Fa la la la la...Come Join Us...

If you live anywhere nearby, we'd love to have you join us for our 3rd Annual Walden Street Caroling Evening! If you don't live close, maybe you could join us in spirit and hum a few bars. If you'd like to start a caroling evening in your area, I'd be happy to email you my songsheets.
Deets...
Come join us for our 3rd annual caroling evening on and around the 4500 block of Walden Street. We'll provide hot cider and song sheets. Please bring your good cheer, a mug for drinks, a candle or flashlight and a friend, if you like.
Thursday, December 18th
Meet @ 7pm (our house)
We'll probably go 'til around 9ish.

See my facebook page to rsvp...

Fall Harvest and Running for the Cure!

Another jam-packed weekend!

Friday night I picked up our tees and numbers at the Running Room on Broadway for the Sunday run and since we were already in the 'hood, we decided to revisit one of our favourite restaurants, The Red Door on Granville Street. Seven Flavour Beef, Red Door Sweet Chili Chicken, Sichuan Beans=delicious.

Saturday morning the sun gods prevailed and let us enjoy a great game of golf at Musqueum with our friends, Lorraine and Greg. I GOT A BIRDY!!! The downpour came as soon as we got to the sponsoring Cheshire Cheese Inn/bar. These guys put on a great tournament with fantastic goody bags, lunch and prizes for everyone. So much fun!

Sunday morning came early and once again we were blessed with another dry day. George drove Sandy and I down to Concord Pacific Place to join about 13,000 others who were going to run/walk/roll/raise cash for the cure. I have to say, 5 km is so much easier than 10. That sounds obvious but...I really like the 5k. Not that it was easy by any means, but we met our goal of running 4/walking 1 for the whole time and came in just under 40 minutes. Considering that this was the longest I've run this year, not too bad! What an amazing event to be a part of. So many stories of survival, so many others honoring ones who didn't make it. My favourite moments? Getting hugs from the "free hugs" sign holders, the amazing choir at the start/finish line, seeing my friends cheering me on from the side line, the bands along the way, the male sprinter wearing the fushia prom dress (a great distraction at the 3 km mark!), crossing the finish line strong, and getting to know a new friend! Our hearty brunch was well-earned. Thanks to all of you who supported me with good wishes, donations and cheers at the start line! So much appreciated:)
Now...off to bootcamp. OMG - my legs are tired!

It's Time to Give Back...

I've had a great life so far and things are going pretty good! One thing that I find missing these days tho' is a sense of giving back. I used to spend a good amount of time volunteering for one thing or another and I benefited in so many ways from all of those experiences. My goal for the near future is to make that a priority again in my life.
Today, I've decided to loan some money to a fellow entrepreneur in Cambodia who is a weaver through the KIVA organization. Here is her story - http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=56273
Here's some info about KIVA -

Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.
Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.
The people you see on Kiva's site are real individuals in need of funding - not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs' profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need.

Have a wonderful day everyone and if you're walking down the street - smile at the person walking towards you - it will make a difference !!!

Honeysuckle

I can't believe our beautiful honeysuckle vine which covers our whole front porch is almost done blooming. Last year I think they bloomed twice so maybe there's more to come?

We had good news this week from our landlord. The original plan was that we would get to live in this great house for 4 years and then they (landlord and family) would move back in and we'd have to look for something else. That 4 year deadline would've been a year from now so I asked him if he could confirm their return date so we could start planning. They've now decided to stay put for one more year (kids in school...) so we have this place until July 2010!!! Great and happy news.

I've had some nice downtime after lots of social events last week. Saturday we went to the Trout Lake Farmer's Market and got some beautiful varieties of tomatoes, some yummy foccacia bread and new potatoes which we're cooking up right this moment with some steak. Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.

What did you have for dinner?

Updates - finally!

Wow! It's been an incredible several days. I'll try to make it interesting...

Saturday

George and I golfed in a tournament with some friends in Tsawwassen. It was intensely HOT but there was plenty of cold beer and adequate golfing (by me). I ended up with a 110 on a 69 par course. I know that doesn't sound great but for me...it rocked!

Sunday

BeautiControl Spa Party - which means six lovely ladies in my living room eating juicy cherries, grapes, strawberry shortcake and chocolate brownies while having mini-facials, manicures and foot moisturizers. I ended up signing up to be a distributor so stay tuned for more info on this really great product.

Monday

George had to work in the morning so I went for a swim at Kits Pool and then we ended up going out to the boat in the early afternoon for a sail. We managed to hide behind the sail for the first bit as the sun was pretty brutal but once again, the beer was cold (don't worry - we're very responsible sailors).

Check out my new beer holder!!! That cruise ship was pretty far away but still freaky - they're so HUGE (& we're so not)!

Tuesday - CANADA DAY!

We had our annual neighbourhood block party. It was pretty fun! We have a very multi-cultural street so there's always lots of great food. We had also applied for and received a community grant (they're very easy to get so I highly recommend you trying this in your area) and this year's community project was these pretty birdhouses. Everyone had a go at building and painting them and now they're adorning all of the trees on our block. I hope the birds enjoy them! The evening ended with a firepit in the street (we'd closed it off to traffic) and a good old-fashioned singalong.

Wednesday
True Colors Concert at Deer Lake Park
This - for me- was amazing!!!! I think I'll fill you in on the deets tomorrow. I saw Rosie O'Donnell!!!!!!!!! Pix to come...

You're so nice to come home to...

(this is last June but looks the same now)

I really like it here! Even though we don't own our home, it's a good place to be right now. Coming home from a trip is always exciting, especially in the spring when all of the rhodos are in bloom, the peonies are wide awake and the roses are just starting to burst. We have an amazing honeysuckle vine that's just starting to open up and smells oh-so-lovely. I think my sweet peas grew at least 2 inches while we were away as did the tomato plants. It's all a bit slower than last year but it's still lush and growing. I also love being in a neighbourhood. I know all of our neighbours and everyone is friendly and social. It's not unusual to have impromptu gatherings on the front lawn - and my friend across the street waters my plants while we're out of town. When the neighbours bake cookies, they usually drop off a sample. On Sunday night, our Phillipino neighbours had a roasted pig delivered. About 10 minutes later there was a knock on our door and a plate full of yummy pork product was being delivered! (sorry to any vegetarians out there but I guess it's no secret that we eat meat:) All of the kids say hello when they walk past the house. And if we want to get away from all the street chaos, we retreat onto our back deck. Perfection really!

It's a weird thing to not know what the future holds. We only have this house for a total of 4 years (possibly 4 1/2) and we're almost through our 3rd year. I wonder where we'll end up? The universe has always looked after me in a big way so I'll trust that there's something great out there. Fun to think of the possibilities.