I'm Obsessed with TED Talks

After the first few days of being ill and being confined to my bed I started to get stir crazy. I had watched every episode of the Kardashians and Fashion Police and felt like I had almost no viable brain cells left. With my last few surviving brain cells I thought to myself - I should be learning and engaging what is left of my sickness ravaged self. Did I mention I am a huge wimp when I get sick???? I didn't feel like reading my text books, they are so heavy and I couldn't muster the strength to hold them up, so I decided I should check out some TED talks and see if there was anything of interest. In the past some friends had posted lectures or said I had to watch one they had seen but I never really got into it. Good thing, because once I got started, I couldn't stop! I watched TED talks for the better part of a day. One right after the other. I laughed, I cried, I said "you're right" and "I never thought of it that way" out loud by myself. Can you say weirdo!?!!?! I blame it on the fever :) I watched talks about politics, about the environment, about life, about cancer, about feminism. The topics were diverse, engaging, some profound and some really hit home. I couldn't get over how much great information is out there; inspiration, motivation, education, different perspectives and talks that tugged on my heart strings. I thought to myself - this freedom of information is so wonderful. I would never have had the opportunity to hear these original lectures or to see these speakers if not for TED. I love you TED talks! Please see attached a few of my favorite TED Talks. These are three that really spoke to me at this time in my life. I hope you enjoy them too :)

http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/eve_ensler.html

Mom and Char Visit the Netherlands :)

Well, they have come and gone and I've finally found the time to write about it. April was a crazy month! I wrapped up the Fitter Together Program, my step father in law was here for a week and my mom and sister were here for 10-days and 3-days ago I got sick. This flu is really kicking my butt! I didn't even get out of bed yesterday and those who know me know how difficult it is for me to sit for very long :( I'm hoping that tomorrow I am up and around again.
The Fitter Together program went really well. It was an employee health and fitness promotion program that I developed for Maastricht University. It was the first time this program has ever run and we had over 130-employees participate in the 1-month program. I had great support from my colleague at UM Sport, Netty. She was awesome and really helped my vision to become a reality.
Harold, Nick's step dad, visited us for a week and we showed him the sites. We visited Amsterdam, Valkenburg and Maastricht. He was a walking machine. I think he really enjoyed his visit and he was a wonderful guest.  The day that it was just Harold and I, we went on a boat cruise of the Meuse River and a walking tour of the St Pietersberg caves. The boat cruise was relaxing, except for all the smoking teens, and the caves were amazing. We carried a lantern, heard the history, and saw the art that depicted that time in history. Very cool!!!!

On April 25th my mom and sister came to visit for 10-days. I was so excited I was pacing around our apartment all morning. This is the longest/ furthest flight that they have ever taken and my mom has COPD so I was nervous about how it would go. They arrived safe and sound and it was wonderful to see them. My mom had a really difficult time with all the walking. The walking in the airport, the walk up the stairs to our apartment (4 flights), the walk to get anywhere we need to go. Here we use three modes of transport; walking, biking or taking the train. It was hard for me to see how much she struggled with this. I think it really showed my mom what she is capable of and what she needs to do. In North America it is really easy to avoid physical activity and active living really is a choice. We definitely saw improvements in mom's walking over the 10-days and I think it has inspired her to get more active which is all I can hope for. I showed them Maastricht; the bakery, the market square, the Vijhof square, a boat tour of the Meuse, they tried stroop waffles, vlaai and a waffle from Pinky's in the city centre. We celebrated the Queens Birthday and checked out the city wide flea market. Char and I took a day and went to Paris. We got up bright and early and took the train, first class - oops! We were there for 10-hours and it was a crazy 10-hours. We saw everything. Char really enjoyed Paris and I think she will try to get there again at some point. The next day we went to Amsterdam and did the boat tour of the Canals, what a great way to see the city. We stayed at a really funky boutique hotel and then took the train to Alkmaar to visit my 87-year old, great Aunt Teny. It was wonderful to spend the afternoon with her. She showed us pictures and told us stories about the family and the war. Nick and I will definitely try to get back to visit her. The 10-days flew by, there were tears shed on their arrival and tears on their last day. It is so hard to be so far from family. I don't know what I would do without email and skype. My Auntie Lana is right when she says "All guests start to get old after 3-days". I think my mom and Char were thinking the same thing about the hostess ;) It was difficult because we have such a small space which allows for zero privacy but we got through it and overall we had a wonderful visit.
I think May will be a busy month as well. We have three visitors coming. Nick's friend Andy, our friend Pettit and my older sister Leigh at the end of the month. We are so blessed to have people who are willing to fly across the world to see us :)

Getting Hitched Dutch Style

On Friday I attended my first Dutch wedding. My wonderful friends Sandra and Stefan invited me to share their special day and I was truly excited to share it with them. The weather was perfect, which was a miracle, given all the rain and cool temperatures we've had. I thought the spring in the Netherlands was supposed to be beautiful. I'm still waiting for the sun.

I was really excited for Sandra and Stefan and was really looking forward to experiencing a traditional Dutch wedding. In the Netherlands, people must get married at the city. Church ceremonies are only ceremonial and are not recognized by the government. They did have the Church ceremony at 12pm and I was invited to attend. The little chapel was beautiful and was built in 1530. Crazy!!!!!! They didn't have bridal parties like we do in Canada. Just a flower girl and ring bearer. The dress was far less formal and relaxed. Sandra was an absolutely beautiful bride. She glowed with happiness. Her dress complimented her perfectly and had a Spanish flair with a slit up the front and layers of tule. Stefan was rocking his euro suit complete with blue laces and tie. The ceremony was conducted entirely in Dutch so I can't say much about that but the music and singing was wonderful. I cried even though I couldn't understand. After the ceremony the bride and groom enjoy an afternoon with their families and closest friends and then at night, they party!!! What an awesome party! They did a choreographed dance routine that was worthy of dancing with the stars....not the ones who get cut early, I'm talking finalists here :)

There were a few firsts for me. I heard Dutch rave music and local style Maastricht music as well as the classic wedding music I am familiar with. Bruce Springsteen and the likes. A colleague from work, Netty and her husband, invited me to attend with them as Nick left for California that morning. They were very kind to include me and it meant a lot to me to be invited. We danced and enjoyed food and drink into the wee hours of the morning. So, although some of the formalities are different the foundation of love is universal. It made me think about Nick and my special day. I can't believe that it has almost been a year. Time sure does fly.

Did I mention they are dance machines?? Check it out!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElfRuUHDlnA&feature=youtu.be

Busy, Busy, Bunny!

I have been really busy the last few weeks. It reminds me a little of the old days :)

Just after Christmas I presented a proposal for Maastricht University to offer a health and fitness promotion program for employees. They had never offered anything like this before but were very enthusiastic about my idea. After much deliberation it was approved in March and I have been running around ever since to get everything in order to run the program for the month of April. The theme of the program is Fitter Together and we are encouraging employees to; ride their bikes or walk to work, walk on their lunch hour, take the stairs or attend free health and fitness events and classes. They receive points for participating that get added to their faculty or service areas total to announce at the end of the program who has the fittest faculty or sportiest service centre. I was really excited that they were able to provide us with technical support so we have a website and an interactive system for participants to log their points. Energizer breaks on video are available for viewing so that people who can't leave their desks can still be active. Employees have the opportunity to earn fit points for participating and bonus points when they participate with their colleagues. So far we have over 100 employees registered in the program. I am very excited about the opportunity and hope that it is something they will continue to offer on an annual basis. I am experiencing my first taste of celebrity as well. I demonstrate the energizer breaks in the videos and people have recognized me on campus. I almost feel like a Kardashian ;) Check it out!!! http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/fittertogether and click on take 5 and feel alive.

With all this running around, March came and went and now it's Easter. The time is flying! Gelukkig Paasfest or Happy Easter to everyone! We are expecting our first visitor from home today. Nick's step dad Harold is coming all the way from Ohio and will be staying with us for a week. We are really looking forward to seeing him and showing him around :) He has never been to Europe before so this is going to be a great experience for him. Nick has a day trip planned to Amsterdam tomorrow and I am taking Harold on a boat cruise of the Maas river and maybe a walking tour of the St Pieter's caves. You really could spend a whole week in Maastricht but we will try to take a few day trips as well depending what he feels up to with the jet lag.

Hoe gaat het? Het is mooi weer!

When I arrived in the Netherlands I wanted to try to learn a bit of the language if I was able to. I registered at the city for Dutch lessons in August. I was told that the courses offered through the University weren't great and that if I was able to afford private lessons or a private school I should do that. So when I got the call that I had been selected and I wasn't going to have to pay I was super excited. The process of being examined for placement, going for interviews and finally getting placed in a school has taken this long. I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to happen. But today was finally the day. I was both nervous and excited. Nervous because I am starting from absolute zero and excited because the only place to go is up :) When I arrived in the classroom there were only three other students; Jordan from Bulgaria, Jing from China and Victor from Russia. Victor had on a hockey Canada hat so we started chatting right away when he saw my hockey Canada bag. Jordan speaks 4-languages and this will be his 5th. People here are so much further ahead when it comes to learning languages.

My teacher was a friendly looking lady with a big smile and a distinct euro style of dress. Her name is Nicky and she is wonderful. Right from the beginning she expressed that she would only be speaking in Dutch because that is the best way to learn to speak a language. I started to sweat, I felt like I was in over my head and this was never going to work. I started to get embarrassed of my lack of understanding when I thought to myself we are all here to learn and if I'm willing to support others they should be willing to support me and they were. We jumped into it and you know what, it wasn't so bad. It's amazing what you are able to understand when someone speaks slowly, repeats and couples the language with non-verbal communication as well. Today we learned how to greet people; hoi, dag, hallo and goedemorgen. We also learned how to introduce ourselves; Mijn naam is Alana, ik ben Alana and ik heet Alana. We also "loop door de klas. Geef en hand." We walked around the classroom and practiced while we shook hands with our colleagues. I've decided that I am going to be patient, work at my own pace and enjoy this experience. NO PRESSURE! I'm really excited that I get the opportunity to learn and be able to participate in conversations with Dutch friends and most of all to know when people are talking about me ;)

My Emotions Manifest in my Body

During my Osteopathy course in February I had the opportunity to receive a treatment from my teacher. It was like winning the lottery! Our teachers are great instructors but more then that they are exceptional practitioners. They are the best of the best in our field and as part of our Osteopathic learning experience we have the opportunity to receive a treatment from a teacher at some point in our 5-years of formal schooling. Every student in our class is put on "the List" and each course you cycle through the list. As you can imagine the list is long and in the end you are lucky if you get treated twice during your five years of study. Some students in class have never seen an Osteopath and treatment at school and from our teachers is their only reference. When I was at home I would see MY Osteopath, Dave Murray, every 8-weeks or so. Spoiled!!!!! I haven't been treated since I got here so when I was told I was next on the list I was SUPER excited. I didn't have any pressing concerns but treatment is always beneficial and there are always things to work on. When I was asked what my primary concern was I expressed that when I was doing some overhead squats a week earlier I had some numbness into my thumb and pointer finger and was worried I might be developing thoracic outlet or potentially it might be a restriction in my pec or scalene, a rib or cervical vertebrae that was out - oh and I had rolled an ankle about 4-weeks previous to that. I wasn't too worried about anything, just thought I should give some things to keep him busy for the hour :)

I consider myself to be a very health person; I sleep a minimum of 8-hours a night, I exercise daily, I eat healthfully - 90% of the time, I drink water, I take a multi vitamin, I rarely drink, I have never smoked......you get the idea! So during my assessment when my teacher said "You have very little vitality" I couldn't believe my ears. The competitive person in me was almost a little offended, what does he know - I'm oozing vitality! He said that there was so much to treat he didn't even know where to start. He adjusted my feet, my sacrum, hip, my diaphragm but when he got to my kidney - things got crazy. He asked if I had recently been deeply afraid of something. He said my Kidney was restricted because it is the organ that holds fear. I had been thinking about leaving Nick next year and the future and I was afraid! How could he know this??? I didn't realize the fear was manifesting as a kidney restriction. He treated my kidney and my entire body changed. He treated my pericardial ligament and sternum and I felt like someone had lifted a 20lb bag of sand off my chest. I felt like I was taking my first deep breaths in months. Osteopathy is amazing! I hope that some day I am half the Osteopath that my teacher is.

I am constantly in awe of the human body; its strength, its adaptability, its ability to tell a story and an Osteopaths ability to read that story. Previously, I had my liver treated and learned that it is the organ of frustration and anger. No wonder I was grumpy! I will have to tell Nick that next time I am grumpy it is because I have a restriction in my liver ;) I am so lucky to have the opportunity to learn and experience Osteopathy. I have no words except, AMAZING!

Forgiveness

I have always been someone who quickly forgives. Early in my life I thought this was because I was a wimp but I just felt better when I had resolved things and forgiven myself and/or the other person. I have never had the tendency to get mad at people. If anything, I would get sad at them. Which, many people have found to be more difficult to deal with. I have never been someone who holds on to anger or has a desire to get back at those who have wronged me and I have a hard time relating to those who do. I think when people have that "eye for an eye" mentality it's because of ignorance or emotional immaturity or there is something within them that they feel they themselves don't deserve forgiveness. When I was younger and my sisters and I would argue I felt, in that moment, I would never forgive them and our relationship would never be the same - but family is family and we always forgave. My mother and father are both people who forgive quickly and give the benefit of the doubt and I think this is something that I learned from them. This isn't to say that people don't lose their tempers (all of us) and say things they regret (me) but in our family there is no shame in an apology. My family definitely believes in turning the other cheek and giving people the benefit of the doubt. Our family does have its differences and disagreements but at the foundation of our family is unconditional love. I remember a time in my life when I made a mistake - what I thought was a BIG ONE - and I thought that my mom was going to be ashamed of me and never forgive me. When I finally told her what I had done she said "I love you no matter what. If you killed a man I would love you and stand by you. My love is unconditional.", now that is some serious love. I have come to recognize that not all people live their lives this way and I know that some people may even see our quickness to forgive as a weakness. They see that opening yourself up for hurt is a sign of vulnerability but I truly believe that it takes strength, integrity and a respect for self and for humanity to forgive. Forgiveness is not forgetting but it is believing that all people can learn and grow and be better then they have been before. I believe that a willingness to forgive and to show compassion is the only way to live a rewarding life. Through my studies in yoga I have learned a lot about myself and what I believe. I strongly align myself with the belief that when you forgive you are able to cultivate love for yourself and for others and to foster love in those around you. Showing forgiveness and compassion for others and yourself is the path to enlightenment. When you forgive, you are forgiven! Forgiveness means that you do not have negative feeling towards others and that you recognize that a person today is not the same person they were yesterday. Everyday we are different; we learn, we experience, we grow, we change. It doesn't mean that you don't take action but it means that you take action free of hatred and with emotional intelligence.

So the message today is practice forgiveness, compassion and love for yourself and your fellow man. We get one chance at this life and the more time we can spend living happily and peacefully the more enlightened our life can be. I will forgive Nick and hold no resentment toward him for opening a new tube of toothpaste before the old one was finished, man that bugs me, but life is too short and if that's the only thing I have to be upset about things are pretty darn good:) Love ya!!!!!!!