Just A Little Off Kilter....

The other day I was at the mall and I was waving goodbye to someone I knew, but two other people thought I was waving to them, which caused them to wave, too. I felt extraordinarily loved, even though I’m sure the other wavers felt weird after the waving incident, largely because there was a large mirror by the door so they could all see each other’s mistaken wave. I wanted to hug them all and tell them, I've been there, when someone waves and you don’t know if it’s at you and you don’t know what to do...I've been there. I didn't hug them because I knew just having the thought was abnormal, let alone acting on it, but I resolved to go home and write out a few handy tips on how to cover up this awkward occurrence. Here are my top 3 tips on how best to handle the awkward wave... Become the designated waver - Become the type of person that waves at everyone constantly. Now if you are going to be the designated waver you should have fun exploring the art of waving. There

Angels Landing ( Temple of Aeolus) , Zion National Park

Have a great weekend my peoples!

There are things you don’t know about me and I’m quite scared about revealing myself to people (blogging has helped me with this) I've never been one to be very open about who I am. Opening myself up to others is the first step to a whole new world that I’m sure is filled with sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. This blog post is my attempt at letting people know the “real me”. Yep, the real me . Not some fake version of me...although I still believe that I am just a figment of someone’s imagination. So here I am, putting down on this very blog of mine, things that you might not know about me. It’s going to be tough. But you know what, I don’t care that these things may change your perception of me. “This is me… this is who I am,” someone once told me to chant. I hate walking under ladders. Even if it means I have to take the extremely long way around that will take me half way around the world. Uneven stuff. I can’t go past uneven pictures, towels, clothes or any other uneven t

Just so we're on the same page, I'm on page 144.

Dear fellas that work in my office and use the women's washroom even though you have your own, You can see that you've emptied the last roll of toilet paper (see picture 1). This makes me angry (see picture 2). There is almost always a roll or two on top of the lid and it isn't very far away. In fact, while still seated, one can twist at the torso and grab the full roll (see picture 3). Adding a full roll makes me happy and is very much appreciated (see picture 4). Thank you, Jan et

Happy Beard day...I mean Friday!

I know there are no official text etiquette books out there (you know what? There probably are). Anyways, through this specific post I don’t want to be dismissed as a grammar junkie or an uptight editor. Truth is, I understand texting doesn't have to be well structured or contain proper punctuation. I just figured I’d share some texts that one might receive and choose not to respond.  Let’s begin shall we... "K" -  In my opinion, this is the most arrogant, snobby response one can receive via text. OK is two letters, you really couldn't conjure up the strength to move those thumbs and type it out? This is even worse if you receive it after a multi-page message. "ROFLMAO" - I appreciate you thinking my joke was funny but I highly doubt you’re rolling around on the floor laughing at it while your ass falls off...unless you’re an incredible multi-tasker. "So, about last night" - Never a good indicator about what happened the night before. Th

Life is fragile. It would be amazing if we could just handle life with ‘kid gloves’ so that maybe we could lengthen it’s stay. Maybe, if we didn't take it for granted so, extra time would be granted. Precious time. If only. Sadly, that’s just not how life works. Our time here is limited. Borrowed really. Not one living thing is exempt from it’s grasp. Fame.  Wealth.  Power.  Social position. Nothing can keep us from death’s grip. You can’t run from it, avoid it, stop it. Why then, is it so easy for us to forget how easily, quickly, and without warning, death can snatch us, never to return? We walk about our day, usually with little thought to saying good-byes and living in the moment as if it were our last. We get bogged down in minor irritations and declare our day a loss. When in reality, every breath is a reason for celebration. Today, as you go about your day, hug your loved ones a little tighter. Pay attention to their words. Their expressions. Don’t leave words unspo

I've learned...That being with those I love is enough. I've learned...That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person. I've learned...That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day. I've learned...That being kind is more important than being right. I've learned...That you should never say no to a gift from a child. I've learned...That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand. I've learned...That money doesn't buy class. I've learned...That having a baby does not and will not define who I am as a woman. I've learned...That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved. I 've learned....That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you. I've learned...That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am. I'v

It's been an incredibly productive day. I was up early and I've crossed many things off of my very lengthy "To do List". Adam and I ordered Indian for dinner, we caught up on some television. Adam left to pickup/drop off my niece. I was alone. I logged onto Facebook.... Then it happened. Every. Single. Time. that I've logged into Facebook the past few days from my phone (which is how I normally log into Facebook) I've been greeted with the "Total Pregnancy Canada" app in big, bold, bright, can't miss em letters & pictures. Every. Single. Time. I've tried to ignore it and quickly scroll past. Tonight I did not succeed. I stared at that app. It stared back. I burst into hot, angry, snotty tears. Today is 10 dpo. Ten days ago I saw the most positive OPK that I've ever seen. We covered the days leading up to, of and past with gusto.  I was feeling good. I was feeling positive. Then I had that dream , followed by another last n

Happy weekend my peoples!

Stop me from falling Into the same sickening slumber  That always comes  After the sun slips away The nightmares of the past  Come back to haunt me  And wont let me rest  Till my soul is dry and bare  It burns me to my core  And my heart is left in shards  When will I come out of  The cloud of fear that hovers round me  My mind is growing numb  To the whole world I'm in  And all my senses drowned  By memories of what scares me most  I'm feeling particularly raw, emotional and vulnerable lately and perhaps that's why I woke up from an all too real, horrible dream curled into a ball, tears on my face, fists clenched tight. I dreamt that I was pregnant at the same time as a friend. We lived in this fabulous hotel that we shared with some of our closest climbing friends (many of whom I consider family). I was pregnant. I was happy. We were having an event...watching climbing movies in the hotel theater, my pregnant friend and I in bed

This is what the southern tip of Greenland looks like from 35,000 feet but I have to ask...why is Greenland called Greenland and Iceland called Iceland?

When you share your life on the internet, you have no control over who reads about it and how they react. I haven’t always been open about certain parts of my life with people I know in real world. I haven’t shared every aspect of our infertility struggles with some friends, and never discuss my relationship/personal life with my employer. But as soon as I write about any of that on the blog, I lose that privilege of setting limits and leave the door to my small world wide open. Anyone can walk in and snoop, and not everyone is going to be nice. Another fear I’m struggling with is that no one will care about what I have to say. I’m afraid that the post won’t be seen and read. Or it will be ignored. Because I spent time pouring my soul out in a post that might never get noticed. I’m not as much afraid of negative feedback as I’m nervous that there won’t be any feedback at all. I guess, I’m afraid that my writing will be worthless. I understand that I do not have to share every little bi

Ox Roast was this past weekend and although we didn't actually roast Ox, we enjoyed great company, much laughter, cold climbing and amazing food! 1. Rob & I in the boat headed to the cliff 2. Pie, Pies, Pies 3. Caveman TV 4. Posing on "Front of the Pinnacle" 5. Brrr....cold 6. Walrus 7. My tent...my summer home 8. Purple leg warmers...every cool climber needs them 9. Pie eating How was your weekend?

Please forgive me for skipping out on "Funny Face Friday"...I've instead declared this to be "Holland Holiday Pictures Friday". If I didn't share these now I fear that they would end up sharing the same fate as the "New York City Holiday Pictures" and would never see the light of day. Also...jet lag and my return to work has seriously kicked this old woman flat on her ass and this means that my hunt for Funny Face Friday props just didn't happen. But fear not my lovely peoples...every store in this entire city seems to be already filled with Halloween goodness and this excites me very much (more than it should)...Funny Face Friday will be back before you know it. Here are pictures from our first few days in Amsterdam... 1. The streets around our hotel 2. Dam Square 3. The stairs of Doom at our hotel that cracked us up every time we opened the door 4. Leaning building 5. Big brother in law, little car 6. Raadhuisstraat street 7. Wind

As I sit here in front of my computer...I'm longing to be back on holiday. I wasn't ready to come home. I needed more time to roam around Holland! There was so much to see, so much to do! One of the nicest days we had was a day trip by train from Amsterdam to Den Haag (The Hague) . It's a beautiful city, much bigger and spread out than Amsterdam. The gem of the city is an 11 km stretch of beach called Scheveningen. I love the flesh fest of going to public watering holes/beaches. It’s a smorgasbord of body types and sizes, and I'm utterly fascinated...from an anthropological perspective...by the variations, both beautiful and bizarre, that exist between humans when disrobed and on display in blinding broad daylight. What I love to check out more than anything is the tattoos. The mind boggling gallery of body art where even the most unsuspecting seem to be inked. Fifty year old grannies with soft white crinkled skin sport barbed wire arm bands. Rakish young gir

"I love Eminem" "I like Skittles better." "No, the rapper you idiot.." "You're the idiot! What's good about a M&M wrapper?!" Skittles by Decomonnah via Etsy

*sigh* Reality smacked me square in the face this morning when my alarm went off. It was back to work today. Somewhere I did not want to be at. I wish I was still on vacation. It took pretty much the entire weekend as well as Labor Day to feel somewhat normal (or as normal as I can ever feel). The jet lag was horrible, although I'm sure that the Pub Crawl the night before we flew home had just a little to do with my out of sort-ness as well ☺ I'll be back soon with something that sorta, kinda, maybe resembles a post but for now I leave you with just a few (of the hundreds) of pictures that I took... Zaanse Schans Beautiful old church in the heart of the Red Light District Dam Square, Amsterdam Scheveningen Beach in The Hauge Floating Flower Market in Amsterdam

I'm home. Amsterdam was amazing. Blogging will commence shortly.