thursday thought + adventure day part 2.

a little inspiration for your long weekend...

now onto adventure day part 2.  after our lovely little walk around the trestle we poked around the town of shawnigan lake before finding a spot for lunch.  we found a great restaurant that had awesome food and nice west coast feel.  both of our meals were amazing and they had an extremely reasonable lunch special.  I had corn and shrimp fritters to start and then this salad which was AMAZING. oh my goodness- greens, goat cheese, candied pecans, strawberries and a creamy but at the same time light dressing. to die for



then we headed out to the next stop.. merridale cidery.  we walked around the property, took ourselves on a self-guided tour of the cidery and then explored the shop that had lots of delicious things.  of course we didn't leave without having a tasting.  all in all an absolutely awesome spot to check out- highly recommend it and the staff were SO lovely.

sorry for dark photos!

they had a beautiful pond out back with an awesome view and little yurts where spa services are available.  gorgeous place.  now I must day dream about the next adventure day while I study for exams.. sigh. happy long weekend!

westcoast part 2 + thursday thought.

I can't believe it is thursday already.  this week has been absolutely insane.  so busy with work and school but finally midterms are over.  here are a few last photos from our trip last week... 

stormy lookout.

new awesome trail!

and a thought for you...

hope to be back sometime soon with some recipes! I'm off to a much needed yoga class and possibly a run in this beautiful sunshine!

a rainy time on the westcoast. part 1

our time on the westcoast included...

 a long muddy, rainy but awesome-ly fun hike to the site of a plane crash from 1945.

scrabble by the sea...

sipping our drinks while enjoying the view...

lazy mornings and breakfast while watching the waves...

and of course tons of delicious food which I managed to not snap one picture of! part 2 coming soon!

thursday thought. + daydreaming.

daydreaming..

all via pinterest.

12 in 2012.

the 12 places on vancouver island that I want to go to/see in 2012.  some I have been to before but am itching to go back. also.. I could probably come up with a lot more than 12 but I figure these will keep me busy enough :)

*hornby island
*kinsol tressel
*sooke
*shawnigan lake
*merridale ciderworks
*strathcona park
*salt spring farmers market
*kayak/whale watch telegraph cove
*cinnamon bun at ladysmith old town bakery
*hike in goldstream provincial park
*little qualicum cheeseworks

I think I have been pretty lucky and have explored a lot of this island but there is always more to see and I can't wait to visit some of these areas!!

one of my favourite places on this island.

11 things I'm grateful for.

one of my yoga teachers recently finished her blissology yoga training and she has been teaching us all about it each tuesday.  I am totally loving it- there are all these other aspects to the philosophy than simply yoga.  each week we learn about a new aspect or pillar to this philosophy.  in previous weeks it has been, meditation, food appreciation and nature appreciation.  the last pillar, which we are exploring this week, is gratitude.  during the beginning of class she talked about gratitude and how we should be so thankful for all the wonderful things we are blessed with.  each day it is important to be grateful for those simple things that keep us going.  so in honour of that- here are 11 things I'm grateful for this week.

1. extra long savasana

2. my pink spatula- I baked up a storm this week.

3. the fact that I fit into a kids skirt at value village that I found for my halloween costume

4. the chocolate cookie that jess delivered to me before class on thursday morning.  you betcha I ate it at 8.30 in the morning.

5. all the delicious cheese i devoured at wine fest. the wine too i guess- yah that was good.

6. prompt email replies.

7. free soy upgrades and discounts for reusable mugs at starbucks.

8. a long evening walk- a long, cold evening walk. in the dark. but it was great because I had the best company.

9. skype dates

10. evenings without homework.

11. my friends and family. as always. they are the best ever and keep me going.

I am also so grateful to have had such a wonderful holiday.  I tend to day dream about it from time to time...

I am also grateful for nerds night out last night.  we had such a great time. 

morg and jess- the best biology study buddy. 

what are you grateful for?

top 5.

when it comes to travel.. well I basically adore it.  I feel travelling is a valuable educational experience that is completely irreplaceable by any type of "typical" education.  the opportunities are endless and I feel that it is a totally humbling experience to see the rest of the world.  many people are oblivious to what is out there and ignorant in a sense because they think the only world that exists is the one they are living in.  when in reality, each country, city, or town is one small piece of the puzzle.  I thrive off knowledge and I am always itching to learn something new.  the learning experience of travelling to a new country or even city is one that is indescribably satisfying in my eyes.  sometimes I can feel totally at home, so to speak, in a place that I have just arrived in.

I mentioned that hawaii was in my top 5 places to travel so I figured I would give you the complete list.  I also have a top 10 list and I would honestly like to see as many places as I can in my lifetime.  I hope that I have the opportunity in my time on this planet to not only visit but really learn about the way of life in several different areas on this globe.

so here are my other 4 locations in my top 5 must travel list:

1. the galapagos islands

2. ireland.

3. greece

4. san francisco

obviously, they all have one major thing in common. the ocean.  the diversity in flora and fauna is what really attracts me to many places as well as somewhere rich in culture and history.  the galapagos speaks for itself-  of course I am extremely passionate about marine creatures and just creatures in general so this place is a must see in my opinion.  the geography of all the regions in my top 5 is phenomenal which attracts me to them as well- ocean, mountains, volcanos, beaches- I'm there!!

looking forward to my opportunity to see each of these places, but even more so, I look forward to the places I will stumble upon along the way, that will take me by complete surprise and leave me in awe of their beauty :)

happy travelling friends.  

--m  

we are booked...

have you guessed??

for one week on oahu!! oh my goodness- I am SO excited.  hawaii is in my top 5 places I want to visit so I can't wait to spend some time there.  this is D and I's first trip together out of the country so another reason to get excited and D's first time off the continent! good times await.. I am so glad we did our research and found the perfect area to stay.  we decided to stay in honolulu for a couple nights to do some of the tourist-y things and then we are escaping to a smaller town on the east coast.  the town of kailua and the world famous kailua beach.  we snagged a wicked vacation rental really close to the beach and we plan to just totally veg out. what an adventure it will be.  is it too early to start a countdown?? :)

night friends.

bamfield.

although our trip was throughout barkley sound, we spent 1 night in bamfield and 2 nights docked in west bamfield. I haven't been there before so it was really nice to check it out! considering I am going to be spending 6 weeks at the bamfield marine sciences centre in july and august. west bamfield has a really cute boardwalk that I walked both times I was there. here are a few pics..

the last picture is the marine station that I will be attending. the campus is quite large with the residences and all the different labs that they have. quite the facility and I am really looking forward to showering myself with a wealth of information while I am there :)

I have really been enjoying my days off while I am home. especially not having school work to do! I went to yoga yesterday and today and have been doing a lot of walking and catching up with friends and family. yesterday, I did a yoga core class and I was SO sore this morning but the hatha flow I did this afternoon made me feel significantly better! of course, helping D out whenever I can with stuff around the house. hope his shoulder heals up fast! may birthday celebrations start tomorrow! Derek's family tomorrow and mine on Friday! I love family time :) more on that to come!

happy wednesday!

--m

shrimp survey adventures.

so here are a few details about the adventure I have been on for work this past week..

I went out to barkley sound on a government boat to do shrimp surveys. this job was something totally new to me and I was nervous but really excited at the same time. my initial concerns were obviously motion sickness but I surprisingly managed just fine! I didn't even take one gravol the entire time! yay me! the first day was quite rough but I stayed on the deck the majority of the day to keep myself from feeling sick. from there the days only got more beautiful... as you can see from these pictures.

it was such a great experience and I feel fortunate to have landed myself this opportunity. my typical day started at about 6.30 but I had some time to relax in the morning while they pulled in the first tow. once the tow was in, we sorted out all the different fish by species(I am a rockstar with fish now) and then weighed each species and recorded it. from there, we kept a certain portion of shrimp from our sub sample to take sex and length measurements on. normally, there was 2 different species of shrimp that we recorded biological measurements for and then we were on to the next tow! the days went by surprisingly fast- normally about 8 or 9 tows a day and it was 6.00! each evening we normally docked in a different spot. ucluelet, bamfield, west bamfield- it was awesome! west bamfield was amazing because brady's beach was only a short walk away and they had a cute little boardwalk in the village too(pictures to come)

I learned so much on this trip and the crew was welcoming, entertaining and fun to be around. it is so awesome to have the chance to work in my field and I thank many people for assisting me in scoring this great opportunity. my favourite part by far, was all the wildlife. I learned so much about fish, saw so many different species and managed to apply a lot of knowledge from the classroom in a real life setting. I saw the sea lions in ukee on a regular basis, my eagle friends came by each afternoon, and of course tons of different fish! since I'm not eating meat, I ate seafood pretty much every evening. they would just make me some fresh prawns that we got from the boat that day or a crab or sole that we caught in the grate. it was fantastic!! I felt quite spoiled.

a few more photos and stories to come!

hope everyone has a great week!

--m

dreaming of summer..

with school being so crazy right now I find myself periodically(okay maybe more than periodically) day dreaming about summer..

things I am seriously looking forward to:

*long summer evening walks

*long summer evening walks with ICE CREAM!

*summer bbq's with friends and family

*corn on the cob-mmm delicious.

*farmers market produce

*weddings :)

also, a break from the books will be just lovely! but I am really looking forward to my course in bamfield that starts in July. and my awesome summer job! should keep me very busy. derek and I are also planning a little trip to the sunshine coast which I can't wait for! I haven't been to that area before.

hope everyone has a great week. I am still finding myself swamped with school work but it will all be over in ONE short week! thank goodness. looking forward to yoga helps me get through my day. had a great class yesterday that left my hips a little sore and a vinyasa flow class today. yay for yoga!

--m

vancouver

[horseshoe bay]

and the strike continues.. although hopefully not for much longer. decided to go on a spontaneous trip to vancouver yesterday. a friend of mine had to drop off her niece and she invited me to join her for a fun filled day! it was great.

highlights included:

*a little shopping- most importantly H&M got a couple good finds there!

*a delicious lunch at earls

*gossip magazines on the ferry

*catching up with a busy friend that I don't often get the chance to see- it was great to spend the whole day with her!

the weather held out for the majority of the day which was a bonus.

hope everyone had a great tuesday. I have a list of errands for myself today- better get started!

--m

more tofino bliss..

highlights included: gorgeous sunshine on the day we arrived, couples massage, yummy food(including these oatmeal chocolate chip cookie muffins), a whole lot of relaxing, beach and forest walks and the best company :)

[i heart tide pools]

we had a snowy drive home but made it safe.

--m

tofino getaway..

[the beach]

[accommodation]

[food]

*only downside to the weekend away: my camera decided not to work so these pictures are taken from our phones. more coming soon!

--m