Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Photo post!

 Liz and I at a state park near their house
 Meet Ralph! Poodle pup extraordinaire! :)
Liz and Jeremy redid this wall, it used to be pink brick and looks great now- if you look closely you can see hard work and sweat and blood and tears etched in, heheh
 Vegetarian shepherd's pie made with lots of kale and horseradish, and the requisite sweet tea
 Jeremy's '68 Mustang, I couldn't resist getting a photo with it
 A classic "birthday-Liz" expression:)
 Looking cheesy at dinner
 Awwww :) Liz and Jeremy
 I know it's not a good photo but I love this one, for the laughter

 Now looking over-exposed- darn camera, can't win
 Goodbye at the airport :( We were actually really bummed but tried to look cheerful.
Not related to my trip at all, but I couldn't pass up these fiddleheads at the market and man, were they tasty

Thanks for stopping by, feel free to comment:) Ciao.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

C'est la vie...

What a mixed-up few weeks it's been. I'm not as stressed as I imagined I would be by now, so that is definitely something to be thankful for! I feel as though I ought to be a bit more worried about all the things that are up in the air, but there's no use barking up that tree for very long :)

Two weeks ago - has it been that long? - I flew to visit Liz Jeremy in Ohhhhh-kla-ho-ma! Haha. It's funny how you don't realize how much you miss someone until you see them again then have to leave. Darn it. Mind you, it's much easier to be the one leaving than the one left, don't you find? Liz and I were a couple of dweebs in the airport when she dropped me off to go, saying goodbye a whole bunch of times and of course I insisted on a few extra hugs :) We had a lovely visit, and I'll post photos; be warned, though, I didn't really see the sights or anything, it's mostly Liz, the puppy, and food ;) Not atypical of my subject matter. My camera is not that great so it's the excuse I fall back on, although it's kind of a weak one.

We had some great chats, food, laughs, you know, the normal sister stuff. Lucky for me, Liz is back on coffee and theirs was great:) It helps having fancy appliances that people get you for your wedding, heheh ;) Just kidding, Liz. I bonded more with my brother-in-law, Jeremy, now that I get his sense of humour- I think we both didn't quite get each other at the start but I sure like him, he's a keeper. It was cool to see them in their house, a bit more settled and in their own space. Hopefully we'll see them in Canada for a visit soon!

Soccer season has finally started here, and, to make up for all the lost playing time, the league decided to smush a bunch of games together the first few weekends. Since I'm playing on two different teams to begin with, this has meant one game on Friday and three on Sunday, last week and this week, plus once-a-week ultimate games. If you add on to that the fact that I biked to many of those games and to work, it's a lot in a short time and I am realizing that I'm not fifteen anymore. Or, for that matter, twenty...you get the idea ;) Biking home between games today, it occurred to me that working out this much is a surefire way either to get in shape really fast, or to die trying, or to injure yourself really nicely in the attempt. Or some combination of those things, hahah. Oh boy. I choose to believe I'm getting into killer shape. Yesterday I had also a 5k for a friend's sister-in-law, which was rather grueling, and I also biked there and back. Oy.

Okay, enough about me whining about physical activity ;) I'm truly grateful to have the ability to bike where I need to go, and to participate in so many sports activities. Without those, I'd need some major outlets to blow off steam, probably. Not that I'm an angry person, but it's a good way to use energy, wouldn't you say?

So. This is turning out to be what I hope will be a week of answers. I have a job interview coming up- nervous!- and this would take me in one direction. I'm also hoping to find out some concrete information about education, as it's getting down to crunch time and I need to know a few things before I can make all the other subsequent decisions that hinge upon it. Ha! Probably I needed high blood pressure at this time, heheh. Anyways, much of it is out of my hands but that won't keep me from pounding at those doors until I know what to expect. Those folks are going to love hearing from me, the squeaky wheel.

I'll keep you posted on all that!

The writing is going rather haltingly, when it's happening at all...I seem to be suffering from tremendous writer's block and feelings of intimidation when faced with all the terrific writers and writings out there. I ought to be inspired, not downtrodden...it will pick up, but there's no formula to it, I'm finding; no magical way of setting the stage so the story will present itself. It's different every time. I'm supposed to submit some pages to my writing mentor and I'm cringing at the thought, as to what she will think, but that shouldn't deter me. And it won't, ultimately. I just have to wrestle the "no" monster (whatever that means...is that an expression?).

Recently, I was inspired to do some sorting and cleaning and such, and, as a treat, organized all the books in my bookshelf. Yes, I know, I'm a nerd, that sort of thing is really exciting to me ;) It's now in non-fiction, adult fiction, children/young adult fiction (novels) and picture books. You've no idea how satisfying it is for me to survey this wonderful shelf and I just feel like having people over and showing them each title. Aren't you glad most of you that read this live far away ;)

Next, I will be cataloguing them somehow, which I'm greatly looking forward to. I'm going to try to note down where each book came from, because with each one, there is a story, and that's half the charm, I find.

Does anyone else have these odd kind of habits they enjoy? If so, please do share, so we can revel in our oddities together ;)

I'd love love love to go camping this summer, but it seems you have to plan these things ahead and I have no such plans as of yet. That will have to change, evidently ;) Summer is for camping, it's as simple as that. It must happen at least once, even if I have to pitch a tent in my parents' backyard like when were were kids, although hopefully it doesn't come to that.

In other news, I'm off to have an epsom salt bath to soak my aching body. Second one in two days, I swear by them.

Photos to follow! Once my camera batteries charge! Alert the masses!

~Cheerio~

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

tra la la

...I didn't know what to title my post today :)

It's been a crazy couple of weeks again. On Friday and Saturday I went to the visitation and celebration of life for the dad of two of my friends, they're a family from my church. It was moving to hear how profoundly he touched so many lives and what a wonderful dad and husband he was, but it breaks my heart that these girls don't have their dad anymore. I can't seem to get past that. I think that must be so difficult at any age.

There's been a lot of last-minute communication with different schools- now I just wait to see where I get in, and what kind of transfer credit they can give me- yikes! I'm nervous to go back to school, as I have a hard time scheduling my time as it is, let alone when it comes to making studying a priority, but I need to get good marks if I want to apply for a master's after, so hopefully that will keep me going. That said, I have caught the travel bug really strongly, probably because it's not an option for me at the moment, haha. That's okay, at the end of the month I'm hoping to visit Liz in Oklahoma, which will be an adventure in itself, I'm sure. I'm looking forward to seeing her, since I haven't seen her since the wedding in December, briefly, and before that, since September when she moved.

After that, I need to save all my pennies for studies :)

My little brother Ben is planning to move here in the fall to attend college, he's accepted into a one-year program related to aviation that he's really excited about. It's hard to believe he's old enough to be on his own, although he has been for a couple years, hehe. Plus my little sister is looking into universities, and is graduating this year...how did these kids grow up so fast? I know that's what people tend to say about their kids, not their sibs, but I guess since I'm only home a few times a year, I can see the changes more drastically.

That reminds me- I still have to post photos from Easter...

Spring is finally here, and with it, warm winds and sunshine, and it's incredible what a difference that makes. I think it's the smell in the air that does it, you know?

Does anyone have plans for Victoria Day (if you have that holiday)?

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

What do you think?

Hey, do you like my new blog layout? It's long overdue and I've been enjoying how other people have revamped their blogs, so it was time :)

Tonight, I'm hoping to attend a workshop at the library about urban agriculture and growing gardens in the city so you can grow food for your family. I'm excited for it because it will show how even in the city you can use the space you have to grow food, and one of my goals this year is a) actually grow something edible, b) keep said thing alive, and c) eat or prepare the something. I'm thinking herbs are the least ambitious, but hopefully I'll get some ideas tonight.

My hairdresser told me it's the thing right now to eat avocado for your hair, so I thought, why not, and bought an organic one at the market last time I went. It went mushy really fast but I spread it on some rye bread to make a sandwich for my lunch, with brie, so we'll see how it goes, I'm a little leery as to how those two will go together. I have my side of edamame that I like having at work, yum. My coworker across from me emailed me some vegetarian recipes, including chocolate quinoa crepes, and they look really good. I need more motivation to cook things, and I'm not a very good vegetarian because I don't eat enough beans, grains, etc.

Just now, I signed up for a 10k race on May 1st, which should be interesting since I've been sick for a while and haven't been training at all. I was going to drop down to a 5k but since I'm not signed up for any other races this spring, I think I'll stick with it. It feels weird, usually I do 1-2 half-marathons in the spring, but not this time. Oh well. It will probably be my last race before my birthday- for some reason I always notice that on the registration because it asks how old you are on race day.

I guess that's enough rambling for now. When I'm home, I'm hoping to hit up the local library since they keep getting rid of books when they're not read after one year, and I'm sure I'm missing out on so many good ones, and there's not much I can do about it other than buy the ones I can when I am visiting:) Yes, I know, I'm such a nerd...they're usually kids' books, too...I really need to get more adult fiction for my bookshelf, heheh.

Happy Easter, everyone! Thanks for reading! ...xo...

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Kind of fitting for just before Easter

It's been quite a few weeks. Just when I'm trying to sort out work/school details, life keeps happening...a memorial service/celebration of life, baby shower, poetry workshops, two fundraiser events (MS Walk and CN Tower climb), and I've had a lingering cough on top of everything. There hasn't really been much time or motivation to write...and I don't even have kids or anything...how do people do it?

I need to intentionally scale back some of my social stuff- it's not like I'm tremendously popular but I like to attend different events or activities and have a hard time saying no, and that doesn't tend to go well with studying lots, I hear:)

The lady in my church who died, whose celebration of life I attended on the weekend- it's hard to believe she's gone. I don't think I grieve well, if such a thing is possible- I tend to regress to five-year-old capacity and have a hard time absorbing loss, even if I'm not close to them. I have a number of close friends who have experienced significant loss close to them, and it's not something I can fathom. I don't know what I'd do, and I don't want to think of the possibility. See what I mean about acting like I'm five?

One thing I've noticed is that coming into contact with death makes me want to go visit my family more often, spend time with them, not miss out on anything I'd regret. It's that urge to hold them tighter as if to keep them safe. It's a big part of why I'm seeing my family at Easter, admittedly.

I came across a poem a number of years ago, in Patricia Maclachlan's book, Baby, which pretty much sums up my reaction to death, or expresses it the way I can't. I've returned to it several times because it's so honest, and I'd like to share it here:

Dirge Without Music

Edna St. Vincent Millay

I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:
Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
With lilies and with laurel they go; but I am not resigned.

Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you.
Be one with the dull, the indiscriminate dust.
A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew,
A formula, a phrase remains - but the best is lost.

The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love,
They are gone. They have gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled
Is the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve.
More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the world.

Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.

I don't mean that to be depressing, but rather an affirmation of life with all its joys and small moments of beauty. You should read it in context (borrowed, albeit) in Baby; it's a poignant tale told beautifully by one of my favourite authors.

Wishing you a warm rest of the week (come on, Spring!) and a happy Easter with loved ones.

xo.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Some fall photos- LOLA fest and a race

One of many art exhibits, this was hung over the main stage during LOLA, and I couldn't get over the beauty of it; it changed the whole look of the park.




Do you like how you can see the cathedral and high-rises in the background? The shows usually had a better turnout, but the weather was rainy on and off. I was volunteering part of the time so didn't get that many snapshots, unfortunately.
One of my favourites, Leaf Bird, from Chicago. It was their first time playing outside of Chicago, and they had a laid-back, folksy feel. I'm glad I happened to catch this.
This one is a little bittersweet- Liz's shiny bronze cowboy boots she got at a thrift store, next to her pile of baggage, the day before she moved to the States :(
Lisa and I just after her first half-marathon, in Toronto, last September. She rocked that race, and I did pretty well too- all in all, lots of fun.

Phew! Now that I've overloaded you with photos, maybe it's okay if I post a few without ;) Still, I'd like to get better at photography, so that could motivate me to take more photos. That, and the fact that it's finally SPRING!!

Later!

Catching up with some photos

Leyla & Ben with Jenny and me on the stairs on the way up to a lookout in Montreal. We were getting together, the three girls, to hang out before Liz's wedding and maybe find a dress- none of us did, but it was so great to spend time with each other again.

The cross at Mont-Royal, I think

Sandbanks Provincial Park with my high school friends, our once-or-twice-a-year hangout weekend in which we gallivanted about on the dunes, toured some wineries in Prince Edward County (a fantastic wine region), and played board games:)
Jenny came to visit last week, and I had a couple days off from work to see her before her second Africa trip. We found two spots to hike right by London, which, I regret to say, I had never yet been to! It was just the ticket, slogging through snow, being in nature, ahhh :)

These holes in the snow were crusted over with ice- looks cool eh?
Jenny and me, squinting in the bright, yet overcast, light
These are a little out of order since I can't move them around- our lovely mid-March snowstorm. Pretty, but we were so ready for spring already!
I've got a few from fall yet to post...