Happy Birthday DP!

Just wanted to wish a great day to a great friend, Danielle!

I can't believe how long we've known each other. I'm excited beyond words to see you in just two weeks!

I wish you all the best and I sincerely hope this next year brings you everything your little heart desires!

Don't settle for anything, be fabulous!

Love,

M

Happy 5th Anniversary!

I know the picture is super old but I love it. :)

Happy anniversary to Nickykins and his Pookie!

Together, you are the cutest thing that ever existed.

Cheers to tequila indeed! ;)

Click here for a more recent and classy-pantsy picture.

Wedding update : *attempts to get ducks in row*

I don't even know where to begin. I've been wanting to write a wedding update for a bit now because it seems like it's all I've been working on but it's hard to find the inspiration to come up with something worth sharing.

Things are coming along and my mother has been pretty good at messaging me daily with her countdowns. Time is a tickin'.

I spent 2 days figuring out (read : re-re-re-doing) the seating plan to make sure everything falls into place. Also trying to keep things as organized and clear as possible because we are facing some pretty tight time lines when we get there. Plus, once we leave Moose Jaw whatever's left to be done will probably not get done so we have to make sure everything is good and ready to go before we get on that plane.

In a way, it's a bit of a relief. We'll know that everything's done by the time we get there so we'll be able to enjoy our time a bit better, I guess. Ask me that again in a couple weeks!

WOW! This post is going nowhere.

Baking and Wedding Update : SK Reception Cake

Red velvet with cream cheese filling covered with fondant.

We decided to host a pot-luck dinner for friends out here in Moose Jaw so we could celebrate part of our wedding with them. It was a great night and it was a great excuse for friends to drive a "couple" hours for a weekend visit! :) I thought it was the perfect opportunity to make my own wedding cake. 

This cake was absolutely delicious. It was my first attempt at red velvet cake and I have to admit it was a lot easier than anticipated. The ingredients were pretty simple too so that helped. I had planned a whole morning to do it but what ended up taking the most of my time was the decorating.

The filling was delicious. I did have a small problem with it being too soft so next time I think I will prepare it a day in advance and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. 

For the decorating, I used store bought fondant because it's just so much easier and much much quicker. I used basic cutting tools and just gave 'er.

I wouldn't use butter cream with this type of cake as I didn't feel the red velvet was very flavorful - you need something with a little kick. However, I'd been looking for a good cream cheese filling recipe for some carrot cake and I think I found the perfect one. Stay tuned... ;)
 
PS: I cannot take the credit for the little lemon tartelettes. My friend Julie made them - I suggested she bring a desert in case anyone didn't like red velvet cake. They were absolutely amazing and I will definitely be making some as soon as she sends me her recipe. :)

PPS: Please forgive the very poor quality of the first picture. I totally forgot to take a picture of it before we cut the cake and I snapped this one to send in a quick email to Maggie - thank goodness!

FRUIT! We have FRUIT!

No, Nick - not you! *shove*

My very pitiful attempts at gardening have finally been recognized by the gardening gods. Behold, our 2 first raspberries!

So the picture is a bit blurry but you can forgive my excitement, I'm sure!

We bought a hopeful little twig of a raspberry plant and now it's grown a couple branches and we're looking at probably another 5 to 7 raspberries before the end of the summer.

We didn't expect anything to come of it at all because we planted it so late in the season and well... I fail miserably at keeping plants alive let alone grow something that has an actual (and delicious) purpose. I'm quite the nurturing person... I promise. *faint smile*

Voila, my latest gardening success story!

PS: We totally ate the raspberries and they were totally delicious.

That kind of burp...

The kind you have to stretch out your neck for. *coughmaggiecough*

Reason #2256 why our dog is damaged - The Oven Monster

A bit ago, I posted a link to a blog post from Hyperbole and a Half's Dog entry claiming that it was a perfect depiction of Nova. Case in point :

Side note : Since we've had her, Nova's been introduced to crate training. We are firm believers in crate training a dog, especially a high energy dog like Nova. It allows her to have a "safe place" where she can relax and sort of "shut down" to fall asleep. If she weren't crate trained, she'd spend the entire night roaming around the house, investigating every little smell or sound - not good. Same as when we're at work - she's safe in there, not running around building on anxiety for being left alone. She just zones out and falls asleep, knowing we'll be back soon to let her out again. Basics of crate training but I always feel like I should explain because we often get weird looks when we say she's crated at night. Given her past, she's prone to anxiety so it's best for her to be contained - kinda like my messed-up self.

One random evening late after dinner, Js and I decided to go out to the movies. We looked up the show times online and saw that the last showing was in about half an hour. I had baked something for desert and it was just about ready so we stuffed a couple in my purse and away we went. Nova safely resting in her crate for the night, we left the house.

We came back, nearly 2 hours later and Nova was unusually quiet. Normally, the minute the car pulls up we can hear her whining her misery - how dare we leave her for such a long, unbearable time? This time, there was nothing - no cries, no weeping. As we walk up to the house we hear a faint beeeeep-beeeeeep.

"Where the hell is that coming from?"
"I don't know... sounds like it's from inside the house." The call is coming from inside the house!
"Huh... sounds a lot like our oven timer."
"Huh..."


We turned off the oven but in our rush to catch the movie, we forgot to turn off the timer. That timer is one of the most annoying inventions known to mankind. It's very pushy and insistent.


Beeeee-beeeep. I'm done. Beeeeep-beeeeeep. Com'on guys, I'm done! Beeeeeep-beeeeep. Hey, look alive! You ask me to tell you in 10 minutes, I tell you in 10 minutes and what do you do? You ignore me? I think not! Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep-BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Our poor, poor Nova had to put up with nearly 2 hours of incessant beeping. Now, every time timer goes off or the oven beeps because it's done pre-heating (wouldn't it be nice if men had that function?) she goes into a frenzy! She runs in circles around whatever piece of furniture is closest and lets out weird little barks - not loud enough to get into trouble or to interrupt the Beep-BEEEEEEP Monster.


And that, ladies and gents, is one of the many ways our dog is damaged.

Gardening Pride

Someone clicked "More please!" to my last gardening post and, of course, I took that as a : Please, oh please, may we please read more about your wonderful gardening skills, oh Garden Master! Teach us!

Yes. Yes you may, Grass Hopper.

Everything seems to be growing and it looks like I managed to, somehow, coordinate everything so that there's almost always something in bloom. When the tulips were blown away, a couple days later the lilies came (left). The lilies will probably fade by next week and by then, there should be something blooming from that thing I planted late. There's a wee bud. I checked, it's true.

As you can also tell by the photo above the Denial Grass is doing quite well. Js has started to try and rip it out of the ground to prove to me that it's grass. I ignore him and his plan to sabotage my beautiful garden. He's just jealous because he doesn't have pretty grass like mine.

Note to Grass Hopper : Do not, I repeat, do not throw out any bit of cardboard that comes with your carefully selected seedlings. You will forget what they are until they bloom. Doing so may, however, increase the high thrills of gardening if you're looking for a little rush.

While we're on this topic, I'd like to report that something is doing quite well in the pot with the Mighty Stickers of Doom.  

Long story short - Goo gone does nothing. There are stickers on each side of this flower pot I bought. It's spent 2 summers outside and the stickers are still there. You can see them in the picture, mocking me.

Torticollis - not nearly as classy as it sounds.

Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwie. There is never a dull moment in the life of moi. This morning was not any different - one more reason to hate Mondays.

I woke up with a sharp pain going up my arm. Thinking "what the eff!?" I went to get up and quickly realized that my arm was hurting because my neck was a ticking time bomb of pain and misery. I thought I'd just roll around in bed and try to loosen up the tight muscles. It's 7:30 am, I still have plenty of time to shake this off and get to work on time. I fell back asleep until approximately 8am and it only made things worst. I couldn't even move around in bed, I had to toss the pillow to rest my head directly on the mattress and stretch out my neck. I still had a splitting headache and paralyzing pain down my neck and into my shoulder.

Js got me one of those microwavable heat cushion-bag things and I rest that on my neck for a bit as I tried to get a hold of someone to cover my shift. I had to call my boss and let her know so she took care of most of it - bless her little heart. I quickly realized that I would have to go to the ER to at least get some medication and a doctor's note for the day today. That's when the fun began.

I attempted to get up 4 different ways before I asked Js to just pull on my hands so I could sit up. It hurt like all shit but it worked. Do you think my allergies would have given me the day off considering my predicament? No dice. Sneezing while trying not to move your head just hurts more.

Me : Can you get me my bra?
Him : Where is it?
Me : I don't know.
Him : Please be more specific...
Me : Somewhere in the room... on the floor?!
Him : Here.
Me : ... ... can you get me underwear?!
Him : *mumbles*
Me : Okay thanks, you can go now.

Trying to salvage what was left of my dignity I thought : I can fucking do this. I can put on my damn clothes, it can't hurt that much. I just have to be smart about it.

Ten minutes later, sitting on the edge of the bed with my underwear around my knees, my bra failing at doing anything it's supposed to... I was tempted to throw my iota of dignity out the window but that would require too much movement so I left it there, in a small pile by my feet.

Me : Baaaaaaaaabe?!
Him : What?!
Me : I need your help.
Him : Doing what? *comes up the stairs*
Me : ... ... *small-cry-face*
Him : *walks in* ... well that didn't go over very well, didn't it!?
Me : No. *sob*

He helped me get dressed, reached for my clothes as I attempted not to scream out bloody murder with every movement.

Me : You'll need to brush my hair.
Him : Hum, no. I don't know how.
Me : What do you mean you don't know how? You just brush.
Him : How?
Me : Just... brush.
Him : *blink* I feel like we're 70 years old.
Me : I guess I can just put a hair clip for now...

To stop him from seeing his life with me flash before his eyes and reconsider the whole wedding thing, I give up. So not only do I look like shit, I feel like shit. I'm wearing only clothes I could point to, my hair is a cottony mess due to my tossing and turning and I don't even want to dare trying to get into the shower. I'll bathe when I can do it on my own thank you very much.

Now, for the teeth brushing adventure. I had to brush my teeth with my left hand so I feel like I cleaned a third of my teeth. It took me a while to figure out the spitting thing - I worked out a very unclassy system and now, it seems, there is toothpaste everywhere. Take sip of water from cup, rinse, spit in cup, rinse cup, try to ignore mocking boyfriend, repeat.


We made our way to the ER  and I got a prescription and some work restrictions. I can't lift, push or pull anything over 2 kilos - said the pretty pretty doctor with an accent. We went to Wal-Mart to get the pills and picked up a season of The Office for my entertainment today. I'm lucky it's Js' day off (he's not!) because he's home to take care of me. By "taking care" I mean - fluffing my pillow and watching me drool as I sleep away the pain.

Pay up

I know it's really bad to blog about financial things and you really shouldn't publicly write for the world to see about your financial situation but this is just too funny to pass up. Plus, it's not even a "situation" or "problem" that reaches farther than my forgetfulness.

Considering that I'm still waiting for compensation for my last MONTH of sick leave benefits and it's been over a month since I have submitted all the documentation required  the insurance company gets a gets a weekly screamy call. Last month was a little snugger than usual financially for us. Wedding coming up and all does not help to alleviate the financial stressors.

It seems I totally forgot to pay my Best Buy credit card - oops! It's due on the 3rd (or is it 5th?) of every month so I'm normally pretty good at using the last paycheck of the month to pay at least double the minimum payment. There isn't much on it so the payments are quite small.

So today I get a letter in the mail from somewhere in Quebec. Intrigued, I rush to open it :

We wish to inform you that your account is $11 overdue as of some-date. 

Are you effing kidding me?! You sent me a letter, 10ish days after the payment date to inform me that I owe you... how much? $11 dollars.

For shits and giggles, let's see what's going for $11 on eBay right now...

1953 Magnus Harmonica Corp Student Accordion With Box for $10.49 US

2 Original cardio workout cassettes New and Sealed !!! for $10.40 CA

Sexy Pirate original art by Paradis for $10.40 CA

So many options, it's hard to choose!! :) $11 goes a long way these days it seems... I am going to send them a payment of $11.57 to help them cover the cost of the stamp. If they need the $11 so bad, I'm sure they'll appreciate the special attention.

Wedding Update : One Month

ONE MONTH! One month to the day to our wedding.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

We are not ready.

Paririe Sinus Solution : Neti Pot

Disclaimer : I am not writing this to discourage future buyers of Neti Pot by SinuCleanse. The bellow story of humiliation is simply for pure entertainment and as a warning to read all effing instructions carefully before attempting to shove (or pour) anything into any orifice. That's good then, right!?

My friend Erin first told me about the Neti Pot when I was complaining endlessly about my sinuses. Since moving to Saskatchewan, I've been having really really mad allergies. I'm fin'd though.

I've come up with a little little cocktail of medication I can take that at least get me through my day at work if I take it at a very precise time. The headaches, wide-awake until 4am and the sneezes have gone from constant to sometimes which is about a million times better than what it was last year.

I thought I should try the Neti Pot to clear my sinuses and give my nose a fighting chance. I read the label on the box about a million times before I decided to go for it. I'm really really not cool with sticking cold jets of lava up my nose and that's why Erin (and probably Nick too at some point) recommended the Neti Pot.

Js had to go to a function last night in Regina so I decided, what better time to give it a try and not be humiliated. I don't know what I had pictured in my mind and how I imagined the Neti Pot worked - possibly that you just stare at it and the mucus just magically disappears. I was wrong. I read the instructions carefully, and then again. Begin very careful not to read item number six on the list.

The way it works : You fill a little tea-pot-ish looking thing with water and solution. You tip your face a very awkward way over the sink. Your pour the liquid down one nostril and it comes out the other one. Voila.

I'm one of those who can't even go under water without pinching my nose so I started to think the experience just might be a bit less magical than I had anticipated. I decided to have dinner and then give it a shot. After dinner, I read the instructions again and the humiliation of using my nose as a water filtration system did not seem half as bad as the mental image of me dying on the kitchen floor, chocking on my own mucus and saline solution. As such, I decided to wait until Js came home... which didn't happen until 10:30pm.

I told him about my evening and hesitation with the Neti Pot. He didn't believe me when I told him what I actually had to do with it. I gave him the instructions to read while I prepared (wayyyy too much) gentle solution.

Note : On the front side of the instructions it says to start with one packet of dry ingredients mixed with water and then gradually work your way up to two packets when you're used to it. On the inside of the instruction booklet it says to start with half a packet for first time users and then work your way up to one. I did not read that. A whole packet doesn't do anything wrong... it just hurts more.

So there I am, holding up a little tea pot, spout up my nose, head tilted like the picture, bib and boyfriend who's trying his hardest not to laugh.

Me : Ow. Ow. Owwwwwwwwwwwwww.
Him : You're almost done!
Me : That's impossible. Don't lie. It doesn't help.
Him : Okay, well... you're really not done.
Me : I know. Owwwwwwwwwwwww.

Then the water finally starts dripping from my other nostril and it seems like the pain is almost over. It's true that you get used to it quite quickly I guess. There was still quite a burning feeling from the whole packet used but it was totally bearable. It was just awkward as shit. The whole time I'm thinking, this is totally brilliant, it cleans both nostrils at the same time so I don't have to endure this again. This really works, there's no way it can't. Look at me, I'll be mucus free by tomorrow!

Him : Huh...
Me : What?!
Him : Did you read this whole thing?!
Me : Clearly.
Him : Okay then.
Me : I'm almost done, I can see it. Get kleenex... quick!
Him : So you read that you have to blow your nose right after to get rid of everything yet you didn't bring any kleenex?!
Me : GET KLEENXE! OW! It's so grosssss!

I blow my nose gently as the book says and then promptly start cleaning the little pot thinking it went rather well. I look over and Js is looking at me with anticipation and a very large smile on his face.

Me : What?
Him : So you read this?
Me : Yeah. I did it right, no?!
Him : Yes, you did fine. But did you read all the way to #6?
Me : Yes. (I have no idea.)
Him : What does it say then?
Me : I don't recall...
Him : Repeat on the other side tilting your head in the opposite direction to clear the other nostril. (Not exactly what it says but you get the idea.)
Me : Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo! You are lying. Give me that. *reads* ... *defeated*

He, for some reason, thought it was very funny. I don't agree.

Note : So of course I did some research on this AFTER having bought and used it. I'm kind of glad I waited because I don't think I would have bought it having seen (yes, that's just what it looks like, minus the iota of dignity that woman has left) what came of my very intensive (google and wiki) research. Especially finding out that it is also referred to as nasal irrigation.

Wedding update : Magazines

Tip : Leave bridal magazines in the washroom. It works.

I was lucky enough to receive a gigantic collection of wedding magazines from Maggie and I have kept them in constant rotation (a couple favorites have made it through more than one round) in the washrooms and here and there in the house.

Truth be told, Js cannot... evacuate unless he's reading something. Don't tell him I said that - I promise I'm going somewhere with this. He'll run around the house, frantically looking for a book then boot upstairs for a perfect photo-finish. When his desperate search does not prevail, he'll just grab whatever is within arm's reach ; instruction labels, old sappy books I read in the tub, shampoo ingredients list and so on.

In a moment of despair, Js even admitted to reading wedding magazines sometimes behind closed doors. He's not so subtle about it either :

*distant flushing sounds*
Him : Hey honey, you know what I think?
Me : What?
Him : Do you remember those wedding favors you were trying to shove in my face on our drive to Winnipeg last fall?
Me : Yeah, wh...y? (I lie.)
Him : I think they were a great idea. I like the blue ones with the silver foil paper.
Me : Al...right. Where is all this coming from?!
Him : Oh, nowhere. *shrugs* I was just thinking about you and our wedding and how much I love you.

Further investigation proved that the magazine had been moved recently and that page dog-eared. Sneeky.
Along the same lines of conversation, a couple weeks ago :

*minding my own business*
Him : Hey Honey?!
Me : What?
Him : I think we should, about a month before the wedding, try on our wedding bands again to make sure they still fit. This way, it still gives us enough time to get them sized before we leave if they've gone to big or too small.

Me : That's a brilliant idea, babe! We'll do that!
Him : No problem! :)
Me : ... ... you've been reading my magazines, just admit it.
Him : ... ... yes. *shame*... *smile*... I love youuuuuuuuuuu!

I am not discrediting his efforts by saying he got it from a magazine. The simple fact that he actually read them and cared makes me love him even more. Since then we have decided, in our house they are called "wedding magazines" not "bridal magazines".

Happy Anniversary to us! :)

Sunday, July 11th was our 3rd anniversary! It's quite the event so we celebrated by staying up late and watching "She's out of my league". I had to work late because of inventory so Js ordered us some pizza which I nuked when I got home at 8:30pm. Glam!

It was still a bit special for me because :
A) All longevity records have now been broken.
B) It's the last time we'll celebrate our dating-versary.

Next year, we'll celebrate our anniversary on August 14th. Hopefully with a bit more hoopla!

I love him.

Fantastic Sunset

The Saskatchewan skies have to be one of my top favorite things I discovered since moving here. You can try to describe it to people but you can't quite "get it" until you've seen it in all it's glory. Sure, like everything else, some days it's boring but we need those days or we'd get neck cramps.

Here are a couple of my favorites of the Saskatchewan skies.

 

The above were taken on July 1st, 2010 ... I love this country! I wish I'd seen the sunset early enough to be able to drive out and get a better shot without the row houses, hockey rink and shed but it was all over way too soon. The gorgeousness was, of course, followed by a monstrous storm.

 

Alright, not gonna lie - this one's from Manitoba taken this last Thanksgiving Weekend out in the quarry by our friend's house. The day was gorgeous - cold but friends and puppy love filled the air. Hi Js!

On the way to Moose Jaw from Saskatoon taken in Buffalo Pound Park on June 18th 2010.

I just love the contrast between the sky and the field in this photo taken somewhere between Regina and Moose Jaw by Rouleau (Dog River) on June 20th 2010.

I really wish I had my camera with me all the time to take random pictures of the sky - it's so unpredictable, I think that's a huge part of what makes it so fascinating. 

Congrats Natasha and Curtis! :)

Our very dear friends are getting married today, we wish them all the best and we are thrilled to be part of their special day!

Wedding Update : Sobbing like a little child

Warning : This ain't gonna be pretty but don't be alarmed, all's fine and dandy!

I went to our friends' rehearsal to keep company. Js is in the wedding party so I was invited to tag along - I ended up playing usher and might for the actual wedding too depending on Uncle Terry's availability. I have no idea who that is.

Anyways... so yeah. My friend Natasha walked down the isle and my friend Curtis was already crying - yes, it was only the rehearsal - and everything was just so lovey dovey, I got all choked up. I am going to sob like a teeny child tomorrow, I can tell. Natasha has a little boy he's three and he's pretty much the cutest thing ever. (As I post this, I realize I've never written about his cuteness before; stay tuned!) He was so good and standing there so proud by his mom and Curtis. For some reason, that kid a-d-o-r-e-s Js and it was so cute because he kept looking at how Curtis and Js were standing and trying to be like them. Awh.

All these emotions and being so happy for my friends just sent me on a spiral of emotions. How much of a mess am I gonna be when our turn comes? Oh my!

What if I make my ugly-cry face walking down the isle and everyone can see it?
What if the photographer can't get a good photo because my face is all red and blotchy from trying in vain to hold back the tears?
What if everyone thinks I'm crying because I'm walking to my doom?

I want to be a happy and lovely bride. I don't want to be my sappy and emotionally unstable self - just for that one day. Please?!

Enough ramblings, I have a ton of things to do to get ready for tomorrow. I have to go in to work in the AM then rush home, change, rush to the church, coach Uncle Terry, sob uncontrollably, run back home, feed the dog, get back to the mess for the reception and try to look alive.

Wedding Update : Crazy times ahead.

I have a feeling that the coming week will hit us like a ton of bricks. It's only Friday... so don't mind me...

Today, Friday - Friend's rehearsal dinner.
Saturday - Friend's wedding
Sunday - Inventory at work
Monday and Tuesday - Recuperate from the weekend, somewhat...
Wednesday - The "real" countdown begins... the one were we stop counting months and weeks and start counting days! ...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's kind of NUTS how fast it's gone by and I remember thinking "I wish we didn't have such a long engagement and could just get married already!" - how foolish of me! We've had all this time and yet it still feels like it's comin' quite fast for my taste. I'm anxious and excited... but the stress is starting to get to me!

I have a ton more wedding updates to post but very little time to write them but I'll try and keep up as the weeks days go by.

Eeeek!

Update : Unimpressed

So, I freaked out for no reason and everything seems to be back to normal today. I'm slowly getting used to this new layout and starting to like it a lot. Thanks for all the feedback - I was so mad yesterday, I was going to change it back to what it used to be... but I'm willing to give it a shot. :)

SO unimpressed. :(

Dammit! I started fiddling with the new template designer on Blogger and suddenly, I couldn't go back to my old layout anymore. I'm so sad.

Now, it looks like all the followers I had have vanished... and all the blogs I was following aren't showing up on the Dashboard thingy anymore.

If anyone has any idea on how to restore some of this stuff... please let me know. I would greatly appreciate it.

Wedding Update : Alterations are underway... finally!

Oh man, oh man, is it ever difficult to find a seamstress in this blessed town!

The store where I bought my dress don't offer the service - what's up with that?! - and they recommend someone who's all the way out in Regina. I picked up that woman's business card and called... and called... and left messages then promptly gave up. I don't want someone who's not going to return my calls trying to alter my dress. Kkthxbai.

Then a friend of ours was supposed to give me the contact info for the lady who did her gown a year ago or so. So I waited, waited, emailed then promptly gave up.

Then Js needed some pants to be hemmed - don't cringe, just pray - so I went in there with him and I saw the seamstress had a couple wedding gowns in the back so I asked and she said "Sure, just come by with it and I'll have a looksee." The place is old and raggedy and there are doilies, salmon colored carpets and their machines look like Singer assembled them himself.

She's the seamstress who does all the mess kits and all the alterations on uniforms for the entire base... she's a pretty busy woman but quite reliable me thinks. That also means she's quite busy. When I told her when I needed the dress for she said "I'm so happy I met you!" - I like her humor. She also went on and on about how men shouldn't design women's clothing... that's why they always needed alterations "No one has boobs like that!" She also went for a full-on grab of my left butt cheek. She was going for the frills under the skirt and just went *bam* palm first on my ass. So glamorous!

I hope she is truly magical because well... she's my last hope.

Hyperbole and a Half - Addiction and a Half

First off, I'd like to apologize to anyone who reads this who isn't already addicted to Hyperbole and a Half because you're about to be - INTERNET FOREVER! Hyperbole and a Half is a totally hilarious, totally fantastic blog that I discovered a while back then kinda lost in the abyss of cyberspace when my lappy went kablamo. I have found it again and it's full of win.

Now, why would I do such a thing as get everyone else addicted to it, you may ask?! Well today's post just essploded with awesome and well... for anyone who's met our dog, Nova - it's perfect. It's a description of Nova down to the very last retarded detail.

I won't give it all away because you should really check out the blog but I'll leave you with this little tid-bit :

A lingering fear of mine was confirmed last night:  My dog might be slightly retarded.
I've wondered about her intelligence ever since I adopted her and subsequently discovered that she was unable to figure out how stairs worked.

Bad feeling

Mock me all you want, this is a plant.

My attempts at gardening have never been quite... well, successful. I haven't done it a whole lot and know nothing about it but I like to pretend I do. Last year was a gardening fail but this year is a win so far... in my books at least.

I planted some bulbs in a little patch out front by the house and in a pot and those are coming along quite well. We also bought a raspberry twig who's growing 4 berries to date which is more than we expected out of the poor little thing.

Everything else in the little garden was there before we moved in. There is a huge thing of tulips that keep coming back year after year, a couple things of wild lilies (I think that's what they're called!) and a little cedar tree/bush.

Then, there's a patch of what Js likes to call "Denial Grass". I say it's a pretty plant, he says it's just a clump of grass that survived. It looks healthy, requires very little care and makes my garden look cared for and full - my kind of plant. See for yourself... please don't mind the dying tulips, they are passed their prime this year but the lilies are coming along.

Happy Canada Day!

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Canada day! Wherever you are there are celebrations going on - that's what's so wonderful about this great country! Everyone is so proud - today, it's a coast to coast party - join in on the fun!

We're going to be exploring a bit of the city to see what's going on and perhaps going to Regina this afternoon to watch the Riders game. We'll see how the day goes.

Canada Day has taken quite a nostalgic turn for me since I moved away from Ottawa. This day used to be such a HUGE deal - planned weeks and weeks in advance. Now, we take 'er easy, sleep in, make breakfast then text around to see what's going on. My friend called me from Ottawa this morning. She was on her way to the downtown celebrations and I had a little "I miss home!" moment. We were also supposed to visit Maggie and Marc in Winnipeg this year but, sadly, my new job schedule didn't permit.

Wherever I am, whatever I'm doing a part of me will always be linked somehow with the celebrations in the Capital on this day. I think every Canadian has a special spring in their step today, not only because it's a Statutory Holiday but because it's a special one where everywhere we look - there's someone having a great time for a great reason.

I miss Ottawa. I miss my friends. Le sigh.