Oct 6 2010

day 73: {untitled}


I was sorting through photos to put on my iPad this evening and I passed this one of the girls and I from YWAM on one of our last days in Bolivia. I miss these people immensely. This was from a little resort we went to that had the best outdoor pools I have ever experienced.

On a completely different note, yesterday I put out my back literally the second I grabbed my purse to leave work. It seems to be going out a lot lately for no apparent reason. Today I’ve gotten done only things I can do while sitting with an icepack or heating pad on my back….limited basically to computer work.
*sigh* ….Therefor leaving me with a dirty house (and unmade bed. Uck.)

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| posted in 365, Bolivia, Sick Day, YWAM

Jan 30 2010

I wasn’t tagged. I just liked the post.

Let’s be honest…I’m not too “linked in” to the blogger community to be tagged in something like this.  But I did read it on a friends blog and felt like putting it on mine.  I haven’t had too much to write about lately….so….

10 Years Ago:
- I was in the middle of 9th grade.  (Left: This is me in Grade 9 baby, yeah, this is me in grade 9.)  Like the dog collar?
- I believe my style consisted of: parachute pants, boys tees, sketchers, and a myriad of jewelry (all worn at once sometimes…like 10 mismatched bracelets, and 3 necklaces, and some random earrings) OR uber flashy disco dresses with platform shoes and the biggest hoop earrings you could possibly find.
- I had just chopped my hair off to chin length, and probably died it any of the following colours: red (burgundy, natural red, orange red) blonde, or brown.  I never remember.
- I played trumpet in a jazz band outside of school.  Something I probably should have done longer.

1 Year Ago:
- I was living in Bolivia. (Right: The foothills of the Andes)
- I was in my second last week of work at El Camino Boys Home outside of Santa Cruz ( I just looked back at my calendar for this day of last year.  On the 29th of Jan. last year I had just spent a day in downtown Santa Cruz helping give medical care to some of the street kids in the canals)
- I was preparing to spend a week in the Amazon Jungle drilling a well for a local tribe.
- I was probably concerned about a friend on my team who had just contracted Dengue Fever and was not coming to the jungle. 
Yesterday:
- I was sicker than a dog with asthma, but was stubbornly trying to work around the house because I had just spent a week in bed.
- I edited photos from my first studio photo session! (Left)
- I watched M*A*S*H in my parents office at lunchtime.  But I do that every day of the week that I”m not working.

 Tomorrow:
- I plan on doing more editing.
- I will clean my house that got ignored while I was sick.
- I will bake some bread. Mmm. And cookies.  Mmmmmmm.

 5 snacks I enjoy:
- Pain d’epi (Homemade bread.  When it’s fresh out of the oven)
- Chips and Salsa.  Anytime.  All the time.
- Coffee & Penguins. (Not the bird.  The English cookie)
- Baldersons 6 year aged cheddar with rainforest crisps.
- Vanilla Rooibis Tea from T in Vancouver


Best Impression:
- My Cat Bigsby.  Seriously.  He talks.  Wanna hear what he sounds like? 
5 Things I Would Do With $1,000,000:
- Go back to England.
- Pay off what I owe from when I last went to England.
- Buy a new camera. (Canon 5D Mark II) And lots of camera toys.
- Buy an iPad.  I can’t even contain my excitement for this thing. iWant.
- Build/refurbish a nice small energy efficient house close to Vancouver, but still on some property.
(Yes, all my things with money are selfish.  Get over it.) 
5 Locations I Would Like To Run Away To:
- England. (Did I say that already?)
- Eastern Europe. (We did Hungary, and I want to see more.)
- Turkey. (Didn’t see enough the first time)
- The Mediterranean. (Loved Greece. But I’m miffed that we didn’t get around to Italy.  I will see it one day.)
- New York. (Interested in seeing some world famous land marks.) 
5 Bad Habits I Have:
- Re-adjusting my back.  Apparently chiropractors don’t like that.
- Eating cookies when I shouldn’t.  
- Working when I shouldn’t. (I try to give myself certain hours, but sometimes it just feels right to do my work at midnight.)
- Smothering my cat with too much love until he bites me.  I can’t not do it.  He’s so soft and squishy, I’ve got to hold him.  Apparently he doesn’t like this.  Apparently it’s not very good to treat your cat like that.
- Biting my lips.  Lipstick and me will never be good friends.

 6 Things I Love Doing:
 - Being a photo taker. I love it. I love it. I love it.  But sometimes, I don’t love that it’s so popular.
- Making artisan bread.  And I bet you would love to eat it.
- Sewing from scratch.  I’m not good at it, bit I still love it.
- Imagining that I live on the Starship Enterprise.  Yes, that’s right.  
- Making fancy desserts.  Mmm.
- Refurbishing things.  I love buying old furniture, or decor and making it look new.

5 Things I Most Likely Will Never Wear:
- Crocs = Eternal Damnation in Fashion Hell
- A jacket that is made out of nylon.   More specifically, any sort of “weather-proof” jacket.  Poo on those.  They are ugly.
- Those running shoes with all the weird meshy bits that are all futuristic looking.  The closest thing I will get to a running shoe is a puma.
- Purple lipstick.  Nope. I got over that phase in grade 8.
- Booty Shorts.  I’m pretty sure no one wants to see that. 
5 Movies I Like:
- O Brother Where Art Thou?
- Singin’ in the Rain
- Love, Actually
- Harry Potter. All of them. (That counts as one, right?)
- Pride & Prejudice (The BBC Production)
And sooo many more…

 5 Famous People I Would Like To Meet:
- Patrick Stewart.  I almost did in England. I was in the same city. Standing at the box office where he was doing a seminar. I probably breathed the same air.  And Dave said, “No, we have to go to a conference.” *sigh*.
- Bing Crosby.  I just want to hear his voice.  
- William Shatner.  Somehow, I think he would be a hoot to meet.
- Nigel Barker (Ok. Yes, I watch America’s Next Top Model online.  I think he would have some valuable insight into the fashion photography world.)
- Any one of the original Monty Python cast.  Although their huge personalities I think it would be intimidating and overwhelming. 
5 Biggest Joys At The Moment:
- My Studio. Can’t wait to use it.
- My new found love of cooking and baking.
- Watching Star Trek TNG every night with Dave.
- Living in my own house.
- My schedule that allows me to spend time with/do all the above.

 5 Favorite Toys:
- My camera
- My baking stone.
- My french press coffee maker (seriously, who needs an electric one?  Anyone want to buy our fancy starbucks coffee maker?)
- My couch/bed that I just bought off of craigslist (can that be a toy?)
- My brand-new sewing machine that my sister-in-law is “storing” at my house.

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| posted in Bolivia, Favorites, Lists, Retro

Mar 7 2009

Bye Bye Bolivia!

So it’s been a month since we’ve been out of Bolivia, and it’s been…well…a long time since I have blogged.

Bolivia flew by like you wouldn’t believe. We finished our time at El Camino halfway through February, and then did some work during Carnivale, the big festival (aka drunken street party) in South America where everyone drinks lots, arms themselves with pressurized soap suds, and/or paint and sprays each other. Due to that, I didn’t want to risk bringing my camera. We did some dramas on the street, and handed out “hangover remedies” that had an aspirin attached to a card that said “Esto es para tu dolor de cabeza….Jesus es para todos tus dolores!” (This is for your headache–Jesus is for all your pains)
After that we spent a week in La Paz, hanging out with backpackers in an uber cool hostel called “Loki”. La Paz is the highest capital city in the world at 12,000ft above sea level. The elevation definitely is an issue, as EVERYTHING is La Paz is on a hill. You have to stop every 5 minutes to catch your breath because of how thin the air is. It’s incredible beautiful though. We really enjoyed the city a lot. One of the highlights was visiting the Mecado de Brujas (Witches Market). A lot of the ladies selling things are called “cholitas”–part of an ethnic group in Bolivia. You can recognize them by their big bowler hats and full skirts. I got to take a picture of one of them after I bought this strange fossilized bug from her. (I’ve got to be honest–the only reason I bought the fossil was so I could take her picture) She very gladly posed for me, and later on whenever I would walk past she would call out “Photograph! Photograph!”
On the way back from Bolivia, Dave watched “James Bond: Quantum of Solace” on the flight. If you haven’t seen it, it’s actually set in Bolivia. Just so you know–Bolivia is nothing like how they portrayed it in the movie (for one thing–Bolivian Desert?! Are they talking about the sand dune outside of Santa Cruz? ;) There is no hot Bolivian desert like they showed in the movie. The Antiplano, where I guess they are trying to place it, is nowhere near hot. It’s 12,000ft above sea level, in the friggin’ Andes. It’s cold.) They also didn’t even film it in Bolivia. Go figure.

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| posted in Bolivia, La Paz, YWAM