It's truly amazing (and scary) how much can change from one snapshot to the next: we've passed milestones, endured struggles and loss, and celebrated triumphs.

The days of routine are back and I welcome it. It has been a very busy summer between working on the fashion show (which raised over 30,000 for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation), a fulltime internship at Canadian Family, and weekend-long trips in-between to Collingwood, Buffalo and Montreal.

But as autumn creeps closer, we say adieu to the summer: goodbye apartment in Toronto, hello suburban home; goodbye full time internship, hello part-time school; goodbye living out of a suitcase…

While I’ve loved living out of a suitcase, it’s time to settle down.

Good thing too, because I have a lot of work to do too. For starters, I’ve been no angel in the medication department, I’m usually a very strict girl but all this running around has taken its toll. I’ve been lousy at taking my vitamins and my actonel (which treats osteoporosis), lousy at taking my zithromax (a daily antibiotic CFers commonly take) since I ran out of my prescription three weeks ago, and sub-par in the weight department. I’ve lost a good 10 lbs in the past year and haven’t really tried very hard to gain it back, for instance, I haven’t done my night ‘feeds’ in two months. I’m not really impressed with any of this, but writing it all out reminds me what I have to work on! (and I’ll probably get a lot of nagging responses too)

Which brings me to my next major point of weakness:

One thing I mentioned to my cyster tonight is that I miss living in Toronto because—and this may surprise you—I felt so much better, and I credit that to all the walking I did on a daily basis. When you're living in the city (without a car) you just walk, walk, walk and don't even think about it. I would walk from store to store all afternoon, running errands, and not even notice how much I was exercising. Everything was measured in blocks, not minutes. 12 blocks away? 15 blocks away? No problem.

But now, back in the suburbs and back behind the wheel of my Yaris everything is a drive away, not a walk. And the attitude is so different here, everyone is fighting for the closest parking space and people will purposely drive across the same complex to a second store instead of enduring the 5-minute walk.

When I first moved back to Brampton, my mom wanted to drive first to the grocery store and then to the Staples across the parking lot. It took a moment, but I pointed out how ridiculous that sounded and promptly parked the car closest to the grocery store and walked across the parking lot Staples. It’s so simple, but we never think about it!

I think, ultimately, the reason I felt so great this summer was due to a combination of little things like this. I worked fulltime and had tons of meds to do, so I couldn't realistically fit in any gym time (unless I sacrificed sleep, but I’m not one for sacrifice). But walking to and from work, walking to the grocery store, walking to meet friends, that was all enough.

I didn't think it was enough until I moved home and took a step back in the walking department (pun… intended?). Since then, I'm more congested than usual, tired, and last night I was woken up by relentless coughing fits (which rarely happens to me).

So what's a suburbanite to do? 

Well, I will try my best to sway from the suburban lifestyle. Tonight I did a few laps around the block and yesterday I applied to be a foster parent for a dog—which should equal more hikes and treks to the park. I miss having a dog to walk and run around with, so it would be great to have an active, furry friend!