Sunday 27 October 2013

SKATE CANADA 2013

I was lucky enough to be able to come home this weekend before I leave for my next elective, and hubby surprised me with tickets to Skate Canada!  What girl doesn't love figure skating, and especially what girl doesn't love figure skating a few short months before the Olympics?  We are a huge Olympics family - big fans.  The biggest.  So having the chance to see some of our Canadian athletes skate was super exciting and the fact that we saw our 2010 Vancouver ice dancing gold medalists?  Icing on the cake.  Icing.  Get it?  Kind of more of a hockey pun, I guess, but let's make it work, people.

Definitely the skaters I was most excited to see were Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue, the above mentioned ice dancers who won Gold in Vancouver 2010.  They're awesome.  She's pretty much the Canadian Kate Middleton - stick thin, beautiful brown hair, etc.  And her name is Tessa Virtue which to me is so pretty and unique it sounds like a stage name.  Whose last name is Virtue?!  That's awesome.  My favourite moment of the 2010 Olympics was when they won Gold and Scott's brothers lifted him up into the stands to hug him.  They skated beautifully last night (or so I think with my totally limited knowledge of ice dancing/figure skating).  If you don't remember their Olympic performance, here's a clip to remind you.


We were sitting three rows up from the ice and I was able to get a few photos of them.  This one is definitely the best.


After the show Tessa and Scott found me and invited me for a little skate with them.  They had heard what a fab skater I am (totally kidding - I haven't been on the ice since I was literally 13 and I completely sucked then).  I can only assume this poster of them is to scale.  I am approximately 4 times larger than her in real life as well.


Long story short, this totally pumped me up for the Olympics!  Can't wait to watch them competing in Russia!

Sunday 20 October 2013

CROSS CANADA TOUR: POST FOUR

We had a different sort of weekend this weekend.  Leroy and hubby came down to visit me in Halifax (I was totally thrilled to see Leroy)!  Three best friends together again!  We spent the weekend in a hotel that allows doggies so our Manny could come visit.  It wouldn't be our first choice for future trips but it worked out just fine.  It's slightly stressful worrying about Leroy barking at every little noise in the hotel (although he got much better as the weekend went on) and we weren't allowed to leave him alone in the hotel room, which meant we lived off take out and weren't able to sit in at a restaurant.  But I couldn't have been any happier and it's the last time I'm going to get to see Leroy before I return home in December.  And I have to say, he was pretty excited to see me, too.  When I met them at the hotel he kept running up to me for pats and then looking at hubby as if to say, "Look, Dad!!  Mom's here!!"

Growing up I never had a dog, so I kind of thought it was hilarious to see Manny in a hotel room.  It just seemed out of place.  He was so adorable, though.  The "dog rooms" all had two queen size beds so Leroy basically had his choice of bed for nighttime sleeping and at the end of the weekend he realized he was able to jump back and forth between the two which was just about the funniest thing.  Or it was to us.

Here are a few photos from our weekend.  We spent some time throwing Leroy his frisbee at the Commons, where we also found football practice gear.  Naturally, I had a go at pushing the tackle thing, whatever it's called.  We realized after taking a few photos of me not budging it that you really have to get low to make it move or else it just rocks like a rocking chair.  Quite funny.  And the rest of the pics are from lounging in the hotel room with our baby!



Bottoms from J Brand, old. Similar here and here.  Sweater from Banana Republic, old. Similar here.  Top from ASTR, exact unavailable. Similar here.  Sneakers from Converse, available here.



Bottoms from Wayf available here. Top from Banana Republic, exact unavailable.  Similar here and here.


Thursday 17 October 2013

CROSS CANADA TOUR: POST THREE

In my last post I referred to some big news around these parts.  It's in the category of life plans.  Last Monday I started my first Plastic Surgery rotation of fourth year.  For the past 12 months I have wanted to be a Plastic Surgeon... I set up all of my electives, found a research project, and was working towards this goal.  Last Monday when I started my rotation I should have been over the moon but I just... wasn't.  There was just this overwhelming sense of "I'm not supposed to be here", and for me, anytime I have such a strong feeling about something, I believe that's God telling me something.  I had a sudden realization this wasn't what I want to do with my life and I would be so so so much happier being a family doctor and getting to see these faces every day.  These two make me the happiest.



I feel happier than I have felt all year.  I just have this huge sense of relief and a weight off my shoulders.  When I'm working I'll still be able to be an assist in the OR and remove lumps and bumps which I realized is the part of Plastic Surgery I like best - and it translates to family medicine.  And I can live life with hubby, travel, decorate, make art, have doggies... I can have it all!  Phew!  Thankfully I figured it out now.  Who wouldn't want more time with those faces, anyway?  So that's the big news.  It's pretty huge in our world - it's going to create a very different life for us and we're very excited about it!

Sunday 13 October 2013

CROSS CANADA TOUR: POST TWO

What did you do?  Jump ship?

Here are a few photos from our Thanksgiving weekend in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  If you have never been, it's a lovely port city on the east coast.  The largest of the cities in the Maritimes, it's still a pretty small city surrounded by water and not far from more rural areas.

Hubby and I spent the weekend going out for dinner and a movie, and today going for a walk on the waterfront before having our Thanksgiving dinner prepared by my wonderful friend, A!  We're pretty spoiled (and lucky)!

There have been a lot of changes around here this week... big surprises to both of us but happy changes all in all.  I'll post more about that later but all I'll say for now is I am surprised to find myself very happy and relieved!


We found a little local cafe/chocolate shop and we each got a maple latte.  Maple...my favourite all year round!


 

Hubby climbed the wave down on the waterfront like a champ.  Put all the little kids to shame.

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving weekend!  We were all a little extra thankful this year!

Wednesday 9 October 2013

CROSS CANADA TOUR: POST ONE

Sunday I saddled up the horses and moved on out.  Out to Nova Scotia, that is.  I began my CaRMS tour (or Canadian Residence Matching System) for medical school electives.  And I won't be home till Christmas!  It's a weird (and bad) feeling leaving hubby for that long.  At one time we were somewhat used to living apart, but even then we were only a few hours away by car.

I'm not sure what form the ol' blog is going to take this fall because if you've noticed I mostly post things about decorating my house and the food I cook.  Living out of a suitcase and cooking for one...not so blog-worthy.  But maybe at some point I will crawl out of the dark cave they call a hospital and take some photos of Canadian cities I've never been to before to share with you.  Maybe.  If we're both lucky.

So here is where my tour began (pre-tour, really).  Good old New Brunswick.  NB.  God's country, as they say.  My last weekend home hubby, manny (Leroy), and I went partridge hunting.  We got two!





As you can see, I wiped out in the mud.  (I didn't have any other clothes with me, either!)  Come join me on my Cross Canada Road Trip 2013!

Saturday 5 October 2013

LISTENING TO: FLEETWOOD MAC

Right now I'm packing and listening to Fleetwood Mac "I don't Want to Know".  Total sucker for songs with clapping in them.  Something about it I just can't explain... Hope you're enjoying your weekend!  Feel free to clap along. :)