Working from home...and Bikram Yoga

It rocks! I am just in heaven working from home. I want to continue this trend even back in Victoria ;)

I work 3 days a week in Brisbane - Tuesday to Thursday, and that is all OK. But where I am the most productive is here...

Plus - my week's fly! Here it is - a Friday and who knew!?

Then I have my 4 day straight of Bikram yoga and that is just so very awesome. Sometimes 3, but surfing takes up the morning on the weekend and if we are lucky enough that the wind is not up so we can go for a sunset surf session - then lucky us.

We had that luck last weekend and I swear, taking off on the wave and staring straight at the most beautiful pink and sunset colours in the world is like you died and went to heaven. It is really wild. I love being in the water as the sun fades and the night sky beings to show signs of itself. Maybe an outline of the moon. But we all know that time in the evening, at dusk where the light can transcend you to a magical place. I love that.

My favorite Bikram yoga teacher said to the class the other day that "The universe must have thought YOU were a pretty good idea", I am aglow with that sentiment these days. It was in the speech of how change is necessary and constant and that it is the only thing in our life that we can be sure of. I liked that too.

Anyways - I am busy, but I just wanted to post something to post something.

It is Friday ------------- TGIF!

Aussie Weekend's

G'day Mates!

To be honest, this weekend I am working and that is just that. It is OK. We have an Australian new customer that just went live with Procura and there is all this work today that I have to scope out before other people can do their jobs, so I really feel it is for the greater good. Plus I will just bank the OT time and use it sometime before Jon leaves.

Jon and I had a real nice morning yesterday - we got up at the usual time between 5:45 and 6am - had some coffee and watched the windless morning from our front deck. No wind means clean waves, so we got our stuff together and were out of the house by 6:30 or so. And we went wave hunting. The common surfer activity. It really is part of the game, check out as many surf spots as you can on your way and stop at the first one that is "surfable". The thing about this game, is that is really what it is because "surfable" to one person is not necessarily surfable to the next.

For example yesterday D'bah was pretty much "going off" (images below). It was over head and pumping. Which in some cases I can do, but I didn't have it in me yesterday to commit. The frustrating thing was is that the beaches around it were SMALL, unsurfable really. So it was like that or drive further. We drove further (another 20 mins) down the road and stopped at a spot where we have had some luck before. It was just a heavy beachbreak (fast waves and closeouts) - not my favourite. But I went in, surfed around for like 30 minutes and then decided - why don't i just walk down this beautiful everlasting stretch of a beach for a while. So that is what I did and it felt great.

Then Jonny and I went for a nice breakfast and this little cafe we went to on our first day in Australia - kinda cool! and yeah, came home and it was only noon! HA! Lots of day time here when the sun and surf is up at 5am :)

During breakfast we chatted a little about what is going to happen when Jon leaves - he is booking his flight soon - his plan for working and how long he will be gone. A bit of a sobering conversation  but we are so happy that we picked this move and whatever we deal with in order to accommodate our life here, and our plan for the future is the way it has got to be.

Time to work. I know I said something about a post about our camping trip, but there is one slated for next weekend - so after that I will post an Aussie Camping trip blog.

Big surf at Duranbah (D'bah)!

 Destination of walk...

PS - we saw Kangaroo's - LOTS OF THEM camping a few weekends ago. It was AMAZING - here are some pictures:
                                                              KANGAROO's!!!!!!

SACHA!

JON!

Surf and Massage Weekend

This is just a quick note and a few new pictures I thought I would put up from the weekend. Boy it was great! I surfed 3 days in a row and caught some awesome waves! Really good times. I swear sometimes Jon and I feel like pinching ourselves. What luck to be here, live here and surf so much. It is like a freaking surfers paradise here, totally.

Oh something funny - I went to a massage parlor just up the road from our house yesterday because I was joncing for a massage and it was open and walk-able. The sign said Chinese Orinetal Massage Spa and Sauna and there was a special advertised $35 dollars for 30 minutes I thought - perfect!

But I gotta be honest, I am not sure if it was only a "massage" parlor - if you get my drift. Now usually I go to Registered Massage Therapists for massage, even now if I do I would get like 60-70% back. In Canada it was like 100%, so I took advantage for sure. I do not know why I feel I have to justify for the indulgence, but I do.

My body is big, I have big muscles and tendons and ligaments and I planted trees for like 8 years. I surf, I run and in my running career have trained for marathons and half marathons. I have been working out in gyms since I was 19 and have had personal trainers. I am or have been into yoga, spinning, weights for long periods of time in my life. And then there is the factor that I broke about 10 bones in my body and injured myself countless other times doing all that. What I am getting at is that I am active and I would say good to my body - but that could also mean hard on my body too. I think so anyways. So often I am stiff, sore and well, generally my body is pretty tired. I mean, I am strong and feel great lots and most times too, but...sometimes (OK more often than most) I need a massage and I go get one...

So, back to my Sunday massage. Well, around these parts its a bit like touristy and vacation sort of style shops - or like what I envision Miami Beach to be like, where there are some parts that are not the most high end. And I mean, we live in a good enough area, but the Gold Coast highway is just up the street and we are 10k from Surfers Paradise and that does look an awful lot like a mini Vegas and is known for its young party atmosphere and a bit of a crazy life style.

Ya, so back to the point,  I am not sure it was strictly a Massage Parlour, if you get my drift. Yup, not sure. Only men came in during my massage. It was run by a Chinese woman - really nice, but anyways - that is all I will say about that. Don't get me wrong, they were nice and it was a good massage (and it was obviously just a massage for me!), but there is a Physio Sports Medicine Clinic where I am pretty sure I will get myself in next time.

Ok that is enough about that  - here are some pics of our weekend.

What else… a vacation!

I am right now on my train ride home from work and what am I thinking about? What else… a vacation!

I know, I know, I just had a 3 week vacation some of you may be thinking. But when you consider it that the last week of my “vacation” was sorting out our life here in Australia and that really isn't a vacation from everything is it?  

I want to go camping and I think that is exactly what the plan is.

I have actually been working some overtime on the weekends and late nights (like tonight actually). I have pulled some 9 hour days, trying to get a handle on a project that is being “transitioned” to me at the moment. But here is the scoop – the guy got fired. How does a transition really take place when no one is around to transition it? Yes, that is right, the transition is me banging my head against things I didn't write/design/solve, hence the overtime.

Anyways – back to vacation dreaming! So there is a long weekend coming up here in Aus October 1st, don't ask me what it is, but I know we do not have Thanksgiving weekend here, so maybe it is the substitute for that...(?). Anyway, I plan to take an extra day off. SO that means we can leave on Friday early afternoon and cruise down to our first destination and hangout/campout/ hopefully get a surf in. Then we have Saturday, Sunday and Monday to cruise around, camp, eat, surf and then head her home on Tuesday to be back to work on Wednesday. 

That is the plan anyway. To be honest, I think by 3 nights of camping Jon and I both will be ready to pull the plug. It is not like we have anywhere even in mind at this point. South is all we know, likely not much more than 3 or 4 hours South. Because we love exploring where we are right now, it is hard to want go too far away from comfort and familiarity when everything  is all so new and different. 

We are really just kind of going with the flow of it here. We are venturing out a little farther every weekend. We went out to this place called Caribarita beach last weekend and it was only like 40 minutes away, but it felt like a real adventure.We found some new surf spots and really had a nice time surfing and driving around.

On another note, I saw a dead possum on the side of the street yesterday walking to my work building. Not that exciting, but it was pretty cool looking. I also saw some new birds and made a plan to get a bird book of the east cost of Australia so I can figure out what they all are. By the way, if you didn't know, I am a secret-undercover, amateur birder (aka bird watcher). I have a bird book at home for our island and I just love going through it randomly. I like the pretty pictures and the little blurbs about the birds, what they eat, how the live, if they mate for ever, that kind of stuff. Then when I am out and see one that I recognize I say - there is a such and such, and it is never the right name. Usually I just repeat the same name of a bird that I do remember - it is actually quite embarrassing, but its just Jon, so he just smiles and doesn't say anything. I like to say "water fowl" instead of ducks. It makes me feel like I am getting somewhere with my hobby. 

So my plans with my Aunt Margaret and family (who are heading here in December) are coming along nicely. I am joining them and my cousin to trip around this town (north of Brisbane) called 1770. We are going to rent a 4X4 and cruise to these places. This town is close enough to the Great Barrier Reef to get a good look at the reef out on a boat trip. I am really excited about snorkelling there. They are here in mid-December and we are going to check out Fraser Island too.  It is the largest island of sand in the world. That is going to be totally neat, super fun!

And my friend from high school, Hil (Hilary Leftick) is coming here at the end of November too! So I will have a friend visit me and that I am so stoked for. I don’t know how long she and her hubby are going to stay, but Jon will be gone by then, so I say "not long enough"!! 

When will I see a Kangaroo – that is what I want to know...

Kangaroo – for dinner, surf tips and a little lamb story.

In Australia (so far) Kangaroo for dinner, has been the extent to our sightings. We had marinated Kangaroo steaks for dinner that Jon bought from our local grocery store last night. I got to be honest with you, I was a little hesitant when Jon first mentioned it a few weeks back (actually on the airplane over that he wanted to try it. And if it wasn’t for the fact that one of my Aussie colleagues going off on home amazing the meat is, I don’t know how much I would have been into it. 

But drum roll.............It is fantastic! REALLY GOOD. Jon describes it as like "roast pork in texture". I think its kinda like roast beef. It is a red meat and very tender.

We do not have a BBQ yet, but it is certainly on the list of things to buy, that and a blender. Unfortunately any of the small appliances that I brought over here including a blow dryer, iron and coffee grinder do not work here, therefore I had to purchase new. Not only are the plug outlets different, but also the voltage measurements. Anyways, lesson learned I suppose.

Today is the start of my 3 day work week in the office. I have got this schedule now where I work in the office Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and work from my home office Monday and Fridays. This is a great method to get lots of work done more efficiently and to have a good break from 3 days of 4 hours of travel each day. The reality is that some days (like today) I do not get on a train with WIFI, therefore cannot really work on the train, which means to make up for it I have to either work threw lunch or work an extra hour from home in the evenings – and who wants to do that!?!?!?

Anyways – on to fun stuff.

This weekend was great. We went south (again) to Bryron Bay and surfed this spot called Broken Heads in like 3 foot swell – which means TINY TINY waves. But we were there at 8:30am, the sun was up and bright and warm and it was nothing to put on our thin wetsuits and go out for some exercise and practice. The setting is stunning for all of the beaches on the coast, like just totally tropical paradise looking. I have pictures that I will put up later.

So yesterday (Monday) I was able to get in a surf before work – again not the greatest waves, but a bit bigger at least. I am really focusing on my popup right now. It is a very challenging whole piece of the surfing puzzle and one that I have never excelled at. So I am trying to un-teach myself the bad habits that I have and it is one of the hardest things. It also requires a lot of stretch and determination. You really have to bend your back in a backwards fold and from your hands bring your feet directly on the board underneath your body and for your front foot to also be far enough forward on the board to get the right balance and positioning to start moving your board up and down the wave (on your feet obviously!). 

Not easy! 

But Jon has helped me with some good tips and I just need to loosen up a little in my hips to let that front foot move forward as much as it needs to. Now don’t get me wrong, I have been surfing on my feet for years J, but see what I have been doing is assisting my popup with my knee (which is the bad habit).

This brings me to Bikram Yoga. Yes – there is a studio just down the street – literally a 5 minute walk from our place. I plan on going at least 3 times a week. I had my first class this weekend and walked out all pumped and stoked on it. And then had my second class last night and felt horrible afterwards!!! Ha ha ha. O well. Horrible only because I likely was working harder than my first class – AND I was not early to secure a spot in the back where you get some air breaks – but instead was up in the front, dead centre, no air and in the middle of everyone so probably because I was in the lime light I was pushing it a bit tooJ.

I am reading the new Harkai Murakami book right now “1Q84” and just loving it. I told Jon I wanted to read 1984 and he brought it home for me after a night we squabbled a little bit ...good gesture and bonus points where allocated accordingly. Jon likes to be up in that department and it works for me. He has some funny expressions about them, but they are slipping me right now. He keeps cracking me up this day – which is pretty awesome. I have to include a picture of him and Lamby hanging out talking about Diablo – his new computer game. Specifically they were discussing the differences between the new game and the older game. Yes, my husband was having a full blown conversation with my stuffed lamb.

(Those of you who are judging right now, I would just like to point out that you probably have a kid, or a cat/dog that you get to make fun of and cuddle with – so back off J.)

Next time I will try to get a recording of Lamby and Jon, the theme that they are into right now is “how Sacha is mean”. Oh god, it will crack you right up. Example:  I took Lamby to the beach the other night to watch Jon jump in the water on his new long board. (keep in mind that Lamby came out of the bedroom (via Jon) and asked if he could come to the beach with us – as we are always talking about it, and always going there...etc, etc,). 

Anyway... there were people around at the beach so I didn’t want to take him out of the back pack – so you can imagine what a monster I looked like (to the both of them) when we got home and I told the truth to Jon.

Oh man that’s right kids, that’s how we entertain each other at our house. 

Dear Mom - Aussie News

My Mom said it would be OK if I share this email ...so I am going to. I also have an update to the car situation, but that is for the next post ;)

Hi  Mom,

Sorry I didn’t get back to you right away when I got this email from you, but I wanted to send you more of a note than I could yesterday. It is so busy and all in the office and trying to get some productive work done is a fighting battle when everything is new and I am not quick up to speed with the technical infrastructure to make my work as smooth as it usually is. But I think I am more “there”, at least more than I was last week so that is good. I still have yet to fill out my Australian HR forms, which is a bit frustrating as they impact my “getting paid” factor, but I am on the last step today with the bank to getmy “super” fund, which is that superannuation bank account where the OZ gov puts 9% or your income into (forced RRSP's).

So besides that and spending time with Jon looking for a car at night on the internet...it’s well, busy. BUT SO GOOD.

Our internet is not hooked up yet, which is a pain in the ass. Thankfully I have this little stick that my work gave me to use to access the internet from home in the evenings, but I cannot leave it for Jon cause his computer (tablet) does not have a USB port. We should have had our internet setup as of yesterday, but after another unsuccessful attempt, we will have to try tech support again tonight if the same thing happens.

We do appear to have a phone line (as that is what the ADSL modem is hooking up to), but I tried calling it on my mobile and it didn’tring, so go figure. It actually makes sense as I told them on the phone that Ido not want a land line so this will all get figured out by the weekend.

We found a red civic, under 200k for 4200,00 and I think weare pretty interested in buying it...so we will see if they get back to us and then check it out tomorrow. The rental car went back early this week and thatis fine, because we were not even using it. Except of course on weekends when we were travelling 1 hour south to go surfing at Byron Bay – which is so freaking awesome I cannot even tell you. The waves are so fun and punchy and I am getting great rides and feeling super confident out there.

The commute is long and a bit tiring, but so worth it when I can take a cruise after dinner and walk along the beach in the moonlight with Jonny. It is weird coming from summer time daylight hours, to here in the winter time (although it feels like summer!) and having it dark at 6pm. However cause we are so close to the equator I guess, it is light by 5:30, which btw is the time I am getting up each morning. I love it though, as both Jon and I are morning people and the birds make such wonderful music (yes starting at 5:30!) and I get to sip and have my coffee and breaky on my breakfast bar, as I like to call it, or my couch and look over the canal as the sky is pink and wonderfully brightening. It gives me great joy every morning to be in super a beautiful space.

I get on a bus at  5minutes to 7 and then off of it at 7:15 and on the train to Brisbane city (which is where I am almost right now at this present moment). In 10 minutes I will get off this train and take another to the Toowong stop (just 8minutes or so) and then walk 10 minutes to my office. I have a big nice new office in a modern building. The coffee maker is primo and the people I work with all very friendly and have great sense of humour. Wehave found most Aussie’s to be super positive and witty and really just NICE folk.

Big kidders it seems like!

So yeah, the Procura big shots are all over in Australia right now for some conferences and also a Procura event called SHARE which I am attending next week. It is on the Gold Coast this year, where I live, so that will be nice to not have to travel into Brisbane.

I am fairly certain when all dies down around in my next few weeks that I will be able to work at least 1 day a week from home. Since we have a spare room with a nice desk and chair (which I call my home office and Jon call’s his room), there will be no problem with that setup.
When I mentioned this to Jon he is super supportive, talking how we will get a surf in at our local beach (7 minute walk down the road –which he has taken advantage of nicely in the last few days). However he did mention that I will have to ask permission to use his room?! Oh yes, our humor has not left us and we are doing just fine. Jon is looking it no joining the kickboxing gym right down the street. And i found myself a Hot yoga studio just down the main street as well...so we are just honky dory here so far.

Much love, thinking about you...

Sacha

OZ - Week 1 is over

Week 1 is over and it has been a fast and furious introduction to Australia and its great people and places. We have enjoyed beautiful beaches and seen amazing birds and sea life... Jon saw a pod of dolphins in our man made canal outside our apartment building. He was hoping that is w as a dorsal fin of a bull shark, which are apparently plenty in the canal. They actually swim up the canals from the ocean to spawn. You cannot go swimming in the canals for this reason (obviously!).

My commute is so far the only negative aspect, and really it is not too horrible as for the one hour and 45 minutes I can claim 1 hour of it to work time as the train provides free WiFi. Jon has been surfing everyday this week, but today looks really quite crappy so he is not going out. We will journey to Bryan Bay again this weekend with the rental car. We have it until Tuesday of next week and by then (or soon after) we need to find ourselves a vehicle.

I am still waiting for a Tax File Number in order to get paid. But I do now have an Australian bank account and even a VISA!

My work environment is really good.  I have my own big spacious office and the kitchen has a gourmet coffee maker and most importantly the team is very friendly and helpful.  My colleague Lindzie, who will likely become a friend here too, is super sweet and has already helped me find a yoga studio and a few things as such.

The weather is really beautiful, cool mornings and nights, but during the day the sun shines brightly and the temperature goes up to 20-25 like a Canadian summer day and it is the end of their winter right now. It is very backwards when trying to figure out the time and season at home in my brain right now, and likely that will just get worse with time;

I am wiring this on the train on my morning commute, because apparently I ran out of my data consumption using Skype, which is a lesson to be learned all right.

I will be getting a little tablet so I will not have to commute with my laptop daily to work on the train.

That is it for now.... PS. I still love it here!!

 

 

Australia - I love you!

Australia - I love you!

It is not often that I find myself almost with tears of joy, but I did a few days ago when I found my new home.

We landed in Australia a week ago tomorrow, but in some ways it feels like it has been months ago. The flight, car rental and hostel dealings went smooth and after we spent the first day buying thin wetsuits and new boards - the rest of the holidays before I started work revolved around surf and settling ourselves in.

This actually meant a few big tasks. Going back into the city of Brisbane to pick up what we had shipped out was a big one. It was a full day of quarintine inspection and customs and traffic (not bad, but not great - Friday afternoon back out to the Gold coast is busy).

And then going around to a few rental agency's and looking at some units at first was a bit disheartening. We new it was going to be pricey - but what we didnt know is that is you rent a "unfurnishred" apartment (unit), it does not come with a fridge or washer or dryer. Those are expensive items obviously.

The first place that we looked at that we could afford, unfurnishred was OK, but not really that great. Similar to the Gorge View Apt that we had in Vic, and well, just not really what I was hoping for I guess. It was not easy at that point to accept the fact that maybe that is what we will end up with. The 3rd place we saw was really cool/nice but too big and unfurnishured and therefore out of our price range.

So after a couple of raised voices (Jon and mine's) and even a few tears over our fish and chips and beers, we decided to keep looking and hope for the best with a furnished. And well - the best came!!!!

We called an agent on a Saturday morning and were spending the night in our awesome new unit by that evening.  See pictures below!

Besides the place, which is in an awesome location - 7 blocks from the beach, close to gyms, and markets and a yoga studio...Australia has surf all over the place. We are going to love it here. More to come....

Onward Bound

Flights are booked!

So that means it’s pretty official. I was talking to my friend over some tea on a beautiful warm Victoria summer night last night and she was saying, even without me having to, that of course it doesn’t feel real yet. It won’t until we are going on that final flight (yes, I am on 3 flights in Ontario before we start the journey to OZ). And I think she is bang on.

So the apartment is in a 6x8x11 storage space, the car is scheduled for storage and the surfboards are ready to be shipped. We are pretty much all set.

It’s funny cause the weather here has been unbelievable in the last week, sunny hot and perfect for evening strolls. I am glad I still have a month of Canadian summer left and that I am not leaving now. I think it is going to surprise us and everyone when we report that it’s a little cool there in the winter, which is the season that we land in. Of course within 2 weeks, spring will hit Australia and we should be feeling pretty lucky – as Jon likes to say – the endless summer.

Of course the poor guy has got to come back to Canada  for the dead of winter in Alberta to do his oil rig work – cutting down trees for the seismic lines. It is hard work, and its cold, but it is good money and for 3 months he will make it worth it. He has really been working quite a bit this year, like usual, the hard worker that he is. Doesn’t miss a day that guy and gives it his most energy without overextending himself; which is a real fine line in the type of physical labor that he does. I would say there is few and far between that have his lasting stamina and strength out there in the bush - 15 years. He is so strong and so healthy. I am so thankful for that.

His work ethic is amazes and he inspires me with drive for financial success. It is this drive that I too am trying to acquire and it feels so good working as a team in this area. It would be so lovely to move back to Canada and get a home of our own here in Victoria. We will see how it all works out.

I am also proud of my sister who is being recognized by her hard and good work and has been asked to move up in her line of work and take more responsibility.  She is going to be the one I miss the most in the next year!!! My friend last night (who is also a mutual friend of my sister’s) was noticing my concern when I talking about my her and how I was leaving and how it impacts her (we are our only family in town) and she said “She will be fine, don’t worry about it”. But the fact of the matter is, she is more than my best friend, she is like my other half.

Anyways - more to come...

I AM MOVING TO AUSTRALIA!

It's funny because the other day a friend emailed me to say "I have been waiting to see the blog post about all the Australia plans, where are they?"

Right, I should probably do that. And then I got to thinking, why haven't I done that...?

The truth is - it really hasn't felt real. It still doesn't. And I suppose I didn't want to say it out loud (and when I say that I mean "out load", to myself). Yes, I have told friends on Facebook, and yes I have told complete strangers in grocery lines. I have even emailed old friends and called family that I haven't spoke to in months to share the news.

But I always have shared the news with a "it may not happen though, because...", or "Its not 100% though" and that truly has stopped me from really accepting it.

Only today have I started to really believe this totally amazing, life changing experience, crazy opportunity MAY just actually happen! That Jon and I are going to get on a flight in a few weeks and leave to fly into the gold coast of Australia ...for at least 1 year!

Like  - OMG, right?!?!?!?!??!?!

We received the approval today of the sponsorship, which is the last step before I could apply for the Visa (and this was the step where it could have gone either way). This morning I applied for the Visa and my Australian Health Insurance. This weekend I will help Jon apply for his.

It is like a freaking dream come true for us...to live on a beach, with surf, in a warm climate, with my awesome husband, like hello....

And maybe that is another reason why I have been hesitant to write about it. Like that it was too good to be true and that something may stop it from happening. And I suppose inside I feared that if it didn't happen, that it was my "fault" of getting everyone so excited (and obviously especially Jon).

This is silly of course, but that it sort of how I have been feeling. 

But guess what? I am over that. If it does (not happen), then it does (not happen). And that is that. I am going to stop being too concerned about those thoughts.

The truth of the matter is: that life itself is a dream come true. We live these days and we are so lucky to do so. We forget this all the time (and I am saying "we" in the literal sense). What we have in this world and in our hearts, is totally and completely indescribable. These is our lives; every day is a gift.

And you can read the title of my blog for my opinion on this ;) 

So SURE, Australia is far out! And YES, being hooked up with a nice furnished apartment, room for family/friends to come visit, lots of patio space for BBQ'ing, life should be pretty dreamy and I know we will be happy.

But the truth of the matter is (and Jon said this from the beginning of this journey, almost 3 months now of thinking, waiting, anticipating, etc) our lives here, together on this wonderful island that we call home; are pretty damn good too. And we are often "happy" because we just are.

More details on the way...but I think I can really start to admit it...

I am moving to AUSTRALIA!

[PS I thought the new look in the travel templates for this blog was appropriate :)]

Names I like (so that I don't forget)

I like for male names: Meyler, Loughlin, Gavin, Feary, Evir, Kelan, Ry, Odus, Oakley, Kane, MacKensie

I like for remale names: Saev, Mella, Maeve, Evir, Keira, Bronwyn, Mabel, Madeline, Maela, Sanna

Tip 1 (from a chiller):

Stop and smell the roses. Literally. Hold your nose up a little higher passing by budding leaves or moving lawns. Instead of walking and thinking thinking thinking, focus on the leaves and earth around. Pick a smell in the air in the air of a time or place that it reminds you of and reflect on it. Think about a time where you felt extremely close to nature, on a beach, in the forest, on the water. Where it was overwhelming and so peaceful, so quiet. Go there for a little while as you walk, hold a slightly satisfied look on your face, relax your face muscles. Its a good time to focus on not making face wrinkes.

Surfing -> I LOVE YOU!

I am totally inlove with surfing. I just can't get enough. I love the water, I love the surrounding land, birds, trees and waves. I just love everything about it. Mostly I love the way it makes me feel strong and adventurous and peaceful and FUN!

So I was up at Salmon Beach this past weekend and it was amazing. I surfed in the sound, which was totally epic. Cyn took pictures and everything. It was so cool. I wish Jon could have been there...next time.

Here is my latest to date best surf shots:

And there is another ....Welcome baby Arlo!

The latest and greatest baby in our world is the sweet beauty, Arlo. We love him already. He is a little precious package and only 3 weeks younger than his cousin Abigail. Arlo - welcome to a family that will appreciate your testosterone, love you unconditionally and teach you many things. I think you look like your uncle Jon quite a bit (which, by the way, means you look like your Momma).

Here is a dear shot of him just hours old. xoxooxoxoxx

Her name is Abigail!

Here is the beauty now. She is already too cool!
Congratulations to my sister in law Amy Lee Ruff and her new baby daughter Abigail Joy Sinding-Ruff.

New little un-named niece

Welcome you un-named niece (dear little thing) to this world of ours. We will give you lots of love and treat you the best we can. Your uncle Jon calls you a blessing and thinks your Mom is happier than ever since you have been in existence. I think you are a humble little creature; who at 3 hours old, looks wise beyond her years. We will love you for the rest of our lives and are so happy you have decided to join us here on earth this 28th day of February (my fellow Pisces - we will take over the world!).

Cyn and I went to a SPA!

It was awesome. The best part was my sister. She is out right hilarious. I actually feel like together we are funnier than we are apart, but that is just a little theory I have. I suppose it is likely true that when you think someone thinks you are funny, you have more confidence to be or act funny. I try to be that way with most of my friends, family and people I meet. Mostly though, the best funny moments are with someone you totally trust and totally love.

So back to the spa, well…. it was a great time. On the east coast of Vancouver Island, Royston to be exact, the Kingfisher Lodge is something else. We arrived and went right into a hot tub/steam room/sauna/pool area, where we were given a robe that was just the essence of spa in my opinion. Then after we were nice and supple we moved on to our “treatment”. It is called a Hydropath and it is a water treatment involving water massage, circulation and relaxation. Sum it up to “sweet heaven”, that is what I do.

After this we checked into our room, fairly basic, but nice white comforters and cushy pillows and we had a mini fridge where we stored some cold ones. Perfect. We chilled for a while and then sat out on our deck overlooking the ocean for a while, watching the bald eagles flying in and out of the gigantic cedars and hemlocks (hemmies is what us west coasters call em).

Dinner was decided to instead of dining at the lodge, go into town and hit the hot spot…ATLAS café. This is where Cyn pulled her stint. We had a super great meal, starting with homemade spanikapita’s and blue bucks (Victoria beer that hits the spot). We then continued to our entrees big and again amazing. Then we tossed the idea of doing dessert but decided against it cause we had just got off a cleanse and decided we were on the verge of super full anyways.

Then Cyn goes to the washroom…I thought she had ditched me for a smoke cause it took her a while but she arrives back as smiley as she left. I just thought she was happy. But oh now, there was more to it than that. She had gone and talked to the bartender and the waiter and discussed the fact that it was my birthday (which it wasn’t) and that do they “do” anything, like stick a candle in a dessert for the birthday girl/guy. Well she got more then she bargained for, not only did we get a free dessert but the whole restaurant decided to sing along with the wait staff and yes, I was surprised. I was laughing so freaking hard I almost fell over. Cyn was laughing so hard while taking pictures of me (which I will post when she hands them my way) that I had to start singing to keep things moving along. God it was so funny because as people were leaving they were saying happy birthday and man, what a funny spot to be in. Did she ever get a high five from me after the fact. What a night! What a day! To end any day with homemade hot fudge brownie Sunday (including yes, wait for it, ice-cream!!!) is any regular girls dream dessert come true. Add in a day at the spa, a night in a sweet hotel and a hot tub to finish us off in the evening.  

Doesn’t really get much better.

Well, here are some pics – more to come.

*note – Cyn and I had said that we were going up to the spa for “our birthdays”, which is where this idea had originated from (we were not trying to rip the place off).

chilling on the deck...

plumping our lips...

Ready for our night on the town...

In front of Altas where the birthday bash was in full effect.

Boy I am stressed - Lamby to the rescue!

It's official - my job is stressful. There is no doubt that right now I am stressed out. I mean its all good and everything I am managing. I have an old friend visiting, I am going to a spa this weekend and off to Yoga in 20 minutes. But holy, I am feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders this week.

Speaking of spending time upside down, I thought I would add a couple of pictures to ease my stress and make me (and perhaps you - you know who you are Lisa/Jon/Mom/Cyn/...) SMILE (or perhaps laugh out loud).

Lamby getting up to things:

Me and my Lamb-bones just before bedtime:

And finally Lamby, being the king of his castle: