Whenever I travel abroad, I always think, “I’m glad I’m Canadian, because no matter where I go, I always have that to go home to.” And this summer, as I gallop from coast to (almost) coast in Canada, I’m refining that to “I’m glad I’m a Montrealer, because no matter what butt-end of Canada I live in, I always have that to go home to.” 
Let me first catch up on some tales of best intentions laid to waste… I had this great idea: it takes 21 days to make something a habit, right? And as I was pondering that one, I also read this post by Angela on Oh She Glows. She wrote about how the first four months of being vegan were the hardest, since she craved yogurt and cheese and eggs…
Putting these two together, I had this idea, as I said: my struggles with sugar are ongoing, and I thought “the best thing I can do to give my reduction in mass campaign a shot in the arm is to go on an aggressive, 21-day sugar detox.” I figured, by the end of that, the worst cravings might be done and I’d be habitually NOT adding sugar to things.
I thought “my trip to Montreal is 22 days. That would be a great time to hit this plan!”
What I didn’t think was “in that case, leave time for breakfast before the flight, because you can’t really get much low-sugar at Starbucks if you’re on the fly [ha ha! Punny!] at the airport.” And I didn’t think “in that case, it’s possible that your Dad and his wife might have a different concept of healthy eating, so be ready to work around it.” And I didn’t think “in that case, I’m not going to be terribly in control of my food choices when I’m with family and friends… so maybe this *isn’t* the right time to become militant?”
Yeah… the best laid plans, eh?
Up top there—that yogurt is oversight #1 coming to life: I didn’t leave time for some Kashi Go-lean with unsweetened almond milk… so instead I ended up with that monstrosity. All I can say is EW! Airport Starbucks are franchises, not actual ‘Bucks, so the food isn’t always 100% the same. I anticipated some greek yog with honey on the bottom… and that I could just ignore the honey.
Oh no, this was sweetened banana yogurt. In fact, I think it was doubly sweetened, within an inch of its poor, poor life. And mine, since it was eat that, or land in Montreal a ravenous, cranky girl. I did what I could… 
So much for no added sugar!
And then my dad offered me a glass of orange juice in the morning. I said “no! Instant sugar! I’d rather have the fruit!” He thought I was crazy and handed me my glass. Hm. Hello and goodbye to oversight #2.
And as for #3: I’ve had 6 meals in Montreal. 50% of them have involved cheese. 
Way to go, Cholesterol Kid!! I’m doing my best, but sometimes… I’m going with the flow.
So let’s accentuate the positive for a bit… Yesterday I spent out at my dad’s place in Wentworth. On the way, we drove through my fertile and flat province of origin. It was hot and sunny… which I LOVE!
And then I did some work editing at the lake, while my dad worked on the dock. I helped… for 15 minutes… and spent the next three hours (!!!) swimming back and forth across the lake.
Not good for productivity, but really, really, REALLY good for the soul.
I also made friends with a dragonfly (see it?)… and played a little game I call “one loon speaks to another”: as I swam across the lake, the resident loon called out to me. I whistled back. He called again… and so the game went. I couldn’t really see him (which is good, since I’m a bit afraid of birds!), but it was still kinda neat.
Today I took a pilates lesson at my friend Michelle’s yoga studio, Ambaa Yoga in St-Henri (oops on not taking a pic!). I knew Michelle in kindergarten, but hadn’t seen her in 16 years… and Audrey, who took the lesson with me, was one of my bosomest buddies in late elementary school and into high school… also hadn’t seen her since then (I moved across the country! She moved in the opposite direction! What can you do?) and we ended up having lunch here-ish: this is an uninspired photo of Old Montreal. (Sorry it’s crappy, but we had a timeline and I just didn’t find the magic shot.)
So it’s hard to meet goals on “vacation”, but I guess it’s like Mick Jagger sang: “you can’t always get what you want / but if you try sometimes, you just might find… you get what you need!”
My diet is trying it’s best under the circumstances, but the activity is nothing less than awesome! Thanks again, Michelle!
Something’s gotta give if I want to be invited back (and have I mentioned lately that I love Montreal? It’s hard not to!)… but those are tough waters to navigate. As I said yesterday, I’m trying to be more flexible when I can (yet making sure I say no to the juice BEFORE dad pours it…), but that’s mostly coming down to flexibility in the healthy eating ways. Healthy is a choice, where allergic is “I just can’t!”
