Keira-anne.com

If I had a dollar for every time over the last six months that Becky asked me “can we go snowboarding now?” then, well, I’d have about five dollars. My point is that she is just as excited as I am for the upcoming snowboard season. Mt. Washington Alpine Resort on Vancouver Island is set to kick off the 2008/2009 ride on December 5, 2008 - just a sprinkle of days after yours truly’s birthday.

Becky and I will, without a doubt, be on the slopes for opening day, boards waxed and ready to go. Keep your eyes locked on my blog over the next 7 weeks as I’ll be posting updates on the snowfall and getting you excited with snowcam shots!

And a little link love to kick off the first really rainy weekend of Fall…

P.S. A girlfriend of mine is trying to get her mitts on a vintage stove from the 40s or 50s, so if you know of one for sale, leave a comment or pop me an e-mail.

I should be making the rounds on street corners with Becky right now. Today is the Vancouver Sun’s annual Raise A Reader day. Local celebrities, politicians, men (and women) in uniform and NHL hockey players are joined by volunteers to hock copies of the Vancouver Sun in an effort to raise awareness and funds for childrens’ literacy programs across British Columbia.

Photo: miss604 on Flickr

Needless to say, it seems as though Becky enjoyed her outing on Raise A Reader day in 2007.

I must admit, however, that part of me is glad to be in my office at the moment and not out there. 2004 was the first year I experienced Raise A Reader. I was still in school, living downtown and making my way on a combination of a student line-of-credit and a minimum wage job at American Eagle Outfitters. My budget was tight - tight!

That particular morning, as I walked to work, I had not two pennies in my wallet to rub together. Raise A Reader volunteers were everywhere on every corner. Finally I encountered Premier Gordon Campbell at the corner of Burrard and Georgia. His guilt trip on me over not buying a paper (keep in mind: no pennies) practically reduced me to tears in the middle of rush hour pedestrian traffic. The man was in my face. It scarred me.

This many years later, times have changed and I can now gladly and easily afford to support this cause without a problem. I won’t lie though - coming to work this morning felt very much like navigating that same minefield.

It’s not a secret that I’m no fan of working on the weekends (one of the perks of a M-F job), but even though I spent both Saturday and part of Sunday in the office, I didn’t mind. The remainder of my Sunday was spent at Crab Park with my favourite boys, followed by grocery shopping, a nap, South Park and Snatch. Sounds pretty decent if you ask me…

What could be better than hot sunshine, cold beer, sweaty and dirty men, insane mountain biking, friends and a summer day spent on Mt. Washington?

I know, I couldn’t think of anything either.

Only a month from now, the mountain that’s home to my favourite powder riding in the winter is now opening up its bare hills to the Bearclaw Invitational Slopestyle III. I was lucky enough to check out this annual mountain bike competition last summer and I’m already anticipating this year’s bike battle on August 22 and 23, 2008. The only difference for me this year being that I’m kidnapping the lovely Miss604 and showing her what a 250 party weekend is all about.

According to Darren Berrecloth, event organizer, this year’s comp will be the best yet:

“On August 22nd there will be a free slalom event which is invitation only…the format of the free slalom is simple; it’s a dual slalom course with 3 or 4 dirt jumps in it. It’s basically racing with the jumps also being judged, in a similar format to mogul skiing. We’re bringing in a mogul skiing judge for continuity and yes, this is the first time a competition of this sort is being held.“

Spectators will be in for a treat on the day of the actual competition, Saturday, August 23. The course this year has been re-vamped and, according to Brent Curtain, PR Director at Mt. Washington, features a “brand-spanking new course with all the crazy wooden stunts” spectators of the event have come to expect. For those lucky enough to be riding, a jackpot worth $18,000 is up for grabs. And for those of us cheering from the sidelines, there’s live music, beer gardens sponsored by Kokanee and an adults-only party Saturday night at the legendary Fat Teddy’s.

If you plan on being in the Comox Valley at the end of August, I highly suggest getting your ass up the hill to check out this event. It promises to be a pretty stellar time for all involved. Keep a look-out for Miss604 and myself, snapping our cameras.

For more information, visit the Bearclaw Invitational official website.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I’m tired, still full of last night’s 10 p.m. McDonald’s and would rather be watching CSI than sitting at my desk. Monday has arrived, and in an effort to chase away those ayem blues, allow me to point you to areas of the web that may bring you some much-needed distraction.

Original Photo: cemedia on Flickr

I started popping Tylenol at 5pm yesterday. Oh, how I adore seasonal migraines. I’ve been plagued with them for the past handful of years, mainly only in the springtime. Lavender is my new best friend. The truth is, the migraines are gone as quickly as they spring on me. After a few extra hours in bed this morning and some fresh air, I’m basically just feeling the remnants…something I like to call a “migraine hangover.” I suppose I’m one of the lucky ones - I know some who’ve spent weeks bedridden, so for the odd one I get here and there, who am I to complain? A migraine every once in a while isn’t the end of the world.

Here we go…

Becky and I have spent all week looking forward to The Style Spy’s Fabulous Life fashion show. With designer names like Chulo Pony and Kensie, red carpet entertainment, swag bags and cocktails, we figured that there was no way we could go wrong with an event like this. Turns our we were wrong.

In light of tonight’s events, I present to you… “How Not To Hold A Fashion Show”

Photo: thestylespy07 on Flickr

Okay, so I’ve had a few cocktails and now I’m onto pinot noir. But buzzed or not, my sentiment remains the same. After waiting for an hour to check in with the RSVP table, the mess that was ‘Fabulous Life’ was anything but. We scoped the crowd to touch base with the adorable J-Sto (shoot me if you hate the nickname cuz it’s stickin’, baby), then ditched the scene and headed to Gastown to slip inside Boneta on West Cordova.

Roasted duck, sweet n’ savoury cocktails and cleavage talk made for a far better evening. The maître d’ seemed to remember me either from my birthday or from around the ‘hood, but either way, he wouldn’t let us ladies leave before downing a divine glass of complimentary champagne. Class act, that Boneta.

And so now I sit here, adorned in my little black dress and moccasin slippers, inches away from going nuts over the party raging next door. They call it a “housewarming” and I call it “horseshit.” Why party when you can opt for red wine in bed? They’re “down with OPP”; I’m under the down with the Bee and Casey.

Just one short month ago, Becky and I took a trip on a ferry boat. Prior to that trip, we’d been throwing around the idea of doing a podcast together and figured that the hour and a half spent on the ferry would be the perfect time to do so. Each of us fielded reader questions on our respective blogs and answered them for y’all.

I know you’re dying of curiosity to hear what went down, so click here to satiate yourself. We’re funny girls.

You’ve been warned.

P.S. We’re planning on podcasting again this Friday - does that idea interest anyone?

After weeks and weeks of great anticipation and stories regaled of days of old, the day finally arrived on which Becky and I were to hit the slopes of Mt. Washington. To be honest, after all the hype I fed her, I was a little worried that the weather would be bad or that the beer would be warm or that the men wouldn’t be hot; I didn’t want to disappoint. Fortunately, the powder was fresh, the sky was sunny, the beer was crisp and the men were as delicious as the yam fries in Fat Teddy’s Bar and Grill.

We started the day very early with a handful each of Starbucks’ coffee before making the ascent to the mountain’s lodge. We were full of excitement, anticipation, adrenaline and peanut butter granola bars. We started our day by making our way to the Hawk 6ix Pack Lift and doing a start-up run, but then spent the rest of the day hitting the Eagle and Sunrise quad chairs.

After a quick lunch at Fat Teddy’s and a few more runs, I ran into my brother’s friend, Jared, who at one time lived with my family for a while. It’s always good to have a lot of “big brothers” looking out for you.

Becky and I couldn’t have asked for a day more perfect for riding. I am quite sure that the hype lived up to its promises - and more. I can’t imagine another girlfriend I would’ve wanted to bring. We shot a little video at the top of the Eagle chair, so if YouTube ever gets around to properly uploading the file, I’ll post that for your viewing pleasure. In the meantime, here are a few more shots of the day - find more on my Flickr.

“Hey Keira, I think there’s a podcast question card on my head.”












“Let me see…ummm…yup, I think you’re right.”

















“Well don’t just sit there looking pretty - that’s my job. What are you supposed to ask me?”
Photo: Miss604 on Flickr















“Hmmm…it’s kind of hard to tell. I can’t read the question. What should I do?”















“Silly Keira…just look online! I’m sure our fabulous readers have been filling our inboxes with questions they’ve been dying to ask - just ask one of those!”
Photo: Miss604 on Flickr








“Ohhh…great idea! I’ll just check my e-mail.” [Checking...checking...checking...] “Nothing! We haven’t gotten any questions from any of our readers!”
Photo: duanestorey on Flickr














That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. It’s T minus 18 hours until Becky and I head off on our girls’ weekend. A ferry ride there means almost two hours’ worth of time to kill. In that time, we’re podcasting!

This is where the fun begins and you come in. You get to tell us what to talk about…or rather, ask us. This is your big chance to ask even bigger questions to Miss604 and Keira-Anne about anything and everything. At 3pm tomorrow, we’ll haul out all your reader questions and interview each other…the standard, the sexy and the scandalous.

All you need to do is leave your question in the comment section below or e-mail your question to either myself (keira at keira-anne dot com) or to Rebecca (click onto her contact page here) and ask what you will. The deadline is 3:00 p.m. tomorrow to have your questions submitted. Be anonymous if you will or share who are you - we look forward to hearing what inquiring minds want to know…