17-Day Diet Craze.

Hello everyone.

So, today earlier today I suggested starting our very own health club.  Well, talk about timing...I caught today's episode of Dr. Phil, and there is this new diet that is sweeping the nation called "The 17-Day Diet".  Dr. Phil and The Doctors highly endorse this diet and are hosting their own challenge.  If you would like to be part of this challenge, in conjunction with being a member of our blogger's health club, you can only order the diet book here.  If you would also like to be a part of the show's challenge, you can choose which team you would like to be on right here.

I'm looking forward to getting started, so while I'm waiting for my copy of the diet book to arrive, I'm going to start with my 60 minutes of activity today.

I hope you decide to be a part of this group.  Check it out here. Let your followers in on the group as well.

Here's to a healthy, happy 2011.

Kelly

New Group - Are you interested in improving your life and having a chance to win great prizes?

Happy New Year, fellow writers.  I can't say I'm sorry to have 2010 behind me - it's been a hell of a year.  I have decided that 2011 is going to be my year to meet goals, and I am excited to add a NEW goal to my list, and I am inviting all of you followers, and your followers, to join me.  What am I suggesting, you may be asking? Well, let me just start off by telling you all that writing has been taking it's toll on me physically - I've been carrying around an additional 30 lbs due to my shameful lack of self-discipline in the "get my ass moving" department of my life.  Now, I'm going to do something about it...and if you can relate to my predicament in even a small way, I'm inviting you to do something about it as well.

I'd like to start a group for bloggers that will help us motivate ourselves and others to get a little healthier, and possibly lose weight in the process. And there will be rewards for those who are willing to share their progress every week for five months.  Read on...

Starting Monday, January 10, members of this group will pledge to incorporate 60 minutes of physical activity into their day, each and every day for five full months - ending Friday, June 10.  You don't have to do the full hour at one time; you may break it up into as many intervals that suit you each day, as long as you get in your full 60 minutes, and as long as you break a sweat each time.

Each week, on Sunday, you come back to here to post your progress.  You don't have to mention your weight, as it may not be your goal to lose weight, but to just move.  You should mention, though, how you spent your hours during the week.  However, if you think it will help, please mention any weight loss you've had each week. You can tell us how many inches you've lost, or how much better you are feeling, or how much energy you now have, or even post pictures of yourself showing your progress. The point is to set a health goal and strive to attain it, then post your progress.

We have five days before we get started, so please help me grow this group by mentioning it and putting a link to my blog on your blog.  

If you are interested in doing this, leave a comment after this post stating your name and the goal you want to reach in five months.  Invite your followers to join.  Once we have our group together, let's do all we can to motivate each other.  And here's the REWARD...

For everyone who posts their progress each Sunday (starting January 16th), I will put all of those names into a hat for a draw each and every Monday morning for a $20 Amazon gift card.  There is potential for each dedicated member who posts their progress each week to win $80 per month in Amazon gift cards.

I will be the first to comment after this post, but I am not eligible for the draws, of course.  Just follow my lead in the comments area, and come back each Sunday to post your progress. I hope you're as excited as me.  Good luck.

P.S. If you can think of a clever name for this group, let me know before the 10th.

Kelly

It's all about the "Righting".

It seems like an eternity since I've blogged...four months, really, but much has happened in those months.  Just as I was getting into the swing of all things "writing", my family's life had a wrench thrown into it in early September which brought my writing momentum to a screeching halt.  Followers of my blog know that it was then that my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and that it was then that I decided to stop literally writing fiction to concentrate on figuratively "righting" non-fiction.

To anyone who's experienced a formidable opponent such as pancreatic cancer in someone's life, than they would also know that time is of the essence.  Not knowing which day would be the last with my mother, I was inexplicably able to dispose of decades of garbage that seemed to attach itself to our relationship each time we got together in our lives.  I will even admit to wishing that there were times in our volatile - yet functional - relationship that she would just drop off the face of the earth.  Yet, once we had received this news, even if I had tried my best, I would not have been able to find those familiar, snarky feelings.  I very quickly realized that I loved this woman so very deeply just millimeters under the crusty tough skin I'd worked so hard  to develop for all of those years; skin that had softened into a newborn baby's.

All it took to "right" those years of wrong was one simple line..."I love you more than you could ever know, Mom, and I will be here holding your hand as you write the final chapter of your life."

I was holding Mom's hand as the last flicker of light left her eyes.  She passed away yesterday, Christmas morning, and the age of 63.  My Christmas mourning was filled with great sadness, but also great joy, knowing that there was no question in my Mother's mind that she was able to die a very loved woman.

It's time to move onto the next chapter in my life.  I'm writing...starting right here.  And I will write tomorrow, and everyday after that.  I've learned through all of this that I will also spend each and every day righting, as well.  My relationship with my mother was one of many special relationships I have with people.  I will never have an excuse to not "right" with so much inspiration to pull from around me.  Thank you for your patience and understanding during the last four months.  I appreciate it....

Kelly

Time Out for Respite

Wow...its been a while since I blogged!  Since my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer three weeks ago a number of relatives have arrived from out of province to say one last goodbye before this dreadful disease claims it's next victim.  My mom's two sisters (one from Newfoundland and one from Ontario) are still here.  One, two or three of us are at the hospital's Palliative Care unit every waking hour sitting with my mother...she's become very confused due to the pain medication and we don't want her to be alone wondering where she is and why she is there.  Days seem to roll into one large blob of time, and the weather outside is hardly noticeable when your mind and/or body is stuck in a room with tubes, beeps and bed-pans.

I realized a little while ago that this is the first trip to Alberta for my two aunts, and being in their 60's, it could very possibly be their last.  So I decided today that, despite their protests, I was going to drag them body and bones, need be, to the Rocky Mountains that majestically jut up thousands of feet from the otherwise gently undulating landscape that is Alberta. Just an hour's drive into the mountains is Banff, a world-renowned quaint, charming tourist town that promises an experience that will rejuvenate the soul, and catch your breath if you are able to pull your attention away from the stores and focus them on the backdrop of the town - glacier-capped mountains on all sides.

We decided that we will take only one night to stay over, and a day and a half to explore Banff and Lake Louise  (which is a further hour north of Banff).









We all feel uneasy about taking the time away from Mom, but during her more lucid days she insists that we do take some time to do something special...so we will. We leave on Monday morning and will arrive at Banff around noon.  Once we are settled into our hotel, The Juniper, we will make our way a couple of blocks to downtown and find a nice restaurant for lunch.

I'd then like to take them up the Banff Gondola, an 8 minute ride up a 2300 foot cable that carries you to the top of Sulfur Mountain, and an altitude of almost 7500 feet!

Once at the top of Sulfur Mountain, the view of the town below with the famous Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel is unlike any sight-seeing tour you will ever experience.












I'd then like to take them to the Banff Upper Hot Springs, a mineral-fed natural hot spring pool and a 1930's restored heritage bathhouse, which promises to melt away all of our stress (if we can ignore the strong smell of sulfur), and fill our senses, one being the magical view of Mount Rundle. The temperature of the pool sits at a constant 98-104 degrees Fahrenheit.  The main minerals found here are Sulfate, Calcium, Bicarbonate, Magnesium and Sodium.



For supper, I think we'll take advantage of the restaurant at our hotel.  We've even decided to take something a little dressy to wear for the lounge.  Even though it will be a Monday evening and probably void of other patrons, there is something therapeutic about dressing nice and looking one's best.  And with the lounge being right in the hotel, we won't have to worry about who will be designated driver.

We'll indulge in a hearty breakfast on Tuesday morning, then start making our way back to Red Deer, with a couple of stops along the way.  A trip to the Alberta Rocky Mountains would not be complete without a stop at Lake Louise.  This spot is the inspiration of every medium of art.  With it's milky green water and it's duel mountain peeks in the background, you would think that nothing could make that scene more gorgeous...enter man...Erected in 1890, the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is simply one of the grandest luxury hotels in the world. We must stop there and tour it's many shops, galleries, and grand foyers.

If we have time we will also stop at Peyto Lake.  I've always loved this lake because of it's shape of a German Shephard...Can you see it?



Even though my mother will not be able to be there with us, we can take some comfort in knowing that she has been to Banff in the past, and experienced all of these things.  I still wish I had more time to have her write a bucket list and check each one off, but she would argue that she has no need...she's lived the life she chose to live and is content.  She has a family who loves her, and whom she loves. Close friends who cherish her. Siblings who would spend every last penny they have to be there in her time of need. And a God in whom she trusts with all of her heart, soul, and might.

So, until we return from the much needed time of respite in the mountains, may God keep Mother safe and comfortable, knowing that we will be gone only long enough to remind ourselves that there is real beauty around us, and that there is no doubt a loving Creator who, in his infinite Wisdom, holds everything and everyone close to His own Heart.

I'll talk to you later,
Kelly