if the silence takes you i hope it takes me too

wow.. isn't she huge.

this is my aunts and uncles dog dakota

she is part st bernard, part german shepard and part something else

my cousin said she is part scooby doo, assuming she means great dane.. but she is wrong lol

she rolled off the couch after this 

the poor puppy (i think she is about a year)

i babysat my little cousins last night, four children and a massive dog lol. but i love them

my aunt said i have full access to her book shelf when i want

yes!!

paper backs for free babysitting.. deal :)

i need you so much closer..

death cab of course. death cab for cutie played an absolutely phenomenal concert last night at the molson amp. the night could not have been more perfect, outdoor venue, gorgeous weather, perfect sound and oh yes a four song encore. at first they left us without playing home is a fire and transatlanticism but they played them in the encore. perfect <3. they are amazing live! ahh summer skin, soul meets body, title and registration, you are a tourist! i love them all.

the photo quality is poor because of my camera

i swear my blackberry camera took better pictures
but i absolutely love them

 james and i. wow i need a tan!

go train ride from exhibition back to burlington

and we had my just baked red velvet cupcakes waiting for us..

oh and did i mention while we were there we bought tickets to see ke$ha on august 14th. they were $20 which for a concert is fairly cheap but what a show that is going to be! lol imagine the intense kesha fans.. i guess im a bit lucky the seats available for kesha were not the closest to stage!

death cab for cutie <3 i will definately be at your next show near me! AAAAAAMazing!

happy saturday

codes and keys

death cab for cutie tonight ♥
codes and keys

even though im not really a concert going kind of person.. since i found out we were going ive been looking forward to it.

awkward and awesome

awkward: 
- randomly i worked at burlington mall twice this week, im used to working in hamilton but burlington was short staffed. as soon as i walked in the store the first time a customer needed help but the other staff were all busy.. the customer started asking me questions and i knew all the facts but i didn't know where the product was so i think she thought i was crazy and left
- working in burlington also, this guy started talking to me in french but i didn't realize so when i looked at him confused he says "i guess you dont know french" and oh i was like "yes i do".. dumb of me, i thought he was speaking a language i wouldn't understand so i tuned him out.. i do understand french i promise.
- my puppy and my best friends dog chloe hate each other
- i went rollerblading with my friend at the bay front on tuesday. i haven't been rollerblading in over 4 years and i looked awkward
- taking guinness for a walk yesterday and some lady starts calling my name, i ignored her cause i didn't think i knew her but then she called it a few more times so i stopped and said hey? she walks up to me and is like ohh i thought you were someone else and of course guinness starts walking towards her and poops on her lawn.


awesome:
- my dad hung a little bell on a ribbon and attached it to the door handle of our back door to try and teach guinness that when he rings the bell we will let him out... well it definitely works, except he also rings it when he wants to go out for a drink of water since we have a water bowl out near the door. instead of walking downstairs to drink some water in his bowl downstairs he chooses the lazy way and rings the bell
- im seeing death cab for cutie in concert tomorrow! im beyond excited they are the most amazing band ever
- i successfully made 75 cupcakes and a small cake to go on the top tier for a wedding (im no professional but im satisfied with the results)
- my birthday is in 9 days! im starting my birthday list


* in blogland i love awkward and awesomes.. i decided to attempt one*

my dogs not crazy.. promise

these made me laugh

my puppy is crazy..

my dad bought me this book called my smart puppy and there are all these questions in it. one of the questions is.. is my puppy crazy? lol i definitely read this because i am convinced guinness is crazy. the answer: "twice a day (sometimes more) your puppy will go a little nuts. ears back, he will race around  your home barking spinning and leaping. this is called frap - frenetic random activity period. it describes the puppy crazies" lol the end says that the stage passes and im glad about that as funny as it is.

baking challenge

i have a new found respect for those bakers on all those reality baking shows. i took on a challenge.. since i love baking cupcakes my boss asked me if i would like to bake some cupcakes for her friends wedding. of course i took this offer.. i was like sweet! i get to bake and try a few recipes and everything and decorate some cupcakes.. i was all excited to make some red velvet cupcakes and i realized wait its 75 cupcakes i need to make! ohh and its for a wedding! so they better be amazing... okay and also she didn't want red velvet cupcakes she wanted chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing. well im not used to that since im usually about the red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing.
anyways it was intense.. i recruited my friend meagan to come help me.. i found a good recipe which uses melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder (which i find always makes richer tasting cake)

 the recipe called for 4 eggs.. but since the recipe only made 24

i needed 16!

a bit more tedious.. waiting for the chocolate to melt and all

so we bought all the ingredients and we even bought some giant boxes to put them all in so it looks more professional when i deliver them.. we even piped the icing (thank god for meg! i dont know what i would have done without that piping set).. usually i just spread the icing on with a spreader but i can't do that for a wedding!

 all i was asked to do was to make chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing

they will do the decorating

okay! so done!

three boxes.. 35 in two of them and 15 in the other

i made a few extra!

but wow i was getting cranky lol.. im pretty sure i snapped at my family a few times.. it was stressful! they need to be baked well inside not too dry and they icing needed to be thick enough to pipe and the cupcakes needed to be cool enough to ice.. and i needed a place to store them until tomorrow thats cool enough that icing wont melt..

but im impressed with our work.. i feel good about them even though im not a very good judge of whats good in terms of chocolate cupcakes.. i got some other opinions though and the verdict was positive!

yay 

somewhere a clock is ticking

today meagan is coming to hamilton and we are introducing chloe (her little minature pinscher) to guinness.  im thinking we might go on a roadtrip to st jacobs.. i dont think we can go to the market with the pups but we can walk around the town. or maybe we will bake some chocolate cupcakes. i really want to bake and stupidly i have agreed to make 75 chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing for my boss's friends wedding and i think i should test out the recipe before actually making the wedding cupcakes. im also hoping chloe will help teach guinness to walk on a leash properly so im hoping we have time for a walk.

yesterday my walk with guinness turned into this

he didn't move once he was on the leash

id just like to add..

i like oreos and i like ice cream..

what better invention is there as: the oreo ice cream sandwich

perfect!

i love it

cookies and cream ice cream squished between two giant oreo cookie tops

happy tuesday! im excited i have today and tomorrow off work..

from barbie dolls to puppies

my friend sierra and i have known each other since we were in grade one. i cant remember sierra or i actually playing with barbie dolls but we have been friends since the barbie doll playing age.  anyways sierra has a little yorkie poo named shiloh she got in november i think... i wanted guinness to meet him so sierra brought over shiloh for a puppy play date..

   look how big guinness is!

shiloh is about 6 pounds and 8 months old

guinness is almost 7 pounds and only 2.5 months old

hes going to be so much bigger than little shiloh

sierra and i with our puppies

poor guinness is not very photogenic lol.. 

countdown: 5 days until death cab for cutie in concert in toronto!

such ambition never fails to amaze me..

"I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited." - Sylvia Plath


I really like this quote.
Sylvia Plath is the author of The Bell Jar which is a book i just finished reading about a young girl, a girl prime of her life and interning for a fashion magazine in new york, who begins to experience a mental breakdown (and sever depression). the book is actually a semi biographical description of the authors life.  my description of the book is really besides the point (you should just read it).. really i just appreciate her quote. 
read it.. doesn't it make you think?.. you really can't do everything you want in life so i guess we are best doing what we want when we want it because our feelings of wanting something will never cease to exist. if you want something now in life and you are convinced you have never wanted anything so bad in your life.. you have two options: get it.. or dont get it.. my suggestion is get it because at that point it will make you happy.. yes its true that in 5 days from that day you may not want it anymore but you will never know. maybe you will still want it maybe you wont. and why do we want? why do i want ice cream when i know it makes my stomach hurt, why do i want to keep buying new books when i have a bunch i haven't read. honestly i always buy multiple books at a time and am equally excited to read all of them, but then while im reading one, i buy more books and suddenly im so excited to read these new ones and no longer interested in reading the ones i bought before.
i dont know, this quote just makes me think.. 
i have this friend and he always makes me think about things like life.. not in a depressing way but in a questioning way.. there are so many questions to ask about life and i sometimes like that it is up to us to find answers.. they dont come easy. as sylvia plath said, 'we are so limited'.  i think we live to experience. to experience emotion, physical and intellectual stimulation, but each person  has different limits or restrictions and these limitations are sometimes based on geographical location or even physical build. certain individuals cannot experience a snowflake falling on their tongue simply because they do not live in such climates and do not have the financial means to go to such climates. this is only one example of how limited we are to experience everything life here has the potential to offer.
yup just some thoughts id put to paper (or computer)..

july video post

i love adele and as often as its played on the radio i still love the song rolling in the deep. my sisters are so sick of the song, my mom is starting to get sick of it.. but i still have her cd on repeat (along with death cab for cutie) on my ipod.. even when at the gym. since i have no time recently to even sit down next to my computer, write let alone read posts im just posting a video of another one of my favourite adele songs

she is soo talented! i love her :)

update: my little pup is now pretty much waiting by the door when he needs to pee.. hes about 11 weeks now! i think hes a smart puppy and i hope im doing well training the little guy (with the help of my amazing family! - they have been soo helpful with me working 25 hours a week!)

i have 5 straight days of work since thursday.. can't wait for three days off on tuesday

i heart guinness

this weekend was spent realizing how much work a puppy is and as much as i love every minute ive had with my pup im exhausted. 


saturday: ive been looking on kijiji pretty much every day for the past few months looking at all the cute puppies that were for sale, so finally on saturday i decided i would call a few of the breeders/people sells puppies. i called one in hamilton and women said they only had one puppy left and someone had an appointment to meet her around 11. the women called me back around 11:20 and said hey im sorry but the women fell in love with the puppy immediately so the dog is no longer available. efff.. so then i call a breeder person in cambridge and say i would like to make an appointment to see the cockapoo female that they had (they had a male and a female). the lady told me that someone was coming around 3:30 to see her... so i made an appointment for 4. my mom, dad, sister and i made a road trip out of it and went to see the puppies.. so both puppies were still there and of course who else wandered up to me and my family other than the little black male..

i had my heart set on a female.. but i fell in love with him instantly

so i fell in love with him, payed for him and we were on our way home.. before we took him home we stopped at petsmart to pick up a harness, leash, crate, food/water bowl and my sister bought him a name tag.. his name is guinness juniper.. the second name will not be used often i promise.. 

sunday: i spent sunday visiting and being visited by aunts/uncles, grandparents and friends.. we went to visit my aunt connie in ancaster (fete and jessie) then i went to visit my grandma. then i came home because my uncle martin was coming with my little cousins too see the pup. they came bearing gifts (puppy toys) sunday was also spent drinking sangria out on the deck with mom and dad.. little pup was exhausted..

monday: this is no puppy news.. i worked 12-9:30. my sister was home with guinness and he has a visit from my aunt mary.. she brought him so many little toys! she loved him. he also went to my sisters soccer game and i was told he was a hit.. even the ref paid attention to him.. when i came back from work my dad had a present for me

he bought me a book..

im excited to read actually

it will teach me a bit about little guinness

tuesday: guinness had his first vet appointment. the vet gave him a shot, confirmed that he was a healthy happy pup, made me happy!.. and he got weighed..

this little ball of fluff weighs 6.6 pounds..

wow

and he is only 10 weeks old

he will probably be around 25-30 pounds full grown

my sister bought him some vet approved treats at the vet 

countdown: dcfc in 10 days!!!

introductions required

i got a puppy today!

yes the puppy i have wanted..

a cockapoo!

he is absolutely perfect!

this is my little pup

his name is guinness :)

more pictures will come!

but he requires lots of attention now lol

he is 10 weeks :)

costumes and large crowds

harry potter and the deathly hallows part II which i saw last night was awesome! the special effects were amazing as per usual and there was definitely a perfect contribution from battle scenes, subtle humour and wit scenes and as expected heavy hearted i cant believe that just happened scenes. i can't believe the series is over after having grown to love these characters, its weird. my sister outlined it as.. putting so much effort into loving and depending on these characters.. you knew the characters and you've felt what they feel. and now its over. lol okay i wasn't the biggest fan of harry potter and his friends but i am glad to have read the books and seen the movies. 

i do want to comment on the mass amounts of crazies that were out at the movie last night though. i went to see the movie in burlington (maybe 15/20 minute drive from where i work). the movie started at 12:01am.. i worked until 9:08 (lol that is precisely when i left work.. i looked at the clock).. we got to the theatre walked to the front doors and realized there was a line up.. we started walking to the end of the line. this line was huge! it practically circled the entire silvercity building. we passed people dressed in wizard costumes and hogwarts attire.. people in harry potter shirts and with lightning bolts painted on their foreheads.. it was ridiculous! 

apparently people were lined up outside the theatre at 3pm.. at other theatres apparently people started lining up at 11am.. wow these are really some people without much to their lives.. i think its just a movie (although i guess i did go on opening night and did wait in line for over 2 hours lol). 

so after getting to the end of the line, realizing we will be standing there for two hours or more i decided to walk over to williams to get us coffees and i came back and couldn't find my ticket.. i looked in my pockets my purse, wallet.. couldn't find it so i gave my sisters the coffees to hold and back tracked.. yup i found my ticket laying on the ground (lucky it only looked like a piece of scrapped paper and not a legit ticket since my sister had ordered them online). along with the annoyance of almost losing my ticket i also hate large crowds of groups. large crowds are fine sometimes, when they dont all flock as groups.. there is a difference between 200 people in groups of 2 or 3 (i can stand) and 200 people in groups of 10 to 15 (cant stand it.. pet peeve).. why do you need to go to malls/movies/theme parks in a group of 15 people?.. you bug people, talk way too loud and act dumb. 

  we did get some pretty cool harry potter like 3D glasses though

<3 

have a good weekend!

and if you seen harry potter.. enjoy!

harry potter tonight!

today im going to see harry potter and the deathly hallows part II

im seeing it at 12:01 am

it wasn't necessarily my choice to see it at the first showing available

but my sister is slightly obsessed..

i do love harry potter though and i can't wait to see it!

part I was amazing.. i loved it

i watched it last night to refill my knowledge on what happened! lol

i do find it a bit depressing this is the last movie.. 

but anyways im excited!

have a nice thursday!

in this semi charmed life

the term "best friend" i kind of dont like. i know i say it sometimes, ive mentioned some of my "best friends" in some of my posts, but i really dont view these people as only best friends. when i was younger i had a specific best friend one year and it was someone else the next year (sometimes it was the same friend for 3 or 5 years). it was a title given to a person i hung out with most or liked the most. as we get older things change. i have so many amazing friends and im going to consider these people all as best friends at some point in my life.. maybe its because im with them most or i have shared something huge with them. again.. everyone i willingly hang out with, share stories with, laugh with and cry with are worth it to me and are amazing people. 

okay now i have just said that all my friends are super cool and i may call them my best friends at some point because they are some of the best people i know.. but i want to mention four people who i cannot imagine life without.. these people are more than just best friends, they are my sisters (literally and not), they are my confidants, my sidekicks, my heros. they help me get through this semi charmed life. meagan. tia. diana. becky. there is no order to them, they all fill in number one. 

diana and becky are my sisters (in a literal share half my dna way). i look up to both of them even though they are younger than me and the importance these two have in my life is beyond description. i have most memories with them. they are my dance partners and my first line support system. 

there is tia. tia and i are so much alike its strange. we often have the same ideas, same sarcastic tone and easy going personality because of this im pretty sure she understands me more than pretty much anyone else. i can talk to her about anything and she listens. she gives advice without judgment and is the first person i call if i want a coffee break or just need to chat. she is getting married this september and because she means the world to me this is such an exciting time in my life too.. :)

the fourth person is meagan. we are pretty much fire/water.. leo/gemini kind of friends.. we think differently, we have very few of the same interests, habits, hobbies and views. she loves makeup i hate it. i like spencer reid she likes derek morgan. i shop at american eagle, her at guess.. i think you get my point. despite our differences meagan is the one who knows me best. i tell her the most, even though because we are so different we argue. this girl can read my mind, she can tell when im lying or hiding something. she goes out of her way to cheer me up when im upset. she is the one i drag along to my favourite bookstores and small towns. i travel with her, bake with her, watch illegally pirated movies with her. she is my hero. she thinks before she speaks and considers every implication before giving me advice. 

this post is not a call out to anyone. it is not to make anyone feel less important than they are to me. if i consider someone a friend it means they mean a lot to me. the four i mentioned are whom i am closest with and who will be mentioned most in my posts because of this.            

cocktails and playlists

this weekend..

i went to my first stag and doe

i played bar tender

i found a pair of lost sunglasses

i went to a wedding shower

i got to hang out with a bunch of friends

details are..

the stag and doe was for one of my best friends

i make good drinks 

i like sunglasses

tias shower and lots of food

i love my friends

im a brides maid in the wedding.. this weekend was allotted to wedding events and i had lots of fun! i was so excited to be a part of all of it!

i thought it best to get a photo with the bride-to-be at the beginning of the night

i play good bar tender.. it was fun!

games game games.. 

it was fun!

we all got to celebrate the beautiful couple while playing some games, dancing with

music and drinks

chatting with tons of new and old faces

the bride is one of my best friends and im soo excited for their september wedding! like stoked!

park days

i like to read, drink coffee and go on walks. BORING.. well that what the girl i babysit told me lol. i dont care if you classify it as boring little girl.. i like my life.. but i decided because i was at her house i would try and be a little bit more fun. so this morning after she woke me up early telling me today is the day she can call her mom and dad (who are on vacation in italy) i made her a one of her favourite breakfasts. 

 blackberry photo - not best quality

yup i made us pancakes and cut up some fresh fruit.. well she wasn't fond of the strawberries i added to the plate so i took hers too..

anyways.. i did a bit of reading than made her some lunch.. then i took to the pool and park.. just a little public pool, i swear the deep end is less than 4 ft deep. but she loves it and her friends were there so she had somebody to play with in the pool.. the pool is right next to the park so her and her friends kind of went back and forth between the pool and playing in the park..

 i just hung out on a bench

in the shade..

it was a beautiful day

she was exhausted 

she napped when we got home lol

im glad i got her out of the house and maybe she will tell her parents that im something other than boring..

its my last night babysitting for a while.. i've been here since tuesday night. tomorrow im working 9-5 than i have my friends stag and doe.. im soo excited for!! then the next day i have the wedding shower.. i know it was poorly planned.. especially since the bride-to-be intends on getting slightly inebriated tomorrow night lol.

have a good weekend!

like a book elegantly bound..

 i know this is random and kind of lame of me since i dont currently have a boyfriend but have you ever imagined the perfect proposal. as a girl, and most young girls do it, i've imagined my dream wedding dress and the fact that i want a tiara not a veil and i know the month i want to get married in. and yes i imagined a proposal that would be romantic yet simple. okay so im not going to be entirely lame and fully outline my dream proposal place and stuff but i will say that it was almost described in the book im currently reading. again this is random but something that is on my mind now. two reasons proposals are on my mind right now.. one is that im reading something borrowed;  two is i spent the day watching shows like brides of beverly hills and rich bride poor bride, shows i very rarely watch. 

something borrowed, maybe you've seen the movie (its my new fav movie) is an even better book..  no surprise there i have yet to watch a movie that is better than its book. the book is based in new york city and for that i love it. descriptions of the street of manhattan makes me instantly jealous..i only wish i could afford to live there..but anyways read the book! although the story line is sad considering its about a girl (rachel) that is in love (and has an affair) with her best friends (darcy) fiance and begins to resent  darcy because she is jealous of the public relationship darcy has with her fiance.. while rachel's relationship with the darcy's fiance has to remain secret. ahh a book filled with drama but i still like it.
oh this post is so random and somewhat due to the beginning, makes me sound like some kind of pathetic dreamer. but im really not, im simple. kind of. in a complex way.. does that make sense?  

im a little healthy..sometimes

want to make one of the healthiest and most delicious snack/meal i can think of..? all you need is 

lots of fruit! 

oh and juice and yogurt.

i absolutely love freshly made smoothies.. like ones you make at home not the ones you buy that are basically fruit flavoured syrup with a banana added.

simplest recipe for health:

• 1 cup ice cubes
• 1 cup fresh juice (orange/apple/cranberry/pineapple)
• 5 strawberries (or more if they are really small)
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 banana
• 1 yogurt
• 1 tbsp flaxseeds (optional)

so i guess you can substitute blueberries or strawberries for raspberries/blackberries or pretty much most berries.

the great thing about smoothies is you can adjust it to your own preferred taste.

you can add honey

you can use milk instead of juice

frozen yogurt instead of yogurt

you can add a bit of cocoa powder or peanut butter too (with banana.mmm)

 im babysitting this week and i told them i like fruit so they bought soo much!
this is the smoothie i made.. 






apple juice, vanilla yogurt, blueberries, banana and strawberries.. simplicity and its best.






as much as i love watermelon, cherries, nectarines, apples and oranges  (all which they bought) i didn't think they would be as smoothie compatible




loving the smoothie.. delishhh

cheers!

home is a fire..

im such a snoop and i cant help it. i want to know what is going on in peoples lives cause i can guarantee it is different than what is going on in my life. i want to know how people think cause its different than how i think i can promise you that. its partially why i love reading so much, the authors think in their own way and write about characters in the way they think. its kind of cool when the character in a book thinks about situations in the exact way you think of them. i guess reading isn't really snooping but i am a big snoop. im babysitting this week for a few days. you better believe i went through all the food cupboards to see what snacks they have. and obviously i looked through the bookself to see if there are books i want to read and i went through the movies they have. oh and the channels, maybe they have channels i dont have with shows i have heard of but never seen. they have like 5 flavours of ice cream, and lots of different wine. i promised myself i would not drink the wine. im not sure if i snoop around because im bored or curious. maybe if i wasn't bored i wouldn't be curious. i'll completely admit i go through medicine and vitamin cabinets.. is that weird? as much as i wont ask, im curious if you take a perscription of some sort and if you do, what its for? i read cards, maybe calendars..its a bad habit and i probably shouldn't be telling anyone. but its not like there is any harm done. when im at my grandmas i always look through old photo albums and read letters (maybe ones my dad wrote to her when he was like 10 years old lol). okay im weird and curious. deal with it and dont deny it you probably do it too..
okay so here a song i love right now, july video post..

alright im back to reading.. something borrowed is a good book!

my misson

i really want a puppy. ive wanted one for years now but i knew it was a bad time for me to get one. first i lived in res than i lived in student housing with some friends, then i couldn't afford one. now i can afford one and im living at home and im going to probably be attending a post grad program in a college near by. i wont be too far away from home and i can come back to my house between classes if needed. i was debating on a yorkiepoo or a cockapoo but i prefer the size of the cockapoo. any breed crossed with a poodle is highly recommended if shedding is a concern or if you've never owned a dog before. i've decided the cocker spaniel/ poodle cross is perfect for me.. 15-25 pounds depending on the parents, not too much shedding, easy to train, since its a smaller dog it is acceptable as an apartment dog. i dont live in an apartment but my house isn't that big and i dont want a dog that needs to live in a mansion and needs exercise every 40 minutes. its no guard dog but thats fine i dont need one. i think i have the most time to train a dog now in my life then i probably will in the future. my aunt is even helping me by talking to dog breeders she knows and asking her dogs vet information on cockapoos. i love her for that!.. i know dogs are expensive and the time investment is large but i would love a dog. when i move out in a year or few, when i can afford to, i would like a dog to come with me! 

my problem is my dad.. hes not a dog person and see there is a difference between him not wanting a dog because he doesn't want the responsibilities and him not wanting a dog because he doesn't want one in the house. the first i can deal with, he wont be responsible for the dog, i will, i will walk the dog feed the dog pay for vet appointments and train the dog. its its the second reason i cant change his mind as easily. i think he thinks having a dog will ruin our furniture and hardwood floors. booo! im hoping i can convince him to let me get a puppy!.. ahhhh! dilemma!

have a good monday!     

home town (country) glory

every canada day my parents host a family barbecue/picnic. when we were younger we had the picnic lunch out in dundas driving park, my moms side and my dads side would show up. as my grandparents got older it was harder for them to attend picnics at giant parks so we started having it at our place. it turned into more of a barbecue instead of a picnic. as all us kids started getting older, we have a small house, we started inviting only my dads side for canada day and my moms side we would have over for a barbecue some other time in june or july. so every year different people show up although everyone is invited. some of my cousins have cottages they go to, some go camping, sometimes we invite friends, sometimes someone will bring a boyfriend or girlfriend. this barbecue is the main reason i love canada day. my dad even makes a quiz and buys a prize for the winner, sometimes the two top scorers. the quiz usually consists of common questions about canada like maybe how old is canada, what year was canadas first birthday, which canadian cities have held the winter olympics. more difficult questions for me.. whose face is on the $5 canadian bill? the $10? the $50? or which canadian province owns the worlds largest covered bridge.. oh or name a book by a canadian author. im usually pretty bad at these questions its kind of embarrassing. 

setting up for dinner.. so much food to come

dads barbecuing and bailey and riley are playing.

we always play soccer with them, riley loves playing boys against girls even though he is sometimes the only boy. 

riley hes maybe 8, also decided to make names for us all.. umm shameful puppy, chatty turtle, fat hippo, wise hippie and qualified koala were some of them. i have absolutely no idea where he got these names from but when i called him wild beast he said he is the only one who can do the naming.

we had tossed green salad, macaroni salad, quinoa dish, dinner rolls, baked beans

steak and pork and randomly grapes.. oh and look at all the wine glasses

oh and appetizer before this was shrimp with cocktail sauce and tortilla chips with salsa

now comes my favourite part!

red velvet cupcakes, pound cake with fresh berries, brownies (from humingbird bakery recipes) and homemade skor pieces. and my aunt vicky also made banana ice cream.. ummmm delish.

ahh! i love canada day

i didn't get to see fire works though but i can deal with that.

and all the things i scripted they sound unfounded

this past weekend i went to megs cottage in muskoka. the weekend was full of food, booze, fires and friends. eight of us went up, pretty much all in separate cars at different times, bad planning on our parts. meg, jamie and i came up together around 3 on friday, peter came up around 8. james and mars came up separately around 11 on the friday and tia and brandon made it up for lunch on the saturday. everyone got along amazingly! i couldn't have asked for a better group to go with. there was way too much food from cupcakes to watermelon and burgers to pasta salad and i swear the guys went through more beers than some people have in a lifetime. 

it started raining after james and jamie got this fire started.

the thing that sucks is i have to drag people in pictures with me.

i do not have camera accepting friends usually

hi peter.

my wonderful smores..

after everyone realizing im weird because marshmallows gross me out.. unless they are with a piece of chocolate and squished between two graham crackers i refuse to eat marshmallows.

my sangria failed. did i mention i attempted sangria? i love sangria.. normally it is an amazingly delicious drink.. mine turned out tasting like soda water:

 a) because i added double what it asked for

b) because the container was too small and i didn't stir the sugar in properly (it was all at the bottom)

c) i love red wine sangria, i should have stuck with the same recipe i usually use

i didn't share.. but i dont think anyone wanted it lol

the day we left it was absolutely beautiful.. likely.. thats my luck

i like this cottage deal i can't wait to go back. maybe next time with a successful attempt at sangria.

i like no tv and no internet and being near the lake

and going into town and getting ice cream

and drinking wine with friends near a bon fire

and night swimming.

have a good long weekend!