Blog Archives - live.love.run.repeat

5/30/2016

Rainy Weekends

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Weekends are for recharging, reconnecting and finding balance, or at least that's the hope. I think with best of intentions we all make what we can out of the precious hours that make up our weekends. From working, kids, commitments, social engagements, housework, and prepping for next week... the list goes on and on... we all want to feel rested, feel like we lived and have our lives together...right.

My running has seen some major improvements in the way my legs feel which mean my runs are better, more effortless and dare I say faster...I am not beating myself up for lots runs, races or trying to fit them into my impossible schedule. I am taking my down time seriously and intentionally, making it part of my training instead of simply a day off running. Thoughts of this years season are around preparing for maybe not this summer but this fall or next year knowing that with many changes and my time needed in other areas, I want to be a better runner, I have goals of myself that I want to reach.

My theme for this year is intentionality. SO, with this in mind, my photography has been slowly and so well inched itself back into my life more consistently. This weekend was no exception. Today as the rain came down but the temperature held, we wanted to get out, to explore and so did our four legged friends. They were restless. We chalked it up to a storm approaching but thought we would take the 2 out of 3 out to at least give the third a calm house to sleep. As soon as we reached our destination and let the doggits we realized that this was what they wanted, they wanted to be out and explore as much as we did.

Today I only allowed myself to play with my Nikon 28 - 88 mm F/3.3-5.6G AF NIKKOR. The lens itself isn't expensive in the least but overall ratings surpass it's worth. My go to lens is prime, my favourite being 50 mm lens. Completely in love with it but I am growing and wanted to challenge myself with a less then ideal lens choice and I would have to say that overall, I am glad I did. I had a few moments while editing which I describe as my "yes" moments when literally I will start talking to the screen and say yes thats it, thats what I wanted.

Musically, feeling inspired by this song over the past few days. This is Alan Walker - Faded (Where Are You Now).

5/24/2016

Long Weekends

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Long weekends are a funny thing. They are time when we have so many expectations of all the wonderful things that we will get done, the organizing, the cleaning, the time outside... all the things.

The funny thing is that often, nothing on my "to do" list gets accomplished the way I think they should. What I have learned and continue to try to do is go with whatever the days give me. Bad weather, stay inside, get to those things you don't want to do when you would rather be outside. If it is good weather, well that is a whole other ball game.

Fortunately, this May Long weekend, we have had some of the best weather I can remember. So far, with one day left, we are making the most of the weather because truly how often does this happen for those that aren't from this area, May Long weekend for us is a hope and prayer of what we think the weather should be because we have heard from other parts of the country that spring actually exist!

Today, the day started out early with our weekly venture to church. We decided we would try to ride the Harley, only if the weather cooperated. We had gone out last night for dinner and ate far too much and sleep didn't come to us easy but somehow the thought of riding the bike seemed to shed the sleepy state pretty quickly.

From church we rode to The Valhalla for a breakfast invite. Breakfast was great but we couldn't seem to just drive home. As we turned down the rode, I said "well, we could see if they're home". The bike turned and down the highway we went. Finding no one home, we continued out on our way to a local greenhouse/market called Belluz Farm. One the way, I said to drive through a housing development which is part of a golf course called Whitewater. I said I needed a washroom break and since he had never been, we had to enjoy the scenery from the deck while we had a beverage. Back on the road, we finally made it to the greenhouse where we of course had worked up more thirst and a small craving for some chocolate. At this point, itching to get out of our jeans and into something more cool, we headed home.

Home wasn't our last adventure of the day. We traded the bike for a truck and made a couple of last minute stops, including one more visit, before heading home.

I am often asked how to I stay so busy. Don't I get tired. Well, you see as much as I enjoy being active and doing, I also need my down time, taking care of my space and really decompressing. Tonight, we both pitched in to tidy the house and then settled onto the couch to listen to music.

I believe what I treasure most about extra time is really letting the moment dictate what you do, without obligation to any one thing. I am learning to take each day as it comes and to not bet yourself up for tasks that don't get completed but rather to stay organized, do a little at a time and not to put too much pressure on yourself.

Here are some images of the day shot on my iPhone. Check out the links in the text for where and what we did.

For your listening pleasure, lean an ear to this Michael Jackson cover of Beat It by Pomplamoose.

5/15/2016

Off Day Hike

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A boy, a dog and nature.

With a grey day in the works and what feels like below average temps, leaving the house on the weekend can be less then easy.

Normally we are out the day early on a Sunday morning to church and to connect with family. It makes for a truly enjoyed Sunday and gets us moving well before we might otherwise. This weekend was different. Girls were sleeping over and of course that meant, tasty treats, late nights and yummy breakfast. All meant that staying home on Sunday morning was totally in my future. I am not going to lie, I looked forward to the slight sleep in but the even better change from pajamas into sweat pants ... perfect! And because I was home, I was able to have a good friend over for coffee and conversation while we waited for the sleeping beauties to awake from their slumber.

I have also been really trying not to have my rest day during the week. Without question, I am far less motivated on the weekend to get workouts in. I like my weekends to be fluid, without restriction and with not much "have to" and far more "let's do". This week was a good week for that but I didn't want to not move, I just wanted it to be less formal and more fun, so a hike ...let's do!

It was a dull day, even cold you could call it but we all agreed, we needed to get outside. We decide to take the most mobile of the three dogs (2) out while the third continue to sleep. What never fails to amaze me, on the grayest of days, nature can be so stunning, even colourful. You just need to open your eyes up to the beauty and colour that is just starting to appear. I think, having a camera hanging around your neck seems to compels you to try to find moments to document the feeling you have and even those around you. The last photo at the end of my blog was taken by my partner's son who I handed my camera to when he said he had some good shots from a vantage point I wasn't going to climb. The photo credit goes to him. He certainly had an eye, this is only one of many he took.

Speaking of beauty, I have been following a number of YouTubers and love the visual and audio that is being shared. With that in mind, I am going to share some of my favourite sounds that I hear as well. Check out ProleteR on soundcloud. It is a great mix of familiar, classics with chill new age mix. I can't get enough and you probably wont either.

The first is a link to soundcloud, the second to the website. Enjoy xoxoxox

#musicisartfortheears

Photo Credit: Roman Devost