Convict

If all had gone to plan, I would have landed in Kansas City 14 hours ago, would be hanging out with Jesse, on my way back to my place to see my Kitty, Common AKA 'Tigerlily' (and the rest of Rosco, of course) and settling back into the normal world I had made for myself there.

LOVE. LOVE.

HOWEVER...

USCBP (United States Customs & Border Patrol) decided that they didn't like me and sent me on my not-so-merry way back to Vancouver. They interrogated me for about an hour (yikes) brought up all kinds of people I knew, from... who knows where?!!! And then finger-printed me and took a lovely mug shot of me! Oh how I love being treated like a criminal - NOT!!! My Australian ancestors were convicts, so maybe they can just smell the criminal blood in me?! :P

The enemy

Gettin' my grump on

Anyhoooo. Like MANY people have said to me over the past 2 days... there is always a silver lining. And I know this, but it sure is nice to be reminded by those who care about you :) Although I'm especially sad that I'll be spending the next 4 or so months without Jesse, I know that it will only do us good and in the end it will just be a testament of our love and committment. It also means I get to go back home to the land down under and spend some much needed time with my family & friends, get E L I X I R in 'all systems go' mode, enjoy an Australian summer on the beach, and count down the months/weeks/days 'til Jesse touches down in Sydney Town -  This all makes me mucho happy. OH, and... my best lady from the West, Biancca is moving her butt to Sydney in December! This makes my move home all the more exciting :)

One thing I am NOT looking forward to is my 28 hour flight back home... Because I was denied entry into America, I had to find an alternative route to Sydney from Vancouver, which just so happens to be through Shanghai!! So Something ridiculous like 15 hours to Shanghai [3 hour stop-over] then another 13 hours to Sydney. And I forgot to buy a pillow!! BAH!! Maybe I shouldn't sleep tonight so I just pass out straight away on the plane.... hmmm.... could be a good idea.

OK, bored of blogging about this now.

NIGHT!

Au Revoir, Vancouver

So... My last night in Vancouver has arrived. Where did that week go?! I must say, as amazing as this past week has been, I am looking forward to leaving tomorrow and (hopefully) getting back into the US. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling at all anxious or nervous about it, but I know and trust that what ever is meant-to-be, will be, and that I'll be set on the right path. And besides there's nothing I can do about the verdict at this moment, so no point wasting my time worrying about it, right?!

So instead of focusing on what may or may not happen tomorrow, how about I share stories of my time in Vancouver with you... I don't want to bore you with too many mundane sentences, so I'll give you a quick recap and then just post some pictures. How does that sound? Good? Good!

I arrived Sunday afternoon after 2 plane rides (stop-over in Dallas) and a bus ride from Seattle to Vancouver. Walked down Granville Street where I witnessed a whole bunch of regular Jane's & Joe's dancin' in the street (I think Jesse told me it was West Coast Swing?!) then met up with Tong and played catch ups for the night.

West Coast Swingers dancin' in the street.

Monday I walked around the city and took in all it's beauty. Vancouver is such a clean, cute city. There are flowers EVERYWHERE and the air is so crisp from all the mountains that embrace the city. Also took the bus to Kitsilano beach... I was dying to see and smell the ocean! A little bit disappointed that there were no waves (quite a sheltered beach) but the feeling of sand between my toes and sea breeze in my nose (hey that rhymes!) was amazing!

Vancouver Art Museum

Impatients

Kitsilano Beach

Tuesday I strolled around Stanley Park and stumbled across another beach, second beach! Ima let the photos do the talking ::

Beautiful colours

My first pondering spot

Found a fallen down tree in the woods (with a seat carved out!!) which became my second pondering spot.

Skull Tree

Reminded me of someone special :)

Pondering spot numero tres!

Wednesday had a chill day then Tong & I made way to Gastown to catch up with some of our lovely friends Karynn, Sitji & Devan

Lights of fairies <3

My Darlings (L-R) Devan, Tong, Sitji, Moi, Karynn <3

You guys!!

Thursday = beach day!! Tong and I spent a couple of hours at Second Beach. I lounged by the pool for an hour or so, then headed for the sand. Didn't make it to the ocean though because the tide was sooo far out and it looked a little icky :( We then walked back to town, caught the skytrain into Metrotown, got our nostalgia on and visited American Apparel and then.... went and bought.... PC organic chocolate ANIMAL BISCUITS <3 <3 <3

Tong-a-long <3

Logs ;)

Friday I caught up with my Aussie friend, Henry. Had fish & chips (nom nom nom) at the Templeton Diner. Really cool old school diner, with mini juke boxes at each booth & ice cream floats (spiders for ya'll aussies) in just about every flavour you can imagine. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my memory card for my camera, so no happy snaps from this day :( I couldn't even find a pic of the diner on the net to treat you with!

Saturday -  my last day... and what an AMAZING day it was! Karynn & I had a mini picnic on a 'grassy noll' and then 'rented' (haha only Karynn will get this) a tandem bike, and went cycling around Stanley Park. I'm surprised we didn't have a stack, we were crying with laughter the entire way, i broke and dropped my purse 2 times, and my helmet once, and we nearly got coathangered my a tree! Hazardous to say the least. We then went to Cactus Clud Cafe ( and no we didn't dress up as cowgirls or indians) and met Tong there (and no, he wasn't dressed as a cowboy) for a light supper. Followed by a nice stroll home through fruit alley (named it this tonight because of all the blackberry bushes and apple & pear trees). Photo time!!

love

this

gurl

dorrito?!

we don't have big heads, the helmets were just made for kidlets. and do we look like kidlets? no!

rah!

yam.. is that like a ram or clam?

dum dee dum

blackberry pickin'

our delicious treasure!

Well Vancouver, it's been an absolute pleasure! I will definitey be seeing you and all your beauty again soon. Thanks for having me.

Peace out brussel sprout!

oops forgot to post the blurb.

What happy people know - Dan Baker. Ph.D

From the Back Cover

"Everyone wants to be happy. So much suffering and illness occur when we look for happiness in the wrong places. In What Happy People Know, Dan Baker distills the best of science and spirituality, sharing with deep and profound wisdom how we can learn to be happy and let go of suffering. Highly recommended."--Dean Ornish, M.D., founder and president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco; ad author of Love and Survival and Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease

"Dr. Dan Baker has created a book that we all have been waiting for. It is a significant, practical, insightful, easy-to-read book filled with nuggets that lead us to the road of happiness."--Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D., author of Love is Letting Go of Fear

Contrary to popular belief, we're not born happy and then taken down a peg or two by the circumstances of our lives. In fact, science has shown that the root of unhappiness lies in archaic brain impulses that serve no purpose in modern-day life.

Fortunately, we've also evolved a portion of the brain capable of higher, rational thoughts that can enable us to recognize these impulses. Understanding this and learning how to avoid these happiness traps are the first steps in retraining our reactions and, eventually, our actual brain chemistry. Dan Baker, Ph.D., director of the Life Enhancement Program at Canyon Ranch, teaches you the happiness tools that thousands of his clients and patients have used to successfully avoid these traps and actually learn to be happy.

Identifying the sources of your unhappiness or neurosis can be a good start, but it can't really help you resolve the issues themselves. What Happy People Know takes you to the next step: accepting the past, actively moving toward a future of your own design, and mastering the skills you need to feel the happiness that your life already offers you!

Rose-coloured glasses

(rōz'kŭl'ərd)
adj.

1. Having the colour rose.
2. Cheerful or optimistic, especially to an excessive degree: took a rose-coloured view of the situation.

idiom:

through rose-colored glasses

1. With an unduly cheerful, optimistic, or favorable view of things: see the world through rose-coloured glasses.

To be, or not to be: that is OUR decision.

What is our decision? Happiness is our decision!

I've just picked up the book 'What happy people know' by Dan Baker. Ph.D, which is one of the inspirations for this post. [If you haven't already, you should read it. It's a great handbook for living & being happy. I will post a review at the end of my jibber jabber]

It has been said that viewing the world through a rose-coloured lens, presents beauty and filters impurities. It has also been said that this kind of mentality is 'unrealistic'. Is it really?! Or is that just an excuse for unindustrious people to use? I personally believe it's an excuse, because "being miserable is easy. Being happy is hard." Being happy means turning a deaf ear to fear, even when it's screaming for attention. It means being your true self, even when it hurts. It means going after what you really want, even when you don't think you'll get it. It means letting your spirit lead the dance. And this is WAY too much effort for most people. Especially in the current 'lazy' society in which we're living.

There is nothing unrealistic about 'wearing' rose-coloured glasses. It is simply a metaphor. A metaphor for having an optimistic outlook on life. An outlook that conveys proactivity, for "happy people participate in their own destinies and forge their own happiness. They don't wait for events or other people to make them happy. They're not passive victims."

I also believe that seeing the world through rose-coloured glasses allows us to distinguish the difference between what is 'genuinely' bad, and what is not. To see that there is in fact beauty, and something positive to take from EVERY thing.

Anyway... I'll stop blabbering now. It's past midnight and i'm not even sure this will make sense in the morning! Just a little insight into why my blog is named "rose-coloured glasses mandatory".

Goodnight all

Sare xo