SKAHA....HAHAHAHA

So some friends (Heidi and Brian) invited me to go climbing out at skaha in penticton B.C. I LOVE CLIMBING!! I haven't been outdoor climbing in probably two years, so i dusted off the old harness and shoes for the big trip! Here Heidi and Ken are showing off their talent...oh and the yet to be born baby is also getting some action on the rock.

We met this little guy on the rock too!! wow did he rattle, my first ever rattlesnake sighting!
Wait a minute?? this doesn't look like climbing. Its handy i have that big suitcase right close to the wine shop. Ohhhhh yes and wine shopping i did. :) as you can see its rather wet so we were forced to tour the wineries of the okanagan. yummmm guwertzaminner.


Here i am negotiating a roof. this was an awesome climb...yup loved it. Anyone want to go??

The elusive hoo-doos

Nicole and I went for a hike on saturday and it supposedly had some pretty impressive hoo-doos as part of the scenery. If you dont know what hoo-doos are, they look something like this: (note: this is a random picture, we did NOT see these hoo-doos :)

They are kind of like pillars of rock formed by erosion...so anyway, we were supposed to see some on our hike. so we hiked.....
and hiked.....
and hiked....
furthru and furthur we got up hoo-doo creek, which was fun hopping from rock to rock, but we came to the end of the creek where it flowed out of a gorge and no hoo-doos! We tried to climb up a bit, until Nicole did a little slide down the rock face.This rock face to be exact. Just Left of the snow and up about two inches on your screen :) It was quite a fall, so we decided to be safe and turned around. After eating lunch we explored a little bit furthur up the mountain a different way, but only came to more steepness and sheer rock. NO HOO-DOOS!! oh well. we still viewed some beautiful scenery.

This is a view of Abraham Lake.

Ans this is a view of our friend we met on the highway. Yes i got out of the car to take the picture!! isn't he precious...the cute little mauling deadly black bear.

All in All a great day!

Here is a rundown of my day....

what was and/or will be good:

1. I gave my students a study day, which for the two that showed up, was great, and it meant i didn't have to prepare a whole lot which was also great

2. I got a raise

3. One of my client's gave me an iced coffee as a tip

4. I sat in the park and read my book drinking in the fragrance of white lilacs in the tree above me

5. I enjoyed the sun

6. It's amazing race night! go tyler and BJ!!!

7. I'm going to eat supper soon....this is a very good thing since i am very hungry

8. this just in!!! i just got a phone call and my parents are delivering a starbucks latte directly into my hand....how can my day get any better??

9. i was reading about martin luther king jr. today and realized just how little i know (meaning have experienced) about hate, evil, racism, and really being hurt or hated for no reason. I am glad for this, but also realize that my capacity to forgive hasn't been tested very far. Made me think how i would feel, act, and respond in the shoes of a black person in the southern united states in the 1950's.

10. i got a parking ticket! this maybe isn't such a good thing, but i needed a tenth point to add to my list :)

OTTAWA!! This means TERESA!!! YAY! Look at that babe! Our first day took us to the Gatineau hills. In spring it is right inbetween pretty tree times. No green leaves, no orange or yellow leaves...just branches. We did hear some woodpeckers though and one even pecked on command!

The main parliment builidng taken from Hull. The round structure is the library of congress. we really wanted to tour it, but its still not open. This is the third time i've been to ottawa in three years and it is still undergoing renovations....when it does finally open i'm expecting something spectacular!

We made pasta one day (it took pretty much the whole day) and we found a smiley face in the eggs. That smiley face on the side there was a great find too ;)

Pakenham, Ontario is a quaint sleepy little town. Just outside is a maple sugar bush where they make maple syrup. Here i am waiting for some to drip out. What?? the syrup doesn't come straight from the trees??? No Renae it actually needs to boil for quite a long time so that it can concentrate and get sweet. This means 40 L of sap only makes 1 L of syrup! wow...thats amazing!

Just before heading to the airport we gave barney a haircut! Oh barney..such a good dog. He didn't really like getting cut, but we reassurred him he was much cuter....and he could actually see! maybe i have a future as a groomer. who thinks this is a good idea?? I'm thinking about what to take in school. hmmm. Renae's grooming parlour..i could combine grooming with massage for dogs. haha. then if i just learnt now to give them little pedicures and manicures...wait they only have feet right, so it would only be pedicures. maybe a little doggy facial. yep, divine doggy spa. who's with me?

Every time i come home from a bit of a trip, i have the hardest time getting out of bed to go to work the next day. Its like i've become this lead weight with no motivation for working. i guess my body and brain just like holiday mode too much really. So i am back at work today from a bit of a jaunt to our nations capital, and it's going ok, i managed to drag out of bed....later than i wanted to...but so far the day is not too busy. thing is, i can't help but find myself drifting to where i'm heading next.....

my boys!

Is this not the cutest fish face you've ever seen???? this is dwight. He belongs to me and my friend Nicole, who for lack of anything better to do decided to look at the animals in petland and came out with a fish!

This is Dwights home and his friend Willis. Willis was bought for company, but he's a bit of a bully....probably becuase dwight looks like a bit of a nerd, but geeks are cool so i must teach dwight how to stand up for himself so he gets his share of the meals. These fish are also, for me, a tribute to James, my "miracle" fish who i supposedly did everything wrong with in taking care of him, but he lived!! I'm thinking he is still alive and happy with Richard in New Zealand. Fish are amazingly uplifting pets. they make me happy. doesn't take much....:)

ponderings...

Sometimes you only see how far you've come by observing somebody else in a situation you used to be in. This feels good knowing you've progressed, advance, learned....become more confident, and can be in a place where you can be an example to others because of your experience. hmmmm...this could have Christian life principles written all over it, but i'm referring to pilates. I've been instructing for almost two years and still feel pretty new sometimes, but today i had a lady, just in the process of taking her training, observe my class and all she had was high praise for my skill. This made me feel good (if i'm totally honest) and made me realize maybe i'm not still so "new" as i thought...maybe i have learnt a lot and become a better instructor and maybe am actually helping these women with their fitness in some way! Maybe i'm the best pilates instRUCTOR IN THE WORLD!!!!

....ok i wont go that far, but at least some people like my teaching.