Turning The Page On 2013

hello there,

so it's that time where we all reflect on our past year and contemplate the upcoming one. I figured that I would blog about it, because I haven't blogged about anything as of late. 2013 is coming to a close in just a few hours and I hopefully will get this post done before the year is up. If I had to sum up 2013 into one word it would be, disappointing. Downer, I know. When 2013 started I had drawn up all the things I hoped would happen and for the most part my year didn't go as planned. My first semester of the year was filled with distractions and by the end of the semester I was scrambling just to pass half my courses (don't worry mom and dad, B+'s all around). I got rejected from the two universities I had applied to which meant instead of starting the final two years of my degree I was headed back to the drawing board where I was supposed to figure out what I am to do with my life. Heads up; I still don't know. The summer was busy but uneventful, which was nice, except at some point in the beginning of of June I got sick. Then school started again, and I got even more sick. I decided to take 5 courses in hopes to graduate sooner and raise my GPA. But instead of putting in extra time in the library, I was putting in extra time in bed, missing classes, hanging out at the biomedical lab, and in various doctor's offices. Other events put a damper on my year as well and although 2013 was a year filled with a lot of disappointments, that's not how I want to remember it.

Because a lot of good came from it.

I was strongly reminded, over and over again, that I have the most incredible family in the entire world, that are willing to do anything for me. I learned that in the midst of trials I have the most loyal, compassionate, and resilient friends on the planet and I can honestly say we are finishing the year way stronger and closer than when we started it. If 2013 is remembered for one thing, and one thing only, it is that I have beautiful, incredible, selfless, and devoted friends. I also did have a lot of fun this year. Five fantastic friends of mine got married which means I gained five new friends in the process. I went to my first concert! And then my second. And then my third. And then my fourth and fifth. And then my sixth... You could say 2013 was "The Year Of The Concerts". I went a little concert crazy alright? I got to see Carrie Underwood on her Blown Away Tour, Mumford & Sons on their Gentlemen Of The Road tour, Austin Mahone, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift on the Red Tour, Passenger (twice), Stu Larson, Xavier Rudd (accidently), and The Lumineers. I also started this blog, but I'm hoping 2014 will go a bit better and be a bit more consistent in terms of blogging. On Christmas day my best friend got engaged and I am blessed to be her maid of honour. I auditioned for the Amazing Race Canada which is super random but it was fun making the audition video; we will have to wait and see what comes from it. But the ultimate highlight of 2013 occurred in the very first month of the year. The greatest blessing ever came into my life. I became an aunt. My nephew has become the greatest joy of my life and I love him more than I can say.

So clearly 2013 wasn't all bad and some amazing memories came from it. And let me share with you, in photos, my 2013. Now I'm off to have dinner with friends, watch Anchorman 2 and enjoy the remaining hours of this year with incredible people!

Happy New Years!

-m.o

Backpacking Adventures | Paris, France

hello there,

blogging is very hard, as I am learning very quickly. I have a massive amount of respect now for those that manage to consistently put up frequent and excellent content. It's no easy venture. I have spent the last week catching up on life now that the semester is over, as well as getting ready for Christmas. The first week of holiday has been anything but a holiday but this upcoming week will be a lot calmer, which means I can start to work on the thing I was supposed to finish over Christmas break last year... Editing all my photos from Europe trip from summer 2012 and putting them into a photo book. Which means I will go on a little hiatus from posting trip from my Australia/New Zealand trip for the next couple weeks while I attempt to finish my Europe book before school starts again. 

When I decided to fly out to Paris to meet my best friend who was there doing the WYAM program, we decided to make our European backpacking adventure a lot more relaxing than when we had gone to Australia and New Zealand. It was and it wasn't... But it was a fantastic trip to go on, just the two of us, no boys we had to live with... Just two best friends travelling Europe. It was excellent. I flew into Paris to stay with her mom, who was visiting, then the two of us backpacked around for another three weeks before she headed home and I headed to Northern Italy to vacation with my cousin. All around an amazing 5 weeks (a much more tolerable amount of time than three months...). 

First stop, Paris France {including The Palace of Versailles}.

-m.o 

Bits & Pieces | The First Snowfall

hello there,

Yesterday was the first official snowfall of the season here in town. There's just something special about the first snowfall of a season that's different than any other snowfall. The way the fresh snow coats everything in the cleanest white is refreshing and beautiful. The first snowfall is always a bit of a surprise around here and that makes it exciting. The nippy chill in the air is crisp and yet filled will a sense of comfort for the changing season and at what's to come. Although snow doesn't always mean tobogganing, snowmen and snowball fights, it could. That definitely was not the case today as there was maybe two centimetres of snow on the ground, tops. But regardless of how little snow actually did fall, it was beautiful outside. I love the way the flakes rest on branches and gives everything this pure glow.

But with the beauty that comes with the first snowfall, I am also filled with a bittersweet feeling. Snow means I don't get to ride, and I like riding. Yesterday in particular also didn't allow me to enjoy the weather because I spent almost all day inside studying for my exam. But I did get to take off to the barn for an hour with my mom, sister and nephew. Although rushed to get back to my studying, I did manage to snap a few shots of my boy and his buddy nuzzling up in the cold.

Here's to hoping this snow lasts long enough for me to get some better shots of the snow!

-m.o

My Monday Music | Christmas Tunes

hello there,

it was brought to my attention mere moments ago by a lovely keen friend that I had yet to post a "My Monday Music". Oh dear, oh dear. Clearly I am right in the midst of finals. Ew. But in my attempt to force myself to expand on my writing and therefore blogging I refuse to slack off regardless of the fact I have an exam in two and a half hours. Cognitive Psychology, you will have to wait. It occurred to me after last weeks music post, that I should have perhaps acknowledged that it was the start of December which means the start of the Christmas season. So I will just do that now. But seeings there isn't much to say in terms of Christmas music, as its just thousands of versions of twenty or so different songs, I figured I would just share with you my favorite recent(ish) remixes of some not so traditional Christmas tunes.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Season Greetings

-m.o

Taking Procrastination To New Heights

hello there,

As many people who know me know; I am a master of procrastination when it comes to anything school related. I am the person who starts a ten page research essay the day before it's due and studies for finals two days before the exam. Don't get me wrong I'm not a lazy student and I do well in university. However, there is so much more I would rather be doing. Things like seeing my friends, riding my horse, watching videos on YouTube, playing with my nephew, watching hockey, and doing pretty much an outdoor activity possible.

Now in the fall months, when it is incredibly rainy and wet, all day, everyday outside it's not quite as difficult to focus on my school work. But on the days where the sun is shining and the sky is clear the last thing I want to do is sit in my room beside a wall sized window being taunted by the incredible scenery I am blessed to call home. Monday was my last official day of classes so come Tuesday I wanted to take a break and go outside because the weather was absolutely beautiful. Cold but beautiful. But of course my dedicated and hard working friends shot me down to study, so I stayed home and studied. By the time Wednesday came around I had had enough.

I felt wrong to not take advantage of God's glorious creation so I dragged a good friend along with me and we headed for a little hike. Best decision I made all semester, if you ask me. Just a simple hike up the backside of Sumas Mountain leads to a rock cliff that over looks all of Sumas and across to Mount Baker. It's truly an incredible landscape to take it. The hike itself winds through forest, now bare from the winter chill. The ground was frozen and at points dusted with snow. The stream that trickles down was highlighted by melting icicles and the birds and squirrels made their ways through the trees. The sun was shining in all it's glory sending its rays through the branches. I believe it was -3 or -4 degrees. Just cold enough to nip your cheeks and chill your lungs. And yet it was utterly blissful.

It was the best study break I could have hoped for. As I have alluded to before, I think that it's important to take moments away from life to just breathe and think about the many blessings we have. And on this particular hike, I was once again reminded how blessed I am to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. I always want to challenge myself to explore and enjoy the outdoors where ever I am, and what better place to do that than my own backyard?

My wish for everyone, is that they do the same because the world is a beautiful place.

-m.o

Backpacking Adventures | Whitsunday Islands, Australia

hello blogger, internet,

I am here to tell you; Paradise exists.

I know this, because I've seen it. 

A short boat ride off the coast of Queensland, Australia lays 74 lavish islands surrounded by pure white sand beaches, dispersed amongst clear turquoise water. These 74 islands are called the Whitsunday Islands. 

And one day here was not enough, but it's what we had, and my oh my. What a day it was. Not long after departing from Proserpine we were snorkelling over the great barrier reef with sea turtles and vibrant fish, hiking through tropical forests, napping on white sand beaches, and swimming with sting rays. 

If that sounds like a dreamy paradise to you, it's because it was. It was just one of those places where you almost have to pinch yourself because you can't actually believe it's really real. 

We spent about an hour snorkelling in the deeper parts of the reef. And I will be honest, I have this irrational fear of opening my eyes underwater when I'm not in a pool. I hate hate hate seeing seaweed. It scares me. Also fish weird me out and I don't want them to touch me even though I know they're scared of me... It's embarrassing to even think about now but I didn't actually want to go snorkelling. But I figured I was there so I should probably go for two minutes and then hop back in the boat. Ha. Ya right. I pretty much had to force myself out of the water. It was by far one of the most incredible experiences of my existence. We even saw a sea turtle (by the way, sea turtles are ENORMOUS).

We boated around the islands some more (still pinching myself at this point) until we got off at an island and then did a little hike to Whitehaven Beach. 

Whitehaven Beach...

I don't even know what to say about it. The sand is the whitest and softest substance you can imagine. The water is so clear you can see the sting rays swimming a hundred feet away. And it's warm. Not the weird pee warm of bathtub water but the kind of warm that just soothes you and makes you want to stay in the water for forever and yet its refreshing. 

Mmmm... Paradise. I will let the pictures prove my point.

-m.o

My Monday Music | Slowing It Down

hello blogger, internet,

I've noticed that my first three 'My Monday Music' posts have included a lot of pop and upbeat music, which is ironic because I am more of an acoustic music listener. So this week I am slowing it down a bit with some tunes that I've recently been loving, some familiar some not so much. They're the perfect tunes to unwind with at the end of a hectic semester just in time for the grind that comes with finals. I hope you enjoy!

Have a happy Monday!

-m.o

Backpacking Adventures | Agnes Waters & The Town of 1770, Australia

hello blogger, internet,

This post won't have many photos, but for very good reason. And that reason is because I spend most of the day on a motorcycle!!! What! What! Ya, that's right! Okay, I'm exaggerating.. They were scooters that were remodelled to look like vintage Harley's. Soo... Basically motorcycles.

The famous Scooteroo Tour, out of the Town Of 1770, takes tourists all around the town and Agnes Waters in a massive fleet of bikers. It's an incredible way to see a small part of Australia in an extremely unique and fun way. We passed kangaroos on the side of the road, stopped for the yummiest chips and sweet chilli sauce, and watched the sun set over the ocean. It was so much fun and the staff and company was so kind and fun to learn from. Another must do for anyone thinking of travelling to Australia!

The beach in 1770 is also beautiful (as are all the beaches in Australia), and we spent the late morning/early afternoon relaxing and catching up on some napping time after an exhausting few days on Fraser Island. We even took a tour of the two towns, compliments of our hostel, and turns out that between the two towns there is a bar (which I'm relatively certain we got kicked out of for trying to watch football.. don't ask I don't remember the details) and a grocery store. That it's. I kid you not. It's small and beautiful but, with the exception of Scooteroo, it's about the most boring place I have ever been. Let that pay tribute to how awesome Scooteroo is that I think everyone should still go to The Town of 1770.

-m.o

Did I mention we each got to wear awesome leather jackets with flames on them?
Where can I pick up my biker chick status?
(Some older guy actually told me I looked like Megan Fox when I was sitting on my bike...
Potentially creepy? Meh, I took it as a compliment)