IKEA has taken over my life.

THe internet-less life has been appealing to me apparently! We have been "disconnected" for about a week and I find myself at a loss for what to do now when I actually get online!! (other than blog of course! ha)  It's crazy how much stuff I have been getting done around the new house without having the internet to distract me from various unpacking, picture hanging, ikea assembling tasks!!

BUT I managed to get out of the house a few days ago with Katie (between painting the bathroom) and we went on a sweet hike above Donner on Sugar Bowl!

The view from the top between huge rock mounds!! And then my camera died!! But it was a sweet spot with crazy rock outcroppings above my favourite little lake!

AND, Annik sent me some of the Full Moon Paddling pics!!!

This is where we stopped for a break and had a little beverage mid-paddle at a local lakeside restaurant!

Playing with light under the bright sky.

POM POM (Anne-Marie) showing us her skillz in the dark!!

Anyway, I leave you with another ridiculous hair flipping picture!!!

Between our Ikea road trip (Ikea is 2 hours away.... which seems so crazy to me since I grew up about 10 minutes away from one.....) and assembling everything, going to the gym, and PLAYING outside, my picture-taking has slightly suffered!! Hopefully today we'll get back out on our mountain bikes and enjoy the last few days of SUMMER!

It ain't your beauty, its your booty.

The week stated out amazingly with a couple of gorgeous days!! Between workouts yesterday I headed to the beach with Chelsea, Katie and Kevin and we enjoyed the HOT weather and the beautiful Lake Tahoe!

Embracing the lake!  Chelsea and Katie HAIR FLIPPIN AMazing.

This one is for Liz who's line this week has been

"It ain't your beauty, it's your booty!!"

Working on my not-so-smooth jumping skillz.

At least I can hair flip!!

This is what I would look like with a mohawk!

The thing that never ceases to amaze me about Tahoe is how SUNNY it always seems to be!

Winter's just around the corner, so I'll take advantage of the sunny summery days as much as I can!

I made it safely back to lake tahoe for a great weekend with Kat and Josh's wedding!

I got to catch up with all these hilarious ladies!! Me, Jenna, Chelsea and Liz!

Our theme was Marco Rocks.... funny at the time...

And then we went for a hike up Diamond Peak and did a triple down dog!!

And then failed... haha

ANd i made a slightly terrible panoramic collage thing....

It's nice to be back although we have not set up internet yet in the new house so I cruised over to a local coffee shop to poach some wireless!! I felt like SHona and Andrew on their roadtrip finding random free wireless here and there...

I'm re-inspired to get aggressive at the gym!! And my new neighbour somehow convinced me to play softball tonight... should be interesting since I have never actually played baseball..... 

Marco gets back Thursday so until then I'll be HOPING that the bears don't come looking for food at the house!

THat's all my random thoughts for now! HAppy week to everybody!

Testing and training SUCCESS! And lots of changes....

I'm back in the airport after a week of testing and training in Calgary! Everything seems to be on track and it was great to catch up with my rehab friends Larisa and Kelly!

Here we are during a boxing session!!

Something was funny!! (probably my technique...)

During a lifting session this morning.... going over some basics.

Ka-zaam.

The three steps from the floor to an overhead split-squat...

Some normal squats...

Some core stability!!

JUMPING! yay jumping.

And some lateral jumping!! Getting my knee ready for SKIING!

The week was a success and I am still on track to be back on snow in a month!! Lot's of work up until then but I feel super motivated to push myself for the next few weeks before SKIING!

AND on another note, you may have noticed that my teammate Brigitte Acton announced her retirement a few days ago... We've been teammates, best friends, roommates, confidantes and slalom competitors for about 15 years, so i'm sad to see her go, but excited for her and Mike's new life together!! A new chapter in her life story which will undoubtedly be a great one!

Our last hurrah, together at the Olympic closing ceremonies earlier this year!

It's pretty crazy how much our team has changed over the past year with me, Kelly Vanderbeek and Larisa Yurkiw being injured; Gen Simard, Emily Brydon, Shona Rubens and Brigitte Acton retiring; Hugues coming back as head coach and a bigger technical team than we have seen in a LONG time!  The new wave is exciting, but the past friendships, trips, races, experiences, fun times and laughs will never be forgotten!! I'll miss the retirees A LOT!  The new season will be a new chapter for many of us with lot's of new and exciting adventures yet to come.

KUMU BEGINS!

The girls and I have been cruising Calgary in style....

MEANWHILE

Shona and Andrew pulled up in KUMU THE ADVENTURE VAN!

we had a parking-lot reunion right before their Departure for their epic Alaska to Ushuaia adventure!

KUMU:  hawaiian for "teacher" a fitting name for a journey full of new and exciting experiences!

The girls!! Kelly, Larisa, Shona and I!  Kelly, Larisa and I are here for our "rehab" camp which coincided perfectly with Shona and Andrew's departure for their 6month to year long adventure!

"umm the driver's seat is reserved only for me..."

awkward...

Kelly broke the tension with a sweet little pre-trip serenade! 

"I'm already having the best time EVVVVERRRRR"

Hope this vehicle holds up!

This is Kumu's mascot...

the garden gnome...

The gnome's first adventure!!! He was so stoked.

GOOD LUCK to Shona, Andrew and KUMU,

I know they will have an amazing time and they can be followed at http://kumulife.blogspot.com

Can't wait to keep up with all of their adventures!!!!

nature rejuvenation.

I've been feeling kind of uninspired this week and decided to drive up to Tremblant for my last 2 days of summer here and hike up Blueberry Hill to get rejuvenated before my next block of training.

Being one with blueberry hill.

I was sitting at the top enjoying the view when a massive eagle swooped directly above me, calmly flapping its wings.  I was so engrossed by it that I completely forgot to take a picture until it was almost out of sight.  Eagles are so sweet, they must have the most amazing views.

heart blueberry hill.

When I was working with Ladd, the physio in Truckee, he would often be digging into my psoas muscles and tell me to go to my happy place.  This is my happy place!  I have a spot where I always sit and enjoy the view, the breeze, the smells and the noises of nature.

AND I was overjoyed to see my first few red trees!! They are starting to change and I cannot wait for Autumn!! 

I was so pumped about the red trees that I attempted to hand-stand. Not my best performance but at least the effort was there!

And so, I headed back home.

A little friend along the way.

And some more red leaves that I collected!

I am into collaging lately....

I took the collaging one step further and stitched together a little panorama of Lake Tremblant from the top of Blueberry Hill!

Once I made it home I felt totally rejuvenated and relaxed.  I love it up here!
Calgary is my next stop for physical testing and training with Larisa and Kelly V! 

I just thought this no trespassing picture was kind of cool.... or should I say "defense de passer"
French lesson of the day...
speaking of french... here's a shout-out to my amazing friend Gail Kelly, we were on the team together for a couple of great years and now she's going to be a mommy!!!
The four of us were on the team at some point together: Gen Simard, me, Gail and Julie Langevin.  Ski friends are friends forever.

And of course ANNA P.  I was known as Anna G for a while when we were both on the team!

And I leave you with SHIVA, giving me the "I am disgusted by you" look.....

Happy weekend to everybody!