gratitude cafe

this week i am thankful for: 

- the BEST coffee i've had in a long time (from transcend on 109 street) - scoring some bangin Iron Fist wedges on sale -  to rome with love ... a pleasantly surprising film (that makes me want to drop everything and move to Rome!) - seeing my bestest bestie for only the second time in the past 4 years, and picking up right where we left off - buying my ticket and nearly DYING in anticipation of seeing five iron frenzy next weekend! - drinks and pizza on the patio with awesome angee - watching the muppets again... just as charming as it was the first time around - buying new glasses! for the first time in 8 years! stoked to have frames i actually want to wear. - oodle noodle's salad rolls. de. lish. - 

other reasons i am thankful this week:
- coffee - having some deep talks with a kid at the skatepark - hanging with my sister and discovering a fantastic sushi restaurant - cherry super nibs - laughing til i cried watching guys compete in a wayne's world head-banging competition to bohemian rhapsody while DJing - getting to faclitate a mini-workshop for my coworkers... i forget how much i love youth work until you get me talking about it... - spinning tunes at a wedding on saturday night - sleeping in -


what are YOU thankful for this week??

gratitude cafe

this week i am thankful for:

- getting to go to the zero & mystery skate team demo edmonton - having some interesting visitors in my wee shack on a rainy day at work - rain! and lots of it... meaning, lots of water to remove from the skatepark. - puzzle time with my cuzzies - hanging with my rad girlie Amber and making new babyfriends - visiting a remarkable catholic shrine in the middle of nowhere... more on this later this week! - breathtaking sunsets over the lake - alberta colors - quad-ing with the cuzzies and uncles...so much fun! - 

other things i am thankful for this week:
- the night circus! this book totally rocked my imagination this week. i recommend! - this thought-provoking piece that reminds us that the journey to a meaningful life isn't always pretty - catching up with my rad friend Carmen, for the first time in 4 years - having dinner with all of my siblings...that hasn't happened for a really long time! - a really relaxing and fun weekend with my cousins and grandparents at the lake - sleeping in - pizza and a movie with amber - falling alseep to thunderstorms -


what are YOU thankful for?


p.s. you may have noticed a couple changes in the works here on the blog...will let you know when the transformation is complete :) 

drop everything and move to africa.

in 2007, i had the privilege of meeting the beautiful woman above. together we fumbled our way through life in a new city, navigating change and heartache and simple pleasures, like sipping cups of tea in the sunday afternoon sun. at the time, kim was studying at broadcasting school, and i recall meeting one of her fellow students, Dan, over a burger king number four meal, as kim and i were wont to enjoy.
kim went on to work her way into the television industry, eventually securing a position as a reporter on the six o'clock news for new zealand's national television station. dan also worked hard at his craft, and now shoots videos for a living.
in may, kim and dan went to africa to shoot a story on a young kiwi aid worker, who helps run an orphanage in kenya. a couple days ago, the story was aired, and is now available to watch online. it shows staggering realities of children living in a rubbish dump, fighting for survival, and describes how matt left behind a promising musical career to do something more purposeful with his life. the most poignant moment in the story for me, is the last sentence, where kim announces that she will be leaving her hard-earned television position, and moving to africa to help. i guess that knowing a small portion of how hard kim has worked to get to where she is in her career, and seeing her choose to give all of that up to embark on a grand adventure into the unknown is something that inspires me immensely. i am so, so proud of this woman.

view the story here, and read more about Matt's charity and donate here. 

gratitude cafe

this week i am thankful for:

- an exhibit of early- and original-edition charles dickens works at the uni's special collections library...it was amaaaazing, but i wanted to touch ALL THE BOOKS and i couldn't... - much-needed coolant during the hottest week i've been in since living in arizona (4 years ago!) - foooood. in general. - grommies making proverbial lemonade out of the lemon that was a very flooded and very un-skate-able skatepark - fave pants, fave shoes, fave toenail polish....it's the little things :) - the preying saints! such a rad local band that i saw play in a barn on saturday night - dairy queen with the little bro after work - hanging with my rad cousin :) - OMG! i sat in the ACTUAL cool runnings bobsled. brings back so many childhood memories! - 

other little(and big!) things i'm thankful for:

- finding some gems while shopping whyte ave (my favourite area in edmonton), like a second-hand polka-dot dress that fits perfectly and a book that's a complete collection of the works of Gil Elvgren - skype chats with lovely ladyfriends who are scattered all over the globe - monopoly deal marathon games at work (yes, i get paid to play cards some days.) - my very own personal accordion performance - long-awaited books arriving in the mail - booking a trip to NYC to see my dear friend Jessie, and to go camping in Maine! can't wait! - road tripping to the calgary stampede with my bro-ski, and meeting up with an old friend - hanging with the rad kids at my old youth group, and getting the opportunity to encourage them to DREAM BIG! - 

what are YOU thankful for??

squeezebox surprise

this morning i missed my bus to work. frustrated with myself for not getting out the door earlier, and aware that the next bus on the same route would get me to work 25 minutes late, i text my boss letting him know i'd be late getting to the park. as i sent the text, i noticed another bus on a route i'd never taken, but with a destination only a few blocks from work. impulsively, i hopped on, hoping it would get me there quicker.

it did not, in fact, get me there quicker.

however, there was a man on the bus totally and utterly rocking out on the accordion. of all things. and the accordion was plastered with sparkly stickers. how radtacular is that!?

i happen to love the accordion, and for the majority of the ride i was the only person on the bus. it was like i was on some sort of mobile live music experience, for an audience of one. well, two if you count the bus driver.

i was still late for work, but i most definitely turned up smiling. it was a delightful little reminder that when life doesn't go to plan, 'sometimes what happens instead is the good stuff.'

gratitude cafe

- the queen extravaganza! so freaking awesome. definitely the highlight of the week - late-night bulgogi pizza with angee - up close and personal dj gig and mix-ology 101 with my rad cousin wyatt - gritty hip-hop at work on wednesday night - people-watching and boogie-ing on a hot summer night - fooooood! - beautiful pink-leaved trees at night at the legislature grounds - inspiration can coming from interesting places... - mean summer meals...yummm -

other things i am thankful for this week:

- having a blast with the other skate staff at training days for work - booking flights to boston! soo excited to see old friends and Five Iron Frenzy! - falling even more in love with music - playing monopoly deal with my coworker or a rainy day - queen and the inspiring talent of freddie mercury - fb chats with lucy - late night wanders around the beautiful legislature grounds with old friends - chatting to my bestest bestie jenn on the phone for an hour and a half! soooo good. - getting to hang out with my auntie, cousins and grandma on a beautiful, hot summer evening - hitting the town with angee - unbelievably warm weather... 34 degrees today! - dinner and great talks with my dear friends alex and nathan - FINALLY a weekend where i've been able to spend time with some friends -

what are YOU thankful for??

gratitude cafe

i'm thankful for:

 - first haircut in months...such a good feeling! - busting out my skates for the first time since leaving nz (living with my parents means no concrete... for miles) -  checking out some beautiful antique cars - good eats. actually, all things considered, just thankful for food in front of me, period. - orange creamsicle ice cream - breakfast, in general. - dropping some rad 80s rock at work on wednesday night - '...bright lights, big city, it was extraordinary...' beginning house sitting in the big city. so looking forward to a week of urban life - ahhhh, earl gray, the magical elixir that soothes the soul. -

it's been a bit quiet on the ol blog front here. my new routine of both jobs and dreaming and scheming for the future has kept life rambling on without too much change or excitement to note. I've been putting some thought into what purpose I'd like this blog to serve, in both my life and yours, and I'm nearly ready to implement some updates to the site, so watch this space :)

other things I am thankful for over the past wee while (it's been more than a week!):

- dinner & movie date with awesome Angee! she's training for a freaking MARATHON. to check her journey out, click here - books! recently finished Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' and absolutely loved it. was actually touched by the cry of the monster for acceptance & companionship. not what I was expecting at all. presently supplised. - Alexandra Franzen. this girl's blog posts are hella inspiring, and her wordsmith-ery makes me swoon. probably a level 1 girl crush. - better vibes with some of the grommies at the skatepark - being booked for my first two solo DJ gigs, both at the beginning of August - friday meetings at work, where all the skatepark staff city-wide hang out and 'plan stuff' (more like...talk about skating and make each other laugh.) - watching felicity re-runs with my rad sister - 7-11 iced mochas - facetime-ing Rachel, she rulez. -

and how about YOU? what are you thankful for??