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"Animals are my friends... and I don't eat my friends." - George Bernard Shaw

During the last month and a half, while going through the process of adopting Jordy, I've also spent a great deal of time reading and educating myself. While I plan to write more about what I've learned in an upcoming post, my eyes were opened to the reality of puppy mills, pet stores and so-called breeders and the conditions in which the vast majority of dogs enter into this world. Photo: tempest_kat on Flickr (used with permission) So much of what I learned was information that I could not ignore, but I was also very quick to look at the bigger picture. It is not only dogs and puppies that are largely mistreated and raised for their purposes in inhumane conditions, but all animals that are reared for specific purposes can be subject to this mistreatment. To care so passionately about dogs and puppies but not about the other animals would, I feel, be a gross contradiction of my personal morals and values. Some years ago I decided to be a vegetarian, but lasted just short of two years before I slid down the slippery slope back into a meat-eating lifestyle. At the time, I had no real reason for "going green" in that regard, and I suppose it was partly trendy and partly for what I believed to be health reasons. The difference now is that I have a true conviction behind why I want to shed eating animals from my daily diet. While I realize that vegetarianism isn't something for everyone, and I certainly wouldn't judge anyone for eating meat, I am quickly realizing that this is the right choice for me. I can't do everything, but not eating meat is what makes sense and it's what falls into line with where I am at in many regards. I have been doing some more research and even found a great website, GoVeg, that's chocked full of fantastic information, ideas and recipes. While I had thought I'd gradually make the change, rather than go cold turkey, even eating last night's Chinese food wasn't sitting right with me. I want to make sure that I do this right, that I get all the adequate nutrition that I require and that I make smart decisions in this endeavour. I'm looking forward to altering some of my favourite recipes and creating new ones, and also bringing in new elements into my daily diet. To all you vegetarians out there, any insight or advice would be hugely appreciated. If you have recipes you'd like to share (vegetarian lasagna, please), feel free to e-mail me or leave tips in the comments.

"We all love animals. Why do we call some pets and others dinner?" - k.d. lang

Sometimes the most amazing parts of our lives are born out of some of the worst parts of our lives.

"I hate to see you cry, Lying there in that position. There's things you need to hear, So turn off your tears and listen."

Many weeks ago, in a search to find the right dog to call my own, I came across one dog's profile. While I looked at countless profiles of dogs in foster care and shelters all across the Province, there was one little face attached to a happy name that I just couldn't shake. I'd visit Jordy's profile over and over again to the point I practically had his information memorized. His tiny face was burned into my memory and his photo's been saved in my cell phone for almost a month now. I knew at the time that I was weeks away from moving into my dog-friendly apartment, but I decided that I had nothing to lose, so I e-mailed his foster care organization for an application form. A few days later, the form arrived in my e-mail inbox but with a cautionary message that a handful of others had already applied for Jordy and were currently in the screening process. I didn't allow that to discourage me, and instead filled out all ten pages.

"You know it's nothing new, Bad news never had good timing. Then the circle of your friends, Will defend the silver lining."

Despite every sucker-punch 2009 has knocked me down with, I knew that there was something about my attempted adoption of Jordy that encouraged me to keep going. With tons of support from loved ones and friends, I started the hoop-jumping process. Before long, I found out that all the others who had applied to adopt Jordy had been turned down. After phone interviews, reference checks and a personal home visit, I was finally allowed to meet Jordy this afternoon. My application had been approved, and the ball was now in my court, so to speak. As I got behind the wheel in today's beautiful sunshine, with Sarah McLachlan making the trip to Duncan nostalgic, I set out for Jordy's foster home. My stomach was mixed with nervous anticipation and excitement. I wasn't sure how Jordy would react and was secretly worried that after all I'd gone through in the application process that Jordy wouldn't take to me.

"Pain throws your heart to the ground, Love turns the whole thing around. No, it won't all go the way, it should, But I know the heart of life is good."

What happened this afternoon surprised everyone... me, Jordy and even his foster mom. For a dog who is normally so fixated on his "person," Jordy and I were drawn to each other within moments. He was affectionate, cuddly, kissy and loving. The three of us took one of the other foster dogs for a walk in the woods, but before long, Jordy was instead sticking directly at my side, glancing up every 15-20 seconds to make sure I was still close by. And suddenly, he stopped and reached up to be picked up by me. His foster mom called the moment "amazing" as sunlight literally cut between the trees and onto Jordy and I as I held his little body in my arms. He chose me; I chose him. Next Sunday, April 19th, I will be bringing Jordy back to Vancouver and into his forever home. The love I feel for this little monkey is so unlike anything I've felt before. His photos don't even remotely do him any sort of justice, and what I found in Jordy was a million times more amazing than I could have ever expected. I can't imagine my life being in any other place than right here and now.

All that glorious sunshine that us Vancouverites have been blessed with since last week had disappeared in favour of clouds. I'm hopeful that it's a minor blip in Mother Nature's bigger picture, and am convinced that I'll be wearing sandals, sunglasses and sunblock soon enough. Rather than get down about the impending rain, I thought I'd entertain you all with my list of summer stuff I'm totally pumped about! Feel free to turn this into a meme or add your own list in the comments...

Trevor, Laura and Sienna moving back to Vancouver Island

Sunny walks with my dog - fingers crossed!

Countless beach days

BBQ'd hot dogs

Cold, luscious drinks on patios at sunset

Teeny, tiny bikinis

Photoshoots in teeny, tiny bikinis

A mother-daughter vacation at Middle Beach Lodge in Tofino

Peppermint chip frappuccinos from Starbucks

Smelling like coconut every single day

Ice cream

Filberg Festival

Showing a special lady how to catch a wave

A valid excuse to go for regular pedicures

Cold chardonnay on warm evenings

Visiting Coombs Market

New sun dresses

The 2009 SPCA Paws For A Cause fundraiser

I can't even begin to tell you all how excited I am to be headed to the Island on Thursday after work. My mom is headed to Dawson Creek to meet my niece, so it's just going to be me, my aunt and Charley all weekend. I can't lie - more than anything I'm excited to make the drive on Friday afternoon to Duncan to visit Jordy's foster home and meet the little guy. For those that haven't been keeping up-to-speed, I'm in the process of applying to adopt a rescue dog, and after a month of hoop jumping, I finally get to meet him. Keep your fingers crossed for me! --------------------------------------------------- While many of you will be chowing down on turkey or ham this weekend, I know there are many others who'd rather take advantage of the amazing late snowfall that's graced the slopes of the Comox Valley's Mt. Washington Alpine Resort. Photo: Tony Radomi/Mt. Washington Alpine Resort With a mid-mountain base still well over 200cm and warm sunshine, it's hard to resist those conditions. Easter Weekend is packed full of fantastic and fun events, starting with the Save-On-Foods Dummy Downhill this Saturday, April 11 at 4:00 p.m.

Dummies are designed with painstaking precision and are created with one ultimate goal in mind: make the crowd go wild! To achieve this goal, dummies must fly down the hill in as straight a line as possible. If successful, they will eventually make it to a massive kicker where huge air is unequivocally inevitable. Then, with luck, an explosion of epic proportions will happen inducing an equally epic roar from the crowd!

Dummies are judged on overall artistic impression, hang-time and of course crowd noise. If dummies aren't your thing, perhaps freezing your ass off is! On Easter Sunday the resort hosts the Barq's Slush Cup, a long-time crowd favourite. Photo: Mt. Washington Alpine Resort All that needs to be said about the Slush Cup is the following:

downhill

maximum speed

a pit of slushy water so cold it hurts

Get the picture? Thought so. Don't forget - Mt. Washington has an extended season and will be open weekends until the end of April! To find out more about registering for these and other events - including the brand spanking new Undie 500 - visit the Mt. Washington events calendar.

My alarm started to lull me out of sleep at 5:45 this morning. I proceeded to hit the snooze button for 25 minutes before actually getting up, but even in my dozed state, I was keenly aware of one thing. I'd slept quite solidly, but had a horrible sleep. The tightness and pain in my jaw told me that my teeth had been clenched like steel for most of the night, which will lead to an inevitable headache at some point today. Mondays have a bad reputation for a reason. I'm sitting here in a silent office and wish to do nothing more than go home and go back to bed to try and have a relaxing sleep. Sometimes there are days where you just have to wave the white flag right from the start because it can be pretty simple to tell what kind of day you're going to have. Today is, without a doubt, one of those days. My forehead's starting to throb.

I've spent four nights in my new apartment, and sometimes it feels like the last place I lived in never even existed. My tower in the West End was far too much like a college dorm and less like a home that I felt comfortable in. It seems likely that I'll be in this new place for a few years, but had you asked me six months ago where I'd be today, this apartment would've been the furthest thing off my radar. I finished unpacking the last of the boxes this afternoon, put a lot in storage and tried to organize it as simplistically as I can. This place needs a few more touches like some fresh flowers, more books, another plant and some storage baskets for my wall unit, but I'll get there. In the meantime, here's a quick look...

One day, boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl; girl falls in love with boy. All is blissful. In this case, boy and girl get pregnant and on April 3, 2009, girl has baby girl. I'm thrilled and elated and overjoyed to introduce you all to Sienna Lynn. She's bright and alert, 7 lbs.-4 oz. and already the apple of her father's eye. It's almost strange to me to hear the way my brother speaks about her. The same little bugger that terrorized me as a child with his fart jokes and cheeky talk-back is now calling his daughter "so beautiful" and can't begin to fathom that he helped create this little girl. He told me that he spoke to her every night before bed while she was still in the womb: "Hi, Sienna-bear... it's your daddy," he'd say. Yesterday, Trevor told me that he said the same thing to her as she laid by her mother and that she opened her eyes and looked towards him. It's amazing to me. I am beyond happy for my brother and Laura who will, no doubt, make fantastic parents. They will be moving back to Vancouver Island in June, and I can hardly wait to have them close to me again. A huge congratulations to them both - I am ecstatic about the expansion of what has always been a small, tight-knit family. Welcome to the world, Sienna.

I can't even begin to find enough adequate words to describe the kind of pain my back is in right now. All afternoon I hauled boxes, bags and furniture with Rebecca, Tania and Angie. Somehow we managed to load up my entire life in three pick-up truck loads and haul them across town. And now, I'm "home." Photo: miss604 on Flickr I don't have on ounce of regret in leaving the apartment I lived in for so many years. It was time for a change and time for something new, and this new place is lovely, Hubbell. There is a sea of boxes around me, but I've managed to set up my bed with clean sheets (albeit low-down in hopes of bringing a dog home soon), my new couch, new Ikea furniture and new TV. Tomorrow I've decided to take another day off work to tackle all my belongings and put them in their spots. I have a sneaking suspicion that another trip to Ikea will be very necessary soon. I'm someone who hates to have too much out of order, so the sooner I can unpack, the better. And besides, my darling Ashley is coming to spend a wonderfully gin-tastic weekend with me, so this place need to be presentable. Another huge, huge thank you to my ladies for all their help today. Beer and pizza isn't much to show my gratitude, but when it's your turn, "I'm there for you, babes."