Every year one of our groups of friends organizes a Christmas Party… I’m sure some of you remember pics from last year. The party is technically called the “Erection Party”, to celebrate the erection/raising of the Christmas tree. The premise — everyone wears an ugly Christmas sweater or Christmas getup!

It’s always a lot of fun…

Amy and Kim did an amazing job of decorating their place…

I always enjoy the festive slippers and socks the most!

Christmas isn’t complete without a little tequila and a gift for the gift exchange game!

The gift exchange is always hilarious… as you can “steal” from each other a limited number of times and there is a definite strategy!

Allan wasn’t too happy since he always ends up with the most ridiculous gift every year… this year was no different… you can tell from the smile on his face that he loved his Jonas Brothers make-up gift pack.

I ended up pretty stoked about my red Olympic knit mittens! I actually wanted a pair. Yeah, I ended up wearing them the rest of the night.

The party wouldn’t be complete without several group photos, of course!

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In other news, I am flying out tonight to the Calgary airport where Allan and I will rent a car and drive to Golden, BC. We’ll be snowboarding and sightseeing two days at Kicking Horse Ski Resort for their opening weekend… and possibly even doing some backcountry hiking and boarding with Canadian Powder Adventures! We’ll be staying at the Canyon Ridge Lodge for two nights and the Copper Horse Lodge for a night. Then it’s a mad dash in the morning to drive back through Banff and snowboard at Sunshine Village, and then fly back to Vancouver!

Yeaaaaah… I ended up packing way too much stuff. All you really need is your board, boots, and jacket right?

Phew! It’s going to be a busy weekend. We’ll have lots of photo and videos. Wohooo! Enjoy the weekend everyone!

I’m still en route to Costa Rica.

My bags were packed and ready to go for my flight today at 2 pm.

I definitely don’t travel light when it comes to Costa Rica. First, I have to have both dressy and casual clothes since I am staying at a nice resort and then winging it in a cheap apartment rental for the rest of the trip. My baggage: One large suitcase and one small suitcase, and a carry-on bag with laptop/camera.

Lots of bandages and supplies to take care of the cut on my head while I’m gone.

I have a ton of camera equipment (for my Nikon D90 and my GoPro camera). And I bring my own yoga mat, haha. Got all my clothes packed and ready to go!

I also package up all my toiletries and don’t bother with travel sized bottles. I probably should, but I usually find it wastes a lot of product in the end. Plus, I am super paranoid of bugs so I bring lots of different kinds of bug repellant. Haha!

So there you have it folks. I don’t pack light and I bring the kitchen sink with me Let the finger pointing and laughing begin

I’m writing to you from my rental Dell laptop. It died in the middle of my Sims 3 game. Thanks for the no-warning, battery! Bah! I can’t believe games don’t autosave these days. 2 hours of gameplay lost.

So, I’ve still got a bit to go before I actually hit Costa Rica.

It’s always a long haul there when you are flying for free on points! My AAdvantage credit card has been good to me. Last year I flew both Allan and I to Costa Rica for free, and this year I was already able to fly myself there again!

American Airlines is great for redeeming points, but the connecting flights are brutal!

Yesterday, I flew to Dallas on a 3.5 hour flight from Vancouver, and then connected immediately for another 3 hour flight to Miami. It was a short night at the Miami International Airport Hotel last night before waking up early and flying into Liberia, Costa Rica later this morning.

Then, I head to my all-inclusive resort for three nights, at the Paradisus Playa Conchal. I haggled for a great deal there!

I plan on playing some golf on their beautiful Robert Trent Jones II course, doing yoga in my room with the air conditioning off, dancing, taking lots of photos, swimming in the ocean and avoiding the pool at all costs, and ultimately just relaxing.

Then I head to Tamarindo for the best part of my trip. Four nights in a little apartment rental on Langosta Beach. I’ll be able to see the ocean from my room! I loved Langosta last time I was there so I’m hoping the surfing is still good there.

The plan: Four days of surfing (provided my cut heals fast enough), laying on the beach, partying in town, cooking in my kitchenette, and going to my favourite restaurants in town. And if everything plays out, hopefully a boat excursion to surf at Ollie’s Point and Witch’s Rock.

And plenty of sunsets and watching the thunderstorms and enjoying the tropical rain.

The end result is I’m hoping my skin heals right up in the humidity, and that I come back super relaxed and refreshed.

Traveling by myself is scary, but I suspect there’s going to be plenty of time for introspection and meditation. And I’m really looking forward to that.

Well, stay tuned. I’m hoping to have lots of photos for you over the next week!

Lots of love from Miami! XOXO