Tuesday, February 24, 2009

100 Things Meme

I wasn't even tagged for this (saw it on K8 the GR8's site) but thought it would be a fun one, so here I go...feel free to copy and share your answers.

the 100 things meme (in which all the truths that apply to me are in BLUE, all the things I haven’t gotten around to doing yet are in BLACK).
1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. I have played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (both)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62.Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check/cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

My Commute...

My way to work...


My way home...


Good, right?
Lunch with the girls today - can't wait!
Baked French Toast, bacon, blueberries, whipped cream...yum!

Monday, February 16, 2009

sunny monday!

Just playing around today - trying to give my blog a new look/sound without so much stuff! Thanks to Danielle at whitehottruth for the song!
I was getting frustrated at not being able to utilize the whole page.
Had a great and once again, mellow, weekend. Picked up a couple of treats on friday for g's valentine. Got an amaryllis plant that's just about to bloom (i'm quite fascinated with bulbs at the moment) and a dragonfly decoration for our garden with a glow-in-the-dark marble/orb-thing that we'll put in front of our bedroom window once we put some plants out there.
Had a sweet Saturday - drove to Davis Bay (our new weekend morning stop) to get coffees/teas and snacks and then meandered around Sechelt and checked out the shops. Our welcome wagon lady gave us a bunch of coupons for free stuff so we ended up going to Casey's Country Gardens for our free 2" plant (i chose an ivy) and picked up a beautiful bromeliad plant called "guzmania torch". Apparently easy to care for which works for me!
Headed to Smitty's Oyster Bar as mentioned in my earlier post and had some yummy food and drinks and then a mellow night at home.
Yesterday was so beautiful here so we decided to get some projects done around the house - not a chore to hang out here at all! Washed the car (dirty, dirty, dirty!), cleaned the gutters (i held the ladder:) and tried to convince ourselves that it was warm enough for a picnic on our back patio. Didn't last too long but it provided great anticipation of things to come - backyard bbqs, croquet, bocce parties, shared with friends and family.
Two weekends in a row we've been on our own and now we're ready for company again. I believe we're starting to get booked up so...if you're planning on coming, give me a call. Barb and Brandy on Wednesday, Karin on Friday and the Manuel crew for the weekend. Woo hoo!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

V Day Update...

This is the view from our bar seats at Smitty's Oyster Bar in Gibson's Harbour this afternoon. (still haven't found my camera battery charger so you'll have be satisfied with G's B.berry pix)
Fresh, yummy oysters, sweet potato fries and absolutely delicious halibut fritters with a perfectly chilled bottle of Semillon Sauvignon. It must be love:)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm following the trend in changing my blog background with this http://thecutestblogontheblock.com/
What do you think? It's pretty fun!
Happy Day to you all...

Friday, February 13, 2009

Is It Really Important to Know?

I've been watching the news a little more than usual lately and I'm just wondering - do I need to know all the bad things that are going on in the world? Is there any benefit to hearing about the horrible things that are happening to innocent and not-so-innocent people? Probably the answer is yes and no. I think it is important to have compassion and provide assistance to others and how would we do that without knowing what their needs are? But what about all the shootings happening this past month in Vancouver and the lower mainland. How can knowing about that benefit me other than to know what areas to avoid? The Langley IGA?!? That's a pretty normal, regular place for normal, regular people to shop, isn't it? Will my IGA be next? I know, lots of question marks today and I'm actually feeling pretty positive - just having these thoughts that I thought I'd share with you. So on to more positive thoughts...
I'm looking forward to sharing 'heart' day tomorrow with my beloved. No specific plans, probably a drive to parts unknown and a yummy home-made dinner with wine shared at the end of the day. How about you? I wish you a day/week/life filled with love shared!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Bloggy Giveaways!

I just discovered this site thanks to a local jewelry designer that contacted us. What a fantastic idea! What do you think?

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Mellow Sunday...

Our first weekend without guests in our new home and it was pretty uneventful and mellow. My energy was really low all weekend - fighting something? - so it was nice to just hang out with my beloved. Did manage to order blinds for the fireplace room which is exciting. It's surprising how difficult these decisions are - there are so many choices out there these days so it's definitely good to have the experts assist when deciding.
Also went out for a drive to Davis Bay this morning and walked along the beach esplanade after stopping at Pier 17 for a peppermint tea and a sweet treat. G. took this pic of me with his blackberry (sorry, Denise, I actually did have my camera but when I pulled it out to take the pic, realized my battery had died:)
Grocery shopping, some cleaning, lots of sleep - that's about it.
You?

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Sunset from Ocean View Drive

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”
Rabindranath Tagore quotes (Indian Poet, Playwright and Essayist, Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, 1861-1941)
George and I went for a walk around the block at the end of the day yesterday and he captured this on his blackberry! So many more to come...
Hope you're having a fantastic week!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

The Life of a Super Model (tongue planted firmly in cheek)

Got up at 5am yesterday to prepare for a full day in the city. Caught up on business stuff in the am and had a nice late breakfast with Barb at Helen's Grill on Main & 25th. I was soooo cold from working in the back room at the store and the lovely owner did everything in her power to warm me up from sitting me right in front of the heat vent, turning the heat up and bringing me a steaming pot of tea. I felt very taken care of (and oh so much warmer).
That seemed to be the theme of the day - being taken care of.
At 1 pm, we were scheduled for our photo shoot for the cover of the March issue of Today's Vancouver Woman - read Barb's account here. We were surrounded by strong, intelligent, competent women (including our own manager, Brandy) who's sole purpose was to help us look our best. It was pretty fun and also, as Barb mentioned, hard work. Not complaining here - I'm honoured to be given the privilege of having this experience and live to tell the tale:) You really do start to feel like somethin' special tho', when you've got so many hands available to you - hair, make-up, buckling my shoes, smoothing that crease! I can see how this might go to someone's head - not mine of course! I was brought back down to reality pretty quickly as I was tearing off my fake eyelashes in the car on the way to catch the 7:30pm ferry.
Once we arrived home, exhausted and pretty hungry, George decided to surprise me by heating up the split pea soup I'd made the day before. Unfortunately, the elements on our new stove are waaay hotter than in our old house so the soup quickly became a burnt, stinky mess! I love that he cared enough to surprise me - and he cleaned up the kitchen so I didn't even have to deal with it (see the being taken care of theme here?) I'm so lucky. I can and do take care of myself - no concern there - but how nice to be thought of kindly, whether it's a cup of tea, the hot bath run for you, a gentle foot rub, or the truffle and glass of port delivered with a kiss at the end of a long and interesting day - yup, he did that too!!! My reality seems to suit me just fine - thank you very much:)

Monday, February 2, 2009

Hello Froggy!

My mother-in-law and I checked out the Roberts Creek Flea Market this weekend and I picked up a few things.
First and foremost - these frogs were calling my name! I thought they were pretty cute so asked "how much?" and the funky vendor fella said "take the whole batch for $1"! Can't tell you how excited I was to be the proud owner of 15 mini frogs on wires! They are each only about 1" in length so I thought that I could tuck them into the plants that I plan on filling our home with. Humour me here...

Next, I added two matching teacups to my new teacup collection. I absolutely love the colours and how delicate they are...I also think they fit in perfectly with the others on my window sil. Teacup collection - complete!

I also picked up a bag of Jerusalem Artichokes (sunroots) which I'd never tried before. They have the texture of radish but with a much milder, sweeter flavour.
Also...a flour sifter for $1, a bag of "korean purple" garlic and a dogwood tree - a gift from my mil. Pretty fun -

Saturday was such a beautiful day with amazing views of the water - impressed the hell out of the in-laws. I think they feel better about us being a bit further away now.

Can't believe it snowed yesterday! C.R.A.Z.Y.

How was your weekend?