free wheelin'

This long weekend was the perfect weekend for bike riding. Nuno and I have started an annual ride from my parent's house in Welland, up the Welland Canal to our home in St. Catharines. It's a 26km ride, but doesn't feel very long since the canal path is beautifully paved to make riding easy. I should also mention that it's a downhill ride. Some of the best moments of the ride are coasting down the steep inclines of Lock 4 & 5. I haven't mentioned to Nuno yet, but I think I may want to ride from Port Colborne to St. Catharines in the next couple of weeks (40km).

Qicology

There's this new class I started attending called Qicology. That's pronounced "Chee-cology" and it's a blend of Yoga, Qi Kung, and Tai Kung concepts. There really isn't any rhetoric during the class, so I'm still learning all about the idea behind it.

The class I attended last night was tons of fun. Our instructor Jason had us doing our poses to Slowdive. When I asked him about it, I really don't think he listens to the band or anything. But the music was so well suited for the class, it was really enjoyable. And Qicology is super-relaxing. When the class was over it was just about my bedtime and I've never had an easier time falling asleep.

what is this, a wedding blog?

My parent's wedding anniversary fell on this past weekend. I will give them a framed photo of them from our wedding. It looks so beautiful, I'm sure they will love it.

I also baked a summer fruit pie for them. I went to the fruit stand and bought fresh peaches and nectarines - they are so delicious right now. But there's this difficult issue of baking in the summer - it's tough to want to turn on your oven in this hot and muggy weather. But midday today it became overcast and rained, so it was perfect baking weather.

the video game that might just be good for you

Last Friday, on a whim, I purchased Quick Yoga Training for Nintendo DS. I gave up practicing yoga at a studio in lieu of joining a gym instead, which I'm very happy with, but I really miss studio classes. I was into yoga for about 3 years straight and when I left classes, I felt really good that I had my head around most of the poses. I hoped to keep the practice up on my own, but it's really been quite a challenge. I tried yoga DVDs but found them boring with no variety. So in comes Quick Yoga Training for DS into my life and I think the problem may be solved!

The game has many different default programs targeting different goals but there is also the option for you to create your own programs. All my favourite poses are on file and after creating several of my own programs, I really enjoyed it. Although, it's definitely taking a little getting used to as there isn't a voice coach guiding you through the poses. I am struggling a bit to keep an eye on the display - which can be difficult (especially inverted!). But after this week of DS yoga, I feel really happy and excited to stick to it. The coolest part is if yoga ever gets a bit too serious, I just remind myself that my Nintendo DS is guiding me through yoga and it will never fail to make me chuckle.

pugalug

Oh how times flies! After Boston I had a commitment to work on a wedding invitation for one of Nuno's cousins upcoming nuptials. It took every single free moment outside of work to complete the project and took a lot longer than I initially anticipated. Then came a whole bunch of events that just take over precedence to blogging which include two engagements, one wedding and one funeral. Life can get so crazy and busy but you just have to keep on truckin'.

So, the big event for this weekend (besides our Mac and Me party Friday night which can be read on my sister Katie's blog, So Bad It's Good Movies), was... PUGALUG! St. Catharines had their first ever Pugalug just up the road from our home in Port Weller Community Center. Nuno and I dressed Tot in her fanciest collar and dress and drove over. We were quite unsure what we were getting into when we went to Pugalug, but upon entering we found over 30 little leash-free cuties romping, playing, chasing and bum sniffing. Tot was so shy at first hiding under the chairs and sticking to corners.
Tot didn't seem to want to leave our sides like a child experiencing their first day of kindergarden. She then started exploring and before we knew it she was pretty much ignoring Nuno and I and riling up all the other pugs in games of chase! It really was an absolute blast, Hot Tot was just so very happy and it was great seeing her having so much fun.

Tot made so many friends!

here I am, and this isn't Hot Tot. It was a little one who was an unexpected lap-jumper.