"Lift your eyes and let me, cuz baby I'm an alien like you…"

Yo y'all!

My, my, my it's been such a long time. I finished my class on Friday and then had to whip up a presentation on Archibald Lampman in 36 hours. I have been weaning myself off of the escapism of blogs. It's for the best. It's all about school until we leave for the weddings (which for me is 11 days -wheeeeeeeee!). I make it into town to catch my sister's bridal shower, so I don't miss ALL of them. Fun gifts and even more exciting is that our sisters are marrying great men!

The lovely BJ turned me onto this wicked website called, Pinterest, which is just a new danger to me. You can pin stuff from all over the place so you get to see what other people have pinned and also pin some of your favourite stuff for other people to see. I have discovered so many new things that I will have to relegate to the back of my mind so that they don't distract me from…life. It's like StumbleUpon. Geez.

I have to make specific mention of how blessed I feel by our church. Moozh and I were getting really discouraged with the whole 'church shopping' thing. We had tried out so many churches that didn't feel right. We didn't want to be those people that look for the 'perfect' church or a church that is customized to them. That church doesn't exist. But there was something about the churches that didn't…feel right. But the minute we walked into UTown, we felt like something just clicked, or settled rather. We felt at home in a way. I think I've cried every Sunday (which is a good thing). I've spent time one on one with three gorgeous women of God from the UTown community. Prayer, community and worship have taken  on entirely new meaning, and almost a fresh light.

Fun stuff!
This chick is a UBC grad. They sell her stuff at the UBC bookstore. Check out her blog because her designs are hysterical.

vckystxx.com

New song that I think is such a great love song. The lead singer, Sebastian Pigott, has a really cool voice. Like Moozh's friend Kimmy would say, falling in love is finding someone who's sin is compatible with yours. Feeling like we are alien to everyone else, Love is the safe place where you not only feel like you can be the alien you are an be completely loved in it, but also that you've found the alien that you are meant for. You can love them for who they are. I'm blessed by my Alien everyday ;)

Happy Tuesday!

"I see your grace in the light of the day. I look up to the sky and say, you're beautiful."

I found this off of Tomboy Style. I love finding new blogs and I especially love question-survey type things. The good ones make you think about things you may not have thought about before. 


If not in Bankybear, I would live in… Lahaina, Maui. Final Answer. Estes Park, Colorado; San Francisco, California; Montreal, Quebec are all yummy too. 

My dream holiday would be to…drink wine and eat bread in Provencal, France. Or to go to Lahaina, Maui -which is what we're doing this summer!!

My current obsessions are…wearing jersey, eating goat cheese out of the container, short shorts (without leggings underneath!), listening to Fleet Foxes while I watch the sun set over the bay, yeast breads, freshly painted nails, tea with fruit. 

I channel my childhood self when I…wear leggings, talk to myself on long walks, or eat peanut butter toast. 

The fictional character I most relate to is…Lilo (From Lilo and Stitch).

If I had to be outdoors all day I would…plant a garden (an homage to my ma-in-law), walk barefoot, go for a hike, read a book in the grass. 

My favorite qualities in a man are… self-awareness, sense of humour, accountability. 

My favorite qualities in a woman are…self awareness, humility, and honesty. 

I'm terrified of…Oprah going off the air. This is big. 

My cocktail of choice is…red wine, a gin and tonic, or a mojito. But I'm picky about my mojitos so I don't order them often. 

If I could go back in time for one decade it would be… the 1920's. I want to be a flapper and have fabulous clothes and dance all night long to live jazz music. 

As a teenager I was totally into…live music. Looking back I spent a lot of time listening to music I didn't particularly like because I LOVE live shows. Must be the musicians in my family that live music and performances were so much a part of growing up.

I tend to splurge on…fresh produce. There is nothing like fresh grapes, with the turgid texture on your teeth. It makes the sound,"krsssss". Or salsa with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and cilantro. Food as it is meant to be eaten. 

I finish up my class this week! No more talking about campylobacter virus. Moozh and I both finish up classes this week and then it's just a a countdown to matrimony. My sister gets married in less than a month! Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh!


Happy Wednesday!

"We're running out of money, but we've still got the month of May."

Yay for May Long!  It's the holiday that feels like it comes when you desperately need it. I remember painting houses on the May Long Weekend before I got married. It was a gorgeous day and I was jamming to CBC radio while I tried to forget that I was in a bad job. Matt and I were at a wedding rehearsal for his birthday. Last year's May long we were getting ready to move from Vic.

This weekend was my beloved Moozh's thirtieth birthday. I can't believe I didn't even get on here to make a celebratory post about the fact that it was my babe's birthday! Friday was resplendent outside! It was sunny and warm. I actually got tan lines. We went out to one of our favourite sushi joint and then went for a walk along the seawall, just the two of us. I actually got tan lines! So did Moozh! And then we grabbed burgers at this wicked burger joint by our place with some great friends of ours. From there, we headed to the rooftop pub in time for the Canuck's game.

So many people came out and it was so fun. And Marcus and Meghan were their on their last day in Bankybear! At the end of the night, some of their friends (who are also from the 'Peg) were talking about the time of year their, and what Marcus and Megs can look forward to: worm season. It was hilarious some of the stories they were telling. Matt got a pack of cigarettes (a running joke) and a can of peaches among his presents. We haven't cracked the peaches open yet but apparently they were canned at the peak of season last year. Oh man, local peaches are spectacular here. I am so very excited for the summer season. And now Bankybear is taunting us with gorgeous days every now and then. At least, we're getting some.

With some of that seasonal fruit, I want to make some jam. I love Lemon Bird Jams. The flavours they combine are fascinating. I want to try and recreate their Peach and Lavender jam or Strawberry and Cinnamon. Pink Grapefruit with Basil! That sounds d-to-the-licious. I finally finished off the jugful of marmalade that I made, I think back in February. So now I'm off to the newest thing. And I have pectin that works. And beautiful local produce. And I've made enough mistakes with jam that I think I can troubleshoot and make it work.

from ohreallybecky on Flickr

I hope it is sunny where you are! My sissy in law had her bridal shower this past weekend. My sister has her lingerie shower and stagette this Saturday coming up. I finish up my class this Friday. I fly back to Calgary in less than three weeks! Woot!

I DID IT BITCHES!

This is a quickie: I just received my acceptance into the creative writing department at the University of British Columbia. Freakin' finally. Done. I did it.

Now I just have to do it….

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

"I hope you stay, American Baby..."

FOR TODAY (PLACE THE DATE HERE)...

Outside My Window…Sun! Ohmygosh! Sun!

I am thinking…that Moozh's birfday shindig this Friday is gonna be a hoot. My gift to him: A huge bowl of caramel. 

I am thankful for… political agency. Everything's that going on right now, Syria, Lybia, Egypt, Sudan, people are fighting to say, "You will hear me". I just got to vote in two elections in the past month. I am thankful to live in a country where I am heard and my right to be heard is protected. 

From the learning rooms… Food Science! All those things on the side of the cereal box that you don't know what they are or how to pronounce them. I know what they are! It's all corn…

From the kitchen… I made this and it was yuuuuuum. Chana Masala is not my favourite Indian dish but the base is so good. You could swap out some of the chickpeas for peas, potatoes, cauliflower or paneer!

I am wearing… shorts! Today was resplendent! Thank you Bankybear. Thank you Jesus ;) 

I am creating…a portfolio. I should hear from the Creative Writing Department this week or next. Aaaaah! 

I am going… to Cowtown three week from Saturday. Whooooooooa.

I am reading… Year of the Flood by Margret Atwood. It's her newest book and she does the dystopian thing so well. 

I am hoping…this sun sticks around. 

I am hearing…Jasmine Ash. You may have heard her on a Nissan Commercial. 

Around the house…Vegan cookbooks. A conversational Russian book (that hasn't really been touched). Iced tea with lemon. Yoga mat that I used today!

One of my favorite things…sprouts! I love them in sandwiches, salads, even just by themselves. 

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Take my camera out. Commercial Drive! 

Here is picture thought I am sharing…

I found this girl that reminds me so much of my sissy in law. Matt's family have miraculous faces, seriously. 

Pandora's Box Blog

"Hold me closer, one more time. Say that you love me in your last goodbye…"

Y'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!

I'm back on the wagon and it feels awesome. Back in class, back in my running shoes and (my mom would be so proud of me) I made myself a list. We'll call it a "personal goal sheet". And we'll all know it's a list.

I ran 10K yesterday + I didn't feel like I was going to die = Victory

Although I did reserve last night for writing and instead I made soup. And granola bars. And did some filing. And watched the hockey game. (Bankybear won!)

Finished The Handmaid's Tale and it was awesome. If you like dystopian novels, like I do, you should do what I did and take out all of Margret Atwood's books from the library. I'm reading her newest one now, Year of the Flood, which is really different. The thing with dystopian novels is they always deal with the degradation of society due to social or cultural influences. So the tension that you need to make a novel compelling is already built into the landscape of the novels. I'm curious about Atwood's religious opinions. I'm sure I could find them somewhere. But both the Handmaid's Tale and Year of the Flood deal with a degree of religious extremism that is contributing to the social tension. It's a really cool concept and written so well. Though, I think Atwood took too many liberties with her reader's ability to discern what she was talking about.

It's back to cloudy here. If this summer is not sunny, as every person who has lived in the lower mainland for more than five years has promised us it will be, I may have to run into the middle of the street half dressed and rip something in half using my teeth, partly just because I think it would be a good use of the energy I've been waiting to use up. But I coach myself often, just think of the positives. Thank you Jesus, it is so green here. Thank you Jesus, that it is not still snowing. Thank you Jesus that I can enable myself to bake things I shouldn't be eating every time it starts raining. I've been wanting to start up a picture of the day but they are all coming up overly dim because of the lack of light source.

My nutrition class is really good. It requires chemistry of me (scary!) but it has to do with food so I actually find it interesting. Reminds me of when I was a kid and my dad would tell me all of these crazy facts about food preparation and storage. Food chemistry. My teacher brings in foods to function as teaching aids. Go figure, we've been dealing with Fruit-to-go and marshmallows. I appreciate her.

Today was a good Tuesday. I hope you had a good Tuesday.

P.S ~ Couple friends are great. They are super hard to find but when you do find them, hang on to them.
P.P.S ~ I haven't even thought about Russian since my exam. I'm going to head back in September and have to start over again :( Ya ne-vesela.
P.P.P.S ~ Ellie Goulding was on SNL last weekend and I realized I totally forgot how much I love her.

"Yes I swam dirty waters but you pushed me in…"

No content today. Pure escapism ;)

I love this girl. I want to BE this girl.
With the bangs.
The Sartorialist

I WANT. How cute is this?!
Design*Sponge

You may need to, by penalty of feeling bad about yourself, go directly to this page on Design*Sponge. This girl has an eye that is so wicked. She has DIY instructions to do the coolest things in your home. And simply for inspiration porn. But her tea shelf: DIE DIE DIE. So adorable. 

*Oh goodness, I just said 'porn' on a blog I think my Grandmother reads…I actually said it twice :(

Duh-licious. Look at that freaking view. I have serious 'view envy' right now.
Bankybear is killin' me right now.
HonestlyWTF

Holy smokes so cool.
FreePeople

Free People makes me want to scream. Everything is so rad and their lookbooks are incredible.

Oh schnazz. I'm excited to find some new pretty earrings in
Maui this summer.
Tawapa

TGIF!

"She is a stranger. You and I have history or don't you remember?"

So a download of my experiences since we last talked. I POOOOOOOPED the bed on my exam. No mark yet, thank Jesus. I won't fail. All  I need -all I  WANT- is a 50%. I felt confident walking into it too which is unsettling. Maybe I won't rely on my confidence if I want to cross the street without looking for the next little while.

Moozh and I bummed around at the mall today. No I'm not 14. We went to Lack-of-Restraint-Land aka Winners. Moozh turns into a kindergardener when he walks into a Winners. Does his little boogey dance and disappears into the racks. He gets this slightly sheepish smile on his face when I find him with a bloated cartload in the Men's department. "And then I found -and there's this. Baby! So many good deals!"
I, on the other hand, discover things that I HAVE TO HAVE even though I didn't know they existed before I graced the big white doors. Like 4L of elderflower bath salts. Do I even like elderflower? I don't know. Home decor gets me. Rah. Do I need two four-foot-tall bamboo vases that are half the size of Casa del Dempsey? All of a sudden I really do.

I have a new title. It is: Brizanne, killer of Bodums. Since we have lived in Bankybear I have broken 4 of those delightful (and $40) coffee presses. Count 'em. At least this time I had the decency to slice my finger into sushi. It's still sore and has a bizarre bump. Moozh told me I couldn't wash them anymore. To which I replied, "No, not the briar patch!"

I have also bequeathed my sister's in law, the Doyens of Party paraphernalia. The gift wrapping and invitation designs that come out of that household make me feel like my gifts might as well be wrapped in duct tape with a post-it note as a card. They are so impressive and I will stand really close to them this summer and maybe some of it will rub off on me.

I start my nutrition course on Monday. I'm excited to get started but y'all can be prayin' I get my butt in gear. I have maybe become a little comfortable in bed until past nine. My pillow and I are besties lately.

Oh yeah and Moozh and I hosted a Royal Wedding party for some friends of ours because we PVR'd that shit. They were both beautiful and looked adorable when they would get these stifled smiles of glee on their faces. I didn't flip my lid over it however, like some people in the crowd outside did. But our friends that were the actual hosts of the party made all this delicious English food to eat while we watched the wedding, and the 6 HOURS OF FOOTAGE related, like ale pies, bangers and mash, and strawberry biscuits. Soooo good. Except the spearmint peas. My dad has indoctrinated me with too much emotional baggage surrounding spearmint peas. I'm sure they're not bad, less than half of the dish was left by the end, but I couldn't make myself try it. So I had an extra piece of cake instead.

I can't get over this girl's photography.
Marita Bliss

Happy Spring! (Except if you live in Cowtown and then Happy Amorphous-in-Between-Season!)