30 by 31 (and a 29 before 30 recap!)

Well, today is my 30th birthday! Since I was a teenager I've admired people in their 30s and thought the true cool people were in their 30s. So, now I'm here! Looking forward to it. 29 was a big year for me, emotionally, and I think I've got it figured out! *YEEHAW!* To "get ready" for my thirties I did a list of my 29 before 30. The list as a process is changing and I'm realizing what I can do, reasonably, within a year (like paying all my debts off is NOT a reality if I'm also going to travel my face off), and hope my 30before31 list is a little more realistic ( more winning ). But, before I get to it, here's a recap of my 29before30:

1. go to ROLLER CON!
2. get/build/mount a shelf for my tea pots ended up not having any teapots: they all broke // new house had a teapot and a place for it
3. see Melissa planning this for my next year
4. own 3 of isa's vegan cookbooks got three from eden for my birthday last year and they revolutionized my life!
5. print pizza face zine
6. prince george tattoos done! looking forward to going back.
7. get a raise achieved (though small!). also got a second contract to increase my monthly income.
8. jump over a line with both feet (on skates) i can do this, though i'm still a little scared.

9. pass WFTDA minimum skills hurrah!

10. stay vegan until my bday 2012

11. ride to the market with seth in the trailer this was fun. should do it again
12. pay off all credit cards and line of credit 1/5 got one!!!!
13. paint our bedroom
14. finish my bday sweater i never wear this. it's a bit big now.
15. knit stewart's totoro hat

16. knit stewart's kreuger sweater he loves this and looks awesome

17. get a manicure
18. tomahawk stop yes!
19. can pickles
20. dress up for hallowe'eni hated this. ahahaah.
21. only have caffeine/coffee/pop 1 x per month (max) 9/12 this was really hard.
22. sew myself a piece of clothing dress for rollercon's luau!
23. buy a pair of jeans that fit gift from my mother in law! thank you!
24. take seth to swimming lessons this was a little failed
25. finish reading PLAYER ONE great great novel!
26. hold plank for one minute YES!
27. buy another pair of flues (heels)
28. Do Fish.
29. Ombre hair

And without any further ado... My 30 before 31...

1/ pay off citi card
2/ pay off Hbc card
3/ pg tattoos
4/ 12 books
5/ go clamming
6/ 40 in 10
7/ play an out of town interleague game
8/ surfing lessons
9/ Sew myself a piece of clothing
10/ publish a paper
11/ make every pie in the vegan pie book
12/ Seth swimming lessons
13/ Rollercon 2013
14/ Leid on the Flat Track
15/ Knit another Stephen West Shawl
16/ see Melissa
17/ tk tattoos
18/ change my work situation
19/ weekend away on wc
20/ van folk fest
21/ stay vegan
22/ knuckle tattoos
23/ make cookzine about vegan breakfast sandwiches
24/ knit 3 sweaters
25/ fix sewing machine
26/ 360 jump turn
27/ be lead jammer
28/ run 5 km
29/ neck tattoo
30/ go to the dentist

This upcoming year's list contains four main themes: tattoos, travel, crafting, roller derby. Looking forward to it.

Task #15: Knit Stewart's Totoro Hat

I've been promising Stewart this hat for a few years, happy to have it done and done. Also my real true first stranded project. HURRAH!!

Yesterday a small group of us went to Parksville to "intern" my grandma's ashes in a "niche"? Seth was a toddler filled handful. It was nice to wind down this part of grieving, I think for my family and me. It's been almost 2 years.

I have my 30 before 31 list ready to go and have a few things on it that I'm going to do FOR sure probably before my bday so I will cross them off !! YES.

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).

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.

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.

FRESH FISH!! 

KISS MEEEE!

CHIA WASHING FISH (SEE ALL THOSE JARS IN THE BACKGROUND?

JARS

IN THE CANNER

FIRST BATCH DONESIES

#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.

ch-ch-ch-changes!

Last night the mans and I went to Char's Landing to see The Fugitives and Dan Bern! Music makers I actually truly LOVE coming to Port Alberni? Score. There were only a few ppl there (15?) so it was pretty "intimate" but overall good times. Love those old tyme country harmonies and political folk songs about motherfucking robocalls.

I'm starting to climb out of my transition chaos. Not much has changed, except I've changed. I'm interested in seeing how that plays out as I apply those changes into my daily life and my long term situations that I'm part of (Roller Derby, Work, Family, etc). Last week I decided to commit again to being full on vegan (I was at about 95%?) and to not drinking alcohol, which I'm 100% on for the past week, which is a feat!

In Listy news... I bought my plane ticket for Rollercon (!!), I got a second small time contract to have money to pay for my trip to baltimore to see Melissa and hopefully start paying more debts off (I did pay my line of credit off though!), and a few others are in the works. YIPPPEEE! It feels good to get things done. xO

Stewart's Sweater!!!!

ice age, heat wave, can't complain

can you see the little snail?

feeling super inspired and committed to doing my list of 29before30. have just knocked stewart's sweater off the list (thank god!) and am thisclose to paying off one of my debts, which is a huge step forward. i've remade the appointment for my hair (it so needs to be cut, too) and am working on a few others. this week is moving week. i've spent my time split three ways between stressing about moving, actually doing something about it, and being comatose. looking forward for it to be over. yuck.

today i had popcorn for lunch, which is always healthy, and despite my delicious brunch smoothie, i'm actually kind of hungry. will probably go to the grocery store and get carrots and hummus (i need other things, too). looking forward to seeing you on the other side.

ps. i still haven't figured out what to do with my life! eeeps!

29before30: PG Tattoos!

Thank you to the lovely women at Handsome Cabin Boy Tattoo in Prince George for getting the ball rolling.

TBT 13-90 & Task #11

All week I've been looking at my goals list on the left trying to figure out how to up the Ante and get them done. What are easy ones to tackle and which ones don't involved money right now? I was psyching myself all week to do the bike ride to the market, the 10KM round trip, with the trailer. Yesterday it poured and I was so bummed that it would be a down pour today and I would be driving to the market (or skipping it altogether). This morning was so bright and lovely at 7:00am that I quickly got my Saturday Morning Shit together and we were out of the house by 9am! So proud of me! Buckled seth in his trailer and set out to the Market where I picked up sugar free cookies (and I realized probably not vegan or without white flour, I was just so excited they were sugar free!) and two dozen eggs and some green tea. Seth played on the play ground for a bit and then we came home. All in all I totally sweated through to my helmet, I feel like I got a good workout, and got at least an hour of cardio in (hauling the trailer takes me forever!).

I've been thinking about doing a sprint triathlon next summer (this one in Oliver to be exact) and want to get out biking more. And that I need to add cardio to my workouts. So will aim to add 20 minute bike rides before I do strength training during the week (from home). I live on a hill now (that doesn't seem so bad looking at it!) and soon we'll be on less direct hilly ground, so looking forward to working out more with my bike.

What I Ate Today:
Emergen-C
soy green tea latte
Scrambled eggs with Hashbrowns (w/ carrots and garlic)
sugar free pumpkin cookies (white flour, not vegan)
Lotsa water
1/2 Blueberry muffin (sugar free, white flour, not vegan)
peanut butter banana choc chip smoothie! yum!
tex mex shepherd's pie
chips
home canned cherries yum!
two non-tbt approved cookies (damn grandpa!! ha!)

Exercise:
1 hour bike ride (moderate-intense intervals)

tgif

I created a facebook page for THE CON today because facebook wouldn't allow me to actually change my "diandra jurkic-walls" name. BOOOO. Coached brat camp tonight with hustlin' flow and Cut and Dye. Great fun! Tansterdammm sat on the sidelines (broken leg) and helped tape girls up and make sure they were doing okay.... Those girls are inspiring. And so hard on themselves! I remember being that hard on myself. I'm hoping we can turn their self esteem around in the next five weeks!

GRRRL POWER!!!!!!!

A year in photos

Smash Patriarchy tattoo - January 2011

Foggy and Snowy on the Hump - February 2011

Katsudon, I die, best meal of the year, hands down - March 2011

Vegan transition, coconut yoghurt - April 2011

We've managed to have a baby for a year and not kill it ! ! - May 2011

Embracing summer, skirts, tights, toms - June 2011

The AVRG come out into public, exciting times - July 2011

My dream couch that I've been hunting for FREE on freecycle - August 2011

Cave Singers at Rifflandia IV, I had an incredibly amazing get away weekend with Stewart - September 2011

six min eggs and mizuna - October 2011

My betiko favourite knit of the year - November 2011

My Derby Wife and I making Ganache, so happy this lady came into my life this year - December 2011

weee ol' update

I know, it's been almost a month since I posted here last. It's brutal. (I have been posting at HOME SWEET HOME if you're really desperate).  After we got back from the OK I got pretty sick and then got a flu shot (fuck yes flu shot virgin and i love it so far) and then things have been SO BUSY gearing up for SLAY BELLES 2011 which is happening this weekend here in port alberni. Eeeeeps!!! So much to do, just the right amount of time, and Port Alberni gets to finally put ourselves on the map for Roller Derby! Yay!

I was thinking about updating a bit on how my goals are coming (see the left).

1. Not going to Hilo, but going to blood & thunder bootcamp in Abbotsford in February AND to Rollercon in Vegas in July. So I'll cross this one off when I get back from Vegas.

2. we have moved upstairs and now have space for our teapots. we have yet to decide where they are going, though, so that's why it's not crossed off yet.

6. appointment booked! idea decided. it's going to be better than everyone's tattoos in the world COMBINED

9. I've passed everything but my laps. I must work out almost every day to work on my endurance. FML.

13. new bedroom. still needs to be painted. going for a look like this.

14-16. i don't wanna talk about it

21. going very well.

29. booking for early january.

Another Halloween Photo

#20: Dress Up for Halloween

OK, I know I don't look like I"m in costume, but behind that poster I'm wearing my most butchy dress and a militant vest with my anti-censorship and feministy buttons on the lapel. I'm also not wearing make up like usual (only brown lipstick). We recently watched citizen ruth and it was awesome. Stewart (probably jokingly) suggested we go as a baby saver and pro-lifer. So, my costume didn't stand out, but it took some effort AND had lots of little details. (I also love this photo b/c I look k-razy!). XO

29 before I'm 30...

Today I turn 29. For me approaching 30 hasn't really been scary like I'm told by western culture/society whatever it's supposed to be. For me, 25 was a pretty monumental year and in the past few years I've gone back and forth and through and around being an "adult" and I'm 100% sure that transition is not over yet. And still, I don't see 30 as the final line that I'm an adult. I still have a long way to go.

Last year I made a 28before29 list (read it here) and really did a few of them, but some of them were so huge that they OVERTOOK MY LIFE and i had zero time to do the rest. It sucks. The biggest ones were pink hair, getting a full time job, and starting and doing Alberni Valley Roller Girls. I did some of the foodie ones too.

The few I accomplished last year made me think about how sometimes I have a lot of huge goals and in one year I can't do all of them. Having a baby and working full time and doing roller derby is time consuming enough for me (let alone leaving very little time for knitting).

Here's my list for this next year. I already accomplished one of them the day I wrote the list (sometime last week) and I was so proud! I tried to make them more achievable and less in conflict in each other, so we'll see!


29 before i'm 30.
1. go to hilo hawaii for leid on the track
2. get/build/mount a shelf for my tea pots
3. see Melissa
4. own 3 of isa's vegan cookbooks
5. print pizza face zine
6. prince george tattoos
7. get a raise
8. jump over a line with both feet (on skates)  
9. pass WFTDA minimum skills
10. stay vegan until my bday 2012
11. ride to the market with seth in the trailer
12. pay off all credit cards and line of credit 0/5
13. paint our bedroom
14. finish my bday sweater
15. knit stewart's totoro hat
16. knit stewart's kreuger sweater
17. get a manicure 18. tomahawk stop
19. can pickles
20. dress up for hallowe'en
21. only have caffeine/coffee/pop 1 x per month (max). 4/12
22. sew myself a piece of clothing
23. buy a pair of jeans that fit 24. take seth to swimming lessons
25. finish reading PLAYER ONE  
26. hold plank for one minute
27. buy another pair of flues (heels)
28. Do Fish.
29. Ombre hair