Au Revoir!

Well, this has come to an end. I am approaching 20 days behind and with no way of catching up (without continuously cheating) I concede defeat. As you can gather from my recent posts (or lack thereof), I really didn't have the time to devote to this endeavor. I definitely underestimated the time I would need for this, and having taking up ballroom dancing around the same time I didn't realize that I would dance so much! All in all, it is just another excuse... No more excuses.  I really enjoy taking pictures and writing, but on such a regulated schedule with a job that requires me sitting at a desk far more than I care to admit I just cannot find the time!

However, I have opened a Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/arcticcathedral/
I realize that my advancement in this mad world of technology may startle some of you, as it has me; but I assure you this is the best way for all of us. This will allow me to post pictures at my leisure for all to enjoy, and even show your friends. Said Flickr account will suffer from a lack of wit and prose, but with a coming writing course starting in the New Year you will all be able to read of my adventures through that (hopefully my work is worth publishing online)!

Thank you to those that followed my blog, and I greatly appreciate all of your kind words and encouragement!

10DEC2011 - Mojito Makin' Miguel

09DEC2011 - Liberation

08DEC2011 - Fortune Teller

07DEC2011 - Shadows

06DEC2011 - Pray For Me

05DEC2011 - A Hot Lunch

04DEC2011 - Capitolio

03DEC2011 - A Little Bit of Paint

02DEC2011 - Haunted Hallways

01DEC2011 - Corner Suite

30NOV2011 - Cuban Colours

29NOV2011 - Word Exchange

28NOV2011 - Cloudy Skies

27NOV2011 - Go For a Spin

26NOV2011 - Havana Horizon

25NOV2011 - Spanish Fortress

24NOV2011 - Knights in White Satin

23NOV2011 - Sunny Beaches

22NOV2011 - Other Side of The Tracks

21NOV2011 - Viva La Cuba

I just got back from a week in Cuba, it was amazing! I am playing catch up in all aspects and I am enjoying a night in. I will tell you all about Cuba in a couple of days when I have a night to really delve into how fabulous it was! It was just amazing and for whatever reason it feels surreal to be back home and back to work. The pictures from 21NOV-10DEC are all photographs from Cuba, I was only in Cuba from 25NOV-03DEC, so I'm cheating a little. I can't believe I have come back to December, Christmas is almost here... already.

20NOV2011 - Maysie

19NOV2011 - Foliage & Frost

18NOV2011 - No More Stress

I'm not going to fret over the days I can't keep my blog up to date... it's a busy time for me, and I want to enjoy things without worry! No more stress for me... life is short and I'm going to enjoy it!

My West Coast Swing class was tonight, and it was brilliant as always... and it's suppose to snow tonight! I love the snow, very excited about more snow. I had my first dance competition last night, nothing serious... just a "Jack & Jill" (random pairing of couples with random song/dance selection) competition at my Langley school's (Dancing for Dessert) Showcase. I didn't win, but made it to the final round so I was pretty happy with that! I just love, love, love dancing! I've been going Salsa dancing on Wednesdays at the Alpen Club in Vancouver... I hope I can make it again this week before I head to Cuba for some much needed R&R (although, they do have dance classes at the Resort, so I'll be relaxing AND dancing)! Now onto the pictures since I'd love to get off the computer for the night! The 18/19NOV pictures are of frost-kissed plants and the 20NOV is of my Mum's latest foster dog, Maysie. My Mum has actually fostered Maysie before and she is just the best little thing, but the family that adopted her couldn't keep her and now Maysie's Cancer is back, so she is living with my Mum in a "hospice" type situation. Poor little thing... but she is just the cutest little trouble-maker, Oscar even likes her and he is very selective with allowing other dogs the use of his toys!

17NOV2011 - A Beautiful City

16NOV2011 - Arcade Fire

15NOV2011 - In Vogue

14NOV2011 - No Posting

13NOV2011 - Down on The Upside

12NOV2011 - Put a Feather in Your Cap

11NOV2011 - Hats Off

10NOV2011 - Lunch is Served

09NOV2011 - Cobblestone Streets

08NOV2011 - Blvd of Broken Dreams

07NOV2011 - Let the Sun Shine Down

06NOV2011 - City Scape

05NOV2011 - The Eye of The Beholder

04NOV2011 - Mountain-View

03NOV2011 - I'm Late, I'm Late

Wow, I am seriously behind. I really needed a break from carting my camera around everywhere and I really considered throwing in the towel. I've been dancing three nights a week and finding myself extremely busy the remaining nights so this has been very hard to maintain (obviously, I'm about 2 weeks behind). But I kept hearing that people do enjoy my blog, so I'm going to give it another go! I couldn't even begin to tell you what I've been up to! I've been to wine-tastings, dancing, dinners, parties, clubs, visiting with old friends and new, crafting and back! I am really craving some "me" time, and by "me" I mean total alone time... no dancing or anything, just sweatpants, wine, popcorn and a movie. I'm almost there, I have a "me" night booked for this Friday and it's going to be amazing! Tonight I am going Salsa dancing with a new dancing friend, Megan... I met her through my friend Shawny. The weather is gross so I hope I can get my act together to get out there... I had so much fun last week!

Onto the pictures... the photos from 03NOV-17NOV follow me and my lovely friend Tennille on our walk-about in Vancouver yesterday. Tennille was visiting from Winnipeg, so we milled about town in the fantastic sunshine! The weather was perfect, chilly and sunny... my favourite! We covered quite a bit of ground, walking from my place (Cambie & 12th) all the way downtown and back across the Granville Street bridge; a lot of walking! It was wonderful to see Tennille, she reminds me of home!

02NOV2011 - Friendly Manitoba

01NOV2011 - What to Wear

31OCT2011 - Brush Strokes

30OCT2011 - Time for a Change

I'm going to change this up, I really don't have the time I thought I would. I will admit it, and now I will change the format because I am not ready to concede complete defeat. I am going to keep the writing down to a minimum... partly because I'm feeling a little "exposed" and partly because I just don't have time. I am unsure if I need to write as part of this challenge; I'm either writing about feelings and such or playing catch-up and just writing about what I did that day. Either way, I will focus on the pictures... maybe I'll change my mind, that has definitely been known to happen. Simply, I will post my daily picture. Don't worry, some thoughts will grace the virtual pages of this blog... just not to the same extent. The pictures for the last few days are "around the house" pictures, see if you can guess what they are.

29OCT2011 - Reflections

28OCT2011 - No Words

27OCT2011 - Reading Materials

I went for a walk after work, it was very hard to not eat out. There are all these fabulous restaurants and pubs around my place... but I was good, I ate leftovers. I have to watch my finances with Cuba coming up! It's worth budgeting for, but it's still hard. I'm feeling frustrated today, I hate sitting at work and not being busy! Keep me busy dammit. I'm looking forward to my vacation, it will be nice not to have to think about anything... just sun and sand. We'll see how traveling with the family goes... it might be a challenge! This is a picture of part of my bookshelf, some of my Mum's old books and my grandfathers radio.

26OCT2011 - Catching up with Candice

Candice came over after work yesterday for drinks... it was so nice to see her, I miss working with her! She got to see my new place and we got to talk girl talk. It was a night of wine and gossip. My roommate was over with her beau too, so lots of fun.
I am at a loss for words, I feel like all of this "hurry up and write" writing is sucking me dry! This picture was taken of my little "zebra" plant, I don't know the official name but it's some kind of succulent.

25OCT2011 - Time Traveling

Now this is time management at it's best, I am doing tomorrow's post today since I know I won't have time tomorrow! Look at me go! This is me trying really hard to keep on top of all this bloody blogging. I feel like I spend more time writing and taking pictures about what is going on than actually doing everything. This is how I feel about scrapbooking, you spend all this time making your memories pretty you forget to make new ones! No offense to those who find great joy in scrapbooking, just not my cup of tea. This is another picture from dinner time, nothing overly creative. Almost four months, but I'm already running out of ideas. This is hard, I hate to admit it... I really do, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that this is much harder and involves more committment than I was ready for. I will keep on trucking, I'm not ready to admit complete defeat yet, I'm just going to complain about it for now! Thanks to all those that encourage me and read my rantings, I appreciate your support!

24OCT2011 - Self Potrait No.1

Monday, we meet again. I had an early call with a client today, it went well... my other call didn't, but we expected that it wouldn't based on "unforeseen circumstances". I was a little numb from my lack of sleep, other than that it was a good day. This is a self-portrait... still in work clothes and cooking dinner, never a smart combination but I risked it today and came out on top! I haven't done a self-portrait yet, I thought maybe it was about time! I hear the timers going in the kitchen, better run before I burn something and have to start all over!

23OCT2011 - Dinner Time

I took a plethora of pictures today as I didn't take one yesterday and I likely won't take one tomorrow as we all know Tuesday has been renamed Danceday.  This picture was taken whilst I made dinner, these little guys are my entire Salt & Pepper shaker collection. I couldn't decide which set to use, so I decided to use them both. It looks like the frog got caught stealing a look at the little birdie. Anyways, I feel like I'm losing my mind... I'm anthropomorphising inanimate animals... things are getting bad! Time to eat!

22OCT2011 - Casa Fiesta

I never got to finish my posts last night, too much fun with Holly and then Alyssa came home so more chatting! Then I had to get up early, but no sleep as my next door neighbour decided a political debate outside my bedroom window was much needed at 3am. Thank you sir!
This picture of Holly & Kristi was taken on Saturday at Ilka & Arturo's house-warming... tons of fun! There was enough dancing that the main floor ceiling was bowing under the weight! Those Mexicans sure like to dance!