, it was to buy a car, a house and be financially secure. I bought my car by myself, I saved up and bought a house and I was financially secure until the house I was living in previously burnt down and I lost everything. It's really really really really super expensive to start life again. Especially when you went from paying $450 a month to $1500 in a mtg + + + + +. You also had to buy everything again. I didn't even have a toothbrush!!!

When I hit 30, I decided to go back to school, do a triathlon and complete some things on my bucket list (mainly go to PEI and eat a lobster). So I went back to school, I went to PEI and guess who just signed up for her first triathlon???!!!!! OMG. It's August 6th and the only reason I'm freaked is the swimming part. I_do_not_like_water. I can swim like a hot damn but it's the getting into the water part that's hard. 400m swim, 20K bike ride, 5K run. NO SWEAT!

So now I'm doing a ton of research on nutrition and what I should be eating. Being a vegetarian for 14 years, I know all about veggies, fruits, beans, grains, blah blah blah. But when you are running as much as I am and now about to compete in a triathlon (plus my fabulous left kidney that goes on vacation once in awhile) nutrition is at the top of my list. I need protein, I need a certain combo of protein/carbs. I can only eat at certain times, etc. So in the past month I've done so much research.

'Alive' is the most amazing magazine that I have ever read. Truly, I have yet to encounter another or a website for that matter, that has as much info on nutrition, health, environmental studies, etc EVER. Amazing. I found out that they offer a diploma program through their own school which is recognized!!!! THAT'S RIGHT! You could actually get a diploma and USE IT. And one of the diploma programs is on Sports & Nutrition. Well hells bells, I found my calling. My friend Deniege is doing this course already, she brought her books camping in Tofino. Lucky for me, it references a lot of articles from 'Alive' and seeing as how I am completely loyal to this mag, I'm bound to pass with flying colours!!!

After I'm done I can do consultation as a nutritionist, specializing in sports. HELLO. That would satisfy me like nothing else.

So that's my plan. I just need to save the money for the tuition and then I'm off!!!! It wouldn't even seem like school because I research and read all of this anyway while I sit in front of the TV and haphazardly watch Real Housewives of OC. :)

-SIDE NOTE- Some random guy just peed in my alley. Gross.

Well, time to go read more in 'Alive' about Genetically Engineered pigs and Atlantic salmon. It's very interesting. I HAVE NO OPINION. Not enough information yet to form one. But if you get a chance, look it up, it's pretty interesting.