My favourite holiday

If we focus on the colour that is being celebrated - then St Patrick's Day is at the top of my list. I love all things green. It's got a lot of other good things going for it: people gather in pubs, outrageous costumes are encouraged, and it's all about celebration. It's the adults version of Halloween - it lasts all day and focuses on drinking!  :)

I had a pretty low key St Paddy's this year. I went into the village and joined Alyx and her family/friends for a couple pints in the afternoon.

She was even kind enough to share her Guiness hat with me. I asked if I could have it for keeps, but it came at a high selling price. I'd have to promise that I'd wear it every day - somehow I didn't think I could manage that.

Her parents were there and in the Irish mood. Those glasses are so styling! Ya Mom & Pop Gilgunn. ;)

Kate was out with her man Jay. he played the part of the leprechaun to a T with the suspenders and hat.

Brett evenually showed up - he biked in teh hail and rain. We were pretty sure that a rainbow and pot of gold would show up after that, but we were outta luck.

Alyx shared these bits of glamour with me! Left over from Christmas, they are super hot green, white and orange (I'm going out on a limb saying that) press on nails. Meow!

May the luck o' the Irish be with you all through the rest of the year!

countdown!

This weekend with G&D we spent a lot of time planning an outdoor trip for June - July. It will involve us + Kim, some 70km of canoeing, 40km of hiking and (fingers crossed) great weather in which to bask.

We'll be starting our journey just north of Port Alberni and canoeing the Great Central Lake, hiking to the base of Della Falls, and then turning around and coming home. Estimated time (we're gonna enjoy a semi-leisurely pace) will be 6 nights in the wilds.

This will be my first true-backpacking trip - living off what I can carry on my back and (as a treat) what our canoe can carry! I've got most of what I need, yet the list of things to buy (gaitors, camelbak, pack cover, etc) seems really long.

I went to MEC today to get a couple of luxury items. Nice to get those now, so that I can justify the price - as opposed to the weeks leading up to the trek where $ will be tighter.

I know I'll be taking a lot of pictures of the journey, and so I'll need my camera in the canoe with me, accessible, yet protected. So I picked up the Pelican 1010 micro case - "submersible, dustproof and crush-resistant".

I also grabbed a pair of paddling gloves. These are the fingerless version - ideal for warm-weather paddling - that will provide palm protection.

Going shopping for stuff like this makes it seem really real, and really close. I've still got over three months to prep - many nights will be spend sitting on my bosu paddling an imaginary lake :)

Weekend jaunt

It snowed earlier this week, so the sun shining on Saturday was a welcomed treat. Gill, Dave & I decided to take advantage of it and head out to Thetis Lake. Dave brought his fishing gear so he spend his time trolling for bites and enjoying beer, while Gill and I did a lap around upper Thetis. Unfortunatly, the sun only lasted for about half an hour, but we were smart enough to have brought layers.

Afterwards, we did some shopping out at Glenwood meats (buffalo chicken wings in the oven as I type), played a very educational Canadian history boardgame, and went to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D. This was my first 3D move experience in the theaters (other than an IMAX show many years ago) and it was amazing! Tim Burton is a twisted genius and created such a weird, wonderful and amazingly believable wonderland environment. Surprisingly, the only performance in the show that I didn't love was Anne Hathaway as the White Queen. I usually really enjoy her, but not this time around. It seemed like she was trying too hard to play a caricature - whereas Johnny and Helena do it so naturally. I def recommend watching this one in the theater!

A new Stat? Yes please!

This came to me through Facebook - oh how I love Facebook.

There is a petition out that is requesting a statutory holiday in BC in honour of the success of the 2010 Olympics. The petition reads as follows:

TO THE HONOURABLE GORDON CAMPBELL, PREMIER OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

We the undersigned wish to honour the great success of our 2010 Olympic Games, the swell of National Pride originating here, our two winning hockey teams and our many Olympic Heroes by naming the third Monday of February in each year "Glowing Hearts Day" and creating a Statutory Holiday on that day.

I think this is a great idea and proudly put my name to it. If you're interested in doing the same, you can do so here:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/glowing-hearts-day-in-bc/sign.html#se

Let's make this happen people!

And on this note, please enjoy the following Canadian Women's hockey team celebration photos that I've borrowed from the Time Colonist online website

Porkurry

Words can't do it justice... but here's the synopsis:

Pork curry + yellow dal + naan + stuffed dates + DQ ice cream cake + Monopoly + mockery + mayhem = Porkurry Monopoly Night

Chrissie knows how to throw a dinner party, and we have to thank Gray for getting one year older.

Alas, the pictures will also not do it justice, but camera phone pics are better than nothing. I will aim to never again forget my camera in the office on such a momentous weekend!

 

The amazing super-sized naan that Erin made but had Noah bring... lol

  

Team Tiger + Snake - ready to play the game sneakily!

  

The Wildebeest & Captain America (birthday boy). Also known and team bear & rabbit - there was a certain joke involved...

  

Team Girraptor - we went on to near world domination!

 

 Master Chef Chrissie and her sous chef, the ass...

  

They only lucked out in their win - I think that rolling the die as a raptor helps in that...

  

Cake time!

  

Monopoly brings out the worst in people... the very worst ;)

 

Late arrivals who knew better than to play the devil's game! :)

and it keeps going, and going

Made it down to the Parliament Buildings today to watch the Paralympic torch come through Victoria. It wasn't nearly as busy as it was back in October when I watched the Olympic flame relay, but it was still exciting.

I watched as one man ran the torch up from the Causeway to the steps of the Parliament Buildings. He was greet by dignitaries, and - really the reason I was there - Rick Hansen. Rick was born in Port Alberni, here on the island. He was an all-star athelete in 5 sports when at the age of 15, he was in a vehicle accident that left him in a wheelchair.  Rick became known  when, inspired by Terry Fox, he embarked on his Man in Motion World Tour on 20 March 1985 from Vancouver. Although public attention was low at the beginning of the tour, he soon attracted international media attention as he progressed on a 26-month trek, logging over 40,000 km through 34 countries on four continents before crossing Canada. He returned to Vancouver's BC Place to cheering crowds of thousands on 22 May 1987 after raising $26 million for spinal cord research and quality of life initiatives. (content borrowed from Rick Hansen's Wikipedia page)

He got to enter BC Place again in the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, bringing the Olympic flame into the building. And today I got to watch him carry the Paralympic flame in Victoria. It's pretty awe-inspiring.

I had forgotten my camera in my office on Friday, and didn't give myself enough time to pick it up before the event, so the pictures are all from my cell phone. I'm hoping I'll get the names of the other torch bearers from the news later...

Duane Sheeper is carrying the torch up the from Lower Causeway where it had travelled over from the Laurel Point on a dragon boat

 

Duane Sheepers is the torch bearer on the far right, with Rick Hansen in the wheelchair to the left. And that's Gordon Campbell, Primier of BC in the white & red sweater.

 

  

The exchange of the flame

 

  

Rick now has the flame

  

Rick Hansen is passing the flame over to the next torch bearer, Shannon Langevin. They held their torches together as the crowd sang "Oh Canada"

 

Shannon Langevin carries the flame back down though the Lower Causeway...

shopping fun!

I love when I have to go shopping for a specific item, and it ends up being super easy to find!

I was in dire need of a new pair of jeans. Went out to Mayfair tonight with Gill, walked into the store, found what I was looking for, grabbed the right size, and was in and out of the changeroom all in under five minutes. Shopping success like that is rare, but feels oh so good!

Follow that up with a new shirt, two camis and a scarf and I'll be looking pretty fly (for a white gal!) at work tomorrow - lol... just in time for the weekend. Yay!

Spring blooms are here!

The last couple of weeks, I've been noticing all the trees and flowers come into bloom and keep meaning to take my camera out when I go for a walk. Well, I remembered to grab it on my way into work this morning, so here are a couple of shots taken on my regular route to work...

Cherry trees in bloom on my street - I love how the blossoms fall down like a light snowfall!

Cherry blossom close up - I can see why this is such a common tattoo

More Cherry blossoms outside of Abigail's Hotel, just around the corner from my place on McClure Street

A single bloom on a magnolia tree at Christ Church Cathedral - they are so pretty when they first come out.

This is a clear indication that spring is here, and summer is on it's way!

Birthday Wishes

Staci hit the magic number last week - 30! It's a club I'm joining this year, so I'm all about celebrating the event. Tonight we had a dinner at Cactus Club, bellinis, and told each other stories about our Olympic experiences.

So in honour of Staci, here's a flashback in our friendship: in costume for our grade two class performance to "Splish-Splash"! Imagine something like this, except we performed a full dance routine instead of singing the song. I remember we giggled a lot because the boys' costumes were rolled up jeans and no shirts - lol!

L-R: Ingrid, me, Staci, Dana & Ann

Tuesday morning butt kicking

Yesterday I was a giant stressball due to work activities. I got home and was in Olympic withdrawal - nothing good on tv. So I watched the bachelor make a horrible decision, and I won't have any pity for him when that relationship goes up in flames...

Woke up half an hour before my alarm this morning at 5:15 and tried desperately to fall back asleep and use that 30 minutes to my advantage, but it was to no avail. I was really sluggish getting ready - so glad I've implemented the plan of packing everything the night before. But the food situation was bad - I had an egg and some grapefruit juice before heading to the gym. I usually have 1/2 and ezekial english muffin with almond butter as a base carb/protien hit before I work out, but I'm out of both - grocery shop is required.

Claire was chipper (as usual) and that always helps me out. Warm-up without her was slow, but I didn't give up. It's a bit of a mantra "push through the _____" (depending on the day, the blank is either boredom, pain or tiredness).

We did another round of my new interval session... skipping, push-ups, lat pull-downs on the bosu, bicep curls on bosu, tricep thingies, bosu squats, bobs & weaves, plank leg lifts, chest exercises. An hour goes by in no time!

Claire will be making a whole new interval session for me tonight, so I'll have new punishment come Thursday - bring it on!

And on a happy, seeing results note, I can't believe how energized I am on days that I have the early morning work out. It helps keep me in a better head space to deal with work stress and allows me to have a sharper focus. Those are the tangible, short-term results I need to remember on the days when I don't want to get out of bed! :)