River Rafting Adventures

On June 16th, 2011 5 friends and I made our way to RiverRun Rafting for a day on the Ottawa River.  We squeezed our bodies into sausage casings aka wetsuits, signed our lives away on the waiver forms, listened to the guide tell us that we paid for a day of working out(we were going to paddle like mad), and again listened to the risks of the day, put our lifejackets on, strapped on our helmets and grabbed a paddle. Our guides led us through some warm up exercises and yoga while we waited for the bus.

Mighty Andy.

Bill was my hero.

Andy was our guide and Bill was the second guide on our raft.  He was learning the Ottawa River aka The Drink.  There were a total of 3 rafts in our group, 2 with 12(we were in one of the 12 person rafts with some people we did not know but they helped us paddle so we decided to keep them anyway) and one with 6, we also were accompanied by a guide in a kayak.  At each of the rapids there were photographers who were also guides who could help out if anyone left the raft and went into The Drink.

See Andy in the green helmet? I am the second white helmet behind him.

The first rapids we went through knocked me right out of my seat.  I crashed into the person behind me and landed on top of the woman on the other side of the raft.  The man who was sitting at the very front of the raft went into the drink.  He was pleased as punch.  I was unimpressed with my unseating and proceeded to question my decision to go water rafting.  We went through a couple more rapids which were very fun!  Kind of like being on a roller coaster without a seatbelt.

We enjoyed a tasty lunch with lots of beverages to stay hydrated.  The six man raft had enjoyed a complete tip over.  They were quite happy about it too!

DOWN!!!!

We got to surf too. This is when you paddle UP the river INTO the rapids. The rapids suck you in then spit you out. Freaky and fabulous. The first time we went surfing the four of us in front did not hear the GET DOWN!!! order.  We stayed up and paddled.  The guy fell out of the raft, Andy was not impressed with us for not listening.  So the four of us in front had to go sit in the back and yell Andy's orders.  lol. I liked it better in the back. Shh.... don't tell anyone.

Surfing!

Just before our raft made its run for the most dangerous rapids of the day, we made a little pitstop where Andy went over the safety plan.  I had a panic attack.  Bill was very helpful and checked my life jacket to make sure it was secure.  My hero! Then we paddled like mad! When we made it to the other side I wondered what all the hype was about.  LOL. :) What fun! 

Going for a dip.

We also went for a swim. Ahhh. It was a glorious day. You should try it!

Lemons into Lemonade

Well.  Here it is.  I haven't blogged for a little while. Ok. Fine! A LONG TIME! I have lots of excuses but I am sure they will not be good enough for the Sparkle Fans.  So. I am sorry. Ok? Let's Move On.


Did I mention that I applied to university?  For a Bachelor of Social Work. 
I did not get in. cry, sob, roar, blast it all!
 So now what?  I am gonna try again but in the meantime????? How bout some adventures?  Alright! Yeah! Let's do it!  I  used to make all these adventures all the time but for the last while I have been scared, playing things safe, yadda yadda yadda.


So in the next year "we" as in "me, myself and I" are gonna do some wild things, crazy things, get outta that safe box kinda things.

How about dance class?  well sure. but what kind of dance class? Burlesque, of course! I have been to 4 classes already and am having a BLAST with a good friend.

How about some white water rafting?  ok sure. BOOKED!  stay tuned for details next month.

Zipline? Scuba diving? Visit a new country?  I am open to suggestions but forget about bungee jumping, jumping out of planes, or jumping of/out of anything.  You can't make me. I won't do it. NO! Boats are the only exception.
I
 WILL
        jump into water. 

AND BY THE WAY......SOMEONE ELSE HAPPENED SINCE THE LAST POST.

MELINA JESSICA my newest lovable happy baby girl niece.

Look how beautiful she is. It is amazing what a joy it is to hold a baby in your arms, watch her smile, listen to her giggles and feel such incredible love for her.  What a blessing it is to be an auntie again.



so tiny, so squishably kissable.



sweet smiles:)

Going on a Road Trip

Hanna and I are leaving soon to go to Sarnia for our family Christmas gathering.   Road trips always result in a story when the Poelmans are involved so you better be sitting on the edge of your seat.  I am sure I will have a good one for you soon.

Griffin

Hanna has a blue tabby cat named Griffin.  He heard that I have been writing about my cat Sheba.  He has been scheming ever since to have a blog post of his own.

Yesterday morning at 5:30 I was happily sleeping, minding my own business.  Thank you very much.

I just happened to be wearing pajamas with a ribbon around the neckline.  Apparently the ribbon attracted the attention of Griffin the cat.  It made him quite frisky.  Unfortunately he missed biting the ribbon and bit my brea...........chest instead. 

Talk about a RUDE awakening.

ROAR!!!

Sheba

When I started this blog I vowed that I would not be one of those people who talks constantly about their kids(easy because I don't have any) or blathers on and on about their pet. 
Well too bad because I have a fantastic cat and she deserves a(nother) blog dedicated to her.

My cat Sheba was born in my basement. She was supposed to become our neighbour's cat and was even named by said neighbour but alas it was not to be. 

Sheba disappeared when she was about 5 months old.  We could not find her anywhere for 3 days.  My uncle and aunt came over and we were showing them around the house and backyard.  I heard a meowing cry.  I called for SHEBA and saw her through the window of the textiles factory.  Sheba was throwing herself against the window trying to get to me.  My sister and I went into the factory and asked for help. We located Sheba in the basement of the factory.  She was grease covered and had lost weight but she was safe and sound.  She purred and PURRED when I held her and carried her home. 
Sheba adopted me.
Sheba thinks she is the boss. 

Sheba disapproves of my singing.  When I am home alone there is nothing I like more than to sing at the top of my lungs as I clean the dishes and tidy up the house.  If Sheba is in the house she comes running up to me and starts meowing furiously.  If I stop singing then she calms down.  If I continue to sing then she bites my ankle.  If I still sing on then she bites my ankle again.  I roar at her but she just twitches her tail at me and walks away.

Sheba is the boss of my sister Hanna's cat, Griffin too.  He may be twice her size but he is completely submissive to her.  If he comes near her food Sheba growls and hisses at him.  He finds an excuse to leave the room.  "Oh look at all the interesting shadows over there......did you see that? Was that a mouse? Hold on a sec while I check it out."   And if Griffin decides to take a nap on the floor, Sheba finds it highly amusing to walk right over him.  She is careful to make sure she steps on him with all four paws.

Yesterday I went into the bathroom and saw Sheba on the weigh scale.  She was staring at the reading.  I told her not to worry because 7 pounds is just fine for her.  Sheba flicked her tail at me and walked away. 
She does that a lot-----walk away from me while I am talking to her.

I do sometimes lament that I do not have a lap cat.  But Sheba is quite amusing to me.  And to be fair she does come to me for cuddles.  It's just that she wakes me up at random times-1am, 3:30 am, and her favourite-5:00 am by meowing and jumping all over me until I scratch her ears and rub under her chin.  

Sigh....It's a good thing she is so cute.

First Dates

I am very new to the dating scene.  I had my first date ever in June.  We met through an online dating site.  I had my second date while in BC.  It was a blind date set up by a mutual friend.

I love the concept of blind dates.   Friends set you up and if it works then that's great, if it doesn't then no big deal.  A good friend of mine recently told me, "a date is not going to kill you Beth!".  I am trusting that she is right.  So far I have been having a good time not finding the one.  I have a healthy, if warped sense of humour so I can laugh about it in the end.  It is a learning experience.

Here are The Top 10 Clues that He is NOT THE ONE.

1. You decide on a meeting place and he parks way on the opposite side of the parking lot in a different coloured vehicle than what he told you.
2. While on a 2 hour hike he lets you carry the picnic cooler the entire time.
3. He takes out his cell phone, says, "I guess it would be rude to take this call.", and then answers the phone anyway.
4. He tells you that he does not own a Barbeque because his mother told him that an oven is good enough.  (He is in his late 30's)
5. Two words: personal hygiene.  Seriously.
6. Your date drops you off and tells you that he took you out as a favour to your mutual friend.
7. You make lunch, bake brownies and your date refuses to even try anything but the ham and cheese sandwich.
8. He chooses the restaurant then when the bill comes he lays down the money for his order and looks at you expectantly. 
9. You notice your date picking scabs from his face, slip them in his mouth and chew them while talking with you. 
10. At the end of the date he brings you back to your car.  It is pouring rain.  You try to open the back door to get your picnic cooler but cannot get it to open.  He calls out encouragement, "pull harder, it is an old truck so the door sticks".  While you repeatedly and unsuccessfully try to open the door while standing in the pouring rain he is sitting behind the wheel with his seatbelt on.

Seriously? Seriously.  I can't make this stuff up people.  I am good but not that good.

What a Day!

Maya, Eli and I had a great time at the Strongstart which is their "school".  One of the moms started a hoola hoop train.  Maya thought this was Fantastic!



We dropped Eli off at home for his nap and Maya and I had some one to one time.  We checked out yet another park.  Please note that we stopped at Tim Horton's on the way to the park.  Gotta start them early. :)

This park has everything.  A lookout to the river, playground, picnic shelter, outhouses, trails, soccer fields, a volleyball "court".  After 2 hours I still had to coax Maya to leave with promises to come back another day.  Sadly my camera ran out of batteries before the bald eagle landed so close to us.  Very disappointing.

Maya loved the view from the lookout.  "It is so beeeoootiful!"
She also enjoyed her hot chocolate on such a chilly day.

Maya counting the steps, "1,2,3......13,16, tooda, doodoo, lala". 

Rolling down the hill.

A tire swing, a tire swing!





Maya reminded me again that I should really stay longer.  It will be hard leaving on Saturday for sure.