VANCOUVER: Follow your Dream...

just like Russian immigrant Anastasia Modestova did.

How and why did she give up everything - her job, status, connections and money - only to create "Movie About You", her own video production company here in Vancouver?
Find out here:

We immigrants have our personal reasons why we came to Canada:
Some of us came for love.
For some it was the promise of a better life.
And others came for adventure, just like us!

However, I am not here to write about my family.
I am here to introduce to you a fellow immigrant, Anastasia Modestova, one smart, highly educated, hard working, high achiever from Russia. Back in her home country she was a successful, well paid marketing director. This job offered everything a young, professional woman could wish for: Success, status, connections and lots of money!

No wonder Anastasia wanted to continue her life style upon arrival to Canada.
But guess what: Just because you are a hot shot in your country doesn't make you a hot shot in Canada.
You know what they say: Different rules for different countries- or something like that!

The only way to be considered as a job candidate for a high end marketing position was with a completed MBA program (Masters of Business Administration).
Within one year, lots of will power and hard work the mission was completed and Anastasia landed a position as marketing director for a start-up company in Vancouver.

She did it again: Success, connections, status and money were hers again.
Now here comes the crazy part: Within four months she quit- just like this.

With four cold beer bottles in her bag she came home one Friday afternoon and told her husband: "I quit"- as I told you, just like that!

Is this lady crazy? Or true to herself?
How could she give up something she wanted to badly, she worked so hard for?

Well, her new marketing career didn't feed her soul or nourished her heart. She was craving freedom, beauty and creativity in her life. Still, would you give it all away for a feeling?

Can you imagine doing the same thing?
Creating videos was a dream for her- and she made it happen.
No, she never sat foot into a film or editing school. Everything she does is self taught. One relentless learner and achiever she is!

Nobody ever said it would be easy to make changes in life. If we want to say YES to create more fun, adventure or opportunities in our live we need to make sacrifices and keep on pushing through the hard times.
 I know, I know, it's easier said than done. But then, if it's easy everybody would do it and were is the fun and adventure in that one?

And if you didn't watch the video, here are Anastasia's three top tips to make the leap from secure job to starting your own, fat dream:

- Follow your heart
- Remember your marketing
- Invest your time and energy wisely, network well.

On this note I want to leave you with Anastasia's quote:
"Do what you love-
not what you are best at!"

Do you agree?  
What is your success story?- I know you have one, please share with us! I look forward to reading your stories!

Honey, let's leave the kids! We are going White Water Rafting with Hyak River Rafting!

or: How rafting down the Thompson river puts a different spin on spending a "wet, wild-n-dirty weekend with your husband and a lot of rubber."

Lucky me, the Best Man of All is game whenever I am!  I name the activity and under normal circumstances and within limitations, he is in!
Convincing my man to go on a 2 day White Water rafting trip with Hyak wasn't the issue; figuring out what to do with our three boys at home was an issue for sure!!
Unfortunately we can't ask any of our immediate family for the occasional nanny job, they live thousands of miles away! But that's only an excuse, isn't it? If you really want to do something in life you will find a solution for any dilemma.
We put our junior (11 years of age) up for weekend adoption among our neighbours and friends (thankfully he is big fun and low maintenance and the offers came in). We made our teenager (17) give us the pinkie swear not to host one of his crazy parties while we were gone (we already hosted three of them and it's not a pretty sight) and bribed our middle son (14) to spy on him!

This, plus a tent was all we needed to arrange for the wet-n-wild rafting trip!
The price (apart from the monetary) we had to pay was getting up at 4.30 AM to make it in time to Hyak's base in Lytton (Lytton is a 3 hour drive from our home and we didn't want to miss the boat. Departure time was 9.30 am). We signed our disclaimer, stripped down and geared up with wetsuit, splash jacket, helmet and a paddle.

Meeting our new friends!

Let's see, what are we signing for? 

All geared up and ready to paddle.

We needed to board Hyak's own luxury cruiser for another 45 minute bus ride up to Ashcroft. In Ashcroft we loaded up and boarded one of the two rafts waiting for us.  

During this particular weekend trip we were a total of 15: 4 couples, 5 lovely ladies and our two rafting guides, Jim and Sebastian (Seb from now on). Jim, a veteran of all things rafting, paramedical, safe + rescue was our leader; a solid rock of knowledge, funny, charming, nevertheless the no-nonsense kind of rafter.

In his 20 years of experience our charming rafting guide has never seen an umbrella on a rafting trip!

My man and I gravitated towards Seb, the young, foot loose and fancy free Aussie version of Jim (it must have been the accent) - and so did Lauren, Alice, Kurt and Karleen. And just like that, Party
Boat Awesome FUN was created.

Crew Awesome!

Paddling during Saturday morning was easy. The wind blew heavily but we didn't have any rapids to master yet nor anything scary to worry about. It was a time to get to know one another, to practise our paddle strokes (the whole blade into the water, use your whole body, not just your arms), learning instructions and taking in the magnificent beauty of our surroundings.

Reaching our lunch stop was a a bit challenging as we were sucked into a whirlpool and couldn't get out of it. However, never ever underestimate the power of six novice paddlers, their Australian guide and the will power and determination of the whole team. It took a while to get us where we needed to be, but we made it.

Why is it that a lunch buffet, presented on a rock and eaten out in the open tastes so much better than at home? Hmm! The huge white cool boxes strapped onto the rafts contained eatable treasures: Fresh fruit, veggies, tuna salad, sweeties, cookies, bread, mayonnaise, meats. You name it, the cool box contained it.
Afternoon paddling was easy peasy as well. How can you not enjoy yourself being surrounded by rubber, taking in the scenery and listening to funny stories from everybody about everything and nothing?

Well, Fantasy Island, here we come! Our domicile for the night!

Our home away from home!

Fantasy island- surrounded by water and two train tracks...!

We found our perfect spot and pitched the tent! In the meantime our two rafters extraordinaire, Jim and Seb, created magic -again. This time disguised as kitchen fairies in the Alfresco kitchen. 

Left: Aussie Seb, Right: Canadian Jim!

Have you noticed the following peculiar socio- cultural phenomena: Everybody always gravitates towards to and congregates into the kitchen? The same happened here on the island!  By the time I showed up to join pre-dinner drinks and snacks my fellow rafters already nibbled on barbecued chicken strips, tortilla chips and fresh vegetables. 

It is 5 o'clock on Fantasy Island.

Lots of hugging went on around here!

Some of us decided to help prepare dinner, some us us decided not to. One way or another, the mood was good, the laughter loud, the conversations flowing! And what a feast these two multi-talented rafters prepared for us: Pork loin (!!!), chicken breasts, wild rice, Greek salad, and a freshly baked chocolate cake, baked in a sand oven (talk about genius creativity).

We're digging in!

The sand oven

And here are a few more blissful moments:

Here we are getting ready for a quick dip into the river for a cool down after dinner!  

I would love to share with you the juicy details of our wet-n-wild night on Fantasy Island. However, we all agreed that "Whatever happens on Fantasy Island stays on the island." So, my lips are sealed. Sorry!                         There is one thing I can reveal though: During the night heavy wind and rain set in. The wind uplifted our front tent pegs and we experienced the wild sensation of half a tent flapping into our faces.  The Best Man of All somehow put his feelers out (no torch for us) to fix the problem.
 Oh, did I mention earlier I am a light sleeper? Did I mention the midnight trains were running? And with this I leave it up to your own imagination how we spent our night on Fantasy Island.

Sunday was absolute bliss. Starting from the French Toast we were served, to the freshly barbecued breakfast sausages to our perfectly timed and well organized departure from the island.

Sunday was the time our wild-n- crazy rapids fun began! . It was the time we had to listen to and practise our commands. Seb could only work his magic if we helped him out. He steered and we did the rest. We needed to paddle, stop, crouch down or made sure we stayed on the boat. 
Wet-n-wild it sure was. Each and every rapid we encountered grew bigger and more challenging.  Huge sprays of water greeted each and every one of us as we went raft first into and through rapids with the names like "Jaws of Death", "Cutting Board", "Witch's Cauldron". Great rapids, huge laughs, fantastic teamwork!

Photo: Courtesy of Hyak River Rafting

So far this was one of the best trips I went on this year. Not only was it active, fun but also wet-n-wild. I  made new friends, shared great laughs and enjoyed my time with the man of all men!

If you decide to spend the weekend on board one of the luxury rubber rafts with the Hyak folks, here are the pre-requisites:

-  Open minded, fun, bubbly personalities preferred- not required! (You want to be an asset, not a burden, don't you?)
- A good physical shape is not necessary. However, good ears to listen to commands is a must!
- A good sense of balance is helpful. If not, make sure you fall into the boat and not off the boat as soon as the rapids hit the raft.
- If you are a light sleeper take ear plugs.  Fantasy island is surrounded by train tracks...and the trains aren't stopping for no one!
- If you  are on a diet stay at home! The food is simply too delicious, plentiful, fresh and too varied to ignore.
- If you go as a couple this is the perfect way to add another chapter to your happy life together. It also is the perfect opportunity you see your husband / partner in a totally different light!

Here are a few examples of what could happen:

 - Your wife will bang you on the head with her paddle for no reason whatsoever!

- You could become jealous because another woman just told you: "Your husband just poked me!"

- Your wife lands 100% on top of the hunky, half your age, terribly
handsome rafting guide (after he pulled her up out of the water)! 

-  Your wife is telling the same story / joke again- and still doesn't get it right! 

- Your husband fills up and refills his plates every time. Do you let him- just because the food is included in the price? 

Could you see yourself spending a weekend with the Best Man / Woman of All on a rubber raft? Please share your thoughts right here!
Or, have you ever been on a rafting adventure? If yes, how did you enjoy it? 

ANOTHER Immaculate CONCEPTION & DELIVERY

Don't we all love today's technology?

We are one click away to have Domino's Pizza deliver our dinner.
We order our clothes and flight tickets online.
With one click we can order a bride, a new book, shoes , theatre tickets.
 Thanks to online services we can also choose to have another child. If you click yes on the form, your son will be delivered to your front porch.
As I said, technology has its perks!
Without  random acts of hanky panky, no unnecessary weight gain or labour pain, nappy changes, painfully long sleepless nights, the fourth child arrives at your door step; all grown up, well groomed, well behaved! Most importantly, he can talk, walk, bicycle, ski and swim- or knows how to play hockey (or not!).

Before you get any second thoughts, I am talking about an exchange student here! For the second year in a row we opened our house and hearts to a student from a different mother and father. This year our 'son' arrived from Japan!

Last year we hosted our first ever Korean boy. After our initial excitement and novelty wore off our family wasn't sure if we should repeat the experience. Too many small things (read: annoying) piled up by the end of his stay:
He loved our computer more than us,

he preferred the great indoors to the adventurous outdoors,
 he beat us all in table tennis, he constantly slurped his dinners,
he tripled our electricity and food bill and  told Cruz to f...off.  The f-word is rude by all means, coming out of his mouth with his Korean accent sounded more like a declaration of love than war though.

Today, Ganggyu (read: Can you) is in our life. He is only 11 years of age and so far I am happy to report not much has changed on our home front.  He does his best to fit it.
Until now he only fooled us once; the first TV show he chose to watch was Sponge Bob! Both Dominic and I were so pleasantly surprised by his choice, we called him cute. In comparison, our  biological 10 year old prefers killing zombies on his xbox.
As I just mentioned. he fooled us alright; within a day Sponge Bob was replaced by the Terminator and worse, by Double Headed Shark Attack, a ridiculously, very bad, horror-soft-porn-flick.  How did he do it? How could he go from Innocent 11 year old to blood thirsty, horny mature 11 year old in less than 24 hours? He didn't flinch when the two half naked girls started kissing each other during their threesome; meanwhile the double headed shark got ready to attack!

As a mother to my own or 'borrowed 'children I draw the line at shark attacks - as soon as I see body parts floating off or too many boobies the TV needs to be turned off.

Where do you draw the line?

.

 

TRUMPED BY MY 9 YEAR OLD NIECE

Before I get on with the story you need to know three things:

1.)  I have a nine year old niece, Lenne,  - the up and coming queen of gymnastics. According to my parents this girl is made of jello.  If you believe the proud grandparents this girl can put the most talented member of Cirque du Soleil to shame.

2.) We currently live 9ooo km apart from each other, my niece, my parents and I.
Thanks to modern communication we stay in touch with random phone calls full of sweet nothingness.
If my niece is the princess of gym apparatus, my mom is the undefeated queen of random jibber jabber!

3.) There are two items on my bucket list I am horrified to do! That's why they are on the list; I strategically postponed these two actions successfully for 40 years. One of them is to do a back dive into the pool!

 "What, that's it?"
Easy for you to say! We all have our own personal fears and shortcomings to overcome - and the back dive is mine!

 Last week, out of the blue, I decided to take the plunge- literally. Don't ask me why, I just wanted to do it ! Who am I to encourage, motivate and inspire to Just do it if I am not doing it myself?

A plain and simple, straight backwards back dive is all I ever wanted to complete and experience since I am about 8 years old!

Why haven't I done it?
 I am afraid! I am afraid to break my back and to hit my head somewhere. I am afraid of not being flexible enough. Letting go, falling backwards into the big unknown freaks me out! Until last Tuesday that is!

Here is the abbreviated version of how it went:  Y E S, I did it! HURRAH - I let myself go - and survived!

As you can read, this back dive is a pretty huge accomplishment in my life! For good measure I did the dive six times; to make sure I am not a one-hit-diver!


A few days later our long distance line was busy with my mom's desperate attempt to figure out her yearly pre- Christmas- dilemma:
 What can she send whom and how for the holy season? In between my non -helpful suggestions (just send some sweets, we have everything) my mother kept on asking:
 "So tell me, what is new?"

Regardless of how many times I answer this question in general, she keeps on asking the same thing, over and over again; as if she is hoping something spectacular is going to happen while she is on the line!

I don't know if my parents ever knew about this personal absession of mine. Regardless, I told them. I told them about my personal victory, about how I conquered my fear diving backwards into a pool!
After I finished with "I did it!" there was nothing, just (stunned????) silence on their end!

This was mom's reaction to one of my most courageous, personal challenges so far:
 "You should see what Lenne can do!  It is unbelievable how this girl can bend herself into a pretzel!"

Isn't it funny?
 Some things mean the world to you- but they mean little or nothing to others; personal or business accomplishments mean nothing if we brag about them to the wrong audience!

LOTS OF WHEELING AROUND VANCOUVER

Every city has their own Green Lung. What New Yorkers call Central Park, Vancouverites call Stanley Park:

Since we first took our boys here I promised myself to come back with my skates. You see, Stanley Park is surrounded by an 8,8km long promenade called the seawall.  It is just perfect for a quick spin around on your bike or skates.

Yesterday was the day to fulfil my promise.  I squeezed my rollers into my backpack, pumped up my bike tires and boarded the train heading west.

If you rely on the train to bring you downtown and back home, our choices here in Maple Ridge are limited. We have to out of here by 7.44 am. As this is a commuters train, we need to kill time in Vancouver; we need to kill 8 hours to be exact. Now, this is a lot of wheeling around!

Let me take you on a spin around the city:

1. Stop:                                          Welcome to Stanley Park:

Off we go,  here I am getting ready for the first lap around:

 

 A few shots of what it looks like when you are on the seawall:

 

This lake is called Lost Lagoon, at the entrance / end  of the park, depending from which side you are coming from:

.
The trip was so nice, I did it twice! The second time I went for speed - or not?

2. Stop: Cycling to English Bay, west of the Stanley Park:

 

 What do you think?  Pretty? Be honest!
Vancouver boast 11 beaches most of them looking like this. It is definitely a fantastic record for any city; and to have a beach like this is better than having none- true! Let me just say this, it is fabulous to cycle along these stretches of driftwood covered brown sandy spots, don't expect me to spend the day there. 


3. Stop: Crossing Granville Bridge to Granville Island:

Here I stopped in the middle of the bridge, looking left:

Here I am looking  to my right:

 

 

Granville Island, the spot nearly every tourist goes to - and a visitor from Maple Ridge. Please check out this link to have a look of what is going on there! All you need is plenty of spare cash to enjoy the festivities, theatres, restaurants and goodies at the market.

3. Stop Cycling to Kitsilano Beach:

Kitsilano has a serious size saltwater  swimming pool!  I looked at it and nearly cried; I didn't bring my swimsuit! 

 Here in Kitsilano I checked my watch and discovered my eight are nearly over - I needed to go back to catch the train!
Vancouver is definitely fun in the sun, on your bike and on your skates!