We're back!

Well we've been back for 10 days now and I'm just a little slow with the update. We had a fantasic holiday in Penticion and Sicamous. Watching Jenn do the Ironman was probably the highlight of whole trip. It was amazing and she did amazing. Travis has all those pics on his iTravis website...hmmm...how do I put in the link??...... http://web.mac.com/travispinet/iWeb/Site/iTravis.html There that should work. Pentiction was kind of rainy and cloudy except for 1 beach day and we had one awesome beach day in Sicamous. We were home on the 2nd and since we've been home it's been all about the wedding. We're on the home stretch now, only 16 days to go. I'm picking up my dress this weekend. Travis has his stag this weekend. Everything is pretty much under control. I still feel like I have a lot to do and I'm trying my best not to stress about it. I havn't turned Bridezilla yet and I'm trying not to now.
I've started my 8hr rotation at work. I had my first shift yesterday and I'm working evenings again today. So far so good!
Here's some pics from our holiday, Travis has some more on his site....

Good news for us.....

It's good news for us that Hurricane Dean missed the Mayan Riveria and other tourist spots but not so good for the local Mexicans since it hit one of the poorest areas in Mexico. I'm pretty happy that we live in an area that is pretty well protected from natural disasters.
We're leaving tomorrow to Pentiction!!!! We're so excited. It's cold and rainy here and apparently it hot, hot, hot in the Okanagan. I'm excited to spend lots of time on the beach and go to Kamloops and see some old friends too. It's going to be a great vacation.

Hurricane Dean

We have been tuning into the weather lately and anxioulsy watching Hurricane Dean get closer and closer to Mexico. Travis is now a hurricane expert after doing some internet research last night. Right now it's a category 5 (worst you can get) and our resort is under a hurricane warning and tourists are being evacuated. We're hoping that it stays on it's present course cause then it looks like the eye of the storm will miss our honeymoon resort. Although it is 200km wide so it wouldn't take much for it to shift just slightly north and wipe out all our honeymoon dreams. Cross you fingers for us and our honeymoon!!!

Johnston Canyon and the Inkpots

Travis and I went on a 12km roundtrip hike yesterday through Johnston Canyon and up to the Inkpots. It's probably one of my favorite hikes so far cause it's got lots of people which minimizes the chances of a bear attack and it's beautiful.






Today we are going to get our spare room organized and ready for painting, that is if Travis ever gets out of bed.

Vacation starts TODAY!

Yay! I am officially "on vacation" I don't have to go back to work until Sept 4. To make things even better....yesterday was my last 12hr day shift! When I go back to work in September I work 4 nights and then I change to my new 8hr position. That is so exciting. I'm going to spend my first week of vacation getting our house back in order, finishing off a few wedding things and getting ready for our trip next Friday. We're spending 5 days camping in Pentiction and watching our friend Jen do her first Ironman Triathalon. That is going to be very exciting. Then we're going to spend some time with mom in Sicamous hanging out at the beach and floating on the lake. We are going to need some relaxing time cause when we get back it's going to be wedding crunch time, just over 3 weeks to go when we get home. I'm getting so excited for the wedding. I had my first dress fitting last week and it fits perfectly. I have to go try it on one more time before the wedding and then I get to bring it home. I picked up the flower girl dresses last week and they are adorable. I can't wait to see what they look like on the girls. My wedding band is finished. We're getting them custom made by a goldsmith in town which is a little expensive but so worth it. My ring is better than I could have imagined and very unique. Travis tried on the wax mold of his ring and it's going to be pretty spectacular too. So everything is falling to place for the big day and now I just want it to come!! I can't wait to see all my family and friends who I havn't seen in ages. It's going to be great. I'm going to go and be lazy on the couch for a bit, I am on vacation after all ;0)

Camping

Travis and I went out camping at Deadman's Flats a few weekends ago. We had a great time. Here's a few pics! The best part of the whole weekend was the hammock and having a latte in the morning. Thanks Jeff and Fiona!!

My Future Husband, My Hero

Travis was "savin' lives and breakin' hearts" all over the place on Sunday. There was a big fire in Canmore. A house near completion in the Three Sisters, worth $1.8 million went up in flames. No one was hurt, except for some minor heat exhaustion in one of the firefighters. When Travis gets a fire page and runs out of the house I always turn on his radio and listen to what happening for a bit just so I know he's ok. On Sunday I was listening to his radio when they said there was a firefighter down. I swear my heart stopped for a second then panic set in. It was the worst feeling ever. They were pretty quick to say that their status was "green" meaning they were stable and not badly injured but I wasn't totally at ease until Travis called a few hours later. Every time he goes out to play with fire I'm naturally a little worried but confident that he'll be ok. This was the first time someone was hurt and it's changed everything for me. It's going to take a little while for me to feel at ease again when he leaves the house. Here's a few pics from his exciting day.

The Zoo!

We went to the zoo in Calgary last Saturday and it was awesome. I love the zoo! We felt a little out of place since we were one of the few couples without a stroller or small children running around but it also looked like we were having way more fun than those poor parents. We saw lots of children on leashes or harnesses which made them look like they were supposed to be actually IN the zoo. I'll never understand, and hopefully never feel the need to put a child on a leash. Weird. Anyways, the zoo was awesome. It was really hot so a lot of the animals were sleeping in the shade. The tigers weren't out so we didn't get to see them and I was really disappointed cause they're my favorite. We did get to see the hippos though and they're my favorite too. The monkeys were entertaining as usual and there was a little baby monkey too that was so cute. We walked right past a wedding ceremony in the gardens. How cool would it be to get married at the zoo!
We also arranged tuxedo's for Travis and the boys so that's another thing we can cross off our to do list. They're going to look so good. I wish my dress would hurry up and get here. It's so easy for Travis we were in and out in an hour and everything was done. I have to wait 5 months for my dress to even get here, then have fittings and alterations (hopefully not) and find shoes and decide what I'm going to wear under my dress and find jewelery.... It's fun I just wish it was a little easier and I didn't have to wait so long to see my dress again! It should be here within the month!

Bridal Shower

I can't believe it was already two weeks ago! I was a great day. Susan, Mom, Niki and Ryan did so much work and everything turned out beautiful. Mom and Sue spent all day Friday prepping the food and games and then they were all off early on Saturday morning to set up. I slept in and had a lazy morning at home and then made my grand entrance to the party. The morning had started out cool and cloudy and was threatening to rain but as soon as the party started the sun came out and it was hot, hot, hot. We started out playing a game. Everyone was divided into teams and had to designate one person to be the 'bride' and then we got a roll of toilet paper and had to make them a wedding dress.



After the game we had some fantastic lunch and then opened gifts. Mom got her chance to dress me up since the theme of the shower was that everyone had to bring me their favorite cleaning tip to help me in my new life of domestication.



It's a good look for me but the hat isn't too comfortable, imaginative but not made for comfort. Good work mom, it was fun!

Gift opening took forever. Everyone was so generous and we got alot of really great stuff. Thank you everyone!!
When I finally finished we mingled for a bit and spied on the wedding photos being taken around us. It was the most popular day to get married that day, 7/7/7, and two wedding were getting their pictures taken in the park around us. I decided that my dress is definately prettier than the other brides dresses who were there. There was one really cute little flower girl wearing angel wings! I wonder if Leslie would oppose to her girls wearing angel wings at the wedding?? It might be a little over the top for us but she sure looked cute. Once people had gotten enough sun for the day the group started to head home but the day wasn't over yet. After dismantling the tent and getting everything packed away in trucks the real party started. Nine of us girls headed off to Banff for the bachelorette party!
Once again Susan and Niki did a great job. We started at the hotel where all the girls received their matching t-shirts and I got my special "Game Over" t-shirt. My "maids" also got their french maid aprons. I love it!!! We definately stood out in the crowd all wearing pink. We went for dinner at the Elk and Oarsmen, one of my favorite restaurants cause they have yam fries. Then we did a little shopping on our way back to the hotel where we played some games and had a few drinks. My favorite game was pin the hose on the fireman. Once we had all received our 'chores' for the night we headed out on the town.





Susan's chore was to perform I'm a Little Teapot for a tall man. For some reason Susan's chores were the only ones we captured on film.



It was a great night with a great group of girls, we all had a blast.
The whole event has made the wedding seem that much more real and approaching very quickly. I am so excited!!!!! Only 2 months one week and one day away!

excited!

It's going to be a fun weekend! My bridal shower and bachelorette party are tomorrow!!!! Yay! Mom arrived yesterday and Niki arrives today. We're cooking a big dinner tonight and the festivities start tomorrow!! I'll be sure to post some pics on Monday.

Looking for ideas!

Ok, everyone I need your ideas for the wedding reception! Travis and I don't want to listen to glasses clinking all night and kissing every 10 seconds. We want our guests to have to work for it. Send me your ideas for what you think our guests should have to do to earn our kiss.

time is flying by

It feels like it was March and now all of a sudden June is almost over. It's going to be September before I even realize it. I can't wait! Wedding planning is going well. I'm feeling more in control now. The bridesmaid dresses arrived last week so they're hanging in the laundry room ready for alterations. I ordered the flower girl dresses last week and they're so cute I can't wait for them to arrive. My veil has arrived and is in Calgary waiting for me to pick it up, probably tomorrow. It arrived almost a month early so I'm hoping my dress will be the same since it's not supposed to be here till the middle to end of August when we're on vacation. All the flowers have been ordered and I'm so happy and excited about them. Invitations have gone out in the mail and the rest of them will be hand delivered tonight so now all I have to do is sit back and wait for RSVP's to come rolling in. Our wedding bands are being designed as we speak. We're getting them custom made by a goldsmith in town and they're going to be beautiful I can't wait to see the models. Other than wedding stuff our life has been fairly quiet. Travis is done with fire courses for the summer, yay! On his last course he was the superstar, as usual. It's so funny, I remember telling my friend Emma probably a year before I met Travis that the next boy I dated would be a firefighter. Well he wasn't exactly the next boy I dated but I still think that on some subconscious level we were meant to be. My psychic sense told me so but it made his pick up line at the bar perfect! Anyways, Travis is done his fire courses for now but has been saving lives all over the place. I was working all weekend and got called down to the ER cause a trauma patient had come in and there's Travis in his blue inch-too-short (it makes him look even cuter in his too short pants) lifesaving coveralls saving the life of a rather large man who almost fell through his patio railing. He got more action in that trauma than I did. I got booted out of the trauma room to cover the rest of the ER while everyone else got to save lives. Not fair. We didn't get anymore major traumas over the weekend but it was still really busy. It down poured rain all day yesterday. Actually, it started Saturday night with thunder and lightening that knocked out the power for about an hour and the rain didn't stop until late yesterday afternoon. The parking lot at work was like a swimming pool, actually most of the roads around town were like swimming pools. Everything looks like it dried up overnight so hopefully we've seen the last of the rain for a little while. I have a week off work now and I'm going to spend it getting our house organized again. I'm not sure how it happens so quickly but we're living in a disaster zone right now. Actually, Travis did some cleaning yesterday and it looks much better so I don't have much left to do today.

Tagged again! 5 things.....

Liz tagged me again....at least I have something to blog about now...thanks Liz, I was looking for inspiration.

What were you doing 10 years ago? (five things)
1. First communion with the Grade 2 class.
2. Writing gr.11 final exams.
3. On the verge of failing physics and math 11, although I pulled through and passed them both in the end.
4. Losing the year end cooking award to a Allen Brigden, so unfair....maybe Liz and I shouldn't have broken so many dishes (or was that grade 9??)
5. Getting ready for my final summer vacation as a highschool student.

Five snacks I enjoy
1. Candy of any kind
2. Ben and Jerry's icecream, specifically Half Baked or Oatmeal Cookie
3. Cracker, pepperoni, cheese and pickle towers
4. Nachos
5. Cookies

Five songs I know all the lyrics to
1. I Know a Weinie Man
2. I'm a Little Piece of Tin
3. Boom Chica
4. "Once an austrain went yodellaying on a mountain so high...."
5. "french friend eyeballs swimming in a pool of meat, and I forgot my spoon..."
(I spent a lot of summers at camp)

Five things I would do if I was a millionaire:
1. Pay off all my stinkin' student loans
2. Buy a big house and hire a maid
3. Give money to people who need it more than I do
4. Find a nice retirement home for my parents (ha ha ha just kidding!)
5. My own personal masseuse to come to my house everyday

Five bad habits:
1. Cutting the tops off bags and leaving them on the counter
2. Procrastinating
3. When I turn the light on in the bedroom at night and forget to warn Travis
4. I eat too much candy
5. Leaving the lights on

Five things I like to do:
1. Lie on the couch with travis, even though he ends up sleeping most of the time
2. Rent movies, which he never lets me do
3. Cook
4. Have people over for dinner
5. Shop

Five things I will never wear again:
1. My wedding dress, even though I technically havn't worn it yet
2. My t-shirt that says "Not everything is flat on the praries" Seriously, what was I thinking when I bought that, it's just an invitation for everyone to look at my boobs. I think it was only $5 and that's why I bought it.
3. Those terrible heels I wore in Vegas that killed my feet
4. My smurfette Halloween costume but only cause it doesn't fit me. It was probably the coolest Halloween costume ever and I was only 4, too young to really appreciate it.
5. My awful Aspen neck brace that I lived in for 3 months. Yay!!!!! I never have to wear that again...fingers crossed anyways.

Five Favorite Toys
1. My Kitchen Aid mixer
2. My espresso machine, a daily necessity
3. My computer
4. My ice cream maker
5. Monopoly! I win every time.

I tag......Fiona, Jen M and Jen D, Travis and Carrie

My herb garden

My herbs are growing!!! Last week I planted oregano, basil and parsley and they're actually growing. Look!




I also bought some parsley, basil and lavender plants that I'm going to transplant into pots tonight.

Stupid TV Show

I watched this show yesterday called Wedding SOS and now it's got me totally overwhelmed thinking about the amount of stuff we still have to do. It's about couples who are planning their wedding themselves (just like us!) and everything starts falling apart so a wedding planner comes in 3 weeks before the wedding and grants the couple 3 wishes to save their wedding. It's a terrible show for people who are in the midst of planning their wedding to watch because it reconfirms all the fears I have about forgetting the little things or heaven forbid, thinking everything will just work itself out. So I'm watching this show in a panic, I'm breaking out in a cold sweat, my hands are shaking, I'm hyperventilating, I might start crying or I might faint I'm feeling so overwhelmed (ok maybe it wasn't that bad, but it was close!). So then Travis comes home from work and I'm on the computer freaking out over everything and nothing, and he just says "we have lots of time" and "we'll be fine." While in my head I'm screaming "WE WILL NOT BE FINE! DON'T YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH WE HAVE TO DO AND HOW LITTLE TIME WE HAVE TO DO IT! WHY DON'T YOU GET IT!" Good thing I was keeping it in my head or we could have had a real problem. In reality though we only have 2 full weekends off together before the wedding to make whatever decisions and do whatever needs to be done together. 2 weekends!!!!!! Ok, deep breath.....in......out.....we'll be fine....that's my new mantra, we'll be fine.

Seven

Elizabeth tagged me to do a "reveal 7 random things" about me and my life. Yay, something to blog about, I've been having a hard time finding blogging inspiration lately. I'm not sure I have 7 things going on right now but let see....

1. My bathrooms look institutional. We went to Calgary this weekend and bought new energy efficient, daylight light bulbs and they're so bright it looks like you're in an interrogation room or a mental hospital. The bright light against the light green walls, definately looks institutional but we're saving the world one light bulb at a time.

2. I wish I could spend more time with my "calgary friends" A bunch of us all got together for dinner for Allison's birthday on Saturday night. I was so great to see them again.

3. We need a good cat repellant. Hobo insists on torturing the birds and we havn't been able to find a way to keep him off the window ledge for good. He sits on the ledge and stares into the bird cage. He's knocked the cage over a few times until we got smart and anchored the cage to the ledge with pins and paper clips. He's terrified plastic bags, long story but he had a bad experience with a plastic bag, so we've got plastic bags lined up on the ledge so if he jumps up there he'll freak out. Anyone have any other suggestions??

4. I'm not a florist but I think it will be ok. I found some vases for our centerpieces at the reception and we bought some flowers to do a trial run. I think they'll be ok. I want to be able to do them myself since it would cost a fortune to have a florist do them and we don't want anything fancy just a simple arrangemnt. I think they'll be ok so now I have to go back to Calgary and find 23 more of them.

5. I'd really like to start a herb garden on my patio but I have no idea how to do it or even where to start. I don't have much of a green thumb and all our indoor plants are clinging to life. Should I start them from seeds or transplant plants into a large planter. I think herbs are pretty hardy so they might be able to survive my gardening skills...maybe.

6. I'm getting married in 4 months and 1 day!!!!!! The past two months have just disappeared so quickly. I keep having dreams that the wedding is tomorrow and nothing has been done or the photographer doesn't show up or we invited too many people for the reception space or I forgot to book an appointment to have my hair done..... We've got everything under control and I think we're doing pretty well with planning and staying on budget. We're just ready for the day to come!

7. I'm playing housewife today. I have a long list of laundry, cleaning and organizing to do but I'm not complaining because I actually enjoy doing it. I'd better get started.......

Sunny day!

It's hot out and it's only 10am. I'm sitting out on the patio drinking my latte in shorts and a tank top and I think I'm getting a sun burn. I was hoping to go out for a bike ride this morning but I don't have any sunglasses and it's too sunny to go without. I have a pair in Travis's truck and the other pair I think is at Sue's but they went missing last Friday. I'm going to be too busy around the house today anyways. Niki arrives tomorrow for a fun filled, busy, busy, busy weekend of wedding planning. I'm super excited to see her and get some stuff accomplished. I have to make some lists of all the stuff I want to get done this weekend and where we need to go in Calgary on Saturday. Have a safe May Long!

It's 1:45am

It's time like these where I really start to rethink my career choice. It's 1:45am and I'm working in emerg on a Saturday night and I'm playing around on the computer. I guess the only thing I can complain about is the fact that it's the middle of the night and I should be sleeping like most normal people because other than that it's been a pretty decent shift. Although right now I'm nothing more than a glorified babysitter. I've got a drunk guy here sleeping it off, a lady with a cough who's ride left her here so she's spending the night and a young girl who I think is a big faker and just needs some attention. Is this really what I went to nursing school for?? In the last hour I've had the priveledge of witnessing the drunk playing around with his hands down his pants. Awesome. At least he hasn't peed all over the bed yet, as the drunks usually do, but then he's been drinking for almost 3 weeks straight so he shouldn't have to pee till next Thursday he's probably so dehydrated. Maybe I should go work at Starbucks where it would be totally unacceptable, and probably a sure fire way to get arrested, for their customers to have their hands down their pants. Why is it acceptable at my workplace for my "customers" to act inappropriately? Why should I have to be a witness to that? It's so not fair and I'm soooo not getting paid enough to put up with it. I'm really starting to lose my patience with my patients especially for people with self-induced illnesses. I just don't get why people continue to make unhealthy choices and have an unhealthy lifestyle when they know that it is the cause of their pain. If you had gallstones and had been told to avoid fatty foods because it would give you excruciating abdominal pain would you go out and eat a bucket of KFC? People do it and why is that? are they looking for attention? or are they so unwilling to change their Saturday-night-bucket-of-KFC routine? or do they just not care about themselves? or maybe they just need to practice a little self discipline and will power to resist temptation. Right in front of me I am witnessing the decline of the human race. What's wrong with people? People come in when they're sick and we patch them up only to send them go home again to eat their bucket of KFC and when they come back the next day we're there to take care of them again. I guess the only thing keeping me going are the people who actually need help and are grateful for everything we do for them. I'm going to go give my drunk, sleeping beauty some mouthwash. If it doesn't make him feel better at least I'll be able to tolerate getting within 5 feet of him.

Whoops!

I mean it's been a month TODAY since we got engaged. I thought yesterday was the 5th. I'm working nights, my days are all screwed up. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it ;0)

A month already??

We've been engaged for a month today. Wow, that flew by. I hope the next 5 months fly by too, but not too quickly cause we still have a lot to do before the wedding. I have got a lot done in the last month though. I ordered my dress and the bridesmaid dresses, ordered invitations, we started our registry, booked the cake baker, DJ, photographer, reception and ceremony sites....I think that's it. Our invitations should be arriving in the mail next week so today I'm going to be making the information cards to go inside of them. I'm working nights all weekend and Travis is in a course all weekend so we'll be meeting as one comes in the door and the other is going out.