winter

cross-country skiing

The extremely cold weather has been on a roll lately… our area became the coldest place on Earth in early February. I’m hopeful that the cold snap will end soon… as my series of winter activities posts is coming to an end (for now). 😉 After talking about my amusing experience with snowboarding, skating, winter hiking, and downhill skiing, let’s move on to cross-country skiing.

Growing up in a country that only has rainy and dry season – both of which are hot compared to the freezing weather in Canada – I have very little concept of winter activities, especially cross-country skiing. For all I know, it’s skiing all over the country… literally! 😐 😬

One weekend, Jellybean and I drove to Lost Creek Resort at Prince Albert National Park for me to have a first hand experience on cross-country skiing on groomed trails. To put it simply, imagine a train going along a set of railway tracks… it’s similar to that idea. Cross-country skiing on groomed trails is like skiing on a “railway” track.

I found it restricting at first because it’s not free-flowing like downhill skiing is, you have to stay within the constraints of the track to ski smoothly. It’s important to have enough momentum to make it up the hill and not slide back down. Otherwise, you have to walk funny going up the slope… either walking sideways or “skating” with the skis in a V-shape (similar to reversed pizza move in downhill skiing). It’s just tiny a hill though so there’s no need for a conveyor that would take you up the hill like in downhill skiing.

So far, I still prefer downhill skiing over snowboarding or cross-country skiing. Hmmmm…. What winter activity should I try next? 😊

downhill skiing

We’ve had a lot of bitter cold weather recently (-43 degrees Celsius! 😲) and it’s been getting me down… it’s too cold to go for a walk outside and just thinking of winter activities makes me want to hibernate. 😖 The only winter “activity” I’ll be doing for now is sipping a hot cup of milk tea and watching the snowflakes lazily fall outside. ❄️

Hmmm… Reminiscing the winter activities that I’ve experienced is also another option. So far, I’ve experienced snowboarding, skating, and winter hiking. As I was going through old files, I happened to come across my downhill and cross-country skiing photos.

I had the opportunity to try downhill skiing on a company trip to Table Mountain several years ago. I decided to skip the skiing lesson this time since my snowboarding lesson on a previous trip didn’t go that well; I’m a visual learner, their instructions don’t really help me.

I struggled a bit (Jellybean was no help from his snowboard 😝) and Allan — one of the company executives — noticed and gave me a very helpful tip… that is to remember the “pizza” and “fries” moves. The “pizza” move is used to slow down or stop like an amber or red traffic light. It’s mostly called pizza because the ski position looks like a slice of pizza. While the “fries” move represents green light… green means go… go…go! 🤣 The ski are parallel to each other and looks like fries. 😝

On the bunny hill where the beginners flock together, there’s a conveyor that takes you to the top; on the big hill, they use a chairlift to reach the top. Since I’m a complete newbie, I stayed on the bunny hill.

Going down the bunny hill was a bit nerve wracking at first but the thrill kept me going. My confidence slowly built up as I climbed up and glided down the hill a number of times. Though, still not confident enough to try the big hill as I was still mostly using the ever trusty “pizza” move. 😳

To my surprise, I enjoyed skiing more than snowboarding. I find snowboarding stressful while skiing is more relaxing. It’s probably because I was skiing on a little hill with a “safe” slope. The next step is to join the big kids on the big hill and then aim to sail down the scary slopes of Sunshine Village someday… Fat chance! 🤣

Stay tuned for the next post on cross-country skiing… ✌

winter hiking

Growing up in a tropical country makes me extra curious about winter activities. My first-hand experience in snowboarding and skating got me pumped up to try winter hiking in Johnston Canyon (Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada).

Powered up with a hearty breakfast, we set out on our hike. We hadn’t made it ten feet out of the parking lot when we realized how slippery the trail was. Jellybean, my husband, had to help me navigate the path and kept me from slipping.

I was still on high spirits as we walk passed the sign, but my excitement was quickly overshadowed by my clumsiness and fear of heights. 😱 There were icy patches all over the trail and the treacherous cliff made my knees weak.

To avoid the scary path, I decided to walk in the deep snow which was “conveniently” located up the “hill” from the trail… Lucky me, I made things worse because I had trouble going back to the trail when I reached a dead end. Jellybean had to rescue me and get me back on track. 😅

With all the struggles that I went through on our way up, Jellybean, Mike and Shara encouraged and supported me even though I felt like I was being a nuisance.. 🙁 While I was looking like an idiot, Shara was gingerly walking on the slippery path like it was a fashion runway. 😲

should I go back?

Surprisingly, my fear disappeared on our way back and I managed to enjoy the walk… errr… slide. Learning how to traverse the icy path made a world of difference.

Watcha up to Mike?

The amazing view, the breathtaking winter water falls and the awesome company made the winter hiking a memorable experience.

See you again, Johnston Canyon!

Banff in Winter

With the weather hitting minus 40 degrees Celsius last week, it inspired me to write about our winter adventure in Banff a few years ago.

Around February 2016, my husband and I met up and spent time with friends in Banff National Park, Alberta. The magnificent Rocky Mountain view, beautiful slopes covered with fluffy snow and serene atmosphere made the trip very relaxing and provided an avenue for us to decompress and catch up.

Here are some of the stunning snapshots courtesy of Mike and Shara:

Gondola ride on the way to Sunshine Village

The highlight of the trip? Winter hiking in Johnston Canyon…more details on the next post. 😀

wedding 1.0

Way back in 2011, I ranted about being bugged to get married in one of my blog posts entitled, wedding. Little did I know that I would be meeting Jellybean, the one, and marrying him a few years later.

What’s with the wedding 1.0?

In Filipino culture, siblings are cautioned against marrying in the same year; this overlap of life events is called sukob and it is believed to bring bad luck. Getting engaged in 2014 and with Jellybean’s brother’s wedding planned for 2015, we were left with a difficult decision. Do we marry in 2016 or squeeze it in before the end of 2014? 2015 wasn’t an option.

With the concern that aging grandparents who are in their 90’s might be unable to attend a 2016 wedding, we chose 2014. Knowing it would be impossible to invite all of our family and dearest friends on such short notice, we limited the guest list to the elders and witnesses (Jellybean’s parents).

With eight people in total including the photographer and the marriage commissioner, wedding 1.0 was a perfectly intimate event!

Here are some of the never before seen photos:

Can you spot the difference below between the 2014 and the 2018 photos? Quite difficult to guess, right? 😉

2014

fast forward to 2018 😀

Stay tuned for wedding 2.0 …who knows when… 😀

hibernation over!

Oopsie! I unintentionally hibernated… again. 😉 I wrote my travel bag post around February 2016 and meant to tweak and post it before the beginning of March but it didn’t happen. Sigh… I know, I’m terrible. -_-

So… what kept me busy? Hmmm… Let’s see…

Hiking

Johnston Canyon Winter hiking + Height phobia = FUN? :8

Philippine Election 2016

I campaigned for Duterte via Facebook. Yup! I’m one of his social media and prayer warriors… To be clear, I didn’t get paid for it. Yeah … yeah… I’m a die hard Duterte supporter (a.k.a. Dutertard)! Deal with it! :p

Why Duterte? Click here to read a very interesting article written by Leandro Legarda Leviste.

(I’m elated that in a short span of time, Duterte has already accomplished a much needed overhaul in the government… It’s a long way to go but I know he can deliver! Duterte surely deals with things like a BOSS!)

Travelling

Went gallivanting around North and South Carolina together with the gigglers (a.k.a. Little Miss Wanderfuls). Why gigglers? Well…find out for yourselves…;)

Want to know more of our adventures? Check out this site -> www.littlemisswanderfuls.com

Game of Thrones

I watched all 10 episodes of Season 6… I must say, it’s one of the best shows ever! Who are my top three favorite? Jon Snow, Arya Stark and Daenerys Targaryen. Oh! I also like Lyanna Mormont. She’s a badass! Need I say more? :p

Jon Snow (credit to the owner)	Arya Stark (credit to the owner)
Daenerys Targaryen (credit to the owner)	Lyanna Mormont (credit to the owner)

Gardening

I’m not a green thumb but my husband is! (Yes, I do have a husband. lol) I’ve been just messing around with the garden. Last year, I was in charge of planting and I might have been too generous with the carrot seeds . -_-

thecuriousme.com

Planning to do a revamp and keep up with the times. My blog looks so 90’s. Ha! I’ve been researching for blog platforms…. It will take some time but I can make it happen. 😉

Baste

Sebastian Benedict is his full name. I’ve been checking his Facebook page almost every day! He’s so adorable! I also like SamSam, his little brother…. 🙂 It makes me smile whenever I see new posts about them. Keep spreading good vibes!

baste-samsam — Baste & SamSam (credit to the owner)

One day…. I’ll be able to post consistently…. One day. 😉 For now, I’ll continue sorting my photos and work on one blog post at a time. Gotta get this going! Aja!

… and I do hear you… I will do a blog post regarding the tidbits of my wedding 1.0 and wedding 2.0. 😀 You’ll be like.. “What? Two weddings?!?” Yes… two weddings. Details soon kiddos. 😉

Appreciate your patience guys! Until next time! 😀

snowboarding

Building a snowman, making a snow angel, tobogganing (a.k.a. sledding), skiing, skating (click here to read related blog entry regarding skating), and snowboarding are some of the activities that I’ve been looking forward to in this Winter Wonderland.

building a snowman	making a snow angel
tobogganning a.k.a. sledding	skiing

During the trip to Table Mountain, I enlisted for a snowboarding lesson together with the other VendAsta peepz. There were more or less a dozen of us in the group and from the looks of it, I was the only one who had difficulty in getting things done the right way.

Hmmm… Either I was a slow learner, or not flexible enough, or a scaredy cat… or all of the above! Sigh… It was sooo frustrating! Jellybean blames the boots… they wouldn’t stay tight and I guess that makes it hard to control the board?

Below are some of the snapshots of the trip:

Gearing up!

prepping…	gingerly trying the snowboard…
Nathan pushing me with his snowboard…	up the bunny hill where the action begins..

Snowboarding down from the bunny hill

VendAsta bear: “Watch and learn”	how I wish I can snowboard like this
slowly going down the bunny hill…	finally… down the bunny hill…

One last pose and… done!

snowboarding 2013 016 — at last! after one million years…

snowboarding 2013 011 — done for the day

After a long and tiring day… I was experiencing all kinds of aches and pains. Snowboarding is fun if you are “light” I guess… I felt like I was too heavy to even stand up with the snowboard on my feet. Or is it maybe because I was so bundled up with all the layers that I have on? Hmmm…

Nevertheless… I’ll be back! Skiing will be the next goal! Hell yeah! Just like Nike’s famous tag line says, “Just do it!”. 😀

winter driving

Driving in the land of the living skies wherein snow is practically all over the place during winter is a total nightmare. The road turns into a big skating rink when the snow becomes icy… too slippery!
(Click here to have a bird’s eye view on what land of the living skies mean -> “warm”-weather). 😉

Below are my share of winter-related incidents within a year of driving:
*** underground parking
I was zooming out from a sketchy underground parking and dove straight to a parked car right across the garage door. (I felt like I was in a movie scene wherein the cars were flying everywhere -_-).

Result: Insurance paid for the damage on my car and the other party’s front bumper and I got deduction on my driver’s safety rating. 😦 Of course, I still had to pay the deductible and a fine (yes… a penalty for using the insurance in less than two months of having it… O_O).

*** open parking
I bumped into a post while backing up in a crowded parking lot.

Result: Damaged rear bumper. Aside from having no budget to get it fixed…it’s a reminder for me to drive safely and avoid post at all cost! :p I don’t mind driving a cheap car with a damaged rear bumper (fancy car is way out of my league).

Hey! It survived winter, so no matter how crappy my car is… it’s still sturdy.;) Most importantly, I can drive my family around when they come for a visit. 😀 Also, it saves me from freezing to death during winter while waiting for a bus with half an hour to an hour interval!

*** intersection
I nearly crashed into three vehicles when I did a left turn in a three-lane intersection.

photo courtesy of: wikimedia — intersection turns into like this (ice skating rink)!

I’m not sure how I managed to survive winter driving but prayers help a great deal.:) My mantra… pray before driving!

P.S.
Justin, I don’t have bullet holes (click here to read related entry -> bullet holes) decal on my car. The damaged bumper serves as my “extravagant” decoration. 🙂

British Columbia

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Click below to read related articles:
Ontario

Alberta

Banff & LakeLouise	Calgary Zoo	Pacific Place
Crosslink	road trip finale

Saskatchewan

snow	summer party	winter party	“warm” weather
the berry barn	airshow 2011	folkfest	single ladies
mineral spa	danceland	flea market	big fat ass
luau?	beach(?)	tent	camping
MoSo	barcamp

—————————————————————————————————-

British Columbia (B.C.), Canada is definitely my next target after enjoying the tourist spots of Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. I was planning to travel last June 2012 but for some reason, it got pushed back from my bucket list.

Later on, my cousin, Jaime (a.k.a. Chancee), informed me that he’s flying to Winnipeg for a study tour and asked me if it’s possible for us to meet up. We both agreed to see each other in Vancouver and stay in one of our relatives place whom I haven’t met.

I was so pumped! I’ll be hitting four birds with one stone! Err… it would also be cute to say, with one airfare. Well, it’s surely worth it. I’ll be able to:
*** Chat with my cousin
*** Meet & bond with my new-found relatives
*** Take a well-deserved holiday
*** “Get to know” British Columbia

Indeed, God is good. Through His “magical hands”, the wonderful trip took place and it certainly paved the way to connect some of the missing links of my life.

So, what happened during the trip? Hmmm… I’ll let you know in a bit. :p

winter party!

If there’s a summer party (click here to read the summer party article), there’s a winter (Christmas) party!!! Woot! 😀

VendAstians’ donned their western attire and headed straight to Champetre County to celebrate Christmas! Several activities were planned by the social committee to keep the grown ups busy. It was definitely a fun filled evening!

BK’s speech	dinner
turkey cards	raffle draw prizes
casino
	with Phoenix & Tiffany

Hush hush…. an after party was held in one of the Executives house! Rock and roll!!!

Can’t wait for the next party! Wohooo!

“warm” weather

It looks like the clouds are tired of floating in the sky… decided to go down… and evolve into fluffy snow. Oh la la!

Come to think of it, I’ve been blabbering how I love the snow when I first arrive in the Toon City (click here to read the snow article). And now… I still love the snow… however, the bulky winter wear is driving me nuts! Waaaah!

The weather is bloody chilly (-38 degrees celsius.. so far)! Brrrr! At this time, I want to recall how a warm weather feels. Ha! Check out below the river cruise sunny moments and let’s all relive the summer season 😀 :



the route

Now, back to reality. -_- Enjoy the chilly weather and share some warm winter smile everyone! Wohooo!

6+6

My driving class culminated last week and I’m greatly relieved that it’s off my bucket list. Finally, I was able to put into practice the basics, tips and tricks of driving that I’ve learned from the handbook and from the in-class. I’m praying that I can practice everyday before winter.

Here’s a brief outline of my driving blunders:
1st Hour

Mood: nervous breakdown!
When I was required to slow down, I stepped on the gas pedal instead of the break.
Turtle like speed.

2nd Hour

Mood: antsy
Incorrect steering! Should do hand over hand.
The steering wheel was “out of control” whenever I do the right and left turn so I always end up in the wrong lane. Hazardous!
The driving instructor was going nuts because of my repeated lapses.

3rd Hour

Mood: slightly jittery
Going to the rightmost lane when doing a left turn as if I will do a right turn. Ha!
Doing a left turn too late or too quick.
Flipping the left and right turn signal like Christmas lights.
Turtle like speed.
Driving for 30 minutes without a seat belt! Darn!
Breaking while turning on a curve. Bad habit!

4th Hour

No longer tense.
Mood: bothered
Not doing the shoulder check during a right turn and changing lanes
Slowing down on a stop sign.
Doing a full stop on a yield sign.(It should be the other way around.)
Speeding in a residential area.
Turtle like speed in a main street. (It should be the other way around.)

5th Hour

No longer tense.
Mood: enthusiastic
Breaking while turning on a curve
Forgot to put on a seat belt again
Finally hearing a “Good Job!” remark from the driving instructor whenever:

**** I’ve managed to do a correct left and right turn
**** Stopping and slowing down on the correct signs

6th Hour

No longer tense.
Mood: tickled pink
I remembered to put on my seatbelt. 😀
Doing the correct left and right turn more often
Still overwhelmed when driving in a busy street. It scares the hell out of me whenever I see cars all around me. LOL
Can now speed up to 50-60 km. A great jump from 20 ey? 😀

What’s next after the 6 hours in class and 6 hours actual driving course? Practice to the maximum level! I need to take a road test in a few months time to “upgrade” my driver’s license.

Below are the things for me to improve before the road test:

Be alert on spotting traffic signs
Follow religiously the rules of road
Consistent correct steering
Proper left and right turn
Practice mirror and shoulder check
Driving in downtown
Driving in the freeway
Maneuvering in circle drive
Rough road driving
Reversing
All types of parking techniques
Most importantly, grace under pressure must prevail. 😉

Whew! I have a long way to go! I wish I can have SUV as my first car. However, it will still be a dream… for now.. Ha! Aja!

snow!

It’s always been my childhood dream to see a real snow and experience the four seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall). I lived most of my life in the Philippines and few years in Singapore wherein it’s summer most of the time!

Winter just ended when I went to Europe but I did experience Spring for three months. So, I still have Winter and Fall in my bucket list. Also, I promised myself that when I see a real snow, I will definitely take a pinch and savor the taste. Ha! Pardon my naivety. I am what I am. 😉

Following Big Bro’s master plan, I quietly migrated to North America during Winter time! It was crazy in a way because there were different timezones in every airport I went to for my connecting flights. Thus, my body clock was in a total chaos and I reached my destination absolutely stressed out… for a moment. :p

Stress was replaced with unconcealed childlike grin and excitement! My cousin picked me up at the airport together with her family. She told me that my “Matrix” coat is for Spring and is not thick enough for the Winter. My “Matrix” look had to wait (sorry Majestic Mom!). 😉

When we arrived at their house, I took a pinch of snow on top of her other car and tasted it. It reminded me of the ice in Chowking’s halo halo (Filipino dessert). It’s absolutely delicious and refreshing! Wohooo!

Previously, I never bothered to do it because the season was either sunny or rainy, warm or cold. I always bring small umbrella anyway. That would suffice back then. 😀 In a four season country, I learned that it’s a must to know the weather forecast so that you will know how to plan your outfit (how many layers), what jacket to wear (how thick or thin it is), if you will need mittens, etc.

Time flies… Spring is just around the corner and it will be Summer soon! I’ve noticed that a lot of locals love summer! However, for me, I anticipate Fall, Winter and Spring rather than the Summer. I’ve had my fair share of Summer in this lifetime, I think. -_- I was told that I will change my mind in a year or two. We’ll see.

Next winter, I will definitely make my own snow angel and snowman. Yabadabadoo!!!!