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I think my separation anxiety is greater than Jordy’s because I can’t bear to be away from this guy for too long. He always makes me laugh and smile. And, like all dogs, he definitely loves his toys…

The more I look at Jordy, the more I think he’s a pomeranian crossed with a shiba inu. His ears and his facial structure are very un-pomeranian, and he weighs 11.5 pounds whereas the average pomeranian weighs between 4 and 5. Any thoughts?

There are many ladies in the limelight that I look up to for various reasons, but none of them can be found on MTV reality shows, on the radio’s top 40 or on the cover of Cosmopolitan. Names like Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton are more likely to capture my attention, but if I’m honest with myself, I can’t overlook Pamela Anderson either. Though, I don’t imagine she’ll be having tea with the other two anytime soon.

For a girl who got her start with Labatt beer after being discovered at a Lions game at Vancouver’s BC Place, Pamela has come an incredibly long way since then. Born and raised on Vancouver Island and having graduated from the same high school forces me to appreciate her even more. What can I say? We’re both girls from Comox. I’m biased.

Though you may not all agree with me (and some may even shake their heads), and you may not agree with career choices Ms. Anderson has made, it can’t be denied that she is one of those rare gems who really is herself in every sense of the notion.

Mother, daughter, philanthropist, actress, Playboy Playmate, animal lover, PETA-supporter, model, vegetarian and all-around fun girl, Pamela has never been one to explain herself. “She is who she is, so take it or leave it” seems to be the philosophy by which she lives her life.

Always an innovator and never an imitator, some of the many faces of Pamela that I’m sort of in lust with…

Before I forget to mention, I’m doubly excited for two reasons:

1) Since I doubt UGG will ever make a vegan version of their boot, I can relax because animal-loving Pammy has developed an alternative “beach boot” called FAKE (Free Active Kind Energy) that will be available later this year. FAKE will be high quality and produced without animal skins in North America; and

2) What’s better than dreamy body products? Dreamy organic body products that are true to their claims. RAW (Real Activist Wild) is “wild, sexy, skin and hair treatments with delicious/favorite natural fragrances, organic bases, cruelty free, conflict free, mainly local ingredients/or guaranteed free trade.” Raw is currently in development and should be available sometime in 2009.

While I can’t vouch for the integrity of any of these products, I am definitely looking forward to giving them all a shot.

Don’t forget to follow Pamela on Twitter!

I know, I know… I’ve committed one of the cardinal sins of “professional” blogging. My purpose was to essentially celebrate Pamela, so if any of these are your photos and you want them removed and/or credited, please let me know and I’ll be happy to immediately do so.

It seems as though my brother, Laura and almost four-week-old Sienna will be remaining in Dawson Creek for another year, so digital cameras definitely come in handy.

I heard her voice gurgling on the phone today, and it was the first time that it struck me that she’s really real.

I know that holding her for the first time will be a very special moment for me. Let’s just hope that Jordy doesn’t go insane with jealousy…

My brother’s only complaint is that he has yet to receive a “World’s Greatest Daddy” t-shirt.

Laura has seemingly bounced back from pregnancy with the energy and get-up-and-go that most new mommies would be entirely envious of! I think she looks really great…

The whole family will be visiting at the end of the summer for a week or two, and I’m sure you can guess who’ll be babysitting while Trevor and Laura take in the AC/DC concert (though I have no idea why they’d want to).

And last, but certainly not least, I want to wish a huge Happy 23rd Birthday to Laura today. She is without a doubt the best sister-in-law I could ever ask for, always full of life and laughter. Laura has a knack for seeing the sunnier side of every situation and her and Sienna have become loving and irreplaceable members of my family.

Someone asked me the other day to explain why I am happy living in Yaletown. I said that if he’d lived in the West End for five years, he’d understand. However, that sounds rather loveless for the West End, so allow me to elaborate.

Downtown Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhood is not without its charm. Friendly and familiar faces, quaint walk-ups, beach views from almost every balcony and more ethnic food eateries to choose from than there are in the colours of the rainbows that adorn the West End’s streets. When I first moved to a high-rise just south of Davie Street in the late spring of 2004, I soaked everything up and couldn’t get enough of the place that I called home. The West End also lacks a sense of pretension, so there’s comfort in that.

Photo: TylerIngram on Flickr

After several years, I began failing at seeing the charm. Maybe it was because I had changed or maybe it was because nothing was new and nothing surprised me anymore. We all have our breaking points, and after the emotional t-bone collision I was smacked by earlier this year, change became inevitable. Never before did I envision myself moving out of the West End (let alone into Yaletown), but I did.

Photo: John Bollwitt on Flickr

While Yaletown has long had a reputation for being the opposite (read: pretentious) of the West End, I’ve found a sort of peace here that I never expected. I could never buy into the notoriety of labels and lust that has become synonymous with those who avoid Yaletown at all costs, and I certainly enjoy making a playful mockery of it all. While being off of work last week, I would walk Jordy in the mornings with thrashed hair, massive mascara caked under my eyes and baggy sweats. Young men in their impeccably-tailored business suits would walk by without so much as a glance and I loved it.

Photo: miss604 on Flickr

I suppose you could say that life in the West End was like living with ADD; life in Yaletown has found me feeling more more balanced, calm and sure-footed. There’s something harmonious about my new neighbourhood that I felt lacked in my life in the West End. We may all be characters in our own books and stories here, but at least I feel I’m on the same page as everyone else around me.

I promise that this blog will not become dedicated solely to Jordy, but I’ve taken the week off work to spend time with him, so it’s really all I’ve got worth blogging about.

Jordy has been adjusting to his new life beautifully, with a full appetite, playful personality and affectionate demeanor. I’ve been working at training him in getting him into a routine of being left alone for periods of time during the day. Today he was alone for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon; by the end of the week, he should be used to my work schedule.

With anything this major, there’s always that momentary thought of “oh man, what have I gotten myself into?” but I have fallen so madly and completely in love in only three days.

Jordy has lived in six other homes in less than three years. It’s hard to believe, looking at this guy, that no one would want him enough to keep him.

I’ve committed myself to loving him and to give him the best possible home – the home that he deserves – for the rest of his life. God-willing, we’ll be together until I’m into my 40s.

Now if you’ll excuse me, Jordy and I have some sunshine to frolic in (yes, I said “frolic“) before he gobbles up his dinner (and he really does gobble)!

“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours,
faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.”
- Author Unknown

When I started my search for a dog, in my mind there were only two options: SPCA or the classified ads. While in my mind I was a huge supporter of the SPCA, I seemed to have it in my head that only a new puppy would suffice. After viewing ad after ad in the classifieds for various young puppies of all breeds and varieties that were supposedly “happy, health, often prize winners and humanely bred,” no dog seemed to be the right fit. I didn’t respond to a single ad, and instead opened my browser to Google and searched for “puppies vancouver bc“. What I found was, in a word, shocking.

Instead of page after page of adorable, clumsy puppies looking for homes, I found page after page of beautiful, wonderful, amazing dogs that all needed to go to loving homes. There were dogs of all ages, breeds and temperaments and all were either living in shelters or in foster care around British Columbia. There were quite literally thousands of dogs with nowhere to live.

My mind was made up on the spot that I could not ignore what I just learned. I couldn’t justify bringing home a “new” puppy when so many others needed a home. I was hellbent on adopting.

It wasn’t long before I found a rescue organization based on Vancouver Island that specialized in small dogs. It was there that I found Jordy’s profile, fell madly in love and a month and a half later, have his long, furry body stretched out on the floor beside me as I type this.

I wouldn’t have it any other way, but it was hard leaving Jordy’s foster home yesterday afternoon, knowing that he was leaving many of his foster brothers and sisters behind who didn’t have homes. As I’ve been going through the rigorous adoption process (the hoop-jumps are well worth it), I’ve been doing a lot of reading and educating myself. While I had no idea that so many rescue groups were operating around the Province, I certainly had no idea how much of a pet overpopulation problem we as a society must deal with head-on and adequately.

As I spoke with the director of Jordy’s rescue foundation during my home visit a couple weeks ago, I was horrified by some of what she’s seen. The irresponsibility of people astounds me, from excessive and inter-breeding to euthanizing a beloved family pet because two weeks on the beach in Cabo is too long to pay a petsitter.

Pet ownership is not a right; it is a revocable privilege.

Photo: miss604 on Flickr

Much has to change in British Columbia before countless other animals end up in shelters for the rest of their lives. Most will die before they get the chance to live in a true and loving home.

1. Neuter or spay your pet! It is the responsible thing to do. Overpopulation is at a crisis level in British Columbia. A pet is not a cash machine and you have no way of ensuring that your pet’s offspring will go to a proper home, rather than tied to a heavy chain in someone’s overgrown backyard. It happens all the time.

2. If you are considering bringing a pet into your home, please adopt from either the SPCA or a rescue group. There are thousands of amazing dogs all around the Province waiting for a forever home – Jordy was just one of many. Rescued dogs are often far more appreciative and affectionate than other dogs.

3. Do your research. Can you afford to take adequate care of an animal and do you have the time, patience and effort to devote to the newest member of your family? Cats and dogs need love, affection, emotional stability, exercise, nutrition and healthcare just as we do.

4. Petition for change! They say there’s a sucker born every minute, and pet stores are banking on the hope that you will be the next sucker through their door. They $1,000-$3,000 to the cash register every time a dog goes to a home without even so much as a background check on the person purchasing. Boycott your local pet stores and the puppy mills that supply them. All pet stores will tell you what you want to hear in that your dog has come from a loving breeder, but that just isn’t the truth. The few responsible breeders that exist in this Province should, in my opinion, be required to register with the Province and those found breeding their dogs without having registered should be subject to substantial fines.

Please sign the petition I have created in this regard. Every voice counts.

For more information on how you can educate yourself on adopting a pet in British Columbia and put an end to animal neglect, here are a few sites worth visiting:

Petfinder
BC-SPCA
British Columbia Rescue Organizations and Shelters (Canada’s Guide To Dogs)
City of Vancouver Adoption Program
No Puppy Mills Canada
PeTA ABC (Animal Birth Control)

It’s always a thrill for me to show off my hometown to friends – especially friends who have never had much of a chance to explore all the beauty the Comox Valley has to offer. After a hearty afternoon breakfast at Smitty’s Family Restaurant, Rebecca and I made our way into a very deserted Filberg Park.

The vibe and ambience is completely different on a cloudy April afternoon as opposed to in the heat of summer during the Filberg Festival.

It’s quiet and peaceful, a literal paradise of lush greens, chirping birds and willful beams of sunlight.

A family of deer decided to emerge from the bushes and spend a few moments with us.

Photo: miss604 on Flickr

One place may people overlook is Cumberland, so that was the next stop on our itinerary. It has long been given a bum rap, but in truth, it’s the heart of the Comox Valley. Cumberland was once alive and bustling as an incredibly rich coal-mining community around the turn of the century, and at one time boasted the biggest Chinatown in North America, second only to San Francisco.

The streets of Cumberland are peppered with a mix of generations-old pubs, quaint shops stocked with bizarre offerings as well as fantastically fresh and local organic foods at the year-old Seeds Natural Food Market [website].

Say hello to your little friend, Rebecca..

After a quick stop at Hot Chocolates [website] for fresh, in-store made gelato, we picked up my mom and headed to Atlas Cafe [website] for smooth-drinking martinis and to-die-for baked enchiladas stuffed full of corn, beans, mixed greens, roasted sweet chili yam, bell peppers, mozzarella, tomato sauce, chipotle sour cream and fire cracker rice. My tongue is still dancing…

There’s never enough time because I can think of at least 100 other places I’d love to show her, so I suppose that only means Rebecca will have to come back again (hopefully sooner than later). Except next time, of course, our duo will be a trio.

The times my family visited Vancouver when I was a little girl, I was constantly in awe. The buildings, the glass, the concrete, the sounds, the smells, the people. It was all so entirely different from my quiet life in the Comox Valley and constantly offered endless excitement.

When I finally moved to downtown Vancouver just shy of five years ago, I was completely stoked! Everything I’d wanted since I was a little girl was finally mine, and it felt like an adventure had started. After two years, however, something changed. I started to feel resentment and annoyance at a City so seemingly drowning within itself. I wanted desperately to move, and once again started dreaming of a life back in the Comox Valley.

It seems that the tides have turned once again. Between a new apartment that I love so much I could eat it up with a spoon, a great job that I actually (for the most part) enjoy and one fantastic, loving, cuddlebug of a monkey coming to live with me in his forever home in just two more sleeps, I am falling in love again.

In truth, I have so many fantastic memories and opportunities that have been cultivated on Vancouver’s streets and beaches. The friends that have come into my life constantly amaze me. I have a new peace about my situation, about where I’m at and, most importantly, where I’m supposed to be. And right now, that place is absolutely right where I am.

In honour of my revived love affair, a photo essay of some of my favourite places, times and friends in and around Vancouver…

Remember that time, in February of 2008, when Rebecca and I boarded a ferry for the Island and hit the slopes of Mount Washington for the weekend?

One of the most fun parts of that trip was making each other laugh over reader questions during our first ever podcast. Since then, we’ve also had the pleasure of interviewing Hanson via podcast, and now we’re ready to do it again! With her husband out of town on a guys’ weekend, Rebecca is tagging along with me to the Comox Valley for some sunny days before we pick Jordy up at his foster home.

This can be a really fun way to get to know each of us in a bit of a different way. Politics? Love? Movies? Sex? Music? Embarrassing childhood moments?

Besides the obvious, there’s something else I’m very much looking forward to on the Island this weekend. My mom and I are planning to hit up Atlas for dinner for their scrumptious tofu baked burritos and warm beet salad, followed by Observe & Report at the theatre, Seth Rogen’s latest flick.

Photo: atöm on Flickr

This morning, the thought struck me: I find Chris Meloni and Seth Rogen equally bone-able, yet they could not be more opposite. One is rather “beefy” (as Rebecca would like to describe him), while the other has a much more… pudding-like quality to him. One is a dark, serious and mysterious actor (though he has his moments); the other is a self-proclaimed chubby tub of funny.

This has led me to only one conclusion, and that is that I am not attracted to men basely on their appearances. Let it be said that I am a very picky girl, but I guess it’s not really anything I can control. It’s a man’s mannerisms, his presence in a room and his self-confidence that tend to catch my eye. Everything else is just whipped topping on the…

So what does it for you?