Life Changing

Amazingly enough, this year for Christmas I got a pretty smoking awesome Christmas present. A new snowboard and bindings. NEW! Brand new!

I've been snowboarding since I first moved to BC, so this is my 7th season now. And for the last 7 years, I have been using a board that was so graciously given to me by my best friend. It is the 'giving board'. It was given to her, she gave it to me, now I will give it to someone else. It is old, and heavy and covered with decals from all the mountains it has seen in its 15 year life. It served me well.

But deep down, I must confess to you, I coveted. I coveted others snowboards. So shiny, and light, and slim, and smooth. But alas, I could never bring myself to make such a large, expensive purchase for myself. Money needs to go to important things, rent, food, gas, rice krispy squares, etc. You know - life things.

But this year, (coincidently enough on the first day of christmas), I was given a new snowboard. It is gold and white and shiny and sleek and beautiful and light and smooth and amazing.

On Saturday night we took me and my new board out. And oh mylanta, it was AMAZING.

I can't even convey to you the amazingness of having a board that doesn't weigh 45lbs. That isn't 4 inches thick, That isn't chipped and scarred from years of beginners learning to snowboard with it.

It was, and I quote myself after my first run, "life changing."

So smooth. So gentle. So soft. So easy to maneuver and adapt to, and go down the hill with. It was the most amazing night of snowboarding I have ever experienced. I'm going to love it, and use it, all.the.time.

PLUS, I look really cool.

The Bethlehem Star

Yesterday near the end of the day, I was invited to do two things I love to do. Take a random, last minute road trip, and go see something I had never seen before.

So after school, after running home to put on my long underwear, I headed to Vernon to see The Bethlehem Star. A live-nativity story at Emmanuel Baptist Church.

People. Hear me, hear me, it was amazing! When you arrive you are ushered through a Bethlehem market place complete with a bag of shekles that you can use to buy things, animals, 50 stalls of vendors selling everything you would expect to find in Bethlehem, music, and Roman soldiers.

After the chaos of the market place you end up in the Roman-Games, where I totally won a prize for killing a rubber chicken by slingshotting a marshmallow at it's head.

Then to the photo-booth where they dressed you up a-la-Mary-and-Joseph.
I picked the gnarly rooster as my prop. I thought that would be awesome.

After the market and the games, everyone went into the church for a 15 minute Nativity play followed by hot chocolate, cookies, and approximately 20 scenes of frozen people portraying scenes from the Christmas story as well as scenes of how people spend Christmas. They were frozen, and amazing. The only way you could tell that the people weren't mannequins was because you could see them breathing or their eyes move once in a while. It was phenomenal.

It was seriously a great night out. And all completely free! The church did such an amazing job with this outreach and I'm totally going again next year. Super cool.

Booty-Not-Liscious (aka 70)



I feel kinda hypocritical right now, because honestly, I'm sitting here on the couch eating a chocolate bar as I write this blog about loosing 70 pounds. But then I think, "Hey, Nikki, you just lost SEVENTY pounds! Eat a chocolate bar! Just don't eat 12..."

 

Quick recap: Here is me before: Well over 200lbs.



 

Here is me now, at a foxy 148lbs!

I thought I'd do some research to see how much 70lbs is the equivalent to, just to put it into perspective for myself and for you. 70 is just a number, but after all my work, it is a big deal that means a lot to me. So, here is a list of things that weigh 70 lbs.

- An 11 year old boy
- $34019 in one dollar bills
- 80 cans of beer
- 175 apples
- 2.25 cinder blocks
 - 5 bicycles
- 300 kittens or sticks of butter
- 50 bibles (the big 'ol KJV version, not the ap)
- A husky dog
- 4 blood hounds
- 3.5 tires
- 3 two year olds

FYI, I'm not at my goal yet, so close, so close. And when I get there, I will TOTALLY do the skinny-Nikki posing in her fat pants cheesy photo. I'm excited about that picture!

Be inspired my friends, it is possible!