More than one thought!

More than one thing on my mind this morning.....
- I have been spending time doing more activities with my daughter over the last little while and I am filled with many different thoughts and emotions. I have always tired hard to ensure that Katie knows the importance of being active and eating right. We started when she was very little and I took her everywhere I went, strapped to me or in the stroller. Then we graduated to me running/walking and her on her tricycle, I probably carried that thing more than I cared to! After that, the Tri-Leisure Center opened and I used to take Katie to the track with me. We used walkie-talkies and she would sit on a mat with her books and music and tell me stories and sing me songs over the air while I ran. It didn't seem like it was long before she was running with me, not beside but keeping her own pace, doing her own thing at the same time as me. It was pretty cool. Then we moved forward from there and she began to search for her independence! She wanted to be active with her friends, at the leisure center and sometimes outside. It is an interesting process for me to accept that I had accomplished my goal of instilling the importance of activity and acknowledging that it wouldn't always be me that she did her activities with as she needs to find her own way and figure out what works for her. I treasure the time that we do spend together and am pleased that she can set goals and strive to reach them, overcoming obstacles as she encounters them. Katie recently lead me on a 20 km bike marathon around the City of Spruce Grove (on and off the trails), it was a blast and humbling at times when I struggled to keep up. I am proud/pleased that I have passed on the importance of being active.
- What to eat and what not to eat! I am enjoying experimenting with different foods and am completely relieved to not have as much pain and discomfort. I have had some success and some failure in the kitchen but the best part is that my family is once again willing to try what I try in hopes of finding some positive affects. I haven't been doing this very long and sometimes my emotions try to lead me back to old eating patterns. So far, if I stop and assess, the feeling/need to eat something that will upset my stomach goes away with a little bit of reasoning. I did try DQ ice cream this week, I used to think this was a safe thing for me to eat, not so much. I am amazed at how easy it is to pick up on what is good and bad with my system nearly all cleaned out. My reactions are quicker and go away faster if there is only one food to deal with, I am looking forward to more and more success in the kitchen and with my health issues.
- I am enjoying spending more time with my I Ho Chuan teammates in the last couple of weeks, I am hoping that we can keep the momentum going and continue to find times and reasons to hang out together. The dragon dance is evolving as we have new members on the team and new ideas to try. It is a lot of fun and I am hoping that more teammates can come and spend some time with us. (Every Thurs @ 7:15pm ). It is also very energizing on Saturdays when there are more people at open training. I am loving getting back into sparring and re-learning some valuable lessons about keeping my guards up! I am also enjoying doing forms with a variety of people and learning about how others move, it is always educational! I have been playing with my chucks more in the last couple of weeks (relaxing! having fun!) and they are beginning to feel different in my hands. More like they are a part of me, instead of an extension of me. I don't know if that is right or wrong but that is where I am in the process.
That is all for me this week ( I probably shouldn't have blogged about one or another of these topics earlier in the week, but it didn't occur to me that I could blog  on a day other than Sunday!). I am going back to work on Thurs. so that means that I have to be more strict with my time, but I am excited about integrating more early morning work outs to my schedule. I have established some really good routines while on holidays so I am hoping to work out a way to keep some of that routine. I am surprised and impressed by what a difference in makes in my daily outlook when I get up early and work towards some of my goals.

Gluten Free

This really is gluten free bread!

This has been a tough week, healthwise. I have IBS and usually can keep it under control with healthy eating and plenty of exercise. When I add stress to that then it doesn't seem to matter what I eat, I get sick. So I have been doing some research (not successfully) and wondering what else I can change about my diet to decrease these bouts of pain and discomfort. I finally asked for help and received way more than I deserved (I have turned down help before) and I think that I may be on to something.
I have slowly been eliminating bread products from my diet. I stopped eating any white flour a couple of years ago as it seemed to upset my stomach, then I stopped eating wheat flours ( a weird allergic reaction reared it's ugly head during practice for the Chinese New Year's Banquet ) and switched to rye only. I have noticed over the last few months, that when I have rye bread, I don't feel as energetic as I do without it. That lead me to (hat in hand) ask for some information about eating gluten free. I had heard a little bit about it ( in I Ho Chuan meetings) and from a friend who is celiac but I had no idea what it entailed. I have been gluten free since Thurs (maybe Wed, I would have to check my food journal) and I feel fantastic! It did not take much of a change as I have been taking away things when they don't provide me with the food energy that I am looking for. Last year when I was on the UBBT team, I spent a great deal of time trying to maximize my food energy so that I could do more things in a day (my theory is, if you are going to demand great things from yourself, you have to give yourself the fuel it needs to get there). I continue to be just as busy on the I Ho Chuan team and continue to demand a lot from myself ( if you have no energy then it is an uphill battle) and I continue to monitor my food intake and be very aware of how I react to it. The last few days have been fantastic, I continue to get as many things completed each day but I am not completely wiped out at the end of it. I have no pain and my stomach has settled down to normal. I don't feel deprived of anything ( well, I would like a gluten free muffing that didn't taste like baking soda!) and I am eating healthier than ever. Instead of waiting patiently for things to be done so that I can rest, I am completing tasks and requirements and then looking for more to do.
This is just one more thing that I have UBBT/I Ho Chuan to thank for. Striving for mastery in every aspect in my life is the only key to successful living.

Just Relax!

Ahhhh......my nunchucks!
I love them! I think that each person has a weapon that just speaks to them and I have definitely found mine. When asked did I think that I would be interested in learning the chuck form, I responded with, could I? I would love to! That was before I even picked them up, I just knew that we would be perfect for each other. They are teaching me about how I move and how I need to move differently. I'd like to think that I am teaching them a thing or two but that is probably just ego talking. I am learning more and more about myself each time I do the form or try a new move. Speaking of new moves, my teacher was attempting to show me a thing or two yesterday. He advised that I relax and have fun with it. I am sure that I looked at him like he had three heads. It is not secret that I love kung fu and love nothing better than practicing all day every day that I can manage it. And kung fu means hard work which I also love. I don't think that I have ever attached relax and have fun with it before. The fun part for sure but not the relax part. How do you relax and work hard at the same time? I think that when I figure this out, I will be ready to take my kung fu to the next level. I am always trying to be better, faster, smarter, smoother..... so maybe if I stop trying so hard and just do it, I will become faster, better, smarter and smoother!! I have probably been told hundreds of times in my life to relax but I think it is beginning to sink in. Now I just have to figure out how......hmmmm. This will be where the real work begins. I think that my new mantra will be 'Just Relax", when I am doing anything and everything. If I can think relax then it will be a step in the right direction. It must be just like being positive, if you think positively then positive things happen. So if I think relax, then relaxing will happen! We'll see what my chucks think of my new relaxing attitude.

My computer cat!

I wish I had a picture of my crazy cat sitting on my computer, this will have to do. So I write this really nice blog about my emotions ruling my world and my big plans to take back control and I wasn't sure how to end it. I decided to putter around my kitchen, making potato salad for supper and cleaning, etc. and in the meantime thinking about what to write next. Seems like a good plan, right? Well, I was nearly finished and I look over at my laptop and there was my adorable cat, sitting on my keyboard! My computer automatically saves so I wasn't too worried, at first, upon closer inspection, it seems like my crafty little critter managed to erase and delete the whole thing and then start a new one! Of course, he didn't type any real words, just lot's of plus signs.
I will take my cue from him and remember that if you are positive then positive comes back at you. I will continue to live that way, even when there are bumps in the road.
:)
This is what Rascal has to say:
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Sifu Kichko

The real path towards mastery

My work world is definitely pushing the limits of my training lately. My spiritual and psychological part of my training that is. I have been struggling to remain calm and confident and not get too excited about what I see happening around me or worrying too much about what may be happening to me. I have been practicing my breathing each and every day and trying really hard not to wig out. So far, I have only wigged out a little, once, for a few minutes and it was kind of embarrassing after. It really didn't make me feel better but it did help me get things into perspective.
I am not in charge of what others do and say, I can only be in charge of me, what I do and say and how I react to others.
I am responsible for how I treat others, treating everyone that I encounter everyday with fairness and kindness. That is my goal.
Each day when I wake up, I decide that I am going to be a better person at the end of the day and consciously work towards that all day.
When I surround myself with people that expect more of me than I do, I know that I am in the right place to work towards mastery. When I find myself surrounded by people who expect nothing from me, I need to hold on to my path with both hands, and work way harder to attain mastery. For me that is the real test of my resolve. Can I remain on my path when not in the perfect place, surrounded by like-minded people? Of course I can! The hard work that it takes to stay on the path is what mastery is all about. 
Pssst
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA!