diana gabaldon!!

anyone who knows me is well aware of my love of diana gabaldon's books. the outlander series, lord john- i'm there. love love love.

i've lost track of how many times i've read her books. my friends tease me because even though i almost know the books by heart, i get so caught up in the storyline that i gasp, laugh and even cry without realizing it.

in september diana's latest book an echo in the bone was released and when i purchased my copy, i was entered into a contest to meet diana. (at this point, you probably have an idea where this is going, but i'll take you there anyways.) a few weeks later, i get a call saying that I WON! i was one of the fantastically lucky winners of a lunch and book signing with diana gabaldon.



diana is everything that her books are- warm, funny, witty, intelligent. it was amazing. i can't even begin to describe how great it was to meet my favourite author and to have her share her wisdom about writing with me, so i'll leave it at that.

return! (random ramblings)

okay, so my last post didn't leave things on a very good note but it did leave things on a fairly accurate note.

i've been making an effort to spend more time with family and friends, and that has made a world of difference. i still don't really know what i'm doing, but now i'm not feeling like it's the end of the world. also, i got transferred again at work and despite the million hours of stress i've endured because of it, it's a good change.

in the summer, i participated in the bc spca's 'paws for a cause' walk with a team from work and i had a great time. i'm for sure walking in 2010's walk : ) speaking of walks... in october, jamie and i decided to walk in the 2010 weekend to end women's cancers and i'm very excited about it. it's fantastic to be working towards such a great cause and it's great to have a goal. cancer has touched the lives of so many people that i know- it feels good to be actively involved in taking finding a cure.

here's a quick photo summary of some random things from the last few months. i'm too lazy to catch up any other way!


fireworks - alicia, jamie, myself and jen!


jamie's birthday - myself, jamie and jenn spent the day at the beach to celebrate j's 23!


an evening sky shot... walking the dyke with cyrus


deanne and steve's birthday party - the birthday girl and i (we're only slightly intoxicated here...)


vanessa's wedding - my grandma and i <3


vanessa's wedding - all the cousins! (left to right. back row: jason and colin. front row: me, alison and vanessa!)


cat lake - one of my favourite places in BC


cyrus after a swim at cat lake. doesn't he look super cute in his life jacket? hehe.


the beautiful view at the dyke. cyrus and i spent a good chunk of time there this summmer!


ps: i also turned twenty-three, but the party was "over the hill" themed so for this year i'm fifty. when i'm fifty i can be twenty-three. a good deal, no? (i'll steal some photos from j and get those up here in the somewhat near future.)

pps: i'll try to be better about posting. it's good for me.

sigh

i’m in a rut. i go to work, i spend time with my friends, family and pets, i go to work… the days seem to be blurring by, but i’m not accomplishing anything. worse yet, i’m not sure what i want to accomplish.

i used to have a plan. i knew what i wanted, and i was doing my best to fulfil my plan. now? no clue, or at least, no drive.

do i still want to be a teacher? or has that just been my plan for so long that now i just think it’s what i want? i don’t know anymore. i want to work with kids. i’m still confident about that, but there are so many different things that i could do… and in the meantime, i’m comfortable where i am. i’m not sure how i’m comfortable, because i’m working at a job i don’t like and i’m hardly making any money doing it… maybe it’s just the fact that i’m making enough to get by and i have some job security?

i need to change things.

great artists!

i was telling jen how much i enjoyed my trip to merritt, and i told her i'd post the names of some of the (somewhat) lesser known acts that i really enjoyed. here you go!

Jetty Road
One More Girl
Tori Darke



this week i...

• saw harry potter (twice!)
• had family dinner
• spent a whole evening/night baking with jenna
• co-hosted a bridal shower for my amazing cousin. it went super well and i had a great time visiting with family : )
• took 3/5 critters to the vet for check-ups and boosters

mountainfest 2009

a very brief summary in photos!
i spent every day in the river, enjoying the sun and meeting new people! so much fun!!

my (amazing) view from the river


i met this guy on thursday, and after a few hours of hanging out with him and his friends, i find out that he's bronson pelletier from the new moon movie! he plays jared. (clearly i thought that was pretty cool! haha..) *when this picture was taken, he'd already been drinking for a few hours... oh man.


thursday night, i met crystal shawanda and ridley bent!!


friday night, i met the higgins!!


jamie and i placed third in a karaoke contest. we won these hats... lol

there's no place like home

i had a GREAT time in merritt!!! i'm exhausted (and looking forward to sleeping in my amazing bed!) because we drove home tonight instead of tomorrow, as we were originally planning. i'll post tomorrow with pictures etc.

as fantastic as it was to be away, i'm really happy to be home.

merritt!!

see you monday night!! have a great week everyone!