What happened next...

Project Life weeks 3 & 4

2012-02-01T16:41:00.000-08:00

Scrapbooking with Project Life seems to have exploded this year! It's everywhere! Like me, so many people are saying how it's driven their creativity, and yet there's no rules or pressures - you really can make it as dressed up as you want. It's been said by countless others....but I'm still Loving It!

I've been keeping up with a double page spread per week. I'm traditionally a 'week starts on Monday' kind of girl but because the 1st was a Sunday so far I've just rolled with that being the beginnging of the week as far as Project Life goes. It's also suiting my creative playtime...I normally get busy on Saturday's whilst Chris is at work - since Sunday's are our only day off together I certainly don't want to encroach on that precious time.

So without further ado here are my Week 3 and Week 4 spreads;

Week 3 Spread

Week 4 Spread

FREE Project Life template!

2012-01-25T17:18:00.000-08:00

This is one of my photos for this week's Project Life. I created this little collage to show 2 comparison photos - in this case the nightstands beside our bed. A snapshot of what we keep cluttered on top, the books we're currently reading etc!

I've created a Free template for you to create your own his/hers comparison shots (I've left it so it's fully editable so you can change the title text to use for something entirely different!)

Download free template here!

(If you download, please stop and say hello!)

Crockpot Spicy African Peanut Soup

2012-01-21T18:52:00.000-08:00

Crockpot African Peanut Soup

Ingredients (serves 4)

1/2 yellow onion diced
2 green onions chopped
1 red pepper chopped
2 cloved garlic minced
1/4 cup uncooked brown rice
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 can crushed tomatoes (400g can)
1/2 cup peanut butter
Tabasco (to taste)
Sour Cream (to serve)

Directions

Chuck all the veggies, spices, rice, broth, canned tomatoes in the Crockpot and cook for 6 hours on low
After 6 hours, add the peanut butter and cook on high for an additional 30 minutes
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some extra tabasco to taste.
Marvel at how flippin' amazing this recipe is

This is the most incredible recipe ever. We absolutely LOVED it!! But sadly I can't take credit. I got the recipe from Stephanie over at the crockpot365 blog (and if you head over there check out her many, many other awesome recipes)

My variations on her original recipe were;

- I halved the ingredients, giving us a generous 4 portions
- I added some tabasco hot sauce at the beginning of cooking (plus a little more to taste once I'd served it up) along with extra black pepper to spice it up for our tastebuds
- Although I did use 4 cups of broth, it was runnier than I expected. I think you could reduce this down to 3.5 cups

Loving Project Life!

2012-01-17T19:58:00.000-08:00

I have started off the new year with a bang! I've got my creative mojo back and I'm absolutely loving it! This year I decided to record our lives using the Project Life system. I bought a bunch of page protectors and a Turquoise edition core kit back in early December and I was itching to start ever since. So roll on the first of the year and I was mad for it!

I love that Project Life simplifies things in so many ways. I had bought a selection of different styles of protectors but with a little further thought I think I'd like to stick with just Design A which gives me 4 horizontal 4x6 pockets and 4 vertical 3x4 pockets. The core kit has journaling cards, and patterned paper cards which you slip into the pockets along with a selection of photos and any ephemera collected over the time period. I'm planning to tackle this project on a weekly basis and dedicate a double page spread per week, although I'm completely open to extending a spread to cover any time period since I plan to always use my top left 4x6 pocket as the 'title' where I'll record the dates covered in that spread.

Week 1

Love, love, love this! Like I said it simplifies, and yet for me it's totally got my creative juices flowing because right now I'm enjoying playing a ~~little~~ lot more! I have dug into my stash and pulled out heaps of bits and bobs of product I've hoarded and stored it all on my desk in a basket - as well as using just the core kit cards I'm wanting to add other scrapbooking-y type elements. And whilst I'm sure I could pull off a spread in 1/2 hour I'm spending half of Saturday just playing and being creative. And man, have I missed it!

Week 2

It's given me opportunity to pull out my lovely collection of embellishments and all those scraps of patterned papers and RE-discover my love for scrapbooking.

I'm back! And I love that this is such a 'in the moment' way of scrapbooking. Roll on the next 50 weeks!

Crockpot Vegetarian Lasagna

2012-01-11T08:35:00.000-08:00

One of my items on my 2012 manifesto was to cook up 10 new crockpot meals. Here's the first recipe I tried my hand at. I would say an instant success! (though for just the two of us there's a whole lot of food - this is ideal for 4 people!) Because it was full of veggie goodness (oh, and cheese, but we won't mention that!) we just served it up on it's own - lovely!

Crockpot Vegetarian Lasagna

Ingredients

Whole-wheat lasagna noodles uncooked
3 cups canned chopped tomatoes
1 cup marinara (pasta) sauce (I used Newman’s brand)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
2 eggs (beaten)
250g container ricotta
3 large handfuls baby spinach, coarsely chopped
250g Crimini mushrooms chopped
1 zucchini quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt & Pepper to season
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions

In a bowl mix together the choppedtomatoes, the marinara sauce, the minced garlic and the fresh basil
In another bowl mix together the eggs,ricotta, spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, oregano and salt and pepper to season
Spray crockpot with non-stick spray
Layer the tomato mixture first;followed by the cheese mixture and finally a layer of the lasagna sheets (breakapart to ‘fit’ as neatly as possible to get a complete layer). Repeat a second time. Finish with a tomato layer.
Cook on High for 3 hours or Low for 6hours
Before serving sprinkle 1 cup shreddedmozzarella cheese on top – place ceramic crockpot under a low broil so themozzarella cheese can brown.
Let stand for 5 minutes before serving

My 2012 Manifesto

2012-01-02T21:58:00.000-08:00

I loved having my 'manifesto' for last year, and so I'm bringing it back for 2012. Another year to 'publicly declare my intentions' and hold myself accountable for the things I want to do, want to achieve and want to create....I had a few favourites from last year and after some thought I decided to just repeat them again for this year. I have upped my list by one item - So I'd like to introduce 'My List of 38' (in my 38th year)...

Bake cupcakes
Go bowling
Volunteer
Swim in an open water event
Go fruit picking
Reach Nike+ purple level
Go to the drive-in movies
Have a carpet picnic
Take a new exercise class
Ride my motorbike to work
Go camping on the bikes
Take a cooking class
See live theatre
Take a selfie' every month
Run a marathon
Have a pedicure
Visit Cathedral Peaks park
Run more miles than last year
Try 10 new crock pot recipes
Run the bridge
Go paint balling
Learn to shoot/edit in RAW
Take a trip to visit family
Try a new food
Be amazed
Write a letter a month
Plan a surprise
Pickle onions
Make more handmade gifts (double last year so 6!)
Do something that scares me
Make Art for the house
Make 10 washi tape projects
Donate
Read 2 non-fiction books
Blog at least once a month
Simplify my life
Celebrate 10 years of marriage
Go for a bike ride (no really this IS the year!!)

So long 2011!

2011-12-31T20:13:00.000-08:00

It was a great year and just in the nick of time I'm posting my final 'month-in-review' layout. It was a great little recap of our year and I'm glad I kept it up! That ticks of #32 on my 2011 manifesto!

Talking of my 2011 manifesto - I am pretty pleased with my accomplishments. 37 items on my list and I've ticked off 33 - I fell short by just 4! Its funny how something as simple as this list has somehow kept me accountable. That classic 'I must do that', 'I should've done that' or 'I really wish I could...'. were converted into items on this list at the end of last year and I've enjoyed checking off things as I've gone.

Here's a final look at my 2011 list;

~~Make chocolate chip cookies from scratch~~
~~Log 600 miles running - upped to 700 miles!~~
~~Paint a wall~~
~~Visit a new country~~
~~Blog at least once a month~~
~~Take a ski lesson~~
~~Make wall art (and actually display it!)~~
~~Go on a picnic~~
~~Learn something new~~
~~Grow vegetables~~
~~Play mini golf~~
Go for a bike ride (the type with pedals and hard graft!)
~~Rent a boat~~
~~Bake a loaf of bread~~
~~Relax in a candlelit bubble-bath~~
~~Go to a hockey game~~
~~Take a yoga class~~
~~Make business cards~~
~~Visit a national park~~
~~Go camping~~
~~Ice-skate outside~~
~~Give 3 handmade gifts~~
~~Sew something~~
Stay in Harvey
~~Make gazpacho~~
~~Try a new restaurant~~
~~Go to a live comedy show~~
~~Run a sub 56' 10km~~
~~Read 2 non-fiction books~~
Spray paint something
Feed the ducks
~~Do a scrapbook page every month (month-in-review)~~
~~Make money from my new business venture~~
~~Give to charity~~
~~Listen to live music~~
~~Cook and master 12 new recipes~~
~~Complete a Gratitude journal~~

End of Year currents

2011-12-29T17:00:00.000-08:00

listening: Abercrombie & Fitch playlists online
reading: Lost on planet China by J. Maarten Troost (chrimbo pressie from Chris!)

eating: Baguette with pate, cheese and piccalilli

drinking: water

wearing: lululemon leggings, long cardigan and cozy uggs

feeling: full - permanently full and over-indulged since Christmas!

weather: warm it's +8 in December!! - crazy

needing: to exercise

enjoying: this music

wondering: how long before I can run again

So on the 19th December I had a little run-in with Jillean Michaels. Put me out of action and on crutches for Christmas week....which was nice....NOT! Now with the Christmas indulgences stacking up (specifically around the middle region!) plus crazy warm +8 temps I'm itching to get out there and run. And I can't. I really can't. And I'm getting fed up with that. Having been blessed with an injury free running life so far I really am not handling it all that well! Sometimes I do wonder if it's the fact that I can't making me want to go out even more (after all I was more than happy last year to retire for the cold, wintery months) but I don't think so....

So here I am, willing in the new year and hope that I have a healed and stronger ankle ready to carry me (ideally about 5 less pounds of me than right now - damn those Christmas chocolates!) into a happy and fit new year!!

November in review

2011-12-21T18:25:00.000-08:00

Not so many pictures for us this month, so I struggled a bit pulling it together! Can't believe it's nearly the end of the year and I've managed to keep this up. Looking forward to embarking on a new way of recording our everyday life next year. I am excited to start using Project Life!

We survived!!

2011-12-08T23:37:00.000-08:00

(and if you read too many race reports about this one you'll understand that could have been an achievement in itself!!)

2:17:00 - Well it certainly wasn't a record breaking time, but I never expected it to be. But the important thing for us was that we had a blast! We totally rocked the strip at night at the 2011 Rock n' Rock Las Vegas Half Marathon!

We got back from our mini vacation late on Wednesday night but the run itself happened Sunday evening - starting at 5.30pm - so yes completely dark. What I wasn't really anticipating was how flippin' cold it was. It was more the biting wind that really kept it chilly. The race was crazy busy as we anticipated - 44,000 people will do that! I ended up slipping an extra layer under my running shirt and never once regretted that move. It got a little better once we were huddled into our corrals at the start line - I don't really think that 1000 people should have been in that small a space but the body heat certainly helped whilst we waited for our wave to cross the start line!

Once we got going it was a fairly steady pace - a little slower than I'd normally set off, but later in the race I think it was a wise (if unintentional!) move! It wasn't as light/bright as I thought it'd be, but it was awesome to be running along such a famous stretch of road, completely closed to traffic for the evening! The bright lights of all the casinos were all the light we had. We passed the Bellagio just as the fountains were going, and I may have glimpsed a volcano erupting too! At the northern end of the strip we looped around a little through the 'older' downtown area - I know it's undergoing lots of regeneration plans now, and certainly Chris and I visited Fremont Street in a past trip (Which is awesome!). There were less spectators in this area but what they lacked in numbers they made up for in enthusiasm! I'm not sure if they were an 'official' band on the course but some of the best music I heard on the way was up near Fremont Street with little set-up and speakers blasting out their tunes!

The last 5 miles I was cruising. I'm curious if it was the slow steady start or that I tried out fuelling with Gu for the first time during a long run (always been nervous about what it might 'do' to me and my digestive system, but with this race I felt so relaxed and pressure free I didn't really care either way!). It was a first for me to be encouraging Chris along (bless him, I think I may have forced the 'old' man into this a little - what with his injury and complete lack of training and not having run the distance in 15 years it was quite the achievement for him!) I loved running with him, and excited for me to have felt 'so good' later in the race - it was a great learning curve for me.

So onto the 'fiasco' that was the post-race. Actually NO. If you want to read about that go elsewhere (you won't have to look too far). WE had an AWESOME race. There was 44,000 people - it was always going to be busy and hectic and crowded. It was nothing more than I'd expected. Post race we got our fabulous chunky heavy medals, a Mylar blanket (Which heck did I need!) plenty of water, cytomax, granola bars, bagels and bananas (which I will concede to the mass complaints, were a little green!). We hot-footed it inside the convention centre to pick up our bags and change into some warmer, drier clothes and then started walking up the strip to eat, then back to our hotel. The bag check (though badly signed) was very organised - and the plus points was our low corral & bib numbers meant our bags were right up front!!

Loved these mirrors at the expo! - what fun!!

The expo prior to the race was awesome too. I'd never been to a 'big' expo before but we just strolled around picking up freebies and samples left, right and centre (hey, I'm always a sucker for freebies!). I also got to listen to the ladies from 'Run Like a Mother' present a short talk on the stage and we got our snazzy race tees - love that they had womens sizes (now I just need to wait till next spring before I can wear a short sleeve shirt again!)

Vegas itself, well, what can I say?! It's bright, bold and brash but it always entertains me! We strolled for miles, ran for miles, actually didn't do that much shopping (I know?! shock!!), but took in the Criss Angel Illusionist show at the Luxor, along with the Titanic exhibition, a gluttonous Champagne Brunch at the Bellagio and altogether way too much eating and drinking (and seriously $16 for a cocktail ?!)

That saying 'What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas'? - I'm just hoping that applies to calories too!

Less than a week to go!

2011-11-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

Less than a week to go till we'll be running the 'Strip at Night' in Vegas with 44,000 other people. I'm super excited. Not only is it vacation time for us (after all who doesn't love a vacation!) but I'm so looking forward to the vibes and atmosphere of a really big race. The OK 1/2 marathon I've done the last 2 years has something like 2000 runners! We have both run a 'big race' - the Vancouver Sun Run has around 50,000 people so we know what it's like - and yes it's crazy busy, but I love it!!
Chris has struggled with a calf strain (well that's the problem we're not sure it's a strain it's just pain!) for months now so hasn't really been training for this at all! I've certainly tapered off a lot since my October race aswell (It's been tough for me to keep up the motivation and pace I think - I've yet to figure out how not to have that 'dip' after the culmination of training for one race)

We both agreed pretty early on that we'd run it together. And that most importantly we'd soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the moment. And for me, I'm happy to not run competively. I want to be able to take photos along the way and have fun. I want to Elvis-spot, and enjoy the bands playing along the course and I want to experience it all with Chris at my side. So we're going to take it easy (we're on vacation right?!) Making that decision made it easier this last month (since the clocks went back really) with not pressurising myself to train in the same way. I still haven't totally figured out snowy dark training runs. (Cold I can handle but the dark nights and icy roads and idiot drivers which I can't control still leaving me sitting at home in the warmth on the couch!!)

Less than a week to go.....I can't wait!!

Seattle

2011-11-26T15:34:00.000-08:00

A couple of weekends back we took a long weekend trip to Seattle. We've been there countless times now, and invariably end up at the same spots but I love it each and every time! The weekend started with a trip from hell being stuck on the Coquihalla for 3.5 hours while it shut down to traffic due to adverse weather conditions (in mid-November - this is why any of our winter guests are strongly advised to fly right on into Kelowna!). So what should have been a 5.5hr journey was 9 hours!

We wanted to put in some tourist time on this trip, rather than just shopping till the credit card reaches it's limit. (But we did spend some time at the mall and I feel awesome because 80% of the Christmas shopping is done - in mid-November!! A very successful day and presents have even been mailed!!)

Pike Place Market on a easy Sunday morning

We drove downtown for a lazy Sunday morning stroll - and lucked out with a car parking spot RIGHT in front of the original Starbucks at Pike Place Market! We weren't even trying, we just got stuck in traffic and someone pulled out right in front of us! It would have been rude to pass up the opportunity!

We also stopped by the EMP museum in the Seattle Centre. For starters it's the most incredibly funky looking building on the outside - reminds me of a giant space age jellybean sitting at the foot of the Seattle Space Needle!! Inside it's all about Music, Sci-Fi and Pop Culture. There were exhibits about Nirvana and Jimi Hendrix (both Pacific Northwest artists) plus an Battlestar Galactica exhibition with costumes, full size ships, interactive exhibits and props. A great basement exhibit about the Lure of Horror films with clips, artifacts and recorded interviews. But probably my favourite bit was the Avatar Exhibition - with tonnes of information about the creation of the film, behind the scenes footage of filming, interviews and props - we watched clips of the film with the final version and several of the in process versions running concurrently so you could really see how it developed into such a polished finished product - an amazing film (And to think at the time I really wasn't bothered about going to watch it!)

So nice to get away! To spend some time together away from work and regular life!

Catching Up...

2011-11-19T15:34:00.000-08:00

I'm just wondering how many posts I've called 'Catching up' this year?!!! Seems to be a constant process! Ho hum!! And only a few days left of November before I'll have another page to do!

Taking photos has become a little easier for me finally since I got my new phone - hooray I'm in the 21st century with the latest iPhone - I'd been waiting a long time for this, making do with a crummy old flip-up phone. It's been fun playing and trying out so many apps with lots of funky filters to try - you may well start noticing a lot of square photos around here - they seem to be back in fashion!! Hilarious really that we have this crazy advanced technology and we're all picking apps that make our photos look like they were back in the 70's!!

After worrying that I wasn't going to acheive my goal of running 600 miles this year (#2) I ended up blowing it out the water! Reached my goal in late October - so I'm (belatedly!) annoucing I've upped the ante and decided to make it to 700miles (belated because I'm only 35 miles of reaching that too now!)

I also finally got that loaf of bread baked (#14) and I've been baking ever since. We now nearly always have dough ready made to go in the fridge - I love that we're eating something so natural (compared to the bought stuff with ingredient lists as long as my arm!)

Here are my layouts for September and October.

Zip-lining the Okanagan!

2011-10-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we took a drive up to a new attraction here in the Okanagan - the Zip Zone! Our friends Julia and Peter had invited us along to check it out. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny but crisp fall day and after the waiver signing we got kitted up into harnesses and got going. Chris and I had both zip-lined before in Whistler, BC but once we set eyes on this set-up it was in a whole different league! Hazy memories of before but this seemed much bigger and longer - we were excited to get going!

After feeling so blase about it, I had a moment of nerves standing at the platform for the first line. We'd all opted not to take our handles, but I think that first one I kept a firm hold of the webbing line anyway! Of course the moment you're going it's the greatest buzz! And the views......stunning!

All 6 lines criss-cross back and forth across Deep Creek Canyon and you can see right down the canyon into the distance and even get a faint glimpse of the creek waters at the bottom (it's tough cause it's only a small creek and the canyon walls and steep and narrow). The canyon was dotted with the yellow fall leaves on the trees and it was so peaceful! (well apart from the zipping!)

Zip Zone apparently has the highest zip lines in Canada (at around 380ft above the canyon floor), and combined there was around 2km of zipping to be had! Some long, some short, some fast and, probably the best....some that you ride upside down!! (well, it wasn't my idea - I was just going with the flow!)

The whole 'experience' was 2 hours of pure fun and adrenalin, and a little hiking between lines thrown in for good measure! Lots of fun, and all polished off with a spicy Caesar and Burger at The Blind Angler pub in Peachland, with fantastic views of Lake Okanagan to catch our breath!

Hot & Smoky Beef Stew

2011-10-14T14:48:00.001-07:00

Our new favourite recipe!

I finally invested in a slow cooker! Amazing really that I'd never had one before so after being inspired by lots of recipes I'd been seeing on Pinterest I finally bought one. And then it sat in the cupboard in a sealed box for another month. But this weekend I finally cracked it open to see what it could do. I was kinda paranoid about having something bubbling away all day whilst I was out so I wanted the first time to at least be when I was home so the long weekend was the perfect opportunity!

After having no clue about cooking times and how much liquid, and how full it should be, and after all those recipes I'd been pinning I did what any normal person would do and made something up! It was based very loosely on this recipe.

Here's my slow cooker version;

Hot and Smoky Beef Stew (Slow Cooker) serves 4

Ingredients

750g Chuck Beef
6 rashers Smoked Bacon
1 Large Red Onion
4 Medium (7-8") Carrots
400g potatos
2 cloves garlic
1/2 Chipotle Pepper (I used the canned type with some of the juices thrown in for good measure!)
1 1/2 tbsp Smoked Paprika powder
1/2 bottle red wine
Crumbled Blue Cheese
Chives

Directions
Chop everything up, throw in the crockpot, pour over the wine and cook on Low for 8 hours. Sprinkle Blue Cheese and Chives on top to serve.

I stirred it up a couple of times later in the cooking. The meat absolutely crumbles apart on touch when it's done! There's a definate kick of flavour here so feel free to reduce the paprika and chipotle accordingly (but try not to omit completely because it does help with the rich smokiness of the dish)

A new PR!!

2011-10-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

Sunday I ran my second 1/2 Marathon.

Saturday I was all jitters and nervous. After having been completely cool, calm and collected about running 13.1m (in one go!) this year it crept up on me and the day before I was full of mixed feelings. Last year I had nothing to prove - I just wanted to complete it. This year I had a benchmark. I had done it before, on the same course and I had a time to beat or fall short of. Since training this year I was consistently slower than last year, I carried around several extra pounds for much of the summer and despite all my best intentions I never really got out there and did any true speedwork as part of my training....so things weren't really looking good. And a sweet debut time of 2:04:39 from last year was a tough one to live up to.

Sunday dawned cloudy, grey and a bit drizzly - so even the conditions were pretty much an exact replica of last year! Temps were around 12 degrees and I've become quite fond of a little drizzly rain to keep me cool :-) I was all in a 'kerfuffle' when it was 1 minute to the start, they'd finished singing the national anthem and I was still waiting for Chris at the porta potty line. We rushed to the start corral where I was right at the back. I'd wanted to be nearer the 2hr pace bunny but that idea was long gone and I hurriedly handed over my bag to Chris and said a teary and panicked goodbye - I just didn't feel ready or prepared.

Of course I was all OK once I got going, and I settled into what I know I can do and love. I admit I completely ignored those final words from Chris to not try and catch up any of the pace bunnies and sped through the crowds and popped off the 2.30 and 2.15 bunnies within the first couple of kms (after all so I should - I didn't want to be behind them!) I knew I was going a fair pace (read too fast) but I felt so great I just wanted to see where it would take me. Note: I always vehemently maintain I do not have a race pace. I have pretty much always ran the same pace regardless of distance or circumstance. But today I was pushing it a little harder for a little longer and it felt OK.

For this race I'd been ~~begrudgingly~~ lovingly lent Chris's iPhone so I could use the Nike+GPS app to monitor my pace. Every km it told me my distance, elapsed time and average pace. I loved having it! and it was truly so helpful to better keep track of how I was going (since I am lousy at trying to gauge a pace otherwise!)

I passed over the timing mat for the 10km distance in 55mins and 20 seconds! A new PR for the 10km for me - I was stoked! And was still feeling awesome!

Really I felt great for most of distance. My pace was slowly slipping each km but since I'd started out at a 5:26 that was hardly surprising! I was beginning to realise that a new PR was possible and the extra push I'd found for the day was carrying me through. That last 4-5 kms got tough but by then it was the home straight, and I knew I could keep it going long enough to do it!

All I needed to see in that finishes tunnel was a time on the clock less that 2:04:39 - that was last years time and I knew I'd crossed the start line some way after the gun went off. The time was showing 2:02 something - I'd done it!

I AM THRILLED! 2:00:17 was my official chip time! (more than 4 minutes quicker than last year!)

But enough about me.....I was also thrilled to cross the finish line and find Chris in the crowds and find out about HIS race. He's only just started training again (ok so I think he's been to the gym 3 times so far!) so entered the 10km - and finished in 46 minutes! Un-flippin'-believable awesome job! Also a relief to hear the calf pain he's been suffering from lately hadn't flared up for the race.

It was a well deserved lardy lunch all round! After heading home to shower and freshen up we went off to a local pub to replenish as many of those calories (and then some!) as we could!!

My Currents

2011-10-07T20:17:00.001-07:00

listening: to the sound of bubbling boiling water and the popping of the cans containing my freshly made salsa, and the heating periodically blowing (set to 22)reading: finished this morning; Run like a Girl by Mina Samuels - slow going but a great inspirational read (by slow I mean it's been on the go for the last 2 months!)
eating: freshly made salsa of course! with corn tortilla chips (pasta rucola for dinner this evening)
drinking: rock creek cider
wearing: jeans and a cosy brushed cotton plaid shirt
feeling: excited about having my name printed on my race bib!
weather: rain, rain go away
needing: my man home so I can get this evening started
enjoying: life
wondering: what the weather will be like for the race this sunday

Catching up...

2011-09-28T22:32:00.000-07:00

Just realised I hadn't posted the last few month in review pages. So here they are!
(found myself with extra photos on some months so I've been adding in a 6x12 page too!)

Hotel Camping...

2011-09-23T23:34:00.000-07:00

...haven't you heard? - it's the latest rage! At least it is when September weather in BC didn't get the memo about our weekend plans!

We had planned a little long weekend trip about a few hours NE of us - to Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks for a spot of camping and hiking - because frankly it's been waaay too long since we did either. We left Saturday night after Chris finished work, and really we could have figured the first night was going to be a bit of a gong show - it was late, and man, have the nights suddenly started getting darker quicker all of a sudden?! We were in Sicamous around 8pm, still about 2 hours away from our planned campsite and still needing to stop for something to eat. So we ate, then drove on another hour and then bundled into a motel room in Revelstoke! And Sunday morning woke up to rain (good thing we weren't in a tent!) - lots of rain and very dark grey skies. Mountains? - what mountains?! - couldn't see anything above 100ft from ground level the clouds were so low!

We decided not to rush on to our planned destination of Rogers Pass straight away and instead stayed warm and cozy in the car and took a drive up the Meadows in the Sky parkway in Mount Revelstoke National Park (on the faint off-chance we'd actually get above the clouds!!) Rain or shine it's still a beautiful 25km winding road up the mountain. At the 25km marker you have to get out your car and make your way up the final kilometre to the summit - it was flippin' cold! We bundled up in winter gear I was really not anticipating using for at least a couple more months and made our way up the trail.

Once at the summit we took a backcountry trail onward to Eva Lake - the promise of a lakeside cabin in which to have our lunch was incredibly appealing. The cabin was a godsend! We cosied up as best we could, cracked open the wine (medicinal of course - we needed warming up from the inside out!) and had our lunch - great hunks of cheesy bread and pasta (Which would have been even more fabulous had I remembered to bring a fork to eat it with!) There were still plenty of beautiful, colourful wild flowers out on the trails and I loved the raindrops on these leaves! 16km later we were back at the car feeling great! (but still very wet!)

We headed east to Rogers Pass and stopped by the visitor centre to grab some trail info and maps and to make our decision about where we would stay that night - the original Plan A campsite was just up the road, and was the trailhead for many of the trails we'd had our eye on for the next day. But in the end Plan Z came into play - a warm motel bed and restaurant fare. We headed yet further east to Golden. And discovered a very fabulous restaurant called The Island where we whiled away our evening and toasted our 'great outdoors weekend adventure' with many glasses of wine!

Monday morning dawned a little groggily and and for me a little hobbled - my hiking boots had given me grief on the previous day's hike and I had a raw and bloody sore on my heel the size of a quarter. 2 great reasons to not aim high with today's hiking - and the 3000ft elevation gain on our proposed hike seemed a little ambitious! Instead we headed out on a short trail to Great Glacier - even the 1000ft gain seemed tough going but we ended up way up the mountain with a few peeks of the glacier every now and then as the clouds shifted and more fabulous views below us where we could see the Trans Canada Highway twisting its way through the mountain pass waaaay below us. In some ways it might seem like because you could see it, it didn't give you the sense of the wilderness but actually for me it seemed to put it in perspective. It was great to see just how high we'd come and actually marvel at the feat of engineering building that road was - ridiculous to think that's the main route across this great country!

Rogers Pass is a National Historic area, and as we hiked back to the car at we passed by the ruins of the Glacier House Hotel and the old rail bed. When they forged their way across Canada building the railway the CPR built a mountain hotel for travellers and brought in Swiss mountain guides to lead visitors on trails and mountain summits. However the Rogers Pass area was savage in winter and was prone to avalanches - after one particularly bad avalanche where 30-odd people perished whilst clearing the rails from a previous slide the CPR conceded to the weather gods and set about constructing a tunnel under the worst area - thus bypassing the hotel. 10 years after the tunnel opened the hotel eventually closed down and was demolished - but today you can still see remains of the garden landscaping and the foundations of the buildings. There's a great little interpretive trail with numerous photos of the hotel in it's heyday and with a squint of the eye you can really imagine what it must have been like 80 years ago. I LOVE old history like this, so I was quite captivated!

Despite at the rain we had a great weekend. This is exactly what we loved doing for so long when we were travelling - getting to a new area, stopping by the visitor centre and picking up maps and trail guides, then spending the evening devouring them to decide where we would hike and explore during our stay in the area. It's so easy when you're settled and living in a real home (as opposed to one on wheels!) to not get out there and explore, but I do miss hiking and I do miss the mountains - proper pointy, jaggedy big mountains - and a combination of the two.... I really, really miss. This weekend had all that I love, and even a spot a rain wasn't going to dampen my spirits.

Mascot Gold Mine at Hedley

2011-08-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we explored a little known gem of a tourist attration here in the interior of BC - Mascot Mine at Hedley, in the gorgeous Similkameen Valley. Never having heard of it 3 days prior to our visit I did a little reading on their website. One glance at the photos and I realised it would be best not to mention the exact position of the mines in advance to Mum!

The drive itself is a day out all of it's own. (Especially when you have a new soft top sports car to drive around in!) On the way there we saw bears right on the side of the road (this is the second or third time we've seen bears on Green Mountain Road!) - Chris and Liz (in the sports car) saw 3 bears briefly, and Mum, Dad and I (in the 'scabby old' rental car trailing some way behind at this point!) were treated to this fella'.

Bear on Green Mountain Road, Penticton

He wasn't the least bit bothered by our presence, had a little look at us, then proceeded into the shrubs to chomp away at his breakfast. Then came back out into the road and eventually wandered off. To give you an idea of how long we were gazing at him - this photo was taken with my camera (obviously). Which was in the trunk of the car. In my bag (or so I thought - so a bit of extra faffing trying to feel for it), then my standard lens wasn't great so I rooted around some more for the zoom lens. Fitted it and hey presto - EVENTUALLY a photo! So cool!

Once in the Similkameen Valley there are an incredible abundance of farm shops along the roads. We're pretty lucky here in the central Okanagan, but this is something else! On our way home we picked up some super sweet juicy apricots, cherries, plums and a cute little spaghetti squash (perfect meal for 2 size!)

Mascot Mine

Hedley itself is a tiny little community these days. Back in it's heyday when the mines were roaring it had a population of 12,000 and 7 hotels! We parked up and way, waaaaaay up in the hills above us (about 3000ft up!) you could just about make out a little dot on the cliffside - that's where we were headed!!

The winding road up the hill (if only it were paved it would make an awesome biking road!!)

The 4.5 hour tour started at the Snaza'ist Discovery Centre in Hedley with a short film, then we took a mini bus up the 13km winding Nickel Plate Forest Road with a suberb guide - she talked just about the whole way - explaining the history, the landscape, the stories, First Nation lore - she was fascinating and so enthusiastic and went a long way to making the tour just so great! We had about a 1/2 km hike from the roads' end down to the top of the mine steps. And then 300-something steps down again to get to the mine entrance. At this point you really got a sense of just how 'on the edge' you were. The mine's position almost defies gravity!

Looking down at the mine (we're already 1/2 way down!)

Once down at the mine site we explored the historic buildings - the cookhouse, bunkhouse, mine offices and machinery rooms. We were guided through the operation and given a great insight into what life was like for the 130 men that worked there at any one time. We heard stories of the parties they held, and free time activities they enjoyed. Life was good there - they were earning $4.75 a day plus free keep and the mine owners ensured excellent working and living conditions for the men - but they certinaly couldn't suffer from vertigo! We walked a little way into the mine tunnel - but at 8 degrees (compared to the balmy 30 degree day we were enjoying) it was a little too icy for me! The blast of cold air as you walked towards the entrance was quite enough - so just a quick jaunt in as far as a dynamite store for us!

On the way back down the hill we stopped for a couple of photo opportunities - and were (yet again) blown away by the fabulous views up and down the valley. I can't beleieve I've lived here over 2 years and never heard of this place! But it was such an excellent day out - well worth it!

Mum and Dad at the overlook

Over the hump!

2011-07-26T22:29:00.000-07:00

Progress on my 2011 Manifesto has been going grand this last month or so. July has been my busiest month so far for ticking things off the list - 6 items in just 3 weeks! And now I have checked off more than half - 21 items out of the 37, plus I still have an additional 6 items that are 'in progress'.I have enjoyed the focus that making this list has given me. I am all too guilty of sitting on the sofa reeling off all the things that we could've, should've done! (but at the time I was obviously preferring to sit right there, and I'm OK with that too for the most part!) But it does remind me of my favourite quote of all time 'You'll never regret the things you do as much as the things you don't' and let's face it, I don't often look back and grumble that I would've rather spent my time chillin' out at home on the sofa!

The 'Growing my own vegetables' item (#10) was 'in progress' for a while. But finally this month I thought it deserved to be checked off! I successfully harvested green onions, leeks, lettuce, arugula and peppers (and so far just one baby cherry tomato - but lots of others are ripening as we speak!) This was the first year I had my own veggie beds so I was excited to get stuck in...it's been a huge learning curve for me. After a month of eating lettuce for nearly every meal I have figured out I will need to pace it out next year! I will also plant LOTS more onions as they've been awesome! I would also like to try some squash next year (and although they were OK, I wouldn't bother with the leeks again - they were very small)

There are a few items I have some concerns about achieving- and they involve exercise! Whilst I'm now only a little behind schedule on the logging 600miles running/walking this year, I am a long way off my pace from last year. I'm wondering if the few extra pounds I'm carrying this year is enough to make that difference, it's that or I'm getting old(er!) The sub 56' 10km could have been overly ambitious, but we'll see. Yoga and a Bike ride....uh, yes no plans for either at the moment - must figure something out!

We did get to see a very funny live comedy show (#27) at a local golf club - the Hacks Comedy tour (With a quartet of comedians off the telly apparently - I'd never heard of them, but then I don't watch TV, so...!). And as well as being great entertainment we got a steal of a deal - $10 per ticket including our first drink! A very cheap and entertaining date!

A couple of weeks back we went camping (#20) A group of us from Chris's work all took off on the motorcycles (About 10 bikes) for a weekend. It was supposed to be a 2-nighter, but I got to 2 days before we were heading off before I realised I had to be at work on the Monday so we just had the one night camping, and a full days riding in Washington! A fun night with half a dozen tents crammed into one camping spot right by the river in Midway, BC! (there were 3 basic choices when pitching your tent - either the street lamp, the snorers or the the slope of the river bank!) - we plumped for the street lamp and got a reasonable nights sleep, before packing up the tent the next morning with Chris's wallet still inside! (it was packed up and strapped to the bike before we realised - doh!)

And this month I also finished reading my second non-fiction book this year (item #29 check!). Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Loved this book. Wishing I'd bought my own copy rather than borrowing from the library. A fascinating account of the Tarahumara tribe of the Copper Canyon of Mexico - plus some interesting debates on the topic of barefoot running and injury free running. As well, just a truly uplifting and inspiring 'story' of ultra-runners (crazy, crazy people who run races upwards of 100m - for fun -like I said - crazy!) and the Mexican tribe they travel to race with.

Some good progress, now it's just those nitty gritty 'why did I publicy state I'd do those things' left to go!

Dirty Feet

2011-07-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I got Dirty Feet! It was my first ever trail race (the Dirty Fee trail race series), being held locally in the gorgeous Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park. Kal' Lake was named by National Geographic as one of the 10 most beautiful lakes in the world, and I certainly couldn't disagree. It's one of our favourite hiking spots with spectacular views and only a few minutes drive from our house (in fact we can also hike straight from our front door up the hill to get an awesome view of Kal Lake - that along with Okanagan Lake, Woods Lake and Duck Lake - hey we live in 'Lake Country' right?!)But back to the race. They had several distances but due to a certain amount of apprehension on my part I decided to start 'easy (?!)' and just signed up for the 5km run. Whilst I'm running regularly these days I run on the road, and (more to the point) I run on pretty flat terrain. The idea of hills and trail was enough to make me run - in the opposite direction! Chris encouraged me by agreeing to take part as well (what a good egg, since he hasn't trained!) So....

Bright and breezy on a decidedly overcast Sunday morning there we were. The start/finish line was right at the beach and there were 200 other daft people hanging around. It was a fabulously organised event with awesome sponsorship from North Face, Probar and Valhalla Sports (a great local outdoor clothing shop which likes to eat pay cheques for breakfast!). The 10k-ers and half marathoners headed off then it was our turn.

We set off a a surprisingly sedate pace (normally in road races everyone sprints away like gazelles!). Being narrow tracks there was little option for over-taking to start but since the hill climb started almost immediately after the first bend in the track it didn't matter, and I was thankful to discover that trail runners don't run all the time....and so the walking up hills bit started. And mostly went on for the next 2km.

Now I am lucky that so far in my limited running 'career' I have had the good fortune to be able to run downhill without pain (is that going to be the kiss of death now? - I AM touching wood?!) So once we got as high as we were going, I was in fine form. In fact I loved the second half of the race! My pace increased significantly and I was flying. There were three other people around me, and from time to time we would overtake each other, then get overtaken - back and forth! (And that little competitiveness in me was rather pleased I finally pipped the one couple to the finish line in the last 1/4km! - but thanks guys for the pacing along the way!)

I was pretty surprised and delighted to finish in just over 36 mins - 13th place! (lucky for some!)

Lettuce Wraps

2011-07-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

We've been enjoying out lettuce harvest direct from the garden over the last few weeks. Normally we're not lettuce-y people - sticking more to spinach and arugula, but I fancied trying my hand at growing a variety of things this summer and heads of lettuce was one of them.

Of course that meant we had to come up with some new ways to enjoy it....

Lettuce Wraps Recipe

1 tsp sesame oil

1-2 green onions, chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1/2" slice of ginger, finely chopped

350g minced chicken breast

1/2 red pepper chopped

100g water chesnuts, chopped

1 stick celery, chopped

1 tbsp soy/tameri sauce

Chopped peanuts

Thai Style Peanut sauce (I used Gluten free San-J brand)

Heat oil in the pan and lightly fry onions, garlic and ginger. Add chicken and cook till browned, constantly bashing to break up as much as possible.
Empty mixture onto plate and set aside.
Add peppers, water chesnuts and celery to pan and lightly fry (heat through rather than cook till soft!), add the soy sauce.
Add back in the chicken and mix, together with the peanut sauce.

Serve into lettuce leaves, top with shredded carrot and chopped peanuts.

Serves 2 (about 6 lettuce wraps)

Have wings will travel

2011-06-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

I'm currently having fun and learning more crafty techniques in Claudine Hellmuth's latest class 'Composition for Collage'. It's surprising how many of the techniques can translate into the scrapbooking and card making world - it think it'll even be useful for home decor! It's just a 4 week class, and even then I manage to fall behind on the homework assignments. But I did manage to make this little pretty!

This is an old photo of me! I was holding a little plastic ball, but I cut around my hands and fingers so I could insert something else (the photo was the starting point - and I liked the idea of changing what was in my hands - the rest of the piece just flowed from that!). So I've been fortunate to travel a lot, I love to travel and travelling brought me to my new home country. So I added a little globe. And tore the page out of an old dictionary with the words globe and gloebtrotter on them (I highlighted that with the blue gems). Then came the wings, and the words, and my favourite go-to craft supply of late - my airmail washi tape! (love this stuff!). I uploaded my first attempt to the class gallery so I could get feedback from my class peers and Claudine herself and tweaked a few things. I thought the end result was kinda cute!

Yay! Up to date!

2011-06-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

Just finished off April & May's month-in-review. That sounds suspiciously like I'm up-to-date!

Ride for Dad

2011-06-14T17:24:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we took our first long ride of the season, all in aid of the fight against Prostate Cancer. Ride for Dad is an annual ride which Chris has taken part in the last couple of years. After a slow start to our riding season and a lovely weather day on the horizon I tagged along for the ride this year aswell!

The atmosphere when you first set off was awesome! Over 300 riders have a police escort through town - it's quite the sight, especially as we headed over the bridge to West Kelowna! It was a fun, tiring day out with friends - good times :-)

Mixed Media Canvas

2011-06-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

Tried out a whole new thing for me on Saturday - Mixed Media Art! Signed myself up for a 3 hours class to make a canvas for the home. And I love the results. Definately something I will be trying again with a few new skills and techniques under my belt.

Used lots of paints, stamps, masks & rub-ons and volia! It was such a fun, freeing style of work - no right or wrong way of doing it.

I think this can qualify as #9 on my list!!

We have progress!

2011-05-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

Finally I bit the bullet and purchased myself some Cathy Zielske digital templates to do my month-in-review scrapbook pages. There was a 30% off sale last week so it made sense. And you know what? It was worth it, since it actually motivated me to get these done. And I'm so happy I did!

So here we have January, February and March...and the enthusiasm to not leave it so long for the upcoming months! (well, hopefully!)

In March & April...

2011-05-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

So as far as my 2011 manifesto goes I may have been slacking. Just a little. There are a number of items on my list that require slow and steady progress and cannot and will not be completed until the end of the year. Frustrating for someone like me who loves lists, more specifially ticking things off lists!

So actually myabe I have been making some progress. The gratitude album is so far still going strong (though I wonder if it will be so interesting or perhaps rather telling that I'm consistently grateful for fridays, long weekends, a day off work, getting home early etc, etc - a rather distinct pattern forming there don't you think?!)

I'm not sure if I've truly signed off on any new recipies though I'm having a hard time defining this to myself. I'm not really one to follow recipies I just make things up with whatever's on hand so you could say I've done this a hundred times over already. But this month's Cedar Planked salmon was a roaring hit (with Asian sesame seasoning) so I might count that one!

Scrapbooking a layout a month....uh...and moving on....

Clocking 600 miles. How very ambitious of me?! Crazy more like. I don't even remember where I got this hair-brained figure from! So in theory it's only 50 miles a month right?! But since the couch and I were BFF for the whole of January and February I'm a little behind. (if only my behind were little too! - consequences of sitting on the couch too long I guess) Things picked up OK in March and I clocked 50+ miles running. April I put the running on the back-burner a little and spent more time with Chris walking and hiking. I truly believe that it's a way better fat burner anyhow and we both need a little help after a cozy Canadian winter (read = inactive & potentially unhealthy!) Again we clocked 50+ miles and enjoying it. And if it's recorded on my Nike + it counts (running or walking I'm not fussy about how I get to 600 anymore!)

But not to finish on a low note. I have accomplished. I have ticked some items off the list. I have taken a candelit bubble bath #15 (thanks to my lovely husband for planning it - actually I think he may have just wanted a quiet hour or so to himself!) And whilst it sounds like a simple pleasure (which of course it is) It is the first bath I've taken since we got the hot-tub. Whenever I want to warm up we just hop in the hot tub these days. But you can't beat some nice scented bubbles and not smelling of chlorine afterwards so I really should do it more often! I also ticked off #19 - Visit a National Park - the Olympic National Park in Washington was where we spent our wedding anniversary in April.

So slow, but sure progress....I'm loving having a list to keep my focus and get me doing the things that normally I just talk about and now I'm actually doing!

Crazy Ptarmigan attacks hapless hikers in Fairmont (and other stories)

2011-05-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

So Easter weekend we traded one beautiful part of BC for another. This one had lots of craggy mountains which I love and miss. Fairmont Hot Springs is in the Columbia Valley wedged between the Purcell mountains to the west and Canadian Rockies to the East. It’s a slither of a valley with lakes, forests and a few natural hot springs thrown in for good measure. (and an inordinate amount of golf courses and hence timeshare units) We stayed in a lovely property right on the golf course with log fireplace, cute mezzanine bedroom and a freezer on steroids (this was important for making ice for the margaritas so you can see why it’s worthy of a mention).

Anyhow. Long Easter weekend, 2 buddies to party with, hiking gear packed and a trusty bottle of tequila (or 2) and we were set for the 6 hour drive from home on the Thursday. After forgetting that there was a time zone change between home and Fairmont we made it to check-in minutes before they went home for the night and promptly settled in. Since Krystina and Amos were sleeping on a sofa bed we had to get them just a little tipsy so they wouldn’t complain too much! And so our Easter weekend began.

For the next 3 days we spent a great time chilling out, sleeping in, hiking, soaking in the hot springs, BBQing and maybe raising a glass to our luck and fortune on this fair Easter weekend. The weather was A-MA-ZING! We hiked a wonderful 10km along the shores of frozen Alces & Whiteswan lakes on the Friday and another hike directly up a ski hill to the most spectacular lookout on Saturday. It was pretty hard going on the way up but thanks to a couple of emergency blankets found in Amos’ pack it was a pretty swift and amusing ride back down! Who says you need a toboggan to toboggan??! Pah!

It was here we encountered the bad-assed Ptarmigan. Seemingly sweet and cute at first glance it came over to say hello and didn’t seem particularly scared of 4 humans taking photos. It even seemed charming when it started following us along the trail a little. But then the demon set in and no matter how quickly we walked it followed with a look in it’s eyes that said it wanted blood, more specifically from the ankle region of Amos’ leg….I admit we might have started running in terror at one point. It took a full kilometer to shake the darn thing off and we spent the rest of the hike down the hill glancing over our shoulders in fear.

Thanks to M&D for arranging our accommodation, Krystina and Amos for the great company and the Honey Badger for a weekend full of laughs (unfortunately it’s certainly a ‘had to be there’ moment but feel free to watch this you tube video. You will probably need to be on at least your sixth margarita and have a severe case of the giggles to appreciate this, but then….the honey badger don’t care….and so neither will I!)

Vancouver Sun Run

2011-04-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend we spent in Vancouver. I had foolishly signed both Chris and I up for the 2011 Vancouver Sun Run 10km race. This was back in mid-winter when running a spring 10km seemed like a great idea and I was sure I’d be back into the swing of things in terms of training after my winter hibernation. Oh, how wrong can a girl be?!My spring training has been slow in getting started it must be said. I have the willing, just lacking in the motivation and get-up-and-go to actually go. I did clock 50 miles in March which I grant you is not too shabby, and ran 4 days a week. However my pace is much slower than when I started running last year and I’ve struggled with any kind of distance – sticking mostly to 5-7 km runs.

However none of that changed the fact both Chris and I had entry to the second largest timed road race in the world (a neat fact, but so far I’ve been unable to find out what the largest is). A weekend in a hotel in the city did add a little sugar coating to the ordeal so off we went.Vancouver put on its bestest, brightest, sunniest face to welcome us, so things really were looking better and better. We collected our race bibs, timing chips and tees and then spent an awesome afternoon on Saturday strolling along the seawall, along Robson Street and around the city. The blossom was out, the sun was shining, the mountains still had a lovely sprinkling of snow on the tops and life was good. We were in high spirits.But then, it was getting close to dinner time. And what better way to relax than to have a drink before dinner? Or two, oh go on have another, well just one more before we move for dinner, a drink with your dinner sir? – oh go on then! And before we knew it we were stumbling back to our hotel for – hic - a restless nights sleep – hic. burp…

Ah joy. Chris had sportingly agreed to walk like a snail and plod along with me for this race. His last 10km was in Spring 2006 so he wasn’t exactly planning a PR and I loved the idea I finally had a running partner. However he’s had a few issues with a tight hamstring lately so between the hangover and the concern for his hamstring we were getting close to agreeing just to have a nice ‘Sunday morning stroll in the city’ and just walk the course. I also had no expectations about beating my ’06 Sun Run time but even so, come 9am I was game for a little light jogging!
Seriously I love this event. 50,000 people getting out there, running, some in fancy dress, all in high spirits does that to you! And I am so glad to have been a part of it. We did not set any records. But I had a blast. I didn’t have to stop and walk. The previous night’s dinner did not make an appearance. The sun DID! And we ran along to the sounds of everything from rock n’roll to traditional native drummers.
The Vancouver Sun Run rocks! And I just did my longest run since November last year!

Anniversary weekend in Washington

2011-04-10T22:18:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend celebrating our ninth wedding anniversary. Not exactly a new country this year but to open up the game a little we’ve decided to split the provinces and states of Canada & the US respectively – so it WAS a new state!- Washington. Having already enjoyed a week away in the sun this year we opted for something a little chillier and wetter – the Olympic Peninsula. We visited for a few days back in October 2005 so knew what to expect (rain perhaps?!) especially since the accommodation I was booking was situated in a temperate rainforest.

The weekend started early for us and we got to Bellingham, WA on Friday in time for a pint at the Chuckanut Brewpub right down by the waterfront in old downtown Bellingham – such a great little find with some seriously tempting food – we resisted but did leave with a 64oz Growler full of their finest Red Ale ready for the rest of the weekend! Next morning we headed south and headed for Quinault, right on the edge of the Olympic National Park. We stayed at the wonderful historic Lake Quinault Lodge. We treated ourselves to one of their fireplace rooms overlooking the lake and were not disappointed. Everything about the place was perfect and we loved every minute of our stay! We spent plenty of time sitting by the fire, drinking and reading and glancing up every so often to gaze at the view and pinch ourselves to remind us how perfect it all was. We were so wonderfully lazy that both nights we ended up eating at the Lodge restaurant – once visited by FD Roosevelt himself and hence now called the Roosevelt Room, again with views of the lake and some early season hummingbirds feeding right outside the windows. We donned our waterproofs and boots for a hike through the rainforest and along the lake. (Definately a worthy recipient of this award - Best place to Kiss!! - and perfect for an anniversary getaway!)

Monday we said goodbye to Quinault and headed north (the only road encircling the Olympic NP). We passed windswept beaches full of driftwood (and rain), passed through Forks (home of Twilight, Vampires and all that jazz – no peculiar sightings today – perhaps the incessant rain kept them at home for the day!) and Port Angeles. We ended up in Port Townsend for the evening. PT is a charming historic port town with some beautiful old Victorian buildings – in fact most the district is designated a national Historic Landmark.Our final day we caught the ferry from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island and then north to Canada. We lucked out a little when I noticed that the annual Skagit Valley tulip festival takes place during the month of April. Still a little early for the tulips the daffodils were in full bloom and we took a detour to pass through field upon field of bright yellow blooms – so pretty.

It really was such a fabulous weekend. And thank you to my wonderful husband of nine years for giving me the excuse for another mini-vacation!

In February...

2011-03-04T11:16:00.000-08:00

I started a new job. It's part time and is working out perfectly I think. It's great to have a stability of a 'regular' job and I still have some time to work freelance at a couple of other places. It was an interesting couple of weeks figuring out a routine and how it all fits into place but that has passed and of course I have a house-husband at home doing all the cooking & cleaning which made it a lot easier. It's been quite the novelty to have Chris at home and me be the one heading off to work in the mornings!

Of course February we got the new country item (#4) ticked off straight off with our vacation to Jamaica! We also rented a boat (#13) – well, sea kayaks actually. We both took a classic x-country ski lesson too (#6) Don't think I've spent so long on my backside! Seriously. I do not pretend to be anything of a skier really but I can get by OK on a downhill blue run but this was a whole new ball game. I didn't realise it was going to be so tricky to balance on little 2 inch wide sticks - silly me! We spent most of the lesson doing drills which was the difficult stuff but the last 15 mins we scooted round one of trails and once we got into a rythem it was OK. Realistically I don't suppose we'll get another chance to get out this season but I would like to spend some more time doing this - and such a bargain for our lesson - $40 for a 1 hour lesson including trail passes and rentals - an awesome deal for people 'first time out' up at a nearby x-country club. Bagged another restaurant first this weekend In Seattle when Chris and I checked out a Rainforest Café for the first time. I’d seen these places before but we’d never eaten there – what fun?! We sat by the gorilla family who kept us entertained during our meal but mostly I loved the funky animal legs bar stools! (and the 21oz margaritas!)

I am currently failing in the scrapbook-a-page-a-month goal, although I think my point was to have a layout a month to look back on even if I didn’t actually make it each month – and I have prepped the photos and journaling for January so it’s not all bad! I also want to put together a little mini album documenting my progress on the manifesto and also a vacation mini album for Jamaica (though we don't have too many photos so it might be a mini mini!) Nothing like adding to the 'to do' list rather than crossing things off eh?!

My running is also not going well. I've probably logged about 20 miles so far this year. I took a break over the winter. I felt the dark nights, icy sidewalks and cold were not conducive to me getting out there, and back in December after feeling guilty about not going all the time I finally gave myself a break and 'retired' for the winter without that guilt. I had intended to cross train instead but that didn't happen. I'm OK with all that. But now the sidewalks are clear again so I'm feeling the urge again, just lacking the motivation! I have signed both Chris and I up for the Vancouver Sun Run 10km in mid April so we do have something to work towards. I really need to listen to my own running mantra....if you went when you first thought about it, you'd be back by now!' It's so true and I'd probably have logged half the miles by now! ;-)

January progress

2011-02-28T11:12:00.000-08:00

Just got back from a weekend down in Seattle. I was excited to catch up with Tess – my bff from Cyprus days. It’s been over 7 years since I left the island but we’ve been so lucky over the years to catch up from time to time. Funnily enough though, each of those 3 times has been a meeting in a country that neither of us live in! So great to have dinner with her, and her daughter & son-in-law on Friday night and then a bonus meeting in the mall the next day for lunch. Loved seeing you Tess.xx

So already it’s the end of February eh?! My 2011 manifesto has been moving nicely along. January I ‘ticked’ off 5 items;

We went outdoor ice-skating (#21) up at Big White ski resort.
We painted a wall (#3) in our bedroom which is just the first step in a bit of a re-vamp/personalization from the orignal and unimaginative natural tan the house was painted in - we used the Behr 'Wine Frost' - I think it looks great, though way more purple in real life than I was expecting!
I finally made a piece of wall art (#7) that’s been on my mind to do for the longest time. I printed the phrase 'home is where the heart is' repeated over for the background then cut an outline shape of BC with my Silhouette machine and mounted it with foam squares. Then I cut out a little heart and placed it approx where our home town is with some more foam sqaures. It was so simple to do and I'm really pleased with how it turned out; we now have it hung in our entranceway.
I tweaked the design of my business cards (#18) just a little more and finally sent them off to the printers. Loved how they turned out and upon delivery I felt justified in ticking that one off my list too!
And finally for January we tried out a new restaurant (#26). I knew this was going to be a pretty easy item on the list – we love eating out, but I had in mind a few places in town I wanted to try out. Mimi’s Italian is just one of them! (I can see us succeeding in this task a few times over during the course of the year!)

I also did a great job of keeping up with a gratitude journal for the fist month and I tried and tested 3 new recipes already so good progress towards a couple of the annual goals.

Jamaica mon!

2011-02-16T22:10:00.000-08:00

Got back last weekend from our awesome week in Jamaica. It really felt like a really welcome break for us, escaping the winter weather for a glorious week of sunshine, rum, over-eating, sunburn, rum, warm waters.....ah...bliss! Did I mention the rum?!

We stayed about 35km out of Montego Bay on the north shore of the island. In a large *all-inclusive* resort. There I said it. Yes, all-inclusive. Really not my thing - the whole package holiday thing, but this time the stars really were aligning themselves to point us in this direction. We've had an interesting couple of months over this winter - waaay too many discussions at home revolving around work (or lack of it) and so many uncertainties to face up to. We wanted an zero effort, lazy holiday - I didn't even bother buying a guidebook! (ok so I DID borrow one from the library!) We had no aspirations to explore and travel around much like we would normally and there was also an element of 'we're too old for this shit' when it comes to backpacking and living out of scuzzball cheap rooms. Don't get me wrong - the classic scuzzball room, aka Casa Wretched (Zihautanejo, Mexico) and Turdapec (also Mexico and seriously I mentally blocked it's real name) and the various others served us well at the time. But for this vacation I wanted some indulgent 5 star luxury and ain't afraid to admit it!

Oh yeah baby! I did not know that rum could be served in so many guises. It seemed a trifle boring to order a 'rum & coke' when it could be a punch, a daiquiri, a Bob Marley, pina colada, mojito and coutless others. If one didn't work, move onto the next! Same with restaurants. We had 10 to choose from. Pools - there were 5 of those and 3 different beaches too! Our 1 bed suite had 2 TV's (which I think only got turned on once - I found Glee!! - couldn't miss Glee!). As large hotels go I can't complain and we certainly got our 'luxury'.

We couldn't give up our independace entirely though. We rented a car for the week so we could head off on our own to explore a couple of spots. We'd already looked into a couple of the popular tours and price-wise the car was as cheap with the added bonus of being able to stop as and when. Perfect!

We followed the masses to Dunnes River Falls on one day. The thing is with these 'tacky tourist traps' - they got that way for a reason right? It's still a beatiful place. Lush green forest all around and the most beautiful cascading falls that just go on and on until they spill out into the warm Carribbean sea. I really didn't think it was all that busy either. We climbed the falls ourselves and on several occasions we found ourselves the only ones in sight so we still had the sense of 'just us'. These days they scrape the rocks to prevent them from getting too slippy. We still found a couple of spots that they'd missed though - heck it would be lethal otherwise! You have to wonder when Jamaica will get up to speed with the health and safety regulations and ban climbing of the falls altogther!

We also visited the Appleton Rum Estate who have been distilling rum since the 1700's. What was great about the visit there though was the 3 hour drive to get there - through the hills that they call cockpit country. There were no grand vistas (so no photos to share) as the forests were just so dense with little tiny villages appearing out of nowhere and crumbling roads and their own special breed of kamikaze minibus drivers (we may also have got slightly lost due to the lack of road signs)
The Rum estate itself had a great tour, followed by a complimentary unlimited rum tasting session from their 13 different brands (it was about now that the coin was tossed as to who was driving home!)

The car also came in handy for a couple of sunset sessions on the far west of the island in Negril. We found a great cliffside pub with Jamaican Jerk chicken to die for (and maybe a rum cocktail or two to wash it down with) A great place to people watch at dusk and a funky little town to boot (if we were to go back to Jamaica it would be Negril we would head for!)

We also spent a morning diving. The water was gloriously warm and calm, we had an awesome dive master and had an enormous dive boat to just 3 of us! Relaxed and so, so enjoyable for me.

(Chris getting a beachside mini massage!)

Overall we had an awesome week - one of those weeks that you're just so enormously grateful for. It was everything we wanted this time and I've come home truly refreshed. I love Jamaica and would happily go back. The food, the people, the dancing, the rum....oh my!

I have to say though. Fun as it was all-inclusives are a frightening breed. Large, character-less, bland and terribly, terribly wasteful. And FULL of loud drunken people! (and for once they weren't even English!!) I enjoyed myself for a week this time but I still love our usual independent way of travelling - if we go back to that though I just need to convince Chris to take me to classier joints where I get a toilet seat and I'm only sharing my bed with him (and not an army of ants!)

White Rabbit Snowshoe Race

2011-01-29T21:27:00.001-08:00

Today Chris and I took part in our first snowshoe race at Crystal Mountain resort up in West Kelowna. We signed up for the 5km option (after seeing that the first half of the 10km route was all uphill!). Even our 5km route wasn't all plain sailing I have to say. We took the chairlift to the top of the mountain (So far, so good though it was helluva cold!) and gradually wound our way back down the mountain from there (with a little ravine crossing giving us a cheeky slog uphill in the middle somewhere) I haven't felt burn like this. Perhaps I don't run so hard, or have such cold air whipping through my lungs or even this nice lil' cold I have going on at the moment but man it was hard!! We managed a sprint away from the start line (there were TV cameras so we had to make the effort right?!) and then it was mostly a brisk walk. I have probably wrecked Chris's knees for life by making him run down a couple of downhill sections (the only bits I could manage but probably his last choice for a spot of jogging!) And of course the obligatory sprint to the finish line just over an hour after setting off!

It was a small race, but fantastically organised and everyone was so friendly. The sponsors outdid themselves too. After all the top placed winners picked prizes from an enormous pile from top-of-the-line snowshoes, bags, poles, gaitors and outdoor clothing to vouchers for house-cleaning, Curves gym and ski lift tickets all the other finishers got drawn randomly to pick up prizes too. We both won something! I picked a starlit snowshoe tour with fondue dinner for 2, and Chris scooped a $50 voucher for a local Italian restaurant. Incredible and so generous - way more than we paid for the entry fees and a fantastic (if exhausting!) way to start off our weekend!

2011 Manifesto of my life

2011-01-06T17:10:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

I'm not in the habit of making resolutions, nor am I into choosing 'One Little Word' but I did want to do 'something' and so I made a list. Things I want to do, learn, make and accomplish during this year. This year I will be 37 and so I have got my list of 37 things to do in my 37th year. And so, here it is. Public. Just so you all can hold me to it!

Make chocolate chip cookies from scratch
Log 600 miles running
Paint a wall
Visit a new country
Blog at least once a month
Take a ski lesson
Make wall art (and actually display it!)
Go on a picnic
Learn something new
Grow vegetables
Play mini golf
Go for a bike ride (the type with pedals and hard graft!)
Rent a boat
Bake a loaf of bread
Relax in a candlelit bubble-bath
Go to a hockey game
Take a yoga class
Make business cards
Visit a national park
Go camping
Ice-skate outside
Give 3 handmade gifts
Sew something
Stay in Harvey
Make gazpacho
Try a new restaurant
Go to a live comedy show
Run a sub 56' 10km
Read 2 non-fiction books
Spray paint something
Feed the ducks
Do a scrapbook page every month (month-in-review)
Make money from my new business venture
Give to charity
Listen to live music
Cook and master 12 new recipes
Complete a Gratitude journal

And there it is. And as far as #5 goes - I guess I'll see you back here next month for a progress report!

Halloween Hanging

2010-10-19T12:50:00.001-07:00

I love Halloween (although with no kids we don't get terribly involved with it - apart from the candy of course!) I did make this hanging thing though. It started with some Teresa Collins paper I bought at Inspiration Unlimited that was on sale for just 25 cents a sheet - and for this hanging I only used the 1 sheet. The paper was pre-printed with all the circle accents so all I had to do was punch them out and ink round the edges. As for the pumpkins, bats and spiders I cut them using my Silhouette machine. Once everything was cut out and ready to go I simply stuck the shapes back to back on some green/white twist twine and screwed the tiniest of hooks in the ceiling to hang it. Love it! (and I might have to do a variation of the same thing for all the seasons now I have a hook in my ceiling!)

My 1/2 Marathon debut!

2010-10-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

Still on a high that I did it! And in a time I was super pleased with. Back when I first thought about it I figured that I just 'wanted to finish it', then 2.5hours would be acceptable. During training I figured a 10 min/mile pace was reasonable so a time of 2hrs 11mins would be pretty sweet. My SECRET hope was that I would actually run in my 10km race average pace of past which was a 6min/km which would give my a finish time of 2hrs 6 mins. So Whoopee!! Beat that! Seriously thrilled with my first 1/2 Marathon time. And yes, I fully intend to say 'first'. Honestly I loved it, and yes - I see more 1/2 Marathons in my future.

Things I remember.....

Saying to Chris in the car on the way downtown that I didn't want it to start off raining - I didn't care if it started raining once we'd set off but not for the start
As we turned the corner into City Park we heard the gun go off for the full marathon - meaning it was 1/2 hour till my start
In 30 minutes I had to go pee twice and whilst waiting in the (mammoth) queue the second time it started POURING
that running in the rain is sweet......it means that no-one knows that your nose is running and you're dribbling :-)

I felt strong and steady throughout. The course was super flat which makes it easy to pace but I didn't overly push it since I wasn't sure what to expect - just got into my rhythm and went. Chris kept popping up in various spots to cheer me on and take photos :-) Never quite sure where it was going to be but kept me eager to see him. Miles 5-7 were along the lakeshore and it reminds me how blessed and happy I am to be living in such a beautiful place (rain and all!) At around mile 5.5 Chris's boss shouted out and cheered me on - quite unexpected! At mile 6 we passed the turning in for the finish of the 10km (and to think that's what I'd originally signed up to do!). The second half I zoned out a bit. My Nike+ device stuttered then stopped recording my time and distance so I had to reset (disappointing as I no longer had a total distance or pace being tracked for posterity) My right knee was complaining at me by mile 10 (in a subtle way which I was happy to mostly ignore). I saw Chris one final time at around mile 11 and then I knew it was the final stretch to the finish line. A short blast back along the beach to turn in for the finish. I knew the clock time was somewhere in the 2hr 6mins (knowing that I could knock a bit off for my actual chipped time). I even managed a sprint to the line! Though when the guy just handed me my finishers medal rather than placing it over my head it was probably a good thing as I was quite likely to throw up over him (always get a really nauseous feeling after even just a short sprint!). Even though I'd looked up to see the time I'd read it without 'reading' it so wasn't exactly sure what I'd ended on - just knew it was 2hrs 6mins-something.

End stats;
Clock time - 2.06.42
Chip time - 2.04.39 which gave me an average pace of 5:55/km

Happy with that!

(and for the record, no this does not mean a full marathon is next. I seriously admire the committment and training required for that. Just training for the 1/2 gave me an insight into that much...but I will never say never.....;-)

Smiley Faces!

2010-10-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

Finally Saturday was the day! After months of waiting we got the call first thing in the morning to say the weather was co-operating! And that was the understatement - it was a beautiful autumn morning - we really couldn't have asked for any better! The Hot Air Balloon trip with Okanagan Ballooning was a gift from my Mum & Dad for Christmas so a somewhat belated celebration! But oh so worth the wait!

You couldn't help but be happy when you look up and see the great big smiley face!!

I expected it to have been cold and we were ready to wrap up to the elements but there's no chance of that with a bloomin' great furnace blasting over your head. I'm sure I could smell singed hair! But as John the balloon pilot reminded us - fire is our friend!

I also think I imagined a less than dignified bouncy landing. As if....we just plopped down right next to the Air Traffic Control Tower at the airport - much to the excitement of the traffic controllers and us both! (and after we were all unloaded we got a special visit up to the top of the tower for a little looksie!)

And polished off the outing with a glass of local bubbly, pastries and fresh strawberries.

Thank you M&D - a fabulous gift we thoroughly enjoyed!

Camping in our backyard!

2010-08-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

Well almost. Friday night we legged it up the hill at the back of the house - 'Spion Kop', for a spot of overnight camping - just for fun! At around 2880 feet it's about 1000ft up from where we live and quite a tough slog to get there! Took us around an hour of 2 steps forward, 1 big slide back down in the very dusty, loose paths. For a moment there I was forgetting that it was supposed to be fun!

Unfortunately after a delay in escaping from work (typical Friday thing eh?!) We didn't quite make it in time for sunset proper (haven't the nights started getting earlier so much quicker this last couple of weeks?) but we still caught the wonderful warm dusky light. This was the view at the top just as we got there.

And here is the reward; Cuba Libres and total peace and tranquility. Also though not quite a full moon it was so bright we had shadows - fabulous!

And this campsite sucks - no?!

We like this place we call home. Hiking and camping from the front door - is good :-)

A month of food

2010-08-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

I think maybe we eat out more often than we gave ourselves credit for - oopps. A month of evening meal journalling certainly opened a few eyes around here. In our defence we spent several weekends away (and enjoyed our beloved and much missed Olive Garden experience on an overnighter in Spokane!). Another weekend we biked so hard and so far that we arrived in town in Kaslo, BC & Grand Coulee, WA after all the restaurants and closed or stopped serving food so had 2 nights in a row subsisting on bags of potato chips and Bloody Mary's (it's spicy, cold tomato soup right - so it's kinda food!)

But whatever our excuses here is July in Food, in all it's glory...

(not all meals shown....you probably didn't need to see a bag of Miss Vickies chips right?!)

It's always great to try out a new recipie and find out it was great and it's gonna be a keeper. It doesn't happen too often (we love our regular favs) but this month I added a new dish to the list - Hummus Crusted Halibut. It was so simple too - and here's my first ever recipe share on this blog;

Hummus Crusted Halibut
- Halibut fillets
- Hummus (we used a spicy variety for some added kick!)
- Coarse breadcrumbs (I always chop up those last couple of grotty slices and crusts left in the bag of sliced bread and pop them in the freezer in a ziplock so I always have breadcrumbs on hand)
- Freshly chopped herbs (Whatever takes your fancy - I plucked some oregano and parsley from my herb planter this time)
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper

Directions;
Spread the hummus onto the fillets of fish, Mix the herbs and S&P with the breadcrumbs then pat into the hummus paste, then drizzle with olive oil. I loosely wrapped them in foil and baked on the BBQ at around 375-400 degrees. When the fish is nearly cooked open up the foil so the breadcrumbs can crisp up a bit! Great with a salad or roasted veg (that's what we had this particular time)

Digital scrap page designed using papers & elements from 'Sisters at heart' digi kit by Tami Miller

The road ahead...(about 13.1miles ahead to be precise)

2010-08-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

So today I did it. Signed my life away....that 10km race I signed up for a couple of months back just on a whim (and then proceeded to do nothing about for at least a month after) Remember?! Well today in the space of a 2 minute phone call that 10km race grew to 21km - gulp - uh-oh!!

I am officially registered for the Okanagan 1/2 marathon on the 10th October. My FIRST 1/2 Marathon. And joking aside I'm excited too! I can't wait to put myself through a challenge I never thought I'd be prepared to do and I *think* I'll be just fine (just don't ask me how I'm feeling the week running up to the event because I AM sure of one thing - I WILL be a quivering, nervous wreck full of self-doubt that particular week!)

And I owe it almost entirely to this little device. The best $25 I've spent in a long time. The Nike+ sensor. Slip it in a pouch on your shoe, sync it with your iTouch/Phone and off you go - music on the go, a running log and personal trainer all rolled into one! It's awesome! And you've gotta smile when Paula Radcliffe gives you a pat on the back for your longest run to date or Lance Armstrong congratulates you for your new PB time! (yes, yes - little things please little minds!). Since getting the device at the end of June I've logged over 115miles! And I'm LOVING it!

I admit I've been chewing over the 1/2 marathon a few weeks. Once I got stuck back into a running routine of 3-4 times a week the 10km suddenly didn't seem so much of a challenge. I've done maybe 8 or 9 10km races in my humble running career (even if the most recent was 4 years ago with next to no aerobic activity in the last year at least) but I was up to distance and pace within the first 2 weeks! Having always previously aimed to simply complete I used to be stuck in a rut in terms of pace and never really improved. This time round it felt different. I wanted to be better, faster. I was running longer distances (so as to make the 10km seem easier on the day!) but I realised I could push myself and go further still - to the next level entirely!!

I started reading up on all sorts of 1/2 marathon training plans and starting pushing the distances of my runs (All the while keeping the idea to myself). I eventually mentioned it to Chris a week or two ago but today I actually made the switch with the registration.

Things felt different. I originally started running again 1) because I knew I had to do some exercise because let's face it - I'm of an age that I have to make the effort to prevent bingo wings and muffin tops and 2) When I kept moaning about the increasing figures on the scales I got bored of Chris telling me to quit moaning and to do something about it (he had a point)

But now the figures on the scale don't matter at all (just as well because they seriously haven't shifted in 6 weeks - go figure). I don't feel like I'm running because I need to or have to - I'm doing it cause I WANT to (you know when you were a kid and you took exercise for granted - you did it just because it was fun, not with the ulterior motive of health/fitness/weight control? - well that's how it feels right now) Honestly I'm scared as heck that this is a fad and I'll burn out or get bored - but for now I'm riding the wave!

And last weekend I ran my first 10 miler - my first double digit run! And I could have auditioned for the role of the Cheshire Cat right there and then (more so when Lance started gobbing off in my ear!!) - Go me!!

10 Things today

2010-08-04T14:41:00.001-07:00

Have just eaten a whole punnet of fresh raspberries that I bought from this mornings farmers market in about 10 minutes flat (thank goodness Chris doesn't like them to have wanted to share)
He would, however have wanted to share the Spicy Samosa that I also picked up and prompty scoffed for lunch
Still smokey out there - darn forest fires. A sure sign of summer in the Okanagan sadly
Only 50 days till I fly to Vegas for Inspiration Unlimited and get some creating time with great friends
Considering cancelling the subscription to Zip.ca - our DVD rental plan. I mean we only subscribe to 2 rentals per month and we still don't watch them! We just don't watch TV! And I love being able to say that!
Need to re-do my toe nail polish - love having painted nails for summer. Might have to buy some orange polish to match my fav summer blouse (OK so it's more orangey coral rather than the fruit! - because that would just be plain scary)
Wants to use the BBQ more. But then you can't bbq salad can you, and we're eating a lot of salad at the moment
Is loving running at the moment. So far so good. But the whole point of this exercise marlarky was to loose a few pounds, and I think the scales must be broken...
Is fascinated that they use helicoptors to fly low over the fruit trees to dry them out after a summer downpour
Wonders should I be concerned that when I recall the first 10 things on my mind right now 3 of them concern food (4 if you count the fruit on the trees)...

Happy Wednesday :-)

The fun we had at City Chase Kelowna

2010-06-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

Oh boy - WHAT A DAY!! I seriously can't remember the last time I had this much fun, with this much adrenalin pumping for this long and got this good of a workout all in the name of the game!! Saturday was City Chase Kelowna. City Chase is actually a global event - dubbed 'the largest urban adventure series'. Think a city-wide version of The Amazing Race - somewhere crossed between a scavenger hunt and obstacle course. And this was pretty much the most information we had going into the event ourselves! So really we weren't sure what we were letting ourselves in for, but it sounded like fun!

All around the city are ChasePoints. In the Kelowna event there were 17 points - the winning team of 2 is the one to collect 10 points and cross the line first - simple eh?! The course was open for 6 hours. As the air horn blew at 10am our first direction was where to go and collect the clue sheet from - on the top floor of the nearby multi-storey parkade of course!! From there we had to decipher the clues to figure out the location and at the same time were given a hint of just what the challenge could be; Our first destination was Gyro Beach - a quick bus journey away (oh and the rules meant only foot or public transit could be used - we got complimentary day trip transit passes). The clue was; ENOAC: Abbreviate this orientation-stabling device, add beach and get ready to get bass ackwards! - See simple!! On our way there we kinda stumbled our way into our first 2 chasepoints - having to hold a crocodile for 20 seconds - which was very cool!! And the other we had a choice of finding some doggie-doo or eating dog food - we went with the dog food option (though I think it may have been re-fried beans - still made you gag though!)
From there Kelowna transit slowed our progress with a 1/2 hour wait before catching a ride to the local casino to play DJ Bingo - great fun actually - guess the tune - match it up with the number on the jukebox sheet and mark off on your bingo sheet. We got bingo pretty quick but with the unfortunate reward of one of us having to eat a live worm to complete the Chasepoint (and this is why I partnered with my game-on husband - thank you dear!) Some serious marching/jogging along to the local beauty college to complete a french braid on a model - together - one hand each tied behind our backs!! Interesting - and trust me - don't ever ask either of us to do ANYTHING to your hair!! (I think the hair stylist took pity on us to give us our point and letting us move on!)

We got four more points all pretty close together. First stop the firehall to do a few fireman training drills, then put up a tent at Valhalla Pure Outfitters and find a member of the public to sit in the tent with us and sing campfire songs for 30 seconds (we smoked the tent putting-up and we found a willing and game volunteer to help us out!), Chris climbed a wall blindfolded with me directing him at The Crux Climbing centre (ok really he just scrambled and felt his way up quicker than I could get the words out! - It helped having done it before I'm sure we got that pretty quick too!) Finally in this particular vicinity a stop at one of the major series sponsors Mitsubishi Motors to do a 4 wheel change. Man - why do Wal-mart want my car for 1 hour when they do this job?! Just get me and Chris to do the job and you'll be on your way in less than 10 minutes! (though my little finger wouldn't appreciate the abuse as we clocked our first mini injury of the day after I tried putting the wheel on single-handedly - woman - step away from the grease-monkey jobs!)
Back into downtown for our final Chasepoint and the finish line. And we chose our longest challenge of the day to end on (you don't know what you're gonna get till you get there so we didn't know this beforehand). A mini scavenger hunt in City Park. We were each given a loaner Blackberry phone and had to communicate with each other using the messenger service. Chris stayed at the Chasepoint whilst I did an Anneka Rice all over City Park and the nearby beach & marina (OK so maybe only our Brit friends might know who the hell Anneka Rice was - the rest of you can google it - I highly recommend finding some Youtube videos - my oh my - it takes me back - hilarious show was Treasure Hunt!!) anyway, I digress...after nearly 40 minutes we had our 10 Chasepoints in hand and made our way back to the finish line.

We finished a respectable 37th out of 90 teams and crossed the finish line at 4hr54mins. Every single minute was a blast! The top placed team crossed the line at an even 3 hours - even they admitted they'd got lucky with the transit on the day but even so - they were fast! Good for them - the top placed teams won a variety of prizes (Blackberry phones, expenses paid trip to compete in the Vancouver event with the chance to represent Canada in the world champs, Subway gift cards, Barefoot Bubbly wines, Sirius Radios etc.) But for most of us - it was just the fun of competing and completing the course.
I had intended to write all this last night but flippin' heck I was pretty spent - physically and mentally! What an awesome day.

Finally I would like to thank everyone who generously sponsored us online in aid of the charity Right to Play. We raised $180 and had an early advantage towards our first Chasepoint. So again thank you all - you know who you are!

This was the first year City Chase has come to Kelowna - so I very much hope it'll be back next year - I will be in line to sign up first!! Go and check out the global site and find a City Chase global event near you!

Where did the last 3 weeks go..?

2010-06-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

I'm only just settling back into a 'normal' routine after 3 weeks of visitors - not that I'm complaning. It's been wonderful spending time with visiting family. At the end of May we actually had 5 visitors - my brother from Wales, Uncle & Aunt from SoCal and my parents from England. Thankfully that was just the long weekend - with some bad influences in the house we had a couple of dawn bedtimes and the liquor store wouldn't take the large quantities of empties back in one go...(but seriously guys - it was great to have you, once I've finished drying myself out I'll be ready for another sess!) Unfortunately for all of them the Okanagan wasn't displaying itself in it's best sunlight - the weather this last month has been lousy. On the upside winery tasting rooms are pretty much all indoors...

(The big green monster is 'Ogopogpo' - a Loch Ness monster type who lives in a cave under an island in the middle of Lake Okanagan....apparently! And if you see the real deal there is a considerable reward - for now though we just pose our visitors next to the fibre-glass version in downtown Kelowna!)

We've been busy round the house. Chris finally got the help and motivation from my Dad to build a new workbench in his man-cave - aka the garage (now I really will never see him!). I got a new mini display shelf in my craft room and I've been growing veggies and herbs with some success (well - so far so good!) I decided not to go the whole hog this year with a veggie garden so I've got a little collection of pots out on the deck, and see how I get on.

Another kind of visitor that we're delighted to have around this summer...

A lucky or very patient photographer - you decide!! (Chris not me!) The very ugly red plastic hummingbird feeder from Walmart might be an eyesore (anyone tell me where I can get a pretty one?) but the birds LOVE it! I've been topping up the sugar solution once a week!! I could sit out and watch these cuties for hours! I've even see them perch on the top of the tomato stake - never seen them sit still before!

And finally we are PERMANENT RESIDENTS OF CANADA. This is the culmination of our dream that got underway 3.5 years ago. The paperwork is all done, medicals passed , vast quantities of money thrown at the government, criminal checks done and the man from CIC - he say Yes!! We are thrilled that our dream has become our reality. Thank you Canada - we'll be good promise!

What have I done?!...

2010-06-02T23:28:00.000-07:00

In a moment of sheer madness and spontaneity I signed myself up for my first 10K run since 2006. This should be interesting....

I thought some sort of aim/target might work as motivation to actually go running. That and I wanted some new Lululemon pants and I needed an excuse to get them!

A Dirty weekend...

2010-05-19T14:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend was my first foray into Moto-X. It was a 'Ride for the Cure' event raising money for Breast Cancer and Chris's shop was putting together a team and I was all set to be a part of it. When we pulled up to the track I just felt sick; It was huge with big berms and whoop-dee-dos and corners (because I'm not awfully keen on corners) OMG. What had I let myself in for? After a riders brief my day got marginally brighter when I was told since I was on a 'small (150cc) bike' and was a beginner I could ride on the baby beginners track. It got even brighter when I started beating 4-year olds on the straights (OK so the 5 year olds were still whooping my ass!). Seriously though once I got the hang of it, fallen off a couple of times and put in a few laps it was fun! Really good fun! And maybe sometime I'll have to go back and ride the big boys course (because arguably the track was wider so the corners weren't as tight so maybe in theory easier?!) Ha!

Chris and I both rode, though unfortunately it was at the same time so I got no photos of him (but he did look fetching in his pink t-shirt and more pink tassles on his handlebars too!) We had a great day with a good team spirit from the Southwest Motorrad crew and the best bit was the event raised $20,000 for Breast Cancer research!

Now if you'll excuse me whilst I go finish off trying to get all the dust and dirt out of nooks and crannies I never knew existed...

Ahhhh....Cuba

2010-04-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad I've been to one of the countries that was always on my bucket list, but having been I'm so glad I'm back home again. It's not that I didn't like the place...the lush tropical countryside is stunning, the waters are clear and warm, the beaches full of white sand, the mojitos are free-flowing, the people are friendly and welcoming, the cities are safe, the inter-city buses are excellent, and everywhere, everywhere there is bright vibrant colour. No there's a lot of good about Cuba, but still I'm happy to be home.

This was our 8th Wedding Anniversary trip. A new year of marriage, and thus a new country and for now the tradition still stands. 1 week was way too short a time to spend in such a big country, and that alone proved frustrating in itself. On reflection we could have left Havana sooner but we enjoyed walking the streets admiring the beautiful old architecture and cars (just how many photos?!), and soaking up the relaxed atmosphere, (and the fact that an 8am bus isn't the least bit appealing after 9 mojitos the night before). There's so much beauty yet it heartbreaking to see it crumbing away. It seems like there's no money there to preserve their precious past. We stayed in small family run 'casas' which positioned us perfectly in the heart of the city and gave us a great insight into Cuban people and their lifestyle (but perhaps my Mum would've have been all that keen!) We also got a fabulous home-cooked breakfast to start our days (omelette, fresh fruit, pastries and fresh papaya or pineapple juice)

We were thrilled to be meeing up with my brother Ian and his girlfriend Axelle on our 3rd night in the city and spent the second half of our time on the island with them. On our 4th day we all took the 6 hour bus ride to Trinidad on the south coast of the island. The whole town is a designated Unesco Heritage site and due to it's smaller size I think it's better 'preserved' than Havana - the cobbled streets and matchbox houses painted in a rainbow of pastel colours, and the old bell towers and church overlooking Plaza Major. We had planned to do some diving here, but by now we'd been in Cuba nearly a week and I guess the food was taking it's toll. Chris and I weren't really feeling entirely up to the challenge. Instead a lazy day on the beach and just a single dive the morning we said our goodbyes and Chris and I headed back to Varadero airport.

I think we both enjoyed ourselves. Cuban food is awful (with the exception of breakfasts - see above)- there's really no point beating around the bush here - even I was grateful for airplane food on our return flight! And what is with these countries and their lack of toilet seats?!

Glad to be home, but I sure will miss those mojitos....Thank you Cuba for the memories....Thank you Chris for putting up with me for 8 years - love you hun.xx

Not for my mother's eyes

2010-03-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

My New Bike!! I picked it up this afternoon - a Honda 230 Dualsport. It's all very shiny and new looking (enjoy it while it lasts I say!). I had the daunting task of riding on the road for the first time in 7 years to get home. And let me tell you - it is NOT as warm as it looks! My previous knack of sitting on my hands to keep them warm doesn't really work out too well, I was in pain by the time I got home - you'd have thought the nerves and adrenelin would have been enough to keep me warm! Now I'm excited to get out and play more - go and explore all the wilderness around here that's only accessible by dirt trails and forest roads.
p.s. Mum - I'll be really, really careful - love you.xxx

Action Barbie!

2010-03-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

So last weekend we had a busy time! I have a dirt bike on loan from a friend so after 7 years I was back on my own 2 wheels for the first time! It's an off road bike but lucky for us we have plenty of available land immediately behind the house without having to venture onto the road. It felt great and now I definitely have the taste for more! (I think the plan will be getting me a road legal dirt bike asap!)

The afternoon we FINALLY got around to skiing! We took the trip up to Silver Star Mountain resort just outside of Vernon. We last went (but not to ski) on Christmas Eve - it's amazing how much less snow there is now - the whole area is just on a huge melt - our winter here has just been incredibly mild and distinctly lacking of snow. It was an evening ski session for the bargain price of $5 lift tickets and $10 rentals - perfect for us for our first time out in I don't know how long! And after a couple of hours the temperatures cooled down I am pretty partial to the fantastic pastries and sandwiches at Bugaboos cafe right at the edge of the slopes and a great end to an exciting and busy day! (still buzzing from the bike riding again!)

A friend of mine from Cyprus days always used to call me Action Barbie because of all the exercise and activities I did. Sadly I don't do quite the exercise I did back then (though I could do with it!) But certainly today was one of those days that Eddie would be proud of me - I certainly felt that I earned my nickname today! Woot Woot - what fun!

We couldn't resist

2010-02-21T18:20:00.000-08:00

It was right on our doorstep right?! (OK so a 5hr drive away!) We had to go and check it out and I'm so glad we did. From the moment we got near the city the vibes were already there - the busy-ness, bustling excitement! It felt like one big party - I suppose it IS one big party! Some of the main streets in downtown have been pedestrianised for the duration of the games which made for a fun atmostphere. Everyone was in such good spirits and even I didn't mind the crowds and queues. We didnt' have tickets for any events but just spent our time wandering the streets, seening the sights, socking up the atmosphere, visiting some of the pavillions, watching street performers and loving every minute of it. So very cool!

The Games are here!

2010-02-13T00:02:00.000-08:00

We just spent the evening watching the Olympic Opening Ceremony - what a visual treat! Whilst we won't be going to the city or to any events it was such a great experience just watching it - I think there's been an amazing job done of making everyone here in BC feel part of the Games - a couple of weeks back we joined about 15,000 others in Kelowna city park to watch the torch arrive in town on it's 106 day journey across Canada - the longest domestic torch relay ever. There were artists and acrobats, the most brilliant ice sculptures and little Canadian flags and torches for everyone to get in the spirit! And I will be checking out this website heaps the next few weeks I'm sure!

Tonight was the first opening ceremony to be held indoors (which lets face it was a pretty good move in the Pacific Northwest!). The light show put on was unreal - those whales 'swimming' across the stadium floor was something else! It was so emotional and happy at the same time - I loved watching the atheletes on their procession into the stadium - you could see the excitement on their faces! (though why in the world were the British women atheletes wearing French berets as part of the uniform?!) It's a shame though that shortly after it finishes I come online and the headlines are all scandalous about the 'gaff' in the torch lighting moment - what a shame the media can't focus on the good bits and not the bad?! We were both so impressed too with the delicate way which they handled the sad and tragic death of the Georgian Luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili who died in training today - the minutes silence was so the right thing.

Here's to a great fortnight of sporting events. I might just become a telly addict for a bit! And I've got the choice of 2 teams to cheer on....now the tough one will be the men's curling - GB or Canada?!

She got a job...

2010-01-20T23:16:00.000-08:00

...no more 'retirement' for me. Hence we haven't been doing all that much with life other than making 2 twee little matching lunch-boxes, sharing rides to work and coming home to a cold house (bought a programmable thermostat tonight - seriously that's how exciting work is?!) This weekend we're all set for a trip to the big city - the Vancouver Bike show, and of course any trip to the lower mainland wouldn't be complete without a shopping spree at my favourite big blue and yellow store *wink*!!

Snow Day!

2010-01-09T22:36:00.000-08:00

Not really any snow here at home so we went off in search of the white stuff to play in! First stop was Telemark at Crystal Mountain where I hired snowshoes (someone got his own pair for Chrismas!), a bargain $5 for a trail passes and we were all set. We made sure to get kitted up in our snowshoes out of sight of a very busy XC arena (several hundred people in some competition or other!) - I had no idea whether I'd fall flat on my face at my first attempt at moving but they were so light and not at all cumbersome and I managed to only trip myself up once on the whole outing!

It was such a lovely snowy winter wonderland all around us. We ventured off the trails for a bit in some fantastic deep powder snow but with no idea of where we were heading we reluctantly turned back for the main trail. What a fantastic way to spend the morning. Once we returned to the chalet the competition was wrapping up and the hot dogs were a'cookin' on the deck - what a welcome smell to our rumbling tummies!

On the way home, around dusk we went in search of suitable sledding hills. Having got a new go-faster sled at Christmas we were itching to test it out. In the end we ended up back at home, got a couple of quick runs down a rather steep hill a couple of roads further up the hill than us. Then as we parked the car in the garage realised the potential of the slope down the side of the house leading to the basement access. It's short and not much of a hill but if you take a running dive at it you can reach the basement door!!lol!

Happy New Year

2010-01-03T20:26:00.000-08:00

We saw the new year in with friends James, Lorrie & Alex at a little wooden cabin in the woods at Chute Lake - high in the hills above Lake Okanagan. Just lovely. We'd borrowed a couple of ATV's too and spent the afternoon of the 31st and morning of the 1st whizzing around the forest trails deep in snow. Of course as darkness fell we retreated inside to a blazing fire and a few games of pictionary. It was a long evening of drinking and so I have to admit staying up till midnight was a tall order. We did all make it - a quick swig of bubbly and then off to bed! Chris and I bagged the cozy bed right by the ancient wood stove in the main room of the cabin. It was what you'd call rustic, and with the temperatures we had no running water inside. Chris spent about 2 hours the next morning cooking us all bacon and egg sarnies - wood stoves aren't the easiest to temperature control, especially when hungover!

I got home to read numerous blog posts proclaiming one little word for the year, resolutions, changes to be made blah blah. I'm not into that. I'm happy right now to be where I am and living this life every day and that's good enough for me (but I did manage to clear my inbox today!!)

From us to you!

2009-12-27T00:28:00.000-08:00

Have a wonderful Christmas

2009-12-24T12:48:00.001-08:00

Better than Christmas!

2009-12-23T16:03:00.001-08:00

Last week our boxes turned up from the UK - 37 of them, 6 cubic metres and 1039kg of stuff! It really was the best Christmas present ever! To have all our belongings in one place, unpacked for the first time in....ah....um.....a LONG time! (about 6 years!) I was beside myself with excitement. As soon as I got word that it was in the city in the bonded warehouse we then had to visit customs to 'clear' it all and get a release note. Then Chris and Gord packed it into a trailer and brought it back to the house where I was waiting with baited breathe and eager unpacking hands!!

I am amazed at how well everything travelled - all things considered (and given a couple of nasty looking snags in the packaging from the fork lift). My parents really are the greatest international packers ever - my painting was perfectly wrapped and intact and I wasted no time positioning it on the mantle - the first time it's ever been hung in our own home since Chris bought it for my 30th Birthday!

By the time Chris got home from work that evening around 1/2 the boxes were unpacked and flattened ready for recycling (I'm feeling reckless - we're throwing away packaging supplies - these same supplies have survived us 3 international moves! - but I really do like it HERE) After enlisting his help pretty much all the others were done by bedtime! (I LOVE unpacking!!, sorting, putting away! - I sent Chris out for take-out so I didn't have to waste time cooking!)

I didn't say I was a tidy unpacker...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

2009-12-02T15:44:00.001-08:00

I have been humming this all day! There are worse songs to have on the brain, and it was quite the soundtrack to doing a few more bits of decorating for the season!

Today I broke out the vinyl for my Silhouette machine and made snowflakes for the windows - I think they look great! A few other bits of handmade goodness for the house are the lovely pine cone-like balls I made last weekend - actually at a class at the local scrapbook store. The Christmas tree was made with strips of Basic Grey's Eskimo Kisses paper - I actually finished that off when we were still in the RV but it has found it's new home on the mantle.

And my 'piece de resistance' (even if I do say so myself) is the wall hanging. I'm so happy with it. I'd actually already made a similar version for my Secret Santa gift partner and struggled to part with it so I had to do one for us too!

And of course it's advent! Yay! Advent calendar chocolates for breakfast for the next 24 days!

Home Sweet Home

2009-11-06T16:40:00.000-08:00

Finally things are settling down for now. The novelty of the light in the tumble dryer, walk in closets and his and hers sinks are beginning to wear off - though I'm still not sure about the dish-washer (ok I am sure - I still dislike them but admit they are convienient if a little stinky) It's not like you've all been badgering for photos so without further ado I would like to introduce you to 'our home'...

(and this one probably isn't going to have a cutesy name - that was reserved exclusivly for Harvey (the RV for anyone left out there that didn't know!)

And speaking of Harvey, glad to know some of you still care for his well-being - he's tucked up for the winter, looking a little forlorn and empty it has to be said. But we're planning on keeping him and trundling off for little weekend get-aways come summer! Honestly after 5 years hard labour it's the least he deserves - our mini-retirement is over, but Harvey's is just beginning!

Kinda busy round here...

2009-11-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

Took possession of the new house on Saturday and needless to say we've been somewhat busy ever since!! We are thrilled to be home!

Empty wallets...

2009-10-29T16:21:00.000-07:00

This....

Leads to this....

And ends up looking like this.....

Which is why I am very much looking forward to moving into the new house....

About 43 hours, 22 mins and 17 seconds to go!

...

(not that I'm counting or anything!)

(blogged from bed because I can't find anywhere else to sit)

Rocking with Bono!

2009-10-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

We were so stoked to be one of the 50,000 people at BC place last night in Vancouver for the last night of this year's U2 360 Tour - it was amazing!

[Photograph by: Mark van Manen, Vancouver Sun]

Black Eyed Peas opened for them and had most people on their feet with 'I've got a feeling....that tonight's gonna be a good, good night' - and it was!! That closing song from them whipped everyone into a frenzy ready for Bono and gang to come on stage.

U2 played for about 2 hours and there were plenty of the older songs (which I can at least toe-tap and sing along too!) It was such a great show - the stage set was a sort of giant space-ship looking thing and the coolest moving light/screen column that descended from the roof. Loved it!
And so worth the 6.5 hour drive home through snowy mountain passes with daylight breaking as we finally rested our heads against the pillows back at home...!

For Today...

2009-10-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

This 'quiz' has done the rounds a bit in blogland. I originally saw it on Ali Edwards blog. And today I wanted to do a little scrapbooking before the madness and mayhem of moving into the new house started...so not only did I record my answers I also made a scrapbook page out of it!

Outside my window...it’s a dry and bright but colourless day, nearly all the leaves have fallen off the trees now

I am thinking...furniture for the new house

I am thankful for...the new adventures and opportunities ahead for us here in Canada

I am wearing...my comfy pink A&F sweatpants and fat face hoodie

I am remembering...all the things that I need to get done

I am going...to take some time to scrapbook today since I’m not going out (don’t have the car)

I am reading...Too Close to Home by Linwood Barclay (one of the Tesco books Mum brought out for me)

I am hoping...I will get a job I like soon

I am hearing...103.9 The Juice on the radio

I am creating...scrapbook pages, a baby card for Susie’s baby and finishing off my paper Christmas tree

On my mind...the new house – 9 more sleeps!, and the distinct lack of exercise lately…

From the kitchen... A cheesy bagel with mozza & tomato for lunch and some homemade veggie soup for supper tonight

Around the house...it’s getting cluttered and cold – right time to be moving into a 3000sqft place!

One of my favourite things...my laptop

Planes, Trains & Automobiles...and not forgetting boats!

2009-10-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks we've had my parents visiting. Chris was working, but there had to be some good come from me being the resident couch potato - I got to hang out with them and act as a tour guide and occasional driver!

In amongst the tourist stuff we did Chris and I have also started house-hunting in earnest so they tagged along on a couple of days looking at houses with us. Actually I think we all had fun doing that - North American houses are sooooo different from what you get in England and our UK money will go a lot further here so I've been measuring up spare rooms for suitability as a scrapbooking space!

We took a trip over to the Kootenays for a night staying at the Ainsworth Hot Springs resort. We ate at the Dock n' Duck pub overlooking Kootenay Lake and soaked in the warm waters and caves at the resort till kicking out time. One advantage of staying at the resort is you get early access into the pools in the morning so we made the most of that too!

In Kaslo (somewhere I've been 3 times now) we 'discovered' the worlds oldest intact sternwheeler - the SS Moyie. It's 3 stories tall and 160 ft long - in all honestly I'm not sure how I missed it (doh!) but there you go - I've always been obsessing about food and fast roads whenever we've rode into Kaslo. A great little side trip with film, history and a beautifully reconstructed boat that used to serve up and down Kooteney Lake between 1898 and 1957 - really enjoyed that!

The 3 of us also took a bumpy drive up to Myra Canyon trestles - part of the old Kettle Valley railway. Last time Chris and I went up there was April and at the time still largely covered in snow! This time the weather was gorgeous and we had a lovely walk along the old line taking in the views down to Lake Okanagan, the valley and beyond. And talking of the Kettle Valley Railway we also drove down to Summerland and took a ride on an old steam train on one of the few remaining stretches of track - a little late birthday surprise for my Dad (only a month late!)

Did I mention we had near-perfect weather for almost the entire time they were visiting?! Lucky us! And perfect for lazy lunches on the patio at the local winery, or our favourite lakeshore resort, driving into the hills to a small local goats cheese dairy for sampling cheese and enjoying gelato, wine-tasting, shopping for local product at some local farm shops and taking walks along the lakeshore in downtown.

We ventured an early start one morning for a Kelowna special event - a visit from the 3rd largest aircraft in the world - a Russian Antonov AN-124 - flying into Kelowna 'international' airport to deliver a bunch of helicoptors for a refurb at Flightcraft - I love these big planes - they way they just 'hang' in the air, seemingly unmoving and defying gravity! Very cool - lots of plane-spotters out for that one - but then it would appear we'd have to include ourselves in that category (That and the train-spotting - you can see what a bad influence my Dad is?!)

Thanks Mum and Dad for visiting. I hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we enjoyed hosting you and showing off our new hometown!

Speedball 09 & The Kootenays

2009-09-14T16:48:00.001-07:00

We've just spent an awesome weekend away motorcycling around the Kootenays for Speedball 2009 - this is a scavenger hunt 'game' where each team had to take photos of various places/things or objects to collect as many points as possible - things like 'take a picture of all team members, standing with one toe in a Starbucks coffee cup - 100 points per player! and a picture of a loud sound....I wasn't an 'official' member of the team since I ride pillion but I supervised and made sure Chris didn't get lost or went too slowly ;-) We all had great fun! Saturday night was spent hotelling it in Nelson, drinking and hanging out in the hot tub till the wee hours...(therapeutic for the sore backsides!)

Sunday should've been a slow and relaxed pace back to Kelowna, but the roads are too smooth and too twisty for that so most people had a 'spirited' ride home, finishing off the evening with a big BBQ and Chris's team being awarded first prize!

Sore Toes

2009-09-05T18:20:00.000-07:00

Today I went climbing for the first time in 2 years! Can't believe time slipped by that quick but it did! We car-pooled with Rob and Anne (handy since we don't have a car!) to the beautiful Cougar Canyon in Kalamalka Provincial Park near Vernon. It was already going to be a great day just from the gorgeous 1/2 hour hike in to the climbing area! I managed a couple of climbs which went so well considering my lay off period - still ain't keen on those heights though - it's fine on the way up whilst I'm concentrating on something (the climbing) but as soon as I'm at the top I just want to get down - the quicker the better! A great day was had by all. Chris finished it off nicely with a pre-booked 2 hour 'Euphoria' massage - lucky him - should've thought that through myself!

Creative Escape projects

2009-09-04T15:53:00.000-07:00

So I've spent some of my time over the last couple of days putting the finishing touches on some of my Creative Escape class projects. Like I said before all eight classes were really fast paced and in many cases for me I was learning new techniques and using unfamiliar products (I wasn't an ink and paint girl - things are a' changing though!) I suppose if I'm honest I wasn't completely mad for all the classes - not because I didn't appreciate them for what they were creatively but that they weren't to my taste and I couldn't envision using them or displaying them. And by seeing which projects I was keen to get finished here at home probably is a bit of a clue to the ones I liked the most!!

This was I think my favourite - the mini book encased in a cute little suitcase (it measures only 4x3" - its adorable!) taught by Tim Holtz. It was a class I was 20 minutes late for and completely flustered, the class with the most 'new' techniques for me and yet the only project I completely finished in class. We used grungeboard sanded down, painted then inked for the covers then inside there's a combination of patterned paper pocket pages, some mini photo sleeves and some grunged up ticket pages decorated with distressed flowers and a few metal embellishments.

This is a close second in my fav list - a Creative Escape album taught by Debby Schuh. Full of pinks, black and white in various shades, shapes, sizes and textures - there's even a patterned felt page to put our collectible pins on! There's transparent pages, pockets, tags and more - love this. Nothing was rocket science but I lack the imagination to put something so cute together myself - I'm so looking forward to filling this with all my memorabilia of the event and my photos!

The class taught by Paula Cheney and Debbie Crouse from 7 Gypsies I wasn't sure on at first but since I've finished it up with a photo I love it! It's a wall decor peice which we put together from scratch. It has different layers and textures and there are secret doors and flaps for extra bits of journalling or photos - it even has a real glass vase and a cute bunch of flowers - I'm so happy with the finished product (now husband dear - I just need a house with walls to hang it!!)

This cute cheerful album was created by Heather Bailey who is normally found putting her talents to designing fabrics and other things related to sewing and stuff (not my bag - I wonder if I could use glue dots instead of sewing on buttons?!!?!) This was a mini album which various pockets, clips and other fun stuff - not sure what I'm going to do with it but dang it looks cute!

And finally for now this great altered box taught by Marah Johnson. We decorated using glimmer mist sprays over flocked papers so texturally its yummy. Inside there are 12 mini chipboard books - I'm thinking it's going to have to have something to do with the 12 months of the year when I come to fill them!

Creative Escape 2009

2009-09-02T14:58:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I travelled to Arizona for the Creative Escape event. I'd never been before and I went alone but for 3 days I was surrounded by over 600 of the most amazing, inspiring and creative women I've had the pleasure to meet - I was truly fortunate. Over the course of the last few months many of us had been chatting on the Yahoo Group message board so it felt like I was meeting with old friends - in fact there were only 3 others there that I'd actually met before!

It was a busy and thoroughly exhausting 3 days - who'd have realised that scrapbooking and papercrafting could be this exhausting - seriously?! (I'd had all good intentions of hanging out with like-minded friends at the bar each night but even a good cocktail couldn't lure me from my bed come 10.30pm!)

I arrived on Wednesday night and was met at the airport by the wonderful Christa (who I'd not previously met) who promptly whisked me off to a Mexican restaurant for dinner with another 15 women (who'd I'd never met - catching the trend here?!)

Thursday morning was some down time and for me a mad dash around the local stores making the most of the American stores I'd been missing in Canada - then Thursday afternoon the event proper got going. The 'Technique Boutique' where we got goodies and prepared and perfected some items and techniques we'd be needing in class. Running alongside was the 'Trunk Show' where each of the 8 teachers showcased their work and some samples of our class projects (up until now the class projects had been closely guarded secrets - we only ever knew the teachers and could only speculate based on their style!) Rounding off Thursday evening was the opening ceremony and welcome, a party and raffle organised for the members of the Yahoo Group, then some of us scooted off to a nearby Macaroni Grill for supper.

Friday and Saturday were classes. At 8am classes started. Each class was 1hr 45mins long - 2 before lunch and 2 after, finishing off the day at 5pm. From the moment I woke at 6am for the yummy buffet breakfast at 6.30ish, rushing to class, a packed lunch eaten on the go, yet more classes then a sit down dinner at 6pm, followed by additional evening activities it was constant. By Saturday morning I was positively bleary eyed - and not due to a few too many bevvies - more's the pity!

Saturday night was the closing dinner and key note speaker. It all started with dessert. Yes - with 600-odd women in the house it is apparently tradition at the event to start dinner with dessert and the more chocolatety the better! Then they raffled off about a dozen lamps (originally bought at Ikea for $15) that were decorated and altered by each of the teachers past and present. 2 of them were reserved for a little extra special treatement; lamps designed by Heidi Swapp and Tim Holtz (2 of the industries more well known 'celebrities') were to be auctioned off for charity. (all in support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) Heidi's was up first - and the bidding crept up and up, each time all of us squealing a little more - it reached $8,200!! - An insane amount of money for an Ikea lamp - purdy that it was! But there was to be more insanity in the room. Tim's lamp bidding opened at $500, went straight to $5,000, then jumped to $16,000 - all in 3 bids! OMG. We all watched dumbfounded as the hammer went down at $29,000 - for an Ikea lamp!!! It was such an exciting moment but someone's husband is going to be freaking out I would've thought?! Over $45,000 in total was raised for the charity during the event through raffle tickets and the auction.

The event was held at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass resort which was absolutely gorgeous. It had the most amazing pool and landscaped grounds and excellent facilities for our classess - but the place was HUGE - it took 15 minutes to walk from our hotel room to the conference area and with 120 degrees outside most people didn't venture out too much! I manged a little stroll most mornings when it still had that lovely hot-yet-freshness about it!

I loved being at the event - this was it's 4th year and I'd heard so many great things about it - all true! The event is full of such great people, everyone has been so giving and generous - with their time, efforts in organising things, sending each other gifts, providing prizes for the raffle - the list could go on... It was an event where we shared our passion for creating and recording life in artistic and meaningful ways. The teachers (Heidi Swapp, Tim Holtz, Heather Bailey, Lynette Carroll, Debby Schuh, Marah Johnson, Carol Wingert, Paula Cheney & Debbie Crouse) and class projects which had been created especially for Creative Escape and were all amazing - not all to my style but I think that's the point. It forces you to look outside your box and embrace other styles and techniques - and there's certainly a stack of ideas that I will be trying again and again.
But the biggest thing I've taken from this event is friendships. The people that I met, that I 'hung out' with - these are what made my trip so special and unforgettable - thank you Linda, Angela, Florence, Carol, Janet, Patti, Stacy, Renee, Gail, Kate, Faye and not forgetting everyone's favourite Scrap Hero Dave!

So much to share!

2009-08-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

The last week has been incredibly busy and I'm still somewhat overwhelmed by everything that needs doing right now so I will post further on everything very soon.

But the most recent and exciting news for us...;
Last night we crossed the border into Canada (yes we'd left - confusing but thats what comes of talking about the most recent happenings first!). We are now proud owners of Work Permits valid for 2 years - we are overjoyed!! This is the first step (big step) in our dream to living in Canada. We are no longer tourists, we are legal workers (heaven forbid!!)!! And can stay and make progress on setting up our new lives here. Happy, happy people here - we've been jumping up and down doing the happy dance all day! The whole process took us a couple of hours waiting around at the border crossing whilst the immigration officers figured out what/how to do the paperwork and $300 later we drove off. It was a late night - we didn't cross into Canada until 10.30pm and drove most of the way back to Kelowna - stopping at 2.30am in the morning for our nights sleep before heading home the final stretch in the morning - and delivering Chris to WORK for his first official day! Hurrah!

So that's the big news for us - can you sense the HUGE smile on my face whilst I write this?!

In other news....I've just got back from an amazing 4 days in Arizona at Creative Escape - I will be posting more and photos later, and the weekend before we spent more awesome days on a 3 day motorbiking trip to the Kootenays - photos coming for that too!

Rod Stewart in Kelowna

2009-08-19T10:27:00.001-07:00

I have to say - Rod ROCKED it!!

It was a bit of a last minute decision but I'm really glad we went. When we arrived the gates hadn't even opened and already a long queue snaked its way through city park, but once we got in we positioned ourselves right up against the barrier at the front of the general admission area and settled down for a nap (gates opened at 5 and nothing happened till 6.45!). I thought nothing more of it - our position seemed reasonable enough....it was only MUCH later that evening during the concert that I looked behind us - there was just a SEA of people - and it was then I realised just what a plum spot we had!! :-)

The Kin (some Aussie band) played as support - I thought they were pretty good actually - very listenable music (often when it's not familiar music its difficult to get 'into' it I think.)

Rod strutted his stuff for 1 3/4 hours - belting out lots of his classic hits - D'ya think I'm sexy?, Maggie May, Some guys have all the luck, and during a rendition of Hot Legs he was using those 'hot legs' to kick footballs out into the crowd. It was a great, entertaining evening and the few spots of rain didn't dampen any spirirts.
(and I have to say I'm pleased as heck with this photo taken with our zoom lens!)

CE Quote Swap

2009-08-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

In just a week and half now I'm off to Creative Escape in Phoenix. I'm so excited to be going, but it is the new friends from the yahoo group I'm most excited about finally meeting. The past 2 or 3 months we've been chatting, taking part in various swaps and sending each other RAKs (random acts of kindness - basically fun little gifts) in the mail. It's really added to the excitement of the event and has helped the time go by much quicker. I've taken part in several of the swaps - some have been exchanged by mail and some will be at the event. This week I got my 'Quote cards' back from the hostess. Everyone had to make 10 identical cards with their chosen quote - they would then be sent to the hostess and swapped back out so you'd get 10 different cards back - I did 2 sets of 10 so I got 20 different cards back. And here they are...

aren't they all gorgeous?! Constantly amazed at the creativity of the group - I love them all and will treasure them! and thank you Sunny for hosting this great swap!

Center of Gravity fesitval

2009-08-13T11:46:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks back already we headed down to the city park, right on the lakeshore for the Center of Gravity festival. All through the summer Kelowna hosts so many fesitvals and events and we thought we really should check some of them out! Center of Gravity was all about being on the beach with loads of sports demos and competitions and entertainment. We turned up in time for the bikini competition (and we know whose in charge of transportation in this household?! Furthermore from the collage below I'm sure you can figure out who was on camera duty during most of the afternoon - he lost interest when the bare-chested biker dudes started strutting their stuff!) In the evening Bif Naked was live on stage. Apparently she's quite popular here in Canada....if you're partial to a bit of ear-bleeding....we'd actually spotted her buying a latte in Starbucks 1/2 hour before she went on stage - not that we had the faintest idea who she was at that point!

It really was some awesome stuff! However I can't get the hang of all this new 'youngsters' language - actually according to the commentator of the freestyle biking it wasn't awesome at all - it was in fact 'sick'.....yep - they were 'throwing down some sick tricks man'.....okaaaaay....

...I'll be the one in line for my free bus pass.

Sunday lunch!

2009-07-28T15:15:00.000-07:00

Enjoyed a great ride out on Sunday for lunch at the Mushroom Addition at Fauquier - just across the ferry from Needles. There was about a dozen bikes on the 2 hour (each way) journey - we enjoyed a fun and 'spirited' ride, finished off with a nice crisp apple cider at the pub on the way home. Good times and fast riding in the Okanagan!

My yesterday!

2009-07-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

West Kelowna Fire

2009-07-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

The Valley is on Fire! Fire broke out yesterday afternoon with some crazy hot temperatures and strong winds. As of this morning it's just getting worse. We listened to the spread of the fire, the start of the evacuation orders and the highway closures on the radio yesterday afternoon, then went out in the evening for a little drive along Lakeshore Drive here on the downtown side of the lake. These photos are looking across the lake to the Glenrosa area where the fire started.

Since we've woken up this morning the smell of smoke in the air is overwhelming - even where we are, and the air is just so hazy/smokey. Apparently over 6500 houses have been evacuated and over 400 hectares are burning. There are at least 2 more fires burning over on the west side of the lake in the Rose Valley and Terrace Mountain areas. The main highway through the valley is just closed in both directions. It's scary stuff.

(The above picture was taken from Chute Lake Road area, very near the devastion and burn area left from the 2003 Firestorms)

Summer

2009-07-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

Kathy and Bruce from the campground invited us to spend early yesterday morning picking some cherries straight from the tree in their orchard. We now have enough to feed a small army but they're so juicy and tasty we'll be living off them the next week (I've also frozen a whole pail). What a lovely way to start off the weekend!

Yesterday afternoon we went down to the lakeshore and laid out on the grass. Watched the Dragon Boats racing across the lake, listened to some live reggae music band, ate lemon slushies and watched a bride and groom get their wedding photos taken in the park! Came home and nursed my slightly sore-should've reapplied the sunscreen-more-often bits!

Happy Birthday Canada!

2009-07-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

1st July marks the day in 1867 when the first of the colonies were joined together as a federation of four provinces (the original partners in crime being New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec!) It is celebrated as the 'birth' of Canada as a new country (rather than a bunch of British colonies) So Happy Birthday Canada!! 142 years old!

We spent time down at the Kelowna waterfront parks enjoying the live music stages, the street vendors, the buskers, the folk dancing and ethnic food stands. And at 10.30 the grand finale of fireworks over the lake. We watched from across the lake on the Westbank. Fantastic stuff!

Some new Digi layouts

2009-06-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of new layouts with the latest of Carol's digital kits. This first page has been on my to-do list for a while. I loved some of the old Route 66 relics we saw on our travels through Arizona last year - I admit I had to convince Chris to take a small detour to see this old wigwam motel - and you can actually stay in them - cool huh?! Carol's new kit 'Retro Americana' seemed perfect for this!

(All page elements from the 'Retro Americana' kit from cpz designs - available exclusively from Scrapoutsidethebox.com from 29th June. Fonts: Gill Sans MT & CK Alis Writing)

And I have scrapped this pic before, but I love it so much and this kit 'Sparkle' is so great for 4th July layouts! I'm pretty pleased with the result - think I might prefer it to the original page I did a couple of years ago!

(All page elements from the 'Sparkle' collaboration kit from SumScrapper.com)

Happy Fathers Day

2009-06-21T09:41:00.001-07:00

To the best Dad in the world. Love you lots. H.xxx

A new Blog design

2009-06-19T14:16:00.001-07:00

So happy to have a spiffy new blog design thanks to Erin at Designer Blogs. She's done a great job don't you think?! And thank you Erin for putting up with all my little requests and nit-picking during the design. I'm so happy with the result :-)

I'm a cpz designs CT member - yay!

2009-06-09T17:58:00.001-07:00

I'm delighted to be on the Creative Team for cpz designs - aka my very talented friend Carol whom I met last year at CKU. She has turned her hand to designing digital scrapbooking kits and is producing some fabulous products. And since I'm on the CT I get to play and create with them for free!!

These 2 layouts are using elements from her latest kit - 'Pop Star'

This is the 'annual' layout I create for our Wedding Anniversary - maybe one day I'll scoop them all together into 1 album - but I think we should get to, say 25 years to make it worthy of an album all of it's own!! This year's country was Ireland!

(Page elements from Pop Star kit - cpz designs, Fonts - 2Peas GG's Love Me, Anarchy, Gill Sans MT)

These photos are of the best carnival EVER! Somerset carnivals are just the greatest spectacle of lights, dancing, music and costumes - all on giant tractor trailers 30-odd feet long!

(Page elements from Pop Star kit - cpz designs, Page Template - Michelle Filo for Pencillines, Fonts - Arial, CK Jolly Elf)

Go...Tim GO!!!

2009-06-06T22:45:00.000-07:00

Seriously excited for one of our wonderful dear friends -Marty Kopra. Her son - Tim Kopra is one of the astronauts due to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 13th. We are so amazingly excited and privileged to have access to Tim's expedition blog via NASA. We hope that the expedition will go smoothly and successfully for them all. Here is an interview by the STS-127 crew on You-Tube...(the crew Tim is launching with next week!)

Kreativ Blogger Award

2009-06-04T17:33:00.001-07:00

A new cyber-friend Myra (who I'll be meeting at Creative Escape in August - yay!) nominated my blog for this fun little award. Make sure you go and check out Myra's blog and fabulous arty creations! I'm so looking forward to meeting this talented and creative woman.

Here are the RULES for this AWARD:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award. - http://magandamemories.blogspot.com/

4. Share 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
I resisted starting a blog at the start of our travels and regretted it ever since (I eventually started it one year in)...I have a degree in Business Information Management Systems...I'm scared of heights.....yet I skydive...People that stand right close next to the baggage carousel at the airport bug me (leave room then we can all reach!)...I love cats but I'm allergic to them...I love English supermarkets!

5. Nominate 6 Kreativ Bloggers and post links to their blogs.

http://carolzeitz.blogspot.com/

http://maqitremblay.blogspot.com/

http://pinkjubilee.blogspot.com/

http://wickysticket.blogspot.com/

http://brought-to-you-by-the-letter-j.blogspot.com/

http://debseclecticthoughts.blogspot.com/

6. Leave a comment on each of the blogs, letting them know they have been nominated.

Busy Bee - Quote cards

2009-06-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

Been working on some more of my swaps for CE. This time it was 3x5" Quote cards. Pick a quote, make sure the card is the standard size and create 10 of the same. When we trade I'll get 9 different cards plus one of my own. I joined up for 2 groups, so here are my 2 designs. Hope you like

Inchies!

2009-06-01T18:49:00.000-07:00

1" little chipboard squares of art for those of you who weren't so sure! I joined a swap on the Creative Escape (CE) Forum. Originally signed up to do just 2 sets, but these things are addictive! I've had fun using up scraps and playing. I've wound up with 5 sets of the 'anything goes' and 5 sets of the CE colours! Can't wait till I get all the trades back - but that won't be happening till the end of July - guess I'll need to have some patience!

Spring into Summer

2009-05-29T12:51:00.000-07:00

Spring came late this year to the Okanagan but it's sure been beautiful! We have enjoyed our morning walks more than ever as these are the sights we see each morning! The blossom on the apple trees has gone now, and the ducklings grow each day we pass by, but it's all so wonderful and we are appreciating every moment. Just yesterday we saw 2 lots of baby birds. One set was a mother quail with a brood of chicks zipping along behind her and the other was a mother bird guarding her nest with at least 2 little heads poking out from under her. When she moved away there were still 2 un-hatched eggs in the little ground nest - so cute!
We're having a good spell of weather now (everyone is hoping that THIS is summer!) And we're enjoying getting out on the motorbike and lunches and walks by the lakeshore. And I got a new haircut which I'm loving after so many years with longer hair - it doesn't get so messed up from the helmet when out on the bike - perfect :-)
Happy Summer!

Knox Mountain Hill Climb

2009-05-16T22:19:00.000-07:00

Today we went to spectate at a popular annual event - the Knox Mountain Hill Climb. Knox Mountain is a popular park right on the edge of town full of hiking and mountain bike trails. But for the May long weekend its closed for 'regular' use and becomes Kelowna's very own speed trials track. The 2.2m paved road to the top of the mountain rises 800ft and the record is an unbelievable 1m 37s. Today we were seeing plenty of sprints around the 2 minute mark. It's crazy stuff with street legal cars to the super sporty and heavily modified. We were cheering on the mini in the main picture. It caught Chris's attention when we heard it had a motorbike engine in it. The car had been imported from the UK and been changed from right to left hand drive. And when we got to chat to the driver he was English too - just recently immigrated into Canada. Sadly he didn't have a good day - this was the first outing for the newly modified car. But thrills and action all the way for Victoria Day weekend.

Coming Soon...

2009-05-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

A Blog makeover...Can't wait!

Digi Layout

2009-05-14T13:47:00.000-07:00

My friend Carol has become a digital designer. And I've been promising myself to get around to using some of her fabulous creations. Finally I've taken some time out to sit down and do some digi-scrapping. We had some great photos of our nephew Callum rowing with his school team on the Thames last December. It was so cold and frosty that day and he was out of the house travelling across London to go training - he's only 15 and is so committed (remember this was Sunday, cold, and early - I know where I could be found at 8am on a Sunday when I was his age!)
Patterned papers: cpz designs 'What's a DH' paper kit, template: Jen Caputo, Felt stars: Sweet Shop Designs Carnival Kit, title tag: K Pertiet, Small stars & paperclip: OScraps Moonrise elements

Back in Canada!

2009-04-28T16:35:00.000-07:00

After our 10 day long drive through eastern Washington we arrived back in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia and reunited with Harvey. Happy to be back.
Happy that Harvey suffered relatively few problems and even started first time!
Happy that the weather is mostly good.
Happy that I can see snow capped mountains from my bedroom window.
Happy that Chris has his bike back.
Happy that we're hiking again.

It's been a busy week since we got here. We've had a rental car since we got back (ok, actually we've had three!). We drove 7 hours over to Banff (to drop off the first car) From 18 degrees in BC we got to Banff and proceeded on to friends in Calgary in snowstorms and -5 degrees! Nice?! We then took a couple of days to drive slowly back through the Canadian Rockies. Which was great...until we drove over a rock in the road. Actually more like drove 'through' it. It messed up the underside of the car pretty bad and oil poured out in a matter of minutes. And so we ended up 500kms from the nearest rental car office so made our way back to Kelowna via Greyhound - Hence 2 days later we're on our third rental car! It's all good. It goes back tomorrow so we've been running around getting admin done with the convinience of the car.Have gone hunting for rocks in the road on some of the local forest service roads. (isn't that what rental cars are for?!) With good reason...We wanted to get to Myra-Bellevue Canyon Provincial Park (and Chris just won't take us along 8km of dirt road on the bike!). Primarily the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) rails to trails route. The Canyon is beautiful - 3000ft above Lake Okanagan and as peaceful as can be. The trail through this particular part of the park is 12km long and features 18 railway trestles and a couple of tunnels - this was quite some feat of engineering of its time and is now preserved as a beautiful hiking and biking destination. Absolutely loved this place - we've been back twice. There's still so much snow up there right now - the first and last 5km of today's hike was in snow! And just 4km out of the city limits along the FS road we spied our first Canadian Moose!! (we have seen plenty of moose in the last 4 years, but given it's 'iconic' connection to Canada never one in this country!) Rather a treat!

We celebrated Chris's birthday on the 26th. By watching the MotoGP bike racing live from Japan at silly o'clock in the night, hiking the KVR and a nice home-cooked meal. Happy Birthday honey! (that's the birthday boy jumping for joy(?!))

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T23:23:00.001-07:00

Seattle gave us it's best for the Easter weekend - rain. Tons of it! And everything was shut. Which scuppered my plans for a bit of retail therapy before we head out of town and whilst Chris was watching the motorbike racing on TV (which was being held in the desert in Quatar and it got rained off! - unheard of!). Anyway...

To be honest we did a lot of sitting in the room today. Chris wasn't feeling great anyhow and eventually after a quick trip to Panera Bread for lunch and Walmart (ok, I was desperate to get out and to a shop of some sort!) I settled down to do some long overdue digi scrapbooking. This is the second of my class assingments from the 'Digi in Deep' class I took with Jessica Sprague. Fantastic class and excellent teaching style but I just didn't have the commitment to follow the class at the time so I'm playing catch up now. I'm pretty pleased with the results and with the extra time to prepare I unearthed this great old photo of Chris to pair with a more up to date one of him and his bikes!

Our 7th Wedding Anniversary

2009-04-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

We hopped a flight to Dublin for our 7th anniversary weekend. (this is LAST weekend - I haven't had time to update the blog for a while!) After Ryanair cancelled the first flight we then had 9 hours waiting for the alternative, but we got there in the end! I'd booked an ideal hotel right off O'Connell Street in the centre of town. Perfect for exploring the city on foot. We didn't delay in heading out on our first night (in fact on all three of the nights we were there!) We enjoyed open mic live comedy in a pub, drank plenty of Guinness and Irish cider, caught up with 2 old friends of Chris's, took a tour of the Guinness Storehouse, wandered the cobbled streets of the Temple Bar district, sat and relaxed in the grounds of Dublin Castle, stuck our fingers in the bullet holes at the GPO building where the 1916 Easter Uprising took place, walked along the river Liffey and drank some more Guinness and Irish cider. Dublin is a beautiful city. We just enjoyed the short time we had wandering aimlessly. It's all very compact so ideal for strolling and plenty of pubs for some liquid refreshment en route - and they seem so attractive - all cheerfully painted and decorated - how could you not stop by!On our last day we took a bus tour out into Co. Wicklow moutains and the medieval monastic settlement of Glendalough. We lucked out on the weather - it was mostly dry and blue and we relaxed and enjoyed listening to the lovely dulcite irish accented tour guide! We also visited the village of Avoca and the oldest handweavers in the country - dating back to the 1700's. Their weaving was gorgeous - but far too expensive for us gypsies so we satisfied ourselves with lunch in the resturant instead!

But all of this was because 7 years ago Chris and I thought it wasn't such a bad idea to get married after all - and with 7 years of getting used to the idea it was one of my better decisions!! Happy Anniversary Chris! - 7 years, 7 different countries and not an itch in sight!

Change is good...apparently

2009-03-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

Once again our lives are changing. This is our final weekend in the house and most of belongings are packed. It's sad to be going and right now it doesn't even feel that exciting to be setting off again (I know we'll be loving it again once we're gone) I've been so comfortable and cosy in the house, I've enjoying being a homemaker. From here we visit Chris's Mum in Cheltenham, then Thursday we fly to Dublin for our anniversary weekend. Then back again and 3 nights with my Mum & Dad then off to Seattle...phew..busy huh?!

Last weekend we cleared out some of our stuff at a car boot sale. SUCH fun! We had glorious weather which helps when you're sat around for 5 hours at Cheltenham racecourse and we made £85 and like I said got rid of a box or 2 of unwanted stuff! I've also squeezed in some scrapbooking the last couple of weeks. Went to a crop last weekend at Paper Arts so got a few layouts completed;This is only a year behind schedule. Photos from our trip to Amsterdam last winter we were home! Christmas Lunch in the Mills household... With Mum waking up ill on Christmas day and not making it out of bed the task of cooking lunch for 13 fell to Chris, Dad and I. We pulled it off, even if it was 3 hours late!I am not Irish, and I didn't even want to go out on the night of St Patricks Day, but Ian was visiting us and fancied a pint, and one thing led to another....We acquired St Paddys Day hats, lumnious glow sticks and a few too many pints inside. But it was a fun evening and Ian took these reputation-damaging photos on his iPhone!

3 things...

2009-03-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

3 New toys to play with...

We picked up our new lens from the post office today - a 50mm f/1.4 which already we love! This is the first prime lens we've ever had - it's kinda wierd for us to not have that capability to zoom in some form or another but I do love the blur on the backgrounds when taking still life or portraits. (no doubt there is a techinal term for that blur!!)

I finally got to drive the car for the first time since we've been back! This is our old car - the Mercedes SLK, the one we debated over colour, extras, finishes etc when ordering it back in 2002 (gosh it sounds so old!) We sold to my Mum and Dad and they are great enough to lend it back to us when we're around. But their insurance didn't allow under 35 year old drivers! And yesterday I drove all the way to Tesco. And it is a lousy uncomfortable ride as a passenger but I do oh so love driving it! Top down, good music through the Bose speakers - this is the life. (Until I got to the gas station and couldn't for the life of me work out how or where to get the filler cap open!! - had to phone Dad at home to ask!)

And finally the biggest addictive time-sapper (after facebook!), also known as my favourite birthday present ever - my still very new, very shiny, very sexy iTouch! LOVE THIS. love, love, love it! (and I love Chris for giving me it!) Of course it's good for me....I have bought the Brain Trainer game and that is the main cause of the addiction. Honest gov... (And I played Sudoku in the post office queue waiting to collect lens mentioned above!) (AND the photo is taken with the new lens - obviously!)

Ruby Wedding Celebrations!

2009-03-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

My Mum and Dad celebrated 40 years of marriage today - wow! I've got quite the example to live up to! And so the last few weeks I've been busy. Delving through old photos and some memorabilia. They were thoughtful enough to vacation in Florida last week so I had some uninterrupted time to dig deep (but next time Dad; can you sort and file a little better!)
So, like I said I was busy...creating this;I just hope it does them justice. I split it into 3 sections - photos of them before children - their courtship and wedding and newlywed years. Then the second section was of a family of 4 - the years from when I was born through till my brother and I left home. And finally the 3rd section was of their later years - the here and now, them with their friends. (You can see the full album here)

Congratulations Mum and Dad! I love you.xx

My Mosaic

2009-02-27T11:00:00.000-08:00

Grabbed this idea from reading through the lovely Anna's blog and thought I'd play along too (thanks for passing on the fun idea Anna!) and since Anna explained so well, here are the rules copied from her website!;

1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page, pick an image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into FD's Mosaic Maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favourite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favourite colour?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your Flickr name.

1.Helen (duh!) and I've visited here Mt St Helen's in WA St. Helens Sunset, 2. Curry probably Thai but a good English / Indian curry is awesome too! A Pot of Gold..., 3. Taunton - Queens College, 4. Blue Aurora Borealis in Singapore. Turning Night into Day, 5. Sean Connery (yes I know he's ancient now but he got oh so better with age!) Happy Birthday Big Tam, 6. BloodyMary, 7. Machu Picchu, Peru, 8. Baked Alaska, 9. Comfortable (this would be so my idea of camping too!) Camping, 10. Home Through the eyes of a puppy, 11. Content Perfection, 12. Brit_Chick (I was a skydive Brit Chick for the 2004 record of 60 girls (which isn't this photo!) and this photo is taken by one of my friends Andy Ford!) Brit chick record

I am such a lovely daughter!!

2009-02-18T09:14:00.000-08:00

We've been down in Somerset for the last couple of days. I've been been a busy bee putting together an updated website for my Mum & Dad's cake decorating supplies business - The Old Bakery. This was something I started about 8 years ago using Frontpage...and well!! This time, with no job I really have no excuse!! It's just using a basic tempate wizard that was a free option as part of their hosting package with Easyspace but it's still taken me the best part of 2 days (that included taking all the product photos!)

The names' SNOW.....Sergeant Snow!!

2009-02-06T05:51:00.001-08:00

Meet our new friend, or rather security guard - Sgt Snow! Oh the things you get up to when you don't have a job to go to!!! A carrot for a nose, a couple of tuppence pieces for eyes, a woven peice of elastic I had lying around for a mouth and tea lights for buttons, and adorned with a few of Chris's military medals and badges - just for a little status you understand! The neighbourhood is quite tickled by it - we've had so many come by and pose to take photos of him