Dirt Road Anthem…MY BUTT!

First of all, HAPPY FRIDAY! It’s so nice to see the week come to an end! I feel as though it’s kind of dragged on.

Second of all, I have beef!! No, no…I’m not speaking of the juicy hamburger kind of beef. I’m speaking of the kind where I have a problem with something. And today’s your lucky day! I’m gonna get right up on my soapbox and tell you all what it is!!

As you could have guessed by the title of this blog, I’m a small town country girl! I love where I live. There are a few problems though.

You see I live on a dirt road and I don’t really have a lot of houses around me like you would find in typical suburbia. As nice as it is to not have any neighbors and lots of privacy I still get these guys…

FLIES!

LOTS OF FLIES!

Every year around this time the flies start hibernating or something within the corners of my house!!! It’s not just one or two it’s about a dozen per room! O.K, well just kill them and get on with it, you say Lindsay? Well, I HATE FLIES and they always come back! I’m actually convinced that the more I kill them, the more they mutate and multiply!! It’s quite frightening I assure you….

Now, I live in a home that I am very proud of! It’s white siding and a green roof! O.k, right now you’re probably have this image of this house with pristine white siding. Well, get that thought out of your head because this is what happens when you live in the country……

Bugs and spider webs that are CRAZY sticky!

These webs are the kind that stick to the house and won’t sweep off with a broom. It’s my nemesis, it drives me crazy! We have to take a pressure washer to these areas twice a year!

Lastly, I’d like you, Jason Aldeen with your Dirt Road Anthem and you there, Mr. Keith Urban and your Where The Blacktop Ends and SHOVE IT! Or better yet let’s make another song and perform a duet, it will go:

Back country I like to drive slow

where the fields of green grass grow.

I know a slower speed is a must

or my pick up truck with shoot a lot of dust!

Yes, I think that could be a billboard hit! Hopefully the song will help all the crazy fast drivers to slow it down so that I don’t need to spit dirt out of my mouth when I’m walking on the road!

I’m stepping down now, the vent is over. :-)

Happy Friday!

xo

Wedding Wednesday – Shake Your Tail Feather

Happy Wednesday everyone! It’s the middle of the week, too early to celebrate the upcoming weekend? I didn’t think so either! :-)

Today on Wedding Wednesday I’d like to fill you in on another difficult decision that every couple has to make about their wedding, band or D.J?

As much as I love Ryan and we normally agree on many things, music isn’t one of them! I’m a hard core country music fan. Give me a little Garth, with a side of Alan and throw in some Carrie for dessert! Ryan on the other hand likes a little bit of rap, metal and alternative.

My brothers wedding had an AMAZING country music band!! They were the bomb! But, being that Ryan isn’t a huge fan of country music it was out of the question.

When asking my parents for a little advice as to whether or not we should have a band of a D.J they immediately said BAND! I was a little concerned about their enthusiasm towards getting a band but later learned that EVERYBODY in their day had a band. D.J’s just weren’t cool!

Well, thanks for that parental unites…Oh, the 80’s.

Ryan and I were concerned that a band would limit the music choices. Ryan and I have not picked out our first dance song yet but wouldn’t want to be limited to a song only because it’s what the band can play.

We love bands and what they offer. They are entertainment of their own. However, it wasn’t what we needed for our wedding.

D.J it is.

We are very happy with our choice to pick a D.J and searched high and low for an AWESOME one that would fit our wedding! Well, we got it! A local D.J company by the name of Chris Copper D.J Services will be playing the beats that will get us moving!

P.S Did I mention Chris Copper use to radio announce for the local country station?Just saying! :)

In my opinion, music is a really important aspect of the wedding. You want your guests to have a blast and dance the whole night through! I think we made the right decision as to what will fit our wedding most and I can’t wait to celebrate our marriage!

Now, tell me, what is your favorite song to dance to at a wedding? I’ve got to compose a playlist after all!

Happy Wednesday!

xo

A Weekend Without Pictures And A Happy Ending!

Happy Monday everyone!! Can you believe it? Not one picture this past weekend? NOT ONE!! Holy Moly! It’s not like I didn’t do anything! I was busy!

Friday night Jilly graciously opened up her home to host a Lia Sophia jewelry! We all gathered around the yummy food table to chit chat and try to make the hard decision of choosing our favorite pieces of jewelry! When I went to place my order, the consultant simply said to me, “Happy Birthday”, it’s a birthday gift from my mom!! WOW! Can’t wait for the jewelry to come in!

Saturday Ryan and I went to the city for his golf lesson and I picked up some supplies for the upcoming craft night!

We quickly dropped off our stuff and then headed in the opposite direction to Ryan’s parents to give his dad Eugene his birthday gift!! (His birthday was Friday) We hung out with the kids and then had some pizza with them for supper! It was a great visit!

Sunday I was off to church and then joined my parents for breakfast! That afternoon I got all of my fall decorations out of storage!! It was great decorating for the fall/Halloween season!! YAY! 

Now onto a little story…

I’m sure you all remember Rebekka. My former university roommate and one of the bridesmaids in my upcoming nuptials!

I’ve known Rebekka for quite sometime however, I’ve known Josh, her boyfriend, a little longer! You see, it was actually Josh who introduced Rebekka and I to each other! It was that first meeting that brought us together and started our friendship!

This past St.Patty’s day in Quyon a little leprechaun (aka Josh) approached me for my cell number. He wanted me to come shopping with him for a very special, sparkly present for Bekk!

Ryan and me with our leprechaun friend! 

I never really thought much of it. I thought he was bluffing until one day this past early June I got the message, “We need to go shopping, what day works for you?”

Two days later we met at the ferry and headed to the mall! We looked and looked until finally Josh said, “This is it, this is the ring!”

He signed the paper work (all the while Bekk was texting him!) and we left the mall feeling shaky and giddy knowing that he just bought Rebekka’s engagement ring!

I talk to (aka text) Bekk literally EVERYDAY and it was so hard for me to keep such a big secret from her! I just wanted to shout from the roof tops, JOSH IS GOING TO ASK YOU TO MARRY HIM! I was just so excited for her! But I didn’t. I kept it in and waited patiently until the big moment happened!

Finally, last weekend I found out Josh had proposed to Bekk on September 10th in Niagara Falls! I was “through the roof” excited for them both!!

I am so happy that Bekk, one of my very best friends, is getting married to the love of her life and I was honored to, in a small way, be part of that happiness for her!

Bekk and Josh, congrats! I’m wishing you both all the happiness in the world!! Can’t wait to celebrate with you’s tonight!

xo

Fruit Salsa

Happy Friday everyone and happy first day of fall!! Now, that fall is officially here I am dying to put out all of my decorations. Visions of pumpkins, scarecrows and colored leaves are dancing around my head!

I wanted to show you today one of my new favorite, healthy recipes!! It’s easy to make and so delicious!

Fruit Salsa

Ingredients:

- Lots of fruit (I used strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, and kiwi)

- Whole wheat tortilla’s

- Sweetener

- 1 tsp brown sugar

- 1/2 the juice from a lemon

- Cinnamon

Directions:

1. Take out all of your fruit and clean it.

2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

3. Prepare all your fruit and chop into tiny pieces. Place in a medium sized bowl.

4. Squeeze the juice out of the lemon into the bowl of fruit.

5. Add two packs of sweetener (or real sugar).

6. Vigorously stir your fruit. Mashing the fruit bits to the side a little. Refrigerate.

7. Cut up your tortilla’s into triangular pieces. Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Bake in preheated over for 10 minutes or until tortilla becomes crispy. Let them cool completely before serving.

8.   Serve salsa and cinnamon tortilla chips altogether and enjoy!

Pretty simple, eh? It’s very refreshing and fun to eat. Not to mention a nice alternative to chips for a movie night! Jilly and I snacked on this treat a week ago today as we watched Top Gun.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

xo

Wedding Wednesday – Get Me To The Church On Time

Happy Wednesday everyone!! We’re half way there and only a few days till fall, holy cow!

Today, being Wedding Wednesday, I figured it was a good time to show you where Ryan and I will be married.

When my brother and his wife, Holly got married they had the ceremony and reception right in the field behind their house. It was very beautiful and perfect for them. Me? Not so much.

I love the farm and I love my brother and his wife, Holly. But, I do not want to do the same as they did. Since we will be getting married in May the weather can be so unpredictable. I really didn’t want to have the stress of worrying whether or not it rained.

I never even had to think about where I wanted the ceremony. I wanted it in the church about 1 KM down the road, where I was baptized.

This is Wesley United Church. It is a small, old (but newly renovation), country church. Ryan, myself and my parents are members of the congregation that splits their services between Wesley and another church in town.

Out side of the church is the dirt road to get there, large parking area and a field directly across.

Inside, as I mentioned, is newly renovated. There are hardwood floors leading up to the pulpit, wood wainscoting, and tall ceilings.

The pews line each side of the aisle.  On each side there are three large, bright windows.

Towards the back is one of my favorite features. Two sliding french doors! They are very functional and add in a lot of natural light.

It’s easy to see why I love this church, isn’t it? It’s cozy, warm and so inviting. On nice Sundays, Ryan and I like to walk to and from Wesley Church. It’s that close to the farm. It’s where my family (both blood and church family) gather to worship.

Wesley Church is where I was baptized, had my confirmation and where Ryan and I will become husband and wife in front of our families, friends and God. This little country church holds a lot of present and future memories.

xo

A Weekend of Celebrations

Happy Monday everyone!! I hope you all passed a great weekend! I know I sure did! It went by in a flash but it was full of fun activities and celebrations!

The weekend started out on Friday night with a movie night chez Jilly’s! Being the poor deprived girl that I am, I had never seen Top Gun! Being one of Jill’s most favorite movies she thought it was a shame and needed to be fixed, ASAP!

We bunkered down for some homemade pizza and fruit salsa and I finally got to see Top Gun! I have to say I was impressed!! For a movie of the 80’s it was very well done! I would catch myself smiling at certain points of the movie!! Even better, I know understand what people are talking about when they quote the movie! “Take me to bed or lose me forever!”

Thanks Jill for the awesome movie night and finally introducing me to Top Gun!!

Saturday was one of the first days that Ryan and I were both at home!! It felt kind of weird at first but now looking back we got SO much done! We cleaned, worked on some house renovations, picked the garden, blanched, canned, and I baked! It was nice to catch up on things around the house!! I was shocked this year at the amount of carrots I got from the garden! I have 3 pounds of chopped/blanched carrots ready for supper in my freezer!! Some of my carrots seemed to be on steroids, they were as big as Tucker!

After a busy day of working around the house Ryan and I got dressed up and headed into town for a wedding reception for Caryl and Andre! Congrats you guys!

Ready for a night out after housework all day!

On Sunday, we woke up early to get ready for a day of birthdays, young and old!

First, we headed to friends, Sara and Grahams for the 1st birthday of their baby, Charlotte!

It’s hard to believe this little cutie is already going to be 1 (on the 21st)! It seems like yesterday we were visiting with her parents in the hospital getting a good look at this new baby girl! She has grown to be such a fun, smart little girl with such an infectious smile!

Happy (almost) 1st birthday!

We had to quickly duck out of the 1st birthday party and head to another one to celebrate my Grandma’s 90th!

The whole family and lots of friends all met in a town hall to celebrate the truly special lady my Grandma is! There were a few tears but mostly happiness as we all visited!! It was a great party!!

Happy 90th Birthday Grandma!

While we were already in the area we decided to go visit the new home of friends Shawn and Vee! They graciously had supper for us and we all sat around and visited! It was great to catch up!!

It was a weekend of celebrating that is for sure! From new marriages to birthdays, young and old! It’s great celebrating such joyous occasions with family and friends!

How was your weekend?

xo

Lindsay Goes West – Part 3

It was such a clear, sunny perfect day on Thursday to go see the famous Rockies! It is one of those things that is hard to imagine but in person, it’s humbling.

About an hours drive away from Banff was Lake Louise, which is where we were heading next. It was a very busy spot, full of tourists like us!

Lake Louise was so beautiful. The water was this amazing teal color. The backdrop was the mountains with lots of glacier ice! I thought I had finally seen the most beautiful place on earth…I was wrong.

On our way back down from Lake Louise we decided to take a 11 km road into another spot, Lake Moraine. The most beautiful place I had ever seen in my life.

Lake Moraine’s water has similar water color to that of Lake Louise because of the glacier water. However, Lake Moraine was so quiet in comparison to Lake Louise because of the long drive it takes to get there.

The backdrop to Lake Moraine (aka the Rockies) is much closer. It is so peaceful. The smell of the pines surrounding the area was amazing! It was so pure and clean. I didn’t want to leave!

If you ever get a chance, visit all these spots but be sure to make time for Lake Moraine, I promise, you won’t be disappointed!

For supper we stopped in at Boston Pizza where the boys got to enjoy their Schooner beers.

Friday we were up early again and on the road to Edmonton, to go to West Edmonton Mall! (EEK!) I was so excited to see this massive mall! My favorite line from the whole week happened on the drive to Edmonton. Josh was getting upset at another driver and give him the finger. The guy drove up next to him and gave it back. Josh proceeded to say; “People just can’t take the finger anymore”. Ha ha It was one of those, you have to be there moments!

I was not disappointed when we finally got to the mall. I mean entrance 57, holy cow!

There are so many stores you couldn’t even visit them all. But one of my favorite things was the attractions! We watched a sea lion show right in the middle of the mall.

Arcade

And full size rides including a massive roller coaster that Ryan and Josh went on it. Yes, you read that right “Mr.I’m Afraid of Heights” went on a super tall roller coaster. He was pretty white afterwards.

Besides all of the attractions we all shopped till we literally dropped!

Saturday, our last day and so sad. The week had gone by so fast! We all relaxed in the morning and then headed to the 1986 Olympic Park for some mini golf!! It was one of the hardest mini putts I had ever played at and we had fun laughing every time someone's ball rolled back to the start.

We toured the park a little too and looked at the impressive bobsled track! We channeled our inner Jamaican bobsled team and gave it a try!

After we got back to the apartment we had a yummy steak supper by Chef Josh and then headed down the road to a comedy club!! It was awesome! The MC was HILARIOUS!

Once the show was over we got back to the condo for more of our most favorite game, SEQUENCE!

We were going to enjoy some dessert while playing and Amanda and Josh surprised me with an early birthday cake.

Amanda (the sneaky girl she is) had picked up items from when we were shopping that I pretty much picked out! I didn’t know she had gotten that stuff for me, it was such a surprise! It included my Christmas tree ornament that I was searching high and low for! It was very special.

Sunday morning Ryan and I were sad to leave Calgary but even more sad to leave our friends. They are such a long piece away and it will be a few months before our next visit! I cannot thank Josh and Amanda enough for having us for the whole week, it was really the perfect summer holiday!

Thanks again guys!!

So, as you can see we had an amazing trip!! Alberta has always been on my bucket list of places to see. It’s an amazing place with such awesome attractions and I think we’ll end up visiting there again soon!

Happy Friday!

xo

Lindsay Goes West – Part 2

Finally, after two (very long) days of driving we were Calgary and went straight to bed! I am not someone who easily sleeps in, even on vacation, but I was so exhausted from the 33 hour drive that I actually slept in and it felt wonderful!

Sure, Amanda and I could have bunkered down in Saskatchewan and then driven to Calgary on Tuesday. However, Tuesday morning, when I woke up already in Calgary with an extra day to spend not on the road, I was thankful we had pushed and driven through the night.

Tuesday was spend unpacking, relaxing and picking up some groceries and stuff! It was so nice to recuperate!

Ryan and I agreed to make homemade pizza for supper that night but we were all in bed pretty early considering some of us were still trying to catch up on sleep!

Wednesday, it was off to Cross Iron Mills mall in Calgary, Alberta. I loved this mall! It had so much to do and a had shops for everyone! The boys were really excited that their was a Bass Pro Shop! They could stock up on some hunting and fishing supplies!

Amanda and I were happy to let them do as they pleased as we went to the “girly” stores! We all met up for lunch at the arcade and had fun playing some games afterwards!

After the mall, it was time to head back to get gussied up for supper! We were eating at the Japanese Village in downtown Calgary and I was so looking forward to seeing this restaurant! I’ve always wanted to go to restaurant where they cook the food right in front of you!!

It was such a neat experience and the food was amazing! It was 5 courses and by the end we were stuffed! It was really fun to get dressed up and go to a new fun restaurant!

With full bellies we decided to go to the Casino, each with $20 in our hands! I was the only one that was winning! I had never been to a Casino before! I was up $40 from my $20. Well, I guess this inexperienced gambler got greedy and lost it all! I was in shock! But I learnt a valuable lesson!

Thursday we were all up with the birds to head to Banff and Lake Louise!!! It was so amazing to drive from “flattish” Calgary and head into the Rockies! It really is one of the most amazing scenes I had ever seen!! They looked fake!

We all went up the gondola and Ryan had a bit of a melt down! Poor guy is deathly afraid of heights and refused to look up! ha ha! But I got a good picture of Amanda and Josh!

Finally, we were off the gondola but we proceeded to hike even higher!! 

Ryan at the top, amazing!

All of us together at the top!

We made our way back down and little piece down the road to Bow Lake trail for some photo ops!

Amanda had a great idea of having a picnic lunch on a hilltop overlooking Banff! On our way up we saw a mountain goat right on the side of the road!

This is our the view from our picnic spot! It was breathtaking and so enjoyable just sitting there relaxing!

The wall overlooking Banff! Our next stop was the famous Lake Louise.

To be continued…..

xo