Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Kids these days...

Greedy, arrogant, mean, thieving kids.....

Yes, we are all well aware that I have chosen a lifestyle sans kids, however I would be saying these horrible words regardless after what I and our landlords experienced today. 

Here's what happened:
Two young boys came to my front door. One had long, blonde, shaggy hair with a helmet on and skateboard in hand, the other had short, brunette hair and was nervously standing at a distance from the doorway. 

The blonde says: "There's a skateboard in the back. Can we have it?" 

I tell them that it's not mine and they have to check with the landlords upstairs. I tell him that if he can't get a hold of them upstairs, then no, he can't take it today, but he can come back another day and ask. They say okay and I close the door. 

I sit on the couch and ponder what just happened. Did the kids see the skateboard from the front yard or the back yard. Where was the skateboard? In the shed or just loose on the lawn? We're they rummaging through the yard and then found it? Feeling a little uneasy I walked into the kitchen and peered out into the back yard through the crack in the blinds. Sure enough the two kids are in the alleyway "doing tricks" on their boards. Okay, I think to myself, innocent enough. They are either hanging around to wait for the upstairs landlords to come home and ask. Or they are just local kids, and have accepted that the board is not theirs for the taking, so they're just carrying on with their "playing" outdoors. 

I wait a few moments longer and think to myself, did both kids have a skateboard when they came to the front door? Or just the blonde one upfront? I can't remember. I scan the yard to see if there's a skateboard on the lawn. I don't see one. I open the blinds up all the way and observe a few more moments. The brunette boy then notices me standing in the window, points to his blonde friend, and then points down the alley. They both take off down the alleyway. 

I quickly put on my shoes and head around to the back yard, but sure enough they are both gone. I do a quick loop around the block, but no luck, I don't see them, or the boards. 

I of course texted my landlord to let her know, and to ask if she remembered where the board was kept. She tells me they have two and she thinks they were just loose in the yard. I do another quick scan and sure enough I don't see them. I give her a heads up and apologize profusely that I didn't head out to the yard sooner, but she tells me not to worry, that it's not my fault. 

Sure enough when my landlord gets home I head outside to chat with her, and give her the details. She's upset of course, mostly for her son, Olyn, (apparently even at only three years old he's gotten pretty good at it), but she understands that in the grand scheme of things, Olyn has plenty of other toys to play with. I apologize again profusely, I should have known better, but she tells me not to worry. 

So here is my rant:
What punk kids steal freaking skateboards from a tiny little innocent three year old? He is three, and now he doesn't have his super old dingy vintage skateboard that his parents have taught him to use. Sure the boards were just sitting loose in the yard, but what gives them the right to go onto someone else's property and take stuff that isn't theirs. Who is raising these kids? Not just kids, people...who is raising these people? My husband and I have had our fair share of thievery too. Our previous place got broken into twice and stuff was stolen. We've had our vehicles broken into, and now for this family there was property stolen right out of the yard as well. Who is raising these people? Who is raising these people to think that they can just take what isn't theirs. That they can just waltze in on any ones property and take someone else's belongings. 

Mark and I have things because we work hard and earn what we get. The family upstairs works hard so that they can provide a certain lifestyle for themselves and their kids. Poor Olyn is now missing out on practising his skateboarding all because two punks kids were too greedy, arrogant and mean, instead of just working hard and earning what they get. 

So, to all your parents out there, please raise your children better, raise them to learn that they don't just get to take what they want because they want it. Raise them to work their butts off until they can earn what they want. 

Well that's it. Rant over. 

-Linds

 


 

Friday, June 19, 2015

Ryan's 2nd Birthday

I know it is over a week late, but my sister was only just able to send me a couple of photos from my nieces 2nd birthday party. 

That's right, my little niece turned the big 2 last Thursday and she had a beach themed birthday party on the following Saturday. 
 
(Here she is in the midst of checking out some of her presents)
What an absolutely sweet little girl she is growing up to be! I can't believe how much I love this beautiful little girl.

-Linds





Thursday, June 18, 2015

A Big Fat Finally!

This past Tuesday was the play-offs for our Poco R4s Spring Volleyball League, and guess what! We won it!! We have the hoodies and t-shirts to prove it! (our winnings) and our names are even going to go on a little plaque on the fancy trophy!

Poco R4s Spring League Champions
(From left to right: Me, Mark, Steve, Barb)
For someone who has been playing as long as I have, and who plays as much volleyball as I do, you would think/hope it would be a much more regular occurrence to win leagues and tournaments, however, it has been long overdue since I've won anything volleyball related. I think the last co-ed win I had (in the top pool anyway), was back in winter 2013. I know I had a women's league win since then, and another co-ed tourney win since then (but the tourney was a win in the lower pool - it's just not the same). 

Overall I am so pleased with how well our team did in this Spring league. We were leading in first place the entire season long. Sure we had a few bumps and fumbles along the way (all teams do), and in our play-off night we went all the way to five games in the first round (Best 3 out of 5). But for the final round of play-offs it was best 2 out of 3, and we only needed two games to finish it off.

I know it's really such a trivial thing, a win in a sport I've been playing for years, but honestly, it's amazing how much those wins boost my confidence. We worked our butts off all season long, and it was so awesome to see all the hard work really pay off.

For all those of you out there committing to physical activity, keep pushing! I promise you will reach your goal. The harder you work now to get there, the more rewarding it's going to be when you finally do!

And, finally, to finish it off, a big huge props to James from Poco Volleyball for hosting such a fun league, and a huge "good games" to all the players who participated!
The "A" pool participants
(I'm dead centre in the pink &Mark is behind me in the white - he's not normally that tall, a friend is holding him up, hah!)

-Linds 

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

First Outdoor Tourny!

This past weekend was finally my first outdoor tourny of the season! Here is my fitness update pic the morning before the tourny started:

(June 14, 2015)
I'm feeling pretty happy with the progress I have made, but to be honest, I'm still a little disappointed. I know, I know, I'm not big by any means, but there's a certain level of more toned and tightened I was hoping to achieve. I feel like that little bit of lower belly pooch will forever be my enemy.

Oh well, I'm feeling more and more fit by the day and overall I am happy with my commitment to staying active regularly. 

On another note, as far as the tourney went, sadly, my new level of fitness did not seem to be an advantage. My partner and I did terrible the entire day. For some reason we just didn't mesh well and nothing was really working for us. Things that we normally do excellent, we were floundering with. Although we managed to stay in the AA/AAA pool based on round robin play, we lost both play-off games back to back so we were finished a lot sooner than the rest of the group we were with. Overall we had nine teams of people we knew there (5 guys teams, and 4 girls teams). The day was physically draining, mentally draining, but it was enjoyed with plenty of good company. A huge big thank you to Dustin at Cambie for once again hosting such an awesome Top Gun tourney.

Sadly I didn't really take any pictures at all throughout the day (I was too busy playing or cheering Mark and his team mate on) but I did manage to snag this photo that a friend took:

All in all I think this was a great way to start off my outdoor volleyball season! I have a beach womens 2s tourney coming up this Sunday so I can't wait to dig my feet into the sand!

-Linds

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

The Next Big Step?

Restlessness... it's the only world I can seem to find when trying to describe what I'm feeling lately. 

The following thoughts are what are drowning me in this feeling:

-I'm not sure work makes me happy any more. I thought I would feel more satisfied with myself doing what I do, but lately I'm feeling limited, and lacking any growth. I think I want something where I'm more independent and in charge of my development. I keep picturing myself working only a couple days a week at the hospital, and then starting up some sort of small business on the side (i.e. a gym facility for volleyball, photography, or writing - something where I can make a name for myself).

-I'm doubtful that we will ever afford the house/lifestyle we want in any sort of timely fashion. I want a tiny house, with a large yard and to still stay in the lower mainland. Sadly, this feels impossible with the way the market is.

-I'm angry that we still have debt. It's been months and months and although we've paid off almost $30,000.00, I hate that I have so limited accumulated savings to show for it. I know that once the debt is gone, all those "payments" will be going into savings where they build interest instead of costing us interest, but it's exhausting and so discouraging that that chunk of money is still just lingering.

-I'm slowly losing fitness motivation because although I can definitely see that I'm making progress, I am also surrounded by people more fit than me, and some days it just feel impossible not to compare myself. I hate not being the best.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I just feel like I'm at a point where I'm supposed to be making "the next big step," but I have no steps to take right now. Mark and I don't want kids (it's just not the life we want for ourselves), there's no affordable house purchase any time soon, and other than maybe getting a permanent position instead of a temporary one at work, there is no development for me there either. So, I'm left here stumped as to what my/our next move is. We can't afford a house until the debt is paid off, we can't get another dog until we purchase a house so that we have some stability, I can't change careers because that will just accumulate more debt and prolong everything even further, and so the list goes.... 

Don't get me wrong though, it's not like I'm unhappy in the life we are currently living. There is absolutely nothing wrong with where we are at in this game of life. We are happy, healthy, stable, and so madly in love that it's impossible not to be content. I think it's just going to be a matter of time, and small little adjustments, before soon enough I'll be looking back and wondering why I was ever so caught up in the specifics of it all in the first place. 



-Linds

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Quarry Rock June 4, 2015

I mentioned the other day that I have been stuck in a bit of a rut lately attitude-wise, and of course, because of that, everything else just seems to be following in a pretty negative slope. 

HOWEVER...

Today is one of my days off, so my girlfriend from work, Patricia, and I did a beautiful hike to Quarry Rock on the North Shore. 

The hike is considered to be of "easy" difficulty, and was less than 4km, but to be honest, none of that mattered. It just felt sooo good to be in nature. The hike is off-leash dog friendly too, which was a great added bonus for Mr. Captain. He loved sniffing through the trails and checking out all the other dog passing by.
(Patricia on the left and me on the right at the Quarry Rock)
It's funny how, just being outdoors, in the fresh air, getting a good sweat going, can just change my attitude so quickly. I'm feeling refreshed and energized and back to my old self again!

(View from Quarry Rock)
 
(View from Quarry Rock)

(View from Quarry Rock)
 
(Beautiful greenery along the trail)
(Patricia & Captain )

Not only did I have a great day working up a sweat, enjoying beautiful scenery, sharing great conversation with a friend, and spending quality time with the dog, but now I also get to update my 30 before 30 list, since I've now completed 1/20 hikes that is part of #18 on my list! Yay me! (Sorry couldn't help the ego boost!)

-Linds

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Having a rough go...find something positive to focus on!

Unfortunately I've been having a rough go this last week or so. My mood is all off, my run times are excessively slow, I've barely been sleeping, and work is just bogging me down (I had a pretty unfortunate incident this morning). 

So, I was going to post a big huge long elaborate venting session on here, but honestly, I just don't have the energy. So instead, for now, I am going to just ignore the fact that I feel crummy and focus on the fact that I have totally gotten a lot more confident at my headstand. I've been practising lots without my "safety blanket" behind me, and to be honest, I'm starting to feel like I can just pop up and try it anywhere now. I even was practising at the park!

Don't get me wrong, I still do fall from time to time, but it's definitely a huge improvement compared to day one of my attempts. 

So without further ado, here is my my recent headstand videos:



What do you focus on when you're having a bad day?
-Linds