A cold afternoon at the farm.

Trees fell on neighbors fence, we had to tidy it all up

It was sooooo exhausting

The snow was so deep, at times right up to my butt

Wearing my "Love Tims" toque

Our old farm house..sitting empty and lonely and snow covered

One of our old cars completely covered in snow!!!

A little visitor at work

It's not every day one gets a visit from Roxy Foxy.....this is the name I have decided to give her, and I have also decided it's a girl too! I was working a graveyard shift last night when this little fox showed up outside the door of my work, she just sat down and was watching me through the window...so I got a hot dog for her and went outside and fed her.
 I have seen some VERY interesting things over the last year or so working in a convenience store in our small town..and now I have this to add to my list of things.

New year, new starts

And so it begins again....another year....I wonder what this year will bring me. Today is the first day of me going off all processed sugars and eating totally vegan...even though I have been pretty much fully vegan for a bit now....I just have to make sure I am fully aware of it all the time with eating out in restaurants, as that is where it can get tricky.
I have been told that days 3-7 are the hardest when eliminating sugar and processed foods...ohhhhh boy.
I find that as long as I pre plan my meals and make sure good snacks are always available it will be all good. I picked up some nice soft mats and I hope to learn some yoga this year as well.
This will also be the year to find a new home...not sure where, not sure when...but I do know it's going to be an adventure that's for sure.
This year my baby girl graduates!!!! Ohhhhhhh I can hardly wait for the dress shopping and all the things that go with the excitement of grad.
My sister turns 50, my Dad turns 80, my oldest brother turns 55, and my sister and her hubby will celebrate 25 yrs of marriage, I will celebrate year 5 of mine.
So much to look forward to, so much unknown....oh well...let it all begin..HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!!!

On the down low

These are pictures I have taken in the last little bit of from ground level....so really I dedicate this post to my sister who made fun of me and my "crazy" shots....I think they look "artsy" lol

Vancouver Sea wall Dec 26, 2012...nice and rainy!

Vancouver Sea Wall...center line of bike & pedestrian lane

Willowbrook Mall in Langley Dec 2012

Vancouver Sea Wall Dec 25, 2012

105 Mile House Dec 30, 2012

Stewart Road in Yarrow Dec 27,2012

Good times

Well the holidays are over.....well for us they are anyways....we had a week off and now in a day we are back to working reality.
We had a chance to go to the coast for the holidays with family and friends. I can't even put into words how much fun I had.
Here's a small run down of events....Christmas at my parents, Christmas night I spent the night at my one and only Uncle Nicks apartment ( something I have been waiting 41 yrs to do) he lives downtown Vancouver practically right on Robson Street and it was AWESOME, boxing day spent running the sea wall in Vancouver with him as he photographed me running,  followed with shopping at the Running Room and Whole Foods ( which was crazy since my eyes were fluttering to the back of my head with excitement and over stimulation from being in the "big city" ), spending the next day at my best friend Carla's house and getting my hair curled by her and having another great friend Daphne over, the day after that having dinner with ANOTHER best friend Judy and her husband at a AWESOME Greek restaurant, oh yeah, and in between all that....MORE SHOPPING lol...also seeing my second brother and his family...whom I have not seen in two yrs as well, along with having my one and only sister there with her husband too.
So you can imagine the amount of fun and craziness that took place this week. Here is ONE picture that can give you a small glimpse into the insanity of my family. This is my Mom and Dad....I bought this apron in my small town and brought it to my Mom for Christmas....well....all I can say is that they got "out of control" and they can NEVER blame me for they way I turned out when this is how THEY behaved LOL.

Yes....that is my Dad grabbing my Mom's boob....and yes....that is my Mom saying "wooh, that's going right through the apron".
There should never be another question to me wondering why I turned out to be who I am after one sees a small example like this LOL.

Change

I find the above statement to be very true for me. It's really is amazing what running has done for me. It's so great all the things that can get accomplished on a run for me....such as.....planing wedding speeches for friends, organizing and planning ideas, mind and spirit calming, sometimes just zoning out and feeling the earth beneath my feet....and the list goes on and on.....there is never a run that is the same as the one before, no matter if I do the same route over and over...my body is always reacting and feeling different, and for this I am grateful.
I love that it's just me and the road and my thoughts...some people write journals....I run....to me running is the same as putting a pen to paper, except I am "running" those thoughts into the ground and working them all out.
Running is not for everyone, but it has become something for me, and this I never would have thought would be so powerful.

My gym is a little white!

On my run yesterday I snapped a couple of pics....the run it self was wonderful, on top of the snow feels like fluffy clouds but also at the same time a little bit like squishy sand too, makes for foot placement while running a challenge, but hey, I figure that means I am working different muscles in my legs by doing so.
The days are much shorter now, so makes running difficult to fit in....last week I went a whole week without running....I got my self into a bit of a funk so to speak. I have been working graveyards, day shift, afternoon shifts..alllll over the place, so it have been a huge challenge to get any type of routine down, yet alone stay sane. So last week I finally had my mental snapping moment, I broke.
I did not run, I just about quite my job, and I ate a lot of sugar crap. NOT GOOD LAST WEEK AT ALL.
However, the important things is that I got my self out of my slump and I am back on track....no need to give up at all, just get back on the bus and keep going, that is the most important advice I can give. I no longer beat my self up over missing one run, or eating a handful of choc covered blueberries. I just start again with the next RIGHT decision.