I rarely post photos of me or things that I'm up to but this time I decided on my work trip to take pictures along the way and to record them here for memories sake, just like I do for my boys memories.
I was asked to do some training over on our Nanaimo campus and absolutely jumped at the chance to get away for a few days to learn some new stuff. I had an absolute blast, both at work and when I was on my own too. I wandered in stores without kids or a hubby asking "how much longer?" and I ate what I wanted and when I wanted and I watched as much Brothers and Sisters as I could before falling asleep exhausted. Overall it was a fantastic trip and I'm glad I took these pictures, even if there aren't that many here.
One of my favorite stores that we never go to with the kids is Michaels. MANY of my dollars were spent there as a young adult scrapbooker (although most of those supplies sit unused in my office/craft room now!)
On my way into town I decided to make Michael's my first stop in Nanaimo, and while there I saw this great sign that I took a picture of and sent to Jim. I want to put it up in house somewhere. I love the symbolism of the words.
Next up was Woodgrove Mall where I totally avoided Toys R Us and all the other regular stores, and instead hit up Old Navy and went on a hunt for my go-to fave thing in Nanaimo...KERNELS popcorn!
This is the OMG it's GONE picture I sent to Jim. This is a picture of where the Kernels booth used to be in Woodgrove, right beside the big clock. I was devastated, and decided to walk over to Old Navy and hope that it was just moved and low and behold I walk around the corner and there it was! A brand new booth in a new location. I got my two huge bags of caramel popcorn and I was on my way to my hotel to have a little rest and watch some Brothers and Sisters.
I love the Travelodge. It's cheap and always clean and the staff is super friendly. And has an awesome continental breakfast too. We have stayed there a few times when we were in Nanaimo and always really enjoyed it.
I don't know if I've ever been in a hotel room that had the bathroom on this side of the room beside one of the beds. It was really strange to walk in and not see the bathroom right beside the door. And it was tiny, but really all I needed for just me. It was strange to be alone in a hotel but completely wonderful at the same time!
My first night there I met my dear friend Lisa for dinner at the White Spot right across the street from my hotel. It was St. Patrick's Day and the service was terribly slow but I didn't care at all because I had the company of one of my favorite people in the world to keep me distracted. The food was as good as always but the visit was just wonderful. It was nice to have an adults only conversation that didn't have an excited James yelling "excuse me, Lisa..." He loves his Lisa girl :)
hehehehe...my silly selfie in front of the Travelodge sign
That first night I FaceTimed with the boys when they were just getting ready for bed. I missed them but was really enjoying the quiet alone time which is rare for me these days.
Making funny faces at me
I was finally on the final season of B&S and just really wanted to chill out and watch an episode, but really wanted to have a bath too, so I did both!
The next morning I was up early and off to the Nanaimo campus for some training in the Learn Support office. I had forgotten about the wild bunnies until I was walking to the Library building and found this cute little guy just chilling out eating his breakfast.
Since I went to school here almost 10 years ago this building has had a complete makeover and I almost didn't recognize it.
At the end of my first day of training I headed out to Target to see about getting some birthday decorations and check out the deals. I had already gone to the Target in Courtenay the day before and gotten cheap diapers, but knew that each store would have different stuff so I thought I would take the time and check through the Nanaimo store too.
Found this awesome Tutles game for James for his birthday
After some shopping I met another one of my favorite girlfriends Annie at Boston Pizza for dinner. I have always loved BP's and was happy she agreed to meet me there for another phenomenal evening of good food and even better dinner conversation. Another kid free evening to talk about stuff we never get to talk about with kids and hubbies around. I love this lady so much and it's always amazing to me how quickly 3 hours can pass without it feeling like even an hour.
Terrible morning bedhead but I was clearly enjoying my morning tea in my hotel room. You can see my huge bags of popcorn behind me too!
The offices I was working in were up on the 5th floor of Building 305, and this was the view from the end of the hallway.
Wow, memories flooded back to me on the second day of training when I ran down to the cafeteria for some lunch. MANY MANY hours of my 2 year hospitality management program were spent in this room...eating lunch, visiting with friends and serving special event meals.
And some things never change, this was where my love of pepperoni cheese sticks began, and I couldn't be there and NOT get one. I love these things!
I was so jealous of this sweet computer set up at my desk in the Learn Support office. I would love to have two screens like this at my regular desk, it is so much easier to get stuff done like this!
Two more view pictures, now a bit clearer than it was that morning. Wish I had taken some the day before when it was beautiful and sunny!
The view looking down towards the cafeteria. Down that set of stairs right in front of me was where my hospitality management classrooms were.
This set of stairs is also where I had my class photo after my admin program graduation. I will always have a huge place in my heart for the Nanaimo campus of VIU, even if it was Malaspina back then!
After leaving the campus I knew I had a bunch of time so I stopped at a couple of stores and of course had to pull over and take a picture at our old Save On store. It closed a few months ago and I was so sad to see the sign gone and windows all papered up. So many memories of where Jim and I met and fell in love.
This was a crazy cool store and if I hadn't been in a hurry I probably would have spent a lot more time, and money there than I did.
Everything was so organized and so easy to find the section I needed!
After I made one last stop at Quiznos to get some lunch I was headed off to Comox to catch my ferry home. I was so tired and couldn't wait to get home and see my boys. Unfortunately it was too late for Jordie to stay up but I did get to see James's smiling face when I walked in the door.
Overall it was a wonderful few days away for this Mommy. And I'm glad I took at least a few photos to remember it by. I'm glad for my girlfriend time, my little bit of shopping, my binge watching of Brothers and Sisters and eating at some of my favorite restaurants!
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