a day in the field.

here are a few photos that my co-worker took yesterday when we were in the field...

the first two were her attempts to catch the orcas.  can you see them? 

whales rock.

little killer whales.

working girl

my octopus friend.

nudibranch- this guy was cool!

its times like these when I really love my job :) on the downside the super awesome girl I share my office with has her last day tomorrow.  I will miss her, its going to be lonely!

happy wednesday!
--m

a gorgeous day on the water..

or maybe I should say a gorgeous afternoon. the morning was not so nice- rainy and windy but the sun came out eventually! I had a great day on the water.  I feel so content and satisfied when I'm out there- rain or shine.  we were sampling bycatch from commercial prawn fishing boats.  one prawn fisherman expressed exactly how I feel about being in the field when he said, "any day on the water is a good day." so true! regardless of the fact that it was raining and so chilly in the morning, I had a smile on my face.

laurie hanging out on the boat.

I finished the day off with a vinyasa flow yoga class after work which was fantastic! I can't wait for my acro yoga workshop on saturday! should be awesome :)

D made dinner which was a lovely help- homemade mac and cheese, veggies and corn on the cob. perfect comfort food after a long day. 

hope everyone is having a great week!

--m

oh ps. the BEST part of the day was that we saw 3 orcas within 15 minutes of being on the water this morning! woo woo- along with some other fun catches including a cute little octopus.  I enjoyed sampling this fishery because all the bycatch goes back in the water almost instantaneously and you can see everything swim away! definitely more rewarding.  that is all- good night!

thai cooking: part 2

tonight we had our second thai cooking class. last week was awesome but I failed with taking photos.  unfortunately, this week I didn't do much better.  I was just so excited to eat everything and my stomach was growling so I didn't get around to taking pictures of our appetizer salad or dessert :( sorry!

here was the main course: salmon salad with sticky rice.  it was delicious! lots of mint, garlic, chili and cilantro which gave this dish huge flavour!

for an appetizer we had a papaya salad with shrimp which was also awesome! and my absolute favourite was the dessert, sweet sticky rice with mango. SO yummy.  I have had this dessert at my favourite thai restaurant before so I knew what was in store! it hit the spot- my taste buds were seriously satisfied. the lady that taught the classes was phenomenal- this was her last class because she is moving to victoria so she wanted to take a picture with all of us for her cookbook! we gave her our emails and she said she would send us all a copy when she finishes writing it.  she was the best!

in other news.. the darling brooke introduced me to another fabulous blog called a bicycle built for two.  one of their pages is their bucket list.  by far, the BEST bucket list I have ever seen.  I have been developing my bucket list slowly and their list inspired me to start crossing things off.  some of their ideas are so simple yet totally satisfying.

just a few of my bucket list items are:
*go to a yoga retreat
*make a thanksgiving dinner for my loved ones.
*take my mom to the ellen show
*see a jack johnson concert
*buy a home with a laundry room and BIG kitchen :)
*get a dog as soon as humanly possible! (once we sell the condo and buy a home with a big yard)
*spend at least one month volunteering in another country
*watch the sunrise
*travel travel travel! (my list of places I want to visit is much too long to list) :)

what is on your bucket list?

i'm out in the field tomorrow- should be a beautiful day for it!
--m

abby's birthday.

abby celebrated her 3rd birthday this weekend! she was showered with gifts, cupcakes and love. 

cupcake party!

auntie morgan and abby.

it was great to have the chance to celebrate with her- I can't even believe she is 3 already. how time flies.

the rest of the day was spent doing errands, enjoying the sunshine, and perhaps a little shopping..
I picked up the shorts in the above picture, the dress pictured below and a pair of really cute light wash jeans all from the gap.  thanks to giftcards I only spent $15- a good deal if you ask me!

source

then it was dinner time.. I got the idea for this fish from how sweet it is. it was super simple to put together and turned out great.

before baking.

sunday night dinner.

I also made some potatoes with green onions and dill and some broccoli.  as much as I don't like broccoli I have been actively trying to incorporate more veggies into every meal. if anyone has some tips on that then let me know!  I seem to eat the same veggies a lot so I am trying to switch it up.

hope everyone had a lovely weekend!
--m

saturday fun.

the weekends always seem to fly by..

saturday was busy as always but I enjoyed every minute.
we had a nice sleep in and a pancake breakie at home and then headed out to meg and tye's so derek could help with yardwork and I could babysit this little man!

enough pictures! :)

I want out!

after that we picked up some munchies and headed to the beach..

gorgeous lantzville beach

perfect afternoon

we relaxed on our beach blanket, ate our lunch, read my book(which I am loving!) and made time for a little bit of beachcombing! there was so many sand dollars and clams. I love the beach.
we watched the hockey game with friends(yay canucks- 2 down!!) and had an awesome bbq dinner- I made some halibut that I had from my last trip on the boat for work.  it was so incredibly delicious! finally, to end the day, I had a really nice catch up visit and coffee date with another friend.  haven't seen her in what seems like forever so it was awesome to catch up!

wishing everyone a relaxing sunday!
--m

weekly reflections.

some of my random thoughts and reflections from the past week..

*the absolute smallest or minor detail can have such an enormous effect on my mood.  this week, while I was getting very frustrated with a particular computer database program at work, I realized how quickly my mood can shift.  several small acts of kindness this week served as a simple reminder that work isn't everything and it is so crucial to remain focused on the bigger picture! since this has been my first "big girl" job in the biology field I often find myself putting way too much pressure myself.  I am learning to let that go and this week has been a work in progress.

*how am I ever going to work, be a wife, be a mom, be a sister, be a daughter, be a friend.. oh my goodness! how do people do it!? I felt overwhelmed this week while trying to keep up with my work, my fitness, friends and family, cooking, cleaning and trying to find some small amount of time for myself!   I was telling my dad the other day about the vehicle I want to buy when suzy(my volvo) passes on.  I said, "it will be perfect for the dogs!" (dogs that I will have as SOON as I'm not living in a condo)  his response was, "yah perfect for 2 dogs, 2 car-seats with screaming kids and a mother(me) thats looks like she is ready to rip her hair out"  that was a nice reality check :) thanks dad! haha. but seriously- my dad rocks. can't wait for fathers day!!

*people are so incredibly frustrating- why on earth would you dump your tray of cigarette butts in the middle of the sidewalk...? just the same as why you would dump all your garbage on the side of the road..? seriously!

*hot yoga never ceases to amaze me.  I haven't been in the hot room for a couple months and I went to a vinyasa flow class yesterday.  one of my favourite teachers taught the class and she also happens to now be my co-worker! well, she is a powerhouse and just got back from a 11 day yoga retreat where she learned some crazy moves.  needless to say, it was very intense and I was a little nervous about being back in the heat.  once we got going I was amazed with how well I did with her new power moves and the heat.  goes to show- you can do anything you set your mind to. this yoga teacher(I am finding this about a few of my favourite yoga teachers) is someone I really look up to.  she has such a positive attitude, is so incredibly encouraging and has a zest for life that I feel rubs off on me every time I see her.

*its friday- the sun is shining, I have some great weekend plans(primarily, the beach and my book) I am one happy camper- life is good! 

--m

sweat it out!

so zumba.. where have you been all my life?? zumba ROCKS! I absolutely loved it :) I was so distracted by the fun of the routines that I didn't even notice how sweaty I was! it is perfect- exactly the type of "fun cardio" I was looking for! 

once I arrived home, exhausted and sweaty, I was ready for a quick and easy dinner.  since D was out watching the game(go canucks go!) I was on my own for eats.

  

I threw together a quesadilla with a tofu dog, cheese, green onion and salsa.  had some veggies on the side for some extra nutrition. tofu/veggie dogs in quesadillas is my new favourite thing- so delicious.

in other news.. I finally finished the book of negroes.  seriously- did that take me long enough or what? I was quite thankful to put that book down.  I did really enjoy the story but I felt it was a touch too long.  it was hard to stay interested for 500 pages!  

my new read..

yayy! so excited to get into this one.  I snatched it up on sale about a month ago and have been itching to start reading it.  unfortunately, I had to wait patiently because the book of negroes took me forever to finish.  I have a slight feeling this book may be joining me on the beach this weekend! keep your fingers crossed for some gorgeous weather!

i'm out!

--m

ps. canucks- I LOVE YOU! game one- check! three more boys.