Almost there!

Ever gone up a stairs in the heat to check out a view...

Not in Kansas anymore...

Every time we have driven out to Steveston, I have been curious about the Buddhist Temple. You can just make out bits and pieces of the architecture as you go speeding by. On a lark, we decided to make a family outing of it, and took off to Steveston for both a trip to the Temple and then off to the docks for some fish and chips. It was a great afternoon.


What a peaceful, beautiful oasis. The gardens and grounds were lovely, it was quiet, the attention to details was staggering. It was humbling walking around the buildings and the gardens, and just seeing a different way to worship and a different set of ideals. It didn't feel like somewhere you could reach in a half hour drive, it felt foreign and yet inviting. There was so much for your senses to take it - it was a very cool experience.

The doors were wide open, and yes, there were a few places to give donations if you so chose, but it wasn't in your face. It feels like a place of learning, and there were monks walking around. You could drop in and listen to the various talks that were taking place, or stop for a vegetarian meal, or just sit by a perfect banzai and just soak it all in. There is something really appealing about Buddhism, I would love to know a little more. I would also love to see more female Buddhas. It's a catch of all the so-called great religions, you see lots of male faces, and not so much of the female. Where does the fear of the "other" come from? I know that is an entirely different train of thought, but I don't see division, I see complementary forms between men and women.

This seated Buddha caught my imagination - the artist truly caught an element of mischievousness here -

Still?

So we got back from parts in the British Columbian 'Boo on Sunday, and it feels like I have been running ever since. I am back at work for a week, and then I am off again for 2. Yes, daycare owns our ass and since our daycare is closing for July, we are taking rotating holidays to cover the month. I get the first 2 weeks, Ken the next 2, and my mom gets one.

And damn, if it doesn't look like the month of July is going to go even quicker than June.

Er. Should I say Junuary? Needless to say it is almost time to celebrate when the glowing orb decides to reveal itself from behind the clouds.

I am still itching from my bug bites. My legs look like shit - I am a scratcher and I look like I had the chicken pox with all the red marks from the knees down. I also managed to scrap most of the skin off of one of my big toes, and being in a spot like that, and wearing shoes and all, well, the healing isn't exactly happening at a brisk pace.

It was a good break, and hopefully in the next few days I will go back and in fill in a few gaps, but so far all I have been able to do is compose blogger messages in my head, and hope that I could spare a few moments to write even just something. It is a tricky balance being a full-time career mom. There aren't enough hours in the day, and sometimes, just trying to figure out the time to connect with friends is hard. Hell, trying to get your laundry put away some days is a challenge! So, even though we got home at a decent time on Sunday (thankfully) this whole week has been about catching up, and putting things away, and food shopping, and then with work, dealing with what wasn't done when I was away, doing presentations, and then getting ready to go away again!! I can't wait to just alternate between doing some really cool stuff we have planned for July and hanging around the house and not having to go to work and doing some different stuff.

In a nutshell - the more I see of BC the more I love it here. We are damn fortunate to live where we do and call this incredible place home. Once you pass through the gates of Hope the whole province opens up, and there are places that take your breath away, and by the same token, open spaces to catch your break again to get away from the concrete jungle for a bit and recharge your batteries. Heading up and down the Fraser, it is hard to get away from the history of this province, between the gold rush, and the salmon fisheries, and logging. Yet the more you learn about it, the more interesting it becomes...

Bah.

What a shit week weather wise.

We turned the heat on again 2 days ago. I wore my peacoat again. The dark colours have been the predominant colours this week. And I just feel - blah. The highlight so far this week has been going out on a date with Ken and catching a movie.

One day pretty much all I saw outside my window was white. That and the rain hitting the glass.

It's felt like an uphill week, and like my mind has been skittering around and that nothing has come easily - except date night. Brandon even went to sleep nicely for his cousin!! woo woo!

We are heading away on holidays next weekend, and it can't come soon enough. I am just tired, need a change of scenery, time to hang with the family longer than just a weekend.

Ok, so what I have been doing is a lot of whining.

There has been some other good stuff, I finished a bunch of books. I finished one called a A Song for my Daughter" by a BC author. It was great reading about locales I know, especially going up the Fraser since that is a trip we will be making next week. It was a book the delved in to myth, and archetypes, and stories within stories. It wasn't great, it was a good solid read, especially since it was locally written! I was also thoroughly wrapped up in a book called Mortal Fear by Greg Iles.. WOAH. Talk about a book that took a while to get in to, but once I was, I literally could not put it down. I got kicked out of my office for a bit yesterday so a picture could be hung, and I stood in the concourse reading it... Ah yes, once a geek, always a geek. MAN. It was good.

It's funny, I know I see life through rose-tinted glasses, it helps, and I try to always see the positive side, but it is amazing how it can help just typing out the whining, and maybe reflecting a bit on the good stuff just to help put things back in perspective. I have been kicking it just - blah style - all week. Yet there have been these moments, and moments like in the morning sitting with Brandon on the couch, or even getting out with Ken for a few hours, or finishing a book that I was thoroughly in to... helps make up for the rest. I think life does balance out when you give yourself a chance to see that. Ok, enough philosophy for the moment. Lunch break is pretty much done.

In the clouds

When I got up the hill to work yesterday, I got to experience being in the clouds again, for the first time in years. I pulled in to my parking lot, and between the misting rain, clouds, and the fog cloaking the trees, I couldn't see across the lot!! Funny, when I was a student here years ago, I was aware of the dampness, and the gray, and the never ending rain, but it seems different now that I am older, more aware of time, and the passing seasons. Of course, a day like yesterday would have been great in say, November, but in early June? A bit dramatic if you ask me.

I am slowly getting my office organized. It still staggers me some of the paper waste, and the convoluted processes, but I am putting my stamp on things, and continuing to plunder on like the proverbial bull in the china shop. A small victory for me - I am now 10 pounds lighter than I was just before Thanksgiving.. woo woo! That means I am truly lighter than I was when I first got preggers. Some days it is all about the little victories. There is something to be said about having a 13 minute walk each way to work.. and actually hitting cardio machines a few days a week at lunch. Actually, it is good for my head, just getting on the machine with my book and the time slips away. I am reading a book called Mortal Fear by Greg Iles... it took me a long time to get in to it, and it is really wordy and could use some editing, but the story ends up drawing you in (if you like the suspense/murder/mystery type books).

I miss my long weekends, even if cramming 4 days of work in to 5 was brutal. I can't believe it has been almost a year since my mat leave ended. Holy shit has the time flown. So much has changed - so much stays the same.

If all goes as it should, Ken and I are going to sneak out for another movie tomorrow night!! It's nice knowing we are getting out for just us a little more - helps with the whole balance thing. I think we will be seeing that new swash buckler sequel... although tried to watch the first one the other night and it put both of us in to slumber... LOL