A Very Good Reason

Life can be frustrating sometimes. You can lose your job one day, your primary form of transportation disappears the next (local bus strike – boo! ). But on the brighter side of things, the apartment is cleaner than usual (save for my study notes), I’m working on a few awesome knitting projects (I hope to start a sweater for Denis next week) and I’m getting exercise walking to school several days a week! I’ve told you before that I’m an optimist, and I’m going to say it again today. Everything in life happens for a reason.

One of the best things that ever happened to me in my life was getting let go from a job at a local greenhouse. It was a seasonal position that I didn’t expect to keep for too long, but when I was one of the first let go as the busy spring season wound down I was surprised and saddened. Summer was coming up fast and I didn’t have a job. Unfortunately the position I had held at a nearby golf course that our family is a part of wasn’t available to me as they had already hired someone who had been available earlier in the year than I was. It was looking like I might be spending the summer working at home for mom and dad – not the worst thing in the world, but future employers don’t generally see your parents as impartial references.

I don’t recall exactly how many days or weeks passed before I was at the golf course having brunch with our family. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins – there were quite a few of us there enjoying our meal. Suddenly, the pro shop manager came up to me with a question: Would you be able to work behind the counter for a while?

I grabbed my plate and off we went. I hadn’t worked in the pro shop the year before (I had worked in the kitchen and behind the bar previously), but honestly it was where I really wanted to be. The manager showed me the till, pointed out a few important buttons, and…left me to teach a kids golf camp. An hour later he returned, and I had rung a dozen or so golfers through without any errors.

I finished out the summer and worked weekends into the fall at the course, learning as much as I could about the golf industry. I charmed the mens league players, made coffee at 5:30 am for the groundscrew, ordered thousands of golf pencils, and helped run tournaments. I returned the next summer to take on the role of Assistant Manager. One day a co-worker mentioned her single friend. She wanted to introduce us.

Denis

Denis & Erica

I think you could say we hit it off. It was a very good reason.

photos by Last Forty Percent Photography – London, Ontario

You are my sunshine.

I loved Kent’s choice for our first dance song. It was special to him because it was a song he often played for me on his guitar, and also a duet by his two idols, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, and it was special to me for reasons he didn’t even remember.

The first time I went into his little cabin room at the woodland resort that we worked at the summer we first started dating, Kent was playing guitar and had his harmonica strapped over his face with some metal device. I thought it looked like the nerdiest thing and was impressed that he didn’t even seem embarassed by wearing it in front of a girl that he liked. I soon came to realize that the harmonica strap was to him as much a part of his face as his nose was. He was constantly playing his guitar that summer (still is), and one of the songs I remember him playing all the time was “You are my Sunshine.”

It made me smile that for the first couple months, before he ever said “I love you,” to me, he would skip the part of the song that goes “You’ll never know dear, how much I love you.” I loved that. To me, it made me feel like he was definitely singing it to me and not just for the sake of singing it. I never brought it up and to this day I exercise the same caution when Kent writes new songs and plays them to me. I just tell him that I love them (which is the truth) instead of asking a million questions about where in his head they are coming from. Because I know that if I was writing songs (or blog posts, or anything) that’s what I would want. And he and I are pretty similar (in our marriage preparation class the priest was shocked that we had the same results in all four personality quadrants. But that’s another story.)

In fact I’m totally veering from the original point of my blog, which is this. Lauren posted a wooden sign with the lyrics to our song on her tumblr recently, and I don’t know if she realized the significance of the song, but I loved it, although a little less when I saw the price: £230.00.

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(and a search on the awesome site where it came from, Rockett St George, brought me to this chair, which I think is more than a little bit awesome:)

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Today, on our one month “anniversary” of our marriage, I thought of the sign again and about how nice it would be to have it hanging in our home. I wondered if I could find a more affordable version on the one website that never lets me down. So, I searched Etsy.  Turns out, we could cover our whole house, ourselves, and our future children in “You are my Sunshine” paraphenalia if we wanted to! (Which, we don’t, I might add.)

Anyways, these are some of my favourites:

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Best of all? I could have had this themed garter!

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So, which one is your favourite? Should I hold off for the wooden sign or settle for one of the others?

Loves, ten days, and Tuesday night.

There are ten days left until the wedding and I am a busy but un-stressed bride. Just getting everything finished up this week, and getting excited for the bachelorette party this weekend (which all five blondes will be attending!)

Here are a few things – wedding related and not, that I’m loving in my life lately – in picture form! Ten things, in honour of the ten days.

1. Braids:

2. Surprise Dutch ice cream shops (second only to my newest love, ice cream trucks.):
3. Wedding DIY messes:

4. My day-after-hair-trial curls:

5. Mid-day smiles and laughter layin around with this fellow:

And the loves that have no pictures attached to them:

6. The picnic on the lake I’m planning for us tomorrow night. Any picnic preparing tips you can give me?

7. The fact that Kent and I have become ”that couple” that runs together, maps out runs on mapmyrun.com, and discusses our runs in detail if we ran separately that day.

8. My wedding shower from this past weekend, everyone who attended, and making my house lovely with all of my wonderful gifts.

9. That Miss Leah will be here in just a few days! I will allow her to stay in Calgary as long as she continues to visit us three times a year (and as long as I can get out there once a year.)

10. THE HONEYMOON! We’re going right away (because we are romantic like that), to Maui and Kaui, stopping in LA for one night along the way. I. can’t. wait!

Your turn! What are you loving? Top ten things!

Love and Recessonista

I was lucky enough to have Mr. Tim all to myself tonight, and I tried to take full advantage of that by doing some much needed car shopping, but that was a major fail. So I will continue to drive Tim’s lovely ’94 Grand Marquis for now (did I mention the A/C broke last week? Oh, and that only one window works? And that it was incredibly hot out today? And that when I got home from work Tim told me I looked like “poop” because I was so sweaty from being in his car for 15 minutes and I kind of exploded at him? #fail)
I made it up to myself by putting on a cute outfit and making him take me out for dinner with promises of car shopping tomorrow. Doing the necessary outfit analyzing, I was proud of myself when I realized what an inexpensive outfit I had put together.
Leah
Outfit – Cami, Lady Dutch – $7, jeans, Dynamite – $30, Blazer, Rickis – $40, shoes, Wal-Mart – $5 (I am a serious bargain shopper – outfit total $87, including purse which I got for a gift exchange at Christmas from Lindsay)

You know that thought that you should marry someone who loves you more than you love them? Well, I told Tim it wasn’t true for us because I love him more than he loves me, and Tim said that he does love me more, but that he keeps it inside when we are in public. I am not a BIG PDA’er but I sure do have some of that in me – I enjoy a good hand-hold and a quick smooch here and there. What’s the point of loving someone a lot and not showing it? Not that he doesn’t show it, he is a very loving guy and does cook for me on a regular basis (the key to my heart is most definitely through my stomach). Also, it was him that asked if we could spend the evening sitting on the balcony drinking wine, eating bread and cheese, light our “fresh cut grass” candles and listen to Michael in the first place. Win! While we were out there enjoying the gorgeous evening, I informed Tim that Michael (yes, we are on a first name basis because we had dinner together in September. NOT really, his table was across from mine while we were eating. Big deal to me.) is on my “list.”Tim said he didn’t have to worry because Michael would run away from me when he meets me because he would be scared of my “presence.” He went on to say that he “know[s] it’s true because I was when I first met you.” Aww! Also, Tim said he would beat him up if he made a move.

Anyways, all in all it was a great evening spent with my most loved one, and I hope many, many more are to come.

Love & Stress: A Screenplay

Scene One: Cooking with the “Culinary Master of Canada”, 5:00pm

Cut to Leah and Tim, romantically preparing an appetizer of coconut shrimp and a delectable-looking shrimp, garlic and white wine cream sauce complete with fresh pasta. Also, he has quartered a chicken and is making home-made chicken stock in the oven for a soup the following day. They are kissing, googly-eyed at each other and at one point Tim even says to her that she is the most wonderful, amazing and thoughtful girlfriend in the whole world. And he compliments her on her Nintendo skills  as he feeds [Read more...]

I believe in love.

Today, I was driving to meet a friend for lunch when I heard  a woman call into the country radio station I was listening to.

“I’d like to make a song dedication.”
“Sure, what would you like to hear?”

“Sissy’s Song, by Alan Jackson.”

“And who is this song dedication going out to?”

(Caller’s voice breaking) My Mom passed away on Friday (full out sobs) and I’d like to dedicate it to my Dad”

I couldn’t take it anymore, and I was crying right along with her. I like to think that all of the listeners of that station, at that moment, were crying right along with that woman. My heart truly went out to her.

I have been incredibly emotional lately, as every relationship has it’s ups and downs, mine has been going through a trying time. Moving in with, and across the country with, someone proves to be fun, challenging, and exciting. I believe the tough times were put in place so that a couple can come out the other side stronger than ever before. I believe in love, fate, destiny, the powers of emotions and grief, and I believe in my relationship.

Reasons I Want My Wedding To Be Over

I want to be able to appreciate the colour purple for what it is – a great colour, not My! Wedding! Colour! matchy matchy!

I want to be able to stop worrying that…

  • There’s something I should be doing right now
  • The centrepieces will look good
  • The food will taste good
  • The DJ will play great music
  • The weather will be nice (May 2 – could go either way)
  • Our families will get along
  • I’m forgetting something (actually, this worry will never go away)
  • We’ll look good in our pictures – and get all the pictures we want.

I want to be able to sit down and knit for a few hours so I can finish my sweater (what’s that you say? Sweater? Heck yes. My greatest knitting accomplishment to date is nearing completion). And then start some awesome new knitting projects.

I want to start the process of changing my last name on every legal document/account/etc that I have. The sooner I get started, the sooner I’ll be done. I figure it will be like having to change the password for most of my important computer logins – but having to send in paperwork to get it done.

I want to go on our HONEYMOON! We paid it off this afternoon. I hope we’ll be able to buy groceries tomorrow…(just kidding!)

I want to be officially part of his family, and him officially part of mine.

I want to stop seeing bridal advertisements on Facebook.

I want to stop second-guessing all of our decisions.

But mostly…

I want to wake up in the mornings with my husband. I want to be his wife. I want us to be a real, official, family. Erica, Denis, and our cat Max (to be continued…).

I want the cliched “rest of my life” to start ASAP. 36 days to go.

What I'm loving.

Micaela here. A few things I’ve been loving for the last month:

  • Anna Turns Six on Tarawhitney.com. A beautiful tribute to this photographer’s daughter.
  • I cut these shoes out of a magazine because I loved them so much, and then my favourite fashion blogger found a $69 version. (Fate.)
  • Maybe it’s partially the fact that I have been dying for really long hair lately, but there is something about Madeleine M. that I adore:
  • The bedroom at This Young House. I love so many interior design photos I’ve seen on blogs recently. It’s a shame, really, because I have no permanent residence to decorate at the moment. I love the chandelier, the lamps, and the huge curtains. And well, everything:
  • Most definitely the cutest daddy-to-be in the world! (Uh oh, mothering instincts quite possibly kicking in too!):
  • Youaremyfave.com has been focusing on a different design accent colour every day. The pictures she finds are so gorgeous that each colour quickly becomes my new favourite. Today, orange is our fave. Photo from where else but Apartment Therapy.
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  • And a couple that I tweeted about yesterday:
  • I saw this shirt on Design Crush today. The French: Moi, je veux te dire que je ne te quitterai jamais. Et puis, si tu es triste, je pourrais toujours te donner un peu d’alcool pour te rechauffer le couer. xo Basically this means that “I’ll be there for you always. And I’ll get you drunk when you’re sad.” Get it on etsy.
  • Peonies and Polaroids received this dress and a fancy camera from her husband on their one year anniversary. I am tres impressed. If you are inclined, check out her wedding in her archives (about one year ago!) It was perfect.
  • This wedding wins my heart. I’m having a tent wedding in 148 days (according to facebook.)

Five blondes, no mass suicide pact.

I have written in three other online spaces since I started blogging, around 2003. Two were public, and one was secret. I have always loved writing online, and with my sisters. A good thing, considering only a very select few people read the blogs and 4 out of the 8 or so readers actually were the girls. I have been compiling the entries to print out and make into a sort of journal or book, because I don’t want to lose that part of me and I would love to have it in a tangible form. I am excited because I loved myself back then (don’t worry, I still do but I’m just feeling nostalgic). I used way to many exclamation points, I was way too dramatic for my own good, I could write anything and no matter how bad it was I thought it was the deepest, truest thing ever to be written, I laughed, I loved, I was caring and selfish all at the same time, and (with much editing) would love to have it to give to my grandchildren some day.

Here is an excerpt from an entry in my livejournal from January 11, 2006.

i just watched the virgin suicides again, what an excellent movie.

it’s funny how it is just like our family, the story of five blonde daughters and their “mysterious existence”. the neighbour hood boys become obsessed with them and cherish even a discarded piece of paper, had it been used by one of the girls. That reminds me of the story [family friend, let's call him R.] told me, of how when he was younger and used to go dirt biking in our back forest but every summer would come to my house and ask my dad for permission. All my dad asked of him was to drive slowly down the driveway so as to not disturb/injure/scare his daughters and we would see R. making his was ever so slowly making his way down the driveway, literally going about 5 km/hour and we would laugh. he confessed to me later, when we became friends, that he always hoped we would be outside when he drove by so he could see one of us.

and even when he drives by my grandmas house, he always slows down to drive the speed limit, some sort of unspoken rule.

okay enough about that.

what i am really thinking?

i love the progression from thinking i need to write things down so we will have something to talk about, to thinking i need to write things down so i don’t run out of time to say them.
maybe that’s my favourite part … or one of them anyways.

Erica’s comment: Yes, we’re so similar to the movie aren’t we? Now about that mass suicide pact we have…

So, there is no mass suicide pact. Don’t worry. Maybe a pact to take over the world as soon as we all start exploding with babies, but that’s about it. God we are going to have awesome family get-togethers someday! We can watch our kids do all of the same crazy stuff that we used together.

And then a little about my budding relationship thrown in there, it was written about a month after Tim and I started dating. Aww! All I can remember about that time was how much fun we always had together.

Tuesdays With Micaela ~ My engagement photos

A couple of months ago I blogged about Winter Engagement Photos and trying to come up with ideas for our own. On what I’m pretty sure was the coldest day in January, Kent and I had ours taken in our cute little town. We ended up being really happy with our photographer, Dana Harper. She only made me wait four days for the pictures! Any girl can appreciate that. I chose 30 of my favourites out of the 300 she sent me, and she edited them for us. When Kent and I are together we always have lots of fun and are constantly trying to make each other laugh and I think Dana did a good job of capturing that.

Here are the results:


If you would like to see the rest, visit my brand new Flickr page at micblonde. I am quite excited to have my own Flickr.

We are going to have a signature frame like this one as our guestbook:

Katelyn and her husband Scott did this and I like the fact that it is up on their wall and always up on display, rather than on a bookshelf collecting dust. Whenever new people come to her house they always look at it right away. Sooo, if you get a chance to look at all of them let me know your favourite. Hope you like!