Winter Chill

Winter pictures is something I haven’t really done before.  Usually, I go into hibernation and don’t come out until it is warm and sunny.  This year I’m trying to push myself outside of my boundaries and get a little more adventurous, which means that winter hiking is a must!  Although I would much rather be snowshoeing through the trails, there is barely any snow right now, and hiking is turning more into slowly shuffling through the woods trying not to slip down into the ravine because the trails are nothing but ice.  The day I took this picture featured one bruised elbow on Shaugn’s part, and me almost sliding down the hill after trying to read a map that was surrounded by ice.  Nonetheless, getting outside and adventuring to all of these places is one of my favourite things, and I’m hoping to get out a lot more as the winter goes on!

Scotties/Tankard Provincial Playdowns

For those of you who don’t know, I have been highly involved in curling for the majority of my life.  Unfortunately, this year, I was unable to play competitively because I was waitlisted for a Masters program and couldn’t commit to a team.  Long story short, I did not get into the program, and now I’m still on the Island with no team to curl with :'(.

This weekend is the provincial playdowns for both the men and the women, with the winners advancing to The Brier or The Scotties Tournament of Hearts, respectively.  Although it sucks not playing, I am very happy to say the organizers allowed me to go out on the ice and take pictures of the competitors.

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I’ve been getting out to as many draws as possible, and taking about 700 pictures each time!  I’ll be uploading all pictures on my Facebook page, so make sure you check them out here.

#GOALS2017

New Year – new you, right?  I’ve been reading so many blog posts about how to actually follow through with the goals you set, and different goals that different blogs have set for themselves (both personally and professionally) and I think I’ve been inspired.  I’ll be the first to admit, I have written in a journal on January 2nd about all the goals and resolutions I have for the year.  And, yes, they are very predictable.  Things like staying ahead of my studies, working out more, and eating healthy all topped the list.  Year after year though I have never really followed through.  So, this year, I have decided to write my goals down on a bigger platform, and hopefully keep myself accountable for the things I say.  AKA, I’ve told you so now I have to follow through!

This year, I am taking a semester off.  After being in school for well over the majority of my life, it is kind of weird not going back and hitting the books.  Although I do plan to go back in September, and am going to do some ‘personal studying,’ I am taking this time to appreciate not having major deadlines, multiple chapters to read, and the all-consuming stress that comes along with school.  Instead, I’m going to take some time, focus on myself, commit more time to my photography, and potentially work three jobs (…yes, I just said three jobs, I believe I still qualify as a “starving student”).

So, without further ado, here are my goals for 2017!

1. Go the gym
2. Drink more water
3. Save money
4. Eat out no more than twice a week
5. Focus more time on my blog, and make it something that I love and am proud of
6. Take more pictures
7. Cook supper for Shaugn more often
8. Read more often
9. Eat healthier
10. Get outside more

I’m hoping that I’ll be able to follow through with these as best as possible!  I’ll also try to document as much stuff and I can so that all of you can keep me accountable.  If you’d like to follow me throughout the year and see what I’m up to, be sure to check out my Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Flickr pages!  I’m also going to try to keep this blog as up to date as possible, and maybe add some more content, such as lifestyle, recipes, etc (I know, me cook?!).  Here’s to 2017!

The Holidays

Hello 2017!  I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years.  I decided not to post a blog for the last week of 2016 because I was between being home and heading to Montreal, and I decided to prioritize spending time with friends and family over worrying about what my next post was.

My Christmas was spent at my parent house, and I was lucky enough to get almost 4 days off.  It was so nice to be home for the holidays and not have to worry about driving home in any bad weather or trying to get back to town to go to work.  It was also great because my uncle was home from Alberta – whom I haven’t seen in a year and a half – so I got to see him most of my time home.

After Christmas, I jumped on a plane to Montreal to spend New Years with Shaugn and his family and friends.  Although our trip was cut a day short as we decided to drive home before the bad weather hit, it as a great time!  We spent New Years at his friend’s house, where we had a huge supper, and spent the night outside by the bonfire and driving snowmobiles around.  At midnight, we all popped some bubbly and set fireworks off.

While we were in Montreal, Shaugn and I did go on a tiny adventure to Sandy Beach to go for a hike through the woods and take some pictures.  The “tiny” adventure got even more exciting when we got the car stuck off the edge of the road…

Although no one ever really wants the holidays to be over, I am very excited to see what 2017 has in store!