We have progress!

Finally I bit the bullet and purchased myself some Cathy Zielske digital templates to do my month-in-review scrapbook pages. There was a 30% off sale last week so it made sense. And you know what? It was worth it, since it actually motivated me to get these done. And I'm so happy I did!

So here we have January, February and March...and the enthusiasm to not leave it so long for the upcoming months! (well, hopefully!)

In March & April...

So as far as my 2011 manifesto goes I may have been slacking. Just a little. There are a number of items on my list that require slow and steady progress and cannot and will not be completed until the end of the year. Frustrating for someone like me who loves lists, more specifially ticking things off lists!

So actually myabe I have been making some progress. The gratitude album is so far still going strong (though I wonder if it will be so interesting or perhaps rather telling that I'm consistently grateful for fridays, long weekends, a day off work, getting home early etc, etc - a rather distinct pattern forming there don't you think?!)

I'm not sure if I've truly signed off on any new recipies though I'm having a hard time defining this to myself. I'm not really one to follow recipies I just make things up with whatever's on hand so you could say I've done this a hundred times over already. But this month's Cedar Planked salmon was a roaring hit (with Asian sesame seasoning) so I might count that one!

Scrapbooking a layout a month....uh...and moving on....

Clocking 600 miles. How very ambitious of me?! Crazy more like. I don't even remember where I got this hair-brained figure from! So in theory it's only 50 miles a month right?! But since the couch and I were BFF for the whole of January and February I'm a little behind. (if only my behind were little too! - consequences of sitting on the couch too long I guess) Things picked up OK in March and I clocked 50+ miles running. April I put the running on the back-burner a little and spent more time with Chris walking and hiking. I truly believe that it's a way better fat burner anyhow and we both need a little help after a cozy Canadian winter (read = inactive & potentially unhealthy!) Again we clocked 50+ miles and enjoying it. And if it's recorded on my Nike + it counts (running or walking I'm not fussy about how I get to 600 anymore!)

But not to finish on a low note. I have accomplished. I have ticked some items off the list. I have taken a candelit bubble bath #15 (thanks to my lovely husband for planning it - actually I think he may have just wanted a quiet hour or so to himself!) And whilst it sounds like a simple pleasure (which of course it is) It is the first bath I've taken since we got the hot-tub. Whenever I want to warm up we just hop in the hot tub these days. But you can't beat some nice scented bubbles and not smelling of chlorine afterwards so I really should do it more often! I also ticked off #19 - Visit a National Park - the Olympic National Park in Washington was where we spent our wedding anniversary in April.

So slow, but sure progress....I'm loving having a list to keep my focus and get me doing the things that normally I just talk about and now I'm actually doing!

Crazy Ptarmigan attacks hapless hikers in Fairmont (and other stories)

So Easter weekend we traded one beautiful part of BC for another. This one had lots of craggy mountains which I love and miss. Fairmont Hot Springs is in the Columbia Valley wedged between the Purcell mountains to the west and Canadian Rockies to the East. It’s a slither of a valley with lakes, forests and a few natural hot springs thrown in for good measure. (and an inordinate amount of golf courses and hence timeshare units) We stayed in a lovely property right on the golf course with log fireplace, cute mezzanine bedroom and a freezer on steroids (this was important for making ice for the margaritas so you can see why it’s worthy of a mention).

Anyhow. Long Easter weekend, 2 buddies to party with, hiking gear packed and a trusty bottle of tequila (or 2) and we were set for the 6 hour drive from home on the Thursday. After forgetting that there was a time zone change between home and Fairmont we made it to check-in minutes before they went home for the night and promptly settled in. Since Krystina and Amos were sleeping on a sofa bed we had to get them just a little tipsy so they wouldn’t complain too much! And so our Easter weekend began.

For the next 3 days we spent a great time chilling out, sleeping in, hiking, soaking in the hot springs, BBQing and maybe raising a glass to our luck and fortune on this fair Easter weekend. The weather was A-MA-ZING! We hiked a wonderful 10km along the shores of frozen Alces & Whiteswan lakes on the Friday and another hike directly up a ski hill to the most spectacular lookout on Saturday. It was pretty hard going on the way up but thanks to a couple of emergency blankets found in Amos’ pack it was a pretty swift and amusing ride back down! Who says you need a toboggan to toboggan??! Pah!

It was here we encountered the bad-assed Ptarmigan. Seemingly sweet and cute at first glance it came over to say hello and didn’t seem particularly scared of 4 humans taking photos. It even seemed charming when it started following us along the trail a little. But then the demon set in and no matter how quickly we walked it followed with a look in it’s eyes that said it wanted blood, more specifically from the ankle region of Amos’ leg….I admit we might have started running in terror at one point. It took a full kilometer to shake the darn thing off and we spent the rest of the hike down the hill glancing over our shoulders in fear.

Thanks to M&D for arranging our accommodation, Krystina and Amos for the great company and the Honey Badger for a weekend full of laughs (unfortunately it’s certainly a ‘had to be there’ moment but feel free to watch this you tube video. You will probably need to be on at least your sixth margarita and have a severe case of the giggles to appreciate this, but then….the honey badger don’t care….and so neither will I!)