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Jul 5, 2012

Summer Date Ideas















Yesterday I posted my Summer To-Do List, and one of the items on there was more date nights. Well I love planning such things and so I thought today I would do a little post with some of my ideas (many approved by Ben of course:)


Summer Date Ideas:


1. Reading at Chapters with Starbucks drinks.


2. Walk down by the beach, bring a picnic:).


3. Picture outing- Find a nice place to take pictures (beach, park, old buildings etc).


4. Spend a day (or evening) at a museum.


5. Dinner at a small cafe down town then to a bakery/cupcake shop for dessert.


6. Go see a concert, play, etc.


7. Make a nice dinner at home, play board games, drinks on the balcony.


8. Thrift store shopping, then go get ice cream.


9. Spend a day at Le Nordik Spa.


10. Do something creative together (craft, write, etc).


11. Sunday morning breakfast at a cute diner.


12. Road trip to a small town a couple hours away, spend the day there browsing the shops, eating in local restaurants, taking pictures etc.


13. Go on a boat tour of the Ottawa river.


14. Paddle boating on the Rideau Canal, get nachos and drinks after.


15. Make our own pizza's, go see a movie (or watch one at home).


16. Make our own pasta, then enjoy on the balcony with candles and music.


17. Cave spelunking (we went for Ben's birthday and would LOVE to go again!)


18. Spend a night making travel plans, play lists etc, and baking yummy treats.


19. Bike ride by the Ottawa river (need to find a cheap bike for Ben first!).


20. Go fishing- Ben's never been, and insists!




Some of these were old faithful's (like going to Chapters) but good ones, and some I tried to put a new spin on. I'm confident we can do most of these this summer, and I'll try and document all of them. I'm really excited!



Jul 4, 2012

Hello Blog, It's Me Again!



Oh boy does it feel good to be blogging again! I just had a glance over some old posts, and realised that I have actually had this blog since 2010, with only 22 posts! Not that I see myself blogging every day of the year, but come on, that is lame! I also noticed that I seemed to blog more often when I was home sick (then claim that I am rarely sick, which is true, but not the impression you get from reading old posts!).

It was also funny to notice that my struggles from the last couple years haven't changed: diet, exercise, money. I guess those thing's can be daily struggles in most people's lives right? I have been making decent strides in the diet department lately however, just in the choices I make and portion control, and noticed a difference! Now that summer is here I shouldn't have too many excuses for lacking in the exercise area of my life right...right?


In terms of life updates, thing's are pretty much the same! I'm still a nanny (to two little ones instead of 3 now, the two little girls I used to look after moved to Peru), and I will be staying with this same family until at least the end of next summer. By then the boys will be school and pre-school aged (crazy!) so it will be time for me to move on. That is both scary and exciting at the same time for me, because as of now I have no idea what I will be doing after that! I've toyed with the idea of taking my Early Childhood Education online this year, (so that I can actually apply to day care centres etc where my Sociology degree alone doesn't cut it), but have yet to make a final decision. I would also LOVE to take a photography course, because that's one of my big passions right now. For now, I'm still unsure of my next step, but at least I have a whole year to really think about it!

Life at home hasn't really changed, but has been wonderful. Our apartment has really come together over the past year, and now I'm just working on getting rid of the extra clutter! Ben and I are both settled with great jobs and regular hours, this is actually the first year since we met that we've had the same schedule! So I guess that's one new thing:) I've found that in the past year or so I've come to feel so much more content with what I have, something I wish I would have figured out earlier. I have to say though, that I am not just content with Ben though, I am extremely happy! It's so crazy to think that come September I will have known him for seven years! (We've been dating for about six and a half:) I know I need to write our story at some point (if he was ok with me sharing it, and if not, just for us), because these memories are important. I used to keep a regular journal in high school and stopped after graduation. Oh how I wish I hadn't, because that's when thing's started getting interesting;) I'll always treasure that time in my life, and I'm so grateful to be where I am now.

One thing that did change this year, was our travel plans. In previous posts I mentioned that a big trip to Europe was in the works for this summer. Well, between scheduling conflicts and some unexpected financial issues, that trip has been postponed. We were super bummed about that, still are, but we are hoping it will work out next year, and plan to save from now until then! It's important to us that we travel, and Europe is high on our list. For me specifically London, (because my cousin is living there until next June and I want to experience it with her), and Italy, (because I am IN LOVE with everything about it!), are top priority. If we had it our way, we'd also get to see Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland, Spain, Greece and more! Who knows how thing's will work out next summer;)

Well, that's all for now. This next year is shaping up to be a really good one, and I'm excited! I'm already cooking up plans for each season, and hopefully our travel plans for next year pan out! But I'm just lucky to have my partner in crime by my side either way;)

A Cottage Weekend










Figured I would let the pictures speak for themselves here. Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend a day and two nights at a friends cottage. It was exactly what I needed; sunny skies, delicious  food, a good book and the company of friends. I got to sleep in, and didn't have to worry about what I 'should' be doing at home, because I wasn't there, ha! My only complaint was that we didn't get to stay longer, I think I need a couple weeks of that kind of relaxation;)

My Summer To Do List



So I got this idea while reading Everyday Elsie last night, and wanted to make a list of my own. I tend to get a little ambitious in my list making, but I think the items on the list are pretty do-able, we'll see! (At the end of the summer I plan to write another post about how I did:)

So here's my list, in no particular order:

1. Purge apartment of unused/unwanted things.

2. Save half of my first pay check every month starting in August for next years travels. (We have some big plans)

3. Try a new recipe once a week.

4. 1-2 craft projects per week.

5. Picnics at the beach.

6. See Wicked at the National Arts Centre with Ben.

7. Improve photography skills, learn a new technique.

8. More bike rides.

9. Paddle boat on Rideau Canal

10. Le Nordik Spa with Ben

11. More date nights, not just nights in;)

12. Read poetry again

13. Experience more of the city- try new restaurants, explore new book stores and thrift shops, etc.

14. RELAX! and appreciate the small things.


Full disclosure, a couple of these were on my list last summer, but I fully intend to complete this list by the end of August! I made sure the list was primarily filled with thing's I want to do, not just feel the need to do. This summer is going to be awesome!!