Tannis' words published in BeatRoute

Since leaving my position as the communications coordinator at Sunshine Village Ski & Snowboard Resort, I've been concentrating my efforts on returning to journalism as a freelancer, as well as honing my skills as a creative writer back at my Alma Mater.


My first piece published as a freelancer is in this month's issue of BeatRoute, and can be read by clicking here.

Check it out. More to come!

Technology is just nutty

Let's talk about technology for just one minute, here.

I logged into my Blogger to see how popular my most recent post was, and it turns out I'm able to track not only where in the world my blog is being read (thank you, Malaysian and Cambodian readers), but I can also see what they're using to read it.

For example, 13 per cent of views of this web site come from an iPad; 2 per cent from an iPhone; and 36 per cent from a Mac. Blogger also shows me what kind of browser my viewers are using: 41 per cent Firefox; 29 per cent Explorer.

This is mind-blowing to me. Beyond the fact that I am entirely ignorant as to how this information might benefit me, I am completely amused by it. I mean, how on earth do I have readers from Ireland? And are the Irish more prone to browsing the blogosphere with an iPad or their good ol' fashioned Explorer on a desktop? The possibilities are endless, and the information, as it stands, is pure, narcissistic entertainment. I am impressed.

Another walk in the park

I think it's safe to say that almost everyone has heard the preachy old adage, "When you fail to plan, you plan to fail."As a self-proclaimed perennial procrastinator, this Christmas challenge of mine has been a little, well, challenging at times.

Yesterday I counted my walk with Archie as my workout again.  While I did spice things up a bit by extending my distance, upping my pace, and visiting the river (gorgeous), my thoughts inevitably centred around the fact that I have not been planning my workouts.

Rather, I have been taking this healthy challenge day by day, cramming my workout into an already busy schedule that is bursting with deadlines about to expire. And you thought Christmas was stressful.

Now I sit, bright and early on Monday morning. It's the dawn of a new week, and I am still without a workout plan. With a busy few days ahead of me, I am taking advantage of a rare moment of downtime -- actually, I'm putting off writing a paper that is due, oh, in three hours -- to think about how to address this procrastination problem of mine. I fully recognize the irony in that sentence.

I will make a plan for the rest of the week today, something I see as valuable to my goal to work out every day until Christmas. Failing to plan has not only caused me to miss one day in the past six of working out, but it's also plunked me right into a routine of going to the gym (and doing the same predictable workout) and walking Archie (which I do anyway -- I love my little man). And in my world, routine eventually equals boring, so plan I must.

I'll post it when the plan is made, but for now, feast your orbs on the photographic evidence of yesterday's walk with Archie.

Archie playing with his new friend.

Posing in front of the skyline. He's a model dog.

Guerrilla Christmas decorating at the dog park -- love it!

More decorating discovered on my walk. 

Merry Christmas, friends!

Tannis

A walk in the park

One day into the 25 Days of Healthy Christmas, and already an obstacle has cropped up.

While out for tea with Ryan Correy yesterday -- a professional and very competitive cyclist – I shared with him my plan for the holiday season. He listened patiently while I excitedly laid out my goal for the month, and when I was done, he offered me a different perspective.

"It sounds to me like you're doing now what everyone does in January," Ryan said. "But if you're trying to beat the typical January workout frenzy, maybe you should be using this month instead to get into a routine that you want to settle into over the next year."

I had to ask myself if that is the case. Am I just beating other January workout zealots to the couch by a month with this plan of mine?

A little less motivated and plagued by doubt, I thought a walk and some sunshine would do me some good. It would also be a tactical move to fulfill my daily exercise requirement. 

The weather was perfect for a brisk walk in little more than a cozy sweater (I joyfully ditched the ski jacket at home today), and the stroll gave me a chance to reflect on why I decided to take Christmas to the healthy extreme this year. 

Ryan was right, I thought: going crazy for one month -- regardless of whether it's a Christmas or a New Year's resolution -- is not the way to create a sustainable, healthy lifestyle. But I'm stubborn, and I have committed to this month of health so I am going to do it. 

What I will add to the mix, though, is some serious reflection on how to maintain a dedication to regular exercise come January, and how to find fun ways to stay active in the great city that is Calgary. My walk in the park with little Archie turned out to be a beautiful marriage of both healthy reflection and healthy activity, and a great launch to my holiday mission.  

I can't wait for Day 2. I'm thinking, though, that I should make a plan so I don't get stuck in a rut of just hitting the gym every day. 

Any suggestions as to what I can do for fun and exercise over the next 24 days?