Blogging/Outdoor Challenge Update

Well the month of June has come and (almost) gone. I set two main goals: blog all 30 days in June (achieved!), and spend at least 30 minutes outdoors daily (mostly achieved!).

Daily Blogging

At the start of the month I mapped out thirty potential blog posts (in pencil) and did my best to write and publish them in advance. I wrote probably 70% of posts from my original brainstorm, but some posts got moved around, some ideas got pushed to July, and some spontaneous posts were written. I made sure I had a post scheduled every day (usually writing it the day before). For this last week of blogging I am proud to say that at one point I had 5 blogs sheduled to be posted. I spent all day last Sunday writing. Wouldn't it be wonderful if that became a habit?

One thing I noticed from posting so much is that I was constantly searching for material from my life. "I could blog about this!" was a common sentence I used over the past month. I also remembered to bring my camera with me when I left the house more often than not, which is a great habit to be developing. Ensuring I had a blog posted every day was a positive experience for me, and I am really proud of what I accomplished.

Daily Blogging Notable Achievements:
• I have now blogged more times in one month than any other month of this blog: 30 times (previous record was 21)
• During the month I celebrated my 300th blog post

Daily Outdoors Time
I managed to get outside 26 of the 30 days in June. I made a conscious effort to spend time outside, and even though I didn't get all 30, I was probably outside more in June than I have been all year. Which is awesome. The days I didn't go out involved bad weather or bad moods. I still haven't learned that going for a walk is great way to combat a bad mood. Maybe one day.

Outdoors Time By The Numbers:
• Number of days I was outside for just 30 minutes: 8
• Number of days I was outside for longer than 30 minutes: 18
• Number of days time was spent sitting and reading: 10
• Number of days time was spent sitting by a fire: 2
• Number of days time was spent around a BBQ: 2
• Number of days time was spent walking: 10
• Number of days time was spent cycling: 5
• Number of days time was spent both sitting + reading AND walking/cycling: 3
• Number of days with no outside time: 4

Surfing Saturday: 6/29/2013

Surfing Saturday: a weekly round up of some of my favourite links on the interwebs.

Pride Week

It's Pride Week in Toronto, so I'm celebrating with some of my favourite LGBT2Q links.

Equal Marriage

Here are some of my favourite equal marriage campaign and related videos from around the world. Have a tissue handy, some of these videos make the eyes wet.

Sinead's Hand from Ireland
It's Time from Austrailia
It's Time from Scotland
MP Maurice Williamson's 'Big Gay Rainbow' Speech, New Zealand
The Golden Girls and Marriage Equality

DOMA/Prop 8 Ruling

On Wednesday the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled that DOMA (Defence of Marriage Act) and Prop 8 were unconstitutional. The plaintiffs in the case had this amazing press conference after the ruling was announced. Presidient Obama called the plaintiffs to congratulate them, Buzzfeed showed a collection of reaction photos outside the Supreme Court, and San Francisco City Hall was made rainbow to celebrate.  Nancy Pelosi had this amazing response when asked for thoughts on Michelle Bachman's reaction to the ruling. I think I have watched that video about 50 times so far. Also George Takei wrote this opinion piece which is worth reading. There was a lot of joy on Wednesday; felt really positive and proud all day.

Pride Events

Toronto Pride is happening this weekend and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne will be the first sitting Premier to march in the parade. HuffPost has a slideshow of some of best fashions from past Toronto parades. If you are searching with Google, certain Pride related key words will turn the search bar rainbow, which is pretty awesome. Simcoe County pride week isn't until August 2nd, but if you're local you can check out Simcoe Pride for more information.

Happy Pride Everybody!!!

Love My Rail Trail

I've decided that this summer is the Summer of Walking. It is also the summer of cycling, swimming, and being outside in general, but I recently read the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed and it reminded me how much I enjoy walking. If you haven't read it, check it out, it is very moving and inspiring. Highly recommended. 

There is a trail near my place that was converted from a railway line. This is my favourite trail for both walking and cycling, though walking requires a lot more bug spray. The trail runs parallel to the road, so it's pretty hard to get lost. Use of the trail is shared with ATVs, dirt bikes, runners, dog walkers, horseback riders, and sometimes groups of summer camp kids. I have always had safe travels on this trail, and have always found the people on motorized vehicles safe and respectful to pedestrians. It is a really positive space.

This is what part of the trail looks like heading North-ish.

And here is the view of the trail heading South-ish.

I realize they both look pretty similar. In either direction, the rail trail is a fantastic place to spend time and I plan on enjoying it as much as I can this summer.

300th Post!

Well with the help of my 30 day blogging challenge, I have made it to my 300th post! I have also posted more in one month than I ever have on this blog. Lots to be proud of right now.

Just wanted to take the time to thank all my regular readers and all those who happen to stop by. I really appreciate you and your comments. Thank you for being here.

Family Fun Trip

A few months ago Target opened some stores in Canada. The closest Target to us is in Orillia and it opened at the end of March. I had never been to a Target before, but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I proposed a road trip with Mom and Grandma, and on a rainy day in April we made our way to the big city of Orillia, Ontario!

The three of us hadn't been to the Orillia Square Mall in probably 10 years. I worked in Orillia from 2000-2003, and only rarely did I go over there at lunchtime. They've made some renovations to the mall recently and we walked around before exploring Target.

First stop - lunch. The Food court was pretty limited but they had a Burger King so I treated Mom and Grandma to burgers. Surprise of the day, we were there on a Wednesday (also known as Whopper Day), so our meals were cheap and delicious. I love when I offer to buy lunch and get an unexpected deal. Everyone wins! We didn't know it at the time, but eating at Burger King was the highlight of our day.

Orillia, ON Target

Maple Leaf, Heart, Target Logo

Apparently the big draw for Canadians when cross border shopping at American Target is the amaze-a-deals. Unfortunately, these deals never made it to Canada. I'm not really a shopper in general, so it takes a lot to get me to part with my money, and Target did absolutely nothing for me. Mom and Grandma felt the same - they were both unimpressed with the store. Basically Target just has the same stuff you can get at Real Canadian Superstore or Walmart but at a slightly higher price. I can say some positive things about it: (1) it had a very clean bathroom and (2) there was a Starbucks right inside the store.

The point of heading to Orillia that day was to spend some fun social time with Mom and Grandma and I got to do just that. They are both backseat drivers but I didn't have to pull over to kick anyone out of the car, so that was good. Plus we learned that every Wednesday is Whopper Day, and I've been to my local BK six times since then to enjoy this tasty treat.

Have been to a Target Canada? What did you think?