Sunday, May 26, 2013

raymond trip

A couple weeks ago I decided to go down to Raymond. Not only did I want to hang out with Brad and Cassi, but it was Mother's Day so I think I picked a good weekend to go down.

I went down on the Saturday and helped my mom a tiny bit with planting some flowers. I did probably 1% of the work. Then we went to Magrath for a little walk-about.




We went to the best spot in the whole park. We used to play in these trees as kids and pretend we were monkeys. I love this place. So many memories.



Mommy and Daddy enjoying nature.


Kobe was so brave to walk out on the branches with me. He hates water so I'm surprised he went as far as he did. I think he even went further than me.


On Sunday it was super windy so Brad and Cassi came over for some dinner and we just hung out instead of going to Waterton or Writing on Stone. Hopefully we can get out somewhere next time.

I also found this gem:

Taz and Julio - best friends.
 And hey Mom, happy belated Mother's Day!


You're such an amazing mother. Thanks so much for being you!

victoria day roast

After I got back from Edmonton, I went straight to Arianne's house to pick up my edited pictures. They're amazing! I love them so much! More on that later. Anyways, I went to Kutarnas to let the girls play with Kobe. Alex then invited me to Fish Creek Park for a weenie roast. Biebers came too. It was such a perfect night for it.


Doesn't that place just look magical? The best part was that not many people pass through that area so we had it virtually all to ourselves!

Here's Nitty showing us her wonderful dancing.


We forgot to bring a knife, so Alex used Bieber's new hatchet to cut a hot dog in half. It was pretty great.

Thanks for the great evening everyone!

meet me halfway

For those of you who didn't know, Burns is installing again this summer. He left right after his last exam so I wasn't able to see him until just last week (around 18 days). My oh my was it great to be with him. He's up in Cold Lake so we met halfway in Edmonton. 

Arianne and Daryn were up in E-town for the long weekend and they made it their babymoon. While we were all together, we got some engagement pictures done! PS I felt Arianne's baby moving around and hiccuping today and it was so freakin' adorable! 

I'm kind of all over the place with this blog post so I'll just skip around a little more and give you a little update on how Burns is doing.

Burns is the lead tech for his area! He now has a lot more responsibility but hopefully it will all end up being worth it. Part of his responsibility is to help train new techs by going to their jobs and making sure they're doing everything alright. They can also call him any time with questions. While I was with him in Edmonton the guys kept calling and it was a teensy bit annoying. I shouldn't complain though because Burns was just trying to do his job well. 



One of the sales reps brought their dog, Chaos. She is seriously amazing. She sits outside all day and night without being tied to anything and she just waits for her owner. Burns takes her on walks sometimes. She is such a good dog.


So anyways, back to engagement photos! We met the Biebers at Astotin Lake in Elk Island National Park. It's about 45mins east of Edmonton and it's beautiful there! There are bison everywhere and a ton of beaver dams. It's a pretty cool place that I'd like to explore more thoroughly next time.




The reason it was so great for our pictures was because there was so much variety! There was a beach, a lake, stone steps, a boardwalk through wetlands, grassy areas, and trees! So many options!


It was hard to catch Burns without his squinting look, but Arianne accomplished the task. I'll post the pics in a later post.


We also saw a muskrat that Kobe was pretty interested in. Well, let's be real, I was probably more interested in it.




We stayed with the cutest little family that we know in Edmonton. The Goldthorps! Benjamin is getting so big and he is so precious. These people are seriously the best. They always have such amazing breakfasts when we stay with them and conversation is never at a stand still.


We got to hang out with Blake and Stephanie on Sunday too. Such a cute couple. We had a nice little stroll to the river bottom and back, talked some more, then went to bed.


Monday came and it was time to part ways. Burns and I said goodbye to the Goldthorps and the soon to be Brandleys (Blake and Steph are getting married in September). We then spent a little time alone before I headed home and Burns headed back to Cold Lake.

I had an amazing May Long and I can't wait to see Boonie again! It's a good thing that I'm so busy with work and wedding planning cause I would be a wreck without anything to do.

Plus also, if you ever get the chance, stop at the Donut Mill in Red Deer. It's such a cute diner with great food and awesome donuts, and I'm not even a huge fan of donuts!

nosehill park adventuring

For the past few weeks I have been running/going on walks with Kobe a lot around Nosehill Park. There have been some pretty fantastic nature sightings that I'd like to share.

1. Porcupine in a tree.



2. Herd of deer.


3. Sunny trails.


4. Morning crows.


5. Evening bird.


6. Rained on pup.


7. Rainy flower.


I love Nosehill.

Friday, May 17, 2013

bedim: difficult

Blog Every Day In May: Something Difficult About Your "Lot In Life" And How You're Working To Overcome It

One of the biggest attributes I must work on about myself is that I care too much. About what others think; about how my actions affect other people; about relationships that don't give back. This past year has been a pretty difficult for me in this sense. Even now I'm thinking of what not to write in order to offend no one.

I'm slowly learning that the outcome is nearly never as bad as originally thought it would be, true friends will be there for you no matter what, and family is the best thing ever. I'm so lucky to be where I am right now and I'm really trying not to take my life and situation for granted.

These guys help me get through:


And if I had a picture of Burns' family, they would be up on my blog too.

bedim: ten things

Blog Every Day In May: Ten Things That Make You Really Happy

1. Being outside in nice weather.

2. Burns.

3. When Kobe snuggles with me.

4. Seeing progress in the children I work with.

5. Being told that I'm doing a great job.

6. Hot showers.

7. Laughing until my eyes can't stop watering and my stomach is about to burst.

8. Family.

9. The feeling of just finishing all the household chores then relaxing on my freshly made bed.

10. Running.

bedim: apology


Blog Every Day In May: Issue A Public Apology

My Dearest Bathroom,

Life for you can be pretty crappy some days, and I'd like to apologize for not keeping you as clean as you and I would like. I'm sorry for shedding like a dog would in spring. I'm sorry for getting mixed toothpaste and saliva on the one thing that I look at the most in you. I'm sorry for you having to see my unclothed body nearly every single day as I drain all your resources just so I can be clean as you get dirtier. I really appreciate what you provide for me, so I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I'll try harder to keep you cleaner.

- Paige

Sunday, May 12, 2013

bedim: missing

Blog Every Day In May: What Do You Miss?

Since it's quite obvious that I'm really missing this guy at the moment:


I would have to say that I miss being on vacation with my family. Every year my parents would round up all the kids and take us camping. I miss those days. Luckily just last year we were all able to go to Shuswap together and it was FANTASTIC. I miss it so much and I really hope we'll all be able to go on a big vacation like that again soon.



bedim: sold

Blog Every Day In May: Sell Yourself In 10 Words Or Less

Empathetic. 
Loving. Fair. Friendly.
Introverted.
Energetic. Enthusiastic.
Punctual.
Fun. Innovative.


bedim: embarrassed

Blog Every Day In May: Most Embarrassing Moment

I've had a few embarrassing moments in my life time, but the most recent occurred just last month.

I just got a new job working as an SLPA for a Speech Pathologist I met through C&E and we were at our first staff meeting to get schedules going. We played an ice breaker game where everyone took a penny and you had to tell the most memorable happenings during the year on your penny. The penny I received was 2011 and I thought it read 2001. I commented on how young I was and that I probably wouldn't be able to share much. Then I realized it was 2011 so I started sharing stories from the year 2008 for some odd reason.

When it was another co-worker's turn I gasped. Everyone wondered what had happened so I had to explain that I didn't actually graduate high school in 2011, I was in my second to last year of university. Everyone had thought that I was super smart because I had made it seem like I graduated high school in 2011 and finished university in 2012. Needless to say, I was so embarrassed. I still feel dumb when I think back to that staff meeting.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

bedim: moment

Blog Every Day In May: A Moment In Your Day


bedim: advice

Blog Every Day In May: A Piece Of Advice You Have For Others


If there is one thing I have learned in my "stressful" life it is that:

everything will be okay if you let it.


Tuesday, May 7, 2013

bedim: fear

Blog Every Day In May: The Thing(s) You're Most Afraid Of

1. Losing my sense of self to some kind of degenerative disease.
2. Feeling negative emotions towards Burns before I find out that he died.
3. Burns dying. 
4. Kobe being seriously injured or dying.
5. Nuclear war.
6. Giving birth (Arianne I should probably read that book of yours before I even get pregnant because I'm terrified).

I think that's a pretty good list and will do for now.

Monday, May 6, 2013

bedim: what i do

Blog Every Day in May: If You Couldn't Answer With Your Job, How Would You Answer The Question, 'What Do You Do'?

I eat
I blog
I go on walks
I hike
I camp
I have long talks
I love
I dance
I run and play
I smile
I laugh
I read all day
I do so much to make it through
But they're the best when done with you.



Sunday, May 5, 2013

bedim: love

Blog Every Day in May: Publicly profess your love and devotion for one of your blogger friends. What makes them great? Why do you love them?

Well friends, today I shall publicly profess my love for TWO of my blogger friends. None other than my sisters (who are pretty much the best sisters ever), Alex and Arianne. I'm so lucky to have these two in my life. 

Arianne:


We lived together in Calgary for two years before she got married. Before then I didn't really know to the fullest extent of how awesome she truly is. She's smart, funny, talented, and has the uncanny ability to make you want to hide when she gets mad. The only reason I say this is because she's so laid back and understanding that it is nearly impossible to make her mad. When she is mad...well...it's kind of scary and you know you did something really stupid. She's also the kindest person I know.
I love you Arianne!

Alex:

Alex is a sister who will always be there for you no matter what. She's an adventurer and such a great mom. I really look up to her and I think she's raising the two best little munchkins around. Alex is also very talented and is super fun. She also gives great advice. Although I don't know her quite as well as Arianne, we've been hanging out more and becoming better friends - well in my opinion at least :) We ran the Harvest Half Marathon together and the Spartan Race. Those are pretty great memories and I hope we keep racing together.
I love you Alex!




Saturday, May 4, 2013

bedim: quote

Blog Every Day in May: Your Favourite Quote And Why You Love It

Although I don't really have a "go-to" quote, I really like this one:

“Twenty years from now you will be more 

disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by

 the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail 

away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in 

your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” 

- H. Jackson Brown Jr.

This one follows along quite closely and I couldn't help but post it because I love it. 


How many times have you had an opportunity to follow your dreams or go on a wonderful adventure? Often times I find I am terrified of new experiences because I am too caught up in the past or the future. "I need to pay off my loans so this money should really go to that instead of this.", "We'd be going with those people? Nah I'd rather not go then.", "What if..." Nonsense. These quotes remind me to live in the moment rather than the past or the future. 

Living by this standard has made for a lot of great adventures and there will be many, many more! It was Alex and Joe who first introduced me to this kind of thinking. It's kind of funny how this can become a part of who you are.

Burns works for Liberty Security. If he is able to install a certain amount of alarm systems (that means he would have to be within the top 3 techs in the country) he would be able to go on the annual company vacation, all expenses paid for. Oh and he would be able to take his wife (that would be me at that point in time) too. Or he also has the option of taking the money the company would have spent on us and we would stay home and pay off some bills. 

When we talked about the trip and how awesome it would be to go, I thought maybe it would be more awesome to pay off my loans. Burns then said, "I thought you were all into this 'living in the moment' thing."

I'm glad he is there to keep me in check of my own philosophy. So I changed my mind and even though it would be incredible to pay off my loans, it would be even better to go on an incredible trip for free and make more memories together. I'll just leave you with one last inspiring quote.

Entangled in the cancerous discipline of security, I flinged my life beneath the wheels of routine and before I knew it my life was gone.  I always wanted to sail the seven seas but I couldn’t afford it.  What I really couldn’t afford was not to go. 
Which shall it be? Bankruptcy of the pocket or bankruptcy of the soul?”
- Sterling Hayden






Friday, May 3, 2013

bedim: uncomfortable

Blog Every Day in May: Things That Make You Uncomfortable

This:

This:

Stuff like this:

I'm so sorry for doing this to you but...
This:
THIS:


These two hosting the Oscars:

This:

This:

Aaaand when people invade this: