pictures, pictures everywhere!

though we still DO NOT have internet at home I have other means and decided that a picture update was necessary. So at long last I am updating you in picture form. You will find pictures from the church women's retreat, from our wonderful visit from Dave & Majell and the awesome pirate party we attended. Hope you enjoy. Beware, lots of pictures lie ahead...

Women's Retreat, Dave & Majell, Pirate Party...

no internets

We still don't have the internets at home even though it was supposed to be set up on Friday. No big deal, this is how customer service goes in Canada. We have spent countless hours on the phone with Rogers and just want our stinkin internet. Derek of course wants it for school and academic purposes but I just want to post some pictures and be able to email pictures to my friends. Also the convenience of being able to look up driving directions as we are heading out the door or movie times, etc. Officially fed up! But the good news is that it will be set up Wednesday (so they say) and we get a month of internet for free. haha! Suckers!

Just some update-ness

We have not had internet at home for over a week now and therefore I have not been able to post any pictures of what has been going on. So I have decided to give you a brief update anyway and maybe I will post some pics once we have our internet set up this weekend.

A couple weekends ago Derek and I drove to Portland and had an amazing time with family, shopping, seeing friends and going to Derek's step-brother's wedding. It was just a really nice time and felt refreshing to be back in Portland for a little trip.

Last weekend was our church Women's retreat up at Whistler. It was just Friday through Saturday but it was a really nice time. It was pretty low-key with lots of down time and hanging out. About 25 women from the church were able to go. I drove up with my friend Grace which was great because it had been a while since we had some one-on-one time. The retreat consisted of wine, food, hot tub, truth or dare, sleep, worship, small groups and making bookmarks. All in all, a wonderful getaway.

This coming weekend we are going to go to Taming of the Shrew at the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival with our friends Ryan and Elizabeth. Very much looking forward to this as this has been on my "Vancouver to do" list since we moved here!

And we just found out that our friends Dave & Majell might be coming to visit us next week and I could not be more excited about this!!!!!!!

proud

Derek and I are proud to announce our new little babe! The Canon PowerShot SD 900. 10 Mega Pixels, 3x optical zoom, 2.5 inch screen! This was a gift from Derek's dad for completing his Master's degree and it is our new pride and joy. Derek has scoured the manual and learned about all the cool features and everything we can do with this little hand held camera. As you know, we are always pictures. In fact, we were out last week and someone asked my friend Shannon if she brought her camera with her, she pointed and me and said "yep!". Since we don't want to miss out or forget anything, the camera is a big part of our life. And this one is amazing and fits in the palm of your hand.

Derek went out for a photo shoot yesterday...so you can see his handy work and the amazing pics our new camera can take.

dirty laundry

We all have our own little routine when it comes to doing laundry.And more specifically loading the washing machine. When I enter the laundry room, I select my cycle and water temp and immediately start filling the empty wash tub. From there I sort my clothes, put them in the washer and then put the soap in an close the lid. However, if you look at the instructions of my washing machine it tells you to 1. add the soap 2. put the clothes in 3. start the water. And still there are even more ways of doing laundry than this. But I ask...Is one way better than the other? Does one routine actually get the clothes cleaner? Should you soak the clothes in the water before actually beginning the cycle? Does it really matter at all?

What do you do? What do you think??

And I don't even know about the front loading machines...that's another story I guess.

changes

Thing are changing, I can feel it in the air, I can feel it everywhere I go. We've been quite comfortable in Vancouver for the past 2 1/2 years but things must always come to an end and things must always change. Which isn't bad, just different. The first of our "group" of friends is moving away at the end of April, this is a tough reality but a good thing for them. They will leave Vancouver, after almost 3 years, with a Masters degree, a baby, and a great new job. Crazy how things change so much. A couple of my friends are pregnant, which is weird, because when we all moved here we were just newly weds and kids seemed so far away for each of our couple friends. Things change, people grow, time passes. Derek will finish his degree at the end of April. The cherry on the sundae that we have been building over the past years. What an accomplishment, what success! The next big adventure is calling our name. It's looking like we will take on and conquer yet another country, it's a dream really. Although surreal. Can't believe how much has changed.

Spring?

When I walked outside today to go for a run, I couldn't help but smile as I felt the warm sun on my face. It was absolutely gorgeous outside all day. Is it Spring time already? Or are we just being spoiled for a day and then the rain will fall hard yet again? I guess we'll see.....

weekend O sports

I can proudly say that I was routing for the Colts to take Super Bowl XLI and I can proudly say that I am a Peyton Manning fan! Despite the rain and the fact that the Bears ran back the opening kick-off 92 yards for a touchdown...it didn't slow down Indianapolis. GO COLTS! We had a great time at Lucas and Shannon's Super Bowl party with good friends, good food, and good booze. And eventhough Derek and I didn't have much backupcheering for the Colts, we still came out on top! So that is how the weekend ended. On Saturday night we went to a UBC (University of British Columbia) Men's Volleyball game where Levi's brother, Ian, and the Thunderbirds beat Trinity Western in the 5th set. It was an awesome game and, I admit, I think it was the first time I had ever been to a Men's Volleyball game. Now I can't say that I got up early Sunday morning to watch a Soccer match, but my husband will gladly consent to that. It was a sports weekend extravaganza and I have the pictured to prove it all.

Watching the v-ball game

Go team!

Super Bowl XLI - Bears vs. Colts

I made the sign...and it got a little overused during the game

friends
more friends

So the other day when I was posting about free stuff and my thoughts there, little did I know that it would pay off. I played the radio game, I earned me some points and I decided to go ahead and bid on some things. Last Friday night when we came home from a friends bday party there was an email saying that I was the highest bidder!!! I won a stinkin Ski Getaway to Mount Washington. Including 2 nights accommodation, 4 lift tickets, 4 meals and ferry costs. So Derek and I get to go on a free holiday to the island to ski and sit by a fire and drink hot cocoa. Sounds heavenly right?? I am going to go pick up the prize on Friday and we will then decide what weekend we can go. Hopefully real soon!

In other news, my friend, Chad, had a very big birthday and turned the ripe old age of 30 (he might kill me for posting this). He had a huge bday bash and we had tons of fun. I posted a few pics below.

On another not-so-fun note, I have been sick :( The doc thinks I have a bladder infection, the jury is still out on that one. They will get back to me tomorrow. Hopefully that's all it is and there isn't anything else wrong with me. I do feel quite crummy though. Infections throw your whole body off for sure. I am back at work today though after missing the last day and a half. But I won't lie, it hurts to sit and I wish I was in bed.

Enjoy the pics....

Charlie came too!

The boys hanging out...the big Hockey game was on TV

Momma Jess and her sweet baby boy

Fun times!!!

thoughts on free stuff

Lately I have been faced with the option of getting something for free or at least the possibility of it. "Free" is a weird thing and I realize that people will pretty much do anything to get free stuff.

Yesterday I had the chance to go to a meeting at UBC where they were going to have a drawing for a few different prizes. A night at a fancy hotel, free airline tickets, great prizes indeed! Unfortunately I could not go, but the only reason I was even thinking about attending this meeting was because of the possibility that I might get something for free.

Today I went to a Grad Secretaries appreciation lunch where, if you attended, you not only received free lunch, but a free door prize as well. The door prize I got was a chocolate bar, not very exciting but free nonetheless on top of my already free food!

I always listen to the same radio station here in Vancouver when I am at work or when I am in the car. They are always having contests or giving away prizes. For the past few weeks they have been doing a contest where you if hear certain words on the radio, you go onto their website, enter the word and you slowly accumulate points through the code words and various other ways. Then every week or so they run an auction and you can bid your points to win free stuff. Sounds fun and easy enough, right? People in this city have become absolutely obsessed with it! I admit I am one of them, but not in the same way as some of these people. I fortunately found this online forum where people post all the code words and all the other things that get you points so I don't have to sit and listen to the radio all day long. Instead I just read through the forum, find the words and enter them online. Easy enough for me. But these people on this forum sit ALL day and listen to the radio, waiting for their chance to earn points just so they can maybe get something for free. Maybe. They post on the forum all day long about the unfairness of it all and how some people have more points than others and they just whine and moan about something that they are doing by their own free will to win prizes that they don't have to pay a dime for. It amazes me really how much they can complain and bicker about it all.

FREE can be a dangerous thing I am realizing. And really, when is free ever really free?

The internet at home has been incredibly turtle like. I swear it has been slower than dial-up (remember dial-up?). It's funny how quickly we get used to new technology and how it seems as though we could never go back to the way it was. I admit, I have been feeling that way about our internet connection. It has been unbearably slow. Things like checking my email that should take maybe 30 seconds are taking 5 minutes. I wonder how long it will take me to actually post this blog.

Yesterday was my flex day (I had the day off) so I slept in, got a good 8 hours and when I woke up, I looked out the window and saw this:Crazy Vancouver weather! About 3 days ago it was in the upper 50s here and then snow! Of course it all melted by about mid-day but it was fun while it lasted.

Derek and I had to run some errands in the States so late yesterday morning we made the journey southward to Bellingham. The border wait on the way down was about 30 minutes, not too bad. In b-ham we went to the bank, bought beer at Fred Meyer, went to Target (of course) and then to a book store. The border wait on the way home was non existent which was wonderful. Our whole trip there and back was exactly 5 hours. Record time I'd say. It will probably be our last visit to the states for a while. We are ready to stay put in Vancouver for a good chunk of time.

Last night we had a wonderful dinner with some close friends who we haven't seen in a while and found out they are going to have a baby! How exciting! Just as one friend is about ready to pop I find out another has one on the way. Tonight we are going to a party where we will get to see all our friends again, most for the first time in 2007. I am excited to hear about everyones holidays and see all my wonderful friends again. I miss them. And my one friend will get to tell everyone that she's expecting. It's going to be a great night. Pictures to come I am sure.