Christmas party

Last night we had a group of friends over for a potluck dinner and then Pictionary. I made gingerbread cake with rum sauce and it was heavenly. All of our friends brought along their dogs and you can see them in the picture below lining up to get a treat from Brian. Sid is right in the middle of course! We had a great time and Pictionary was pretty eventful, as usual. We always have tons of arguements about the rules and one team always accuses the other of cheating, but in the end it's all for fun. We moved our christmas tree downstairs this year. It is always up in the living room, but I thought it would be nice to have it downstairs this year because we are spending alot more time down there since we put in the new woodstove. It's just so warm and cozy. We love it!

7 month Anniversary!

Well another month has passed and we are now 7 months since ICAB approval. I am hoping to hear something in a year from now but you never know when your time will come. Rachel, a friend who I met on a Philippines adoption Yahoo group, travelled to the Philippines over the weekend to pick up her son. It has been very exciting following her journey and I can't wait to hear all about her trip when she returns.

Not much else is new around here. I'm finished all of my Christmas decorating and I have all the gifts wrapped. Last week was full of Christmas parties and tomorrow I have a Christmas lunch at my work and then a Christmas dinner at Brian's work. I'll pretty much be spending my whole day eating! Not that I'm complaining. My running friends and I had a big cookie exchange last weekend. I received 4.5 dozen cookies and guess what?? I've eaten them all already (except for the 4 or 5 that Brian ate). I am going have to do some serious cutting back after Christmas or else I'm going to have to buy all new clothes!

Deck the halls...

I just got back from another week away. I visited my Mom last weekend and put up her tree and then I worked in Gander for a week. I stayed with my cousin and her husband and we had a great time. Her husband is a great cook and my supper was ready every night when I got off work. That was sure a treat! Now back to real life.

Today I started my Christmas decorating. I blasted the Christmas music (my favorite is Bing Crosby) and got down to business. I decorated the stairwell and the fireplace mantel. I put up our tree in the family room and I hung the wreath on the door. It was all done in 5.5 hours. Not bad. Now we just need to put up our outdoor lights, which we won't be doing today as it is absolutely pouring outside.

Tomorrow is the Santa Claus parade. Sid and I are in it. We walk with the other S.P.C.A. dogs and Sid just loves it. I have his christmas kerchief and santa hat all ready. He'll be just adorable!

We're back!

Sunset from Hermosa Beach

Cabo San Lucas

Red carpet in Hollywood

Dustin Hoffman

Angelina Jolie

Knott's Berry Farm

Santa Monica Beach

We had a great vacation and it is so hard to come back to reality. It has been raining and windy here since we returned and I am longing for the sunshine of L.A. and Mexico. Our 6 day stay in L.A. was fantastic. We stayed in Hollywood and visited Knott's Berry Farm and Universal Studios. We did alot of good rides and we especially loved the sunset on Santa Monica Beach. We went to the Madonna concert at Dodgers Stadium and Brittany Spears and Justin Timberlake also performed with Madonna! We also saw J. Lo and Mark Anthony coming into the concert. We didn't get back to the hotel until 2:00 am after a subway and bus ride.

On Sunday, before leaving for the cruise ship, we got the chance to be around for the Priemere of Kunfu Panda II (that is not the correct name of the movie though). The red carpet was out and there were lots of people around. We were there early though and had a good spot to check things out. We saw Angelina Jolie, Jack Black and we even had to our picture taken with Dustin Hoffman and got his autograph. Only in Hollywood!

The cruise went to three ports in Mexico. My favorite is Cabo San Lucas because they have the most beautiful beach there and the water is so warm. We went zip lining in Peurto Vallarta which was exciting. We did rock climbing on board the ship and we did pretty much every activity there was to do including rumba, cha-cha, salsa, and hip hop dance classes. The food was really good and I must have had two desserts everynight for dinner. Every morning for breakfast I had a big bowl of fresh fruit and waffles with strawberries and whip cream. I most definetely will miss that breakfast!

I head out to Gander tomorrow for a week. I'm working out there and I'll be staying with my cousin Amanda. It seems so strange to be going again after just getting back. Unfortunately the weather in Gander won't be quite as warm as Mexico!

Six Month Anniversary!!

Well yesterday was our six month anniversary! It's hard to believe that six months has passed already. Hopefully in a year from now we will be receiving a referral or at least no longer than 18 months from now. I am typing this from L.A. at the end of our wonderful vacation. We spend the rest of the day here at the beach and then head back to Newfoundland later on this evening. The weather has been great and I will have to add some pictures when I get home. I'll also have to give details of all the stars that we saw and met in Hollywood! And there were alot!!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...

Well after Halloween was over on Friday night, I got right in the Christmas spirit. I got up Saturday morning and went Christmas shopping and went again that evening. I pretty much finished up my shopping this morning and when I got home, I wrapped all of my gifts! It has been a very productive weekend. I wanted to get everything done now as I will be on vacation for the next two weeks and then I'm only home for 4 days before heading out to Gander for another 9 days for work. Then I have things on the go every weekend from then until Christmas. So I turned the Christmas music on bust and got busy wrapping. I had a great time! To make the best of it, we even had flurries this evening which helps with the Christmas spirit.

Mom and Dad visited last night and they brought Sid home with them as he is staying with them while we are gone. I miss him already! Only two sleeps left until we go. I'm getting pretty excited!

Just like summer!

We had the most amazing day here today. It was bright and sunny and went to at least 17 degrees. What a treat for the end of October. It has been a warm week so far. I've run in t-shirts and capris all week although I should of worn tank tops and shorts. I could get used to this! We leave in just 6 days for our vacation, but who's counting!

6 years married!

I cannot believe that six years have passed since our wedding day. The time has passed so quickly. We don't have much planned for today because I ran a 20 km race this morning and Brian has guitar lessons this evening. We may head out somewhere for supper after that.

The race this morning was totally exhausting! We left Cape Spear and had to run all the way to Signal Hill and then up Signal Hill which is huge. Half of the course was spent running up hill so I think I'll probably be stiff and sore tomorrow. At the reception after the race, I won a kit bag, sandals, and a some other odds and ends. For anyone from away who loves to run and enjoys a challenge, this 20 km race would be a great one do.

5 month anniversary!!

I can't believe that 5 months has already passed since our ICAB approval. I feel like we are getting closer and closer yet I know that we still have 12 - 18 months to go (and that's probably being optimistic). The 5 month mark was actually yesterday but I was so busy that I didn't even get a chance to post. A groomer came in to tidy Sid up because he was starting to get some mats in his tail and behind his ears. It took 90 minutes and Brian and I had to hold him the whole time because he was pretty stressed out, but in the end he looked great. Sid is now recovered from that traumatic ordeal and he is out playing on the front lawn.

I had initially thought about getting a crib for Christmas, one that converts into a bed so that at least I could get more use out of it. But today, a girl at work offered me her crib - for free! She said I can have it as long as I take it and store it. That sounds good to me! It is so exciting starting to collect things, it makes it all seem more real.

Road Trip!!

Brian, Sid and myself took a lovely road trip to Corner Brook last week. I was working and Sid and Brian tagged along for a little vacation. The weather was beautiful and the fall colours were amazing. We stayed at the Glynmill Inn. It was Sid's first time staying in a hotel and he was very good. We really enjoyed our little trip but it went way too fast, which is usually the case.

The Glynmill Inn in Corner Brook

Walking trail next to the hotel

More beautiful fall colours - just amazing!

The big 31!

Well today is my 31st birthday. My twenties are long gone, never to be seen again! So far today I've taken the dog on a 90 minute walk and have spent the rest of the morning giving the house a good cleaning. I've just finished baking another batch of blueberry muffins and tonight I am headed out with my running friends to a production of "Cinderella". All in all, it has been a fun filled day so far.

Another great weekend with the girls!

Last weekend some of the running girls got together to rent this vacation house just an hour outside of town. We do this twice yearly and we had absolutely beautiful weather again this Fall. We had a few games of scrabble outside and had a beachfire. We also went down to visit my grandparents who both turn 80 this year. We also had time for a little shopping and of course we ate a ton of chocolate! I even bought my halloween costume. This year we are being cowgirls at work.

Some of the running girls

My grandparents at their party

An early birthday cake at my parents house

A beautiful evening on the beach

Elton John!!!

Last night we went to the Elton John concert and we had a great time! We were initially disappointed because by the time we got through to get tickets, there were only backstage tickets available, but of course I bought them anyways. When we got there last night and sat in our seats, we realized that we had some of the best seats in the house. He was pretty much right there in front of us! He is such an amazing paino player and you could just sit and listen to him all night. I especially enjoyed Crocodile Rock which is one of my favorites. He played for almost three hours straight and the stadium was completely full. He is doing another concert here tonight. I don't know why in the world Elton John ever came to Newfoundland, but I am sure glad that he did!

Girls only weekend!

This weekend I'm going away with all of my running friends, girls only! We rent out a vacation house an hour outside of town twice yearly. Once in the Spring and once in the Fall. We have a great time shopping, hiking, watching movies, playing scrabble and of course eating!! On Saturday we are driving an extra hour to attend my grandparents 80th birthday party. My Dad's parents both turn 80 this year. Other than that, it will be the usual weekend away. We are also hoping to have a beach fire one night if the weather is decent.

One week from tonight is the Elton John concert. I can't believe it! Two days after that is my 31st birthday and a few weekends after that is our 6 year wedding anniversary, so there is lots going on right now. Brian and I are out of town for three days starting on Monday. We are going on a little roadtrip with the dog which will be fun I'm sure. It will be so nice to get away for awhile. I will be working on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Brian and Sid will be free to explore.

I'd rather be....

I awoke this morning to a frost covered lawn! I really was not ready for frost already. My running friends and I went on an early morning two hour hike with our dogs. One of the guys there said that he even had to scrape his car before heading out this morning. Now that is scary! The hike was great and we picked tons of blueberries so this afternoon I baked some muffins. I've already eaten three of them! We are heading out early again tomorrow morning to do some more blueberry picking before the frost kills them all.

I decided that right now I would love to be on a beach someone very warm, relaxing in the sand. That would be a welcomed change from frost and freezing cold temperatures. And to think, it is just going to get colder and colder.

4 month anniversary!

Today is the four month mark since we received our ICAB approval. Time is just flying by. I can't believe that the summer is over and we are headed into Fall. Fall is my favorite season so I'm not too sad to see summer go. I just love the beautiful colours that you see this time of year and the weather is just great.

My Lasik eye surgery went well. I had it done on Saturday morning and was not allowed to use the computer, watch t.v. or read for 24 hours. That was a pretty boring 24 hours! The surgery itsself was painless and afterwards it felt like I had a dirty contact in my eye. I can now see very well although I was told that my vision will continue to improve over the next few weeks. I started back at work today and I have to wear sun glasses as the flurescent lights seem so bright. The glasses are also good to wear so I don't get poked in the eye by a child. I have to wear these glasses outside as well for 1 week. I am getting tired already of putting drops in my eyes. I have to put in moisturizing drops every 15 - 30 minutes as my eyes dry out so fast. Well all of these problems are only short lived (I hope) so I can't really complain!

New laptop and new eyes!

Brian went out and bought a new laptop after we couldn't get our old computer up and running. I must say, it's great so far except I'm having a harder time typing fast because the buttons are a little closer together.

I had a consultation this morning for Lasik eye surgery and I am having the surgery tomorrow morning. I was always too nervous to even think about having it done but now I'm taking the plunge! I can't imagine waking up in the morning and being able to see everything around me and not having to wear contacts anymore. They said they would give me some valium to help me relax. The last time that I had valium was when I had my wisdom teeth out. It was so weird. The dentist and assistant both had these big balloon heads and their voices sounded miles away, but I didn't have any pain which was the main thing.

Our four month ICAB approval is just a few days away. The time is just flying by so far. I hope that it stays that way. I just bought several books from Amazon regarding adoption. I have alot of reading to do. I also bought one childrens book called "Filipino Friends". It's really cute and I'm sure our little one will enjoy it when they come home. I can't wait for that to finally happen. It is 20 months tomorrow since we first filled out our provincial application to adopt so I'm definetely ready to finally bring a child home although I know we have another while to wait. That is probably a good thing as I have sooo much reading to do.

What a mess!

As of right now, our computer is up and running but who knows how long that will last. The other night I made cod au gratin, which is one of our favorites, and while it was baking in the oven, I heard a mini explosion. When I looked in the oven, the cod au gratin was everywhere and the dish was broken into a thousand pieces! It was such a mess and I was so disappointed as I was looking forward to cod au gratin all day. I don't know what happened to the dish but the worst part was having to find something else for supper.
We just finished putting in all of our windows. Below is a picture of the living room just after Brian had taken the window out. What a lovely view and a nice cool breeze!

This is a picture of our house before our new windows and below that is a picture of our house now. We still need new siding. I just have to decide on what colour. That will be a project for next year.

I planted this Nikko Blue hydrangea 4 years ago and this was the first year that it bloomed. The blooms are so big, I just love them. It's also nice that it blooms in late summer when alot of the other prennials are finished blooming.

Later on today we plan to go blueberry picking. I was up a few night ago and picked a bowl full and today I plan on making some blueberry muffins and maybe some blueberry squares too. I love to bake, but I also love to eat what I bake. That is a very dangerous combination!

Still no computer!

There is still something wrong with our computer. Well actually it is not the computer, we were told that it has something to do with our set up at home although we don't know exactly what is wrong. We need to get someone to come into our house to have a look. This is driving me crazy as I just love reading everyone's blogs and keeping up to date.
Not much else is new around here. We now have all of our new windows in and the flooring in the rec room is almost finished. I painted the bathroom this past weekend and it turned out great. I chose yellow this time because I was getting sick of the dark green colour that we had there before.
Brian has now joined salsa lesson with me so thats been fun. We went on Tuesday night and Brian liked it and is going back next week. I think we are going to need alot more practice yet before we are ready to hit the dance floor on the cruise ship. We leave for L.A. in two months from today. I am really looking forward to a break as I've worked all summer. Our six month anniversary since ICAB approval will be while we are on the cruise. Hopefully by next November we will have our referral. Who knows when it will come but I am really hoping for next year sometime.
Sid went to the vet yesterday for his annual check up and I was telling her how Sid has become pretty weird as he has gotten older. I now don't trust him quite as much and I'm nervous when he is around other dogs. When I put him up on the table in the vets office, he gave her a glare and I told her he was angry and to watch out. When she went to give him a treat, he showed his teeth to her. Anyways, she thinks that Sid needs behaviour therapy and gave me a name of someone who specializes in this area. Sid is becoming more of a handful everyday!

Salsa lessons!

Well our computer broke down just after I did my last post which was 10 days ago. I am now at my neighbours house checking everyones blogs because I am unable to do that at work. I can't believe how awful it is to be without a computer. I'm on our computer for an hour a day at least and now I have all of this free time.

In my free time I have decided to take up Salsa dancing lessons. Last night was my first one and it went great. I have never done any kind of dancing lessons before but I've always wanted to. I was so nervous starting off, but once I got going I really enjoyed it. I am going to try to talk Brian into joining as well but I don't think he'll go along with it.

I am going to see Mamma Mia this weekend with a group of friends. I've heard great reviews about the movie and I can't wait to see it. I just love ABBA so I'm sure that I will really enjoy it. I haven't been to a movie in two years so this will definetely be a treat.

Beautiful sunsets and weird dreams

I am finally home safe and sound after driving over 2000 kilometers! The last 300 kms of the journey was completed in terrential rains so it was slow going. Tonight I can't wait to sleep in my own bed again.

This picture was taken when I spent the night in Corner Brook last weekend. It was such a beautiful sunset and it has been raining here ever since!
I had the funniest dream last night. I dreamt that I was at the shopping mall and visited a store that had babies of all shapes and sizes hanging on the walls. On one wall were babies from various Asian countries and on another wall were babies from various Africian countries. All the babies were so beautiful and they were smiling and happy. I asked the man at the counter if you could just go and pick up a baby and bring it home. He said no sorry, it will take you 8 - 10 months before you can pick up your child. How weird is that! Dreams can be just crazy sometimes.

3 month anniversary!

I am writing this from a Hotel in Gander as I still haven't made it home after my exciting week at camp. It is pouring rain here today and I dread to start my 3 hour drive to the cabin where I am meeting the girls for our girl weekend. I must have gained at least five pounds while at camp. The food was awesome as usual and I ate so many cookies and squares. They even made cherry cake which is one of my favorites. We didn't get the kids in bed until 12 or 1 each night and then the staff would all stay up until 2 or 3 am. We'd be up again 7 or 7:30 am, so I'm pretty tired right now.

Today is the three month mark since we received ICAB approval. The time is just flying by so far. This part of the wait is definetely better than the wait to have our dossier sent off. You know there is nothing you can do to make the process go faster so you just have to sit back and wait. This week was actually a nice break because with so much on the go, there wasn't even time to think about the adoption. I have alot of catching up to do though. I just checked my e-mail and I have 250 e-mails to read! I'll save all that reading for when I finally get home. Hopefully Brian is making out okay home alone with Sid. I'm sure that Sid has him worn out by now because Sid is a pretty demanding dog who loves lots of attention. I can't wait to see them both!

Baby clothes and good food

After reading Emilie's blog, I was reminded of all the clothing I was given by a lady at work early last summer. She only gave me girls clothing because at the point we were still planning on adopting from China. There was a ton of beautiful clothes, all 12 -18 months in size. I'm pretty sure that I will receive a referral for a boy as I only have girls clothes and even if I was referred a girl, the clothing may be too small. It doesn't really matter either way as I have lots of friends having babies, who could avail of the clothing and if not there's goodwill. For now, it's all packed away in our closet. I am just so excited for when it's our turn to receive a referral because I can't wait to start shopping! Baby clothes is just so cute!

I'm just getting ready to leave the house to go on my big road trip for work. It involves a ton of driving and I'll be away for a week. I'm attending a camp for teenagers with physical disabilities. One of the Speech Pathologists from work is joining me on the car ride. We plan on stopping at lunch time for Mexican and then having Italian for supper, when we reach our final destination of Corner Brook. Sounds like a good day filled with good food!

Busy times

Well in the past few days I have driven 1000 kms and I'm finally back home. I went to work for a few days in Gander and Bishop's Falls which is a 4 - 4.5 hour drive from our home. This coming Saturday I have another big road trip for work which will entail driving roughly another 2500 kms. I am attending a teen independence camp with the teenagers at work. This is my 8th time going and I just love it. The camp is completely wheelchair accessible and they even have a pool with a lift there. The kids have such a great time and they just love hanging out with each other. There's a dance, a talent show and of course a bonfire. It's a great time for everyone.

On my way back from camp, I stop at another campground where I'm meeting up with all my running friends and we are tenting for a few nights. We do this every year and have a great time. We do some hiking, swimming and shop at the local craft stores. I'm really hoping that the weather here improves as over the past several days its been cold, rainy and windy. Brian and I did have a camping trip booked for this weekend but had to cancel due to the weather.

In September I will probably have to do another road trip for work and that will be roughly 1600 kms. My poor car will be run to the ground after all that driving. I'm getting tired just thinking about having to drive all that distance.

Nothing else is new on the adoption front. I'm still expecting to wait up to two years but hopefully not any longer than that. I would love to get a referral by early 2010 and have our child home by May 2010 but we'll just have to wait and see.

Whales

Everywhere you look these days, well mainly in the ocean, there are whales. I've seen several in the past few days. They are so big and beautiful and they're fun to watch. We have lots of whales here in NL and visitors just love to see them.

Another beautiful hike

Today we did a return hike from Torbay to Flatrock. It took us almost four hours but it was well worth it. It was a beautiful day and Sid had a great time.

The trail was very close to the cliffs which made it all the more beautiful but at times scary. Especially with dogs as you never know where they'll go or what they'll do. The picture below was taken from right on the trail. If you took one step to the side, you would have fallen down between these two cliffs! One of the dogs nearly fell in! It is a long ways down.

Sid poses for yet another picture. He must be one of the most photographed dogs in the world! He's just too darn cute and I can't stop taking pictures of him. One of Sid's pictures was even posted in the S.P.C.A. calender a few years back. He was Mr. November.

The picture below was taken as we were returning to Torbay and by then we were all tired. It was very warm but thankfully there was a breeze off the ocean. Sid was lagging behind at the end. He usually doesn't slow down much but I think he was tired and warm.

As soon as we got home, he headed to the basement and spent a few hours on the couch. He was, and still is, completely exhausted which I just love! Just look at Sid's eyes in this picture. He looks just like a zombie!

Mom and Dad are coming in tonight to stay for the night. I'm sure we'll be playing cards and we also plan to go down to the beach to watch the sun set and then have a fire in the firepit. Sounds like a good night.

Renovations

We are in the process of doing a few renovations to the house. We are putting in all new windows on the front of the house as well as a new patio door. We ordered the windows and they were delivered last week. When Brian checked the measurements, the windows were all too big and now we have to reorder the them, so it will be another while before we get those in.

We are also putting in a new wood stove in the rec room. We currently have a propane stove, but with the cost of propane being so high, we are switching over to a woodstove. Brian loves cutting wood so that will be another job to keep him busy. I can't wait for a snowy winter night to go down and cuddle up on the couch with the woodstove burning. Just kidding, I am thoroughly enjoying the warm summer weather!

We are putting new laminate flooring in the rec room as well. We need to fix up the floor as Sid tore up alot of the carpet a few years ago when he wasn't impressed that we had left him home alone for a few hours. It's only now that we are getting around to fixing it. We are also putting new flooring in the two spare bedrooms. One of which will eventually be the baby's room.

There are so many other things I'd like to do, but there is never enough time and money. Eventually I want to add another bathroom in the basement because right now we only have the one. I'd also love to finish the rest of our basement, but there is really no rush on that. I have enough house to clean right now as it is!

This weekend Brian is out of town so I have the house to myself. Sid and I are going on a nice long hike tomorrow morning and on Sunday I am going for a run and then out to breakfast with a group of friends. It should be a nice relaxing weekend. Well I'd better run. I'm just heading over to my neighbors as they're having a fire in their firepit. Hopefully there will be marshmallows.

Pictures of home

I was up early this morning and since I didn't really have anything new to post, I thought I would add some pictures of around Newfoundland that we have taken over the past year. I hope you enjoy them!

Lots of exciting news!!

I am so excited! I spent my lunch time today on two computers at work while using two telephones to try to get Elton John tickets. He is coming to St. John's on October 2 and 3. After 50 minutes I finally got through on the internet and got four tickets. Shortly after they were all sold out. I was shaking as I was filling in my information because I was just so excited. I've always wanted to see Elton John and now I will. I was really lucky as no one else at my work got tickets and I've talked to alot more people who were also unable to get them.

That is not the only exciting news that I have to share. A good friend, Rachel, who I met on the Yahoo group for Philippines adoption, just got her referral for a little boy! I am just so excited for Rachel and her husband Dave. They waited for 9 months and 2 weeks which is a surprisingly short wait. They were so surprised and of course thrilled. Now they just have to wait to get everything clued up before they can travel. I'm sure that they will have their little one home in no time. It just makes this process seem so real when someone close to you gets a referral. I'm pretty sure that we will wait longer than 9 months but maybe it won't be the two to three year wait that I have anticipated. Only time will tell.

2 month anniversary!

It was two months ago today that we received ICAB approval. Two months down, many to go. So far the wait hasn't been too bad, but when I think that we may have to wait for three years, I go crazy!

I just found out yesterday that Elton John is coming to St. John's on October 2 and 3 (just before my birthday on the 4th). The concert is only a 20 minute drive from our house. I can't believe that he is coming here. What in the world was he thinking! Tickets go on sale this Friday and I'm really hoping to get one but so is everyone else in Newfoundland and probably eastern Canada. They will sell out pretty fast I'm sure.

We have had a beautiful July. Today was the first day that we had showers in two weeks. It has been sunny and hot and I even have a tan. I spend all of my free time out in the garden and I like to spend time reading my book while sitting out on the deck. I just finished a book and I'm now looking for another one to read. If anyone has any good suggestions, please let me know. That's it for now.

My new wicker patio set

I finished painting the deck yesterday and today I put out our new patio set. We have had absolutely beautiful weather for the past week so today I just sat out and enjoyed the day once I got off work. It is so hard working when you know it is warm outside. You just want to be out enjoying the weather instead of working because without notice the rain and fog could return. We have been spending lunch times out in the park just outside the hospital. I usually like to walk around the lake lunch time but it is just too hot right now, but I am not complaining! I plan on spending lots of evenings out on the patio this summer so bring on the good weather.

Vacation at the cabin!

We just enjoyed a four day holiday down at the cabin with Mom and Dad. We had beautiful weather and Sid enjoyed being on the go all day. He slept for pretty much the whole drive back which took 4 hours and he is still asleep now in on his bed. While gone we saw four caribou, lots of rabbits and squirrels, and one dead moose. We saw bear tracks but thankfully no bears. Below are pictures of Triton Brook which is absolutely beautiful. Everytime we go there I end up taking tons of pictures of Sid!

On Friday we made the 1.5 hour trek each way to Rodney Pond by ATV. We had to cross a river on ATV on our way to the pond. The water was up higher than usual because of our extra rainy weather this spring and I was happy to make it across in one piece. We went fishing once we reached the pond and after 4 hours in boat, my bum was pretty much dead!

Brian caught 4 fish on Thursday night and four again on Friday in Rodney Pond. We gave them all away as we are not big fans of trout. Brian also went salmon fishing but didn't catch a thing. Below is a picture of Sid and I when we were returning from our fishing trip. Sid was so good and he just sat on my lap the whole way while Brian drove. Last year he stood up alot while Brian was driving and once he even fell off the bike but thankfully he didn't hurt himself.

Sid was really good out in boat. He just lid there and had a nap and when he woke up he stood at the front of the boat looking out. He did become nervous though once the water became rough and began pacing back and forth the boat so then we headed for land. Unlike Joanne, I do not have life jackets for my dog. I'll have to check into that in case Sid ever decides to jump overoboard!

It turned out to be a great weekend and we hope to get back down to the cabin sometime over the next few months. It's a four hour drive each way so you really need a long weekend to go there. Hopefully our good weather continues and I'll get the deck painted over the next week.

Our tickets are booked!

We booked our tickets to the Madonna concert in L.A. a few days ago. The concert is on November 6th at Dodgers Stadium. There are six of us going and it should be a great time. We probably won't be close enough to see her but I'm sure there will be big screens all around.

This is yet another lousy weekend, weather wise. Since yesterday we have had rain, fog, cold temperatures and some wind. It is supposed to stay like this for the next 4 -5 days so I'll be waiting another while to paint the patio. I bought a new wicker patio set today with a loveseat, two chairs, two ottomans, and a coffee table. I just love it and the best part is that it was on sale! When the clerk checked us out, it ended up being even cheaper than I had originally thought. I love nothing more than a good deal. Of course we won't be using the set anytime soon because of the weather so for now it is in our basement.

We leave on Tuesday to go visit my cousin for a few days. Then we go to the cabin with mom and Dad until next Sunday. We'll go fishing, for walks, on ATV's and play some cards. It should be a nice relaxing vacation. This is our only time off over the summer until we go to L.A. in November. The only day I work next week is Monday and that's the day that the Stanley Cup visits the Janeway Hospital (where I work). One of the players on the Detroit Redwings, Danny Cleary, is from Newfoundland so he is bringing the cup into the hospital on Monday afternoon for all the kids to see. That should be fun. All of my patients have already asked to come in on Monday afternoon so they can be there the same time as the Cup. I think that it is going to be one crazy afternoon but the kids will just love it.

I also included a picture of Sid taken last Sunday while we were out in the garden. Doesn't he look adorable!