7.29.2012

post-rollercon. some pictures.

Photo By D.E.Sign (http://myderbyphotos.com/)
hanging out in the hotel waiting to dump our shit so we can enjoy the STRIP
I had a really hard time getting into classes, as well as a really hard time getting good pictures with my iPhone, so ended up watching LOTS of bouts and scrimmages (dozens) and taking blurry pictures.
Canada vs. Texas! Fun! 
Vagina cheerleaders at the Vagine Regime vs. Caulksuckers bout !! 
The Vagine vs. Caulk game was incredible. At the last jam the score was 164 to 164. The house was on FIRE people were screaming and cheering (look for the video post, next). Caulk ended up winning by 7 points or something. You can also check out these pics on FB for more exciting 
The final High-5 round at the Vagine vs. Caulk game. So awesome.
I ended up not taking many pictures. But taking some really good video. I had such an incredible time. It's really inspired me to be a better skater and a better derby player. I learned so much about the sport of roller derby and the community and myself. EGADS it was AWESOME. Just the Vagine vs. Caulk game alone. (Well, and all the booty shorts).

7.20.2012

it's HAPPENING!!!

I'm actually leaving for rollercon in less than 48 hours and am in the throngs of packing, re-packing, washing every last piece of laundry and deciding if I'm going to bring my yoga mat or my sneakers. I finally got my hands on a fanny pack (thanks, Chia!) and made it fit. And just did my tentative schedule so I could sort out my volunteer times.


7.16.2012

The Taste of Summer (!!)

This weekend I took a break from the craziness to engage in some more crazy making and get away with my non-derby (but derby filled) wife to Tofino (where I spent money I should've been saving for Vegas, fuckever).... And then got together with good friends for DRANKS and chatting and eating peas straight out of the garden. All in all a good weekend (then the sewing with Freaka happened and the Fish? I'm a lucky girl).
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eating some kind of snack before he runs around naked in the sand

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parallel parking between two pine trees

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i think it's time for new shoes. next summer = new toms

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grapefruit mojitos! did you click the link above? so good

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s-u-m-m-e-r !!!

how many vegans does it take to do fish?

So, yes, self-identified vegans who eat (local) salmon pulled out of the river and purchased from friends? First time for both of us. Great learning experience, good time to spend together, and a great way to support our local economy and reduce our use of imported, unhealthy foods (and get good proteins for our post workout hungerssss). PS my wifey, Chia, climbed the third highest peak on VI yesterday. FUCKING ROCKSTAR.
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FRESH FISH!! 

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KISS MEEEE!
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CHIA WASHING FISH (SEE ALL THOSE JARS IN THE BACKGROUND?
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JARS
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IN THE CANNER
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FIRST BATCH DONESIES

7.14.2012

#22: Sew Myself a Piece of Clothing

This is my hazel from Colette Patterns!! I made it out of one of my late grandma's old moo moos. I used almost all the fabric from the moomoo, all cut up and stuff. I did not sew it expertly but it's holding together. !! I made it for the RollerCon Riedell Luau!! Looking forward to it. Also will probably sew another hazel or two. It's a great dress. Modifications? No zipper, shorter straps, and a way shorter skirt.  I'm a tart.
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7.12.2012

self portrait thursday

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jonesing for a tattoo, will get one when i get back from rollercon! hurrah! UM, canning fish this weekend=excited. sewing myself a dress over the next few days, too. XO

7.08.2012

at the beach, in my dreams, but you're still never gonna stop me

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Last weekend my mum, sister, sethie and i went to Parksville's downtown beach at the lowest of low tides. We spent an hour running around in the pouring rain, avoiding jelly fish, crossing little creeks the tide was making, and trying to find the biggest mini crabs. It was a great, super wet, but warm and nice time. I love VI a lot sometimes.

7.04.2012

on farming (well, wanting to)

farm country
dreaming of farm country

i feel like right now i'm starting the transition to be a farmer. my mind is changing, my priorities are changing, the things i'm thinking about are changing and becoming new and wonderful. my sister, brie, and are doing this farm survey we made for each other. i emailed them my answers last night. some questions included:

how would you like to organize/run our farm?
how do we nourish the land and soil in a sustainable way in the long term?
what do we do if someone doesn't want to farm anymore?
what is our money maker?
who do we want to work with in the community?
where do you want the farm to be?

i'm dying for their answers back. but need to do the personal switch for myself. which will include holing up a bit more, doing more reading, working on home projects as practice for the "real thing". being a farmer and "farming" isn't something that i will do in the future, but something i need to start doing right now. build my practice and mental body of knowledge. which sadly will mean priority changes. (aka no more RDAC and no more derby, in general). Which means I've got to give this year and next season all that I have and enjoy the fuck out of it. it also means i need to get better and more disciplined at working out at home. I will also need to find a better way to get out of a M-F situation with my job. I love my job and the work I get to do, but being chained at my desk isn't working for me right now or long term (esp. since I'm here until Jan 2015). It also means that I need to stop traveling, stop spending money, and start saving (I'm still giving myself the luxury of tattoos) for a down payment or whatever I'll need (and start fixing my credit rating). I will also need to increase my income short term, support my mans in going to school so he can also then up his income, and figure out this whole home school thing for my kid. my panic about not knowing what i'm doing with my life in April is still there a little, but I feel stable because I have reminded myself that I know what I'm doing with my life, and I just need to fucking do it.


7.02.2012

probably the cutest thing you've ever seen in your life

Me and Helvetica, at the Colonization Parade, Port Alberni.

i've been infected

I just finished reading the semi-sappy and light hearted memoir, Barnheart: The Incurable Longing for a Farm of One's Own by Jenna Woginrich. After a long spell of not reading (coming off of a roller derby hangover), it was nice to read this over a week and to also have such an unseemingly book kind of rock my world.

In her opening she describes the insufferable feeling of barnheart:


Barnheart is that sudden overcast feeling that hits you while at work or in the middle of the grocery store checkout line. It's unequivocally knowing you want to be a farmer -- and for whatever personal circumstances -- can't be one just yet


The opening had me bawling my face out because I honestly suffer from this every. single. day. And the book also is helping me to understand what commitment becoming a farmer, having a farm, and living and working off the land is actually like. And that there's no waiting to have a farm of one's own. It's a way of life, a life commitment, and something you just do. I akin it to roller derby in my life, and am looking at farming on my own farm within the next three years. AH! Which means, 2012 is my last year for trips and glitz, and saving, seeding, growing, and selling are close by in my future. HURRAH!