August is closing...

As August comes to a close, I am realising that this is the first month, that I may be unable to complete my task...

Bread update...

Eating too much...

Courage, courage, courage!

I so wish that I had courage!  There is something I want to do for myself - but I have no courage to even ask for help on it.   If it was for someone else, it would be easy-peezey-lemon-squeezey for me, but asking for myself????  Just can't do it!

Isn't that weird - not even having courage to ask for help??    Yes, us humans are complicated and just too weird.

What to do, what to do, what to do???

The Grouse Grind

 

I fell and put both my neck and my lower back out just a couple of weeks ago, however, the Grouse Grind has been on my Bucket List ever since I arrived in this country.  I have known since the beginning of the year, that this is one of the things I wanted to accomplish and kick off the list by the end of this 12 month journey.  Now, I also haven't hiked in a year, so I knew that this would be pretty tough and I would need to be in the right frame of mind, to be able to complete the task.  Being the person I am, I only knew the day I decided that I was going, THAT I WAS ACTUALLY GOING.  A couple of hours before we left to get to the mountain, I gathered up the family and informed them of what we were going to do.

 

 

 

I suggest that when you hike this trail, you take the above questions very seriously.

It took me longer than the suggested time for the hike.

The first quarter of the trail is longer than each of the other quarters individually, only because the markers are marked by elevation and not by distance.  I found the first quarter tougher than the last three quarters, but that is only because mentally, I wasn't prepared for the first.  I was far more prepared mentally for the second, third and fourth quarters.  However, physically, the quarters get steeper as they go along, so be prepared.

Once again, my family were fantastic and gently hung out with me as I took the long climb.  I wish that they had run on ahead sometimes, but other times, I was so glad to have them near me to enjoy the journey.  Nearer the top of the mountain, as dusk began to set in, we were ferociously attacked by black flies and mosquitoes and this is something too, that one needs to be aware of and calculate into the journey.  They CAN test your patience, but there's nothing you can do about it.

Some rules for the journey, if it is your first time?

Well, first read the rules above and follow them - they know what they're talking about!  :)

Then,

1. Carry water.
2. Carry a can of sweet fruit juice and maybe a banana or something light - that extra bit of energy
    is great for spurring you on, half way up!
3. MOVE OVER for faster climbers coming up behind you - the path is narrow.
4. Set yourself goals and reach each one of them in your own time - not someone else's.
5. Don't believe the painted 1/4 or 3/4 markers on the trees.  The real 1/4 and 3/4 markers  (and 1/2 way marker),  are all signed on boards nailed onto the trees.
6. Stop and smile.  Enjoy yourself - this is an amazing journey and one you will be proud of completing!

Sometimes reaching your goal seems to be a grind...

The slow climb

And so it begins...

 

 

Pushing to the limit...

Have you ever thought about doing something that will push you to the limit?  I mean physically and mentally, maybe socially or spiritually.

Well, this month I would like to see if I can push myself, spiritually, socially, mentally and physically.  Some will be places that I haven't been, some will be places that I have been to and lost over the course of the years.

The questions is :  "What will do that?"

Giving UP Bread!!! Yucky task - DONE!

This has been hands down the toughest most awful experiment I have ever done!!!  5 days ago, I came close to actually ruining the entire experiment.  I watched my children - yet again - put their bread into the toaster - and simply picked up my own slice and popped it in.

My eldest, saved me.  She looked me square in the eye and asked me if I wanted to start this experiment all over again?  "You've come so far", she said, "you're so close to the end."  "Do you want to start this experiment from the beginning again?"

Without her I could have been eating bread 5 days ago already!

Well, I made it.  It is the 2nd of Aug, and I am extremely surprised at how I am not particularly interested in rushing off to the bread basket.

I had some pretty tough times through the month, especially initially.  However, as the month progressed I found myself, not only, not missing bread, but actually ignoring those around me eating it.

I can't say that there were any particular triggers that would suddenly send me into an "I need bread now!"  frenzy.  There weren't any delicious smells, at those points, and it wasn't at any particular times of the day.  All I can say is, that when it happened, it happened quick and was savage!  But it also passed within a reasonable time.

Will I go back to eating bread?

Giving up eating bread, has not done anything for me health wise or weight wise.  It just has simply been that I have substituted bread with other goodies.  I have realised how simple it is to eat bread - almost an excuse for not having to try find food that would otherwise be a healthy choice.  When there is a busy life - it is the quickest thing on hand to do the job of filling the gut and providing energy for a short time.

I think for myself, I will certainly continue to eat bread, but I don't think I will use it in my daily life anymore.  It will be interesting to see how often I eat bread over the course of the next month and in the months to come.

I will make it clear that I did NOT do any bread baking over this past month, so when I do bake bread again, that may end up being another challenge...

                                                                    OR MAYBE NOT?





AND FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST...?

Coming soon!