Jack and I recently celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary (10th anniversary as a couple) and he surprised me with a limosine ride to the Calgary Tower, where we had dinner at the revolving restauraunt. It was such a surprise, totally amazing, and not to mention, crossed TWO things off of my Life List: 85. Ride in a [...]
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2011 got off to kind of a rough start. The day after our fantastic NYE Luau party (which was a grand success) I started my period AND came down with a really bad case of the flu, all while Jack and I were in Edmonton spending a few days with his family. I was very [...]
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I’m writing this during our drive home from dropping the kids off with their grandparents (man I love being able to blog from my android phone). We made it through the holidays unscathed and for the most part, had a wonderful time. I was totally spoiled this year by both of my loves, and by [...]
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It’s Christmas Eve, and despite the fact that I still have quite a number of tasks to complete, I felt like writing (and I may not get a chance to update until sometime after Boxing Day). This is the first Christmas we’ve had in Alberta where we were not traveling on Christmas Day. You have [...]
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I’ve finally decided to acknowledge that it’s almost Christmas. My denial of the season comes not from my usual distaste for the entire over-commercialized mess that is December, but from the fact that I have been utterly and completely distracted by matters completely unrelated to the holidays. Fortunately, even though I didn’t feel the least [...]
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2010 has been quite a year, has it not? The past 12 months have seen Aiden move in with us and become a part of our family. Then there was another move of epic proportions, taking all five of us, and the two dogs, over 2,000 miles back across the country. Back to Calgary and [...]
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How was your weekend? Mine was productive, and yet relaxing. Here, let me tell you about it. Thursday night (yes, I am starting on Thursday) was the evening Jack and I set aside to celebrate the anniversary of our engagement (which was technically on Friday, see below for why we had it on Thursday instead). [...]
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Last weekend Aiden and I attended the Taboo Sex Show in Calgary. While there wasn’t anything particularly new or exciting, we DID meet some fabulous people from the local kink community and got the down-low on an upcoming play party that we plan to attend. We saw a really fantastic coffee table that converted into [...]
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The worst part of major life upheavals, in my opinion, is how long it takes to find a regular schedule again. With the kids back in school, things are beginning to fall into a rhythm. Jack works shorter hours now, and seems very happy in his position here. Even though it was a bit of a [...]
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We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it. We get it rough enough at home, in towns and cities. –NESSMUK (G.W. Sears) Sunday morning was blessedly warmer than Saturday morning had been, and when we hauled ourselves out of our sleeping bags at 7:30 [...]
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It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent. – Dave Barry On Saturday morning around 6 am I reluctantly extracted myself from the warm cocoon of my mummy sleeping bag, in order to, um, answer the call of nature as it [...]
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There is an intense but simple thrill in setting off in the morning on a mountain trail, knowing that everything you need is on your back. It is a confidence in having left the inessentials behind and of entering a world of natural beauty that has not been violated, where money has no value, and [...]
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It can be difficult to figure out what to take with you on a multi-day hiking trip, particularly in terms of food, unless of course you are content consuming “space rations” the entire time. Keeping in mind that you have to carry everything on your back, you do have to be selective about what will [...]
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For months I’ve been pondering and planning a multi-day hiking trip in the backcountry of Banff. Aiden and I picked up a copy of Backcountry Banff by Mike Potter, and spent more than a few hours pouring over the pages, discussing the pros and cons of various trails. Jack eagerly agreed that a hiking trip [...]
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I think that perhaps I am finding myself again, a little at a time. Yesterday was particularly wretched, but by the end of it, I felt better, and more like “The Old Shasta”. I’ve wanted to write here a number of times, but it feels increasingly public, and while I don’t want to end up [...]
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I know this is going to make me sound incredibly spoiled, but I’ve never actually moved into a second-hand house before. At least, not a house of my own. Every place that Jack and I have lived since moving in together has been brand-spankin-new and generally built to our tastes. The current house came to [...]
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Has it really been so long since my last post? Presently I am writing from our new place in Alberta. We are still negotiating our way through a maze of boxes, as our things only arrived on Monday. The trip to Alberta was long and wonderful and terrible and beautiful, all at the same time. [...]
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The new house passed building inspection (our inspector actually commented that it was the best house he had seen in a while) and it’s all ours. We take possession at the end of June, and should be moving in sometime during the second week of July. I am absolutely in love with the place. V [...]
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After a wild house-hunting adventure, and some much-needed quality time with my BFF, we managed to find a suitable dwelling, that we both absolutely love, UNDER the price we were willing to pay. It doesn’t get much better than that. Ok, yes it does, but it’s still pretty damned awesome, and a huge relief to [...]
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Literally!
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