Six, Seven, Stanley

Tonight is Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. If they win tonight, they've won the cup.


It has been an absolutely fantastic season and it is bittersweet to see it come to an end. Wonderful because hey, this is our chance to win the cup! And it will be nice to have free evenings after a while and not have every other night occupied with a game. But a bit sad, because it's my last season being in the lower mainland.


Secretly, I'm voting for a loss tonight so that we can win at home for Game 7 and I can be there. But I would be equally as happy if they won tonight. Where will you be watching the game?

GO CANUCKS GO!

Fever, Fans, Finals

Game 4 tonight. The Canucks fever continues. People who never even watched hockey are now attending playoff parties to wait in anticipation to see if this is truly our year.


I don't have tv at home, so I like to invite myself over to different people's houses for the games. And it's fun to cheer with a lot of different people.

And of course, I have my flags flapping proudly off my vehicle.

Game 4 predictions? I predict a win. ;)

GO CANUCKS GO!

Canucks, Cup, Cheering

Since the day I came home, I have been enjoying everything about the Canucks playoffs. I was sad to miss the first few weeks, but excited that they have been playing amazingly and that I could join in with the cheering fan base.


There's something about being at a game that cannot be fully explained, until you are there and hear the thunderous roar of the crowd, feel the towel lint irritating your eyes, jumping up at every goal and good play.


And Round 3, Game 5 was exceptionally exciting. My heart was racing most of the time, my cheeks were rosy and I was on the edge of my seat.


And we WON! For the first time in 17 years, we are off to the 4th round once again. SO exciting! I remember going to the playoffs 17 years ago when I was 10 and so I am excited to go again and appreciate it through new eyes.


And even being in downtown Vancouver is exhilarating. Horns honking, giving everybody high five, cheering loudly, waving your towel around... so great! There's something special about when everyone gathers together and cheers for a common thing. It is unifying and bonding in a unique way.


Now we will just wait to see who we play in Round 4 and until then I will keep my evenings open so I can continue cheering until the end! Hope you are also enjoying the playoff run!

GO CANUCKS GO!

Changes, Cousins, Canucks

Over the last few months I have put a lot of thought into how I spend my time and where I invest it. I realized that in being someone who is fairly agreeable, I say yes to a lot of things that when I think back on it, I didn't really want to do. And so I have decided to be more intentional with my time and with my friendships. I have a lot of friendships and a lot of wonderful people in my life, but sometimes I feel like I am stretched too thin. So there's a need to decipher which friendships were more for a season and which ones were long term. Not to say that you never speak to people again, but the intensity changes. This may sound harsh and I don't intend it to be. It's just been me figuring out how to best be a friend to the people in my life. I'm embracing the different seasons and how they each have molded and shaped me into who I am today.

Another thing i have been realizing over the last couple weeks has been how our perceptions and views of ourselves and the world around us impacts the way we react to others and even in the way we hear and interpret words and actions. I've had some unfortunate events take place that I am regretful of, because in communicating, I did not respond well. And did not present well either I suppose. But I was reminded of how hugely our lenses of the world affect us. If I feel like everyone dislikes me or wants to attack me, I will interpret most things through that lens even though it may be incredibly far from the truth. This has caused me to examine what my expectations of others are (as they are often unrealistic and need to be shifted), but also what my expectations of people's reactions to me are as well.

Anyway, that was a lot of jabber.

The other night I was able to hang out with my second cousin Nicole and it was funny when I thought about it, because we went to high school together, we read each others' blogs, we're similar in a lot of ways, yet we never hang out. So recently we decided we should actually make it happen and we did. And I am already looking forward to the next time. It's funny, because in talking and hanging out, I felt like we hung out all the time, although I hadn't really seen her since high school nine years ago.

And thus concludes a very random post with a lot of scattered bits of my thoughts. And I will add a shout out to the Canucks who are playing amazingly and will hopefully win the presidents' trophy this year. And hooray for them having the most wins on record for them in a regular season. I am saddened by the fact that I'm pretty sure the NHL playoffs will be hard to find while in Asia... but hey, you never know, right?

Capilano, Cousins, Canucks

Last week, my relatives from Castlegar were in town. My great-uncle Henry passed away before Christmas and they decided to have a memorial for him in Abbotsford since that's where he lived a lot of his life.


I have always loved it when any of them have come to visit. We all connect really well. It's funny because my mom used to babysit her aunts kids, and then they babysit us as kids. I also got to be a flower girl in Deb's wedding so that's really special as well.


We clicked well and had a lot of fun. Went to Capilano Suspension Bridge for the day on the Friday and beat the rain which was nice. Did you know that as a BC resident, if you pay for a day's admission (26 bucks), you get a year's pass? Which is expensive for one visit, but not for the whole year! So I'm excited to go back in the winter because they always do a lot of Christmas lights. And they're opening up a new cliff walk exhibit which also sounds pretty great.


My aunt Carol really hates her picture taken. This was the nicest one I took of us. The rest she refused to co-operate :)


Thankfully Deb and I share the same joy of taking beautiful photos. Or funny ones. With signs.




I love BC. And places like this that are surrounded by woods and it just feels outdoorsy. yeah it's touristy, but that was okay for this day.

And I love my mom as well. Because she rocks. And I love our friendship. :)

The bridge was super scary. Watch out.

Watch out for slippery surfaces. Thankfully I did not fall.

What do you do on suspension bridges?? Run of course!

Strangely enough, everyone slipped by this sign. It wasn't even wet really.

Sadly Deb had the worst fall..

Oops.

Hooray for suspension bridges!! They actually have a really cool exhibit that has little suspension bridges between trees. It's called treetop adventure and it's actually really cool. Great views as well.




My mom tried having a bigger wingspan than the eagle. At least she has a wider wingspan than the goose. Go Mom!




Unsure of what slugs do at slug crossings, but we probably fooled quite a few people into thinking we were giant, colorful slugs.

BEAR HUG!

White Spot before the game! Mmmmm!

All in all, a wonderful time with family and getting to know them in a new way as well. It was good to celebrate Uncle Henry's life with those who came to the memorial. I really appreciated hearing all the stories from his life. Always inspiring and humbling to hear of the amazing legacy people have left before us.

Syllables, Sophie's, Sweet

One of my favorite things about being home is playing with this little guy. Because he is so stinkin' precious and melts my heart every time. Especially when he walks over to me, grabs my finger and gets me to follow him where he wants to go play.


I love how he says my name even though it sounds nothing like it and there is no way I could even tell you what it sounds like. But it has two syllables and it's what he calls me and that's what matters. :)


And then this week, my friend Amy and I spent the day together in Vancouver. It was a gloriously sunny day in Van and we went to some fantastic stops! Great day!


This is a great find: Sophie's. I love all the stuff inside. Once again, stuff makes good atmosphere, thereby creating better food. It's all homemade type food and all very tasty.


We went to Granville island for quite a while and walked around downtown a bunch and then went to the Canucks game. We lost, but it ended up being a tense game and it was good and fun. And I got on the big screen, so it must all be good. :)

Here's another one of my fave kiddies. I have known their mom for years and have watched her and her brother grow up over the years. I have enjoyed many a dinner at their house and always enjoy my time spent with them!

Sorry for another random post, but this is what I've been up to in my time at home before my trip to Quebec!

Next up: More about why in the world i'm moving to Quebec!

Ideal, Ikea, Indian

Last week Calgary Flames came to Vancouver to play the Canucks, so I phoned Lindie up and told her she should fly out so we could go to the game together. So I picked her up at the airport and we headed to Vancouver.

Before the game, we went for Japanese to my favourite Vancouver restaurant. And suddenly Lindie was half out of her seat, about to chase two men (dressed in suits and looking quite dapper if I may say so myself) out of the restaurant. Turns out they were Flames players (Hagman and Conroy). Sadly, Lindie didn't make it in time to get some photos, but we enjoyed that we had dinner with them.. Actually this is the same restaurant where the Canucks sometimes go. So perhaps we will have to frequent it even more often.


The game was ideal (for me) and Canucks won. For Lindie's sake, I was glad that Flames scored with 10 second remaining. Because then I was happy and so was she.


The next day we did a bunch of different things and on the way to Vancouver stopped at Ikea for some wandering around and random photo taking. I love it when Lindie comes to visit. The things we do are always incredibly random, but so fun, including a lot of laughs and good chats as well. Brings you back to simply appreciating the people in your life and loving spending time with them.


That evening we went to Vij's in Vancouver, which has perhaps some of the best service and best Indian food ever. And while you sit there, they bring around appies and chai. So tasty! Here we were joined by more friends and it was just a lovely evening all together.

Dropped Lindie off at the airport on Friday morning, and then I spent the day meeting different people and such, before being dropped off at the airport myself, for my cross Canada adventure. I decided I would go to Calgary for the weekend for my friend Jenn's birthday, and figured, why not keep going? Presently I am in Saskatchewan. And it's beautiful. Yay for snow. And for wonderful friends. I am blessed.

More intermittent updates to come soon!

Twins, Together, Time

This week is birthday week. Known by some others as the week before Christmas. All very fun and exciting! But a little crazy how fast time flies.

I love having my birthday in December! Well, besides combined gifts and people not really caring it's my birthday, I like all the decorations and all the festivities all at once! It's fun because I happen to have a lot of friends with December birthdays too! In fact one weekend I had invites to 4 birthday get - togethers!


Last week, it was my friend Vanessa's birthday. We affectionately refer to one another as twinsie, as we have some convoluted story about how we are actually twins separated at birth who happened to be born 9 days apart. Only to have our families let us be friends as children and until now. Brilliant story. Touching really. So this is my twin sister Vanessa and we celebrated her birthday in style! She's leaving for Australia next week and I will definitely miss her!



It was fun to meet some of her friends as well! The following day we were able to go for lunch as well which was special to be able to hang out together one on one before she left!


On Saturday my mom and I met in Vancouver where we went to the Canucks game. Apparently she likes laughing at me. But we had a wonderful time and afterwards I took her to the best Japanese restaurant in Vancouver (that I know of). Afterwards I was able to see some friends in Van as well which was wonderful!


This last week has been interesting as I feel like I have been coming out of my season of being a hermit. But it's been delightful to connect with friends and to find a newfound balance of refueling time for me and time with friends!

Tis all for now! Off to enjoy some more festivities of birthday week!

Hockey, Holler, Happy

Vancouver vs. Flames. In Calgary. How could I resist? I was able to get two really great tickets and flew out for the day just to go to the game. I wore my jersey proudly on the flight and in the airport and got some great comments from passerbys.


It was also fun being there with a Flames fan. That way someone was always cheering (thankfully I was cheering a LOT more)



I have to admit though that their fans are far more hardcore. And the fact that they have flames burst out when they score. It's a nice blast of warmth. :) And the "C" of red that the fans wear is pretty sweet too.

Our seats were pretty great. How cool!

We won 7 to 2 and it was a great game with lots of cheering! Just made it all the more sweeter that it was in Calgary...

The next morning, Jenn and I went out for breakfast at 5am. Because it's tradition. And we're hardcore like that.

Then she dropped me off at the airport for another delightful flight over the Rockies. And the beginning of a wonderful day that would last for 24 hours.

Oh flying. How I love thee {as long as there is no one sitting beside me...}

And that's all for now. Now I'm home and enjoying all the festivities and fun that December brings. Hopefully I will stay grounded at home... for a little while at least. ;)