Love & Marriage

Did I mention that my friend Steph was getting married?

I forgot to?! How COULD I!?

Well it's true - My little Miss. Stephanie got herself married yesterday - and what a day we had!

Taping hems, flower fixing, a bright red dress, a four minute ceremony and a happy couple! We took a TON of pictures and I'm happy to say that they turned out REALLY well! Their photographer cancelled a little while ago (boo!) but it actually turned out more than great anyways because we had so many people taking pics that it was like the paparazzi was there and my lovely cousin came to help us get some group shots and the like so we have 8 million WONDERFUL photos that captured the beauty of the day!

It was a great day - low key - no stress, no worries. We went with the flow, chatted, ate good food, toasted to the happy couple and took a gagillion photos! All of the ones I took were on Steph's camera (which I had a little love affair with...ha) but I have a few (hundred) that my cousin took on my computer of the bride and groom gettin' themselves hitched at city hall and then coming out to the farm for fun and photos :)




The newlyweds as Thomas and I sign as their witnesses!





I wonder where they got married!? :P



Some of the goodies after - chocolate peanut butter cupcakes...YUM!

And then we just went about and took a bunch of cute photos! :)













I'm so happy for one of my best friends ever and her lovely HUSBAND!

Congrats!!!!!!!!!

Hurry Up! Hurry Up!

I forgot how much I love some of my old university friends.

It's going on a few years since I've finished university..and it's starting to hit me how much I miss certain people and how nice it was to have everyone in the same town for those lovely years which we spent in university together.

The other night at Jenna & Jeff's house though...our other friend Jeff was there..and I walked in and he gave me the biggest hug...and it brought me right back to our university days...he's always given super good hugs..and there is just something comforting about being like...we don't live in the same city, we rarely see each other...so many things in our respective lives have cahnged...but we can still just see each other, give each other a hug..and it's like nothing has changed.

I love that comforting feeling of being hugged by a familiar friend. Just seems to make the world better - no matter what is going on.

I love Jeffrey hugs - it makes life happy.

Another thing that makes my life happy? My bestest university girls randomly getting together in a strange city where one happens to be living...so that we can eat far too much food, catch up on all of the gossip in our respctive lives..play some card games...be a little ridiculous and probably stay up WAY too late giggling.

Oh weekend - hurry up! More of those 'old familiar friend' gatherings are waiting for me!

Dinner Partays

Tonight I headed over to my friend Jenna's house for a BBQ.

Something that we've done a million, bazillion times.

But something that we haven't been doing much lately..as, well, it's only just become BBQ season..and because I've been uber anti-social/tired/blah/etc. lately as a general rule in life.

But tonight, we gathered. And it was fun :)

....It was a crazy wakeup call though.

That we're getting old. And older. And older still.

That maybe we're not just getting old..but we're also growing up.

The boys had cooked at the BBQ while the girls gossiped around the kitchen..

Instead of talking about cute boys and music videos...we now talk about rings and furniture and whose having babies when.

Instead of throwing together some bought burgers onto a paper plate and eating off your lap...we had homemade burgers with potato salad and roasted veggies. On real plates. At a dining room table. WITH SERVING DISHES. Delicious?....yes. Grownup?...Oh boy you betcha.

Instead of leaving the dishes where they were and forgetting about them..the girls gathered up everything and tidied up...put the leftovers away and wiped down the table.

And then the boys made ridiculous jokes and comments about this, that and the other thing.

And suddenly we were 18 again.

I had rewound seven years.

We were these silly little kids. Making each other laugh. Loving life. Being ridiculous.

And I missed those times.

I love grown up dinner parties. I always have. They make my heart happy..but sometime..you just can't beat laughing so hard you're trying hard not to spit out what you're eating.

That's the sign of a REAL dinner partay.

Sewing Escapades

My friend Steph is getting married in a few months. Infact, the ticker on her blog says it's only 129 days away! Whoa!

As her maid of honor, it means that I've got some jobs to help out with - and since she's a super creative do-it-yourselfer kind of girl and both her and her fiance are students on a serious budget, it means that there are tons of fun projects for me to partake in! It's fun to help out where I can, and I'm really excited to be a part of their wedding. I've been in a few different weddings in my day, and attended quite a few more, so I've experienced everything from the super expensive country club kind of wedding to the potluck at the rec centre kind of wedding...Both of which were perfect in their own special ways. That being said, I'm excited for Steph's wedding because even though I KNOW that no two weddings are the same....I REALLY just know their wedding it will be completely unlike anything I've ever been to or been a part of before and I'm so excited for her adoreable wedding at the cutest venue with a bunch of wonderful people!

Last weekend I headed over to her place while her fiance was out of town and we had some chit chats and catch ups and then she pulled out her newish sewing machine that she has been teaching herself how to sew on. Then my oh so domestic self (Please stop laughing - I can hear you from here.) attempted to pass along my somewhat limited all knowing and awesome knowledge of all things sewing.

My mother laughed and laughed. And then LAUGHED SOME MORE when I recounted that I has passed along my sewing skills - asking which sewing skills exactly I was refering to.

Either way - we were awesome and the project turned out famously!

See?


Getting the project started..



Look at me go!



Steph gives it a whirl! And rocks the sewing socks right off of...everything.


I'm so excited for our next project - because it definitely means that I'll be hanging out with one of my favourite girls while we laugh, giggle, chit and chat the day (and project to-do list!) away :)

The Beatles Vs. Britney

Yesterday we packed up ourselves and headed two hours south into The Big City.

As in, Torana. Or for your NON Ontario natives...Toronto.

We headed down because my Mom and my aunt wanted to see a musical, and my cousin and I aren't REALLY working and bum around all day and thought we might as well thought we'd tag along.

My mom had wanted to see the musical 'Jersey Boys' for quite some time...as did my aunt...so last weekend we bought ourselves the last couple of cheapie tickets (which actually turned out to be really good seats! Horray for cheap entertainment!) that they had available and yesterday we headed down to see what there was to see.

Turns out...even though I had no idea WHAT the musical was about, had failed to google it before leaving and on the car ride there was like....I have no idea if I actually know any songs by the Four Seasons (I plead ignorance and youth, your honour)...I actually really really enjoyed myself. Turns out that they sang basically all of the classic oldies that you love that you have no idea who wrote them. Or that have been re-done by countless people so that you have no idea where the original even came from.

The dancing was hilarious, the set was fabulous and I had a lovely time.

Not nearly as lovely as my mother and aunt though...who I'm pretty sure re-lived their childhood watching American Bandstand every week during the 2.5 hours we were in there. They proceeded to giggle..and they danced in their seats and reminisced during the intermission about how they couldn't believe that they had essentially worshipped these singers 40-50 years before. I enjoyed the show, but I enjoyed how much THEY enjoyed it even more.

Sometimes I think that I was born in the wrong era for a lot of different re sons..but one of the biggest is music. I love oldie goldie music like that..The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Buffalo Springfield - there are so many fantabulous musical artists that were way before my time and I'm eternally confused as to how music has changed SO much...and have always had a soft spot for the music of the 60's and 70's.

So I sat there thinking...how cute they were and how much they loved this reenactment of their childhood. Then I wondered to myself...in 30 years what would I take my kids to see..that was something from MY childhood?

The musical of Britney Spears? I think that'd probably have some pretty high PG ratings and probably not be okay for children.

Okay so what about The Backstreet Boys. Classic. Except that...well...yeah..they're the BACKSTREET BOYS. Who is going to make a musical out of THAT crap? Hopefully..no one.

Spice girls? Maybe? I mean - they have already made a movie and then gone back out on tour. It's a possibility. A scary possibility..but none the less...a possibility.

What from MY generation is going to stick out and be that thing that our kids look at and go - wow - so once upon a time THAT was cool...and my parents actually LIKED it? And despite themselves...they know all of the words too and sing along. Is there going to be anything? And if there is..am I going to be more ashamed than not of my generations contribution to the musical world?

Let's pray my parents generation has staying power..because I don't know if I have enough stomach power to handle sitting through a musical of any of the fabulous and famous popsters of today. Let alone admitting to my future hypothetical children what music we listened to...while I shudder in embarrassment..

Sometimes I wish that someone would just take me back to the place where I belong...

Peace, love and happiness..Dude.

Snow In Da FAAAAACE

As I mentioned before....I went tobogganing this weekend.

What I didn't mention is that I went tobogganing with some of the most lovely people that have ever existed this weekend.

I had an absolutely wonderful time. It took me back to my childhood. It reminded me of things that I had promised myself when I moved back home from Europe. It showed me how much I love the people who are in my life. It reaffirmed how life is actually pretty darn awesome.

The afternoon was entirely too much fun and filled with oh so much laughter and smiles. And bumps on the head, snow in the face and a few instances of almost running over each other. And maybe a small child or two.

I don't really know what else to write..I guess the pictures will sum it up much better than I can! So here goes!



The Dream Team



Climbing our way to the summit - which is much more terrifying then it looked at the bottom - Thus...we made the boys go first.



Next up? STASHLEY! And they're so cute!



Snow in da faaaaaaaaaaace



Matt is such a daredevil - no hands?! He's a CRAZY MAN.



Who needs crazy carpets when you have a real sled?



More snow in da faaaaaaaace.



My brother decided to try going down standing up. And he SURVIVED.



Hein after an intense ride down the hill - look at the condition of that poor crazy carpet - haha!



The gang. And you know, of course..the only picture with me in it..and I look like a fool. Apparently I was having so much fun I was sleeping. Or we can blame it on the fact that I hit my head. Yeah, let's do that.


Oh! And as for these questions - First - I am a little too old for this. I may not have broken a hip...but I did walk away from the hill battered, bruised and sore. And I may or may not have smashed my head into the ice...whoops. Secondly - Yes, I may have turned into a popsicle. For real. My hair got wet and froze into long icicles. Yeah. Welcome to Canada eh. Third - Yep - We were the only ones there without a kid on the hill. But it was okay..because apparently we were 'cool older kids' and all of the kids wanted to be friends with us. And wanted to race us. And sled with us. Because we're just that awesome. Finally - Hein did crash into everything and everyone - and even managed to do a full ROLL on his crazy carpet - somehow rolling right back onto his crazy carpet and continuing on down the hill. He barely managed to escape taking out two kids who decided to stand in the MIDDLE of the hill because our group of 20 somethings started screaming at them to get out of the way as he was barrelling straight towards them.

I'm still not sure how this day happened...a whole bunch of random awesome people coming together at the last minute to have a great time doing something that we haven't done in years! It was awesome..and confirmed to me that we must go do stuff like this again. Next week...skating..snow mobiling or skiing? Who knows..I may just turn out to like this winter crap after all. Maybe. But don't tell mother nature I said that..or you're dead meat.

OH-EM-GEE

Tonight my brother blew my mind.

He sat down infront of me. And solved a Rubik's cube.

Just like that. Twist twist. Turn turn. Twist twist. SOLVED.

And it's not like it was anywhere CLOSE to being solved to begin with. It was a big old giant mess of rubiks cube.

And I was like...WHAAAAAAAAAT. You DID that? And you didn't even move any STICKERS?!

Turns out...he's a genius.

Then he TAUGHT ME HOW TO DO IT.

A bazillion instructions later, a couple of frustrated 'no, I said turn it COUNTER CLOCKWISE - THATS CLOCKWISE"'s and probably an hour later...I too had solved a rubik's cube. WITHOUT TAKING ANY STICKERS OFF. Well, solved in the sense of...he basically told me step by step what to do. But I was the one who moved the sides (Totally counts - just sayin') to make each side it's own colour - so cool!

All this time. I thought it was just a giant game to mess with my head that was probably invented by 'the man' to smash me down and be like..YOU KNOW NOTHING - BOW DOWN TO ME.

Turns out...I just need to bow down to my little brother and do everything he says.

..Or pretend that I don't know that he's smarter than me until he finds this written on here and uses that statement against me for the rest of my life.

Bedtime Blather

I had a lovely little weekend.

What did I do you might ask? Well, here's a little summary:

* Got hugs & kisses * Napped on couch(es) * Ate candy * Took photos * Went for walks * Got fast food way too late at night * Had marathon chats with ones I love and miss dearly * Left my cellphone behind * Drank Timmys * Played with oh so many puppies * Went for chinese food * Forgot my camera at the END of the weekend..doh! * Went to the cinema * Ran into people I know from the past * Danced while baking pumpkin pie * Dug through the 'five dollah' movie bin at walmart * Diagnosed spider bites * Ate lollipops * Got a pup addicted to tic tacs * Giggled * Woke up to puppy dog kisses * Had rooibos tea that soothed the soul * Googled random things with others who enjoy the random * Squished way too many people (and dogs) into my car * Went grocery shopping which has turned into an adventure of its own kind * Had a shushi lunch date where the welcome is alwasy..enthusatic * Took too many pictures * Relaxed * Smiled * Loved *

I had a good weekend :) It was lovely.

But by far..one of my FAVOURITE moments of the entire weekend?

It was late and had decided to sleep over at my cousins house as I was planning on spending the next day with them anyways. So my cousin Edana generously offered to share her lovely and comfy bed with me! After we'd brushed our teeth and gotten ready for bed...we were both more awake and spent the next who-knows-how-long playing the bedtime blather game. You know, the classic girl thing. The one where the lights are off, you should be falling asleep..but instead you lie there babbling about all sorts of things. Your hopes, fears, and dreams. The things that you think are funny, sad, happy or just plain weird. When you're going to get your hair cut, why you can't bring yourself to eat liver and if we'll ever actually 'grow up' and figure life out - or whether that's a realistic possibility or just a rumour someone started to mess with our heads.

It's just so fun and I've always loved those bedtime babbles with friends and family alike....but I just love that last night it just happened so spontaneously and was just so random and silly and serious and...good. Sometimes it boggles my mind...and I can't believe how well the kids from my family, and the kids from their family get along. I guess I just find it odd because for the most part...we were raised in completely different worlds. My brother and I moved once...they moved so often. We always lived in this area, and they NEVER did. They've spend the last 6-10 years in Africa...and oddly enough..that hasn't really been optimal for us furthering the friendship that has always existed below the surface of our family relationship. Sure, if they're back in Canada we have a blast and go out and do things and get together and whatever..and when we went to South Africa to visit them it was the holiday that dreams are made of..and we spent so much time having the adventure of a lifetime.climbing up mountains and dipping our toes into oceans, eating warthog and ostrich and springbok, sliding down waterfalls, petting cheetahs, going on SAFAAAAAARI!, and of course, that pesky little wedding thing where I gained the best cousin-in-law ever known to man! I think that it was that trip that really cemented to me just how well our dynamics as a group of friends mix. Let's just say...that we put the six 'cousins' in a bar in small town rural south africa..and hilarity and laughter ensued...and I'm sure that they had no idea what in the world to think of us. This was of course followed by stuffing my brother and his girlfriend into the oh so small boot of the car so we'd all fit to drive home..while we sang along at the top of our lungs to the radio..enough to probably frighten all of the baboons living outside our cabins into hiding for the duration of our stay. It's just rather amazing that despite the years that span the oldest to the youngest in our little group of six (almost a decade! ahh!)...we all can find common ground with each other and get along wonderfully (for the most part - there are siblings involved too yanno! :P) and I've really being loving all of the time I get to spend with them recently...and even though life has been crazy busy and I wonder how it would ever be possible for it to always be QUITE this much FUN...I've been soaking it up while it lasts :)

So it was no surprise REALLY to me..that as the lights were off and our bodys were trying to wind down from a night filled with silliness and movies and sugar..one of my favourite things to do with friends just naturally happened. So until the wee hours of the morning...we giggled, shared secrets, discussed our lives and eventually fell into a deep slumber with smiles on our faces.

..Only to wake up to four eager puppies jumping on the bed telling us that it was already morning and time for us to get up and enjoy another day :)

Weekend Wonder

My childhood was a little different than most.

When I was five, we moved to the farm I now live on. This means that while my Mom continued working at her job as a nurse, my Dad spent his waking hours pouring his heart and soul into making this place what it is today. I can remember collecting sap to make maple syrup until it was too dark to see anymore, because that's what had to be done. I remember planting fruits and vegetables when we were all home. After school, weekends, after dinner..whenever there were enough hands to make it work.

Weekends to me didn't mean lounging around watching cartoons on Saturday morning, or shopping trips in the afternoon. They were filled with farmers markets and our busiest days of the week at our store in cottage country.

My summers in adolesence weren't filled with days at the mall, or even really days at the cottage. We try to make it over to the cottage (which, is luckily, close) after we're done for the day so that we can have dinner and enjoy a couple hours there....and as much as I cherish and love these memories...My summers were often filled with long days doing what needed to be done. My brother and I quickly learned from our parents how to pour our hearts and souls into this place too, each using our oh so different talents and skills to do what needed to be done.

My friends balk at my super-human strength (yes, I can lift lots of heavy fruit and vegetables at once, can't you?) I can chit chat with anyone about anything...and have an uncanny ability to remember faces and vegetables that people have bought weeks previously..and follow up with more chit chatter. I can drive big trucks and even back them up with some sort of accuracy. Sometimes. I know how to program cash registers and get them to work how I want them to work when they're being tempremental. I can multi-task like no other.

But taking weekends off? That's a kinda new one for me.

It was only last year that I got into the routine of having 'time off' and having 'weekends off'. Even though I only had four days off a month while I lived in Switzerland..those two weekends a month came to be cherished like there was no other. I counted down the days and hours until my 'weekend off' to zip off to Italy or France, Germany, Austria or Lichtenstein. (Betcha never been THERE!) I learned the value of weekends there. How lovely they REALLY are. And I learned just how much I hate hate HATE Monday mornings. I realized that while I do have days off at home..I seem to spend them running around doing things so much..that I had no idea how to do..nothing. Sitting on a beach? Who did that besides movie stars? You mean I can lie by the pool in the backyard for the ENTIRE day and there is NOTHING ELSE that needs to be done? REAllY? The art of relaxation escaped me...it scared me..and it tempted me with its laziness and generally lax attitude. And I loved it for that.

Sure, weekends have always been there...but going from school --> work and and work --> school and back again for the last 20+ years has made weekends kind of...wonky. It's made time off..a little known concept..and totally warped my mind of what weekends should be. Like the farm..there was always SOMETHING that COULD be done.

Then there was the fact that I was an arts student while I did my degrees...so I only ever had classes from Tuesday --> Thursday...which meant that I actually had more days off then I had school days. Which meant that those four days were either spent with friends wasting time and talking about how much work there was to do...or crunch time...when I had so many essays to write and exams to study for..I spent equal parts complaining about school work and equal parts actually doing it.

Now, once again...fall has come. Winter is on its way. The busy season at the farm has come and gone...and for the first time since 1988, I have not been in school come this time of the year. I'm doing some bookwork and other random things for the farm..but I'm not working very hard right now...and need to get my butt in gear. But, I do have plans for the weekend..none of which involve any sort of actual work.

Tonight I have a girls night with Rhi planned..where we will watch movies, eat junk food and play cards..and of course..chat each others ears off.

Tomorrow I am going out to lunch with the lovely Miss. Stephanie where we will enjoy good food and good company..chat about everything and all of the stuff that has been happening in our lives..and probably giggle about wedding planning for her upcoming 'do.

Saturday night I will kidnap two cousins, a cousin in law and their parents and take them out to a sort of surprise birthday dinner. They think that they're coming to our house for dinner but unbeknownst to them...we're taking them to a restaurant near our house that they've been wanting to go to since they moved back to Canada :)

Sunday we have a long walk planned..where we'll go wandering throughout all of the trails by the university campus...and then warm up with a hot beverage and a movie downtown :)

Sunday night..I'll watch some tv with my Daddio, catch him up on the weekend happenings in my life..and fall into bed...already dreaming of all of the lovely things that I might do NEXT weekend :)

Special Delivery

This morning, amid chaos and confusion and frantic emails back and forth trying to sort of a wide array of things...

I got a special delivery :)




My lovely friend Carly sent me flowers for my birthday...they had called my cell phone yesterday to make sure I was home for the delivery..but I missed the call because I was driving to Guelph to take my cousin's husband back to school...and not recognizing the number...I neglected to call them back. I missed the call by seconds again this morning, and then they called my home number and asked if I'd be home for the next few hours...because they had a delivery from the flower store for me!

It was quite possibly the cutest, most unexpected lovely thing :) Totally made my day!! Thanks Carly! xoxo

Mish Mash O Thanks

My family has arrived from Africa!!!

Well, one cousin and her Dad, the other cousin and their mom (my aunt) come in about 10 days!! I'm really excited that they're here for thanksgiving..even though I had to work all weekend, and am as per usual am throughly exhausted! It's just so nice to have them here...it really just puts a lot of things into perspective and gives me so much more to be thankful for.

Out of ALL of my cousins, they're definitely the ones that I'm closest with..even though we've actually never lived in the same city...It must have something to do with being close-ish in age, having very similar morals/beliefs/values and being the only girl cousins for SO long.

It's rather lovely that they're moving back! My cousin Roberta will be staying here a looong time as her and her husband just bought a house in town but unfortuantly my other cousin, Edana, will only be here until the beginning of January until she moves to Boston for a job she took here. As much as it's impressive to say 'Yeah, I have a cousin who does research at Harvard'...I'd still rather she stay HERE! Ah well...just a good excuse to visit Boston I suppose!

I'm so excited to spend more time with them and actually have a chance to REALLY get to know them..because as much as I love them and we always spend time together when we're in the same city/country/continent..but it'll be nice to spend a lot of real quality time with them :) Although I am a little worried about bombarding them with love and them becoming overwhelmed with family always wanting to spend time with them...so I'll do my best not to do that..but there is only so much that I can restrain myself...haha!

Anyways, I spent a lovely evening with them tonight, just sitting around in my grampa's basement..haha! Tomorrow they come out for thanksgiving dinner..where it's quite possible that we will all eat until we explode. I'm not even joking about how much food we have..it's kind of disgusting..in the completely, totally and utterly delicious sense of the word. We've been joking all week about how we all need to get 'Thanksgiving Pants' like Joey does in Friends.



Ha. I love that show. Classic Joey moment..right there.

So, that's basically what we'll all be doing tomorrow. You know, eating way too much and then complaining about how we ate so much, probably eating some more..and then falling asleep on the couch. At least that's my plan...I might take a little walk and take some pictures of the BEAAAAAUTIFUL fall pictures...but then..the couch *is* pretty darn comfy. We'll see how COLD it is tomorrow. Eck.

All things considering..there is a lot to be thankful for this year...I'm not scaling the Eiffel Tower like I was this weekend last year, but I am surrounded by a mass amounts of wonderful family and friends. We have far too much food...we're surrounded by the beauty that is Ontario in the fall (which by the way...is TOTALLY giving Paris in the fall a run for it's money...) ..we have our health and more often than not, smiles on our faces. It seems like the older I get..the more I realize how important it is to be thankful for the smaller things, the things that I use to take for granted..and take whatever simple pleasure I can from those :)

Oh, and speaking of getting older...there's also that pesky little thing about my 24th birthday. Which, I've decided that I'm a little bit in denial about. It's not ACTUALLY my birthday tomorrow. Nah. Buuut...more to come on that later...for today I'll be thankful that I'm still 23 for another couple hours, and not one step closer to being a quarter of a century old (AHH!)

Happy Thanksgiving Folks!

Forever Friendships

The other night I had dinner with one of my oldest, dearest friends in the entire world.

Ryan and I have been friends for...a decade. Whoa, that makes me feel REALLY old..I didn't realize that it has been TEN YEARS since I started highschool...man alive.

Anyways, so...we have been very very very close for years, and despite growing up, moving into different directions in our lives, to different cities, to different groups of friends...to whatever life brought us...we've still managed to maintain a wonderful friendship. There have been times in our lives where we've seen each other basically everyday for months and years on end...to not seeing each other for years...and everything inbetween. The other night just proved to me once again though..just how much I love and adore him to bits.

First off...he worked all day..and then still cooked me dinner. If nothing else, this is just an amazing glimpse into the person he is. We could have gone out somewhere, or done it another night when he wasn't working (in a kitchen no less) the entire day of, and the next day..but no..he went out of his way to cook me a delicious dinner..

Not only did he cook me dinner, but it was an absolutely FAAAABULOUS dinner...ooooh man! The most tender, juicy, flavourful porkchop that I have ever eaten, roasted potatoes, and green and yellow beans that were infused with garlic and butter...mmm. Heaven. Basically, heaven.

Yeah, he might try to tell you that he's this tough, this, 'I don't care' kinda guy..but if he actually does care about something..then he's quite possibly the worlds biggest sweetheart...

He's the kind of boy who has posters on the wall of bands from ages ago, who will always say what's on his mind and makes you pick out the next record from his vinyl collection, just to see what you'll choose. He thinks critically, watches baseball and loves his cat. He doesn't care about celeb gossip, reads the news on a regular basis and if he has a problem with someone..tells it to them like it is.

I love that we can talk for hours about everything and anything, we can joke around and tease each other..and then switch to have the most serious conversations about what's going on in the world and our place in it. It's nice to have that person who you're so comfortable with that it doesn't matter what comes out of your mouth..you know that they'll understand in some bizarre way.

He's honestly one of my favourite people in the entire world..and I'm so happy that he's moved back to town..and I've MOVED back to town...because it means that I get to spend bunches of time catching up with him..and just being around him is this breath of fresh air in my life that I feel like I've been desperately longing for :)

Horray for old friends that are like fine wines and keep getting better as they age :)

Fall-spiration

As time flies by, it seems that I can no longer deny the fact that fall is upon us..

There is a brisk chill to the air, the leaves are changing colour at a rapid speed and the days are getting increasingly shorter and shorter..

Although it saddens me that the days of summer are no longer here...that another season has come and gone..there are also a lot of things that I look forward to with the end of summer.

For instance...sweaters. I love being all cuddled up in blankets and sweaters, and fall is the perfect season to put on a big oversized sweater and wrap up in a big blanket with a book in hand.

Another 'fall' love of mine is apple cider. We had our first jug of it from the farmers market this weekend and we've been devouring it like crazy. There is just something so comfortable about the sweet, rich taste of fresh apple cider..I cannot get enough of it.

Because the air has a bit of bite in it, everyone seems to be craving warm comfort foods that the season and the harvest brings us...in the last little while we've started making dinners which warm the body and the soul..tonight I'm going to make chicken pot pie and an apple crisp for dessert..you can't get much more seasonal than that :P

The colours also have me swooning...the newly appearing yellows, oranges and reds mixed in with the still present but ever fading greens have me absolutely captivated every time I step outside. Everywhere I look it's a picture of perfection, and I can't help but smile when I see the beautiful palet that mother nature has made :)

Fall also means that my birthday and thanksgiving are almost upon us...both things which I enjoy because it means that we gather together as a family and eat delicious meals...This year will be ever more special because that particular weekend will be filled with the arrival of more family who are moving back home and three birthdays all in a row :)

Time seems to be passing me by faster than ever and life is moving at a rapid pace...and although it's sad to say goodbye to another summer, this one which seemed particularily short as I was absent for a good deal of it..the thought of all of the wonderful things that fall has to offer keeps a smile on my face :)

Back Together Again

Today I decided that..

I want to marry my chiropracter.

Okay, well..not really. It might be a little bit awkward as his wife (my ex-uncles sister) might be a little peeved..but I do love him in a completely 'o.m.g. my back feels so much better I'm not even sure I have a back anymore' kind of way. I don't go very often..infact, according to my 'chart'..I've been six times in six years..buuuut...when I do go..my back loves me...just about as much as I love my chiropracter..

My back has been bothering me lately..as sometimes it does..I just find that as I go about doing things in my daily life..my back isn't always properly adjusted and thus I go about in a state ranging from slight discomfort to absolute pain....Lately, my muscles in my back and neck get tense and then irritated when I'm lifting things..and the last couple of days the pain has been getting almost too much to handle..and I have a pretty darn high pain tolerance :P When I walked into his office this afternoon he felt a couple of places in my back, whistled and was like..'wow..this is a mess.'

13 minutes later, I felt like I was walking on a cloud..or at least like I was a human that was put together in the correct form again.. :)

Now, I'm not entirely back to my regular self..but I'm feeling A LOT better..I've got some nice smelly old lady cream to try and sort out my muscles, and am probably going back to see my new favourite person EVER...soon...just to figure out the last few kinks that are still there..haha..I'm so witty.

So, although it seems that my chiro is taken..and happily so...I guess I'll just have to add that to my already oh so huge list of nit picky things I desire in a boy...adding being a liscened chiropracter doesn't limit me TOO much..does it?

On second though...maybe I'll just put it in the 'bonus' section ;)