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!