The Great Canadian Adventure

Figured I've been back for a few days now, it's time to do a quick recap. :)

The trip could best be described with this phrase:

People make plans.
God laughs.

That's pretty much how the whole thing went. Granted, I didn't have the best attitude going into it... and saying that I behaved badly would be an exceptionally nice way of describing my behavior over most of the week. (I saw the best artsy plaque that I wanted to get: I /do/ have my Big Girl Panties on... they're just in a bunch!)

But rather than dwell on the crankies and every little nit-picky thing that didn't go well (most of it having to do with mis-/non-communication), I'm chalking it all up to a life/learning experience - what I need to do, what I need to work on, and things I never, ever want to do again.

The trip wasn't a total bust - in fact, there were several moments that I look back on with much fondness.

First off, just the fact that I was able to be in my hubby's home town with him made it very special. I got to see areas that he would frequent, places he'd go to with his parents, even sat in the same booth that he & his parents would occupy during their regular brunch at Humpty's.

I also got to experience the phenomenon that is Timmy's... Or Tim Horton's for those who aren't in the know. ;) Granted I got to experience it a few more times than I wanted, but for those of you who have heard the rumour: It's true! Canada IS run on donuts! LOL! And they make a mean cruller, too. Though the hot cocoa and I don't really get along... a small scoop of it in my coffee is fine, a whole cup... not so much.

I got to see the most awesomest person E-V-E-R!!! With the trip that almost wasn't, the hubby and I had a fantastic trip to Lloydminster - getting the alone/re-connection time that we so desperately needed. What was waiting for us in Lloyd was the amazingly awesome Ramona! ::squee! happy dance!:: Getting to visit with her, even for a few short hours, was all I had hoped it would be: fantastically low key and "normal". Getting to have coffee/lunch with my new, life long sister-friend helped recharge my batteries in more ways that I could imagine, and helped unbunch those Big Girl Panties so I could relax and enjoy the rest of the visit. :)


We were then able to get a short visit with the second awesomest person - the hubby's Niece. Her wonky work schedule kept her from meeting with us earlier, but a mad dash and a cuppa tea later, I got to meet at least one person from Norman's family. She's fantastic - she just graduated from HS and is getting started on a naturopathic type program with school.

Over the weekend I got in the super duper quick 2 hour tour of the West Edmonton Mall and still managed to get in a loopdy-loopdy-loop roller coaster ride, a sea lion show and an amazing noodle bowl lunch. Alas, didn't get a photo _on_ the pirate ship since it was closed for an event.


(that's my hubby nomming on the nummy Spicy Thai soup)

And got to watch the Oilers (oh yeah, and the Flames... ;) season opener (in Canada, at a Boston Pizza, having a Chicago style pie... something seriously wrong with that. ;) This is one of those good/bad moments - good because I got to kick back and enjoy a fun night... bad because, well, you ever seen Canadians watching hockey? I thought soccer fans were... 'passionate'. They're TAME! LOL!

(that's the awesome scarf my cousin knitted for me last year. Saved my neck!)

And the extra bad happened when the Oilers' goalie got afflicted with teh dumb in the last 40 seconds of the game & the Flames took advantage of it to win the game. ::bangs head on table::

All in all, it was an ok trip, and I'm glad I went - life lessons and all. If it weren't for the weather, I would love to have stayed longer... and could almost be convinced to move. You see, I don't deal well with the cold. At. All. There's a reason I moved from Michigan to AZ the first chance I got. But having gone through Ontario, Quebec and now part of Alberta, it reminded me of what I love about Canada (ok, maybe not Quebec... LOL!) It's a little difficult to put my finger on. There's just enough of a European influence in the food, culture, and way the cities are set up that makes it very inviting and comfortable. There's just enough of what's familiar to make an easy transition.


But it's still cold.

Unfortunately the eating options were less than stellar, and trying to fit in MY workouts around 3 other people's schedule just didn't happen... aside from the leaf crunching, I didn't get any focused workout time in... and it's leaving me feeling less than confident about my 5K in a couple of weeks. This week has been a combo of getting my endurance back up, resting and detoxing from all the cr@p I ate last week.