Category Archives: Photos

Flashback Friday, Part 2

Posted in Family, Flashback Friday, Life, Memories, Photos by

Last week I flashed back to my memories with my grandparents on my Dad’s side of the family. This week, I’m flashing back to my Mom’s side of the family.

I’m fortunate enough to have amazing memories with both my grandparents and great-grandparents on my Mom’s side of the family. My Nana and Papa (my great-grandparents) lived in Palm Springs, California, so I didn’t get to see them very often. They would come up every summer to “escape” the heat in Palm Springs. (Apparently it gets hotter than the summers here, which is ridiculous) You can see the road on the other side of the river from my grandparents house and my brother and I would wait and watch by the window for them to drive along.

My Papa was the one who got me into playing the piano. He played the organ (and accordion!) and I remember sitting beside him on the bench and “play” along with him. When I got better, I remember my mom getting me to play for him while she placed the phone on the piano so he could hear me. The one time we travelled the Palm Springs to visit (and go to Disneyland), I remember him calling me a mermaid because I was constantly in the pool, splashing everywhere.

This was during my first Christmas.

My Papa passed away when I was in Grade 5 or 6. I didn’t really react much then, but I miss him a lot now. I think that if he were still alive, I’d still love playing the piano.

My Nana was amazing in the kitchen, as any grandparent should be. I remember her collecting apples and apricots from my Grandma’s trees and making the most amazing applesauce and apricot jam. A couple years after my Papa passed away my grandparents moved her up to Kamloops so she would be closer to family. I visited her as often as I could and even fulfilled my promise that when I was old enough, I’d take her to the casino and we could play the slot machines. She always had Canadian Club (a whiskey) right before dinner and would make me check her breath to see if the booze smell was noticeable.

She slowly fell ill and because she didn’t have medical coverage in Canada, my Grandma had to take her to Washington so she could get the help she needed. A couple weeks after her 90th birthday, she told the attending nurse that “Tomorrow’s going to be a good day.” She passed away in her sleep that night. I miss her terribly and wish I could’ve spent more time with her during the last few days in Canada.

I was either 16 or 17 in this photo

My Grandma and Grandpa are both amazing people. From travelling to Calgary, multiple camping trips and family get togethers, they are amazing, devoted Grandparents and have nothing but love for all their kids and grandkids.

During my high school graduation

The concluded my Flashback Friday for this week. Happy weekend everyone :)

Not So Wide Awake

Posted in Appearances, Pets, Photos by

Usually I try to have my posts ready to go the night before. Not so much last night. To be honest, I didn’t really have much to say! But then, when I got up this morning and looked in the mirror, I realized how noticeable it was that I had just woken up. My face is slightly puffy, my eyes are still heavy and my hair is everywhere. I present to you morning, pre-coffee, Kara:

Terrifying, right? Haha! Actually, I don’t look much different than when I’m showered and such. Daphne also wanted to get in on the “Out of Bed” look. I think she can rock it better than I:

Anyway, I’ve never been the kind of girl who can’t leave the house without putting on make-up. I’m rather “plain-Jane”, if you will. I’ve never understood girls who freak out when people see them first thing in the morning with no make-up on. I don’t care how people see me in the morning, as long as they don’t see me with drool stains on my face. While I shower every morning religiously, I can get up and run a quick errand in the morning if I need to before I shower. (I used to have to drive my brother to school when he missed the bus.)

I think that in the morning, you see a person for who they truly are. Seeing a person with no make-up on is almost as intimate as seeing a person naked sometimes, especially when they’re not comfortable without their “face” on.

Who are YOU in the morning?

Brr, It’s Cold in Here!

Posted in Awesome, Kara and Kyle, Photos, Summer, Web Images by

Go ahead and do the little cheer from Bring it On. You know the one I’m talking about. Get it out of the way …

Image here

Ready? Okay! Now onto my point:

Last summer was probably one of the most miserable summers I have ever experienced. Not because life’s events sucked, because things were amazing; It was because my bedroom was so. bloody. hot. Like, sauna hot, but without the lovely spa feeling.

The house Kyle and I are renting (his mom’s house, actually) has no air conditioning. NONE. Throw in 40°C (104°F) summer heat and the sun beating right into our bedroom window, and our room is miserable in the summer. We managed to survive by having ice cold showers before bed, blasting both our ceiling fan and oscillating floor fan and sleeping naked with no sheets. Even then, it was horrible.

People would say to us, “Oh, you guys have a pool! You should be able to escape the heat easily!” Well, yes and no. Sure, a nice dip in the pool mid-day helps at that moment, but we can’t bring the pool inside with us. So, at the end of the summer of suffering, Kyle and I swore that if we hadn’t purchased a house of our own by the summer (which we sadly haven’t) we’d invest in a portable AC unit.

On Saturday, we ventured over to Costco to take a peek at what they had in store, since they usually have the best prices and their return policy is crazy. There was one unit on sale for $100 off, so we scooped it up! You should’ve seen the show trying to fit this behemoth into my little hatchback car. Oops, we should’ve taken the truck I suppose.

So voilà! Our brand new AC unit!

Okay, it may be a little big, but da-yum, does it cool our room down! And ignore my messy dresser. And unmade bed.

Kyle turned it on last night for about an hour before we went to bed and our room was like a meat locker. Absolutely freezing! It was a-maze-ing.

I’m really looking forward to being able to sleep comfortably this summer. No more sweating to death. No more sleeping naked! No more snuggling up to Kyle after his ice-cold showers to steal all the coolness away from him! Now I can snuggle up to him without him telling me to get away from him!

So bring it on, summer heat! You can’t ruin my life this time around! Ha!