in edmonton...safe and sound

and with minimal bug bites. so far...

yes, tim and i followed the as scheduled plan for three days of backpacking in yoho national park and then had an unscheduled hotel stay in golden,bc when we took off our packs. showers and beds with pillows and SYTYCD was too much to resist. the hiking was hard, the headache count was amazingly only ONE and the size of the hail was about the size of tatertots. i love my new sleeping bag and i have plans to buy a backpacking pillow next time. fleeces and rainjackets balled up just didn't cut it at the end of a long day.

oh, there's many a story but no photos yet so the stories will have to wait until next week...

as for our current staus: we're in edmonton with rach and dall, eating their food and drinking from the cups with our names on them that rachel put in the bathroom for us. what a hostess.

more to come...

here we go!

so tim and i are heading out today on our backpacking/edmonton trip! we're mostly packed but seem to be moving slow this morning. plus we need to make a final stop at the store to buy the last minute things like ice and bug spray. and then of course there's starbucks. we're not so big on the early morning starts.

someone tape SYTYCD for me. :)

SYTYCD

i heart dominic and sabre.

if hok & jaimie, sarah & pasha, and lacey & kameron are in the bottom three? i predict kam and sarah are going. if kameron and lacey aren't in the bottom three but hok is? i predict hok is going.

i heart wade robson.

bears?

so i told my massage therapist today that i was going on my first backpacking trip next week. here's our conversation entitled "what not to tell someone going on their first backpacking trip":

michelle: do you have bear spray?
me: no.
michelle: did you hear about those people who were attacked by a grizzly last week?
me: no.
michelle: they startled the grizzly and it attacked them.
me: yeah, i guess you need to be quite loud as you hike so you don't startle them and then hopefully they leave you alone.
michelle: well that's what they say about black bears but grizzlies will just attack for no reason.
me: huh.
michelle: you should probably get bear spray.

the latest puchase...

a couple weeks ago when tim and i were at MEC buying that fantastic backpack that you've already seen, i had tried on a pair of Merrell Explorer Day Hiking boots (seen here) that were blue. they were not quite the right size and the store didn't have the next size up to see if those fit better. if you know me, you know i tend to shop impulsively so instead of just buying that size, i didn't. to spend $150 on boots, you want to make sure they're perfect. i tried on other boots that day at other stores but didn't find anything i liked that much. hiking boots are so goofy looking.

since we're leaving saturday, and now it's wednesday afternoon and i still am lacking boots - i was sitting around at liz's today and checked MEC's website only to see that my boots were now only $97!!! but of course, not in my size or even the close size anymore. i say, "where else can i look for boots?" and liz suggested Coast Mountain. i'm not a Coast Mountain fan but i gave them a call asking for these boots and what do you know? they have my size. AND they're $129 - not $149! AND they're on sale for $119! so that's good enough, right? while i'm on hold for buddy to check to see if they have my size, liz says to me, "ask if they're price-match MEC" so i do. and they DID! i got my boots, correct size and they're not weird blue - they're normal brown!

great. thanks liz.

gym culture

on saturday, i entered new gym status. i worked out with a trainer. oh yes - you heard me right. a trainer. at VRC, having a meeting with a trainer is free so you sign up, you have the initial meeting where they meet you and ask you a bunch of questions and then they develop a workout routine for you. on saturday, i met with tammy to go ove my new routine.

well...having been a just ladies only gym member, i'm a little thrown by all the guys in the weights room. there was one woman in there. tammy had asked me if i'd rather have my workout designed for the just ladies section or the regular weights section and i said, whatever. umm...maybe i would've liked the ladies section better. on saturday when i was there, these guys working out are huge and scary. they know the machines better and what if they come up and want to use my machine? augh!

so tammy takes me around to show me the machines i'll be using and on every machine i'm changing the weigh from 235lbs to...15 lbs. i bet that starts to get you down after awhile. but i learned a lot things. for example, i've never been keeping my wrists straight when working with weights! who knew i was bending them? and then as tammy's about to show me this squat machine, she asks me to do a squat and i do. she's like, "oh no no. stop." umm, i gues i was doing something wrong. so she tells me to do another one. same reaction. "oh - i guess we better not use this machine actually" she says. haha. i got demoted to an easier squat machine. but she says my lunges are beautiful.

so my "program" includes a one day arms and core workout and then the next day legs and core workout to be done about 4 times a week. PLUS 4-5 times a week, i should be doing 60 minutes of cardio. what? who has the time for all this? well...i do right now...but that's not the point. it's no wonder these guys at the gym are crazy huge - it's because it's all they must do. work and workout. so sure, i can maybe make this happen for the next free 4 weeks of summer but then what?

i guess we'll see. i'm doing my first arm workout today. i'm going to be hurting.

i've been waiting TWO weeks!

and FINALLY SYTYCD was back tonight! oh you KNOW it's going to be a long post tonight...

having watched the show alone tonight, i have a plethora of comments. so many, i did think about making notes while i watched but then decided that might be taking it all a little too seriously. instead, i'm posting minutes after the show so i don't forget anything. ha.

i'm always a little miffed by guest judges. i often don't think they have the guts to say real things to the dancers. buddy tonight? fantastic. i think he should be a regular judge.

lacey and cameron are lacking something. i don't know what it is but i don't think it will have helped their votes by having danced first because we forgot what they'd even done by the end of the show.

shauna and cedric. i hope they're in the bottom this week. sure, it was okay. way to step it up cedric but it's not up to the standards of the rest of the dancers on this show.

i loved and fully agreed with what guest judge said about danny. he has this arrogant way about him that looks as though he thinks he's already won. i totally DOES. sure, maybe the other two don't think that it's arrogance but i don't think we're connecting with him as viewers. i do like anya. i couldn't believe that photo of her blond. that was unreal how different she looked. it was a great dance but i wouldn't be super surprised if they're in the bottom again this week.

can you BELIEVE that benji and heidi were choreographers toinght??? i love love loved it. and that's what the network people (namely nigel) are hoping for. i was sucked right in to their ploy. man, pasha just wins me over every week - he is so fun. sarah? meh. i was worried for that the dance wouldn't be up to snuff with the other choreographers but way to work with the music benji! i thought it was great and was glad that the judges agreed...though benji probably doesn't need anymore going to his head. ha.

dom and sabre - i missed it in it's entirety because i was on the phone with tim (who's in florida) so i'll have to rewind and re-watch but i couldn't bare to miss a minute of posting time. i gotta get downstairs to that cool basement.

hok and jaimie. HOW could america NOT be voting right now after hok's little speech complete with TEAR at the end of their performance??? if my canadian votes counted, i'd be voting for them right now. i though hok did a tremendous job - maybe that's just because i like him and have no experience whatsoever in judging dancing... and speaking of liking hok...what was with jaimie? man she bugs me. AND she totally has a real crush. did anyone else notice hok's pants looked a little too short? oops.

now...who's with me when i say, wade robson should not be choreographing anymore because it's so unfair to all the other dancers? he's brilliant. i love his stuff. he likes to throw that ragdoll, limp legs move into every dance he's done this season but it works. i really wanted both neil and lauryn to go last show but this dance has brought them back up a little in my books. (and those are books that matter, i know)

kudos to nigel to integrating the fact that vanessa williams was in the audience into his comments about lauryn and neil. that was totally smooth yet still lame.

who i'd like to see go? cedric and sarah

who i predict to go? cameron and shauna ( oh i don't know)

oh man. the results show tomorrow. i might have to tape it and watch later so don't be worried if there's no instant post! o h i know you'd be worried.

the heat wave continues

well i'm feeling a little better about my post yesterday because as it turns out, we broke records for temperatures all over the lower mainland! no wonder i couldn't sleep! today kara and i sat by the pool with it's 90 degree water that felt cool in comparison to the 105 degree weather. (well that was the temp on the porch thermometer this afternoon.) despite the best efforts of re-applying waterproof sunscreen every time i got out the pool, i apparently missed some spots on my legs. my thighs are fairly blotchy red this evening. as i am typing, the temperature in the house reads 36 and there is sweat dripping down my face for the exertion of typing. i just lugged our smaller tv downstairs and hooked up the dvd player and after the next sweaty hour of so you think you can dance, i will officially be moving downstairs to our spare room to watch movies and sleep.

good thing i bought some popsicles today!

since it's too hot to sleep...

i spent the evening in langley with kara in her basement suite where i had to change out of my shorts into capris because it was so cool. then i left her house at 10:30pm to find it nice and cool outside at 23 degrees. finally. then i got home where it is 33 degrees in my house. at 11:45pm at night. now...i know it is much hotter for many of you reading this but i'm not going to bed yet because it's too hot so i'm on the computer and if i'm on the computer, i should blog. and if i'm blogging...i need something to say. and i'm just not a heat person.

tomorrow is a poolside day at the shulbas for sure.

time for school...

so in case you hadn't heard, i'll be teaching french next year to grades 1 through 7. you may ask, "do you speak french?" and i'd most likely answer "no." however, in a small school, when the french teacher leaves, we look around at remaining staff and ask, "well? who's going to teach french?" and the person with the most experience wins. i have up to grade 12 french so it's not like i'm totally clueless but...i'll need some refreshing before september.

as my first duty as french teacher, i ordered an entirely new french program for the school. spend money - it's what i'm best at. i didn't think that trying to follow in the steps of the previous french teacher would go over that well with the students as everything i did would be compared to her. plus, most of her program was designed by her which makes it difficult for a new teacher to implement. this new program called Histoires en Action and it uses gestures with each french word -- like sign language. if you check out the site, it explains it if you want more details.

so i knew i had some major studying to do this summer. i hadn't started. then i had a dream.

it was the first day of school and i'm in my classroom until the principal comes in and tells me that it's time for me to go to the 6/7 classroom for french. i realize i have nothing prepared. i go to the classroom and figure we'll do a review/see what they know type class. i ask them, "who knows how to say 'teacher' in french?" no one knows. then i realize that i don't know either. then i woke up.

i'm a little nervous.

today i broke out the material and the dvds and started watching and reading and learning gestures. i now know 47 french words with their gestures. some of them, i'm not sure of the english meanings but...that'll come.

au revoir. (wave)

rebecca? backpacking?

so in preparation for my first ever backpacking trip to Yoho National Park, we bought me a pack! on friday, tim and i went downtown to MEC and met up with alyssa and we did some shopping. we tried on boots and packs. there aren't too many backpacks designed specifically for women so there weren't that many to try on but this one is for women. this means the straps are closer together and the waist belt sits better on my hips then the men's ones that i tried on. it's a 50L bag and i just stuffed a blanket in it for this pic. ha. it will look bigger when it's filled up. i'm a little nervous as i never even carry little backpacks on day hikes but i'm working the weights at the gym in hopes of building a little muscle before we leave on july 21!

golden what?

yesterday, tim and his friend jon, headed out to Golden Ears on a 24 km hike that on various websites was recommended for overnight hikes only and they planned to finish it in one day. 9 hours later, they did. then they laid on our couches and complained about how sore they were and made plans to go again in september. oh brother. here are some photos.

they didn't make it right to the summit because they needed proper footwear and tools to help them climb in the snow. but as you can see...they were pretty close. these are some prepared people climbing while tim looks on jealously.

good job boys.

and by the way...

i did the official sign up for VRC this morning and in reading the "rules, regulations, and policies" page, i saw that:

"Members are invited to bring EACH of their friends to the Club. Member can bring in as many guests as a Member so desires. However, the same friend may not come in as a guest more than two times in an 30 day period."

so...let me know if you want to sweat through cycling, trip up your step or try pilates fusion and i can hook you up. :)

though i should warn you...the same page also says:

"Gym shorts with T-shirt or sweat suit, top and bottom, white socks or soft soled gym shoes must be worn in the exercise areas at all times. Absolutely no nudity. Must have towel."

so...there you go.

i heart facebook

i know...i think i've blogged about this before BUT i just am constantly amazed at the connections that happen through facebook. now maybe you don't want such connections and i can understand that but i'm a fairly anti-social person and have still been pleased with the people that i have gotten in touch with.

in grade 9, i was really good friends with a group of girls and then when we left HCS, we all went our own separate ways. we got together for thai food and starbucks a few weeks ago and totally caught up. it was strange but good.

in PDP, i was friends with a couple and when PDP was over, we lost touch. we had not been in touch since then i found them on facebook and they live in chilliwack now! i went over there for dinner one night on my way home from work and great time. and we have plans to get together again soon.

in my education classes at TWU, i often sat with this girl at the back of the class and had a great time. i always wondered what happened to her. then she found me on facebook and we're going for fraps this afternoon!

i have plans for a PDP group bbq this summer as well as hiking with some people i haven't seen in forever and i just love facebook for finding me all these people.

step plus

since my cycle post, i have since tried two more classes. the first one was step this past saturday. it was good.

this morning i got up in time to go to the 9:15am "pilates fusion" class. i called ahead to find out if i needed to bring my own mat. i did. so at 9:10am, i headed out the door, mat in hand. i signed in at the front desk and then went upstairs only to see people setting up steps in the classroom. i stood there for a second and then looked at the schedule by the door only to see that i'd forgotten it wasn't monday. it's tuesday today and there's a 60 min "step plus" class about to begin. so i set down my mat outside the door (i didn't want anyone to see me carrying it) and went in to set up a step.

i was feeling like, "yeah, i've done a step class before...it's all good" but then i saw people getting weights out and those heavy bar things and balls and i thought...what have i gotten myself into? i asked someone what i needed and she was very helpful. then i thought i'd better tell the teacher that i've never done this before so that she doesn't think i'm terrible. she's like, "great. i'm a substitute so no one will be used to my steps and calls." great.

we start and i'm a little near the front and i'm messing up my steps here and there but it's going okay. when we stop to get water, i make a joke to the girl behind me. she's nice. but that's just the warm-up - now the instructor powers down and we're flying all over the place. v-step, v-step turn, repeater knees, up up lunges...it's out of control. i'm getting pretty tired and then the instructor tells us ot get our weights. i'd grabbed 5 lb. weights but man...i should've taken 3lbs. i thought my arms were going to fall off. lunges. squats. lunges. squats.

now something that i hate is that i'm a very red-faced sweater. i used to think it was just because i wasn't used to working out but as it turns out, i just get a very red face. it's a stark contrast to my very white skin from the neck down. you just can't even imagine how red my face gets unless you've worked out with me. i tried to take a photo of it when i got home (because it takes a long time to go away) so i could post it for you but it didn't do the red justice.

well today...? my face was more red then i perhaps have ever seen it. i was sweaty. it was gross.

but finally, 65 minutes later, the class was over. now that i'm home, i'm feeling good that i went. but i'd planned on also doing a cycle class tonight and i'm thinking i'll be skipping that now. give me a couple weeks before i can double up on classes.

then i remembered my pilates mat. shoot.

in our own backyard...

tim and i stopped by bridal veil falls on our way home from agassiz yesterday. who knew this is what i drive by everyday to and from school?

"do not proceed" - see the masses proceeding?

apparently there is a species of moss that only grows here at bridal falls and somewhere in scotland - no where else in the world. it was a pretty mossy place.

new updates on katie!

katie neale, matt's girlfriend, is currently sailing around the pacific as the cook in a tall ship with S.A.L.T.S...sound crazy? you can read her blog, or the captain's wife's daily updates to see what's going on. katie can only update when they stop on land which she recently did in hawaii but it looks as though the captain's wife is pretty thorough in her somewhat daily updates. pretty interesting stuff. yay katie!

i had a few pics to upload of katie and her ships that i found on the salts site but they're .gif so they won't upload. you'll have to go to the captain's wife site to find the pics yourself. :)

for ang...who's locked up...

hey ang. i knew you'd be bored today so i thought i'd post a little something for you.

things i'd recommend to do when you're locked up and have nothing but a computer to entertain you with.

go to:

www.tv-links.co.uk : this is a website that has every tv show and movie and you don't have to download anything to watch them. just press play.

www.postsecret.blogspot.com : you've probably already been here today.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dariankovacs/ : check for new photos.

www.blurb.com : if you download this free software, you can design your own book/[hoto album and then this site publishes it in a hardcover book. it looks so great. i have it downloaded on my computer but there are just no great photos for me to put in it! you, on the other hand, with all you journalism talents combined with your mad photography skills, could make a fantastic book.

upload more alyssa and james wedding photos ontil facebook/blog so we can see. heehee.

...

okay so i don't have that many ideas but the blurb book and the tv links could set you up with hours of entertainment. :)

i'm glad you're a bridesmaid with a fitting so that you will be coming home soon! have a good day! happy canada day!