I was all motivated about 2 years ago to start one of those memes - the 100 random bits of usless info about me.
Well, I finally finished it.
It is quite the thing to do, a bit funny, a lot of "all about me". Makes you stop and think though - what about me, especially when you take on more roles in life (wife, mom, coworker, daughter, friend, etc)... ironic, I almost typed that as "rolls" .. ahahahh although that said, I have lost a bit of weight from before I was pregnant. Yay for my pre-pregnancy clothes fitting better than before!
BUT my point is that it is hard to actually think - what makes me tick - or what do I choose to reveal about myself at this particular time, and even then, will any one read this and care? Ah well. It is out there.
Friday, August 24, 2007
cool stump
This cedar relic looks like a creature from Lord of the Rings...
from the Energy trail out at Buntzen Lake
from the Energy trail out at Buntzen Lake
Fridays
Fridays seem to be where it's at for the last while for when I seem to have a moment to catch my breath and ruminate here.
The last week has been pretty good. There have been a few moments where I felt pretty vacant, like I was day dreaming with the real dreaming part, just kind of frittering away time aimlessly. I guess almost like procrastinating, but not really.
This is a strange week to be off. I have only been back at work for 3 weeks, and I guess, ultimately I wasn't really off this week since I still went in on Tuesday and Thursday night. My board commitments have also drawn to a close, and I was a bit more emotional about that than I thought - it feels like a bit of a passing of an era for me. Not really the being on the board, but I guess that really strong connection to my place of work. Well, that doesn't really describe it either, I guess I feel like more a free bird, surveying the landscape of opportunity when it comes to how I spend my working hours.
That said, I did get a morning walk and visit with a dear friend, got out for a fabulous picnic with my boys - it felt strange since we went up to Burnaby mountain and explored an area I have never been too - the views were superb, and there was even a centennial rose garden. Who knew?! I went to SFU for more years than I care to admit, and that was right there!!! Ah well.
Attempted to go for a walk out at Barnet Marine Park... but the beaches and trails are still closed since the oil spill. Then I didn't know what to do with myself, or my sleeping baby. So off we went for a drive, and we ended up out at Buntzen Lake. It was beautiful - long enough for a power nap and we went for a great hike. I would have taken him to the lake but it is notoriously cold and I was really unprepared. I need to get better about bringing everything and the kitchen sink again - I have almost pared down too much. Today we got out to White Rock again. It was a total west coast of Canada type morning. I have discovered a great little coffee shop where I grab my mocha and a date square for us to share, and then hit the path, and then the beach. Today there was marine fog that kept rolling in. It was magical! Whispy fog clinging to rocks, the tide was out a fair bit (coming in though) and there weren't many people. It was an awesome morning. Then we visited with Ken, and some of clients, and it was cool - time went by way too fast though.
Brandon is such a cool little dude - this afternoon after his nap we were out in the backyard. I really needed to do some watering, and clean off his stroller. Apparently it isn't such a good idea to go traipsing around the salt water and not wash off stainless steel parts. *AHEM* I also needed to clean out our water feature, which doubled as a mosquito breeding ground for a short period of time (before us and Mr.Bleach put a stop to that) so it was time to empty and clean. While I was doing that - my brother (who is finally growing in to the role of "uncle") played with Brandon. Brandon loves the water. Even cold water coming out the tap - he was soaked, for what, round 3 today???!! He was loving playing with the water, trying to grab the water, and then crawling in and out of the stream. It was a lot of fun to watch.
Now, despite all the fun, I am feeling a bit blah. Summer is going by way too quickly. On a positive note, we have a last hurrah next weekend and we are going back out to Pimainus for a few days (and we have our own cabin! YAY!!!) and it looks like I may be getting a half spot on my old hockey team. So all is well - well, the skin on my feet are pretty dry, and I worry about money and budgeting, but hell - who doesn't?
The last week has been pretty good. There have been a few moments where I felt pretty vacant, like I was day dreaming with the real dreaming part, just kind of frittering away time aimlessly. I guess almost like procrastinating, but not really.
This is a strange week to be off. I have only been back at work for 3 weeks, and I guess, ultimately I wasn't really off this week since I still went in on Tuesday and Thursday night. My board commitments have also drawn to a close, and I was a bit more emotional about that than I thought - it feels like a bit of a passing of an era for me. Not really the being on the board, but I guess that really strong connection to my place of work. Well, that doesn't really describe it either, I guess I feel like more a free bird, surveying the landscape of opportunity when it comes to how I spend my working hours.
That said, I did get a morning walk and visit with a dear friend, got out for a fabulous picnic with my boys - it felt strange since we went up to Burnaby mountain and explored an area I have never been too - the views were superb, and there was even a centennial rose garden. Who knew?! I went to SFU for more years than I care to admit, and that was right there!!! Ah well.
Attempted to go for a walk out at Barnet Marine Park... but the beaches and trails are still closed since the oil spill. Then I didn't know what to do with myself, or my sleeping baby. So off we went for a drive, and we ended up out at Buntzen Lake. It was beautiful - long enough for a power nap and we went for a great hike. I would have taken him to the lake but it is notoriously cold and I was really unprepared. I need to get better about bringing everything and the kitchen sink again - I have almost pared down too much. Today we got out to White Rock again. It was a total west coast of Canada type morning. I have discovered a great little coffee shop where I grab my mocha and a date square for us to share, and then hit the path, and then the beach. Today there was marine fog that kept rolling in. It was magical! Whispy fog clinging to rocks, the tide was out a fair bit (coming in though) and there weren't many people. It was an awesome morning. Then we visited with Ken, and some of clients, and it was cool - time went by way too fast though.
Brandon is such a cool little dude - this afternoon after his nap we were out in the backyard. I really needed to do some watering, and clean off his stroller. Apparently it isn't such a good idea to go traipsing around the salt water and not wash off stainless steel parts. *AHEM* I also needed to clean out our water feature, which doubled as a mosquito breeding ground for a short period of time (before us and Mr.Bleach put a stop to that) so it was time to empty and clean. While I was doing that - my brother (who is finally growing in to the role of "uncle") played with Brandon. Brandon loves the water. Even cold water coming out the tap - he was soaked, for what, round 3 today???!! He was loving playing with the water, trying to grab the water, and then crawling in and out of the stream. It was a lot of fun to watch.
Now, despite all the fun, I am feeling a bit blah. Summer is going by way too quickly. On a positive note, we have a last hurrah next weekend and we are going back out to Pimainus for a few days (and we have our own cabin! YAY!!!) and it looks like I may be getting a half spot on my old hockey team. So all is well - well, the skin on my feet are pretty dry, and I worry about money and budgeting, but hell - who doesn't?
Friday, August 17, 2007
choice bits
Now that I am juggling work and our lives at home, it seems that updating my blog has become a little harder to do. I laughed when I noticed that it has already been a week since I last graced this place.
Crack book is a crazy program. It brings back lots of memories of old friends and older versions of your self as a result. I was flipping through a friend's pictures and saw a few posted of a dear friend that passed away a few years ago, and I found myself getting a little choked up - that's life, but it is actually kind of cool to go to an internet place to be at a fingertip length from those old friends, and see how they are doing in a way where you are finding that kind of thing out directly from them, rather than through the big gossip circuit. The pictures and some of the stories are the best part - seeing how people have changed, who has kids, who is married, who isn't anymore, glimpsing just a few pages of people's stories that have touched your life. Parts of 'book are just time consuming, but parts are really cool too.
Had a client come in today and make a point of asking me how I am so positive and energetic. Isn't this the million dollar question? I have always had boundless energy, and am pretty happy-go-lucky, and I seem to bounce pretty good (even when life has handed me some really rotten lemons)... but how to you explain how you are how you are?? I figure it comes down to choices - being 6 feet up is better than 6 feet below, and every day is a gift. Just like I have a fairly flexible idea about god - god for me is love and the magic of being infused with life and every one has their own path to knowing god (I could go more in to this but suffice to know my views aren't exactly mainstream but they aren't that out there either), but that every day we have a choice on how we act and interact with our environment and the people that are around us, and from those relationships we can take a lot of energy, even as we are giving that energy back to the system. It is hard to articulate in a space like this without a lot of hand waving, but I try to say what matters, do what counts, and life as honestly as I can. If I get tripped up, I admit my mistakes and try to dust myself off.
Speaking of which, work is absolute chaos and I have contemplated the joys of a spiced rum and coke tonight. Definitely a friday night and I see movies and take out in our future. Being back at work is so strange, how fast everything has come back to me, how quickly you settle in to a new rhythm and ironically enough, how hard it was to change my name around here, even though I was only hyphenating my name! Now to keep things somewhat unsettled, next week I am on holidays for a week because our daycare lady is on holidays. What a new reality!
Crack book is a crazy program. It brings back lots of memories of old friends and older versions of your self as a result. I was flipping through a friend's pictures and saw a few posted of a dear friend that passed away a few years ago, and I found myself getting a little choked up - that's life, but it is actually kind of cool to go to an internet place to be at a fingertip length from those old friends, and see how they are doing in a way where you are finding that kind of thing out directly from them, rather than through the big gossip circuit. The pictures and some of the stories are the best part - seeing how people have changed, who has kids, who is married, who isn't anymore, glimpsing just a few pages of people's stories that have touched your life. Parts of 'book are just time consuming, but parts are really cool too.
Had a client come in today and make a point of asking me how I am so positive and energetic. Isn't this the million dollar question? I have always had boundless energy, and am pretty happy-go-lucky, and I seem to bounce pretty good (even when life has handed me some really rotten lemons)... but how to you explain how you are how you are?? I figure it comes down to choices - being 6 feet up is better than 6 feet below, and every day is a gift. Just like I have a fairly flexible idea about god - god for me is love and the magic of being infused with life and every one has their own path to knowing god (I could go more in to this but suffice to know my views aren't exactly mainstream but they aren't that out there either), but that every day we have a choice on how we act and interact with our environment and the people that are around us, and from those relationships we can take a lot of energy, even as we are giving that energy back to the system. It is hard to articulate in a space like this without a lot of hand waving, but I try to say what matters, do what counts, and life as honestly as I can. If I get tripped up, I admit my mistakes and try to dust myself off.
Speaking of which, work is absolute chaos and I have contemplated the joys of a spiced rum and coke tonight. Definitely a friday night and I see movies and take out in our future. Being back at work is so strange, how fast everything has come back to me, how quickly you settle in to a new rhythm and ironically enough, how hard it was to change my name around here, even though I was only hyphenating my name! Now to keep things somewhat unsettled, next week I am on holidays for a week because our daycare lady is on holidays. What a new reality!
Friday, August 10, 2007
400 posts!
Who knew I had it in me??? I guess this is a milestone of sorts... 400 times I have sat down and had something say, sometimes prolific, sometimes fodder.
I made it through an almost full week of work (gotta love stat holidays) and I am gleeful that it is friday and I get to go and pick up my baby. I have turned in to one of those people that notice babies, and I wistfully stare at them, and wonder how mine is doing without me at daycare. Letting go certainly starts early! Things are coming back to me, even if I have made a few minor mistakes. I can't believe how much I retained from the year off, especially since I really didn't give work much thought while I was off. Catching up has been bizarre - more like, WHEW, we are so glad you are back, where have you been??! Sometimes it feels like it has truly been a year, when I talk about Brandon or my coworker's kids and they are a year older than how I remember them.
My hours are something to get used to, working a day, then a night, then a day, then a night, then a day. Wednesdays are going to be the day that seems to last forever since I work Tuesday night until 9:30, go home, sleep, and get back to work for 7:30am. I am not complaining, I chose this, I would prefer Brandon to only be in daycare 3 days a week, but it is all about managing my time and learning how to pack a lunch before because I am not firing on all cylinders when I get up that early. These hours are ideal, last night I was pretty stoked because I felt like I was hitting my stride at work - getting work done and it was blissful not having any interruptions. Such a difference from working during the day during peak hours!
Funny how life is totally in the moment and although there are moments that you cherish, it still keeps on moving in a forward direction. This weekend should be a little more laid back - I am going to lay low tonight - Brandon has a bit of a cough and I think it would be good for both of us, and then we have a family do tomorrow. Rest of the time, I would love to get out for a walk in the woods. Gearing up to go back to work it felt like nothing but projects and trying to rush-rush-rush to get things done. It is cool that I haven't even looked at that to do list for a few weeks and nor do I care to look at it anytime soon.
Look! It's 5 o'clock somewhere!
I made it through an almost full week of work (gotta love stat holidays) and I am gleeful that it is friday and I get to go and pick up my baby. I have turned in to one of those people that notice babies, and I wistfully stare at them, and wonder how mine is doing without me at daycare. Letting go certainly starts early! Things are coming back to me, even if I have made a few minor mistakes. I can't believe how much I retained from the year off, especially since I really didn't give work much thought while I was off. Catching up has been bizarre - more like, WHEW, we are so glad you are back, where have you been??! Sometimes it feels like it has truly been a year, when I talk about Brandon or my coworker's kids and they are a year older than how I remember them.
My hours are something to get used to, working a day, then a night, then a day, then a night, then a day. Wednesdays are going to be the day that seems to last forever since I work Tuesday night until 9:30, go home, sleep, and get back to work for 7:30am. I am not complaining, I chose this, I would prefer Brandon to only be in daycare 3 days a week, but it is all about managing my time and learning how to pack a lunch before because I am not firing on all cylinders when I get up that early. These hours are ideal, last night I was pretty stoked because I felt like I was hitting my stride at work - getting work done and it was blissful not having any interruptions. Such a difference from working during the day during peak hours!
Funny how life is totally in the moment and although there are moments that you cherish, it still keeps on moving in a forward direction. This weekend should be a little more laid back - I am going to lay low tonight - Brandon has a bit of a cough and I think it would be good for both of us, and then we have a family do tomorrow. Rest of the time, I would love to get out for a walk in the woods. Gearing up to go back to work it felt like nothing but projects and trying to rush-rush-rush to get things done. It is cool that I haven't even looked at that to do list for a few weeks and nor do I care to look at it anytime soon.
Look! It's 5 o'clock somewhere!
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Glamping.
Glamping. WTF? Channel surfing the other morning, I came across a little piece that talked about Glamping. That name certainly got my attention.
Apparently, for all the male and female princesses out there, camping has been revamped for the not-so-liking-the-great-outdoors crowd and reinvented as "glamping". This is an urbanized form of camping in which camping experiences are made more glamorous through the addition of many comfort items, designer fabrics, and an assortment of personal hygiene helpers (to say the least). Hence, the term "glamping".
Being one of those folk who figure plaid shirts, the smell of camp fire, clothes that were clean a few days, and bad hair is the way it is when you camp, this is just ridiculous. I guess not everyone is lucky enough to have a significant other that likes to camp, but seriously folks, there is a time and a place to leave the electronic gadgets at home, the mirrors, and the worrying about appearances and having every little comfort at your fingertips, and just kick back and enjoy the back 40. If you have to go to such extremes to bring your house to the woods, well, we don't want you here!!!
I would also assume that glampers come with the little punto dogs that I feel so much affection for. Yes, there is the occasional small dog that I *do* like, but they are few and far between. Give me a real dog. And for me, a real dog is at least a medium sized one that comes above the knee, IMHO.
Apparently, for all the male and female princesses out there, camping has been revamped for the not-so-liking-the-great-outdoors crowd and reinvented as "glamping". This is an urbanized form of camping in which camping experiences are made more glamorous through the addition of many comfort items, designer fabrics, and an assortment of personal hygiene helpers (to say the least). Hence, the term "glamping".
Being one of those folk who figure plaid shirts, the smell of camp fire, clothes that were clean a few days, and bad hair is the way it is when you camp, this is just ridiculous. I guess not everyone is lucky enough to have a significant other that likes to camp, but seriously folks, there is a time and a place to leave the electronic gadgets at home, the mirrors, and the worrying about appearances and having every little comfort at your fingertips, and just kick back and enjoy the back 40. If you have to go to such extremes to bring your house to the woods, well, we don't want you here!!!
I would also assume that glampers come with the little punto dogs that I feel so much affection for. Yes, there is the occasional small dog that I *do* like, but they are few and far between. Give me a real dog. And for me, a real dog is at least a medium sized one that comes above the knee, IMHO.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Back at the old grind
Here I am.
In a different office, but the same kind of bare 4 walls. In the next few weeks I will print off some pictures of my guys to plaster around me, and bring in some "flora and fauna" pics to cover up some of the institutional beige, but here I am.
Maternity leave is over. Bye-Bye. Ken dropped Brandon off at daycare, and he did pretty good. I have only called twice to find out how is he doing, and apparently he is acting much like every other kid acts when they first start daycare.
It felt weird walking down the hallway - feeling like everything in my life is different, and yet the faces are the same, some a little older looking, some a little thinner. It is pretty quiet around here, and my office is still as dysfunctional as it used to be, but in different ways. Brandon was up at 4:30 am, so our day has been even longer than what we figured it would be like. So I feel a little fuzzy around the edges, need to bring in some teabags for the afternoon lulls, and well, it feels strange to be surrounded by adult voices again.
It almost feels like a new job, although all the old information is flooding back pretty damn quickly. Apparently my brain did not atrophy over the last year. I have had to do some name changing, and order business cards again, and stock my desk with some of the supplies that I like. My personality will slowly creep back in to this space and I will make it palatable for me.
On a total aside, I am over halfway through HP. I haven't had a lot of time to read in the last week. It felt like a real sprint getting to today, but I am really enjoying the moments I have to read. Tonight will be an early night, so maybe I can prop my eyes open long enough to get through a few more pages. It is a good/bad thing when you reach a book like this, you can't wait to read it to the finish and find out what happens, but once you reach there, this journey is done.
In a different office, but the same kind of bare 4 walls. In the next few weeks I will print off some pictures of my guys to plaster around me, and bring in some "flora and fauna" pics to cover up some of the institutional beige, but here I am.
Maternity leave is over. Bye-Bye. Ken dropped Brandon off at daycare, and he did pretty good. I have only called twice to find out how is he doing, and apparently he is acting much like every other kid acts when they first start daycare.
It felt weird walking down the hallway - feeling like everything in my life is different, and yet the faces are the same, some a little older looking, some a little thinner. It is pretty quiet around here, and my office is still as dysfunctional as it used to be, but in different ways. Brandon was up at 4:30 am, so our day has been even longer than what we figured it would be like. So I feel a little fuzzy around the edges, need to bring in some teabags for the afternoon lulls, and well, it feels strange to be surrounded by adult voices again.
It almost feels like a new job, although all the old information is flooding back pretty damn quickly. Apparently my brain did not atrophy over the last year. I have had to do some name changing, and order business cards again, and stock my desk with some of the supplies that I like. My personality will slowly creep back in to this space and I will make it palatable for me.
On a total aside, I am over halfway through HP. I haven't had a lot of time to read in the last week. It felt like a real sprint getting to today, but I am really enjoying the moments I have to read. Tonight will be an early night, so maybe I can prop my eyes open long enough to get through a few more pages. It is a good/bad thing when you reach a book like this, you can't wait to read it to the finish and find out what happens, but once you reach there, this journey is done.
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