I'm Alberta Bound

Have you ever heard Paul Brandt's single Alberta Bound? Whenever I'm driving through my beautiful Alberta, I love to have it on full volume with the windows down. I took these photos of the beauty of this province on my trip to Flaxee's wedding.

Don't worry, I haven't lost my B.C. roots, and I'm a mountain girl through and through. However, something in Alberta's vast skies and endless fields captures my soul. I love this place.

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No. 351 - Will You Catch Me The Moon?

Did anyone catch the moon last night? I know these photos are super bad quality and all, but the moon was a half-slice and bright orange. Super beautiful. Yet another beautiful Alberta sky moment.

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No. 286 - Have You Ever Looked Up?

Sometimes you just need to sit down on the {newly} green grass.

Spread your legs out before you.

Hands behind your head.

And just look up.

Clouds.

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No. 256 - Election Day & OUAT

Just a reminder that today is Alberta's Election Day.

I hope you get the opportunity to make it to the polls.

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It's been awhile since my favourite TV show Once Upon A Time has aired a new episode, and I really did not care for last night's episode. Therefore, that makes Rumplestiltskin-centred-episodes 0-2. Here are my thoughts on "The Return".

• Best Moment: I've said it before, but the interactions between August W. Booth and Henry are my absolute favourite part about both of their characters. Henry needs someone to believe in him just as much as August W. Booth does.
• Worst Moment: Well, pretty much this episode. It really did not answer any questions except for the fact that August W. Booth is in fact NOT Rumplestiltskin's son. However about 10 minutes into the episode, I had already figured that out. It would have been too easy. However, we still do not know who August W. Booth really is. All we know is that he is sick and needs magic.
• Crossover Moment: I like the callback to the digging/burying in the woods by Mr. Gold from several episodes ago.
• Sweet Moment: I liked when David visited Katherine in the hospital.
• Evil Moment: Regina setting Sydney up to take the fall for Katherine's disappearance. 
• Cliffhanger: Emma is fighting for custody!
• Next Episode: Pinocchio. 

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No. 245 - Decision Alberta

As many of you who are friends with me on Facebook know, I attended the Provincial Candidate Debate last night for the upcoming Alberta election on April 23rd. One of my values is a sense of belonging and responsibility for the province I live in, and if that means being involved and informed in politics, so be it. 

I recognize that it is difficult for people, especially my age, to be involved in politics due to youth alienation. Political parties are just not geared towards youth, and on a bigger note, it's hard for us to feel a sense of ownership for our province (or country). I believe that lack of ownership is the reason for low voter turnout especially in the younger demographic. I'm not writing this to guilt anyone into voting, but my two reasons for making it to the polls are as follows: 1) I am living in a free country, and due to my thankfulness of that, I am going to vote in our democracy, even if the system is flawed; and 2) I am a woman with the eligibility to vote; this was not always the case and for the many who fought for this right, I am thankful.

Now to make things easier, here are the candidates and little bit about what they had to say.

Conklin Riding

To be honest, this first debate was somewhat of a joke. There were three candidates present, but the whole thing felt very uncomfortable, due to the lack of knowledge of some of the candidates.

• Wildrose - Doug Faulkner. The very first thing he said in his introduction was, "It's time", which is one of the Wildrose's slogans. However, the unfortunate part was that the rest of his speeches were chalked full of similar slogans and cliche phrases. I didn't actually hear a lot of practical plans or future decisions. Some of his stories felt inappropriate; however, his view of the pipelines and lack of physicians in Fort McMurray was promising.
• NDP - Paul Pomerleau. This was an unfortunate representation. This candidate was not relevant and did not possess the adequate knowledge to represent Fort McMurray. I tuned out shortly after he began talking, because he was extremely uninformed. One interesting thing of note was his platform on the pipelines - he wasn't in favour of them being built.
• PC - Donald Scott. This candidate addressed a lot of healthcare concerns, which I appreciated. He referenced a lot of recent reports and was in favour of the pipelines. He also promoted making Keyano College a degree university.

Wood Buffalo Riding

This was the debate to see if you were to choose one. Although there were only two candidates present (pictured above), they both knew their information and were relevant to Fort McMurray.

• PC - Mike Allen. He began by saying that the PC was a tried & true party for Alberta. He stated that their focus was health, education, and families. He wanted to look at the national immigration system in order to fix health care worker accreditation. He fully supported both pipelines and promised to put the dollars back on the health care frontlines. His delivery and speeches were very calm and polished.
• Wildrose - Guy Boutilier. He began by saying this his party represents voters. Their slogan is, "Balance the books & save for the future". He talked a lot about listening to doctors & nurses and knocking down the provincial barriers for immigration relocation. He fully supported the pipeline. His delivery and speeches were very passionate and engaging.

There you have it. I think the funniest question from the night is when an audience member asked what the Wood Buffalo candidates thought about each other. Either way, I hope this information will help you, and I'll see you April 23rd!

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No. 160 - Minus 45

I can't show you what -45 feels like, but I can show you what it looks like.

Just use your imagination. Yesterday on CTV news, they said if you spend 10-30 minutes outside, you are likely to get frostbite! Haha, being the smart girl I am, I opted for a ride with my friend to school today.

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No. 84 - Morning Sky

I know I am constantly taking pictures of and going on about the Alberta sky, but with a morning like this, can you blame me?

No 12 - This Piece of Heaven I've Found

I ♥ Alberta