Potluck!

Perfect way to kick off the long weekend? A potluck BBQ!

Potlucks are always a hit with my coworkers and this was no exception. Our focus was on salads but we also had the BBQs fired up for some burgers and dogs. And of course cupcakes and smores for dessert.

Yes...smores. I came up with the idea of BBQing them, while wrapped in tin foil. The idea is good but needed some perfecting. Some of them had disintegrated marshmallow, but some turned out perfect.

Wayne provided the entertainment for the evening while eating his smore :)

Wrapping Up July

July is a big birthday month for my family. Today my nephew Jesse's turned five. On the 14th Liam turned three and the next day Abby turned eleven! I've been slacking in my blogging lately so I'm combining all three into one post :)

Abby was the first one to make me an aunt. I anticipated her arrival with great excitement. I even learned how to quilt with my Aunt Peggy in order to create my very first (and last) quilt for her. When I talked to my brother the night she was born, he was exhausted after not sleeping for a long time. But when he said her name "Abigail Elizabeth" ...I remember thinking it was the most beautiful name I'd ever heard. I still think it is a wonderful name. Abby has been such a joy to watch grow into the little person that she is.

I distinctly remember when I found out about Jesse. It was Christmas Eve and a friend and I were out for breakfast with Jo-Anne and Nick. Jo-Anne was showing me some photos of various family events and the last one was a picture of her and Nick with a pregnancy test! (actually 3...wanted to make sure!) I was thrilled! But...I wasn't allowed to tell anyone that night when I went "home" for Christmas. I had to wait until the announcement the next day! When Jo-Anne told us...she said the baby was about the size of a peanut. So...that has pretty much been his nickname since. He is a curious and
-->precocious little tyke and usually makes me laugh!

Two years later, Liam came along. I stayed with the Peanut while Jo-Anne & Nick went to the hospital. I knew the short list of names and was thrilled when I got the phone call and the decision for Liam. So cute. Liam was born with a shock of dark hair and was so adorable! He has turned into a little sweetie pie that loves hugs and snuggles. (I'm sure he'll grow out of that!!)

Happy Anniversary

Five years ago, I had just returned from some graphics training in Toronto. While I was there I discussed starting a blog with my friend Simon. I came back to work and was in the middle of a major project of switching from "The New PL" to A Channel. Everything about the station was changing in appearance from trucks to on-air presentation. In addition, we were launching a brand new graphics system. Wow, a major undertaking! At the same time, my sister Jo-Anne was getting ready to have her first baby. She ended up going 2 weeks early...the precise weekend of our big project at work. Why am I telling you this? Because it was during all of this that I started THIS BLOG! SEE MY FIRST MONTH HERE

It's been five years of writing about anything and everything. From threading my sewing machine to my phobia of gum. From bragging about my nieces and nephews to concerts I've attended. For the past five years...this is my life. It's kind of neat to reflect and see what I was up to and what I was thinking. It's like a journal. A rather public journal.

At times, I wonder who actually reads my musings, but I do have seven followers, and probably more that I'm not even aware of. I have inspired many of my friends to start their own blogs. Some have continued faithfully, others have lost momentum.

To commemorate this occasion, I have decided to print the last five years of blogging into a book. I heard about this idea on CBC's "Spark" and thought it was cool. You can check it out here.

So, to all my readers, thanks for stopping by. See ya next time!

Microvacation

This weekend, I took a micro vacation. To Petrolia. Ha ha...it was great!!

On Sunday afternoon I met Connie, Steve and Madison in Sarnia to see Toy Story 3. I thought it was great, but I was a little surprised how "non kid" it was. Madison, who is seven, was a little scared throughout. But, as an adult, I thought it was fantastic. Lots of great humour and the use of all the retro toys...love it. Madison and I shared a big bag of popcorn - who wouldn't love that?

After the movie, I went to visit my Grammie. Our original plan was to sort through old photographs, but Grammie didn't feel like doing that "in the heat" so we procrastinated until another time. I did succeed in teaching her how to run her DVD player though :) However, I forgot to show her how to turn the movie OFF and return to watching regular TV. So, I should have expected the phone call I got later! Not to worry, we got it all sorted out.

In the evening, I played some board games at the kitchen table with the Berrys. Originally we were going to hang out at the pool this weekend, but the weather just didn't cooperate. On Monday Connie and I "did Petrolia". This took about an hour. I didn't realize that most of the town shuts down on Monday. There were a few places that were open, so we wandered about and had lunch at Coffee Lodge. Being the techno wizard that I am (umm, ya...) I helped Connie with some computer stuff for her tea room in the afternoon.

I think my favourite part of my micro vacation was visiting my Aunt Peggy. Somehow we started talking about when she was a girl and was growing up and the next 2 and a half hours were spent listening to her stories. She has the biggest heart of anyone I know and she is pretty special to me.

Who knew you could pack so much into 2 days in Lambton County? :)

Anniversaries

It's interesting that we usually mark the "anniversaries" of certain events in our life. These can be things we celebrate like birthdays and wedding anniversaries or remembering first dates. Or they may be more somber. Perhaps remembering the day that someone close to you passed away or when you got bad news.

For some reason, I tend to always remember anniversaries. It might be my penchant for reflecting on the past, I'm not sure. I always remember on February 25 that I met my best friend Karla Ann. On June 6th, I remember that as the day my grandma passed away when I was six. June 23 marks my company anniversary. And of course we always think of where we were on September 11.

This reflection came as a result of today being the "anniversary" of my car accident one year ago. Of course I am not comparing it to any of the previous examples in regards to impact or severity. Just observing.

I'm still sad whenever I see a yellow beetle drive past. I know to most, a car is just a car. And when your car, which is 11 years old, is considered useless by the insurance company, most people would jump at the chance to get a new one. I did not want a new one. I had such an emotional attachment to that car.  As you probably know if you're reading this blog, my dream car since I was small was a yellow beetle.

Anyway, those are my reflections as I pass this "anniversary" which were stirred up this afternoon when I drove through the intersection.

New Glasses!

I recently decided it was time for me to get some new glasses. The ones I was wearing I had been wearing for about 5 years. In fact, I liked the frames so much that my last prescription I had new lenses put in my old frames. But, now I was ready for a change.

I headed to my usual spot at Westmount Mall and perused the frame selection. My goal was to get a pair of regular glasses and a pair of prescription sunglasses. After creating a short list, I got some prices. Wow, two pairs were going to really add up...over $600 in fact.

After leaving the mall to mull it over, my friend Sue mentioned buying glasses online. Someone she knows had just done that. Hmmm, something sparked a memory in my head...my friend Derek had blogged about buying glasses online a few months ago. So, I checked the blog to get the website.

I could NOT believe the price difference!! A complete pair of glasses...frames and lenses for thirty bucks? Could it be? Actually, if I hadn't read Derek's first-hand encounter, I don't know if I would've believed it. But, he had been completely satisfied with his purchase, so I continued.

I narrowed my selection down and ended up with 3 pairs of every day glasses and one pair of sunglasses. FOUR pairs for $140!!! You should have a general idea of what style/colour you like as you won't be able to try them on. But, as long as you have checked out some frames in an actual store, you should have a feel for what you're looking for. So, my recommendation for saving a few bucks on your eyewear, check out www.zennioptical.com