Rick gets his new truck....finally

He is so excited, loves it and it really isn't anything special. He decided on a 2007 Ford Ranger, gun metal grey metalic with a tunnel cover. I was surprised how small it was but it is what he wanted. He put alot of weight on the gas mileage when he was making his decision, he drives over 100 kms to and from work a day and if gas is going to hit $1.50 a litre...what more can I say.

A pick up truck has been a long time coming, Rick has talked about it for years, kind of like a toothache that won't go away. I'm so very happy that he finally got it, I can put the oragel away now!

Happy Canada Day!

And a busy day it was....we had a family bbq here complete with appy's...here is the menu!

Cantelope wrapped with Proscuitto
Feta and Goat Cheese stuffed Cherry Tomatoes
BBQ'd Shrimp in Chipolte and Cilantro marinade

Casear Salad
BBQ'd Ribeye Steaks with Herb Mustard butter
BBQ'd Ribs with an Apricot Chili bbq sauce
Grilled vegetables
Oven roasted new potatoes

Double Chocolate Bundt Cake with white chocolate glaze, with strawberries and whip cream (for Patti, who thinks whip cream is a food group!)
Margarita Cheese Cake

and drinks...no time for coffee as Bryan, Hiba, Ladybug, Patti and Ken and I ran out the door to catch the Canada Day fireworks in Waterloo...They were spectacular! Absolutely spectacular!

Unfortunately, Rick had to bow out of the fireworks because he had to get up early this morning to work. Much to my delight, Rick came home at noon :-)

Can you believe Mighty Mouse! We found this in a front yard when Rick and I went out for a drive and to browse around Conestogo...such a cute little town.

You can always click on any picture I upload to view a larger image :-)

Site 814

At the Pinery, we surely lucked out booking that site over the internet. There were only 8 sites in the entire park to pick from a couple weeks back...we were surprised to find a large, private site with shade :-)

We caravan'd out to Grand Bend Friday afternoon, stopped for ice and Dairy Queen :-) When we arrived at the Pinery, there was almost an hour wait to get registered, never seen it like that before. Perhaps it was because we arrived at 4.30, a busy time. We had a great first night, Ladybug loved it, was warm enough and there were no bugs, she was good as gold. Bryan loves it so...and Hiba enjoyed herself too, we got pictures to prove it :) Saturday we went into a patio furniture store, took longer than I wanted, ordered 4 chairs and a table, which I ended up cancelling and picking a different style, then walked down the main drag looking at all the beachwear and hot cars...Hiba bought her first pair of Crocs, black Mary Jane's, cute cute cute!

Sat night we made spider dogs and I didn't get any pictures...poo. We went to watch the sunset on Lake Huron, known as the most beautiful in the world. We walked the beach, collected rocks and wrote love letters in the sand and then headed back to camp, happy. We all slept great, ate great and and great conversations, reminisced about our camping trips with the kids when they were little...I cherish these weekends.

We got home Sunday and unpacked, cleaned up the coolers and showered! yea!!! showered!! I was zonked by evening and went to bed early.....

Thanks Rick, Bryan, Hiba and Ladybug for a great weekend.

We've adopted twin Elmo's....

I'm changing up my blog, I was getting bored with the serious one. Rick and I found these two Elmo's on our travels and love them. We bought them for Ladybug but we might have a hard time sharing :-)

I was out grocery shopping today and came home to a big surprise! I brought the groceries into the kitchen and there was a beautiful vase of flowers on the island with a cute card. My first thought was, how the heck did the delivery person get in here? I wondered if I locked the door but even still! I opened the card and found out it was from my son Shane, he paid me a surprise visit and I was so bummed I wasn't home. Would have loved to have lunch with him, I haven't seen him since April :-(

We've had a busy week. Rick has been shopping for a new truck. He has changed his mind a few times about the one he wants but I think he has it now...all I know is it is gun metal grey metallic...what else should I care about? Oh and it isn't very expensive, that's all the facts I allowed to seep into my teeny brain. I really don't have any room in there for truck details and I ain't doing any spring cleaning anytime soon so I just shut it out.

Bryan, Hiba and Ladybug went to Sidney, BC to visit my sister and hubby. Sidney is just north of Victoria on the island. Bryan was on a business trip and brought his family with him. It was Budgie and Richy's first time meeting Layla! They all had a fabulous time...too short but fabulous!

We are going camping this weekend, yea!!! Our first time this season. I can't wait and I think the weather should be nice too. We are going to The Pinery in Grand Bend, it's not too far from here and there is no traffic headed west. Bryan, Hiba and Ladybug are coming too! Bryan loves camping so much and Hiba is very accommodating to us crazy people who want to give up the luxuries we have at home and go sleep in the forest...and Ladybug is 3 1/2 months old so she should have a camping trip under her belt soon! Shane went camping at 3 months old and Bryan was 6 months old...so keeping with tradition :-) Watch for pictures when we return!

Top 5 things.....

Michele's top 5 lists, other's may come to mind...but this is it for now!

Top 5 Things I Like To Do…at this moment

1) Hang out with Rick
2) Scrapbooking
3) Hanging out with friends
4) Cook and clean
5) Play on my laptop

Top 5 Foods I love…like I said, at this moment

1) bbq’d lamb chops
2) bananas
3) yogurt
4) pizza
5) whole wheat English muffins

Top 5 TV shows I like to watch…yes you read that right!

1) Top Chef
2) So You Think You Can Dance
3) Intervention
4) 48 Hours Mystery
5) Iron Chef

Top 5 things I like about me….

1) my creativity
2) my discipline
3) my organizational skills
4) my honesty
5) my cooking


Top 5 things I would change about myself if I could…

1) my weight
2) my freckles
3) my boobs
4) my mood swings
5) my past

Top 5 things I regret…

1) not taking Bryan to the hospital when he woke up with an ear ache when he was small
2) favouring Bryan over Shane while they were growing up
3) not being able to see my Mom before she passed away
4) not taking up a career I loved instead of one I felt was easy
5) gaining weight

Top 5 things I like to read…

1) the internet
2) magazines
3) my friends blogs
4) the flyers
5) my lists

What are yout Top 5?

We're getting there...

Well we've had a busy week. I've been busy mostly with helping my girlfriend Barbiedoll organize our Scrapping Retreat in September. There are 20 ladies going to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for a week. There is alot to do to make it the best week for everyone. This week we finally got commitments from drivers and vehicles. Now we can take care of all the fun stuff! Here is a link to the lodge we have rented, we have it all to ourselves :-) Check it out!

http://www.cabinsofthesmokymountains.com/gatlinburg-cabin-rental/Waterfall_Lodge.html

Rick is finishing the deck this weekend and I'm going to attempt to redo the brick edging around the garden around the house...hopefully I won't be burnt to a crisp. I'll post pictures when we are finished.

Have a great weekend everyone!

It's HUMP Day.....

and I'm glad for that. It's been beautiful out, nice and hot, sunny all around. The birds are loving it and so are the flowers. I took some pics of my flowers around the yard...I couldn't resist chronicling them.

Last weekend Rick went away, Deb came over and we had a great evening together, great food and great chats :-) We made marinated lamb, salad in Parmesan cheese bowls and gee, I think that's all we had! Til we brought out our own individual Ben and Jerry's ice cream containers! Deb had Tortoise Soup and I had Chunky Monkey, neither of us could finish it but it was fun. We lit the fireplace inside because it was freezing out Saturday night.

Sunday we went over to my girlfriend's Claudia's to make a scrapping project, mine isn't finished so I won't show pictures yet...met up with Jenn, Bev, Amanda there...they loved Deb, it was such a fun afternoon :-) I've stole some pics from Amanda's blog and posted them here.

I've been working this week, my work piles up and I get behind when I take a day or two off here and there... Got plans to redo the brick edging around my garden this weekend and Rick is very anxious to finish the deck. It's been dragging on and he doesn't like that.

Cheerio for now!

Howdy!

What's new? I've been working a little, not alot. I enjoy housework so I've been finding something to clean every day. The other day I cleaned our storage room and am fairly happy with it. I am going to take out all our family photos and get those sorted out, we still have nothing on our walls and have lived here for almost two years! Two years!! My how time flies when you're having fun.

Last weekend Rick and I put mulch on our gardens, almost 5 yards, that's alot of shovelling. They look great mind you but it sure was alot of work. Rick is putting an extension on our deck, an additional 6 feet, it is going to be so nice when he is finished. We want to make some shade, it's just too hot in the direct sun in the afternoons out there to enjoy it. Looking forward to sitting out there :-)

Rick is going to Jimi's for the weekend to help finish the plumbing. I've got some scrapbooking plans and some jobs I'd like to get done. I want to plant vines around the deck, hopefully fast growing ones! My girlfriend Deb is coming out on Saturday night for dinner and to spend the night, maybe we'll have a campfire :-) On Sunday we are going over to Claudia's to make a scrapping project, have dinner, some wine and enjoy the hot tub! Monday I have some work to do in the garage (ya! clean the garage while Rick isn't here! yeah!)

Have a great long weekend everyone!

That he not busy being born, is busy dying.

All our lives are too busy...so busy that busy gets in the way of life. How can we enjoy our lives when we are so busy? Over the last week or two, even the last month, I've pondered over this for hours. I'd like to try to take a few steps back where I can and do less outside of the house, take more time to enjoy my time together with Rick and to do some things I love around the house. Less computers, less errands, less plans, more conversations with family, more cuddling with Rick, more rest.

Lots of things have been going on, lots of fun things with friends, not so good news with my brother. At the end of April he thought he had a heart attack but what happened was he pulled and tore all his chest muscles severely. Good news but lots of pain for him. My sister is treking across Vancouver Island to Tofino with hubby. The live just north of Victoria. Rick and I went to Tofino in 2002 and have been telling my sister about it ever since. I'm glad they are on their way, can't wait to hear their take on it.

Bryan, Hiba and Layla are doing well, they've been over for a campfire with friends Maria and John. Layla fell asleep at the campfire, Bryan and Rick had spiderdogs and roasted marshmallows.

Shane and Jen are doing fine and Shane is working a lot of hours. Good for him, the rich guy :-) They got a new puppy in March or April and have been very busy with him. I'm not sure when we'll be seeing them. I'm afraid of dogs and they don't want to leave the dog alone. So we'll see.

I'm off to Argyle tomorrow morning real early, the town is having a garage sale! I'm looking for things for all the grand kids who are visiting this summer for a week, to celebrate Rick's 50th birthday.

Ciao for now!

The Scrappin' Cabin Retreat

I went away last weekend to Jackson's Point to scrapbook with the gang. We celebrated our heritage and decided to pick the 50's to play with. We had Grease playing on the DVD player, a costume night Saturday night with popcorn popping and smores bar! It was fun to see who dressed up and what they did, we had Danny from Grease with Sandra Dee, the bad girl from Grease, two Mouskateers, a perfect Olivia Newton John, poodle skirts, hairbands! We had it all. My girlfriend Claudia and I dressed up as Laverne and Shirley...what a hoot! The weekend was fun and we all headed home Sunday with not very many hours sleep under our belt. Til November, have a great summer girls :-)