Cleanse Thy Self

It should be the eleventh commandment really.  I have found that the feeling of cleansing your body is like nothing else.  It's so...cleansing.  We are starting the "Fast Metabolism Diet" today.  It is a body cleansing, metabolism rocking 28 day restriction regimen.  The 'diet' is really just a controlled instruction manual of when to eat what and how much.  There is Phase 1, Monday-Tuesday, Phase 2, Wednesday-Thursday and Phase 3 Friday-Sunday. 

Phase 1 is:

Breakfast: Grain, Fruit
Snack: Fruit
Lunch: Grain, Protein, Fruit, Veggie
Snack: Fruit
Dinner: Grain, Protein, Veggie

Phase 2 is:

Breakfast: Protein, Veggie
Snack: Protein
Lunch: Protein, Veggie
Snack: Protein
Dinner: Protein, Veggie

Phase 3 is:

Breakfast: Fruit, Fat/Protein, Grain, Veggie
Snack: Fat/Protein, Veggie (optional)
Lunch: Fat/Protein, Veggie, Fruit
Snack: Fat/Protein, Veggie (optional)
Dinner: Fat/Protein, Grain/Starch

So, I'm pretty sure Phase 3 will be the most fun, Phase 2 will probably be the hardest, I think we'll be pretty tired of protein and veggies by the end.  They call Phase 2 the "Unlock Fat Stores" phase.  Protein, veggies, protein, veggie, protein, veggie.  AHHH!  Whenever there is a 'veggie' allowance it is an unlimited amount.  So you can fill up on those, which is the best for you anyway.  All of the other componants have amount restrictions to them.  A 'fruit' is one piece of fruit or 4 ounces, protein is 4 ounces, etc.  There are a few 'rules' to go along with the cleanse just to make it more effective.  No caffeine, alcohol, corn, dairy, wheat, soy, dried fruit or fruit juices, artificial sweeteners or 'fat-free' diet foods.  Haylie Pomroy really goes into depth about why not, and how each of these things effects your body so negatively that when I read it, it changed my eating habits for good, not just for 28 days. 

Today is day 1.  I feel pretty good.  I was hungry through the day but my stomach is pretty stretched out right now because we have been very bad with our eating lately.  I assume in a few days we will feel less hungry.  I am looking forward to eating natural, raw and good for me food for a whole month almost.  No sauces, no sugars, no preservatives, no fake, no crap.  I am looking forward to feeling clean, happy and healthy.  And if I lose my big 15 lbs. I won't complain either.

In His grace,

Kaela

Kathy's Travel Bug

A few blogs have been written about her, she is my favorite muse.  I could never run out of stories to tell, ways to brag and things to say about her beautiful personality.  Kathy and I go way back.  Way back to before she decided she was a travel bug.  Way back before she left with her family to Lacombe, AB to live, 2 MONTHS before we were supposed to start high school together.  Go to school together for the first time actually.  We cry-laughed.  Down in the old boat, tied to the pier is where she told me, somehow we made our way over the entire yard at the cabin, bawling.  We cry-laughed, for what seemed like hours.  Tears of pain, and then laughing at each others scrunched up bawling faces.  I can still feel the grass between my toes, rolling around on the ground in pain from laughing with real tears of sorrow running down my sunny warm cheeks.  It was such a confusing time.  Why was God doing this to us, especially now.  I visited Kathy often, birthdays, weekend get-togethers, day trips with mom.  It was there that I finally got the courage to sleep that far away from home without my mom (yes I was 15).  Kathy was way more important to me than missing home was.  She meant the world.  She means the world. 

She travelled all over the world after graduation.  Her boyfriend at the time moved to Petawawa, ON and she followed.  Then they had a rocky breakup, not long after mine.  Then it was New Orleans, hitchhiking BC, Thailand, Guatelmala, Europe, New Zealand.  I can't even remember all of the places she went, when, why, with whom.  I don't know the timeline, when she moved back to AB or what made her decide too.  All I know is I was ecstatic.  No words can explain the feeling when she told me she was coming home! 

She was moving to...Three Hills?!  Okay.  I guess that's better than across the world.  She started attending Prairie Bible College and immersed herself in that community, like she does everywhere she goes.  She is such a light, that shines so brightly and so definitively for Christ that people can see their own paths, not just hers, when she is around them.  She started baking bread and selling it at the farmers market.  Took a job at IGA after she graduated, mostly just so she could get to know the community.  Meet the people, be a beacon.  (Heh, funny how it all comes around hey girl?)  At some point in this journey, she meant the man that God had waiting in the wings for her.  Devon Opden Dries.   At this point Shawn and I had been dating for 4 years.  Ready to get engaged anytime.  So we did.  And then they did, only 3 months later.  Then we got married, and then they did, only 2 months later.  Ya.  We did it all together.  Every step.

Anyway, Devon is a pilot.  He just finished his instructors course at Prairie in Three Hills and needed a good job.  For some odd reason...(travel bug?) they found the PERFECT job in LINCOLN, NEW BRUNSWICK.  Was I surprised you ask?  No.  Not in the slightest.  It was sad to see her go, but we love them both so much, and we know that they are happy, and best of all, following God's lead in their lives.  My best friend of 14 years has moved away from me again, only a few days travel now I guess.  A good excuse to go to the Maritimes, see that side of Canada.  But man, do I ever miss her.  More than I ever though I would. 

In His grace,

Kaela

Life as We Know It

Welcome back into our life.  It's been forever.  I thought I would be good at blogging at least once a week.  Obviously not!  We have been very busy lately, we are always busy in the summer but this year it seemed almost overwhelming at times.

I took on a few new weekly commitments, which is interesting because before, I had none.  And I liked it that way.  But this year I though, I really should do something I enjoy. 

I started to pursue my friend Angie about horse back riding with her on a weekly basis when the weather started to get warmer in the spring.  She was gung ho for it as she needed "accountability" to get out there herself.  Which is crazy to me; a horse lover without a horse.  I don't think I would need anyone to ask me twice to ride my horse, that's in my yard, what a dream! Understandably though, she is a very busy young lady with a TON of awesome but time consuming activities and a 3 year old child, and now a baby on the way and a house to keep, and a huge garden to keep, and a 3 and a half mouths to feed and an acreage to keep.  You can be a horse person all you want but when 'life' moves in, so to speak, you can't do anything about it but try try try.  So I have been going over there almost every week since May ( because we had such an insanely long winter this year).  I ride her horse PJ who is an grey flee bitten (type of coat) Arabian, about 14 hands high.  She is a sweet thing with a lot of spunk and a soft, friendly disposition.  When I started riding her she was calm, well mannered but had a little disrespect on ground and in saddle.  I've really enjoyed working with her, gaining major confidence, teaching her new things, working on her control, learning how to sit a trot and lope.  It's been an amazing experience.  Most of the time I just ride her around Angie's round pen for 1-3 hours depending on the day.  Just working with her and enjoying every minute of it. 

I also decided to start golfing with my Grandma Melnyk this year.  I had asked her if we could golf every once in a while this year and it turned into me joining the Business Ladies League at the Devon Golf and Country Club.  Grandma treated me to 5 golf lessons from the pro there, which were extremely helpful as I had no clue what I was doing.  I was improving every game and really enjoying it.  We golfed every Tuesday from June - first week of September. 

In August I picked up the description of "Devon Alliance Church Bridal Shower Leader", or something to that effect.  I am really looking forward to ministering in this way because it is totally up my alley.  I love planning events, decorating and organizing things in that way.  I was thinking that I would have a lot of time to decide my 'schedule' and 'to do lists' because I probably wouldn't have a shower until maybe spring for a wedding in the summer.  Then my good friend Amy got engaged August 1st.  Wedding, October 5th.  So I planned my first shower for her in 2 weeks, and it went pretty well I think.  It was such a blessing to be able to do that for her though.  I'm so happy for her.

Shawn has been quite busy with work lately, he leaves home for the shop around 7:00am or earlier and gets home sometime between 1pm-6pm.  Depending on the day.  I could not do that!!  Not know when I am off work.  I like my 8am-3pm, Monday-Thursday.  Then again, if I had to work as hard as he works in a day I would be a basket case by this time.  I really feel proud that he is my husband and I really hope I never take for granted how hard he works for us and our comfort.

So needless to say, I went from being a home body, with nothing to do in the evenings after work except relax, clean house and enjoy some me/us time.  To horsing around on Thursdays, whacking balls on Tuesdays and planning mini wedding-like events in my spare time.  And my mom says..."Just wait until you have kids."

By His grace,

Kaela

Weather Healthy or Not

May 6, 2013, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada reached a high of +31.1 degrees centigrade.  Now, about a week ago, we were dwindling around the +1 mark.  The trees were not even budding yet and the geese that traversed into our wintery province were still on little icy patches of water in the fields along the highways.  Albertans everywhere were wondering 'when is spring coming?'.  Now we have...summer.  Where did spring go?  Weather changes and forecasting is one of those things that goes in one ear and out the other for me.  It really doesn't matter to me, I love snow, I love extreme heat, I love rain, storms, wind, sleet, hail.  Doesn't matter.  I'm happy with whatever God throws our way.  The main reason is because I know it cannot be changed.  If it could, we definitely would have figured it out by now.  Heck, we can create "perfectly" cloned animals.  Nasty.  I could rant about that but that is for another day, another post.  Yesterday my mom and I started our 'juicing' at lunch time.  We have decided that we are going to juice fresh vegetable for our lunch most of the time.  I'm going to do it everyday except Thursdays because I go riding after work on Thursdays and skip supper so I need something more sustaining.  We will be juicing kale, celery, cucumber, carrots, apples, parsley, pears, pineapple.  It is not the most amazing tasting thing, but I know I will really get into it once I see the benefits.  I've been researching and studying raw eating, juicing, organics.  Getting healthy and beautiful from the inside out instead of covering it up all the time, ei. certain clothes to "flatter", makeup, hair dye.  When I lost weight before the wedding I didn't have to wear clothes that 'flattered'  because everything looked good, I didn't worry about what I was going to wear because I felt confident in everything.  I want to get that way again but from the inside out this time.

By His grace,

Kaela

Abuse, Not Fair

I just read an article from the Edmonton City Police about a dog who was dragged behind a truck yesterday.  It makes me so angry and so passionate about these poor babies who get abused for nothing at all.

Dog dragged behind vehicle in recovery

EPS looking for witnesses

For Immediate Release:24-Apr-2013 @ 4:00 PM

MRU #:13R075

EPS File #:

At around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, 2013, citizens in the area of 92 Street and 114 Avenue notified police of what was first described as a white dog being dragged by a rope or leash attached to the rear bumper of a pick-up.
Edmonton Police Service downtown officers responded to the area, but were unable to locate the dog or the vehicle. Witnesses had described the truck as a 1999 Black Dodge Ram pick-up truck and provided the license plate to police.
The officers proceeded to an emergency vet clinic to see if any dogs had been taken in, and found a brown and white female pit bull that had just been dropped off by two males. The animal had injuries consistent with road rash.
The dog is being treated for severe injuries to the pads of her feet. She is expected to survive, but has a long recovery, given the nature of her injuries.
The registered owner of the reported vehicle has since contacted police and is being interviewed.

Police are actively investigating the incident and are asking anyone with information to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.tipsubmit.com/start.htm.

 

So I wrote a story of my own, from the heart of so many dogs that live horrible unfair circumstances.  I just kind of wrote, from my heart, sorry about the cursing.

 

I must have done something really bad, my alpha is swearing and yelling right into my ears.  It hurts so bad I just want to run away but he has his hands around my neck.  I am so scared that I pee on the floor, “now you’ve done it you stupid bitch” he yells.  He kicks me in the stomach and I yelp and run to my soft bed.  He walks away for a moment and I think that maybe he is not angry anymore.  He comes back with my leash and I instantly jump up in excitement.  The pain in my stomach makes me jump back onto my bed and whine.  He then grabs my collar and pulls me toward him so hard I think my neck is going to separate from my spine.  He is choking me as he tries to clip my leash on, my head is pounding from lack of oxygen.  Finally he clips it on and says “we’re going to teach you once and for all you dumb bitch”.  I joyfully but painfully walk towards the front door, imagining all the smells I will encounter on our walk.  My alpha’s friend Zach is in our front yard standing beside his car, I get excited as we walk toward it, a car ride!  I stop to smell the corner of the grass that all of my friends have marked with their scents and I get jolted by a hard punch in the skull.  I can’t see clearly for what seems like hours, and then all of a sudden I feel my leash tugging my neck slightly.  I look up to see the bumper of a car, no person in sight.  It’s pulling me hard now so I start to walk, looking around very confused.  Then it starts to pull me faster and I am getting scared.  I decide I want to stop and it doesn’t stop with me, it just keeps going!  I get slammed into the road on my side and scramble to my feet.  Maybe I can make it stop by pulling back on it.  I plant my feet firmly into the road and instantly my pads are worn raw.  It hurts so much I fall to my knees and feel the skin tear from my body.  Why is this happening?  I feel like giving up but I cannot, I try to stand but collapse from the pain.  Then the car stops, they unclip me from my leash and bring me inside the hot smelly vehicle.  I am whimpering in the backseat, wanting to feel old breeze and sniff fresh grass.  I hate these men, I will always hate men now.  They are not trustworthy.  I will always be aggressive toward anyone who touches me, because humans are horrible animals. They stop at a building and carry me inside, “we just found this dog on the highway, looks like someone dragged her”, they place me on the counter and walk away.  I never see my alpha again, and I never want to.

By His grace,

Kaela

April Showers?

Well, it's been a little bit busy this year so far, obviously.  I'm really going to try and write more, seriously.  I just sometimes feel like I have a ton on my plate.  And my butt get's tired from sitting on the pillow on the floor with my laptop on the coffee table.  Yes, I have a desk, no I don't use it, yes I prefer the floor.  Okay.  I have been writing in a journal every night since the beginning of March, so that is really good for me.  Lots of days I have nothing to say, so I just comment on work, supper.  That's it.  Sometimes I go shopping so I write that.  It doesn't matter what I do I write it.  I decided to do that after my grandma Melnyk told me she has been doing that everyday since the 70's.  That's amazing!  It will be so neat to read those one day (if that is her wish) and so I thought I should start my own.  It really will let people know who you really were, your real person, in your heart. 

We have a family with two children living next to us in the apartment now.  It's nice to know that there is someone there that I could go to if I needed something.  Before it was just single men or who knows who.  It's nice to hear the oldest, a little girl (maybe 3) running up and down their hallway.  Stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp.  It's fine, because it will never happen at 3am.  Unlike fighting, screaming, throwing things.  That can happen anytime.  And it does... not in our suite though...just to clear that up. 

Today was a really awesome day, we went to Mark Gungor's Laugh Your Way To A Better Marriage seminar yesterday evening and this morning until noon.  He is so hilarious.  It's so nice because it's not corny "Christian" humor.  It's REAL hilarious, make fun of people, kind of humor.  And it's perfect because he works stuff in there that REALLY impact your marriage.  There were things we learned that are going to change the way we interact with each other forever, for the better.  It's 100% worth checking out.  Amazing.
Mark Gungor, Laugh Your Way To A Better Marriage

Then, we went for lunch with my parents to HLD (High Level Diner), BEST PLACE TO EAT EVER!  Had our usuals, vegetarian burger with tabouleh salad.  YUM YUM YUM.  Went to Strathcona Farmer's Market for an afternoon stroll before it closed, mom and dad bought grandma Melnyk's birthday gift there and then we all parted ways.  We went around and picked a few things and then pointed our carriage homeward.  When we got home I began to make my homemade Cheddar Corn Chowder...so delish.

 

I saw that my beautiful dill plant has already sprouted, which I am so proud of it for because it is only 7 days old.  What a little keener!

So because of this fact, I decided to check my germinating lavender seeds in a cloth.  They were germinated!  They were supposed to take 20 days...they are 7 days old too!  Our apartment must be perfect environment for them or something...or I am just that good.  So I planted them in their own little pots too.

 

 

So our day was wonderful, our soup was delish, our plants are growing like snails on acid and best of all, it's snowing on April 20th.  Yes that's right, snowing, blizzarding, and has been pretty well for 2 days straight.  But, this coming week is supposed to be in the teens!  So hopefully that's true.  Thanks for hanging out!

By His grace,

 

-- Kaela (& Shawn)

New Year, New Journey

Our life is pretty docile.  At the moment Shawn's work is pretty consistent and he is getting home around 3pm everyday, sometimes earlier, which is nice.  I am still employed at Mirage Eyewear in Devon but right now am laid off because of shortage of work.  Will be returning back to work end of this month sometime.  I have had a lot of time to relax, clean the apartment, organize things, think to much, visit my momma and others.  It has been good.  Shawn got a good chunk of time off of work for this holiday season.  He was off just before Christmas Eve and then is going back January 2nd.  It has been really nice to have him home during this time and it has actually not gone by really fast, which is awesome!


Shawn's dad Blaine came down on the 22nd of December.  His wife Yvonne is in Ireland visiting her family right now and so we invited him to join us in our Christmas festivities and stay in our home as long as he wanted. I love hosting people, even though we are in this little apartment in the 'rougher neck of the woods'. I enjoy the insane cleaning spree that it brings up in me, the whirlwind of a woman I become.  It's fun knowing that you are cleaning for a reason.  Not just because it should be done.  BORING!  I love planning the menus for the time they are here, planning the events and things going on.  Organizing the times and informing everyone what's happening.  I am an organizer, a planner and I love it, I get an adrenaline rush from it...seriously. 

Anyway, Blaine came down before Christmas and was planning to stay a few days after as well.  Shawn's last day of work for the holiday was the 21st so we were able to spend lots of time with his dad and the sibs as well (Lorriann and Jeff).  The 24th was the annual Mosicki get together, this year held at gramma Mosicki's house.  It's always a wonderful time to see everyone from that side and have an amazing Polish/Ukrainian dinner (even more traditional than ours is!).  I got introduced to a few new menu items when I first attended the Christmas Eve festivities at Marlene's in 2008 with Shawn.  First was Kutia (ku-cha).  Served cold, it's a poppy seed and wheat mixture in a creamy, light, sweet sauce.  Very good, but I'm told either you like it, or you really don't like it.

 

The other was nalysnyky (nal-yes-nah-keh).  This dish almost made me decide move perogies into second place on my favorite food list, not quite but almost.  It is a crepe, with mashed potato and cottage cheese filling, it's heaven.  Pure and simple, heaven on earth.  Then again, I'm a sucker for anything with the word potato in it!

 

Anyway, enough about the food.  After Christmas Eve dinner at gramma Mosicki's Shawn and I went to my parents house in Devon for the night since we were to be there in the morning anyway.  Blaine went back to our apartment as his dog Lindor was there and they came in the morning with Lorriann and Jeff.  And there in started another Christmas celebration, all day long.  I think there were probably 20 people in that little bungalow at one point in the day, crazy but cozy!  Dogs everywhere, people laughing, Christmas prayers, present wrappings flying, candles burning, food flying everywhere (mostly into mouths) and laughter being shared.  It was a very heart warming Christmas all around.

 

New years evening was quiet.  Mom and dad went away for the night so we decided to stay at their house in Devon, kind of like a hotel?  Made a nice dinner and watched Shawshank Redemption.  We didn't even realize that it was past 12am until I got up to check and it was 12:15am.  We kissed and kept watching our movie, just not a big deal to us.  Then we went to sleep...well, went to bed, didn't sleep, all night long.  For no reason whatsoever.  Usually we sleep great there because their bed is 92% more comfortable than our little one is.  Then, we woke up in the morning and I was sick for 2 weeks after that.  So that was great.  I went back to work January 21, 2013.  Still trying to beat my illness from the 2nd.  Bad cold...or something.

 

By His grace,

 

-- Kaela (& Shawn)