Crisp & Cozy Weekend

I cannot get over how gorgeous the weather has been lately!

The morning view from my craft room window.

Saturday morning we went to Tynehead with Mom & Dad for a walk in the crisp air.
When we were at Tynehead, walking through the trails, we heard a horrible noise coming from the trees. It sounded like something was dying! Eventually we realized it was a Blue Heron squawking away at a Bald Eagle that was coming too close. I'm guessing the heron was trying to protect its meal of dead salmon (do they eat dead fish? Everything certainly smelled like dead fish!). By the time we got home, we had seen another 4 bald eagles! Amazing creatures. 

Saturday morning routine. Cuddles and coffee with Sherlock while planning our day

Saturday afternoon/evening was spent setting up for my early birthday party with the family! I had a wine tasting night, which is going to have a whole blog post of its own! 

I hadn't dressed up in so long! Felt nice to wear something a little classier than a sweater and leggings. (Although, I now realize this is just a sweater dress and pantyhose...)

I took a step back at one point to take a picture of some of the folks trying their wines and taking notes! One notable regret... No Scott! Missed him, but we all FaceTimed him early on in the tasting. Hopefully to make him feel like we were thinking about him, and not make him feel left out. Where's the balance?

After the main event of wine tasting, we all played a game of Pictionary, girls vs. guys. The girls lost... I blame the level of wine consumption! 

Sunday, I stayed in bed until 12 noon. I'm not ashamed to admit it... I had to recover from the previous night's shenanigans! I finally had to drag myself out of bed and hop in the shower at 12, because I had a White Spot date to get to at 2!

Janine is in town this week, so Monica (and her baby Ajooni) and Michelle took us out for a joint birthday lunch! It is always fun for us all to get together. Every time we go to White Spot (because they don't have it in America where Janine lives), and we all order Legendary burgers. It's almost embarrassing, but not because those burgers are delicious. 

How amazing does that cake look? I couldn't believe it was homemade!

Monica made a peanut butter ice cream cake for us that the waitress brought out after we finished eating. It was/is soooo delicious! Complete with mini peanut butter cups and all! Janine came over for a bit after lunch so we could catch up and have some "Janee" time before she heads back to the States. 

Birthday girls with the special cake!

Over-all, an amazing weekend filled with great friends, family and delicious food. No complaints here!

Thankful Thursday - 22

This week I'm thankful for...

1. A Garage. Last Friday was the first real frost we had. When we lived in the basement I would have had to go outside and scrape all the windows and huddle in the car while waiting for it to warm up - first world problems... I know. Now I can just hop in the car and drive away! No wait time! Feeling very grateful to "finally" have a garage. 

2. Card making with Oma & Aunty Sonya. Every year, we get together a few times before Christmas to make Christmas cards. Monday we spent the evening together and each made 9 Christmas cards. Sonya has a lot of fancy Stampin' Up stuff, so we're able to make some really cool cards! She puts a lot of time into prepping the materials for us, including cutting the paper to size, and making sure we have everything to make the cards look as spectacular as possible. Although we don't get together often, I always enjoy and value the quality time we do spend together. 

Hard at work. I forgot to get a posed photo!

Hard to tell in this photo, but this paper is my absolute favourite colour. It's like a deep blackberry purple colour. Also that embossing pattern?! Seriously?! LOVE!

3. Finishing up another course! I have officially completed my Corporate Procedures I course. That means that I only have one more course to complete before I get my Legal Administrative Assistant Certificate! Three years in the making. Haha.

Reward for the driest text book ever? (Content-wise)

Bonus one! Christmas is coming! Less than one month until Christmas? Wow... Can't believe it. I finally convinced David to let me put up some lights. By convinced I mean I waited until he was upstairs and grabbed them out of the box and half-heartedly scrambled to get them up before he came down. I think the rest of the decorations will be going up soon. Our first Christmas in our own home! Also, doesn't that corner of the couch look SO cozy? That's where I spend most of my evenings. Curled up in the corner with a blanket and a cup of tea or a glass of wine. 

Sunny Weekend!

This past weekend was gorgeous. We didn't have many plans this weekend, but this is how it went!

Thursday night we went to Edith & Arthur's to use our $10 off texts we got from the pub! Two meals and two glasses of wine for $7? I'll take it!

If it's Happy Hour and you order the house wine, they ask if you want to double up, so you can get 10 oz. for $6! Amazing. Also... the Fried Chicken & Waffle is to die for.

Friday night we made a trip out to Morgan Crossing to do some Christmas shopping. We also went to Everything Wine & bought a whole case of wine! That's a first for me! I'm having my family over this Saturday for an early birthday party slash wine party for me. More on that to come! {Side note: I'm almost done my Christmas shopping!}

We've been having amazing sunsets lately. Sunday night was the most gorgeous, but we couldn't get to a good photo spot in time! This one was on our way to Morgan Creek, taken from the car window speeding down 176. 

Saturday morning, David went to help his dad with some stuff at their house, and I had the morning to myself. I honestly can't remember the last time that has happened. I woke up when I wanted to, with Sherlock snuggled up on the bed. I went downstairs and leisurely made breakfast, drank coffee, looked at flyers, and did dishes. Elissa texted me and we went for a nice walk at Tynehead as well. So lovely to get out and enjoy the sunshine!

That, friends, is a breakfast sandwich! Heart-attack on a plate. 

The rest of Saturday was spent primarily running errands and doing chores, so we decided to make a special dinner of homemade pizzas! We made a BBQ chicken, and a pepperoni. We bought these pre-made fresh bakery crusts from Save On and they were delicious! I would definitely buy them again.

Pepperoni

BBQ Chicken

Sherlock's evening consisted of snuggling on the couch while we finished Suits. So sad that it's over until the rest of Season 5 comes out!

Sunday morning I was playing bass in church. Afterwards, David went to the new church building to take some photos inside. I had a few minutes at home so I made a cup of tea and enjoyed the sunshine on our patio! Loving this Vancouver Fall weather!

The blanket I'm snuggling in was made by a friend, Doreen, as a wedding gift for us. We love it!

Next it was off for Brunch & games at David's parents' house!

I do not know what has gotten into Sherlock lately. I know it is supposed to take at least 6 weeks for us to notice a difference after neutering, but we have noticed an immediate change. He has calmed down significantly, and is so much more cuddly. He used to move if you even touched him while he's sleeping. Now he'll snuggle in and see how close he can get before we put him in his crate. We've had to do this a lot more lately as he is getting too insistent on sleeping with us and it's disturbing our rest. He is happiest squeezing between us and laying on his back with his two front paws sticking straight up in the air, and then dreaming (woofing and whining) in our ears. 

Random throw-back! This is our family photo from 2007 (8 years ago!)
I would say Scott and Jeff have changed the most since then. For those of you who know all of us, what do you think? 

I spent Sunday night wrapping up the 7 bottles of wine for our wine tasting on Saturday! Each wine is numbered, and then I'll have corresponding cards lettered A-G. Each of these cards has a description and/or tasting note written on it. Every person has to try decide which number goes to which description, and also try to match it up with the correct type of wine. There are four reds and three whites. I am also going to have cheese platters set out with little cards that say, "Pair with #1, #3", etc. Can you tell I'm excited? 

5 Love Languages

David and I have been married for three years now, and we've been together for over eight.

There are many things I've learned throughout the past three years in particular, but here is one. 

Love Languages are a real thing.

Everyone expresses and feels love differently. The infamous Five Love Languages are as follows: words of affirmation; acts of service; receiving gifts, quality time; and physical touch. I don't think I fall under any one of these, but I definitely lean towards a few. 

David and I both took the Five Love Languages quiz, and my results were exactly as I'd expect. I learned something new about David though; I had some of his mixed up.

Renee
1. Acts of Service (11)
2. Quality Time (9)
3. Words of Affirmation (7)
4. Receiving Gifts (2)
5. Physical Touch (1)

David
1. Physical Touch (9)
2. Words of Affirmation (8)
3. Quality Time (6)
4. Acts of Service (5)
5. Receiving Gifts (2)

As you can see, our results are very different. 

How does David do with this?
I feel like David has figured this out to a T. For example, every time I'm listing off all the things I have to do in the evening, he is always the first to pick the thing I dislike most and volunteer to do that - this is most often grocery shopping. I despise grocery shopping. Another example is when the other day I was going to make my coffee in the morning, and opened the drawer and noticed David had filled up my coffee bucket. It may sound pathetic, but this simple thing made my day. I was exceedingly grateful that David had noticed the bucket was empty and took a few seconds to fill it up! He is so quick to do what he can to make my life easier; to spend quality time with me instead of busying himself on his phone or with video games; and to fill my ears with words of affirmation daily. He makes it seem so easy...

How do I do with this?
It's hard to admit this, but I struggle with feeding into David's love languages a lot. The way I naturally express love and appreciation is the same way I like to receive it. I will go the extra mile with planning and cooking a meal he'll enjoy. I'll clean the bathroom. I'll fold all the laundry and organize it by the drawers he stores it in (not that he'll ever notice that). I'll ask if we can stay in and play cards or watch a movie instead of going out somewhere we can't spend as much quality time together. 

Physical touch is not very important to me, whereas for David, it's the most important thing. To me it can seem like more of a chore than anything at times, and that can cause me to feel disingenuous about it. I strongly dislike when people aren't genuine, so this can cause me to be even less likely to reciprocate on that back rub. Giving words of affirmation can be difficult for me, as I'm also a very critical person. I think I should be able to say, "Don't you look handsome today!" instead of, "Dear... you need a haircut," or, "did you even look in a mirror this morning?" (It's embarrassing to admit I often catch myself speaking to him like that.) It sounds so simple!

I fear my stubbornness will one day lead to resentment. I fear that if I don't start figuring this out now, I won't be able to recognize the love languages of my future children. 

What can I do?
These are things I've been working on, particularly the past few months. Change is hard for me, but I know that this is worth it. If I want us to be happily married forever, these little acts seem trivial. {Don't think I'm naive enough to think that if we follow these guidelines we will never have difficult times in our marriage. I know that there will be periods where we may wonder if we can make it. There are still many changes coming our way, and our marriage is very young.} I feel that if we're able to work to create positive habits early in our marriage, we can hopefully continue to apply them in the stressful times.

It will have to be a continuous, conscious effort on my part to put my pride aside and go out of my way to make David feel as loved as he is. The inability to do so could cause resentment and anger, which may build up and eventually blow up. Why do I think that would be easier than giving David a back-scratch, or letting him into my "bubble", or telling him I appreciate all his hard work? No good answer for that. It wouldn't be easier. 

Final Thoughts

I'm not sure what prompted me to write about the 5 Love Languages, but writing this post has brought about a lot of self-reflection. Hopefully with some effort and holding each other accountable, David and I can continue to build and strengthen our marriage so we can fight as a team through anything that is thrown our way.

If you're in a relationship, have children, and/or are curious you can take the 5 Love Languages Quiz too! You may just learn something about yourself, your partner, or your children!

Thankful Thursday - 21

I missed Thankful Thursday last week due to our trip, but this week I'm thankful for...

1. Onesie Season! I was gifted this onesie by Janine last year for my birthday. She conveniently purchased the same one, so now we have matching onesies. After a quick FaceTime date this week, I decided to bring out the PJ's for the first time this season. SO COZY!

2. Winning. I very rarely win anything, so winning a free bottle of wine because we were given McCann's puck at the pub during a hockey game was all too exciting for me! It feels great to win something... especially when tasty wine is involved!

3. Random Reminders. This quote has been a favorite for me for many years, and it seems to randomly pop up in my life from time to time. It's never when I expect it, but maybe when I need it. Although it's one of my favorite quotes, I have a hard time going along with it. Maybe that's why it keeps coming up. Maybe I have to take a step back and think about what I (we) want to do with my life! Food for thought...

Recovering from Vacation

I often find I am more exhausted and in need of a vacation when I get back from vacation. Granted, this trip definitely wasn't relaxing and refreshing. It was jam-packed and full of noise, people, and exercise. I could really go for a relaxing trip to Mexico now to sit by the pool and drink margaritas all day! Mmmm......

Anyway, A little side-tracked now! Since we got home we've been busy un-packing and catching up with people. 

Saturday morning we power-cleaned the house, and did 16,000 loads of laundry (maybe minor exaggeration here). We then got a text from my brother, Adam, saying he and Aly may be coming out to Surrey that afternoon. We decided that David and I would have them, and Mom & Dad over for dinner in the evening to catch up. 

I opened one of my good bottles of wine (Hester Creek Character Red) so mom brought along some cheese and meat to munch while we prepared dinner. 

Best buddies, Sherlock & Shadow begging while we prep

After dinner, Mom & Dad went home, so Adam, Aly, David and I played a game of Harry Potter Monopoly. It was extra exciting for us having just been to Harry Potter World! There is nothing I enjoy more than playing Harry Potter Monopoly with someone I know doesn't necessarily enjoy Harry Potter, and hearing them talk about Gringotts, the Knight Bus, and GO TO AZKABAN! 

On Sunday we played hooky from church and went to Allana's dog agility trial. We brought Sherlock along to hang out and he was a perfect gentlemen. He has calmed down significantly since we got him neutered. He's still a puppy at times, but overall he is much more redirect-able and level. This weekend Allana got four Q's (Qualifying scores) and earned the title Masters Gamblers Dog of Canada with her dog, Fynn. Very successful! It's fun to watch them and imagine running in the same trials with them some day. 

Found this little quote stone in the bushes at agility. This has been one of my favorite quotes since I was in high-school. Random that it showed up now again!

Sherlock hammin' it up by the food table. He got so many treats!

Sunday evening David, Sherlock and I hung out at home and played cards and watched a movie. Sherlock has been so sleepy since coming home from Coddled Canines Doggie Daycare! He got tons of play time in there, and it looks like we're not the only ones that come home from vacation more exhausted than when we started!

This is Sherlock's life... How spoiled is he?!

Yesterday it was back to work to catch up on everything from the week before. After work we went for dinner with Mom & Dad at Edith & Arthur's pub by their house. We had an Anniversary Gift from E&A, so we got a free bottle of wine (Latitude 50) and a free dessert. We enjoyed our free bottle of wine, and then the hockey game started so we got a hockey puck for our table. We all moaned and groaned when we were given number 91, Mccann. Wouldn't you know it... Mccann scored our second goal! We got another free bottle of wine! 

All of our food for the evening came to a total of $55.00, and the wine added up to over $70! That's how I like to eat!!

After dinner, David and I brought Sherlock to Shel's house for a little grooming. Below is a before and after shot of his ears. So much more prim & proper now! 

Before: Looking a little haggard 

After: Looking all handsome!

Also, we got the great news that Ruby (Sherlock's mom) is expecting again! More adorable Toller puppies to be born around Christmas day! I just wish we got to take one of these little fluffs home again!

Ruby snuggling with me on the couch. Poor thing isn't feeling great. Did you know that dogs get morning sickness like humans? 

Ruby is such a pretty girl!

Tuckered out after an evening of grooming! That's stressfull you know!

Have to get through a few more days this week and then it's the weekend!

Trip to Orlando - Day 5 (Universal Studios)

Sigh... Our vacation is over. I'm typing this from the Orlando airport. This has been a wonderful trip! What a great way to spend our anniversary week. We're so smart for getting married November 10th. No matter what, the day after our anniversary will always be a holiday. Also, vacationing in November is much cheaper and way less busy than other months! 

This post is just a mish-mash of the remaining photos from our trip we haven't posted yet on previous blog posts. There will be some stories mixed in there as well. 

Some of the highlights from our trip as previously mentioned, were the attention to detail in the rides and line-ups. Also, it was a bonus that we never waited in line longer than 20 minutes. Even that only happened a couple times! Most of the time the longest part was just walking through all the set decorations to get to the ride. 

Inside the Despicable Me lineup

We didn't spend much time in Dr. Suess land, but we did have to walk through there a few times. I loved how they even took the time to make the side-walks spiral and the supports for buildings seem as though they're toppling over. Very whimsical!

Everything seems larger than life. I wonder how much of it is illusion, and how they do it!

Throughout the park they have random items on display, such as the Delorean from Back to the Future. David was excited about this. 

There was a 4D Shrek show. Overall, the show was relatively childish, but there is always some humour in there for the adults! David enjoyed the Star Wars references.

Cliche Jaws photo

This is the Rip Ride Rocket. I went on it alone as David wasn't feeling up to it. The first time, everyone got sent away right as I was about to get on the ride. Apparently there were some "technical difficulties". Pssht. I went back a few hours later and got to ride the coaster! It was good, but I feel like a lot of the newer coasters just don't have the same level of thrill as the wooden coaster at Playland. It must be something about feeling as though you're going to fly out of the cart, or the cart is going to go off the edge, or the cart being fuelled only by gravity after the first up-hill. The wooden coaster is always going to be the scariest for me, and I enjoy the adrenaline rush!

Beautiful grounds at Universal

See Hogwarts in the background?!

Simpsons land was fun. Lots of clever ideas in this area. This is Sleazy, Queasy and Surly, the Duff mascots.

David and I rode the Jurassic Park ride twice over the trip. A lovely way to cool off! There were a few water rides, and the line-ups were never too long. David went to Universal in California when he was young, and he was too intimidated by the drop on Jurassic Park to go. I'm glad he was able to brave it this time! He loves (or loved) dinosaurs, so I knew he'd enjoy it. Picture above is before the ride...

And after the ride...

Dinosaur discovery centre

Random details in the Jurassic Park lineup 

Scary raptor in the back!

David taking on the T-Rex

We enjoyed a couple cold brews as we walked around the park. It's hard to justify spending $7.50 US on a beer, but in the moment it feels worth it!

Standing in front of Jurassic Park drop

We couldn't resist another couple trips through the Harry Potter area! Every time we walked through we felt so excited! It literally feels as though you're being transferred to another world. 

Inside the Escape from Gringotts lineup!

Walking to Platform 9 3/4 in King's Cross Station!

It was so hard to get good photos since the sky was so bright. I'm sure I could have spent the time to edit them on my phone, but... Ain't nobody got time for that!

These little lizards were everywhere. I love any animal, so I always got super excited about them.

On Thursday we were walking to the Revenge of the Mummy ride (which we may or may not have done three times) and a street show started. It was an acapella group, which was fun to watch! Fun, that is, until the host came up to me and called me out. Thank GOODNESS I didn't have to move from my spot, and just had to answer the question of my favourite TV show or movie. I froze, so David whispered, "Friends" into my ear. Grateful for his quick thinking! Everyone loved my answer and the group sang a quick number about the TV show.

Foggy morning outside the hotel. Not how you would typically picture Orlando, Florida eh!?

Overall, we had a wonderful time on this trip. 

One highlight for us is...(shocker)... the Harry Potter land. Everything about it exceeded our expectations. We would definitely recommend it for anyone remotely into Harry Potter!

A lowlight for both of us is the use of 3D rides. We appreciate the technology and it is quite effective, however we both come out of those rides feeling a little queasy. I also felt sometimes the 3D is a little over-used. Maybe a bit of a cop out?

We intended on coming home with some souvenirs, but ended up coming home with nothing but pictures and memories. I think it's due to the fact that a deck of cards cost $15 American.... That's like $20 Canadian after tax! Wayyyyy too much for a deck of cards! Unfortunate, but hopefully everyone will understand that we couldn't fill stockings with Harry Potter paraphernalia :)

Overall, it was a very fun trip!

I'm finishing this blog post in the Dallas airport. We just realized it was exactly three years ago that we were in this same airport on our way to Mexico for our honeymoon. November 13, 2012. 

They had Aladdin playing on the plane. Highlight of the first flight for me!!

Can't wait to see Sherlock this evening! And go home to our house. I keep forgetting we have a house!!