It's so pink, it burns.

I decided to spend New Year's Day starting a job I've been longing to start since before I moved here. Tearing down ugly wood paneling. For those of you who didn't have the privilege of visiting before...


Just so you understand. The entire upstairs, with the exception of one wall in the living room, the kitchen and the bathroom was covered in wood paneling. But! No more. I started with the hallway. which was time consuming, as there were lots of little sections and trim to remove. But what a difference. The walls are white, and opened up the tiny little hallway so much. Once that was done, I started to tackle the kitchen/dining room. We could tell from a couple of places where the paneling was pulling away from the wall that it was pink under there. But neither of us were prepared with how pink. It's Pepto Pink, and burns my retinas when the morning sun shines in.


But again, it has opened the space up so much, it blows my mind. I'm super excited to fix up the walls, and start painting.

You might still be a city girl if...

1) You think your house should have curb appeal instead of road appeal.
2) Your first inclination is to walk to the neighbours. Not because you need the exercise, or want to save fuel, but so you don't have to find a parking spot.
3) You pace the produce aisle, longing for good fresh fruit and veggies, hoping you never forget what it really means.
4) You close your living room blinds at 6:30 in the morning, so that passing traffic doesn't see you doing your pilates. The cows might laugh at me!
5) You forget that you don't have cell service in most places in your house, and lose what precious bars you do have every time you touch your phone. For real. We only get minimal service at the far east side of our house. We literally have to lay with our heads on the head board under the window to get just 2 bars for any amount of time. For better luck, put it on speaker mode and DON'T touch it. 96% coverage in the province my behind.

Candy Happy, Happy Candy

'Tis the season for sugar highs.

Just another day in paradise

My northern prairie paradise. It's another gorgeous fall day at home. Oh yeah... I'm home, been since Tuesday. Thanks to some unseasonably warm October weather, I haven't had a tough time adjusting since returning from Hawaii.

I had a wonderful visit with my friend and her husband. We did lots of driving, shopping, a little touristy stuff and some beach time. Not as much as I had wanted, on account of sunburning the bottom half of my legs. I was so diligent in applying and reapplying sunscreen to every part of my body, except that part of my legs, and therefore burned them. Thankfully not badly, so they quickly turned to a tan. But really. I should know better.

Highlights:
1 - 5 days of visiting. That was the best part of the trip.
2 - the scenery. I can definitely see why so many people go there for holidays and honeymoons. The water is incredible, the weather is perfect, and the beaches are great.
3 - Swap meet shopping. If you're going to Honolulu. Skip the expensive souvenirs at Waikiki, and head to the swap meet every Wed, Sat and Sun from 8-3 (unless there is a football game). Gifty stuff is like 50-75% cheaper there, and the people bargain, and are way more friendly.
4 - submarine tour. it was really neat. We went up to 110ft below the water, and saw all sorts of fish, turtles, barracudas and wreckage. Definitely worth it, though way more fun to go with someone else.
5 - The North Shore - home of Oahu surfers, pineapple fields (though not so much any more...) and Matsumoto Shave Ice. yum yum.
For the first time in a really, really long time. I got homesick. I'm glad to be home again.

2008, what travels do you hold?

It's been a while since I've gone anywhere, that required an update. Wait. I lied. I've been lots of places, but haven't taken the time to write about them. Ok, I lied again. I've been spending quite a bit of time in one place really. You see, this rambling traveler has found herself a boyfriend. A good-looking, cattle-farming cowboy one at that. Now, most of you that read this blog, know that already. For those of you that don't, if you look at my travel list, you'll find Park Valley (PV) listed on it; my cowboy lives there. This farming community northwest of Prince Albert SK, is a place I've visited since I was just a baby. I've always loved going to PV; it's surrounded by trees, a few rolling hills, quiet, hearty home cooking, family and always tremendous fun. Well... now I more reasons to love going there. So, if my stories in 2008 revolve around this magical place, you'll know why.

Take last weekend. I was one of 3 people in charge of planning our youth group activities for January. I managed to convince (or at the very least suggest to) the other planning partner(s) that we needed to go up to PV for winter fun because they have way more snow and open spaces than we have in the city. Though the Saskatoon group was small, a good group of youth from Big River and North Battleford joined us for a sleigh ride, dizzy bat* and good, ol' country hospitality. For your viewing pleasure, I have attached pictures and videos. It was a great day, and I think everyone had a good time.

Run!

Now, now boys, throw nicely.

Superman!

What does the rest of this year hold? Well. I'm in Toronto right now, for a couple of days. California in March, Singapore in April, hoping for the BC coast in June, PV as often as possible, and who knows what else. The year is young, and the miles to cover are many. Happy travels in 2008!

*Dizzy bat. Object was to spin around a certain number of times, then try and run towards something. For our purposes, number of spins was 25. Target was candy-filled pinatas. Tears streamed down my face.