I'm practically a world famous artist!

Back in July Groupon had a deal for a photo-to-canvas through 44Wide. I've seen canvases that people have had made up of their photos and through it was a fantas tic idea. The deal was $69 for a 16x20 print (regular $209). I bought two. I started going through my photos to find something that would look good as a canvas and decided on one of the pictures I took at Peggy's Cove when I went to Halifax in 2009. It needed a wee bit of work, but I tidied it up and sent it off for print. The canvas came 4 weeks later.

Happy Anniversary!

Brad and I are celebrating our 2nd anniversary today! Earlier in the week a friend of mine said "it's hard to believe it's been 2 years, isn't it?" and my response was "actualy, it's hard to believe it's only been two years! It feels like much longer...in a good way, haha!" And it's true. It does feel like longer. Since our anniversary lands on a Sunday this year, Brad and I went to Medicine Hat yesterday for some shopping and a fancy supper at the Cracked Peppercorn. It was very tasty, but the company was the best part. He also surprised me with a beautiful pure silver bangle (even though we had said no presents this year).

A big day!

At last calculation still getting 95mpg! When I bought gas last it was $4.64 for 3.94l which means that it costs me approximately .03/km to drive. Hahahahahahahaha! LOVE it!

Zip-Lining!

For my birthday, Brad paid for me to do a zip-lining tour at Cypress! I was super stoked to go when Karlene told me they had installed it and when I realized that we would actually be camping at Cypess for a few days, I became very excited at the prospect of actually doing it! Mum was right on-board with me (despite both of us being afraid of heights and bridges). And so on Tuesday the 19th, we suited up and went zip-lining!

A new fashion statement? I think so!

Mum, all harnessed up!
~

The first platform was 42 feet up and involved climbiing a very wobbly rope ladder. Not as difficult as I thought...though definitely a challenge.
~

Mum, getting going on the ladder
~

We made it!! On top of the first platform
~

Look how close I am to the tops of the trees!!
~

Mum, zipping along
~

Me, on the longest line: 600 feet.
~

We did it!!

So Many Photos! (because we had so much fun!! Clearly!)

My blogging hiatus has been partly because June wasn't a very exciting month, but mostly because in early July my parents made the drive from Smithers to come visit me and Brad! They arrived on July 7th and stayed until July 25th for the best three weeks ever! We played lots of games (including Settles of Catan, Rummoli, and Angry Birds), and visited until the wee hours just about every night (making it very difficult to go back to getting up at 630 for work. booooo!). Here are some of my favorite photos:

Oh, Angry Birds...how I love and hate you all at once!
~

Catching up on the scrapbooking I've done since Mum was last here
~

Playing a game of Settlers of Catan
~

At Lac Pelletier for lunch
~

It's my birthday!!
~

Birthday Bushpies!! YUM!!! (Mum and Da are now sold on bushpies...not that they were doubters, but they haev definitely hopped on the bandwagon)
~

My Birthday Raspberry Cheesecake Bushpie - with a candle on top!
~

See? Totally on the bandwagon!
~

After my birthday supper we played Rummoli and I won. All was right in the world. :)
~

At Bald Butte in Cypress
~

Mum and I at the Cypress Hills Winery after an afternoon wandering around Maple Creek
~

Da and I at the Winery
~

On our last morning camping at Cypress, Brad and I had my parents "come over" for breakfast of pancakes.

~I taught Mum and Da how to play Mario Kart...which was enjoyed by all (though pretty ridiculous)
~

One more game of Rummoli after supper before Mum and Da left on their long drive back to Smithers.
~

Sold!

Bucking the trend of preserving one's wedding dress in a box with a clear window, I placed mine on ebay, hoping a thrifty bride would be interested in buying a pink Sottero Midgley. Turns out, one was! It took several months of attempts to sell, but this morning I received an email from ebay telling me my item sold! The bride, a woman from Quebec, is apparently moving to Cuba next week to marry her one and only. Despite feeling disappointed each time my dress didn't sell, I found that rather than feeling happy that it did, I actually felt a little sad to see that it had sold. What can I say, I'm a bit sentimental. The feeling was fleeting though; I'd rather someone else get some joy out of it. Also, I don't want to just stash it in the closet for years and years and carry it around with me for the rest of my life. It's not the sort of thing that can be shortened to wear at another occasion either. I've got a little bit of money out of it and hopefully it will bring as much good luck to a new bride as it did for me.

All Growed Up!

I'm feeling all grown up and mature as of last night. That's right, we (finally) have a grown up bed frame! I had painted one wall in the bedroom last weekend in preparation and it looks pretty spiffy, even if I do say so myself. haha! I love what a coat of paint can do for a room. So here are the pictures!

Before:

Ollie is so helpful!
~ The finished product!
~Yay!

Now THAT'S High Tech!

Pirates of teh Caribbean 43D! And you thought 3D glasses were uncomfortable!

Minor Home Improvements

With spring settling in (finally) and the knowledge that snow will not (likely) be falling again for a few months, Brad and I took to the outdoors and started working on some landscaping. I have no trouble figuring out what will look great in room in a house, but when it comes to a yard I am at a total loss. I mean COMPLETE and total loss. So I rely on Brad's ideas and inspiration to make our yard lovely. We decided a long time ago that the front yard needed a tree (after we tore down the sad and dying evergreens when we moved in). The year after removing the evergreens we planted a small amur cherry tree. It was growing quiet well and then suddenly died. We think the soil was too acidic from the pine needles. As it's been 2 years since then we hope that the problem is no longer an issue and optimistically planted again. This time we went with a Golden Eclipse Lilac tree. Brad wanted to create a raised planter in the front yard for this tree, so we bought some cindercrete retaining wall bricks and he built the planter.

I am demonstrating what a tree will look like in the spot we picked out

And this is what the tree actually looks like.

We packed in quite a lot of potting soil and black earth. Should manage alright. Here's hoping!

It was a very successful and productive weekend so far. Still to come: photos of the bedroom makeover. I'm still waiting for our bed frame though (sigh). When it's all done, I'll post some pics.

The Ukrainian Domestic Goddess

When we lived in the Lowermainland, Easter for my family was always spent at my Nana and Papa's house. They would make lavish spreads of food for supper for the extended family. So this year, Brad and I have undertaken a (somewhat condensed) Ukrainian feast. I started making Easter Babka (an Easter bread with a dozen egg yolks, YUM!) on Friday and left it in the fridge to rise over night. Yesterday I put the 12 egg whites to use and made a chocolate angel food cake, baked the Easter Bread, and boiled potatoes for perogy filling. I finished making perogies (only 50 this time, as compared to my usual 80+) around 3 and, let me tell you, my feet were KILLING me. Today Brad started some borscht in the slow cooker, and he'll be making cabbage rolls later in the day. To finish it off, I'll be making some nelesniki (a crepe filled with ricotta cheese. I also add spinach for fun).

How many projects can I have on the go? This is in the midst of two I believe...bread and cake.
~ Post-baking. My THIRD set of dishes for the day. I had already run a load through the dishwasher as well. Sigh. A Domestic Goddess shouldn't have to do this many dishes. Note to self: get a minion.
~ My brand new acquisition. A must have for every Domestic Goddess who intends to make perogies: a marble rolling pin. Does half the work for you!
~ My cake is big and fluffy!! I've never had success like this in an angel food cake before! Victory!
~ The spoils of my day: 5 loaves of Easter Bread (cooling on a cloth covered pillow, rotated every 5 minutes to prevent settling), Chocolate angel food, 50 perogies.

A fantastic weekend!

Last weekend I hopped on a Westjet flight (courtesy of a seat sale and a $100 coupon they gave me when they lost my bag and I picked it up instead of having it couriered to me) from Regina to Edmonton for four days with Vassy! We planned our whole weekend around the best times to go to certain malls, stores and areas of the city. She took me out to fantastic restaurants and I had to start playing dirty in order to pay the bill once in a while. We went out for drinks on Saturday with her work colleagues who made me feel very comfortable and welcomed.

It was a truly fantastic weekend! I took a half-full suitcase and returned with it packed to the brim. My haul: 7 shirts, 2 dresses, 1 sweater, 1 movie, 1 bra, 2 pairs of shoes, and 1 (my FIRST) pair of lululemon pants. HEAVEN! I couldn't have asked for a better weekend!

Hooray Spring!

at the risk of jinxing the warm weather, i will post this entry. i love spring.