Liza's Birthday

My little sister turned 23 years old on July 5th. That's right, 23! I know to some of you it doesn't seem like a lot... Or why it would be a big deal since it's not a round age, or that important milestone that allows you to drive, drink legally at bars, rent a luxury car, etc. But to me it was. Why, you ask? Because last time I was with her for her birthday was in 2005 when she turned 17. That's right, it has been 6 years...

So, we decided to make a cake, rather than buy one! And we did just that... well, sort of. We did do a cream cheese icing from scratch, but our marble cake came from a box (oh, well). The thing is, we did search for an easy recipe - and we did have almost all of the ingredient needed. But every recipe we found called for either milk, or sour cream, and we had neither... So finally, we just turned to the marble cake mix. And what's wrong with that anyways? After some oil + water + eggs, it turned out great (we added  blueberries and shaved coconut for a little twist)!

And we're back!

Wow, I haven't blogged for almost two weeks now! Some of you might wonder why. Others know :)
It is because my little sister Liza (well, she's not so little anymore) has come for a 4-week visit! I'm ecstatic!!! She arrived on the 30th of June and we've been pretty busy - you know, Canada Day (her first here, my 13th!), the weekend, and her birthday on the 5th.

So, Canada Day (for those who don't know, it's on July 1st) - we decided it'll be fun to go downtown during the day since we had the Royal couple Will & Kate visiting our Nation's capital. We were determined to get a glimpse. Of course, people said we were crazy to try and go downtown since they were projecting 600,000 people to be there for the Royals, but we weren't as crazy as some of the people that got to the Parliament at 5:30 am to stake out their spots. Anyways, of course we ended up in a huge crowd of people, but we weren't as far back, could've been worse :) AND we did get a small glimpse of what we came for (my Canon got a more zoomed in glimpse, he-he):

After our "brush" with royalty and a serious sunburn on our shoulders we went home to eat and relax a little bit. Later that evening, we decided to go back for fireworks. I've seen the Canada Day fireworks time and time before and I love them! And since the Royals were in town, I figured they would be even better... They lasted 15 minutes and they were GREAT! Check out this video I shot:

I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did :)

I gave him my heart ;)

It's been cold over here before Valentine's Day so we couldn't go for a walk to get something for husband/daddy. So I crocheted and gave him my heart :)

We'll be putting it on our Xmas tree this year (his suggestion)!

: )

The holiday season is upon us...

During this past weekend I was finally able to dig out our Christmas tree and decorations. This year there are a few special ones on our tree :)))

11 Years gone by

This morning marks 11 years since I've stepped on Canadian soil for the first time... The time really does fly, especially when one is busy! Only now I look back and realise that in these past 11 years I only saw my family 3 times... This makes me sad. Family is sooo important, even if you aren't close, you always know that these are the only people that will always have your back, no matter what. Of course, friends could be part of your family too. I've got 1 best friend like that, whom I've known from over 20 years; but her too, I only saw 3 times in these last 11 years.

A lot has happened since May 10th 1999 - graduated from Canadian high school (oh the horror of 13-year duration!), graduated university and obtained a Masters degree, married, bought our first home, expecting our first child... Lived on my own since the tender age of 19... And yet, somehow, managed not to think about the fact that real family isn't here, isn't close by. Maybe I'm getting old and nostalgic, or something!.. When I had all the time in the world to go back and visit, I had no money. Now that I can afford it, I've got no time. Ironic, isn't it?!

The most selfish thought that I've had for a while now is bringing my family here, to live. Why selfish, you might ask? It's because I am established here now, but for them moving here would mean starting over, later in life.

But then again, where there is a will, there is a way. Isn't there?

What a SLOW day...

Today is Friday and although I usually look forward to it, this afternoon is just dragging. So here I am, on my blog, realizing that I haven't posted anything in 2 months!

Well, the big news is that I am expecting our first baby this October! I'm excited and equally scared... of unknown, I guess. Like your first day of school, your first time with someone, you first day at work, your first anything and everything really. This one is a BIG one, of course.

For now I'm just counting down the days till we find out if it's a boy or a girl!!! 10 days left...

I'l keep you posted :)

International Women's Day

 

March 8th - although I'm working today, I would still like to celebrate this day and wish all the women around the world a happy and healthy Women's Day! :)))