An enjoyable weekend, yes indeed.
World famous lasagna:
Good times with good people:
A Halifax tradition:
Today, playing in what was left of the rapidly melting snow:
Category Archives: Photo-heavy
Parade of Lights in downtown Halifax
Tonight we ate an early dinner and then headed out right at 5 pm with a good friend of ours and his kids so we could catch the Halifax Parade of Lights which is essentially a Christmas parade. It’s filled with floats, marching bands, majorettes (I *love* majorettes, I always wanted to be one when I was a kid!), and of course the Big Guy, Santa Claus.
It was a great night for our first parade in Halifax. It wasn’t too cold, just comfortable for the most part. I was a little chilly by the end of the parade but overall it was very nice. There was one “huh?!” moment though. They had a float sponsored by one of the fitness places go by and they were pole dancing. I’m no prude whatsoever, believe me, but pole dancing in a parade for kids and families? Really?!
The kids had a blast. They sat with their friends on the curb and watched everything go by. Hayley got a candy cane from one of the floats and Breanna got a hug from Cookie Monster, so all was good. And much to my amusement and glee there was a Stormtrooper doing the Running Man. That just pretty much filled me with joy.
And much joy was also had courtesy of the Grinch and Kermit the Frog, consecutively.
Also, every once in awhile I see a person on the street that makes me wish I could get over my shyness and just go up and ask them if I could schedule a whole photo shoot with them. This Native American girl in a Mic’Maq float was one of them. She was just so photogenic and beautiful that I would love to spend an hour taking pictures of her. And the man in the amazing traditional costume behind her for that matter.
Next week there will the the lighting of the big tree downtown and I’m not sure if we’ll go or not; they figure that about 100,000 people showed up for the parade, and I can’t imagine a large crowd showing up in one small park for a tree lighting, but we’ll see. In the meantime I had a lot of fun tonight and took almost 200 pictures. Good times! 🙂
You can see the rest of them over here.
Great three-day weekend
As I already mentioned, on Friday the 11th I was off but I did crazy things outside in the rain all in the name of good fun and a healthy little challenge. Then, as implied yesterday, our Saturday included a nice family movie and some good times with family and friends when George’s cousin and his girlfriend came over.
There were other things this weekend though, and having three days just made it all the more awesome. Saturday was chilly but sunny and so we headed out to Sanford Fleming Park, also known as The Dingle. It was spectacular out there and I’m not surprised to learn that houses out there cost roughly half a million, if not more.
This would be one of the extremely expensive rich-people houses. I don’t even like it, the architecture just isn’t me:
It was really beautiful there though. Lots of trails, plenty of people walking dogs, a couple of small beaches, and a play park for the kids.
We were pretty cold by the time we left to come home but we had a great time and would like to go back again. Preferably in warm weather.
Today, Sunday, I took the kids to the park where I did some more Tabata (outdoors is even more fun!) and then I played with then on the slides and climbing structures. This is one good reason to exercise – having energy to just play!
How was your weekend?
Labour Day Weekend
I must say that I love that even though I’m still quite new at work I get a (paid) day off on holidays. Rather nice! With it being Labour Day weekend, it was especially nice to enjoy a three-day weekend since we don’t know how much longer we have before the cold air starts to settle in. The days have already become much noticeably shorter so it’s good to enjoy whatever is left!
Friday saw us just relaxing after I got home but on Saturday one of George’s cousins and his girlfriend came by for dinner so we had a good evening just hanging out at home with them. On Sunday we had to brave the crowds at Walmart – there are about 400,000 people in Halifax and a large number of them were at Walmart, gah! – to pick up some stuff for the kids to start school.
What’s especially handy is that we didn’t even have to buy school supplies this year. Our school just asks for a (reasonable!) fee and they supply the kids with everything they need. Could we have saved a bit of money getting stuff ourselves? Oh, maybe. However, it’s worth it to not have to hunt down specific type of notebook or folder right down to the serial number.
After we got what we needed, which included getting each of them a backpack, (and they came with a matching lunch bag, pencil case, and water bottle), a new pair of running shoes, and a first day outfit (it’s strange to not have to do uniforms!), we headed downtown and wandered along the waterfront for a little over an hour. We stopped for lunch, checked out the boats, and the kids played at the playground to burn off steam.
More photos below! Continue reading
Life near the ocean
Recently our good friends Dino, Nancy, and their daughter all came out to Halifax for their vacation time and we had such a great time. Obviously I couldn’t be around all the time because of when I started work but it was okay and I got to spend evenings with them. Two particularly fun times were Natal Day (August 1st), and the following Saturday, August 6th. We all headed out to Crystal Crescent Beach and having never been there either, I really didn’t know what to expect. Let me put it this way: Lawrencetown Beach was my number one favorite ocean spot for years, but it has now been bumped down to the second place slot. Crystal Crescent is stupidly gorgeous. The first time we went it was foggy and it was STILL amazing. Then we went back the second time and it was clear, and it was even more beautiful.
The real reason that we moved to Halifax was to have better opportunities, a fresh start, and a good future for our family of four. However, I often joke that I moved here for the ocean. It’s not too hard to believe that though, is it?
It also makes yoga feel that much more fun (and considering my love of yoga, that’s saying something!).
It’s within such a short driving distance that it’s almost ridiculous. This beach definitely falls into the category of, “Do I really LIVE here?! Seriously?”
I can’t wait to go back.
Pre-work vacation time
I don’t think I had mentioned this before; perhaps I didn’t even know for sure yet when I last posted (I know, it’s been awhile). I had my final interview for my job and I got the call about a week or so later with the official offer. I’m so relieved to have secured the job! I had a really good feeling after each interview but it was still nerve-wracking to not know for sure. I’ll be starting this coming Friday (I’m assuming it starts with an orientation since it’s a Friday, plus we have a long weekend after that), and I’m alternating between feeling nervous and really excited. Due to the fact that I’ve seen more than one person get royally screwed because they talk about work on the internet (I don’t want to be “dooced” thanks very much!), no I can’t say where I’m working or what I’m specifically doing. I will say that I’m dealing with clients and that’s as far as my description goes. I’m going to rock at it though!
Anyway, since I’ll soon be back in the work force full time, I’ve been spending this last little bit of time just taking it easy and enjoying my time off as though I’m on vacation. I can’t remember everything but a wee summary is something I can do.
I had a small group of people over for my birthday the Saturday after my actual big day. I realized it was the first time in over a decade that I’d had a party of sorts for myself. Our apartment just wasn’t conducive to gatherings other than for the kids’ birthdays but this house sure is! I also had my sister, her husband, and my niece (!) over twice since moving in. I can’t even say how nice that is.
The kids met their cousin who is visiting from Toronto and he ended up having a sleepover here. He was over because we had all gone down to the harbour for the jazz fest. We ended up skipping the music since it was all super expensive but we had a nice time going out for a beer downtown anyway.
It was completely surreal to wander along the waterfront and realize that we LIVE here now; it wasn’t just a visit. Surreal, yet amazing.
Settling in (a virtual house tour!)
Boy it’s been awhile since I updated, hasn’t it? Then again I think it’s easy to understand why, what with moving two provinces over and all. I can’t possibly catch you up on everything that’s happened since we loaded up our moving truck but I can at least show you around our home, at least as far as we’ve set it up.
We actually had the living room more or less done the day after we unloaded the truck, the dining room was set up immediately afterwards, and the kitchen was the first room that I fully unpacked. The bedrooms came along next, then George started setting up his music room. The rec room is only partially done right now because we have a lot of boxes down there to go through, including some that are full of things that seemed important to pack but now don’t seem to fit in with our new home. In fact, we brought our big wall unit from the apartment specifically because I really loved it and right now it’s being stored in our shed because it just isn’t being needed after all. We did, however, at least set up a futon and a second television for the kids to use down there and I’ll start unpacking some of their toys and organizing those over the course of this week.
Ready for a tour? Here we go! The living room from a variety of angles. It’s a huge room and I LOVE it. Just a quick move of the coffee table and I’ve got plenty of space for yoga.
There are quite a lot of pictures, let’s keep going. Continue reading
Easter by the hour
Andrea over at The Fishbowl issued a challenge to show your Easter hour by hour. I took the first photo when we woke up (first photo snapped at 8:30 since we got a bit of a late start; Hayley did wake me up at 5:45 but I told her that was a bit ridiculous). After the first one, each subsequent photo will be taken at the top of the hour. I have my iPod alarm set to remind me and when it goes off I’ll take a picture of whatever I’m doing at the time.
I won’t be able to update here every hour of course, but check back periodically and you can see when I’ve added anything new. Happy Easter all! I hope you enjoy our day with us.
8:30 am – The Easter bunny ate half his carrot, drank a bit of water, and took the drawing Breanna made for him:
9:00 am – I got out the mugs and the sugar for coffee:
10:00 am – Watching a movie together:
11:00 am – Taking Winnie out for some fresh air:
12:00 pm – Choosing what to wear for Easter dinner:
1:00 pm – Finally getting myself ready after getting the kids dressed and coiffed:
2:00 pm – Over at the in-laws’ house for Easter; the kids played with some new Polly Pocket toys:
3:00 pm – Water was much-needed after having a chocolate martini before dinner:
4:00 pm – A glass of wine to go with Easter dinner:
5:00 pm – After a second helping, plate cleared, still lounging at the table before dessert:
6:00 pm – This scarf came with Hayley’s new outfit but I think I might steal it sometimes:
7:00 pm – The kids asked their aunt for a bath. Breanna didn’t want her hair washed but Hayley did. She’s not in pain here, but the brush attached to the hair dryer was tickling her neck:
8:00 pm – Home again! Peeling apples for a healthy snack after the chocolate rush:
9:00 pm – That’s all folks!
Check out the full Easter Sunday set over here!
Creating fun in the snow
As I’ve mentioned once or twice (or 853 times) in the past, I’m not a big fan of winter. I’m not fond of the staggering oppression of the humidity in the dead of summer here in Montreal either, but right now it’s winter that is dragging on. Admittedly the season wasn’t too bad for quite some time. While snow buried areas to the west, the east, and all across the states, we barely had snow at all throughout most of January.
Then it’s like someone woke up and said, “oh right, winter in Montreal!” and threw a ton of snow at us over the past week or so. It still hasn’t been all that bad but it just seemed like it was coming down non-stop for awhile.
It would be easy for me to sit around and grumble about how much I want it all to melt and how fed up I am now of snow, but it doesn’t really do much good in the end. Regardless of how I feel about it, it’s still going to be there and I still need to go out in it. The only way to survive winter with your sanity intact is to try to enjoy it as much as you possibly can.
Last weekend we went out with our friends on a Saturday night to see some fireworks at a Winterfest that we had heard about. It was a bit chilly but not too bad and we enjoyed some pretty sights and hot chocolate.
Just as we were leaving the snow started coming down; while we visited with our friends at their place it turned into a raging blizzard and the roads were pretty nuts when we headed home at midnight. The upside to all the snow was that it provided further opportunities for winter fun.
For instance, once they plowed the parking lots, we were left with several large, high mounds of snow which provided a fun spot for sledding mere steps from our door.
Meanwhile the park is all but hidden under all the snow which doesn’t make for great walking (ah, if only I had snowshoes!) but it was great fun for a bounding Border Collie mix.
As for me, well… in the words of Tara Stiles you can do “yoga anywhere”. Even up on top of a great big mound of snow.
(The heavy winter boots and multiple layers sure do make balancing a whole new challenge though!)
So I’m trying. Still. How long until spring? I want to enjoy some mild weather before I start grumbling about the humidex.
(More photos over here)
So long 2010, hello 2011!
I can’t believe it’s the last day of 2010 and that as of midnight we’re in a whole new year. Time really does go by faster the older you get I guess. I thought I’d post a random photo from each month.
January 2010 – A little sledding.
February 2010 – I confess to having a bit of a yoga addiction.
March 2010 – An epically delicious meal in Chinatown where four of us ordered so much food the man at the table next to us asked if we were perhaps expecting some more friends to show up (no, we were just very hungry).
April 2010 – I spent some time contemplating the meaning of life while standing on my head (and have never been able to do it successfully ever since). We also bought a minivan and there is no going back.
May 2010 – Thanks to Doctors Without Borders, I spent a morning as a refugee in a camp that was set up in a local park.
June 2010 – I enjoyed an evening out with the PPO ladies at a local restaurant where I ate some of the best food I’ve ever tasted.
July 2010 – Spent a lot of time swimming, both with friends and at the nearby public pool.
August 2010 – Single best thing about August? Heading to Halifax.
September 2010 – It got so stupidly hot in Halifax that I actually willingly leaped into the chilly northern Atlantic Ocean. We also survived Hurricane Earl. Then Hayley turned eight.
October 2010 – We brought sweet little Winnie into the family.
November 2010 – Breanna turned five.
December 2010 – Best Christmas so far.
I usually do resolutions but I’ve found something even better this time around. Thanks to my yoga practice I’ve learned new things and new ways of looking at things. Instead of making a resolution I’m going to do a very yogic thing instead and make an intention.
My intention for 2011 is to find as much joy and happiness as I can each and every day. Not every day of a full year is going to be great; it would be unrealistic to expect that. Some days there will be kids acting up, a stupid argument, a stranger being an asshole to you, or you just might have a really bad cold and feel like crap.
Still, every day can have at least one moment of joy, no matter how small. It might be as obvious as having a fabulous day with good friends. It might be as easy-to-miss as having half an hour of silence to read on the couch. But those moments are all there and my intention is to try to find at least one for each day. I’m not going to commit to writing about them but maybe from time to time I can post something about it. Mostly though, this is something just for myself to create a habit of seeing something good no matter what else is going on. I’m one of those obnoxious hopeless optimists anyway so this should be good for me.
Happy new year to all of you; may 2011 bring you everything you want in life!