new design!

hope everyone likes the new design! I'm still doing some editing so be patient with me!
--m

sunshine.

friday was my first day off in two weeks- and I spent it exactly how I imagined. wandering around downtown while the cruise ship was in, visited the farmers market, relaxed on the grass in the sunshine while catching up with some family.

derek and I scored an amazing jalapeno and cheddar sourdough loaf from the farmers market and couldn't wait to dig in when we got home. it was DELICIOUS! didn't last long around here..

the rest of the day was spent doing a few errands, picking up some groceries and going to investigate about local non medicated chicken we can get in our area. we were successful- and it wasn't even that expensive!! we also found a great take out place and devoured one of their peanut butter bars.

here are a few shots from the day...

hope everyone is having a great weekend! wedding photos to come!

--m

queen charlotte sound.

more photos from my latest work adventure..

we were fishing in some pretty amazing areas and it was awesome to see parts of our province that I would never get the chance to see otherwise. I LOVE B.C.

--m

I'm back!!

had a fantastic time in queen charlotte sound on the ricker, a fisheries research vessel. just arrived home yesterday afternoon and it is SO nice to be on land again. although, I have to say I did have a pretty good time. the people were amazing, the hands on work was great and it was a totally different experience from the one I had a few weeks back. this boat is huge- there was 7 science staff and almost 20 crew.

I managed to not get sick once, which was totally a bonus! some of the major highlights included the most amazing beach I have ever set foot on in my life(seriously, it rallies mexico, nice and tofino), cruising down the beautiful straight yesterday afternoon while sitting on the bow soaking up the sunshine with some awesome people I met on the boat, and of course all the critters I got to see along the way!! we even managed to spot some killer whales on the cruise home yesterday. some of the highlights in terms of marine life were a giant pacific octopus, HUGE sea star(I have a thing for sea stars), huge squid, and a ton of different fish. I learned SO much. I feel now as though I am a wealth of information! what a great time.

not to mention the FOOD. oh my goodness- the kitchen staff were so amazing. they were so accommodating in terms of my non- meat eating, considering the majority of the people on that boat are your typical meat and potato kind of guys. they never made me feel like a hassle and always managed to come up with something for me. and the desserts and baked goods- wow I felt so spoiled. looking forward to being back in my own kitchen though :)

so here it is...

pictures don't even begin to do justice. this was one of the most amazing places I have ever set foot on! we were in the middle of nowhere, completely immersed in nature and there is absolutely no way to access this area unless you have a boat. there were huge paw prints(either wolf or cougar) on the beach. it was an amazing place. you can see the ricker faintly in the background of the second picture. click on the picture to view the photos a little bit larger.

I will be back soon- I missed the blogging world SO much!

--m

over and out.

hi all-

I will be out in the field for the next 2 weeks so I will be absent from the blog world. :( I will miss you all dearly.

see you soon!

--m

mothers day.

what a busy week and weekend!! after I got home from sea last monday I feel like all I have done is socialize! which I absolutely LOVE! I have had the chance to visit with all my family and friends and it has been amazing. I will miss them all over the next couple weeks.

so mothers day- I love celebrating mothers and fathers day! I really enjoy getting the chance to show my beautiful parents how much I appreciate them. and today was no exception!

mom and I spent the day in cedar. we started at the barton and leier gallery and gardens which was awesome! we picked up a couple good finds after strolling through the funky gardens. I bought a necklace and bought mom 2 really cute bowls! and mom got a beautiful painting! their work is so amazing.

from there we went to the cedar farmers market which I haven't been to before. it was amazing- lots of vendors that I have never seen before. so much delicious stuff there! we sampled some fresh sweet waffles, shortbread and veggie antipasto. what a treat! after going through all the different booths we went back to make our purchases. we each got a coconut bar of soap which I can't wait to use. mom got a loaf of jalapeno and cheddar sourdough bread and we picked up a couple sweet treats to share with dad and derek. mmmmm!

we ended the day with lunch at one of moms favourite spots, the crow and gate. we shared some wine and crab cakes. we made sure to visit the black swans in the pond just outside the pub. such a gorgeous spot.

a fabulous day!! had a short visit with dad after I dropped mom off and then headed to nanoose with derek, meg, tye and rhys to celebrate mothers day with derek's mom. when derek and I got home we organized a quick dinner of burgers(veggie in my case) and sweet potato fries. quick and easy!

what a great weekend! now I'm off for coffee with steff. can't wait to hear about her mexican adventures.

--m

birthday celebrations.

unfortunately I didn't get around to taking any pictures at the first round of birthday celebrations on thursday with derek's family but we had a wonderful time. pizza party with chocolate cake and great company! it was so nice to catch up with everyone- all in all a fantastic time! love sharing birthday celebrations with tye and gramma!

friday, with my family, we started the afternoon off with a nice walk through linley valley which the majority of us had never been to before. it was a wonderful park and when I have more energy I can't wait to explore it again. we were basically the only ones around and enjoyed walking around the park for about an hour. we went to darc and ange's for a bbq dinner afterwards which was delicious!! I made a quinoa salad to bring which turned out quite well considering I kind of amalgamated several recipes into one that I thought would suit everyone best. I really enjoyed it and will be having leftovers for lunch! we had quite the spread for food and I stuffed myself to the brim. had to leave room for chocolate cake though! mmm yum. following that we exchanged gifts and then abby provided us with some entertainment in the form of dancing. abby starts kids yoga tomorrow! how awesome

ange and abby's matching aprons.. cookin' up a storm!

happy weekend.

--m