Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday D.! Welcome to a new decade!

Luv Steph :)

A Panoramic Treat

I attended a Facilitation Skills workshop this week at the Marriott Hotel, downtown Ottawa. This morning the hotel bumped us out of our room and upgraded us to one of the most beautiful meeting rooms I've ever seen.

Located on the 28th floor of the hotel, the Sussex Room has a wall of windows offering a panoramic view of downtown Ottawa and the Gatineau hills that just blew me away. I ate my lunch on the mezzanine, sitting in a wingback chair facing the Parliament Buildings. I couldn't think of a better place to be at that moment.

Here's a description of the hotel's top floor revolving restaurant - Merlot Rooftop Grill - with a similar view, just to give you an idea of how breathtaking our city and its surroundings can be.

It was decidedly a panoramic treat.

Sister Moon, Harvest Moon

The moon and its beauty struck me tonight. I felt a deep connection to its hazy presence amongst the clouds. Tomorrow it will be full - the closest full moon to the autumnal equinox, which makes it the Harvest Moon. May it light our path as we slowly transition to winter's blessed slumber.

Seamus is Dreamy

Seamus O'Regan is dreamy.

D. and I attended a live outdoor taping of Canada AM in the ByWard Market this morning, and Seamus is even cuter in person than he is on TV. Swoon.

It all started with a scoop that Blue Rodeo was playing for free in the Market this morning - a live performance for CTV. Then we found out that they'd be playing between 6:30-9:00am. We were there shortly after 7am, Bridgehead coffee in hand. What fun! Turns out the entire morning show was live from Ottawa, not just Blue Rodeo.

It was interesting to see the camera crews and the behind-the-scenes work. Margaret Atwood, another Canadian icon, was a special guest. But Blue Rodeo and Jim Cuddy (swoon) stole the show. What a great way to spend a sunny Friday morning. And oh yeah, did I mention Seamus was dreamy?

Too Tired

I'm tired. I want to write about all sorts of things, but I just don't have the energy.

I want to write about all the great documentaries you can get at the library for free including a new favourite called The Real Dirt on Farmer John. I want to write about my amazing friend Judi who started her own business called Credible Edibles and went live with her Web site about a month ago. I want to write about true love and how I'm confused but filled with hope at the possibility of it existing, just in a different form. I want to write about my trip to Mom & Dad's with Sis and how we talked, laughed, and sang a kick-ass rendition of Endless Love while driving through the woods and mountains of central New Brunswick.

Yup, I want to write about all of those things and much more, but tonight I'm just too tired. So I guess it'll have to wait. I'm going to bed.

A Day in the City

D. and I were up bright & early yesterday morning and decided to take advantage of it by spending a great day downtown.

Stop #1: Breakfast at the Elgin Street Diner
Friendly servers, oodles of coffee and a good ol' greasy breakfast. Need I say more?

Stop #2: Museum of Nature
Did you know that admission to the Canadian Museum of Nature is free Saturday mornings? We spent nearly two hours browsing the permanent galleries and a thought provoking exhibit called The GEEE! in GENOME that had interactive quizzes related to the responsibility, business and ethics of genomics. What a fun, educational, cheap way to spend a Saturday morning!

Stop #3: Bridgehead
After spending a few hours on our feet at the Museum it was time to sit down and relax with a cup of our favourite Bridgehead coffee. We walked down Metcalfe St. to the coffee house and enjoyed some of the architecture along the way.

Stop #4: Home for a bit of a rest

Stop #5: A 6.93km Urban Trek
Ok this isn't really a stop, but it was a major part of our day. We decided to check out a few addresses that had apartments for rent to get an idea of their surroundings. We ended up zigzagging through city streets for over two hours, exploring many neighbourhoods I'd never seen. When we got home we used the Gmaps Pedometer to discover we'd covered: 6.93km.

'Twas a good Saturday! I look forward to doing it again. And I think that last urban trek probably worked off a good portion of the greasy breakfast, non?

Things I've Been Mulling Over

Developing an interactive Simple Living workshop

Initiating a children's book drive for Christmas

Defining true love

Cooking healthy meals

Joining a Learn to Run clinic

Working on a family history project

Making homemade Christmas gifts

Losing 15 pounds

Becoming debt-free

Planning my career

Cleaning my apartment

Moving in with D.

Drawing

Writing

Posting on my blog

A Few Poems

I don't consider myself a poet, but I found these in my Drafts folder and thought it would be fun to post them.

I'd just watched Dreamland and for some unknown reason felt inspired to jot down my thoughts in bits & pieces. I remember sitting at my keyboard, closing my eyes and typing whatever surfaced. Here's part of the outcome, with minimal editing:

disconnected from the world
drifting from reality
into the past
into the future
anywhere but the present
I seek peace
but find none
- January 19, 2007


the world outside
greets me with open arms
am I willing to jump into her embrace and live?
- January 19, 2007


inspiration abounds
words flow
a stream of light
of energy
of God
- January 19, 2007

TED: Ideas worth spreading

I discovered TED while surfing some of my favourite blogs. Whether you're interested happy design, environmental justice or political activism through music, there's something here for you.

I've listened to a few talks including Richard Dawkins' An atheist's call to arms which admittedly made me squirm in my seat a little, but was nonetheless insightful. I look forward to exploring other talks and performances offered.

What an enlightening discovery - a wealth of ideas at my fingertips.