We Are Going to Have NO Clean Water Left…

I’m going to cut right to the chase because I know we live in a world where everyone cares about themselves. So let’s take a good hard look at this: we are soon going to have no free clean water left. Which actually means, we will have no clean water left. Any water we will drink will have to be cleaned, filtered, treated, etc… How’s that for a hard fact?

I know, I know. Having clean water is a basic human right that us in first world countries should always have access to while we try and help those in third world countries get access to it. But the reality is, the water in our own countries is getting worse, much worse. Why are we going to be out of clean water? Keep reading.

For starters, it’s been in the new for quite awhile that Nestle has been in British Columbia, leeching every bit of fresh, clean water that they can get for a steal of a deal. Meanwhile, they are turning around and selling it to us to drink. In fact, the CEO of Nestle stated that he doesn’t believe water should be a human right. He believes that everyone in the world should have money to pay for water of which he in turn will become rich from. How’s that for caring for fellow humanity? I don’t know about you, but Nestle got knocked down in a big way in my books. I’ve been on mission trips and seen how bad it gets to have any water in third world countries. Do we want it to become like that around here too? Aren’t we supposed to be helping those less fortunate than us because we have plenty? I think we’re on our own way downhill faster than you think.

Secondly, have you done any research on the condition of our oceans and seas? Not to mention, have you ever just driven down the roads or looked in parking lots in the cities? Humanity has no concept of keeping things clean! People throw out their garbage everywhere. There are islands of birds and sea creatures that are dying because of the pollution and garbage in the waters. We are killing the very species we all love to see. Why? Because we waste so much and don’t contain where our waste goes. Did you know that some sea animals (including birds) can’t even tell the difference between garbage and actual food anymore? That’s how messed up we’ve made the world!

Thirdly, and this is where this conversation has arrived from. In one day, in 3 or less stores/restaurants, I had to turn off running taps, left running full blast, 4 times. What is wrong with people? I mean, these are ADULTS. And we can’t even have enough value to turn off clear running water? Are we really that stupid? Are we really that wasteful? Are we asking to be in a third world country? This angers me so much. A simple, MANNERISTIC activity of turning off the tap when you are done. It’s not that hard. In fact, listening to your parents growing up, it’s the right thing to do. And if you are terrified of getting germs from the tap, then grab a piece of paper towel and turn it off with that. There’s no excuse. Take responsibility for the world we’re living in!

*Deep breath* Ok. This issue bothers me a lot, as you can tell. What are your thoughts? Does it bother you like it does me or am I alone in this feeling? Leave it in the comments below!

Angel at the CarWash

Something happened this weekend that can only be explained with God’s intervention. Read on to see for yourself.

My husband and I took his truck to the carwash. We had a free coupon, so we ended up at a carwash where you pay for tokens and then manually wash the vehicle yourself in one of the bays inside the building. Of course, we luckily didn’t have to pay for the tokens since we had a free coupon for some.

Washing the truck went fine, and it looked much better afterwards.

As my husband was backing out of his bay, his truck stopped and simultaneously started revving very high. He tried to hit the brakes (as it was still in reverse), then tried shifting it to neutral and then park but the truck did not stop revving high. He then quickly shut off his truck.

Upon a small inspection, sitting in the middle of the building, somehow the gas pedal had gotten stuck on the mat, and so it was thankfully an easy fix.

But let me ask you a question: If the truck was continuously in reverse, why did the truck stop instead of hitting the red truck directly behind us, possibly crushing the man washing it?

It’s things like these that remind me God is still here. His angels are here. There is no reason that truck should have stopped. Theoretically we should have continued going backwards and doing the awful damage mentioned before. I am still getting a fast heartbeat just thinking about it. But God is the God of everything, and I will never cease to be thankful for what He did, has done, and will do.

Week 11 Day 6

I didn’t want to let my husband go to work this morning. The storm continued over night and the snow is well over a foot and a half deep. It’s almost -40 C and I know the road conditions are going to be terrible. But my husband still got up and went off to work.

On the way to work, he took me over to get my car from the school. He shovelled (for as long as the cold would allow him before freezing) to get my car out of the snow, and let it run for a few minutes. I told him to go on ahead to work, but he refused until he saw me drive the car out. Well, let’s just say, my husband is smart. For the first time ever, my car would run for a second and shut off. I would start it again, and it would shut off. My car was absolutely refusing to run in the cold. The poor thing. So, my husband took me back home before going to work, and I rescheduled all of my appointments again. Taxis are not required to have winter tires, and I refuse to either get in an accident or be stuck on the road in a taxi. Everything will have to wait for another day.

My husband ended up coming home early. If they dared to stop, the work van would have been stuck. So they basically did a loop from home to the shop to the site, kept on driving back home. It was so nice to know he wasn’t on the road and he could be home safe and sound.

We only went two places: GNC for some things I needed. Black Friday sales were on and we got an awesome deal on lots of goodies!

We also went to the gym. I did an excellent shoulder workout. My shoulders burned so badly. I didn’t take the time to do cardio though, because even though I had the day off tomorrow, my husband didn’t, at least not yet that we knew of. So I left with a satisfied shoulder burn!

I’m ready to go home and sleep well in a warm house tonight!

Week 10 Day 2: You Are Capable Of More Than You Realize

Well, this morning was nothing short of a little rushed. My car has not been looked at yet, so my husband had to drop me off at work on his way. This was not a big problem, except he underestimated how much I have to get done in the morning. It was truly my fault we weren’t out the door sooner because I didn’t sleep last night. Honestly, this teaching thing has a way of consuming you. I need to get a grip on this thing!

School went fairly well, but I did notice my shoulders were very tired/sore. I was simply lifting papers out of the huge stack I had graded, and handing them back to the students. They must have gotten a good back workout yesterday (shoulders must have taken a brunt of it).

My students were fairly good today, though they did seem a little more active than normal. Then again, we did a practice for our language arts PAT today (2+ hours of writing), so I guess I can expect the pent-up energy.

After work, I had to wait for my husband to come pick me up, which was totally fine because I was able to get some more things done at work, and when he finally came, I absolutely refused to take work home with me tonight. After taking over my life so much, I needed a night off. This was a phenomenal feeling.

At home, my husband straight-up told me that I had to take a nap before the gym. I chose not to argue, and simply told him I need to eat first, because in the rush of the morning, I had not packed food, and therefore was only able to eat the organic and natural carrot/curry/coconut soup that was in my fridge, as well as two containers of Greek yogurt. I was not running on anything much for fuel.

Strangely enough, this is where it hit me: I was craving healthy food! In fact, with all of the things in our house, I wanted fruit, cottage cheese, and pumpkin spice Nuts n’ More peanut butter. Seriously! I was in love and so happy this is what my body was craving.

My nap turned into a 4-hour sleep. And I felt awful when I woke up. My body ached so badly, my limbs barely functioning to move, and my eyes could barely stay open. But this is when my body hit autopilot, and somehow, I changed my clothes and made it downstairs.

On the way to the gym, I did something I never do, nor do I usually advise doing. I had my usual iced coffee, but also a doughnut. I researched ahead of time, and picked a doughnut that was lower in fat, and mediocre in carbs. The reason for my decision was the simple fact that my body was in need. It needed a carb that would energize me quickly (gym was only 2 minutes away). The truth is, I didn’t even want a doughnut. I try to avoid a lot of sugar like that. I wanted to stop eating it after two bites, but I knew it would help. So yes, I ate a doughnut.

We got to the gym, and I expected to feel worse than yesterday; the mental battle, the lack of ability, but I was totally wrong. Tonight was legs, and I normally hate, no, despise leg workouts. But today, I loved it! I don’t know where the energy and motivation came from, but it was undeniably there. I killed my workouts, things seemed easier, I felt stronger and I was smashing my records. Here are some of the things that were different:

1. I normally struggle with 70 lbs on prone leg curls. It seemed so semi-easy tonight!
2. I was mentally thinking that 90 lbs was the weight I used for seated leg curls last time, curled it, found it easy, only to find that the most I had used was 85 lbs in the past!
3. For the first time ever, I did smith machine lunges. Wow, these killed me, but I could tell were working my legs well.
4. I normally hate barbell walking lunges, and tonight my coach wanted us to drop the back knee twice each time instead of the normal once when walking. I dreaded them before I did them, did them and LOVED them!
5. Normally, I find leg press heavy. I don’t know how else to describe it than that. I completed my regular presses with 120 lbs, thinking that was bigger than normal. But for some reason, I was in a stellar mood and decided to do another set with 180 lbs. I ALMOST got my husband to spot me, in fact I even walked over to him, but then decided I need to do this on my own. Well, let me tell you, I did it! Every single rep, and it was not as hard as I thought. So I decided to do more. And I raised it to 230 lbs. And you know what? I did it for 10 reps! Oh my goodness! I was so happy, so ecstatic. Almost double the weight I’ve been using to train, and yet I am so much more capable. I was SO happy!

And again, we went home, and what did my body crave? Cottage cheese, fruit, raw veggies, and pumpkin spice Nuts’ N More peanut butter. Honestly, what more could I ask for? I crave a healthy diet, I’m growing increasingly stronger, and I feel great. My body may not be losing the fat I want, and as a matter of fact, quite a few of my clothes seem to be fitting tighter, but when I consider the shape my body is taking, the progress I’ve made both mentally and overall personally, I’m so happy! I’m obviously going to keep my fat in check, and will be monitoring it, but this strength is such a boost in self-esteem; I’m loving it!

Week 2 Day 5

I did not want to get up this morning, not at all. I could have slept, and slept, and slept, and slept, and well, you get the picture.

Somehow I managed to get up and get ready and managed to survive the day. Work itself was not extremely stressful, at least no more than usual.

My food was still not quite on point, and I noticed today that my water intake was very low, way too low. Note to self during recovery process: up the water intake.

My husband and I meant to go to the gym last night, but as we were both exhausted, decided to take a nap before we went. The problem with this was, I have this “thing” that I think has carried over since I was in university: being fully functional without being consciously awake, and I must have turned off the alarm because the next time I saw the clock, it was already after one in the morning. Oops…

Definitely going to do better tomorrow.