what's your fortune?

i, like many, try to make my own luck.

so, it was inevitable that i would make my own fortune cookies.

after a few failed attempts, i finally succeeded!

i will post instructions later, but for now just enjoy the beautiful picture of the delicious cookies i made!

yum!

my friend mere

today i was thinking about my lovely friend mere.

she is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world, because most of our time together is spent laughing until we cry. even though mere lives in calgary now, and i only see her once and a while, i think of her often and miss her like crazy!

mere and i went to europe together in 2006, and it was one of the best times in my entire life. i was thinking of that trip today - where in an awkward photo moment it was discovered that one of us bears an uncanny resemblance to wallace from wallace and gromit.

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i am so incredibly lucky to have wonderful friends like mere in my life - it's people like her who make every day a little more sweet than the one before.

xo

running, running

i have a love-hate relationship with running.

all my life i have gone through periods of loving it...and then hating it.

but last year, i completed a 10km run with one of my closest friends, and a 8km road race with B2.

this year, our goal is to complete a half-marathon before we turn 26. b2's birthday is May 15...so we only have a few more months to go, and that means the BMO Vancouver Marathon here we come!

i have decided to use the Go the Distance training guide from the Royal Victoria Marathon website as my go-to. let's be honest, i am going to need all the help i can get (!) and the training guide looks really awesome...if by awesome i mean gruelling and hell-ish. Katieb23 and I are going to conquer the streets tonight and run, run, run as fast as we can.

tonight is my first official night of training. wish us luck!

reunited and it feels so good

tonight my b2 will hop on a ferry and cross the ocean to visit me for the weekend!

i am beyond excited. i think i have planned 30 activities to do in 2 days!

some of the items on the list so far?

visit the local cupcake store and enjoy a monkey business cupcake

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enjoy some dessert wine from europe

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enjoy a delicious big breakfast together

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it's going to be a fantastic weekend, and i can't wait to see him!

my girly girls

i am one lucky lady.

not only do i have a family that supports me, a puppy that cuddles with me, a pseudo-son who loves me and the best partner in crime a girl could ask for...

i also have the most amazing, lovely girl friends in the entire world.

i talked to three of these amazing ladies yesterday...and they all managed to brighten my world...

M with her supportive words

J with her 'just checking in'

and

K with her hilarious self.

My world is better because of these inspiring women - and I am forever in their debt for everything they do for me.

Love you ladies.

missing you

this past week has been full of changes!

in one week...

b2 has moved to vancouver and started a new job

i have realized i need to retake my LSAT

b2 found an apartment for feb 1 (YAY!)

and i have started applying for jobs in vancouver.

whoa, quite the week!

i never thought i could miss someone as much as i miss my b2. i know the time will fly by, and this will make us stronger, and it only reaffirms how much we love each other...but i have to say...being away from you, it sucks. big time. i'm missing you.

xo

my morning commute...

every morning i walk to work.

i have 3 different routes to get to work...

first: i can cut through the dialysis unit of the hospital and pretend (in my own head) that i am a doctor - surgeon actually - i think it was my former love of grey's anatomy that influence the mindset.

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second: i can cut through the mental health unit parking lot, and then through the cancer agency.

third: this is the longest route, which involves busy intersections, and a large construction site.

lately, i have opted for the second option.

as i walk this route, i see the same things every day...

i leave my building, cut through the mental health unit parking lot, and typically see patients wearing their robes and maybe a jacket, who have slipped out the back door for a cig.

today it was raining, and i saw a woman sitting on the ground crying and saying "my family put me in here, my family put me in here". 

further on the walk, i cross through a giant wind tunnel that is also on a steep hill (two large hospital buildings that have enough space between them to create a tornado. bad news for my hair, worse news for my general well-being)....and arrive at the cancer agency.

every day, at the same time, i see the same man. he drives a large health authority truck, and speeds up the hill like a bat out of hell. i shoot him death glares, but my disdain does not last long, as he parks in front of the cancer agency, jumps out of the truck and delivers mail to the agency. he is a character - he looks straight out of a biker gang, with his long hair, rough around the edges aesthetic...but i am curious mainly because no matter the weather he always wears jean shorts. always wearing jean shorts. it's january, pissing rain, and he is in jean shorts. i have only exchanged words with him once - today - he held the door for me, and in a very raspy (somewhat scary) voice said "i like your mittens". i said "thank you", and we carried on with our separate ways.

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and all i can think of is further proof that my mother was right...you can never judge a book by its cover. 

everybody’s working for the weekend

Ah Friday morning…

Friday morning brings a sense of completion for me – a full work week is almost done and I am to be awarded with a little thing called ‘the weekend’.

Here are some of my favorite things to do on the weekend:

sleep in late

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make big breakfasts with b2

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Visit Aunty’s and Nana’s and drink tea

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watch curling on CBC or TSN

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go for a walk, or a hike, or visit a beach and explore tidal pools

drink martinis with my girlfriends

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paint my nails and wear mud facemasks

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there are so many wonderful things to do on the weekend…try and take as many as you can in, because before you know it, we are back to Monday.

xo

i get that a lot

The new show on CBS I Get That A Lot has me cracking up. Not only because the celebrities the show features are high-profile, but because of the personal connection I have with it...

Jessica Simpson plays employee at a computer repair store

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For as long as I can remember, people have been telling me that I remind them of 'someone'. I am frequently asked "Have we met before?".

I really don't know why people say this to me - I don't think I look like any celebrity and I know it's not because I live in a small-ish town, because I have gotten this inquiry throughout my travels as well. And really, I need to develop a better response to people when they ask this...here's how it goes currently:

Me: Nice to meet you.

Stranger: Ya, you too...you look so familiar, have we met before?

Me: No.

Stranger: Weird...I feel like we have....did you do blind-folded acrobatics when you were a kid?

Me: No.

Stranger: What about sky-diving? Are you a sky-diver?

Me: No.

Stranger: Did you go to ______school?

Me: No.

Stranger: Was your second cousin twice removed Andy Smith?

Me: No.

Stranger: Weird...so weird. You really remind me of someone.

Me: I get that a lot.

So, if you find yourself in a similar boat - or even if you don't - I think you will get a major laugh out of Snoop Dog playing a parking attendant. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR8WxUGU6Lc

ATOZ

A - Age: vingt cinq
B - Bed size: Double. Sad face.
C - Chore you hate: anything involving pulling crap out of drains (e.g., food out of sink, hair out of tub…gross)
D - Dog’s name: Tasia. Aka Sparky. Aka Big Butt.
E - Essential start your day item: Coffee.
F - Favorite colors: Pink, and diamonds. Diamonds are a color, right??!

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G - Gold or Silver: See ‘Favorite Color’.
H - Height: 5’9. Amazon.
I - Instruments you play: IPod.

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J - Job title: Data Bitch.
K – Kids: To be determined…
L - Living Arrangements: Out of a backpack, currently.
M - Mother’s name: Laura Barbara.
N - Nicknames: Too many to name. I am the nickname goddess.
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Nope.
P - Pet Peeve: When someone walks directly behind you, forgetting passwords, ATM machines
Q - Quote from a movie: Alan Garner: You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack... it grew by one. So there... there were two of us in the wolf pack... I was alone first in the pack, and then Doug joined in later. And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys, I thought, "Wait a second, could it be?" And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my wolf pack. Four of us wolves, running around the desert together, in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine. So tonight, I make a toast!

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R - Right or left handed: Right.
S - Siblings: bro.
T - Time you wake up: as late as possible.
U - Underwear: optional.
V - Vegetable you dislike: none. I love veggies. Unless olives count. I despise olives.
W - Workout style: 6 months on, 6 months off. I can’t help it! I get extremely motivated, and then extremely unmotivated.
X - X-rays you’ve had: knee and teeth.
Y - Yesterday’s best moment: email exchanges with b2…and my roomie making me hot cocoa when I was blue.
Z - Zoo favorite: protesting the zoo in france.

xo

please mister postman

2009 life brought me a whole lot of love and light.

And in 2010 life is bringing me a whole lot of changes!

I have always been a fan of change, I love living my life according to what makes me most happy, and sometimes that requires being open to the endless possibilities and existences we create for ourselves.

With that said, one of the big changes I am hoping for I am unable to control. I have applied to school, and although I would be content to take another year off to work and just be, I do miss university ever so much, and I would be just thrilled to receive an acceptance letter in the mail.

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So, every day I check my mailbox for that one letter…that one letter that could change my whole life path. I usually avoid my mailbox like I would the death plague.

Bills lead to money worries. Money worries lead to depressed Gill. Depressed Gill leads to feeling sorry for myself Gill. And feeling sorry for myself Gill is just plain pathetic, and not who I am!

And then there is junk mail. Wasted paper. Sad earth. Angry Gill.

Mail typically only leads to a path of destruction for me.

But not anymore…now mail equates excitement, anticipation and nausea. Please mister postman…deliver that mail for me!

xo

yummy treats

as promised, here are some more pictures of the delicious meals i have consumed this holiday season. i love food, it truly brings people together - and i am very pleased to say that the majority of food i eat is local, sustainable and very healthy...as food should be!

bon appetit!

my momma's amazing mile-high apple pie, with local apples

christmas dinner - look at all those beautiful colours! sans turkey, for me of course.

b2 made this pasta for us at Tigh-Na-Mara...pesto penne with portabella mushrooms, onions, yellow peppers and pine nuts. yum!

b2's finished product. best pasta of my life!

share some food today!

xo

tofino times

for our holiday gift to each other, b2 and i headed up to parksville and tofino to explore parts of our beautiful island.

tofino is one of my favorite places i have ever been. i love everything about the trip there.

here are a few of the things i love about this great little place and the journey to get there.

the drive: although winding roads, bad weather conditions and aggressive drivers can spoil some of the fun. the drive is truly a sight of westcoast wonder.

the pit-stops: beautiful creeks, Cathedral Grove, rapids and rivers are perfect pit-stops for breathtaking moments.

the food: tofino offers a variety of cozy bakeries, coffee shops and my favorite, shelter restaurant

(pub style).

and of course, the beach: long beach is simply stunning. and if you like to surf, this is your spot.

 

Le sigh. I love le tofino.