Color Me Rad 5k

Saturday morning was Color Me Rad - a 5k run where coloured cornstarch and water is .. splattered? on you. The point is to wear white at the start, and end up being completely covered in a rainbow of colours.

Me and M before the race. All nice and clean!

 I couldn't find a white shirt, so R very sweetly lent me one of his..

A fire extinguisher of orange stuff at the start line.

 Busy start line. People were stoked to be neon-coloured soon!

Feet & colour packs.

 At about 4.5 km, they give out a pack of colour to everyone.

Finish line! And the purple cloud just before..

Me.. at the end (with a creepy hand??)

 I was pretty clean looking, compared to some people.

Colour toss!

Every few minutes there's an annoucement, and people tossed up the colour.. Pretty cool looking.

Insta-update

It's been a while since I've blogged. I don't really have any desire to update with a long post, since I am most definitely not a writer. However, some photos that I've taken are kind of cool, so.. that's what's going up.

Home made blueberry pies and tea at R's grandparents.

Fireworks at R's birthday in July

Beautiful reflections in False Creek

Windmills near Tumbler Ridge

Flying home from the Peace in August

Borrowed lens on a beautiful camera.

Trip over the new Port Mann!

And more of the Port Mann

Cloud bank leaving Vancouver for the Peace, again.

Sunset at Iona beach

Monday night bike ride!

Fall sunrise and sun flare

That's a quick life update. I'll try and post some photos from our long hike this summer sometime, too.

Work, work, work, all day long

Exciting update to my previous "should i stay or should i go now" post..

After some wicked "get laid off, don't quit" advice from my parents (seriously. they're fantastic!) I decided to wait it out, see what was going to happen with me saying no to the scary winter work, and see if I could infact, get laid off. Not that getting laid off and having no work is a really ideal situation, but at least that way I can claim EI. Woohoo.

I had a meeting with one of the important people last week, and basically she said that they kind of figured that I wouldn't be comfortable with the work, and that was fine. (Quite thankful for this - means a good reference. I think that being too wimpy to do something is way better than being ballsy and sucking at it/getting hurt.) Unfortunately, given that we're biologists, winter is pretty slow in the office.. so, they'll give me work when they can, and when they have nothing left, they'll get me my ROE, so I can go on the aforementioned EI.

I'm fine with this; obviously I kind of want to leave the company anyways, so she said to let them know if I find anything else, and if not, we'll see about the spring. Work out well for me, other than not having nice paycheques. Oh well. I worked one day last week, and two this week, and then ran out of work.. I had two days off where I spent time with R and went for brunch with some friends, finally got some more Christmas shopping done, and then came home to an email today asking me to come in tomorrow. As much as it kinda sucks to not really know when I'm working next, having some "me" time is really nice.

So. That's where I currently stand. Somewhat, but not really employed. Good reference. Here's hoping that in this time that I have off, I'll be able to find a wicked job in early spring, and go back to having real money.

The list - update

Now that I've turned 23, I have less than 2 years to finish the rest of the list. Here's a quick update of where I am. 

1. Start a blog, and update weekly (not sure when I can cross this off though?) I have 2 now, so I figure this is done.
2. Get my Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh award
3. Go skydiving or bungee jumping.
4. Go to Nicaragua or Ecuador (or anywhere international) to volunteer.
5. Hike the West Coast Trail
6. Get married. (Part way there! Less than 10 months to go)
7. Take a cooking class.
8. Get a dog. (I really hope this becomes possible.)
9. Take a photography course. (I have a groupon for one, so sometime in the fall with my sister!)
10. Go to NYC.
11. Get a drastic haircut.
12. Learn Italian (because two other Latin languages are just not enough) (I started this already)
13. Go skinny dipping. No idea why I've never done this.
14. Be comfortable with my body in a bikini.
15. Become a BIT, or preferably, an RPBio.  (As of the beginning of July, I'm a BIT!)
16. Read a Jane Austen book (preferably Sense and Sensibility ;) ) (Took six months or something...)
17. Learn how to decorate cakes/take a cake decorating class. (This fall?)
18. Hike to the Lions.
19. Canoe/kayak the Bowron Lakes chain.
20. Go to a spa (this probably doesn't seem like much.. but it's me).
21. Sell some of my photos (I'm trying, I really am.. )  Counting this as done - I got a photo in a book, and two copies of it.
22. Start dragonboating again.
23. Go on a trip with the group (Disneyland?)
24. Try a yoga class.
25. Buy a Mac. (This isn't happening. I can't justify the cost of a Mac compared to a new PC laptop)
26. Do a chinup (R's suggestion)

Looks like I've still got a lot of work to do in the next two years... 

#15

I can finally take #15 off the list. I am not able to become an RPBio before I turn 25, however, last week my mom sent me an email that said that I am now a BIT, or biologist in training.

Go me.

I think that's 3 down, 22 to go!

#21

Last night I got an email from an author I met this summer, who was revising his book "Hiking the Gulf Islands: An Outdoor Guide to BC's Enchanted Isles."

He told me that a photo of Pebble Beach on Galiano Island that I had taken over the summer working for NCC was being considered for the book. Although I am not being paid for the use of the photo in the book, I am receiving a complimentary copy.

Therefore, I am crossing #21 off the list.

One down. 24 to go.

Measurements

Measurement #2:
Hips: 40"
Belly: 34"
Waist: 26"
Chest: 35"

Definitely need to actually go to the gym and stuff.. I only made it twice since January 1, and I've only done a few small workouts at home.

Horoscopes

While I do read horoscopes on occasion and once in a while I feel like they have actually gone along with something in my day, I do not read them daily, or normally care about them.

That said, there are somethings about astrology that just fits for me. Virgo characteristics have been known to describe me well.

From the Edmonton Sun (thanks, S) my lucky dates for 2011 are:

January 21, 22, 23
February 18, 19, 20
March 17, 18, 19
April 14, 15, 16
May 11, 12, 13
June 7, 8, 9
July 5, 6, 7
August 1, 2, 3, 28, 29, 30
September 25, 26, 27
October 22, 23, 24
November 18, 19, 20, 21
December 16, 17, 18

If anything interesting happens on these dates, I will try and post. So far, I think I have plans involving R on one date in January, and all 3 in February. :)

25 x 25 List

I only started writing the most current edition of this list the day I started this blog. So here it is, a few weeks later!

25 by 25. The list:

1. Start a blog, and update weekly (not sure when I can cross this off though?)
2. Get my Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh award
3. Go skydiving or bungee jumping.
4. Go to Nicaragua or Ecuador (or anywhere international) to volunteer.
5. Hike the West Coast Trail
6. Get married.
7. Take a cooking class.
8. Get a dog. (I really hope this becomes possible.)
9. Take a photography course.
10. Go to NYC.
11. Get a drastic haircut.
12. Learn Italian (because two other Latin languages are just not enough)
13. Go skinny dipping. No idea why I've never done this.
14. Be comfortable with my body in a bikini.
15. Become a BIT, or preferably, an RPBio.
16. Read a Jane Austen book (preferably Sense and Sensibility ;) )
17. Learn how to decorate cakes/take a cake decorating class.
18. Hike to the Lions.
19. Canoe/kayak the Bowron Lakes chain.
20. Go to a spa (this probably doesn't seem like much.. but it's me).
21. Sell some of my photos (I'm trying, I really am.. )
22. Start dragonboating again.
23. Go on a trip with the group (Disneyland?)
24. Try a yoga class.
25. Buy a Mac.
26. Do a chinup (R's suggestion)

Hopefully I'll be able to start crossing some of these things off! :)

New Year's "Resolutions"

Happy New Year!

Last night was a friend's birthday party, so I made almond cupcakes and then R and I iced them with a plaid design. I'm pretty sure we're crazy, but it feels good to make use of some of my Christmas presents.

A whole plate of plaid cupcakes!

Close up of a cupcake

 Now that I have most of the tools needed to create amazing cake and cupcake designs (at least in theory..), I plan on documenting my learning. If I get a chance, I will take a cake decorating class as well. Maybe I'll also learn how to take decent photos of food.

Along with wanting to eat healthier this year (as always after the holidays!), I also want to measure myself twice a month, and post it here. Hopefully putting it somewhere where the entire world could potentially see it will be somewhat motivating.

Starting measurements:
Hips: 41"
Belly: 34"
Waist: 26"
Chest: 35"

A quick breakdown of the resolutions for the year:
-eat healthier
-workout, and post results every two weeks
-learn to take better pictures
-learn more about cake decorating