The last couple of years, J. and I have spent the Canada Day weekend in Ottawa.
If you weren't aware of how momentous this weekend has been in the past, or how excited I've been leading up to it, you can check it out here and here.
I'm looking forward to the fireworks on Parliament Hill, the morning runs along the canal, the early-afternoon roams through the city, the late-afternoon naps, the evening dinners on the town, the midnight drinks on a patio, the daily browse through Byward Market, the never-ending conversation...
I'm not looking forward to the crowds that will be there for Will and Kate.
The wedding was beyond beautiful.
The pandemonium that they cause is nightmarish.
We've already changed our plans to avoid being there today when they touched down, so we're leaving tomorrow and taking Monday off instead of today to still make it a four day weekend. After our morning runs, we will probably hibernate in our hotel in the afternoons to avoid the mass chaos, and emerge at night...which, really, is more than fine by us anyway. We're night owls.
Have a lovely Canada Day holiday, and a fantastic weekend!
I know we will.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
recipe for a delicious anniversary
3 extra hours of sleep
2 fresh panini sandwiches
2 iced frappucinos
1 yellow dress
1 potted orchid flower
1 fancy-shmancy restaurant
6 homemade pomegranate martinis
Wake up at 9am. Decide at 9:30am that mornings are for being lazy and cuddling. Climb back into bed and fall asleep until 12:30pm.
Gradually get up, shower, change, and discuss breakfast options. Decide it's too late for breakfast and discuss lunch options. Determine that it's a day to be spoiled and set out for Yorkdale to brunch and browse.
Eat a delicious lunch of 1 portobello pesto panini with mango salad (her) and 1 chicken avocado panini with chick pea salad (him).
Leisurely stroll hand-in-hand through stores. Try on several yellow dresses as requested (her) until the perfect one presents itself. Purchase said dress as gift to wear during upcoming trip to Ottawa (him).
Indulge in book browsing while enjoying 1 iced skinny caramel macchiato (him) and 1 iced skinny white chocolate mocha (her). Sip luxuriously.
Return home to get ready for dinner. Determine that hole-in-the-wall boutique restaurant around the corner deserves the honour. Make reservation for 9:15pm.
Stop for fresh fruit and alcohol in preparation for homemade late-night drinks. Pick out gorgeous new potted orchid flower to mark anniversary.
Enjoy swanky private dinner with complimentary shots, 1 martini (her) and 1 pint of Creemore (him), followed by 1 spicy sausage rigatoni (him) and 1 wild mushroom and spinach gnocchi (her). Skip dessert as a result of being stuffed to the brim.
Head home. Exchange romantic cards, inducing happy tears. Sentimentally reminisce about all the incredible moments that have passed.
Put on movie. Make pomegranate martinis and relax intertwined on couch in candle-lit living room. Drink 3 martinis each and gradually nod off.
Wake up at 3am and finally head off to bed.
Store in memory and savour forever.
Yesterday marked two years of us. It was a delicious day spent simply enjoying each other. I cannot believe now that I ever could have thought there was ever anything or anyone else for me, when this love is just so overwhelmingly perfect.
to my J.
Thank you for every single moment of every single day thus far that you have made my smile wider, my days brighter, my world richer. You are such a huge blessing to me.2 fresh panini sandwiches
2 iced frappucinos
1 yellow dress
1 potted orchid flower
1 fancy-shmancy restaurant
6 homemade pomegranate martinis
Wake up at 9am. Decide at 9:30am that mornings are for being lazy and cuddling. Climb back into bed and fall asleep until 12:30pm.
Gradually get up, shower, change, and discuss breakfast options. Decide it's too late for breakfast and discuss lunch options. Determine that it's a day to be spoiled and set out for Yorkdale to brunch and browse.
Eat a delicious lunch of 1 portobello pesto panini with mango salad (her) and 1 chicken avocado panini with chick pea salad (him).
Leisurely stroll hand-in-hand through stores. Try on several yellow dresses as requested (her) until the perfect one presents itself. Purchase said dress as gift to wear during upcoming trip to Ottawa (him).
Indulge in book browsing while enjoying 1 iced skinny caramel macchiato (him) and 1 iced skinny white chocolate mocha (her). Sip luxuriously.
Return home to get ready for dinner. Determine that hole-in-the-wall boutique restaurant around the corner deserves the honour. Make reservation for 9:15pm.
Stop for fresh fruit and alcohol in preparation for homemade late-night drinks. Pick out gorgeous new potted orchid flower to mark anniversary.
Enjoy swanky private dinner with complimentary shots, 1 martini (her) and 1 pint of Creemore (him), followed by 1 spicy sausage rigatoni (him) and 1 wild mushroom and spinach gnocchi (her). Skip dessert as a result of being stuffed to the brim.
Head home. Exchange romantic cards, inducing happy tears. Sentimentally reminisce about all the incredible moments that have passed.
Put on movie. Make pomegranate martinis and relax intertwined on couch in candle-lit living room. Drink 3 martinis each and gradually nod off.
Wake up at 3am and finally head off to bed.
Store in memory and savour forever.
Yesterday marked two years of us. It was a delicious day spent simply enjoying each other. I cannot believe now that I ever could have thought there was ever anything or anyone else for me, when this love is just so overwhelmingly perfect.
to my J.
I love you, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you.
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
sports addict
"Hi, my name is Julia, and I'm a sports addict." "Hi, Julia."
Phew. I was needing to get that off my chest.
It would seem that my evenings, right now, revolve around the NBA and NHL playoffs. While J. and I haven't completely rescheduled our lives in order to become couch potatoes (there are far too many birthdays, anniversaries, and soccer games in our lives for that!), we have certainly taken advantage of our PVR (Personal Video Recorder: a device that pre-records live television programs and saves them for playback later) during this playoff season.
Seriously. If anyone wonders why we're tired, it's because we're coming home from our evening activities and then starting to watch the games we've recorded...often beginning to watch at 10pm or even later. Okay, okay, a three-hour broadcast is at least an hour of commercials, halftimes, or intermissions, but poor J. is going to his morning meetings bleary-eyed with exhilarated exhaustion. I'm okay on a meagre five hours, but J.? Not so much. At least the games are on alternating nights (doubtlessly co-ordinated that way by the head honchos of the leagues to ensure the viewership of addicts like us).
This morning, having been up watching the NBA finals last night until nearly 1am, we woke up, rolled over, looked at each other sleepily, and exclaimed almost simultaneously, "Dallas won!"
Not "Good morning, sleepyhead."
Not "Hello, lover."
Nope. "Dallas won!"
And wait a second. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe I woke up yesterday morning, opened my eyes, and uttered the words, "8-1. Seriously? 8-1." as my good morning hello. (For those not in the know or who don't really care but are very confused, 8-1 was the ridiculous score of Game #3 of the Stanley Cup hockey finals. A terrible showing by the Canucks.)
It's official, people.
Sports addiction is running rampant in our household.
At least it's both of us. I can't imagine being with a guy who didn't love sports, and the fact that J. and I are both active, fitness-oriented people as well as avid sports fans (not just token sports fans, and yes, there's a difference) is one of the things that has bonded us from the beginning.
I mean, we met playing beach volleyball, after all.
I guess it was meant to be.
Phew. I was needing to get that off my chest.
It would seem that my evenings, right now, revolve around the NBA and NHL playoffs. While J. and I haven't completely rescheduled our lives in order to become couch potatoes (there are far too many birthdays, anniversaries, and soccer games in our lives for that!), we have certainly taken advantage of our PVR (Personal Video Recorder: a device that pre-records live television programs and saves them for playback later) during this playoff season.
Seriously. If anyone wonders why we're tired, it's because we're coming home from our evening activities and then starting to watch the games we've recorded...often beginning to watch at 10pm or even later. Okay, okay, a three-hour broadcast is at least an hour of commercials, halftimes, or intermissions, but poor J. is going to his morning meetings bleary-eyed with exhilarated exhaustion. I'm okay on a meagre five hours, but J.? Not so much. At least the games are on alternating nights (doubtlessly co-ordinated that way by the head honchos of the leagues to ensure the viewership of addicts like us).
This morning, having been up watching the NBA finals last night until nearly 1am, we woke up, rolled over, looked at each other sleepily, and exclaimed almost simultaneously, "Dallas won!"
Not "Good morning, sleepyhead."
Not "Hello, lover."
Nope. "Dallas won!"
And wait a second. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe I woke up yesterday morning, opened my eyes, and uttered the words, "8-1. Seriously? 8-1." as my good morning hello. (For those not in the know or who don't really care but are very confused, 8-1 was the ridiculous score of Game #3 of the Stanley Cup hockey finals. A terrible showing by the Canucks.)
It's official, people.
Sports addiction is running rampant in our household.
At least it's both of us. I can't imagine being with a guy who didn't love sports, and the fact that J. and I are both active, fitness-oriented people as well as avid sports fans (not just token sports fans, and yes, there's a difference) is one of the things that has bonded us from the beginning.
I mean, we met playing beach volleyball, after all.
I guess it was meant to be.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)