Keira-anne.com

I have never been much of one for celebrating the New Year. The idea of spending large amounts of money on large amounts of alcohol, all the while wearing ridiculous hats and twirling obnoxious trinkets with friends, is one that is beyond me. To say that I believe it’s an overrated celebration is an understatement. I am sure many use it simply as an excuse to eat, drink and be merry because, in reality, you’re really just celebrating the rolling over of the calendar.

Along with my sentiments regarding the celebration, I am also not much of one for making resolutions. Sure it’s a time for a new start and a clean slate, but if you need to formulate a reason for making changes in your life, then you’re not yet out of excuses and therefore not likely to stick to anything you resolve to do.

I have changes I want to make - changes that I am excited to make. The timing is right and my reason is simple: I am out of excuses. I desire to love myself more, take care of myself the way I deserve to and put myself first more often than I do. I endeavor to fill my body with healthy, nutritious and hearty food rather than the stuff my body will only reject. I have volunteer opportunities to look forward to. I have friendships to strengthen and invest in and that excites me greatly.

In 1955, Marilyn Monroe starred in a movie called “The Seven Year Itch,” a film premised on the idea that spouses often have the desire to become unfaithful after seven years of marriage. I believe the seven year itch theory may also be true of life. The last time I had a really horrendous year was 2000; 2007 wasn’t much peachier. I believe that it was a year of incredible growth, trying circumstances, pain, sorrow and heartache, but also of joy, experience, understanding and personal awareness. Though it is arguably cliché to base my changes on January 1, 2008 alone, I am undoubtedly overjoyed at the proverbial clean slate. I step into another segmented chapter of my life, one that slips by faster and faster each time the calendar rolls over, much better equipped than I did 365 days ago.

As I sign off for the year, I want to share with you some of my favourite photos and memories from the past year. It would be impossible to fit every person and every event in. These are some of the more memorable times and milestones that brought me a lot of joy and much thankfulness.

In January I was convinced that I suffered from a heinous case of “Ugly Duckling Syndrome.” The solution? Take lots of sassy, semi-scantily clad photos of oneself.



My first day snowboarding last season was a perfectly sunny day, and my partner-in-crime was none other than my brother. This year has been one of much growth in our relationship and I am so, so thankful to finally (and surprisingly) call him one of my best friends.



Good girlfriends are hard to come by, especially the ones you can be totally silly with. Chloe and I decided to don parkas in May and thug it out.



Reconnecting with friends seems to be a favourite past time of mine. Angela came to visit me in the late spring and we most certainly had divine times.



Casey is one of three very special dogs I love spending much of my time with. This shot was entirely candid and unintentional but it turned out beautifully.



Sometimes people take great shots of me, and this is most certainly one of my favourites of 2007. Duane snapped it on a photowalk we did in Stanley Park with John and Becky. My friend Andy mentioned that this photo simply serves to remind him that I am going to be one hot MILF. He’s so right.



I spent a fabulous evening with Rebecca and Sarah on the Island, making s’mores around a bonfire. Someone snapped this chopped photo with my camera, and I believe it’s worth more than one thousand words.



The same can be said of this photo I snapped of my brother. I love the grainy, antique quality of it. He’s undeniably a handsome boy.



The second of three dogs I love spending much of my time with? Benji. I shot this photo at the Courtenay Airpark on the boys’ big trip to the Island. How did I get him to pose too cute? “Benji, do you want a burrito?” I swear to God this is the photo I got from that question.



It was the year of a new friendship for me. Me and Becky’s first official “date” was, I believe, an adventure to the Kwik-E-Mart in Coquitlam. We suck. Squishees, that is.



I love this photo of Casey. His sand-filled eyes almost seem full of laughter. I spent more than a few days frolicking with him and Benji at the beach this summer and they loved every minute of it.



One of my most fun Sundays this year was spent with my friend Craig at the UBC Museum of Anthropology. Though, in truth, our friendship has taken a one-way trip down the shitter as of late, the times we have spent together are precious to me. At least he’s lost the beard since that day.



One thing Rebecca and I love to do together is take pictures of ourselves and our adventures. Duane shot this candid photo of us on his balcony during Tony’s much-anticipated trip to Vancouver on fireworks night. (Note to self: holy crap start tanning again, woman!)



During Tony’s visit to Canada, Vancouver in particular, we too spent one fabulous Sunday together. After a delish brunch in Yaletown (yah, yah), we headed in the direction of the Paramount Theatre to catch the Simpsons movie. However, a skanky little arcade on Granville street caught our attention on the way, and the two of us fed more than a handful of quarters into the Porno Poker machine. Though we never took any photos together that day, we were both rather proud that we were able to get the tennis pro to take her shirt and bra off. (He snapped this photo.)



My favourite day of the entire year? That’s easy. The day trip my mom and I took to Hornby Island. The entire day was a near-spiritual experience for me. It provided such deep-seated comfort to my soul to once again be in a place that nurtured my childhood.



Through the wonder of everybody’s favourite networking site, I found one of my best friends from when I was a child. We started kindergarten together and graduated high school together. She has a beautiful soul and it was a treasure to share time with her this summer.



You know how, as young women, we tend to fantasize about getting pregnant at the same time as our girlfriends and then watching our children grow up together? That actually did happen to my mom and her best friend, Dianne. Dianne and her husband Jim have been two of my biggest cheerleaders throughout the last 27 years. There’s no better way I can describe them. They both have hearts of gold that are bigger than can be measured. Love lives there.



It’s ladies’ night and the feeling’s right. Sometimes it’s hard to get together with your girlfriends, but few things are as fun as finding fun new places to drink tea before taking in midnight showings. And when you’ve got three galavanting bloggers together, fun is bound to occur.



Ever since he was very young, “Kindergarten Cop” has been one of my brother’s favourite movies. His Schwarzenegger impersonations are spot on. I was so excited to present this t-shirt to him for his 23rd birthday in August. On the front I had a police badge sewn on with the word “Kimble” stamped below it. On the back, Arnold’s famous question that my brother’s constantly quoting: “Who is your daddy and what does he do?“



September saw a new addition to our family in the form of a 6-week old mini Australian shepherd which we very soon named “Charley.” She was just a tiny ball of fluff when we brought her home but my how she’s grown…



Ryan Lee, oh how I love thee. He has been an important part of my year for many years. Hopefully he always will be.



This girl is worth holding on to. On one of, manicured hands down, the shittiest days of my year, she was there for me. It was, in theory, supposed to be a fantastic ladies’ night. However, a Mack truck of anxiety hit me when we got to GM Place for the Canucks’ game, and I spent much of the first period on the floor of a bathroom stall, alternating between tears and vomit. The girl was there for me, and when I said I didn’t want to leave, I pulled it together enough for her to buy me beers and Churros.



Another one of my favourite days this year? My friend Toni (of toekneenose.com) and I had an “Island Day.” After playing a round of mini golf at his parents’ mini golf course, we ventured to the Coombs Market for some local eats to-go and hiked up to Qualicum Falls for long talks, long walks and a picnic in the crisp October air. And after that? A magic show! He’s a very lovely friend indeed.



I always get excited about Christmas, and this year I was delighted at how “into it” my family got. During the weekend of mon anniversaire, my mom, aunt and I put on some festive tunes and dragged the holiday boxes out of the garage. I was delighted to see my aunt donning a Santa hat during our decorating evening.



Sadly, and oddly, I am quite sure this is the only picture I have of myself and one of my very best friends. It was snapped on my birthday by Duane, and though the picture is anything but typical, it’s one I hold very close to my heart because it’s simply so very “us.” (Plus, would you look at those legs? Yup, no cellulite. Check in again in 15 years.)



Also that night? The Duaniac was at it again with this lusciously leggy shot of me that was a perfect last great photo of 2007. I’d link it but he sent it to me privately and apparently didn’t post this particular shot on his Flickr stream. Duane, when I’m rich and famous, I’m going to hire you for a ridiculous amount of money, and just pay you to take photos of me all the time (um, even though Becky snapped this one).



More family. I love my family. One of the first shots I snapped with my new Christmas camera. Jim, my mother, smiles and Christmas. These are a few of my favourite things.



Oh my how they grow…Charley loves to love and loves snow and loves cuddles and love licking. She’s a huge ray of sunshine in my life. I call her my little “Wiggle Bum” because she wiggles her bum back and forth when she shakes her tail, often so much that her tails hits her on either side of her bottom.



My parting shot for 2007 is of my last favourite memory of 2007. I hope to take in this view many more times in early 2008, so there’s something to look forward to!

To all of you who are new readers, thank you for coming along for the ride. I look forward to many more opportunities to educate and entertain you through my blog. I wish each and every one of you a year filled with everything you deserve and every good thing you need at your very core.

Yes, I finally got to enjoy my first day of the snowboard season at Mount Washington Alpine Resort today. It’s amazing how much I missed it and even more amazing at how seamlessly my body picked it up again. The pivots and the rudder and the toe edge and the heel edge and the carving. I didn’t bail much, but I had one on-my-ass incident on Linton’s Loop near the end of the day. It was one of those hits that causes your brain to feel as though it’s being physically rattled around inside your skull. I know you know the feeling I’m talking about. Two thumbs up for concussions!

The day started out a little crazy, being that a power outage only left two lifts running. However, by mid-morning the juice was back, the sun was out and the frigid cold had lifted. Amy and I had a fantastic time, and now I am even more excited to bring Becky over for a girls’ weekend. Check out some of my photos below (the rest in my Flickr set).

“im surprised none of the boys pushed you over and humped you in the snow” - Sonny I. LaVista, after viewing my Flickr set

I’m flattered.

It’s hard to believe how quickly my holiday time on the Island has gone by, but it’s really no surprise. It’s always the best of times that go by much quicker than the less-than-stellar times. Everything has been a whirlwind of family, friends, food and festivities. Perhaps one of the most wonderful little blessings is the copious time spent in my pajamas.

After seeing how the Henricksons dealt with the fall-out from the brazen shooting of Roman Grant, I ripped open the last two seasons of Sex and the City to re-live the fabulous love life of Ms. Carrie Bradshaw. I’ve been spoiled by living the simple life for more than a week now, and it’s going to be very difficult to return to life in the “city.” Stay tuned either tomorrow or Monday…I hope to have some encouraging words and ideas you can put into practice to make the most of turning over a new leaf (and year).

This is my friend Kourtney and I. I mentioned her at the end of yesterday’s post. She is my very oldest friend.

In other homegrown news, Charley has become a much more affectionate dog as of late. When she was still getting adjusted here, she was completely adverse to cuddling or being held. Any attempts to do so and she’d wriggle out of your arms faster than you could blink. Now she lets me hold her and cuddle her and give her lots of little kisses. She had her first play date with Amy’s chihuahua, Peanut. At first Charley was very skittish and hesitant, but soon they were sniffing each others butts like they’d been friends for years.

Tomorrow is the day I’ve been looking forward to with more anticipation than I’ve felt in a long, long time. Right now, the lodge lights are low, the lift chairs are swaying gently in the nighttime mountain breeze and a few fresh flakes of powder are falling on Mount Washington. It’s all waiting for me. Many times I’m asked why I don’t just ride the local mountains on the North Shore in Metro Vancouver. My answer is simple: half of the delight I take in snowboarding is the escapism aspect to it. Why on earth would I want to go snowboarding if I can look down beyond the slope and see my office tower? Plus, the men worth oggling are just that much hotter on Mount Washington than anywhere else.

So in only a few short hours I’ll be tossing my ass out of bed, dragging it to Ski Tak Hut to meet up with Amy, her brother and his friend and 4×4 our way up the Mount Washington parkway. I can’t wait to take a ton of photos to share with you all - I hope they’ll shred a glimpse on the love I have for that place.

Photo courtesy of Mount Washington Alpine Resort. Mountain cam photo snapped at 9:41 p.m.

The more I attempt to use happyfrog, the more useful I’m realizing it really is. When I had first heard about the project, I was very excited about it but not sure how much I’d actually make use of it. As it turns out, I really am using it - as I did so again today.

Years ago, I began practicing yoga on a somewhat random basis. Once arriving in Vancouver, I attempted to keep up with my practice through a studio located near my office. However, it wasn’t long before I passed up on it because it seemed to be a place for the trendies to parade around in their oh-so-chic yoga gear, rather than a group of people dedicated to practicing yoga as a means of making one’s self well from within. Stay with me here, Wang Chi.

I was excited to see that the Kingfisher Resort and Spa, located in the Comox Valley, was listed on happyfrog’s website. Not long ago, the Kingfisher Spa built a gorgeous yoga space, known as the Starfish Studio, only steps from the ocean. With ambient lights and a suspended cork floor, the Starfish Studio at the Kingfisher provides a “zensational” place to practice.

Tonight I took part in two classes, one being a Gentle Flow class and the other a Restorative practice. Each hour-long session will set you back $12 (though you can purchase a 10-visit pass for $100), and includes use of the mats, yoga props and provides lemon water and organic herbal tea to rejuvenate at the end of your practice. The instructors are gentle, kind-hearted and truly strive to see you honour yourself in your practice.

Needless to say, involving yourself with yoga at the Kingfisher is a truly unique experience, one that restores you in ways that perhaps you were unaware needed any sort of attention. At the end of my second class tonight, as is no surprise, I fell asleep only to be woken up in time for Shavasana. It never fails. At least I didn’t start to snore this time.

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I must apologize for the lack of activity on my Flickr site as of late, but I managed to zap a bunch up this evening with iPhoto, so check them out if you have the chance. There are a few Christmas pics, a few shots I snapped of Charley frolicking in the snow and some of my friend Kourtney and I. We have known each other since the day she was born (being that our mothers were good friends in Port Hardy back in the 70s). Before Christmas Day, we hadn’t seen each other in at least four years and have come to quickly realize that we were both missing out on so much. She’s a beautiful soul.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, step right up to the second post in my happyfrog purchase series. What particularly excites me about this happyfrog purchase is that it was entirely unplanned and has a story behind it.

A little over a year ago, I made my first visit to Salt Tasting Room with Jack. Instantly we were both hooked on the unique concept and fantastic finger fare offered. What struck us both about our dining experience was the glass of pinot noir we each had. It came from Winchester Cellars, a small winery based on Vancouver Island, and was a wine that was both full-bodied and very rich in flavour. It was this very glass of wine that began a love affair with pinot noir that we both embarked on after that night. What I love most about pinot noirs, as opposed to other varieties of red wines, is that in any good bottle, you’ll be treated to three or four different flavour notes in a single sip.

Photo courtesy of Wines Of Canada

After that evening, the journey began to find a bottle of Winchester Cellars’ Sharp Rock 2005 pinot noir that could be uncorked at home. Unfortunately, it was a journey that would soon fall flat. Between the two of us, we canvassed wine shops downtown, and on a trip I made to Victoria not long after the experience, a search of every liquor store in the Greater Victoria area turned up empty. I even went so far as to visit the actual vineyard - it was a lost cause. I had long forgotten about this wine, and was only briefly reminded of it when I saw that happyfrog had listed the vineyard on their site.

Fast forward 13 months…

Sunday evening, the day before Christmas Eve, my mother and I were scrambling around Courtenay, trying to gather up any last minute grocery items for the feast I was to prepare only 48 hours later. At her suggestion, we stopped into one of Courtenay’s local beer and wine stores to grab some wine so that we could entertain our guests with a little bit of style. I had spotted a pinot noir that looked rather savoury, and upon picking the bottle up off the rack, my eyes darted to the left and instantly locked with the Winchester Cellars logo. Said logo was plastered onto a bottle of their Sharp Rock 2005 pinot noir! And even better, there were two more bottle stacked underneath!

I truly could not believe what I saw. I felt as though I had found the “Holy Grail.” Needless to say, I snapped up two bottles on the spot. And at $35 and change for each bottle, it’s a super price for an even more superb wine. With only 400 cases produced, all I can say is good luck finding it.

You can, however, find Winchester Cellars’ other fine vino selections at a variety of wine shops and restaurants throughout British Columbia (visit their website at the above link for more information). What makes their wine so great is that not only is it local, which means you’re not polluting the environment having your wine imported via jet from France, Italy or even California, but their grapes are grown in a Certified Organic Vineyard, so you know you’re getting a high quality product.

Stay tuned for another happyfrog blog post tomorrow.

PLEASE, SIR…I WANT SOME MORE

Sexual fetishism is the sexual attraction for material and terrestrial objects while in reality the essence of the object is inanimate and sexless. Body parts may also be subject to sexual fetishes (also known as partialism) in which the preferred body part for the fetishist takes a sexual precedent over the owner. Sexual Fetishism may be regarded as a disorder of sexual preference, or as an enhancing element to a relationship.

Extract provided by Wikipedia

It wasn’t until I was 18-years-old that I had my first relationship that was in any way physical. Up until then, kissing was as far as I went. To me, this was new and exciting and completely exhilarating. Sex and sexuality were very foreign concepts to my young, innocent and uncorrupted mind.

One afternoon, while my then-boyfriend and I had his house to ourselves, we found ourselves in his bedroom in the middle of a hot n’ heavy make-out session. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the scenario. We were mid-kiss when I suddenly felt the sharp smack of his hand making direct contact with my bottom. I think it took me 1.6 seconds to scramble off and shout at him “what the hell are you doing?”

I don’t remember his exact response, but I’m sure that it was a combination of an uncomfortable laugh and a mumbled apology before going in for another kiss. I shrugged it off as though he was simply being silly and forgot about it within a minute or two.

It was only minutes later that it happened again. I was so shocked and so confused. I had no idea what he was doing or what his intention was. All I could conclude was that my boyfriend must just be weird. How was I to know that some men (and women, for that matter) had a very particular interest in spanking?

Photo courtesy of hapgoodbaines on Flickr

If you search for the word “fetish” on Google, you’ll be presented with approximately 105,000,000 hits within less time than it took me to haul ass off the boyfriend’s lap so many years ago. The range of different types of fetishes is perhaps as comprehensive as the number of hits itself. Anything from body parts, activities, and yes, even shoes, are fair game.

It wasn’t so long ago that the theory behind a fetish was based in somewhat of a traumatic or imprinting circumstance in one’s past. However, that thinking has evolved with sexuality and fetishes are viewed as a normal and healthy part of one’s randy realm. It’s not to say that this is true for everyone, as the sexual experience is an experience that is entirely unique from one person to the next.

My virginal spanking was nearly a decade ago and I am, in fact, a changed woman. In all honesty, a little tap on the ass (pun very much intended) can add a little bit of excitement to the bedroom routine. I can’t say that it’s something I don’t enjoy because I do. Beyond that much, I think fetishes are still very much a learning process for me. I haven’t discovered any other avenues in which I’d consider to be fetishes, and maybe this is as far as it will ever go for me. The beauty in it is that perhaps it’s something that we grow into, something in which different partners or people are able to pick apart pieces of our sexuality and uncover something even unbeknownst to ourselves.

Is there anyone reading this who is daring enough to share their fetish with the class? I can understand that perhaps a fetish isn’t something that is a part of everyone’s sexuality and that’s also completely okay. So where do you stand? Do you let the inner kink out or are you still finding your way?

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For those of you that have stumbled upon my slice of the web pie over the last year, I wish you all a very merry Christmas. I hope that tomorrow, and this entire season, provides opportunity for you all to spend time in the presence of loved ones. As I lay here, just minutes away from starting a Christmas Eve Scrabble game with my mom and my aunt, Charley has crawled up alongside of me to remind me she loves me. Wherever this night finds you, whoever it finds you with, I hope and pray that joy comes to each and every one of you.

Christmas wishes from Miss604, Santa Claus and a blissfully cheesy-looking Keira-Anne…

With tomorrow being Christmas, it’s only fair that I take a quick break from blogging. Have no fear, o my brothers, for your faithful narrator will be back on Boxing Day with another tempting edition of Wanton Wednesdays.

Earlier today (well, technically yesterday), Becky wrote on my FB wall and stated that she bets I’ve been wearing an apron 24/7 since arriving at my mom’s, simply because I can (she obviously knows me well). Oddly enough, she’s right. In the last 48 hours since I’ve been in Courtenay, I have baked, or assisted in baking, no less than ginger spice cookies, ladyfingers, rum balls, my fabulously famous 3-day buns, cranberry lime shortbread and a valiant attempt at ripping off Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bars.

Much of that was made with a shake and bake at my dear friend Bethany’s this afternoon. Her daughter made a brief appearance after her nap, long enough to roll out some shortbread dough, before she was whisked away to Mt. Washington for an afternoon of snow tubing. I used Bethany’s camera to snap some shots of the afternoon in progress…

Sure it looked like Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bars, but tasted nothing like them. Whoever formulated that rip-off recipe was way off.

Once we had finally finished our flurry of activity in the kitchen, our tired and powdered sugar-covered bodies flopped onto Bethany’s over-sized couch. What I’ve come to appreciate of my new friendship with Bethany is the talks that we have. She is one of the most open-minded and straight-shooting women that I know. I can’t tell you how refreshing that truly is to my soul. Did I mention that she is also very sweet? She made me a Christmas present.

And yes, she designed the cover too. She’s a talent, that girl.

Before I left, Bethany gave me another gift. She gave me a compliment, unlike any other I’ve ever received. Usually I get the compliments of the following sort:

“Keira, your hair is gorgeous.”

or…

“Keira, I wish I smelled as pretty as you do.”

or…

“Keira, how come you’re so good at everything you do?”

or…

“Keira…oh, Keira…mmm…yeah…”

No, Bethany’s comment was nothing of the garden variety. “You know what I like about you so much?” she began. “You’re an enigma. I can’t figure you out.”

Here I am, a girl who has long wondered if she’s too boring or too plain or uninteresting. And then someone calls me an enigma. It’s a compliment of the biggest sort that only really serves to better illustrate the kind of girl that Bethany. To me, she seems as though she’s one who sees straight to the heart of things and can easily cut through the shit to see what’s really there. There ought to be more people like that in all our lives.

Only a few hours ago I arrived at my destination. The Comox Valley bus depot is nothing more than a decrepit storefront in one of the Valley’s industrial sections wedged behind the London Drugs store with just enough space for an hourly bus to drop-off and pick-up. I never enjoy my rides on Greyhound buses. Well, any buses for that matter. Each and every time it’s an absolute freak-show of the most mutant kind. To even attempt to describe the fellow travelers that I encounter couldn’t do it justice. I just feel dirty.

However, after a long ride over a short distance, I finally pulled into my mom and aunt’s driveway - too much luggage and Szechwan take-out in hand. The lights of our tree twinkled from inside the warm and cosy rancher as a few wisps of snowflakes began to fall. To see Charley made me laugh and smile in delight and I’m constantly amazed at how much bigger she gets every time I see her.

Comox Valley snow photo courtesy of Nemo’s Great Uncle on Flickr

It almost ridiculous that I’m blogging when I could be wrapping gifts and listing out the baking ingredients I need to pick up tomorrow. The fact that I was hammering away at the office 12 hours ago is the furthest thing from my mind. And so, this is where I say goodbye and goodnight as I sign off in the greater interest of a hot shower, toasty legwarmers, a roaring fireplace, puppy cuddles and yards and yards of giftwrap.

I’ve got three crazy hours ahead of me to wrap things up at work before heading to Pacific Central bus terminal to hop on a Greyhound to the Comox Valley. Translation: no time to write today. So instead, for your listening and viewing pleasure, I present YouTube videos and songs to get you into the Christmas spirit.

Hanson’s Christmas Special

“All I Want For Christmas Is You” - Mariah Carey

“It’s Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” - U2

“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” - Band Aid

And just for Amy…

“Last Christmas” - Wham

And in case you’re in need of a reminder of one of the most classic Christmas movies ever…

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation from Warner Home Video