Now I Get It!!

I've bitten the bullet and decided to pay for 24 hours of internet access so that I can update everyone on our adventures in British Columbia. We're having the most amazing time!

Mike and I agree that this trip is definitely our second best vacation (first being our Mexico/Jamaica wedding/honeymoon trip) and we're just halfway through it. We arrived in Vancouver last Friday and spent the night with Rebecca; she has the most phenomenal view from her condo on Sunset Beach.

Saturday morning we drove two hours to Whistler Mountain where we had planned to spend five nights. The two and a half hours it took to drive to the mountain seemed like just a blink of an eye thanks to the phenomenal views!

Cara, Herwig and Rosie met up with us in Whistler just a few moments after we arrived in the village. The boys hit the Whistler Golf course where they played a round, drank some pints and enjoyed the scenery.

Cara, Rebecca, Rosie and I spent the afternoon catching up over drinks (milk for the baby, beer for the ladies) and then took a hike to Lost Lake where we snapped some pics, oohed and ahhed over the baby and yapped some more.



Sunday afternoon the fun continued...
I now understand my husband's obsession with mountain biking. Cara, Rebecca and I rented some bikes and gear and hit the trails and WOW was it fun!

I'm totally hooked on mountain biking. I had a blast zipping down the hill with Reebs and Neen, three runs were just enough to get me hooked!

Monday and Wednesday there are women's clinics offered for a crazy good price at Whistler so I attended both clinics on my own and loved every minute. The girls were super cool and the coaches were awesome. They split us into groups by riding ability and there was no pressure to ride any runs we weren't comfortable with or to move at any particular speed. Both nights I rode with the lower intermediate group because I was comfortable riding blue runs (green are the easiest). I learned some basic riding techniques on Monday; Wednesday our coach, Jim, taught us to jump. Hitting table top jumps was what he worked with us on - not jumping over anything so mom don't fret - I caught a little air on a few of the table tops after practicing over and over again so that was pretty cool!

So far I've ridden Easy Does It (green), part of Golden Triangle (blue), B-line (blue), a bit of Ho Chi Min (blue) which was my least fav due to the zillion rocks and roots, Crank-it-up (blue) which I loved and Heart of Darkness (blue) which is pretty intense thanks to the drop on the right but wow is it fun! Mike is pretty stoked that I liked riding, we're going to bike together tomorrow! Yay!

Jessy, Colin, Ian and Jackie all arrived on Sunday afternoon. Rebecca headed back to Vancouver after riding but Cara and Herwig stuck around for another night. Remember I said we had planned a five night stay in Whistler? Well it has turned into eight nights thanks to a crazy rock slide that has blocked the only highway from Whistler to Vancouver. Thankfully our hotel has offered us a fabulous price for additional nights while the road is blocked. We've got it made at the Mountainside Lodge and would definitely stay here again in the future, we're right at the base of the mountain in the village. Check out the view from our room.


Monday the girls all went kayaking while the boys rode and others (Herwig - such a good man) took care of Rosie.

We had such a good laugh, particularly when Jessy flipped her kayak landing in the freezing cold creek next to a beach where three strangers were sitting, thankfully they were kind and helped us to right jess' kayak before they laughed at the situation. Hilarious!

We've been up to much more since Monday but I think this is a long enough post for today. I'll tell you about some of our other adventures tomorrow. It really has been a fabulous week!

Theme Thursday: Summer Fun

This week's theme was an easy one for me to take part in, playing with my niece and nephews is always a good time!

Two More Sleeps

We leave for Vancouver in less than 48 hours. I am far from being ready but I'm super excited and wish Friday would just hurry up and get here already! I'm dying to see my girls and their boys too! The plan is to touch base with Rebecca, Cara, Rosie, Herwig, Jen, Mike, Jackie, Ian and of course Jess and Colin throughout the two weeks we are West... there are a few others we are hoping to see while there as well but we'll have to wait and see whether it works out. YAY!!!

A shot from our June 2007 visit to Van

We have loads of adventures planned and both Mike and I will be blogging regularly while we're away so you'll see and hear all about it as it happens! Two weeks with a pile of friends who we haven't seen in quite some time and loads of fun things waiting for us to partake in. What trouble will we be getting ourselves into? You'll have to wait and see! I'm keeping all the goodies to myself and intend to share with them with you as they occur.

CARA DON'T LOOK!

Rosie Posie is turning 6 months old while we are in Vancouver visiting! Only 3 more sleeps until we leave!! Since I was so sure she was a boy before she arrived I crocheted her a blue blanket with bits of pink running through it; obviously I was wrong (see I do admit it sometimes) so when I sewed her a 6 month birthday blanket I figured I should go pink pink and more pink.


I love the soft minky fabric, I think I'm going to make myself a throw with it.

Minky Baby Blanket

This pink minky fabric is super soft and cuddly, the perfect texture to wrap a little one in. The print side of the blanket is 100% cotton.
This blanker is lined to give it a little extra warmth and softness.

Measurements:
Appx. 25" x 35" perfect for a crib, car seat or stroller.

This is... what makes me happy.

Family and friends are at the top of the list of things that make me happy. These three in particular give me warm fuzzies: I can't help but smile when I see their faces whether it's in person or in photographs.




Better late than never. Thanks to One Little Acorn for this week's "This is..." theme.

A Fabulous Shop: Deciduous Soul

This beautiful little scrabble tile looks even better in real life than it does in this picture! The owner of the Etsy shop Deciduous Soul is lovely to deal with which is a definite bonus when shopping online.

A Day at the Beach

It was an incredibly windy day at the beach, so windy in fact that our little swimmer wasn't able to get close to the waters edge without holding tight to a hand belonging to an adult. We played in the water and built sand castles but a good deal of Neve the three year old daredevil and my time was spent on the jungle gym: climbing rock walls, swinging, going down the curly and bumpy slides, swinging, climbing up the slides and more swinging.




Playing in the sand with my parents sitting in lawn chairs beside the big beach blanket time warped me back to my childhood. My mom packed one of her famous beach lunches of course, loads of sandwiches, fresh fruit, cookies, cheese, chips and more liquid than an army could consume. Yum!




Grams, Papa and Neve being goofs.


Eight zillion shots later...


One of my absolute favourite pictures of the day: pure happiness on my parents' faces.

More from Someday Farm

A few more of the pictures I snapped yesterday while visiting Someday Farm. Truly a slice of heaven.

Sisters posing for the camera, they're sucking on all natural wheat, not cigarettes. This field is on one side of the property...


And this field is on the other...

What a view!


I absolutely loved the barn... can you tell?







Finally this shot was taken out of the window of Tanya's car on our way home - these wind turbines are truly amazing to see.

Someday Farm

I fell in love with Tanya's sister Kim's farm when we visited yesterday! She has an absolutely beautiful property situated between two massive fields, and she's only a five minute drive to the beach! Heaven on earth. Thanks Kim for a nearly perfect day, it only the raw pork roast hadn't been eaten by your massive doggie.

You know I'm only kidding, it was an absolutely wonderful day and the beauty of Kim's property led to some great photo opps. I'll post more pics tonight; I'm off to the beach with my parents and Neve.

Elizabeth the 1st

This sweet little clutch in the batik design was named Elizabeth the 1st by my husband Mike. When I asked him why Elizabeth he paused and replied: "because it's beautiful enough for a queen to carry." Enough said.
Elizabeth's MeasurementsA fabulous little clutch that can hold a whole lot of goodness. Appx. 6" x 8"
Closure: vintage button
I hand delivered Elizabeth to her new owner today and she absolutely loved her! Thanks Kim!

Hannah Mania - custom order

Two Hannah Montana fans who love the colours pink and purple will soon be receiving these tiny totes and pencil case their mom ordered for them.

Tote Measurements
Handles: 6" drop
Bag: Appx. 13" x 12"
The perfect size for a child's tote (worn on the shoulder) or a hand-held adult tote.

The eldest of the girls is going into grade 1 this September and her mom wanted a special pencil case for her, I hope she likes it. I lined the little pink tote with the same fabric seen in the pencil case below.

Pencil Case Measurements
Appx: 9" x 5"
Yes those are brand new pencils - I laid a few in there just to be sure they would fit comfortably. Phew!

Hannah Banana

Another 'to do' checked off the list.

For details on these children's' tote bags and pencil case please pop over to gingham skies.

It Was Better Than Fair

It was a lovely day spent with one of my all time best girls: Tanya. We drank cappuccino (yep that's a pic of mine up above) and ate yummy fresh salads and sandwiches at a new Fair Trade cafe located Uptown Waterloo: Seven Shores Urban Market and Cafe. It is a wonderful little cafe where you can find good eats and beautiful handcrafted items to decorate your home and self. Of course we ate gelato today as well, how could we not when it was right there in front of us and oh so mmm.

Only a week and a half until Mike and I leave on our trip out West which I am crazy excited about BUT that means I only have a week and a half left to get in all the Tanya-time I can. She heads off on her year (maybe two) long adventure in Russia when we're vacationing in BC. Did that 'two' sound more like I meant 'too'? It wasn't an accident. I'm very excited for Tanya but selfishly sad for me, I'll miss her like crazy!

This is...what makes my skin crawl.

cockroach
Originally uploaded by phrenophile

Brown bugs, cockroaches, nastiest creatures on earth: same difference. Whatever you like to call them these disgusting little buggers make my skin crawl! I worked for a family up North for a few summers and these little buggers were everywhere (they like damp wood so a cottage on an island is like a little piece of heaven for them).

I woke up as I slapped my chest one morning to find that I had smashed one of these nasty guys to bits under my pajama top - from that night on I wore many layers to bed and tucked my pj pants into my socks!

You learn to shake out your bathing suits really well after finding a cockroach inside... thankfully I saw it before it hit skin. Ewwwwww!

Thanks to flightless boyds for this weeks theme.

Flashback Friday

Isn't it funny what memories stick in your head? So much of my past is made up of foggy recollections but there are some days/moments that are crystal clear.

The moment this photo was taken is crystal clear in my mind. My best friend Martha (her back is facing the camera) and I were playing charades on the front lawn of the house I lived in until I was 7. I was pretending to be a lion here and she was just about to guess correctly when my when my Aunt Alison came out and snapped the picture.

While riding my bike yesterday I had a few other random memories pop into my head,, things I haven't thought of in years: popping tar bubbles that formed on the side of the road, we would be covered in nasty sticky tar and could have cared less; riding my bike with no hands and showing off to my brother and cousins when WHACK I smacked into the back of a parked car. I'm not sure how bike riding triggered these two but I had a good laugh yesterday recalling them.

Mikey Likes It!

I'm always thrilled to find a new recipe that both Mike and I like, it's not always easy but thankfully in his old age my man is willing to try new things. This might not seem like a big deal to some but Mike is known for being a bit of a 'selective' eater... I think it's safe to say that he was known to be picky but in my opinion he is moving out of the picky zone.

I found a yummy recipe in June's issue of Chatelaine and when I read the words pork tenderloin I figured it would be safe to suggest it to my husband. The part I wasn't so sure of were the peaches... he wasn't so sure himself until he took a bite and YUM!

This is a really easy, healthy and filling summer salad. Speaking of healthy and lazy I'm too lazy to type out the entire recipe so I snapped a pic of Chatelaine's original recipe.

I couldn't find minced chipotle in adobo sauce at the discount grocer near my house so I just chopped up half a jalapeno and tossed it in. Mmmm mmmm good.

See, super easy and really yummy!

She'll Walk Like a Cowgirl

Tomorrow I may very well resemble a cowgirl.

For the first time this year I hopped on my bike and I'm very proud to say that I rode it 8 km to my parents house; I spent 3 hours scraping paint off the back of the house, cooled off in the pool and then climbed back on my steed and rode 8 km back to my place. I will admit I took two different routes ensuring I had big hills to ride down each way, that being said there was no getting around big hills to go up on both routes as well.

On the way there I honestly considered stopping and turning around when I was less than half way - it suddenly hit me that I would have to complete this journey a second time in the same day. Thankfully I talked myself out of turning around and I completed my trip.

I said that my holidays would officially start following the presentation on "Abuse in the Deaf Community" I had committed to giving at the university and that took place this morning soooo HAPPY HOLIDAYS to me!

I've been terrible about keeping active even though I continuously publicly declare my intentions but here I go again. I will do something physical, even if it's just a 20 minute walk, every day of my holidays (now until August 24th) because I have absolutely no excuse not to.

Two Mer Sisters Named Amelia

I cannot believe that I'm nearing the end of my second week of holidays already! Time flies. What have I done for the last week and a half? A little bit of this and a little bit of that, I have been busy so I haven't blogged much but I'll try to be a little more regular for the remainder of the summer.

Last Friday I spent the afternoon with Neve. We started our playtime with a swim shortly after I arrived at my parents place where Neve was spending the day with Papa (as per her usual Friday routine). After playing "sister mermaids" for half an hour Neve decided we should call each other Amelia for the rest of the day and I suggested that the Amelias take a trip to the park. Surprisingly 'Amelia' agreed and we ventured off to the nearby school yard where I often played as a kid.

A sweet little girl named Ping ran straight over to us when we stopped by the climbing equipment. You've got to love kids. When Ping asked Neve what her name was her response was to tuck her chin into her chest, scooch closer to me and then growl at poor little Ping. Thankfully Ping wasn't put off by this display of Neveness, she asked Neve a few more questions which received the same growl of a reply... I tried to coax words out of my beautifully stubborn niece but not surprisingly I had no luck. Ping looked at me confused and asked "Why can't her talk?" I couldn't help but laugh.

Ping asked Neve to play with her and suggested a few other things before giving up and focusing her attention on me. She looked up at me with a big smile and proudly announced that she was 5 years old, went to this school and could swing across ALL of the monkey bars. After glancing nervously at the growling girl tucked against my thigh I asked Ping if she would like to show us her very cool talent.

It was Ping's excellent display of monkey bar crossing that caught Neve's attention (as much as she didn't want to watch she couldn't help her eyes from looking in Ping's direction). Before I knew it Neve was chasing after Ping copying her every move, you would have thought the two were old friends. Ping showed Neve how to do a cartwheel, Neve watched carefully and then avoided having to try it herself by announcing "I can do ballet. Want me to teach you ballet?" She then spun around and fell on her butt which threw drew giggles from both girls.

A very sweet moment for me to watch was when Ping suddenly stopped what she was doing and crept closer to Neve. She peered into Neve's face, smiled her beautiful smile and chirped, "You have the same hair as me! You have the same kind of eyes as me too!" Neve smiled back at Ping and said, "Yes, we match."

Ping and her dad left the playground around the same time my dad drove by honking his horn, he surprised Neve and I with ice cream cones to devour before we made the short but hot journey home.

While sitting under the shade of a tree on the playground eating our ice cream Neve asked me if I thought we would see Ping again, she liked her new friend and hoped they could play again. Neve talked about the fun she had had playing with Ping and me and told me, "I was shy and then no more."

I asked her why she had been shy at all and her response made my day: "I didn't want to share you Aunt Jaime."

Little Bits Bag with Button Accents

This the finished Little Bits Bag that goes with this tote here.


I was surprised when the bag was finished, I wasn't too impressed with the batik fabric on its own as a Little Bits Bag. I added the tiny white buttons on both sides to give it a little bit of glam.