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testing out another blog site... give me some time to post more but check it out and let me know which one you like better... so far, the new one seems more "fun"

http://muffinlc.tumblr.com/

Vancouver day trip...

i went on a day trip to Vancouver with my parents.  we had a few passes that we picked up last summer that we had to use before they expired and my dad recently got his Gold CareCard so he was eager to take advantage of his senior benefits like riding the ferry for free.

"we don't have much to buy..." was what was said before we headed out... we headed to Chinatown first and within the hour we filled 2 backpacks and a duffel bag... we still needed to go to Richmond. 

one of the main things they wanted to experience on this trip was taking the SkyTrain to and from the ferry.  it was really easy but i have a feeling that when my dad attempts it on his own... there will be moments of frustration.  sometimes it's quite shocking to me how little confidence he has...

anyway... even though i "documented" the day on facebook via phone and ipod, i forgot to take more pictures... i did however take advantage of the end of a beautiful day on the ferry ride back to the island.  it had been awhile since i had played around with my ipod camera so decided to try and capture some scenery as we sailed...

what came first?

was it the chicken or the egg?  or maybe the cow? 

a few months ago i was "hired" by my friends Mabel and Craig to do a painting for their soon to be born baby's room.  i was a little hesitant at first... wasn't sure what they had in mind.  i like to pretend to be artsy but i'm not the most creative person in the world.  if left to my own abilities.. i usually sway towards what i consider to be abstract art.  i take after my dad...  

although i was hesitant, i was honoured to be asked and was trying to find confidence in applying what skills i had with whatever Mabel and Craig had in mind.  i thought, well, i guess this will give me a chance to really try and get inspired and come up with something amazing.... but luckily, they had something specific in mind! ha!  phew... i honestly relieved!

so it's sort of this cartoony type picture.  much more down my alley... it's a picture of a cow and a chicken looking down on an egg with cow spots.  a very cute picture and idea... one borrowed from a t-shirt design from http://www.threadless.com/.  i actually have a shirt with this design and love it so will definitely have fun re-creating it. 

the reason they chose this portrait is because Craig is Caucasian and Mabel is Filipino and they figured this is the best representation of what there child will be.  i laughed!  loved the idea!  the real challenge... enlarging the picture to fit onto a 30in by 40in canvas!!

anyway, i've been very busy now that i've decided to join the Gorging Dragons... training 5-6 days a week.  it's been hard trying to find time to actually get started... luckily the baby isn't due until July so i have some time.  finally last weekend i was able to set aside a few hours to get started... haven't done much more than paint the background colour but it took 4 coats of paint for it to finally look smooth so i think it was a pretty good start.



no fancy equipment for me





first coat...



to write love on her arms

a few years ago i was flipping through a magazine and saw an ad that caught my eye... it was nothing spectacular, just a guy rocking out on a guitar.  he was wearing a t-shirt with "to write love on her arms" written on it.  not exactly sure what caught my eye but after a couple of minutes of looking over it i flipped the page.  after that, i kept noticing the ads in my magazine and decided to finally investigate what exactually this was. 

i found out that "to write love on her arms" was a non-profit organization that was trying to find ways to support people dealing with depression, self-injury and suicide.  at the time, i was in the midst of trying to support a friend that was going through a hard time.  trying to lend my support proved to be mentally draining for me as i felt like i was on suicide watch a lot of the time. 

fortunately nothing "bad" happened to my friend but i know of friends of friends' who's stories didn't end happily.  and also having worked in a psychiatrists office for a little bit, i was a little familiar of the dangers of depression and self-injury.  i understand that this orgnanization may not be able to reach and help people in my most immediate vicinity but to know, to hope, that they will be able to help someone somewhere gives me hope. 

TWLOHA offered some cool looking merchandise.  i didn't want to order off the internet and was hoping i would be able to find some in stores.  i had no luck in Vancouver and only found random super small sized stuff in Seattle.  when i visited Florida (where they are based), i was finally able to find stuff at Cocoa Beach.  recently i made an online purchase... i couldn't help it!!  anyway, although it may seem superficial or commercial, buying t-shirts and such, i'm okay with it knowing that maybe it means that this will help the movement.

to find information about TWLOHA, visit their website http://www.twloha.com/

their mission statement is as follows:
To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.  TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

will spring ever come?

we're a few days into March... i know that Spring hasn't officially rolled over but close enough!  i'm done with the snow and wind!  definitely looking forward to the warmer weather since i'm on the water so much more this year.  we hit wind, rain, frozen rain, hail and snow all in one night the other night... it was incredible!

a few weeks ago i tagged along on a trip to the skating rink... it was jen's birthday and she wanted to take the kids out on the ice for the first time.  they did great!  zoe didn't want to get off the ice at all!  since i'm not a skater i decided to take the opportunity to try and capture a few fun moments.  there were lots of kids learning how to skate and a few future hockey stars being coached by their dads. they were so cute i couldn't resist taking their picture. i'm always a little afraid of taking photos of other people's kids since it might seem a little creepy. hopefully these mom and dad's don't mind!