Way, way back when Vancouver one the bid for the 2010 Games the thought of achieving a life long goal was brought to the surface. I've always wanted to attend an Olympic games, at one point I wanted to be an athlete in the Games but as time goes on I know now I was meant to be a part of it....as well I knew then that my Mom would absolutely love to go to the Games. So, after 3-4 years of planning, wondering, having phone interviews, wondering whether I sill even wanted to go, then getting the opportunity to go here I am. Not only am I here my mom is here as well!!!
My Mom is volunteering at the Athlete's village doing different jobs at the entrances where the athletes and dignataries come in. I'm working as part of the anti-doping team and it's been going well.
My Mom went to the opening ceremonies and loved every minute of it! I got to go the rehearsal which was also amazing! We've been down to 'Concord Place' where they have all the different provinces pvaillions set up. The other night we headed to BC Place for the Award ceremonies where we saw Bilodeau get his gold medals.
We went to a woman's hockey game together at UBC and also up to Whistler to watch a day of biathlon.
It was such a wonderful experience and I'm so happy I got to be apart of it with my Mom :) :) :)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Friday, July 24, 2009
Oz and Hawaii! Amazing!
Hello from rainy Ottawa :) :) :) :) (Written in October)
I'm home! It is true, home is where the heart is! I've had the chance to spend lots of time with my niece Molly and my nephew Gabriel. They are absolutely amazing! I love them both to pieces and can't get over how awesome it is to watch them grow and learn. Very cool! I'm actually on a bus that has WiFi heading to Toronto to meet the new man of my life :) Yup, I'm shacked up and it's wonderful! His name is Tim and he's absolutely amazing :)
I've been all over the Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec area for the past couple months. Visiting and catching up with friends and family. I'm teaching English at the moment to children/teens in Korea via the wonderfull world of the internet :) I get up super early to teach kids that are at their homes. It's an extra bit of English a day for those kids.
As per usual it's been a real long time since I've wrote on here...but hey I'm back :) Life is going great for me...pretty standard routine I've got going...work, play, freak out a bit about where and what I should be doing with my life....and then get over and realize that all is good :)
I've been all over the Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec area for the past couple months. Visiting and catching up with friends and family. I'm teaching English at the moment to children/teens in Korea via the wonderfull world of the internet :) I get up super early to teach kids that are at their homes. It's an extra bit of English a day for those kids.
My travels prior to getting home were awesome! Australia was really good. It was almost like a mini-vacation within a long extended vacation. Yeah, I know I"m pretty spoiled! I stayed with two of my friends that I had met in Banff years ago. They were the hosts with the mosts!
I went to every type of rugby game invented, drank beer at a few local watering holes including the bowling club and a golf club. Laid on the beach, read, went beach fishing, caught no fish...Went on the look out for kangaroos, saw sooo many roo's! They are wild to see in the wild! They move like no other animal, using their tails to push them along. It was raining when we were supposed to go beach fishing for the first time, so instead my friends took me down the coast to find kangaroos. I thought maybe we would see one, maybe! Nope, I was so wrong! We pulled up beside a cricket field and boom Kangaroos everywhere!!! It was spectacular! I can only imagine what it would be like to be on an African safari and see all those wild animals in their natural habitats!
Not only did I go to two amazing zoos, I got to join my friends on a 'seal experience'. My friend Lara that I was staying with entered this contest to name the new baby sea lion at Toranga Zoo. Well, turn out she won with the name Nala (after girl lion in the Lion King). It was fantastic, we got to have a private little one on one session with this grandpa of a seal!
After my wonderful experience in Australia I headed home via Honolulu. Honolulu as it lies right out there in the pacific was the cheapest way to fly home through. The way it was suppose to happen was that I would land in Honolulu around 8am and then fly out that night around 11. As at the end of most backpacking trips I had very little money. So, I had planned on walking around Waikiki and checking out the beach. However, just before I left Oz I found out I could go snorkling (snorkling, bus and snorkle) all for the bargain price of 15 US dollars! So, I did!
Wowoweee!!! Haunama Bay is this ::::
I saw so many wonderful fish and many sea turles it was the best ever! I saw Dori (didn't catch Nemo though) and mostly I floated about the sea turtles. I was astonished by the big, slow beautiful animals.
I also had time to catch the beach strip in Waikik and check out some awesome surfers! After a long day of laying on the beach and snorkling I headed back to the airport. Boarded my plane only to have it basically stall! Yup, there I am chatting with this nice guy about our trips and Vrooooom, plane dies! Crazy, I know! Turns out there were problems with the auxillary power (back up power) and when they went to test it, it failed. Long story short, we waited forever to end up being put up in a sweet hotel all expenses paid for 24hrs until we could catch another flight out the next night. It was great cuz I had my own room, free food and a luxurious hotel with a view of the ocean! I was super ticked though! Yup, prooves I'm a bit of a princess! hhaaha really though, all I wanted to do was get home....nonetheless I did take full adavantage of another day in Waikik.
Since being back I can truly say I love my home :) I love having so much of my family and friends withing driving distance. I will travel again, probably sooner then later but man it's nice to be home :)
Sending everyone so much peace, love and smiles for their fall season!
MUAH!
After my wonderful experience in Australia I headed home via Honolulu. Honolulu as it lies right out there in the pacific was the cheapest way to fly home through. The way it was suppose to happen was that I would land in Honolulu around 8am and then fly out that night around 11. As at the end of most backpacking trips I had very little money. So, I had planned on walking around Waikiki and checking out the beach. However, just before I left Oz I found out I could go snorkling (snorkling, bus and snorkle) all for the bargain price of 15 US dollars! So, I did!
Wowoweee!!! Haunama Bay is this ::::
I saw so many wonderful fish and many sea turles it was the best ever! I saw Dori (didn't catch Nemo though) and mostly I floated about the sea turtles. I was astonished by the big, slow beautiful animals.
I also had time to catch the beach strip in Waikik and check out some awesome surfers! After a long day of laying on the beach and snorkling I headed back to the airport. Boarded my plane only to have it basically stall! Yup, there I am chatting with this nice guy about our trips and Vrooooom, plane dies! Crazy, I know! Turns out there were problems with the auxillary power (back up power) and when they went to test it, it failed. Long story short, we waited forever to end up being put up in a sweet hotel all expenses paid for 24hrs until we could catch another flight out the next night. It was great cuz I had my own room, free food and a luxurious hotel with a view of the ocean! I was super ticked though! Yup, prooves I'm a bit of a princess! hhaaha really though, all I wanted to do was get home....nonetheless I did take full adavantage of another day in Waikik.
Since being back I can truly say I love my home :) I love having so much of my family and friends withing driving distance. I will travel again, probably sooner then later but man it's nice to be home :)
Sending everyone so much peace, love and smiles for their fall season!
MUAH!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
G'day Mate! Put another shrimp on the barbie!
It's been a long time since I've written but I'm pumped to be finally getting down and updating my blog. Life is pretty cruisy at the moment. I'm in Cronulla (Sydney), Australia at the moment and it's gorgeous! It's about an hour south of the heart of Sydney on the train. My friends Nick and Lara that I met in Banff live here and they've been super sweet with me staying with them. The day I flew in we went to an Aussie league football game. It was the Sydney Swans verses a team from Adelaide and we schooled them! It's a pretty cool game, kinda like a mixture of rugby, football and soccer. Since then I've been down to the Sydney harbour and had a good look at the Opera House....Wowoweeewowoweeee! It's pretty stunning! The same day I did a tour of the botanical gardens, this sweet older lady showed me and a few others around. I got to learn about tonnes of cool Aussie plants!
The tales of how it's a lot more relaxed and slow in Australia and New Zealand are true! The time seems to stand still. I can get up, watch the news, have a coffee, go to the beach, take a yoga class all before noon! I know, I know I'm living on a bit of a cloud over here....I'm going ride it out as long as possible!!! :) :)
In my last blog I had written up to when we were leaving the South Island of New Zealand. Well, it took us awhile but we managed to make our way up to New Plymouth on the North Island to volunteer at the WOMAD festival (http://www.womad.co.nz/new-plymouth.htm ). 
It's a festival of music, art and dance. The musicians were amazing! They were exactly that world class! Courtney, Mahal and I were volunteering at the information booth for the festival which was perfect for us. We got the inside track on what was going on, not to mention we got free accommodation in the Maori, Marai beds. One of the biggest highlights was seeing the Kiwi famous Fat Freddy's drop!!! Not only did we get to see them once we got to see him twice! Plus Court talked to the lead singer, which left her with trembly knees! Their music is real good, check them out- http://www.myspace.com/fatfreddysdropnz.
After the festival was over we knew we needed to work asap! But, as fate would have it we would end up in a van soon to be known as the P-Bus...Party Bus that is! Our friends were on their way out of New Plymouth so we jumped in with them. They were also wanting to find work, but they were not at all in a rush to do so. They were more concerned with finding a good beach. The three of us with our rubber arms being twisted were easily persuaded to join them on their beach mission. It took us over 2 days to get about 60km.....let me tell you that we saw some nice beaches! hahaha! Not only that but we got real stuck finding one and then ended up getting pulled out by this amazing Maori man who told us where we could go to camp. We ended up staying by the ocean with a view of a gorgeous Mountain called Taranaki.
It was a sweet night! The man came back with his son and we had a great chat about the history of the land and some real good laughs!
We ended up having to bail on the P-bus once we got to the town of Wangonui as we could tell they were going nowhere near work any time soon. We were super lucky to get to Wangonui as my friend Steph's mom (I lived with her in Ottawa) lives in Wangonui. We called her up and she let us stay with her for a couple nights. She was so sweet, she gave us a tour of where Steph grew up and took us out to see her horses. Another great example of how sweet people are down here.
We made a clean break from Wangonui and went straight across and a bit north to a town called Napier. We were assured that we would find work around this area as it is the 'fruit bowl' of New Zealand. Unfortunately, like everywhere else in the world jobs were scarce. We were real discouraged as we found out that the fruit was late and therefore there were NO jobs. AHHHH!!! Getting a bit down on ourselves we managed to find a sweet hostel and we headed to a few beaches to cheer us up! In the end we got real desperate and called every single number we could find that may have had apple picking or packing jobs. I got through to one man named Phil and he ended up being our Angel and in the end a bit of a devil for us. He had a small orchard and they were starting to pick on the following Tuesday. So, we got ourselves some jobs and place to live. We stayed in our sh.&%^ ass tent outside of the house on the orchard. It was great though because we had a hot tub, full kitchen, clean bathroom and a freaking sauna! Sweet az bro!
We picked and picked and picked some more. It was real tough but we managed to make enough money to get by and do some fun stuff. By fun stuff I mean I went SKYDIVING!
Yeah, Courtney and I jumped out of a plane from 12,000 feet and free fell for 45 seconds! It was f-ing unreal! The entire experience was pretty wild. Court and I weren't sure if we were actually going to do it as we drank the night before for our bosses son 18th birthday. In the morning they woke us up at 8:30 (we stayed at our bosses summer home in a town called Taupo). They were so hyped up and ready to go...they convinced us that we should really skydive as we may never have another chance...so we went for it! We were still half drunk and so I think that made the decision easier!
It was so seamless as it's tandem, you basically get into a small plane and sit as crammed together as possible. The views from the plane were amazing and once again I could see Mount Taranaki! We got to a certain elevation and you could feel the buzz of all the flight instructors getting ready to go. So, the guy I was with says ok, sit on my lap!!! To which I replied 'wow, didn't know we were getting this intimate' (he got a good kick out of it). I asked him to triple check that I was attached to him! I wasn't really scared until the thought went through my head that I would just pop off the guy and go plummeting to the ground! That thought passed quickly and then all of a sudden it was time. The door slid open and BOOM out the camera man was hanging on the edge of the plane and then BOOM one of our friends was gone down....I was 4th in line and when it came time I asked the guy if we could do as many flips as possible! Ha! He was like 'Is this your first time?' to which I said 'Yes, and probably my last so let's make it good!'.
Then it happened we scooted over to the edge and on the count of three we were out. We free fell for about 45 seconds. 45 seconds of pure exhilaration! It was such a rush! I loved every second of it! Then he grabbed me around the waist and shhhwoop, he pulled open the shoot! We soared down the rest of the way. He did some loops around which were a bit of a thrill but mostly it was super relaxing! (If you know Courtney you'll have to ask her about her experience, oh Miller...Miller...Miller...Miller...)
After our wild weekend we picked apples for a few more weeks and then decided we should head all the way north as that's where the next fruit and jobs would be ready. A side note here would be to mention that yet anohter one of our electronics got messed up here....you would not believe it, but a tractor ran over Mahalia's purse and her cell phone, which at the time was like our life line!!! It all worked itself out, but what a freaking nightmare!
On to the next fruit on our journey and how appropriate that right before we leave we come into the world of KIWI FRUIT!!! I've never seen more of one fruit in my entire life!!!
We headed North stopping in Taupo for the long weekend to do one of the New Zealand famous walks.
The Tongariro crossing is one of the World Heritage Sites. The trek included the volcano "Mount Doom" that was in the "Lord of the Ring". Not to mention 3 gorgeous blue sulphur pools and a huge lake. Just when we thought that we saw the most beautiful thing on the hike something else would be over the edge!
Taupo was great we went out after the hike and ended up meeting some awesome guys and partied up big time. We dominated one of the bars dance floor as we later noticed we were the only ones on :)
North bound also lead us to Auckland for a night. We were lucky to stay with one of Mahalia's friends, Erin. We hung out and checked out little India and ate some wicked food!
The last leg of our trip as I mentioned brought us almost to the top of the North island. We went to a small town called Keri Keri. We were promised by the owner of a hostel that he could get us jobs and accomadation. PERFECT! So, we rocked up to a semi-sketchy backpackers and within about 5 days got work. The place was ok at first but after awhile it was just plain dumpy! But, on the first day of work we ended up getting a ride with these girls from Auckland. Nina and Serena would soon become our best mates in New Zealand. They are super funny and having them around saved us from bailing on the entire situation.
On to the packhouse....oh the pakchouse!!! Unfortunately (or fortunately), we couldn't get kiwi picking jobs but instead we got kiwi packing jobs. Basically, we showed up at this big packhouse (like a kiwi factory) and it was luck of the draw of what position you got. Court, Mahal and I huddled together to make sure we were on the same job. However, somehow both Court and Mahal got labelling jobs and I went to the kiwi line. Courtney was in charge (actually she's still there and I fear if a cute kiwi boy sweeps her off her feet we may never see her again) of the machines of kiwi lables that went on each individual label. So, she would be known as the 'label supervisor'. Mahalia was in charge of putting the bar code stickers on the kiwi boxes after they were packed. Serena, Nina and I were among the many that were in charge of putting the kiwis in the boxes!!! So, picture this- a converyor belt of kiwis going down a line and they get spit down a shoot where then you have to put them in a tray or in a box. Sounds simple, Yes, it's very simple! BUT...it's so hard on the body and it's super brain numbing! I cried after my first shift. I was so sad for all the people in the world that work in factories on lines day in and day out.
We powered through two weeks of twelve hour days before we decided to start on the night shift. That meant that we were working 5-1AM. It was perfect! Not only did we get off twelve hours but Nina, Serena and the three of us moved out of the dumpy backpackers we were staying in to a gorgeous pagoda! Our friends told us about this place that normally never lets backpackers stay but because it was the off season we were allowed to stay there. It was like being at the ritz considering the place we had been staying at!
The other great things about going to the night shift was that we all got better jobs and we got to really know the people of Kerikeri. We were working with some real interesting characters that
made for some real interesting stories! 
Our time in Kerikeri was pretty good in the sense that we were making money, meeting cool people and living in a sweet pad! Not only all that but one of the weekends our friend Daniel (Steph my old roomie from Ottawa, her boyfriend) came up to take us on a tour of the Northland. He's from a town called Kaikohe that was only 30 minutes from our town. It was such a treat to have him show us around up there. It was a locals tour for sure! First we went to the site where the belief is that the first Mauri's came to New Zealand by. It's this huge cliff out cropping where the sea comes into an inlet. Then we went to his mom's house for some traditional fried bread, his mom was super sweet. After that it was onto see these massive indigenous Kauri trees. They were so big!!! We also got to some beautiful
beaches, his families land on the ocean, the best fish and chips in New Zealand, the site of the Rainbow warrior, waterfalls, a traditional murrai and to spot where they signed the Treaty of Waitangi. Pretty good for two days eh!
The other sweet thing that happened was that my friends Jess and Pk who I had met in South Korea, came to New Zealand. They ended up coming up and staying at the pagoda lodge as well. The first day they got there I called in sick to work and took them to this wicked Reggae show (http://www.myspace.com/1814official). It was a sick night! We met this wicked guy Mark and danced our bums off all night! We would then go back to that same bar again the next night only to win a dance competition! Good times!
It was hard to leave Kerikeri in the end. I thought it would be easy as the work at the kiwi packhouse was at first real daunting. In the end though it was great. We finally had a sweet home, a decent enough job but the clincher was that we had some good friends!
I left Kerikeri a few weeks after Mahalia had left. I flew out of Auckland but before that I finally had the chance to visit with Steph. Steph is the wicked kiwi chick that I lived and worked with in Ottawa. She was one of th reasons why I went to New Zealand. It was a perfect end to my time in New Zealand. We really just hung out and she showed me around Aukland, brought me to a rugny game and some other really nice spots in Auckland. It was so great to see her again!
Sigh, wow that was a mouth full! I'm going to end this here and I'll write another update about my Aussie adventures!
I'll be home in less then a week and I can even wait! Both my sisters have babies now and I'm so excited to spend some time with them and the rest of my family! As well, the week after I get home is the OM festival so I get to catch up with all my friends in the forest! WOOHOO!!!
Peace, love and smiles from the land down under!
It's been a long time since I've written but I'm pumped to be finally getting down and updating my blog. Life is pretty cruisy at the moment. I'm in Cronulla (Sydney), Australia at the moment and it's gorgeous! It's about an hour south of the heart of Sydney on the train. My friends Nick and Lara that I met in Banff live here and they've been super sweet with me staying with them. The day I flew in we went to an Aussie league football game. It was the Sydney Swans verses a team from Adelaide and we schooled them! It's a pretty cool game, kinda like a mixture of rugby, football and soccer. Since then I've been down to the Sydney harbour and had a good look at the Opera House....Wowoweeewowoweeee! It's pretty stunning! The same day I did a tour of the botanical gardens, this sweet older lady showed me and a few others around. I got to learn about tonnes of cool Aussie plants!
The tales of how it's a lot more relaxed and slow in Australia and New Zealand are true! The time seems to stand still. I can get up, watch the news, have a coffee, go to the beach, take a yoga class all before noon! I know, I know I'm living on a bit of a cloud over here....I'm going ride it out as long as possible!!! :) :)
In my last blog I had written up to when we were leaving the South Island of New Zealand. Well, it took us awhile but we managed to make our way up to New Plymouth on the North Island to volunteer at the WOMAD festival (http://www.womad.co.nz/new-plymouth.htm ). 
It's a festival of music, art and dance. The musicians were amazing! They were exactly that world class! Courtney, Mahal and I were volunteering at the information booth for the festival which was perfect for us. We got the inside track on what was going on, not to mention we got free accommodation in the Maori, Marai beds. One of the biggest highlights was seeing the Kiwi famous Fat Freddy's drop!!! Not only did we get to see them once we got to see him twice! Plus Court talked to the lead singer, which left her with trembly knees! Their music is real good, check them out- http://www.myspace.com/fatfreddysdropnz.
After the festival was over we knew we needed to work asap! But, as fate would have it we would end up in a van soon to be known as the P-Bus...Party Bus that is! Our friends were on their way out of New Plymouth so we jumped in with them. They were also wanting to find work, but they were not at all in a rush to do so. They were more concerned with finding a good beach. The three of us with our rubber arms being twisted were easily persuaded to join them on their beach mission. It took us over 2 days to get about 60km.....let me tell you that we saw some nice beaches! hahaha! Not only that but we got real stuck finding one and then ended up getting pulled out by this amazing Maori man who told us where we could go to camp. We ended up staying by the ocean with a view of a gorgeous Mountain called Taranaki.
It was a sweet night! The man came back with his son and we had a great chat about the history of the land and some real good laughs!
We ended up having to bail on the P-bus once we got to the town of Wangonui as we could tell they were going nowhere near work any time soon. We were super lucky to get to Wangonui as my friend Steph's mom (I lived with her in Ottawa) lives in Wangonui. We called her up and she let us stay with her for a couple nights. She was so sweet, she gave us a tour of where Steph grew up and took us out to see her horses. Another great example of how sweet people are down here.We made a clean break from Wangonui and went straight across and a bit north to a town called Napier. We were assured that we would find work around this area as it is the 'fruit bowl' of New Zealand. Unfortunately, like everywhere else in the world jobs were scarce. We were real discouraged as we found out that the fruit was late and therefore there were NO jobs. AHHHH!!! Getting a bit down on ourselves we managed to find a sweet hostel and we headed to a few beaches to cheer us up! In the end we got real desperate and called every single number we could find that may have had apple picking or packing jobs. I got through to one man named Phil and he ended up being our Angel and in the end a bit of a devil for us. He had a small orchard and they were starting to pick on the following Tuesday. So, we got ourselves some jobs and place to live. We stayed in our sh.&%^ ass tent outside of the house on the orchard. It was great though because we had a hot tub, full kitchen, clean bathroom and a freaking sauna! Sweet az bro!
We picked and picked and picked some more. It was real tough but we managed to make enough money to get by and do some fun stuff. By fun stuff I mean I went SKYDIVING!
Yeah, Courtney and I jumped out of a plane from 12,000 feet and free fell for 45 seconds! It was f-ing unreal! The entire experience was pretty wild. Court and I weren't sure if we were actually going to do it as we drank the night before for our bosses son 18th birthday. In the morning they woke us up at 8:30 (we stayed at our bosses summer home in a town called Taupo). They were so hyped up and ready to go...they convinced us that we should really skydive as we may never have another chance...so we went for it! We were still half drunk and so I think that made the decision easier!
It was so seamless as it's tandem, you basically get into a small plane and sit as crammed together as possible. The views from the plane were amazing and once again I could see Mount Taranaki! We got to a certain elevation and you could feel the buzz of all the flight instructors getting ready to go. So, the guy I was with says ok, sit on my lap!!! To which I replied 'wow, didn't know we were getting this intimate' (he got a good kick out of it). I asked him to triple check that I was attached to him! I wasn't really scared until the thought went through my head that I would just pop off the guy and go plummeting to the ground! That thought passed quickly and then all of a sudden it was time. The door slid open and BOOM out the camera man was hanging on the edge of the plane and then BOOM one of our friends was gone down....I was 4th in line and when it came time I asked the guy if we could do as many flips as possible! Ha! He was like 'Is this your first time?' to which I said 'Yes, and probably my last so let's make it good!'.
Then it happened we scooted over to the edge and on the count of three we were out. We free fell for about 45 seconds. 45 seconds of pure exhilaration! It was such a rush! I loved every second of it! Then he grabbed me around the waist and shhhwoop, he pulled open the shoot! We soared down the rest of the way. He did some loops around which were a bit of a thrill but mostly it was super relaxing! (If you know Courtney you'll have to ask her about her experience, oh Miller...Miller...Miller...Miller...)After our wild weekend we picked apples for a few more weeks and then decided we should head all the way north as that's where the next fruit and jobs would be ready. A side note here would be to mention that yet anohter one of our electronics got messed up here....you would not believe it, but a tractor ran over Mahalia's purse and her cell phone, which at the time was like our life line!!! It all worked itself out, but what a freaking nightmare!
On to the next fruit on our journey and how appropriate that right before we leave we come into the world of KIWI FRUIT!!! I've never seen more of one fruit in my entire life!!!
We headed North stopping in Taupo for the long weekend to do one of the New Zealand famous walks.
The Tongariro crossing is one of the World Heritage Sites. The trek included the volcano "Mount Doom" that was in the "Lord of the Ring". Not to mention 3 gorgeous blue sulphur pools and a huge lake. Just when we thought that we saw the most beautiful thing on the hike something else would be over the edge!Taupo was great we went out after the hike and ended up meeting some awesome guys and partied up big time. We dominated one of the bars dance floor as we later noticed we were the only ones on :)
North bound also lead us to Auckland for a night. We were lucky to stay with one of Mahalia's friends, Erin. We hung out and checked out little India and ate some wicked food!
The last leg of our trip as I mentioned brought us almost to the top of the North island. We went to a small town called Keri Keri. We were promised by the owner of a hostel that he could get us jobs and accomadation. PERFECT! So, we rocked up to a semi-sketchy backpackers and within about 5 days got work. The place was ok at first but after awhile it was just plain dumpy! But, on the first day of work we ended up getting a ride with these girls from Auckland. Nina and Serena would soon become our best mates in New Zealand. They are super funny and having them around saved us from bailing on the entire situation.
On to the packhouse....oh the pakchouse!!! Unfortunately (or fortunately), we couldn't get kiwi picking jobs but instead we got kiwi packing jobs. Basically, we showed up at this big packhouse (like a kiwi factory) and it was luck of the draw of what position you got. Court, Mahal and I huddled together to make sure we were on the same job. However, somehow both Court and Mahal got labelling jobs and I went to the kiwi line. Courtney was in charge (actually she's still there and I fear if a cute kiwi boy sweeps her off her feet we may never see her again) of the machines of kiwi lables that went on each individual label. So, she would be known as the 'label supervisor'. Mahalia was in charge of putting the bar code stickers on the kiwi boxes after they were packed. Serena, Nina and I were among the many that were in charge of putting the kiwis in the boxes!!! So, picture this- a converyor belt of kiwis going down a line and they get spit down a shoot where then you have to put them in a tray or in a box. Sounds simple, Yes, it's very simple! BUT...it's so hard on the body and it's super brain numbing! I cried after my first shift. I was so sad for all the people in the world that work in factories on lines day in and day out.
We powered through two weeks of twelve hour days before we decided to start on the night shift. That meant that we were working 5-1AM. It was perfect! Not only did we get off twelve hours but Nina, Serena and the three of us moved out of the dumpy backpackers we were staying in to a gorgeous pagoda! Our friends told us about this place that normally never lets backpackers stay but because it was the off season we were allowed to stay there. It was like being at the ritz considering the place we had been staying at!The other great things about going to the night shift was that we all got better jobs and we got to really know the people of Kerikeri. We were working with some real interesting characters that
made for some real interesting stories! 
Our time in Kerikeri was pretty good in the sense that we were making money, meeting cool people and living in a sweet pad! Not only all that but one of the weekends our friend Daniel (Steph my old roomie from Ottawa, her boyfriend) came up to take us on a tour of the Northland. He's from a town called Kaikohe that was only 30 minutes from our town. It was such a treat to have him show us around up there. It was a locals tour for sure! First we went to the site where the belief is that the first Mauri's came to New Zealand by. It's this huge cliff out cropping where the sea comes into an inlet. Then we went to his mom's house for some traditional fried bread, his mom was super sweet. After that it was onto see these massive indigenous Kauri trees. They were so big!!! We also got to some beautiful
beaches, his families land on the ocean, the best fish and chips in New Zealand, the site of the Rainbow warrior, waterfalls, a traditional murrai and to spot where they signed the Treaty of Waitangi. Pretty good for two days eh!The other sweet thing that happened was that my friends Jess and Pk who I had met in South Korea, came to New Zealand. They ended up coming up and staying at the pagoda lodge as well. The first day they got there I called in sick to work and took them to this wicked Reggae show (http://www.myspace.com/1814official). It was a sick night! We met this wicked guy Mark and danced our bums off all night! We would then go back to that same bar again the next night only to win a dance competition! Good times!
It was hard to leave Kerikeri in the end. I thought it would be easy as the work at the kiwi packhouse was at first real daunting. In the end though it was great. We finally had a sweet home, a decent enough job but the clincher was that we had some good friends!
I left Kerikeri a few weeks after Mahalia had left. I flew out of Auckland but before that I finally had the chance to visit with Steph. Steph is the wicked kiwi chick that I lived and worked with in Ottawa. She was one of th reasons why I went to New Zealand. It was a perfect end to my time in New Zealand. We really just hung out and she showed me around Aukland, brought me to a rugny game and some other really nice spots in Auckland. It was so great to see her again!
Sigh, wow that was a mouth full! I'm going to end this here and I'll write another update about my Aussie adventures!
I'll be home in less then a week and I can even wait! Both my sisters have babies now and I'm so excited to spend some time with them and the rest of my family! As well, the week after I get home is the OM festival so I get to catch up with all my friends in the forest! WOOHOO!!!
Peace, love and smiles from the land down under!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
New Zealand...a.k.a the land of many cool sayings! (Choice bro, No drama, You aright, F.....unnnnnnreal!, I reckon we sell the car?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!)
After much consideration and so many mind changes I decided to join up with two of my bestest friends Courtney and Mahal in New Zealand. I can tell you that I've made an excellent choice!!! It was so great to see Court and Mahalia waiting for me on the other side of those airport doors. 
I don't think that small airport in Christchurch had ever heard such loud screams before. It was pretty surreal to be standing there and realizing that the three of us were together in New Zealand...sweet!
They picked me up in our very own 1998 Mitsubishi and we headed straight to a music festival. The festival was near a small town called Twizel and it was all New Zealand bands. SOOOO FANTASTIC! There was tonnes of music but for the most part was reggae, dub and hip hop. One of the big things I missed when I was in Korea was live music, so this was an excellent way to start off my first week out of SoKo.
We volunteered at the festival and all we had to do was take tickets and hand out sun screen. It was such a sweet deal! I got a chance to meet all Court and Mahal friends that they had made the month before picking cherries. I had no idea that their were so many people from around the world travelling and working in NZ. Leave it to Court and Mahal to find some sweet people to hang around with! I love them!!!
After the festival a bunch of us headed to a small little lake to chill out and relax for a few days. Week two of my NZ adventures brought me to the adventure capital of the world, Queenstown. This is where they have all the bungy jumping, para-sailing, kite surfing, base jumping, white water rafting and many many more adrenaline seeking sports. We stayed with one of Mahal's friends from Whistler. It was so great we had a hot tub and a pool along with a bunch of super cool peops. We watched a sweet bike jam with tonnes of boys doing some crazy ass flips and stunts on their bikes.
Day three of Queenstown was the day that I dared to go over the edge!!! Yup, I jumped off a cliff!!!! I did what they call a canyon swing and let me tell you it was absolutely mind blowing. You basically go to the edge of a canyon (on a platform ) and then get harnessed in and then jump any way you want down into a canyon. (http://www.canyonswing.co.nz/index.php) Court went first and did what they call a pin drop which means she stepped off sideways. After Court I took the plunge.
I chose sitting in a plastic patio chair as my way off plummeting into the great unknown. So, there I was sitting in a chair as one of the guys working there harnessed me and started to tip me over the edge. At first they were just toying with me and pretending to drop me and then bringing me back up. It was so freaking scary!!! Once they were done toying with my emotions they told me that I had to push myself off the edge. Picture this- me, sitting in a chair with my back to the canyon having to push the chair and me over the edge.
It took me awhile of hemming and humming and then I counted to three in my head and push!!!!! Over the edge I went and I dropped like a freaking brick!!! I did two backwards flip before just dropping straight and then swinging way over the canyon! It was absolutely mind blowing! Then they pull you back up and you get to sit tight and enjoy the view. It's similar to bungy jumping except the harness is around waist instead of your feet.
Mahalia went next and she decided she wanted to jump straight off the edge. It took her some time and then she did it! So great to watch! Court and I decided that because it was cheap to do a second jump we should just go for it. So, this time we did what they call the 'Bin Laden'. What that means is you go head first with your feet over your head. Yup, they harness you in, hang you over the edge and tell you to put your legs up around the rope and then to swing your arms back into the super man position!!! There I was staring straight down at the canyon!!! Let's just say it was exhilarating and I suggest it to anyone who likes a thrill!!
After Queenstown we did a tour up across the south island and then up the west coast.
It was absolutely beautiful and then I knew why they film so many spectacular movies in this country. The mountains looked like fern gully and the forests like The Lord of the Rings. 
No joke, it was absolutely stunning!!! We didn't stick around the west coast to much as there were tonnes of sand flies and it was raining. We booked it to a small town called Motoueka to find some apple picking jobs. That is where I am now.
We couldn't find jobs at the beginning so we went and did some WOOFING. That means to work on an organic farm. It was a great experience. The farm we went to was called 'Go Lightly' and it an older couples organic farm. It was full of cows, chucks (chickens), sheep, walnuts and tonnes of other fruits and veggies.
We got to pick mushrooms, plants trees, pickle mushrooms, make sherbet and we ate A LOT! They milked their own cow and had eggs from the chucks so we had some yummy eats!
We are outside of Motueka in Tasman at the moment. When we were at the farm we decided we need to go to the North island because we couldn't find jobs on the south island. So, we had a few things to do in Motoueka before heading out of town to the ferry. We took a Scottish guy (Martin, who is one of the funniest people I've ever met) he was also helping out at the farm to town with us. On the way everything changed...we were joking around that we were going to sell the car because we couldn't afford the gas for it and all the joys that come with having a car. To which Martin replied 'I'll buy your car, how much???'. So, last minute decision we sold the car. Now you see we had already booked our ferry tickets and we're scheduled to leave the island that night. Instead, we were going to get Martin to drive us to Nelson and then we would get to the ferry from there. BUT, on the way to the ferry we saw a sign that said 'Apple Pickers Needed'.....ahhhh, there is a money god!
I've just finished day three of apple picking and am slowly getting good at it...but woweee!!! It's not an easy buck to make, I can tell you that much!!!! We are all working very hard to get to the next destination. WOMAD!!!! Which is a festival of music and art.
I hope that everyone is doing fantastic. I'm not near a computer EVER these days so I'm sorry if I haven't written. I hope that you know that I'm thinking of you and that I send all my love to everyone. A special note to my sisters and their new beautiful babies. Love you guys sooo much and look forward to being in the same country again :) :) :)
Peace, love, smiles from the southern hemisphere :) :) :)
P.S. If you want to call me that would be great it's 001-64-21-113-7757 (i hope that works!!!)
I don't think that small airport in Christchurch had ever heard such loud screams before. It was pretty surreal to be standing there and realizing that the three of us were together in New Zealand...sweet!
They picked me up in our very own 1998 Mitsubishi and we headed straight to a music festival. The festival was near a small town called Twizel and it was all New Zealand bands. SOOOO FANTASTIC! There was tonnes of music but for the most part was reggae, dub and hip hop. One of the big things I missed when I was in Korea was live music, so this was an excellent way to start off my first week out of SoKo.We volunteered at the festival and all we had to do was take tickets and hand out sun screen. It was such a sweet deal! I got a chance to meet all Court and Mahal friends that they had made the month before picking cherries. I had no idea that their were so many people from around the world travelling and working in NZ. Leave it to Court and Mahal to find some sweet people to hang around with! I love them!!!
After the festival a bunch of us headed to a small little lake to chill out and relax for a few days. Week two of my NZ adventures brought me to the adventure capital of the world, Queenstown. This is where they have all the bungy jumping, para-sailing, kite surfing, base jumping, white water rafting and many many more adrenaline seeking sports. We stayed with one of Mahal's friends from Whistler. It was so great we had a hot tub and a pool along with a bunch of super cool peops. We watched a sweet bike jam with tonnes of boys doing some crazy ass flips and stunts on their bikes.
Day three of Queenstown was the day that I dared to go over the edge!!! Yup, I jumped off a cliff!!!! I did what they call a canyon swing and let me tell you it was absolutely mind blowing. You basically go to the edge of a canyon (on a platform ) and then get harnessed in and then jump any way you want down into a canyon. (http://www.canyonswing.co.nz/index.php) Court went first and did what they call a pin drop which means she stepped off sideways. After Court I took the plunge.
I chose sitting in a plastic patio chair as my way off plummeting into the great unknown. So, there I was sitting in a chair as one of the guys working there harnessed me and started to tip me over the edge. At first they were just toying with me and pretending to drop me and then bringing me back up. It was so freaking scary!!! Once they were done toying with my emotions they told me that I had to push myself off the edge. Picture this- me, sitting in a chair with my back to the canyon having to push the chair and me over the edge.
It took me awhile of hemming and humming and then I counted to three in my head and push!!!!! Over the edge I went and I dropped like a freaking brick!!! I did two backwards flip before just dropping straight and then swinging way over the canyon! It was absolutely mind blowing! Then they pull you back up and you get to sit tight and enjoy the view. It's similar to bungy jumping except the harness is around waist instead of your feet.
Mahalia went next and she decided she wanted to jump straight off the edge. It took her some time and then she did it! So great to watch! Court and I decided that because it was cheap to do a second jump we should just go for it. So, this time we did what they call the 'Bin Laden'. What that means is you go head first with your feet over your head. Yup, they harness you in, hang you over the edge and tell you to put your legs up around the rope and then to swing your arms back into the super man position!!! There I was staring straight down at the canyon!!! Let's just say it was exhilarating and I suggest it to anyone who likes a thrill!!After Queenstown we did a tour up across the south island and then up the west coast.
It was absolutely beautiful and then I knew why they film so many spectacular movies in this country. The mountains looked like fern gully and the forests like The Lord of the Rings. 
No joke, it was absolutely stunning!!! We didn't stick around the west coast to much as there were tonnes of sand flies and it was raining. We booked it to a small town called Motoueka to find some apple picking jobs. That is where I am now.We couldn't find jobs at the beginning so we went and did some WOOFING. That means to work on an organic farm. It was a great experience. The farm we went to was called 'Go Lightly' and it an older couples organic farm. It was full of cows, chucks (chickens), sheep, walnuts and tonnes of other fruits and veggies.
We got to pick mushrooms, plants trees, pickle mushrooms, make sherbet and we ate A LOT! They milked their own cow and had eggs from the chucks so we had some yummy eats!
We are outside of Motueka in Tasman at the moment. When we were at the farm we decided we need to go to the North island because we couldn't find jobs on the south island. So, we had a few things to do in Motoueka before heading out of town to the ferry. We took a Scottish guy (Martin, who is one of the funniest people I've ever met) he was also helping out at the farm to town with us. On the way everything changed...we were joking around that we were going to sell the car because we couldn't afford the gas for it and all the joys that come with having a car. To which Martin replied 'I'll buy your car, how much???'. So, last minute decision we sold the car. Now you see we had already booked our ferry tickets and we're scheduled to leave the island that night. Instead, we were going to get Martin to drive us to Nelson and then we would get to the ferry from there. BUT, on the way to the ferry we saw a sign that said 'Apple Pickers Needed'.....ahhhh, there is a money god!I've just finished day three of apple picking and am slowly getting good at it...but woweee!!! It's not an easy buck to make, I can tell you that much!!!! We are all working very hard to get to the next destination. WOMAD!!!! Which is a festival of music and art.
I hope that everyone is doing fantastic. I'm not near a computer EVER these days so I'm sorry if I haven't written. I hope that you know that I'm thinking of you and that I send all my love to everyone. A special note to my sisters and their new beautiful babies. Love you guys sooo much and look forward to being in the same country again :) :) :)
Peace, love, smiles from the southern hemisphere :) :) :)
P.S. If you want to call me that would be great it's 001-64-21-113-7757 (i hope that works!!!)
Back to SoKo for a one month stint!
I'm so pleased I did a one month winter camp teaching position in Daigu. It rejuvenated my faith in teaching. The camp was fairly well organized and I actually felt like I was teaching!!! I mean I did at some points feel like I was teaching at my last job, but this time I felt like it all the time. I had a big TV in my classroom with access to the Internet which was absolutely fabulous! If I couldn't explain a word in English I could just look it up..sooo great!
Home IS Where the Heart truly is!!!!
Hey Hey Hay Hey Hey Hey Hay,
Well, well, well, it's been a really long time since I've checked in here and so I've got lots of stuff to update on...but no worries it won't be as long as that Japan post I did back in the summer. December was a month of lots of visiting and catching up with all my loved ones in Ontario. I was somewhat worried that I wouldn't have enough time to see everyone and spend good quality time with my friends and family at home...however, as proved to me once again as long as I set my mind to something it will work out. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before in another blog, but within the first few weeks that I was in Korea I had these day dreams about how it would feel to fly home and get to the Ottawa airport and see all my family and friends on the other side of the sliding airport doors. The feelings were not at all what I was expecting. I was expecting to start crying and be completely overwhelmed by seeing everyone...however, it felt very 'normal'. I came down the escalators and after some well overdue hugs I couldn't help but feel completely at ease normal around everyone. In saying that though I was semi-culture shocked at the western world for awhile. It took me a couple weeks to get use to understanding everything. One of the best parts was the ability to order something on a menu and know exactly what I was getting (what a concept eh!!! hahaha)
Home was filled with lots of good stuff. My first weekend back we had a welcome home party both for myself and for my new (now 4 months old) niece, Molly. Meeting her was so great! She is so sweet and I'm so happy to be Auntie Ang :) . I was lucky to see most of my family at that party right away. Lisa Haddow graced me with her presence at the end of the party and we decided it was a great idea to drink our faces off (Glenfedeck! YUCK!!!) and meet up with the third of our group Kristen at the good ole billy town pub! It's funny and so clichéd but some things just NEVER change. I walked into that pub and I swear the same exact people were sitting there that used to be there over the passed at least 10 years! We managed to keep our reputation alive by drinking the bar out of a few types of liquors before retiring to Kristen's gorgeous new home!
I headed up to Ottawa that week to deal with my Visa and all that other real fun stuff!!! That week I got to see my Ottawa friends and spend a few nights with my sisters and the baby. The other cool thing was that I got to hang with my sister Kim who was at the time nine months pregnant. Since that time she's had her beautiful little boy named Gabriel. I'm so happy to be yet again an aunt and this time it's a boy!!!! WOOHOO!
I covered a lot of ground in one month and a bit of that was in the Toronto area. That's where I got to reunite with a bunch of Uni friends. Not to mention the road trip with my friend Jaime. Now the thing with Jaime and I is that when we get together is that something completely random and sometimes unfortunate happens. But, no matter what we always have a great time and laugh our heads off! So, in T. we had a great time partying it up with my friends Gen, Brooke, Cobb, Pj, Kristin and some of their significant others. It was so great!!!!! It was such a tease though to see them and then have to leave them...but it was good to see them and know that our friendships are still so strong...I'm so lucky to have such great friends!
My Ottawa Tribe decided that we should have a cottage party so that we could spend two nights in the middle of nowwhere with no interruptions to catch up...it was great we had a meeting for the small festival we put on every year, we danced, we played and we just enjoyed being around each other. Not to mention the few that when snow swimming!!!
Montreal was the next target on my hit list. My beautiful and dear friend Meaghan drove us back from the cottage party. Montreal is definitely somewhere that holds a special part of my heart. It's just so full of great energy and cool people! Rhea, Wil and I went to a party in the complete dark! Yup, we had a pot luck at this girls house and for most of the night it was in the dark. Sounds pretty weird eh?!?! It was so fun! They put an emphasis on music and singing. So, they turned the lights off and played instruments, sang, recited poetry and told stories.
Being that the lights were off people were not shy to sing or participate. This allowed for such amazing creativity and so much participation!!! Genius!
Christmas with my family was nice as we all got out a few times for some nice walks in the bush behind my house. It was definitely a full house at my Mom and Dad's with the new baby. It was so great though we got to bath the baby, hold the baby, play with the baby and hold the baby some more ;). Molly loves to be held and she also loves reggae music!! YEAH! If you listen to reggae and dance with her she stops crying...yeah!!!! Next step is dreads for that baby ;) ;) ;) heheh!!! Seeing my sister Kim pregnant was also such a treat! She was such a cute prego lady!
It was good timing for me to be home not only for Christmas but also for my friends Gregg and Allison's wedding. Gregg is a friend from high school while Allison is one of my sister's good friend and so now one of my friends. The wedding was great! One big party! It was almost like a high school reunion as people kept coming out of the wood works...every time I turned around BOOM there was someone I haven't seen in a real long time! It made for such a great night and lots of good reminiscing stories were told.
New Years of 2009 was spent with a crew of peops from Ottawa. A bunch of the boys had a party at their house and I rocked out it with some friends as Choopie played some wicked acoustic stuff and then Adam layed it down with a bunch of great tracks.
I flew out on the 2nd of January feeling really torn about leaving again. I had a tough time saying goodbye to my family. With the new baby and Kim pregnant it was really hard. However, I knew that I would be back withing at least 5 months so it was all good!!!
On to the next advntures!
Well, well, well, it's been a really long time since I've checked in here and so I've got lots of stuff to update on...but no worries it won't be as long as that Japan post I did back in the summer. December was a month of lots of visiting and catching up with all my loved ones in Ontario. I was somewhat worried that I wouldn't have enough time to see everyone and spend good quality time with my friends and family at home...however, as proved to me once again as long as I set my mind to something it will work out. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before in another blog, but within the first few weeks that I was in Korea I had these day dreams about how it would feel to fly home and get to the Ottawa airport and see all my family and friends on the other side of the sliding airport doors. The feelings were not at all what I was expecting. I was expecting to start crying and be completely overwhelmed by seeing everyone...however, it felt very 'normal'. I came down the escalators and after some well overdue hugs I couldn't help but feel completely at ease normal around everyone. In saying that though I was semi-culture shocked at the western world for awhile. It took me a couple weeks to get use to understanding everything. One of the best parts was the ability to order something on a menu and know exactly what I was getting (what a concept eh!!! hahaha)
Home was filled with lots of good stuff. My first weekend back we had a welcome home party both for myself and for my new (now 4 months old) niece, Molly. Meeting her was so great! She is so sweet and I'm so happy to be Auntie Ang :) . I was lucky to see most of my family at that party right away. Lisa Haddow graced me with her presence at the end of the party and we decided it was a great idea to drink our faces off (Glenfedeck! YUCK!!!) and meet up with the third of our group Kristen at the good ole billy town pub! It's funny and so clichéd but some things just NEVER change. I walked into that pub and I swear the same exact people were sitting there that used to be there over the passed at least 10 years! We managed to keep our reputation alive by drinking the bar out of a few types of liquors before retiring to Kristen's gorgeous new home!
I headed up to Ottawa that week to deal with my Visa and all that other real fun stuff!!! That week I got to see my Ottawa friends and spend a few nights with my sisters and the baby. The other cool thing was that I got to hang with my sister Kim who was at the time nine months pregnant. Since that time she's had her beautiful little boy named Gabriel. I'm so happy to be yet again an aunt and this time it's a boy!!!! WOOHOO!
I covered a lot of ground in one month and a bit of that was in the Toronto area. That's where I got to reunite with a bunch of Uni friends. Not to mention the road trip with my friend Jaime. Now the thing with Jaime and I is that when we get together is that something completely random and sometimes unfortunate happens. But, no matter what we always have a great time and laugh our heads off! So, in T. we had a great time partying it up with my friends Gen, Brooke, Cobb, Pj, Kristin and some of their significant others. It was so great!!!!! It was such a tease though to see them and then have to leave them...but it was good to see them and know that our friendships are still so strong...I'm so lucky to have such great friends!
My Ottawa Tribe decided that we should have a cottage party so that we could spend two nights in the middle of nowwhere with no interruptions to catch up...it was great we had a meeting for the small festival we put on every year, we danced, we played and we just enjoyed being around each other. Not to mention the few that when snow swimming!!!
Montreal was the next target on my hit list. My beautiful and dear friend Meaghan drove us back from the cottage party. Montreal is definitely somewhere that holds a special part of my heart. It's just so full of great energy and cool people! Rhea, Wil and I went to a party in the complete dark! Yup, we had a pot luck at this girls house and for most of the night it was in the dark. Sounds pretty weird eh?!?! It was so fun! They put an emphasis on music and singing. So, they turned the lights off and played instruments, sang, recited poetry and told stories.
Being that the lights were off people were not shy to sing or participate. This allowed for such amazing creativity and so much participation!!! Genius!
Christmas with my family was nice as we all got out a few times for some nice walks in the bush behind my house. It was definitely a full house at my Mom and Dad's with the new baby. It was so great though we got to bath the baby, hold the baby, play with the baby and hold the baby some more ;). Molly loves to be held and she also loves reggae music!! YEAH! If you listen to reggae and dance with her she stops crying...yeah!!!! Next step is dreads for that baby ;) ;) ;) heheh!!! Seeing my sister Kim pregnant was also such a treat! She was such a cute prego lady!
It was good timing for me to be home not only for Christmas but also for my friends Gregg and Allison's wedding. Gregg is a friend from high school while Allison is one of my sister's good friend and so now one of my friends. The wedding was great! One big party! It was almost like a high school reunion as people kept coming out of the wood works...every time I turned around BOOM there was someone I haven't seen in a real long time! It made for such a great night and lots of good reminiscing stories were told.
New Years of 2009 was spent with a crew of peops from Ottawa. A bunch of the boys had a party at their house and I rocked out it with some friends as Choopie played some wicked acoustic stuff and then Adam layed it down with a bunch of great tracks.
I flew out on the 2nd of January feeling really torn about leaving again. I had a tough time saying goodbye to my family. With the new baby and Kim pregnant it was really hard. However, I knew that I would be back withing at least 5 months so it was all good!!!
On to the next advntures!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
MY MOM IS AMAZING!!!
My mom is absolutely wonderful! For years now I've made many a friends jealous with my unbeatable care packages. Starting in University she would send something for my entire floor. I thought she had outdone herself when she sent jujube Christmas candy trees but this time she has really done it! I arrived home from my year in Korea to find that she had scrapbooked my entire year. She took all my pics off of my picasa and turned then into two absolutely beautiful scrapbooks. Although, I wanted to bring them with me to Korea and everywhere I go from here on in, the planes won't let me because of their weight! So, I (actually, my Mom helped me as I was packing to come back to Korea) took pictures of it so I could put them up here. I didn't have time to put them all up but you can go to my picasa if you want to see them all. She takes the cake this woman! I love her to pieces!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Mount Mudang Defeated!
