Exploring a Village Within the City

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. and getting an incredible amount of exercise doing it

Today was a perfect day in many ways. The sun was shining, it was somewhat warm, I got out for a walk/run with my husband and I got on my bicycle for the first time this year.

I always feel better when I move. Today I may have over done it. I started the day lifting a few weights. Then we snapped on Frances’ leash and headed out for our morning walk. When we got to the park I started to run but this time Frances started to follow me instead of K so I found myself backtracking to get her back to my husband. When she followed me a second time she headed straight for the pond, went for a swim and then ran through a field of burrs. She finally came back to me as I was heading back in K’s direction where she immediately found a huge puddle and splashed around in there for awhile.

We decided to put her back on the leash and I gave up on running and walked with the two of them instead. With all the backtracking, today’s walk/run totalled a distance of 3.8k.

Before we left for our walk my husband and I planned out some meals for the week and we decided to have fish for dinner tonight. After he prepared a hearty brunch for the two of us I suggested that we go out and buy some of the items on the list. K knew of a fish market on Roncesvalles Avenue and he suggested that we cycle there. This would be my first ride of the season.

K checked the bikes and got the panniers ready while I readied myself for the trip. The temperatures were a bit on the cool side so I put a scarf around my neck under my jacket and put on my leather gloves.

Roncesvalles Village is another vibrant community in the heart of Toronto. It is located east of High Park and north of the lake at Sunnyside. Roncesvalles Village is home to a diverse population of new families, seniors and numerous ethnic groups. It has everything you need at your doorstep; green grocers, coffee shops, flower shops, bars and pubs, a vintage movie theatre, grocery stores, clothing stores, gift shops, specialty shops for dogs, nail salons, hair salons, churches and a plethora of restaurants. My husband and I have often said that if we ever move, this is one neighbourhood that would be high on our list of places to consider.

The bike ride was a lot of fun. I was a little apprehensive about riding on the Lakeshore but it’s a very wide street and parts of it do have bike lanes. When you get to Sunnyside there are bike lanes all along the way. There were tons of people out today enjoying the beautiful weather, walking, running, roller bladding and riding their bikes.

After we crossed Lakeshore at Colborne to the Queensway there was another bike path that takes you all the way to St. Joe’s hospital and then we proceeded on the side streets over to Roncesvalles. We parked at the library and started to explore the retail neighbourhood. Our first destination was the bank because neither of us had any cash on us. We walked all the way up to Dundas only to discover that the bank we were looking for had been turned into a Starbucks over four years ago. Unfortunately it was still listed as being there when we did a Google search.

After asking someone on the street for the closest bank we walked a little bit south and found a bank on the west side of the street. Our next destination had to be a place where we could get something to drink. We didn’t think to pack any water for our trip so we were very thirsty after our long ride. We found a great little independent cafe where we ordered a pot of tea and an iced coffee. We also treated ourselves to two small French macaroons.

Roncy’s Bean

One of the things that I really like about this neighbourhood is that they support their local artists. In the cafe there were great paintings on display by Laura Hains. You can see more of her work on her website.

The street had a feeling of joy, as people shopped, sat in the outdoor cafes and stopped to talk to neighbours and listen to the street musicians. There were cute dogs everywhere. We found the fish market we were looking for and purchased a beautiful piece of lake trout. We didn’t want to buy the fish too early on our visit so we ended up doing a lot of walking to take in all the sights and sounds of the village within the city. When we were satisfied that we saw what we came for we backtracked to the fish market and then backtracked again to find our bikes.

The bike ride home was a little more difficult for me because of all the exercise I had already done today but I only had to stop once to give my knee a rest and then the rest of the ride was more comfortable and pain free.

When we got home I was curious to see how far we had travelled on the bikes and how much more walking we had done. I went to g-map pedometer and traced out the route. We thought the ride was longer but the whole trip on the bikes was 17 kilometres. The walk surprised us though. We walked an additional 4.7 k for a total of 8.5 k for the day. My husband thinks that we don’t need to get out for another walk tonight but Frances may have something to say about that. We’ll see. As for how I’m going to feel tomorrow, I’m thinking that I might be feeling a few twinges here and there. Hopefully not.

What did you do on this beautiful ‘spring’ day? Love to hear from you.

Cheers!

A Busy Eight Weeks Coming Up

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….we had a staff meeting to set dates for our year end activities

I’m not the best when it comes to writing down dates for meetings, events, birthdays, etc., but a few weeks ago I took out my agenda and started to list everything that was coming up. I’m pretty good at remembering dates or I rely on others to do it for me, however, too many things that I was personally responsible for were coming up so I needed to start keeping track of them.

One of my frustrations is trying to coordinate mutually acceptable dates for tournaments where four or more teams are concerned. This year we volunteered to host the boys’ and girls’ soccer tournaments at our school because we have two large soccer fields. The tournaments have to run on separate days and in case of thunder and lightning we have to set rain dates as well.

The boys got a head start on us and reserved two prime days in May. The Monday of that week was a holiday and on Friday the West Conference Track and Field Meet was being held. The following week all the schools were beginning EQAO testing so any kind of tournament was out of the question. That meant we had to choose a date a week earlier. We chose the 16th but it turned out that one of the schools had already booked a field trip that day and couldn’t change it. So we picked our rain date from the following week and created a new rain date the week after, a day before EQAO testing is to begin.

We asked everyone to reply by the end of the day so that we could send the schedules home. Of course two days later one of the other schools wrote back and said that those dates conflicted with one of their tournaments for the boys because they were happening on the same day and the same teacher was coaching both the boys’ and the girls’ teams.

We were running out of dates so we went to our boys’ team and asked if we could use their rain date for our tournament. I’ve now informed my girls and my parent coach of 3 different dates for the tournament. It doesn’t end there.

Today at our staff meeting our principal told us that she purchased tickets to the Wizard of Oz for all the grade 3s,4s and 5s for May 23rd, the last date we chose for the tournament. When she checked the main calendar we hadn’t posted the final date for the tournament because we hadn’t heard back from all the teams.

So where does that leave us? Well we emailed all the teams again and told them that we had to go back to the 21st and that the team with the double tournament conflict would have to find someone to supervise one of her teams on that day. I hope this is the end of it but I know that not everyone will be happy about it.

Here’s a quick list of all that is coming up this week alone, over and above my regular teaching day:

April 29th – meeting with rep from Jump Rope for Heart, soccer practice in the morning, open report cards on the main computer so that teachers can start inputing comments, assist with school track and field meet throughout the day when not teaching art or giving teachers prep

April 30 – last day for voting for the Forest of Reading and submitting the votes, soccer practice in the morning, retirement workshop at lunch,Girls on the Run after school

May 2 – soccer practice in the morning, concert at Koerner Hall in the afternoon, pottery class in the evening

May 3 – soccer practice after school

I’m sure I’ve missed something but someone’s sure to remind me. Have a great weekend.

Cheers!

Back on Track

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….at least with my eating

The temperature was sitting at zero celsius when I woke up this morning but the sun was shining and there was no wind. I made a great omelet with shallots, mushrooms and spinach. I didn’t have time to eat it so I packed it up and took it to school with me. We had a 7:40 soccer practice. Coach S and I were debating whether we should play outside or in the gym. The field was pretty wet from all the rain yesterday but it had warmed up a bit so we decided to do the drills on the field.

An hour after I made my breakfast I finally got to enjoy it. I filled up my sports bottle with water and took it back to the library and sipped on it all day. For lunch I had a big salad with chicken.

At the end of the school day the weather changed drastically. The temperature dropped again and the wind picked up. We went outside with the girls for Girls on the Run but I didn’t run with them tonight. It was too cold and windy for me and the ground was too soggy.

For dinner we ate the leftover vegetables from a couple of nights ago and we finished the chicken from last night. I had my pottery class tonight so we didn’t have time to prepare anything more elaborate. Luckily it turned out to be a pretty tasty meal.

When I arrived at the class the students and my instructor were still having their pot luck supper. The week before they had kindly invited me to join them but I knew that arriving earlier and with a dish to share would be very difficult with my tight schedule on Thursdays. Nonetheless they asked me to join them and offered me wine and dessert. I passed on both but I did sit with them and got to know them all a little bit better.

In my class tonight I cut the lid way from the pot and finished the edges. It is now sitting on the shelf waiting to be fired. I started a second project. D showed me a simple way to make a plate using a Chinette paper plate as a mold. I rolled out a slab and placed it on top of the plate and then gently pressed it to fit the shape of the plate. To add interest to the plate I stamped designs onto the rim of the plate and I etched a simple design in the middle of the plate. It now also sits on the shelf waiting to be fired.

All in all it wasn’t a bad day. I didn’t get to the gym because yesterday I forgot about my pottery class. Tomorrow we’re taking my daughter and her partner to the airport after we take them out for dinner so I won’t have time to get to the gym. I’ll have to make a point of getting there on the weekend. I did drink a litre of water and ate well today. More of the same tomorrow.

Cheers!

The Curse and a Hazy Moon

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..it never fails, when people tell me I look like I’ve lost more weight…..

Years ago a good friend of mine often commented that I looked like I had lost weight and when I checked the scales I was always heavier. As much as I loved this friend I dreaded hearing those words from her.

This past week I’ve had numerous people comment that I’ve lost more weight. I shudder at the thought of stepping on those scales this week. Why? Has the curse returned? To be honest I haven’t had the best food week. Way too many carbs. As for exercise I feel I could have done more. For weeks now we’ve only done our walks together on weekends and I haven’t been to the gym in over a month.

Today I started the day coaching the girls’ soccer team and then at the end of the school day I spent an hour and a half with Girls on the Run. I ran with the girls but I found the ground too soft for my liking and I only ran 1 lap (.6k). Tonight my husband and I got out with the dog and we walked for 3.9k. It felt good and I was happy that my husband was up to doing a second walk today.

On our walk I took the camera in hope of finding some interesting subjects to photograph. I love that the days are longer. When we started the walk it was just starting to get dark and by the time we got home it was completely dark. The moon had a slight haze over it. I wasn’t sure that my camera could handle the low light but I played with some of the settings, hoping for the best.

Finally, A Beautiful Sunny Day

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. a perfect day for a bike ride to the Green Show

Yesterday I told you about our day out at the Junction or at least half the day.

After lunch K took the groceries back to the car and A and J and I went off to explore more of the stores along the street. A few stores down from 3030 we discovered a great little cheese store, Junction Fromagerie, that specializes in artisanal cheeses from Canada. We went inside and sampled a couple of cheeses and made a few purchases. Luckily K saw us inside the store and continued to join us on our journey of discovery.

There were lots of places for browsing but we didn’t have the time to check everything out. If you’re into antiques the Junction has numerous antique stores, second hand furniture stores, and stores that sell used appliances and unusual old lighting fixtures and hardware.

There are also numerous coffee shops, ice cream parlours, pubs and restaurants along the street. Many are one of a kind establishments, owned by independent merchants but you can always tell when a place starts to become popular because the ‘chains’ start to appear. It’s no different here.

Along with the older and well established businesses, some very trendy and high end stores have started to appear in the last few years. One of my daughters’ favourite stores is Mjolk. This store features beautiful furniture and design pieces from Sweden and Japan. In the window is an art installation piece that was just completed by an artist flown in from Japan. It is called My Garden. It’s a little difficult to see on the glass.

The prices in this store are incredibly high but the items are all one of a kind art pieces. The photograph showing the stones is actually layered and carved paper and the larger piece sells for over $1000.00. Believe it or not my girls always find something here that they want to own. Luckily not everything is out of our price range.

Today the sun was shining when we woke up so we went for our walk a little earlier than we did yesterday. There’s still a chill in the air but the sun on our faces was glorious. I didn’t plan to run today. I thought my body might need a rest after yesterday but after 1k into the walk my feet started to take me on a run again. My legs felt a little heavier today but I managed to run 1.2k and walked another 2k for a total of 3.2 k.

My husband wants to attend the Green Show today. If we ride our bikes we can park for free and if we bring a used electronic device for recycling we can get into the show for free. I’m sure we can find a couple of things that we can carry with us on our bikes. Well I guess I better get going before my husband changes his mind and it gets too late. If I see anything worthwhile to report on I’ll check in with you later.

Cheers!

My 300th Post and A Great Day After All

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. but not because of the weather

My 2.2k running route

After walking 1k this morning I started to run. I hadn’t planned on running, in fact I haven’t been able to run because of my cold. I’m not sure if it was the rain or what but something spurred me on to start running and I kept running and running. I didn’t stop until I got home. I felt good the whole time and I think I could probably have gone farther but I decided that it probably wasn’t a good idea to push myself much more than I already had.

One year ago I could barely run 50 metres and I remember feeling like a bowl of Jello. Today it felt completely natural and I wasn’t the least bit self conscious about how I appeared in public. I’m not fast but I’ll work on my speed after I can run 5k without stopping. I’m almost half way there now. It’s been 8 hours since my run and I still feel good, no sore muscles or aching joints.

After our walk/run my husband and I picked up our daughter and her partner and headed over to The Junction. It was recently renamed The Junction Triangle but I haven’t heard anyone use the new name. We parked the car and checked out the old record store, the art store, Articulations, and then we crossed the street to The Sweet Potato. We picked up some kale, avocado, almond milk and a few other healthy foods.

There is a new restaurant that’s opened in the Junction and we had heard great things about it so we headed over there to get some lunch. The restaurant is called 3030 which also happens to be address on Dundas St. W.. When we got there they were serving brunch and we each chose different items off the menu. My choice was a spinach, proscutto and bacon rotolo topped with a sweet tomato chutney. It was delicious. It’s basically an omelette that is filled with the ingredients listed above and then rolled,sliced and baked in the oven.

After lunch we continued to head west along Dundas and took in some more of the sights and other little businesses. I’ll post more photographs of our great day tomorrow.

Happiness File:

1. I ran 2.2k without stopping and I feel great.

2. I spent quality time with my family.

3. I treated myself to a new bracelet.

4. I’ve written 300 posts since I started blogging one year ago.

Cheers!

Another Gloomy Day

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. but at least it’s a little warmer

We always look forward to the first days of Spring but this year Winter keeps reappearing. Just as we start to think that warmer, sunny days are upon us the temperatures plunge back down to freezing and the skies cloud over, not with warm spring rain but icy cold snow and sleet.

I’m sitting here debating whether to get outside and attempt a long walk with the dog or get in the car and get a little bit of shopping done in the Junction. We need some organic vegetables, coconut water and almond milk and there’s a great store up there called the Sweet Potato that sells all that great stuff.

My husband just checked the weather and the rain isn’t coming for a few more hours so we’ve decided to get the dog out. I’ll continue when I get back.

*****************************************************************************************

Well the weatherman was wrong again. As soon as we stepped outside it started to drizzle but we decided to continue with the walk. We didn’t get very far and it started to rain pretty steadily. We were both dressed in our rain gear so we made the decision to keep going. Initially we thought we would do a shorter route because of the rain but our legs kept us moving on our usual path.

When we got closer to the rugby pitch something came over me and I started to run/jog. I jokingly told my ‘Girls on the Run’ students that I always run faster in the rain and maybe there is something to that because I didn’t stop till I got home. More about this later.

I just called my oldest daughter and after we dry out a little we’re going to pick her up and head over to the Junction to do some shopping. Maybe we’ll catch some lunch in one of the little coffee shops or restaurants that are springing up all over this up and coming area of Toronto.

Well, so far the day isn’t turning into a ‘gloomy’ day, despite the weather. It’s only 11:00 in the morning and already I’ve had a great walk/run, I’ve written a post for the blog and I’m about to go out do some fun shopping with my husband and daughter. Things are looking up!

Cheers!

Buying Things for Others Makes Me Happy

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..especially when it’s not my money

Every year in the library we host a book fair and all the profits go to buying more books for the library and to support the curriculum across different grades and subjects. I had a nice sum of money from the last two book fairs to spend. Routinely the company that runs the fairs sends me catalogues and flyers of all the products that they sell. When I see something that I think would benefit a class or a specialty teacher I pass it on to see if there is any interest.

Today I actually found the time to order everything that a number of teachers expressed an interest in and the best part is that I still have more than half of my credits left. I’m looking forward to approaching more staff to help me spend the rest of the money. I love children’s books and I know it will feel like my birthday when this order comes in. So far half the order will stay in the library and the rest will go into different classrooms.

I have students that are library helpers and they love helping me unpack new books. Next week when this order comes in I’ll have a group of very happy children.

Yesterday I went to a meeting for girls’ soccer and track and field. The good news is that extra-curricular sports are back in the TDSB and I’ve volunteered to coach soccer again. So on days when I’m not coaching Girls on the Run, I’ll be out with the soccer team. Luckily I have some parents that are eager to help me coach the girls and their expertise and dedication are greatly appreciated.

The third reason to be happy today is that the temperatures went into the double digits today and I was able to wear my spring jacket. We had our best day so far for Girls on the Run until the rain started but we were able to get in most of the run before we had to head back inside. It looks like the rain is going to stay with us for a few days and unfortunately we’re being threatened wit a winter storm warning. Really???????

Anyway, new books, warmer temperatures (even if only for a day) and bringing back extra-curricular sports are in my Happiness File today.

Cheers!

On the Mend

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. 11 days later and I’m starting to feel better

I’m hardly ever sick. People at work often say “Carol you’re never sick.” This year has certainly been the exception. Prior to this year I never worried about having to take time off to recuperate because over 25 years I had saved up more sick days then I would ever use. This year the government took all our saved sick days away and our sick days for the year were cut from 20 to 11 days. I’ve already used up 7 of those days this year.

Another downside of being sick is that I haven’t been walking or exercising. I was sure that I had put weight back on but when I finally stood on the scale on Monday I was pleasantly surprised to see that my total weight loss was holding steady at 32 1/2 pounds. Of course that means that all the weight I lost during the 3 day detox was back on but I’m not surprised. Today I was down another pound.

Yesterday we started Girls on the Run at our school again. I’m one of the coaches and have 15 girls on my team. The weather was very cold. I led the girls in some of the warm-up activities and then we walked/ran for 15 minutes. I have to admit that I only walked yesterday because of my cough. I can go without coughing for hours at a time but speaking too much or laughing or sudden changes in temperature brings on extended coughing spells. Hopefully tomorrow, on day 2 of this 10 week (twice a week) program, I’ll be able to run a little bit.

Things are starting to look up. My eating is back on track and I’m looking forward to running again. A year ago I couldn’t imagine saying those words. For most of my life I hated running. I tried running numerous times but I always gave up after a couple of days. I don’t expect to be running a marathon any time soon, if ever, but I certainly am planning on doing another 5K.

Time to take my evening cold medicine. Wish me a speedy recovery.

Cheers!

Getting Ready to Run

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Mama Cormier

… I’ve signed up for Girls on the Run

Last year I started my weight loss journey in April. Earlier in the year I had agreed to be one of the coaches for a group of 8 to 11 year old girls who wanted to run a 5k race. Little did I know how much I was going to enjoy running. My original goal was to walk the 5k but as I trained with the girls I found I started to run. It started with running 50 metres and then walking but gradually the running distances became longer. The day of the race I ran about half the course.

Today I’m happy to say that we’re participating in Girls on the Run again. This is a big deal for us because we really believe in the program. Not only does it promote fitness in young girls but there’s a huge emphasis on building positive self esteem and treating others with respect and kindness.

For me personally I wanted to start running again and I needed a venue to get me going again. As some of you know I’ve plateaued with my weight loss. Even though I’ve been sick I started walking again and it feels great. I’m also back on track with my eating.

Today I started with a two egg omelet with lots of vegetables and a cup of coffee. Lunch consisted of left over chicken from last nights dinner and a Brussels sprouts and spinach salad and dinner was oven baked salmon and sweet potato and a large salad. For a snack I had raw carrots and humus and 1 oz. of cheese. I also drank a lot of tea today to keep my throat hydrated. Drinking a lot of water and tea also helps keep your appetite in check. I’ve always known this but I’m not very good at it. Maybe being sick was a blessing in disguise because it forced me to drink more than I would normally.

My next fitness goal is to run the entire 5k without stopping. Wish me luck!

Cheers!