walking in a winter wonderland

It's beginning to feel like we just might have a white Christmas this year - since we've had snow for a week now, with more falling today and more expected Tuesday/Wednesday. I'm loving it. Yeah, it sucks for travelling in and a lot of people are stuck at airports right now, but there is also a beauty to seeing everything freshly covered in white.

My parents and I braved the roads after church this morning. They're on their way to visit R & H in Victoria, and I have to work tomorrow, so it was back to Richmond for me. The roads were pretty snow-covered as plows hadn't been out yet in many areas and the snow was still falling. I dropped them off at the ferry terminal and finished the last stretch by myself - the only place I was worried about getting stuck was when I turned onto the side streets by our house. They haven't been travelled on much and had thick layers of fresh snow that I was plowing through. I made it, though, and the car is now safely tucked into our underground parking lot where it shall remain until the return trek tomorrow evening.

After making it home, I couldn't help but go for a walk in the snow. There's something magical about snow, and it makes everything so quiet and peaceful. Unfortunately for me, I discovered that I sent my camera to Abbotsford for the week and couldn't take any pictures of this wonderland!

Last week, Mark and I had the chance to go skating in the Olympic speed skating oval - such a cool experience! All last week they basically had it open for free skating every lunch hour and evening to showcase the building. Here's a few pics from that adventure:





I'm enjoying a cup of hot chocolate now and I think tonight I'll make some shortbread cookies. A perfect activity for a cozy winter evening.

I'll leave you with this photo taken of some bushes in our courtyard last week - just imagine a thicker layer of snow lining each branch and it'll be like I just took the picture today. :)

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

stressed but surviving

It has been way too long since my last posting. To those who still check back once in awhile - I'm sorry. I keep thinking, "Oh, I should post about that" but somehow life in the past few months has made it hard to set aside the time to actually do it.

And tonight won't be a long post, either. Just a quick one to let you know I'm alive. Currently, I'm just finishing a week-long course which hasn't been too hard but has made my days seem quite short. I'm also writing a big proposal for my practicum next semester. That's due at the end of next week, but with all the activities we somehow have planned between now and then in addition to work, I think I have about 3 more evenings to get it all done. The busy-ness of December is setting in...

I'll be back once I'm done with school for the semester and I'll try to update you on all the happenings at that point. Until then, wish me luck!

P.S. I need a housekeeper. My house is a disaster but I have been too busy with school and work to tackle it. Any takers?