Those lazy summer days....

Well technically it's fall here but you really couldn't tell this weekend. With temperatures that topped +32 over Saturday and Sunday here in Edmonton it was really hard to keep my nose to the school grindstone. So instead of keeping my mind occupied with my master's studies I got out and experienced some sunshine and heat!

In particular, I made up my mind to revisit the Edmonton Corn Maze ~ and this time I brought my friend Nicole. See Nicole is deathly afraid of corn mazes; she was truly worried today that we would be lost in the field and never find our way out. I wanted to help her overcome her fear - plus I had ulterior motives.

This year the corn maze was cut in the shape of the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships logo. The hockey tournament will be hosted in Alberta this winter between the cities of Calgary and Edmonton. I am currently volunteering for Hockey Canada along with Nicole on their social media team trying to get fans engaged long before the tournament. I'm on a permanent rotation to manage the @hc_wjc Twitter handle and for the last two weeks I've been working on fan engagement, my style! So what better way to get Twitter followers involved then by taking them to the corn maze with us today?!

Nicole and I had an absolute blast getting lost and finding our way over and over. I think I've helped ease Nicole's fears while we got out for some sunshine and exercise plus our Twitter fans loved being involved in our little escapade. No matter how busy it seems to get in my life I'm happy for moments like today when work, play and friendship can all come together!

Home sweet Saskatchewan home

The last couple of Labour Day long weekends I've been away for weddings or for camping trips but this year I decided to go home to Saskatchewan for the weekend. We decided to celebrate my father's 60th birthday while I was home (his actual birthday is Sept. 9th) and I'm so glad we were able to get the family together.

We celebrated with a corn roast in the backyard, toasting to dad's health and happiness. Thanks for letting us share your birthday with you!

The birthday boy himself

And while we celebrated with great weather, harvest was getting underway. Swathing, combining, and spraying fields ~ all the farmers around (us included) were busy out in the fields literally trying to 'make hay while the sun shines'.

 Our neighbour's hemp crop

Deer! 

This truly is my favourite time of year ~ I love the yeasty smell of the crops in the fields and the shine of the equipment lights in the fields late at night. No matter where I live or how often I move away, Saskatchewan keeps calling me home. Someday I want to be living back in the "Land of the Living Skies".

Ukrainian Orthodox church in Krydor SK

Deep breath

Whew! Somehow we're at September and already it's the first day back to classes for the students in the faculty I work for. My classes don't start until next week and I'm breathing a sigh of relief that I've had nearly a month break from master's studies.

I've been grinding my teeth in my sleep lately ~ to the point where I need to book an appointment with my dentist and get a mouth-guard so I can sleep relatively easily at night. Not a surprise when I think of my summer: non-stop work, studies and volunteering (a nearly full-time job in itself).

But just when I think I'm at the end of my tether and I'm going to snap from the lack of sleep or juggling a wild schedule I stop and take a breath and realize it's not so bad.

Today I got to reconnect with our returning and incoming students and it was refreshing. Their enthusiasm to be back was infectious and their support of me and my initiatives was heart-warming. I've squared my shoulders for more. I think I can handle it.....