My Gal Pal LAURELL

I've been meaning to write about my gal Laurell for some time now ... so now seems like a good time.

This lovely singer/songwriter/sister-friend from my home town of North Van has been chasing and living her dream. It seems as though after many years of devoting her time and energy into her craft she is being blessed beyond belief.

Laurell is actually a VERY true and beloved friend of my sister Kim since our high school years at Argyle Secondary. Laurell's sister Chelsea was one of my BFF's through high school. We used to affectionately call Laurell and Kim - "The Twin Towers" as their height surpassed both Chelsea and I around 10th Grade. Laurell has been a rock for my sister over the years and even though they don't see each other too too much - both with busy lives ... they always seem to make time to catch up.

Laurell is currently travelling across Canada on her CD release tour. One of the first few venues on this tour was here in Penticton at the Cannery Stage. Of which she was brilliant and beautiful (as per always). Upon arriving to the venue we got an up and close tour of the tour bus which is also brilliant. We also got to see Moose (and Trev) ;) It was soooo awesome to be able to finally get out and see her on her way through this time. If you are out there and haven't heard her on the radio in your local town ... give your radio station a call. Her radio single is called "Can't Stop Falling". If she's coming through your town (you'll know because you'll probably see the bus - it's hard to miss!) get out for a night with your pals and check it out. And if nothing else ... log onto her Facebook, Twitter, You Tube or even her Website to see when she's rolling through your area. It's truly not to be missed.

Best of Luck Laurell. Drive safely Trev. And Moose ... you've got a play date lined up with one Kona-Dawg when you roll back into town ;)

Catching Up - Episode 2 (Olympics)

A few months have gone by without any blog about our trip down the the Coast to the Olympics. It was a bit of a spur of the moment decision. Junior REALLY wanted to go down and see what all the hype was about as did I. We had watched the Olympic coverage night and day for the first week and then decided that the last weekend there would be some great going's on. There were to be a lot of medals predicted for the weekend and the final hockey game was on Sunday. Junior wanted to watch it with my Daddio so we packed up The Pack and headed down. The weather was pretty crummy - lots of rainy spouts be we were able to get in some good time down in all the action. We wandered around the City and saw all the cool spots. Took some pics and had some lunch with my family on Robson. Kim was working at BC Place at some of the gates and with the volunteers so she wasn't able to meet up with us. They were prepping for the closing ceremonies and so she was SUPER busy. It was really neat to see the City all done up in Olympic spirit. Flags everywhere and lots of Olympic garb on everybody.

We cruised down to the Molson Hockey House and the across from the Olympic Village.

We walked over to Robson Square and got to see a bit of an impromtu sighting of the curling ladies showing off their Olympic medals. We tried to get over to the HBC Official Store for some more garb (as the Penticton stores were pretty sold out) but the line was like majorly long and around the block. It's a good thing that Junior's Mom had gotten us some toques for Christmas and my Mama had sent us a 'care package' to kick off the Opening Ceremonies in style as there wasn't much left in any of the stores we had gone to.

We ended our day-long tour with a photo at The Cauldron which was pretty darn cool. To top off the weekend we got to watch Canada win the Gold Medal hockey match with my Dad and my Grandpa! All in all - a whirl wind tour but SOOOOOO worth it!

Catching Up - Episode 1 (Sister 'Stay')

So ... my sister was here this past weekend and she said to me ... UPDATE YOUR BLOG ALREADY! So a sister's gotta do what a sister's gotta do :) This is my first post of many on catching up to speed. Probably the most obvious update now is that my sister was here this past weekend. We got to do lots of 'sister' stuff. Hang out. Walk the dogs. Watch a few movies and enjoy the occasional lunch at The Bench. Our favourite place in town. She arrived on Friday afternoon while we were both at work and got to relax a little 'til we got home.

On Saturday morning the dogs were driving us crazy from the start and so we knew we needed to get them out to blow off some steam. No better place than the KVR between Penticton and Kaleden. Relatively few people (and other dogs) and it runs right out along the lake with some good dog swim spots. It was a little windy to start but ended up not being to bad. The weather here has been beautiful as of late and the garden (update to come) has kicked in already. It was nice to have our full 'Pack' out for the hike/walk and when we got home ... everyone was tired :)

We recently purchased a Doggie Backpack from our friend Amanda who owns Tails Pets in Rossland. The idea is so that K-dawg has to work a little harder to keep up with us and Maximus. Tire her out a little more because she has to carry the pack. Don't worry we've kept it light with nothing in it to start. We are slowly going to add small items to it as she gets older and stronger. I think it's going to be ideal for The Farmer's Market this season :) The great thing about the pack is that it detaches from the underharness so that she can have the harness for running with us - which has worked out great! The leash is bungee style so she doesn't end up under our feet. Right now she's been carrying the Wubbas (our favourite distraction toys) on the walks. I think she's getting the hang of the pack and feels like she's got a bit of a job to do. She's probably thinking ... "Now what the hell are they making me wear!"

A Little Running Inspiration ...

After reading all about my buddy AD's inspiring new goal of running the Death Race this summer - Don't worry, I won't register for any races with Death in the title :) - I decided it was time to motivate myself again and try another run goal this year. Having spent a few years off with little to train for ... it feels like time again. I started training with my Naramata buddy Elaine for her upcoming Flying Pig marathon and thought I might challenge the Calgary Marathon this year ... which will hopefully allow us to visit with our Calgary pals. Maybe even race with some of them. The Marathon training has been going pretty good the last two weeks ... we've been dedicated to the plan (once it was established) and have followed closely and not missed any runs thus far.

The weather has been nice and clear the last few days. Today it felt very springlike ... dare we hope it might be on the horizon. The sun was shining and it was 9 degrees on our dog walk today. Crazy! It makes me start thinking about some exciting garden projects this year and hoping our veg patch will be even bigger and better than last year. Doing a little research on trying to add some raspberries somewhere in our yard this year so we can have more fruit. As well as a separate kitchen herb garden and more flowers to the front where dog traffic is a little less predominate :$ I'll keep you posted on how our plan comes together as we go.

Shout Out to AD

I just wanted to give a shout out to my buddy AD in GP :) She sent me a touque to keep my ears warm out here in The Mecca. Pic to be posted soon. Thanks my friend ... I'll be advertising it ALL around town whilst walking Maximus and K-dawg. Merry Christmas!

Green Stocking Stuffer

If you are looking for a stocking stuffer for someone who enjoys keeping their (your) house green clean :) I wanted to talk about Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap. It's a safe choice and we use it for washing our floors. We have some parts wood floor, some parts laminate and some parts tile and I wash the whole thing with this. I used to use Murphy's soap because it's what my Mom used. But when we converted and made our Green Pledge I had to find something more environmentally friendly and that could also be safe for our beloved four legged family members. I did try using vinegar water for a while but I just found I needed some more scrubbing power. This soap works amazingly and also smells like lavender. They do have other flavours. I have tried the almond. But to be honest I'm a sucker for lavender. The bottle says you can mix it with water for dishes and as soap for the bath room. I have tried all of that and I agree it works lovely. We also sometimes use it in the bath and shower but washing hair didn't do it for me :) The jury is still out on that one. I found mine at Whole Foods but they do have a website for those of you who don't have a Whole Foods or find that Whole Foods is pretty pricey.

Christmas Wish List :)

I'm starting to put together my Christmas Wish list. But also putting some thought into what we can do a little differently this season to support local businesses for those on our own list. I'm attempting to be a little more thoughtful and creative in my gift giving this year :) If your wondering what's top on my list keep checking in. Dave's gonna be on mine for sure ... find it here :)