The Adventures of Ryan and Dee

The Official Announcement!

2010-01-24T11:52:00.010-04:00

Okay, so I admit it, I'm like THE worst blogger in the existence of bloggers. I figure it doesn't REALLY make that much difference though because I don't have an onslaught of loyal followers waiting with baited breath to read the latest news...and if I did...they died a long time ago from suffocation. Anyways, I'd try to commit to write more frequently but we all know that would be an empty promise, and I have more integrity than that.

However...that being said...there is a possibility that over the next little while there will be a little more to write about.

Why, you may ask?

Well, Ryan and I an announcement to make!

Our lives will be drastically changing over the next couple of months.

We are absolutely thrilled about it.

Though we may be losing a significant amount of sleep because of all the noise,

and we're so used to it just being the two of us in this apartment,

while we're thrilled,

it's certainly going to be a big adjustment.

Is the suspense killing you yet?

Okay, I'll let you in on the secret.

...

Ryan and I

are

MOVING TO PHILADELPHIA!

Haha, gotchya didn't I? No, we're not having a baby, and no we're not thinking about having a baby just yet. We are however, pulling up our roots and taking the plunge. And we'll be moving back into my parent's house, which is so affectionately (and appropriately) referred to frequently as "the zoo." After years of just the two of us it will certainly be an adjustment!

As most of you know I'm from Philadelphia and I came to Nova Scotia for university, met Ryan, got married and have been here ever since. Most of you also know that I spent 10 months of the year desperately homesick and the other 2 visiting my family. And even though I'm a homebody who wishes with every fibre of my core that I could spend every moment of my entire life with my family, I've always told myself that I would go where the Lord wanted me to go.

So even though it was hard

I stayed put

And I...

finished my education

found the most perfect eternal companion

built a really incredible relationship with my affy and papa before she passed

made some amazing friends

and

grew into the person I am today

The Lord knew what he was doing when He kept telling me to

look past the tears,

bite down hard

and turn back

every time I just wanted to run home.

I have loved my time in Nova Scotia, it's where my love and I started our life together. But after out last trip to Pennsylvania for the holidays, that feeling, that knowledge, that coming back was the right thing, was absent.

The more we talked about it,

with each other, with family, with friends,

The more we searched it out,

within ourselves, our hearts, in the scriptures,

The more prayed about it,

together, individually

And the more we communed with the Lord,

The more we knew,

our time in Nova Scotia was finished and it was time to move on.

We did not come to this decision lightly. We find ourselves deliciously scared as we embark upon this next chapter in our marriage. It's a dousy, I struggled with how "irresponsible" it seemed for a while. But like I said, Ryan and I have exhausted our spiritual efforts to make sure this is the right move for us, no pun intended, and so now we put our best efforts forward and have faith that the rest will be taken care of.

We would like to thank everyone who has become so dear to us in Nova Scotia over the past several years. You have truly helped make this a home for us and we are sad to leave you. We appreciate your support as we move on though.

And for my own benefit...

EEEEEEEEEEEEK! I'M GOING HOME!

School, Work, Hobbies and Friends

2009-07-16T17:24:00.004-03:00

So we've been busy busy busy lately and I figured it was time for an update. I am FINALLY at the tail end of my degree. The beginning part of the summer I was in four super intensive condensed classes and I wasn't sure I was going to survive it. But not only did I survive but I conqured and now I just have ONE class that I'm working on to finish up. It's called Traditions of Christian Women in Religion and has thus far been an overview of the history of Christianity. It's a distance class so I watch it on the TV and I don't even have to go into campus to finish. Sometimes it's harder to do it distance because I'm sitting on the couch thinking "I'd MUCH rather switch over to Cake Boss or Charmed right now...FOCUS, focus, focus..." Eventually I get through it but between episodes I generally reward myself with a snippett of another show we've recorded...I love DVR. Anyways, the class will be finished mid-August and I will officiallybe a degree holding adult. We are both totally psyched, Ryan moreso because I'll stop driving him crazy with my perfectionist tendencies that keep me up until 3 or 4 in the morning fiddling with lines in papers, designs for websites, schedules for events, etc.

In other news I also quit my job at the Delta Barrington Hotel and am moving on in the world. After two years it was time for me to move on and after this came to light a little while ago I began seriously job hunting. I'm actually going to be working with Ryan at Admiral Insurance working in their sales department. I'm excited for a new start but nervous at the same time. The company has been great to Ryan over the past year and a half and there is room for growth within the company to perhaps a more PR oriented position in the future. Everyone wonders whether Ryan and I anticipate a problem working together and it was certainly a conversation we had before I applied. However, at the end of the day we decided the only real problem would be if Ryan ended up as my boss (since he's in management) and we were assured this would never be the case. Truthfully I can't wait to work with him. Some of our greatest challenges throughout our marriage have been finding time to be together when our schedules were totally opposite. While our schedules may not always be identical in this job they will always fall within several hours of each other and hey, we'll, hopefully, get to each lunch together most days. What more could a wife ask for?!

Ryan has officially enrolled for full time classes for the fall. He's a bit anxious about the whole thing but I think he's looking forward to really getting his degree(s?) underway. And I'm looking forward to giving him the opportity to do it.

Ryan has also recently taken an interest in carpentry. Some of you may know my papa Charlie Grant. For those of you who don't he's like a "wow" incredible carpenter. In an effort to become more of a handy man Ryan has enlisted Papa to teach him to start building and fixing things. He's hoping to learn the basics of carpentry so that eventually he'll be able to build cool things. His first project is building me a nice sturdy book case (unlike the one we have right now). I'm currently working with Papa learning how to restore my incredibly sad looking coffee table. We are so lucky to have such a talented generous teacher amongst our family. Plus, it gives us more time with him. I'll post pictures when we're all finished our projects.

We did just have a friend from the states come up for a visit. My best friend from high school and beyond, Lisa, came up for a Canadian adventure a couple of weeks ago and stayed for 2 weeks. We took her all over and we think she enjoyed it. Amongst our adventures were Peggy's Cove (of course), a tour of the Alexander Keith's Brewery, a ride on the Harbour Hopper and we even got a chance to check out the free Virgin Mobile Offspring concert. It was a blast. Mostly though it was just nice to have an old friend in my (not so) new (anymore) life here in Nova Scotia. Here are som pictures from her visit.

Alive and Kickin'

2009-05-13T17:24:00.006-03:00

I know it's been a while since we've posted anything. Things have been so amazingly crazily busy and somehow the blog just got pushed to the bottom of the priority list. Well now I'm at home with the flu, ugh, and I've already watched three episodes of The Bachelor Paris (ya, don't judge me, I'm sick) I thought I'd write something to let everyone know we're still alive and kickin'.

The last I posted was for American Thanksgiving like five months ago. Since then we've made several trips down to the states (one for Christmas and a surprise one for Easter), completed another semester of school and started (for Dee) the VERY LAST semester, Dee started career hunting (scary! let me know if you hear of anyone wanting to hire an incredibly talented PR grad), we celebrated Ryan's 24th birthday and I'm sure much much more.

Our trips to Philadelphia were absolutely amazing. We always love visiting my parents. At least I do, sometimes the zoo is a little overwhelming for Ryan I think. But regardless we always have a great time. Our last trip was for Easter and we were there for 12 days. It was so nice to be finished classes and not have to worry about all the stress back home. We just settled in and had a great time. Mom and I had a great day getting our hair done at David Witchells for her birthday/mother's day. She got her hair cut and coloured and it looked absolutely fabulous if I do say so myself. I got mine cut and it looked great, like always when I get it done there.

Ryan and I had a chance to babysit for Seth and Meaghan and had a great day with little Josh. It was Ryan's dream come true when the woman at the Lindor outlet asked if she was ours. Oops!

Other than that, we didn't do anything Earth shattering but we spent a lot of time with family and friends and had a great time doing it. We made the trip in one fell swoop and Ryan was a major trooper and drove the WHOLE way back home. We got through a lot of Law and Order: SVU on the car ride (Thanks for the series of DVD for Christmas Shaun!) and we had some great laughs along the way. I'm constantly amazing and grateful that I am married to such a wonderful (and FUNNY) man.

I make no promises that I'll be better at this for the next six weeks, I'm a busy woman! But I do promise to make a more concentrated effort. I just thought I'd post a video from Christmas for everyone, it was from when Ryan opened his Wii on Christmas morning. I've been meaning to post it.

And I'm Proud to be an American...

2008-12-12T21:15:00.007-04:00

Allow me to show you some of our American Thanksgiving goodness...drooling is allowed as I know that I am an amazing cook!

The bird in all its golden goodness

Now I'm just being artistic

That's right folks, I gutted, cleaned and stuffed that bird all on my lonesome...probably violated it in every way possible!

Check out our spread! Fancy serving dishes? Who needs them?

That's right, a Pecan Pie AND an Apple Crumble Pie...thanks goodness for pie plates that have the edges in them already

Along with homemade pies I also make pumpkins roll, a delicious spice roll with cream cheese filling...unfortunately I can never roll it so it doesn't break...mom has promised to teach me this art during Christmas this year.

Finally, we have all three desserts for your drooling pleasure.

Good friends and good food...it's great to be an AMERICAN!

'Tis the Season

2008-12-05T09:33:00.002-04:00

I am in the Holiday Spirit this year like no other!

The decorations, the music, the shopping...I love it all. And this year I'm in the running for the "Greatest Wife Ever" award with the Christmas present I've gotten Ryan. He thinks he's getting a watch...HA! I'll show him!

This is ALSO the time of year that I get to go to the good ol' US of A! We're packing in the car at 5:00 am on December 19 and making the 18 hour drive home. Hopefully between Papa and Ryan I won't have to drive and I'll be able to sleep in the back and read. Regardless though, I can't even TELL you how excited I am to go home. I miss the kiddies and my mom and dad. I miss the Nelsons and the Tribe. I miss the big house and the free food and the pampering from my mom because she loves having us home so much. I miss mom’s sage and wise advice. I miss her comfort and her encouragement. I miss feeling like I can do anything in the world because she has such incredible faith in me. I know most of you don’t know my mom but she is an absolutely, indescribably phenomenal person. She has wisdom far beyond her years and she has unwavering faith and love in and for her children. She truly believes I could stand on top of the world if I wanted to and she would not only support me but give up anything she could to help me do it. That kind of unconditional love and support is something I miss most about home. Not that Ryan doesn’t give me that kind of support, he does, but there is nothing quite like the bond between mother and daughter. I can’t wait to be with her again.

Christmas, to me, while I love the snow and the shopping and the lights, is a reflective, nostalgic, joyous time. This year I have been thinking about what Christmas really is. With the world in economic turmoil and my family not doing any better than the next guy, I was concerned about the little ones and if they would have a satisfying Christmas this year. I talked to my dad about my concerns and offered a helping hand. He, of course, turned me down but it was what he said that convinced me not to do it anyway. He said that Christmas for us has never been and never will be about the presents. There is always the illusion that there are lots of presents but that’s because everyone gets one or two things and there are so many of us that it seems like the room is overflowing. He reminded me that Christmas in our house is about having everyone home. It was then that I realized that we give up the luxury of lots of presents to be able to afford to bring the entire family together for a couple moments of absolutely unjaded joy as we bask in love that is our eternal union. And that is so much better than an empty house on Christmas morning with a tree overflowing with shallow “things”. It has been 5 or 6 years now since my family has all lived under one roof and Christmas is, unfailingly, the only time of the year that we are always reunited. We put aside our differences and hold on to each other for the few short moments we have together before having to separate back to the different paths our lives have led us.

Over the past several years it is clear to me that “Christmas” is synonymous with “family” in my mind. That is why I always look forward to it with such anticipation. Then I started to think about family and what family is and means to me. My family is a relief. We are wild and crazy and absolutely everywhere, but we are completely free of judgment, entirely filled with love and wholly forgiving in all respects. Being with family means being able to relax and just be myself. I am to simply exist as the purest version of who I really am. Because regardless of my infinite flaws, their love is 100% unconditional and guaranteed.

Family, at least my family, is the single strongest connection on Earth and this year I have learned that that extends to in-laws as well. Over the past year there have been times when Ryan and I have struggled to make ends meet. Despite the 5 jobs we held between the two of us at the beginning of our marriage, we floundered in a financial whirlpool for a while. His parents were always loving and giving. I can’t remember a time when his mom didn’t show up with a huge basket of food for us when they came to visit. Conveniently enough she always had that 10 lb bag of flour that I’d just run out and couldn’t afford to replace of or a refill for our rice supply. There were many times when the reason we got a meal at night was because of my in-laws. I am fortunate to have married into a truly incredible family. And I pray that I can glean from them the many lessons they can teach me.

As I considered the implications of family in my life, I started to think of the “true” meaning of Christmas. Family, I realized, is completely encompassed in the true meaning of Christmas. As we gather together to celebrate the love that we have for one another, we gather together to also celebrate the love we have for Christ, the eldest of our siblings. He is our family, He is the reason our family exists, He is the reason our family is eternal and we celebrate His life, His death, His resurrection, His sacrifice, and His love and mercy. At this time we are so prominently grateful to Him for all He has given us, specifically, the opportunity to extend this familial bond beyond time and into eternity. It is because of him that we are able to look forward to an eternity of Christmases together. It is because of him that we are able to overcome the consuming grief of losing Affy and push past that pain to know that she sits with us that morning, watching over us, if only for a moment, to bring peace to our hearts about her life.

The older I get the more I appreciate this time of year. I dwell on the blessings in my life, the incredible friends I have, the solid family unit I have and now the family that Ryan and I will one day build. It used to be hard to look through the commercialism and see what this season is really all about. But now, I find it difficult to remember the commercialism and buy presents because all I can ever think about is the love that exists during this time of the year and how excited I am to participate in it.

Of course, Christmas morning is fun. But mostly, I live for the Christmas season. The week before and the week after when I get to be home again. The absolute spiritual and emotional uplift I receive. Some people may hate this time of the year, but I spend the rest of the year waiting for it to come around again.

Happy Holidays everyone. May this holiday season be as prosperous in love and wealthy in joy for you as it is for me.

Movin' On Up!

2008-11-25T14:03:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to take a brief moment to publically congratulate my brilliant husband.

Ryan was promoted at work today. He was a sales agent for a car insurance company and today he was promoted to an "SCR". I don't actaully know what the acroynm stands for but it means that he'll now be helping to manage a sales team. He'll still spend some time on the phone but he'll spend a lot of his time in a supervisory position.

CONGRATULATIONS BABY! He's movin' up in the world...and I always knew he would.

Burnt Apple Pie Anyone?

2008-11-24T15:26:00.000-04:00

What a weekend!

It all started Friday night when the white blankets fell. Ryan and I dabbled with the idea of going out with some friends. There were several options.

First was the millionth week in a row at the Clay Café where we would paint nothing and watch everyone else do their 3 or 4 piece. This was not number one on my list.

The second was the movies. I was up for that. Except Ashley and Alex wanted to see “Quantum Solace” and while I like James Bond just as much as the next girl, I’d really rather enjoy James Bond for a $5, 2 night rental with homemade popcorn and candy that will cost me a total of $20 instead of about $40. So option two wasn’t really number one on my list either.

Considering the pending weather conditions options one and two seemed to be less and less appealing. Therefore, I concocted option three.

Option three was to get Chinese takeout from our favorite (and CHEAP) Chinese restaurant, rent a chick flick and stay home curled up under a fleece blanket with the REALLY gorgeous guy I call my husband. Option three was INFINITELY more appealing to me than options one and two so I had to convince that gorgeous guy that it was the best option for him as well.

Luckily enough I have a fairly complacement husband and he doesn’t really care what we do as long as we do it together (I know, he’s so romantic). Therefore, option three was the winner. And in old, boring married couple fashion, we stuffed our faces and watched the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. It was wonderful.

Around 10:30ish the snow started to fall. And it fell. And fell. And fell. And then it fell some more. Around 12, when it was supposed to START, I was even more glad that we had chosen to stay in. Driving on those roads? There is absolutely no way our car would have made it up the hill to the apartment and we would have been walking. And I would have been CRANKY.

The next morning I made Ryan get up and walk to the gym with me. We get there around 10:20 and the girl told us we were number 6 and 7 for the day…she had been there since 8. We had a good time working out together though, we don’t generally get to and Ryan kicked my butt on the weights. I just told him it was because his wife was so dainty and lady like…he burst out laughing.

Then it was off to the Delta Barrington for a fun filled (dead) night of answering phones and checking in the two guests that braved the weather and showed up. A bunch of people stayed in the hotel for the night in order to ensure workers for the morning as there were “snow squalls” forecasted for the evening. I, however, booted it out early to catch a BUS, yes I rode a bus for the first time in MONTHS and at midnight on a Saturday night nonetheless, to go home. Ryan picked me up at the Lacewood Terminal and drove me safely back home. It was probably about 12:20 by the time we got home. But at least I wasn’t trapped at the hotel.

Sunday was the primary presentation.

It was…interesting. My little sunbeams had trouble sitting still for so long. In an effort to thwart their secret telling and giggles while the other kids were saying their parts, to their great protestation, I sat between them. Eventually we compromised and one of them sat on my lap so they could still sit next to each other. Towards the end I think it was all just a little too much for them because they started to get incredibly rambunctious (as I imagine most 3 and 4 year olds do after sitting for over an hour). I, however, was tuckered out and could not handle it. I simply had to stand up and leave the stage…while crying in front of everyone. How incredibly embarrassing the whole ordeal was. I could just hear in my head everyone pitying the poor 22 year old newly wed who was never going to have children because she couldn’t even handle a couple of sunbeams. This made me cry even MORE because I kept thinking of what a lousy mother I was going to be. Anyways, after a long and drawn out internal beating Ryan was able to calm me down and convince me I shouldn’t count myself as a failed mother yet…seeing as we’re not even thinking about having kids right now, I had some time. We then had a primary party and I was glad I did not have to teach my lesson all red and splotchy.

Sunday afternoon I was still moping about so Ryan made some crackers and cheese for lunch and we watched Gilmore Girls. It always seems to cheer me up. We cleaned the place and got ready for supper with his parents.

We had the pleasure of hosting my in-laws for supper Sunday night. I was so proud, I did a pot roast with mashed pertatters and corn. We had bread and butter and I even managed to make an apple crumble pie for dessert. I was really feeling like a hot shot housewife when they showed up to my spotless house, and a wafting aroma of roast and apple pie mingling together that would even make a vegetarian hungry for what I had cooking. I took the pie out of the oven, set up everything and went to go be sociable. I then smelled, amongst all the wonderful melding juices, what was the unmistakable smell of burn. That, however, was utterly impossible as there was nothing left cooking. Unfortunately in my oh so prideful head I’d forgotten to turn off the burner I’d been doing the gravy on. This also just so happens to be where I put the pie when it came out of the oven. Luckily enough the glass plate didn’t break but there was a giant circular burn on the crust of the pie. I caught it early enough that I didn’t destroy the ENTIRE pie but the bottom was pretty bad. Ryan’s mom tried to make me feel better and told me it happens all the time. No one was overly concerned about it except for me. And I mean, the pie did still taste pretty good. But the pie wasn’t the only thing burned, my ego was showing a bit charred around the edges too.

All in all it was a good weekend in the snow. I love, absolutely love, this time of year. Sweaters and snowmen mean I get to go home soon. And that I cannot wait for. It’ll be 25 days and then I’ll be back in good ol’ U.S of A. Back with family and friends. And it couldn’t come soon enough.

Bandwagon

2008-11-14T13:16:00.003-04:00

I'm jumping on the bandwagon and taking these quizzes like Sarah and Heather...because I'm awesome...and KIND OF procrastinating.

Your Blog Should Be Blue

Your blog is a peaceful, calming force in the blogosphere.
You tend to avoid conflict - you're more likely to share than rant.
From your social causes to cute pet photos, your life is a (mostly) open book.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

You Are Uptown

You are classy, cultured, and well educated. You are an expert on the finer things in live.
Your city girl persona loves all of the opportunities a city offers. But only in the best neighborhoods.

You enjoy high end restaurants, the nicest shops, and quiet afternoons at the museum.
Of all types, you are the most likely to have a solid career. You like being surrounded by professionals.

Are You An Uptown Girl or Downtown Girl?

You Live in the Present

You take things one day at a time.
And it turns out, that's a pretty great way to live.

You aren't consumed by the past, and you're aren't obsessed with the future.
You live in the now, and you enjoy each moment.

While most people don't live in the present enough, make sure you don't live in it too much.
It would be a mistake to forget your past or neglect to plan for the future.

Do You Live in the Past, Present, or Future?

What Your Ideal Wedding Dress Says About You

Your Personal Style:

Classic and elegant. You prefer to make a statement with a few quality pieces.

Your Ideal Wedding:

Traditional and formal, but not tacky. You think the most beautiful weddings are understated.

Your Philosophy on Marriage:

It's a serious commitment, and the couple entering it should be ready to work for their relationship.

Your Perfect Marriage:

Is calm, stable, deep, and meaningful.

The Wedding Dress Test

You See the World Through Green Colored Glasses

You live your life with generosity. You feel like your life is abundant, and you are very giving toward those around you.
You judge all your interactions through the lens of harmony. You figure you have something to learn from everyone, and you listen well.

You face challenges with a persistent attitude. You can see the prize at the end of the road, and you have the strength to get there.
You see love as the utmost expression of self-esteem. You have to love yourself before you can truly love someone else.

At your worst, you are greedy and selfish. You love money more than you'd like to admit.
You are happiest when you are in nature. You appreciate the feeling of balance that being outdoors brings you.

What Color Glasses Do You See the World Through?

You Are Much Closer to Your Family

You consider your family members to be your some of best friends.
And you can count on them more than anyone else in the world.

You're very similar to your family, and you find it easy to get along with them.
You know that they understand you and love you for who you are.

Are You Closer to Your Friends or Your Family?

Lights, Camera, Curtains!

2008-11-12T11:23:00.005-04:00

I've been waiting for something remotely amusing to happen to post. No such luck. I guess the hockey escipade was as good as it gets lately. So I thought I'd write something mundane for everyone to read! If you stop reading now...I'll understand.

We were going to go to another Mooseheads game last week and I thought I'd get some good material from that. But that didn't happen, I guess we couldn't get good seats and we didn't want to pay for the upper bowl seats. Instead we had a night at home with our friends Ashley and Alex. Cold Case and movie later we officially became boring, old married couples. The irony: we had a GREAT time!

Yesterday was Veteran's/Remembrance Day. I can never remember which one is for which country anymore. Ryan and I had a great day. We slept in, probably later than we should have. Ryan finished up some school work while I made us a feast of crepes. They were yummy. On Monday we bought stuff to, FINALLY, put up curtains. Tuesday was dubbed curtain day. We started putting them up around 4 pm. At least we tried to. Ryan quickly realized that while all the curtains and rods came with the screws needed to install them, they did not come with the screwdrivers and/or drills needed. And Ryan, being the manly man that he is, was trying to use this multi-tool screwdriver that I got...AT MY BRIDAL SHOWER! He quickly learned that you just can not put a hole in the wall without the proper equipment. So we made a couple quick calls and he ran across the street to borrow ASHLEY'S tools while I drove to borrow TRACY'S drill. Anyone else amused that all the tools we borrowed were the woman's? Well this was fitting seeing as it was ME that reminded Ryan of the proper tools he would need to get the job done.

He started in the bedroom (the most important as far as I'm concerned). These weren't curtains, we just got one of those slotted blinds that you can open and shut as needed. He figured these would be the easiest to install. Wrong-o! He was in there for probably about an hour. While he did this I took it upon myself to clean the house. I started in the kitchen. I did the dishes, cleared every inch of the counter and wiped it down then disinfected it, reorganized the counter, washed the spice rack, filled the empty spice bottles, wiped down the cupboards...and Ryan FINALLY finished in the bedroom.

Then it was on to the living, this one would DEFINITELY be the easiest, he was sure. Wrong-o! This room took him about an hour as well. So I continued on my quest. At this point the exterior of the kitchen was basically done so I worked on the fridge. I normally make Ryan do this because it GROSSES me out big time. But I figured since he was putting up the curtains I'd give him this little grace. So I began. First the bottom drawers and the bottom shelf. I took everything out, wiped it down, opened some mystery containers, promptly threw them out, called Ryan in to open a couple mystery containers that I REFUSED to open and promptly had Ryan throw them out, then I disinfected, reorganized and did the same thing with the next to shelves. I swept, spot scrubbed and moved on to the bathroom. I then cleaned the whole bathroom, including the tub, the floor and cleaned the mirror glass and Ryan, FINALLY, finished.

Now it was time for the kitchen. Surely this would be the easiest room of all! Wrong-o! Actually this may have actually been the easiest room but it still took him about 45 minutes. The window was awakwardly placed for him to put curtains up so he had to stand on the counter, slouch down, drill straight and then screwdrive. However, the wall apparently was particularly hard to drill on because I kept hearing "OH FREAK!" and a strange noise coming from the drill. Finally he realized he was pushing the button hard enough to make the drill go fast enough to make a hole in the wall...oh my manly man is so manly. Though I do appreciate his caution when putting holes in the rented walls. While he was doing this I was ironing the curtains. First were the new kitchen curtains. There were 2 panels and they were collectively about 5 feet wide and 3 feet long. I'm not a natural ironer so THIS was a task for me. When I didn't think the iron felt like it was hot enough I took it upon myself to touch it...with my 3 fingers. I dont' think I have finger prints on those fingers anymore. Sometimes I'm not the brightest bulb in the bunch. The next time I wanted to check the heat of the iron I simply flicked water on it. The water didn't even sizzle and evaoprate, it just rolle right off. It was hot. So after much pain and agony I ironed the kitchen curtains. They look pretty darn good to me! I then took it upon myself, feeling ambitious apparently, to iron the living room curtains (they hadn't been put up yet, just the rod had, because they looked TERRIBLE un-ironed). These ones are floor length and beautiful. Some friends gave them to us as part of their wedding present. They are a soft green and I bought 2 sheer "oyster" (yes, that is the colour on the packaging) panels to go with it because they weren't wide enough to cover the window. I only ironed the green ones because I was terrified to iron the sheer ones...that's tonights job. So by the time I finished ironing all the curtains, Ryan had the kitchen curtains hung!

I'll post pictures as soon as I take them. But the place looks nice, it's finally starting to look like people live there as opposed to people who blow in and out and just sleep there...though the latter may be closer to the truth anyway.

Later that night we went roller blading with Jen and Adam and Simon and Danielle. It was lots of fun. I borrowed Jen's roller blades and now we're talking about getting a pair for Ryan. Poor guy, he had to run along us as we skated. I did give Jen a minor heart attack when I had a mini asthma attack and we were halfway around the mall with no puffer. But other than that it was smooth sailing.

All in all it was a great day off and it's been a good week. I'm still looking for ideas for tomorrow night's date night...let me know if you can think of anything awesome!

IIIIIIII AM THE CHAMPION MY FRIENDS!

2008-11-03T16:26:00.009-04:00

While everyone else panicked to sew authentic homemade costumes for their children on Thursday night, the night before Halloween, I panicked to find a great date night for Ryan. It was my turn to choose and I wanted to find something that would be just especially for Ryan. I try to think of him when I plan our dates but I always think of me too, for example, I really wanted to go to the beach. He loved it but mostly it was because I wanted to. This time, I wanted to make it all about him...because I'm such an incredible wife. Well, with a little help from EnCana (my company) I can safely say: Mission Accomplished.

Last week's date was a no brainer since we had a wedding to attend Thursday and Friday night. I had forgotten it was my turn to plan since Ryan had orchastrated the one previous and the wedding doesn't actually count as anyone's. So I sat in the car Thursday morning on the way to work and thought "OH NO! IT'S MY TURN!" I thought maybe I wouldn't mention it and he'd forget and I'd be off the hook. But then I realized that meant that we didn't get a date night and I wasn't up for that. So I sat at work all morning wracking my brain. And then an e-mail came to my inbox:

"WINNERS of Hockey tickets - Oct 30 & Nov 2/08"

My company purchased a corporate package of hockey tickets for the season and every week there is a drawing. I generally toss our name in and don't pay attention to the winners because I never win anything. But this particular Thursday the spirit spoke to my mind and said "read this e-mail"...ok, really, I was short on work and looking for something to distract me from editing the quarterly stakeholder log for the 15 billionth time so I read it:

...and the winners are:

Thursday, Oct 30 game:

Yves Trepanier
Deidra Hopkins

Sunday, Nov 2 game:

Michael Greencorn
Tracy Wright

Congratulations! Enjoy

Alright, so my name wasn't huge in bold and pink for everyone to clap and cheer at. But I felt like it should have been. Thank you EnCana, for totally bailing me out of date night and officially making me the coolest wife EVER.

I was ecstatic! So I texted Ryan and told him to call me as soon as he could. He called and I said "So...did you have anything in mind for date night tonight?" I waited, ecstatic that I was going to make him so happy and, of course my loyal and faithful husband said,

"Well, I kind of had an idea. Why?"
My heart sank, what if his was better?!
"Well...what was it?"
"I thought we could go out for dinner."
YES! MINE WAS WAY BETTER!
"Oh. Well. We could. Or, I mean, only if you want, we could go to the Mooseheads game."
I smiled so self-satisfied.
He paused.
"You mean...we could DO that?"
I had successfuly shocked my husband...which is a nice change because generally I'm fairly predictable.
"Of COURSE! Oh and I'm thinking, since I know you like hockey and all, we could splurge and get some good seats, you know, on the ice? I'm thinking row H would be just right."
He paused again, I think he was trying to decide if I was playing a cruel joke on him.
"Well...if you want we could"
He was kind of holding his breath waiting for witch cackle to come.
"Of course, we could sweetheart, I'll take care of everything. Have a great day at work! Oh and Ryan..."
He paused...AGAIN
"yes?" he tensely asked like he knew what was going to hit him, a big fat JUST KIDDING
"I love you."
and I hung up the phone.

I thought this would be my selfless good deed as a wife for the year because I'm really not into sports and I was going to suffer through 2.5 hours of it just to please him. However, I was totally wrong. It was great! I think I drove Ryan and the guys in front of us crazy every 30 seconds asking "WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" as I screamed with everyone else, but after the 2nd period I got a handle on what was going on and quite contentedly settled in with my carmel corn and diet pop to watch the Mooseheads kick the Sea Dog's collective butts.

However, I was misinformed. I didn't know that actual fist fighting was allowed in hockey. I thought that them checking each other into the side was considered "fighting" and was happy with that. About 30 seconds before the end of the game these two guys starting WAILING on each other, like, they had to scrape the blood off the ice they were going at it so hard. Well I was completely shocked by this and let me tell you I was not happy about it. So as everyone else stands screaming I am standing up yelling, as loud as I possibly could from row 8 "STOP IT! STOP IT!" then turning to Ryan and yelling "MAKE THEM STOP! MAKE! THEM! STOP! IT!" and Ryan is looking at me like "And how do you propose I do that?" So I would turn back to them and scream "Stop it! STOOOOOOOP!" Finally the referees broke them up. I then informed Ryan that our children were NEVER playing hockey. I think Ryan then realized that this would be the last time it would be date night at the arena, he was holding out hope earlier when I was content with carmel corn.

However, we had great seats and for the most part it was a great time. This time I remembered my camera so here are some pictures:

or rather...i'll post pictures when I can figure out how.

Anyways, that's the most exciting news of the week. I also have to add though, after the game we had dinner at the restaurant in the hotel I work at so we both ate and had drinks for $18.00 (and a generous tip because I knew the girl serving us), which also means that my date night comes in as #1 coolest this far AS WELL AS wins in the #1 most economical date. Forget the Moosheads, I AM THE CHAMPION!

3 Mid Terms a Sealing and a Reception

2008-10-28T13:53:00.005-03:00

I don't really have any exciting news. But I thought I'd try to keep up to date.

Last week was a busy one! Wednesday night I had Faith-In-God. Our last activity was making playdough and painting with pudding. It was a ton of fun but also a ton of mess. This one, thank goodness, was a little more low key. We had a games night! We bowled and played Phase 10 Twist. Kathryn supervised the bowling while I took over the Phase 10...it proved much harder to teach 9 and 10 year olds card games than I'd anticipated. We got like 2 rounds done. We had fun halloween treats that Deanna made for us! Marshmellows covered in choolate and deocrated like spiders (black licorice legs!) and some wicked awesome pumpkin shaped cookies. We loved our treats!

Thursday our friends Lydia and Greame were sealed for time and all eternity in the Halifax Temple. The temple is currently closed for maintenance but they opened it up especially for Lydia and Graeme and for Geordie, a great young man who took out his endowments before he leaves for his mission. We did a session before the sealing and it was nice to get to go through since we haven't been able to go with it being closed. However, the part that they are renovating is the front entrance which means we weren't able to use the door. There is a hidden door on the side of the building that goes into the boiler room and we had to use that one. We walked all the way around and could not find anything that looked like a door. The stake president followed shortly thereafter and casually pointed and said "ya just go through THAT door" to which I responded "oh, THAT door? Obviously, the door that looks exactly like the rest of the building, how did I MISS that?" I'm not sure he appreciated my sarcasm fully but in through the garden, past a wall and through the side of the building we went where of COURSE there was a temple worker sitting there, next to the boiler, with a laptop and a scanner. It was all very amusing to me. The sealing was wonderful, I thought Lydia might just bubble over with joy. Though I have to admit, when we got into the sealing room, I looked around and thought "they really SHOULD keep garbage cans in here or SOMETHING!" I may never be able to go to a sealing again without thinking that though.

Friday night was Lydia's reception. It started at 5:45 and we left around 11. Nathan Smith and I were the MC's and we did a fabulous job if I do say so myself. We introduced the bride and groom, told some stories, made some jokes, were incredible commentators and wrapped up the evening, we even dressed to match each other! Ironically enough Ryan and Caverly (Nathan's wife) ended up dressing to match each other as well, it was a spouse swap night. Lydia was beautiful of course and the food was incredible. They had fresh crepes catered. There were menus on the tables, you went up, told them what you wanted and they made them right there. It was awesome. Congrats Lydia and Graeme!

I was EXHAUSTED by the time the night was over. I had volunteered to tak ethe presents home for them since they were leaving on their honeymoon and their parents don't live close. I failed to realize this meant loading and unloading the car. When we got home I wanted to lay down and just sleep for days, so Ryan, being the trooper he is, volunteered to let me get a head start on bed and transfer all the presents by himself. I would have felt bad about agreeing to it but I had carried most of them TO the car so I figured he could carry them to the house. A small part of me wanted to leave them in the car but ultimately I knew we couldn't.

Other than that Ryan took 3 mid-terms last week, Biology, Psychology and Sociology as well as wrote an English paper and took an English test. He was SWAMPED. He still got out and helped us move Graeme on Tuesday though. What an adventure that was, we didn't go home till about mid-night! We don't know how Ryan did on his mid-terms yet and he won't talk about them much because he "doesn'tw ant to jinx it". School has kept him plenty busy.

Work has been going well for me. I've been bailing the Delta out lately though. There are some major staffing changes going on and we keep coming up shorthanded. I've been asked to change shifts, work extra and take on hours several times over the past week. I don't mind so much, it's nice to have the extra income and Ryan gets more school work done when I'm not home anyway. EnCana has been going well. I'm planning a luncheon for this week and a media launch for the WHERE Challenge that we're sponsoring. It should be good experience. With the old newsletter distributed and the new one looming I'm starting to put on my writing cap and think about stories for that as well as stories for the Aboriginal newsletter.

All in all we're working hard and always on the go. I suppose that's what being an adult is all about though.

By Request...

2008-10-20T14:51:00.002-03:00

It has been brought to my attention that I am a particularly bad blogger. I do apologize, it's a slight mix between I'm busy and I'm just not that interesting. However, as I have had some requests that I update, I will. I always say I'll update when I put the pictures on the computer, but I never seem to get around to that. It may just be because I'm rarely on the computer at home because Ryan is always doing school work...ALWAYS. Regardless of my excuses, I’ll give you a quick update.

Ryan and I have instated weekly date nights, not to be too cliché. This is easier for us than it may be for others because we don’t have what I like to refer to as the “babysitter factor”. Generally Thursdays are date nights and over the past several weeks we have done lots of fun things. My first date night was a picnic on the beach at dusk, I have pictures that I will add later. But as of late we’ve also gone to the Clay Café, stayed home and watched a movie and gone to a fair. It has been great fun! This week we’re going to a wedding. I have really enjoyed the stress free time away from the world with my wonderful husband. We’ve both gotten creative with our dates and it’s a great challenge to come up with something new and different every time. I’m also enjoying learning about all the fun things the city has to offer, it’s a great learning experience and it’s nice to make some new memories.

Ryan has been so busy with school. He’s got 3 mid-terms this week, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and your prayers would be GRATELY appreciated. When he’s home he’s on the computer watching a class or taking notes about something or studying or doing an assignment. He’s really thrown himself into academics and I’m so proud of him for doing so well. Only 3 years to go!

I, on the other hand, dropped the one class I was taking this semester and am still working both jobs. I talked to the hotel about giving me some Saturday morning shifts so now I’m not just working nights and can have part of my weekend to myself. It’s not the most fun getting up at 6 on Saturdays but at least I can spend the evening with the really gorgeous guy I live with. I’m loving my job with EnCana.

Really other than that we’re not doing much these days. I’ll try to update more frequently so as to write specifically about more interesting topics but that’s a general overview. Hope everyone else is have as good a time as we are!

Kirsty's Trying to make me Blog

2008-10-10T14:33:00.006-03:00

My sister decided that the only way she could get me to post a blog would be to tag me. And who am I to ignore the blogging Gods and refuse?

8 Things I Did Today:

1. Ate some yummy low sodium, low calorie, low taste veg. soup
2. Walked the Citadel Hill steps w/ Tracy at lunch
3. Took give away inventory
4. Kissed Ryan
5. Tried to call in to Beat the Bank...too bad I didn't get it, it went to $1400
6. Made plans to lingere shop with Lydia
7. Finalized the agenda for tomorrow's meeting
8. Looked for costumes

8 Shows I Love to Watch:

1. Smallville
2. General Hospital
3. Ugly Betty
4. Judging Amy
5. Cold Case
6. Law and Order: SVU
7. Gilmore Girls
8. I'm drawing a blank here

8 Restaurants I Love:

1. Mongolie Grill (NS)
2. Ryan Duffy's (NS)
3. Stone Street Cafe (NS)
4. Cheesecake Factory (Washington/Boston)
5. Nat's (Philly)
6. Lone Star Grill (NS)
7. Il Mercato (NS)
8. Eagle Diner (Philly)

8 Things I am Looking Forward to:

1. GRADUATING!!!!
2. CHRISTMAS at mom and dad's
3. American Thanksgiving w/ the Tribe
4. Buying new clothes
5. Date night
6. Getting our 2008 tax return
7. Being a mom
8. Lydia's wedding and a temple session

8 Things I'm Passionate About:

1. Ryan
2. The gospel
3. Family
4. Christmas
5. Writing
6. Reading
7. Cooking/baking
8. Healthy Lifestyles

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

1. be a mom
2. buy a house
3. watch my children be sealed in the temple
4. work for a major PR agency
5. travel the world, greece, italy, south america, the carribbean
6. take various "trades" courses such as culinary, health and wellness, massage therapy
7. go on a honeymoon
8. win a radio game show

8 Things I Pray For:

1. wisdom
2. faith
3. revelation
4. strength to be the best wife i can possibly be for such a talented and wonderful man
5. patience (ya, i'm probably an idiot)
6. Ryan
7. to do well in school/work
8. clarity

8 Things I Have Learned:

1. the day goes so much better when you say a morning prayer
2. "light" food tastes essentially the same as regular food and is healthier
3. laundry is expensive...LIFE is expensive
4. a car payment is well worth the time (and GRIEF) you save riding the bus
5. The Lord blesses us with the knowledge we need exactly when we need it, we will not be left alone, especially when making eternal decisions.
6. Tithing is the smartest investment
7. Faith is a lot easier defined than applied
8. People, family, friends, loved ones, are important, no one can go it alone and truly not care, regardless of their tough exterior

Party On Dude!

2008-09-24T12:31:00.003-03:00

I thought that since I'd committed to this I should probably write something now.

The rest of Deidra Day was phenominal. Ryan had the day off work so he brought me lunch from my favorite sandwich shop. I finished work and Ryan picked me up. He took me to a real swanky steakhouse for supper (well, it was real swanky to us poor students) called Ryan Duffy's. We couldn't afford to BOTH get steak so I got chicken and Ryan got steak and we split...it was INCREDIBLE. We got this warmed brie cheese on these incredible cracker things (lol I sound soooooooooo classy don't I?) and I've been DREAMING of it ever since. We chose to skip course 2 and 4 (soup/salad and dessert) for our bank account's sake but Ryan got a super yummy ice cream cake to celebrate afterwards and who needs soup and salad right? He bought me a DVD (21) a board game because we always play games with our friends and a gift card to the mall for clothes, he decided he didn't want the responsibility of picking out clothes for me...smart man =D. All the birthday money I got Ryan put into a savings account for me to go buy new clothes when I get some extra time...which happens so rarely that hopefully i'll collect some interest on it! Later that night we went over to Tara and Shawn's new place and hung out and played Cranium, girls against boys, the girls won OF COURSE. It was a lot of fun. Then Ryan took me home (quite exhausted) and we went to bed 1 minute after Deidra Day ended. It was all perfectly wonderful. I was PLANNING on taking pictures but I forgot...sorry!

Mom was up for Papa's birthday party. It was pretty fabulous! We surprised him right after he'd gotten home from the temple and showed up at the house. Mom stuck her nose up to the window next to the door and he was thrilled! I took pictures but I can't post them right now, I'll do it when I get home later tonight. The party went off perfectly, thanks to everyone who helped. We thought we were hilarious by putting 75 candles on the cake but Papa stole the show by light them with a BLOW TORCH! Again, I'll post pictures later. There was lots of food and friends and family, it was a wonderful celebration of an incredible man! I was glad to get mom to myself for a little while, I'm such a sissy lol I miss them so much sometimes, I can't wait for Christmas.

Ryan is doing PHENOMINALLY in school, he spends so much time doing it (which is good for us but bad for me because I miss him :( ) and it seems like he has a test every day, but he's never relayed a grade lower than a 90% (though he may just not be telling me the other grades lol)! So he's doing really well and he says he's loves it. He's starting to looking into the dental programs he wants to apply to. Dalhousie is number 1 but he's also planning on applying to the University of Calgary and the University of Edmonton, since he'll be starting after I graduate we'll be able to move if that's what the Lord has planned for us.

The rest of our days have been pretty standard. I finally put my foot down at the hotel and told them I'd only work weekends. Though they always call and ask me to work a night here or there and I always agree because I'm too nice to say no and I always think of the extra money (maybe I can even put some of it into that birthday savings account :D). I think that's about it for now though! We hope everyone else's days are filled with as much joy as ours are.

All our love,
Ryan and Dee

Happy Deidra Day!

2008-09-15T10:02:00.007-03:00

Beginning on this day, that is the fifteenth day of the nineth month which is called September that is in the year 2008, I have henceforth and forever declared that this day annually, September 15 (aka: my birthday) will be referred to and celebrated as "Deidra Day".

The rules of Deidra Day are still being defined but thus far they are:

1) Breakfast in bed is mandatory (Ryan's rule =D)
2) Unplugging Deidra's hair straightener before she is finished is forbidden and thereby punishable by death
3) No one can drive like an idiot (though lots of people broke that rule this morning)
4) When other people drive like idiots the driver who is NOT must not be stressed out or aggrivated by other said drivers (which we normally have a huge problem with)
5) No fighting at ALL

That's all I've got so far.

Let me explain a little bit about Deidra Day and its birth...

In high school I always liked to make a big deal about my birthday. My family and friends heard about it for WEEKS prior. I had lists and plans and went out and got my nails done and boght new make up and clothes and really hyped it up. My mom would do a special breakfast, lunch AND dinner (because she's super mom) and my best friends and I even spent time making a shirt that I had to wear that said "hug me, it's my birthday" on it. I got up early and curled my hair and put ribbons in it and glitter everywhere and I'd bounce around all day happy and excited and celebrating the wonderful person that I was. My 18th birthday was my best birthday to date as far as I can remember. But once I left home birthdays weren't so big anymore. I didn't have 10 million people around me (my family...though I may be exaggerating) to tell me happy birthday or get me presents or eat all that breakfast lunch and dinner with. The first birthday I had away from home I was at Dal, I didn't know anyone, not a single person but my grandparents said happy birthday, though some people from church gave me cards the next Sunday, and my birthday came and went with no real consequence, no curls, no glitter, no shirt and no breakfast or lunch (though Affy and Papa did take me to the Keg for dinner). Since then it has seemed "childish" to truly celebrate my birthday. Last year I was working my 2nd day at a new job and didn't even tell anyone it was my birthday until the end of the shift when someone asked what I was doing that night and I told them my fiancee was taking me out for my birthday. This year though, I have a new family of my very own, albeit a small 2 person family, and it was only several days ago that I decided that the need to truly celebrate myself and let everyone else important in my life celebrate me as well, was not a childish and selfish one, rather I realized that it becomes MORE important the older we get and the more wrapped up we get in OTHERS. So I decided on Saturday while I was at work that I was going to make everything possible come back to my birthday, which worked because they bought me birthday cake that night! Sunday I coined the term "Deidra Day" at a pre-birthday party. And this morning, when my loving and wonderful husband tried to wake me up early enough to curl my hair (which I did not because it takes too long and let's face it, the number one rule on Deidra day is that I get to sleep till I want to...I guesss not EVERYTHING has to be the same as high school) he started my day of surprises with the same special breakfast that my mom used to do for us on our birthdays, bagels with cream cheeses, an assortment of fruit and some yogurt for good measure. He also added a little treat of his own with a birthday card and a single red rose...because he's perfect. I may not have the money anymore to go get my nails done and buy new clothes but I certainly have the resources to look my best, feel my best, act my best and give myself a day to indulge in ME and to allow everyone else the same privilege.

So by the power vested in me, in my official capacity as "birthday girl", I now declare that September 15th will henceforth and forever be referred to as "Deidra Day" and is a day of joy and love. I'll write a full description of today's events at the end of the day, as I don't know what is going on because my wonderful and loving husband is also determined to make the entire day a surprise...and I'm ok with that :). So have a happy Deidra Day, enjoy yourself, relax, and don't forget to celebrate me!

As a side note: in my oh so adult ephiphany I did not come to this conclusion completely and entirely selfishly. I came to realize the importance of EVERYONE'S birthday and will therefore be making a much bigger effort to celebrate everyone else's birthday as well from now on. And that does not mean elaborate and lavish gifts, sorry we're too broke for that, rather it means that I will be truly appreciating that person and their influence on the world so much more. So make sure you hold me to that, it wouldn't be right for me to make such a big deal about MY day if I was unwilling to make just as big a splash about YOURS.

And so it began...

2008-09-09T16:32:00.004-03:00

I feel as though recounting the details of our courtship, engagement and wedding would be somewhat redundant as I assume anyone reading this blog will be family or friends. However, it seems to be a general trend to to do a quick overview of our lives up until this point in order to catch up old friends or to simply make yourself smile as you reminscently work to make others jealous of your perfect life. Therefore, I will follow suit.

Ryan and I met in, well, techincally January of 200..7? I believe. After a brief encounter we parted without much thought or consequence of the other. We reunited in May of 2007 (this time I'm sure of the date) at a YSA bowling activity that I did not want to be at. We spent the night talking on a friend's couch and parted once more. I would like to say that I instantly knew he was my eternal companion and that we would spend forever together. However, that wasn't the case, I suppose I'm just not as spiritually inclined as I should be. Regardless, after a short while of dating, though I'm not sure you could actually CALL it dating, two months later Ryan proposed (August). We were engaged for 4.5 LONG and terrible months and on December 20, 2007 we were sealed for time and all eternity in the Washington D.C. Temple in front of family only. Though that is a great story in and of itself if you're interested...then again, I assume you already know. I think this is where I post Wedding pictures...let's see if I can figure out how to do that. Apparently I'm blog illiterate so the pictures were up higher?

Since then Ryan and I have spent the last 9 months figuring out how to function in an eternal relationship that we chose. It has been an adventure for sure with ups and downs of all kinds, though I'd like to think more ups than downs. We have endured almost a year of sicknesses (ok, that was all me but Ryan proved more than efficient at taking care of me), an apartment in the "ghetto", a move whereby my $700 glass table top was broken, the death of a dear and loved family member and of course sweeter moments like attending the temple together, doing sealings on our honeymoon, burnt cookies, key career moves pulling through, seeing many of our closest friends become joined as we were and so much more.

Now we're in a new apartment, which we were promised would be a new beginning for us, we are working in jobs that we love, we are finishing school, we are looking towards prospects of expanding on our eternal family and we are totally and completely in love. From here on out we'll (or rather, I) will be recounting the details of our lives as they happen. So stay tuned, the adventures of Ryan and Dee are full throttle and straight ahead...come on in, the water's fine :)

...so are you jealous yet?