Hi everyone. How are you? How has your summer been? I truly can~not believe it is already September! It’s been 7 weeks since I’ve been officially on the net. If you remember, I took some time off on July 14th to detox my mind, body & spirit. How was it? Surprisingly stressful, but overall a wonderful & enlightening experience.

I started the time off by relaxing in the sun & writing down a lot of notes. Notes about who I thought I was, who I wanted to be, How I saw myself getting there & what I was willing to sacrifice to have it all. During this time we also ended up moving again…. which meant looking for jobs, packing up the house, finding a new rental, unpacking the boxes, having my mother~in~law stay for 3 weeks to help out (two matriarchs in one small 2 bedroom apt is just a little trying), finding a new schedule of sorts, getting accustomed to our new surroundings, etc.

Relaxing?

At times….

Stressful?

Of course

*here are my boys listening to my hubby tell them a bedtime story over FaceTime….. long distance sucks

But over all, I was able to take the break that I felt my body & mind needed. I was able to clarify who I am, what I want to be to people, & what types of sacrifices I was willing to do to have the life I wanted to have. It was really wonderful. I also had a chance to be connected to my family in the beautiful nature that surrounded us everyday.

I’ve learnt a lot about myself in the last 45+ days & all at a pretty significant time in my life. You see. September 2nd was my Birthday. Yahoo! It’s so strange to write this out & declare it to the world because for many many years I would hide or under~play that day, I would try my damnedest to not make it a big deal. It’s not that I was worried about getting older… I’ve never truly cared about numbers (in fact, when asked, I’ve rarely remembered how old I am!). But this year is different. This year I feel like I’m finally ready to celebrate ME. Me for all that I’ve done, all that I’ve been thru, all that I’ve accomplished, all that I’ve learnt & to all the dreams that I am striving for this year. I’m ready to raise a glass, rip open presents & be spoiled.

I’ve also decided (during my relaxing vacation) on a sort of theme for this year. I’m going to challenge myself by entering a Running Race every month of this year, starting with the shortest run in September (5k) & including at least 1, but up to 3 Half Marathons. I have already registered for Sept (5k), Oct (8k w/ my 9 year old, join us @Team Lukie if you want) & Nov (Canada’s hardest 10k), so if you hear of any totally cool races in & around the Victoria BC area, let me know

Have you ever taken a Detoxing Holiday? What did you learn about yourself?
How do you feel about Birthdays?