Day 2 update

Day: 2

Program length: 8 weeks as per the Biggest Loser game programming. I shall start another program when this one is up.

Goal Weight: To lose 32 lbs in 8 weeks which should put me at 216lbs. Is that correct math? I was never a math genious.

Thoughts for today's workout: I hope I can get through this one without passing out...laminate wood flooring isn't soft!

Thoughts after today's workout: Is "swoob" a technical term? And my legs feel like rubber hoses. I hope I can get through work this afternoon.

Tip for next time: Get a yoga mat...period. And, vacuum my floor before I lay myself down in it.

Weigh-in goal: I am going to have positive thoughts--but it's not about the number it's about how I feel. I am hoping by weigh-in to simply be able to move up from light to moderate impact without any trouble.

TBL challenge: To remember to count the calories. I get 1980 calories per day.

Daily question for the public: What's your exercise routine? Do you have one?

Welcome to my journey

Thanks to my generous father who bestowed to me funds for a Christmas gift, I went out and purchased the new Wii Fit Plus and The Biggest Loser game. I was pretty stoked to use it, the reviews were great but I was unsure how much real exercise I would get from it. It's just a board and a small space in my "livingroom" and I could do it in my pajamas. Surely exercising in your pajamas could not be considered real exercise and frankly I'd just be putting off the inevitable--going to the gym for a real workout.

I was wrong. *chirp chirp* Did RB hear that? I think a tree fell down?

What I love about Wii Fit and The Biggest Loser game is that it motivates me. I chose Bob as my personal trainer and the game maps out a fitness routine to do for 45 min every day targeting upper and lower body alternatively from what I can see so far. It goes through a Warm up, training and then cool down. All with a little itty bitty white pad (which should I just mention is SUPER sensitive which = awesome) and my laminate wood floor. Oh, and me.

So I tried it out this morning for the first time. Basically you have to create a profile first (enter your name), give it your age, height and then *dum dum dum* it weighs you. Now I know you're never supposed to ask a lady how much she weighs, how old she is, what political party she votes for or what religion she is. Is that it? However, public humiliation has always worked well for me (doesn't it work for most people?) so I shall, henceforth, state my starting weight for the public. After all, real Biggest Loser contestants do it, so why can't I?

Day: 1

Starting weight: 248 lbs. Eep. Now, I carry my weight well so no one believes me which I guess is a good thing. I've never been little so no one knows me at some smaller size. However, it does make it hard for me to think about a target weight or size. I have nothing to go by except BMI. Apparently I should weigh between 99lbs and 140lbs (top range). 140lbs it is. For now. Long term thinking here.

Program length: 8 weeks as per the Biggest Loser game programming. I shall start another program when this one is up.

Goal Weight: To lose 32 lbs in 8 weeks which should put me at 216lbs. Is that correct math? I was never a math genious.

Thoughts for today's workout: I didn't have any to begin with except that, this better be worth it! As well as 248 lbs?!?! What?!

Thoughts after today's workout: I didn't have time to think as I was paying attention to the sweat stains on my t-shirt and shaking my head at how unbelieveabley mistaken I was that this was anything but difficult.

Tip for next time: Get a yoga mat and/or towel to cushion my knees for the pushups. Contrary to my apple figure, I do have small legs and bony knees and they hurt on laminate flooring okay?

Weigh-in goal: I have thoughts that I may not lose anything. But here's hoping for 2 lbs which would be glorious.

TBL challenge: To cook at home because that way you control what it is you put in your mouth. Ahem. I can cook at home but last I checked control and cooking don't go hand-in-hand but we'll see. Here's hoping RB takes to lean turkey and whole wheat bread and not the wonderbread wholewheat that looks like white bread.

Daily question for the public: Any recipes that are healthy that you'd like to share for breakfasts? What about tips on motivating oneself to eat breakfast?

As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be...

I'm so excited that I can finally post this, but my friend SH finally gave birth to her baby and..it's a boy! After 14 hours of hard labour and one cesarean later, she's the proud mother to her second little one. They arrived home either yesterday or today and I'm sure she's not getting much sleep. Her birthday is the 6th, so what a gift to have!

Please send your prayers out for mom, dad, little sister KH, and baby SH. Prayers that KH has a safe and fast recovery, that dad gets some sleep, and that KH enjoys and grows to love and protect her baby brother until the end of time.

Now if only 7 months could pass quicker so I can meet him! Dang distance!

RB and I are very excited as he's only the second boy in our group of friends--everyone has girls! Maybe I can teach SH to fish when he's old enough :) He'd like that.

How about you? Do your friends have a lot of babies? or if you have kids that are older now, were you one of the first? the last to have them? All I know is that my ovaries are jealous.

Confessions

I have a confession to make. The only reason I am awake at this ungodly hour of 5am is due to my inability to sleep.

My inability to sleep is due to nightmarish dreams involving Jack Bauer and Tony Almada, lead characters of the show 24. RB and I have been watching quite a bit to catch up. We started in August watching the first season and have now finished season 5 which is a feat as there are 24 1-hour episodes per season. We typically watch 2-3 per day when avidly viewing.

The funny thing is, we finished season 5 almost 2 weeks ago now and now visions of Keifer Sutherland are dancing in my head? Except instead of wonderful Christmasy thoughts, it's filled with me being held hostage by one terrorist on the 9th floor of a glassy office tower. The terrorist hands me the gun and asks me if I want to use it. One gun goes off from Jack Bauer and I make a run for it at the emergency exit (the stairs) and start running. The terrorist finds me and I attempt to shoot him but he handed me an empty gun so of course I'm hooped.

Anyway...I have vivid dreams that I often remember. Maybe I should start watching more sleep friendly shows like Say yes to the dress and How I met your mother. I'd rather dream of flirting with Barney Stinson anyway...

Have any of you ever had vivid dreams from television shows where you're being chased by terrorists? ha!

Happy December 1st everyone! Time to turn up the Christmas tunes.

P.S. I need a recipe for a really good pecan pie. It's not a staple here in Canada but Paula Deen has invaded my recipe box.

Love, Dawn

Spring colours

I need some opinions here!

RB and I are still discussing wedding colours. We've changed the date to May 21 2011 (May long weekend) instead of a summer wedding July 2. I'm a big fan of regal colours, like royal blue, royal purple, deep reds/crimsons and golds. However, I feel this would be too "fall" or "winter". So I'm thinking to do the deep reds and golds but with tiffany blue to lighten things up and of course lots of ivories.

What do you think of this? I still have lots of greenery around. I am thinking of tiffany blue dresses for the bridesmaids and then deep red bouquets and mine would be as well.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Thanks

I've heard things come in three. I sprained my right shoulder, somehow, recently and it's slowly getting better so for this I give thanks. I have however succumbed to a cold, yet somehow it isn't kicking me in the butt like it has in the past and for that I am also thankful. I also had to give a presentation on my research to students and faculty in my department, while sick and with a sprained shoulder and somehow managed to not draw a blank and embarrass myself. I did, however, refer to the Yukon as a province a few times and not a territory--why did I do this?

Thank goodness my adviser caught it--not my cold, the error.

I'm not American, but I'm thankful for all of them. They make the world diverse and unique, interesting and entertaining. I've always been envious of American people for the pride they have in their country, the hope that they carry for better days ahead, and for always trusting in their government and leaders to make it to tomorrow no matter what differences there might be. I'm proud to be Canadian but I'm proud to be a neighbour to such a great country--no matter what anyone up here may think.

Thanks, America! For giving me people to love and roads to drive home on with beautiful hills, magical mountains and endless skies.

Happy Thanksgiving and GO PACKERS GO!

Love,
Dawn

Northern Light Photography

Introducing

...

Northern Light Photography by Dawn Adams

More to come.

In this life

This song goes out to all of my good friends who have found love--in all forms. I am so thankful for having RB in my life. And when I look at all the friends I have, I know that I am blessed.

Let me show you what I'm made of
Good intentions are not enough
To get me though today and this life.
You're in the basement watching the TV,
I'm on the second floor watching the ceiling.
We sleep underneath the same big sky at night.
I dream the same dream we can fly

[J & J, together since 2003, married since July 26th, 2008]

You can run from me
You can hide form me
But I am right beside you
In this life.

[S & L, driving each other nuts since late 2004]

Let me tell you who you really are
You're my comfort
You're not a superstar
I can reach up and bring you back down to the ground
And give you everything you dream about

[S, K and S, a family since 2006, married April 2007]

You can run from me
You can hide from me
But I am right beside you
In this life.

[S & S, married 2007]

I'll give you all the things that I never get
Give you all I have and have no regret
Take you to the places that I've never been
Forgive you all the things that you cant forget
Take away the pain with my healing hands
Wash away your sins and set your spirit free

[S & K, together since 2007]

You can run from me
You can hide from me
But I am right beside you
In this life.

Let me show you what I'm made of

[Mum & B, married February 2006]

[R & D, together since 2008, and in the future married 2011..married 55 years with many beautiful children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. RB, remember I'm right beside you, in this life.]

Say a little prayer for you...

This is one of my all-time favourite families. See the lovely lady on the right with her little basketball of glory? She's due on Friday and attempting a BVAC (birth vaginally after cesarean) with her midwife. That little one in the middle was born 3 years and 12 days ago and unfortunately the lovely lady had a botched cesarean among other things.

Please, if you do such things, send up a little prayer for this beautiful family that they deliver a healthy baby with few problems for my lovely lady. I on the other hand and praying for a beautiful healthy baby boy that she names Hugh...a girl can dream, can't she?

Recipe for disaster

I am pretty excited at the moment because I received yesterday my Etsy purchase--a hand-made wooden recipe box in an open concept so you can see the pretty colourful dividers. Recipe for disaster? Only because I'll spend more time filling out the cute recipe cards and less time writing my thesis. At least RB will be fed.

Is it weird to be excited about a recipe box?

You can find this recipe box by rfrantzdesign and other wickedly-awesome-rockin'-diy items at Etsy online!

Just in time for Christmas gift shopping! Find something unique for friends and family because after all--we are unique!

Love you all,
Dawn

Oot and Aboot

On this beautiful Sunday afternoon, RB and I took a trip out to see some of the beautiful scenery where we're living here in Ontario. We went to a park here in Guelph that runs alongside the Speed River, and then drove out to historic Old Galt which is one of the three towns that make up the city of Cambridge, Ontario. Old Galt has many individual heritage home designations which adds to the district's sense of place, history and culture. City council for Cambridge is in the midst of trying to get Cultural Heritage Landscape status which is meant to take a "holistic" approach to heritage designation. Rather than just the built landscape or individual building designations, it includes important landscape features such as hills, trees, rivers and everything in between that lends itself to the unique character of a place. While that's a nuts-and-bolts explanation, it's much more complex which is why focus groups and workshops discussing the CHL designation have been ongoing for a few years now.

Here are a few photos that I took today. It's really a beautiful and unique place. You can click to view it in a larger size.

Speed River, Guelph

Park bridge, Guelph overlooking Speed River

Presbyterian Church, Queen's Square, Old Galt

Old Galt, Grand River which is a designated Heritage River in Canada.

More Grand River

This building along the river is said to be haunted.

Looking through the divide on one of the bridges that crosses the Grand River in Galt.

Main Street, Galt.

Carnegie Library, Main Street, Old Galt

What do you think of places like this? I encourage all of you to post an entry about where you live and the places that effect your memory, create the culture and help develop your own 'sense of place'?

Macaroni et deux fromage

I have always been a fan of KD, ever since I was a kid. Original is always great, but I loved the spiral and white cheddar as well. Suffice it to say I have tried every kind of KD there is--but nothing beats the homemade stuff!

This is a recipe I kind of made up on my own. If you know how to make a basic cheese sauce you can pretty much do anything you like to make it. I like to bake mine after with something called butter crumbs. I enjoy creamy but I like contrasting textures and the crunchiness the crumbs give this baked macaroni and cheese is to die for. Literally. I think I die every time. Sometimes I sing to it--"I just died in your arms tonight.."

The Team

2-3 c. pasta (I use spiral but I just love their fun shape! You could use elbow macaroni too!)
3 tbsp of butter or margarine (I use margarine because it tricks my mind into thinking this is in any way healthy).
1/4 c. finely chopped onion (for flavour)
salt & pepper to taste
3 tbsp flour
2 c. 2% milk (OR you could divide 1 c. 2% and 1 c. cream if you think your hips can handle it! Mine can't!)
2 c. shredded old age cheddar (I emphasize the "old age" because I find it gives a distinct flavour boost that mild cheddar cheeses fail to provide).
1/4 c. shredded swiss cheese

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan add butter and onions, salt and pepper and cook until onions become translucent.

2. Add flour and milk and whisk on medium until mixture thickens.

3. Add cheese and continue to whisk until all cheese has melted and becomes a creamy sauce.

4. Put on a pot of salted water to boil your pasta. Once cooked add to your pot of cheesy goodness.

5. Pour cheese-noodle concoction into a greased casserole dish. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. Top casserole with more cheese, old age and swiss.

7. Add butter crumbs to the top, shove into the oven for about 30 minutes or until crispy top forms.

8. Serve and Enjoy!

Work

Good evening my possums,

I decided I would go for a part-time job for the holidays as I like keeping myself busy and enjoy the holiday atmosphere in the local malls. It's kind of like crack to me. And I love people and I think it would be good for me to step out of that bubble of academe and associate with non-geeks for awhile. Trust me, it's for my own health. So I applied for a few positions here and there at various shops and received several phone calls requesting interviews. The first one I took right away because I LOVE their products! Ever shopped at Bath & Body Works? Well I hadn't until I took a wee trip to Washington where they have a HUGE store. B&BW hasn't arrived as of yet to western Canada; so far I have only found it in Ontario. We are more familiar out west with stores such as The Body Shop, Lush, and Fruits & Passion. B&BW I consider a boutique but much larger. It's packaging is so glamourous and the products they carry are vast compared to Body Shop yet much more conservatively priced. This me likey.

So I guess a question to start would be Have you shopped at Bath & Body Works? If so, what is your favourite product and I will try it out? Let me know what you think!

Not over a cliff (or the falls!)

I'm here! I haven't left. I've just been on a bloggin hiatus. You know when you just don't feel you have anything worthy to blog about? That was me. But I'm back.

For the past week my baby sister AA has been out visiting me (for the Canadian thanksgiving holiday) and we have done a bit of traveling oot and aboot so she could see how lovely Ontario is in the fall. Photos to follow!

Pretty much this photo sums up my baby sis. We're at Niagara Falls on the Canadian side and it was a beautiful day (This past Sunday!)

Beautiful view of the Rainbow bridge that takes you over to Niagara Falls, NY.

Maid of the Mist

RB and I

Me trying to be artistic.

My favourite pic of this little pain in my rear :)

Canadian side of the Falls

After Niagara Falls I took AA and RB to Niagara-on-the-Lake which is just north a bit on the shores of Lake Ontario. It is vineyard country (Peller Estates for example) and have some of the most beautiful heritage plantation-looking homes ever. AA was in love. It's just lust for me.

What do you think of homes like this? Would you ever live in one? Have you ever been to Niagara Falls on the Canadian side?

Happy Tuesday!

More news

Whenever it comes to anything like grades, or test results I become rather impatient. I need.to.know.now. I didn't want to wait until next Monday Oct 5th for the results from the mouth of my doctor so I phoned the nurse to see if my results from the second round of blood tests and my ultrasounds were back.

She said that they were and yes, my liver function tests were all high and they found through the ultrasound that I have some sort of uterine prolapse which is a fancy way of saying the walls of my uterus are falling or my uterus is sliding down. Interesting fact: this doesn't typically happen in women who are not postmenopausal. I am wondering if years of annovulation have put my body into menopause mode?? Who knows. I'm not going to get all fearful just yet because I will wait until Monday when I hear what my doctor says. All I know is this could get complicated. Nothing is ever simple with me. Ha!

Please pray it's nothing serious or that can't be fixed with a glue gun.

Alright, out with it

I felt the need to bring something up, and not because I'm expecting this to fix anything, but simply because it feels better to talk about it than to keep it all inside.

As I am now engaged and RB and I are looking to start a family in the next couple of years, fertility issues have weighed heavily on my mind. I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) which can be caused by any number of things but inevitably the outward symptoms include annovulation (no ovulation), irregular ovulation, weight gain, loss/thinning of hair and a whole host of other symptoms. I suffer from annovulation and have for the past, nearly 10 years, and no doctor has even remotely been able to figure it out. I finally was fed up and went to a doctor in my school's health centre and she has been wonderful at getting the ball rolling to figure this out.

It's frustrating to me because I see all of these young mothers who to me don't seem like they care much about their children. And then there is me, 9 years of schooling under my belt and I would drop everything in a heartbeat if I knew I could have the chance to have my own child.

So I have been in for blood work, ultrasounds today, and I have been told my doctor has issued further bloodwork because something with my liver functions isn't right. Some PCOS can be driven by Insulin Resistance Syndrome which is a fancy way of saying your body produces too much insulin than is actually used. The excessive insulin sends a morse code to your ovaries, stimulating them to produce excessive androgen hormone (male testosterone which is typically present in every female, but these are elevated levels). This excessive testosterone inhibits eggs being released which is probably the cause of my annovulation.

I'm unsure what the next steps will be. The reason is is caused polycystic ovarian syndrome is because the first signs were multiple cysts on women's ovaries. However, not all PCOS patients have cysts--so you can have PCOS without it which makes the syndrome all that more complex.

Untreated insulin resistance can lead to liver disease and I'm hoping, praying, that this isn't the case with me. Anyway, I had to get that off my chest. So if you read this, and you're bored at work today or at school....you know...think about me sitting in the office with 1 litre of water in my bladder while some attendant presses down on it making me super uncomfortable. And praise the Lord it's not you.

:)

How to eat NY without being in NY

Dawn is baking! I took a day off of school to just relax and hang out here at the house. I'm about to bake a great batch of NY Cheesecake Brownies that can be found in an excellent cookie cookbook that was recommended to me by Mrs. Shortcake. I will expand later with photos of the process. Wish me baking luck!

It's the hap-happiest time of the year?

Hello again from the hallowed halls of learning. It's me, Dawn. I know I haven't been around in awhile and/or written a decent post but I've been getting my bearings slowly but surely after this trek across the country. What this really means is unpacking, resting/sleeping, hanging out with RB and getting my feet wet again in proverbial academic pool.

The most interesting thing to date is my untimely cravings for peanut butter. Ever get those? Here I'll show you:

Down the hatch!

Yeah. That's me spooning peanut butter into my mouth. Originally I had brought it to eat with my oh so delish gala apples but found that the apple was overpowering the awesomeness of the peanut butter and thusly I ate the rest of my apple and spoon fed myself the rest of the few tablespoons of peanut butter. Mm. Peanuty goodness. It's a sin or at least it should be. The only thing that makes peanut butter better is chocolate with peanut butter.

I've been attempting to be more health conscious lately. What this really means is that I've been reading labels like a good girl. This doesn't mean I won't actually eat the 540 calorie 45 grams of fat Big Mac, it just means I'm consciously doing it! Erm, yay?

Now I need to consciously not eat it but that's next week's post.

I made RB a big batch of peanut butter (noticing a trend here?) sandwhich cookies which I would have posted if they had in fact turned out like the book said they would. Ever have that happen? Cookie recipe yields 6 dozen and you get only 2? And I don't understand! They said place generous tablespoon-fulls 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet! I think maybe I'm just a more generous baker than the author. Not a bad thing! And RB actually loved them. Tonight I'm making New York Cheesecake Brownies. Wish me luck. I may come out of here with only half a 9 inch baking dish of brownies. Not a bad thing for the waistline!

I have a doctor's appt tonight to go over a food and nutrition/weight loss plan. Is bringing her a peanut butter cookie in bad taste?

Until next time.

Home Suite Home

Hello lovies!!!

I'm hoping this is a return to blog-land, on a regular basis. We're mostly settled here in beautiful Guelph, Ontario after a 9-day holiday trek from west to east. We're tired, sick of looking at boxes, yet full of hope for the next year to come before we do it all again.

When everything is completely unpacked, boxes broken down and every speck of dirt cleaned I promise I will take photos so you can see our place. It's rather bacheloresque in format---technically it's a 1-bedroom but if you recall from previous posts, the 1 brm is too small to be a bedroom so we've converted it to an office space for ourselves (actually for me to get my thesis written, with a door to close, so I do not get distracted by playoff hockey---or just the regular season in general while RB watches.) We have thusly moved the bed into the livingroom right in front of the television next to the kitchen. I have to say I am very happy at the decision to bring the mattress with us because an air mattress for a year just would not do. We have had wonderful sleeps and we can curl up and cuddle while watching television in the evening. Anyone up for America's Best Dance Crew ?? ANYONE?! And are you sad Vogue Evolution was eliminated? I am.

P.S. Mario Lopez is dreamy. I could just do many many things with those dimples. There. I said it.

Today Rogers came and hooked up our internets and television. Currently RB is in tv-la-la-land, HD heaven and PVR pleasure-mode (Tivo for you 'mericans). Do you call it PVR in America? Anyway--nothing beats an HDPVR and once you've had one it's hard to go back. In particular I love the rewind option whenever you're watching a great show and you missed something because RB is whining that supper isn't ready yet. Argh! Don't you know not to interrupt me during So you think you can dance?! Ahem.

We also love Rogers "On-Demand" function--we can watch the most popular of television shows previous episodes in full that we missed--for free! Like Hell's Kitchen. And can I just say that Tennille makes me made?

Something about her is just like some snooty b&@#!y meets Whoopie Goldberg. And why do all the chefs on Hell's Kitchen smoke? Does that just make you want to not eat their food? Crikey!

Well, I will part with you for now as I gear up for a post on our journey here and the days I spent with my future MOH and her darling children who call me Auntie. I'm making homemade chicken salad in fresh made pita bread and homemade pasta salad because I am a suckkkker for pasta salad. Keep watch here for some wicked recipes I will be whipping up for RB. After 9 days eating out I'm excited to be eating in again. Also, for the rest of this growing season, RB and I will be going to a number of farmer's markets and my intent is to start buying veggies and fruits I do not normally eat and I will learn the ways to cook them. Two nights ago I made a Tuscan Stew--or at least that's what I called it. Grilled red and yellow peppers, yellow and green zuccinni, eggplant and sauteed onion, roma tomatoes and fresh grated garlic. This was all cooked down in a pot and then I made some garlic bread. I'd never eaten eggplant before and never cooked with zuccinni before and it turned out excellent.

Last night I made porkchops with apples and some pan-friend white potatoes. I didn't take photos but essentially I took the 1 inch thick sirloin chops and dredged them in flour mixed with pepper and salt and pan fried them transferring them to a pyrex baking dish. I then took two gala apples, cored and cut them into smaller slices. In a bowl I mixed 1/4 cup of orange juice, 4 tbsp. of brown sugar and 2 tsp of cinnamon with a whisk. I poured this mixture over the pork chops and added the apples. In a 425F oven I covered the dish with foil for 35 minutes and then took off the foil for another 10 to brown the apples.

I steamed the white potatoes and when done I put them on a cutting board and smashed them down with the heal of my hand with just enough force to break them slightly. I then added some EVOO to a heated pan and pan fried the potatoes just to make them golden brown--sprinkled them with some fresh ground pepper and salt.

Great meal and pretty easy!

Talk soon!
Love,
Dawn

The Book of Love

The book of love is long and boring
No one can lift the damn thing
It's full of charts and facts and figures and instructions for dancing
But I
I love it when you read to me
And you
You can read me anything
The book of love has music in it
In fact that's where music comes from
Some of it is just transcendental
Some of it is just really dumb
But I
I love it when you sing to me
And you
You can sing me anything
The book of love is long and boring
And written very long ago
It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes
And things we're all too young to know
But I
I love it when you give me things
And you
You ought to give me wedding rings
And I
I love it when you give me things
And you
You ought to give me wedding rings
And I
I love it when you give me things
And you
You ought to give me wedding rings
You ought to give me wedding rings

-Peter Gabriel


MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com

On the road again...

We're more than likely signing off now until first week of September when we will be in Ontario.

So farewell dear readers, my friends and family.

We'll post many photos when we return of our travels.

Love,
Dawn

Cree Knowledge

In Canadian news today a 100-year old woman, Muriel Duckworth of Nova Scotia and later Quebec, has announced she is dying after a serious fall she took. This woman was a serious activist for social justice including woman's rights and anti-poverty initiatives. One reader posted a beautiful Cree saying that I thought I would share.

For those of you not from Canada, Cree are a Canadian First Nation group who live throughout the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Canada. Other names for the same group in America are Chippewa or Blackfoot.

"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, you rejoice and the world cries."

I think this is something we should all think about.

Inspiration

A few ideas that RB and I have been dabbling with. It's far off, we both know, but we are pretty excited about the planning process. And I'm also a planner so I need to plan to keep me happy. Throughout my planning process I will save photos of ideas and create my inspiration quads so you can see where we're going with things. Here is one above. We both love love love the idea of a cupcake-cake rather than the traditional multi-tiered. We don't want to pay a cake cutting fee and feel that cupcakes represent the two of us more. They are sweet, can look amazing and taste oh-so-yummy. In addition more and more bakeries are specializing in making them. These two photos reflect the colour scheme we're moving toward: greens, browns, blues, and yellows with creams and ivory accents. However, rather than bright colours I'd like to mute them a bit...sage, buttercream, nutmegs, and robin's egg blue.

The bouquet pictured is kind of what I'll go for I think. I'll be wearing a tartan sash of my Clan's and as tartan's (even the best of them) are busy, I don't want to clutter myself with more colour kaleidoscopes over and above it. I think creams and whites and ivories will do best. I'm also leaning more toward a looser, more wild no-so-put-together style of bouquet. Basically not too put-together or formal in arrangement.

Finally for table centerpieces, RB and I both love the concept of tall clear vases with branches and greenery with tea-light candles hanging off. We want a lot of light and for the evening, in particular, plenty of candlelight.

After a tour last Friday, we have both agreed Whonnock Lake Centre is "the" place for our wedding.

As you can see from these photos of the venue, it is gorgeous and very woodsy--just how we Canadians like it! Very timberhome-esque and we want to play on that, not take away from it.

So what do you think?!