Clear Lake 2017

This almost didn't happen this year!

But we can't mess with tradition and so off we went on our annual excursion to Clear Lake while in the midst of house renovations, condo selling, and packing.

Every September long for who knows how many years (every year since I've been around) we've gone to Clear Lake for a family gathering.

The highlights?

1.  Dinner Boat Cruise

We went on the dinner boat cruise this year!  It was something different and we learned some interesting information about the area while on it (and the weather was perfect to be out on the boat!).  It was however pretty expensive and now that we've done it once I'm not sure we'll need to do it again.

2.  Bald Hill

The top of Bald Hill
Confession: I was almost too scared to hike the fairly short but narrow path to get to this point... I thought the breeze would send me over the edge.

We went on the Bald Hill hike this year.  14km later we got back to the car.  I think someone had figured it out and thought it would be about 10km which seems pretty doable but then we ventured off the main path to get to Bald Hill and didn't park exactly where we maybe should have... by the end I was pretty exhausted and it took me the rest of the weekend for my muscles to re cooperate.

3.  Outdoor Movies

My sister and brother in law borrowed a projector and big screen so that we could watch movies outside after it got dark.  It was the first year we ever did it and I would say it was a big success!  It did get a little chilly though so for the 2nd evening of watching movies outside we built a couple of fires to stay warmer

4.  The Food

The food is always good.  Imagine a couple of picnic tables filled with a variety of foods for dinner.  No one goes hungry at the lake!... in fact it takes a couple of days afterwards for you to actually become hungry again!

The regrets?

Just one...we still haven't gotten our Beavertails!  Come on!

Life Lately

I interupt my usual talking about wedding stuff to tell you all about my life lately (because it's more than just cookies and wedding over here!)

School is winding down and my pool has officially opened (it actually opened about a month ago but this weekend was the first time I headed down there).  My friend and John's sister came over for an evening swim because it was just way to hot to do anything else.

Those same 2 girls that came over for a swim also went to a wedding with me (John also came).  It was for a friend from life group (and John's sister knew the bride).

the whole life group!

We (my sisters and I and all our significant others) took our parents ziplining for Mother's and Father's Day (because it was something that my mom actually wanted to try!)

just my sisters and I hanging out with my dad

the guys hung out with my mom

my mom even managed to climb this... and by the time we got to this point it was pretty windy!

I've got tomatoes, flowers, spinach, and swiss chard growing in my "garden" outside.  The tomatoes are an experiment John is doing because they aren't actually growing in any soil.  So far, lots of flowers on the tomato plants but no tomatoes.

And of course wedding planning, wedding planning, wedding planning.  We have pretty well made our way into the 7 month part of the checklist I found online which is nice... mostly because we have less than 4 months before the wedding!  I'm not too panicked about it though... it'll all get done.

The list for the next couple of weeks includes:

finding shoes (for me)

deciding on suit (for John)

finalizing the guest list

deciding on invites

deciding on a florist (pretty sure we already know who we will go with... we just need to contact her)

figuring out flowers for the centerpieces (ahem florist ahem)

make gift registeries

finalize the cake

The list seems long now that I look at it... but I think it'll be doable... most of the stuff we already know what we want we just need to make sure it's going to happen (or possible for it to happen)

And that folks,

Is my life lately!

How I Spent Christmas

Day 28

How I Spent Christmas

This year for Christmas I spent it with John's family (because my family was getting together on Boxing Day).  We spent it opening presents, eating, celebrating, and remembering why we celebrate Christmas

I hope that however you spent Christmas this year that it was festive and great and perfect for you!

What Christmas Means to Me

Day 24

What Christmas Means to Me

Christmas to me means a bunch of things... but when I first started thinking about this post I thought of this quote from our good friend... The Grinch

I like it, because for myself, it's true

A few days ago John called me requesting a Christmas Wishlist for his mom and I really struggled thinking of what I needed.  I knew I didn't really NEED anything so obviously I eventually put together a list of things I wanted.... 

For me, Christmas isn't about getting presents

I mean, it's lovely to get presents and I appreciate them all... I might even be a little disappointed if one year I didn't get any.  But presents are definitely not the most important part of Christmas and I don't want to ever think that I have to get presents because it's Christmas.

So the question remains, what does Christmas mean to me?

It means spending time with family and friends

It means giving to others before yourself

It means going to at least one Christmas themed church service

It means having a bunch of fun with a bunch of different people

It means good food and great company

It means seeing people you haven't seen in a while

But most importantly it means remembering why we celebrate this day and remembering Jesus' birth and all that he did for us.

God sent his son to Earth to save us all from our sins.  God sent Jesus to Earth so that one day he would die... for all of us!  Which really, is the best present of all... because think about it.... if someone stepped in front of a bullet that was heading straight for you wouldn't you be forever grateful for that person?

This video is a few years old but is still very much applicable.  It tells the story of Christmas through social media

This past Sunday my church did their children's Christmas concert and play... they played this song during it which I feel like tells a good part of the Christmas story and a bunch of things that Jesus would do in his life time.

Hope you have a very blessed Christmas this year!

Christmas Gatherings

Day 18

SO MANY HOLIDAY PARTIES!

John and I just counted all the Christmas gatherings that we have and get this... we have 9.  Some are a lot smaller than others but still... 9.  I also had 1 other Christmas party without him.  It's a lot... especially considering there are 5 days straight and a total of 9 between the 16-28 (never more than one on any date though).

BUT, here are a few of my Christmas Gatherings (and some of the traditions we have)

1)  I always get together with these girls

just a bunch of sisters and cousins

We usually do a scarf exchange but this year we just did a $5 gift exchange.

2) Both sides of my parents family

We used to do one gathering on Christmas and the other on boxing day (and then alternating which family we'd see on which day every year).  For the record, my parents are still very much together... it's just getting together with some extended family.

Now that we've grown up and become a little more busy (with many of us getting married) it doesn't work out to organize it for Christmas Day and Boxing Day.  So we just find a day that most of us are free and choose it!

On my dad's side we do a $10 gift exchange.  The rule used to be that the present had to be purchased from Canadian Tire and the goal was to save the most money (receipts had to be included) but this year it has morphed into any $10 present.

On my mom's side we don't do presents.

But we will: listen (and possibly have a role in) the Christmas story, sing Christmas carols, eat, play games, visit... or well I'm assuming we will do all of this based on how it is from other years.

3)  Both sides of John's parents family.

I don't know what his traditions are or what it will be like... maybe I'll have it figured out in a few years.

4) Life group Christmas party

Last year we went to one member's place in the country but alas, he is in Germany this year.... 

So this year... I'm hosting it!  Well... technically I already hosted it (it was on the 16th).

We are putting together a Christmas hamper for a family in need and delivering it this day as well.

5)  My immediate family

this would be my parents and sisters and all our significant others.

When we were kids we always had our Christmas on Christmas eve (because we were always busy on Christmas and boxing day) and would go out to eat and to look at Christmas lights.

6)  John's immediate family

We are with them on Christmas day this year (and Christmas eve... because they want to see a lot of me... yes, I'm assuming it is me they want to see).

7) Work parties

This year, I didn't have one and usually bigger corporations get theirs out of the way earlier on but because of Grey Cup festivities everything got bumped back a little later so this year we are attending John's on the 19th.  It's a fancier event.  Dresses will be worn and corsages will be offered (by his work... not by him).

And I think this pretty much covers it!

If I were teaching this year... I think I might feel that a 2 week break was not nearly long enough!

Here's to still being able to fit into all my clothes in the New Year!

How many Christmas gatherings and parties do you have this year?

Life Lately

So I'm a little (a lot) behind... what else is new?

I'm sure I'm forgiven though?

I've been busy subbing lately.  Today I got home by 4pm... it's kind of nice.

Subbing has FINALLY picked up 

Last weekend we had Thanksgiving and as it is with most big family events... I managed to get a cold just for the weekend.

it was a lot of lying in bed and Watching Modern Family.  

Can you spot the super moon?  John and I watched it!

Super moon

I had one day off last week, luckily it was a lovely day!

More walks in the park

I made John and I breakfast for dinner one day (don't worry, we also had some slightly over cooked bacon and fruit salad)

Pumpkin Pancakes

But the highlight of the last couple of weeks was that last week John and I went to see Odysseo!

I thought it was great!

After the show we went to the stables to see the horses (we weren't allowed to touch them though)

This just seems like a slightly better than ordinary breakfast but in reality it was dinner.  John was away and normally he has to make the omelettes because, well... I can never seem to get it right.  But on Saturday that all changed.. it was delicious!

Probably about 6 months ago my friends and I made some bowls with what was pretty well paper mache and balloons. But there was never a time when we could all get together to paint them... until Saturday evening.  

Mine is the purple one in the front.  It now holds my keys by the door.

paper mache balloon bowls!

All summer John and I have been reading The Scorch Trials and we finally finished it!  Then yesterday John and I spent a couple hours at the mall waiting for Scorch Trials to start at the theater... and about an hour  before the movie was set to start alarms started going off at the mall.  Shops started closing and firemen were walking around with a hose and an axe... but no one seemed to be in any kind of panic so we kept wandering.  Then we got trapped inside Chapters which was when they said we had to leave the mall.  

But don't worry!  We just took a drive to the next theater and caught it somewhere else.

And that's been my last couple of weeks!  

Looking forward to more Thanksgiving festivities (this time with John's family) this weekend.

Labour Day Long Weekend at the Lake

Most people that know me know that I am NEVER EVER available to hang out September Long weekend... why?  Because I am always at the lake for a family gathering.  This year marked 30 years that I've gone (at least I can't remember a time that I haven't gone).

John and I had every intention of leaving the city around noon on Friday (I convinced him to take the day off just for this) but there was a lot of running around that he had to do that morning (plus washing his boat for any invasive species that the boat might have picked up in the Winnipeg River system).  I think we ended up leaving around 1:30.... getting there around 5 which is slightly later than what it normally would have taken us because we had to drive the first hour or so on the highway at about 70km/hour because of a massive downpour (I'm talking everyone pulling over to the side of the road kind of downpour).

But we got there and checked into our cabin that we were sharing with my cousin, sister, and brother in law (and 2 dogs).  

When we got there it wasn't raining so I showed him the sights and we sat down to a delicious dinner of soup and pizza buns.

The weekend didn't have great weather but our cabin managed to squeeze in as many activities as possible!

Saturday afternoon we decided to attempt a 13km hike.  We starting at the top and were working our way down... we thought the fog was lifting as we continued on the hike but on our way back we realized that wasn't the case... because we were right back in the thick of the fog.  Our faithful leader to keep the bears way was one dog and the other one was somewhere near the back.

Still all smiles because at this point we likely aren't even halfway through

It's hard to tell in the pictures but there was often a pretty steep drop off to one side of the path

(don't worry.. we all made it out of the hiking trail relatively unscathed).

Lots of going down and some going up.  I am likely the shortest one in this hiking group and here I appear to be some kind of giant.

We walked along the road back in hopes that it wouldn't take so long and we would make it back in time to get things ready for dinner (because we eat it all together... about 30 or so of us this year).  On the way back it was about 95% uphill and I was feeling it in my back for a couple of days!

But here we are (well I'm behind the camera) exhausted from our long walk!

"Look exhausted everyone"

"So we'll just look like ourselves?"

Saturday evening after we were all showered we all decided that we definitely deserved an evening in with some movies... so we set up a laptop and watched a movie and ate snacks.  

I fell asleep.

Sunday morning we went with my parents to the bison enclosure and we just so happened to go at the exact right time to see a bunch of bison!

(there were a lot more than I managed to capture with my camera)

My mom says that we had been here before... I just don't have much memory of it.

(as in I have no memory at all of it)

When we turned around to head back the same way we went in (maybe about 20 minutes later) there were no bison to be seen at all!... which is why I say that we went at the right time.

Later Sunday afternoon we were debating on going to watch the Bomber game at a local restaurant or taking the boat out.  

We decided on the boat option because John had pulled it all the way from the city!

(this ended up being the better option because the Bombers ended up losing anyways)

So we all changed into our Bomber gear (well everyone but John who apparently doesn't have any!) and headed for the public boat launch.

We had been pre warned that they were doing inspections for invasive species (like zebra mussels) but because John had already washed his boat we thought we would be free and clear to head out.

Unfortunately, because his boat had been in the Winnipeg River system we weren't so free and clear as we had thought we would be.

Here his boat and trailer are being steamed cleaned just in case (about a 30 minute job).

Luckily, they do this for free so that people don't lie about having used their boats in different waters

It looks like a beautiful day but the waves were a little large and we all got pretty wet on the boat ride back to the docks.

Luckily, I had decided to bring a bunch of extra towels from the cabin and a blanket of mine 

(I hid under the blanket for the majority of the bumpy ride back)

My job before a boat ride is to be in the boat and drive it towards the dock and then hold on until John comes back... I'm still working on doing a decent job of all of this.

My job for after the boat ride is to pull the boat our of the water which is what I am about to do here...

I was a little nervous because you launch and pull the boat out of the water on sand here and I didn't know how that would work for traction... after a few attempts I managed to get it out.

Monday morning John went out and bought cinnamon buns for our cabin at the local bakery (because what's a trip to the lake without some delicious cinnamon buns?) and then after breakfast people started to pack up and leave.

John and I took one last stroll around the place and left around noon.

People would ask me what the highlight of my summer was and I always told them that I didn't think it had happened yet... because I knew September Long would be great.  

And it was!

It doesn't matter what the weather is like when you are surrounded by great people (and great food).

Hope everyone's long weekend was as fantastic as mine!

Ways to Stay Cool During a Heat Wave

Just stay inside!

Hopefully everyone else around these parts had some kind of air conditioning this past week... I think we were around 40 degrees with the humidex most days this week!

Needless to say I DID NOT spend much time outside this week.

What I did do was...

1) I ate popsicles
I make smoothies most mornings (smoothies that include a couple handfuls of spinach I might add).  I fill a glass with it and whatever is leftover I put in a popsicle mold.  All those popsicles came in handy this week!

2) I turned on my a/c.  I don't keep it on too often... just to keep my bills lower but this week I spoiled myself and I had it on A LOT (in comparison to what I normally would)

3) Slumber party in the living room!
I only have a window a/c unit and it is located in my living room.  So I dragged an extra mattress into the living room and camped out there for a couple nights.  Then John came over and I felt obligated to turn my living room back into a living room.

4) Go to the mall!
The mall is a cold place to hang out.  I bought some fancy new pants (for $12 each because they were on sale!) and a bathing suit top - just the top.. I didn't like the bottoms.

5)  Swimming
When one has a pool one should take full advantage of it during hot days

6) Visit Friends with central air!
I went to life group which got relocated to my cousins... because she has central air.  I brought us pizza and pasta for dinner before everyone else arrived.

7)  Free Ice Cream!
During life group the person that brought dessert refused to take the ice cream he brought home.  So I took it.  It's been yummy!  John and I also went for gelati on Monday.  I had salted caramel and blood orange.  It was delicious!  On Tuesday we for a boat ride down the river for ice cream with my family too.  So 3 days of ice cream... not too shabby.

So that's been my week of staying cool

Other than that my friends and I visited the Chile (chilly?) pavilion for Folklorama and went out for Greek food beforehand.

This weekend is sort of a lazy and relaxing weekend in the city.

Saturday I made some Tagalong Cookies and worked on some T.U.S.C most of the day (in hopes I might be able to use it at a job I'm still waiting to get for September).

I also made this delectable meal.

don't worry I cut the strings off before eating it!

Today the plan is to head over to John's to make his dessert for life group (he is going away for work but still wants to supply his dessert - yes I offered to supply it for him!) in the evening and then head to bed early because I actually have to get up early Monday!

Hope everyone managed to keep cool this past week!