Katie's Brown Blog

Sleeping on an airplane?

2009-07-11T01:25:00.000-07:00

I have to know if there is some secret to sleeping on an airplane? Can one actually get good rest while crammed into a tiny space and sitting upright?

I personally cannot sleep on a plane. Try as I might, I just can't do it. I have tried sleeping pills, neck pillows, ear plugs and eye masks and nothing works. I sit by the window and try to lay my head against the wall and the arm rest juts out into my side. I sit on the aisle and try to lay my head this way and that...nothing. For short flights, I really don't mind. But it's the longer ones, usually coming back to Scotland from the States that I NEED sleep.

So I pose the questions to you. Can you sleep on planes? What is the secret? What do you do to get most comfortable? Share your airplane sleep success.

Today

2009-06-28T05:54:00.001-07:00

Outside my window… I see clouds and the threat of rain. A typical 'summer' day in Edinburgh.

I am thinking… that I wish I would just feel better already, this cold is lingering...and I'm hungry.

I am thankful for… for the opportunity to Travel.

From the kitchen… I am thinking I will fry up some bacon.

I am wearing… sweats...yet to shower and change into real clothes today.

I am creating… cards! Making a set for my friend, Rebecca.

I am going… nowhere today! Well, maybe 2 mins away to Rebecca's to give her the cards.

I am reading… a Venice travel book

I am hoping… to feel better and get our Italy trip all sorted today.

I am hearing… Casino Royale in the background as Derek I get some things done.

Around the house… we need to clean and pack.

One of my favorite things… friends. I am thankful for the friends we have made here and had a great evening last night with a good group of them.

A few plans for the rest of the week… 1 day of work and then Italy for 10 days!

Irony

2009-06-23T04:49:00.000-07:00

So I am back from Virginia after an amazing week with family and sunshine! Surprisingly Edinburgh is sunny and somewhat warm as well, Derek claims I brought it back as it apparently rained the whole time I was away. What can I say...?

Yesterday kicked off a crazy, insane week of work and today I am sick. The week I NEED to be at work I have fallen ill to the point where I can't think straight and must stay home. Going to work and forcing myself to stay all day probably didn't help. I am hoping that this day at home will heal me and I will be back on my feet tomorrow to continue the madness. Here's hoping!

HP6

2009-06-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

Today I completed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I wanted to reread it before the movie comes out in July. I decided to listen to it on audio this time around and it was wonderful. It occupied me for about 2 weeks on the bus to work, lunch break and bus ride home. It was a great distraction and has reignited my love for all things Harry Potter. Now I know the movie will not be nearly as good as the book, but I am still excited!!

And on a side note, one of my friends saw J.K Rowling walking around Edinburgh the other day. I forget that I live in the same city as her, I need to keep an eye out!

busy

2009-06-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

It's amazing that with the longer days and nicer weather comes a busier schedule. I feel like I have been going nonstop and I am exhausted.

Tonight I am looking forward to spending the evening with my hubby and watching Season 2 of Survivor before another busy day begins in the morning....

Days like this

2009-05-29T09:54:00.000-07:00

It's about 68 degrees and Sunny in Edinburgh today. I spent most of the day outside in Princes Street gardens laying in the sun and listening Harry Potter (book 6) on my iPod. Although it's only 68 degrees it may as well be 80 because everyone is wearing shorts and sandals, etc. I had a crappy day at work yesterday so didn't go in to the office today. I am fairly confident I got sunburned and I could not be happier. I am hoping that later hours will bring a nice pint of beer in the sun with DRB.

It's days like this that make it okay to live in the UK after all...

Just thinking out loud....

2009-05-28T01:21:00.000-07:00

I have been going back and forth on whether or not to continue this blog. I recently came accross a blog that one of my friends has going and she updates it every few days with a thought or a quote or whatever. I like this idea of low pressure blogging and really think it gets back to the root of what blogging is about anyway. I guess I want to know if any0ne still checks this blog? Leave me a quick comment if you actually read this. I think I may try to get back to this for a little while and see how it goes.

Senior Year of High School

2008-11-30T01:45:00.000-08:00

Shannon posted this on her blog and tagged me to do it, so I figured I would give it a go....

1. What was your school’s full name?

Mountain View High School

2. When did you graduate?

2001

3. What was your school mascot?

Cougars

4. Did you date someone from your school?

Not during my senior year but at other times

5. Did you marry someone from your high school?

No, but someone I went to high school with introduced me to Derek :)

6. Did you carpool to school?

I had my own car. Sometimes I would take my brother along if he was being nice.

7. What kind of car did you have?

1989 Ford Bronco 2....then 1990 Jeep Cherokee limited

8. What kind of car do you have now?

The city bus, it's pretty sweet!

9. It is Friday night…where are you (then)?

In the stands at a football or basketball game, hanging out by Goody's in downtown Bend, or driving around with friends looking for trouble.

10. It is Friday night…where are you (now)?

Home with Derek, at a friends house or out at a pub

11. What kind of job did you have in high school?

I had several. Freshman year I worked in a Law office just doing basic office work and running errands. Sophomore year I worked as a hostess at Applebees. Junior and Senior year I work at the Athletic Club of Bend, first as a Locker Room Attendant then as a Front Desk Receptionist.

12. What kind of job do you have now?

Currently I work at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. I work in the Centre for Sport and Exercise as a Client Services Manager (admin work).

13. Were you a party animal?

Sometimes. My friends could get a bit crazy and I would succumb to the peer pressure (though they didn't really have to twist my arm!).

14. Were you considered a flirt?

I don't think so. I had boyfriends most of the time.

15. Were you in band, orchestra or choir?

I was in choir all 4 years of high school

16. Were you a nerd?

I don’t think so

17. Did you get suspended or expelled?

No but was once asked to leave a class for talking back to the teacher.

18. Can you sing the fight song?

Hmm....wow I really don't think so. I remember we had a song (no lyrics) but I can't remember the tune. Oh no!

19. Who were your favorite teachers?

Mr. Spurgeon - Psychology.

20. Where did you sit during lunch?

Only the nerds sat in the cafeteria. So we would either sit in the commons or we would go out for lunch.

21. If you could go back and do it again, would you?

I think I would. I would probably do a few things differently but I had a great time!

22. Did you have fun at prom?

I did! I went to 4 proms in 2 years. I dated a guy from our rival high school so he came to my Junior & Senior prom and I went to his.

23. Do you still talk to the person you went to prom with?

I keep up with his wife via Facebook :) She's great!

24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion?

We haven't had one yet but I look forward to the 10 year reunion.

Not sure if anyone I went to high school with reads this blog, but if you do, I would LOVE to read your answers :)

Sick day

2008-10-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get sick of work and long for a sick day? Just exhausted from the back to back long days? I have been desperate for a day off for a while now and secretly wanting a sick day. Well, this past Saturday night I got really sick and in turn I have had 2 sick days. Turns out...not so enjoyable. Have been down and out on the couch for over 3 days now and antsy to get up and get out of the house. Now all I want to do is get better and get back to work. The stress of unexpectedly missing work is not worth it either. I have even been checking my work email while I have been sick at home. How annoying!

Okay, I truly need a holiday now...

a lack of sun

2008-09-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

I know we tend to complain again and again that we don't have a summer and never get any sun, but if you check out this article, then it will prove that we're not lying. Not only do we not have a summer, but we get so little sun that that it actually makes people ill! Scotland everybody...this is where we live!

So depressing...

''Where are you from?''

2008-08-27T04:57:00.000-07:00

Working in Scotland, with all Scots, in Scotland's capital, I am bound to be questioned about my accent (or lack there of, as I like to think of it). It was pretty novel at first and I knew that whenever I opened my mouth people would automatically know I was not from around here. At first I was embarrassed of it (especially being American - why can't I just be Canadian?!), but then as time passed I learned to become proud of it and not try to hide my accent but to speak loud and clear! Now...it's annoying. Every time the phone rings or someone new comes into the office they are bound to ask 'Where are you from?' or 'What's that accent?'. I have come to expect it now and it's not quite as fun. I just want to say 'yes, yes I am American...from Oregon, now let's get on with it'. It's funny though how much people love it, they just have a field day over the fact that they are talking to someone who sounds like me (they need to get out more) and occasionally I will even get people saying that they LOVE my accent. I still find it hilarious that I would have an accent. Maybe if I was from the south or the east coast or something. But no, I just have the 'no accent accent', or 'Hollywood accent' if you will.

But I do admit that it is much more fun talking to Scots or Brits or Irish than it is to boring ole Americans (sorry friends). And I am truly enjoying the fact that I am learning more and more to tell them difference between them all. Next step...to talk like them (hmmm...think I am a long way off).

I had to share this because it is only 13.00 here and I have already been asked 3 or 4 times today. Goodness gracious!

2008-08-09T02:09:00.000-07:00

I know all I write about lately is books...sorry so boring. But not sure what else to write about here. Hmm....

I finished '19 Minutes' by Jodi Picoult and really really liked it. It intriguing. It's about a school shooting, so if you think you can handle it, I recommend. I would say that 'My Sister's Keeper' and '19 Minutes' are my 2 fave Jodi Picoult books.

I am taking a wee break from Picoult for now. Just to explore some other reads. I am reading a cute book called 'A Place called Here' by Cecelia Ahern who wrote 'P.S. I Love You'. It's a fun, easy read and I imagine I will fly through it.

On a different/random note, I am currently sitting here watching the Olympics and I am SO happy. I love the Olympics! These next 2 weeks are going to be great. BBC provides some great coverage. Although I am not so sure how I feel about the Women's weightlifting that is on right now. Time to switch to rowing or cycling or one of the other many sports that are currently on.

the reading continues

2008-07-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

I have recently completed 2 more Jodi Picoult books: Plain Truth and Mercy. They were both good and I enjoyed reading them. I think I am just continually impressed with how Picoult writes and how much work and effort goes into each book, all to create fiction.

Plain Truth is based around an Amish community and I found it quite fascinating to learn a little bit more about the Amish life. Lifetime has made a movie of this book as well, I just downloaded it and was pretty disappointed. The book, obviously, was much more thorough and thoughtful.

Mercy was a decent book but probably my least favourite of the ones I have read to date. I took my time reading it, which proved to me that I wasn't that into it. But the story was interesting and I am glad I read it.

I have now moved onto Picoult's Nineteen Minutes. I am just 2 chapters in and am already quite intrigued. We'll see how it goes.

Any of you read any good books lately? My sister-in-law has recommended the Twilight Series, but I don't know anything about it. Has anyone heard of it? I may have to check it out as my next read.

I've been tagged

2008-06-25T09:27:00.001-07:00

So I usually wouldn't do this, but Grace tagged me and I have a few minutes to kill. Here are 10 things you probably don't know about me (but maybe you do!):

1. White chocolate is my favourite kind of chocolate.
2. I was in the school choir from 6th-12th grade (middle and high school) and I had a solo in 8th grade ('I Can Fly' by R. Kelley).
3. All through middle school I wore big, black, baggy clothes with skater shoes. Then promptly went 'preppy' as a freshmen.
4. I have officially lived in 3 different countries.
5. When I was young I wanted to be an actress when I grew up.
6. It only takes me 10 minutes to blow dry my hair.
7. I got a tattoo when I was 16.
8. It's been a life long dream of mine to go work in an orphanage in Africa(or with kids there in some capacity).
9. Derek and I are going on a cruise with my sister and bro-in-law to the Canary Islands in October (4 months!).
10. I predicted (based on nothing) that Spain would win Euro 2008...and they did!

Now I think I am supposed to tag other people, so considered yourself tagged:
Tim and/or Jen
Trudy
Lara

The sun is out!

2008-06-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

If you know me, you know that I love the sun and everything that has to do with it. I love the warmth, the chance of getting a tan and the opportunity to wear tank tops, shorts and/or flip flops. A day that I can wear flip flops is a very good day.

This weekend, we actually had 2 of those days. Yesterday we were out all day with some good friends. We went where the sun took us, from the Saturday market to the park to a pub with outdoor seating and eventually back to Dave & Sarah's for a BBQ in their yard. I wore a tank top and flip flops...it was a good day.

Today was not quite as eventful but the sun was certainly shining. I took myself on a long walk along the water of Leith walkway. Just me, my iPod and the sun shining down on me. I wore shorts and flip flops...it was a good day.

I have come to learn that we can't expect a proper summer in Scotland, so these days are like gold. I only hope that they continue and we can continue to soak up the sun!

the good reads continue

2008-06-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

Just finished reading Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult. I was gripped the entire time. Not sure if everyone would enjoy this book in particular as it deals with such things as sexual assault and witchcraft, but I was enthralled and it just proved to me that I have found an author I truly enjoy. Her writing amazes me and I can only imagine the research she must have to do in order to write about certain things the way she does.

Next up: Plain Truth

Stay tuned...

New author

2008-05-28T11:58:00.001-07:00

On our trip home to Oregon in April, I nabbed a book off my sisters shelf to put in my queue of books to read. I knew nothing about it, but I thought I would give it a try. I just finished reading 'My Sister's Keeper' by Jodi Picoult and I was very impressed. I love her writing and it didn't take me very long to become engrossed in the plot. She has tonnes of other books she has written and I have now begun a new one and hope to eventually get through them all. I am excited to have found a new author!

The blogging continues...and new shoes!

2008-05-25T07:19:00.000-07:00

Per Shannon's request, I am going to try and keep Katie's Brown Blog going... Do a little more 'day to day' blogging and such. Hopefully I still have one or two readers out there who will appreciate :) Let me know if you are still on board.

I am very excited about my new shoes. I saw them in store yesterday and could not get them out of my head. I woke up this morning thinking 'I have to have them!' So I went out today and bought them. They are Crocs brand and the style name is 'Alice'. I figure they will be a great 'everyday shoe'.

Here is a picture, except mine are black. I am so excited to take them out!

My family

2008-05-06T03:46:00.000-07:00

When we were home in Oregon last month, it was the first time in a while that ALL my family was together. So my dad decided to take advantage of the opportunity and have some family photos done.

Thought some of you out there might enjoy seeing them. If you have any questions of who anyone is, just let me know!

Here is my fam:

FAMILY

Question about grocery shopping

2008-01-29T04:48:00.000-08:00

If you read this blog, take a sec to answer this/these questions...

How often do you grocery shop?
And how is your grocery shopping done?
by this I mean...do you go 1 big shop to the next big shop? do you do 1 big shop with a few small shops in between? etc.

When we lived in Vancouver we did all our main grocery shopping at the beloved Real Canadian Superstore (aka Stupidstore). We would shop once a month at Stupidstore and then go weekly to the Dunbar Produce store to get our produce for the week. And occasionally some stops into Stongs to get milk, eggs, etc. But for the most part we would go each month and stock up! We found it was betetr on the budget to do it this way as well.

When we moved here to Edinburgh we assumed we would do something similar but had a couple problems with that. 1)the fridges are smaller here and 2)the freshness doesn't last as long on food here. So we have been doing our big shop (actually we have our groceries delivered) twice a month. Even still we are havung trouble with the freshness on things lasting 2 weeks. Which means more quick stops in at the small grocery store. I mentioned to Derek yesterday about the possibility of getting groceries delivered once a week and while it would be really nice to do this it would also be a hassle, not to mention then having to pay 4 delivery fees each month.

Anyway, there is lots to think about but in the meantime I thought I would ask you, just out of curiosity, what your grocery routine is?

After typing 'grocery' so many times I realize what a strange word it is....

Metro

2008-01-17T01:33:00.000-08:00

The Metro is a free newspaper distributed throughout the UK Monday-Friday. Metro offers the most up to date news, sports, gossip and more. It has become my daily routine to read this paper on the bus on my way to work. Every morning I walk from my house about 10-15 minutes to catch the bus. On my walk to the bus I pass by a wee booth that is set up on the corner of Princes Street and Queensferry Road, where a guy sits and hands out the Metro newspaper. In stride I walk past the booth, grab the paper, say 'cheers' or 'thanks' and continue on my way.

Lately I have started to wonder if this guy realizes that I walk by at the same time every single day. Does he anticipate that I will be stopping by or am I a just another passerby? I also can't help but think what a boring job he has. He sits in a rinky dink little booth with no heat, no electricity and his sole purpose is to give this paper to as many people as he can. I wonder for how many hours does he sit there and I really wonder if it is the same guy every day. I think I have deduced that there are 2 guys who do this job 5 days a week, or maybe they work half a day each...hmmm. This week, the city has been doing work on and, I think, replacing the sidewalk where the Metro guy usually sits in his cozy hut. Therefore he has had to stand out on the corner with his big stack of papers and pass them out. I can't help but feel bad for him. Although, for all I know he could be making some £30,000 a year just to hand out free papers.

The Metro has truly become part of my every day life. I start many sentences with 'I read in the Metro...' and feel proud when I know news before Derek has read it online. My friend, Trudy, is an avid reader of Metro and it brings about good conversation. It is interesting to read about the latest trend or the latest statistic on Global Warming, drinking while pregnant, or Harry Potter.

I heart Oregon

2008-01-06T06:03:00.000-08:00

My friend, Jess, got me this shirt for Christmas and I absolutely adore it. Now I can represent Oregon in Scotland! The outline of the state is made up of little hearts, and the wee heart in the middle is where my hometown, Bend, is located.

Motivated

2008-01-03T01:48:00.000-08:00

Before I begin this blog post I have to tell you that I am currently sitting at work and looking out the window where amazingly beautiful snow is falling from the sky. I just ran outside so I could feel it hit my face. It's gorgeous!

Anyway...

Christmas and New Years has come and gone, my much anticipated 2 week break from work is over and I am now back to normal life. I guess it's good to have routine and to stay motivated in that way, but breaks or vacations never seem long enough and even though I had several days with nothing to do, I didn't seem to accomplish all that I wanted to. Having no plan or no schedule makes me (makes us humans?) lazy.

Last night as I anticipated coming back to work I laid wide awake, for what seemed like hours, unable to fall into a deep slumber. I thought back over the break and my lack of motivation to get anything done and started to think about how on earth people stay disciplined and motivated to do things. Then I wondered how much 'self-motivation' plays into it all or if it more comes from outside pressure/encouragement/obligation. Would I actually be able to get up at 6.30am if I didn't HAVE to go to work? Think of professional athletes, would they be where they are, as fit as they are and as good as they are all alone? Or is it really thanks to their coaches and trainers?

I often think that if I didn't have to work and could spend my days exactly how I wanted to, that I would be happy and in shape and have the time to do everything and anything I wanted. I wonder how true this is. Would I actually get up early and go jogging? eat healthier? volunteer at a children's hospital? make cards? spend time making fancy dinners before Derek gets home? teach myself a foreign language? I would like to think so but the reality of it is that it probably wouldn't happen. Some days, yes, but not every day as I would like it to. That is unless I had someone there with me, pushing me to get up and go running with them, sitting with me and learning that foreign language together. Then, even if I didn't feel like it, I would still do those things. I think that is the key. Though I would love to be more 'self-motivated', I wonder how much it actually plays into my (our?) life.

Something to think about at least. Maybe thinking these thoughts will encourage me to get up off my bum and do more! We'll see...

It's been a while

2007-10-23T00:54:00.001-07:00

Honestly I forget I have this blog sometimes and wonder what could I possibly say that I couldn't just say on our other blog? Probably not much, but I guess it is nice to be able to come back to this once in a while and do my own thing. So here I am. Things have been going well here and I often forget that we are actually living in Scotland because it just feels so normal to be here. Then I hear people talk and quickly remember how far from home we really are.

Derek and I are very much into a daily routine more than we ever have been before. It makes me laugh but truly I love it. Derek wakes up first in the morning and gets in the shower, when he is out of the shower I get up and take my shower. We go about our morning getting ready for the day (breakfast, coffee, packing a lunch, putting dishes away, getting dressed, etc) and then Derek takes off to walk to school and shortly after I leave to catch the bus to work. I am usually home by 5.00pm each day and try to get dinner started shortly after getting in. Derek comes home at 6.00pm and I like to try and have dinner ready by that time. We eat dinner together and Derek cleans up while I relax and watch TV or something. Then we either hang out and watch a movie or Derek will do school work and I will do my own thing. Lately we've been in bed around 10.00 or 11.00pm only to wake up and do it all over again. Simple, but it works for us.

I have to take minute to brag on my husband. He is so sweet and has just been so good to me. The other night he brought me flower and then made me dinner complete with wine. The next night he spoiled me with a foot rub after a long day of walking around town. He takes such good care of me and I feel like one lucky wife!

Work is going fairly well. Better and better it seems. I was having a hard time with it at first because I felt that the days were long (not enough to do) and I wasn't feeling challenged and was so cold that my fingers would go numb. But things are picking up and we got a space heater for me and I finally got my uniform as well. Which I think will help me feel more like part of the team. My work is picking up as I learn new things and figure out stuff I can do in the 'off' time of day. Hopefully things continue to pick up and get better and better. I have my one month review on Friday which will be a good opportunity to voice any concerns I am having with the job. I am praying for strength and clarity for that meeting, I think it should go well.

I am happy that we have been making friends fairly quickly and I am even starting a new 'girls group' with myself and 3 other girls here that I have met. Being a part of my Spouses group back in Vancouver was such a vital part of my life and I wanted to have something like that here. I know how important it is to have a group of girlfriends that you can just be yourself with and open up to. We have our first 'meeting' this Thursday and I am very much looking forward to getting to know these girls better.

I guess that is all I will share for now. I will try and keep this thing better updated as things arise (and once we have 'real' internet at home - one day).

It was only a matter of time

2007-09-20T03:01:00.000-07:00

Well we made it to Scotland, the big wait is over, the adrenaline from travel and all things being new is starting to fade and life is becoming normal and routine all too quickly. It was only a matter of time until reality set in and feelings of loneliness and sadness began to hit. I think it came with Derek starting school as I no longer have him by my side to keep me company and distracted every day. At first, I kept myself busy setting up our new home and doing little things to get settled, but now as the house is feeling more comfortable and Derek is off at class most days and I don't have internet at home to keep caught up with my friends back home, the feelings are hitting harder than ever. I feel like I could break down any moment of any day. I miss home, I miss Vancouver, I miss my friends and my family and I long for the community we had when we lived in Canada. We really had something special and I miss that. Of course we all must move on but I just really appreciate that time in my life and the comfort and security that it brought me. Amazing memories that will always be with me and friendships that will never fade. I know that we will make friends here and it is only a mater of time until that happens, but I wonder if we will ever truly have what we had at Regent. I am obviously feeling rather nostalgic at the moment in my state of sadness, but that's alright. Point being is that I miss you all and hope to have some visitors soon (hint, hint). As we were moving out of Vancouver I found an old journal that I had started just as we moved there and began to read the only 2-3 pages I wrote in and I read that I was feeling the exact same sad and lonely feelings in the initial stages of living there. It kind of made me laugh to look back as I couldn't imagine that I had ever felt that way while living there. But I do know that it took until around December to start to find a real community and to discover what I really needed and desired for myself in a new place. So now the cycle starts over again in a new city, a new country.

What a depressing blog, sorry about that. Here is fun memory from Vancouver, the early days.

such a whirlwind

2007-08-31T21:43:00.000-07:00

I am sitting on the floor at my friends Jess & Jeff's house in Chicago. The time is 11:44pm but my computer clock still says 9:44pm, it is 2 hours ahead here. My mind is in a fog as so much has happened the past few days. We have said goodbye to our family who were more emotional than I thought they would be and I can't help but feel guilty. We are in Chicago with our friends which we have been waiting for and which means that in a few days we will be in our new home in Scotland. It is pretty unbelievable. Looking back on all the goodbyes that we have literally been saying for about 5 weeks now, is all a blur. I know it will catch up and I can already start to feel my emotions getting stronger and I am not quite sure what to do with that at this point. We spent the evening reminiscing with the Reimers about time in Vancouver and all our amazing friends and I am aching for us all to be back together again. This time is exciting and I cannot wait to arrive in our new home and get settled, but it is also hard to leave behind the life that you have known.

But for now we will enjoy our stay in Chicago with Jess, Jeff & Charlie (he is so big you guys!).

new coat

2007-08-22T13:52:00.001-07:00

Here is my new jacket! I love it. It is a basic black Marmot with a hood.

I'm ready for Scotland!

Lots

2007-08-16T09:26:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since I have written on this blog. You all probably already know that Derek and I started a new blog that will and does show the process of us leaving Vancouver, moving and then (soon) our life in Scotland. In case you don't know, that blog is: www.beingthebrowns.wordpress.com Check it out :)
I have been debating whether or not to keep posting on this blog or not. Any input? I go back and forth.
Since my last post, we have packed up our lives, sold most of our worldly possessions, left Vancouver and have spent the last 2 weeks visiting friends and family in Oregon. Leaving Vancouver was hard, harder than I thought it would be, but necessary in order to move on with life and proceed to the next big adventure. I miss my friends, I wish I were with them or could just go hang out with them. I hope they miss me too.
However, the past couple weeks in Oregon have been fantastic, there are details and pics on the other blog from a "brown" perspective, but I will give it to you from a "katie" perspective here. I was so excited for August to arrive because it would mean an entire month of no work, no commitments, mooching off my parents, etc. All good things. This has very well been the case but I have found myself so much busier than I imagined I would be. I pictured lazy days with nothing to do but lay in the sun and watch movies in the evenings. Turns out that when you are moving to a far away land, everyone wants some of your time, or as much time as you will give them. It has been great but exhausting for sure. It has been a difficult balance as I sometimes have to choose between friends and family and all I want to do is make everyone happy. I cannot complain though at all. I have been out to several (free) meals with my mom, drank lots of coffee at Backporch, spent a great 4 days in Eugene with my sister and seen 4 movies (Bourne, No Reservations, Ratatouille, Hairspray), I recommend them all. Yesterday I did get my dream and I laid by the pool for several hours with my friend Kari. It was amazing and I am happy to announce that I am not burned! Gotta love the SPF.
Amidst all this fun, Derek and I have been trying to get everything in order so that we can actually move to Scotland and wisely. Our visa applications are off and we hope to soon hear that we qualify and will be granted our Visas. We have also been trying to figure out how to do banking as we will need to have access (somehow) to a US dollar account, then get a UK account once we get there and we are also still juggling a Canadian bank account. It's complicated, but we're working it out. Lots of little details to figure out when moving to another country. But no worries, cause we have done it once before!
Today I am getting a very belated birthday gift from my parents in the form of a jacket from REI. I am very excited to go shopping this afternoon! Maybe I will have to post a picture of me in it :)

good times and sad times

2007-07-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! It began Friday evening when we hung out with our dear friends Grace & Josh. We went out to a new pub, we had fun conversation, we played games and gifts were exchanged. This was good and sad times. Sad because as our friends were leaving for a 2 week long vacation, it was our last time to hang out while we all still resided in Vancouver. And though we know we will see them again (and their soon-to-be baby), we are not sure when this will be. We had such a blast hanging out with them and reminiscing about good times. They made us an amazing gift, a movie consisting of loads of pictures of our time in Vancouver as well as funny and sentimental words to us and for us. It was the greatest gift and I cannot wait to show you all. The time came to say our goodbyes at the end of the evening and though it still has not hit me, I know it was sad and hard and will only be more so as we make our departure from Vancouver.
However, more good times happened later that evening. I went with some of my girl friends to a Harry Potter release party! The 7th and final book was due to come out at midnight and we set out to wait in line and party with the Harry fans until midnight to get our book. The so-called party was pretty lame, but it was fun to go and be there and get the book when the clock struck 12:00. This was good and sad times. Sad because it is the final Harry Potter book and I can no longer look forward to the next release and though they are still making the movies, those are nothing in comparison to the books.
Saturday morning I rose excited to set out early to help my friend, Katie, set up for another friend, Ansley's, baby shower! I arrived around 9:30am (for the party was set to start at 11am) and we got to work preparing food and decor. About 10am we received a phone call from Chad, Ansley's husband, and stated that Ansley had indeed gone into labour! Katie and I were shocked, stunned beyond belief and laughing at the irony of it all. Chad and Ansley still wanted us to have the party, so we did and with each arriving guest got to tell them the news! We played the shower games , ate the food and even (secretly) showed each other the presents we had each brought. It was sad that Ansley could not be there for her own shower but it was perfect timing for the baby to be brought into the world.
Sunday evening Deanna, Shannon and I went to the hospital to help welcome Charles D Raith III into the world. He is precious and perfect and I could not be happier for the new little family.

Last hang out with Cramer's & HP realease party

Ansley's baby shower

Blockhead + friends = fun!

2007-07-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

Last night our good friends Tim & Jen invited us over for some good eats and hang out time. The Simpson's also joined in on the fun and we had an overall great evening. It was the last time we will see Tim & Jen in Vancouver(as they are going out of town this week and we leave before they get back), which is very sad but fun to look forward to some potential visits from them in Edinburgh and with them in Belfast. The Cairn's introduced us to the great game of Blockhead last time we had dinner with them so naturally we had to show the Simps what it was all about. Turned out we were all pretty good and I think we may have played a record breaking game of something like 35+ blocks. Good times were had by all.

Take me out to the ball game!

2007-07-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday night Derek and I, along with our home group, went to "The Nat" for a Vancouver Canadians baseball game! Derek looooves baseball so the mention of going to any type of game (little league, minor league, major league) and he is there! And of course any excuse to get outside and be with close friends is a must for the Browns. We were so excited to hear that the Canadians were playing none other than the Eugene Emeralds. Of course we went and cheered for the Emeralds. Lucas and Shannon cheered with us (support the team from the good ole U.S. of A) so out of the 3,000 or so fans that were there...4 of us cheered for the opposing team. It was great though and I think we all had some scratchy voices the next day. However, after 11 innings and lots of stadium food the Vancouver Canadians won 4 to 3. Even still, we can't deny what a great time we had!

Eugene Emeralds vs. Vancouver Canadians

Fill 'er up

2007-07-06T09:36:00.001-07:00

Gas (or petrol) prices in Vancouver are ridiculous. Granted, not as bad as other places in the world but ridiculous when coming from the states. Since moving to Vancouver nearly 3 years ago, we have not once filled our gas tank all the way up. We would fill it whenever we took a trip to the states but around town we would just put in $20 or $30 and be on our merry way. But last night as we went to put some gas in the car we decided that we have to do it once and we filled it up! At $1.10 a litre, which comes to about $4.00 a gallon (for you Americans), our gas tank is full with Canadian gasoline for the first time and most likely the last. It was hard to see those dollars continue to rise...and rise...but we had to do it just once! Soon we will head back to Oregon and sell our car and won't have to fill up a gas tank for years to come.

What is black and white and black and white and black and white and black and white?

2007-07-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was my birthday party! Woohooo! Boy oh boy what a birthday party it was. It was everything I dreamed it would be and more. Lots of laughs, lots of black and white and lots of wine! It was a black and white formal wine and cheese birthday party (say it 3 times fast). All my gorgeous friends dressed up in their finest black and white attire and we partied the night away in our backyard and then into the basement once the sun went down and it got cold. Everyone brought a bottle of wine, it was fun to try the different kinds. And leave it to me and my friends to finish every single bottle! We all took some amazing photos and I am pleased to present them to you for your viewing. It was a great (probably) last party that we will host while living in Vancouver and so neat to see how beautiful and handsome my friends are.

Katie's Wine & Cheese Birthday Party

to keep? to cherish? to toss?

2007-06-28T08:19:00.000-07:00

Derek and I are quickly approaching our 1 month mark until we move. It is pretty crazy and has got my head in a frenzy. As we start to think about packing and moving one must wonder what to do with all the crap. What do you keep? What do you toss? What is worth saving in a box forever? Do I keep a t-shirt from the camp I went to that one time 5 years ago? These questions pose highly more difficult and involved when moving overseas to another country. We have to significantly downsize and pretty much sell all of our worldly possessions. This is an okay thought from this side of it but worry it will be quite the reality check when we leave Vancouver with only a car full of stuff. I imagine we will drive away with mostly books and clothes. The more difficult task will arise with wondering what to take to Scotland with us. Do we make extra room in our 2 allowed suitcases for pictures and memories? Or do we just load up with clothes and the necessities? I know people do this all the time so it will work out, but the thought of it all is pretty overwhelming at the time. Let the adventure begin...

Cloud 9

2007-06-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

Friday night Derek and I went out to Cloud 9 Restaurant, in downtown Vancouver, to celebrate my birthday! It is a revolving restaurant on the 42nd floor of the Empire Landmark hotel. It was amazing and a great way to celebrate. We had a fantastic meal, good wine and a scrumptious dessert. We watched the sun go down over the water and got to view beautiful Vancouver from above. What an awesome experience. Here are some pictures:

Besides getting lost in the elevator after the meal, it was the most perfect night out. But the festivities do not stop here. This coming Saturday I am having a big formal birthday bash with my friends! Pictures and details to follow.

SIDE NOTE: It is almost July and I am wearing a sweater. I want summer!

A 10k and a trip to Portland

2007-06-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I ran my 3rd 10k. Yay! It was in the evening which I think made it more difficult than doing a morning run, but I pushed through and was able to cut almost 2 minutes off my best time. Still am no where near the pros that can run it in like 25 minutes. But that's okay. It was a gorgeous day for a run and it was through the UBC campus, a familiar place. And the best part of all is that I got a sweatshirt out of it. Not just any sweatshirt but a BROWN sweatshirt. And if you know me, you know I love brown!
Then, first thing Saturday morning, Derek and I drove down to Portland. I had been planning this trip for months and it was to go and spend 4 days with my best friend, Jess. At long last the weekend arrived. Derek dropped me off and he went on to Forrest Grove to spend the time with his Dad and Stepmom. Jess and I had 4 whole days together and it could not have been more perfect. We had the most amazing time just laughing and shopping and eating and being girls. Words cannot describe the great time we had. I did not take many pictures, but there are a few to share. Jess ended up driving back to Vancouver with us and staying one night before flying out to Malibu (Young Life Camp) to meet up with her husband who has been working out there the past couple of weeks. It was great to have her in town one night and the weather could not have been better! Anyway, enjoy the pics.

10k and Portland

It's official

2007-06-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

The past 8 months have been quite a roller coaster. Derek decided in November that he was going to apply to some PhD programs just to see if he might get in (this was a year earlier than our original plan). Much to our delight Derek was accepted to 5 schools! All located in the UK. We were not quite sure what to to with this and we spent the next months praying, talking, thinking, listening and trusting - we knew we would figure it out in the right time. It was months of up and down emotions among our already busy day-to-day lives. After some more thought, Derek decided there was only one school that was truly his dream school. So we were able to narrow it down but were still unsure if this was right for us. Derek's dream of doing PhD studies soon became my dream as well and I had made up my mind that I was ready to pursue this dream with him. More and more time passed and I waited patiently for my husband to make the final decision. As I walked in the door one sunny Sunday afternoon, Derek was sitting on the couch with a huge grin on his face. He had the signed acceptance letter in front of him and I knew...he had made his decision. We are very happy to announce that we are moving to Edinburgh, Scotland where Derek will be a PhD Student at the University of Edinburgh's School of Divinity (read more about it on Derek's blog).

Here is Derek with his signed acceptance letter

We plan to move to Edinburgh at the beginning of September. We will be leaving Vancouver, our home of three years, at the end of July and moving to Oregon for the month of August. We will then visit our friends in Chicago in route to Scotland and begin our new adventure in Edinburgh. We expect you all to visit!

pictures, pictures everywhere!

2007-06-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

though we still DO NOT have internet at home I have other means and decided that a picture update was necessary. So at long last I am updating you in picture form. You will find pictures from the church women's retreat, from our wonderful visit from Dave & Majell and the awesome pirate party we attended. Hope you enjoy. Beware, lots of pictures lie ahead...

Women's Retreat, Dave & Majell, Pirate Party...

no internets

2007-06-04T10:03:00.001-07:00

We still don't have the internets at home even though it was supposed to be set up on Friday. No big deal, this is how customer service goes in Canada. We have spent countless hours on the phone with Rogers and just want our stinkin internet. Derek of course wants it for school and academic purposes but I just want to post some pictures and be able to email pictures to my friends. Also the convenience of being able to look up driving directions as we are heading out the door or movie times, etc. Officially fed up! But the good news is that it will be set up Wednesday (so they say) and we get a month of internet for free. haha! Suckers!

Just some update-ness

2007-05-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

We have not had internet at home for over a week now and therefore I have not been able to post any pictures of what has been going on. So I have decided to give you a brief update anyway and maybe I will post some pics once we have our internet set up this weekend.

A couple weekends ago Derek and I drove to Portland and had an amazing time with family, shopping, seeing friends and going to Derek's step-brother's wedding. It was just a really nice time and felt refreshing to be back in Portland for a little trip.

Last weekend was our church Women's retreat up at Whistler. It was just Friday through Saturday but it was a really nice time. It was pretty low-key with lots of down time and hanging out. About 25 women from the church were able to go. I drove up with my friend Grace which was great because it had been a while since we had some one-on-one time. The retreat consisted of wine, food, hot tub, truth or dare, sleep, worship, small groups and making bookmarks. All in all, a wonderful getaway.

This coming weekend we are going to go to Taming of the Shrew at the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival with our friends Ryan and Elizabeth. Very much looking forward to this as this has been on my "Vancouver to do" list since we moved here!

And we just found out that our friends Dave & Majell might be coming to visit us next week and I could not be more excited about this!!!!!!!

proud

2007-05-23T08:34:00.001-07:00

Derek and I are proud to announce our new little babe! The Canon PowerShot SD 900. 10 Mega Pixels, 3x optical zoom, 2.5 inch screen! This was a gift from Derek's dad for completing his Master's degree and it is our new pride and joy. Derek has scoured the manual and learned about all the cool features and everything we can do with this little hand held camera. As you know, we are always pictures. In fact, we were out last week and someone asked my friend Shannon if she brought her camera with her, she pointed and me and said "yep!". Since we don't want to miss out or forget anything, the camera is a big part of our life. And this one is amazing and fits in the palm of your hand.

Derek went out for a photo shoot yesterday...so you can see his handy work and the amazing pics our new camera can take.

Shelley's Birthday!

2007-05-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

This week we celebrated my good friend, Shelley's, birthday. I was thoroughly disappointed when Shelley told me a few weeks back that she didn't want to do anything for her birthday but just be mellow and not make a big deal of it. I personally love birthdays and everything about them so this statement from Shelley did not sit well with me. Knowing me all too well, Shelley's husband, Levi, contacted me right away to see what we were going to do for Shelley for her birthday without her knowing. Ah ha! We began to scheme and I asked Shelley if we could go out on a double date for her birthday so that she can have some sort of celebration and make her feel special. She agreed and thought this sounded just right for her. Little did she know that I also invited ALL of friends to come out to dinner as well and celebrate our friend and make her feel special. If I do say so myself, it was quite successful and she had NO idea. Besides a little redness in the face and hitting Levi in the arm when she saw us all, I would say that she was quite satisfied with her birthday party.

Amber and Shelley

drinking Bellini's!

Me and Shelley - silly friends

friends, friends and more friends...

And a goofy one of Derek and I, just for fun!

blockhead

2007-05-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

Saturday night we went over to Tim & Jenn's house for dinner. After a fantastic bbq meal and hanging out for a while they wanted to show us this game that they absolutely love. It is called Blockhead and one of Tim's friends from Northern Ireland got them this for their wedding.

It's like reverse Jenga but much more fun!
It's quite intenseAnd it sure did a number on my nerves but I did come in second place thank you very much!Thanks Jenn & Tim!

Cinco De Mayo!

2007-05-08T09:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday was CINCO DE MAYO!!! And what better way to celebrate than to have some friends over to drink Coronas and eat chips and salsa!?! So that is exactly what we did. It was a blast just hanging out with the pals...

We all had our own strategy of trying to get the lime immersed in the beer

No night is complete without a game of Catch Phrase

and of course a pic of girls drinking beer :)

*we miss you, Reimers

one step forward

2007-05-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I threw an "end of degree" party for Derek. Because he was just shy of completing requirements in time for the Regent Grad and because we probably won't be here next year to participate in graduation, I thought this would be a fun and neccesary event. We had a lot of our family in from out of town and almost all our local friends joined us as we ate good food, spent time together, played a little trivia game and reminisced with a slideshow on what the past 3 years here have held for us. Though we still have some months until we actually leave Vancouver, it was a nice little step forward. Derek just has a couple things to finish up this summer but for the most part our time at Regent has almost come to an end. We have bitter sweet feelings about it all as we have had an amazing time in Vancouver and will always remember our time here but also so excited about whatever God has for us in the near future (i'll let you know once we know!). Enjoy the pics from the weekend with the fam as well as some from the party.

Derek's "end of degree" party/weekend (April 27-29)

See you later dear friends

2007-04-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, we had to say goodbye to some very close and dear friends: Jess, Jeff and Charlie. They are the first in our close "group" of friends to leave and it was not easy to say goodbye, or should I say "see you later" cause we will see them again. Jeff got a job with IVP (Inter-Varsity Press) in the Chicago area and though it was sad to see them go, we are so excited for the adventure that lies ahead. There were some events leading up to their departure that I will share with photos (of course).

They had a going away party about 2 weeks before they left. Here is Jess and cutie pie Charlie at the party

We made them a Memory book as a going away present

Classic

We were the last to leave the party -as always

This was part 1 of our last girls group (+ Charlie) meeting
Jess, Shelley, me, Shannon and Charlie

And part 2, we headed out on the town for some good drinks and conversation

Jess will love that I posted this picture :)

Awww...the last time it will be just the 4 of us

Then of course, the Reimer's last night in town was for Graduation! The accumulation of their time here. Here is Derek and Jeff (twins!)

The happy family

All the girls

And all the boys

Grad got over so late that nothing was open, so we had to settle for a Wendy's/Tim Horton's. Our last meal with the Reimer's.

After this, outside the Wendy's is where we had to say our tearful goodbyes to a special part of what has been our fmaily over the past 3 years. Our time here would not have been the same without them and they will forever hold a special place in our hearts. Hopefully we can get to Chicago in the near future and visit them in their new home.

Seattle Baby!

2007-04-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I headed South to the good ole city of Seattle to meet up with some of my best friends from high school (and one college pal). It had been so long since we had all gotten together and we decided to take advantage of the fact that two of the girls live in Seattle. We had a blast together. Catching up, shopping, eating, being tourists and of course...drinking!

Alexa and Kari - as we begin our shopping extravaganza!

All the girls at Pikes Place Market
I was like a giddy little kid as I had never been so close to the space needle before :)

We drove up to a view point, what an amazing view!

This is us, the bests from High school (me, Jess, Megan & Kari)

and with Alexa (college buddy)
Later that night we headed out on the town...we went to 2 different restaurants in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, oh we had such a great time!

maybe we had a little "too" much fun ;)

Overall it was a great weekend with the girls catching up, laughing and just being together :)

2007 Vancouver Sun Run!

2007-04-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Derek and I both participated in the 2007 Vancouver Sun Run which is Canada's largest 10K road race (2nd largest in North America). This year a record 54,317 people registered for the race. It was exhilarating as we ran the race through downtown Vancouver, Stanley park and across 2 bridges (Burrard & Cambie). Surprisingly, it did not feel like there were 54,000 people around you which made the race that much better as we weren't having to push our way through crowds of people. We took our camera along with us and took pictures of the race so check them out below. We glad to not be terribly exhausted afterwards and I think the adrenaline of the race kept us going all day. We had a blast and I am so thankful that it was something we could share in and enjoy together.

2007 Vancouver Sun Run

Happy Anniversary to ME!

2007-04-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

Today, April 10th, marks the 1 year Anniversary of me working at the University of British Columbia. I remember my first day quite vividly just one year ago. I arrived at work early and no one was there so it was awkward as I stood in the hall waiting for an unknown person to arrive. It has been a journey and I can say that I am quite comfortable and quite happy at my current job. I have now been through the whole cycle of the school year which includes such things as: Award deadlines, new student orientation, course evaluations, admissions and more! My role as a Graduate Secretary has become part of my life and I am so thankful to have such a good job. Happy Anniversary to ME! :)

I actually wrote a post about my first days back in April 2006, read it here

dirty laundry

2007-04-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

We all have our own little routine when it comes to doing laundry.And more specifically loading the washing machine. When I enter the laundry room, I select my cycle and water temp and immediately start filling the empty wash tub. From there I sort my clothes, put them in the washer and then put the soap in an close the lid. However, if you look at the instructions of my washing machine it tells you to 1. add the soap 2. put the clothes in 3. start the water. And still there are even more ways of doing laundry than this. But I ask...Is one way better than the other? Does one routine actually get the clothes cleaner? Should you soak the clothes in the water before actually beginning the cycle? Does it really matter at all?

What do you do? What do you think??

And I don't even know about the front loading machines...that's another story I guess.

It's Friday in Vancouver

2007-04-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

65 (18C) degrees and sunny on this glorious day in Vancouver. It's Easter weekend which means a lot of things but also means that it is a 4 day weekend! With Good Friday AND Easter Monday off work. What a great thing (thank you Canada). Today is Good Friday, which is a somber day as we ponder Jesus' suffering and his death on the cross. But the hope of his resurrection is something to be happy about and therefore I am happy today. Happy that it feels like spring, happy to have a day off work, happy that the days are getting longer, happy to have friends over for dinner tonight and, of course, happy for grace and forgiveness. Happy Easter to all.

fun night out

2007-04-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday night we headed to the Wolf & Hound to celebrate Derek's birthday with our favourite friends. We had a blast! It was a night filled with music, laughing, talking, beer, friends and more beer! It was a fun night!

Derek & Robert -- Let the fun begin!

Shannon, Lucas, Josh & Grace

Even Charlie got in on the fun...

more friends...

and even more!

having a little birthday fun...yuck!

And Shannon getting wild & crazy! with Charlie watching ;)

happy birthday

2007-03-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Derek's 26th birthday. I have posted about this before, but I just LOVE birthdays. I love to celebrate, I love to make people feel special and I love to feel special on my day. My husband, on the other hand, would rather fly under the radar and not get a bunch of recognition on his birthday (at least that's what he says, but I think he secretly loves it as we all do!). He told me repeatedly this year not to do anything and refused to let me make a big deal out of his birthday. This is not an easy feat for me as I want to spoil him rotten, but alas I adhered to his request. Since we have been together I have gone all out for Derek's birthdays (hot air balloon ride, surprise trip to the Oregon coast, best friends driving all the way to Vancouver from Oregon...) and this is the first year I laid low a little bit. Although I will add that I got him a stinkin awesome birthday gift that was a complete surprise to him and can be seen here, the coffee snobs will appreciate it (and know what it is). Thanks to Dave B for helping me find the right one! Derek did give in a little bit however and we are headed out to a pub this weekend with our close friends for a mini celebration and yummy beer :)

Happy 26th Birthday this week to Jeff, Deanna and Derek! Thanks for being born friends.

Mount Washington - March 16-18, 2007

2007-03-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

Remember the free ski getaway we won from the radio? This past weekend we cashed it in and went skiing on Mount Washington. I can hardly begin to describe the great time we had. I think the fact that we didn’t have to pay for it made the trip that much more enjoyable. We caught the 3pm ferry from Horseshoe Bay on Friday and pulled into Nanaimo close to 2 hours later. We stopped at the grocery store after unloading from the ferry to stock up for the weekend and then off we went to find us a mountain. It was about an hours drive until we finally saw the turn off to Mt. Washington to our great relief. We feared we had been going the wrong way as we could not see any mountains and there was not a drop of snow anywhere to be found. Once we took the turn off it was about 20 more minutes of driving straight up hill. We finally saw snow and the beautiful mountain. We were very happy about our nice hotel room, which included a full kitchen, a fireplace, a separate bedroom and nice view. We bundled up and decided to go take a little walk around to see what the grounds held. The mountain was two steps out of the hotels front door and we were excited about the idea of skiing out of our hotel room the following day. The next morning we allowed ourselves to sleep in a bit before hitting the slopes, but then spent the majority of the day skiing. I wasn’t sure how I would do because I haven’t skied in quite a while. But after a few runs I got the hang of it again and enjoyed every second of it. Such a great, intense, freeing feeling you get coming down that mountain with the wind in your face and the huge mountain at your back. We had a blast and were surprisingly not too sore the next day. That evening we hit the pub for dinner where we had the favorite burger and beer. Derek ordered a green beer since it just so happened to be St Patrick’s Day. The next day we hung out on the mountain a little bit, ate a beaver tail, and said goodbye. We did a little shopping in Nanaimo and then caught the ferry home. All in all we had an amazing, much needed little holiday. Enjoy the pics!

Mount Washington - March 16-18, 2007

changes

2007-03-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

Thing are changing, I can feel it in the air, I can feel it everywhere I go. We've been quite comfortable in Vancouver for the past 2 1/2 years but things must always come to an end and things must always change. Which isn't bad, just different. The first of our "group" of friends is moving away at the end of April, this is a tough reality but a good thing for them. They will leave Vancouver, after almost 3 years, with a Masters degree, a baby, and a great new job. Crazy how things change so much. A couple of my friends are pregnant, which is weird, because when we all moved here we were just newly weds and kids seemed so far away for each of our couple friends. Things change, people grow, time passes. Derek will finish his degree at the end of April. The cherry on the sundae that we have been building over the past years. What an accomplishment, what success! The next big adventure is calling our name. It's looking like we will take on and conquer yet another country, it's a dream really. Although surreal. Can't believe how much has changed.

Snow!

2007-03-01T08:33:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you wake up on March 1st and it's snowing outside!! It sure is gorgeous outside. Still had to go to work today though, darn it.

View from our bedroom window

Gone Curling

2007-02-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

Curling is a precision team sport similar to bocce, played on a rectangular sheet of prepared ice by two teams of four players each, using heavy polished granite stones which players slide down the ice towards a target area called the house. Points are scored for the number of stones that a team has closer to the center of the target than the closest of the other team's stones. --wikipedia

On Saturday a group of 16 friends went to the Richmond Curling Club and experienced a true Canadian Adventure...Curling (although it originated in Scotland in 1541). Curling might just be the most boring sport in the world to watch. But playing is a different story. We had so much fun and it can get quite competitive. Only a few in the group had been curling before, but for most of us, it was the first time. I think this made it all the more fun. People were slipping and sliding all over the ice, lots of falling, lots of laughing (maybe an injury or two). I think we came to the conclusion that helmets, elbow and knee pads, butt pads and mouth guards were needed in this game. I had never heard of curling until we moved to Canada and honestly never thought I would actually get the chance to play it. But alas, I did and it was such a blast! I encourage it to all who have access and maybe one day I will see you on the ice!

Click on the album to view the pics!

Curling

This is where I live

2007-02-23T14:23:00.000-08:00

Wow!
Courtesy City of Vancouver Planning Department

Girls weekend Getaway!

2007-02-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, myself and 5 other girls took a little retreat and had a girls weekend getaway. We were able to escape our everyday lives and our studying husbands for a nice peaceful weekend on the Sunshine Coast. Friday afternoon 3 of us drove to Horseshoe Bay and took about a 45 minute ferry ride to Langdale and then drove another hour to Pender Harbour. We arrived at Rosewoods (a guest house of a Regent Alum couple who allow groups to come to their property for a retreat and for a very small amount of money) around 3:30 and were so excited for what our weekend would hold. We walked the grounds a bit and just relaxed and waited for the other girls to arrive. They finally got there around 8:30 and we had a late supper and then just enjoyed a wonderful weekend together. We ate nonstop, enjoyed a soak in the hot tub, watched a movie, had fun conversation and just enjoyed the time. Click below to view the pictures!

February 16-18, 2007 - Girls Getaway

Spring?

2007-02-10T18:00:00.000-08:00

When I walked outside today to go for a run, I couldn't help but smile as I felt the warm sun on my face. It was absolutely gorgeous outside all day. Is it Spring time already? Or are we just being spoiled for a day and then the rain will fall hard yet again? I guess we'll see.....

weekend O sports

2007-02-05T09:34:00.000-08:00

I can proudly say that I was routing for the Colts to take Super Bowl XLI and I can proudly say that I am a Peyton Manning fan! Despite the rain and the fact that the Bears ran back the opening kick-off 92 yards for a touchdown...it didn't slow down Indianapolis. GO COLTS! We had a great time at Lucas and Shannon's Super Bowl party with good friends, good food, and good booze. And eventhough Derek and I didn't have much backupcheering for the Colts, we still came out on top! So that is how the weekend ended. On Saturday night we went to a UBC (University of British Columbia) Men's Volleyball game where Levi's brother, Ian, and the Thunderbirds beat Trinity Western in the 5th set. It was an awesome game and, I admit, I think it was the first time I had ever been to a Men's Volleyball game. Now I can't say that I got up early Sunday morning to watch a Soccer match, but my husband will gladly consent to that. It was a sports weekend extravaganza and I have the pictured to prove it all.

Watching the v-ball game

Go team!

Super Bowl XLI - Bears vs. Colts

I made the sign...and it got a little overused during the game

friends
more friends

2007-01-31T11:07:00.000-08:00

So the other day when I was posting about free stuff and my thoughts there, little did I know that it would pay off. I played the radio game, I earned me some points and I decided to go ahead and bid on some things. Last Friday night when we came home from a friends bday party there was an email saying that I was the highest bidder!!! I won a stinkin Ski Getaway to Mount Washington. Including 2 nights accommodation, 4 lift tickets, 4 meals and ferry costs. So Derek and I get to go on a free holiday to the island to ski and sit by a fire and drink hot cocoa. Sounds heavenly right?? I am going to go pick up the prize on Friday and we will then decide what weekend we can go. Hopefully real soon!

In other news, my friend, Chad, had a very big birthday and turned the ripe old age of 30 (he might kill me for posting this). He had a huge bday bash and we had tons of fun. I posted a few pics below.

On another not-so-fun note, I have been sick :( The doc thinks I have a bladder infection, the jury is still out on that one. They will get back to me tomorrow. Hopefully that's all it is and there isn't anything else wrong with me. I do feel quite crummy though. Infections throw your whole body off for sure. I am back at work today though after missing the last day and a half. But I won't lie, it hurts to sit and I wish I was in bed.

Enjoy the pics....

Charlie came too!

The boys hanging out...the big Hockey game was on TV

Momma Jess and her sweet baby boy

Fun times!!!

thoughts on free stuff

2007-01-24T19:29:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been faced with the option of getting something for free or at least the possibility of it. "Free" is a weird thing and I realize that people will pretty much do anything to get free stuff.

Yesterday I had the chance to go to a meeting at UBC where they were going to have a drawing for a few different prizes. A night at a fancy hotel, free airline tickets, great prizes indeed! Unfortunately I could not go, but the only reason I was even thinking about attending this meeting was because of the possibility that I might get something for free.

Today I went to a Grad Secretaries appreciation lunch where, if you attended, you not only received free lunch, but a free door prize as well. The door prize I got was a chocolate bar, not very exciting but free nonetheless on top of my already free food!

I always listen to the same radio station here in Vancouver when I am at work or when I am in the car. They are always having contests or giving away prizes. For the past few weeks they have been doing a contest where you if hear certain words on the radio, you go onto their website, enter the word and you slowly accumulate points through the code words and various other ways. Then every week or so they run an auction and you can bid your points to win free stuff. Sounds fun and easy enough, right? People in this city have become absolutely obsessed with it! I admit I am one of them, but not in the same way as some of these people. I fortunately found this online forum where people post all the code words and all the other things that get you points so I don't have to sit and listen to the radio all day long. Instead I just read through the forum, find the words and enter them online. Easy enough for me. But these people on this forum sit ALL day and listen to the radio, waiting for their chance to earn points just so they can maybe get something for free. Maybe. They post on the forum all day long about the unfairness of it all and how some people have more points than others and they just whine and moan about something that they are doing by their own free will to win prizes that they don't have to pay a dime for. It amazes me really how much they can complain and bicker about it all.

FREE can be a dangerous thing I am realizing. And really, when is free ever really free?

hello charlie

2007-01-19T09:06:00.000-08:00

Last night Derek and I got to meet the precious Charlie Auden. He may be a "big boy" but really he is so tiny and precious. It was amazing to be there and get to hold him and see him in his 3rd day of life.

I didn't want to put him down

The happy fam

too cute

He likes to cry..but he's still adorable while doing so

I may even be blessed by a tiny little visitor at my home today. Jess and Charlie are going to be on this side of town taking daddy to work, so we might just get to hang out. I have a feeling this blog may soon contain more pictures of Charlie than of myself. :) Just can't help but love him so much.

a child is born...

2007-01-18T08:58:00.000-08:00

Sunday afternoon I received a phone call from my friend Jeff. I excitedly answered the phone and said "is it time!?", Jeff replied in a sober voice "it's time". Jeff's wife, Jess, was officially in labor at long last. I gathered information from Jeff and phoned all of our friends to give them the update. That was about 2:30 in the afternoon. I sat and waited by the phone for more news until I couldn't stand it any longer, I had to know! I picked up the phone and called Jeff & Jess's home at 7:00pm. Jess's mom answered and told me that they were heading to the hospital. Learning that they did not have enough car space for all of them to get there I rushed over (along with my friend Grace) to pick up Jess's mom and we met them all at the hospital. Not too long after, all of our friends began arriving one by one. Pretty soon there was about 9 or 10 of us in the waiting room supporting our dear friend and waiting for the news. Enjoy the pictures below...they tell a better story than I can.

This Jess about a week before she "popped"

Passing the time in the waiting room

Here we all are along with Jess's mom and dad

Shelley, Grace & Katie C. -- getting sleepy

At about 12:45am we received the news --- "It's a boy!"

Hugs all around
Charlie Auden...the newest addition to our group of friends.
We love him already.

Sadly because it was so late and we all had to work the next day (well later that morning technically), we did not actually get to see Charlie the night he was born (although I was willing to wait). But tonight Derek and I have the honor of blessing our good friends with a meal and meeting this precious baby boy. More pictures to come I am sure. Congratulations to the new mom and dad!

friends

2007-01-09T15:35:00.000-08:00

The party the other night was great as expected. We heard about everyones holiday break, Ansley got to share her big news about being pregnant, we got to oogle over the size of Jess's ready to burst tummy and we drank beer with our best of friends. It doesn't get a whole lot better than that. I snapped a couple pics so I decided to share this one of me and the girls. A few of "the girls" are missing, but you get the gist. These are my friends. I love them.

Tonight I get the priveledge of seeing the girls again cause I am hosting "Clothes Swap 2007". It will be a night full of clothes, hard cider, Dixie Chicks and girlfriends. I don't think it gets much more girlie than that. Unless we all wore pink or something.

2007-01-06T11:18:00.000-08:00

The internet at home has been incredibly turtle like. I swear it has been slower than dial-up (remember dial-up?). It's funny how quickly we get used to new technology and how it seems as though we could never go back to the way it was. I admit, I have been feeling that way about our internet connection. It has been unbearably slow. Things like checking my email that should take maybe 30 seconds are taking 5 minutes. I wonder how long it will take me to actually post this blog.

Yesterday was my flex day (I had the day off) so I slept in, got a good 8 hours and when I woke up, I looked out the window and saw this:Crazy Vancouver weather! About 3 days ago it was in the upper 50s here and then snow! Of course it all melted by about mid-day but it was fun while it lasted.

Derek and I had to run some errands in the States so late yesterday morning we made the journey southward to Bellingham. The border wait on the way down was about 30 minutes, not too bad. In b-ham we went to the bank, bought beer at Fred Meyer, went to Target (of course) and then to a book store. The border wait on the way home was non existent which was wonderful. Our whole trip there and back was exactly 5 hours. Record time I'd say. It will probably be our last visit to the states for a while. We are ready to stay put in Vancouver for a good chunk of time.

Last night we had a wonderful dinner with some close friends who we haven't seen in a while and found out they are going to have a baby! How exciting! Just as one friend is about ready to pop I find out another has one on the way. Tonight we are going to a party where we will get to see all our friends again, most for the first time in 2007. I am excited to hear about everyones holidays and see all my wonderful friends again. I miss them. And my one friend will get to tell everyone that she's expecting. It's going to be a great night. Pictures to come I am sure.

Christmas pics and highlights

2007-01-04T09:53:00.000-08:00

A few higlights from our Holiday in Oregon include:
-seeing LOTS of good friends
-staying with Dave and Majell
-gettinng a whole new bathroom set for Christmas (unexpectedly)
-watching Taladega Nights, In Good Company, Oceans 12, Pursuit of Happyness and The Holiday
-Deschutes Brewery tour
-hours and hours spent at Backporch
-Our awesome Christmas gift from Dave and Majell "Free drinks for the time you are visiting"
-Beginning my New York scrapbook
-3 Christmas celebrations!

Feel free to look through the album of pictures

Christmas Holiday 2006

Home at last! Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

Happy 2007 everyone! My Holiday has officially come to an end. No more lights, trees, presents, backporch coffee and no more Oregon. It was a great great trip but I must admit, a bit long. We are glad to be home to our own place with our own bed, our own shower and our own space. Today I went back to work and life is now officially back to normal for the most part. The last week or so in Oregon was great. Just as relaxing as ever mostly spent sipping coffee at Backporch. I got to see some old friends, went to a wedding and had 2 more Christmas extravaganzas with Derek's family!! I am very happy to report that our drive home was much more successful than the drive down. We did not hit any snow banks and though we were quite tense driving through the snow over the Mt Hood pass we made it through safe and sound. Below you will find a couple pics of our last days in Oregon. I will try and post the whole album in the next couple of days in case you want to see more of what we did during our break. I hope everyone had an amazing Holiday with family or friends or however you spent it. I am just so thankful for all of the friends we were able to see while in Oregon. Dave & Majell, Chris & Jenni (and Sam), our new friend Joe, Kari, Megan, Marc & Alexis, Shaun, Amber, Rachel and more...I love you all and appreciate your friendship so much.

Kari, Megan and I (just like old times) on top of Pilot Butte in Bend.

At Beth Colclough's wedding

Beth's wedding reception with Jessica and Allison (love you girls!).

opening my new sheets and down blanket from Derek's dad & step mom!!

Our adorable niece and nephew on Alex's new rocket! Aren't they the cutest?!

Christmas and more!

2006-12-26T18:16:00.000-08:00

The past few days have been great. Full of friends, family and fun! A couple days before Christmas, Derek and I, along with my dad and a few of his friends went to a Deschutes Brewery tour and tasting. Which, by the way, is free and totally recommend it if you are ever in Bend.

This is beers number 3 and 4 :)

On Christmas eve my sister and her husband came into town at last. We went to a Christmas eve Candlelight service with the fam...

...and then out to Pine Tavern for a late dinner

Christmas morning arrived at last and the family gathered to open presents and spend the day together.

My wonderful husband got me the new iPod shuffle!!!! I am so excited about this. It is so cute and compact and perfect for anything.

The rest of Christmas day was spent with the fam. We hung out at home, went running with Annie, had a big Christmas feast around 2:00 then we all went to a movie. The kids saw Night at the Museum and the adults saw The Holiday. SO SO good. After the movies we had a gift exchange and Derek and I scored some great DVDs and a wine opener set. Exciting! Later that night as we gorged ourselves on dessert we played a fun game of Cranium that lasted way too long. But we had a blast.

Well, Christmas has come and gone, the rain has finally stopped falling, and the retail return lines are ridiculous. Exhale! Derek and I went shopping a lot of the day yesterday and last night we were treated to dinner at Zydeco by Dave and Majell. A splendid meal. Now I sit again at Backporch coffee just hanging out and waiting for the day to officially begin. I am meeting my friend Amber in about a half hour and then later today meeting with Megan and Kari. Oh how I love my friends :)

party

2006-12-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

Last night Majell had a birthday party. We had lots of fun with friends....

Here's everyone hanging out

Dave and Derek hid in the back room avoiding the social scene for some of the time :)

It was a "bring a dessert to share" party and boy...there was quite a spread

Now I sit, once again, at backporch awaiting a friend as the rain falls on the streets outside. Another day in Bend continues.

just hanging out in Bend

2006-12-21T16:50:00.000-08:00

I can't say that a lot has been going on these past few days, cause nothing really has. It has been peaceful and restful and I won't lie...I am kind of bored. But I need to cherish these moments cause in a couple weeks when I am sitting back at my desk at work, I will miss this. The majority of our day has pretty much been spent at Backporch sipping coffee and hanging out with our friends. The place is such a social hang out. You stay there long enough and you are bound to run into at least 2 or 3 people you know. It's great. Today I was even let behind the counter to play a little bit. Good times. I am learning that when it comes to my job, I have it quite nice. Poor Dave and Majell work 12 hour days, 6 days a week. They come home at night and are just wiped out. They hardly have enough energy left to fix and eat dinner and then they are off to bed around 9:00 every night only yo get up and do it all over again. They need a break, big time. Such is the life of owning your own business I guess.

We have seen my family a handful of times and 2 nights ago Derek and I went to see Pursuit of Happyness, I highly recommend it. Oh man, it was SO SO good. Go see it!

Yesterday and today I got to get behind the counter of Backporch coffee and experience it from the other side. They put me to work and we had a good time. Although I was confused while counting out change to not see loonies and toonies! Tonight Majell is having a little birthday party with friends and I am very much looking forward to seeing old friends and eating dessert :) I have pumpkin cheesecake tarts in the oven as we speak.

The next few days will be filled with hanging with my mom (some movie watching, shopping and scrapbooking) and then the Christmas festivities will begin! It still doesn't feel like Christmas time and I am beginning to wonder if it will at all this year. But...Merry Christmas!

Oregon at last

2006-12-19T09:57:00.000-08:00

We are officially on Christmas holiday in Oregon. I cannot believe it. This has been the long awaited trip and it has arrived! Saturday morning we woke up super early and hit the road. We dropped off our friends Lucas and Shannon at the Seattle airport then continued down the highway. We arrive in Portland just in time for our hair appointments with Derek's brother-in-law. That's right! I have "new" hair yet again. It is now shorter and browner and I adore it. So we spent 2 nights in Portland and mostly just hung out with Derek's sister and her family.

Yesterday morning we hit the road again and headed for Bend. We have been so antsy to arrive in Bend because we get to be here for TWO WEEKS! After much web cam viewing and weather watching we decided to drive over Santiam pass rather than Mt. Hood because the roads seemed a lot clearer and we would rather not put chains on if we can help it. This seems to have been a mistake. As we were driving over the top of the pass there was a lot of packed, packed snow or ice. We were going down a hill, not going very fast and we lost control. We fish tailed back and forth for about 30 seconds and Derek handled the wheel so well. We thought he would be able to correct it and we would be back on our merry way. Instead, it only go worse and it became uncontrollable. Our car ended up spinning around and slamming into a snow bank on the opposite site of the road. It was so scary, so so scary. Especially because about 5 seconds later a semi truck came around the corner and had to drive around us. We know that someone up above was watching out for us. Luckily there were no other cars on the road, there were snow banks on both sides of the road and the semi truck didn't come even 2 seconds earlier. Needless to say we were quite shaken up and the rest of the drive to Bend seemed forever. Our bumper is pretty scratched up with a couple small cracks, but that is the only damage. Praise the Lord.

Anyway, we were so happy to get to Bend and see Dave and Majell (our good friends, that we are staying with in Bend). We got to see their new coffee shop and spent the evening there with them. On Monday nights they have a "coffee cupping" and we were happy to participate in that.

So we are officially in Bend and so happy and thankful to be here. More stories to come...

Christmas dinner with friends

2006-12-17T11:03:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday night, my girls group decided to invite the husbands along for a nice Christmas dinner at Levi and Shelley's house. Everyone pitched in and we had wonderful food and drinks including ham, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, wine and more! We had a great time eating and laughing and having some good "family time".

Here is our beautiful table complete with all the fixins :)

Lucas and Levi enjoying the meal

Shelley and Levi --- eat up!

Later, Shelley read us a Christmas story

Just hanging out

Lucas & Shannon and Jess & Jeff (and carl)

The gang!

birthday bash

2006-12-14T09:17:00.000-08:00

Friday night our friends Ben and Lucas had a Birthday party......

This is Ben

This is Lucas

There was beer

...and friends (don't worry, Jess didn't drink the beer)

and drinking of beer

shortly followed by singing

...and dancing

fun was had by all :)

The rest of the story...and Thanksgiving too!

2006-12-03T16:11:00.000-08:00

The saga continued as we went to the airport Tuesday morning to catch our 9am flight. We were checking in and they told us that we were in fact on the 5pm flight not the 9am flight. This was a breaking point for both Derek and I as that was the last thing we wanted to hear. We spent the next half hour on the phone with Air Canada trying to figure out what went wrong and what they were going to do about it. They were completely useless and unsympathectic at our situation and they were not going to do a darn thing to help us. After days of annoyance with the airline and being stuck in Portland we decided to rent a car and get home!! We went to the car rental area at the airport and went from place to place asking if they did "one way to Vancouver BC". No, no, no, and no! Finally the last one we went to had one car they needed retunred to Canada and we could be the lucky ones to drive it there. What a relief! We hoped in our front wheel drive Ford Taurus and headed North. Once we were getting near Olympia we began to see more and more snow on the sides of the road soon followed by ice and snow on the highway. The right 2 lanes were pretty clear but the far left lane (the "fast" lane) was pretty iced over. We stayed right and witnessed nearly 3 accidents in the left lane. It was intense. We saw dozens of abandoned cars burried by the snow on the sides of I-5, some even facing backwards and we could only imagine how they got into that position. The roads got a little better as we went through Seattle then quickly turned worse as we approached Bellingham. From Bellingham to the border it was like we were drving on an ice skating rink, I don't think we went more than 25 miles per hour. Luckily, being the Oregonian I love, Derek knows how to drive in this stuff, it's the other people that freak me out! The best was when we would see people driving on the clear roads (with maybe a little slush) with full on chains on their tires. We laughed at that! We were happily surprised to see only about 3 cars at the border and we were home in no time! Ultimately we decided that waiting for the 5pm flight would have been a batter and safer option at the end of the day, but we were so antsy to get home that renting a car seemed the most logical at the time. Most importantly is that we made it home safe and we resumed our lives Wednesday morning as normal.
Now I can rewind a bit to Thanksgiving day. As you will see from the pictures, the day began with a hike in the (unexpected) snow at Sahalie Falls. It was gorgeous and the snow was so fresh and soft that it didn't even feel cold! After a hot shower and feeling refreshed, my sister, Annie, and I began cooking the feast. It took us allllll day to cook that meal. Little did we know it would basically just be the two of us doing all the work. We didn't eat until about 8:30pm, I still can't believe how long it took. We enjoyed a big family gathering with tons of food, just as Thanksgiving should be. We followed that by playing a silly Disney trivia game with all my sisters, we had a blast and laughed a lot. That was basically it for the day and my parents and little sisters and brother headed back home late the following morning. It was a short trip for them but ours continued on with a day full of movies, games and leftovers with my big sisters. Derek joined us later for some Cranium and speed scrabble. What a great day with absolutely no shopping! The following morning (Saturday) Derek and I headed into Eugene where I was able to have lunch and coffee with my great friend, Ashley. We headed staright out to Forrest Grove to spend a night with Dereks dad and stepmom, we had a nice evening filled with chatting, picture viewing and a yummy dinner! Sunday morning we made our way to Portland in anticipation of flying out later that day but.....you know the story from there. Enjoy the pics!

American Thanksgiving weekend - November 2006

stranded...

2006-11-27T16:36:00.000-08:00

At this very moment in time on Monday afternoon I am sitting at a coffee shop in Portland, Oregon. That's right, Portland. As you well now we flew down to Oregon last Wednesday to then drive to Eugene and spend American Thanksgiving with my family (more details and pictures on that to come at another time). Anyway, we drove back to Portland and planned to fly out around 4ish on Sunday. That was quickly changed when we checked out flight status online Sunday morning and noticed our flight had been canceled. Apparently it has been dumping snow in Vancouver and they can't keep the runways clear. We were a little bummed cause we were ready to get home but thought it would be fun to stay another day. We rebooked the flight for today at 1:30 to only find out this morning that yet again our flight was canceled. Derek and I spent a long time trying to decide if we should just rent a car and get home. However since all of the I-5 in Northern Washington is covered with snow as well we decided driving might not be the safest route. We are scheduled to fly out tomorrow morning at 9:20am and have decided that if it is once again canceled then we will rent ourselves a nice SUV and get home! We are sad to be missing the snow in Vancouver but from the looks and sound of it, I think it will be around at least another few days.
The funny and ironic thing about all of this is that we had originally said we were not going to come for Thanksgiving because of the time and energy it took to drive down to Oregon, that is when my sisters bought us plane tickets. But if we would have just driven in the first place we would have been home yesterday. Oh man! Derek has a lot of school work to do and that has been difficult to accomplish but we are trying to make the best of the situation and we have been enjoying time with Derek's sister and her family. And last night we got to go out to McMenamins with Dan and Amanda.
One day soon we will be home in Vancouver again only to come back to Oregon in less than 3 weeks.

Baby Shower fun!!!

2006-11-22T13:38:00.000-08:00

On Sunday my friend Grace and I threw a baby shower for our dear friend, Jess. Grace and I had a blast coming up with fun ideas and planning, planning, planning! We were so giddy and had so much fun with it all. The shower went great and Jess is now stocked up for baby! Take a look at the pictures.

Derek and I leave tonight to go to Oregon for American Thanksgiving. We have been blessed by my big sisters with plane tickets from Vancouver to Portland. We are looking forward to it. One more hour of work and then I get to go home and get to the airport! Lots of Thanksgiving pictures to come. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

(with this new web album thing, I think I am going to phase out my Photo Blog. It will still be there but will be more of an archive--FYI).

November 19th, 2006 - Jess's Baby Shower

Yucky icky Vancouver water!

2006-11-20T10:34:00.000-08:00

I was going to post a blog about the "happenings" with our water here in Vancouver (for all you non-Vancouver folk who do not know about this already) but instead I will let you read one of my friends Blogs who has already done the work for me :) Thanks Grace!
Go here and read about it. And yes, feel very very sorry for us :(

Update: Read the latest article in Vancouver Sun written today

2006-11-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

Last night Derek and I went to the Real Canadian Superstore to go grocery shopping. It was, surprisingly, an okay trip as the store was pretty empty and the check-out lines were short. As we were unloading our cart at the check-out stand I noticed something on the floor that was purple. As I got closer I realized it was a folded up $10 bill (canadian-hence the purple). I awkwardly picked it up, not knowing what to do, held it up to the cashier and said "uh, someone dropped this", his response was "well, you can keep it!". You would think my reaction to this would be "Alright!! Ten bucks! How shall I spend it?!?!" but for some reason I felt strangely guilty, like I had just taken candy away from a kid. I looked around at everyone to see if I could notice anyone with a "I lost ten dollars" look on their face and slowly slipped the bill into my pocket. It is now in my wallet where it will be safe and sound from my husbands recent out-of-control spending habits ;)

Now this is Vancouver!

2006-11-06T08:54:00.000-08:00

Our fall got off to a bit of a late start this year as we didn't see much rain until last week. This is quite unusual for Vancouver where we are used to rain for at least 9 months out of the year. And though we got some rain last week, I would have to say that as of today, I can confirm that fall is officially here to stay! It is POURING outside right now, there is standing water everywhere and the wind is crazy howling. I was beginning to get concerned with all the blue skies and sunshine we were experiencing but now I can rest easy. This is the Vancouver we all know and love. Welcome back friend :)

The Departed

2006-11-02T08:40:00.000-08:00

Last night Derek and I went to see The Departed in the movie theatre. Which, first of all, is a huge deal because we NEVER go see movies in the theatre, it is so gosh darn expensive up here. We weren't neccesarily dying to see this movie, but we were in need of a good date and it sounded like a fun thing to do on a cold fall night. It was a good movie, an action, quite violent, but with Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson in a Martin Scorsese film, you can't go wrong. It was a pretty long movie and about 2 hours into it the sound went out. No sound whatsoever for probably 5-10 minutes. This was annoying and awkward and it was near the end, so it wasn't a good time for the sound to go. But it did come back on and we watched the end in full sound. After the movie though we noticed people who were in our theatre lining up and we thought "reimbursement?", we of course got right in line and got two free movie passes!! All because the sound went out for 5 minutes. So eventhough we weren't too happy to pay $12 each for a movie, it's like we got a 2 for 1 and it was totally worth it!
The movie was good, a lot of swearing, a bit long, a bit violent, but very good, I would recommend it if you are into that type of movie. Although I am sad to say that Mr. Scorsese will probably not be earning his oscar on this one either.

Seattle Weekend , Oct 27-29 2006

2006-10-29T17:15:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I went to Seattle and met up with some of my best friends from Oregon, Jess and Kalee. We had a wonderful time full of shopping, eating and just being girls. Sadly, I forgot my camera and therefore don't have even one picture of our trip :( This saddens me greatly. But here is a picture of the 3 of us from the summer when they came to Vancouver to visit, just to give you a visual.
Friday night I arrived at the hotel (our room was on the 16th floor with a view!) around 7:30 and they got in about 2 hours later. Of course we were hungry and ready to get the girls weekend started! We stayed in a fun hotel in downtown Seattle and that night we walked a couple blocks to McCormick & Schmidts for cheap Happy Hour food and cocktails!
Saturday morning we slept in (ahhh) and then headed down to the corner Seattles Best Coffee shop for breakfast. From there we walked down near the water and spent a good amount of time at Pikes Place Market looking at all the fresh produce and flowers for sale, all the fun hand made jewelry, belt buckles, soaps and more! That's a fun place (even if it does smell like fish!). Then, girls will be girls, we headed to Nordstrom Rack and did some shopping! After hours of being on our feet we decided it was lunch time and spoted a P.F. Chang's. Oh man, it was goood! Being with some Oregon State alumni, we had to head back to the hotel and see how the Oregon State football game was going against USC. If you haven't heard about this game then you are way out of the loop because Oregon State shocked the world when they beat USC 33-31 on Saturday. What a victory for them. Needless to say, my friends were happy campers! From there we headed to Seattles own IKEA where the girls went nuts! I guess I am spoiled to live near an Ikea here in Vancouver. We had a fun time looking all around though at all the fun cheap furnitue and things. After Ikea we went out to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory near the water in downtown Seattle. It was a good meal eventhough the tables were awkwardly low and the three of us tall girls were having troubles eating our dinner properly :) When we got back to the hotel we decided to take a soak in the hot tub that was located on the 28th floor with a great view of downtown Seattle and the water. We spent a good hour, hour and a half saoking our sore bods and having great 'girl talk'. That about concluded our day because we were so tired from all the walking around that day.
Sunday morning we walked to a cute little local cafe that was just about a block from the hotel where I enjoyed a local cup of coffee and pear almond brioche...heaven! Then we checked out of the hotel, said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways. The weekend went by way too fast but we had lots of fun and memories. Plus on the way home I got to go to Target and that's always amazing!

BEND---New coffee shop in town!

2006-10-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

Attention all Bend friends: for all of those who do not know, my great friends Dave & Majell Beach have opened a coffee shop in Bend, Oregon. It is called Backporch Coffee Roasters. This is not just any coffee shop but the BEST one in Bend and the surrounding areas. They roast their own coffee, they are passionate about coffee and they love people so it is sure to be a great experience all around.
They are located at: 1075 NW Newport Ave
and their blog is: http://backporchcoffeeroasters.blogspot.com/

Please go support my friends and enjoy a great cup of joe! :)

2006-10-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

Life has been pretty uneventful in the past week or so. Derek is mid way thourgh his second to last semester at Regent, I am plugging along at work and all is going as normal. We are beginning to really think about what the next chapter in our lives looks like which is scary but also very exciting. The future is quite foggy at the moment and we pray that our eyes will be opened to where we are supposed to go from here. Time will tell and God will guide.
We get to go to Oregon for American Thanksgiving again and have just under a month of waiting to do. My big sisters have blessed us and we get to fly which is going to be a nice change from the 6-9 hour drive we usually endure. Seems far away but I am sure it will come quick. This weekend I am meeting up with my friends Jess and Kalee down in Seattle for a "girls weekend". I could not be more excited!!! It is going to be so nice to spend a weekend away with 2 of my best friends. I haven't really ever spent much time in Seattle, besides a few Mariner games, so it should be fun to explore the city and create good memories with friends. I am sure you will get the rundown when I return. That's all for now.

No longer a blonde!

2006-10-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

That's right folks! After the hair fiasco over the weekend I had my hair professionally colored and the result is that I am no longer blonde! Check it out for yourself and please let me know what you think. I am still feeling quite self-concious about it because I have always been a blonde. I think this is going to take some getting used to. I think, too, that these pictures make it look more blonde on top than it actually is. You may have to see me in person to get the full effect, but you get the point for now :)

Also, for all you Vancouverites, I am part of a new blog (with my friend Paul) doing Vancouver Coffee shop reviews. You should check it out and maybe get some opinions about your local cafes. The blog is www.vancouver-cafe-reviews.blogspot.com I just did my first review on the Elysian Room, ENJOY!

I did it!!!

2006-10-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, October 15th at 9:30am I ran my first 10k. It was pouring down rain, freezing cold and all on hard cement...it was great! My time was one hour and 36 seconds or so but I am just happy that I completed it without stopping even once. I was soaked through to the bone, my socks were wet, I was dripping everywhere, I had no good rain clothes on and my hair even began to dread itself because of the rain and I looked good ;) I am pretty darn sore today and wanting to just go home and lay down. But at the same time I am quite proud of my accomplishment. I know it's not big marathon or anything, but it is a start nonetheless. Not sure if or when the next race will be, but my hope for next time would be that I can do it under an hour. Check out more pics here and enjoy!

In other news: Yesterday some good friends and I decided to have a "hair party" and we cut, colored and whatever else you can do to your hair. It was great fun except for the fact that my hair is now orange. Well, mainly just the top, but orange indeed! I am quite embarrased of it and have down what I can today to cover it up, but it is still quite obvious. I am leaning towards forking over the big bucks to get it done professionally. That will teach me to do it myself though. Ick!

oops...didn't see that window

2006-10-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

I was just sitting here at my desk doing my work like normal and all of a sudden I hear a big thud on the window. "Oh no, that was totally a bird" is what crossed my mind immediately. I went to the window and looked down on the little deck we have outside and sure enough it was a tiny little bird. I felt for it so I went outside and looked at him. He was lying lifeless and I was sad. But I gave him a nudge and alas he was still alive. I picked him up and it looked as though nothing was wrong with him and that maybe he was just a little shaken up (I mean who wouldn’t be after slamming full force into a window). I couldn’t figure out why he was acting so weak though. Until I looked again and noticed that he has totally punctured one of his eyes. Gives me the willies to even think about it. So I sat him up on a table and try giving him a little boost, but I am sure the loss of sight in one eye is quite traumatic and he’s not quite ready yet to spread his wings. But he is still sitting out there now and I am just so sad for him. Why is it that little animals can really tug at the heartstrings? He’s just sitting there all alone in the sun and I can’t help but keep looking outside at him. The picture is not of the actual bird, but it just helps to give you a visual. Poor birdie, I wish there was something I could do.

UPDATE: 10:21am -- I looked outside and the bird is gone. I hope he flew and didn't fall :( YAY!

2006-10-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! I had a blast and it went by waaaay too fast. I posted 3 new posts on my picture blog, for your viewing pleaseure. Those pictures will describe my weekend better than I can. It was amazing!

Oh yeah and in just 5 very short days I will be running my first 10k...oh man!!! I signed up and I am jazzed to do it, I am, however, not very excited about running it alone. My friend Levi was supposed to run it with me but he has been sick and doesn't think he will be better in time or in the right shape to run. So I guess I will be at it alone (anyone wanna join me?!?). This makes me nervous as I am a much better runner when I have someone beside me, but I have paid the fee and my name is on the list, so there is no backing down now. Plus I figure that I have got to start somewhere if I ever want to really be a runner. I'll keep you posted.

A fun filled weekend coming right up!

2006-10-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

Although nothing too exciting has happened in my life lately, there is some fun to come this weekend. Hopefully I should have lots to share and I will for sure have lots of fun pictures to post. Tonight I am going to shopping with my favourite pregnant friend Jess, to help her pick out maternity clothes...I am SO excited. Tomorrow morning Derek and I are off to Whislter, BC for one night. I have NO clue what we are going to do but it's going to be fun because we have never been to Whislter, any suggestions? Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving which means a day off work, yay! Our friends Levi and Shelley have come up with the brilliant idea of having an untraditional Thanksgiving and instead having "fall fest 2006" in the park. We will put our copats on, roast up some wieners, thro the football around and have a great day. I am very excited about this. Okay, okay, I am very excited about all 3 of these activities that will consume our weekend. Now if I could only make the clock move faster so I can get on with it already..............

new pics!

2006-09-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

check out my photo blog - I added a new post with current pics.

www.kbpics.blogspot.com

ummm....

2006-09-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I am boring or if I truly have not had anything going on in my life but I honestly have nothing to report. Besides the fact that it has been shockingly warm here in Vancouver for the past week, there is noting too exciting going on. I guess that's what happens when you're married to a student and who is deep into the semester now. What's a girl to do?? I have been keeping myself busy though and have honestly not really had much free time. My home group through my church has been going very well. It is small, just 6 of us, but they are all great and we get along well and am excited for this to continue. I have officially opted out of the "Spouses of Students" group but a few of us have reformed a new group with no title. I just call us "the girls group", and it's wonderful. I am so thankful for my friends that I have here and don't even want to think about having to say goodbye to them one day. With these activities and more brings lots of food and especially dessert (why is it that with every social gathering also comes dessert of some sort?) and therefore I have also been keeping myself busy at the gym. Anyway, that's all for now. Hopefully something big and exciting will happen so I can keep you all reading my blog and not getting bored :)

P.S. Tomorrow is my friend Jess's Birthday! Happy Birthday Jess!!

I heart birthdays!

2006-09-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

I love birthdays! Absolutely love them! Doesn't matter whose birthday it is, I love it. I love to celebrate with people and watch them open gifts and just be oh so happy when it is their day. I love planning birthday parties and/or birthday events. Gosh, it's just a wonderful thing all around. Yesterday was my friend Shannon's birthday and we had a semi surprise party for her. A bunch of us girlfriends showed up at her house last night and as she opened the door we jumped out, yelled "happy birthday" and threw ballons at her. It was pretty much awesome. Then we enjoyed an evening full of chocolate fondue & fruit, hard cider, popcorn, mucho decorations and presents! I think Shannon enjoyed herself. Next week is my friend Jess's birthday and I can't wait for more festivities and fun! Thanks for being born everyone!

let it begin

2006-09-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

It is official, the school year has begun and Derek is now into his 3rd year at Regent College. Crazy! The beginning of the school year always leaves me feeling quite anxious about how it is all going to pan out this year. Especially coming off a summer high, it is always difficult to begin a new semester and know that fall is here, the rain is coming, and another "husband-less" 9 months awaits (okay so that might be a bit of an exageration, but still). The school year has begun for me as well, since I work at a University now, and my days are a lot busier and crazier and a wee bit more stressful than my peaceful summer days. I am not complaning though because I do like the busy days, it is a bit more exciting to have stacks of things to do rather than nothing. It is about 2 weeks in now and I could use a vacation already. I am feeling the bug that Jess felt and am needing a good trip down to Bellingham for a Target run. Maybe since I won't be having a vacation anytime in the near future, a Saturday spent in Washington will have to do the trick. Hopefully that will happen soon. This school year holds some new exciting things including Derek and I joining a home group through our church and me in a similar but different "girls group". And let's not forget about Survivor nights with the Simpson's!! It's going to be a crazy busy year and it's hardly even begun.

Crafty night!

2006-09-11T12:45:00.000-07:00

Last night I got together with two of my fave people, Shelley and Shannon, to have a craft night. And boy was it successful. We made the cutest little card boxes (thanks to our teacher Shannon) and I must say they turned out quite good. Okay, okay, I am pretty much in love with mine. My next mission is to fill this box with dozens of cute handmade cards so that on any occassion I can open the box and find a Thank you, Birthday, Anniversary, Mother's Day, Christmas or any other kind of card I might need. Life doesn't get much better than that.

Crafty ladies success!!

Gettin CrAzY

up close and personal

Ahhh....didn't they turn out great?!?! I love them all.

2006-09-08T08:28:00.000-07:00

Derek and I went to SportChek the other night to buy a tennis raquet. While we were checking out, I notcied the nalgene rack so I took a gander. Maybe it's been out for a while now but they have this new sippy cup type thing for toddlers. A Nalgene sippy cup (or it's true name 'Gulp N Go'). My first thought was "how dumb is that" then quickly it changed to "I want one". Since I then discovered that was for toddlers and not big people, I couldn't justify the buy. But I have not discovered that Nalgene has a similar type bottle for us big kids. It is called the Nalgene OTG and I kind of want one. Everyday I sti at my desk with my $1 target "nalgene" water bottle and the lid stays open so that I can continually drink from a starw that I have placed inside. This is just begging for disaster around my computer and several important papers each day. So maybe one day soon I will have to go to MEC or Sportchek or one of those other stores and buy one!

Yesterday my boss brought the 3 of us in the office flowers as a thank you and appreciation for the work we've been doing. It has been a crazy week or orientation and dealing with new students. It was so nice to recieve these flowers. And eventhough they are for the 3 of us, I decided to keep them on my desk :)

Last night when I got home I had a message on our answering machine saying that I had won a contest I entered online. I entered on a radio station's website to win tickets to see the premiere of "The Last Kiss" staring Zach Braff. I won a double pass to go see it this coming Wednesday night at the Paramount Theatre downtown Vancouver. Yay! I am very excited about this. Not only is it fun that I won something, but because movies are so expensive to go see here we never go. All around this is a pretty sweet treat. Thanks Z95.3!!

Baby got...what?!

2006-09-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

Happy 'Double' Anniversary!!

2006-09-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

Today is Derek and I's 3 year wedding anniversary. I cannot believe it has been 3 years already. We are getting so old :) At this time 3 years ago I was probably on a walk with 2 of my best friends practicing my vows that I had memorized and getting nervous and excited to see my groom in a few hours. What a wonderful and perfect day that was. I want to do it again!

In addition, today is also Derek's and I's 2 year anniversary of living in Vancouver. Exactly 2 years ago we drove from Bend, Oregon to Vancouver, BC where we arrived at our new, tiny little home around 11pm. I cried when we walked in the door because our place was so small. We had to get up at be at new student orientation bright and early the following day so we didn't get much unpacking done that night.

Oh the sweet sweet memories. What's a happy anniversary memory that you have??

friends, ducks & sunshine

2006-09-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

Our friends, Ben & Deanna Edsall, just moved here from Salem, Oregon where Ben will attend Regent. We were friends with them when we all lived in Eugene and theirs was one of the many weddings we attended last summer in Oregon. Now they have decided to move up to Canada where Ben will pursue his education. We are so excited that they are here.

To celebrate, the Oregon Ducks football team decided to play a game againts Stanford and wipe the floors with them. Oh what a game! Derek and I are HUGE college football fans (especially the Ducks!) so we decided to have a party on Saturday afternoon with all our Vancouver friends. It was a blast, especially since 5 of us in the room actually attended U of O. But all the "non-oregonians" were great sports and cheered on the Ducks nontheless.

(All the original Duck Fans!!!)

Yesterday, Sunday, after Church we got together with our friends, Jeff & Jess, and went to the park to play! We threw the frisbee, the boys did flips off the swings and we even hit the tennis ball around. Which I will admit was one of my first times in my life really doing that. Good times. From there we decided to pack back on the calories we just burned by going to Dairy Queen and getting Blizzards...mmmmm. I also got 2 new plants for our house and I pray pray pray that I do not kill them like all the rest :( The poor plants.

Today is Labour Day which means it is a holiday which means no work! I have NO plans and I could not be happier. It's 11am and I am still in my PJ's, it's perfection. But don't worry I do intend to get my booty out in this wonderful sunshine we are experiencing here in Vancouver. Got to enjoy it while it lasts around here. Hope everyone has a wonderful day off as well.

"I told my doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to quit going to those places."

2006-09-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

I went to the dentist yesterday for a cleaning...my teeth hurt today, but they're clean.

The Ducks play tomorrow and we are having a party. I pretty much can't wait. GO DUCKS!

Monday is a holiday...praise the LORD for a 3 day weekend.

Pretty bird. Can you say pretty bird? Pretty bird.

I miss Oregon and wish I lived there :(

We got "surround sound" speakers for our home TV and now we are taking them back.

Me fail English? That's unpossible -Ralp Wiggum

Summer is ending as the school year starts in a week, fastest summer ever.

I haven't lived in the same city as my best friend since High School, but we're still best friends!

Derek's going to graduate in the Spring, that's going to be an amazing day.

5 days until I have been married for 3 years and living in Vancouver for 2 years (we moved on our 1 year anniversary).

That's all for now.........................................................................