farms visted and minds opened.

You know how I know it's spring??



Last weekend my boyfriend and I visited a farm that he helps out at sometimes (moving calves- reigning them in from various escapades.) I don't accompany him much, but the spring time is definitely worth the view.



The visit was accentuated by a free-spirited farmer that told us stories of some of the calf births this year: shoelaces tied to the babies, trying to help the birthing process. One of the farm dogs finding a newly born calf that wasn't doing well, and leading the farmer to it, saving it's new little life...

The divergence of the situation from my normal every day life reminded me of why I love this town so much.

Currently I'm living in the town I grew up in, in BC, Canada. One of my favorite things about it- something that drew me back to it after my university degree and travels- is the range of culture the population here embodies.




In high school the diversity was most evident, and can simply be broken down into a terrible term: 'cliques'.

Clique: a stereotypical idea binding the members of the group into a strict boundary of interests, activities, and spirit.

During high school these groups, activities and interests made people pre-judge and scoff at each other. This is one of my biggest regrets of this age. If I, as a future teacher can limit the amount of typecasting, I will have given a gift.

I'm not sure what it is, if it's simply safe to "know" what or who a person is, before you ask the questions or allow them to show you. Or if humans are, in fact, judgmental by nature. But what I do know is that maturity has cultivated a more open-minded view; now I find excitement in meeting someone and finding out what their adventure of life contains whether it be... birthing calves, mining copper, or designing handbags.

My hometown inhabits an impressive range of "types" if I may call them that. People who come across first as 'farmers', 'city folk', 'hipsters', 'rebellious teenagers', 'bureaucratic business owners', and 'hippies'. I could go on more to pigeon hole these people, but as I've learned everyone surprises you and has a range of thoughts and feelings they abide by.

Having these diverse conventions around my town growing up raised me to be a bit of a city-hippy-outdoors woman-girly girl. I know even this definition is constantly changing. As I am impacted by those around me the array of pigeon holes I occupy will grow.

The ability to open my mind to allow people to show me who they are and what experiences they have had, while inhibiting pre-judgment has made me a more well rounded person.

The visit to the farm reminded me of this... and the fact that spring babies are pretty darn cute.





Oh, and boo-yah:




#7 and #5 off my spring list done and DONE.

what was I saying? Oh yes... maturity.

Debut.

Dearest Blog Readers,

This little blog is in it’s infancy, and it surprises me daily. It has given me a venue for entertainment and expression; the small community that has gathered warms my heart.

I started it here, in a way to tiptoe into public documentation, test the blogging waters, and motivate myself to notice and remember- the 2 magic words for bloggers/ writers.

In a celebration of legitimacy, Lauren from Blue Luxe has been amazing in designing me a beautiful template for my blogging journey. I couldn’t recommend her more; her patience and design talent were great to work with.

I want to thank you all for gathering here, enjoying words and leaving some of your own. This has given me even more marrow to suck out of life and I so appreciate your visits.

As I build this memory bank and tuck morsels of my past in lovely little posts, I'll archive my very first blog header:

A photo of me hiking the Meteora mountain range in Kalambaka, Greece. Read about my trip backpacking in Greece here. Read about the name "Outside Voice" here.


So… I’m steppin’ out on the town to debut this little blogs new get-up.
I hope you enjoy.

... and join me!

"Like" my page on facebook,
grab my spiffy button,
write me lovely inconsequential messages on twitter,
and email me.
all seen on the sidebar --->


I read, answer, and appreciate every single gesture and comment.

Sincerely,

making a big to-do about it.

The snow is melting, the sky is blue (see more photos in last post!), and after getting over the pout-session I had a couple weeks ago, thinking "what the heck is this spring forward thing anyways?? you mean you're going to take an hour of sleep away, then expect me to work??" well, ladies and gentlemen, we've finally sprung ahead.

The days have been stretched, giving us one more hour of light. The air is warm enough to go snowshoeing in tank tops and snow pants... And if any of you love irony as much as I do, you'll love that image.



After a weekend of snowshoe trips, family dinners, drinks with friends announcing their engagement (!!), and a sick grandpa in the hospital that I'm willing with all my might to get better... I thought what better way to really spring ahead and embrace this fresh-and-dewy little season, than to channel my inner geek?

You see... there are two things you should probably know about me:

1. I tend to get into deep and meaningful relationships with the current season that is gracing my little place on this earth. [proof here]

and if we're all lucky, I might even post my little love letter to Spring in some future post;)

2. I'm a list-er. Yep, one of those people that is obsessively writing lists, keeping agendas/ diaries... because doesn't it feel so much more accomplished when you can put a big strike through tasks you've completed?

So... behold a list of amazing activities that are an 'oh-so important' part of my spring:

And you can bet... I'll love doin' each and every one of them.

Oh. And I've finally got my butt in gear and finished my 'about me' section. That's right... if this girl was on a baseball card [or had enough coordination to even play baseball] THIS is what the back of her card would read. Check it.

wordless weekend

"Spring is a heart full of hope, and a shoe full of rain"

--Unknown

happy weekend-ing to you and you and you.

xo

spring snow report

Reporting to you live, from a Wednesday...

Today I find myself slipping away dreamily into a Wednesday, as the weekend finally feels within reach.

But before we plow through the rest of the week with the promise of an awesome weekend ahead, I want to take a moment and "dear diary" the heck out of my last weekend, because spring has finally arrived! and dudes, spring snowboarding might just be the best thing ever.

The weather and moments on the hill this weekend were postcard worthy-- the postcard would look a bit like this, adorned with a stamp, and scrawled with cursive reading "wish you were here, the boarding is sublime":


Two of my girlfriends made a roadtrip up to relish the sun, snow, and of course my company, and there were more than a few moments in the weekend we all looked at eachother and said "seriously, can this get any better?"


We were able to mingle in town, enjoy a little shopping, then make it up the hill to soak up the powder for the rest of our Saturday. Coincidentally, there was some live music in the lodge afterward that paired nicely with our nachos and drinks, leaving us to wind down after carving the gnarly grind. (<--- I'm totally joking.) But it's not a joke that I heard a kid say that in the t-bar line. and I wanted to give him a fist pound and say "yep, I'm SO carving up the gnarly grind too, dude".

Spring may be one of my favorite seasons. I get to soak up all my favorite things like snowboarding, snowshoeing, skating that mix and mingle nicely with blue skies and warm weather. It's like a preview for what's to come this summer, still with an aftertaste of the crisp snowy winter.


So, needless to say, I'm vouching for my friend's favorite quote: "Mountains shall bring joy to the people". Cuz man, the awesome company, sunny skies, and gnarly grind are unreal.

And to share some bloglove: I loved some blog friends that played along and filled in the blanks to "_____ shall bring joy to the people" (on the post below)

-the Little Lady is fillin' in the blanks with "a good chocolate ice cream cone shall bring joy to the people"

-Stephanie thought "reading/ coffee shall bring joy to the people"

-and Fashion Cappuccino answered "musicals shall bring joy to the people"

go visit their blogs, they're wonderful;)

And that decides it. This weekend I'm going to curl up with a coffee and a good read, head up the mountain to go boarding while eating a chocolate ice cream cone and rocking out to musical tunes on my ipod.



Happy "Hump Day" everyone!

Monday Tune-age

A little music for your Monday

...because, lets face it, sometimes Monday's a b*tch and some good tunes are the only remedy.



...because although Monday seemed like a b*tch at first, I think she's one of those chicks that once you get to know her, she'll be someone you wanna rock out with.







Oh, and a bit of a peek at the weekend snowboard report that's coming up later this week:


One of my besties favorite quotes goes a little somthin' like this:

"Mountains shall bring joy to the people"

I can vouch for this. A couple of girlfriends made a road trip last weekend to soak up some of the spring snowboarding, and it was oh-so full of joy.

In fact, if you put a toque, goggles, and a snowboard on joy... then asked a random lady to take a crappy photo of it... It might look a bit like this:

But you know, I should respect the artistic license of the chick: snapping the photo wildly, cutting off our feet, and all scenic view... I'd get distracted by all the mountainous beauty too;)

So, have at 'er. What's your version? Fill in the blanks and let me know:

"______ shall bring joy to the people."

Happy St. P's!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

And what does ye do when ye is at work and doesn’t get to guzzle green beer with her comrades?
{you really have to imagine the best irish accent you can to make this affective}

Well, she dons her best green t-shirt under the coveralls, doodles a few shamrocks, and dreamily pursues photos of Ireland.

…contemplating adding them to the long list of “Oooo-I really-wanna-go-there” places.

All photos lovingly admired and borrowed from National Geographic Travel Photos

Check out the shutter action on this baby:

If my fellow travel-photography lovers don’t have National Geographic's “Photo of the day” site as their homepage; well that is my St. Patty’s present to you.
<3>

And for you fashionista/ pop culture lovers out there, here’s what Gweneth Paltrow has to say about the holiday...

That’s right, when she’s not busy filming episodes of Glee, she writes GOOP, a blog-type newsletter. Because of course I want to know about the best Irish bars around the world… oh geez, just more places to add to my list. Thanks a lot, Gweneth.

Hope ye all had a pinch-less, green filled day today!