Here is me almost dying on the ride:
The good news is we came first out of the teams. ....What I want to leave out but should tell you is there were only four teams in total. I still think we rocked it!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Auckland Half Iron Man
On the weekend I participated in the short course of the Auckland Half Iron man. Our team was called the Spider Pigs and I did the 30km cycle. My friend Crystal did the 7km run and Anthony did our 1km swim.
Here is me almost dying on the ride:
The good news is we came first out of the teams. ....What I want to leave out but should tell you is there were only four teams in total. I still think we rocked it!
Here is me almost dying on the ride:
The good news is we came first out of the teams. ....What I want to leave out but should tell you is there were only four teams in total. I still think we rocked it!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Reserve, restore and refill
The past week has been a downpour of stressful situations. As amazing as girls camp was, there were many late nights leading up to it that really took a toll on my body. Those things never go 100% as planned and that can, and did add to my stress levels.
Immediately after camp our car decided to pack up and die leaving us stranded. I have no idea how I will get to work each day or how we are going to purchase a new car.
That afternoon we witnessed a 6 year old girl get hit by a car on our street. I called the ambulance and had to console the babysitter who was in a serious state of shock. I was also responsible for phoning the mother to tell her that little Ava was being taken by an Ambulance to Starship hospital- that was probably the most difficult conversation I have ever had. Tuks jumped straight out onto the street to begin directing the traffic. I love him and the way he reacts to stressful situations.
Sleep time finally came, but I woke up at 3am with terrible nausea, a fever and aching muscles. While feeling sick and spending the morning organizing a tow truck for our car I still had to go into school because there was no reliever available.
My landlord called and told us she was raising the rent and that I couldn't leave my bike inside anymore....there was nothing to eat for dinner.... my eyebrows have grown an inch thick.... and finally when I was at Mutual I realized my energy was completely depleted.
I have done a lot of reading about energy in the past so know that we only have a certain amount. This energy needs to be conserved and restored and in times of stress I need to keep giving back to myself to refill my tank.
So I took today off to do absolutely nothing. I went for a small walk and sat the rest of the day in my PJ's allowing myself time to BE with myself. It has been wonderful and I realize that when I don't take time to do this I become stressed, irritable and not the type of person I want to be in the world.
I spent some part of today reflecting on the interactions I have had with others in the last few days and I truly believe we are all connected to each others energy fields. Whenever I walk into my classroom, my office, spend time at Young Women's, on the phone with the mechanic or strangers on the road my energy is either restored or taken away from me. I realize there are people that I associate with regularly who sap me of my energy and I need to find a way to put up a barrier to keep their negative vibes away.
I also have a couple of energy idols- people whose energy amazes me President Orgill ( President of the PCC) is one. I have no idea what I would do if I had to wake up at 4am like him. And there is nobody like my good friend Erin. How does she do that? And with four kids!
Energy is the essence of life and I need to decide everyday how I am going to use it. Situations can be as stressful or carefree as I choose. And that, for me is the key- it is MY choice.
Immediately after camp our car decided to pack up and die leaving us stranded. I have no idea how I will get to work each day or how we are going to purchase a new car.
That afternoon we witnessed a 6 year old girl get hit by a car on our street. I called the ambulance and had to console the babysitter who was in a serious state of shock. I was also responsible for phoning the mother to tell her that little Ava was being taken by an Ambulance to Starship hospital- that was probably the most difficult conversation I have ever had. Tuks jumped straight out onto the street to begin directing the traffic. I love him and the way he reacts to stressful situations.
Sleep time finally came, but I woke up at 3am with terrible nausea, a fever and aching muscles. While feeling sick and spending the morning organizing a tow truck for our car I still had to go into school because there was no reliever available.
My landlord called and told us she was raising the rent and that I couldn't leave my bike inside anymore....there was nothing to eat for dinner.... my eyebrows have grown an inch thick.... and finally when I was at Mutual I realized my energy was completely depleted.
I have done a lot of reading about energy in the past so know that we only have a certain amount. This energy needs to be conserved and restored and in times of stress I need to keep giving back to myself to refill my tank.
So I took today off to do absolutely nothing. I went for a small walk and sat the rest of the day in my PJ's allowing myself time to BE with myself. It has been wonderful and I realize that when I don't take time to do this I become stressed, irritable and not the type of person I want to be in the world.
I spent some part of today reflecting on the interactions I have had with others in the last few days and I truly believe we are all connected to each others energy fields. Whenever I walk into my classroom, my office, spend time at Young Women's, on the phone with the mechanic or strangers on the road my energy is either restored or taken away from me. I realize there are people that I associate with regularly who sap me of my energy and I need to find a way to put up a barrier to keep their negative vibes away.
I also have a couple of energy idols- people whose energy amazes me President Orgill ( President of the PCC) is one. I have no idea what I would do if I had to wake up at 4am like him. And there is nobody like my good friend Erin. How does she do that? And with four kids!
Energy is the essence of life and I need to decide everyday how I am going to use it. Situations can be as stressful or carefree as I choose. And that, for me is the key- it is MY choice.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Girls camp
I just returned from my ward's girls camp. Our theme was " Arise and Shine forth" which is also the LDS Youth mutual theme for the year.
The purpose of the camp was two fold. First, to get our YW to become more confident in themselves and in their interactions with others and second to solidify what " Arise and Shine forth" means to them this year.
I will expand on the second purpose in another post- but as for the confidence building, we took them to the beautiful Woodhill forest where an adventure wonderland awaited for us. We climbed 10-14 meters above the ground and completed very challenging activities as we wound our way through the treetops.
The girls blew me away, they were fearless and showed a real go get em attitude that we don't often see on Sunday or at mutual. Later that night we talked about the need to apply that same attitude to everything else they do this year and challenged them to really push outside of their comfort zones. The girls have huge potential, but don't often see it so it was a great object lesson.
Here is a picture of us before we took to the trees:
The purpose of the camp was two fold. First, to get our YW to become more confident in themselves and in their interactions with others and second to solidify what " Arise and Shine forth" means to them this year.
I will expand on the second purpose in another post- but as for the confidence building, we took them to the beautiful Woodhill forest where an adventure wonderland awaited for us. We climbed 10-14 meters above the ground and completed very challenging activities as we wound our way through the treetops.
The girls blew me away, they were fearless and showed a real go get em attitude that we don't often see on Sunday or at mutual. Later that night we talked about the need to apply that same attitude to everything else they do this year and challenged them to really push outside of their comfort zones. The girls have huge potential, but don't often see it so it was a great object lesson.
Here is a picture of us before we took to the trees:
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
26 going on 16
Remember that time the All Blacks stood me up? I was hurt and confused and angry that I had worn my heels all day for nothing.
Well, today they totally made up for it.
I know I am a married woman, but I have no shame in admitting I go weak at the knees every time I see Sonny Bill Williams on television. He is my ultimate celebrity crush, and if my husband didn't give me the crazy eye every time I mentioned his name I would probably own a lot more of his fan swag.
While we are being totally honest here I have to admit that in order to get a photo with SBW I had to run onto the field during his rugby game and ask for one. Some may call that crazy, I call it dedication. This morning hubby and I watched the news coverage of this event and he joked that he couldn't see me chasing Sonny down the field. Ha ... ha..... ha.
Imagine our surprise when we came across this photo.
.JPG)
Well, today they totally made up for it.
While we are being totally honest here I have to admit that in order to get a photo with SBW I had to run onto the field during his rugby game and ask for one. Some may call that crazy, I call it dedication. This morning hubby and I watched the news coverage of this event and he joked that he couldn't see me chasing Sonny down the field. Ha ... ha..... ha.
Imagine our surprise when we came across this photo.
.JPG)
Who's doing the chasing now! he he It's good to know I still got it ;)
Friday, March 2, 2012
Does my bum look big in these?
In two months I have clocked over 400 kilometers on my bike. It's true. My odometer says so. During this time I have increased my endurance and strength without the harsh impact on my joints that can often come with running. But have I increased in other areas too?
The majority of those kilometers are made up of my rides to and from work.It was after riding to work one morning that a colleague said she would never take up riding because it gives you "a fat butt and huge throbbing man quads". Now, even though I have not always had a road bike I have for years taken spin/rpm classes. If it gave me a big butt or big vein covered legs like some steroid soaked body builder or Tour de France rider then I would have stopped. What's funny is that my pants HAVE been a little tighter lately, however, I can almost guarantee that comes down to the tub of ice cream and family sized portion of ginger slice I ate last week, not because I have been cycling more.
During one of our training rides Mr Triathlete stopped for a photo op. I now give you permission to look at my butt. I don't think cycling has given me quads that belong on the world's strongest man competition, but I want you to be the judge- is my butt looking big?
.JPG)
The majority of those kilometers are made up of my rides to and from work.It was after riding to work one morning that a colleague said she would never take up riding because it gives you "a fat butt and huge throbbing man quads". Now, even though I have not always had a road bike I have for years taken spin/rpm classes. If it gave me a big butt or big vein covered legs like some steroid soaked body builder or Tour de France rider then I would have stopped. What's funny is that my pants HAVE been a little tighter lately, however, I can almost guarantee that comes down to the tub of ice cream and family sized portion of ginger slice I ate last week, not because I have been cycling more.
During one of our training rides Mr Triathlete stopped for a photo op. I now give you permission to look at my butt. I don't think cycling has given me quads that belong on the world's strongest man competition, but I want you to be the judge- is my butt looking big?
.JPG)
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Our Divine potential
Earlier this week I blogged about my the lesson I had to teach in Young Womens today and as the week progressed I felt more and more guilty about the things I had written ( obviously the spirit trying to tell me something). So I deleted it. Now that I have finished teaching, I am going to give this post another go.
When I first read the lesson, these were my issues:
1. The Lesson is titled " Finding joy in our Divine potential ". The Objective is " Each young woman will understand her divine potential and learn how to find joy in it." The way I read that is that a young woman's "divine potential" ( whatever that happens to be) is not something she would be happy with naturally. It almost sounds like they want us to persuade the girls into a particular way of thinking.
2. Amazingly, despite the clear lesson objective, " Divine potential" is not actually explained or defined in any of the lesson material. The only way a young woman is supposed to understand her divine potential is to draw inferences from whatever is presented to her during the lesson.
3. Part of the lesson says to: Invite an exemplary sister (preferably one who has married in the temple and has a family), who has been approved by priesthood advisers, to speak to the young women about the joy of being a woman... Seriously? So, the only people qualified to teach about the " Divine potential" of young women are married mothers who are approved by male church leaders? To be honest, this part of the lesson really got to me and I couldn't shake it off.
After praying, pondering, and posting shameful blog posts I realized I wasn't angry or upset by the lesson content, rather, the way it was organized and presented in the lesson manual. So, I tried to listen to the spirit and follow what it was prompting me to teach.
We discussed what ' Divine potential' actually meant as opposed to " Mormon cultural expectations" using myself as an example. I married a RM in the temple- gold stars for me. However, after two years of marriage we are still childless and I know this has dented my halo in the eyes of many relief society sisters. Of course motherhood and marriage are a part of our divine potential, but there is so much more to it. I am blessed in my life to know many strong older single sisters. Some are divorced and have left difficult relationships. Some have never married. All are independent, strong in spirit and temple worthy. These are the examples I held up to my Young Women alongside sisters who have married in the temple and started families.
We discussed " The Family a Proclamation to the world " and looked at some of the divine gifts and responsibilities we have been given as women regardless of our circumstance- to nurture, love and teach.
We watched ' The joy of womanhood' by Margaret D. Nadauld from the October 2000 general conference and discussed different aspects of her talk. One of my Laurels brought up a great point " If I am going to get married and then stay at home with my kids, what's the point of going to uni". We talked about how seeking higher learning was part of achieving our divine potential. If we get an education and magnify our talents and skills then that will make us stronger, more capable women who can bless our families and serve others better.
We ended the lesson by discussing how Heavenly Father knows each of us individually and I shared examples of times he has guided me in my life. I think if they left the lesson today at least knowing that much, then hopefully they will have the faith to follow Him to wherever he wants them to be.
This week of preparation was hard and I am still trying to figure out what the Lord wanted me to learn from this experience. I love my Young Women and I know the Lord loves them too and that I will be accountable for what I teach them during the time we spend together. I am so grateful that the spirit was able to guide me with what to say today so that I could teach them the principles without the need to be cynical or bitter.
When I first read the lesson, these were my issues:
1. The Lesson is titled " Finding joy in our Divine potential ". The Objective is " Each young woman will understand her divine potential and learn how to find joy in it." The way I read that is that a young woman's "divine potential" ( whatever that happens to be) is not something she would be happy with naturally. It almost sounds like they want us to persuade the girls into a particular way of thinking.
2. Amazingly, despite the clear lesson objective, " Divine potential" is not actually explained or defined in any of the lesson material. The only way a young woman is supposed to understand her divine potential is to draw inferences from whatever is presented to her during the lesson.
3. Part of the lesson says to: Invite an exemplary sister (preferably one who has married in the temple and has a family), who has been approved by priesthood advisers, to speak to the young women about the joy of being a woman... Seriously? So, the only people qualified to teach about the " Divine potential" of young women are married mothers who are approved by male church leaders? To be honest, this part of the lesson really got to me and I couldn't shake it off.
After praying, pondering, and posting shameful blog posts I realized I wasn't angry or upset by the lesson content, rather, the way it was organized and presented in the lesson manual. So, I tried to listen to the spirit and follow what it was prompting me to teach.
We discussed what ' Divine potential' actually meant as opposed to " Mormon cultural expectations" using myself as an example. I married a RM in the temple- gold stars for me. However, after two years of marriage we are still childless and I know this has dented my halo in the eyes of many relief society sisters. Of course motherhood and marriage are a part of our divine potential, but there is so much more to it. I am blessed in my life to know many strong older single sisters. Some are divorced and have left difficult relationships. Some have never married. All are independent, strong in spirit and temple worthy. These are the examples I held up to my Young Women alongside sisters who have married in the temple and started families.
We discussed " The Family a Proclamation to the world " and looked at some of the divine gifts and responsibilities we have been given as women regardless of our circumstance- to nurture, love and teach.
We watched ' The joy of womanhood' by Margaret D. Nadauld from the October 2000 general conference and discussed different aspects of her talk. One of my Laurels brought up a great point " If I am going to get married and then stay at home with my kids, what's the point of going to uni". We talked about how seeking higher learning was part of achieving our divine potential. If we get an education and magnify our talents and skills then that will make us stronger, more capable women who can bless our families and serve others better.
We ended the lesson by discussing how Heavenly Father knows each of us individually and I shared examples of times he has guided me in my life. I think if they left the lesson today at least knowing that much, then hopefully they will have the faith to follow Him to wherever he wants them to be.
This week of preparation was hard and I am still trying to figure out what the Lord wanted me to learn from this experience. I love my Young Women and I know the Lord loves them too and that I will be accountable for what I teach them during the time we spend together. I am so grateful that the spirit was able to guide me with what to say today so that I could teach them the principles without the need to be cynical or bitter.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
THE Webb Ellis Cup
Last Friday our principal announced that the All Blacks would be visiting our school. I was so excited, as were the rest of the female staff. Oh and probably the kids too. The All blacks belong to New Zealand like no other team belongs to it's respective country. They are part of our country's psyche, part of its identity. They are revered. They are New Zealand.
We held an assembly. Every member of the school was there. I wore my highest heels, ready to lure Sonny Bill Williams in with my clever wit and charm. We all waited in anxious anticipation as the Web Ellis cup was wheeled in.. followed by.... ... two random old men?
Where were the All Blacks?
Sonny?
Ali?
Piri????
They didn't come. Not one of them.
Six months ago Richie was interviewed for an article on the All Blacks website titled " All Blacks coming to a town near you" This is what he said “Fans are really important to us, and we never take their support for granted. That’s why these visits are pretty special and will give these towns a chance to be part of the Rugby World Cup excitement”
Bollocks.
I have never been stood up before but I can now tell you first hand- it hurts.
However, you can always find the good in every situation. I am the gate keeper of my destiny and I will have my glory day in the hot sun. So, as soon as the assembly was over I ran up the front, stood next to the Web Ellis Cup and had my photo taken.
I realize now that even that is pretty special. Even if the All Blacks were a no-show there aren't many people in NZ who can say they have been inches away from the cup.
We held an assembly. Every member of the school was there. I wore my highest heels, ready to lure Sonny Bill Williams in with my clever wit and charm. We all waited in anxious anticipation as the Web Ellis cup was wheeled in.. followed by.... ... two random old men?
Where were the All Blacks?
Sonny?
Ali?
Piri????
They didn't come. Not one of them.
Six months ago Richie was interviewed for an article on the All Blacks website titled " All Blacks coming to a town near you" This is what he said “Fans are really important to us, and we never take their support for granted. That’s why these visits are pretty special and will give these towns a chance to be part of the Rugby World Cup excitement”
Bollocks.
I have never been stood up before but I can now tell you first hand- it hurts.
However, you can always find the good in every situation. I am the gate keeper of my destiny and I will have my glory day in the hot sun. So, as soon as the assembly was over I ran up the front, stood next to the Web Ellis Cup and had my photo taken.
I realize now that even that is pretty special. Even if the All Blacks were a no-show there aren't many people in NZ who can say they have been inches away from the cup.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)