I Exist

I’m not sure who all reads this blog but did you know that Cherisa is married??  You might not think so based on how much I post on the blog but here I am in the flesh…well, digital flesh.  Do I make many blog posts? No.  Does that make me a bad person? Yes.  BUT in my defense, I AM on the computer like 10 hours a day…hmm, that sort of backfired.  So what am I doing with my life do you ask?  I have two semesters left of my MBA, I am the young men president in Heritage ward, and I am working full time at TransCanada Pipeline.  So that leaves me a total of 5 minutes per week of free time which I use to write blog posts of course. 

I just finished a block week class called “business negotiations” and it was one of those rare classes that you actually look forward to going to.  One day after class we went out for dinner and the hostess said the wait time was 25 minutes and I said “hmm, what do you think about a 20 minute wait??”.  I could tell she was quite confused as no normal person would try to negotiate a wait time but she nevertheless went and asked the manager.  She came back and said, sorry it’s 25 haha.  However, we DID get a table in under 20 min so maybe on a subconscious level it somehow helped. 

This summer Cherisa and I tackled a few home reno jobs that turned out pretty well I’d say.  We updated the bathroom with new paint, light fixture, backsplash, and towel rods.  We also replaced the kitchen backsplash, which temporarily turned our apartment into a warzone, but turned out great!  After I posted pictures of our renovations, HGTV called and asked if we wanted our own show but I just didn’t think it would fit into our schedule.

 

Earlier this summer we also went to Victoria for the first time.  I think I can sum up the trip in two words: EGGS BENEDICT.  We ate breakfast (twice, don’t judge) at the Blue Fox Café and couldn’t believe how good it was.  The other restaurants didn’t disappoint either.  After eating at the Pizzeria Prima Strada, Cherisa boldly declared “this is the best pizza I’ve ever had!”  And…how can I put this…we eat a LOT of pizza.  One of the nights we went to a food truck event downtown and then things really started getting ridiculous.  Let’s just say that I would have gained about 20 pounds if we didn’t go on a couple tough hikes.  One of the hikes was in Sooke National Park along the south coast and was absolutely beautiful.  We couldn’t believe how huge and amazing the trees looked, it felt like the Amazon rain forest!  Throw in a little sea kayaking, Butchart Gardens, and sight-seeing and you’ve got an amazing trip with a perfect balance of relaxation and activities.

 

 

That’s all I have for now, maybe we’ll talk again in another 4 years.

My Sisters Camera

Laura is such a good photog, hence why I didn’t bring my real camera to Hawaii because I depended on her excellent photos. Well I got them! Here is a bunch of stuff that was not mentioned in my last post that was real fun.

All photos by Laura Taylor Photography

Hawaii the Second Time

It seems fitting that on my second trip back to Hawaii it would be with my older sister again. Some things were the same, same island, same location, same sister, and some things were different, I could actually move and get myself off of the beach, no raw food diet, I went for morning runs and even climed 3922 stairs at once. Stairs were hard last time I went. We went in 2006 just after I graduated High School. I had just been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and it was a rude awakening to what my life might potentially be like. I didn't feel like my friends understood what I was going through and I felt distanced from them and so this was a much needed break from life. My grandparents took me in for 6 weeks and Laura came for 2. It was a tough time living in paradise but also time that I definitely needed. The time spent with my grandparents I wouldn't trade for anything.

I am really grateful that my body is able to function normally now and I can go and do many things that I couldn’t do when I first got arthritis. I am grateful for modern medicine and the advances that it has made. It’s not perfect but it has given me the opportunity to live a normal life, of which I am grateful. 

 

The trip was kind of on a whim; Josh gave Laura a break from life and her kids and wanted to send her to Hawaii where she would stay with our cousin Brittany and her Husband Maikal and little boy Ben. She wanted to someone to go with, and even though and first I didn’t think it would be possible it turned out that I could basically go for free because we got the flight on Airmiles and there was free accommodations, it just all worked out perfectly! It was so nice to be able to spend time with our cousin Brittany and get to know her little family a bit more. We don’t spend that much time with our cousins anymore so it was so nice to be able to do that. Plus, she came and did everything with us and so we ended up doing all the fun free stuff instead of spending money on all the touristy stuff.  The only slight downside was that it was rainy for most of the time, but even when it was raining it was mostly warm and that is still 100x better than being in Calgary in January...

   


 

We went to the beach a couple of days, a BYU-H basketball game, read a lot, went to see Pearl Harbour, swam to and then climbed china man’s hat, went to the macadamia nut farm and the swap meet, and went to the hot tubs at Turtle Bay. I think my favorite thing was climbing the Stairway to Heaven or the Haiku Steps. I think it was fun because it was forbidden and exciting and we had to wake up at 2am to do it because you had to get on the stairs before the guard arrived to stop anybody from doing it. Oh the thrill... I'll do another post about that. Hopefully it won't take me another month...

The roll out of bed and go to work lifestyle

It is interesting how you just get used to your everyday routines and you don’t realize how fortunate you are for the little things. About a year ago Jordan was able to participate in a pilot program at his work called work shift. It is where you work from home basically to free up space in the tower downtown, and potentially you would share a desk with someone at work. So for the past year Jordan has been working from home for 2 days a week. Well the pilot project is over and it has now switched to 3 times a week!  None of this waking up early 5 days a week and commuting to work anymore, he only goes to work twice a week on the days that he has school after work downtown. So he is still very busy, but it’s a definitely a blessing to be able to work from home and be more relaxed --and save time and energy commuting. I also get to enjoy his company in the mornings as I don’t start work until the afternoons. Even when he is busy working its nice just to both be at home. 

I am loving this type of lifestyle, I know it won't last forever so I am trying to enjoy it the best I can now. 

One day when I had all my nieces over for a sleepover, Jadyn drew this picture of Jordan working, it was so well done and so cute, I just love it so much!