40 posts from 2006

We arrived back from Utah yesterday! It was a fun time had by all. It was sooooo . . . nice to hang out with my family, watch movies and play with Isabelle and Cache. Cache's birthday is on Christmas Eve, so on the left you will notice some added pictures of the special day. He has such a beautiful head of curls, I hope my kids have all that curl too.

Christmas was nice and peaceful. It was a wonderful trip, and sadly I am too tired to write too much more. :) I will be back in a couple days after we have caught up on our sleep.

In two days, John and I are off to Utah to celebrate the holidays with my family. Since I know tomorrow I will be busy running around packing and making sure I do not forget my passport, I wanted to post something before I leave.

This Christmas, will be the best yet. I am so incredibly happy and I am with the man of my dreams, I never thought this day would come. I am so excited to see my niece and nephew and see them open all their presents! Funny how as you get older you get excited for other reasons besides all the presents you are going to get.

This holiday season, do not forget the reason we celebrate the season. As my sister once said in our Christmas video when she was about 6-7, "We celebrate Christmas, because Jesus was born." It is as simple as that!!!

Luke 2:8-14

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

May everyone have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I have been wanting to add some major differences between the US and Canada to my blog.

Since arriving I have been amazed just how different Canada is from the US.

So here it is! Everything you always wanted to know about Canada but were afraid to ask . . .

loonie

A dollar. The Canadian $1 coin has a loon (the bird) on one side.

toonie

Two dollars. The Canadian $2 coin is gold-coloured in the middle, with a silver-coloured ring around the outside. It takes its name from the $1 coin, the loonie, and adds its value, two, to form "twonie" or, more easily read, "toonie". A polar bear is on one side of this coin.

washroom

bathroom (This one still gets me, but people do understand when I ask where the bathroom is)

housecoat

robe, bathrobe ( I was totally confused when John asked me where my housecoat was, I thought that was pj's that ladies wore)

poutine

French fries covered in cheese curds and gravy.

Smarties

Not the ones like in the United States. In Canada, Smarties are a candy resembling M&Ms. They do melt in your hand, and they're a lot sweeter.

Kraft Dinner, or KD

macaroni and cheese.

back bacon

Canadian bacon. Sometimes rolled in peameal.

brown bread

Whole wheat bread. If you are at a diner for breakfast and you ask for whole wheat toast, they'll understand you, but "brown toast" is a lot more Canadian.

Robertson screws

Screws (for metal or wood) with a square hole in the top rather than a straight or X-shaped one. They'd be popular in the States except that Henry Ford wanted exclusive rights to them, and Robertson (the inventor, a Canadian) refused to sell.

May Two-Four

The nickname of Victoria Day, Queen Victoria's birthday, May 24th.

toque

A kind of wintertime hat.

"The States"

The United States of America. I always say I am from America, but no one refers to it as the US here, only "The States."

"chip trucks"

These are like the van driven by the ice cream man, only they sell French fries. (Also as a side note, Canadians put vinegar on their fries, I love it)

metric measurements

Centimetres, not inches; kilometres, not miles; metres, not yards, etc. (I wish I would have listened in Math class when I was young, I do not know the metric system at all)

milk containers - Milk comes in plastic bags

Coffee

Tim Horton's - named after the hockey player who started the chain - are common everywhere.

Cuba vacations

Trips to Cuba are freely advertized and Cuban cigars are readily available.

health care

Nobody worries about losing a life's savings or a home because of illness - health care is universal.

the cottage

Every weekend during the summer, southern Ontarians go in droves from Toronto and its environs to their second homes (ranging from campers to great big houses with all the amenities) in the "cottage country" of Muskoka and the Haliburton Highlands.

zed

Most Canadians will tell you that this is how the last letter of the alphabet is pronounced, not zee.

eh

Canadians often end sentences with "eh".

I was cleaning out my computer and found some fun pictures of me around Christmastime years ago. . . I thought you would enjoy!

Braces! and you will notice I had a very stylish braid in my hair, it was all the rage when I was a freshman in High School, that would have been around 1989.  Beautiful acid washed jeans as well.

That is my natural hair color. :) I forgot how curly my hair was. As you can see in both pictures, I loved T-shirts and jeans. I never thought I would ever wear a dress, but I did turn into a girly girl amazing enough.

I love this time of year! I have so much to be thankful for this Christmas. I could not be happier. I have a wonderful husband and a loving family. What else could a person ask for? Well . . . maybe a BMW but maybe I will get that next year!

Last week city hall in Mississauga was decorated for the holidays.

  John has been working such late hours that we had not had a chance to go across the street and see all the fun lights. Yesterday we finally made some time.

The best part is that we can see all this from our windows since we look right at the city centre. I am getting so excited for Christmas!

Well . . . our Thankgiving meal was excellent! I was very happy with the way things turned out.

I was darn proud of the turkey, I was so worried it was not going to turn out but it was moist and tender. I could not have asked for a better turkey. The stuffing turned out good too, although I think I needed to make the bread pieces a little smaller.

John's assignment was to carve the turkey and make the gravy. He is excellent at making gravy and he was excited how well it turned out.

It was difficult to be away from my family on Thanksgiving, mainly too because I am going to miss the shopping today. But next Thankgiving I will be in Utah!

I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving! Now the Christmas shopping can begin!

I am getting so excited for Christmas. Last year I was somewhat sad because John and I were apart, but it was nice to spend one last Christmas as a single girl with my family.

I talked John into going to the storage unit last weekend and I got all the Christmas decorations. The condo looks wonderful! 

I cannot believe that Christmas is not too far away! I decided that even though Thanksgiving in Canada was the first Monday of October, that we would celebrate the American Thanksgiving as well. I do not want to give up traditions, plus next year I want to be in Utah so I will not miss all the day after Thanksgiving shopping!

Funny enough I have training for at Canadian Blood Services on Thanksgiving Day, but I will be home around noon, just in time to put the turkey in the oven. Yes, I am cooking a turkey for the first time. We got a small one and I have been watching Martha faithfully for tips, so hopefully all will go well. I will be back on Thanksgiving to let everyone know how it went!!!

Yesterday, was my new nephew Andrew's Birthday. It was nice to get out of the house and take a long drive. Everywhere I looked it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I am getting excited for the holiday.

Andrew's highlight gift was a new fishing set.

I made the mistake of saying the tackle box could be a great makeup case. Little did he know that when I was a kid Caboodles were popular and they were basically a fishing kit that was pink with a mirror. :) But I do not think they make such a thing anymore. Ahh the memories.

Andrew wanted to have a carrot cake for his birthday. Sandy made a wonderful carrot cake. Normally I did not think I liked carrot cake too much, but I was mistaken. I told John that there is so many thing that I did not think I like and it is funny as I get older, I try them and realize I have been missing out on good food.

It was a great time to spend with family, I am still trying to get to know his sister's and I know it will all come in time. They were sharing lots of stories from when they were kids and it is fun to hear stuff like that. I love to hear all about John when he was a kid. It was a wonderful way to end the week.

Happy Birthday Andrew!

For those that know me really well you know that I have been a 90210 fan since 1990, when the show started. I will admit when the show ended in 2000 I cried and felt that my Thursday's would never be the same without 90210.

Finally, after years of waiting they have released 90210 on DVD. The funny thing is I have not even bought it yet, I guess after a certain amount of years things that you liked when you were younger do not appeal to you as much. Does anyone even believe that?

The truth is the show has been in re-runs for years, so I have yet to miss it. Plus, I would rather spend $40.00 on something more exciting. Like a new pair of shoes. :)