Birthday – HIKES & HAMSTRINGS

Happy Birthday to Me!

So I celebrated my birthday this week… Happy Birthday, eek! Another year has gone by filled with many adventures, and though I had some set backs with work this year, I anticipate the coming year will be awesome. I think I’m going to create a “Things To Do While Thirty Two” list. It’s time to get back to my lists :). The name also has a nice rhyme to it…

The weekend was very nice and low key filled with some lovely celebrations. A trip to the farmer’s market was a must, followed by a short hike of the Douglas Fir Trail in Calgary. I’ve always wanted to complete this short jaunt, and we added geocaching to the activities for some fun. Then a great evening BBQ was a win for food and gorging, but an epic fail in terms of logic. Epic. Fail. The next day, there was a trip to Banff for an afternoon and The Wolverine in the evening. And then on Monday, breakfast at Nellie’s and dinner at Cibo in the evening with friends (where I received an awesome painting!). As for my actual day, a wonderful dinner at Bonterra Trattoria with great company (dos!). I think 32 is starting off quite nicely…

Drive the Icefields Parkway. At Least Once.

Driving the Icefields Parkway

A few weekends ago (the August long weekend, to be exact), it was my 31st birthday. With all of the hoopla of the contest win the day after my birthday, I haven’t had a chance to sit down and reflect about that weekend. In a few words, it was very enjoyable, relaxing, and beautiful.

Road trip time

Robbie and I set out from Calgary en route to Jasper. I didn’t actually know what was in store for the weekend, which made it all quite exciting! First stop- kayaking in Banff. I had never gone kayaking before, and it was so much fun! Then it was on to the Icefields Parkway, making photo stops along the way, until reaching Jasper. The next day, we started the morning off with horseback riding, followed by a relaxing afternoon with a short visit to Maligne Canyon. The last day we headed back to Calgary, but not before seeing the glaciers on Mount Edith Cavell, admiring the Athabasca Falls, and taking in the bright turquoise of Peyto Lake. It was a fantastic birthday weekend 🙂

Kayaking in Banff

… so peaceful…

Amazing scenery the entire time on the Icefields Parkway

Approaching the Columbia Icefields Visitors’ Center

Now, I’ve done the Icefields Parkway drive before, and this second time was just as awesome as the first. The mountains are incredible, and the landscape changes from Kananaskis to Banff to the Icefields Parkway and then finally to Jasper. I don’t know a lot about the geology or the formation of the mountains, but something incredible occurred to make them look the way they do. And so, I wanted the take home message of this post to be this: If there is ever an opportunity to drive the Icefields Parkway, do it. It is one of National Geographic’s Ultimate Road Trips, and with very good reason. It really is one of the most beautiful and majestic drives. I acknowledge that I am quite fortunate to live so close to such amazing scenery, but it really never gets old. Every time I drive through the mountains, I’m lost and mesmerized all over again.

Athabasca Glacier

Horseback riding. Yay!

Stopping at Athabasca Falls

You never know what wildlife you’ll see 🙂

Happy 30th Birthday Beyonce!

Today, September 4th, marks a very special day. That’s right folks. It’s Beyonce’s 30th birthday! That makes at least two awesome people who have turned 30 this year ;). Coincidence? I think not. And yes… this historic occasion deserved an entire blog posting. It’s no secret that I’m a huge Beyonce fan :). Happy Birthday Beyonce!

Finally, I Tried Scuba Diving!

Scuba Diving, you're officially off the list! — Scuba Diving, you’re officially off the list!

I’m going to take a detour from the chronological nature of my posts and jump ahead to write a brief entry about today. I flew back to Calgary after a great, yet super quick, weekend at home. The weekend was jam-packed with visiting friends and cousins, a wedding, a day of cooking Trini food with my parents, and quality time with the family at the CNE. I ended up getting 2.5 hours of sleep last night, but no rest for the weary! A while back I had booked a Discover Scuba Diving class at the Aqua Sport Scuba Centre in Marda Loop for this evening. I almost cancelled because I’m sooo tired right now, but after some discussions with friends, they made me feel guilty about cancelling. So… I decided to go. Thanks folks (you know who you are) for guilting me into going because it was fantastic! Continue reading “Finally, I Tried Scuba Diving!”

Yay Birthdays!

Face Smash 2011. Happy Birthday Dan!

Today is my good friend Dan’s birthday. You may remember Dan from face-smashing or kicking-the-hernia-to-the-curb fame. Happy Birthday Dan! Here is a virtual high-five to the face for your birthday. But enough about you…

My birthday gift to you is displayed in this image.
Credit: ?

It’s like my 30th birthday everyday! Well, not really, but today I received a card and gift in the mail from Dan (… see previous paragraph if you’ve already forgotten who he is. And yes, I’m totally stealing Dan’s thunder by talking all about me me me me me.)

Yay, I got mail!

Ooh, another birthday surprise! I opened up the card… and it is hilarious! The word in the second bubble is not very nice, so I smiley-faced it out. But think of one of the worst words you can and it probably fits. The response is quite suitable regardless. 🙂

Front of the card.

Back of the card. Sounds about right.

I also received a lollipop! A Maple Bacon Lollipop, to be exact. Apparently it’s ‘ALL NATURAL’. I’m not sure how I feel about this…

Teehee.

Thanks Dan. The card and gift are fantastic… and too funny! I also appreciate the kind words. They made me throw up just a little bit. You know I’m kidding. Yay 30’s!