Almost 2014

It's been really nice having all this time off with my family, but it has thrown off the routine which has been hard. Things get back to normal next week. Hard to believe it's almost 2014. Seems like I get used to what year it is and then it changes again. Gotta get geared up for new years pushups and sit-ups. Should be good fun.

Basic numbers: 101 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 2 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the dog and cat treats, played with Julia, made coffee for Mike, made dinner

Today I consumed: a banana, an orange, a bowl of oatmeal, some macaroni with toast, some bread with hummus, ham with salad and baked potato and some chips and salsa. I drank a cup of coffee, 8 glasses of water and a beer.


http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Lion Dance

I am feeling very disappointed right now as I will not be performing the Lion Dance at our Chinese New Year’s Banquet. For me this is the highlight of the year and it is the thing that I enjoy the most about Kung Fu. Any lion dance is an awesome experience but there is something about our banquet one that is extraordinary. I am happy for the other people who will be performing as it is a feeling that cannot be explained but one that must be experienced. The thing I am struggling with is what to do with my time. I am going to the practices to help Sihing Dunning, Sihing Tymchuk, Sifu Wiebe and Mr. Fuhr with pointers and things that they can do to improve the dance (but only small things as they are all doing extremely well). It is more of a way for me to stay engaged in what is going on and to feel like I am still part of the team. I hope they all get the same sense of accomplishment and enjoyment out of it as I have in the past. I have been part of the Lion Dance for the past 3 years (maybe 4) and it will be good for the new dancers but still disappointing. Sifu Lindstrom

Blogging

On kwoon talk I've seen the horse team members gearing up for their blogging requirement. I hope they keep up on their blogging. It will be great for them to go back at the end of the year and see how far they've come...how much they've changed. If they are honest and focused on their training, their blogs will be very inspiring and helpful to all of us.

Basic numbers: rest day...3.2 miles, 1 dog walk

Acts of kindness: gave the dog a treat, made a snack for Mike, visited a friend

Today I consumed: a boiled egg, a banana, a veggie burger with some fries, a handful of cheezies and some chips and salsa...shouldn't have eaten the cheezies:( Also ate an english muffin. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 8 glasses of water and a beer.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Climbing a mountain instead of sharpening a sword

Master Brinker talks a lot about that I Ho Chuan and how it is a tool for mastery.  He talks about how most people look at the I Ho Chuan as a mountain that they must climb instead of looking at it like a honing a fine sword.

So which one has my past I Ho Chuan most closely resembled?  Climbing the mountain for sure.  This is the second year (going into my third year) that I have been part of this program and it was very different than my first year.  I started the year very strong and even until mid year things were going well for me.  Then when I left for South Carolina what was a sword became a mountain.  I looked at the requirements and felt that I could keep up with the basics, I could still be engaged in my training.  I failed and I failed miserably.  I lost sight of why I was in the I Ho Chuan, why I was on the path toward mastery.  I let mediocrity begin to creep into my life into my routine.  I told myself that "I'm too busy, I can catch up tomorrow".  I lied to myself and let myself fall off the path.  I must say from experience that when you get off the path you can get back but it's extremely difficult.  I must admit that I wanted to quit Kung Fu all together because I became frustrated with myself and the long journey that's its going to be to just get back to mid year form.  However I didn't give up, I'm back on the path and slowly I am getting myself back into shape and back into form.  I'm focussing on keeping the "highs & lows" in check and allowing myself to enjoy the journey back without being too hard on myself.

I want to finish with a quote that really resonates with me.  It has become the foundation of my journey back toward mastery.

"Greatness is a lot of small things done well"

Ian Repay
Student Of Silent River Kung Fu.

The tango fits

Had fun today at the kwoon tiling. We got a lot done, but we still have a couple days worth of work left. Sure is fun joking around with people. I like the tango music we used for Sifu Rybak's and Sifu Robinson's thing. Totally fits.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat and dogs treats, helped with tiling, made tea for everyone

Today I consumed: an orange, a banana, a boiled egg, half a muffin, one and a half turkey sandwiches, a donair and some onion rings. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 2 cups of herbal tea and 8 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

unmotivated

Have a nasty cold...Mike and Julia are sick as well. I have been very unmotivated to train the last few days. Cooked Christmas dinner for the extended family yesterday and today just didn't feel well. I hope I'll feel better tomorrow. Even if I don't I'll have to do some training if I don't want to get to far behind. Only 1 month to go.

Basic numbers: 2 miles

Acts of kindness: let Mike get some extra sleep, cuddled Julia, gave the dog pets, made tea for everyone

Today I consumed: a boiled egg, an orange, half a muffin, half a pastry, 2 turkey sandwiches, a piece of pumpkin pie with whip cream.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Self Lymphatic Drainage Massage

I found this series of videos by MassagebyHeather that I think will be helpful during this cold and flu season when we want to be healthy for the upcoming New Year's event. The video series is about how one can help their lymphatic/immune system drain. Of course exercise is important for good lymph drainage, but sometimes help is needed.

Here is a video on how to drain the neck and head: Self Massage for Neck and Head
Here is a video on how to drain the arms: Self Massage for Arm 

The arm massage is especially for Sifu T.Playter, but it doesn't hurt for us all to have the information. There's 63 videos on massage by Heather in Youtube, a good resource.

Enjoy!
Sherri Donohue
My Blog

Social Action

This year I was not able to complete all the social action projects I had intended for our family.

However, I did manage to do at least one of them that was on my list. Last week I volunteered to work at the Bissell centre to serve Christmas dinner to some of Edmonton’s underprivileged. The experience always brings good and bad feelings to the surface. I couldn’t wait to get home and hug and kiss my family. So grateful that I have them… that I have all that I do. I was also proud to be part of a project that brought a bit of warmth and comfort to people who are not in a great place.

I hope to do more in my efforts to fix the world next year…

S. Csillag

http://sharidactyl.wordpress.com

Thanks Sihing Donahue!

Thanks for the comment Sihing Donahue...that's good to know. I'll have to start doing some massaging...just feels weird 'cause my arm is numb. What's a rebounder?

Basic numbers: 3 miles

Acts of kindness: made Christmas dinner for everyone, gave the dogs treats, played with Julia, made tea for someone, gave someone a gift

Today I consumed: a boiled egg, some apple slices, half an orange, some chips and salsa, a couple squares, turkey dinner with all the fixin's, 2 glasses of wine, 2 bailey's and coffees and 6 glasses of water

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Stuffing and Gravy

Since being gluten-free (and dairy free for quite a few years), the one thing that I have missed is bread stuffing smothered in gravy, one of my most favorite parts of a roast bird dinner. I have had gluten and dairy free gravy, but the stuffing, was sadly missed. Until this year.

One of the assumptions with going gluten-free is "just get the gluten-free" bread. To be hip-shooting honest here, it's a carbohydrate overload that tastes like sawdust and if I don't like the sad excuse for bread outside of stuffing, I sure am not going to like it inside of stuffing so I'll do without thanks. However for some reason I decided to search out Primal/Paleo bird stuffing to see what I could find. Lo and behold I found a recipe that was quite similar to what Mom made  and used Paleo bread, not the high carbohydrate stuff. That got me thinking because there is a Paleo bread that I do like and I wonder if it will work with stuffing. Only one way to find out so I baked a loaf, dried the crumbs, and tried the recipe. (Oh FYI: Paleo/primal is high protein, moderate fat and very low carbohydrate using nuts, eggs instead of rice and other grains.)

My hunch paid off and the stuffing looked, acted, and tasted very similar to the one made by Mom. Topped with safe gravy, I was in feasting heaven. Here's the bonus: no "urp", overstuffed, bloating feeling after the meal. I was satisfied, happy, and content even after a couple of good healthy servings which speaks volumes. I do notice that people wrongly blame the turkey for the overstuffed, bloated feeling after the feast. Sorry folks, it's the carbohydrates, not the turkey.

Another surprise came this year when I found a replacement for the dark Toblerone bar that I also missed since going dairy-free. Even dark Toblerone has dairy and I wasn't willing to pay the 6-figure price of consumption, so again, I did without until this year. I found out that Superstore come out with their version of dark Toblerone, called Suisse in a blue box, that is made with out dairy. There were 4 boxes on the shelf and within a flash, there were none as they were all in my basket. Not as smooth as the original, but a darned fine replacement. Again a hunch that paid off.

What does this have to do with Kung Fu? A couple of things. One is that we are what we eat and how we feel after we eat tells a huge story, but many are not willing to listen. However that's for another day and anther blog or ten. The other thing is that if we want something bad enough for long enough, are willing to keep looking, and willing to try something new and maybe something different, we will get what we are looking for and it may be even better than what we imagined. Right now it's how I'm viewing my pushups as I am longing to do a plank pushup again after my shoulder injury with the difference being that how I did pushups before is a thing of the past, I have to learn new, trust, and build from there to have my pushups stronger and better than what they were before. One hunch at a time.
Sherri Donohue
My Blog

a little something

hello everyone i been having a nice relaxing time so these past few days. its been nice to see family and just do nothing for a few days. I guess i did not do absolutely nothing i have been doing my forms, and that was fun too. this was a super high and intense, and emotional year for me. from my school to my I Ho Chuan and going for my black belt. i have had so much fun this year and an experience i am sure to never forget. i am at a loss for words right now, but i know you guys will always stay extraordinary.


231 lbs


Sihing Langner

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas everyone, and God bless you and your family too!
Hard to maintain the training routine today. I did do a few pushups though. As weird as it sounds, the pushups seem to help my shoulder when it's bothering me...also when my arm swells up. Seems to get everything moving and brings down the swelling.
Looks like tai chi and pushups will have to be daily activities long after my year is up.

Basic numbers: 51 pushups, 2 miles, a dog walk

Acts of kindness: gave the dog treats, helped with dishes after dinner, gave gifts, made Mike some tea

Today I consumed: a boiled egg, 2 muffins, a banana, some turkey dinner (with all the fixins), a cup of coffee with baileys, a cup of tea and 6 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

I don't like holidays

Going on a holiday is fun BUT it gets me out of my routine. In theory it is supposed to be easier to do things because I should have had more time but it never works.
http://csillag-stars.blogspot.ca/2013/12/i-dont-like-holidays.html

christmas eve

Christmas eve.
Super hectic.
Didn't practice.
Sigh.

Basic numbers: 3.4 miles

Acts of kindness: helped someone pick something up, let someone ahead of me in traffic, gave the pets treats, was kind to a stranger

Today I consumed: 2 cookies, a banana, some instant noodles with toast, a cup of coffee, a cup of hot chocolate and 7 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Merry Christmas Chuck Style

One of the best commercials of the year, in my opinion, is the Van Damme commercial that he does for Volvo trucks to illustrate 1) the precision handling of the truck itself 2) the shear talent of the drivers and 3) Van Damme is in hellish great shape. None the less, it's a great commercial. I found the not only the commercial to drool over again by the story behind the commercial and that's very much worth the watch. Click here.

However not to be outdone, there is a Chuck Norris video with same split theme but Chuck style. Totally CG of course, but who cares??!! It's Chuck!!

For your viewing pleasure, click here.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Sherri Donohue
My Blog

Mrs Csillag...I got some pushups and situps for you:)

Got some sparring in during the advanced class tonight. That is one thing I've struggled with this year is to get sparring reps in. If I had advice to give the next year's team it would be to sign up for the San Sou class. Then you would get your reps in no problem. I wish I had done that right off the bat.
The San Sou class is great. I haven't been able to make it very often, but when I have it has been a great learning experience. Everyone there has a great attitude and it is a go-at-your-own-pace class so you don't have to worry about being intimidated by anyone. I think more people should go...especially girls.

Mrs Csillag, for your birthday I did 208 pushups and 202 crunches. I know it's not 1000, but I hope it helps! Happy birthday!

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 208 kicks, 30 minutes sparring, 3.3 miles

Acts of kindness: gave away some pushups and situps, gave the cat and dogs treats, helped make dinner, took Julia to see Santa, gave out some Christmas cards

Today I consumed: a bowl of oatmeal, some macaroni with beans and corn, some instant noodles with toast and some pork roast with potatoes and gravy. I drank a cup of coffee, 8 glasses of water and a beer.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Utilizing down time

 

Nobody likes to have to take time out for sickness or injuries. I happen to love it in a way. This gives me time to sharpen up on the theoretical end of Kung Fu and educate myself on natural healing methods, foods, and read up on so much information from other martial artists and health and fitness guru's, if you will. I read a massive amount of the life long benefits of Qigong and how it will be part of my training from this point on. I learnt some really cool stretching techniques, more about diet while training, and it's cool to learn from the pioneers and some of the modern martial artists. I like to watch old school footage of martial artists sparring with no equipment and marvel on they're pain threshold. Let alone the amount of bones they used to break back then, wow. Old interviews with the likes of Bruce Lee, Joe Lewis, Ed Parker, Chuck Norris, and so many more, way too many too mention. I read about quotes and interviews from all kinds of Masters and Black Belts from so many schools and disciplines. I have also been watching some pretty cool movies, like the Ip Man trilogy. Ya I know they're movies but I also looked into every thing about him in real life. Pretty wild story and very cool artist.  It also gives me time to really dissect some of our techniques and why we train the way we do. For example, most of us have done the 15 rep push up on our finger tips. Once you reach five you lift a finger and do four more on four finger tips, then three and so on until you do the last single push up on your thumb. What's the point of this? We should just call this the " show off set ". I could be deemed to have a serious glue sniffing problem, but this is my perspective and how I apply it to my Kung Fu. If you think of all those fancy hand techniques and strikes we are taught this might make sense. In order to successfully utilize hand techniques, you need strong hands. If you have wimpy, soggy hands, you will hurt yourself more than an attacker. So when I think of the first five fingertip push ups, I think of strengthening the tiger claw. With the four, I think of strengthening the cranes beak or our grabs when doing joint locks. Without the thumb of course. With the three I think of strengthening the eagles talon. With two I think of the fish hook, with the thumb I think of the iron thumb, because it makes your thumb, well iron. I sure this benefits more than the techniques mentioned but this is what came to my mind. I guess the point of this blog is the engagement and your training will only stop when your down if you let it. So use the time to learn and plan. Educate yourself, that way when your healed and ready to go back, you're already that much better and that much more prepared for whatever comes at you. You know how to heal better and learn proper martial artist maintenance.

training by eating

Rested today and took a break from training. One thing I've been thinking about is changing my diet some more. I remember Sifu Prince mentioning a book....the fighter's body or something. I think I might look it up. I don't think my body has been getting everything that it needs. Part of the issue is a lack of knowledge on my part. I should start figuring this stuff out. I'm going to start with that book I think. Try and start training by eating as well as training by doing.  If that makes sense.

Basic numbers: 2 miles

Acts of kindness: helped my sister, helped a friend, gave some people some gifts

Today I consumed: some perogies with sausage, an egg on toast, some onion, some chips and salsa with chicken fingers and some spring rolls. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 8 glasses of water and 2 eggnogs with baileys. 

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Another Year…

Happy Birthday to me.

For my birthday, I will give myself the present of 1000 pushups and situps.

I will also accept all presents in the form of pushups and situps from any SNAKE out there. So whatdayasay, got any pushups and situps for me today???

http://sharidactyl.wordpress.com

hope

We had a really great practice today. We got a lot accomplished for the dance and it was a great way to leave off until the holidays. Everyone worked really hard and we had a great turnout, it was nice to see. It gave me hope that the dance will be really cool and have a dragon in it. Thanks to everyone who came out today and made it such a great practice.
Now you all better be there next practice ready to go!
And don't eat too much turkey between now and then:)

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 204 pushups, 202 crunches, 208 kicks, 4 miles

Acts of kindness: brought Mike a snack, made tea, danced with Julia, gave the dog a treat, cuddled the cat

Today I consumed: a bowl of oatmeal, some buns with cheese on top, a couple pieces of chocolate, a small cinnamon bun and cookie, an egg with a piece of bacon, a sausage, a potato patty and piece of toast. I drank 3 cups of coffee, 3 cups camomile tea and 7 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

death throws of a dragon

So tonight we didn't have enough people again for the dragon. We had to get subs. Sifu Brinker said we might not have a dragon dance anymore and I see why.
Trying to get everyone to commit to the practices is like pulling teeth. I find it frustrating because there are a few hard core guys and when Sifu Brinker mentioned cutting the dragon, I saw how devastated they looked. The dragon is important. Not just because it looks cool, but because it brings people together.
I just wish people would say a straight up yay or nay. If you can't commit to the practices, fine...but then you say nay when we are putting together the team. If you say yay...you can't add any buts on there. It's all or nothing at this point.
We have about a month to get things together and we are sucking at it. We haven't even been able to run through the demo in it's entirety yet because no one is around.
This is our last month and this month defines our year because the Chinese new year banquet is what everyone sees in the end. That is what the school judges us by.

I hope our demo will be something we can all be proud of.

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 215 kicks, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the dog and cat pets, made Mike lunch, helped my brother, organized Julia's toys for her

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, an apple, an orange, half a hard boiled egg, some macaroni with chickpeas and corn, a few toquitos and some pork roast with beans and potatoes. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 2 cups of tea, a cup of hot chocolate and 7 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Practice

It was disappointing that we almost didn't have enough people for dragon/lion practice tonight. I hope tomorrow we don't have to wait. It's hard to coordinate this many people and I know it's hard, especially around the holidays too. But it will be worth it. It's going to look awesome.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches/situps, 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 97 laps rollerblading, a dog walk, 4 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the dog a treat, took Julia for a sleigh ride with the dog, made Mike lunch

Today I consumed: a bowl of oatmeal, a boiled egg, an orange, an apple, some macaroni with chickpeas, some pork roast with gravy and green beans and a small donair. I drank 2 cups of coffee, a can of Dr. Pepper and 8 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

The Ultimate Question

Who am I? Of course this seems fitting after I had a keyboard mishap that had my last name change by one tiny little letter and as a result yielded hours of amusement. The topic of my blog dreamed up before the keyboard malfunction. I've heard over and over again the three instrumental questions in Kung Fu: "where am I?", "what am I doing", and "where do I go from here?" Upon further pondering, I believe that there is a question to be asked prior and that is "who am I?"

Until the age of 7, children are basically sponges soaking in all of the information that's around them. Behaviours, attitudes, habits, responses, opinions, thoughts, feelings, the list goes on are basically downloaded into the subconscious mind. Then at about age 7 the conscious mind, the choosing mind kicks in and this is where the upheaval begins. Here's an example: if I grew up with the paradigm that work is WORK-struggle-hardship-no fun allowed and then I do something that's my work (say glass art or making fudge) and I have fun doing it, I'm slamming up against what I've been programmed to believe. The result will be (speaking from experience here) self sabotage because even though I'm gifted at what I do and it comes easy to me, I'm having fun and that's against "the law" according to the subconscious computer that runs the show. So now what? Be mindful, be fully conscious and aware of what I'm doing is the one of the first steps until it becomes a habit or process that the subconscious has now accepted as the "new law" and after becomes the state of "effortless effort". There's a few other things, but that's a start.

In my coaching program I've been (and it's ongoing) peeling back the layers of what doesn't belong to me and seeing if it serves or not. My parents did what they did, but I'm me and I have my way and my choices that are for my highest good. There are things I will keep but they will be at my choice not by automatic response. I'm the first artist in the family and I'm also building a business unlike anyone in my family has ever done before so yep, I'm slamming up hard against what I've soaked in during my sponge years. Plus I also have fun at what I do and that goes against not only the grain, but whole darned field because fun is to be had after work and only after the work is done with the assumption being the if one is having fun no work is getting done. That is light years away from the truth because when I'm having fun, I'm in the zone and there is where the "work" flows and is done with grace and ease. So toss the struggle and hardship, bring on the fun.

Who am I? Good question that I have some answers for and it's a process as I peel off the layers to discovering me. What I can say is that if I don't have my creativity lit up like a Christmas tree and if I'm not having fun at what I do, I'm a miserable camper. So hello creativity and fun, let's see what we can howl at today.
Sherri Donohue
My Blog

Keep on going

So I'm trying to go hard and push for the last month, but some days, like today I just feel so sore and lazy. I don't feel like doing anything.
Almost took ibuprofen...haven't taken any for over  half a year now. I used to take it everyday for my back. I haven't needed it lately but since I started doing a lot of shoulder rolls with breakfalls and flying kicks, my back's been acting up. I think if I do better stretching that might help. I usually neglect that part of things and it's important.
Working on memorizing Mastery too. It's a good philosophy, I can see why Sifu Brinker wants us to take it to heart.

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword

Acts of kindness: made MIke lunch and breakfast, set up the Christmas tree, started knitting Julia a scarf

Today I consumed: a boiled egg, an orange, half an apple, some macaroni with green beans, some toquitos and nachos, 3 chocolates, 2 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water.


http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Being Focused

Being focused is something I struggle with. I think many people have the perception that I know what I want, that I know what I'm doing. There are so many things to do. So many things I want to do. It is paralyzing at times. Some of my work days are so hectic that at the end of the day I don't even remember what I was doing. I would love to focus on one thing.

Practicing Kung Fu has the same challenge. Should I practice forms or techniques? Should I work on my fitness or my flow? Should I help teach a class or practice by myself? In the past few years I had different strategies. For a period of time I had split the week into 5 and practice a different aspect of Kung Fu on each day. During the I Ho Chuan year I had more of a "everyday" schedule where I tried to crumb everything. There was also the time where I practice whatever we did in class for the following few days.

I'm not sure what is the best way to practice. I think that as long as you do practice, results will come. Now I need to focus again and go do some forms... or push-ups... Arrrr!!!

http://csillag-stars.blogspot.ca/2013/12/being-focused.html

The Blog!!

I am still struggling with blogging on time. I set a reminder in my phone and it goes off but I am usually in the middle of something at work (only place that I have access to internet) and so hit ok and then forget about it. I think part of the problem for me is sometimes I feel what I want to write cannot be expressed how I want or by the time I do get a chance to write about something the emotions that I felt are gone and the blog just doesn’t feel the same. I am not trying to make excuses but it is the thing that I struggle with the most being on the I Ho Chuan team. Kevin Lindstrom

Resting

Gave my back a rest tonight. The shoulder rolls and flying kicks were bugging it. I should be able to do some tomorrow.

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 202 crunches, 71 laps rollerblading, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword

Acts of kindness: let someone ahead of me in traffic, gave the cat treats, gave the dogs treats, made Mike lunch and breakfast

Today I consumed: a bowl of oatmeal, some apple slices, some macaroni with tuna and olives, some noodles with a bagel, some spaghetti with meat sauce. I drank 2 cups of coffee, a beer and 7 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Responcibility

I was teaching a class on responsibility this weekend. Always fun to try to teach something you have been struggling with internally.

Being responsible sucks. The definition of responsibility is having to do something you don’t always want to do. Of course this sucks. Wouldn’t life be so much better if we could just do what we wanted all the time. Party!

And yet we have obligations to behave a certain way – laws. I tell my kids they can do what they want but they have to follow three laws – the laws of the country, the laws of physics and the laws of Ima (mother in Hebrew).

Children, the greatest responsibility ever. It would be so much easier to just run away and hide from them. And yet they are SO GOOD at hide and seek, and they know all my hiding spots!

Anyway, the point of my lesson was that having choices always feels better when you have to do something. Allowing yourself to feel like you are in control and that it is your choice. So really being responsible has to do with perspective. If you make the choice to be responsible then it is easier to do the responsible things that you might otherwise resist.

Most of the time I feel like I am still 9 years old – I have no idea what I am doing, people are the great unknown and the world confounds me. And yet I go on. Trying to be responsible. Pretending to be a grown up.

Sharida  http://sharidactyl.wordpress.com

awesome bruises

Went over my numbers on the weekend. If I push hard, I'll get most stuff done by the end of January.
I've got to stay focused though.
Wore through the skin on my ankle rollerblading so today I couldn't do as much, but I still did some.
One of the hardest things to get accomplished will be the sparring. Luckily Mike's agreed to go a few rounds with me. We sparred on Saturday. I lasted 5 minutes before he blasted my shin. Got a wicked awesome bruise.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll be healed enough so that he can lay another licken' on me:)

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 202 crunches, 1km rollerblading, 24 flying spinning back kicks, 24 flying side kicks, 36 shoulder rolls, 3.2 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the dogs treats, pet the cat, played with Julia, helped my brother, made Mike lunch and breakfast

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, half a bagel sandwich with turkey and cheese, some taquitos, 2 coffees, a beer and 7 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Dragon dance - adaptability

We are getting the dragon dance up to speed very quickly.  I am disappointed that we don't have enough commitment for two dragons.  The initial dance was looking very promising and we had a good little competition going between the two dragons.  However it wasn't meant to be and we just adapted as we always do.  This adaptability is core to our kung fu and I see it happening with this dance.  No one is complaining about all of the changes even though it can be difficult to remember what we all have to do.  We just do it, we just adapt and keep going.

Mr. Repay

Student of Silent River Kung Fu

From Outside to Inside

Watching the Dragon Dance practice on video was a bit unreal to me. 3 or 4 years ago (can't remember when I started) I came to a Chinese New Years banquet with Josh. I was immediately mesmerized by the weapons demos and thought it was so cool. Not long after I was talking to Sifu Brinker, and signed up for kung fu. The past few years around this time, I'd sit in open training watching the lion dance practices and thinking how awesome it was and I wish I could do something like that, and now...here I am. I struggle quite a bit with a lot of this stuff. I was more of the artsy type rather than athletic growing up and suddenly my more active life style has made me extremely conscious of hurting myself and issues I'm having with my body that I probably should've resolved years ago. I wish I had done this a long time ago, instead of in my 30s, but someone once said "the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now" So I guess I'm doing it now. I hope one day I become good with my ropedart and inspire someone else to try. My goal is to have a form that looks fluid and beautiful like some of the forms I've seen on the internet. I think the biggest compliment would be to have someone ask to help them learn.

Composting Toilets Edited to add pictures

Why would anyone want a composting toilet? It could be that you suddenly realized what is required to get a regular toilet to work. If you live in the city, giant electric pumps suck water from a local river, pump it to a water treatment plant, where trained technicians add various toxic chemicals and run giant filters, until the water is deemed clean enough to drink. Then more giant pumps move that water through miles of pipes to your house. Once at your house, you then take that precious drinking water, and....poop in it. Then it’s flushed down a parallel set of pipes miles back to a sewage treatment plant (helped along by yet more giant electric pumps) where it is cleaned up enough to flush back into a river, to carry your nutrients out to sea, where it contributes to excessive algae blooms.  Don’t care about the environment and being dependent on utility workers doing everything right? Maybe you know a survivalist, (true survivalists won’t admit to being one on the web, due to excessive government surveillance) and are contemplating living in a bunker with a year’s worth of food. That food has to go someplace, right? Or in my case, I am planning to build a sailboat. In the old days, you just sailed out to sea, and pumped the raw sewage out into the water. Nowadays, unless you are 5 miles out, you need a holding tank and ongoing pump outs, which are getting more expensive all the time. Holding tanks often have objectionable smells, and the plumbing bits always wait for the worst possible times to plug up, leak or otherwise fail.

I did some on-line research, and in boat sized units, there are a few choices. The fancy ones are AirHead and Natures Head, which appear to be a copy of one another, then there is the much more reasonably priced C-Head, The maker of C-head makes some very good points about basing his head on 5 gallon pails and one gallon containers, cheap, reusable and if necessary, disposable. Finally, I came across a DIY post on a tiny house blog for something in my preferred price range.  So I combined the tiny house blog design with the C-Head’s use of 5 gallon pails and one gallon jugs, to make my own design. One of the features that all the commercial units have is separation of poop and urine, for a number of reasons. First, separating the two means that much less duff, or absorbent material such as shavings, needs to be used to control the odour from the poop, and your pail will not fill up nearly as quickly. The pail, when full, will be much lighter to carry without the liquid, and the solids are not nearly as nasty to deal with as a slurry of both. If you have no place to compost the resultant solids, add bleach, then the container can be sealed with a lid (punch a vent hole) and disposed of in municipal waste, as legally it is the same as adult or baby diapers. The separated urine can be poured out in a toilet, or diluted at least 2-1 with water and used to fertilize your favorite plants (urine by itself is sterile). I went with Home Depot pails, as I discovered that there are variations in the pails (some manufacturers are making what appears to be 4.7 gallon pails so the unwary will not notice the smaller packaging) You can use any size that you have a good supply of or access to, but Home Depot is across North America. For the one gallon jug, I am using old windshield washer jugs, because I have lots of them.

One pail will be sacrificed, to become the permanent portion of the toilet, along with half a sheet of ¾ inch plywood I had around. The other will be left as is, to be the collection chamber. Remove the handle of the sacrificial pail, and then cut the top of the pail off about an inch below the bottom reinforcing ring. The remainder is cut in half, and one half of that is used to make the urine diverter. I used a hand saw, utility knife and a heat gun to soften the plastic for the bends. The bends are not critical; I just thought that it made it easier to mount. Next cut a half oval out of the side of the upper ring, such that bottom part will lay in it sideways, with a slight downwards angle. Do not go below the bottom reinforcement ring, as this part will mate up with the other bucket. I lost the photos of that stage of construction, so I will insert photos of the two cut parts installed in the lid.

Once the plastic is cut, measure up for the box you will make up from the plywood. I took the idea from the C-Head to make the box a secondary containment, in case accidents happen. I think that the ¾ plywood is probably overkill, and a thin plywood box with 2x2 reinforcements would be enough, but with the heavier plywood, there is no fear if a much larger person was to use the toilet. When cutting the hole for the plastic parts, I originally intended that the lip of the upper pail would be proud of the plywood. However, I cut the hole to the same size, so it became a flush fit. There are four wood screws that catch the lip, then a generous amount of glue was used around the lip on the inside and out to seal everything in place. My box has feet cut into the corners at the bottom, and a 2 inch plywood lip under the top piece, with the top extended on either side to make it easy to lift up (no wasted wood, that was the width of the last piece I cut, and I could have just as easily made one more cut to make it as small as possible). All wood will be painted with an exterior grade latex paint, and the corners rounded with a router or sanded to taste. My design is hinged at the front, so it can be put back against a wall. There are 2x2 inch 45 degree cut pieces at the back, so that everything automatically aligns once closed.

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A drain hole is cut in the bottom of the plastic urine diverter, to fit whatever hose or adapter you have or get. I used a hot melt glue gun to secure it in place, and make sure that there were no low spots that would not drain into the hose. I cut a door into the front of the box so that when closing the lid, you can make sure that the hose actually did go into the one gallon jug. My design has room to have a spare jug inside it for when the first gets full and it’s the middle of the night.

Additional notes: get the longer, oval seat. I tried the cheap round seat but the room for an adult to properly aim is badly restricted, so took it back and paid the premium for the better seat. The seat I got has quick removal for cleaning attachments, not required but makes fitting things up easier during construction. I added some scrap pieces of plastic pail at the back to seal things up. After painting, I plan to use foam rubber weather-strip around openings to control airflow as required. Also, this design will be too tall for most people to sit comfortably, so I am making a foot stool to bring my feet up to ideal height. My home toilet is called a “comfort height” and is 16.5 inches to the top of the ceramic portion. It is mid way between the shorter ones made for kids, and the taller handicap style toilets. I recommend that you measure the height of one you like, and then build your footrest for that height.

All the information I have read indicates that a vent fan, using a little fan from a computer, may be required. If so, I will cut a hole in the back and attach the necessary hose and fan. Most any dry type absorbent material can be used to cover up the solids, I plan on using pine shavings, sold at the local lumber place as animal bedding. Another 5 gallon pail will hold the fresh shavings and a scoop.  A squirt bottle filled with a water/vinegar mix or commercial deodorizer is kept on hand to spray the urine portion after use. For men, a companion urinal made from a gallon jug and automotive funnel screwed to the wall at the appropriate height will simplify things, and satisfy He-men who refuse to sit and pee.  

This spring I intend to remove the flush toilet from our 5^th wheel and install this as a trial. If everything goes as expected, this is the toilet that will go in the sailboat I am building, and counts as the first component of that sailboat (gotta start somewhere, and there is two feet of snow outside, so it needed to be a small start)

Dennis Donohue

To see the photos intended for this blog, please go to my linked blog

Minimalism

I read Sifu Brinker's blog about minimalism...trying to eliminate his belonging to 100 things.
It's funny, when I first moved out on my own, everything I owned could fit in the back of a pickup truck. But the last time we moved, it took a lot of truck loads.
We do live in a consumerist culture for sure. It's hard not to get wrapped up in it.
I'll have to think about this more.

Basic numbers: rest day

Acts of kindness: gave the dogs and cat extra pets, played with Julia, visited a relative,

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, some macaroni with tuna and olives, some strawberry rhubarb pie with ice cream, a couple of chocolates, 2 cups of coffee, 7 glasses of water and a beer.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Blogging

     Didn't blog last week and its not that I didn't write a couple blogs, because I did. More so its that they weren't appropriate for anyone to read. It did feel good to write all those thoughts down , a good way to vent without any backlash or hurting anyone's feelings. But in the end no posted blog.

    Trying to be better about my blogging , especially the quality of content. What sounds awesome and makes perfect sense to me , in my head at least , hits the page and it reads like I'm crazy or angry. In the beginning I really thought this blogging requirement sucked but have since leaned to like it.

     What makes a good blog ?  Or better , What makes a great blog?

Scott Fuhr

Rollerblading

Today I started roller blading around my house. Mike measured it out for me how many laps I have to do for a km. One of my goals this year was to rollerblade 100km. I tried rollerblading years ago but had a bad fall and was scared to try it again. Today was the first time I've tried it again. I survived! It helped having the walls and furniture to hold onto. Julia liked it too, she ran around the house behind me. So cute.

Basic numbers: 212 crunches, 215 kicks, 204 pushups, 12 shoulder rolls, 24 flying spinning back kicks, 24 flying sidekicks, 5 minutes sparring, 2km rollerblading,

Acts of kindness: gave the dogs treats, gave the cat treats, played with Julia, gave the dogs pets

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, some carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, some leftover pizza, some chicken with kiech. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 7 glasses of water and 2 beers.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

form rep extraveganza

I think this weekend I'm going to go hard on form reps. I want to try and get 100 done over the weekend. The tai chi broadsword will be doable, the tai chi though takes a long time.
 Maybe I'll mix it up, some fast and some slow. The tai chi is really fun to do fast sometimes. I know you're supposed to do it slow but it feels so good to power through it too. At any rate, my goal this weekend is to get in extra form reps.

Basic numbers: 51 pushups, 101 crunches, 51 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3.4 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat treats, gave the dogs treats, made MIke lunch, helped a lady at work, let a car in front of me

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, a pastry, a piece of banana bread, an orange, some blueberries, a pastrami and cheese sandwich, 4 pieces of pizza, 2 coffees and 8 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Exciting!

Every year when Chinese new years rolls around (usually about Novemberish), things go into high gear and I feel like I live at the kwoon. Practice, practice, practice.
It's a really exiting time though. There is a buzz in the air around the candidates and the lion/dragon dance. I love being involved in it all. It does take a huge commitment though. I hope people realize that it's so worth the effort. The feeling you have after the night is over at the banquet is just incredible.

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3.3 miles, 1 doggy walk

Acts of kindness: let a car ahead of me x2, made Mike lunch, gave the cat treats, gave the dogs treats x2, picked the dogs up some toys

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, a slice of banana bread, an orange, a cheese burger with fries and gravy, 3 chocolates, a slice and a half of chicken pot pie, 3 cups of coffee and 9 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Journaling

For me the hardest part about Journaling is posting it to my blog site for the world to read.

I have almost 25 journal entries that I have written and never posted, I have deleted over double that amount in journals that ended up being too personal or have nothing to do with Kung Fu or my journey. I fight every week to post to a journal and this year I have failed in doing just that. I will continue to fight and one year I will win. As long as I do not give up I have not failed.

Where am I? What am I doing?

Condescending or Passionate, with a side of Alienation

The other day I was talking to a coworker about something and he jokingly (I think) said I was being condescending. Later on that day I was reflecting on what he said, trying to analyses my habits to see how much truth was in what he said. It got me thinking about how there is a fine line between being condescending and being passionate about something. It's pretty hard to confuse the two when you are being positive but when talking negatively about something, what matters more, what you say or how you say it?

Remember "Mastery" by Stewart Emery? My favorite part is the bit where he talks about living with so much mediocrity. My Kung Fu journey certainly has made me less tolerant of mediocrity and I try to surround myself with as much quality as possible. So while on the quest to expect more from myself and others I can sometimes be outspoken on my opinions. If I think something is bad or lacking quality I'm not afraid to say so. What worries me is, at what point does voicing my opinion make me sound like a jackass. Is it just the way I express it? The words I choose and the level of enthusiasm? Or is it a matter of how often I give opinions?

When it comes topics like art, music, movies and food it's often a matter of preferences. That's not always the case though, some things transcend preferences and fit squarely into good and bad categories. For example, McDonald's food is bad. I'm not saying I can't enjoy a quarter pounder now and then but there is now denying that McDonalds food is lousy. Its cheap, low quality and it really doesn't even taste that good. At the office we often group up to go out for lunch and I have one co-worker who's top choices are always A&W, McDonalds or KFC. Therefore I hardly ever go eat out with this person.

Something that really baffles me is how uncomfortable some people get when confronted with enough enthusiasm. I'm mostly talking about the positive, happy, I LOVE THIS THING kind of enthusiasm. I think people tend to get alienated if there is a big difference in passion levels. If you really like something and you share it with someone who can't identify with it you might just drive them away.

I don't really know where I'm going with this. Just something I've been thinking about. It's important we try to stay aware of the way we effect those around us and the way we carry ourselves less we be misinterpreted. Its now time for bed, falling asleep at the keyboard...

Sifu Jesse Wetter

http://liveforeverordieintheattempt.blogspot.ca/

Music and Creativity

We are practicing for the Chinese New Years - Dragon dance, Kids demo, I Ho Chuan demo.

It is amazing to watch some of these kids. Their creativity is something to admire. It seems that the older you get the less creative you become. There must be ways to keep the creativity alive.

When I was practicing for the Tiger Challenge I wasn't planning to do musical form mainly because I didn't want to confuse my self with other forms. But then a week before (inspired by my wife and son) I decided to give it a try. I combined 4 sections from 4 different forms and picked a song I liked.

The 5 days practicing this musical form were lots of fun. I really enjoyed doing the form with the rhythm and moving with the beat. I think music improves ones creativity. I can't wait to do the same with all the other demos. It is going to be so much fun!

http://csillag-stars.blogspot.ca/2013/12/music-and-creativity.html

Lost time

The last two classes in the beginner class we've been working on increasing and decreasing distance in a horse stance. We've specifically been working on getting our open-x stances low to the ground. I have to say that the white belts are starting to look pretty good. If they can get this down now, then they will have phenomenal stances later on. I sometimes wish I could turn back the clock. I remember how much time I wasted during my early training. If I had developed good practicing habits early on, I would have been a lot further ahead.
No crying over spilled milk though. Instead I'm trying to warn the next generation of Kung-Fu-ers about making the same mistakes I did and trying to make up for lost time myself.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3.2 miles, 1 doggy walk.

Acts of kindness: let a car ahead of me x3, gave the cat and dogs treats, made Mike lunch

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, a bowl of cheerios, a ham and cheese sandwich, an orange, a pastry, some perigees with bacon, 2 coffees and 8 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

extraordinary days

hello everyone i am almost done my first semester and right now for me this is exam week, and after that i will be all done until next semester in January. i must say with the black belt grading and the exams it sure has been pretty crazy for me. both are not done yet, but this for me is the most intense and crazy experience of my life. and its all awesome, I've already learned so much about myself and grown so much from this whole thing. this year so much has happened to me i have had highs and i have had lows, but through all of this i have had the support of my I Ho Chuan team. I will always remember my this year with this extraordinary I Ho Chuan team. Now we all practice for the big day to show off what we have accomplished. also i can't wait for next year and what extraordinary things that will happen. As usual stay extraordinary.   



232 lb


Sihing Langner

Dogs!

Bah! I hate it when our dog pees on the floor when we're gone. It's seems like we've tried everything and he still does it. So sick of cleaning up after him and having to toss stuff he's ruined. He's a good dog, just a messy one I guess.
I have been neglecting his walks this month which isn't good. One of my goals was to walk him once every day and I was doing great until this last little while. Life just got in the way and I fell out of the habit. Got to get back into it. He loves going for walks.
Time for a dog walk.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 156 kicks, 153 pushups, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: let a car ahead of me, helped someone at work, gave the dogs treats.

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, a brownie, a cookie, a ham and cheese sandwich, some chicken with potatoes and beets, 2 coffees, a beer and 8 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Resistance training

So I have a new resistance training routine. My boys have watched me do so many pushups and situps that they now both get on their hands and knees and start doing their own pushups with Dad. An added bonus is they will take turns on Dad’s back when he does pushups adding around twenty odd pounds of resistance with each set. Yeah we are all getting pretty good at the routine, next up horse stances – maybe one on each side to counter balance?
Sifu Bryant
My Blog

back on track...for now

Got back on track today.
Did some practice this morning before work and that really helped. Had fun shovelling with Mr. Wyndham after the beginner class too. It's so inspiring to see those guys get involved with the school so much. They are definitely on the right track. The blackbelt track.

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 208 kicks, 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: pet the dogs, made MIke lunch, made my brother coffee, helped someone

Today I consumed: a boiled egg, a banana, an apple, a ham and cheese sandwich, some perogies with sausage and nachos with cheese. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 8 glasses of water and a beer.


http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Brrrr.....

Last week was hard to want to get out of long underwear and fuzzy jammies.  With the freezing temperatures, the thought of going out for my km’s walking/drag, really wasn’t very appealing.  So instead I blew the dust off my treadmill (haven’t used it a lot since getting a dog) and went for a run.  I set up my dogs’ big pillow beside me hoping that my company would be enough to satisfy her and that she would let me off the hook for our km’s outside.   I was wrong.  She slept with one eye open showing little to no motivation but as soon as the treadmill stopped she popped up with her head pushed against the door, ready to go out.  Who could resist that face?  Needless to say, I put on several layers of clothing and off we went.  I have to admit that once out, the fresh air was fantastic, also was getting back into a warm house! 

The times I have the lowest motivation and drive are usually the times where it is even more important for me to push myself and stay with my routine (the best our life allows me).  The moment I strap on those boots or step out onto the mats, I am instantly glad to be there and always leave feeling uplifted and rejuvenated and looking forward to the next timeJ

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

Just My Opinion

I'm not really sure how to articulate this, it might end up a whole bunch of jumbled nonsense. We'll see as I write. I'm extremely disappointed that I haven't progressed with dragon dance. I still struggle quite a bit with the running and the jumps and I've spent since spring coming to practices. Why am I not getting better? Well, maybe I just plain suck, but there's a lot of things that I've noticed that's been quite frustrating at my level. Like, where are you guys? I'm not talking about the people that have spoken up and said they'd be out of town working, or sick, etc. I'm talking about the people who committed and just plain don't show up. Maybe you think, "Meh, It's easy, I know dragon dance and it'll be easy to catch up."...but what about that person learning behind you? I've been trying to learn and get better, but how on earth can I do that when we're always practicing with new people and having to start over with basics every single class? I feel like I'm still at the level I was on day one of practice. Also, there have been other people that have worked their schedule around practices since spring too. What about them? If they can't make the extra practices we need now because of people not showing up earlier...that kind of sucks. Horse Team - Communicate with each other! If you've committed to something and can't make it, let everyone know and find a replacement. You affect those around you by not showing up, whether you realize it or not. Just be honest, if you can't commit, say so. If you want to commit but there's certain days you can't, say so. Communicate! Lack of communication seems the root of a majority of any problems being on the I Ho Chaun team. Snake Team - Same thing as I said to Horse Team, we have roughly 6 weeks left, lets make the best of it and start talking to each other. Just my opinion.

why so early!?!

Bah!
Was totally lazy today.
Sigh.
On the plus side, I went to church today with Julia. One of my goals this year was to go to church every sunday. While I have missed quite a few sundays, this goal has reminded me how important it is. I think it's really important to bring Julia there. I want her to grow up with a knowledge of Christ like I did. That's something that's really important to me.
Unfortunately, sometimes sleep has taken priority. Why does church have to be so early!?!

Basic numbers: 1.5 miles

Acts of kindness: got breakfast for Mike, took Julia to church, complimented someone, congratulated someone,

today I consumed: a tims breakfast sandwich and hash brown, a grilled cheese sandwich with mushroom soup, an apple and a piece of chocolate and some green beans. I drank a cup of coffee, a beer and 7 glasses of water.


http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Pressure

We had our monthly I Ho Chuan meeting yesterday.  Lots was discussed but once again we have a lot a work to do and not a lot of time to do it.  Why is this the same every year?  Why is it that we have to have pressure applied before we get the best out of people?  I know that for me this is how I have always been.  I think I perform best when I'm under pressure.  However this is something I'm working to reduce.  I'm working to reduce the extreme's from my life and so far in the short period of time I feel the benefits.  I 'm feeling less pressure and less stress.  This is harder to adjust to than I envisioned as I have always been a person of extremes.  Extreme high's when things are going good and extreme low's when they aren't.

When it comes to the Chinese New Year's celebration and the preparation, we need to do a better job as a team.  I don't know what the answers are but as a member of the Horse Team for next year this is something I'm going to work on.  I'm learning to enjoy this new way, this way of less peaks and valleys.  I'm going to continue to develop this as the year of the Snake closes and the year of the Horse starts.

Ian Repay
Student of Silent River Kung Fu.

meeting

Had the monthly meeting today. It was neat to see some of the Horse Team members there. I wonder what they thought of the whole thing. I know many of them are returning members but some are completely new. I think they will brig a great perspective to the whole thing in the coming year.

Basic numbers: rested

Acts of kindness: gave the dog treats, pet the cat, gave the dogs belly rubs

Today I consumed: a tims breakfast sandwich and hash brown, a bowl of tomato soup and some chicken with cabbage and pasta. I also had a piece of chocolate cake. I drank 4 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Raising more than a bit of dust…

Today is my first opportunity to meet the new Horse team. I am excited and nervous about the coming year. Much the same position as last year. Although I think for much different reasons.

Last year, it was all new and unknown. Even though everything is clearly laid out. One can never truly know something till they have experienced it for themselves.

This year, I know exactly what I am signing up for. I am familiar with the ups and downs, the challenges and the exact meaning of the expectations. My excitement and nervousness rises purely from what I know and have experienced first hand.

One thing I am certain of, the next I-Ho-Chuan team will thunder across 2014 like a herd of wild and wonderful horses, raising dust and powering through challenges that will allow everyone to grow and will inspire other students at Silent River Kung Fu.

http://sharidactyl.wordpress.com

kempo-fying

This week has seemed so long. Need more sleep.
So much stuff to get done before the year is over. People's stuff is coming along. I saw some neat tricks today and Sifu's Rybak and Robinson's thing is looking pretty cool.
My broadsword isn't feeling so great though. It's really hard to do a tai chi form fast. I've been to kempofy it, but so far it's been challenging. Need to get it sorted out before chinese new year.

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 3 reps broadsword, 202 crunches, 153 pushups, 208 kicks, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: let a car in front of me, gave the dogs a treat, made Mike's lunch

Today I consumed: a breakfast sandwich, a turkey and cheese sandwich, some instant noodles with toast, 3 pieces of leftover pizza, I drank a cup of coffee, a glass of pop, a beer and 7 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

tai chi

One of the great things I've gotten out of tai chi this year is feeling my chi more. When I do my form now my hands get all tingly and I feel my body moving as one fluid unit. It's so cool. This doesn't happen all the time, but I get glimpses of it once in a while and those glimpses inspire me to keep practicing so I can feel that feeling again. That's what drives me to keep practicing tai chi, that and the whole no-more-aches-and-pains thing.

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 202 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the dogs treats, gave the dogs extra pets, helped my brother, made Mike lunch

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, a tomato and cheese sandwich, a chocolate, a bite of sausage, some pizza with a wing and a slice of chocolate cake and some noodles and toast. I drank 2 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Random thing

So it’s been quite a while since I have written anything and I can't even explain why. I usually follow other people’s blogs but have recently fallen behind on that as well. This last while has seen some trying times for me at home which has had an effect on my Kung Fu as well. I was going to the beginner class but have had to cut that out (sorry Sifu Playter) and I have even had to miss some of my other classes that I instruct. Sometimes things feel overwhelming and you don’t really know how to do everything that you need to. Anyway I have set a reminder in my phone to go off twice a week to get my blogging back on track. The wrists are mostly healed but still quite stiff and pushups are still a challenge mostly to do lack of strength from not doing them consistently for quite a while. On the upside: the Lion /Dragon dance is coming along it’s just a matter of coming up with the right story while incorporating all the essentials. I am also working on some techniques that we can use in the demo highlighting San Shou. That’s all for now. Kevin Lindstrom

Entrepreneur Exchange

Tomorrow I am in an Entrepreneur Exchange and I'm excited. Granted I don't know hundreds of details about the event, but what I do know I'm excited. I was invited by the organizer on Sunday during a craft sale that I'm a vendor it. She said that the exchange is like Dragon's Den, but they're nicer and they have no money. I laughed, but I got what it's about. Basically it's an event where I present my business/ideas and I say the direction I want to go. Then the panel gives me feedback and coaching. An added bonus is that this is also a sizable networking arena as well and there's also training and resources available too.

I will be presenting my glass art as the business to expand. I have social media and use it, but do I use it effectively? Where do I find my market? I do have questions that someone else might have the answer to. And, I'm not in this boat alone.

I was thinking about my fudge and Goodies on Tap that I have a blog site for but is pretty vacant. I will still continue making and selling my fudge because I love doing it. FYI: I am taking Christmas orders and if you want me to package your fudge order in smaller containers, I will do that for a nominal container fee. Back to the original paragraph topic, over the past several months I observed what I love doing in regards to kitchen magic. I LOVE testing recipes and I focus on recipes that are (obviously) gluten and dairy-free, but are also whole food based. "Give/send" me your recipes" is a phrase I hear often and the answer I give is "I have over a thousand recipes, follow about 6 blogs (or more),  and have about 40 books on the subject, can we narrow it down some??" It's not that I don't want to help, I do and I'm not willing to hand over my database that's taken me some time to build. Then the room got a little brighter when I had the idea of what my blog will be about. I will blog about the recipes I have tested with links to the original recipes, books l like, and whatever else food related (can be second cousin 6 times removed) that I can post about with my own sense of humor. I have the idea of also having a Pinterest site that categorizes the recipes I have tested into various "cookbooks". I'm liking this idea.

And this has what to do with Kung Fu? First of all the obvious 3 questions that are ALWAYS asked of us "Where am I?" "What am I doing?" "Where do I go from here?" Okay so the last question is one I added in, but it's all about inner reflection, mindfulness, and taking that next step that takes one further along the path to the set goal. Oh speaking of goals, Kung Fu is all about goals where they're written or not. At first the goal is to do whatever technique/form without looking like a total idiot, getting that stripe, passing to the next belt, rinse and repeat for time immoral. Did I mention practice? It all requires mindful practice regardless of the genre and out of that practice come mastery (sound familiar?). As I see it, this is taking my kung fu into the world.
Sherri Donohue
My Blog

Time is going fast

Long day. Car trouble.
Oh well, life goes on I guess.
I can't believe it's December already. I remember thinking, "man, I still have so far to go." And now it's like "BAM!" your already on the home stretch. It is a relief but sad too. I'm running out of time.

Basic numbers: 153 pushups, 101 crunches, 102 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 2 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the dog a treat, made MIke's lunch, helped a family member, played with Julia

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, some noodles with sausage and olives and some spaghetti with meat sauce and 2 chocolates. I drank 2 cups of coffee, a beer and 9 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

V.A.L.U.E

I'm currently taking part of a leadership program at work. I had different experiences in a variety of situations leading people and being led by people. The most obvious place for that was in the army. I had done many courses and got to see different types of leaders. Each had there own methods and ways to lead. Some were good and some not so good (or bad). I also had the chance at a very young age to supervise different groups of officers and soldiers. The experience was different as well. It takes two sides to make a good leader.

The workshops we take at work are emphasizing the core V.A.L.U.E in leadership. This stands for Value, Aptitude, Learning, Unity and Empathy. I find it very interesting and valuable to attend these workshops. I hope it will also make me a better leader at work and outside of work.

http://www.bhogroup.com/

http://csillag-stars.blogspot.ca/2013/12/value.html

Basic numbers

Last day of working late! Hopefully for a long time.
Got some practice in tho: consumedugh which was nice.

Basic numbers: 101 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword

Acts of kindness: gave the dog a treat, made Mike lunch, pet the dog, gave Julia a treat

Today I consumed: 2 pieces of carrot cake, some perigees with chicken sticks and corn, some instant noodles with toast and a cookie. I drank 2 cups of coffee, a beer and 8 glasses of water.

http://tiffany-anotherday.blogspot.ca

Doesn't anyone else want to be a black belt?

Doesn't anyone else want to be a black belt?

I've been watching and thinking about this for a while; I'm surrounded my so much skill, wisdom and goodness that it scares me to think about how much I don't know. In tonights Sihing class we were reminded of  just how much further we need to go before we can take that next step called "Grading". It's scary how my kicks are in so much need of repair, my cardio is coming but it isn't where it needs to be. But this is just a small part of what I've noticed as of late as I'm wondering "if I have such a long way to go" what about the others? In my fitness class the numbers are getting smaller to where I was the only student last class. It scares me to think where I would be without the conditioning I've been getting there over the years and I still have such a long way to go. In my Tai Chi class the number of students is small and when I think of it, I can't fathom the number of times I have corrected a form, aligned and lowered my stances, helped someone else work on theirs, more times than I care to admit felt something wrong and used a "Tai Chi repair" to fix it or at the end of class realized what a workout it actually it is. I also am overwhelmed by how much I need to relearn by attending the beginner, advanced and intermediate classes as I have forgotten so much while learning so much else. In my San Shou class there I was again; "the only student" one more time. Now don't get me wrong, having 5 black belts (from first to third degree) there just for me really boosts my ego but I can also feel the emptiness of what my classmates are missing. What culminated all of my observations and thoughts was when Sifu Brinker looked out into the near empty Kwoon this week and not only did I see the look in his face I think I absolutely felt what he was looking at. I know life and responsibility can get in the way, but after tanking hard this summer, not reaching out and seeing how far it caused me to fall behind and the scary feeling of what I was missing, something deep inside ignited and now there's a "something" telling me from the bottom of my gut to just "press on". All these things I've been worrying or perhaps am fearful of , not knowing the results of the upcoming year seem to crumble as I recite a few lines from a Garth Brooks song...........
                                                  "For just one fleeting moment,
                                                    the answer seemed so clear,
                                                    Heaven's not beyond the clouds,
                                                    it's just beyond the fear"......

Hopefully I can keep carrying myself in such a manner that I can impress upon someone else how much extra there is available here. I know a Black Belt is not the end of the journey, perhaps it's similar to my mechanics license, "it's a certificate to additional life long learning". Any one else want to come along for the ride? Robert

http://sihingtymchuk.blogspot.ca

Beat the battle of the germ

So I got sick on Friday.  Really ... why not Tuesday or Wednesday, at least it wouldn't mess up my weekend when the cool stuff is going on and I could stay home from work instead.  Essentially all I did was sleep for two days straight.   Yuk!   Of course it messed up the numbers ... I am attempting to get things back in line. 

The good thing about winter is that there are fewer distractions ... not tempted to go out to the garden or go for a spin on the motorcycle, or sit out on the deck and have a glass of wine and enjoy the quiet, things like that.  However it does mess with some practice because going outside in two feet of snow to work on a form is not really an option.  Fortunately for me I am spoiled and can practice inside in the shop (at work) where it is a heck of alot warmer and not much I can damage.  So I certainly have no excuse for being behind on my form reps ... which I still am but it is looking better than a month ago so progress is being made.

I have been reviewing the bokken form and I must admit I lost most of the sequence of the thing while focusing on other forms.  I keep adding moves from the broadsword form too it so its become a hybrid.   Master Brinker did warn us about things like this so I am trying to not beat myself up about it and just fix it.

Where's The Quality?

We have a project going on around our home that has had a stream of different contractors coming and going for the past 2 months.  Unfortunately, this experience has had me questioning whether there is any such thing as quality anymore.  I have found out that the days of a hand shake and of honesty, accountability and trust is a hard thing to find.  Gone also seem to be the days of customer service and quality work.  The sad thing is that this attitude is being passed down from the more senior workers to the new guys who will soon be taking over.    What is the point of doing something half way, just enough or just altogether wrong?  How can a person feel good with signing their name to a job that is deficient and full of shortcuts? 

As I have seen the shoddy workmanship and lack of accountability and the path of damage along the way, I have struggled with how to handle this.  I don’t want to fly around on a broom yelling (although I have found myself close to it).  I want to approach these guys in a constructive way, getting my point across and still have my integrity intact.  I’ve never been good at any kind of confrontation (would rather run from it), yet it seems I’m being put in more situations these days than I like where I have to stand up, question and call people on certain things.  Every action I take and every word I say needs to be thought out before delivering.  How I react is going to affect not only how this project turns out but also in the end how I feel about myself.  I don’t want to feel disappointed and embarrassed with my actions. 

On the other hand, we have had 2 crews that have come in and been incredible.  They have been efficient, done an awesome job and been an absolute pleasure to deal with, and I am grateful for them.  I only wish that they didn’t seem like a minority!

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca