the life of my.localgirl

my best shot. . .

2011-06-24T22:24:00.002-06:00

my baby girl getting away with one last look over her shoulder. . .stay sweet and innocent, little one! i love you always! :)

this is my entry for:

red with anger

2010-03-30T09:30:00.003-06:00

Here's my entry for a fabulous contest at Beyond Snapshots for an amazing Epiphanie bag . . . this is my incredibly amazing baby girl, Sydney. . .she was literally RED with anger because it was nap time and i wanted just 'one more' shot! :)

(click on the photo to see details of RED anger on her face! :)

introducing Sydney Mara Ferrer Trenchuk

2009-07-06T12:24:00.002-06:00

Born June 23, 2009 @4:33am
6lbs 13oz - 19 1/2in
The joy of our lives! :)

growing little ferrchuk belly :)

2009-06-03T21:59:00.004-06:00

here we are at 36 weeks. . .ferrchuk baby coming soon!
photo by Deanna Hall Photography

my little bababoo. . .

2009-03-23T21:41:00.001-06:00

25 weeks! :)

i did the 1/2! :)

2008-06-21T10:26:00.001-06:00

dominican birthday bash. . .

2008-01-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

my best girlfriends and i celebrated our 30th birthdays in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. . .it was beautiful. . .

happy holidays!

2007-12-26T23:24:00.000-07:00

merry CHRISTmas everyone! :) :) :)

2007-11-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

this is from mrs. hay's blog. . . her blogs always makes me think. . this one make me think i need to start reading again. . .

This is pretty simple.
From the list below:
-Bold the ones you’ve read
-Italicize the ones you want to read
-leave the ones you aren't interested in as they are.
1.The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2.Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3.To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10.A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11.Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12.Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13.Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16.Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel) in progress!
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis) - an all time fave of mine!
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom) - parts of. . .
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible - most of it. .
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth(Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100.Ulysses (James Joyce)

hmmm. . . .

me = 30

2007-10-19T22:21:00.001-06:00

ok. . .so i'm way overdue for an update. . .big event in September. . .my birthday. . .it's not every day one turns 30. . .and two occasions of doing so in one household. . .wow! at least i'm the youngest of the two. . hee hee. . it was a fun day spent mostly at work. . .but with special bursts of birthday cheer. . .

my coworker and fellow Filipina, janice, took me out for lunch. . . we totally pigged out. .mmm. . .

subby came and took me out for afternoon snack . . .mmm. . .and brought a loverly bouquet of flowers!!! :)

when i returned to the office, my space was covered with more flowers!!! one being from my mom in the Philippines (dad's gift was coming to visit en route home from a meeting in Cali) and the other bouquet from my from my in-laws!!! they also gave me 2 piñatas . . .boy did we have fun with that! imagine an office full of "professionals" whacking a fish piñata!!! :) i won't post any photos of that to save my coworkers some shame! :)

robbie took me out to dinner at Redstone . . . a superfab restaurant with delicious cuisine and live jazz music that night! mmm. . .haven't had chicken breast that tender and the mushroom was just yummieeeee!!!

as you can see, i even had an edible orchid! :) mmm. . . and the desert! ahhhh. . . delightful. . mmmm. . .didn't have a chance to photograph it. . .all gone in two seconds! :)

it was an incredibly fun day! turning 30 is so easy piecey. . .nothing to it. . . my favourite was spending moments with all the people above and people i love. . .

my in-laws. . .

my bro. . .

and best of all. . .my love. . .cheers to another 30 years together! :)

rob = 30

2007-08-02T11:09:00.001-06:00

to celebrate robbie's big 3-0 . . .we went for a quadding weekend at Falls Creek. . about 2 hours west of Lacombe. . .the weather was sizzling hot and the trails a bit dusty. . .but we managed to find some mud and water to make the trip exciting. . .

the crew

linds. . .can't you drive? :)

getting clean in the muddy water. . .i know. . makes no sense. . but it worked! :)

fishing time. . .rob caught 2 1/2 fish. . .half cause it was the size of my hand! not enough for a meal and we were at a catch and release area. . .

somethings are NOT meant to swim. . .didn't you know that, bobert? :)

dusty after a day on the trails. . .

cleaned up with the cool (COLD!!!) mountain river water. . .

birthday lunch. . .yum. . .

beautiful scenery. . .wouldn't be able to see it if it weren't for those CRAZY trails up and down the mountains. . .worth the ride! :)

alberta wildlife. . .

2007-07-10T21:50:00.001-06:00

on some of our weekend getaways, we were lucky enough to see some amazing wildlife! you could tell who was boss. . .it wasn't us! :) the little black baby bear is my fave. . .

waterton, alberta - beautiful!

2007-06-18T21:54:00.001-06:00

one year already? happy anniversary to us! :)

2007-06-05T22:02:00.001-06:00

last weekend was beautiful. . .finally summer is here! :) we enjoyed a lovely saturday afternoon celebrating farmer kevin's 30th birthday. . .no worries, we're all right behind ya, kev! :) there were kids galore. . .cute shoes came with them! :)

rob and i stopped by gull lake to see if it was high enough for a ski. . .and it was. . . but the water was freezing! . . . it doesn't get warm enough in my opionion. . .we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset! :)

last 3 weekends. . .

2007-05-26T11:29:00.000-06:00

not having a computer at home makes it challenging to update the blog. . .hopefully we can fix that problem soon! :) the last 3 weekends have been full of adventure and fun. . .

three weekends ago. . .

my in-laws enjoying the great alberta outdoors. . .

the guys maneuver through the muddy trail. . .

rob gives a helping hand. . .

rob tried to call AAA for roadside assistance. . .

steep trails. . .good times. . .

two weekends ago. . .

camping at Abraham lake. . .

apparently, the fish were still frozen. . .

levi and his yellow boots take a walk across the freaky bridge. . .

for once, natalie isn't munching on food. . .oh wait a minute. . what's in her hand?

our posh accommodations (could have used this in the outback! :)

mmm. . .campfire, fresh air, and good company. . .

bren forgot his bike, so he had to borrow levi's. . .

playing "swords" by the fire. . .

last weekend. . .

celebrating melayne's almost 30 birthday at Bragg Creek. . .

taking in the gorgeous view of Elbow falls. . .

mmm. . .fresh fruit. . .

mmm. . .fresh cinnamon bun with lattes and americanos. . .

mmm. . .fresh ladies. . .

consumed in record time. . .

a little 'old west' shopping never hurt anyone. . .

a friendly reminder to save the trees (stamped on a piece of tree :) . . .

90 years of life!

2007-05-04T21:20:00.000-06:00

recently my grandma (aka lola) turned 90 years old. . .amazing! my brother and i went to vancouver to help her celebrate her birthday. . .it was a big bash and she loved it. . .success!. . .we enjoyed the time spent in beautiful B.C. . .cheers to an incredible woman who has sacrificed so much to make sure her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchild get the best they can out of life! :) we love you lola! :)

had some yummie pizza at this joint and ran into our good old friend Kris! it was a lovely surprise. . .gotta love accidental meetings on main street, vancouver! :)

wow. . .i wish it looks like this in lacombe! :)

a visit to the farm. . .

2007-04-23T17:29:00.000-06:00

a couple weekends ago, we went for a long overdue visit to our friends' farm. . .the weekend was beautiful. . .the snow had melted (mostly). . .and the skies were blue. . .we watched as farmer kevin worked (actually rob joined and i watched) as it was calving time. . . we witnessed the miracle of birth (wowee!). . . explored the countryside . . .and enjoyed the company of old friends. . .

the farm. . . .(part of it)

husband and wife team working together (they were amazing!) . . . this cow had complications, so they had to "help" her with the delivery. . . (ouch!)

i learned that after they give birth, they immediately lick their calf (hmm. . .) we watched this one until it was able to stand on four feet . . .isn't it so tiny?

if the calf is male, this is what he will look like after one year. . .talk about growth spurt!

farmer kevin

back to the busy town of Lacombe we go. . .it was a wonderful visit! :)

back home. . .

2007-04-17T21:55:00.000-06:00

yes, it's April. . . and yes, there's snow!

another week goes by. . .

2007-02-24T23:06:00.000-07:00

we've had some rainy days. . . but forutnately walks to the train have been in between showers. . and the rain is good for the drought situation here. . .the flowers are gorgeous and after the rain, it's beauty is so refreshing. . .

public transit has been our closest friend in our time here. . .our train we take everyday!!! :) :) :)

bye to our other housemate, Hyeri. . .

signs you don't see in Canada :)

2007-02-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

busy working all week. . .one of our housemates moved out! boo hoo. . .we'll miss her!

here are some signs we've seen along our travels that made us laugh, cringe or be on alert. . .thought we'd share. . enjoy! :)

anyone for HOT NUTS? :)

this is a good reason not to smoke!

haven't actually seen a Koala in the wild. . but heaps of kangaroos both dead and alive!

till next time :)

picnic in the park

2007-02-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

i finally landed an office temp job! :) yay! :) i did go back to telemarketing for one week before i got my current "job". . . it wasn't all that bad :). . but it's good to be working all day again. . .rob is still at the same job. . .so we're on our way to saving up for our next travels. . .we had a picnic this sabbath for lunch and guess who we saw? Daryl, Mandy and Gavin Hyde all the way from Red Deer, Alberta! :) they came to visit their relatives who we just happen to know as well. . .it was nice to visit and meet baby Gavin :) we had a good time hearing him laugh for the first time! :) it was a really good Sabbath after a long week of work! :)

life in the city. . .

2007-01-27T23:25:00.000-07:00

have been busy settling in. . .looking for work, a semi-permanent place to stay, etc. . .here's a little update on our lives in the city. . .

Rob makes a new friend with a puppy, Layla. . .now, everytime they meet, she says hello to his toes. . .sometimes in a violent fashion. . .but it's all puppy love :)

moved in to our "new" pad this week. . . our room is the top left corner with the balcony. . .rent is decent for being so close to the city. . we do have 3 housemates (all Korean), but we don't see much of any of them. . .we have the master suite. . so it's great!. . and a big bonus. . .air conditioning!!! it's been above 30C all week!!! the humidity is what gets us. . .

Friday, January 26 was Australia day. . . we celebrated with our new friends. . it was good times! :) flag raising at Roma Parklands (above)

oh. . this isn't our party. . .but doesn't it look fab? :)

this is our indoor BBQ at Andrew's flat . . .it was really good to meet lots of new people. . .and have Sanitarium veggie hotdogs (so good that Rob wants to import some to Canada). . .

an Oz day must include some cricket. . .rob (in red) bowls (don't ask me what that means, obviously, i only watched :)

ended the day with some fireworks. . . it was a grand start to a long weekend! :)

around Oz in a campervan. . .

2007-01-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

after the Philippines, the in-laws came back with us to Oz for two weeks. . .we rented a campervan that sleeps four (cozeeee. . . as you will see). . .and drove from Brisbane to Sydney and back. . . then up to Fraser Island and ending up in Brisbane again . . .Rob, our amazing driver, drove on the wrong side of the road only once. . .and it was because of me, the not so amazing navigator. . .ha ha. . . but we made it and it was good times. . . here are snapshots of our roadtrip. . .

at the Australia Zoo. . .home of the Irwin family. . it was amazing. . we got to play with the Kangaroos. . .and cuddle with Koalas. . .just too bad we didn't see Terri or Bindi Irwin, although Terri was supposed to be there. . .

Rob can't resist pushing the Kangaroo's ears down!!! :)

a memorial for the late Steve Irwin. . . very touching. . .

saw the croc show. . .yikes! they give me the shivers. . .

posters of Steve Irwin were everywhere. . .RIP. . .

this is our campervan. . .our home for 2 weeks. . . we had a fridge, 2 mini-double beds, a kitchenette and pretty much everything we needed! :) below is a peek inside. . that's Rob up in our bed doing some reading! :) :) :)

beautiful Byron Bay in New South Wales. . .

we were at the most easternly point of the Oz mainland! :) now we need to find the most westernly point. . .

we saw wild dolphins (above). . we watched them for hours! it was captivating! :) and we saw not so wild ones too (below). . .they were so much fun. . .

this dude is a real live pelican. . .i just can't believe how his eyes and bill outlines look like they're drawn on!!! :)

a hazy view of Surfers Paradise. . .check out the waves!

spent a couple days with a tour group on Fraser Island. . .the world's largest sand island! that's our ride - a 4 wheel drive 24 passenger bus. . .

all roads were sand. . .makes for a very eventful ride. . .those sitting in the back had the most rockin' time! :)

it was amazing to see the rainforest on the island. . .again, a sand island. .and yes, we drove through the rainforest. . wow!

then we walked through the desert!!! very, very, very HOT!!!

but we had a fresh water lake waiting for us at the end of the walk. . .again, a fresh water lake in the middle of the dessert. . on the sand island. . .wow!

the Maheno shipwreck. . .

our "rugged" accommodations :)

i enjoyed playing in the sand. . .

while rob played with the water! :)

the Champagne pools. . .incredibly clear water. . .a very refreshing swim on a scortching hot day!

back on the mainland. . .a walk on the pier at Hervy Bay. . .plenty of fish to watch or catch if you're lucky!

tour of the Philippines. . .

2006-12-27T23:28:00.000-07:00

whew! it feels like we need another holiday to recover from this last one! oh wait. . .we are on a holiday. . . for a few more months anyway! :) our days in the Philippines were booked solid with little trips that we didn't even have time to update the blog. . .here is a glimpse of our short month there. . .

since i haven't been back to the motherland in about 18 years and it was rob's first time, the one thing that really stood out was the crazy traffic!!! there are rules, but the drivers have their own way of abiding by them. . .one major mode of transportation are the jeepneys. . .most of them are overloaded with decorations just like the ones below. . .

another mode of transportation are the tricyles. . .a motorbike with the sidecab. . .technically it's only supposed to fit 4 maybe 6 (tiny) people. . but we saw several filled to the max. . like the one below. . .it's amazing they don't fall off on the side of the road! :)

our favourite one is the family bike!. . .rob was fully amused by this. . .and in our days there, we saw some with 5 even 6 people. . mind you, small Filipino people :)

TRIP 1: Cebu - the city of my birth. . . we visited the hospital where both JR and i were born. . .we even met the doctor who delivered me! yes, i was a c-section (sorry, mom!) and to top it off, we toured the delivery room where i was born! :) i took rob to the back of the hospital where we used to live. . . these are the steps that lead up to our old apartment in Cebu. . .

we took a side trip to Bohol . . . a whole 3 hours away by ferry. . .spent the day there where we marvelled at the Chocolate Hills. . .how in the world were these formed? you tell me! :)

saw the smallest known primate in the world, the Tarsier . . .kind of creepy looking little animals. . .rob fed it a cricket. . .they may be small, but they're fast. . .the cricket was gone in no time!

rob made a friend with a baby Philippine monkey. . .it sat in his arms for a while and started twirling his arm hair! :)

TRIP 2: Bacolod - where i spent grades 1 & 2 also my Dad's hometown. . .here we spent an evening with the relatives. . .about 30 of them . . .had a mini-party with the main dish being the famous Bacolod chicken inasal. . .yum yum. . . rob learned how to eat rice with his hands! :) the relatives were amused and very impressed! :) haa haa haa :)

Bacolod is also the land of sugar cane. . .this is how they harvest it . . .i think those are the same trucks when i was here over 20 years ago. . .unbelievable!

here are the steps that lead to our old apartment at Central Philippine Adventist College aka CPAC. . .not the same as when we were there. . . the stairs used to be bigger :)

TRIP 3: Boracay - world famous white sand beaches. . .this time the whole Ferrchuk family went on this 3-day trip . . .it was a superfabulous time had by all! :)

we arrived on the island by pontoon boat. . .

we arrived to our hotel by tricycle. . .

we arrived to paradise. . .

even more of a paradise to rob when he found "Gretzky 99" parked on the beach. . . :) we had foot spas, ate good food, went island hopping. . .it was a good time on Boracay! . . . we were sad to say goodbye to this island. . .

TRIP 4: Palawan - a beautiful island to be explored. . . we checked out some local sights and animals, spent a day snorkeling and explored underground caves. . .

rob was the only one brave enough to hold a 3-year old croc! it was a fiesty one. . .

off to Dos Palmas for a day. . .it was perfect for snorkeling and basking in the sun. . .bobert and rob get their gear on. . .

i found nemo!!! :)

the day we went to the underground caves was a bit of an adventure. . .after a 2 hour ride on rough roads. . .we went on a 20 minute ride on rough seas. . .ahhhh. . .it was the first time they made the trip in 4 days as the seas were too rough. . .mmmm. . .they were still rough in my opinion. . . but we made it! :) my knuckles were white. . but but it was worth the trip! :)

entering the underground river caves. . .we saw many rock formations resembling shapes from the fruit and vegetable section to Hollywood. . .the rocks came alive if you used your imagination. . .our river guide made it both an interesting and amusing ride!

outside the caves, the water was a gorgeous blend of greens and blues. . .

back on the boat to revisit the rough seas. . .ahhhh. . .i think i'll stick to land and air for a while!

we saw some amazing views on the trip back. . .

finally spent some time at my parent's house! it was nice to unwind after all those trips. . but definitely had an incredible time! . .our last Sabbath afternoon was spent at Tagaytay. . .a beautiful area not far from where my parents live. . .

the guys drooling over the beautiful golf course. . .

the view from the top. . .

the Ferrchuk family. . .it was a superfabulous holiday!!! :) :) :)

safe from typhoon

2006-12-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

just in case you're wondering. . .typhoon Durian didn't hit where my parents live. . .just had some thick clouds and a bit of wind, but nothing more. . .thanks for thinking of us. . .please pray for those affected by the typhoon. . . thanks :)

flight to the Phils. . .

2006-12-01T17:43:00.000-07:00

so last sabbath, Andrew decided that we needed to see more of Brisbane. . .so he took us around the city for an afternoon drive and we checked out some new sights! thanks Andrew for making sure we did more than just work in Brisbane! :) then at the end of the week we said goodbye to our temp work there. . .sad to say that i will not be missing telemarketing! :) haa haa. . .i can't believe i actually worked there for one month! :) made some new friends as you will see from our cheesey pose below! :) then off to the Philippines we went. . .after a very turbulent flight via Malaysia, we arrived to the island paradise! :) greeted by a bouquet of bananas and mangoes at my parents' home, it was a nice end to our journey! :) here are some kodak moments. . .

a view of the city from Mt. Cootha. . .Rob and Andrew strikes a pose. . .

hanging out at the University of Queensland :)

lovahs walking along the path at the city botanical gardens. . .

Rob and Andrew check out a game of soccer - shirts vs. skins

"You're number is being called today to receive $4000 worth of food, entertainment, services and gifts for one $99!" . . . yes, that's what we had to say! and that's just the beginning of the script! :) these are some of my "co-workers" :)

KLIA - Kuala Lumpur International Airport . . . very nice. . .we treated ourselves to breakky at Starbucks. . . i can't believe how inexpensive it was! :) Annie, you would have loved it! :)

our welcome basket when we arrived at my parents' home in the Philipines! YUMMIEEEE!!! i think Rob and I ate half a bunch this morning for breakky. . .yum yum yum! :) a bunch of bananas cost $2 USD . . .wowee. . much better than $12 AUS per kilo!

early morning view out of my parents' front door! :) looking forward to more island scenes! :)

in & around Brissy. . .

2006-11-23T22:39:00.000-07:00

the past 2 weekends, we have taken the time to enjoy the sights of Brisbane. . .2 sundays ago we hopped on the citycat (public transport up & down the river) . . .that's exactly what we did. . .went all the way up one end and down the other. . .it took up most of the afternoon with a couple stops along the way. . .it a really nice way to see the city on a tight budget :) only $7 for the both of us and the tickets lasted all day! :) we highly recommend this activity if you are ever in the Brissy area! :)

last weekend was action packed! :) a christmas tree lighting ceremony in Brisbane square downtown kicked off the weekend . . .we were actually just on a little walk and stumbled upon the celebrations. . .the christmas carols drew my attention and all Rob could do was try to keep up with me going there. . .it was nice to feel the holiday spirit, but really. . .it feels like christmas in july! the high temp today was 30C . . .hmmm? just doesn't add up for these albertans :)

on Sabbath, we attended a youth rally. . .heard some good music and inspiring preaching. . .then a picnic lunch at the park. . .mingled with other young SDA folks. . .then wrapped the day up with a rugby game that evening. . .the tri-nations rugby league series taking place and we were able to get nosebleed seats for the game. . .it was Great Britain vs. Australia . . . .(sorry we had to live your dream, Richard! the outcome wasn't to your favour anyway. . .33-10 for the Kangaroos :) the stadium is huge and built well so we still had a great view even though we were so far up. . .the game was quite exciting and even a few fights broke out in the crowd! . . .luckily not in our section. . .we both had our own personal experts (thanks, Bek & Stephen) on either side, so we always knew what was going on . . .or we should have anyway! :)

on Sunday we ventured out north on the train to meet tyler's (coleman) relatives. . .he had "introduced" via email. . .and they had invited us over for an afternoon. . .it was fun to visit with fellow Canadians and play with their 4 kids! :) they even took us to see the local ice arena. . .where there were some kids playing hockey! that made Rob just a little homesick. . .ok a lot. . .so we had to get out quick!!! :)

and now you're all caught up! :) we are winding down our stay in Brissy. . .in a week we will be in the Philippines with the Ferrer parents :) can't wait to see them and eat some bananas. . .did we tell you that bananas here cost from $8 to $15 per kilo???? INSANE. . .definitely not within our budget! . . . check out the story here : banana story :) so philippine bananas. . . here we come! :)

other events that happened/happeing in Brisbane that we wish we could attend include:

1. U2 concert
2. Kylie Minogue
3. Cirque du Soleil
4. Elton John
5. Billy Joel

just to name a few. . .here are some photos. . .enjoy! :) :) :)

Rob checking out the goods at the Sunday street market

the CityCat . . . . Brisbane's river transit

a fancy bridge of the many that cross the river

our dream home. . .

the upper end of the river - Brett's wharf

Brisbane skyline from the CityCat. . .

a fancy walking/bike trail at Southbank . . .

the man-made beach at Southbank. . .where currently a huge screen is set up to view the Ashes (a cricket series between Australia & England . . .we can't seem to get into it! but good times watching all the fans. . .there's many here from the UK :)

images from the rugby game. . .

the scrum. . .interesting. . .

the kickoff. . .

so close, but denied by the official (in red) . . . a goal is called a try (interesting)

the ice arena at Boondall. . .can you smell it??? we sure did! just like the back ice in Lacombe!!! :) we could actually see our breath. . .been a while! :)

busy in brisbane

2006-11-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

i know. . . it's been a while since i've updated! we have been busy trying to "settle" in Brisbane and recovering from the culture shock of city life! . . .job hunting took up most of our time and finally, we both have jobs. . .praise the Lord!!! Rob is going through a temporary job agency and he's landed some jobs in the construction area. . .one never knows how long the job will last, but there's usually always something available. . .so he's been busy with that type of work. . .i had a bit more of a challenging time trying to find a job since we are only here for one month. . .most people are hiring right now for the christmas season. . .and well, i won't be here that long. . .sooooo. . .i settled for who would offer me work. . .so for the next month, i am . . .(drrrum roll, please. . .) a telemarketer!!! haa haa. . .i know. . .we all are so kind to telemarketers when they call. . .and honestly. . .it is a challenging job!!! yikes! the company collaborates with various businesses to sell different things. . currently we are selling gift certificate booklets. . .haa haa :) . . i can't help but laugh. . .ah well. . it's a job and i'm happy to have it. . .just pray that i keep selling enough to keep the job! they will fire you if you don't sell any products!. . .yikes! yesterday, i was tempted to try my Australian accent in hopes of more sales. . but after a quick practise, decided that i just might get fired for doing that. . haa haa. . so i put on my best Canadian accent and tackled the phone list! thanks to everyone who is keeping us your prayers! we totally appreciate your thoughts! we haven't had the chance to sightsee much, but here are a few Brisbane sights. . .

Rob's dream come true. . .a do-it-yourself order station at his favourite eatery. . .Subway! :)

the city of Brisbane is divided by a river . . .it makes a beautiful walking path. . .

the city hall/museum of Brisbane. . .there's at least a couple buildings in the city with clocks. . .you always know what the time is!

gorgeous full moon over the city park. . .

saying goodbye to St. George!!!

2006-10-22T21:07:00.000-06:00

we're finished! :) the crew cintured the vines in record time. . .so we leave St. George earlier than planned. . .we're headed to brisbane in the morning. . .then another job hunt begins. . .here are the photos of the day!. . .enjoy. . .

the cut of many cuts. . .it is only 3mm wide. . .it's quite the talent to make a full circle. . .hee hee. . .there have been some "creative" cuts as we call it. . .oops, don't show the boss. . .

these grapes will grow up to 40% larger because of cinturing. . .most of the vines we've cut are for table grapes. .but we did one farm that produces wine grapes. . .they were the worst vines ever!!!!!

here's our multicultural crew after a long day of work. . .although it was a really good production day for everyone. . .the vines were perfect . . we had our highest total that day of over 1200 vines!!! yay for us. .but we weren't anywhere close to "the machine" aka cory who cut over 2000 vines. . yikes!!! he said his magic potion is can of coca cola after every 4 rows. . .who knew. . .we could have just been chugging that down. . .haa haa :)

on the run. . .there were many kangaroos at our last vineyard. . .luckily one never hopped over too close! :)

beautiful sunset at the vineyard. . a welcome vista at the end of our day!!! :)

yes, that's dust on rob's shoulders. . .he gets nice and powdered at the end of the day. . .not to mention sweaty and sometimes muddy. . .some vineyards water the vines while we're cutting. .no consideration to the hard working crew!!!. . .

ok. . .if you want to wreck your back, just do this for 8 hours a day!!!. . .ahhhhhhh our spines will never be the same. . .we both need massages and a visit or two to the chiropractor. . .eek! just under rob's cap is a bit of bark. .that needs to be peeled off then the cut made. . .the hoses are for watering the vines. . .they drip fertilized water to the vines. . .

keep visiting for the next job update!!! :) :) :)

settling in St. George

2006-10-20T21:42:00.000-06:00

we're finally done in Emerald! yahoo! we had a good Sabbath last weekend. . .walked to Emerald SDA church. . .there were about 25 people there. . mostly kids. .it was a nice service. . .they invited us to stay for fellowship lunch and who could refuse that offer?. . haa haa. .not us. . we were "adopted" by grandma Jean who drove us home, but not without a tour of Emerald first. . .she was a crazy driver which made it fun . . .

our multicultural crew of 20 (german, aussie, kiwi, japanese, finnish, russian and of course CANADIAN) travelled to St. George Thursday afternoon. . .the last night our boss treated everyone to dinner and drinks. . .as for rob and i we had "soft drinks". . the rest of the crew. . not so soft. . .the boss trusted us with his vehicle keys and we left the party as it was just beginning. . .it was interesting to hear their stories the next morning. . .as some of them didn't even remember what they did. . .and to see the shocked looks on their faces was very entertaining as the stories unfolded. . .cuts and bruises were explained. . .haa haa. . glad we missed out on that part of the evening. . .the next morning at work was quiet. . .only 5 of us showed. . .and the rest slowly staggered in. . .we managed to finish and start our eventful trip to St. George by 1pm. . .lucky rob was assigned to drive the luggage van. . .yay!. . .no A/C, tail lights, dash lights or horm, but our own vehicle was fun! :) then came the action. . . car troubles and more car troubles. . .we finally arrived at around 10pm. . it was only supposed to be a 6 hour trip. . .ahh well. . at least my mechanic came in handy. . .haa haa. . .that's why i carry him arround .. haa haa

here are photos of the week. . . enjoy!!! :)

our caravan home in Emerald. . .it was sufficient! :) :) :)

sunset over the vineyards. . .makes a nice postcard. . :) but especially a nice end to the day!

down a row. . .usually about 100 - 150 vines per row. . .wowee!

sweaty and dirty after a day's work. . makes a nice couple, eh? :)

drive by the oldest train station in queensland state (in Emerald)

dry scenery. . .there's a huge drought crisis in this country. . .

our caravan. . .car trouble #1. . .in the middle of nowhere. . .yikes!

robbie takes over under the hood! :)

car trouble #2

our 5 star cabin in St. George. . .best feature. . .air conditioning! :)

exhausted in emerald

2006-10-13T00:10:00.000-06:00

we moved closer to our work site. . .no longer a 50km drive away. . .some have asked about our work. . it's called cinturing. . we cut a ring around the grapevine trunk to encourage more growth in the grapes. . .they are table grapes so the bigger the better. . .the trunks aren't that tall, so we're bent over almost all day. . .we start at sunrise. .take a long lunch break to stay away from the sun and snooze a bit to recouperate. . .and then work again from 4pm to sunset. .about 6pm. . .it's a crazy schedule, but we're getting used to it. .the work is hard as the back is quite sore after . . .but we're getting better at it. . .we might try it for another week. . .anywayze. . .haven't taken pictures at the worksite. .but here are some of our hands after a day of work. . .the boss got the girls gloves. . .we had 3 new girls this week. .so there's 4 of us among the 15 guys. . crazy, eh?. . .there's photos of the knife we use to cut the vines . . .the highlight is that every morning we see kangaroos. . .fun fun. . .as well at the sunrise and sunset. .both very beautiful. . .maybe we'll show you our "home" next week. . enjoy . . .
the small one is mine. . .the other hand is taking the photo. . .below is a close up of rob's hands. . nice, eh? :)

here's the kinfe. . .below is a close up of the tip that does all the cutting. . .you can see why it's best not to cut your fingers! :)

birthday in bundaberg and more. . .

2006-10-06T19:14:00.000-06:00

i celebrated my birthday in the town of bundaberg, queensland state. . .i had good company and that made my day! :) . . .we stayed in bundaberg for about a week. . .some sketchy places and some really nice places. . . met some wonderful people - 'aunty' jeanne and the burns family - related to people we know back home! :) it's a small world. . .we went to the bundaberg zoo. . .looked for jobs. . and checked out the Queensland state campmeeting!. . wowee. . that was an experience. . .it was just HUGE!. . .welly. .many things have occured since last post. . .our team of 4 is now 2. . bren and candace went back to lacombe . . so robbie and i took up a job at a vineyard in a town called Emerald. . it's quite the job. . wowee. . .hardest work i've ever done in my life!. . .up at 4:30am. . .lunch break from 12:30pm until 4:30pm. .work again until about 6pm. . .and the work is literally back breaking. . but it sure is an experience. . .we'll see how long we can last at this job! keep praying for us! :) and thanks for those that do :) here are some photos from our latest stops along the way. . .

birthday celebration required frothy drinks on a hot day. . .the owner of the shop even gave me a little cake treat! :)

our first kangaroo :)

this is the praise team. . .ya. . .the youth tent was incredibly HUGE! :) we stayed in a tent with the burns family. . .brother to naomi burns delafield. . .very nice people! :) it was a good weekend! :)

"aunty" jeanne (rob's cousin sheldon's fiancee's aunt as well as daryl hyde's aunt :) took us in and showed us around bundaberg. . .it was nice to have home cooking and canadian/aussie hospitality! :)

cutie koala's at the rockhampton zoo and botanical gardens. . .free entry!!! yippy! :)

(above & below) wiggles the baby wombatt. . .my first one. . .robbie petting it's tummy! :)

a really cool tree at the botanical gardens. . .a banyan tree we think. . .orginated from India. . .until next time. . .hope you enjoyed! :)

test

2006-09-28T18:02:00.000-06:00

just want to see if my blog is still working. . .i've had emails saying it's not . . .so let's check it out. . .

pictures first. . .

2006-09-25T05:31:00.000-06:00

technical difficulties earlier. . . first read the blog below and then come back to the photos. . .ahhh. . . here we go. . .

hey Nicks'! you never told us you had a restaurant in Aussie! :)

one our favourites. . .the long neck turtle. . or something like that! :)

this cute seal was doing tricks for us. . .definitely a poser this one! :)

the sea horses were so small. . .intricate little creatures! :)

yes. . .this turtle is bigger than candace's head. . .it was HUGE!

this whole country is remembering Steve Irwin and keeping his memory alive. . we're watching one of his shows on tv as i type. . .here we are checking out a sting ray close up. . over glass. . .

dum doom. . dum doom. . .lots of sharks!!! and HUGE ones too! good think the glass didn't break! dum doom. . dum doom. . .

taking a krispy kreme snack break! . . .yum yum yum. . .melt in your mouth goodness. . .another splurge!

what are they looking at??? such posers! :)

oh. .they're looking at the bridge! nice. . .we saw people doing the bridge walk!see the flags? they were up there!. . .yikes! not good for those with jelly knees (jr. . haa haa:)

the sydney opera house. . .finally got to see it! :) despite the sea of people we were able to get close . . .such an interesting structure. . .

is it a tourist? is it a local? oh. .it's rob :) . . .enjoying the sydney sights. . . gotta love that zoom lens!

passed out by the harbour after many hours of walking. . .

sightseeing in sydney

2006-09-25T05:04:00.000-06:00

we bid goodbye to ulladulla (nice beaches, but no jobs) and headed up to sydney for most of the weekend. . .we finally were able to check out the sights in sydney. . .of course only the free stuff! haa haa. . actually we did splurge and spent a few hours in the sydney aquarium. . .as you will see. .we were fascinated with the underwater "wildlife". . .we saw some stingrays. .only through glass!!!. . . .there were some horribly big ones. . scary for sure. . .we walked the city centre for what seemed like miles. . .but it was worth it. . the sights were beautiful and we had a gorgeous day!. . .the day after our sydney sightseeing "tour". . .we headed out north. . .after the 2 hourish plane ride (where NOTHING was free, not even water) followed by a 2 hourish bus ride (where we were entertained by Rush Hour and lizards crossing the road) we arrived in bundaberg where there are some relatives of relatives to be (confused yet?) and an SDA church! :) . . .here we hope to find seasonal work picking or packing fruit and veggies or whatever else that may come up!. . . please pray that we find work soon!!!. . .otherwise we'll have to start singing for money in the streets. . haa haa. .no, it's not to that point yet and hopefully never. . .but do keep jobs for the 4 trenchuks in bundaberg on your prayer list. . .thanks mate! :) here are our memories. . .

a day at the beach. . .

2006-09-19T19:39:00.000-06:00

so tuesday we decided to take a break from job hunting. . .decided to take on the holiday part of the trip. . .we walked about 2 km to the beach from where we are staying . . .and enjoyed the waves. . very hot sun. . and gorgeous views. . .

having a lovey moment :)

". . .i'm a model. . you know what i mean. . . " :) :) :)

brace yourselves!!! :)

making a splash down under! :)

"what waves?"

"oh. . that ONE!!!"

"refreshing!" :)

all in a day's work! :)

got the photos up! :)

2006-09-14T03:12:00.000-06:00

in calgary international airport. . .looking like tourists. .ready to go on our 48hour journey! :)

happy to be on the ground in tokyo narita international airport for one hour while filling up the plane with gas. . .

bren and candace enjoying a moment in the orchid garden at the singapore international changi airport. . .

pretty. . . :)

"window" shopping in the singapore international changi airport mall . . yes, i said mall. . . :)

drooling over the shoes. . .so nice and very affordable. . .

zonked out on the train on the way to our accommodations . . .it was about a 40 minute ride from the airpot. .enough time to take a nap! :)

like i said. . we were tired!. . .more evidence :)

will post more photos later. . . :) in the meantime. . enjoy :)

to OZ

2006-09-13T02:29:00.000-06:00

has been a very busy last few days!!! we finally got everything settled and we headed down to Australia "Oz" by early morning sunday. . . we had a farewell family BBQ

before we did one more pack down (weeding out what we don't need). . .and then off to a 2-day journey down under! the flights weren't too full so we were able to stretch out in the plane. .except for the last leg. . it was packed. .and we were just ready to get there already. . the food was yummy though!!! we even got hagen daaz ice cream!!! yum yum yum! :) the on-demand movies, tv and games definitely helped pass the time. . .we did enjoy the gas stop in tokyo. . excited to be on solid ground! then off to singapore. . .where we had an 8 hour layover. . found free internet! something rare in north america :) . . .took a nap. . and then explored the beautiful singapore international airport. . .couldn't believe the shopping! candace and i were drooling over the shoes!!!! soooo cheap. .and nice. .. ahhhh! :) we weren't the only ones, though! the guys checked out the nike store. . .it was a very nice airport to be in. . but we were ready to get to our final destination. . .on the train ride to our accommodation. . we zonked out!. . .but thanks to my dad's connections. .we were able to get a good night's sleep at his friend's house. . .great filipino hospitality! a nice way to end our long journey! (couldn't upload any more photos. . .something's not working. . .i'll try again later!:)

it's official. . .

2006-09-01T22:40:00.000-06:00

we are homeless and jobless! it was rob's last day of work today and yesterday it was mine. . .we also moved out of our house and the renters took over. . .ahhhh. . .this is the life. . haa haa haa. . .we leave next sunday! wowee. . .and now we plan what we will do down under!. . .any ideas? haa haa. . .i'm tired. . .it's been a crazy busy week. . .we're down to 2 huge backpacks, one suitcase and a couple carry-ons. . i think we can do better. . .must repack . .again. . .ahhhh. . .the joys of the traveller's life!. . . g'nite!

confusion

2006-08-24T17:36:00.001-06:00

the other day i went to pick-up my pictures from extra foods. . .i thought i'd try and see if they developed good quatlity prints as they're cheaper than my regular developing people. . .i don't ever bring my envelope stub in. . just tell them to look under my last name. . so they're looking. . looking. .looking. . nothing. . .i start to freak out as they're photos of a helicopter tour rob and i went on - a generous wedding gift from a dear friend - so ya. . important pictures. . soon all three ladies across the counter were in a panic search for my photos. . .one takes over and writes my number down . ."we'll give you a call when we find them". . .i mumble under my breath, " i just wanted to see how you developing is and now you've lost my pictures. . ." ooohhhh tense. . .so i go home. . .tell rob, jr and our supper guests mike & carole about my tense encounter with the extra foods photo people. . .grrrr. . they better find the pictures. . .later that night. .i found my envelope stub in a jean pocket. . .i look where it says last name intital . .and i see a "T". . .no wonder they couldn't find my photos. . .i told them to look under "F". . .arghhhh. . .this name change thing is confusing. . .i'm never going to visit the extra food photo counter again. . .

room for rent

2006-08-18T09:57:00.000-06:00

we are in need of another renter!!!. . .if you know of anyone who wants to rent a room in our house . . pass the word on. . .access to entire house with 5 appliances to share with 2 other house mates. . .fully furnished. . .garage parking. . .male preferred. . .and for only $450 including utilities. . .available september 1, 2006. . .let me know if you're interested! :)

the only picture i have of the house if from last Christmas! :)

tennessee. . .

2006-08-11T09:37:00.000-06:00

just returned the other day from nashville, tennessee. . .was my last business travel with CUC. . .had an exhibit booth at the NAD teachers convention held at the gaylord opryland convention center . . wowee. . .have never seen that many SDA teachers all at once. . .i think there were 7,000 there. . .saw my grade 7 english teacher. . .she looks the same! also saw my principal and his wife and one other teacher when i was a student missionary in ebeye almost 10 years ago!. . it was fab catching up! :) was able to make it to the grand ole opry. . .i learned to enjoy country music here in alberta. . .i'm not a huge huge fan. . .but the opry got me toe tapping, hand clapping, finger snapping. . .a good time, really! :) and of course, i worked the booth. . that was the highlight of the trip, of course :) :) :) :) :). . .and now it's back to the grind. . .my office had a farewell soiree for tyler and i (we're both heading out). . .that really made things real. . .and now robbie and i are counting down the days until we go on our aussie adventure. . less than a month. . .and now that airport security is crazy tighter. . i have to figure out a way how to travel without my lotion, lip balm, toothpaste and not to mention the many extra water bottles. . .tragic, i know. . .but if all for our safety. . i'm all about it. . .

going down under. . .

2006-08-03T10:34:00.000-06:00

ok. . i've haven't been holding out on purpose. . just been busy, but it's time i tell. . .we're moving to australia!!! :) yes, we are! yes yes yes! :) . . .only for one year. . .we are putting our lacombe lives on hold and heading out for a new adventure. . .we're leaving in 4 weeks and 3 days!!! our visas will let us work, but only for 6 months with one employer. . .as the purpose of our visa is to have enough work to supplement our holiday. . nice. . .we'll be going with rob's brother bren and his wife candace. . .anyone have leads for jobs? the guys are willing and able to do anything related to farm or construction work (but not limited to). . .candace and i are willing to do whatever, really :) :) :) . . .why are we doing this? why not? now is the time to explore the world. . .and it's waiting with open arms! :) :) :)

all gone. . .

2006-07-25T16:24:00.000-06:00

it's very hot here. . .breaking record highs for the summer. . .simple solution to keep cool. . .cut the hair! :) all gone. . .

90's flashback. . .

2006-07-19T18:30:00.000-06:00

i was cleaning up and going through post-wedding boxes and found a CD of possible slide pix. . .here is a classic myla grope pose. . .even in high school i had my hand on him! haa haa haa :) :) :) note the date on the bottom right! :)

more wedding photos!!!

2006-07-11T12:15:00.001-06:00

alan maudie, our photographer, made a gallery of his faves from the day. . .click the link below:

our wedding day :)

enjoy! :)

i'm back as mrs. trenchuk! :)

2006-07-06T10:52:00.000-06:00

oh wow! that was an amazing day! :) somewhat a blurr, but beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! the support of family and friends was incredible. . .the decorations were gorgeous. . .the organization was clockwork . . the ceremony was touching . . the music fabulous. . .the flowers were spectacular. . .was the getaway cars were unique. . .the attendants were stunning. . .the food was yummylicious. . .the entertainment was so much fun. . the speeches were tear-jerkers. . .the gifts were overwhelming. . .the weather for the day was perfect. . .and of course the groom was superincrediblehothothot. . .overall a superfabulousamazing day! and it's all due to my wonderful family and friends!!!! . . .i am soooooo appreciative of all you guys did to make the day a success! and not just the day. . the whole weekend! there was lots of good family and friends bonding. . lots of good fun. . an most importantly lots of good filipino and ukranian food! :) it all led up to a dreamy central alberta meets pacific islands wedding day. . .here a little taste of the day. . .photos courtesy of alan maudie photography. . .still waiting for the rest of arrive. . .he caputred some pretty amazing moments! enjoy!

how cute are these boys? i heard the younger caused some funny home videos quality drama! :)

wowee! we're married!!!. . .unexpected orchid leis and a parasol added a nice touch to our bubble exit! :)

a neighbour of my in-laws was very generous and allowed us to occupy their backyard for a quick photoshoot. . . .LOVE the barn!!! :)

one of rob's favourite photos. . .me, his new wife and his vintage truck, his girlfriend :)

of course we had to do a photoshoot on the quad. . .our poor photographer kept swatting himself trying to survive the mosquitoes! we offered him a ride back, but he was a hero and kept taking photos . . .can't wait to see the rest! :)

happily driving away to our forever! :)

counting down. . .

2006-06-05T21:37:00.000-06:00

wedding bells are ringing!!!. . .coming soon to myla's life. . yahoo! busy busy busy. . .mommie's here. . yay! busy busy busy. . .

ahhhh. . .

2006-05-25T00:29:00.000-06:00

i had such a fabulous weekend. . . this was the fist time i really relaxed in . . well. . since i got engaged! had a fun girls' weekend at jasper! so beautiful. . good times to be had by all! :) wedding planning going well. . .things are falling into place! ordered the cake today. .yahoo!. . .seeing the fam tomorrow! yay!!! . . .going to be a bridesmaid at my cousin's wedding this weekend. . .so i'll get to practise walking down the aisle! :) dum dum da dum. . .

meetings and meetings and meetings. . .

2006-05-18T18:13:00.000-06:00

was in orlando, florida for the 3 days of this week. . .had the adventist enrolment association (AEA) annual gathering where we meet and eat and meet and eat some more! it was good to see all the people we work with at various college fairs throughout the year. . my boss received the "most pregnant recruiter award" . .haa haa. . she's in the beginning of her 2nd trimester. . yay! that was the highlight as there really was no time to visit mickey mouse! ah well, another time. . .wedding plans are going well. . .i have a 2 page list that must be completed. . yikes! but i'm slowly ticking things off. . so that's a plus! since it rained most of the time we were in orlando. .the sunshine outside is very distracting especially since everything is green! :) i love lacombe in the springtime! :)

images from bermuda. . .

2006-05-11T11:29:00.000-06:00

the choir minus a few members who missed the bus. . .guess who took all the group photos?. . .

the atlantic ocean. . . .lovely blue shades. . .

playing in the ocean (with charity :) . . .

the choir sang almost every evening at the evangelistic series. . .

singing for the students of bermuda institute. . .

the (pink) public bus was our way around. . .spent much time at the bus stops. . .

with a group of 64, we always tried to pile in the buses sitting or standing. . .here we have our own "special" bus. . .we became friends with most of the bus drivers. . .

the crystal caves. . . .no touchiee. . .

one of the 2 lighthouses on the island (with charity:). . .

swinging on vines at the botanical gardens. . .hmm. . maybe i'm not supposed to? :) . . .

cute washroom signs at the 1st ever baily's ice cream shop. . .

missing robbie. . boo hoo. . .

bermuda. . .feel the love. . .

2006-05-05T21:11:00.000-06:00

. . .that's their little saying for the island of bermuda. . .lovely place. . .haven't been able to go online for a while. . .and i'm visiting my high school friend kandis (so fun to know someone here!) and she's wired. . .so here's my chance. .i'm here for work (gotta love it). . .but really. . .i'm traveling with the choir. .and 65 people in the church basement. . .hmmm. .gets old after a while. . .but at least i have the beach to look forward to during the days. . .here's where i was today. . .horseshoe bay. .beautiful. .the water is so clear and gorgeous. . .but it's just not as enjoyable alone. . i'm missing robbie! boo hoo. . .i see all these couples holding hands walking along the beach. . .whaaaa!!! i want to be a holding-hands-on-the-beach couple too!. . ahhh. . .3 more days. .and i'm home! yahooweee!! :) and for those curious. .the wedding site is up! and it's amazing. .yahoo JR! :) visit www.flipcan.com/myrobwedding . . leave us a message! :) . .gotta go call robbie now. . .

the ocean. . .

2006-04-19T15:20:00.000-06:00

i saw the ocean for easter break. . .since alberta is a landlocked province. . it was a nice change of scenery. . i accompanied rob, his brother bren and sister-in-law candace (both soon to be my in-laws:) as we caravaned in a uhaul, pickup truck and jetta for 11-12 hours through the prairies, then the mountians up and down and up and down again, on the ferry, over the ocean. . and finally through the trees up to northern most tip of vancouver island (felt like it anywayze :) where they moved their lives to beautiful british columbia. . it was beautiful, but rainy, snowy and overall a wet weekend. . but we had a good time hanging out with the tanaka clan. . they filled us with too much good food and toured us around the area. . we got to see the many eagles by the beach and even more sea gulls. . too bad i'm not so quick with the camera. . .i managed to get a few shots in though :) we threw some fish for bait and they were just too quick. . swooping down before i even get a chance to focus. . .but it was incredible just the same. . .the weekend was packed with a kayak trip to shell island, floor hockey, volleyball, basketball and a new game similar to dodgeball . . yes, it was back to elementary days, but so much fun and lots of exercise!. . .it was a fun getaway. . but with a sad farewell. . .lacombe will not be the same without those two. . .wishing you the best as you pursue greater things in life! :) oh and see you at the wedding! :)

crocaholic

2006-04-11T16:10:00.000-06:00

i love my new pair of lime green crocs! after i buy them, i find out that there's a canadian version . . . holey soles. . .i guess i must buy a pair so i can compare holey soles to my crocs. . .these shoes have kept me sane during this frantic wedding planning stage. . .actually things are going well. . i can't lie :) . . .just can't wait for the day. . and then the week after. . hee hee. . :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

love that TLC!

2006-03-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

so i'm in the big city of edmonton. .ready to do a bunch of wedding stuff. .but to start of the wedding themed day. .i had to watch the wedding story on TLC. .gotta love getting emotional over a total stranger's wedding!. . haa haa. . well. . i'm off to do my tasks!

p.s. andrew b, don't venture out on the streets of paris. . CNN had some pretty rough footage of the riots. . .be safe!

planning a wedding. . .

2006-03-17T12:22:00.000-07:00

ahhh. .i've barely had time to breath! so much to do in so little time. . .but we've actually accomplished quite a bit in 2 weeks now that i look at my check list. . .and according to my calendar countdown thingy i only have 93 days 3 hours and 6 minutes remaining until i say "i do!". . hee hee. . wowee!. . i have to get it all planned and ready to go by the end of april as i'm on the road most of may. . .yikes!. . .i've been a bridal magazine addict for most of my teen and adult life. . it hasn't stopped. . .too bad they don't have good re-sale value! :) i'd be rich! :)

i said 'shut up". . .then 'yes'!!! :) :) :)

2006-03-06T21:14:00.000-07:00

the questions was. . ."will you marry me?". . . that was the exciting end to an eventful sabbath afternoon. . . .after a sleepy start to my afternoon. . .i was sent off on an "amazing race" (my favourite show ever). . .rob's brother and sister-in-law were put up to pretending that they had planned this wonderful sabbath afternoon activity for rob and i. . .being the great people that they are. . i didn't question their intent. . all i heard was "welcome to MyRob's amazing race". . and i was out the door in pursuit of clue number 1. . .after finding the big bag of snow boots, gloves and toques. . .clue number two led down the road and in the snowy banks. . .retrieving another bag with john deere coveralls. . .rob covered himself by asking where they got them. . .tricky!!! clue number three led us to a family friend's farm about 15 min drive away. . .once there. . .he gave us clue number four that read. . ."you must both milk a cow". . .haa haa haa. . you should have seen my jaw drop. . according to rob, it was pretty low!!! it's alwayze been a dream of mine to milk a cow. . haa haa haa. . rob went first. . .and after daisy (the cow) kicked his milk bucket. . i was not as eager to fulfill my dream!!! . . but managed to gain the courage and squeeze out two squirts of milk. . after which i had to carry and spread straw bales in the barn. . .clue number five was to be found in the straw (mom you would NOT have enjoyed that moment. . achooowee!!!). . .that clue led us to the back of the barn where we were instructed to herd the baby cow aka calf into the the barn. . not as simple as it sounds. . . running around in a foot of snow with a feisty little calf. . .hmmmm. . .but finally it went in the barn. . .and we received clue number six. . .instructing us to go back to rob's parents' house where we will see our next clue. . .greeting us in the driveway was a couple quads (4x4's). . .there clue number seven sat and told us to find the highest place where we could see the valley. . .confused. . rob and i "discussed" this a bit before we headed to the spot we thought it might be. . .on the way there. . i mentioned how nice this was of bren and candace to do for us and that we should do something for them in return. . this is where he was secretly pulling the arm to the body motion saying "yes, she has NO clue". . and truly i did NOT!. . .as we headed up the lookout point. . candace snapped one last picture and then they took off. . .so rob and i were left alone .. and i asked him what's next. . .he responded with "i don't know" . . .and so being the aggresor that i am. . i ordered him to look for more clues. . .as i was looking. . little did i know he was getting ready for "the ask". . .as i turned around. .he was on one knee and i barely heard the sweet words of his question when i screamed, cried, laughed and uttered "shut up!" and "yes!" all at the same time!!!. .it was a beautiful moment. . .the sun was shining bright making the snow sparkle all around us. . it was almost as if God kissed us right at that moment. . .i love it! :) so back to the his parents' house we went. . .and as you can see. . i was quite excited. . and very impressed that everyone pulled off this surprise!!!. . .it's amazing what people do for love :) :) :) . .there were hugs and toasts all around. . it was a wonderful way to end the sabbath!! :) :) . .so in less than four months. . .i will be wed to the most superfabulousamazing man!!! and my life as we know it will change forever. . .but only for the better. . . :) :) :)

snow snow snow (think movie: white christmas)

2006-03-02T17:18:00.000-07:00

snow snow snow. . . and lots of it. . all over. . snow. . .good times to roll around in when i'm dressed appropriately. . but hard to drive in when there's too much. . .almost got stuck a few times. . .but it is lovely when the sun hits it just right. . sparkle sparkle. . . pretty :) :) :) anyone want to come for a visit? :)

ski bunny!

2006-02-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

went skiing with a bunch of friends this past weekend. . it was family day long weekend for us. . .a lovely alberta only holiday :) all was well until i was run over by an out of control snowboarder!!! she was all too apologetic. . and i barely remember being hit and getting up. .she helped me through the process . .even lifting my foot to put back in my ski. . yes, it was a doozie! i've been to the chiropractor too many times this week already! and a couple massages too. . .those i love :) . . .range of motion is better now. . but it just proves that i'm no ski bunny!

birthday wishes

2006-02-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

happy birthday to two wonderful ladies. . .one of my best friends - lindsay and my favourite look alike - my mommy!!!! :) :) :) happy happy day of your birth!!! :) :) :)

2006-02-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

from my loveiee on v-day :)

yummieeeee!

2006-02-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

i ventured into the unknown and came out victorious!!! what did i do? i made a cheesecake!!! i didn't think it would take so long, but i even missed acquasize (fun times) so i can make a white chocolate cheesecake topped with fresh strawberries. . .yummieeeee :) :) :) . . . oh it was divine. . .the occasion was a birthday. . .and a cheesecake was the order :) . . .the birthday girl, who is a fabulous baker and cheesecake experienced, gave her approval. . .let's take another look at that yummie cheesecake. . . oh and here's the birthday girl. . .ahhh. . .it really was yummie :) i know, i shouldn't brag. .but really i'm just amazed that it turned out the way it did :) . . .that evening, it was off to the hockey game. . .oilers won, sorry jr :( maybe your team will win next time. . hee hee :) . . i was trying to get on CBC. .but no such luck. . their camera never made it my way! . . and i bought 50/50 tickets and boooooo didn't win. . .but $27,000+ would have been nice :) . . anywhooooooooooooooooo. .funniest thing happened after the game. . .talk about marriage pressure. . .only this time rob was on the receiving end. . check it out on shank's blog www.mellyshanks.blogspot.com. . . .it was a classic punk'd moment! :)

my crazy boss!

2006-02-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

so. . needless to say, i've been bugged countless times about when am i getting married. . .ahhh well. . .c'est la vie when you're hitting the high 20's. . .i guess. . anywayze. .so my boss came to work this morning proposing to me with the biggest rock i've ever seen!!!!. . .haa haa haa. . .yes, we do work sometimes. . . :) don't i ever look asian in this pix. . .freak out!

sausage town

2006-02-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

i saw the biggest sausage this past weekend in Mundare (check it out yourself: http://www.bigthings.ca/alberta/pictures/bassa1.jpg) . . .that's where rob had a hockey tournament. . yes, this is hockey country. . and it is hockey season. . .so there's rob playing

(far left)
and me cheering :) yahoo :) then this coming weekend, we're going to an oilers vs. canucks game! (wish you were here, jr) exciting. . .but as for last weekend. . it was good times. . . my car turned over 26,000km. . it's barely 2 years old. . .

love my honda. . .oh. .and here's a great commercial for honda. . .thanx to michaela who shared the link from justin's website. . .here it is: http://www.honda.co.uk/civic/ and then click on watch. . you'll be amazed. . and speaking for cars. . we also checked out the car show in edmonton. . .rob was enthralled. . .especially by this ferrari . . .cost???

1.4 million. . yes, i said million. . who wouldn't want it?. .hmmm. . . .all i have is pictures. . .but i'm close enough. . .ferrer=ferrari??? haa haa :)

winter blahs

2006-01-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

ok. . so it's not the normal alberta winter. . kind of mild. .actually high of 11 today. .BUT. . i feel the need to go somewhere hot and far. . .my focus this week (so far) has been the door that leads out of this office. . .bahamas. . or cancun. . .antigua. . ahh. . .anywhere tropical minus the storms. . .would love to be there now. . .on a more happy happy note. . .i'm going on a date tonite :) . . my BF is taking me out to "town". .(giggle). . can't wait. .maybe that's why my little feet just can seem to stay put . . .so in 10 minutes (30 minutes before i'm supposed to) i'm checking out of this drab office space. . .

Christmas is family, food & fun!

2006-01-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

ahhh. . good times. . i'm recovering from the holiday maddness!!! first it was a not so quick overnight to vegas. . ran into some heavy traffic . . at midnight!!! yes, that city never sleeps. . .drove through the strip . . next day ran around and took photos like a tourist! which bothered rob to say the least!. . tried the slots. .didn't find any loose ones! although jr lucked out! had to check out the bellagio fountain show of course!!! which was AMAZING! gave me goose bumps! . . gorgeous what they can do with water :) and of course i had to sneak over to paris for a photo op :) we also visited luxor, new york, venice. . just to name a few! :) after a day of sin city. .it was off to San Diego to have family christmas. . .good time to be had by all!! :) . . uncle ted showed rob the ropes. .what to eat, what NOT to eat. . haa haa. . .thanx goodness someone took care of him! :) i was too busy enjoying the festivities. . .too much food. .not only did we have filipino treats. . there was turkey, mac & cheese and just food galore, really!!! :) so of course there's alwayze karaoke and "exercising" after! :) . .to work off all that grease! :) :) :) and of course the aunts were all into it! :) it was a good time to be had by the clan. . which was not the same without my parents. .boo hoo. . missed you guys!. . but still was a blast! :) after all the festivities. . .rob, jr and i hit up sea world. . .of course we can't leave san diego without having seen shamu!. . and then off to hollywood! :) . .a little bit of universal studios. . and after that whirlwind week. . home sounded good. . .it was a sweet way to end 2005. . happy new year everyone! :)

gift exchange

2005-12-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

so because rob and i are going to be away for the holidays, we had his family christmas early. . .it was a lovely time. . making perogies (ukrainian dish). . .eating until my belly became like santa's. . .playing games. . and my favourite. . opening presents! so it came to be my turn once again. . and i opened my present from rob. . .what was it? a box. . .and more boxes. . .see my excitement? until the end. . .(drumroll). . i got a cinnamon bun!. .granted it's my favourite kind. . .but a cinnamon bun?. . hmmm. . apparently my gift is on the way. . talk about last minute shopping!. . anywayze. . .i was quite proud of my present to him. . .hockey tickets to the next oilers game (his fave team). . so the next day, we went to the game. . .he was giddy as can be. . .only to find that we were in the standing section. . luckily it was a fast and exciting game. . and of course. . .the oilers won!!! :) and apparently, i'm officially the best girlfriend ever!

three parties & a funeral home

2005-12-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

so ya. .busy weekend. .full of parties. . .thursday night was our campus wide faculty/staff party. . . .food was yummie and lucky for me i won the grand prize of a $50 gift certificate to superstore. . .yahoo! (already spent:) next party was the "souper" celebration (we served soup & sandwiches) --a semester end party for the students where an ipod nano was given a way. . ohh wish i won that! :) . . .and best party of all. .yesterday. . our office staff went to a quaint cafe where we had an amazing catered meal. . the chef used to cook for the queen of England!!! no, really! :) . . .yum yum yum! :) . . then we ended the evening with a visit to one of our co-workers' new funeral home. . .as her husband was giving us the tour. . i started to feel a bit iffy. . hmmm. . going in to the embalming room, i was fine.. but as soon as he started talking the freezer . . ohhh. . .i couldn't take it anymore. . .i quickly exited the tour, catching myself just in time to miss a fainting spell. .ya, that's why i'm NOT a nurse!. . . .i quickly recovered as we took photos in the funeral home's lobby . . .lovely wreath! :)

michael w. smith

2005-12-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

had the chance to take some of our students to have a "conversation" with michael w. smith this week. . . couldn't have been possible if we didn't have an alumnus working with the edmonton symphony orchestra (ahem. . mel). . the students loved it. . they said they left inspired. . yay for them :) . .we weren't supposed to take photos, but it wasn't announced. . and the crowd went wild. . so i sneaked a few flash-free paparazzi shots. . .rob and i later that evening went to his concert. . .he composes wonderful music. . and his backup singers were amazing! one of them being only 15. .she was incredible. . .i'm so full of holiday spirit!. . i can't concentrate of work! :)

it's christmas time!

2005-12-06T16:38:00.000-07:00

what a busy weekend! hopping from one concert to the other. . i'm full of holiday cheer! :) i was asked to emcee a concert hosted by a student band called New Day. . .they were raising money for World Vision Canada. . .yay for them. . .i said yes :) . .it was my first official emcee gig at CUC. . it went off very well. . although i had cold feet the whole time. . nervous? me?. .nahhh. . . it's cold here! -28C to be exact!. . after the show. . we decorated a Christmas tree! :) good times. . . .there's all of them busy decorating. . and me. . .happy it's Christmas time again! :)

new look

2005-11-30T17:23:00.000-07:00

got bored with my long hair. . .so i decided to go for some highlights. . .first visit clearly did nothing. . seemed like all i got was a verrrry expensive haircut . .so my hairdresser, katherine (God bless her), says. . .come back and i'll do another application (for free). . nice :) . . so here it is. . myla lookin' like a cali girl. .yikes!. . but nice for a change! :)

awww. . .

2005-11-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

today i had to babysit for about 2 hours. . .let me tell you. .even though he was a sweet child. . not fussy or anything. . .mama life is faaaaar ahead of me. . yikes!. . so not ready for that kind of energy. . it takes lots. . .whew! i was glad when he was picked up. . .cute though, eh? :)

surprise. . .tourist attractions and more. . .

2005-11-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

this past weekend, rob and i went to visit our siblings in ontario. . .my brother knew we were coming. . his sister did not. . it was the most amazing surprise ever!!! . . .note in the photo (reflected on the trunk) my equal sense of joy as she is totally taken aback by rob being in the trunk of the car!!! it was fabulous! :) . . and of course we had to hit the tourist spots. . .CN tower. . .did not enjoy walking on the glass . . .i had the most jelly knees ever!. . . . and i saw the funnest moose ever. . .gave it a little smack on the bum. . . . . good times :) . . .the Niagara Falls. . . rob saw some gorgeous sites :) and jenelle and i sampled a giant hershey's chocolate bar. . yummie :) . . and of course. . .the Hockey Hall of Fame. . .rob and my brother were enthralled with the wonders of hockey:) . . .we spent. . guess how many hours there. . . . 4 . . .four. . .quatro. . .quatre. . .yes, 4 hours. . .it was definitely a learning experience for me :) and of course ended the weekend we a visit to wayne gretzky's restaurant. . which was surprisingly affordable and yummie :) saw Dave Hodge, a TSN commentator. . .don't know him. . but it was exciting just the same. . haa haa. . .overall. . it was a lovely time in the east! :)

bra fetish

2005-11-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

this post is rated R for intimate apparel language :) . . .bras . . a must for most women. . .for me, not necessary until i gained the freshman 15 in college. . .and then i went wild. . Victoria's Secret® semi-annual sale. .i was there. . .and now that i'm not supported by my parents money. . .Target® bras work just fine :) . . .i thought that when the water bra was created . . .my fears about it couldn't have been portrayed better than on an episode of Will & Grace when Grace's bra turned out to be a water fountain!!! and now what have they come up with??? a HEATED BRA!!!! check it out what is going on? and it comes with matching shorts. . .ahhhhh!!! read about it here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4420820.stm i figure it's legit as BBC reports the news. . .who knew that a heated bra can save the world!!!

my best friend?

2005-11-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

sooo. . i get back to work from lunch yesterday. . .and all my co-workers are cradling a box of chocolate in their arms. . .plain. . .caramel. . .almond . . . .mmm. . . i guess it's time for the choir to start fundraising again. . .how did i miss out? lucky for me, they were kind enough to share samples. . .and mmmm mmm mm. . there is nothing yummier than belgian chocolate!!! (maybe rice and adobo chicken :) . . .but even more lucky for me. . .a choir member popped in and yes. . i supported and told them to come back anytime!. . .anyone for belgian chocolate?

winter wonderlust

2005-11-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

woke up this morning to a blanket of whiteness. . .the world seems more pure. . .but is it? hmmmm. . .thankfully it's not below zero yet :) it's christmas music time! thanksgiving is way past for us in Canada. . .so we can move on to the next holiday. . .falalalalalalalala!!!

hockey night in lacombe

2005-10-31T16:02:00.000-07:00

what a busy weekend it has been! but i did get a change to sneak away from work saturday night and play some ice hockey. . .only the second time ever in my life! in the locker room i watched as the other girls geared up and i copied them since last time i had lots of help. . . twenty minutes later all suited up in my borrowed gear, i gingerly skated around the rink for the first time this season. .trying to look cool doing my warm ups and stretches. . .no, i did not score. . yes, i'm am sore! one hour and only one (!) fall later. . .i was sweaty, tired and yes. . stinky as ever!

wedding bliss

2005-10-27T21:24:00.000-06:00

one of my best friends found the man of her dreams and vowed to be forever committed to him a couple weekends ago. . .i just received an email from her today and she signed off as "MRS.". . wowee! just can't imagine being a mrs. . .but as you can see from the photo. . .they're in giddy, excited and madly in love. . .here's wishing them bliss for alwayze. . ..

beginner blogger

2005-10-26T17:34:00.000-06:00

so many of my friends have started blogging that i have folded to peer pressure. . .so here goes my first blog ever. . .as a beginner blogger, i want to write about something interesting. . .but creativity escapes me at the moment. . .instead let me share the beauties of the land. . .my favourite summer scene. . .canola fields forever. . .