Sunday, November 20, 2011

So from Friday to tonight I went to a French leadership symposium called <<FESFO>>. It was AMAZING!!!!!!!.  We had VERY, VERY long days where we experienced a lot of things including finances, simulations and most interestingly, we learned how to learn, something that will help me for the rest of me life. 

 

FESFO is an organization "par et pour les enfants" which means by and for kids. It's an amazing organization and I'm so glad to have been picked for this!

I have tons of pictures, but unfortunately I cannot post them, so here is a glimpse of one of the groups I worked with....

Thursday, November 17

Tonight I went to a friend’s show that he performed in so it was a nice way to end my school week cause tomorrow I am leaving for 3 days for a leadership retreat (remember the posts from October 2, 2011 and September 25?). 

Tomorrow morning I go to Windsor for 3 days of leadership and media arts where I'll learn about fundraising, publicity and media stuff. It'll also come in handy for my IB program since all the work we are doing will count for some of my CAS hours.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Today I went to the gym to check out my progress - I am sooo happy about my push ups and my endurance today!  Back on the treadmill I did another 35 minutes! Whoo hoooooooo.....

Later I need to work on my final Reviews for this (PPL10) course!  I am hoping to finish up my CyberBullying assignment and hope I can get it out before the end of next week!  Stay tuned Mr. Strutt…. 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Wanted a picture for my blog.... thought Yoga Cat is cute!

Today I went back to the Y to use the treadmill and then I went to Yoga.  I felt great today and got a good 35 minutes run in on the treadmill. Also had my iPod listening to NeverShoutNever!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Today I went to the Y to go rock climbing so that I could stretch and relax at the same time!  It gives me a good stretch while a I get to “hang” around!  I want to get back to my gymnastics so as soon as my membership expires at the end of the year, I will go to gymnastics, so I am working hard at my flexibility! 

Hey Mr. Strutt, can't wait to complete my Activity #4 so you can see my progress

Friday, November 11, 2011

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Today was Remembrance Day and I had some activities to facilitate in school this morning.

The quote that I used at the top of today's blog is a result of one of the assignments for this course - remember the meaningful quotes that we had to lookup on teamwork? I thought that I would post the same here for Remembrance Day.

While looking on the net, I found some interesting stuff, for example … 

 The Last Post is the trumpet or bugle call sounded at 10 pm each night to inform soldiers that they should be inside their quarters for the night. It is also sounded at military funerals and commemorative services... to indicate that the soldier has completed his life's work and has entered into his rest.

(SOURCE: Veterans Affairs Canada)

Source: http://www.craigmarlatt.com/canada/symbols_facts&lists/remembrance_day.html

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Last night I was so sore that I went to bed early. But this morning I was still sore from my dentist’s torture (sorry Dr. S.) so I had to take a pain killer that made me sleep ‘till past noon, (every teenager’s dream on a school day)!

Didn’t do much of anything except veg out. But I did manage to send in a lot of my assignments that I hadn’t done yet (sorry Mr. Strutt, hope you don’t have to spend your weekend correcting!).

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Since I am on student council and responsible for publicity, today, during my spare in school, I did a lot of cutting out of coquelicots, the French name for poppies.  We are setting up for this Friday’s Veteran’s Day events.

This is the one that I used - got it from the Royal Canadian Legion website (http://www.legion.ca/Poppy/campaign_e.cfm)

After school, I went to the dentist for a check up and ended up getting x-ray'd and it showed that I had a large cavity and a smaller one. Not fun.  I got home and still had the freezing, but it was thawing out and it started hurting. I had bitten the inside of my cheek once too many times so I was REALLY sore.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

This afternoon I went to the YMCA to do some laps, but we first had to stop so I could find some ear plugs. I really didn’t know that choosing ear plugs could be so hard!

Did you know that there are different types, depending what you need them for? 

There are reusable ones and disposal ones. Musicians use them and so do construction workers. Swimmers use them but divers shouldn’t. Ear plugs are also used by travelers to combat cabin pressure,  some people use them to help them sleep (snoring) and some use them to keep wind out of their ears.

So 25 minutes later, I had my earplugs selected and off to the Y I went to do laps.  Swimming is good exercise (that's obvious). Swimming is a lifetime sport that benefits the body and the whole person.  It works practically all of the muscles in the body (if you do a variety of strokes) and it can develop a swimmer's general strength, cardiovascular fitness and endurance. 

Here's a chart I found on the web (http://www.memory4teachers.co.uk/channels/presentations/The_ASA/NationalPlan.html), although they DO NOT mention what it does to your hair! lol (thought that i would add this)

Did you know that swimming burns calories at a rate of about 3 calories a mile per pound of bodyweight? 

Anyways, I like it cause I don't try to be the swimmer – I kinda like to think about it as letting the swimmer be me.  I've always loved the water so it just makes sense for me to swim. And it's not rocket science on how to do it.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Went to Pilates tonight to get a bit of a stretch and flexibility workout.  It was fun, maybe ‘cause I was in the mood. My splits are less than 2-inchs off the ground! Yeah!!!! 

After the class, I went to the conditioning room to work out my strength – I did 3 sets of 20 of my dude push ups!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

So I came back from swimming tonight – laps are soooo boring and I just don't like what it does to my hair - yeah, yesterday I wrote this too!! But I stuck to it tonight and met a nice lifeguard dude!  .... that’s for another blog, not this one .. lol…

Right now, I have so much going on, so much to do and I feel overwhelmed. Sometimes I just want to stay under my warm blankets and let the world go on and just cry till no more tears come out. So I remembered my notes from my PPL10 course and really like this – has to do with dealing with internal conflict. Here’s the notes….

Being involved in any kind of conflict with anyone can be stressful. Sometimes you can even be in conflict with yourself. You remember how conflict can arise from values having different priorities. As you grow up, your own priorities can change, and this can lead to confusion over a lot of decisions you have to make. Your schoolwork is important to you. Your social life is important to you. Difficult decisions can cause stress.

We all experience stress in many forms and here are theTop 10 Ways To Keep Your Cool

·         Stop beating yourself up

·         Stop saying yes

·         Stop and think

·         Stop and talk

·         Stop rushing

·         Stop for lunch

·         Stop and take a walk

·         Stop and breathe

·         Stop working late

·         Stop working too much

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

I am proud for NOT pigging out on the tons of loot that we all scored last night!  There were not many people out, but me and a bunch of my friends and some little kids we took out had a real good time and people were actually pleased to see us at their door! They gave us tons of stuff and told us that not many people were out. The kids loved the fact that they got a lot of stuff!

 

Anyways, I decided to go to the Y to do some laps at the pool since I like swimming.  The water is not too cold, and not too warm so it’s good for my laps.  My mind kinda wandered when I did the laps and I got into a rhythm.  But I don’t like the chlorine ‘cause it drys out my hair - makes it feel really dry and gritty and doesn't smell good either. Ugh!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Tonight I am going out to trick or treat (yes I am walking around our neighbourhood) with my friends and some little kids!  But before this, I had a recipe to make for some ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS. It's absolutely delicious and I thought I'd share it with you....

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds
• 2 teaspoons butter, melted
• 1 pinch salt
• Directions
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). 
• Toss seeds in a bowl with the melted butter and salt. 
• Spread the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown; stir occasionally. 

While the seeds are roasting, wear your pumpkin just for laughs!!! Then get ready to go out!

So here is a picture of the final result of one of our pumpkins - this was the one that got sick from all the candy!!!! lol.....

Once we got set up, I went out with my friends and some little kids we took out and we must have walked about 4 km tonight because we REALLY got around and the little ones got TONS of loot!

Happy Halloween! 

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Well after the going to the conditioning room and then the rock climbing class tonight, I worked on another assignment for this course.

It was an extension activity called You R What U Eat! This was such an easy assignment, and it was fun! You wanted us to come up with ways that we would use to improve our diets, so here are a few…

1. Think Color!

Just by eating a variety of color, I think you will eat things that are healthy for you. Berries and vegetables are brightly colored and contain lots of healthy nutrients and when you 

see brightly colored foods it just has to make you smile and want it! 

 Cut - Just learning how to handle a knife. Really! Avoid take out and learn to cook a few simple meals, that’s it!

3. Whole Grains

Stick to whole grains instead of enriched  - I don’t know why, but it has something to do with the “germ” portion (my mentor teacher explained this) OK, so I have pet rats and I need to eat more like they do by eating more nuts, seeds, peanuts and peas. These foods are great nutritious snacks – my friend Julie who is a diabetic says so! Julie and my rats can’t be wrong, can they?

I am Canadian

A lack of vitamin D is unhealthy and can contribute to a lot of different diseases and conditions. Your body can produce it, but you need sunlight, cannot be overweight or take certain medications.

  

FAT

Avoid the trans fats and take your omega-3 pills or eat more salmon.

H2O - Drink lots of water!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

I went to the Y to do a pilates class tonight.  I also did 4 sets of 20 dude push ups today, so I was rockin’!   The flexibility part is getting better and I am working harder at my splits, so I am progressing…..

Monday, October 24, 2011

I went back to the Y after school today.  I was sluggish, so I just did relaxing exercise, ya know, just a long walk on the treadmill, listening to my iPod. Right now I am into Nevershoutnever

Here's a link to one of my favorite songs...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs4-owGtzBI

Sunday, October 23, 2011

 

So I spent the last 5 days sick in bed. Ugh. Stuffy/runny nose, fever, tired and generally felt like crap! We ran out of Kleenex so I started using napkins and then toilet paper that I shoved up my nose.   

Why is that socially unacceptable? Really, isn't it better than snot? No, neither are good? Ok, fine. I only shove the toilet paper up my nose at home.....

And speaking of home, one of my parental units practiced their pumpkin carving skills and left this for me.....

Tuesday, October 19, 2011

Ever have days where you wish you could just take a sick day? Yeah, well…..  I am officially sick in bed. My mom brought me breakfast in bed along with a box of Kleenex cause my nose has been dripping the whole time.

OK, so this little box of kleenex made my day! You might think I'm a nerd or something because this cute box made my day. I mean seriously, isn't it cute?

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

I went to the gym to go to Yoga, and got my stretching and relaxation in, but I think I am getting a cold! I feel stuffed up and tired.

Monday, October 17, 2011

I don't feel good today so i didn't go to the gym.  I was a bit bored tonight so I decided to listen to what my mentor said about simply glancing through the daily paper to get ideas for this course and I saw today's Globe in our recycling box. Well, I am lazy, but this was on the first page of a section, so it kinda jumped out at me!

Anyways, there was an article (Globe Life, Health & Fitness, section L) that talked about "natural" foods as it relates to nitrates.  Well, we learned about chemicals and food nutrition in science class a while ago and learned that nitrates are usually found in vegetables and are considered harmless. Nitrates are also used in processed meats like hot dogs, to help preserve them longer.

So what the article says is that it’s not really OK to eat processed meats that are sold as “natural”. This is because they are still adding nitrates that come from celery extracts. "This combo has been linked to some risky and serious health problems" says the article.

So… reading labels helps, but only if you know what to look for. So for marketing people, it helps them say that their products are “natural” because it makes people believe that they are doing something healthy. 

 

But some labels are misleading and some people think that we are easily fooled by the word "natural”. Me, I think it's used to help a product look better than what it really is.

What do you think?

Saturday, October 15, 2011

I am not into the “passive, aggressive, assertive” assignment. 

I have it written out but now I need to record it in an mp3 format an upload it for my assignment, but my mentor was wondering whether the swearing in the aggressive role was necessary.

I mean it's for a school assignment and it might not be OK to use lots of swear words, but it’s the way we kids talk and I am trying to create 3 scenarios.  I am not sure right now what to do, so I’ve put it aside for a bit and I’ll think about it. 

In the meantime, I’ll work on the “Identifying Hazards” assignment – that one is easy since my mom works in the industrial chemical field and we reviewed SIMDUT earlier in the year (I think SIMDUT is called WHMIS in English – yeah, I go to French school so sometimes I have to check for the english version of words) . 

I checked my notes and yes, WHMIS is called SIMDUT in French!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Met up with a fitness trainer at the gym this afternoon to give me a weight training program.  He took me through the steps and is putting something together for me to work on strength, but not the heavy duty weights. 

I also did some flexibility training on this machine that helps you stretch to extend your splits. I'm not sure I like the machine as much as doing it myself. 

But I finished my workout by impressing myself (and others!) with 3 sets of 18 dude push ups!

Later on in the evening, I hooked up with friends to go out to see a movie!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Treadmill, here I come! I know that I enjoyed the 35 minutes I spent on it – they went by so fast! 

But I forgot to take the bpm info! Dang! All because of some new music downloads that I was working out to!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

I avoided the Yoga instructor tonight and headed to the Pilates class instead!  Boy is my butt sore! 

Pilates is a body conditioning routine that helps not only build your flexibility, but also your strength, endurance, and coordination in the legs, abdominals, arms and back.  

It emphasizes your core (your inner middle) strength and your stability. Since I am trying to work on these, pilates makes sense! 

So what I learned tonight was that when you perform your exercises, be sure to avoid quick, jerky movements. Every movement you do should be slow, but still strong and flexible because the movements are designed to flow like a dance.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

That’s it! I’m done with Yoga! No more! Finished!

I really don’t like being the youngest one in the class with these older people. I’ve got to find something with more people of my own age.  I’m tired of always being the person to demonstrate, the person she picks on and pushes harder than everyone else.  “Oh, look at Kim” or ”Do it like Kim is doing it”. Aaaaargh…..

It made me think of the assignment that I am working on where I need to take the role of Joseph Frederick a Juneau, Alaska student in a conflict about free speech, and act it out in 3 ways:

1. passively (lose control of yourself resulting in a lack of confidence),
2. aggressively (lose control of the situation resulting in anger),

3.      assertively

So the next time I go to class and feel like I am being picked on, I need to use an assertive way of letting the instructor know that I just wan to be treated like everyone else in the class.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving weekend! 

I didn’t have a Runner’s High, but had a Turkey High!  

 LOL  Happy Thanksgiving….

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Went to the YMCA and did some rock climbing. It was nice since there were not many people at the gym this morning.  The instructor led us through some great stretches – he said he needed to make room for turkey so he made us all work harder (lol).

Then I went to the treadmill – did I say how much I liked the new ones they have a the YMCA? I enjoy running and am comfortable maintaining my bpm in the 160-170 range for 30-40 minutes.

One of our class assignments (for Week 9) talks about  Runner’s High. Its actually a release of ENDORPHINS, a transmitter that helps your brain send and receive signals (I haven’t learned this in science yet, but am anxious to know more since I like science and psychology). Anyways, this endorphin kinda makes you high during and after running. I think that is what I feel while running after about 20 minutes sometimes

I really didn’t believe in this, but once I knew what it was, I think I’ve experienced it, although not always running, but with TaeKwonDo and snowboarding so I don’t think that it is only a runner thing. For me it’s a combo of a mind and body thing when things are just going well!

Anyways, after coming down from my high, I felt really good about everything so when I got home, I felt like baking so I volunteered to bake some special cookies for our family gathering tomorrow for Thanksgiving!


 This is me mixing the dough and then rolling out the "fingers"!

You need to bake them with the almond on the "finger tip".

Once baked, you remove the tip and add some red food colorant and then stick the "nails" back on the "fingers"! Look good, eh?

What do you think of my Witch's Fingers?

I can’t wait for the turkey, stuffing, sweet potato and all of the other stuff that my grandmother makes for us!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Had a busy day today. At school I was part of the organizing committee for our Terry Fox day and we had a lot of participation!

Then tonight, I went to the  "Alliance Against Violence" concert!  Managed to get autographs from Neverest band members and got my picture taken with Aylssa Reid!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

I wanted to go to the gym today, but I got call for an audition for this evening and it turned in to a late night ‘cause I got a second reading. I finally got home at 1h30 am which is abnormally late.  I already know that this is not a great thing for me as I get really cranky. 

My mom let me sleep in the next morning just to help me out so i could get my sleep. Did you know that too little sleep affects your glucose metabolism? (yea, I was listening in science class!). Glucose is a simple sugar that the body uses for energy. If your body make too much, it stores it as fat.

 

There was a recent story on CBC News (http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2011/09/30/sleep-teens-weight.html) that presented a study that showed that teens who go to bed late and wake up late are more likely to be overweight than those who go to bed early and rise early. I’m not really sure about that, since I believe that teens really have different sleep patterns than adults.

Whatever, I know that when I don’t get my sleep, I get cranky, so whatever the reason, I still gotta get to be and get my full 8 hours.

What so you think?

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

This afternoon I went to the conditioning room to work on my flexibility and stretching.   I really felt like I needed to do this since I find it relaxing.  My splits are now at almost 3-inches off the floor, so things are looking good! 

I also need to work on one of my VHS papers and need to look a t a few more articles having to do with non physical violence.   

One of the things that I know I want to look in to is how older people (like my grandparents) are getting taken advantage of by sleeeezy people just looking to steal their money. 

Another thing I want to look at is bullying with cell phones and Facebook. I’ll see what I can find for my paper.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Today was a great workout day as I did 35 minutes on the treadmill and kept my bpm at 170 and I had a great cooldown doing some Yoga.
 
I also got to hang out with some of the Youth Group members at the YMCA.  They are organizing the "Alliance Against Violence" concert in the theatre square, their goal being to unite the youth in the spirit of anti violence.  Their pamphlet says that “By outlining the dangers of youth violence in the community in a fun and lively setting, getting the message across to youths becomes easier as they are engaged at the interactive concert.” 

So this Friday I am going to see Neverest and Alyssa Reid!