December 29, 2012

Day 3 had to have been the best day of the trip so far. The snow was beautiful and we managed to find the best terrain. I can't think of another way to describe it other than "FUN!" Our group skis so well together. The Cuddingtons are five and the Marios are five, but all 10 of us are about the same level and have the same need for speed/pow/trees/bumps. We ended the day with beers in the hottub, a delicious dinner, and several pitchers of beer at the Fernie bar.

This photo shows how deep the snow was...I stuck my poles into the snow to lean on them and they sunk all the way up to my hands!

December 28, 2012

All skiers know that one of the best parts of skiing (ugh and I GUESS snowboarding should somewhat count...) is the après ski. Beer and nachos in particular. We hit up the Griz Bar for some of the best nachos I've ever had and a few pitchers of beer.

This photo shall be called 'Helmet Pyramid'

December 27, 2012

We grew up skiing at Fernie -- developed our love for powder and badass skiing. Here we are, back on the mountain as a Mario force five and takin' over like it's our day job.

I LOVE LIFE

December 26, 2012

Our adventure to Fernie began early in the morning. As usual it was an absolute gongshow trying to get all five of us organized enough to get out of the house on time...we were only an hour behind our planned departure time. But the trip was much shorter than we remember as kids. Woo! Skiing here we come!

December 25, 2012

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Had a wonderful, joyful, and family-filled day full of love and waaaay too much food. There was also a small amount of stress as we frantically tried to get ready to leave for Fernie the next day at 7am. Santa brought me an iPad mini in preparation for my big trip...which is only a little over a month away...?!?!?!

December 24, 2012

Another Mario family Christmas tradition...

Christmas eve is spent with my dad's side at my aunty and uncle's house and always ends in beer pong. Being a very competitive family (both immediate and extended), it's an understatement when I tell you that shit gets intense. Added to the mix this year was the new (American) cousin-in-law, Kyle, who is Katie's husband. I should also mention that Kyle is an ex-Div1 NCAA college basketball player, and thus did not lose a single game all night. 

This night is actually one of my favourite parts of Christmas time. It's always full of so much family love, fun times, good music, beer, classic rock dance parties (new to this year and happily welcomed) and a competitive atmosphere ;) 

Sidenote...Yes, that is my mother wearing my brother's hat. And a multinational and inclusive beer pong table. And an action shot of probably another one of Kyle's wins.

December 23, 2012

((This is a SECRET picture, because technically no photography or video was permitted...so shh, don't tell!))

The annual Christmas time tradition of going to the Globe Theatre continued. Mom, Ali and I ventured out into the bitter cold (-20somethingdegrees) and had our hearts warmed by the Wizard of Oz. I say this every year, but this was my favourite. The artistic interpretation and quirkiness of the musical was fascinating and captivating. My face hurt at the end from smiling and laughing the whole time. It was wonderful!

December 22, 2012

The Richardson family Christmas party (my mom's side). 

It's a tradition for us to toast to her Grannie and Gramps who started the annual Christmas party years ago and pass the champagne bottles around. Fun fun fun!

December 21, 2012

Lucky us - the world didn't end! And we celebrated! We partied sibling style at "The Last Christmas Ever" at the Exchange that some friends of mine put on. It was also like a freakin' high school reunion, in the best way possible. Saw some people I haven't seen for years and years! Overall it was a super great night with great people. Have I mentioned how much I love Christmas and all that it brings? ;-)

December 20, 2012

FIVE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS AND STILL HARDLY ANY SHOPPING DONE.
Phew, sorry just had to get that out of the way. I'm on my way to work here for another double day. Luckily my between shift break was more than an hour this time and I was able to get a couple things done. 

Today was probably the coldest I have been since living in Regina. It was beautiful, don't get me wrong. I mean really, look at the beautiful trees/snow/sky contrast. But I turned into an icicle after only a short 10 minute walk to the mall from my work. 

December 19, 2012

ALI GOT HOME TODAY! The Marios are back together in full swing. We sat around our new eating bar, which we have named The Jiblee, chatting, laughing, drinking good wine, and listening to Christmas music. Family is just the GREATEST!

Also I've got to say sorry to my family members for this photo. The reason we took 4 in the first place was because no one liked any of them. Someone tried to be silly while the others were being serious, then vice versa. But then I put them all together and had a good laugh. All I wanted to do was capture these 4 beautiful people having a good time, and I think I did just that.

December 18, 2012

It was a wild day at work. Lunch was one of the busiest I've ever worked. Everyone under the snowy sun came into Crave today. Great for the business and the pocket, but not so great for a gal trying to recover from a cold. Or for stress levels. And with only a little over an hour to spare between shifts, my work friend, Madi, and I ran over to the mall to try and get some Christmas shopping done. Now I'm not one to complain about anything Christmas related...but when it comes to malls during the season it's a whole different story. I am not a very happy camper when it comes to crazy crowds. Oh well. The closer the 25th comes the more anxious I get because I have NEXT TO NOTHING BOUGHT! Here's hoping for a smooth next few days of between-shift shopping spurts. Yikes!

December 17, 2012

Today I was still down for the count. And knowing I had to work in the evening, I knew I couldn't spend the day doing a heck of a lot. So a room cleaning day it was! I even dusted my bookshelf...and I got to thinking...
This is just a small part of my book collection...and most of these are ones I still need to read. But I feel as though these few books are kind of a window into my life. You can tell a lot about someone by the books they read. And though I have yet to read most, I feel like these all say a lot about who I am. It's interesting, is all.

December 16, 2012

A nice family dinner with Papa tonight! Still pretty under the weather, but my day was packed with things I love -- football, Christmas shopping with Mom, family, good food, and skyping with Randi. Also a HUGE THING HAPPENED TODAY: I booked my one way ticket to South America! On January 30th I will be arriving in Quito, Ecuador where my adventure will begin. Life is so crazy and exciting and amazing. 

December 15, 2012

Well, today I was down and out. That cold/flu thing going around somehow managed to take over my body. Probably has something to do with being extremely run down last week. So I spent the day on the couch doing absolutely nothing, and by that I mean watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas with my brother. One of my favourite Christmas movies and definitely one of the funniest.  

Kind of a lame photo for today...but that's life.

December 14, 2012

Mel and I were people-watching at O'Hans. We made stories up about what we thought people were talking about. And we thought we were pretty funny! 

Friday Friends Fun!

December 13, 2012

"'Tis the season!" 

I can't tell you how many times I heard that while working my double shift today. Actually I can tell you -- at least 6 times. It was a crazy busy lunch and a crazy busy night. But you know what? I had the greatest day. I was happy, I had the best tables, and everyone was joyous and loving life. Because hey, 'tis the season. What more could a server ask for? Also, during my lunch shift, about 15 minutes I thought was too late after my parking meter expired I bolted outside into the cold with a toonie in my hand, ready to plug some more time, and I found this delightful piece of paper on my windshield. Whoever this is saved me from a ticket I'm sure. I wish EVERY day was like Christmas! What a happy happy happy time of year!

12/12/12

It's a rule-breakin' kinda day. 

First of all, I strayed from the norm in terms of date format. It's 12/12/12...why not post as such!? It's crazy!

Second of all, here are 2 photos of the day. Let me explain why: I obviously love my dogs a stupid amount. Like it's actually kind of silly. I am the first to tell my family members to refrain from dog-favouritism. (Matt sucks at it...he is way nicer to Jet.) So today after taking 2 really adorable photos of my dogs, how could I possibly choose one after preaching the no dog-prejudice thing? I know, no need to tell me, I'm ridiculous. 

All in all, here are 2 dog photos for today. I love them. I'm a crazy dog lady. And that is that. 

December 11, 2012

That's right - another picture in the kitchen. We just can't get enough of it...it's kind of like a new toy. 

I had the night off tonight because I just worked lunch today so we had a nice family dinner with a nice bottle of wine and watched a great Christmas movie - Elf! So funny. Have I mentioned how much I love the Christmas season? ;)

December 10, 2012

It's an action shot! Of us eating our first meal in the kitchen! 

Mom hates this picture, sorry Mom.

December 9, 2012

The much anticipated day of rest arrived, and a GREAT one it was! My morning involved sleeping in, watching football, and hottubbing/chatting with the brother. This was all followed by one of my favourite things of all time -- DECORATING THE CHRISTMAS TREE! And it's the first year in 5 years that I've actually been home to do so. Needless to say, my mood was soaring. ANOTHER amazing and exciting thing...we officially have a real-life kitchen again for the first time in 2 months. It's not completely finished, but enough so that we can live and cook and be merry. We had some family friends over for our first home-cooked meal in the new kitchen. I swear food has never tasted so good. Adding to the already fantastic day, both my team and my dad's team won their games. The BIGGEST thing missing from my day was my dear darling sister, who was studying her brains out in the faraway land of Edmonton. Missed you today, Ali!

Sundays are so wonderful, especially when they are well-deserved days of rest after 14 shifts in 10 days straight of work. 

Know what else is wonderful? Family. And what else? CHRISTMAS.

December 8, 2012

A selfie for today...how embarrassing. As stated in yesterday's post, I worked another double today. Crave isn't open Saturday during the day, but today we opened for a particular luncheon type of event. I had 45 minutes between ending that shift and beginning my next one -- just enough time to leave the building to regain composure, put some gas in my car (it was below the empty line), get some chocolate in hopes of picking up my mood, and to force myself to smile at my own mirror reflection also in hopes of cheering myself up. HAHA!

This was my 10th day of work without a day off, and after lunch I was heading into my 9th shift of the week.

All I could think about was how AMAZING Sunday is going to feel with no work.

December 7, 2012

Today was one of the craziest days I've had in a long time. The night before I didn't fall asleep until 4am. Which was not ideal but at the time it was alright because I knew that I didn't have to work in the morning. But at 9:30 I woke up to a ringing phone with "CRAVE KWB" lighting up the display. Someone was sick and they were in dire need of staff. So into work I headed in a total haze of exhaustion. It was also a crazy busy lunch, so busy that I didn't get out of there until 2:30, just enough time to run home, pet the puppies (obviously), grab my workout stuff, and head to my previously scheduled workout at 3:30. To add to the exhaustion, I also worked an event at work that night and didn't get home until 3am. By the end of the night I could hardly tell what was up and what was down. And what's more, I had to be back at work the next day for 12:00 and another double. 

The Christmas season + work = so good but so exhausting.

December 6, 2012

Look look! The pieces of our kitchen are slowly coming together. This is the last of the countertops. How cool is this granite?! I can't wait to post the finished product.

December 5, 2012

So did you think I decided to quit my photo blog early?! I haven't posted in FIVE days! I've been so insanely busy with work it's ridiculous. 

This day I just worked at night, so I spent the day hanging out with the dogs, playing with them outside, and getting some stuff done -- aka cleaning my disastrous room. Nothing too interesting.

[Quick delayed edit: Why did I choose this photo? I was walking the dogs and came across this little tree that I noticed adds some cuteness and colour to an otherwise rather barren park, devoid of all things that can't survive the bitter cold.]

December 4, 2012

Yarn heaven. Came to Michaels for some materials for projects I have planned. Michaels is basically my second home?

December 3, 2012

We happy. We tough.

Little big bro all dressed up and ready for his work Christmas party. And I'm just on my way out the door to work. We clean up alright I guess. Which just meant photoooo-oopppp!

December 2, 2012

So one of the reasons I love working at Crave is because it's closed on Sundays. It makes sitting on the couch in my PJs and doing nothing as I watch football all day SO MUCH BETTER. However...sometimes we open for special events, and today was one of those days. My football-watching was horrifyingly cut short. But luckily it ended up being a-okay tonight because the event I worked was great! I worked with great people and had a great time. So much greatness. 

 And post-work a few of us decided to go have some wind-down beers at the Hookah Lounge, which I realized is my new favourite place in Regina. 

December 1, 2012

My name is Brittany and I'm a crazy dog lady. 

November 30, 2012

EEEEK it's baby Stella! Emily + Stella came to visit us at work after lunch today. She's the little one I knit those baby booties for a while ago. She's so tiny that I think it may be a while before she fits them. But HOW CUTE AND WONDERFUL is she?! Holding this precious little thing was the highlight of my day for sure.