homemade toothpaste

I have been wanting to make my own toothpaste for the longest time - so I finally sat down and just did it! With a mix of baking soda, cold-pressed coconut oil, peppermint essential oil and a glass jar - I was ready to start brushing without any unnecessary additives. Yippee!

run for water

Two years ago Grant and I ran two half marathons (Toronto's Scotiabank and Niagara's International), and I remember that feeling of exhilaration experienced afterwards.... So two years later I signed us up for another run and time sure has flew by.     


Abbys Run for Water has finally come and gone and Grant and I have spent the last 24 hours nursing our sore muscles. My time for the 21km run was 2:02:24, which means I beat my last time by 8 minutes! It was so fun to be apart of a community event and to help raise funds to support clean water projects in Ethiopia. I wonder what and where our next race will be... Grant is thinking of biking the Valley GranFondo which is a 160km ride from Fort Langley to Chilliwack loop. 

what is in our food?

For the past year I have been exploring the idea of living a raw lifestyle. However I have yet to create a menu plan or find a good cook (or non-cook) book to guide me. My interest in healthy eating has then had an influence on my school projects this past year. I designed my photo essay around the issue of processed food and discovering the real truth. Below is my artist statement.     


I can only speak for myself but, if I cannot pronounce an ingredient on a food package I'm surely not going to ingest it… consequently I couldn’t stop thinking about it so I had to investigate. I must admit the results were far worse than I had imagined. Just about every packaged or processed food contains some sort of preservative, additive or colour to either lengthen it's shelf life or aesthetically please the eye.


So, does that mean there are health benefits? Unfortunately not. 


My big question is, when do we start using our own judgement and stop assuming that just because these products are sold in stores it is healthy for the us to consume. When do we start taking the initiative to educate ourselves and treat our bodies with respect.

beeker

Today we lost a dear friend named Beeker. Words cannot express the sadness and devastation we have felt today... For the last 6 months we have created the most wonderful bond and it's hard to believe that we can never share moments like those again. He was the most extraordinary and loveable friend...

 

inspired

Here is another photo project of mine created by dark room experimentation and accompanied by a poem I wrote. The first set of three - my belief - are double negative exposures toned with the red wine. The second set of three - news - are collage base photocopies of prints toned with tea. The third set of three - the familiar - were created by using smoked glass and sand set under the enlarger, which created such a lovely scene of space... I'm planning on recreating this idea on a larger scale. Finally, the fourth set of three - inspiration - are a mix of toning with tea and added sand for texture. This project was so much fun!

I believe I am rooted to the earth,

by my hands and feet.

The energy I put outwards,

I receive inwards.

I have the power to expand my mind and spirit,

by opening my eyes.

I have seen what we are capable of,

the good and the bad.

With our hands we pollute the air we breathe.

We cut away the trees that stand tall.

We squeeze our earth dry of its natural life.

But beyond the chaos and destruction,

there is the unexplainable.

The sublime feeling of looking up,

into the nights sky.

The same view shared by the whole world.

I am inspired by a life living within the woods,

alone in the wilderness.

To be connected on a new level

of consciousness and awareness.

To only take what I need to survive,

happy and at peace.

fantastic adventures

Today was a beautiful day in the Fraser Valley, in fact, we have had wonderful weather for the last few days. Spoiled really. So to take advantage of the sun today, Grant and I put together a hearty trail mix and biked the 67 km trek to Cultus Lake... it's been an amazing day! 

Also, with all of this wonderful sun we've had my garden has s-p-r-o-u-t-e-d. Yea!

beet sprouts.

snow pea sprouts.

our bikes.

  

collage collage

For Grant's 25th birthday last year, I surprised him with a weekend of river rafting on Chilliwack river (super fun) and I put together a beautiful collage mixing materials from fashion magazines and an inexpensive Robert Bateman book I found at a thrift store. I really enjoyed this process of mixing human and animal forms - much like the works of the Toronto based artist Jen Mann. http://www.jenmann.com/fera.html

time based image

It is truly amazing to think of the life line of a single tree. To imagine the many changes in the landscape a tree witnesses throughout it's entire life. In fact, the oldest living tree stands only 13 feet tall but it's root system has been growing for 9,550 years... that's incredible!
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080414-oldest-tree.html

For my Photo II class this past semester at the University of Fraser Valley (where I'm enrolled in the bachelor of Fine Arts degree program), I created a series of time based imagery studying tree rings. I'm absolutely fascinated by each individual story told every single tree - and how they are all so wonderfully different!  

  

last years crop

Here are some photos from last years garden. This is a reminder to me of what an amazing experience it is to watch vegetables grow from seeds... I hope that one day I can be completely self-sustainable and live off the land.

home-grown goodies

In the spring of 2011 we attempted our first backyard food supply. Considering the rocky and un-rototilled landscape we planted in - we surprising did alright. Our snap peas, carrots, and soy beans blossomed with ease and tasted delicious, however the slugs ate away the rest of the crop.

Since then we have moved to a new location where the soil is rich, rock-free, and the slugs are tolerable. Barbara Pleasant's Starter Vegetable Garden handbook http://www.barbarapleasant.com/books/startervegetablegardens.html has been a wonderful guide in planning out our garden. 

This growing season we planted a wide variety of seeds on the 16th of April and the amazing miracle of life has begun as some veggies have already sprouted an inch. 

the thrush

the sparrow

the short eared owl

the swallow

the steller jay

the sandpiper

the mountain bluebird

the junco

the downy woodpecker

the clarks nutcracker

the cedar waxwing

the blackbird

the red crossbill

the yellow warbler

the robin