It is that time of year when everyone starts to reflect on the year
that was as it quickly comes to an end.
As all the programs begin to pop up with lists of the top stories,
movies, songs, ect I decided that it was a good idea. This year has been an eventful year to say
the least and I figure it deserves to be remembered for the good and the bad. So here it is my top 10 most memorable
moments of 2013.
10. The Package Tour
With
the cancellation of my Creative Memories showcase I suddenly had vacation time
and no plans but as luck would have it in Vancouver at the same time New Kids
on the Block, 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men were making a stop for The Package
Tour. It was boy band heaven for me and
I couldn’t believe my luck when I was able to get really great tickets. The night of the concert I got to wallow in
nostalgia and enjoy some great looking men and fun music. It was a night to remember. I screamed, sang out loud and even got
touched by Donnie (twice). I was a
teenager again for a few hours. It was
by far one of the best concerts I have ever been too.
9. Invasion of the birds
Cedar Waxwings
birds came to my neighbourhood on two separate occasions in March and took over
the trees, bushes and airspace. I
grabbed a few photos from my window because I didn’t want to scare them off but
then headed outside. They didn’t all
take off and in fact they didn’t seem to pay much attention to me at all. As
impressive as it was from in the house I was blown away by the sight when I
came out. The noise was
unbelievable. The neighbourhood was
alive with the squawking of hundreds of birds. They played in the snow and stripped the
bushes of any berries that had started to show up and when they were done they
all took off together. It was like a
great big team. When they lifted up all
you could hear was the flapping of the wings.
It was pretty phenomenal. I hope to
see them again in 2014.
Without a doubt
the moment I’m most proud of this year was a month in the making. With the help of friends and co-workers I was
able to put together almost $1000 in gifts and gift cards for a family dealing
with cancer. Adopting a family at
Christmas is something we do at work each year but with all the relocation of us
because of the flood I knew I wasn’t going to be able to fundraise like we
normally would. I made the decision to
adopt a family regardless even if it meant I had to donate a bunch of my own
money to make it a success. I had my
doubts I was going to be able to pull it off but the night it came to wrap and
I began to unpack bags I was filled with joy.
I knew that this was going to make a difference for one family and that
they would be able to have an amazing holiday because of how generous the
people in my life were. To me that is what
Christmas is and my Christmas was made when I dropped it off at the hospital.
7. Meeting Cary Elwes
For my second year
attending the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo the highlight of the whole
weekend was getting to meet Cary Elwes.
I developed a crush on him when I first saw the Princess Bride when I was
a young girl. That movie became one of
my favourite all time movies and I still watch it anytime I get sick. When I found out Chris Sarandon and Cary
Elwes were coming to the Expo I was so excited.
Friday when the doors opened I knew where my first stop was going and
quickly made my way to the autograph section and found where Cary was
signing. It took me a minute to get the
courage to go up but I did. He was so
nice. I quickly told him he was one of
my first crushes to which he replied that I was a sweetheart (probably well
trying to figure out if I was harmless or crazy). It made my whole Expo.
I do have to admit
though that it was hard to pick just one moment from Expo this year. I had so much fun and met so many of my
favourite actors including but not limited to Nathan Fillion, Michael Shanks
and MacGyver himself, Richard Dean Anderson.
It didn’t matter where I went I felt like I was on cloud nine, helped by
the fact I had also splurged on the VIP pass so I was undaunted by line ups to
make me cranky. 2013 was an amazing year
for me at the Expo and I still find myself looking at the scrapbook and
remembering.
6. Easter at my Sister’s
It
is not very often anymore that I get to be around both of my nieces and my
nephew at the same time. This year for
Easter though not only did I get to see all three of them but also got to spend
the day with my Nan as well. It was a great
opportunity to take a few family photos (even with the complaining that goes
with them), enjoy some good food and fun company. I love it when my family all gets together to
celebrate something together. As much as
we might not always get along it is good to see that from time to time we can
get together and just have a good time.
5. Death of my first car/New car
As much as I joked
about getting into an accident so I could get a new car I was not prepared for
the reality of that situation. (I also
learned not to joke up things like that…self-fulfilling prophecies and all that
jazz…eek!) I was crushed to see my
faithful Tercel towed away after a minor accident. It felt like such a waste for it to be
written off. That being said it didn’t
take me long to fall in love with Serenity, my brand new Corolla, once I had
her. The car buying experience was
helped by some amazing friends who helped keep me sane when stress was
threatening to overtake me. It turned
out to be an amazing experience. My luck
with cars this year has not been so great and Serenity has been broken in
rather harshly but hopefully 2014 and beyond she will get to live up to her
name and enjoy an injury free existence.
4. BJ opening her scrapbook
I love giving
scrapbooks as presents because they always get the best reactions. This year I decided to put together a
scrapbook for BJ, one of the owners of the Rosebud Country Inn that we
love. It was a simple scrapbook of the
top ten reasons we love Rosebud. I
filled the book with some of the pictures I have taken over the years and had
each of the gang I go out there with write letters telling her how special we
think our experiences are when we visit.
We gave it to BJ in the morning of our annual Christmas visit and as
soon as she opened it you could tell how touched she was. I didn’t capture the initial moment on camera
because I didn’t want to intrude into it but to see her tear up and become
speechless filled my heart with joy. The
best part about this moment was that I got to share it with some of my best
friends.
3. Calgary (and Alberta) floods
The floods this
year have been on almost any news related list I have seen. For me the floods meant a complete change in
my workplace. After 7 years of working
at the old Holy Cross hospital we were forced out by the water flowing through
our city. As we left the building we
joked about getting a rain day but we none of us realized just how bad it was going
to get. The next day waking up to the
news that the city was in a state of emergency and badly flooded was
unreal. It was hard to believe what we
were seeing on the news and even after going and taking photos for myself I
still found it hard to believe. I’m sad
that we won’t be going back to the Holy Cross again but am looking forward to
finally getting an office location where we can settle in again early in 2014.
Beyond the work
side of the flood though what I find most memorable about the flood was after
it was done and how our city pulled together.
So many people were wanting to help out and do anything they could. When I went to help out at my friend’s condo
I was blown away by the number of people who were walking from house to house
offering help, dropping off food or just offering some words of
encouragement. It was truly inspiring to
see just how much people care. It gave
me faith and pride in my city.
2. A published photo
One of the amazing
things to come out of the flood for me was the fact that I got to have a photo
published. The morning after the flood I
went out with a friend to get a look at the Bow River. As we walked along a ridge and I looked at my
flooded city I was blown away. I did
what I always do though and started taking photos which of course I posted on
Facebook. My Aunt saw them and asked if she
could use one of them for a newspaper called Alberta Street News. I said that was fine as long as I could get a
copy of it. I was so excited when it
came in the mail and there on the front page was my name and picture.
1. A published article
If
having a photo published wasn’t enough I also got to see my name in print this
year on something I wrote as well.
Having an article published in the Calgary Comic and Entertainment
program guide was by far one of the coolest things. I’m not sure it was my best writing and it
was a little out of my frame of reference since I usually only write fiction
(or random babbling blog entries) but it was still pretty cool to see something
I wrote published in black and white. I
loved more than anything being able to give copies of it to my parents and to
my Nan. I don’t think I will ever forget
that moment when I first saw it. Pride,
joy and a little bit of terror filled me.
I even saw someone reading it while I was at the Expo which was so
exciting. I had a reader (even if they
didn’t know it).
I hope everyone reading this created a lot of great memories this year as well. I look forward to see what 2014 has to offer.
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