Which Door Would You Choose?
Date: Saturday July 26, 2008Posted in: Honey, Random thoughts, me, twue wuv
After two weeks of company/me traipsing to San Francisco/more company, Honey and I ditched the kids left our kids in the trusty hands of Uncle Lance and ventured out on a Date Night.
Date Night in our home = Home Depot + Wal*Mart = Dinner out. Dinner Out makes up for Home Depot + Wal*Mart.
So here I am! All gussied up!
Ish.
(Click on it to see all of the Flickr notes.)
Here I am on the highway drive into Penticton.
Lest you think I am (utterly) vain, let me give you a glimpse into our conversation in the truck.
Me: “So, what are you thinking?”
Him: “I’m thinking about driving.”
Me: *Pulls camera out of bag*
After running the necessary errands, we went to Salty’s Beachhouse for dinner.
I may have had a bevvie…or two.
While Honey was paying the bill, I thought I would scoot off to the Little Girl’s Room. I followed the signs to the Restrooms (Not washrooms; they don’t have those in the States), and happened upon the following doors.
Door # 1:
Door # 2:
Which door do you think is the women’s restroom?
Even more interesting…which door do you think I opened?
I generally exist in the plane of “tired”. Three kids, a husband, work, LIFE. I do not believe I am the only one that exists in this dimension. In fact, I am starting to wonder if there really is any other way to feel. I think I used to feel rested, but I also think that Diet Coke counts as health food.
Upon returning home from the trip of AWESOME, my energy resources were quite depleted. As were Honey’s. By the time we walked into the house, hung out with the kids and got them to bed, I was DONE. As was Honey. We talked for a bit and then stumbled up to bed.
Tuesday morning we awoke to more of our glorious summer weather. If Matthew and I were still childless, we probably would have thought, “Gee. That’s nice”, before rolling over and going back to sleep. That is a little hard to do when you have children who pad into your room and stare down at you while breathing heavily.
The kids wanted to head to the lake, as we do most mornings. We had company arriving after lunch, and I should have cleaned the house (and maybe unpacked), but these are good friends. They would have picked the beach over cleaning the house any day.
I usually take the kidlets to the water park so I get to bring less gear (Towels!), as opposed to the other beach, which involves even more gear (Towels, and sand toys, and floaties, oh my!). The monkeys had their little hearts set on the beach, so I sucked it up and packed the van. We left Daddy to work in the office and headed out.
Upon arriving, we discovered that we were alone. Not a single soul to be seen. Just what this weary soul needed.
Yes, I make the kids carry stuff. I don’t have Go-Go-Gadget arms.
See for yourself:
ALONE.
It’s a beach that only the locals know about. The touristy beaches are CRAZY. Just like Miss Emily and her need to wear a pair of goggles on her forehead.
Our company arrived in the afternoon, complete with their three boys in tow (6, 4, and 11 months old). Our house was BUSY and MAYBE A LITTLE LOUD. The kids had fun together and even managed to share a room with only about thirty minutes of me marching up there AND LAYING THE SMACKDOWN before they went to sleep.
Us adults had a good visit in between turning to the kids with phrases such as, “Can you please SHARE?” “Sword fighting is generally frowned upon at our house”, and “CAN YOU TAKE THE VOLUME DOWN A NOTCH?”
Our friends knew that the timing of their visit was a little tough, and were the best house guests a girl could ever hope for. They brought food, helped cook dinner, and watched the kids so I do some stuff around the house. They were even understanding when I fell asleep on the couch one evening. Yes! Come and visit so YOU CAN WATCH ME SLEEP IN THE LIVING ROOM.
At least I don’t snore.
They have moved on to their next destination and we have been getting caught up over here. My office work is done, the house is cleaned, and I have even unpacked. Last night I even slept for EIGHT HOURS STRAIGHT. I feel like a new woman, ready to face the day and brave the beach. I might even be up for company.
Who is coming to visit next?
I promise to stay awake this time.
One of the highlights of my weekend (Apart from the whole Imaginary Internet Friends becoming Real Life Friends deelio) was participating in the Shutter Sisters Photo Walk.
A ginormous group of women converged in the lobby of the hotel on Saturday afternoon in anticipation of walking throughout San Francisco and shooting photos. We were to split off into smaller groups and when Karen asked, “Who is coming with me?” I may or may not have shoved someone to the ground elbowed my way to the front because, well, it was Karen.
I had had the good fortune of having a few conversations with her and she is someone who exudes grace and charm, wit and wisdom, confidence and beauty. Those of you who have met her know exactly what I am talking about.
We stepped outside into the FRIGID weather. I am not even kidding. Everyone who was there will tell you that IT WAS COLD. Bossy looked at me in my sleeveless top and asked me why I was not wearing a jacket. I threw out my clutch response from the weekend: “I’m from Canada”.
(Side note: Upon returning to the car from Thursday’s impromptu photo walk in some random alley (If you know the name, tell me!), a girl asked us if the 22nd Street bus was coming. My response was a shrug and a statement that, “I’m from Canada”. That statement served me well all weekend long.)
The Photo Walk was everything I hoped it would be. We decided as a group to head over to China Town, and I think it was a good call.
That was in case I forgot where I was visiting.
I loved the colours in these purses.
This next photo is one of my faves, but some pretty sister’s head was in the bottom of the frame. Hence the weird crop.
I’ll stop typing and just POST SOME PHOTOS ALREADY.
Do you have a favourite (Favorite, for my American friends)?
If you want to see the rest of the photos I took, they are HERE (And public, so everyone can see them).
This trip has ignited a bit of a fire to do more travelling. To meet people, yes, but to also photograph places I have never been before. The question I keep asking myself is, “Where do I go next?“
Back To Life, Back To Reality
Date: Tuesday July 22, 2008Posted in: Blogging, Emily, Family, Friends, Graham, Nathan, vacating
We had company arrive less than twenty four hours after I got home (I KNOW)(No, I have not finished unpacking)(Yes, I did sleep)(A little), so I am behind on both posting and reading. I am up early and will do the best I can with the time I have.
Remember that little bribe contest I had? I just went to Random.org, stuck in the numbers and out popped…15. I scrolled through the comments and the lucky winner is…Marcie! I will most definitely hook you up with the Starbucks you wished for.
I know that I said I would write more about my trip, but today is not that day. I could write a gigantic diatribe outlining all of the happenings, and the conversations, and the loveliness…but that would put me to sleep. You might just die from the boredom. I might also unintentionally leave someone out and hurt their feelings. That would suck. So instead, I will write about small portions that I cannot help but share and keep the rest of the good times locked away for safe keeping.
I could write about the Cheeseburger Party ‘08, but Lindsay did a stellar explanation that is far better than anything I could have written. She was there last year and gives a bit of the history. She included a photo of me doing the Kissy Face On Crack (Not literally. But do I really need to clarify that?). She is also both hilarious AND hot. Check it out.
My photos of the event are on Flickr (HERE), and if you want to see a less crazy photo of me wearing my McDonald’s-bag-hat, Y posted this one in her Flickr stream.
I will write about my arrival home.
My trip was fun and amazing and wonderful, packed into a bundle of awesome, and I was so busy that the ache for my family was kept to a dull roar. As my plane taxied to the terminal after landing in Kelowna I got a little misty. As soon as I saw their faces I choked back tears while beaming like a lunatic.
The boys did not look much older, but their skin had been further kissed by the sun and has turned a golden bronze.
Miss Emily, however, had somehow aged a month in five short days. She looked older, spoke more, and had new wisps of hair (Hair!) that curled around her ears.
(Here’s one more, because I LOVE THE THUMB.)
I opted to sit in the back of the van between Nathan and Emily. She asked for hugs approximately every two minutes, and held my hand the rest of the time. The boys chimed in with statements of, “We missed you!” and “We are so very happy that you are home!”
The feeling was beyond mutual.
We got home, played in the yard, sat on the deck, took some photos. It was then time for the nightly bath.
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE FINAL MELTDOWN.
There was crying, there was fighting, there was kicking and screaming. I was low on sleep. Don’t judge me.
My novelty has worn off and we are back to our normal routine. It is like I never left and I truly could not be happier about it. There really is no place like home.
As I caught the shuttle to the airport this morning, I was seated behind two women who (apparently) were at the same conference I was at. I did not recognize them, but there were ONE THOUSAND attendees. I didn’t even meet everyone I thought I would, but I made a pretty good dent in my “to meet” list.
The two women were talking about all of the drama that had occurred in their circle of friends. There were fights, and bickering, and tears. The people they came to meet were not who they had expected them to be, and nobody seemed to get along very well. They both said that they would not be attending any future conferences because they found this to be a very expensive lesson learned.
My experience was EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE. There was no drama (involving me), just love and sweetness and sunshine and rainbows. I was skipping around with a crown of daisies on my head and singing songs from The Sound of Music.
I am lying about the daisies (though it might be an idea for next year), and there was no singing happening. This would be due to the fact that my voice is nearly gone thanks to three consecutive nights of TRYING TO BE HEARD OVER ALL OF THAT LOUD MUSIC.
I cannot do the weekend justice right now as I have averaged approximately five hours of sleep per night. I got up at the butt-crack of dawn this morning to make it to the airport for my flight. Upon arrival, I found out my flight was delayed an hour and a half. This means I COULD HAVE SLEPT LONGER.
This also means that I have time to kill. Instead of sleeping, I will photos of (and links to) some of the lovely ladies (and their men) who made my weekend far better than I ever dreamed it could be.
Sean (Holly’s honey), Simon, Kristin, Leah, and Holly.
Two more shots of the lovely couples.
These guys were my home base. Leah and Simon were not only just all-around awesome, they were my go-to people who held my hand if I did not know anyone. Simon is every bit as funny and charming as he comes across on their site (Even though he teased me incessantly about my “Canadian accent”). Um, YOU GUYS are the ones with accents.
Leah was my session-attending buddy when I was not taking photos of the conference. Meeting her was like when I first met Kristin in that I feel like we have known each other for years. Which I guess we have. Sean and Holly are lovely and gracious, and all sorts of wonderful.
Enough gushing (for now). Onwards!
SAJ and I.
I finally got to meet this wonderful friend who spoils me constantly. She has the sweetest voice and is even greater than I thought she would be.
Kelly and I.
Not only is she stunning, she is ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS. She wanted to put me in her bag and take me home and I almost took her up on her offer.
Sarah and I.
Her hair is even more beautiful in person, as is she. I just wanted to put her in my pocket and take her home with me.
Dooce and I.
Photo taken by Kristabella (Hi sweetie!). Heather is lovely and gracious and funny. At least that’s what I got out of our three-minute conversation, two minutes of which were spent trying to get a photo taken of us that wasn’t all blurry in the low light. We were at a party hosted by Maggie Mason which was marvelous. Huge thanks to Maggie for hosting it and spoiling us all.
Mrs. Flinger and I.
Leslie is a bundle of sunshine. She also belongs in my pocket.
Yvonne and I.
She is one of the loveliest women I have ever you could ever meet. She just exudes WONDERFUL. I need more pockets.
Casey and I.
She is every bit as amazing as she comes across on her site. She is also destined to live in one of my many pockets.
I don’t have a photo of my personality twin Ali, but here’s one of her with Casey.
Can you see why I wanted to stuff them in my suitcase and bring them home? I really need to find an outfit with multiple pockets.
If you think they are funny on their sites, real life would blow your mind.
More of the funny. More of the laughing. More of the awesome. There is a story about the cheeseburgers, but that is a whole post unto itself.
I somehow don’t have a photo of me with my roommate or with many others I spent time with, but I did a lot of talking and laughing. Sometimes I just put my camera away.
I am going to sign off, as my flight is about to board. FINALLY.
I hope to follow with a post that will give justice to this fantabulous weekend once I catch up on my sleep and get reconnected with my family. Peace.
(PS - Amanda! The above is all a big fat lie. I hid in my room the entire weekend because everyone was all, “CANADIANS SUCK!” and “GO BACK TO YOUR FOREIGN LAND!” I stole photos off of the Internet and Photoshopped myself into them. I will cry on your shoulder when I get home.)
