Life is Happening

I'm fighting obesity and encouraging everyone else to as well

I went to Utah

I realized just how much I love these little people and living with them.

I went to Hawaii.

I did a photoshoot with my cousin Brittany.

I started working.

I'm loving my new crew

I'm dating this boy.

I'm happy. Really happy with life.

Grown-Up vs. Growing Up

I am well aware of the fact that I have great parents.

And I certainly dont deserve them most of the time.

I get snippy and become an ornery teenager again. I'm short tempered and melancholy and just plain not fun to be around. And even as my responses come out, I know they're unjustified.

But my parents are patient with me.

They just want me to be happy.

And love me even though I'm a jerk kid.

And I know I'm lucky. Because they are so good to me.

This trip was rather impromptu for them.

I know they worry about me. And dont want me to feel left out since I am so far away. Or alone.

So they do what they can for me. And I know I dont act nearly as grateful as I should for all they do.

But I am grateful.

There is rarely a day where I dont still feel like a child. Dental degree or not, I still feel like I have so much growing up to do. And I depend quite heavily on my parents still. But the thing that caught me off guard as my parents visited, and we ran endless errands (which were all for my benefit but had me banging my head against a wall), was that I am used to being far away and doing things my own way. I may not feel like a grown up in a lot of ways, but I like the independence being an adult has afforded me. Which I suppose is no surprise, considering even as a child I always wanted to do things my own way, regardless of how my parents thought it should be done. Its hard to reconcile the two feelings though. Because on one hand I am still a child, who needs her parents and on the other I know that time has elapsed and as much as my parents support me, they dont live my life for me and I have had to grow up and be on my own. 

But I had a heavy patient week, which meant that the majority of what I did with my parents consisted of eating... Um ya... being a little pudgy in family pics is cool right? 

This is the jist of the short trip...

Have you been to

Red Bones?

It is Awesome BBQ joint.

Took a small jaunt to the Community Boating Center

I was gonna take my parents for a spin, but it was a rather windless day and didnt seem worth it, so they settled for a picture by the boats.

So I'm an awkward girl. Who really needs to be in the right mood to run errands and shop.

Bike shopping was fun for about twenty seconds... and by fun I mean awkward.

But I will concede that the end result is pretty worth how horrendously I hated shopping for it.

Hello new bike. 

And hello being caged in the car by said bike.

It was a tight squeeze getting the bike to fit in the car indeed!

My favorite part

My parents wanted to go to the beach.

But it was cold to me - to the point where I needed to be fully clothed at the beach.

And I was tired and grumpy.

But I brought a pillow and a blanket and promptly fell asleep.

It was cold. But I slide my legs into the sand so my blanket could wrap around me tighter. 

And when I woke up, I felt much better.

It ended up being my favorite part.

Even though I had pouted about going because of the cold.

Though, hilariously enough, my mom didnt set up shop anywhere near my dad and I.

We each had our own books so it didnt particularly matter. But it was funny.

Especially when I wanted to capture each of us at the beach via photo. I had to scramble over to my mama. Funny lady. To be fair, I chose the sunniest slash walk the least amount spot and she went for the shadiest spot she could find. 

The sum of the trip? Food good (particularly the chocolate restaurant we went to). Shopping bad. Less errands and more relaxing next time please.

My Mother's Words

There was a time when I believed whole-heartedly that my mother and I were two irrevocably different people. We saw the world through different eyes and it would always be my mother on one side of a fence, looking into the challenging eyes of someone who just thought differently than she did, Me.


As I've gotten older, I realize that that must of been terribly frustrating for her. To have such a stubborn child who saw herself as such a unique entity, separate from everything else. And wise as all else. I really thought I had the majority of things figured out (which of course would be a rude awakening for me later). In recent years, I think part of what has made growing up so difficult for me, is the realization that for the most part I dont have a single thing figured out. But I'm sure the hefty humble pie I've been eating has made me slightly more bearable to be around (but only slightly). 


The truth of the matter is that, the more I talk with my mother (and yes, we've almost figured out how to speak in an actual conversation about things other than the weather or how inappropriate belly shirts are - which hilariously enough was a topic of conversation she brought up once in the car, as she pointed out a girl who definitely should not have been wearing a belly shirt, as a way of encouraging me to disapprove of them just as strongly as she did), I've come to understand that my mother's way of thinking has shaped my way of thinking. It is her voice of caution I hear in the back of mind. It is her words that come to me in moments of distress. I'm the sort of girl who remembers the things people say to me (for instance - when I was in elementary school my mother took me to Raymond, and we were outside of my Great Grandma Dahl's house, and my mother had done something I severely disapproved of. And I was of course, expressing that displeasure to its fullest. To which my mother said "You dont have to like the things I do. I'm your mother. You can take note of all the things you dislike and when you're the Mom you can do them differently." That is one of those statements that she may have meant flippantly, a defense to shut down any argument I would throw at her, but I took it to heart, and have been taking note of the things I liked and disliked about the behaviour of those around me ever since). I take awhile to process some things, but I think about things people have said to me years before and debate the relevancy and truth of such statements (because I do believe that there usually is truth to most statements). People's words hold value. Whether they intend it or not. And there is always power in words. And maybe remembering their words changes them slightly, but history is more about perspective than actual facts. Its more about how you see it on reflection, what the words mean when you hold them at arms length and really look at them and less about how it was actually seen. Because meanings change with experience and so do words.   


Maybe I've taken a little of my mother's caution, but when it comes down to it, my mother and I think much more similarly than my 17-year-old self could of ever guessed we would. She champions me learning and progressing from my experiences - in writing down and remembering what I liked and what I most definitely (and usually easily) can figure I did not like. And I think the value I place on self-reflection, is partly due to her encouragement. 


My mom is a smart lady. And I dont think I say that out loud enough. Yes, at times we still think very differently and hold distinct things as important or unimportant (we are, after all, not the same person). But more often than not, I will discover that I like how she sees something, and decide that I kinda see it that way too.  

Here With Me: Day Four

For the last while my hair has been, to put it mildly - a big fat mess. On Monday, it finally was a little on the normal side. On the acceptable side.

So Cathy - here it is.





So on Monday, we planned to go back to our roots (aka we wanted Seafood again).

(Arent our fish faces awesome!)

One of my favorite things about my parents coming is the fact that my roommates usually come out to eat. I donno, its one of the traditions from Edmonton that I've missed here. Because having your roommate come is a nice sign of friendship. And I want my parents to meet the people I live with, spend time with them.


Because well, sure you can live with someone without being their friend, but its so much more enjoyable when you have someone to bond with. And people I bond with, I want to meet the people who are important to me. Its just one of those things.





So Sheila came with. And we laughed at the ridiculousness that is my parents. A few of the highlights...

1. My dad eating raw oysters...

sicknast. 

He said they werent

nearly as bad

as he remembered

 them being.

2. Sheila recommended Swordfish to my mom.

When my moms dish came she pointed at this.

And exclaimed: "Look its my swordfish!"

To which I laughed and corrected. Because that was sweet potatoes.

This is sword fish. Silly Momma.

3. We were talking about people getting pregnant at my dads office.

And we were saying how ridiculous it was that there was

like fifteen that were pregnant, to which my mom reply's:

"Guess it was a long hard winter."

Sheila and I died right then and there.

So Sheila and I get in the car. And I want us to take pictures makings faces... She was like "I cant do that." But I made her try anyways.

I forgot how I used to be like that too when Cathy would make me make faces.

I guess I've gotten better.

We were in a food coma tho (phrase of the visit). And as such a little pouty.

Here With Me: Day Two+Three

One word: Slavedrivers

On Saturday these two locked me in the hotel room. And cracked the whip. My mom would poke me awake if I would fall asleep. They both went out to get lunch and had me stay... dont worry they brought me some back. When we went out for dinner it was dark. And I hadnt left the room all day. They were good spirited about it all. And I really did appreciate the encouragement to work. I even knocked a glass of water all over my dads phone (on accident of course). And he just shook the water off and set it on the heating vent to dry off.

On Sunday:
We hurried our way down to Weymouth to watch the Primary Presentation John invited us to. Heather and Amit came too. And let me tell you. Kids are hilarious! There were a few of my personal favorites. There was an adorable little redheaded kid who would wipe his hand in front of his face and change his expression with each swipe of his hand. There was the kid who got up and was talking fine until mid-word he cut off and resorted to a high pitched squeal. The little kid who kept his hands balled up and in front of his eyes the whole time he was talking. And then there was the girl who looked like she was six and talked like she was eighteen. She was mature and impressive. Aiden did a great job too. He quietly told about his family. Abby was adorable through the whole thing - though not old enough to be in the Primary. She played with Heather for awhile and then came and gave me a big hug.

After church, my dad wanted to drive to Cape Cod. Yup... thats right folks... I live close enough to just drive to Cape Cod. Have I? No... I wasnt feeling great so we only made it as far as Plymouth MA. The site of the pilgrims landing.

And if I were the describe this photo op it would be one of eyes wide shut.

I started it off... and my mom ran with it.

The Mayflower II.