Scenes from Mississauga...

CONGRATS to Hubby who successfully completed his 12th marathon! What a great weekend; seems like all we did was run & eat... and eat... and eat. Accompanied by such a fun group of friends, I really couldn't have asked for more. Hope you enjoy these few pics from the Mississauga Marathon Weekend...

jag's post-10km salute

jag & shiny gold medal (in my mind, I came in first :-))

Mississauga marathoner friends (l-r: jim, heather, mark & Hubby)

more medallists (Hubby, John & Vanessa)

the Mississauga Gang (l-r: jim, lin, jag, ros, Hubby, john & vanessa)

Pace e bene,

Pushing the limits...

I just ran my first 10K race and it felt amazing! *I* feel amazing!! I am so pleased with my accomplishment. The farthest I had run before was 8K last fall in Philadelphia, but now, I have a new "record" for distance. As soon as I passed the 8K marker, I let out a little whoop! because I knew that anything above that was new territory for me.

I'm especially pleased with how consistent I was during the run. I finished in 1:04:19 and managed to sustain an even pace throughout the entire race. Although I don't have a timing breakdown for each kilometre, I believe my last one was my fastest. There's just something that kicks in when the finish line is in sight and people are cheering. I have to say, I enjoy the race environment!

Tomorrow is an equally exciting day because Hubby will be running his 12th marathon. We have several friends who are here as well, running the marathon and the half-marathon, and I also look forward to celebrating all their successes. Pics to follow once we get home...


Pace e bene,

Leaving Las Vegas...

After leaving Las Vegas, here are a few things I learned...

Never underestimate the amount of walking you will do in Las Vegas. The tour books will tell you... the web sites will tell you... people who have been there before will tell you... and yet you cannot hear it enough: BRING COMFORTABLE SHOES! I traipsed around Tuscany for three weeks last year, with nary a blister. Five days in Vegas and my tootsies were toast.

Everything is most certainly further than it appears. The Strip is one big optical illusion. You'd swear that the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino is "just over there". In fact, you can see the sign from where you're standing. Back home, a sign that size is about a block or so away. In Vegas, however, letters on the building are three stories high. The MGM Grand is in fact a mile (1.6km) away. That's a loooong block.

Don't go to the Wax Museum by yourself. It's not much fun. There are only so many pictures of waxy celebrities that you can take on your own. And it's a pain to ask a nearby tourist "S'cuse me... can you take a picture of me with George Clooney?" "S'cuse me... can you take a picture of me with Elvis? ... with Jon Bon Jovi? ...with Bette Midler? ...with fill-in-the-blank??"

DO go to Tix4Tonight for discounted tickets to a show... to an attraction... to restaurants. I saved 50% off my ticket to see Nathan Burton (magician), 10$ off my ticket to Madame Tussaud's as well as 25$ each off our tickets to see Cirque du Soleil's KÀ.

The two best freebies in town are the Big Elvis Show at Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon and the Fountains of Bellagio. I kept coming back for more of these two very different forms of entertainment. Hey, the price was right! :-)

Take the time to chat with your fellow tourists. You never know what might come of it! While standing in line at Tix4Tonight, I met Catherine & Éric from Paris, France. They gave me their email address and invited us to come and visit them sometime, perhaps for the Paris Marathon?! (Eric is a marathon runner, as is Hubby of course.) And my favourite acquaintance was no doubt Albert. He & I shared a table at the Nathan Burton Magic Show. He had a twinkle in his eye, a hearty laugh and a genuinely kind smile. He told me about when he used to come to Vegas in the late 40's - things were quite different back then! After the show - which featured a lot of illusions - he turned to me with a wide grin and said: "I suspect we've been duped, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how he did it!" :-)

And finally, Vegas (or the Strip, at least) is one gigantic, excessive illusion.
The Statue of Liberty? Fake.
The Eiffel Tower? Fake.
The Piazza San Marco? Fake.
The green lawn at the Wynn Las Vegas? Fake.

And yet... the fun experience I had exploring this "shadow's playground"? REAL!
It was a hoot and I'm grateful for this opportunity that came about, quite unexpectedly. Life is good!

Pace e bene,

Greetings from Las Vegas...

...and so began my Las Vegas adventure. :-) Luckily, it seemed to be an easy case of "luggage-left-behind" rather than "luggage-gone-on-solo-journey-to-places-unknown". By the time I woke up this morning, my suitcase had been delivered to our hotel. No major inconvenience...

We've had a very full day! It's our only day fully together, as Hubby's conference starts Monday. I'll be pretty much on my own after that. So, we decided to sign up for a bus tour to the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area. What a great decision! The dramatic landscape of the desert took my breath away. The few pics below provide a glimpse, but fail to convey the sheer vastness of the space.

The rest of the afternoon was spent on The Strip - a stark contrast to the first part of our day! More about The Strip later, as I will certainly be returning there on my own.

All for now! Signing out from Vegas...

Pace e bene,

Extremes...

I have returned from Silence... only to learn that I will soon be taking flight for the other extreme: Vegas!

Two days after returning from my retreat, Hubby learned that he was being sent to a work-related conference in Las Vegas. Dutiful wife that I am (ahem), I have decided to accompany him. :-) We had to flip our upcoming holiday plans around, but it all works out in the end, non?

We leave on Saturday, so needless to say, it's been pretty hectic making plans... changing plans... confirming plans... My retreat already seems so far away, and yet, it's only been a week or so. Luckily I took photos - many, many photos. Here are just a few that best convey the beauty and peacefulness that was mine for the taking:

Pace e bene,

Getting away from it all...

It's time to retreat into silence once again.

Although I have been in a good space overall, I have also been feeling disconnected... dispersed... disorganized... distressed. I am grateful that there was availability at my healing place, Stillpoint. I'll be there four days in all - four days of blissful, love-filled silence.

Sometimes, we just need to get away from it all and give ourselves permission to get re-energized... re-connected... renewed... replenished.

See you the other side of Silence.

Pace e bene,

Dextered Out...

Help! I've developed a new addiction and his name is Dexter. Hubby bought Season One on DVD and we watched all twelve episodes over the course of a week. Now, it's over... and I'm hoping I can get my "normal" life back! :-)

I'm surprised that I got so hooked on this blood-soaked, killing-spree-driven TV show. I think a lot of it has to do with the snappy dialogue and the brilliant Michael C. Hall, who plays the main character.

Thankfully, I have quite a while to wait before Season Two gets released on DVD. Perhaps, by then, I'll be onto something else that's more in line with my peace-loving, beauty-seeking spirit. But, hey, I guess we all have a shadow-side that demands to be fed once in a while!

Pace e bene,

Stillness...

"Some say that busyness is a form of laziness.

Because you're too lazy to work out what not to do." - Michael Bungay Stanier

I tend to read a lot of blogs... and I receive several e-newsletters... and every once in a while, I read something that makes me gasp. That's what happened when I read the provocative statement by Bungay Stanier. I think it's brilliant! We wear our busyness as a badge of honour, while in fact, it may simply point to our inability to reflect on our priorities and make meaningful (and often difficult) choices.

His assertion came as part of a short article in his e-newsletter called The Power of Standing Still. He states that:
1. Stillness gives you power, and
2. Stillness influences the system.

As a meditator, I was intrigued by how this message can apply to my worklife. For a vivid demonstration of how stillness can affect our environment, it was suggested to check out this 2-minute video from ImprovEverywhere. (Apparently it's been around for a while, but it was new to me - and it gave me chills!)

Now, because I strive for a balanced life, this weekend will be all about movement. :-) Hubby & I are off to Hamilton for the Around the Bay Road Race. He'll run the 30K while I'll be happy with finishing my 5K. There will be plenty of time for stillness after that, I'm sure!

Pace e bene,

The best medicine...

I dare you to watch this and not laugh. Go ahead... Give it your best shot. Better yet - give in and have yourself a great belly laugh!

Pace e bene,

Escape to Tuscany...

At long last, I have completed an online photo album that allows me to re-live my Meditalia experience. If you feel like taking a visual journey to Pisa, Florence, Assisi, Cortona, Siena, Monte Oliveto and Rome, just click here. Buon viaggio!

Pace e bene,

Spinner of the dawn...

GUIDANCE - by R.H. Grenville

Behold the spinner of the dawn:

how fine her fragile threads are drawn,

without a pattern or a plan

apparent to the eyes of man.

Shall wisdom, that could so impart

tuition to a spider's heart

to form this lacey filagree,

in time of need, not tutor me?

Shall this, the pattern of my days,

not yet evolve in lovely ways,

revealing, when the whole is shown,

a purpose greater than my own?

Pace e bene,

At long last...

Look who has finally been allowed to cross the border... Yay! hoops&yoyo - and of course, piddles. My household is now complete. :-)

Pace e bene,

Strong Women, Strong World

“The moment a woman comes home to herself, the moment she knows that she has become a person of influence, an artist of her life, a sculptor of her universe, a person with rights and responsibilities who is respected and recognized, the resurrection of the world begins.”
—Sister Joan Chittister, OSB

On this International Women's Day, here's to celebrating ALL the strong women in my life... And, as a Canadian woman, I'm taking a moment to count my blessings and to hold women who know little but struggle in the light of my God's Love.

As I write this, women from around the world are gathered in Jaipur, India for the a global summit called Making Way for the Feminine: for the Benefit of the World Community. They are exploring how the leadership of women can make a difference in the religious, political and economic arenas and aid in social transformation. But it's more than about trying to bring women leaders into the mainstream. From the summit web site: "It is time to allow the feminine to emerge, to embrace it, each one of us, male and female alike, so that we can bring greater balance to the dual forces of nature and of our being, the masculine and feminine, the yin and yang."

Here's to honouring the feminine - and the strength that comes with these qualities - in all of us.




Pace e bene,

Snow Joke...

It's the talk of the town...
It's on the front page of every newspaper...
It's both loved, and by now, reviled...
And it's not finished with us yet!

Yesterday, I finally got the joke - there is nothing else to do but laugh. Thirty-one centimetres of snow in one day, with another storm forecast for this weekend. I decided that I could resist & grumble & begrudge... or I could welcome it with open arms & heart. Either way, it's coming down - and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. So yesterday, I started laughing.

I am a strong believer in seasonal amnesia. I know that May will startle me with her vibrant greens and her blood-red tulips. By August, all this snow will be but a memory, and I will be seeking relief from the scorching sun. September & October will regale me with their dramatic tales of colour. And when that first December snow blankets my world in white, I will rejoice at the beauty before me. This is why I laugh - I laugh at the brilliance of Mother Nature's sense of humour, of her ability to make us forget and re-discover every season as if for the first time.


Pace e bene,

Awarding Achievement...

What if you held an awards show, and nobody knew...?

I'm about to divulge a national secret: the 28th Annual Genie Awards, celebrating the best in Canadian film, were held last Monday. Who knew?! No indication from the Ottawa newspapers the next morning: the front page displayed a photo of Hilary Swank, two-time Academy award winner, who was in town to give a speech at a motivational seminar. As a Canadian, should I be alarmed?!

And this was a big year for Canadian film... there certainly was a lot of hype here about our presence at the Oscars. Ellen Page, Oscar nominee, was on the front page of most Ottawa newspapers the day after the Academy Awards. She didn't win, by the way. Yet, when it comes to honouring our own, here at home... silence. Dare I say, indifference? I didn't watch the Genies, so I'm not standing from a pulpit when I say this: what's wrong with this picture?! Why didn't I even know they were on? And why the heck were they on at 10pm on a Monday night?!

The big winner was Sara Polley and her film, Away from Her - an amazing film, IMO. I think Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent should win an award for the Best-looking Onscreen Couple - they are so beautiful in this movie! I couldn't take my eyes of them... (Amazingly, Pinsent is 77 years old!!) I'm happy to see that they both took home Genies for their Leading Roles in this film.

While I'm on the topic of award shows, I feel compelled to share my "Best Moment at the Oscars" with you. By far, it was the award for Best Song by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova. I was thrilled that this beautiful music - one of the main characters of the film Once - was recognized. Way to go for the little guys!! Remember, you first heard about it here. :-)

Pace e bene,

If you could see through my eyes...

“If the eye does not want to see, neither light nor glasses will help.” - German Proverb

I picked up my new glasses today. I was a bit worried about wearing progressive lenses for the first time, but so far... so good. I haven't tripped up on my own feet yet! I bought the frames in Firenze last summer and, if I do say so myself, they're pretty cool... black & lime green. :-)

Apparently, donning new frames can be newsworthy, especially if you're the Leader of the Official Opposition. I couldn't believe that the Ottawa Citizen dedicated an entire article to the fact that Stéphane Dion changed his eye-glass frames. It morphed into a story about how politicians tend to lose their lenses in order to gain the confidence of the people. Ugh. I've long had a pet peeve about how glasses are associated to weaker and geeker personalities. Ever notice how, in the movies, the ugly duckling always seems to lose her glasses following her transformation into the elegant swan? I agree that there are ugly frames (usually acknowledged only in hindsight), but once - just once! - I'd like to see glasses portrayed in the media as vital, and creative, and fun. Since that's not likely to happen any time soon, I'll have to make an extra effort to communicate that message myself! :-)

In the meantime, hope you enjoy the beauty that can be found in a local optometrist's shoppe...



Pace e bene,

On thin ice...

Some would say it's like riding a bike... although you may be a bit wobbly at first, you never really forget how to do it.

After more than three years away from the ice, I strapped on my skates today and joined the throngs on the our local World Heritage Site, the Rideau Canal. The sun was shining... the temperature was perfect... and I felt like I didn't have a care in the world. - except for trying to stay upright. I think I may have been a bit too ambitious however; I skated its entire length and back again - a cool 13km (+/-). I can already feel the muscle pain creeping in; I'll have to let you know how bad it is tomorrow.

Mind you, tomorrow's pain may not be related to the distance I undertook... there was, after all, the fall. That single, hard fall - legs flying out from under me as I lost contact with the earth and fell flat onto my back. Now, the true elegance of my chute was not characterized by how I fell, but rather by where I fell. There's something very humbling about creating a thud! just as you are entering a port-a-potty. Yes, friends... that's right. A port-a-potty. I toyed with the idea of removing my skates first, but I really, really had to go... Time was of the essence! And that's the price I paid: my pride - and a sore butt. :-)

Well, back to the Oscars... Go Canucks!

Pace e bene,

Musical discoveries...

A short post to share with you my newest musical heartthrob, Jason Mraz. I've downloaded several of his songs from the iTunes store (a dangerous, dangerous place, BTW) and am actually looking forward to the release of his new album due out in May.

I have to admit... the iPod is giving me an opportunity to explore music in a way that I hadn't before. Some of my favourites from the past are there (Jesse Cook, Bruce Guthro, Great Big Sea, James Taylor, Indigo Girls...), but I'm enjoying some new-to-me stuff too (Andy McKee, Herbie Hancock, Eddie Vedder, Runrig... Jason Mraz!).

Hopefully it'll be a long while before I get myself into this situation again. :-)

Pace e bene,

Celebrating Love...

"Love is something learned only by the long, hard labor of life. It is sometimes over before we’ve even known we ever had it. We sometimes destroy it before we appreciate it. We often have it and simply take it for granted. But sometimes, if we’re lucky, we live long enough to grow into it in such a way that because of it we come to recognize the value of life. As the years go by, we come to love flowers and cats and small infants and old ladies and life on the dock and the one person in life who knows how hot we like our coffee." - Joan Chittister, OSB

Here's to celebrating the reality of Love in our lives - in all its forms, in all its expressions, in all its depth and breadth. Happy Valentine's Day, friends... and know that you are Loved.

And here's to the one I chose - twice. May we continue to grow together in Love & Life...

(photos by Findley Photography)

Pace e bene... e amore,

Stuck on Idol...

My name is jag. I'm an Idol addict.

There. I've said it. A new season has begun and I'll be stuck to the TV every week until mid-summer. If I'm lucky, I'll get a wee break between the American and the Canadian Idol editions. Thankfully, one of Hubby's techno-gadgets will allow me the freedom to watch at my convenience - and without commercials (yay for PVRs :-)).

Admittedly, I can't stand the early part of the show, the one where people seek out their 15 minutes of fame by making complete fools of themselves. The off-key singing/yelping actually hurts my ears. I often skip these episodes or have the TV on "mute" in the background. Hubby, on the otherhand, finds these early auditions very entertaining. "These are my people!," he exclaims.

Now, as the top 24 are being selected, I'll become engaged and will grow attached to my favourites. I'll be cheering them on and hoping for those unexpected, jaw-dropping performances. I will be living vicariously through them.

It's truly Idol time... bring it on!
Pace e bene,