Orphan's Holiday 2007

So another year and another holiday...this year some of my friends and I decided to have an orphans xmas. It started with Rob asking what I was doing for the season and hatching the idea since neither of us were going anywhere this year to spend xmas together...then Ashley wanted in, which is GREAT and then Rob's old roomie was in town from Mexico and he wondered if he and his current roomie could join and I said SURE!
I got to make tonnes of food. A HUGE roastbeef that I cooked rare and juicy and succulently! Mashed potatoes with fresh garlic, stuffing made from scratch (none of that boxed crap), smashed carrots and squash, gravy made from the drippings of the roast and TONNES of butter tarts! And because the plan was to have many spirits and much merriment everyone was staying overnight, so for breakfast I made two bacon, mushroom, broccoli quiches!
Everyone suffered food hangovers and couldn't stop themselves from eating! It was beautiful! We laughed, we played games, we watched movies and generally goofed around!


For the season, I gave Rob this shirt:



And Ashley is a huge fan of pink and she wanted more comfie gear:


This picture was taken boxing day...we were all a mess, but the boys showed it the most!


These pictures are taken Xmas evening, before I set out dinner to be consumed...happy, happy faces!





I think this event tops the charts and made this particular christmas pleasant and memorable. I had a GREAT time, I met great people and had a great time hanging out with great friends.
Everything was cozy, fun, laidback...there was no back biting, bickering, expectations...simply put it was a group of people that came together happily and shared in food, drink and eachothers company! Certainly made up for past holidays were circumstances weren't so friendly or warm!
I find it refreshing as I make the changes in my life and institute new patterns of behaviour and make conscious decisions about who will be in my life and who won't, that coincidentally my current daily life is blissful and happy making. I am daily grateful for turning thirty and for finally coming into my own skin! I have finally dug out the bar and raised it up out of the ground and put it at a level that more than meets my expectations!

This summer...and now

This summer was an incredible summer. So much had happened and has carried me through to what can kindly be referred to as winter (what is up with the weather?). I made major transformations physically as well as mentally. During the summer I was practicing to put new patterns into place. I really was attempting to work without training wheels and I have subsequently been successful. I have stepped up to the plate of becoming a healthy person, both mentally and physically. Today, December 4th, I reached a goal that I had set for myself in the late spring. I had set out to do two things, one was to bike to Vernon and back and the other was to lose 50 pounds. I accomplished biking to Vernon, not only once but twice this summer! And I am hoping this coming summer to set another goal...maybe Kamloops? As for the 50 pounds I finally accomplished that goal as well...in fact I have lost 53 pounds. I also gave myself a reward: a massage (which I plan to collect at a later date). I also have another reward, but that one I will keep in my pocket for now *secret smile*
So what to do now? Well, why stop with one or two goals? Why not go for others? So I am. I am going for another 50 pounds. I figure at minimum if I seek to lose 10 pounds every two months, I can lose that 50 pounds by the end of fall next year, if not sooner. I have begun training to run, I am successful at jogging for 45 minutes straight, which tells me running isn't far behind! I am planning on taking belly dancing classes and I have friends who are interested in doing biking trips with me. Ultimately my goal is set to be achieved.
The weight loss has done other things for me, it has allowed me to face the places that have been filled with denial. The only way I can describe what is happening is that as the layers of fat melt away the layers of my onion like denial is also peeling away and exposing truths that I didn't acknowledge previously. I am the happiest I have ever been in my life and I feel like it is going to get better!
So, just to put a cherry on all this hard work and goal achieving...I have finally settled on the idea of doing a PhD. I have sought out the school I want to go to and also the person who I want to be my supervisor. Lucky for me my current supervisor knows the person I want to work with...and agrees with me that there would be a good relationship with me and this researcher! So now, I am laying down plans on how to achieve getting my PhD, things are ready to be set in stone!
And with all this moving and shaking, sometimes my eyes just do this....

Thanks Belva for catching me in my moment!

Good company and great adventures

The hiking continues! We haven't been hiking as much, but we are still doing and we have added more people to the adventure! I have to say, my social life has taken quite a dramatic turn in the last few months and I really LOVE the time I am spending with the people in my life!

This picture is the beginning of a hike that we took outside of Peachland...mmm, well above Peachland! Before this photo was taken we had met an elderly man and asked his advice about parking. He was out walking his dog who happily jumped in the car and got Ashley dirty...something which we ALL laughed very hard about. The hike was great, and parts of it decently steep. I am certainly learning how far my body can go and I am greatfull that I have lost the weight I have before going on this hike, otherwise I think I would have been in trouble! There was a part of it that I refused to do and the others went ahead, while I re-walked the trail to keep up my momentum!

After the hike, we went for breakfast at IHOP. Because Kaz hasn't eaten at some of the franchises that are liberally spread throughout BC, we have been sampling different breakfast restaurants...this particular morning it was IHOP. Ashley ordered two breakfasts, of which she is still bugged about today! She's a trooper that girl and she makes me laugh! Towards the end Rob and Aaron happily snuggled into eachother. In fact I think they built quite a significant relationship in a short time...very touching indeed *wink*. No really, I think Rob and Aaron have the ability to get along with just about anyone, which makes them a perfect fit for being my friends!
I have been having a spectacular time lately...and meeting truly quality people, which is nice to meet so many of them in a short time frame. I think it has a lot to do with my new perspective on life, or more specifically my desire to be part of the living world. So in a sense I am bringing these people to me and I am also more tuned to finding them.
I also recently finished my interviews and now I am into the writing phase of my thesis, I am close to the end and it feels good and it feels scary! With the end I have also come to discover the desire to do my PhD! So much so that I have figured out where I am doing my PhD and who will be my supervisor! All of which is VERY exciting! I never thought I could go this far, or come this far and still have the momentum and will to go further. And the greatest part of this leg of my journey is that I am surrounded by warm and loving people who are as interested in my success as they are in theirs and I am in theirs! I would venture to call them "family" and often do think of them is those terms!

The first Dinner Club for Dorks

Well, it is official now. A small group of my friends have finally managed to make the dinner club happen. Rob initially came up with the idea in the summer to have a dinner club, much like a book club, but instead we share food and conversation! Brilliant idea and like every idea planning and implementing are necessary. Who knew those components would take so long?
The participants of the dinner club are all university based...it wasn't planned that way, since we all know people who are not academically linked in our worlds. However, for the purpose of numbers and ease everyone is from UBCO. In total the number is six, although the first one only had five. The number is relevant in terms of size of home of the person who is hosting and also number of items brought to the potluck meal. Turns out five courses is more than enough, in fact may be too much. Since all of us were full before the second entree was even served!
This dinner was hosted by Kaz and I and had a "spooky" theme...oh yah, all the dinners are themed. So everyone had to make items that are spooky...and let's keep in mind that imagination is a necessary part of the meal. Kaz decorated the place with hallowe'en paraphernalia, which ultimately rocked! And we also purchased pumpkins for everyone to carve...we didn't tell them they would be carving we just asked that they bring knives. The evening was full of laughter and great stories. Rob gave a speech filled with thankful and grateful sentiments.
Next dinner is next month and so far the theme is local food purchased and grown in BC. We also be investigating how we came to be eating the foods and develop questions to pose to the other participants of the dinner...a means of getting to know eachother and also become more aware of how we are involved in food production. So, when you think "Dinner Club for Dorks", it is because we are all interested in learning and expanding our knowledge on topics that may seem mundane to others.

Here is some pictures from the evening:



We are all ready to eat...Mark is busy getting the salad ready, we already ate the nachos.

Mark spookiness came in the form of a skull...we joked about whose skull that could have been! Former student perhaps? *wink*

Our dinner had rolls and wine and butter and voila pepper! It looked so European, with the exception of the Bostons glass.

Kaz is sharing with Mark a story about a bag of poo and a one night stand that ended with embarrassment.

And let the pumpkin carving games begin!







Ashley loved the core ball and attempted to be able to balance on it...she needed training wheels though.


I had shown Ashley an ab exercise with the core ball, which the boys than decided they wanted to be able to do. So Rob goes first and does fairly well...

Mark decides rather than work his abs he will just have a nice leisurely stretch...smart man!


MMM, Rob made a chocolate mousse pie from scratch...to accompany he made wildberry icecream and raspberry coulee and whip cream...YUMMMEEEEE...love a man who can make a decadent dessert *wink*

Off to the observatory!

I guess it's early? Hhehee it is nine in the morning and time for us to make off to Penticton for an open house at the observatory there! I know this picture conveys the excitement we feel about the coming day (sarcasm). Really, Rob just wasn't ready for me...sorry Rob!

Rob is trying to tell Kaz about a drive he took that was scenic.

This is Gerry, the car. There is a story about how the car was named and if you are interested I am happy to share.

We have now arrived at the observatory where we were greated with the vision of several large satellites.


The observatory requires cars to park 60 metres away. The walk isn't ardous AT ALL, but they provided a narrow paved space for both pedestrians and cars to share...not something that goes over well for impatient drivers.

Ashley, Rob, Kaz and I all tried to get pictures of all four, however, all of our cameras could get three people and the fourth....obviously they have the other pictures that match this one.

Ashely was concerned about her closed eyes in our "group" photo and stated she didn't want her photo taken, which gave me the idea to take her photo!








Rob is incredibly patient and willing to be subjected to whatever a friend asks! I asked to stamp his face and he let me stamp both of his cheeks. He walked around the observatory like that the whole time...I was impressed with his self-confidence to not be bothered about doing something fun!