Transition, Tuned, Thoughts

So much has been going on, that my mind is overwhelmed when I think about blogging about it.

What could I blog about?

I could blog about the end of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, getting stuck downtown and watching everything happen and the feelings of sadness and shock that permeated the next few days.

I could blog about packing up the remainder of my house, locking the doors and driving away from the place I have called home for the last three years.

I could blog about my last couple weeks in BC and all the activities and gatherings that have been keeping me busy.

I could blog about how incredibly blessed I am with amazing family and friends who love me and care for me. Friends and family who I will dearly miss and am sad to leave.

I could blog about what's coming and the excitement related with my two week road trip across Canada and what awaits me upon arriving in Quebec.

Instead, I just wanted to say hello. I'm still alive. And preparing to have every single aspect of my life change. Maybe I will blog about all the things above, maybe I never will. Time will tell.

For now, you may not see me for awhile. Or perhaps I will randomly post photos from my road trip from my phone. Maybe I will keep blogging, maybe I won't.

For now I'm leaving time to think and reflect and be.

So you may see me soon, you may not. So stay tuned.

Disneyland, Disneyworld, days

While on my cross Canada trip, I received a text from my brother asking if I wanted to join him and his girlfriend in Florida at Disneyworld for a few days at the end of their holidays.

Random and last minute, but I figured, why not?

So off I went to Florida.

I realized that although my brother and I see each other frequently, we've never actually done anything together. So it was super fun to actually just enjoy exploring the four Disney theme parks and to just hang out and laugh and have a good time together.

It was a fantastic four days! I am truly blessed with a wonderful family!

And now I have no idea where my camera cord is, so photos will have to wait.

Today I am off to Disneyland. Okay, some may think I'm crazy (which I quite possibly am...) but two of my dearest girlfriends and I are headed down for three days together! I can't wait! One of them has never been to Disneyland, so it will be fun to see it for the "first time" through her experience! I enjoyed my four days at home, but am excited to be off again!

I feel like right about now I could write about 100 posts with everything that has been going on lately. But that will have to wait until I'm home again and until I find my camera cord so my posts can be a little more exciting. :)

Seattle, Sauces, Sugar

I love when you have long-anticipated days that have been in your calendar that you can hardly wait until they come. Those days that cause you lost sleep because you're just so excited. I have these days and moments frequently, but want to share about this one day that I had been feeling agog (eagerly anticipation) about for a while now.


My friends Amy, Carlee and I met at university and really become good friends during a retreat course we took together one summer. So we have been trying to get together more and figured a day trip to Seattle would be a wonderful way to hang out and a great way to start the new year.


First stop: Krispy Kremes. We realized early in that we were pretty much going down to Seattle to walk around and go eat some good food.


Next stop: The troll under the bridge. Thankfully he let us pass through.


My view of the bridge. Delightful.


Following stop: P.F. Chang's. The best chinese food bistro. ever. They mix you your own sauce to the spicyness level you desire. Every time I go, I want to go back instantly. Probably a good thing that there isn't one in Canada.


Next we found a delightful place called the Chocolate Box which had the best hot chocolate ever. Then on to Pike's Place market and some wandering around.


We found some fun clothing to try on and got some nice modeling pictures...


Then we decided to take a break from our eating and walking and go see a movie. We saw Little Fockers which was good for some laughs. :)

This face-pure excitement.

At some point in the day, we just started taking pictures of EVERYTHING. So we found it fitting of course to take a picture when our buzzer went off at the Cheesecake Factory later on.


Carlee wanted to share her love/hate relationships with popcorn...


We really just came to the CF because of their Thai Lettuce Wraps. And were they definitely worth it.


After crossing the border after suspicious questioning, we found Amy's car with the lights on, and battery dead. Thankfully we found someone with jumper cables who was kind enough to give the car a jump. And thankfully we didn't listen to Carlee who insisted that if we just push the car down a hill, the car will start up again.


I think having a dead battery was actually the perfect ending to the day. I almost peed my pants laughing so hard.

The anticipation and excitement was worth the wonderful fellowship, great conversations, endless laughter, boisterous sing-alongs, tasty food, and chilly strolls. I am thankful for good friends and for the chance to take the day off and go adventuring together. I look forward to many more!

Story, Shoefiti, Skies

I have truly only begun to gain an appropriate appreciation for my mother over the last few years. I think part of it included moving out and going to her house just to visit, not be in my space. There's such a special bond between mothers and daughters and I love that my mom and I can travel together, hang out together and just be goofy.


Every once in a while (or quite frequently), I like to plan a mother/daughter day. Yesterday was such a day. Where you put away the phones, and any other distraction, and just enjoy being together, looking for any adventure we could possibly embark on. Part of yesterday included the most amazing lunch, yahtzee in the coffee shop (apparently I must really like yahtzee considering the amount of times I play it...) and seeing 'A Christmas Story' the musical.

I hadn't seen the movie, but now I must. Because I loved the musical! It was a new musical that hasn't been performed elsewhere and it was fantastic. Amazing acting, excellent singing, great songs, and on and on. The children in it where amazing, especially the lead, Ralphie. He was awesome. As I sat there, I let my senses take in the wonderfulness that is in a musical and to get carried away. Through the eyes of a child. It's a spectacular thing. And then it made me feel like Christmas was coming... but then I realized it had already come, but I still drank in every second of Christmasness {that shall hereby be a new word...)

Anyway, all in all, a fantastically wonderful day hanging out with my mom. And to add to it, I get to collect eggs with her all week! Thankfully when I start dancing around in the barn, she joins in... the chickens probably do a little jig too.. because who wouldn't, right?


Today when driving home, I was overwhelmed with the beauty around me. The crisp air outside, the barren trees juxtaposed against the blue sky. The tips of snow crested mountains looking fresh and inviting. I had my camera in my purse and decided to stop to take some photos of a certain tree I see weekly on my walk to the pool.


Whenever I see shoes hanging over a powerline or in a tree... it makes me wonder what the story behind it is. Yes, sometimes I know that it is not for good purpose, but I find it funny and wonder what kind of story that shoe would tell me if it could talk. In fact, wikipedia, calls shoe throwing, shoefiti. It's a sport apparently. It describes is at follows: "Shoe flinging or "shoefiti" is the practice of throwing shoes whose shoelaces have been tied together so that they hang from overhead wires such as power lines or telephone cables. The shoes are tied together by their laces, and the pair is then thrown at the wires as a sort of bolas. This practice plays a widespread, though mysterious, role in adolescent folklore in the United States^{[citation needed]}. Shoe flinging has also been reported in many other countries."


When I was in New Zealand I read that they have gumboot throwing competitions. Maybe that's what was happening here with these poor little sneakers? Maybe in truth it is actually a sneaker tree that grows shoes. Wouldn't that be handy?


Perhaps one day I shall take up the art of shoe-throwing... but for now I will simply smile when I see a pile of shoes in a tree and wonder who they belonged to and where they had traveled to before they got stuck in that tree.


Hope you are all enjoying the week between Christmas and New Year's. May it be a relaxing time to stop and spend with loved ones and soak in the wonder and joy of the small things all around us.

Edmonton, Early, Energized

Last Thursday, when I left my house, it was starting to look like this. While I love snow, and was a bit sad to leave it, I was excited to get to the airport and fly off to the beginnings of my next adventure!


My flight left on time and after leaving the snowyland, it was a stunningly beautiful and clear day over the Rocky Mountains and with my face pressed against the window, I enjoyed the majestic beauty of some of my favourite mountains.


Absolutely stunning! I couldn't help but pull out my camera and snap a few photos...

I arrived in Calgary and went for lunch and did a bit of shopping with a friend (yay for only 5% tax!) Then Lindie, Jenn, Erin and I went to dinner theatre. The theme was 'Night at the Museum'. So there's some stuff based from the movie, but it was night at the rock museum and it was fantastic. Wonderful mix of songs, great acting and singing as per usual and the food was super tasty and the company was even better!

We have a schedule of all the upcoming ones and I hope to get out there to see those as well!

On Friday, all the flights were sold out to Edmonton (thank you grey cup), so my friend Jenn drove Lindie and I up to the frozen land of Edmonton. It's a short (ish) drive, but it was super fun!


We stopped on some side roads on the way up and found this beautiful church surrounded by snow. When Jenn and I lived in Quebec, we'd always go on church tours. So we were happy to find some nice ones in Alberta as well!


The vehicle got a bit dirty on the way up, but it was a reflection of how they sand and plow their streets there when it snows. Driving through the wintry landscapes made me wonder what it would be like to live in wintry wonderfulness for a few months at a time. It made my heart long to live a little where I could be surrounded by snow.

Upon arrival at Anne's, she had a lovely sign waiting to welcome me! How fun!

We sat by the live fire and got cozy on the couch while watching a movie. How delightful with all the snow and cold outside to be bundled and safe inside!


The next day Anne had to work, so my friend Leslie picked me up and we hung out for the day with a couple of her different friends. We even played Yahtzee which is of course always a good time.


Then the unthinkable occured as I slipped my newly purchased Edmonton Oilers Jersey on. However, I tried not to allow my face to be in too many photos.


Anne and I went out for sushi and then headed to the game against the Sharks. It was fun cheering for both teams and pretending to be oilers fans while yelling out "Go sharks!" When people would turn around, they had no idea who had yelled it because we were wearing oilers shirts... tee hee hee

This is our sharks symbol...

And the man beside us was from Wales and had had a bit too much to drink perhaps. But was entertaining nonetheless. He wanted to be in our photo, so I figured, of course, why not?





I don't know who these oilers fans are but they kept taking the camera...


The next day there was football playing in the snow before watching the grey cup (more photos to come once I get those ones from Anne...) On Monday morning I flew home and went straight to visit some of my fave little people.



That's all for now folks. More to come on my second trip to Alberta and this weekend that is full of fun!! :) Enjoy the weekend!

Anne, Andrea, Adventures

I like random. And I like people who are likewise random.

Anne is my random friend. We met when she stayed at my house with a friend of mine. Then I slept on her couch when I was driving through Edmonton. Then we roadtripped to the East Coast. Then we had coffee in BC on Thanksgiving weekend. And last week, her and her friend Andrea came to stay for some fun, random and crazy adventures. I feel like we've been friends for years and always enjoy our time together.


Christmas came early!! I love gift giving. And sometimes I have such a hard time waiting until Christmas or birthdays to give people their gifts, because I get so excited about how much they will love it (hopefully). Anyway, I was glad to be able to legitimately give a gift early. :)


On one of our trips to the grocery store, we talked about how we were sad that the icing with rainbow bits wasn't sold anymore. So we had a moment of silence. And then we figured we should take a sad picture with the icing. So we did. Random. Love it.


Sushi! With perhaps the worst service ever and the most unwelcoming atmosphere ever. I love their sushi, but I think that was my last visit!


At least we still had fun!


And it looked pretty.


And tasted good.


And at Strabucks we discovered some really nice signs to take pictures with!


Lovely.




One day we headed to Granville Island for some more random fun.


And lovely hats.


I love monkeys.


Beautiful herd.


And then we found some nice hammocks to lie in.




And I found a door made just for me!


And a mirror that does wonders for the image. :)


And we went for the best sushi in Vancouver.


And the best gelato too. 218 flavours.. like garlic, curry, balsamic vinegar.. mmmm


This lady was having a bad day. So we listened while she kept giving us different samples.

Then we came home and had a highschool musical marathon. I had a great photo but just pushed the backspace by accident and deleted it. So you can picture us holding all the dvd's with excited looks on our faces. Because we're cool like that.

And so concludes crazy adventures with Alberta, Ontario and BC all mixed together!

I'm already excited for the next visit!