March 31, 2012

Today I somehow ended up with a last minute Saturday off (haven't had a Saturday off in a very, VERY long time). What better way to spend a day off than a spontaneous Whistler trip with my dear friend Mel, with whom I have been trying to make plans to go up with since January. We had such a chill, girl-chatty, fun day. Oh and look how colourful we are! 

March 30, 2012

Woke up, threw some scrubby clothes on, and grabbed coffee on The Drive. Managed to catch the only sunny time of the day! Perfect.

(A little/lot late on the post for this day...better late than never...)

March 29, 2012

Even when it's gloomy, Vancouver still looks wicked.

Opted to do the responsible thing today and apply for jobs.

Took this from the sea bus on the way to the North Shore.

March 28, 2012

I'm not a morning person. At all. Not even a little tiny bit. Every Wednesday I leave the house at 7:30 and I'm pretty much still asleep (even after 2 cups of coffee). But it's mornings like this, when the only word I can think of to describe it is serene, ones like this that are so peaceful they take your breath away, that make me glad I have one day a week where I get to be out in the world a little earlier than usual.

(This is Graveley St. I love my street. And blooming trees.)

March 27, 2012

Walking down West 4th today. This is on the window of the ski shop Comor. It's obviously an ad for something, but really, this is exactly how I feel when I ski. It's peace in the chaos of everyday life. Whenever I'm not skiing, I wish I was. I have an upcoming dilemma regarding skiing, actually - go to Whistler Thursday to satisfy my need to ski, or be responsible and stay in the city to apply for jobs? 

Essentially it comes down to this: To be responsible, productive, and look after my future but have extremely low morale (that apparently surfaces while job searching)? OR to have fun, do something I love (resulting in high morale levels) and make use of my Whistler pass? 

Decisions, decisions.

March 26, 2012

I shall call this Life on the Coast

I finished my nanny job at 7:00 this evening knowing that I still needed a photo for today...time for an adventure. I had just pulled out from where I was parked and noticed the slightest sliver of sun, and basically went sun-chasing (it's like storm-chasing but less dangerous, right?). I don't know the area well, but I knew I needed to go west a-sap, because the only sliver of sun all day was about to disappear. Found a perfect spot, parked illegally, and captured it as best I could. Maybe one of those "you had to be there" kinda moments.

March 25, 2012

So today was the third day in a row of full-on-all-day sun for Van, and is the first of 3 that I have finally got to experience most of (ugh work...who needs it?!). After spending most of it on my porch with a book and then in my living room with the window wide open and guitar in hand, it was time for work. But what a perfect day to bike there, 'cause the last time I made that trek would have been this past summer! I almost forgot how great it feels and how much of the city you can see from the Adanac bike route. And, no lie, the bike home at night was just as wonderful. It was crisp and quiet - a perfect end to a day.

(PS - I took this while moving. Not bad, huh?)

March 24, 2012

The sun - it makes you want to get outside, do something adventurous, or even sit on a patio with an ice cold beer. But for this cat, the sun means coming over to the Graveley house and basking in the warm rays on our porch furniture. This day marks the return of Dragon Ninja, a cat whose home is somewhere in the neighbourhood and who honestly only comes to this very house on warm sunny days. Oddly enough, I was thinking about how long it's been since I've seen Dragon Ninja (that is actually his/her name on his/her tag, I kid you not), and it made me realize how little sun we've had in the past month. Hopefully the season of spring has brought with it sunshine, because I like when this cat visits. Oh and I should mention that I really dislike cats. This is the only cat I've ever liked in my life.

March 23, 2012

Not a bad way to start the day -- sitting on the porch, drinking coffee, reading, with the sun shining on my face. I did miss my acupuncture appointment accidentally because I was doing this, but I'm going to say it was worth it.

March 22, 2012

Today is my only full day off of the week and I had a to-do list the length of my right arm. I finished all but one task on the list - cleaning my car. I had good reason though! The sun decided to shine so I decided to take a walk and came across these beautiful trees at McSpadden Park. Ah, the sweet sight of spring!

March 21, 2012

A very sunny but cold 2nd day of Spring! Backyard sandbox fun with K. My imagination is gettin' a real workout these days.

March 20, 2012

"Back allies and straight lines."

Walking around the Main and Broadway area to my acupuncture appointment (which is the best thing EVER, by the way) and this alleyway caught my eye. Once again the resolution is distorted..the original is much better, I assure you.

March 19, 2012

Adventure with the little one. This is the Theology building at UBC. I love how I get to explore the campus even though I don't go there! This building is stunningly beautiful.

[Such a late posting! But I couldn't upload this until today because my computer was too full, so I had to take the time to delete a bajillion things]

March 18, 2012

The view of the North Shore from my work. It looks like heaven is opening!

March 17, 2012

Not much to say about this...just that have I mentioned how much I love my neighbourhood?

March 16, 2012

My keys - the source of a disastrous morning. I can't believe I'm posting this online, but today I locked my keys in my car while it was running. All ended up fine. But I was left with a sore knee from all the walking required to solve the problem, a missed acupuncture appointment that could have made my knee better, and a lesson well-learned.

March 15, 2012

Another Thursday at Whistler! My favourite part of this sign is the forecast..."lots of snow." Haha! And indeed there was. But there was also LOTS of wind, forcing the mountain to close most of the chairlifts and even the Whistler gondola. The wind on the way up the lift was the most intense wind I've ever experienced (this coming from a prairie girl...Blackstrap anyone?!). So unfortunately the day was cut short, but at least I got to watch Cody dig a hole/tunnel/mini-fort with his snowboard as we waited hopefully for the chair to re-open...

March 14, 2012

Today was Pi Day! So much pie baking went down in the Graveley house - a total of 5, in fact (including my pizza pie shown above! Pesto, goat cheese, arugula, tomato, garlic...yum). The two on the right were made by Kindie (roommate) and Melissa (a mutual friend we didn't know was mutual until tonight - small world!). Pies: apple blackberry with a homemade crust on the left and a chocolate, peanut butter, tofu, and banana on the right). 

March 13, 2012

Went for brunch to Havana on Commercial with my neighbourhood homies Lauren (^) and Ryan (taking photo), some lovely Steamtown and ex-Steamtown friends. :)

March 12, 2012

Play-doh - a staple in a day with K. And honestly, one of my favourite things of all time.

March 11, 2012

The spring-like weather outside prompted me to do some spring cleaning today. Did some clothes purging and some de-cluttering. I like this part of my room - is that weird?

March 10, 2012

Today was MARIO Day! And I started it with roommate pancakes. Kindie and I made probably the worst pancakes known to human kind. But we ate them anyway, and it was very funny.

[MARIO day. March 10 = Mar.10 = MAR10!]

March 9, 2012

Had a music morning in my living room. Learned a new song, drank coffee. The only thing missing was my music buddy.

March 8, 2012

In my happy place.

Sheesh, I'm so blessed.

March 7, 2012

Today was a double job kinda day. 

Day with kids. Night at Steamworks. 

No adventures or extravagant photo ops. I felt a bit disappointed by this/myself at first. And then I thought, you know what? Some days will be exciting adventures, and other days will be mediocre and even tiresome adventures, and both are part of life. 

Today was one of those mediocre and tiresome days, with little time to think about anything but what's coming at me in the present moment. 

This photo depicts the in-between, the limbo period where I have to shed my day exhaustion and move straight into evening energy...transit, caffeine, and a comfy sweater (which was made by Fain Weiss!).

March 6, 2012

Sometimes there's comfort in anonymity. 

March 5, 2012

An adventure to Toy Box in Kits with the little one today. 

Where's the best place to go with a 2-year-old to avoid the free running school-aged kids that aren't in school because of the teacher's strike? Why, the small toy store for small children, of course, where just the usual toddlers are roaming around with trains, stuffed animals, and dolls in hand!

March 4, 2012

Came down with a cold (kids are incubators for illness...who knew...). David's Tea to the rescue!

March 3, 2012

A wine-drinking, 

extravagant dinner-making, 

nail-painting, and 

chit-chatting night

with some Steamworks gals.

Oh, and a wicked view from Ashley's apartment. 

March 2, 2012

I walk by this every single day, probably more than once a day, and this is the first time I've really noticed it. Imagine all the things we would notice if we took the time to really look.

March 1, 2012

Well, snow one day and sun the next. 

Today was my only full day off all week, so I went wherever my feet took me. And they happened to take me down the street to Trout Lake where I walked around, allowed my body to take in some much needed vitamin D, and played my newly re-strung guitar (in my car...it may have been sunny but it was quite chilly).