Cha cha cha changes!!

You may notice me switching back and forth between colors and layouts over the next couple of days.  I'm really not impressed with what I've got going on here so please bear with me.

Weddings...weddings...weddings!!

I thought about starting a Wedding Wednesday today, thinking that it would be a wonderful addition to the blog and I could keep all my wedding-ly thoughts in here.  I also thought it would be nice to have something solid, like a feature, once a week.  Then I realized it was Thursday.  So our first edition of Wedding Wednesday will be today, Thursday.  (You'll get over it.)

First I thought I'd start by introducing you to my wonderful fiancé.  Then I realized how much time and energy that would take so instead I invite you to venture here, to our wedding website, and browse around.  It has all sorts of need to know info.  So with introductions out of the way I thought I'd move on to my current obsession - the colours and theme/feel for our wedding.

I really want to use red.  I love a nice bright red.  It's cheery and happy and just makes me smile.  Then I needed something to go with red.  Well that decision was made easy when I walked into the ballroom we've decided to use and they had these huge yellow and red daises on the tables.

Think this...but with yellow.

So I've found my colors, I've ran them by Mr. Dan and by the girls, my mom, my dad, his parents...well everyone that apparently gets a say in my wedding decisions...and they all love it.  Awesome, because I wasn't going to change it anyways.  So now we move on to other things...like dresses, the groomsmen, bouquets, invites, yadda yadda yadda.  I want this wedding to be fun but still classy.  I want people to have a good time but I want it to look nice.  So I did some more searching online and came up with some inspiration....

I love the red dresses and the casual feel of this.  Also, Dan
has requested cheesecake (his only request) so it fits!

This is quite pretty.  More orangey than yellow but it's just an idea.

Kind of pink-y but I really like the feel it gives you.  Just need red
for some more pop!!

Oh and for good measure, and as a little tease, here's the dress I tried on while I was away.  I really think it might be the one.  I have pictures of me in it, but I will be posting a full bridal fashion show next week so until then you can look at the stock picture.

No I wouldn't wear the gloves...

So apparently I'm fat...

AND NONE OF YOU ASSHOLES TOLD ME!!!


Kidding!! Obviously, as an *ahem* larger woman I know that I could stand to lose a few pounds.  It's really been a lifelong battle for me, as it has for many women, and I know it's not a battle that I'll always win.  I'm okay with the fact that I'm a chubby lady.  I'm (to quote the doctor) "really healthy", aside from my obvious chub.  And the only reason I was in there was to get my levels (B12, folic acid, etc) under control and discuss the possibility of babies and how to start preparing.*** So we got that down and I thought I was good to go when...


He starts to lecture me on:
- How I should eat healthier (Uh, did you ever ASK what I ate? No. Whole grains, fresh fruits/veg and lean meats...) 
- How I should exercise 90 mins a day to get me down to my healthy weight (yeah, I should, but tell me where do you find almost 2 hrs a day to go to the gym? I can only find 30 mins 3X a week) 
- Also, about how I must not be eating well because if I was then I wouldn't have low vitamin levels (or it could have something to do with the fact that I'm anemic and low levels of this stuff tend to run in the women in my family...so we all get supplements and eat healthy....?)

I'm really tired of medical professionals assuming any problem people have is assoicated with their weight. Yes, some problems are weight related but seriously - since when is my folic acid levels or my iron levels related to my waist line?! Oh and then he told me that "You're in really good shape and very healthy for a large young lady." So, what you're telling me is that I'm healthy but if I was skinnier I'd be healthier? WELL DUH! I get that. I came to see you for a consult on my levels and blood work...I didn't come here to have you tell me how fat I am. 


So, loyal reader, just an FYI according to the medical profession I am chubby.


I think I deserve a snack....
Just kidding!!


***DAD! STOP! I know if you're reading this you're saying "YES! BABYS!" That's not the case.  We just want to be prepared so that when we do decide to have kids we'll be ready to go.  Sorry to disappoint but you're just going to have to hang out with the pugs for a little longer. 

Road trip!!

So as you know, my loyal reader, my hiatus has been long (almost 2 weeks!) but I promise it was worth it.  I have returned to you with eye candy! But you don't get to see it yet.  First you need to sit through my explanation of the glorious trip that Dan and I went on.

So pay attention.  There might be a quiz at the end.

My aunt lives in Lunenburg, Mass. It's about an hour outside of Bahhston and it's a lovely little New England town with nice homes and rolling green lawns.  Dan and I decided that this Labour Day weekend we would take some extra vacation, pack up Red, head the pugs to Mom's and drive from Halifax, NS to Lunenburg, Mass.  On the way we would stop in St. Stephen, NB to visit friends, then Kittery, Maine to go shopping and eventually we'd make it Rindge, NH to play at the cottage.

Meet Red, my Yaris hatchback.

So we dropped off the dogs and headed out.   It takes about 5 hours to get from Halifax to St. Stephen and there was a hurricane predicted for the following day but that didn't deter me (Dan was a little nervous, though!).  I headed off into the rain and eventually we made it to St. Stephen.  The next morning, after a lovely breakfast at the Red Rooster country store/gas station/restaurant, we headed across the border.  Luck was with us and the lovely American gentleman at customs told us to "Have a safe trip."  And we were off!!  12 hours later (8 p.m.) we arrived in Lunenburg.  And bless my aunt, she had the wine ready to go!!

Rindge, NH and tours of Pack Monadnock and the Cathedral of the Pines were to follow.  Here's some eye candy for you...

Cathedral of the Pines.  More info:
http://www.cathedralofthepines.org/

Holy beautiful, Batman!!

That is my lovely fiancé's hand, pointing out where Boston is.

This is our proof that we made it to the top!

So after our adventures in NH we were ready to head into the big city.  BAHHSTON HERE WE COME!!  We set out early on Tuesday and headed into Boston via the Subway.  I must say the subway is WAY better than our silly Halifax Metro Transit...but I digress..

The first stop in Beantown was the New England Aquarium, one of my favorite places!! I'm obsessed with the penguins there.  They have 80 different penguins...with 80 personalities!! They also have a HUGE coral reef (we're talking 4 or 5 stories tall here, people!) filled with sharks and fish and all manner of underwater creatures.

These two love-birds were staring at us the whole time!

Mrs. Turtle was chillin' at the bottom of the reef.

OH and did I mention I found a...

BUTTON!! From over at Blogging with Button

Button knew we were coming to town and arranged to be in Bahhston (one of her not-so-favorite places) just to hang out for the day.  Needless to say after we did some shopping and sea-creature watching we dropped into the hotel to chill out for a bit.  We needed to freshen up and find the rest of the crew.

You'd be tired after being boiled!!

Dan decided to stay at the hotel to use their wi-fi and sleep number beds but Button and I, along with those faithful NEY'ers from The Knot (Katanne and NQB) headed out for some dinner and drinks.  I must say wandering around Boston with 3 ladies from New York can make for an interesting night...

Our bartender, Jim.

We decided to close the place down! Jim bought us some shots to celebrate.

Button, Kat, myself and NQB enjoying an evening in Bahhston.

The next day Dan and I said goodbye to the ladies and headed back to Lunenburg.  However, the story isn't quite over...I went wedding dress shopping that afternoon.  But more on that another time.

Blogger hates me!

So I know I've been MIA for about 2 weeks...BUT I CAN EXPLAIN! I went away to visit family/party in Boston last week and I had 2 posts set up for you all.  But they never appeared.  Now I don't know what I did wrong but my theory is that Blogger probably just hates me.  So the next three posts will be back dated.  You can look *here*and *here* to enjoy them.

P

Chili!!!

This is a DELICIOUS recipe that I've been making for years.  It can be done with extra lean ground beef or ground chicken.  It's also only 3 points per 2 cups on Weight Watchers!!!


Ingredients
1 lb extra lean ground beef

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 pound mushrooms chopped
1 large green pepper seeded and chopped
3 cups corn kernels
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans
2 stalks celery -- chopped
1 tin tomato paste
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions:

Heat olive oil in a large stew pot. Add onion and garlic and sauté until onion is wilted, about 5 minutes.

In a separate pot brown extra lean ground beef or ground chicken.

Add mushrooms and sauté another 10 minutes. Stir in green pepper, corn, tomatoes,
beans,  celery all seasonings & tomato paste.  Add browned beef/chicken.  

Cover and cook until vegetables are tender.  I've been known to leave it on low for as long as 4 hours, but it can be ready in 30-45 minutes if you're strapped for time.

You can add more spices if you like it hotter.

SERVING SIZE: 2 cups
POINTS: 3 

What you need to know about...

Halifax, Nova Scotia!


I thought since I was going on vacation for a few days and abandoning you, dear reader, that I would give you some more information about where I'm from.  So here goes the basics, and not so basics, of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

This is Halifax, NS.  We're the capital of Nova Scotia and the largest city on Canada's East Coast.  We have a population of 398,000 in the HRM (Halifax Regional Municipality) and account for almost 40% of Nova Scotia's total population.

We have several sightseeing attractions such as Peggy's Cove Lighthouse, the Halifax Citadel, our old town clock and our famous waterfront (we have the third deepest harbour in the WORLD!).

We also have several post secondary schools such as Dalhousie University, Saint Mary's University, Mount Saint Vincent University and Nova Scotia Community College (to name just a few!).  


We have 3 sister cities:

•   Hakodate, Japan. We both have star forts.
•  Campeche, Mexico We're both "a capital of a state" and is "a city of similar size to Halifax on or near the coast having rich historical tradition".
•  Norfolk, Virginia Our economies both "depends heavily on the presence of the Armed Forces, and both cities are very proud of their military history".

Halifax is a great city and a love the people here.  We're just as friendly as you'd imagine East Coast Canadians to be; we'll invite you over for a drink, to watch the hockey game or give you a lift if you need it.  We love tourists (even if they can't drive) and like to think we're a "big city".  We're really a small town feel in a growing city.  The economy is picking up, jobs are available, crime is low and we have frequent concerts on the Commons (KISS, The Black Eyed Peas, Paul McCartney...).  Halifax really is a great place to be!

For more information you can go to halifax.ca