Courir à Québec!

The mighty fleuve St-Laurent

That's what the catchphrase is for my race- I needed to recover before posting I guess:) I haven't got photos yet but I'll hopefully get some soon.

Quebec was beautiful, as always. The weather was bloomingly bright (if unseasonably cold for end of August) except for all of Sunday morning, which happened to be during the whole race.

I'll start at the beginning: on Friday, I travelled by train to Quebec and met up with my family, and spent some time with my grandparents and uncles. I haven't the opportunity to go up with my family for a few years, so it was definitely a treat, and so much different as and adult than a teenager too.

Saturday I went with Ruth to get my race kit and pick up some race swag, which is always fun. I bought Liz a headband. Someone from the Marathon de Paris thought Ruth and I were the same age heheh. Riiiight:)

We didn't do much else that day since it was cold and drizzly and it took us awhile to get going.

Then- Sunday- race day. I set the alarm at Grandmaman and Grandpapa's house, and it shrilly woke Ruth and I and it was terrifying to wake up to at 5 am but did the trick. I wasn't too nervous until partway through the morning when the anxiety set in. I ate breakfast in the half-light of the kitchen, and Dad drove me to catch the ferry.

That's right, I got to take the ferry to the other bank where the race started; I haven't taken that since I was young and my parents would take us across as pedestrians for something to do. I stood shivering in line, letting the French conversations swell and roll over me- it was like music to my ears. If I may say so myself, French people have a particularly fine sense of humour that doesn't take much to prompt, and gets one through all kinds of pickles.

I met another racer my age in my race and we chatted the whole way across, onto the buses, and up to the starting line. It was great to meet someone else at the race who didn't have a clump of people they already knew.

As for the race itself- I won't bore you with the details but I wore a running tank top in the chilly, damp morning but a few kilometres in I was warm. I paced myself with a few different people and didn't end up finding just one to keep up with. My new shoes gave me problems for most of it and I so badly wanted to walk parts of it, as I was in discomfort a good two/thirds of the time. The hills were definitely longer than London hills, and more frequent, but I love me my hills.

For all that, I loved the race. Really, the course was beautiful and the other runners sportsmanlike, calling "Lâchez pas!" if others stopped. I sprinted in with barely any energy to spare, and ended up with a personal best after all that, hills and all. My family met me just after the finish line, and it meant a lot to me to have their support. There was free massage afterward, which was great for my stiff legs, and they even had the option of instant coffee or bouillon with the post-race food:) Ah, the French.

Me and Ruth

I'll save the rest for another post; as it is, I'm sure only the bravest have read this far:)

A tantôt!

Chouette

I haven't got much to say today. The 5 k on Friday went pretty well, considering the heat and the steep hill that made my knees sore for the way back. My friend Tracy organized the whole event and she did a fantastic job. Some friends from work ran it as well and others came to watch, then we hung out afterwards for a while before heading back to the city; the race was by the beach, out of town.

Saturday and Sunday I worked, and Sunday was especially busy. My coworker and I were on our feet the whole time, dashing about madly, then I had a soccer game in 40+ degree heat, with the humidex.

Yesterday evening, Liz and I attended a Downhere concert and Building 429. We both love downhere and have since we first heard their music in high school, but hadn't seen them in concert. I was sure they would be the main act but weren't, so we got there a bit late and missed a couple songs. Liz and I biked there with our friend Renée, which was a nice bike ride.

I had been to the optometrist earlier that evening to have my eyes dilated so my eyes were sore and I was a bit of a grouch (sorry, girls~). The concert was wonderful though, and I appreciated how real the guys were about life, about the struggles we all face, about how that doesn't change who God is or who he is in our lives. It gave me something to mull over in the times I'm not rushing around. I could sure use more of that kind of contemplative time.

Renee convinced me to get a photo with one of the singers of downhere on my cellphone, so I did- I felt like the cheesiest fan ever and also like I was about 10. Oh well, it was still fun to meet them even though I wish I'd had the guts to say hi to one of the other members beside him. I also completely forgot to mention that I went to bible college with the drummer's sister-in-law; that was my whole connection point I was going to bring up. I guess I got nervous like I do when the attention is on me. Great night all the same.

Tonight I'm set to run 20k (ugh), and I'm really hoping it's not too hot out by the time I go, but I have a feeling the humidity will still be pretty high. My race is now in 12 days- just realizing that makes me nervous! I'm going to tackle a big hill my boss told me about, so that should help with the terrain aspect since Quebec is supposed to be quite hilly. I suppose it is; I should know from being there, but never noticed I guess.

Have a great afternoon, everyone.

I wonder as I wander

*disclaimer* I love to write long sentences, and I hope it's not annoying to read; it's a vice I can't quite shake. Could be worse, right?

As you may have noticed, I haven't posted much lately. Mainly, this is because my mind has been lacking of topics of interest to a general audience, I think, but also because I have been reading the blogs of strangers. I can tell you it's been fascinating.

I've added a section of blogs I have been eyeballing recently, and they are diverse but all well-written and with excellent photographs. Some people just ooze talent, I'm telling you. Some are particularly poignant- you should take a look when you have some time.

Being that I love to read but am hesitant to pull out a book at my desk since there are so many interruptions not congruent to a seamless storyline, I've found the happy medium in reading other people's blogs. Today it's http://www.matthewlogelin.com/, a link from http://www.kdsthinkingoutloud.blogspot.com/, one of the blogs of note on blogspot. It's truly heartwrenching but so funny and poignant at the same time- I truly recommend it. What a strange universe, to connect with total strangers in their day-to-day lives without their even knowing about it. I can't quite get used to it.

Anyhow, it's pushed me through an emotional roller-coaster all morning as I read, and one thing it's leaving me with is wanting to take more pictures, and write about the things children do, haha, for some reason. I have none of my own, but was reminded of something my little brother said when he was in kindergarten- we were outside on the front lawn playing some kind of outdoor game, and he pointed up and said something about the "cloudiz." He had a funny period of saying "iz" for all his plurals for a little while there, which I think is hilarious.

Well, since I have no kids I'm forced to write about other people's children which is bordering on just weird at the moment. Oh well, at least they're in my family... (?)

Along those lines, I've noticed as of late that it's not the same anymore to exchange kid stories with people who actually have children. Such as, they say "my kid did this" and I say "oh yeah, my brother did this." People don't really care, for one thing (and I don't blame them), and it's true it's not the same. I have borrowed these scenarios from my siblings for years but now when my peers are having kids themselves, that no longer cuts it. Seems that happened overnight.

Tomorrow I'm running in a 5 km race that my friend has organized. When I heard how many have signed up, all hopes of qualifying in the top 3 for my age group evaporated, but I'm hoping to enjoy it. Then in 17 days it's my race in Quebec! I am getting pumped but nervous too. I've been wanting to do this race for a while, but I only wish Liz could participate with me. I wish she could be there with the rest of the family but she'll be off to some pretty crazy adventures I'm sure:)

So, in honour of Liz, here's a photo from last year since I don't have new ones at the moment.

Wedding hoop-la

On Saturday, my good friend Nada got married! I've been consulting with her to give advice whenever she liked so it was so great to be a part of the wedding as a guest as well! I wish you could have seen it, the wedding reception was gorgeous and the dancing was great. I don't know how to do Arabic dancing but I enjoyed watching.

Last week, some girls from work had a bachelorette dinner for her, which was a lot of fun. Risqué, but fun:)





Oops, I didn't post one of Nada from the dinner, I'll have to add one!

Holly, me, and Nada- the three of us are close work friends (is that contradictory?) :)

Liz and I

Me and Holly

more work friends- we all sat together

*Sigh* it's so weird to think that now she is married. Her husband is great and I'm so happy for them- wait- I didn't get his picture on here either, haha- it was late last night when I was transferring them. Still, it will be different now. Holly and I are going to celebrate with Nada for her birthday after her honeymoon. It's pretty lonely where I sit at work without her but I'm sure she's having a blast, travelling about.

I'll get those missing photos up soon!

Ciao!

Flowers, on the verge of a storm

On Saturday, on the way home from work, I noticed these flowers along the side of a house and I couldn't resist coming back to snap some photos. I made it just before the rain came down! Only after did I discover my little camera can take manual focus photos! Oh well, I'm happy with how they turned out anyways, since I was just experimenting.

My favourite

Thanks to the Duecks and the Shumans for inspiring me with your flower photos- not sure if you read my blog since I don't actually know you (odd, I know), but thanks all the same:)

More to come...wedding stuff!

Down in the valley where the green grass grows...

I thought I was up-to-date on posting, but the way these days have been going, I'm missing a lot in a short time.

The weekend of my birthday, I went home to visit my family and to attend a family reunion. We sure packed a lot into a few days! We stayed up late on Friday night talking when I was so tired, but it was great to catch up and get into the discussions that always seem to end up happening:) Good ones, mostly, though!

Saturday, I awoke to thunder right overhead that was shaking the house, so all thoughts of sleep quickly vanished, but I hung out with my little brothers reading Astérix and Obélix comics with them and we had a hilarious time. I hung out with my little sister Ruth quite a bit, which was fun since we were the only two sisters home, not usual for when I'm visiting.

That afternoon was our family reunion- I'll post photos soon- that my cousin living out west organized. How great to see everyone again. I still feel like I'm a kid sometimes at those things, but this time felt like I was relating to my aunts and uncles and older cousins as an adult...about time, I know:) But it's like there's been a divide between my siblings and the older cousins, simply because we're in different places in life, but that gap is lessening as we get older. All in all, it was a delightful visit. I was so encouraged as well not to stress about career or life decisions- I guess I must have expressed those concerns to a few that were there, haha- oops! I hope it wasn't too much of a downer. Really, I have a cool family. Quirky and a little OCD at times, but fun all the same:)

My dad's retirement cake

Me and my cousin Julie

The next day, I got to see everyone at my parent's church- it's stranger and stranger every time I go home because there are more people cropping up that I've never met but apparently know who I am. Some little girl wished me a happy birthday because my mom must have mentioned it to her- I had no idea who she was at first:) I love seeing the ones I know, though, and got to visit with a few I really wanted to see.

That afternoon, my brother and I had a joint birthday celebration (since our birthdays fall in the same week). I don't think we've done that before and I really enjoyed sharing that with him. Mom made us mini fruit flans which we both were hoping for- it was so sweet of her.

Right after, I went to visit my friends Chantal and Nathalie, and it was great to see them. (I should say, it was great to see you, since you're mostly the ones who read this!) :) We'll have to visit longer next time! I'm glad I could stop by quickly though, and see Nicky too.

Unfortunately it was just a short visit as my parents were with me on the way to a 30th anniversary party for some friends I've known since birth, probably. What a reunion- I haven't seen some of those people for years, and it was great to spend some time on the Quebec side while at home and get back to those roots in a sense. It kind of felt like a homecoming, that whole afternoon.

Anouk, Amélie, me, and Marie-Michelle

Fanie and I

The next day I headed back on the Greyhound, but the trip was not so bad. I mostly slept and read and killed some time puttering around a few blocks away from depot in Toronto on my layover. All in all, a whirlwind weekend, but I had a great time reconnecting! Awkward at times, but wonderful too:)

Okay, I'll post photos soon, see ya's later, as we say in the Valley! :D

Bon Voyage, Jenny!

On Friday, Liz and I greyhounded it to Hamilton to meet up with Jenny. She had packed up everything for her trip, and it was sad to truck out all her boxes and leave her place so empty. Sigh. Another chapter, and all that comes with it, I suppose.

It was great to spend the weekend with her and her parents- the weather was great (although the bay was freezing!) and we swam and kayaked a bit. The sleeping-in part was wonderful. Georgian Bay is beautiful- I can see why her family settled there!

Sunset on Georgian Bay

Goodbye, Hamilton!

It seems so strange that Jenny, then Liz, are about to embark on this big adventure...now I'm the one to be left behind feeling out of sorts. We all take turns like that, it seems! I feel like sometimes Liz and Jenny have more in common; well, they do, it's not just a feeling; I mean, I feel like I don't contribute to our friendship in a meaningful way. I've learned so much from Jenny by living with her and I'm grateful she is persistent to keep in touch- it is so enriching and she has touched my life so much. Thanks, Jenny!

Me and Ashlee

On Monday, I took the day off as my friend Ashlee (and roomie from 4th year) flew to London for some training a day early so we could hang out. She had some issues with her plane not being able to land in London and had to spend the night in the airport in Toronto, poor girl. However, we still were able to meet up bright and early in the morning:) We spent some time being tourists in London, checking out the basilica downtown, and went out for lunch with one of her friends. It was so great to see her again- I would have loved to visit for longer, but it was great to catch up in the time we did have. Have a great trip, Ash! You know I'll be thinking of you & praying for you!

Some endings, some beginnings...ah, the passage of time...that just makes me feel old because my birthday is coming up, yikes. Oh well, can't be helped.

Bye for now!