I made this. All by myself.

It may have taken me over 5 hours, but I love it. And I love my new sewing machine.(Don't mind my messy room...remember those sheets? Yup, they're STILL in the dryer. I should go get them out.)

Recap

At the beginning of the summer I posted a little "to do" list. Have I been working on it is the real question. Surprisingly, yes. Here's the low-down...

1. Become a runner

Well, it turned out that I had to work on the day of the 10K that I was supposed to run back in May, but I am, in fact, registered for the 10K in Raymond this coming Saturday. Bring it on. One perk to living in Edmonton during the summer is the beautiful river valley that I can go running in every day (that is...if I choose to go EVERY day.) I seriously LOVE running down there. Its just so peaceful, in the middle of the city but completely away from it all. In fact, just the other day I just crossed the LRT bridge and ran up into some coulee. Who knew that was there? Thats the joy of it all...I start exploring so much that I forget I am dying because I've been running for so long!

2. Improve my photography skills

Okay, I seriously LOVE my camera. Probably more than any other material possession I have at this point in my life. You can HAVE my car, but not my camera. I bought a portrait lens about a month ago, which I have concluded is the best investment I've made so far. A friend of mine is shooting a wedding tomorrow and asked me if I wanted to tag along, so hopefully that will give me some more experience and I'll get some good shots.

3. Learn to sew

Confession: I'm still stubborn when it comes to learning to sew. My mom loaned me her old sewing machine last weekend, doubting that I would ACTUALLY finish sewing anything on my own. Naturally, I wanted to prove her wrong, so I bought some material, and started making myself a dress.

Well, after 7 hours of STRAIGHT sewing yesterday, I FINALLY finished it. It wasn't quite what I had in mind, and sometimes when I put it on I feel like a Hutterite, but I still like it. Just don't look TOO closely at the sew job...I'm a beginner okay?

4. Bike Jasper to Banff

Stop laughing...its a work in progress! Initially this trip was supposed to happen at the end of May, but clearly that fell through, so the new plan is the end of August. I've been biking around the river valley a little, but training for this one is going to take some work...but just to clarify, I'm not backing out!

5. Hike like there's no tomorrow

This is quite possibly one of the main reasons I'm so excited to go home this weekend. WATERTON!! I just invested in some new hiking boots and am ready to introduce them to Akamina Ridge come Monday. Oh yeah!

So there you have it! My life so far this summer. I'm headed to Raymond for July 1st this weekend, which is never uneventful, so you can be assured there will be updates!

Bloggy McBloggerton

For some reason I always thought blogs were for married people. However, Jessica has since informed me otherwise, and here I am, writing my first post. Best news in my life to date? I am finished school for FOUR WHOLE MONTHS! Donezo. No exams left. I couldn't be happier. Bring on the summer! Oh wait, I forgot that I live in Edmonton and it snowed last night. But really, I can't wait...I already have a list of things to do this summer, including:

1. become a runner...I'm supposed to be running a 10K with some friends in 2 weeks, and then another one on July 1st, and maybe a 20K in September? Okay, that might be pushing it.



2. learn how to use my camera/photoshop. I just bought a canon rebel xt and I love love love it but could probably benefit from knowing how it works. and if anyone wants to be a model...


3. learn to sew, including this dress. i always think back to my apron that I made in grade 7. my mom swears that had she seen the horrible tension and crooked lines, she would have made me unpick it all. since that day I have refused to learn to sew, but now I'm determined to make myself some dresses, scrubs, maybe a quilt, and whatever else I manage to think of.



4. bike jasper to banff. my roomate paige and I came up with this plan months ago, not really knowing how far it was. I just looked it up on mapquest...288 km. we haven't managed to get our bikes out of the garage yet...but it WILL happen.



5. hike, hike, hike! I loooove hiking, but for some reason always do the SAME hikes. Not this summer. I have 3 new ones in mind: Chief Mountain, Crypt, and Blackiston. Who wants to come?