Its been a while...here's an update!

I was trying to think off all the things that we have done since our wedding last summer and in comparison nothing seems to stand out as being so grand, but we have been keeping busy and are doing well.

My mom came up to visit before Christmas the first week of December. We had a great visit; short but sweet. This is what was at the Airport while I was waiting for her flight to come in.

We had our own cozy little Christmas, our first with just the 2 of us in Ontario. It was sad not being able to make it home but we enjoyed ourselves non the less. We spent Christmas morning opening gifts; not as early as Robbie would have liked but much earlier than at the Brown's. Later we drove out to Tottenham and had Christmas dinner at Chris and Jan Coleman's with the family. This year, although not official, we are planning on coming home for Christmas December 20-29!!

 

We took advantage of all of the snow that we got this season and went snowshoeing a few times. There are a few good trails in the area that are a short drive from our place.

This spring we got a new kitty (Butter) a new couch (the cat napper) and a new kitchen shelving unit!!

 

Soon I will be buying a "new to me " new car as Robbie will soon start commuting to Aberfoyle.  Aberfoyle is close to Guelph, about 25 minutes from Kitchener and the location of the new microbiology lab for Maple Leaf Foods which will be opening sometime this summer. 

Work has been good for me as well. In January I was sent to Orlando Florida to attend the North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC), where I got to catch up with some good school friends as well as get up to date on some of the newest veterinary information.  Then in March I got to go to Topeka Kansas on a continuing education trip to tour the Hills pet food facilities and their nutrition  center. It was really well done and I met some really nice people.

 
                      I got to hold a baby alligator!

We are currently taking some ballroom dancing classes (sorry no pics) at the local community center close to our place.  It's a lot of fun and gives us something different to do together. We are currently learning the Cha Cha and the quick step and I personally think that we are pretty good given that I have no rhythm!  

I am trying my hand again at having a small container garden this summer. Last year was not a great success but this year I'm going to try carrots instead of tomatoes and hope that something grows. We don't get very much direct sun so I have to pick a lot of shade tolerate plants, unfortunately vegetables don't seem to fall into that category.  I did manage to grow some peppers last year so I'll try them again as well. 

Robbie is becoming a whiz in the kitchen and seems to enjoy challenging himself with difficult dishes. Today he is making a lemon raspberry tort surrounded with homemade lady fingers!! He has also recently made a chocolate chip cookie dough cheese cake, spanakopita and home made pasta with our kitchen aid attachments! 

Just yesterday we went for a short hike at Elora Gorge Conservation Area.

 

So now you should be all caught up on what we've been doing. I'm sure I've forgotten some things but I think I've touched on the highlights. I'm going to try and take my own advise and start taking more pictures of our adventures!

Back to the daily grind.

Well Jennifer and I are back in Kitchener, ON again and back to work. The ol’ Civic made it home without any hiccups and we hit the 250K milestone mark somewhere in Quebec.

Our trip back to the East Coast seemed too short but we had a fantastic time. It was great to see all of our friends and families. Thanks again to everyone for making our wedding so special. Jenn and I had a great time and we hope you all did as well. Here are a few pictures people took at our wedding. Feel free to share any photos any of you may have taken at our wedding. Good or bad we would love to see them!

  

  

Wedding Ceremony and Reception Details

Wedding Ceremony and Reception

Where: Hazen Park Center
            994 Onondaga Street
            Oromocto, N.B.
When:  August 25, 2012
Time:   4:00 PM

Note:   While children are a blessing and a joy, we respectfully ask that this be an adults only ceremony and reception.

Hazen Park Center is located in Sir Douglas Hazen Park adjacent to the Oromocto River. The wedding ceremony itself will take place in the picnic shelter located behind the Hazen Center. The center has ample parking and wheel chair access if necessary. Wedding photos will take place immediately following the ceremony. The reception will take place from 6:00 PM - 1:00 AM inside the Hazen Center.


We will update the blog of any new details as we get them.

Accommodations

The Days Inn <http://www.daysinn.com> is the closest accommodation to the ceremony. It is located just off the Trans Canada Highway and is located from Fredericton International Airport and 20 minutes from downtown Fredericton. The quickest route from the hotel is to get onto the Waasis Road and after 2 km turn onto MacDonald Avenue.

If you prefer to stay in Fredericton there are a number of options:

Delta <http://www.delta.com>
Fredericton Inn <http://www.frederictoninn.nb.ca/>
Howard Johnson <http://www.hojo.com>
Crowne Plaza <http://www.cpfredericton.com/>
Ramada <http://www.ramada.com>
Comfort Inn <http://www.comfortinn.com>

Gift Registry

Your presence at our wedding is the best gift we could receive. But if we are honoured with a gift from you, a gift card would help us fill in the missing parts of our lives together. If you prefer to give a gift we are also registered at the following stores:

The Bay <http://www.thebay.com>
Sears <http://www.sears.ca>

Christmas and New Years in a nutshell

Well I celebrated Christmas and New Years all in one. Today I spent the day in my new robe, wearing my knit socks, drinking a blended berry smoothie and reading an ebook. I wanted to let everyone know that Jenn and I loved our Christmas gifts. Even though I wasn’t able to join everyone for Christmas this year, you were all on my mind.

Jenn and I had a fairly low key New Year’s Eve. We split a bottle of cheap sparkling wine, ordered pizza and watched a movie but we did manage to stay up until midnight to ring in the year. Today we woke up to our first major snowfall of the season. About two inches of the white stuff. Jenn has been spending her afternoon crocheting various styles of coasters and organizing our chaotic spice cupboard.

It always feels a little bittersweet taking down the Christmas tree after New Years. Here is a picture of Jenn and I with our little faux-fir decorated and lit-up before my “Christmas”.

I hope everyone had a great New Years!

Unseasonably warm

To my knowledge I have never had okra before. Apparently okra is mucilaginous on the inside of the pod but Jenn already said she would try them so it is too late for her to back out now. Mwa ha ha.

The evenings have been uncomfortably warm the last few days what with our having no control over the thermostat in our building. Last night jenn and I went for a walk at 8:00 and it was so warm that I donned only a t-shirt and jeans. It is raining today but still warm. I worked up a sweat on my short walk to Tim’s for a latte (on a side note, I think McDonalds makes a better latte).

I know some people have been trying to reach me (i.e. Tracey) so I will try to make some calls this week.

- R

Some Mayan culture and Texan food

Jenn and I took a trip into Toronto yesterday and the first stop was the Royal Ontario Museum which had a special Mayan exhibit. Just like the last time we visited the museum, we started-off studiously reading every placard and examining every artefact. But after 20 minutes we exhausted our mental faculties and only lingered at the pieces that caught our attention. I of course had to stop and see the dinosaurs again. Unfortunately for us the dinosaur exhibits were mobbed with screaming, running children. I concluded children need to be leashed and muzzled in public. But I did get some great pictures. Unfortunately photography was not permitted in the Mayan display so we have only memories to take with us from that.

 

By the time we left the ROM it was 1:00 and we were sooo hungry, having foregone breakfast. So we stopped for a light lunch at a pub called Duke of Kent on Yonge Street. It my hunger ravaged mind I not only forgot to pay the meter, I parked in front of a fire hydrant. So stupid. We returned to the car to find a 100$ ticket. *Sigh* Then it was off to Richmond Hill to chat with Aunt Vi and my Mom who is up for a visit. Viola had to leave early to meet with some friends but not before giving us a beautiful cookie jar (made years ago by my Aunt Nancy), a Christmas ornament and our first Christmas gift! Not to mention some delicious holiday ginger and peanut butter cookies. For dinner Jenn and I took Mom to a nearby restaurant called Lonestar which has a Texan inspired menu. I loved my fajitas and Mom had a great burger, but Jenn was not impressed with her salad or baked beans. The it was back home to finish my novel (“The Best Laid Plans” by Terry Fallis).

The weather man say we are in for a nice weekend (12 degrees). I figure it is a good time to put the winter tires on and wax the car.

Turducken is checked off my bucket list.

Four years ago I read an article in National Geographic on turducken. No it is not a turkey, duck, chicken hybrid Franken-bird as I have facetiously convinced some. It is a de-boned chicken inside a de-boned duck, inside a partially de-boned turkey. Perhaps the most opulent food ever conceived and I must say it lived-up to my expectations. I had a small (ish) one prepared that was actually made from just the breast meat of each bird as a full size turducken feeds about 20! Plus, it ain’t exactly cheap. But it lived-up to my expectations. After 6 hours of cooking we were rewarded with a juicy, succulent meal that wasn’t at all fowl (get it? Fowl!). My only complaint would be that I didn’t love the chorizo stuffing. I also made a maple-pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. Luckily Jenn enlisted a few of her friends to help us with the feast.
 
In other news we enjoyed a lovely but too short visit from Rhonda Brown this month. We had the opportunity to take a boat cruise out into the Toronto harbour for free thanks tickets Rhonda’s friends had purchased but did not have the opportunity to use. Despite it being a somewhat chilly, overcast day it was a lot of fun. Especially when Jenn randomly decided to get her picture atop a dog statue.
   
After thoughtful consideration I have decided not to go home for Christmas this year. It doesn’t make financial sense right now as I will have to travel home before the wedding to get the marriage licence and then I will also be home for two weeks in the summer for weddings. Not to mention needing to tighten purse strings for the wedding itself. Besides Cooper gets lonely by here all by himself.

Anyway I will talk with you all soon. I am off for my first meeting to become a disaster relief volunteer for the Kitchener region. I home you are well and still snow free .