Finally back!

I have been bad.  Uninspired, lazy, busy... Call it whatever you want, but the fact is:  I haven't come even close to nearing a finish on my "100 Summer Loves".  Normally I try my best to persevere and make it through to the end with series that I start, but I suppose I was working with too big of an aim.  

My last number was 22, so I will try to atone for myself and blog a bunch more today.  I doubt I will reach the 100 number by Sept 21, but you never know! 

And on a side note... Matt and I went away for four days camping earlier this week.  It wasn't our first time camping;  last year we also went for a few days in August and had such a great time.  However, this year, after getting home from a 5 hr drive, I realized that camping is far easier and more fun when there is a larger group of people involved.  We both decided that next year we want to somehow make it less complicated or travel somewhere around the world.

Camping itself is exciting and a great change of pace...but the work required to set up and, even worse, tear down, is exhausting.  Maybe I'm getting old and facing the fact that my energy level has diminished, but I feel like it's time to start renting a cottage.  

Below is my list of reasons why I love summer, a reminder of the first 22 that I wrote.

1.  sand
2.  fresh vegetables and fruit (produce)
3.  the smell of fresh flowers on walks
4.  pedicures ~ cos your toes are hidden all winter
5.  the vibrancy of colours around us in nature, our clothes, everything!
6.  warm summer breezes
7.  the slow and vibrant sunrises
8.  all colour green ~ trees, bushes, plants, flowers, life!
9.  sitting outside on my lunch break at work, basking in the sun
10.  every night feels like a Friday night
11.  fresh smoothies that quench your summer thirst
12.  the taste of a camp fire roasted hot dog
13.  the smell of burning wood which buries itself deep into your clothes and can be smelled for days after
14.  the singing and laughing around the fire
15.  the warmth, the flame, the CAMP FIRE!
16.  hanging baskets of flowers
17.  fireworks!
18. the sun is still out when I'm walking home from work
19. bike rides on the nearby trails
20.  summer reading list
21.  greenhouses in parking lots
22.  daisies

And now I shall try to atone for my absence and post some summer holiday photos.  

L O S T 

On the rocks

My favourite person

23.  The sound of the lake and the waves 
24.  The colours of sunset over the water
25.  Sand sculptures on the beach
26.  Crickets chirping
27.  Sunshine kissed hair hi-lights
28.  More intense runs/work outs
29.  Reading on the beach in the warmth & sunshine
30.  Smores over the campfire
31.  Vacations!
32.  Dancing and playing on the sandbars 
33.  Swimming in the lake
34.  Bathing suits all day
35.  Flip flops



That's it for now!  I will desperately try to update more later this week, although I am working 3 12 hr shifts so things can get pretty hectic when that happens! 

Peace~

Bunches of Bullshhhhh--!

I have a friend who has lived a rough life. (What you and I consider "rough" are probably different things.)  Her life consists of drinking heavily, having sex with strangers, drug use, living life "fully" which to me means living life dangerously and recklessly.


You put yourself out there, you get hurt.  I'm not saying to lock your heart away and never truly experience the joys of life, but I recommend a good dosage of pragmatism with each whimsical choice.  


Take her situation now:  she's been with her boyfriend for three years or so.  When she first started dating him, he honestly told her that he had been to rehab for substance abuse (cocaine) and that he currently smoked marijuana.  Okay whatever, weed is far cry from coke and she didn't think in that moment that they would become a serious relationship.


Three years later, after fighting and loving, arguing and laughing, she finds out that he has been doing coke again, fallen back into the habit, and who knows for how long?  The trust is completely broken and he refuses to discuss A) why he started it again and B) how long he has been doing it.


Outside the relationship I firmly state my views and what I believe my choices would be.   I would be unable to survive fully and happily in a relationship where I felt I couldn't trust the person I was with.  How are you supposed to be one with another person when they refuse to communicate and have broken the bridge between you two?


I told her very straight up that she can't trust him any more and the relationship is pretty much over.  She kept saying, "I don't know what I'm going to do", but today, only a couple days later, she has decided to give it ANOTHER chance (even though he has lied to her before about other drugs) and take it slowly, see how things pan out.


Is it a huge mistake?  It seems like she is feeding BS to herself, trying to convince herself that her relationship will become whole again, persuading herself to trust him and that everything will be okay.  It's a frustrating situation for me to sit through because I feel so strongly about her leaving him, but I also am trying to be an understanding and kind friend.


I don't know.  Bunches of BS, indeed.  


But on a better note:


we adopted another cat (kitten actually), 4 mths old and as cute as button

and I have lots of books to read which makes me soo happy, another reason I love summer:


20.  summer reading list
21.  greenhouses in parking lots
22.  daisies

Summer is still coming along:) 

HOT

It's been unbearably humid and toasty warm around here.  The dog lays around the apartment languidly, panting heavily, the cat barely moves the entire day.  We scuttle into our only air conditioned room in the apartment:  the bedroom and lay low there, wishing we had a tv in our bedroom, because we've become addicted to Community.


But reasons, reasons... 


16.  hanging baskets of flowers
17.  fireworks!
18. the sun is still out when I'm walking home from work
19. bike rides on the nearby trails

camp fire

summer is marching on inexorably.  my parents have had a couple backyard camp fires which are accompanied by lusty and often off-tune singing, snacks and good humour.

12.  the taste of a camp fire roasted hot dog
13.  the smell of burning wood which buries itself deep into your clothes and can be smelled for days after
14.  the singing and laughing around the fire
15.  the warmth, the flame, the CAMP FIRE!

here's to many more camp fires this summer!

smoothies!

Yesterday Matt & I went to a new smoothie bar called GSB on James St.  I snapped a few pics while I was looking around and sampled a pineapple banana smoothie and a mango peach smoothie.  Their smoothies are all natural with spinach and you can choose a "kick" such as cranberries, spirulina, nuts, etc. 


The smoothies were pretty delicious, although I had opted for the mango peach and I found it was quite bland, probably because it didn't have artificially created flavours which usually taste stronger.   The smaller sized smoothie ran at $3.95, the large size running at almost $6.  It's a standard price for smoothies, in my opinion, although one neat thing about GSB was that the cups and straws are totally biodegradable.  We tossed them into our green bin after enjoying them.


Anyway, it's nice to see the variety of stores popping up in the downtown of Hamilton.


So...



11.  fresh smoothies that quench your summer thirst

words words words

We bandy around words like, "I want to make this work" and "I'm trying the best I can", when what we might really be saying is, "This isn't working for me any more" and "I can only do so much".  The vulnerability in the long silences where words are not enough hangs heavily in the air, apathy chasing close behind.

When we say such things, I wonder if we're done.  I can't imagine my parents sitting around, heavy tense moments, trying to decide if things can work in the future, if all will be copacetic and calm.  Even though they would fight and argue, sometimes in such a disturbingly vicious manner that I doubted their future, I somehow can't envision them sitting down calmly and discussing their pros and cons, attempting to understand and rationalize the issues, trying to find a reason to stay together.


At that point, I wonder.  Wonder if we're done, wonder why we're staying together, wonder if he will give up before I do, wonder why no one warned me about how difficult love is, wonder if it's all worth it.


I step away from the moment, I wake up the next morning and go to work.  I sit at my desk under fluorescent lights and high-pitched humming of monitors and I think to myself, 'All I want to do right now is be at home with him'.  There it is.  That's the reason why I keep arguing and keep fighting, keep thrashing about and attempting to fix things.

Summer makes my temper run high.  The constant humidity and heat, sweat everywhere, feeling too hot to cook a meal, constantly and hydrating and thus having to pee... I snap and become restless, wanting to go on a road trip or get away for a few days.


What I still love about summer is:


7.  the slow and vibrant sunrises
8.  all colour green ~ trees, bushes, plants, flowers, life!
9.  sitting outside on my lunch break at work, basking in the sun
10.  every night feels like a Friday night

It always gets better and that is what I tell myself to get through the fights, the difficulties, the struggles.  There is often nothing else you can do, except believe in a future that may not seem tangible in the present.

"With the past I have nothing to do; nor with the future.  I live now." ~R.W. Emerson

  

Colours & Toes

Summer is marching on.  It's only June 27 and I have always felt as child that summer begins when we go camping, but this year I'm hanging on to every precious minute of it.  Each day that I work seems like a waste and it becomes hard for me to face the long twelve hour shifts stuck inside, washed out by fluorescent lights, catching only glimpses of the sun through patient's windows.  

I'm told we enjoy summer so much because we are forced to endure harsh winters, but I am starting to doubt that rationale.  I feel I will always love summers, the warmth and the relaxation, the vacations, the list goes on and on and I'll continue it with a few more reasons why I love summer:\

3.  the smell of fresh flowers on walks
4.  pedicures ~ cos your toes are hidden all winter
5.  the vibrancy of colours around us in nature, our clothes, everything!
6.  warm summer breezes

May your summer be bright with colour, warm with breezes and rainstorms, and new each and every day!

Mmm yum!

There's a difference between eating an tomato or apple in the middle of winter and in the summer.  Fresh berries, fresh melons...everything tastes so much more vibrant and real.  When you're a child, you never really notice the taste of fresh with produce, but as I've become more interested in cooking with produce I have begun to enjoy shopping at the local farmer's market and buying local fruit and vegetables.

For breakfast today:  an orange and an apple.  Crispy, fresh apple, juicy orange.

So my summer love today:  fresh veg and fruit!


Woohoo for strawberry picking!

Til next time!

It's here!

Here is the first post of what will be a succession of many posts!   Things I love about summer is going to be a list of 100 activities, smells, experiences that I love about summer!  


I'm going to kick off the list with *drum roll*


SAND!


In the winter all the beautiful sand that surrounds the Great Lakes is buried underneath snow and ice.  There is nothing like the feeling of sand between your toes, walking down the beach, building sandcastles, digging little trenches with your heels, being buried up to your neck... 


The downside is the grittiness in the bed if you don't clean it off properly, but it's all worth it!

As you can see, Licorice loves the sand as much as I do.  When I take him to the beach, he  digs a huge hole with frenzied excitement, then lays down and rolls about in it.  


So there you have it, the first love of summer!  I hope you stayed tuned in for the next 99 loves!