Off to camping we go!

Summers for me when I was a kid, usually meant camping at Killbear National Park or Port Burwell.  We have a lot of memories at each of those places as a family.  Some great, some good, some not so good, but I can safely say, the good outweighs the bad 10 fold.

I never stopped loving camping.  I went with friends as a teenager, went with family and friends of family through high school and went with College friends when I moved away from home.  I have camped in many places and countries in my life and I wouldn't trade it for a 5 star resort to save my life (well, maybe just to have a bed that didn't droop and almost fold you in half by morning, but that's all part of the fun!).  I love a good hotel, hotel bed and the food that comes along with it (not the price however...), but my true Dutch self, loves the hostel, the camping, the search for somewhere with character for a SIGNIFICANTLY lower price.

I remember the first time I took Graham camping!  It was the summer of 2009, after I had emigrated back home (hard to believe that was 3 years ago next week!), settled into living back with Mom and Dad again, and the summer was HOT!  We trekked off to Grundy Lake, needing to stop 3 times as the 4 hour long drive took AGES to him (a 1 hour drive for him in England, required an overnight stay, as it's just not common to drive somewhere for a "|long" period of time for a day).  I remember telling him that my "drive until I have to pee so bad, I have to pull over...or drive until I KNOW I NEED to get gas IMMEDIATELY" and his "drive until he wants to stop to see every single fun "toy"- ATV, Dirt bike, motorcycle shop- need to eat, need to pee, need to drink, need to pee again" self was going to have to be taught to just deal with it, or our 4 hour drive would turn into 7+ hours everytime.  I LOVE to roadtrip, but I love to get the road behind me to get to the destination ASAP.  The perfect solution, I brought my Nintendo DS Graham bought me, put games on my cell phone, bought him a magazine and packed snacks.  It's seemed to finally work after all of these years, however, the best solution, camping somewhere that only requires a short highway drive, and an hour or two of mountains and scenary instead!

For the past 2 years, we have been camping for Graham's birthday (May 21st) at Allegany State Park in New York.  We LOVE it there, and as it's WAY cheaper than camping in Canada, and we can get cheaper groceries across the border to boot, we haven't changed tradition since.  Kathryn and I first found Allegany while looking for last minute camping on a long weekend 2 years ago, and loved it so much, it's the only place we've gone to since!

Allegany is full of gorgeous trees, trails, 65 extra acres of untouched space around the sites, trails and lakes and mroe peaceful than anywhere/anything I could ever imagine.  Yes, there is the occasional time where someone a few sites down is making tremendous noise until all hours, but they are so few and far between, it's easily forgotten. 

As a VERY organized person, who loves a schedule and to stick to it as best as possible, who loves lists and LOVES knowing what's going on where and when and how long we will be there, you would think camping wouldn't suit me.  Graham sometimes wondered this as well...but camping to me, is my time to throw organization out the window!

So, for the next few days, enjoy a life of "tent camping, off the cuff cooking, eat when you're hungry, build a fire when you're cold, drink when you're thirsty (or even just because), shower when you feel too gross to even think about it and sleep when you're tired".  It's the perfect getaway for me with no clocks, no phones (we shut them off) and no TV/distractions/Graham working.

Ahh...the life.  Why is it so cold here we can only camp from May-October if we're lucky?!?!?!?

We can now have a dinner party!

We have had this really nice, but SMALL table that squeezes 4 people at it for a long time now.  When we moved to our new house, we were determined to find a table, kind of like our current table, but with a little bit more character and seating.  We found the most gorgeous table from Pier 1, and it finally came yesterday!

It seats 8 people easily, and 10 "comfortably", if need be.  We sat down to dinner last night for "snackies" (what Graham calls a big platter of veggies, fruit, crackers, thinly sliced meat, cheese, chutneys, and hummus/raita/etc), and for once, the table was not crowded, with us now knowing where to place our drinks!  It was so much more relaxing!

We can't wait to have you over for dinner now!  We are waiting for some more comfortable chairs, but for now, the old ones will do!

This isn't the best photo to show it's size, but it's all I have for now...

YAY!

GELATO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, I know it's been windy, and rainy and COLD (heat on in May is just ridiculous!), but tonight I wanted Gelato.  I haven't seen anywhere in Pickering that sells it, so I didn't know if I would have to just give in tonight and buy ice cream somewhere or buy a tub from the grocery store.  But little old GOOGLE helped me out and not only found a gelato shop in Pickering, but one that had reviews of their great Gelato and sandwiches that they do!  That will have to be checked out another time!

Graham was a hardworking man tonight, mowing the lawn, weedwacking (or as he calls it: strimming), and weed killing the lawn, so off we went for some gelato!

Once we arrived, we tried a few different flavours, one with a warning: "it's really good, but gets really hot after it melts!"  After looking at the menu, and not having much time before they closed, I spotted something that I HAVE to go back for...

A GELATO LATTE!  SERIOUSLY!

We enjoyed our yummy treats of chocolate chili gelato (spicy, but rich and delicious) and mocha almond fudge! 

Oh so bored!

Well, day after day, applying for jobs is not usually something I have to do.  I have either been very lucky to get offered a full time job after working very hard at a placement, had a "connection" to get a good job, or walked into a place, convinced them I would work hard, had an interview and walked away with a job.  Not to say that it's always been this easy (CAS was a long process, at least it felt that way waiting and waiting and calling...), but most times, I can call myself lucky (a VERY rare thing, as anyone who knows me, knows that I am FULL of bad luck).

I did get offered a job, that didn't turn out in the end...a blessing, trust me, so now I am on the job hunt!  We haven't been home from our honeymoon for that long, just over 2 weeks, but as a person who needs to keep busy, I am BORED.  I have baked, cooked, experimented on new food, built furniture, waited for deliveries, gone to see my Dr. for a check up, visited with friends, had 10 people over for brunch, cleaned and cleaned and did LOADS of laundry, unpacked the last of our boxes and applied for countless jobs (the selection is quite slim at the moment, except for a few good ones!)

Now, that might sound like I have been keeping busy, but to me, I NEED to work!  I LONG to work!  I LOVE to keep my brain working and engaged!  Fingers crossed something lines up sooner rather than later.  In the meantime, I will keep being a housewife, a cook, a provider at home and a job searcher.  But yesterday, with the rain STILL pouring, I felt like this:

GINORMOUS!!!!!!!

A few weeks ago, Kathryn called me to say that she saw these HUGE marshmallows that she knew I would love!  (What a GREAT friend!)  I couldn't really comprehend just how big these marshmallows were that she was talking about, so I didn't know how to get excited about it.

However, yesterday, I was at Zellers in the mall here, and having my arms full of dishes from the Bay, I was walking pretty quickly to get back to the car...but I just had to stop, put them down and take a picture.  I found these HUGE marshmallows that she must have been talking about, and yes, they are that HUGE!  I am planning to go back today to pick them up, as we are camping for Graham's birthday this weekend and they are just PERFECT for a HUGE smore's!

I put my cell phone cover next to the bag so you can see just how big they are!  I can't WAIT to roast some of these puppies this weekend!

I'm usually the bartender!

I'm usually the bartender, mostly because I used to be one in Scotland and because I can make a killer cocktail/punch/mixer etc from nowhere.  It helps having the think outside the box, as I can't have vodka, and not many bars make martinis/cocktails that aren't vodka based.

Tonight however, as I was making a delicious dinner (if I do say so myself) of pork stuffed zucchini with brown rice, Graham decided tonight was cocktail night and a night to celebrate 1 month of being married! DONE!

He shook us up some Whiskey sours (with an adaptation by me of maple syrup instead of sugar syrup- it was amazing!), that were a delicious pre dinner drink!

Thanks bartender man!  Your tip was dinner!

He thinks he's a handyman :)

With the influx of flat pack or furniture that needs something put together... Graham's been getting to have a lot of "man time" as he calls it.

While he can put together furniture with the best of them, it can either take longer, he bumps himself or DEMANDS a drink...sometimes making me wish delivery men built furniture! I love you and your skills hun!

Bonus to having furniture built? I finally found a non girlie beer (read fruli) that Graham will drink! Wow! Bud light lime, here we come! Yay!

Lee-Anne

Grown up bed!

It's finally arrived, all the pieces were here and it's put together!!!

It's high and off the ground and beautiful! It feels so grown up!

In 5 years together, we've always had a mattress on the floor, a mattress and box spring on the floor, and yes, for awhile...even an air mattress as a bed. Serious.

Our king bed now REALLY seems HUGE, but we are in love with it!

Thanks to generous gifts, we now feel like we're making our house a home!
Lee-Anne

I like to read something that makes me learn, makes me question humanity...

Right now, I have picked up a book for the first time in almost/maybe over a year.  A book that isn't a wedding book, magazine, book on living with "disabilities", book on communication, or book on working with children.  A personal book.  I used to LOVE making time for reading.  While working night shifts at The Shires, in England, after the kids were settled (at least for now) and all the house duties were done, I would read.  Sometimes 1-2 books a night.  That makes it seem like I never worked, but on a 14 hour shift, being a VERY quick reader, it wasn't uncommon for me.  If I put my mind to it and really like a book, I can finish a 250-300 page book in one afternoon/evening.

I am a big fan of books that make you think, make you learn and make you question your own life.  These are usually books that bring out emotion in me, or make me feel like I want to/am/need to make a change in the world.  It's the Social Worker in me, I can't help it.  Some of the guys at work, used to laugh at me, because I always chose a book that somehow made me cry silently, without realizing that I was crying while reading it.  I like to be moved.

I went through EVERY Jodi Picoult book she wrote while I was working there.  I went through every Nicholas Sparks book.  I went through many other books of this type.  But after I started working at CAS, I stopped reading them, as they started to become all too real and no longer fiction.

I wanted to buy a new book for the honeymoon, so I picked up Jodi Picoult's House Rules.  I didn't manage to read it while we were away, as we were out doing activities or exploring all day, and when it's 40+ degrees celcius, the last thing you can concentrate on while at the beach, is reading a book!  I just wanted to be in the water, or drinking a watermelon shake.  Mmm..watermelon shake, man I miss those.  Sorry, back to the subject!

I am now 250+ pages into the book and I am hooked.  It's a book about an 18 year old boy with Asperger's, who is obsessed with crime scenes and get accused of murder.  It's fascnating.  Not only because it rings true so close to home, but because this book shows a REAL family, with REAL struggles.  I appreciate when an Author does months worth of REAL research to write their books, interviewing families and children themselves, getting first hand information.  It really sucks you in and makes you think.

So, I know I am not done the book yet (only half way through), but I highly recommend picking it up, passionate about disabilities or not.

Here's a link to the website: House Rules

When the girls have a night out... The husband???

Gets home from a bike ride, sits in his shorts with the buttons undone and no shirt, playing N64 till it's past his bedtime!

Disclaimer: when I started this Blog, he knew at any moment, anything could be Blog worthy!

Lee-Anne

Sometimes a girl just needs her best friend.

I have the best husband in the world.  He is VERY patient, very loving, very cuddly (even when I am not, which to him, is probably most of the time...but in my defense my Mom says that when I was a baby, if anyone tried to cuddle me, I would stiffen up and refuse), and my best friend.

HOWEVER...

Sometimes a girl just needs her best GIRL friend.  You know, the one they can talk to about anything (well, almost anything, as somethings Graham says, should always be off limits), the one that no matter where you are/have been in the world, is still the same constant person you've always known, for like 20 years?  The one who gives you reality checks.  The one who listens when you have done something you shouldn't have and knew better, the one who never judges, but only questions you out of concern.  Sometimes you need her.  Oh and her coffee loving (decaf for me), crepe/dessert loving self!

I am a person who has a heavy heart with a lot of things.  A heavy heart for my family who is hurting.  A heavy heart for my friend's who are hurting.  A heavy heart for the dog walking past my window that you know has arthritis in it's leg and although they would rather be lying on their bed at home, is pleasing their owner by going for a walk.  A heavy heart for charity.  A heavy heart for a client.  A heavy heart because I am having a "bad health" day/week/month.  You know, the list could go on.  Sometimes I suffer with these in complete silence, or take out anger on someone who doesn't deserve it, or sometimes, I just cry at the drop of a hat because I just can't stand how much it hurts anymore.

Then you have the best friend who calls you to go for coffee, to go for a chat, and even suggests DESSERT, something your husband doesn't do.  Something that makes you realize they know you better than anyone else, and you just need some indulgences once and a while.  Kathryn goes to the movies with me and gets popcorn, candy and coke.  Jenny eats candy with me and watches movies or chats with me.  Dana, well, she takes me out for decadent desserts!  Crepes, tonight.  Truffles last time.  They were delicious and catching up with her was JUST what I needed (hopefully her too!).

I love you Day, and thanks for sharing in my indulgences with me!

Our weekly indulgence...

Some weeks we don't watch any TV at all...some weeks we watch Tuesday night's Biggest Loser and Thursday night's Grey's Anatomy (I PVR Private Practice because Graham can't stand it and I get too tired some days).

Last night, we had dinner, I picked up a book- other than a social work book, kids book, or something about weddings- for the first time in almost a year (that's crazy to me now that I think about it, as I can finish a HUGE book in less than 2 days if I want) and read 150 pages in less than an hour.  Man, that felt good!  Then watched Biggest Loser.  Something that Graham and I LOVE to do together.  Maybe it's something about seeing other people's success and struggles that make us feel human and normal, or maybe it's the fact that we are both consciously trying to be healthy for one another...we really enjoy this time together.

Kegger!!!

Last night we had date night!  I was feeling really housebound- looking for jobs all day, writing what feels like a bazillion thank you cards and doing umpteen loads of laundry.  Graham suggested we use our Keg gift vouchers we got from some amazing friends in Calgary as a wedding gift!  Perfect gift by the way Miriam, Mark, Ilana and Sabrina! 

I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it, as I am on day 10 of this nasty cold/cough/sinus infection I came back with from the honeymoon...but once there, I was ready for some steak and double baked potato goodness!

Thanks Anderson's so much for your fantastic gift!  It was so nice to have a night off cooking dinner!

Take me out to the ball game! Take me out to an OPEN DOME!

Today was Graham's first time ever being in the Skydome (I will ALWAYS call it that) and watching a game with the DOME OPEN!  It was a GORGEOUS, sunny day and such a treat to have amazing seats to a game on a Sunday afternoon.  Free parking and free tickets, always makes for a great day out in the city!

We started off by getting lunch at the salad bar at Longo's, instead of a sausage, which we're both not fans of anyway, and it was a great choice!  We had mango salad, thai salmon, curried chick peas, and a boccocini salad (FA cheese to you Stephanie!), and ate it on the grass in front of the Stadium.  It was PERFECT!

We had great seats behind the dugout again, given to us by a VP at Graham's work, just handed to him on Friday before the office closed, so we had a blast.  The game ended up being a bit of a downer from the 5th inning on, but we still enjoyed the day, the sun on our backs and the view of the CN tower from our seats!

CHICK FLICK with a best friend!

What's better than having family and friends over to celebrate your wedding, how amazing they were at making it the best day ever, and showing honeymoon photos?

Having two of them sleepover with their adorable son and leaving Brayden at home with the boys (who we later found out was "caged" in a pack and play while the boys played N64, instead of entertained- their claim was that, "they let him play too".  Unfortunately, he's 13 months old, so nice try boys!), and us girls having a chick flick night at the movies!

Having just got a membership to Costco this week (you can buy more than mini boxes/jars of things now that we have a house, not a condo), I picked up movie passes there that came with snacks for us as well!

One thing that I love so much about going to the movies with Kathryn, is that she LOVES getting movie snacks, something Graham will NEVER do and complains about, really putting me off enjoying in them with him.  We got a bargain, by upsizing for 57 cents, allowing us each our own refillable popcorn instead of pouring half the bag into an empty one to share.  No one ever NEEDS that much popcorn, but it allowed us to have our own flavour if needed (which we chose the same anyway, so we could have just shared- great friends are alike!).

We wanted to go see "Something Borrowed".  I read all of the Emily Griffin books in this series last summer, while in Florida with Kathryn, Gary, Brayden, Graham and I, and as much as usually can't stand books like that, it was exactly what I needed at the time.  I had hopes that the movie would try to live up to the books, but was slightly disappointed (doesn't that always happen, but we wish it wouldn't?).

It was a great night out with one of my best friends, and although we felt OLD going to a movie at 6:45, we were almost alseep on the couch by 9:30, once we filled the boys in on the movie.

Isn't he just SO yummy? :)

Thanks Kathryn for always indulging in fun girls nights out with me!