Top Ten Tuesday - Summer Activities I Can't Wait to Start

Not sure how your Spring/Summer has been but here in Calgary it's been pretty crappy.  Yep, it snowed this past weekend.  *Sigh*  As a "let's look at the bright side" opportunity, I am going to list the top 10 things I can't wait to do once the weather turns warmer.  You notice I said "warmer" not "hot".  I realize I live in the arctic tundra, folks, that's the best I can do!


1.  Host barbecues out on our back patio.  We love to entertain and it is so much more fun when we can all go outside and enjoy the weather.

2.  Take Evan for ice cream.  There's a cute little ice cream shop just down the road.  He LOVES ice cream (though I do miss the days he called it "ooooo cream".

3.  Go for walks around the neighborhood.  Evan and I like to take walks but it is definitely more fun in nicer weather (who am I kidding....we only go when it's nice weather!)

4.  Hang out at the park....without coats

5.  Playing outside at Nana & Papa Don's.




6.  Blowing bubbles.

7.  Calgary Stampede - out of town friends visit, we get to go to the fairgrounds & we get to wear jeans to work for 2 whole weeks!  Oh, and don't forget the pancakes!

8.  Evan's Birthday Party! His third birthday is coming up on June 28th.  We're not sure when his party will be but he keeps telling me that he wants CAKE!

9.  Camping without parkas

10.  Going to the Zoo

So what are you looking forward to doing this summer?  Check out more Top 10 Tuesday lists over at Oh Amanda!

Read more...

Neighbors

Growing up in a small town, we always knew our neighbors.  You didn't necessarily always "hang out" with them but you knew them.  Talking to my in laws, they also live in a small town & they know everybody!  Living in a big city, I find that we don't know our neighbors and I'm not sure how to remedy it.  We do know the people directly to the right and left of our house.  They are very nice and we talk to them when we see them.  We've also been over to each other's houses for dinner on the odd occasion.  Past that....nothing. 

I don't think that all the other neighbors are one big happy family that doesn't include us.  I truly think that they don't really know each other either.  Summer is coming up and I'm contemplating trying to change this.  One wrinkle in this plan is that the two neighbors across the street are selling their houses (one of these makes me VERY happy because they have a VERY loud truck that they fire up every morning at 6am...waking up Evan).

So.....do you know your neighbors?  How did you develop the relationship?  Is it worth it?  Suggestions to break the ice?

Read more...

Wedding Dress Blog Tour

When I saw that Sasher's Life was hosting a wedding dress blog tour, I knew I had to participate.  I love looking at wedding dresses AND my 5 year wedding anniversary is coming up on June 5th.

We got married on the beach on Anna Maria Island in Florida on June 5, 2005.  Since it was going to beach wedding, I wanted something casual but still wedding appropriate (no white bikini here!!!!).  I ended up going with a bridesmaid dress in white.  It was strapless with no train.

I loved how it looked & that I wasn't too uncomfortable in it. 

I also really liked the lace up back (even though it broke while I was getting ready.  I had my mom, my mother in law & my photographer's wife all working on it at one point!

Here they all are working on me.  I felt pretty helpless at that point.

 My favorite thing was that I could even dance in it!

So the question of the day was: Would I sell it?  I dunno.  Maybe.  Right now it is sitting in a closet in Alabama because I took it there so my sister could wear it in her wedding if she wanted.  She ended up buying another dress but I have yet to bring my dress home.  I like having it but it is a bit of a waste of closet space.  Evan is my only child and I don't think he'll be wearing my dress.  I know I do have Nicole (my stepdaughter) but borrowing wedding dresses is more a mother/daughter thing than a stepmother/stepdaughter thing.  I think I would rather give it to someone if I could.  I honestly didn't pay very much for it so I doubt I would get much for it.  I'm glad I have all my pictures from my wedding day, though.  To me they are much more special than the actual dress.

So do you still have your wedding dress?  I'd love to hear your story.  If you blog about it, make sure to go sign up on the McLinky over at Sasher's Life.

Note - All pictures taken by Chris Lewis of Lewis Digital Photography.

Read more...

May Long Weekend Camping 2010

Sorry I went AWOL on you for a while.  It's been a bit crazy around here.  First we went camping for the long weekend (pictures below) and then we had to be out of our house due to painting being done in our basement.  Since I knew internet service would be spotty at best, I decided to just leave my laptop at home. Unfortunately that meant that I haven't posted in a while.  Thankfully I think I will be spending a bit more time at home for the next little while so I should be back to my regularly scheduled posting habits.

And on with this post.....

We celebrated the May Long Weekend in Drumheller with 9 other families that we know through work.  This is our third year at this campsite.  It is a great family site with lots of amenities for the kids.  I liked being in a group site so that we had a big area all to ourselves.  Here's the post from last year....you will notice that we were wearing VERY different clothes this year b/c it was FREEZING!

Not sure where he gets these faces from but it's cracking me up!

Evan has to help me cook even when camping.  We were making whole wheat pancakes here.

Can't forget the potty!

We decided to visit the museum in Drumheller.  This was the first time Evan went since he was a baby.  He LOVED it.

The fam....

Gotta love the bubble wall

Will is such a nut!

This is a dark room that we were afraid would freak Evan out.....he thought it was the coolest & plopped down on the floor to get a closer look.  It looks so bright b/c I used my flash.

Lots of indepth discussions about the dinosaurs and how they "got dead".

Back at the campsite, one of the dads rigged up our cooking enclosure as a movie theatre for the kids.  The Chipmunks & Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs both made a showing.

Digging the movie & trying to keep warm.

Our campsite & our campfire.  The blue thing behind the campfire was a windbreak that we rigged up to try to stay warm.  Didn't work. 

All in all it was a great weekend and we didn't freeze to death.  Hopefully we will do more camping this year.  With our camping buddies the Ndegwa's & the Coswan's gone, we're not sure how much camping we'll do.

So....do you and your family camp?  What are your favorite camping activities?

Read more...

Knowing Me, Knowing You - May Edition

I was wondering what to blog about today & then I remembered that it was time for another episode of Knowing Me, Knowing You hosted by the lovely Fairy Blogmother.

1.  Coffee or Tea?

I must admit that I have quite the coffee addiction these days.  I still only allow myself one latte per day (unless it's a REALLY bad day & then 2 is allowed) and I rarely if ever drink brewed coffee.  For years I didn't drink coffee or caffeinated tea because of a minor heart condition.  There is much disagreement in the medical community around whether I still have that heart condition.  I chose "no you don't" because it means I can drink caffeine again.  Bring on the coffee!!!!!


2.  Are you watching Glee?  Have I asked you that already?

I'm pretty sure you've asked that already...... but who knows.  I do watch Glee on occasion & I have all the back episodes PVR'ed so that I can watch it when I'm done watching other shows & we've entered the TV wasteland that is summer.

3.  Do you sing?

Yes.  I love to sing & I used to be "okay" at it.  Not so sure these days as the people that hear me most often are Evan, Dewey and anyone around a campfire.  When I was young I sang a lot in church.  My grandparents were very musical so I grew up singing often.  I have also been known to unabashedly sing along to songs playing in restaurants/stores/cars/etc.

4.  What is your favorite John Cusak movie?

You know....I have no idea.  I like him but I haven't seen any of the movies in so long.....

5.  Burger or hot dog?

I love both.  If I'm going to eat a hot dog, though, it has to be either grilled or cooked over a campfire.  Nothing tastes better than a campfire roasted hotdog!

Want to play along?  If you do a Knowing Me, Knowing You post on your blog, sign up on the Mr. Linky over at Shan's blog or just write your answers in the comments section.

Read more...

Wordless Wednesday - Putting Evan to Work

One of Evan's new favorite things is helping me cook.  He always asks for a job.  If it might include water....even BETTER!

This picture is linked up at 5 Minutes for Mom and A Lot of Loves.  Visit them for more Wordless Wednesday fun!

Read more...

Top Ten Tuesday - New York City Travel Tips & Tricks

This is my last New York trip post I promise!  I thought Top Ten Tuesday was a perfect opportunity to pass on some interesting tidbits of information I've picked up on my last few trips to New York City.  Trip planning can be overwhelming so I've always looked for any "insider" info that I can find before I go.

1. Never let anyone touch your Metro card - Nana was "helped" by what we thought was a nice man while she tried to get her Metro card to work.  In reality he was a thief who palmed her unlimited ride card & traded it for a one ride card.  We didn't realize it until we went to ride the subway the next time.  
2. You can save serious coin by buying your Broadway tickets on the day of the show at the TKTS booth - We saved 50% when buying 2 tickets (~$130 for one show and ~$180 on the other show...these are totals for both tickets).
3. If you decide to go the TKTS route, buy tickets to the more popular shows on earlier days - The variety of shows available to us on Thursday was much greater than on Saturday.  
4. Just realize that the super popular shows (Wicked, Jersey Boys) will most likely not be available at the TKTS office.  If you have your heart set on those shows, buy them in advance.
5. If you want to buy something at Tiffany's on a budget hit floor 3 for beautiful sterling silver jewelry. - It's still not cheap but you can find something pretty for under $200.
6. The Quicksilver store on Times Square has super cute, well made T-shirts that say New York for men, women and children.  They are stylish and won't fall apart after one wash like the ones hawked on street corners.
7. If you have Broadway tickets on Friday or Saturday night you NEED reservations for dinner.  Everyone & their dog are trying to eat dinner before 8pm.  If you don't have reservations you will end up eating at somewhere subpar.  Ask me how I know.  :)
8. The best way to really see New York is a walking tour.  There is a lot you can see from a bus tour but you will have issues with traffic & you can't see things up close.  We were VERY impressed with Real New York Tours & will use them again.  It is a lot of walking, though, so wear comfortable shoes.
9. If you eat at Carnegie Deli, share a sandwich.  I would recommend the hot pastrami with a side of coleslaw.  This is the perfect meal for two ravenous people for lunch.  Really....I'm not kidding....don't try to eat this alone, it is just too big.
10. Last but not least....I can not stress this enough....wear comfortable shoes!!!!!

I would love to hear any of your tips.  I'm hoping that I will be going back soon so I'm always looking for more tips.  Head over to Oh Amanda to check out other Top Ten Tuesday posts!

Read more...

New York - Days 3 & 4

Okay....posting pics to blogger is a pain in the butt so I'm going to post just a few more.  You can see ALL the pictures I took here.  These are actually in backwards order but I can't be bothered to switch them all around.  Forgive me!

We made one last stop in Central Park because it is just so pretty.  This was on Sunday before we left.  The AIDS walk was going on so their were LOTS of people in Central Park!

Cool sculpture in Columbus Circle.  I think this used to be the Time Warner building but it is now owned by Trump.

Fountain in Columbus Circle

Eating our last lunch in NYC at Carnegie Deli.  I LOVE that place.  The pastrami is amazing and there's lots of cool people watching.

It doesn't look like much from the outside!

The lion in front of the NYC Public Library.  I was sad that the library is all covered up for renovations.  It's very pretty.

Neat little carousel in the park next to the public library.  There is a field that is part of this park too.  It was wall to wall people suntanning.  New Yorkers really love their parks.

Grand Central Station

Moi.

We decided to go over to Park Slope in Brooklyn on Saturday.  I've been to Manhattan 3 times but never to Brooklyn.  It was pretty cool.  It seemed much more family friendly.

Mount Prospect Park.  We wanted to explore the park more but we were really, really hungry.

So we went to the Botanical Gardens b/c they had a cafe.  Yay food!

We got to see some beautiful flowers along the way.

Lilypads too!

And the rose garden was amazing!

Saturday night we went to see Rock of Ages.  It's a musical starring Constantine Maroulis that took popular 80s songs and strung them together into a musical.  It was a great fun show.

Standing in line to get into Rock of Ages

Sadly this is the only Statue of Liberty picture I took.  We decided against going on the tour b/c it takes up half a day and we never got a good look at Lady Liberty.  Too bad.

Read more...

New York - Day 2

I'm really too tired to be adding pictures BUT I want to get them up while I still remember what they are all about!  I hate, hate, hate when I can't remember what a picture is!

These two pictures are actually from the end of Day 1.  We went to see the musical Memphis.  It was AMAZING!  We both loved it so much that we both bought the CD.  Definitely worth it if you get an opportunity to see it.

Most of the following pictures were taken during our 6 hour walking tour of Manhattan.  The tour is called Real New York Tours.  We had Trey for a tour guide & we had an awesome time.  We would definitely recommend this tour company (and Trey) but realize that there is A LOT of walking so be prepared.

For all you crazy Canadians....we've seen at least 2 Tim Horton's in Manhattan.  Who knew?

I love all the street vendors in NYC.....here's the fruit truck....

and here's one of the MANY street food vendors.

Even the Subway sign ....

and the Police Department have neon!

The Dakota Apartment where John Lennon & Yoko Ono lived (Yoko still lives there).  John Lennon was shot in front of this building on his way home one day.

The memorial to John Lennon in Strawberry Fields in Central Park

...You may say that I'm a dreamer....but I'm not the only one....

Love that song!

The Mall in Central Park

 More Central Park....just beautiful!

This rock is one of the few "natural" things in Central Park.  The entire park was planned & all of the hills, valleys & plants were placed there by park planners in the early 1900's.

When we weren't walking....we were on the subway.

Row houses in Greenwich Village

The Empire State building as seen from Greenwich Village

Washington Square Park

Chess Players in the Park

Cafe Wha? where Bob Dylan & Jimi Hendrix got their start.

The narrowest house in Manhattan.  It's only 9 1/2 feet wide (the outside...the inside is even smaller!)

Lunch in Greenwich Village.  This is a great little Italian deli.

Get the Italian Special but know that it's big enough for two people (this is half).  For $10 it's a great deal!

The Brooklyn Bridge

Wall Street

Trey our awesome tourguide!

Read more...