Okay I Gotta Defend Vancouver Fashionistas

So in case you didn't know, Vancouver scored 3rd on the worst dressed city list next to Maui and Orlando, thanks to GQ Magazine's view of our famous yoga fashion wearing citizens.

It seems that Lululemon pants, seen on most ladies backsides strutting down Vancouver streets, are a fashion no-no.

According to GQ Magazine, we wear our Lulu pants all the time, to the store, running errands, etc. And not only that, many bottoms don't really look great in these tight fitting yoga pants...okay that's a fair statement, I agree.

Apparently, we're also wearing these totally comfy pants to work in offices. Okay another fair statement...keep the yoga gear out of the office space unless you're heading to the gym at lunch.

But I feel that I have to defend us yoga gear wearing "fashionistas".

Maybe for many of us it's not a matter of choosing this gear as an outfit to wear in places where perhaps a nice pair of jeans would be better suited. Perhaps we're actually wearing them for, oh you know...

EXERCISE?!?!

I think I speak for many of us. If you're finished at the gym, or doing your workout, and on your way home you need to hit the Safeway for some groceries, you're not about to go home, do a quick change, then go right back out again. You have seen the price of gas, right?

And on that topic, this is Vancouver. We're a very fit city. Have you seen it? We've got plenty of running/walking areas, hikes, mountains to climb, yoga studios to go to. And I have heard that we're known for our very pretty (a'hem - blush) ladies. Perhaps that's because we don our yoga gear and exercise in it.

Namaste. It's time for my Shavasana.

A wee hike, mountain bugs, and a whole lotta F-Bombs!

...but I was sporting my Lululemon outfit so I looked good looking bad.

I just came home from doing the Grouse Grind for the first time in about a year. This "hike" (ahahaha) is one of the North Shore's gems favoured by many, many people of all fitness levels.

This is the hike you take your "fit" cousin from Toronto on and once he's/she's completed this trek, they will be bowing down to you for the rest of their life.

This is "Mother Nature's Stairmaster", 2.9K (1.8M), 2800 feet elevation, near vertical HELL ON EARTH!

I am certainly not at my prettiest when partaking in this torture. Snot is dripping out my nose, sweat is coming out of every pore, F-Bombs are flying out my mouth aimed at nobody in particular, and I'm heaving my backside up this "stairmaster" in any way possible, usually hunched over in a near fetal position.

To make matters worse, every time I stopped to catch my breath (and it was often) I would be immediately swarmed by mountain flies, landing on every square inch of exposed skin.

Well I managed to complete this in about 1:45 which is my usual when I haven't done it in a while (compare to someone like my hubby who does it three to four times a week in just over 1/2 hour - make me barf).

So here's me at the top, squinting because I stopped and the friggin flies swarmed!

Yay me.

And the best part? Coming down on the PACKED tram that's filled with Grouse Grinders who are sweaty and stink!

*got home to find a few flies plastered to my sweaty face...nice!

Bring back "Sports Day"

School is coming to a close, kids are winding things down in their classes. And with this end of the school year comes Sports Day, right?

WRONG!

In case you're out of the loop, it's "Fun Day", because God help a child who should actually lose in a competition.

The Sports Days that I remember as a child are a thing of the past...

Endless obstacle courses where you competed against another kid for first place.


Cheering and screaming from your friends to help you get past the finish line first.


Winning ribbons according to where you placed in each event.


The school property absolutely loaded with tons of awesome events that were maned by volunteer highschool students.


NEVER getting a first or second place ribbon in any event because I sucked at them.

And coming home to tell mom and dad about the totally fun time I had and didn't win any ribbons and I can't wait until next year.

What the hell went wrong? The theory now (and I'm pretty sure it's the same with your kids school) is that they don't want the kids to feel left out of any "winning". In other words, they want the event to be fair for all the kids.

Uhm, hello?!?!? Life is full of competition. Take my 8 year old's recent baseball game. They LOST it and now aren't playing for first or second place in the league. And guess what, the kids were totally upset and crying. Isn't that part of the learning process of competition? Suck it up buttercup. Yeah your upset but you'll get over it. It'll happen again and again too in your life. Now let's do your best to win the next best place - third!

Like I mentioned before, I never won any competition, EVER, and do you think it's affected me in my life? I SUCKED IT UP!

Needless to say, my 12 year old didn't want to go to school for this "event", and I can't blame him. It's boring, the "events" are pathetic, and they are also divided by primary and intermediate. Soccer is only available to the primary kids. WELL WHAT IF THE INTERMEDIATE KIDS WANT TO PLAY SOCCER ALSO?? They can't!

This is nonsense, I tell ya, nonsense!

Oh yeah, let's bring back the TUG OF "WAR" too. "Tug of Peace", what the frack is that?!?!

*no kids won a ribbon at this Fun Day cuz of the "no competish" rule

**12 year old had a totally fun day with his Gramma instead

***8 year old came home looking like this: (he had a little bit of fun)

My desire to not lose

...and at the risk of getting backlash for sounding like a poor sport Mother...

During my 8 year old's last baseball game (which was the first in their playoffs - yes they have playoffs in little league) I realized that my desire to have the team win was so intense, that I had to take a step back and have a momentary self check.

I started wondering why did I feel so intense about winning?

I think it has something to do with the fact that I was pretty pathetic physically and academically growing up, I never "won" at anything. Self rant can be read here.

I want so much to finally feel a win through my kids (who did not inherit my muddled academic brain and clumsy physical ability, thank you Good Lord above for small miracles). I know that's selfish of me.

I never played any sport growing up - soccer, baseball, etc - I was too scared of the ball hitting me. In dodge ball at school, I'd be targeted by the bigger stronger boys and damn those balls hurt when contact is made with your bare skin. And in gym when we'd line up for team picking for any sport, I'd ALWAYS be picked last.

I didn't have sport trophies lining my bedroom shelves. I was given a yellow ribbon for "Good Effort" at each school Sports Day. Try wearing that during Sports Day while everyone else has their Red first place and Blue second place ribbons littering their t-shirts.

Academically, I'd work my ass off to earn a "C" grade in many subjects. I distinctly remember my grade 6 math teacher Mr. Martin giving me a passing grade for good effort. I seem to remember getting a 51% 'good effort' mark in Grade 10 History.

So yeah I want my boys baseball teams to win. The frustration I feel is quite intense when there is a loss. I guess I want my boys to experience that 'winning feeling' that I've never felt when it comes to sports and academics.

And as for my academically inclined 12 year old (I have to Google half the stuff he's working on because I have no clue how to do it), I want him to feel good about his smarts and get good grades.
You know you're not smart when your grade sixer asks you a simple math question and you stand there with a stunned look on your face trying to understand what he just asked you (was that question in English?? Go ask your Dad).

*this post was written during a vent of frustration
**no dodge balls were hucked at children during the creation of this post
***for the record, I'm very proud of my kids