Journey & Adventure

I have so much going on and “on my plate” at the moment, I don’t know where to start. Summer seems to be flying by, but I can’t recall where it went. I’ve only been to the beach a couple of times, whereas I’m usually there every weekend. The reason for my beachy absence has been a direct result of high water levels and high winds. When the water is high, the beach disappears. Combine little-to-no beach with high winds and waves crashing on shore, there isn’t a beach to walk on. The two times I have been, we’ve had to wade waste deep in the water for quite a distance until the beach opens up. Once again, high winds preclude me from wanting to venture waste deep into less-than-tropical water with crashing waves. Hence, not many visits to the beach. Sooooo, instead, J and I have been seriously hitting the trails on our mountain bikes. When I bought my bike a year ago, I thought it was the dumbest idea…EVER! My cardio was horrible and I could only make it a couple of miles b...

I wish I could tell you that my absence from the blogosphere was a result of being abducted by aliens or that I won the lottery and have been busy traveling the world or because I became a swim suit model and my photo shoots have kept me too busy.     Nope, none of the above has occurred.   I know…I’m disappointed too (especially the swim suit model gig).   Although I’m sure I’ve been recently visited by aliens and they have managed to manipulate my brain and made me a lazy-ass couch potato (more so than usual that is).   I have no excuses – I’ve just ran out of creative steam.    Normally the summer months rejuvenate me, but sadly that’s not been the case this year.       Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying summer, the sunshine, the heat, the humidity.     I just have nothing to show for it, except maybe a nice tan and some sun-streaked hair.    I don’t even have memories to go along with th...

It’s a long weekend in Canada. The technical name of the holiday is Victoria Day, which is in celebrated in honor of Queen Victoria’s birthday…I think. I’m not a diehard Canadian, so my perception of actual facts might be slightly skewed.  Anyhow, for the less refined, you can refer to it as May 2-4 (as in a case of beer – 24 bottles or cans). Pay attention - this is a fact you should file away for that day when Trivial Pursuit once again becomes a craze.  May 24th is the unofficial start to summer here in Canada – cottagers head “up north” to open up their cottages for the season, boaters take to the Great Lakes, gardeners believe the risk of frost has passed start planting their gardens, campers will schlep their camping gear and pitch their tents for first camping excursion of the season and with all that - beer season officially arrives.  Now, before you get concerned for my well being, rest assured that beer season never actually ends in Canada, ...

I’ve been thinking about going to the beach this weekend. Ahhh the beach – warm sun, warm water, fresh air and sand…lots and lots of sand. If it weren’t for the sand, the beach could almost replace Walt Disney World as the happiest place on earth; however the sand that encompasses the shoreline of the lakes, oceans and rivers and makes up the thing known as the “Beach” is unbearable to me. I strongly dislike sand. I particularly dislike the feeling of dried-on sand between my toes. You know what I mean – after you’ve been swimming and need to walk across the sand to your beach towel (Water + Sand = Crusty Toes). Ughhh… When I was much lighter younger, I was successfully able to charm my then boyfriend (now husband) into sweeping me off of my feet and carrying to my awaiting throne beach towel without so much as a grain of sand touching my tootsies. Now realistically, I am well aware that a hormonal teenage boy would do just about anything with the thought of getting laid being a...

As I stepped on board the research boat for the first time, all I could think of was “great, the boat stinks like day old fish.” Duh – it’s a fishing boat! What was it supposed to smell like? It was that day my career as a “Fisheries Division Survey Technician” began. My days were spent hauling nets, picking, counting, sorting and weighing the different fish species – all while trying to keep my rubber boots and not my ass planted to the deck of the boat. It’s a good thing I do not have a weak stomach because there was one particular fish species that made me want to cry and would have made a lesser woman (or my husband) want to vomit. I don’t recall the name of it, but it was small and invaded the nets in great numbers and the unfortunate part – they would literally “explode” when you tried to remove them from the nets. Just picture trying to grab hold of Jello with your bare hands and just when you think you have hold; you hear a “popping” sound, followed by oozing. Nasty, doesn...

Here is another look into one of my illustrious career choices. This one was driven by lack of work and my overwhelming desire to keep busy. I’m the first to admit I have a problem, I just don’t know how to fix it… During the early weeks of “one summer of boredom”, I was determined to do something new with my career. Who was I kidding? I didn’t believe anything could possibly jumpstart my current disaster, but I was convinced that there had to be something out there that would pass some time during my regular 9-5 working hours. While bemoaning my latest lack of work dilemma to my best friend, she asks, “Why don’t you just come to work for me for a couple days a week for the summer months?” “What exactly do you do?” is my response. For as many years as I’ve known my BF, I’ve never quite figured out how she earns a living. I only know that she is a government employee, has a lot of accumulated holiday time and that her title is something like Regiona...

The cold reality of it being a mere 6 months until Christmas has slapped me silly this morning. With Summer just officially arriving on Sunday, this news is a bitter pill to swallow. What have I done to deserve this? It’s not that I have anything against Christmas, it’s just that I have a bone or two to pick with the nasty, uninvited cold weather that hitches a ride with it. Anyone that lives in a warmer climate cannot possibly relate to this feeling of desperation. The saddest part of this revelation being – cold weather actually arrives at least two months prior to Christmas (aka 4 months from now). Gahhh! What does that mean you ask? It means I have a lot of warmth and sunshine to absorb and pack into these remaining 4 months. Using my vacation days are not a feasible option, as these must be reserved for my winter escapes to warmer climates. Hmmm...perhaps a few more sick days are in order. I hear the West Nile virus might be going around. *coug...