Friday, August 2, 2013

Road Trip Recap: Okotoks, Alberta - July 26-28, 2013

Another road trip for me! This time I went off to Alberta to spend some time with my good friend Amanda.  Amanda and I have been friends for almost two years now, she was actually roommates with my friend Alana (that I went to visit a few weekends ago) when we first began getting to know each other.  Amanda is one of my closest friends and I really value her friendship so I was excited to be able to head out to her home and spend time with some of her family for the first time.

Okotoks is about a 6 hour drive from Saskatoon, but I don't mind at all - I really enjoy road trips on my own, that's why I tend to take so many! The drive is quite flat, which is to be expected on the prairies, but it's extremely beautiful.


Abandoned prairie house near Hanna, AB

On the Friday night Amanda and I drove in to Calgary and went to Ranchman's with a couple of our friends who are also from Saskatoon, but were in Alberta for a Catholic event for the weekend. We two-stepped the night away and had a great time!


Amanda and I before we went out on Friday night

On Saturday Amanda and I drove out to Cochrane, Alberta for One Rock, the Catholic event that our friends were in Alberta for. It was a "World Youth Day At Home" to help unify those who were able to make it to Rio and those that stayed home. There were talks and music all day long and we ended the day with an amazing evening of Eucharistic Adoration. There were lots of people and I was fortunate enough to see a bunch of friends from the summer I spent living in Halifax. I rarely get to see them and I hadn't told them ahead of time, so it was a little bit of a surprise for them :).


The crowd in front of the stage at One Rock

Sunday morning I joined Amanda and her parents at Mass at their parish, St. James, on the Feast of St. James - talk about timing! We had a quick brunch and then went in to Calgary to shop. I had wanted to leave Saskatoon early on Friday and shop before I made my way to Okotoks, but I let myself sleep in and got on the highway much later than expected. By the time Sunday came around, though, I wasn't in the shopping mood (odd, I know!). It's a good thing though, I really don't need to shop, so only spending a bit of time in the mall was beneficial to my finances.

I had a fantastic time visiting Amanda and her family and I cannot wait until I can visit Okotoks again!

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Tuesday Treat

I love Tuesdays.

There is just something about Tuesday that has always brought about a pleasant feeling for me. Good things happen on Tuesdays. When I was younger and throughout high school Tuesday was the day that I had my solo practices for dance. During my first year of university I didn't have classes on Tuesdays and I instead worked in the little coffee shop on our off-campus campus (confusing wording, but really isn't all that confusing in reality).  When my schedule had been crazy hectic throughout my university years back in the city, Tuesday was always the day that I had a nice long break in between my classes where I had time to go sit in the coffee shop and read or write or, in my final year of university, make it to daily Mass. Lately, for about the past year or so, I have made a conscious effort to keep my Tuesdays free. It began with it being the only night that was free, but then I started to make sure it was. No dates. No meetings. No plans. Just time for me. It's fantastic. I actually found out that I was born on a Tuesday - that explains why my mother would always say, "Child of grace," whenever I was exhausting her. (Not to make it seem as though I always did, but you know, kids are exhausting sometimes).

Now, I know I said that Tuesday is just for me. It's my time to recharge, reflect, and focus on my life. I like to take the time to really look at what is going on and to think things going on in my life through. Sometimes I make some short-term goals, other times I check in with where I am at with already existing goals. Tuesday does not have a schedule. But sometimes I like to meet a good friend for coffee on "my Tuesdays" because they help me to recharge. A good friend can do that, even if you are an introvert like me.

This past Tuesday I went to a local coffee shop and got myself a latte to sip and a piece of cake to enjoy while I read and relaxed. It was just what I needed.



How do you like to spend time for yourself?

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