We flew into Honolulu today and it’s so nice to be back. We’re staying with my sister at the dorm where I used to live and it’s pretty surreal to be sleeping here again, so many years later.
I’ve been up for exactly 24 hours as of now but I’m not tired. I’m laying here listening to the sirens and sounds of Waikiki, thinking that I used to be so accustomed to hearing them every night that I would often have a hard time falling asleep when I went back home to Canada because it was too quiet.
After a busy weekend in L.A., we stopped in San Jose on the way home to watch the Sharks absolutely demolish the Canucks 5-2. The Sharks are up in the series 3-0, so that’s too bad. I kinda wanted the Sharks to win, but I didn’t want the series to be over so soon. I absolutely love a Game 7.
Hockey has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My first love was Mario Lemieux, and my earliest memories are of my mom yelling at me to stop running around the rink with my friends during games or after a practice.
I’m pretty sure that every date I went on until I was 18 involved a hockey game, and Friday and Saturday night games were where we hung out with our friends every weekend.
Every Christmas if we are somewhere cold we have a family hockey game, which usually ends in tackling, shin whacking and blood, but is always really fun.
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| Canadian national anthem. You cried, not me. |
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| Zamboni ride |
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| I won a coozie |
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| Apparently my hair is bright read, damn you Instagram. I look like orphan Annie. |
I am so glad it’s finally May. For some reason, so many good things are happening this month, and I am so excited that it’s finally here. This weekend we are off to L.A. on a mini-roadtrip, and we are driving home on Sunday just in time to watch the Sharks play the Canucks.
Next weekend we fly to Honolulu to visit my sister, and Derek is walking in his graduation ceremony for his Associate’s degree. I am so proud of him, and so excited to be going home for 9 days. I am also possibly running a triathlon while I’m there, I’ve been training a little bit but we haven’t signed up officially. In true Spearing fashion, we are waiting until the very last possible second to enter. We are slightly indecisive.
We fly home on the 19th (I am sad to be missing Bay to Breakers, but it’s definitely going to be worth it) and the next weekend we are flying to Vegas to see my other sister. We haven’t seen each other since Thanksgiving, and I am super excited to spend the weekend with her and her husband.
On top of all of our traveling, I also got a promotion at work, and I start my new job on May 6th. It’s definitely going to be a whirlwind month, but those are my favourite kind. I’m feeling very lucky and grateful for all of the good things in my life at the moment, and I can’t to see what the rest of the summer holds.
A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to attend the wedding reception of some of our friends from Hawaii. I met them on the island, but they are from California, and they held a small reception at the Purple Orchid near Livermore.
It’s a bit out of the way, I thought perhaps they were luring us out into the woods to kill us, but once we arrived it was the most adorable little spot. The new owners bought it a few years ago when it was falling into disrepair, and they were able to get some help from Hotel Impossible (a TV show) to get it fixed up.
Sadly that night my phone completely died, it is possible I dropped it into my champagne glass without noticing. Some of my pics were saved, but all of the ones of Derek, and Derek and I were gone, which was disappointing because he cleans up real nice.
Today I am wishing a happy birthday to my beautiful, wonderful mother. She is constantly setting goals for herself, and works hard to achieve them, never taking no for an answer. She insists on having a good time no matter what she is doing, and she is always taking care of other people.
Whether she is getting her motorcycle license, running a marathon, or hiking the Grand Canyon, she isn’t afraid to try new things. Also, she is probably the best dancer I know. I remember when I was little, I couldn’t wait to grow up and get big so that I could party with her, I always thought her and my dad were so much more fun than any other adults I knew.
So happy birthday Billie Jean, thanks for being so adventurous and feisty, and showing us all that anything is possible with dedication, a positive attitude, and the promise of a margarita at the finish line.
Totally obsessed with this. Photographer is led around the world by his girlfriend.
Original link here.
My parents came to visit a few weeks ago, and it was my dad’s birthday. I wanted to make him a birthday “cake” but I wanted to make him something he would really like, and he loves banana cream pie.
I found this recipe on Pinterest, and made it for him. I really don’t like bananas, they are one of my most hated foods, my mom told me even as a baby I wouldn’t eat them, so I wasn’t really expecting to enjoy this pie, but it was amazing.
The crust has a hint of cinnamon which is absolutely essential, and really adds a lot to the overall flavour. The creamy filling was cool and delicious, and it wasn’t super banana-ish. Even after a huge dinner at Texas Roadhouse, this pie was so good that I had to have a second piece.
Last Friday night I was lucky enough to see Lucero in concert at the Fillmore again, I saw them last year too. We had a great night, stopping for tacos and margaritas at Tacolicious beforehand, and the concert was a blast.
Lucero was awesome as usual, and I really enjoyed their opening band Langhorn Slim and the Law, especially “Do You Believe in Past Lives?” and their Leonard Cohen cover “Tonight Will be Fine”.
I love going to the Fillmore, it has so much musical history, and such a neat vibe, it just feels like a really special place.
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| The Fillmore: Heart and Soul of the City |
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| I’m still not sure why they give out apples, but I bet it’s a good story |
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| soooo many band posters |
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| and signed pictures |
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| Langhorn Slim and the Law |
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| Lucero |
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| Date night |
I was asked to be part of a a shoot for Earth Week at work. We had a blast filming, we got to be silly and the crew was really fun. Here is the finished result, there is an intro video, and then a different Earth Week video for each day this week.
Yes, I still have the vest.
My parents came in to visit us for a couple of days last week, and it was really fun showing them around. I tend to try to pack as many things as possible into when they visit, I figure if they have lots of fun they are more likely to come back and visit sooner, right?
It was my dad’s birthday so my mom got us all tickets to the Sharks game (they lost, damn you Burns) and then we went to Capitola and tried almost every margarita on the boardwalk. We had supper at a really great restaurant in Aptos called Cafe Rio, I highly recommend it. I don’t even eat seafood, but I ordered salmon (since I’m trying to be more adventurous) and it was A.MAZ.ING.
After that we went wine tasting, had lunch at BJ’s and did some beer tasting, and then did some sight seeing before we went to a little town called Port Costa and went to The Warehouse Cafe, which is now definitely top 5 for my favourite bars in the world, and is certainly my favourite bar in California.
It’s a very eclectic mix of people and decor, they have a life sized polar bear, a bartender named Gina who is a crazy Italian in the most endearing way possible, and beers from over 450 different countries, and they ONLY serve doubles. All of this located right on the bay, in a run down old shipping warehouse that you can wander around in for ages and continue to find something cool around every corner. As my Dad said, “It’s like a place from a different time.”
We finished up with supper at Texas Roadhouse and then went home to eat the banana cream pie I made for my dad’s birthday cake. It was a really wonderful couple of days, and I can’t wait until they come back again. Sadly, my phone broke right before they got there, so I didn’t get to take as many pictures as I would have liked, but I did get a few.
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| ominoussss |
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| love them |
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| I don’t know if I could drink all of that, but I would like the opportunity to try |
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| derek’s new buddy |
loveliness. 
