happy irish day!

i know st.patrick's day was yesterday - but it is never too late to wish everyone a happy irish day :)

hope your day was full of shamrock hair clips, lucky charms and green beer!

lots of love,

xo

(image from my friend al)

weekend upDATE

this weekend was incredible...

b2 and i finally saw Avator (i have mixed feelings about it!)

we slept in and b2 made me a delicious breakfast (top 5 of my life, fo sho')

we went out for a special friend's birthday dinner, watched the brier curling final, worked on the fab website and ate thai food.

we also went to wildplay adventures, an obstacle/ropes course in the middle of the forest canopy! b2 was much braver than i, but i still managed to complete 2/4 levels!!! here are some pics of me fending off a heart attack and b2 being a ninja:

can you spot b2 up in the tree? 20 meters high baby!

i loooove the many adventures b2 and i go on together! add this to our list of successfully completed!

xo

G

more olymPIC fun :)

happy friday everyone!!!

to celebrate the end of another long week, here are some more pictures from my adventures at the olympics, courtesy of the lovely angieb.

i hope you all have a wonderful weekend - i am spending mine watching avator (am i the last person on the planet who hasn't seen it?), going to WildPlay Adventures (ropes/obstacle course that include zip lines, tarzan swings and walking along the forest canopy 20 meters above ground!), sleeping in and spending lots of time with my love. see you on monday!

xo!

big news!!!

image from here

big news ladies and gents...i am embarking on a brand new project with the help of b2 that i am absolutely THRILLED about!!!

this weekend b2 and i will spend some time working on my new WEBSITE!!

but first, a little history:

2009 - my best friend meg started blogging

2009 - i thought my best friend meg was a terrific blogger, and i wanted to try!

2009 - i started a thousand paper cranes

christmas 2009 - because b2 saw how passionate i am about blogging, he bought me my own domain for christmas!!!!

2010 - brainstorming begins!

i am hoping to officially launch the site this weekend - so stay tuned! it is going to be very cool -  the site will focus predominately on my environmental passions and do-it-yourself projects! eco-chic crafts, balcony gardening, sustainable cooking and more :)

i will keep you posted (ha, literally!)

xo

G

list-serv mutiny

although i don't anticipate being at my current job for much longer (vancouvvvvver!!!) i like my job. my boss is amazing, the location is perfection and i have purpose to my work.

with that said, there are at least 4 times throughout the week that i strongly compare my existence to the characters on the office (one of my top 5 shows...i would rank it second behind glee).

today's moment of comparison comes from a list-serv mutiny.

because of my work, i am on several list-servs - some provincial wide, some national and some international. we are talking thousands of people on some of these list-servs. and every now and then, someone on the list-serv hits 'reply-all' to the list-serv message instead of 'reply'. usually the person who does this is requesting to be removed from the list-serv....so thousands of people received John Smith's (or whoever) request to be taken off.

these moments make me slightly LOL.

but today, today i was hysterically LOLing.

here's what went down:

1. a national list-serv i am on sent out an email to the entire list-serv with information and cool links (i have received 1 email)

2. a bonehead replied to all asking to be removed from the list-serv (i have received 2 emails)

3. 15 people replied to all telling the bonehead to only hit 'reply' and not 'reply-all', thus becoming boneheads themselves (i have received 17 emails)

4. 10 people replied to all the people replying to the bonehead telling them that they had just replied to all (i have received 29 emails)

5. mass chaos ensues at the hilariousness of this - approximately 10 people reply to all with random inquiries such as "what's for dinner?" and "aren't we all a big happy family?". 10 additional people reply to all with requests of their own to be removed (i have received 49 emails).

6. one person replies "STOP THE MADNESS. NOT JOKING" (this was the point where i lost it...i can sooo just imagine some stressed out guy in a basement office somewhere being inundated with unwanted emails and going off the deep end because of a health promotion list-serv - also, i have received 50 emails)

a few more trickled in after that...but to put things in perspective, my very small and well-managed inbox (i am a little OCD when it comes to email filing) had received 60 emails in a matter of 3 minutes.

can't you just see dwight being the crazy guy losing it because of the list-serv?

lol. i need a cocktail.

xo

image from here

bonita speaks

last night i went to lucky bar to attend an all-female hip-hop show to celebrate international women's day and raise money for the victoria women's sexual assault centre. the event was co-organized by my lovely, confident, inspirational friend angieb.

my hip-hop experience is limited at best, but since b2 and i have been together i have really started to gain quite the appreciation for it. b2 is so passionate about hip-hop, and incredibly well informed. i love it - he is able to explain so many things to me about it...the techniques, the flow, the history, the samples...i am in awe most of the time when he teaches me about the art of hip-hop.

so last night, i put on my best hip-hop outfit (i was later kindly teased for my choice of pearl earrings ...apparently i still have a lot to learn!) and headed out on the town with my pal Ivannia to listen to some dope beats (gawd i am such a geek).

AND IT WAS SO AWESOME!!!

We stayed until 11pm (when did i get so old?) and listened to two very awesome performances. it was such an empowering evening and i am so very proud of angieb for her event-planning super-powers.

i definitely can't wait to check out more hip-hop shows in the future :)

one time i went to france...

one time i went to france...actually that is a lie...i have been to france 3 times in my relatively short existence (i am one lucky gal). 

i ate croissants and drank wine straight from the bottle below the eiffel tower in a sophisticated manner.

i strolled along the champs-elysee and spoke bad french.

i giggled with some of my best girl friends in the entire world when a german boy wanted to marry my friend katie. 

and i corresponded with my parents via email at a crappy internet cafe that promised the cheapest rates in town. that crappy internet cafe had the worst keyboards i have ever used. keys were missing, or stuck and wouldn't work. and i am pretty sure the board itself was manufactured in russia (hello language barrier). 

why does this matter? because, le sigh, my old and crappy (inspiring?) laptop has now started to give out...again. but this time it is the keys that are starting to go...my backspace button seems to be broken and in order for me to correct the plethora of mistakes i make while typing, i need to use my touchpad mouse to highlight the error and then delete it. my laptop is challenging that internet cafe for worst keyboard in the world. i know this seems like the stupidest of complaints, and in the grand scheme of life who the frigg cares about my stupid backspace button. but alas, i care about my backspace button. mainly because this blog entry took me 3 years to complete (*future blog post idea side note...my ability to over exaggerate).

RIP dead keyboard. RIP. 

the coolest keyboard in the world image from here

bonspiel fun!

this weekend i entered a ladies curling bonspiel with my mom, my friend julie and my mom's friend lois!

and i cleaned up at the spiel! i won a bottle of wine, hockey tickets, lacrosse tickets, a restaurant gift certificate, a pair of knives and a wine gift certificate!!!! according to my mother i have horseshoes up my ass and must proceed to the nearest convenience store immediately to purchase a lotto ticket(s).

will do mother. will do. 

xo

 

image from here

sicky mcgee

blah! these past few days i have been cuddled up on my futon, with kleenex in hand and the trashy television shows of daytime to entertain me.

i have...the common cold.

i hate you common cold.

according to the most reliable source on the internet wikipedia, the common cold is the most frequent infectious disease in humans - and i believe it (mainly because i believe everything the wikipedia gods tell me).

so phooey on you common cold! i will defeat you....with my naps, closed curtains, OJ and Ginger Ale home remedy, and trashy daytime TV!

image from here

torch keeps on burnin'

Jacques Rogge of the International Olympics Committee officially declared the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games "closed" yesterday evening - and as cliche and cheesy as it may sound, although the official competition may be over, the (Canadian) Olympic spirit can never be declared closed. 

In Canada, the 2010 Olympics unleashed a patriotism that was unprecedented here in our country. Don't get me wrong - we are a proud nation- but our flag-waving and anthem singing is usually restrained. It's funny because south of our border a person who lacks patriotism is villainized and declared Un-American, and dressing up in the American Flag is not abnormal. 

But here in Canada, we typically require a very witty beer or donut commercial to unleash our national pride.

Not anymore. I am sure we will remain the humble patriots we have always been, but no longer will we mix hesitation with humbleness. These Olympics demonstrated once again that above all, we as a people have commonalities that connect us - and that we are capable of anything, especially greatness. My hope for this realization is that we can now transcend this knowledge into collective decision-making and healthy dialogue in subject matter aside of sport and competition. Only time will tell if this will happen - but as the Olympics have shown me, anything is possible.

 

  

  

  

  

  

GO CANADA GO!

xo

G

ask any girl

my mom is a fantastic drama teacher at a high school here on the island and last night was the school's yearly production. it was adorable.

they performed the play "ask any girl" about Meg Wheeler, a young girl in the late 1950's who moves to New York City to find a job, flee her small-town lifestyle and fall in love. along the way she becomes a smitten-kitten with Evan Doughton, a playboy businessman, and hires his older brother Miles - the wiser and more straight-arrowed of the brothers to help her 'secure her dream husband'.

image from here

AKA - Meg falls for Evan. Evan doesn't care. Meg hires Miles to help Evan fall for her. Miles falls for Meg. Evan falls for Meg. Meg falls for Miles. Le sigh. It is le love.

my mom is such a creative and inspiring woman - she infused 50's pop songs into the script to add a musical twist to the play. there's nothing like a little Petula Clark, The Crystals and The Marvelettes to add a cute and whimsical spin. plus high school musicals are so hot right now (Zac Efron eat your heart out).

i am so proud of you mom for directing this charming production! love, love, love you!

summer in february

aside from a few scattered showers yesterday, the weather on the island and vancouver has been amazing these past few days - in fact the weather has been so warm that the standard joke for international media and late night comics alike has been regarding the occurrence of the winter games in such a mild climate.

jokes or not, i am loving it!! b2 and i went to the beach a few weeks ago and i snapped this picture - isn't it stunning?

xo

G

mini-vacation recap

i am back on the island today after a whirlwind 5 days in vancouver.

vancouver is nutty right now. absolutely nutty. i am so grateful that i was able to experience olympic mayhem, but on the other hand, i am one sleepy girl right now.

here is a little recap for you to enjoy!

day 1. attempt to reserve a spot on the 5pm ferry to vancouver (fail). attempt to reserve a spot on the 3pm ferry and subsequently sneak out of work early (succeed). sit on the floor of the ferry for entire duration due to a lack of seats. growl. get off ferry, drive through ugly traffic that turned a 45 minute drive to a 1.5 hour drive. run down a packed granville street, weaving in and out of crowds with a rolling suitcase. (consider myself somewhat of an olympic athlete, no big deal). see b2 (bliss). go for drinks at the yukon festival (yeeeeah!). go for a delicious dinner at a wonderful friend's house. attempt to drink a lot of wine (succeed).

image from here

day 2. go for yummy, greasy breakfast with b2. wander the streets of the west end. relax! visit with friends from the island. walk downtown to buy a 3 dollar blanket (thank you 'can i sign you up for a Sears Card?' lady). visit with other friends from the island.

image from here

day 3. wake up early! meet some of my favorite girls at the skytrain station. look ridiculous in 'canada gear' (see fur pellet hats and plaid, everywhere!). walk right up to the stanley cup. smile! get interviewed by CTV. make a fool of myself on national television by predicting the canada vs. usa hockey game final score to be an outstanding 70-1. visit torch. find a place to sit down and watch the hockey game. watch canada lose (cue sad music). attempt to cheer up sad boyfriend due to said loss (succeed!)

image from here

day 4. wander through the west end (again, i know...but i love it!). visit local grocery stores. admire organic produce! meet b2 for lunch (i heart lunch dates!).  accidentally run into michael phelps and hit him in the arm. make dinner for b2. date night!

image from here

day 5. wake up early! make a sign to hold up at the olympic curling game. meet b2 and friends from the island for lunch. dress up as a bear for curling game. have picture taken for Associated Press because of ridiculous bear hat! watch papa bear (aka kevin martin) dominate China and remain undefeated in olympic men's curling. watch canada vs. germany (must-win people, talk about pressure). take canada line and bus back to the ferry. miss b2.

image from here

i had such an incredible time this weekend - and i can't wait to get right back over there again next weekend. thanks to all 24 friends b2 and i were able to visit and laugh with this weekend - it was a blast :)

xo

girls group!

I thought I would spend a little time explaining what my girls group is, since I have received a couple of questions from intrigued facebook friends!

Two years ago I was working on women's health initiatives with the local health authority. I attended a women's health conference where I heard an incredible woman from the downtown eastside of vancouver explain the self-esteem girls group she created for minority and at-risk girls.

I was so inspired that I left the conference immediately (don't tell my boss!). I literally ran home and started brainstorming...maybe, just maybe I could form a girls group at my old high school!

So after much research, a project plan and a billion ideas, I contacted one of my favorite teachers from Esquimalt High and put the idea out there to her. She was thrilled - and even more exciting, one of my most wonderful friends from high school had recently come to her with a similar thought in mind - giving back to the Esquimalt community and promoting self-image, self-esteem and self-worth to high school girls.

image from here

We spent a whole summer planning, and in September 2008 we started the Esquimalt High School Girls Group. The first year of the group we had a steady, rock-solid group of 6 girls. This year, we have 15-20 who participated when they can in the drop-in group.

The whole purpose of the group is for these young girls to feel good about themselves. Self-hate and low self-esteem is an epidemic for female youth right now. And it's unacceptable.

So to try and combat this, we offer weekly sessions that focus on holistic health for the girls - healthy relationships, healthy minds, healthy bodies, healthy spirits and healthy sexuality.

Over the course of two years we have done everything from field trips to volunteering, from guest speakers to just 'hang out days'. We have gone canoeing around the Gorge and to MAC for make-overs prior to the dances. We have had a slew of guest speakers, from female RCMP officers to the Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins (a strong female role model in our community!). We have frequent visits from the Public Health Nurse (free goodie bags!) and just recently had a representative from the Women's Transition House come talk to us about abuse. We have made Valentine's cards for elderly homes, and have visited Our Place Shelter. We have brought in yoga, pilates, kickboxing and belly-dancing instructors.

We are opening our eyes to the world around us, and building ourselves up at the same time.

image from here

I love facilitating the girls group with Steph - it has not only made me a more self-confident and self-assured person, but it has inspired and motivated me. I see the kind of bravery, honesty and confidence in the girls that I aspire to. It also allows me to witness firsthand the selflessness of many in our community - all of our guest speakers and instructors do this on their own time, with no compensation. They do this out of the goodness of their hearts, and because they were once girls themselves.

I am so grateful for this group - it makes my whole heart happy. And although there have been a few times that I have experienced 'volunteer burn-out', I keep chugging because I know I have Steph by my side and the girls smiling faces (and big hugs!) to welcome me each week.

xo

love that boy

b2 and i are celebrating our one year anniversary this week!

you are my favourite and my heart belongs to you.

thank you for being who you are, loving me as you do :)

you make me think, you make me perma-grin, you make me daydream, you make me confident...the list goes on and on, and you know all the reasons why you are so special to me.

here's to all the years to come.

and to everyone else out there - i hope you celebrate all the love in your life today.

try as hard as you can to not take the love you have in your life for granted...

because love is all you need.

xo

           

sunny day!

this morning i woke up to a beautiful "piece of sunshine" dipping into my room through the closed curtains.

i love waking up to the sun - it makes getting out of bed so much easier.

i have so many stories to share from the lovely weekend i just had, but they will have to wait till tonight when i can upload my pics!!

i hope everyone out there is enjoying a 'sunny day'...even if the sun isn't shining!

love, g

happy love day!

hello everyone!

i have ferried across the strait to visit b2, celebrate love day and experience olympic mayhem!!

there have been so many crazy moments over the course of these few days - the city is hyped and the energy is like nothing i have ever experienced. 

i will be back on the island tomorrow and i promise to post many pics and lovely stories!

talk soon, 

xo

 

image from here

i am beautiful!

this week, as i was visiting my favorite blogs, i came across a very important entry on Curls&Coffee regarding body image and loving yourself.

as i have mentioned on my previous blog entries, i co-facilitate a high school self-esteem group and so this issue is particularly poignant to me. i have written before on feminism, and what being a feminist means to me...and even though i love to scream from the rooftops my independence, my rights and the glorious opportunities that being a woman encompasses, i have definitely fought with body image issues for most of my adult years.

my body image issues are not nearly as bad they used to be - when i was a teenager, and for the first few years out of high school i can remember cringing at the thought of certain parts of my body: my stomach, my arms, my hips...i just couldn't cut myself a break. i really couldn't find the confidence in myself to love every part of my body.

meg writes:

"i'm on a constant journey to move closer to the place

where i love my body the way it is,

and i know that getting there will be a mixture of

loving my imperfections and

changing the way i live to help my body be as healthy and fit as it can be,
but i'm working on it."

it has been a constant journey for myself as well, but i feel like now, more than ever i am secure with who i am and what i look like. that, in itself, is extremely liberating.

so how did i get to this place of pure confidence?

i like to attribute it to:

my closest friends and family for telling me how happy and beautiful i am.

my girls group, for looking up to me and trusting in my confidence.

my b2, for making me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world, always.

and of course myself, for doing the things i love to do, for looking in the mirror and seeing the beauty rather than the hate, and for challenging myself to do better.

i used to hate my stomach, but now i love my curves.

i used to hate my arms, but now i love that they give me the power to sweeeeep, haaaarrrrd!! on the curling rink!

i used to hate my hips, but now i love that someday carrying and having a baby may be a littttle easier.

the more we as women can talk openly about the pressures surrounding body image, beauty and weight, the more we will be able to break free from unrealistic expectations, commercial ideals of beauty and impossible comparisons. i know that i still have my insecure moments, but little by little...they are dissolving.

xo

(thanks to meg for starting this dialogue!)

*the greatest treasures are those invisible to the eye but found by the heart*

going partisan!

on a scale of apathetic to james carville, i like to think of myself as politically inclined.

image from here

my last contract job was spent trying to increase youth participation in the provincial election.

i absolutely loved that job, but there was one element that made my work especially tricky: i was to remain completely non-partisan.

not to make any excuses, but i found it extremely difficult to motivate and inspire the youth population of British Columbia on the sole basis of voter participation = good. i had to refrain from speaking about issues including the environment, post-secondary education and the economy so that i would not be perceived as affiliated with one politcal party or leader.

that contract is over, and so is my non-partisan stance.

and it is with that statement i announce that i am going partisan. these past 2 days of non-blogging is mostly attributed to my new correspondance, meetings and volunteer work for a national candidate. although the federal election has yet to be called, i am certain it will be soon (think fall 2010). i am also certain that there is an incredible opportunity to elect a progressive and brilliant leader in the saanich-gulf islands.

so there you have it folks, my first official endorsement of a candidate since 2008.

go elizabeth, go!

tournament of hearts

this sunday b2 and i spent the day watching the scottie's tournament of hearts and the super bowl. we made homemade chili, drank granville island beer and snacked on chips and salsa. it was quite the sports sunday!

the tournament of hearts is one of my favorite sporting events to watch on tv, and last year it was hosted in victoria. i was able to go to many of the games last year with my dad, katie and b2. it was an incredible experience.

this year, a little team from PEI captured the hearts of a curling nation. The team consisted of veteran curlers Kathy O'Rourke and Tricia Affleck, alongside 21-year olds Erin Carmody and Geri-Lynn Ramsay. The province of PEI has never won a Scotties championship, let alone made it to the final. Basically, an entire province was watching the game on Sunday.

it was quite the nail-bitter, but in the end Team Canada (Jennifer Jones) took the title for a third straight year.

*people always ask me "who gets to be Team Canada?" - the answer: each year, the team that wins the Scotties becomes "Team Canada" and gets an automatic berth into the Scotties the following year.


I was rooting for you PEI, your willingness to take risks, play aggressive and still have fun certainly won over this curler's heart, and reinvigorated my desire to form a competitive team. Go girls go!

daydream believer

i have had one heck of a weekend. 

movie night with b2, ikea, all you can eat sushi, pre-olympic madness, sleeping in, scott tournament of hearts finals and a superbowl party with b2 and edgar. 

but i know the weekend is coming to an end, and in just a few short hours i will have to catch a ferry back to the island and say "see you soon" to b2 again. bleh. 

so, if i could escape that, and go anywhere right now, i would go back to pender island, where ryan, katie, b2 and i sailed to last summer.

b2 and i would sail away in the sunshine, and drink wine and dine on corn on the cob and salmon, while the sun was setting.

*bliss*

here are some pictures from our previous trip, and i will daydream that i was back there right now!

 

xo

LSAT Hell-Schmat

image from here

The countdown is on until my second attempt at writing the LSAT is over. I have to write the damn thing again this Saturday, because my first test score was very average…and apparently getting into law school requires a higher score than ‘average’. Meh.

I have one major regret with my first attempt at writing the LSAT…I regret that I didn’t document the whole experience with a video camera. Do you ever find yourself wishing your life was a reality TV show, just because you know it would entertain the hell out of everyone watching? This was one of those times.

I wrote the test one year ago, in February 2009. My lovely friend Jessica convinced me to write it with her, because of our keen interest in environmental law. So on February 5, 2009 I picked Jess up early in the morning to drive to UVIC to write the test. Unfortunately, Jess forgot to print out her LSAT ticket, and we were running late so we couldn’t go back – we decided our best bet was to print out the ticket using a UVIC computer lab.

However, every single computer lab and the campus copy centre were closed. Apparently not too many students go to school on Saturday mornings before 8am. Of course we realized this when we had run around the entire campus looking for a lab that was open. Fortunately, Jess ran into a prof she knew, and convinced the prof to run back to her office with us to print off the ticket. She agreed. Phewf. We booked it back to the building where the LSAT was taking place, and luckily they were running late and thus we were early.

Before we could enter the room we decided to hide our coffee, bags and other miscellaneous items underneath a cement staircase. Jess crawled under, stashed our stuff, and promptly smacked her head on the cement when standing up. We were off to a really strong start.

The test administrators started the process of random seating, and lucky for me I was placed right beside the guy who had recently ended things with my best friend. Awkward. Jess was seated beside an older woman who threw up beside her in the middle of the test. Double awkward.

By the time everyone was seated, instructions were read, the test was taken, the break was had, and the test was finished, I was in that room for over 6 hours. To say that I am not looking forward to this Saturday is a bit of an understatement.

But, I know that I survived the first attempt, and I will definitely conquer the second attempt. This time I am more prepared, both for the expected and unexpected. And I will have my wonderful B2 to meet me with a giant hug and trip to IKEA when the torture is over with. You just can’t get any better than that!

So LSAT – bring it on. I’m ready for whatever you have in store, concussions, vomit, logic games and all.

love that look

My recent obsession with Mad Men is mostly attributed to the impeccable stylists and costume designers assigned to the show.

I am particularly drawn to Christina Hendricks' character, Joan Holloway, who has been referred to as a "vixen! sex symbol! goddess in tailored office wear!" because of her timeless beauty, indisputable confidence and to-die-for pencil skirts.

Without question, my next clothing purchases will include a killer high-waisted pencil skirt and some round-toe pumps. Perfection!

image from here and here and here.

the big move

since b2 is now working in vancouver, the big move over there was inevitable.

what was unexpected, however...was the big UHAUL that accompanied the big move.

in victoria, we rented a 10-foot UHAUL truck, but the day before the move we were told that all they had left was a 26-foot truck! so b2, the brave man that he is, decided to go ahead and drive the 26-footer to vancouver.

we hopped on a bc ferry and away we went...

image from here

in our massive UHAUL...

image from here

i am so proud of b2 for conquering the vancouver highways, the ferry ride and all the ups and downs in between (i am a pretty bad navigator!).

More moving adventures to come!!

xxoo