Jasper National Park, Canada

I had this weird dream that Greg and I drove to a magical land where it snowed in July; where elk, deer, mountain goats, big horn sheep, a wolf and THREE bears walked past our car; a sign nonchalantly directed us to Alaska and then right before I woke up, we walked on a glacier.

Wait a minute. That wasn't a dream, that was our weekend!

July 1st is Canada Day, a national holiday. Greg had the day off and since most Canadians took off Friday to make it a long weekend, he decided to do the same.

On Thursday we drove 248 miles to Jasper National Park, stopping along the way to enjoy the sights. I read that it's the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies and that our route along The Icefield Parkway would take us past 100 glaciers and lots of wildlife.



During one of our stops, we followed a path up a mountain which lead to a breathtaking view of one of those 100 glaciers. The further up we went the colder it got. We passed patches of snow while flurries danced around our heads. The temperatures were in the low 40's. We never saw nuttin' like that in all our summers in Houston!



Wildlife was easier to spot than we expected. We just had to follow the direction of all the cameras aimed out of all the windows of the vehicles pulled over on the highway. Greg learned the routine quickly. I yelled, "sighting!" and he eased the car on to the shoulder behind the other cars. I felt like wildlife paparazzi.



We spent two nights just outside of Jasper and did as much as we could do in three days. We plan to go back and have put it on our mental list of "Must Do's" when company visits. It's an amazing place.

Early Father's Day Extravaganza

Greg was home for about a week, so we invited his brother and his family up for the weekend. Since Jake's birthday and Father's Day fall in June, I decided to do a mini-celebration for both of them while everyone was here.

The boys and Yifei put on a little presentation for Greg. Each one of them wore a word on their chest and came out one at a time. Jake was first. He walked out juggling apples. Next came Yifei, who handed Greg his Father's Day cards. And finally, Jamie walked out, carrying a cake. When they stood together, the words on their shirts read: "Thank You Dad."

JUGGLING


THANK YOU DAD

GREG


CARYL AND GREG


A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC PROVIDED BY JAMIE


JAKE'S CAKE


YIFEI PLAYING MARBLES WITH JILL

Seether: Rise Above This

Take the light and darken everything around me
Call the clouds and listen closely, I'm lost without you
Call your name every day when I feel so helpless
I've fallin' down but I'll rise above this, rise above this

Hate the mind, regrets are better left unspoken
For all we know this void will grow and
Everything's in vain, distressing you though it leaves me open
Feels so right, but I'll end this all before it gets me

Call your name every day, when I feel so helpless
I've fallin' down but I'll rise above this, rise above this
Call your name every day when I seem so helpless
I've fallin' down but I'll rise above this, rise above this doubt

I'll mend myself before it gets me
(I'll mend myself before it gets me)
I'll mend myself before it gets me
(I'll mend myself before it gets me)

Call your name every day, when I feel so helpless
I've fallin' down but I'll rise above this, rise above this
Call your name every day, when I seem so helpless
I'm fallin' down but I'll rise above this, rise above this
Forty eight ways to say that I'm feelin' helpless
Fallin' down, fallin down', but I'll rise above this, rise above this doubt.

The La-De-Frickin-Da Tour

Last Wednesday, my Mom, me and two of my sisters went into Manhattan to participate in a discussion about the book, "To Kill A Mockingbird." About a month ago this simple two hour event evolved into an overnight stay including visits to a formal garden, a museum and afternoon tea at The Plaza.

Well, la-de-frickin-da!

The four of us shared one room in this lovely hotel. (Yeah, that's right, one room! When I was growing up, the four of us shared a TENT with my other sister, my Dad and two dogs, so this was really livin'!



This is where they made me sleep (I'm the youngest):



This is where they got to sleep:



Stephen Colbert was one of the speakers at the "To Kill a Mockingbird" tribute.



The next day, we walked around some beautiful formal gardens a friend of Mom's recommended. We've been into the city a million times and never knew these gardens existed:







I have no idea who this guy is, but he seems nice. haha!













OK, enough flowers. Time to head out for our oh-so-pretentious tea:

Sister Nancy's hand:



Sister Cathy's face:



My tea pot:



Nancy wanted to steal the flower. She's checking to see if anyone's looking. (can't take us anywhere)



To prevent an embarrassing scene, I told her I'd take a picture of it:



We decided since we spent an inordinate amount of money on tea and tiny sandwiches, we had a right to run around the hotel. Still...we tried to be discreet:



Mom kept her distance from us.



This gorgeous room was being set up for some exclusive party, but since it was sitting unattended... well, can you blame us? We walked all over that sucka.









Nancy trying to look like she belonged there:





The Angry Chairs:



"Moooooom!! We've taken enough pictures!! Let's go hoooome!"





Back on Long Island, I took Henry to the beach for the very first time. He hated it.



"What have I done with my life? Chased a few squirrels. Ate a few treats. I had a few really great naps, but really, where am I going with this crazy thing called life?"









And finally, Henry with his new Mommy. Hope they get along!

Moving On?

I haven't been writing here lately because life's gotten busy and because I found a new place to write that attracts more readers. I've only sent two pieces to Associated Content, but they were both accepted AND both pieces were picked up by other websites.

You would think that would translate into money, but it doesn't. Not yet, anyway. The Internet is a whole new animal for me, but I've got to get on board or be left behind. It's the future, baby!

Perhaps our biggest news is that Jake ran off and got married! On January 17th, he and his girlfriend, Yifei, got married in the middle of Central Park. they didn't want any family or friends there. They felt it would be more romantic if it were just the two of them. It sounds like it was. They took a carriage ride after the nuptials. (sweet!)

We love Yifei and though we would have preferred they had done this in a more traditional way, we're happy for them. I heard Greg talking to a friend on the phone yesterday and he said, "He couldn't have picked a better girl."

She's turned Jake's life around. He's back in school and taking each and every class seriously. They have a cute little apartment in Virginia and maintain it together. Yifei plans to go to law school but has a semester (or two?) of undergraduate work left to finish.

Well, I was about to work on a new article for Associated Content, so I'd better get to it. I'll give you a link to one of my other articles. Leave a comment! I need to build up a backlog of articles, gain fans and "drive traffic to the site." Don't I sound like i know what I'm talking about?

I plan to send a link via e-mail whenever I publish a new article, so if you want to be on that list, let me know at: carylzimm@aol.com.

Thanks for all the support!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2638761/a_day_in_one_writers_life.html?singlepage=true&cat=60

My Alma Mater

Julie & Julia

I just finished reading the book, Julie & Julia, and I'm so jealous of its author that I feel like giving up writing forever. You'd think I would find her story inspiring. She started out with a blog, I have a blog. She's funny, I'm funny. She came up with an unusual subject for her blog- to cook her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year and I...well, there it is. I don't have any unusual ideas.

I considered working my way through The Bartender's Bible: 1001 Mixed Drinks in a year and blogging about it, but I'm not sure they'd let me blog in rehab, where I expect I'd wind up.

Julie Powell started with a blog, which became a book, which became a movie starring Meryl Freakin' Streep! (Julie wouldn't have said "freakin'", by the way.) Granted, Julie is smarter than I am and has a husband who tolerated a messy house while she worked on her project. My husband would divorce me before he'd tolerate a messy house. Seriously.

*sigh* I don't expect, or even need, that kind of success. But i would like to be able to entertain readers on a regular basis and make a little money at it, too. I used to do that, you know. Friends and family stop telling you to get off the computer when your writing generates cash. If all you do is write on a blog they tend to shake their heads and worry about you.

Yeah, I slipped in a little dig. That's how Julie's book is making me feel today. Bitter. And a little hungry.