Well, the holidays are on their way and with the holidays comes all sorts of fun get-togethers and lots of food. On the weekend Tim and I had the opportunity to partake in a couple get-togethers and get into the holiday spirit.
Saturday night was a potluck for my class, so Tim and I went out and we had a great time! I had prepared a turkey along with my friend Sherri for the event, and although it was a lot of work, it was worth it! Definitely VERY yummy! :) We also built and decorated a gingerbread house, and it was a big hit! Who doesn't like giant cookies covered in candy? :P The party was fun because it gave me the opportunity to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in a while and to just relax and chill out. And we got to try everyone's specialties, which was great fun! The only down side to the whole evening was the fact that Hamilton has the most messed up parking system in the WORLD! For half the year you are supposed to park on one side of the street, and for the other half you are supposed to park on the other side. And it just so happened that as of December 1st it was time to park on the other side of the street, so 7 of us (7!!!!) got parking tickets! Can you believe that? You'd think they'd give a couple day's grace period or something, but no....everyone was parked on the "wrong side" of the street and everyone got tickets. They definitely made a killing of our party that night.
Sunday we had a relaxing day at home, we put up our Christmas tree (WOOHOOOO finally!!!!) and then hung out with Ian, a good friend of ours who spent the day catching up. He and Tim played video games all afternoon while I wrapped Christmas presents, and then I joined in for a little while to play rampage (I got Tim some old-school games like pac man, rampage, mortal kombat etc etc). It was kind of fun to play, although I did lose interest after a while. :P
Other than that, we had a pretty relaxed weekend, we had lots of yummy food, I made turkey soup Sunday night, and really just enjoyed hanging out. I love how the holiday season lets you slow down a bit and spend time with those you care about. :)
December 05, 2006
November 25, 2006
Mmmmmmmm Shortbread :P
Being in the Christmas mood, and since Tim was busy with school work and couldn't help me put up the Christmas tree, I decided to experiment with a new recipe.
Usually I make whipped shortbread, which is lighter, but I wanted to try a more traditional, denser recipe. It turned out really well, I made some in a round pan and some in a press mom gave me last Christmas. Both worked out well, although if I do it again, if I used just the press, I would split the recipe in three.
Usually I make whipped shortbread, which is lighter, but I wanted to try a more traditional, denser recipe. It turned out really well, I made some in a round pan and some in a press mom gave me last Christmas. Both worked out well, although if I do it again, if I used just the press, I would split the recipe in three.
Shortbread à la round pan
Shortbread à la press
Scotch Shortbread Recipe:
Preheat oven to 300 F
Combine:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
Add:
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
- beat together until light and fluffy
Blend in:
2 cups flour (it calls for all purpose, I used unbleached and it worked fine)
At this point you can roll it out on a floured surface to cut out cookies, or you can split the recipe and press the dough into an ungreased pan (or a special Christmas press) - if it's in a pan, remember to prick it with fork several times. You can also use a butter knife to cut it into fingers/triangles etc in the pan.
Cook in oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, recut fingers/triangles, sprinkle with icing sugar/granulated sugar/coloured sugar sprinkles. Let cool.
It's a yummy recipe, makes rich shortbread that's not too sweet.
Enjoy! :)
(recipe courtesy of "purity cookbook")
November 23, 2006
Santa Claus Parade!
On Sunday I went to the Santa Claus Parade in Toronto with my friend Sherri. It was really fun. I had never been before and was very excited to go because I had watched it on TV as a kid and had always wanted to go myself.
So we started our adventure by heading out from Sherri's apartment building (where Tim had dropped me off on the way to church) bright and early. We left around 9:45ish so that we'd have lots of time to park, hop the subway and get some prime curb spot before the event.
We arrived at the Yorkdale mall and found out that half the city had the same idea as us - park there and take the subway into town. We waited in line for about 15 minutes before we got into the subway station, but then we were on our way.
We got off at Queen's park, and we couldn't believe how many people were there for the parade! There were kids of all ages! Some children were in the street (which had been blocked off for the parade) drawing messages and pictures for Santa with sidewalk chalk. It was really cute. And the feeling was so fun, everyone was excited to be there despite the cold.
The parade took a lot longer than we thought it would to actually get to where we were standing, and then it took a lot longer than we thought it would to get through it all.....it was a heck of a long parade! There were all sorts of floats and bands and walking clowns and costumes of all kinds - some more Christmas-y than others. :p But it was a fun experience and overall, despite the cold Sherri and I had a great time! :D One really cute thing though was at the very beginning Canada Post workers came along and collected letters to Santa. Nice eh?
After the parade we walked around for a while, got some pizza, went to the Eaton's centre for a little shopping and then headed back to the subway. We actually took the subway the wrong way because we had crossed town, but in the end we hopped off and switched trains and still ended up where we needed to be in the end. It was a really fun day and although we were tired, it was worth it. Enjoy the pictures! :D Sorry they're still a little wonky, still trying to figure out the picture program. :P
So we started our adventure by heading out from Sherri's apartment building (where Tim had dropped me off on the way to church) bright and early. We left around 9:45ish so that we'd have lots of time to park, hop the subway and get some prime curb spot before the event.
We arrived at the Yorkdale mall and found out that half the city had the same idea as us - park there and take the subway into town. We waited in line for about 15 minutes before we got into the subway station, but then we were on our way.
We got off at Queen's park, and we couldn't believe how many people were there for the parade! There were kids of all ages! Some children were in the street (which had been blocked off for the parade) drawing messages and pictures for Santa with sidewalk chalk. It was really cute. And the feeling was so fun, everyone was excited to be there despite the cold.
The parade took a lot longer than we thought it would to actually get to where we were standing, and then it took a lot longer than we thought it would to get through it all.....it was a heck of a long parade! There were all sorts of floats and bands and walking clowns and costumes of all kinds - some more Christmas-y than others. :p But it was a fun experience and overall, despite the cold Sherri and I had a great time! :D One really cute thing though was at the very beginning Canada Post workers came along and collected letters to Santa. Nice eh?
After the parade we walked around for a while, got some pizza, went to the Eaton's centre for a little shopping and then headed back to the subway. We actually took the subway the wrong way because we had crossed town, but in the end we hopped off and switched trains and still ended up where we needed to be in the end. It was a really fun day and although we were tired, it was worth it. Enjoy the pictures! :D Sorry they're still a little wonky, still trying to figure out the picture program. :P
Santa!!
Santa's workshop
Santa Claus Parade Pictures 2
Me and all the parade goers
Messages to Santa
Puppy dressed up as Santa's little helper
Trying to keep cozy and warm
Santa Claus Parade Pictures
Sherri on the way in the car
My hat
Loooooooooooooooong line in the subway station
Sherri with all the parade goers
November 18, 2006
oops
Just so you know, I was trying a new picture posting program, and I didn't do it quite right......hope the disjointed-ness won't be too annoying. :P
The MBA formal
Last night was the MBA Christmas/Grad Formal. It was really fun, Tim and I had a great time. We were sitting with really nice people at our table (some good friends of Tim's) and the food was fabulous, the music was fun - I think the only down side was that our camera battery died soon after we got there. But here's a few pictures from the evening.
The highlight of the evening was definitely Tim not only being voted the most likely student to return as a prof in ten years by his classmates (LOL) but even more importantly, he won the Co-op award, which is presented to the graduating co-op student who has made substantial contributions to the school and peers, demonstrated initiative, leadership etc etc. It's a huge honour. I was so proud of him!! What a guy. :P Enjoy the pictures, sorry the pics of Tim accepting his award are so dark, it was all candlelit at that point and I was too far for the flash to work well. Enjoy the essence of the event at least. :P
The highlight of the evening was definitely Tim not only being voted the most likely student to return as a prof in ten years by his classmates (LOL) but even more importantly, he won the Co-op award, which is presented to the graduating co-op student who has made substantial contributions to the school and peers, demonstrated initiative, leadership etc etc. It's a huge honour. I was so proud of him!! What a guy. :P Enjoy the pictures, sorry the pics of Tim accepting his award are so dark, it was all candlelit at that point and I was too far for the flash to work well. Enjoy the essence of the event at least. :P
November 16, 2006
The Nature of Pain
I've been thinking a lot lately about pain, and what it is and what it means to different people. This might seem like a bit of an odd topic, but I'm working at a health center where a large percentage of the patients (probably 80%) are experiencing some form of chronic pain.
I have to be honest, it has me completely baffled. Some of my patients have nothing clinically wrong with them - their CT scans, MRIs, Xrays all come back showing no substantial problems of any kind. And yet these patients are experiencing pain so excruciating, so severe that they can't work, some patients are unable to get more than 15 minutes of good sleep per night and others can dress themselves, toilet themselves, and that's about all they can do. It breaks my heart every time I meet another chronic pain patient, because I feel so powerless as to how I can help them. Their problems are so complex and multi-faceted, I don't know where to begin.
To me, pain is a manifestation of something wrong in the system - some mechanical factor of movement is out of whack, or some muscles are tight, or poor posture is an issue. But a patient who's been in constant pain for over 17 years, that is hard to get my head around. I don't understand it.....but it's real to them, and I want so desperately to help somehow. At times I feel so incompetent in my meager attempts to help relieve the pain for even a short time, but then at times there can be a glimmer of hope. Like one patient I saw recently had been experiencing chronic back pain almost constantly for 17 years. This patient was so afraid that she had some kind of infection that was slowly spreading through her body and causing all the pain. I was able to offer some relief to her by explaining what I did find and understand about her condition. The fact that nothing severe - no infection or cancer or anything else - was going on really seemed to take a weight off her shoulders. That was one small victory.
The most frustrating part is that the scientific community doesn't quite have their head around chronic pain either. There are theories, but no one really knows for certain. It can be influenced by past physical trauma, psychosocial trauma, sociological factors, psychological state, reprogramming of the pain system in the body - how does a poor physio student figure all that out? :P I guess when it all comes down to it, I want to be able to make my patients better, and right away. I guess I have to learn to be patient and understanding and approach these patients in a different way.
I think this placement is definitely going to make me grow. A LOT. :)
I have to be honest, it has me completely baffled. Some of my patients have nothing clinically wrong with them - their CT scans, MRIs, Xrays all come back showing no substantial problems of any kind. And yet these patients are experiencing pain so excruciating, so severe that they can't work, some patients are unable to get more than 15 minutes of good sleep per night and others can dress themselves, toilet themselves, and that's about all they can do. It breaks my heart every time I meet another chronic pain patient, because I feel so powerless as to how I can help them. Their problems are so complex and multi-faceted, I don't know where to begin.
To me, pain is a manifestation of something wrong in the system - some mechanical factor of movement is out of whack, or some muscles are tight, or poor posture is an issue. But a patient who's been in constant pain for over 17 years, that is hard to get my head around. I don't understand it.....but it's real to them, and I want so desperately to help somehow. At times I feel so incompetent in my meager attempts to help relieve the pain for even a short time, but then at times there can be a glimmer of hope. Like one patient I saw recently had been experiencing chronic back pain almost constantly for 17 years. This patient was so afraid that she had some kind of infection that was slowly spreading through her body and causing all the pain. I was able to offer some relief to her by explaining what I did find and understand about her condition. The fact that nothing severe - no infection or cancer or anything else - was going on really seemed to take a weight off her shoulders. That was one small victory.
The most frustrating part is that the scientific community doesn't quite have their head around chronic pain either. There are theories, but no one really knows for certain. It can be influenced by past physical trauma, psychosocial trauma, sociological factors, psychological state, reprogramming of the pain system in the body - how does a poor physio student figure all that out? :P I guess when it all comes down to it, I want to be able to make my patients better, and right away. I guess I have to learn to be patient and understanding and approach these patients in a different way.
I think this placement is definitely going to make me grow. A LOT. :)
November 12, 2006
Remember
Yesterday morning after I dropped Tim off at school (yes, he was working on a weekend! YUCK! SO glad I'm on placement!) I decided to go to the gym for a run. So I parked my car on the road since parking isn't free on campus on Saturdays and walked over. Two very interesting and moving things happened to me after I left my car.....
The first was that on my way over, I came across a little bird sitting in the middle of the street. I didn't notice him until I was almost past him, and I think the only reason I actually noticed him was that he didn't fly away. He was this tiny little sweet sparrow, sitting on the ground, staring up at me. I walked a little closer, expecting him to fly away, but he didn't. So I got even closer, and nudged him with the toe of my shoe, just touching his tail feathers. But he just kept staring up at me. This little sparrow wasn't flying away, but his wings seemed just fine. I knew that if I didn't move the little guy, he'd get hit by a car because he was so small and was sitting right in the path of tire treads. So I stooped down with my t-shirt in hand and gently picked the little guy up. He hopped up on top of the shirt and looked up at me. I thought for sure at that point he would fly away, but he didn't. Carefully I brought him to the side of the road and after a little pep talk, I left him near the sidewalk and went on my way.
The second thing that happened that day occurred after my workout. I had just changed and was in the process of packing up my things when all of a sudden the eerie sound of a trumpet broke the silence. I looked at my watch - it was 11 o'clock and they were playing revelry over the loudspeakers. I walked out of the change room and stood in the hallway, and there were other people around - we were all frozen in place, listening to the sad sweet notes.
I couldn't help thinking of all those men and women who fought for and still fight for Canada...who protect us and help keep us free. I actually got teary eyed and choked up. We are truly a blessed nation.
It's really very humbling to think of men and women who came before us, who gave their lives so willingly to make a difference in my life...in your life....the fact that they didn't even know us. It is awesome.
I've been thinking about these two happenings all day....and they remind me of a verse in the Bible that says God sees when even the smallest sparrow falls and that He cares about us so much more than that. So much that Jesus came to earth and gave His life for me...for you....to make a difference in our lives.
Pretty funky coincidence eh? Maybe not....maybe it was a good reminder. :P
The first was that on my way over, I came across a little bird sitting in the middle of the street. I didn't notice him until I was almost past him, and I think the only reason I actually noticed him was that he didn't fly away. He was this tiny little sweet sparrow, sitting on the ground, staring up at me. I walked a little closer, expecting him to fly away, but he didn't. So I got even closer, and nudged him with the toe of my shoe, just touching his tail feathers. But he just kept staring up at me. This little sparrow wasn't flying away, but his wings seemed just fine. I knew that if I didn't move the little guy, he'd get hit by a car because he was so small and was sitting right in the path of tire treads. So I stooped down with my t-shirt in hand and gently picked the little guy up. He hopped up on top of the shirt and looked up at me. I thought for sure at that point he would fly away, but he didn't. Carefully I brought him to the side of the road and after a little pep talk, I left him near the sidewalk and went on my way.
The second thing that happened that day occurred after my workout. I had just changed and was in the process of packing up my things when all of a sudden the eerie sound of a trumpet broke the silence. I looked at my watch - it was 11 o'clock and they were playing revelry over the loudspeakers. I walked out of the change room and stood in the hallway, and there were other people around - we were all frozen in place, listening to the sad sweet notes.
I couldn't help thinking of all those men and women who fought for and still fight for Canada...who protect us and help keep us free. I actually got teary eyed and choked up. We are truly a blessed nation.
It's really very humbling to think of men and women who came before us, who gave their lives so willingly to make a difference in my life...in your life....the fact that they didn't even know us. It is awesome.
I've been thinking about these two happenings all day....and they remind me of a verse in the Bible that says God sees when even the smallest sparrow falls and that He cares about us so much more than that. So much that Jesus came to earth and gave His life for me...for you....to make a difference in our lives.
Pretty funky coincidence eh? Maybe not....maybe it was a good reminder. :P
November 07, 2006
My new placement
Monday was the first day of my new placement. I am working at a community health center in town, and so far I really like it. We start work at 9 am, we finish at 5 pm, we get a one hour lunch break and everyone is super nice. My kind of place! :P
I had a bit of an adventure Monday morning, seeing as it was my first day I wanted to be a bit early. I think it's nice to be early on the first day just because it's nice not to be all rushed and flustered. But, seeing as it was my first day, Murphy's Law had to come around and kick me in the pants.
I checked Mapquest on the weekend to figure out how to get there and how long it would likely take me - Mapquest said it took 15 minutes but since I was heading downtown in morning traffic, I left the house at 8:30 am. The center is near the end of John St, and I got to John street around 8:45 so I was sure I had lots of time to spare. However, John St is quite slow, lots of stop signs and residential area, so by the time I got to the end of John St it was probably 8:55. However, I got to the end of John St and there was no center. I was freaking out at this point because I had 5 minutes to spare and couldn't find the center and John was a one way street, so I had to drive around to find another street that would take me back up. Needless to say, after several frantic phone calls home to get the phone number for the center (because of course the letter I printed off from my preceptor didn't have the phone number, the email did!) - and I say several frantic calls home because Tim was in the shower - some jockeying around side streets and a naval forces base with Tim on the phone, I found my way back to John St, only to realize that I had driven past the clinic the first time. I felt like such an idiot. But there's a good reason I drove by. Because I'm such a good girl and I wanted to be all prepared for my placement, I had actually read up a bit on the health center on the weekend and had seen a picture of it online. It was a white building. However, when I got there, the front of the center is actually red. The back side that's on another street is the white part, so I had driven right past it because it didn't stand out to me. That's what I get for rushing. :P
That was the adventure of the morning. My preceptor didn't mind that I was a little late, and he's super nice! I feel like I'm learning so much already and I'm really enjoying the people I'm working with and the coworkers as well. This place is really neat - it's a really cool model of care. They are a publicly funded health center that provides primary care and all of the allied health professions as well (PT, OT, social work, Kin, nutrition) for free to people in their geographic area as well as immigrant and refugee populations. It is so amazing! They have such a diverse clientèle and everyone is really friendly and grateful for the help they receive. And the programs! Besides access to health care professionals, they run all sorts of community programs - a fall tune up for elderly people, an albanian women's exercise class, parenthood programs for moms and dads - and the possibilities for creating other programs exist as well. It really is a motivating and inspiring place to work. I think I'm really going to like it. :)
I had a bit of an adventure Monday morning, seeing as it was my first day I wanted to be a bit early. I think it's nice to be early on the first day just because it's nice not to be all rushed and flustered. But, seeing as it was my first day, Murphy's Law had to come around and kick me in the pants.
I checked Mapquest on the weekend to figure out how to get there and how long it would likely take me - Mapquest said it took 15 minutes but since I was heading downtown in morning traffic, I left the house at 8:30 am. The center is near the end of John St, and I got to John street around 8:45 so I was sure I had lots of time to spare. However, John St is quite slow, lots of stop signs and residential area, so by the time I got to the end of John St it was probably 8:55. However, I got to the end of John St and there was no center. I was freaking out at this point because I had 5 minutes to spare and couldn't find the center and John was a one way street, so I had to drive around to find another street that would take me back up. Needless to say, after several frantic phone calls home to get the phone number for the center (because of course the letter I printed off from my preceptor didn't have the phone number, the email did!) - and I say several frantic calls home because Tim was in the shower - some jockeying around side streets and a naval forces base with Tim on the phone, I found my way back to John St, only to realize that I had driven past the clinic the first time. I felt like such an idiot. But there's a good reason I drove by. Because I'm such a good girl and I wanted to be all prepared for my placement, I had actually read up a bit on the health center on the weekend and had seen a picture of it online. It was a white building. However, when I got there, the front of the center is actually red. The back side that's on another street is the white part, so I had driven right past it because it didn't stand out to me. That's what I get for rushing. :P
That was the adventure of the morning. My preceptor didn't mind that I was a little late, and he's super nice! I feel like I'm learning so much already and I'm really enjoying the people I'm working with and the coworkers as well. This place is really neat - it's a really cool model of care. They are a publicly funded health center that provides primary care and all of the allied health professions as well (PT, OT, social work, Kin, nutrition) for free to people in their geographic area as well as immigrant and refugee populations. It is so amazing! They have such a diverse clientèle and everyone is really friendly and grateful for the help they receive. And the programs! Besides access to health care professionals, they run all sorts of community programs - a fall tune up for elderly people, an albanian women's exercise class, parenthood programs for moms and dads - and the possibilities for creating other programs exist as well. It really is a motivating and inspiring place to work. I think I'm really going to like it. :)
November 05, 2006
It's fun not to have any homework or assignments hanging over your head. I've had such a stressful few weeks that these couple days before I start placement have been great. I haven't done anything exceedingly demanding....I did do a little Christmas shopping and a bit of tidying up around the house, but in general I've just been enjoying the time off. I think sometimes we take advantage of the fun that can be had grocery shopping with the one we love, or taking a mid-afternoon nap. It's nice. (Even though I've had to take the naps because I have an awful cold I can't seem to shake that's sucking all the energy out of me...)
Tomorrow I start a new placement at a community health centre in town and I'm really looking forward to it. From what I've heard, the people are wonderful to work with and the environment really encourages learning. I'm excited about the challenge, but also the opportunity to interact with people. I miss that - sitting on my bum studying for hours on end definitely isolates you. It will be nice to meet new people and start learning real stuff...stuff that matters, stuff that I will be using when I practice. I mean, everything I learn in class will be used in one way or another, but I've found that it's during our placements that I really learn the most. I look forward to it.
I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner!! I'm really excited, and I just looked up how many days there was until Christmas, and what did I come across? Tons and tons of websites that are actually a Countdown to Christmas!! Isn't that crazy? So according to this website, there's only 49 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes till the big day. Can you believe it? I better get at that shopping....my goal is to have it all done and wrapped before December starts. That way I can avoid the huge crowds. :P And if I want to go to the mall after that I can, but I don't have to worry about trying to push through throngs of people to get to that last item that we're all trying to get at.
So what do you want for Christmas? I still don't have some people's Christmas lists.....
As for me, well I'd kind've like to get something from Lulu lemon, it's this cool yoga clothing store and they have really nice clothes. So a gift card from there would be pretty cool. Or, there's also this cool gift card I found out about called a Shop!Card that you can use at all sorts of malls around Canada..pretty nifty eh? There's also lots of other things I'd like, such as running apparel and stuff for biking. But enough about me, what about you? What do you want Santa to bring you this year? I'm curious...... :)
Tomorrow I start a new placement at a community health centre in town and I'm really looking forward to it. From what I've heard, the people are wonderful to work with and the environment really encourages learning. I'm excited about the challenge, but also the opportunity to interact with people. I miss that - sitting on my bum studying for hours on end definitely isolates you. It will be nice to meet new people and start learning real stuff...stuff that matters, stuff that I will be using when I practice. I mean, everything I learn in class will be used in one way or another, but I've found that it's during our placements that I really learn the most. I look forward to it.
I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner!! I'm really excited, and I just looked up how many days there was until Christmas, and what did I come across? Tons and tons of websites that are actually a Countdown to Christmas!! Isn't that crazy? So according to this website, there's only 49 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes till the big day. Can you believe it? I better get at that shopping....my goal is to have it all done and wrapped before December starts. That way I can avoid the huge crowds. :P And if I want to go to the mall after that I can, but I don't have to worry about trying to push through throngs of people to get to that last item that we're all trying to get at.
So what do you want for Christmas? I still don't have some people's Christmas lists.....
As for me, well I'd kind've like to get something from Lulu lemon, it's this cool yoga clothing store and they have really nice clothes. So a gift card from there would be pretty cool. Or, there's also this cool gift card I found out about called a Shop!Card that you can use at all sorts of malls around Canada..pretty nifty eh? There's also lots of other things I'd like, such as running apparel and stuff for biking. But enough about me, what about you? What do you want Santa to bring you this year? I'm curious...... :)
November 04, 2006
Laura and Tim's excellent Thanksgiving Adventure # 2 & 3
Well it's been almost two weeks since I've added a post, and it seems kind've silly that I'm still talking about Thanksgiving, but I promised I'd post stories about our adventures, so I might as well get it over with. :P It has been a particularly busy couple of weeks for me, with the school term wrapping up. I now start placement on Monday! So nice to finally have a change of pace. :) And now on to the adventures...
Once Tim and I arrived home from the Stover's wedding, we discovered that my parents and siblings were coming over to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. They were bringing all the food, but I was all in a panic because our apartment was a disaster. And Tim had to go take pictures for someone for an hour, so I was in charge of getting the place in order. It was a frantic cleaning job, but it all got done, and when my parents and Alissa and Timmy arrived (Tara and Richard went to see Richard's parents for Thanksgiving), everything was in working order. I'd even had some time to go out and pick leaves off the ground for decoration. Mom and I ended up making a pretty centerpiece for the table from the leaves and some acorns we found on a walk we went on before dinner.
Like I said, we went for a walk to check out Tiffany Falls and then we enjoyed a stroll along the Rail trail while the Turkey was cooking. Now considering we had been up since 6 am that morning and had driven all the way home from Bloomsburg Pennsylvania, I have to say I was impressed at how much energy we had. We really had an enjoyable afternoon.
Dinner was wonderful although a bit of a challenge since Tim and I only have two kitchen chairs. So we improvised - we used our computer chairs and some lawn chairs from the porch as well. It worked. :) After dinner, we ladies relaxed and we made the boys do the dishes since us girls did most of the prep. :P We had a great time visiting and were a little sad to see everyone leave. Here are some pictures that I hope capture the adventure of the day....
Monday morning Tim and I woke up and had to head up to Newmarket for Jason Ahlberg's wedding (he was marrying a really sweet girl named Madelaine). The wedding was at this beautiful horse farm and estate, and Tim was helping out with taking pictures again (anyone else see a trend here??) :P It was a beautiful day, the weather was perfect, the bride was beautiful and we had tons of fun catching up with friends.
Unfortunately I don't have a good picture of the bride and groom, but I do have a fun picture of Tim and I from the day. So enjoy. :P
Once Tim and I arrived home from the Stover's wedding, we discovered that my parents and siblings were coming over to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. They were bringing all the food, but I was all in a panic because our apartment was a disaster. And Tim had to go take pictures for someone for an hour, so I was in charge of getting the place in order. It was a frantic cleaning job, but it all got done, and when my parents and Alissa and Timmy arrived (Tara and Richard went to see Richard's parents for Thanksgiving), everything was in working order. I'd even had some time to go out and pick leaves off the ground for decoration. Mom and I ended up making a pretty centerpiece for the table from the leaves and some acorns we found on a walk we went on before dinner.
Like I said, we went for a walk to check out Tiffany Falls and then we enjoyed a stroll along the Rail trail while the Turkey was cooking. Now considering we had been up since 6 am that morning and had driven all the way home from Bloomsburg Pennsylvania, I have to say I was impressed at how much energy we had. We really had an enjoyable afternoon.
Dinner was wonderful although a bit of a challenge since Tim and I only have two kitchen chairs. So we improvised - we used our computer chairs and some lawn chairs from the porch as well. It worked. :) After dinner, we ladies relaxed and we made the boys do the dishes since us girls did most of the prep. :P We had a great time visiting and were a little sad to see everyone leave. Here are some pictures that I hope capture the adventure of the day....
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Monday morning Tim and I woke up and had to head up to Newmarket for Jason Ahlberg's wedding (he was marrying a really sweet girl named Madelaine). The wedding was at this beautiful horse farm and estate, and Tim was helping out with taking pictures again (anyone else see a trend here??) :P It was a beautiful day, the weather was perfect, the bride was beautiful and we had tons of fun catching up with friends.
Unfortunately I don't have a good picture of the bride and groom, but I do have a fun picture of Tim and I from the day. So enjoy. :P
October 22, 2006
Laura and Tim's excellent Thanksgiving Adventure #1
It all started Friday afternoon after a midterm and some frantic packing. Tim and I set out along the QEW, headed for the border. We were on our way to Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania for Mike Stover's wedding (Mike is a friend of Tim's from high school). We ran into a little traffic around Oakville, but it was nothing compared to the traffic that awaited us at the border. Little did we know, there was a two and a half hour wait to cross into the US....and yes, we did have to wait in line......inching along, stop go......stop (turn the car off).....go......it was awful
Needless to say, we eventually crossed the border, and at that point, it was about 7:15pm. Very soon after we got across the border, we saw a restaurant called "Bob Evans" - apparently they're all over the place in the US. We had never seen one and proceeded to joke about it for the next 10 minutes of our journey. Now Tim and I were both hungry, so we started wondering where we were going to eat and when that would be. One of the main differences between American and Canadian highways is that there isn't a service station or restaurant at every exit. So we decided that the next place we saw would be where we'd eat for dinner. And just to make things fun, we placed bets on what would be the next restaurant we came across. Tim put his faith in Mc'Ds or Wendy's, and I thought I'd give Bob Evans a try. :p
Nearly an hour passed before we came across a restaurant, and what did it happen to be!??!?
BOB EVANS!!!! Unfortunately, the food didn't turn out to be that great (I don't recommend the chicken pot pie, it tasted more like fish pot pie) but they did have FANTASTIC pumpkin bread. So good that when I checked the nutrtition statement I nearly died.....500 calories for two little slices of it. :( So good but so bad....
We didn't end up getting to our hotel (Ya Econolodge!!) until 12:30 am, and didn't get to bed until after 1. As you can probably imagine, I was a little grumpy (long car ride + late night = grumpy laura) but when we woke up in the morning, my mood was definitely improved! There was a MALL just across the road!! And there were a whole bunch of stores I'd never seen, so I dragged Tim to the mall for over an hour, and in the process bought a really cute dress from JC Penney's, some pumpkin flavored fudge, and a few Christmas ideas. :P
We were off to the wedding for 2 pm, and boy did the bride and groom look great! :)
Tim was helping take pictures, so I didn't get to see as much of him as I would have liked, but I know he had fun! The funny part is that Tim was so busy taking pictures, that we didn't get any pictures of he and I together. These are the only pictures from the day of Tim or I:
It was a nice wedding, and I met some nice people at our table. There was one guy at our table that had known Mike from undergrad, and it turned out that he lives in the same building as us! Crazy eh? It takes going to Pennsylvania to meet your neighbors...... Anyway, the wedding ended around 6 pm, so Tim and I went to WalMart and bought a few things - including peanut butter hershey's kisses (my new obsession) and then spent the evening hanging out with Heather and Roger Heidt (Roger was the official photographer) and sorting pictures from the wedding. It was a fun evening and we got to bed much later than anticipated. But we still managed to get up by 6 am (ish) :P and after a quick bite to eat at the continental breakfast, which was quite good I might add, Tim and I started our trip home.
I really enjoyed the trip home because it had been dark on the way there, and I had not realised how beautiful the scenery was. In fact, there was one spot where there was this beautiful firey red maple standing in the middle of a field (well actually it turned out to be a cemetary). It was so beautiful, I dropped Tim off and he took pictures while I took the car up the road and got gas.
The remainder of the ride home consisted of beautiful mountain scenery and Tim hanging out the window taking pictures for me. We were in a rush to get home because my family was coming over to our place for a Thanksgiving dinner. I'll pick up there next post. :P
Needless to say, we eventually crossed the border, and at that point, it was about 7:15pm. Very soon after we got across the border, we saw a restaurant called "Bob Evans" - apparently they're all over the place in the US. We had never seen one and proceeded to joke about it for the next 10 minutes of our journey. Now Tim and I were both hungry, so we started wondering where we were going to eat and when that would be. One of the main differences between American and Canadian highways is that there isn't a service station or restaurant at every exit. So we decided that the next place we saw would be where we'd eat for dinner. And just to make things fun, we placed bets on what would be the next restaurant we came across. Tim put his faith in Mc'Ds or Wendy's, and I thought I'd give Bob Evans a try. :p
Nearly an hour passed before we came across a restaurant, and what did it happen to be!??!?
BOB EVANS!!!! Unfortunately, the food didn't turn out to be that great (I don't recommend the chicken pot pie, it tasted more like fish pot pie) but they did have FANTASTIC pumpkin bread. So good that when I checked the nutrtition statement I nearly died.....500 calories for two little slices of it. :( So good but so bad....
We didn't end up getting to our hotel (Ya Econolodge!!) until 12:30 am, and didn't get to bed until after 1. As you can probably imagine, I was a little grumpy (long car ride + late night = grumpy laura) but when we woke up in the morning, my mood was definitely improved! There was a MALL just across the road!! And there were a whole bunch of stores I'd never seen, so I dragged Tim to the mall for over an hour, and in the process bought a really cute dress from JC Penney's, some pumpkin flavored fudge, and a few Christmas ideas. :P
We were off to the wedding for 2 pm, and boy did the bride and groom look great! :)
Tim was helping take pictures, so I didn't get to see as much of him as I would have liked, but I know he had fun! The funny part is that Tim was so busy taking pictures, that we didn't get any pictures of he and I together. These are the only pictures from the day of Tim or I:
It was a nice wedding, and I met some nice people at our table. There was one guy at our table that had known Mike from undergrad, and it turned out that he lives in the same building as us! Crazy eh? It takes going to Pennsylvania to meet your neighbors...... Anyway, the wedding ended around 6 pm, so Tim and I went to WalMart and bought a few things - including peanut butter hershey's kisses (my new obsession) and then spent the evening hanging out with Heather and Roger Heidt (Roger was the official photographer) and sorting pictures from the wedding. It was a fun evening and we got to bed much later than anticipated. But we still managed to get up by 6 am (ish) :P and after a quick bite to eat at the continental breakfast, which was quite good I might add, Tim and I started our trip home.
I really enjoyed the trip home because it had been dark on the way there, and I had not realised how beautiful the scenery was. In fact, there was one spot where there was this beautiful firey red maple standing in the middle of a field (well actually it turned out to be a cemetary). It was so beautiful, I dropped Tim off and he took pictures while I took the car up the road and got gas.
The remainder of the ride home consisted of beautiful mountain scenery and Tim hanging out the window taking pictures for me. We were in a rush to get home because my family was coming over to our place for a Thanksgiving dinner. I'll pick up there next post. :P
October 18, 2006
For your interest :)
It's been a busy, busy week and a half, and I keep thinking about my blog and how I haven't posted in a while. And that I haven't told you all about my Thanksgiving adventures yet.
They will come. I still have too much reading to do, so this is going to be a short post.
Two things - first, I've added a link to Edward Spera's website. He's a great Canadian wildlife artist that Tim and I discovered when we were in Niagara-on-the-Lake in the summer. He's been called the next Robert Bateman. He does great work and I love the colours he uses....so full of life. Anyway, check out the site, he has some beautiful work. :)
The second thing, a classmate of mine sent a link to me today about a dad that is super dedicated to his son. A really neat story, really touching. Check it out at: http://cjcphoto.com/can/
Hope your week is full of great blessings. :)
They will come. I still have too much reading to do, so this is going to be a short post.
Two things - first, I've added a link to Edward Spera's website. He's a great Canadian wildlife artist that Tim and I discovered when we were in Niagara-on-the-Lake in the summer. He's been called the next Robert Bateman. He does great work and I love the colours he uses....so full of life. Anyway, check out the site, he has some beautiful work. :)
The second thing, a classmate of mine sent a link to me today about a dad that is super dedicated to his son. A really neat story, really touching. Check it out at: http://cjcphoto.com/can/
Hope your week is full of great blessings. :)
October 13, 2006
An ode to Timmy Richards
Today my little brother turns 21, and I can't tell you where the time has gone.
I still remember the days of Barbies and "sister time" when Timmy would get mad at us because we never spent any time with him.....that it was never "brother time". The joys of growing up with three big sisters :P
I can remember when we used to play exploring and "let's pretend" games in the bush, and would end up wet and muddy and tired from all the fun we'd had.
I remember catching toads and making little homes for them in buckets, and making mudpies and other fun little sculptures. I remember climbing the big V and going for long walks....
I remember the time we tried to dig a swimming pool in the turn around; now I know that didn't work out too well, I just can't remember which one of us ended up sitting in a garbage pail of water to cool off.......
I remember jumping through the sprinkler and bringing Sam along with us, and I remember water shoes for our mucky bottomed beach.
I remember fitting six of us and Sam in the canoe at blueberry island....and I distinctly remember the night we camped over at Blueberry and Timmy missed the hole. :P
So Timmy, where has the time gone.......?
- it has melted away like snow forts we used to make
- it has slipped along the keys of the piano and the notes of the trumpet
- it has been wrapped up in plaster with a broken wrist
- it has swam fast like the fishies
- it has loped through the bush like a buck
- time has trickled like tears at graduation
- faded like fears of first year
- soared like love
- flown like a plane to North Africa and Guadelupe
.....and it continues to pass day after day.
On this your birthday, I want you to know how proud I am of the man you have become. You are wise well beyond your years and I admire your courage and determination. Never stop trying. :) You can do whatever you put your heart to.
Tim and I will always be here to support you
Much love
I still remember the days of Barbies and "sister time" when Timmy would get mad at us because we never spent any time with him.....that it was never "brother time". The joys of growing up with three big sisters :P
I can remember when we used to play exploring and "let's pretend" games in the bush, and would end up wet and muddy and tired from all the fun we'd had.
I remember catching toads and making little homes for them in buckets, and making mudpies and other fun little sculptures. I remember climbing the big V and going for long walks....
I remember the time we tried to dig a swimming pool in the turn around; now I know that didn't work out too well, I just can't remember which one of us ended up sitting in a garbage pail of water to cool off.......
I remember jumping through the sprinkler and bringing Sam along with us, and I remember water shoes for our mucky bottomed beach.
I remember fitting six of us and Sam in the canoe at blueberry island....and I distinctly remember the night we camped over at Blueberry and Timmy missed the hole. :P
So Timmy, where has the time gone.......?
- it has melted away like snow forts we used to make
- it has slipped along the keys of the piano and the notes of the trumpet
- it has been wrapped up in plaster with a broken wrist
- it has swam fast like the fishies
- it has loped through the bush like a buck
- time has trickled like tears at graduation
- faded like fears of first year
- soared like love
- flown like a plane to North Africa and Guadelupe
.....and it continues to pass day after day.
On this your birthday, I want you to know how proud I am of the man you have become. You are wise well beyond your years and I admire your courage and determination. Never stop trying. :) You can do whatever you put your heart to.
Tim and I will always be here to support you
Much love
October 11, 2006
Typo.....
It appears that in my first post, when I listed off the important men in my life, somehow I managed to delete the name of my wonderful brother-in-law Richard. There was definitely no underlying message intended from it....sorry about that. :)
Love you Richard!!!
Oh....btw, he has a pretty fun blog. Check it out at: http://walkinfridge.blogspot.com/
Love you Richard!!!
Oh....btw, he has a pretty fun blog. Check it out at: http://walkinfridge.blogspot.com/
October 10, 2006
Little bit of pie, lots of whipped cream...
So my parents and Alissa and Timmy were over on Sunday to have Thanksgiving dinner. It was really fun, and mom brought all of the food - all I had to supply was the oven and a table and chairs. We actually had some trouble with the chairs situation since Tim and I only actually have two kitchen chairs....so we improvised. :) Someone was sitting on my computer chair, someone else had Tim's, and then two people got foldable lawn chairs that had been on our porch since we arrived.....they're kinda sketchy looking, but we cleaned them off, so it worked out ok. :P
Anyways, I will get into more details about Thanksgiving weekend adventures in my next post. Today I wanted to talk about pie. Mom brought some great raspberry amaretto pie that she had made and then a yummy pumpkin pie that she bought from the St Jacob's Farmer's market. Now I never used to be a fan of pumpkin pie, in fact I don't think I started liking it until I had friends over for Thanksgiving dinner in first or second year. I made pumpkin pie for the occasion because it seemed like the thing to do, and for some reason loved it. Since then it's been up on my list of favorite desserts. But I digress....
Today was kind've one of those crazy random days, where you feel like the whole world just doesn't know what to do with you - whether it's going to embrace you in its arms and make everything great or stomp on you like a giant. The day started off ok, I got up, did my reading before PBT (class that is), and PBT went really well. I haven't been feeling quite right in my PBT so far this term, for some reason it just hasn't felt like a fit. But today seemed to go well and I felt more comfortable, so that was good. But then the randomness started....basically, I had some real challenges with my placement for PT this term. I have been placed at another out-patient orthopedic clinic, which is fine, but I was really hoping for a placement in cardiorespiratory PT. So I went for a run with Sherri, and it was great and really lifted my spirits. YAY endorphins! When I came home, I found out that I had actually gotten a reply back about one of the placements I had hoped to get, but since I hadn't checked my email, it had been given to someone else in class at lunch hour. But then I got an email from the girl who got the placement and she told me that she was interested in the placement I currently had. Anyway, by this point I was a little confused as to what to do, because it seemed like I was being taunted with the placement - now you have it, now you don't.....so I ate some pie.
I cut myself a small piece of pumpkin pie, warmed it up in the microwave (yes we finally caved and got one!) and got out the whipped cream. Have you ever noticed though that it's a lot easier to get lots of whipped cream out of the can, but if you only want a small amount, it just seems to elude you? This was the case for me as well, this tiny piece of pie with an awful lot of whipped cream.
As I was sitting at the table, eating my pie, I started thinking....life is alot like pie.
You get this yummy concoction of ingredients - much like life, each ingredient (person, situation) adds a dimension to the flavor of life, and without any of those ingredients, the pie wouldn't work. And then there's the whipped cream, the little extras in life - like finding a really cute dress at JC Penney's that you didn't even realise you needed until you saw it, or getting a placement that you really wanted.
A little bit of whipped cream is great - we all need some sweet extras now and then. But if you're always putting tons of whipped cream on top of your pie, eventually you're going to start missing out on the great flavor of the original, base ingredients. So I guess every now and then it's ok to have some pie without whipped cream.....? :)
Needless to say, I decided to stick with the placement I have (although the decision was not based solely on what the pie told me). :P
Anyways, I will get into more details about Thanksgiving weekend adventures in my next post. Today I wanted to talk about pie. Mom brought some great raspberry amaretto pie that she had made and then a yummy pumpkin pie that she bought from the St Jacob's Farmer's market. Now I never used to be a fan of pumpkin pie, in fact I don't think I started liking it until I had friends over for Thanksgiving dinner in first or second year. I made pumpkin pie for the occasion because it seemed like the thing to do, and for some reason loved it. Since then it's been up on my list of favorite desserts. But I digress....
Today was kind've one of those crazy random days, where you feel like the whole world just doesn't know what to do with you - whether it's going to embrace you in its arms and make everything great or stomp on you like a giant. The day started off ok, I got up, did my reading before PBT (class that is), and PBT went really well. I haven't been feeling quite right in my PBT so far this term, for some reason it just hasn't felt like a fit. But today seemed to go well and I felt more comfortable, so that was good. But then the randomness started....basically, I had some real challenges with my placement for PT this term. I have been placed at another out-patient orthopedic clinic, which is fine, but I was really hoping for a placement in cardiorespiratory PT. So I went for a run with Sherri, and it was great and really lifted my spirits. YAY endorphins! When I came home, I found out that I had actually gotten a reply back about one of the placements I had hoped to get, but since I hadn't checked my email, it had been given to someone else in class at lunch hour. But then I got an email from the girl who got the placement and she told me that she was interested in the placement I currently had. Anyway, by this point I was a little confused as to what to do, because it seemed like I was being taunted with the placement - now you have it, now you don't.....so I ate some pie.
I cut myself a small piece of pumpkin pie, warmed it up in the microwave (yes we finally caved and got one!) and got out the whipped cream. Have you ever noticed though that it's a lot easier to get lots of whipped cream out of the can, but if you only want a small amount, it just seems to elude you? This was the case for me as well, this tiny piece of pie with an awful lot of whipped cream.
As I was sitting at the table, eating my pie, I started thinking....life is alot like pie.
You get this yummy concoction of ingredients - much like life, each ingredient (person, situation) adds a dimension to the flavor of life, and without any of those ingredients, the pie wouldn't work. And then there's the whipped cream, the little extras in life - like finding a really cute dress at JC Penney's that you didn't even realise you needed until you saw it, or getting a placement that you really wanted.
A little bit of whipped cream is great - we all need some sweet extras now and then. But if you're always putting tons of whipped cream on top of your pie, eventually you're going to start missing out on the great flavor of the original, base ingredients. So I guess every now and then it's ok to have some pie without whipped cream.....? :)
Needless to say, I decided to stick with the placement I have (although the decision was not based solely on what the pie told me). :P
October 09, 2006
My first post :P
So I've finally ventured into the world of blogging, and as I embark on this journey, I can't help but think - wow, this is my first posting. It seems kind've intimidating...Is this posting going to set the mood for my entire blog? If it's not exciting, will anyone come back to read other postings? What if I say something stupid? Or no one bothers to read it in the first place?
In reality, this is my first post, and probably by the time people even start reading my blog on a regular basis (keeping my fingers crossed) this post will be somewhere deep in the recesses of archived material.
So in honour of my first posting, I thought I'd explain why I named the blog "Edwin's mama". I chose that name b/c Ed is a special guy in my life, second only to my wonderful husband Tim (you'll hear much much more about Tim in the near future, be assured!)
Anyway, Edwin is a spunky 5 1/2 year old with lots of brown hair and green eyes.
He is full of energy and can't help running around and trying to get us to play with him - especially when we are busy with schoolwork or cooking.
He loves to snuggle with us while we watch TV, and he's always trying to force his way up into my lap when I'm doing homework on the computer.
He loves to eat and he has an odd liking for playing in cardboard boxes.
It took Tim a while to get used to him, but now that he does, I know Tim luvs him. :)
So in honour of this blog's namesake, the first picture will be Ed!
.....and well, actually, I guess he ranks below my dad and brother Tim, and Gary and Jeff and Mark....but you get the picture. :P
Tune in for more fun stuff. Happy Thanksgiving!
In reality, this is my first post, and probably by the time people even start reading my blog on a regular basis (keeping my fingers crossed) this post will be somewhere deep in the recesses of archived material.
So in honour of my first posting, I thought I'd explain why I named the blog "Edwin's mama". I chose that name b/c Ed is a special guy in my life, second only to my wonderful husband Tim (you'll hear much much more about Tim in the near future, be assured!)
Anyway, Edwin is a spunky 5 1/2 year old with lots of brown hair and green eyes.
He is full of energy and can't help running around and trying to get us to play with him - especially when we are busy with schoolwork or cooking.
He loves to snuggle with us while we watch TV, and he's always trying to force his way up into my lap when I'm doing homework on the computer.
He loves to eat and he has an odd liking for playing in cardboard boxes.
It took Tim a while to get used to him, but now that he does, I know Tim luvs him. :)
So in honour of this blog's namesake, the first picture will be Ed!
.....and well, actually, I guess he ranks below my dad and brother Tim, and Gary and Jeff and Mark....but you get the picture. :P
Tune in for more fun stuff. Happy Thanksgiving!
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