And it continues...

The weather Gods do NOT want us to finish working on the yard. We had crazy weather yesterday in the form of this thunderstorm complete with Snowball sized Hail.

The backyard is once again flooded (due to the fact that on either side of us, yards are completed and sloping into ours) and needs time to dry out. Guess it's all for the best as I'd much rather enjoy my long weekend than work!

I've got a busy one in store - hope yours is a good one! Enjoy the long weekend!
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This week's update!

We haven't been doing much around the house so my posts are few and far between and totally random, I'm hoping to amend that this week...

It's not that we aren't trying, believe me, we are. But first it was the weather (it was like crazy rain for 4 or 5 days last week) that prevented us from finishing the fence and getting the backyard landscaping done. Even now that it's stopped, we still have a lake in the backyard we're hoping dries out this week!

Then, this weekend, my dad was admitted to hospital. He's fine now and is most likely off work for a week, in bed with a bad case of vertigo.

But just when we thought we were in the clear, mom took an ambulance ride to the hospital herself yesterday. In addition to all the regular complications she's been having, yesterday she thought she was having another heart attack...while driving!

Turns out it wasn't but she's in hospital for more tests and finally some treatment. Here's hoping we can get to the bottom of this.

I am hoping to catch a break tonight and get some yard work done. I've also got some inspiration to get some pieces painted this week, so keep an eye out for finished pieces in the next few days!

The weekend is shaping up to be super busy as well. Headed to the lake for Canada Day, with possibly an additional roadtrip added on for some shopping. We have a wedding anniversary cocktail party to attend. Then, I'm off to Devon to prepare for an upcoming garage sale with Cory's sister.

I've set a goal to carry my camera (at least the point and shoot) for the rest of the week, so I'll have plenty to share and spare you the crummy Blackberry shots!

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Pets in the Park

I am officially pooped!  We had a big day planned for today.  It started out a little crummy this morning and I was worried as we had a bunch of outdoor activities planned.

FIrst up, we were slated to head outside for Pets in the Park.

Finley had a great time.

It also ended up being a really gorgeous day out.

She was fascinated with this sheep hearding dog.  We might have to try it next time....

The day was great and we ended it off with a bbq for my brother's b-day, my sis in law's bday and a belated father's day but dad couldn't make it as he was pretty sick.

This little monkey however, DID make it.  He's 2 months and 2 days old now and has gotten so big!!

Almost too heavy for grammy to hold anymore...

Where I've been... Loud Tour!

This is where I was last night. A girlfriend from work and I scored free tickets to watch Rihanna from a skybox last night. Who could say no?

It was a pretty good show. I like Rihanna. Her tunes are catchy and really get me movin' on the elliptical. And I'm not even gonna pretend I don't shake my booty around the house when a song comes on, so of course I was excited to go.

I do however think the name of the show, "The Loud Tour" more applied to the vibrancy of the colors in the crazy costumes worn by her and her dancers than anything else. In fact, I believe a better name for the tour should have been "Sex" as it was quite provocative as a whole.

I'd even go so far as to suggest that maybe the show should have had an admission rating of 14 +, if not 18A. I was quite shocked to see how many "tweens" and kids were at the show. Let me tell you, if I was 12, I would have felt real awkward watching that with my mom sitting next to me!

I appreciate Rihanna's saucy attitude and think the show as a whole was fun. Heck, I can't say that if I was a performer I wouldn't be busting out some sexy dance moves of my own! But I'm 28... If I was a mom bringing my kids out, I might have a different attitude.

Opening act B.O.B was good with some catchy current radio faves. We missed the 1st opening act as we opted to go for dinner though.

All in all, a great, fun start to summer with a good girlfriend. If you have tix for an upcoming show, prepare for a jaw-dropping show from this fun loving Bahamian!
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SHATTERED!

Just my nailpolish that is! I am officially obsessed with this new(ish) product by <a href="http://opi.com">O P I</a> .

After applying 2 coats of your choice of color (this time I chose hot pink), you layer over a think coat of the Shatter (this time black) and it immediately shatters, creating an awesome pattern of nail art!

So far I've only picked up the black, but I've layered it over silver, teal and hot pink in the week since I bought it.

I'll definitely be picking up some more shatter colors and obviously some fun base colors!
Since I'm on the phone and computer all day long, my nails get a lot of wear AND display time so it's nice to showcase them looking fun!
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Outdoor Rug Love!

I've been thinking about getting an outdoor rug for a while now.  Everything on the exterior of our house right now (including the house itself) is pretty neutral.  We even selected a neutral patio set so that it would "blend" nicely with the house.

Unfortunately, I'm starting to think it's kind of bland now.  If it wasn't for the flowers I put out there, it would be so lifeless.

On a little online perusing today, I came across these beauties at Home Depot:

Of course I'm attracted to this one, it has my favorite blue!  Plus, who doesn't love a nice botanical.

But without seeing it in person, I think it might be a little too neutral.

This one is definitely dramatic.  But I'd have to see how the colors read in real life.

But at $130 a piece, they're currently out of my price range for an outdoor rug ( I mean, it only gets 3 months of use each year...)

I did however see two different options at Walmart the other day, that unfortunately, I can not find online.... so I'll keep looking since I will most likely want to get two. One for the upper desk (dining space) and one for the lower patio (relaxing space).

Sofa Scouting and a Fabric FAIL!

Tonight, Cory and I went to look at sofas.  We've been talking about getting new living room furniture for quite some time now.  However, this spring we finally decided it was time to officially take the plunge.  Now, keep in mind that while the living room is currently serving as our all the time room, once the basement is finished, we'll be spending most of our time down there.  Which means I get to take over the living room and glam it up a little more.

So, since we're designating the family room in the basement as more masculine, the living room is MY space.  Needless to say, I had something specific in mind.  I knew a white or a cream was completely out of the question so I figured a gorgeous dolphin grey would be perfect.

A while back I spotted this gorgeous grey set:

(excuse the awful shot from my phone)

The color is hard to see here but it is a gorgeous light grey.  A very soft velvet.

It's also super comfy and has gorgeous tufting.

But Cory has convinced himself he does not like it.  He's tried telling me it wasn't comfortable.  I obviously know he's crazy as it's possibly THE most comfy sofa I've ever sat on!

So, in an effort to find something we actually both like, we went out tonight.  We actually managed to find a style we both agreed on:

This is the Magnus. 

He's very comfy and very deep.  Which is perfect.  Our room is shallow but super deep, we'd love something that would let us be closer to the coffee table in the middle of the room.

We even wandered around for almost an hour looking for fabrics, and finally found something that we were pretty happy with.

A medium looking grey with a wave patttern stitched in a very faint baby blue. 

Since the couch also comes with throw cushions in any fabric of our choice, we spent even more time arguing debating over pillow cushions. 

YAY!!  We were so excited to finally agree on something.  Since it was really the first sofa we'd looked at, we weren't prepared to purchase anything right away, so when the sales gal told me we could borrow a sample to take home, I jumped at the change to see how it would look in the room.

And that's where the story comes to a screaching halt....

That is our current sofa.... yeah I know - YUCK!!  Hence why we're looking...

Anyhow, the grey pillow on the right is what I had in mind.  The fabric sample draped over the top is what we THOUGHT we wanted.

As you can see here, it's not grey, it's BROWN.  The cream, brown, blue and green graphic fabric was our compromise on pillows. 

While I don't HATE it, it is definitely not the right choice for want in here.

So.... I guess that means we are back to square one.  Which means NOWHERE!!

I like to Mo(w)ve it, Mo(w)ve it!

Yes, that's right!  This girl mowed her first lawn this month!!  Last weekend Cory picked up this beauty:

(try not to focus on our filthy driveway, and on the bright shiny green metal!!)

And yes, I did just express my delight in our new lawn mover.

We toyed with the idea of getting a manual powered mower for quite some time.  We figured that with the size of yard, the exercise it would give us, the fact that it was better for the environment, the price point AND the fact that it would take up less space than a gas or electric mower gave it a heads up over another option.

Then we went to the store and Cory looked at a bunch and decided he wanted a gas mower instead.  In fact, he went to get one but they were out of stock.  Two days later I came home to this beauty in our driveway.  I was admittedly quite happy!

I'd never mowed a lawn before and I was actually a little scared to operate a gas or electric option.  I always envisioned slicing my hands or feet off or something crazy morbid.

Not with this baby!!  I wasted no time in getting myself acquainted with this mower.  I've actually mowed the lawn twice!

We were a little worried that it would be incredibly annoying to have to push this baby around and resent getting a push mower, but I love it.  There's something great about the sense of accomplishment that slicing and dicing each blade of  grass!

If you're thinking about getting a push mower, I say go with it!! Unless of couse you have like acres or something...

Posted!

As I mentioned the other day, we finally got around to starting our fence this past weekend.  I mean, we only managed to get the posts done since our help ended up not showing up and we needed to make other arrangements.  But it turned out fine since the concrete needed 24 hours to set anyhow.

This was the view of our front yard this weekend.  If you look closely on the left side you'll see that yes, there is a man laying on the ground..

Here's a peek into the disaster that is our garage.  I know, I know.  But once all the landscaping stuff is moved, it will be much better in there.

Here are some of the guys working on getting the posts all lined up.

It kind of butchered the rocks on the side of the house there.  We'll most likely be digging them up and laying down new rock.

A view from the deck at the posts.  YAY!!

Yay!! This mud pit will soon be our backyard!

Can't wait until the next weekend Cory has off so we can get this project finished!!

Mexican Chorizo Pasta!

Last night's dinner was another <a href="http://simplysupper.ca">Simply Supper</a> creation. It was absolitely delicious!

While I don't get the recipes, I can tell you this one was pretty easy. Chopped chorizo with onions simmered while rotini cooked.

The sauce, which consists of black beans, salsa, diced canned tomatoes, mexican spices and a few other things I can't recall was added to the sausage mixture and left to simmer. Then mix it together and bam! Deliciousness.

We made the official decision last night to keep going. We are definitely fans.
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Little indulgences

I spend more time at my desk at work, then I do at home... Is it any wonder that sometimes I'd like to surround myself with some beauty?

I snipped these from our rooftop "green roof" patio garden at work. They smell amazing and look so pretty! I love garden roses.
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Weekend wrap up!

Wow! This weekend was jam packed. First up, I did my Simply Supper thing on Friday night and drove around borrowing tools we'd need for Saturday.

Saturday, we got the posts for our fence put in. I'll post about all that tomorrow! Let's just say we were so tired we were supposed to go out that night and "briefly lay down" while getting ready, and then awoke at 3am. Oops!

Sunday, I completed the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. It was only 5 km, and the weather was perfect. It was my first every charity walk and I was so happy I did it. I've already set a bigger team size goal and fundraising goal for next year!

I have a lot of housework to catch up on now, since we were outside all weekend. But I have great yard work related posts scheduled for the week! Happy Monday!
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JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes

Tomorrow I will be up bright and early as I am walking 5km for the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes.  We've partnered with them this year as one of our charities at work and my boss really wanted us to have a team that participated in the walk, so he told me to take care of it.  Which essentially means, I volunteered myself....

Which is actually fine.  I love that I'm doing it. I also had the opportunity to attend a team captain's meeting where we got to hear from "ambassadors" who were the children affected by the disease and their families.  It was so touching to hear from these kids about how their biggest wishes were to someday find a cure.  Or to hear their parents tell stories on how they creep into the rooms of their small children in the middle of the night and give them finger pokes as they sleep so they can check their insulin levels.  I couldn't possibly imagine how life-changing that could be to have a child diagnosed with something that would change the way they do absolutely everything.  It was sad to hear their stories and I wanted nothing more than to help out so that maybe one day, these kids can just be kids!!

 We had quite a few people express interest in the walk right off the bat, but I think there will be about 4 of us actually walking on Sunday, which is fine.  I told everyone if they're not walking - they're donating!!

I've actually done pretty well with the fundraising, and that's not counting the mini bottle drive I have organized at work and still have yet to tally up and contribute to the total, but you can never have too much.  Here's a site so you can see how we're doing: Cindy's JDRF Site

Simply Supper

Not sure if I've shared this before, but I do not cook. Like, AT ALL!
I mean, I love to eat, and can find some very yummy recipes, but I have no desire to execute them.
I've been very fortunate in that Cory is a wonderful cook, and actually likes to cook. The problem is that when he's working 12-14 hours a day, the last thing he wants to do is think of something to make, cook and clean up. So it's started to become a point of contention around these parts. However this week I decided to start helping him out a little more and figured there was a way I could get some food out to him without having to do too much. But I wanted to make sure it wasn't junk food.
Enter Simply Supper :. I'd heard about them a few years back but always assumed it would be too expensive. They actually seem pretty reasonable, so I decided to try it out. premise is this: they provide the kitchen, the recipes and all the food and storage containers for you to prepare your meals. You bring them home and freeze them and BAM! you're all stocked with dinners! Love it!
Since it's a little more complicated than that, here's my experience so far:
First, you select you kitchen time. The first two dates I wanted were sold out, apparently this place is busy!
Then, you choose what sort of package you want. There are 4, we chose the "skinny six" which gives us 6 meals with 2 to 3 servings each (there are options for larger families as well as an option to do 12 meals for both serving options).
Then you choose from the menu options. I thought EVERYTHING sounded good. It was hard to choose. But I decided to sample a bit of everything AND opted to choose items with different cooking methods; bake/grill, stovetop and slowcooker! (since we only did 6 to start, I chose 2 pastas, a salmon dish and 2 chickens). Since they have to buy the groceries, you need to choose your meals in advance to ensure they have enough.
You prepay, obviously since they are gonna buy your groceries! Then you show up at your time and get everything together.
Each day, you thaw your meals and then cook them up.
Sounds easy enough to me!
I have to admit, I am really looking forward to it! I never thought I would ever say that. Plus, it will be a chance for me to give him a break especially on long days. I'll fill you in later next week with how they turned out and some photos and all that fun stuff.
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Walk this Way...

I totally forgot to share another quick little landscaping task we took on a couple weeks ago.  We  started adding a slate walkway from the front step to the backyard!

Last summer, my boss' wife kindly offered up some free slabs of slate.  We drove over and Cory loaded up a big stack, thinking it would be perfect.  Unfortunately, we only grabbed enough to cover from the front step to where the grass turns to rock (which will also be where our gate is when the fence gets started... next week?). 

Once I started to lay the slabs down, I wasn't exactly sold on it.  Infact, I believe my words were "I hate it, let's get rid of it and buy those pre-made stepping stones".  Something about the fact that they were all different shapes and sizes, didn't mesh with the clean-lined, symmetrical plan in my head.  But Cory really liked it and said it looked great.  Especially with the colors of the slab playing off the exterior stone we had surrounding the garage.  So I decided I would live with it for a few days and see how it felt.

You can see behind Finley how the path leads from the front step to the back.

She's looking very intently at a bug or something...

I've actually grown to really like it.  The grass has definitely filled in a ton since we laid them down, which is nice.

Plus, it adds a ton more character and interested to the sideyard than those perfectly round, grey concrete ones would.

I'll hopefully be heading over to my boss' old house this weekend to pick up a few more pieces so we can finish the rest of the walkway to the back!!

Still reeling and an update!

I am still reeling for the amazing time I had Wednesday at U2's outdoor show! The stage setup was ridiculous and it was packed at about 65000 ppl there.

We also got some uplifting and better news about my mom who has been quite ill. We finally got into see a specialist who made a prognosis after just talking to her and doing an exam that he believes is 95% correct. So I am looking forward to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel here soon!

Plus, I'll actually be able to get some stuff done around the house and get back to blogging regularly.

As of late, I've been spending lots of time tending to the front yard and not much else. I've got a date with my laptop tonight to download some photos. Have a great day!
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Starting June off with a Bang... Or should I say Bono?

Whoo hoo! June is here and it is slated to be a very busy one for me. Lots of birthdays, father's day, a charity walk, working out hard, a busy work schedule and some serious yard work among other things.

But I figured what better way to start the month off than with an amazing concert? Last week, courtesy of the miracle that is <a href="http://facebook.com">Facebook</a> I noticed that a gf who I don't see enough needed a date for the concert. I emailed her and guess who scored herself a free ticket to see U2 at a fantastic outdoor concert tonight? Yay me!

Here's hoping the weather stays nice.

Photo courtesy of <a href="http://beatcrave.com">this site</a>m

Hope your first day of June is great too!
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