Soul mate.

Though of the day, from Elizabeth Gilberts "Eat Pray Love", Richard-from-Texas's explanation of what a soul mate really is (p. 149):

"People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that's holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change you life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave. And thank God for it."

My experience over the last year is perfectly summed up by this... in a way it is a bit depressing because it throws out all the "usual" ideas of the perfect soulmate, but at the same time I really like it.... thoughts?

Day 4 of 133 Days of Summer.

Tockett and Benny

Well, I was hoping I would be healthier today, but I am definitely not. Day 9 of this silly cold began with me waking up feeling like my throat was bleeding from all the coughing throughout the night, and my sinus' were so full I thought my head would explode... obviously my head didn't explode but my mom (all the way from Vegas) managed to convince me into going to the doctor; I left his office with a sinus infection diagnosis, nasal spray and sulfa-drug antibiotics.... fun? Not.

So, I have again spent the majority of the day resting on the couch with my laptop, TV remote, iPhone, cough candies, Kleenex, and my most favourite company: my two dogs, Tockett and Benny... and after a day with the two crazies, I have decided to blog about them today. May sound lame-o but I think they're pretty wonderful.

Tockett is a 10 year old Jack Russell Terrier. He is cuddly, energetic and too smart for his own good. Benny is 2 year old, 3.5 lb Chihuaha. He is playful, moody, slightly obsessive and suffers from a severe case of "little man syndrome".
My mom and I have discussed on several occasions how it is possible to love these creatures as much as we do, and I still haven't figured it out, but what I do know is this:

Despite the fact that the two together are noisy as heck, I appreciate that they love me enough to feel as though they need to protect from leaves blowing in the wind, flies buzzing around in the summer, cats running across the cul-de-sac half a block away, and any stranger that shows up at the door unexpected.

Even though he's started to age very quickly the last few months and has slowed down significantly, I love that Tockett greets every new activity with the enthusiasm of a puppy, never getting left behind even if it means that the next day he'll be too tired and stiff to get up.

Every morning Benny wakes up and the first thing he does is leap out of his kennel like a racehorse and scratch his belly and back on the carpet in the upstairs hallway with his tail wagging the entire time, and then he proceeds to run to every room in the house, greeting every family member as though he hasn't seen them in days... he reminds me to start every new day as exactly that... a new day.

I love that every day when I get home I am greeted by a white and black mess of wagging tails and wiggly bodies, even if when I left that morning I was mad at the two of them for barking and chasing the cat. But mostly I love that my dogs are always there, through good and bad; they celebrate with me on good days, sleep on the couch with me on sick days, lay in my bed with me on lazy days, and sit quietly for hugs on the sad days. I have some great (human) friends, but there's something special about the bond between a person and their dog.

I love my dogs... and maybe the fact that I can go on and on about them makes me crazy... but that's okay.


At first when I started today's post I thought it was a kind of pointless topic, but the more I write I realized that these dogs are a part of my summer... I want to enjoy the things I love the most in life, and my dogs definitely fit into that category.

have you hugged your puppy today? :)









Day 3 of 133 days of summer.

The Books

These are the books I for sure want to read this summer (in no particular order)... I most likely will read more than ten (I'm a self-proclaimed book-worm), so if you have any suggestions (fiction or non) please, please, please comment and let me know!

1. Eat Love Pray -Elizabeth Gilbert (recommended by Corinne) - currently reading
2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time -Mark Haddon
3. A Thousand Splendid Suns -Khaled Hosseini
4. Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda -LGEN Romeo Dallaire
5. Beatrice & Virgil -Yann Martel
6. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie -Alan Bradley
7. Peacekeeper: The Road to Sarajevo - MGEN Lewis Mackenzie
8. Life of Pi -Yann Martel
9. Travelling Light -Max Lucado (re-read)

The List.

Here goes day two of my best summer yet: so far not so hot. I've been battling a nasty cold for the last week that has left my throat feeling as though it has been rubbed down with sandpaper, and makes me sound like the guy on 102 Dalmations that has a machine for a voicebox... attractive, I know. And I am grumpy... I think it is because I have not been able to CrossFit since Saturday, hopefully tomorrow!

But enough complaining! I have decided to make a list of the things I want to do this summer. Some of them may seem silly but all are important to me for their own reason. Every month I will review my list and see how I'm doing, and then at the end of the summer I will be able to look back and see what I've accomplished, what I still want to do and maybe how I've changed. Here we go:

1. Read 10 great books


2. Hike Mt. Cheam and Green Drop at least once


3. Run 5 km without stopping


4. Start going to church regularly again


5. Go on a road trip with my sister


6. Make top 5 for one WOD as Rx'd


7. Ride my horse in at least one competition


8. Eat healthy


9. Go mountain biking in Squamish


10. Don't spend any money at Lululemon unless I have gotten smaller


11. Get smaller... and stronger


12. Do two strict pull ups


13. Write 3 new songs


14. Go camping


15. Get over him
    
16. Get my class 5

There you have it... the list. 16 things I want to do this summer.

Day 2 of 133 days of summer.

And It Begins...

So... it is my official first day of summer vacation. "Vacation" being a four month break from school, but not from my Monday-Friday work (which is okay, since I love my job!). The past year has been a little bit crazy, to say the least, and as some people already know, I have decided that this summer will be mine. Besides working, I will do the things I love simply because I want to... for too long I have been stuck in a rut of doing the things people expect me to do, saying "yes" when really I want to say "no" and vice versa, and in general, not taking the time to just be me and do the things I want to do.

And so begins a summer of music, CrossFit, horses, biking, hiking, running, family and friends; these are the things in life I love the most and by focusing on the things I love for four months, I hope to learn more about myself and enjoy this summer to the greatest extent possible. To help me along the way I decided that I would keep a journal; but, I've tried that before and it takes me WAY too long to write and I get distracted and never finish. Typing is much faster, and since I've always enjoyed reading other's blogs, I decided that I will start my own blog to reflect on my summer. I will write about whatever I feel like, hoping that blogging will help me to keep track of my summer, and help me to learn more about myself. If you've stopped by to check out my blog, great! If you have decided to come along for the ride, great! I will warn you though, my writing might not always be the greatest, and keep in mind I am doing this not to entertain but to do something for myself in hopes of knowing me better. And if in doing so, you learn more about yourself, or feel challenged to make a change in your life, then that's just a super-awesome bonus! Feel free to post your comments or thoughts. I'd like to hear what you have to say, even if it's anonymous.

I guess that's it for my introduction, welcome to my blog: Morgan's Summer 2010

Day 1 of 133 days of summer.