Apple Blossoms

Here are a few photos I took this weekend of the Apple Blossoms in the Annapolis Valley! They are so very beautiful! I was thinking on my drive to Yoga on the weekend about how beautiful the Annapolis Valley really is, when you are from here you really have to take the time to enjoy the beauty because if you don't it just seems like something that is always there that we take for granted. Perhaps you could take sometime today to notice the beauty around you...

Photos taken by SandyLee

moving on

It happens to everyone as they grow up. You find out who you are and what you want, and then you realize that people you’ve known forever don’t see things the way you do. So you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on.


Nicholas Sparks

reality...

Coffee Cup Messages

Fish: Financial good news.
FISH- A fish is a spiritual sign meaning blessings are coming.

Heart: Love, faith and trust.


Since I have been finding a few crazy images in my coffee cups these days I thought I would search the internet to see what it all meant... and this is what I discovered. There is a thing called Turkish Coffee Fortune Telling and it is believed symbols created by the grounds left in the cup have meanings, which are what I captioned under the photos I took above. Here is a great article on how to do it yourself. 
 
That was as close as I could find to what I have discovered, and as you can see it's all wonderful news:) I am looking forward to finding more symbols and perhaps my financial good news and spiritual blessings...

allow ourselves to have it

No matter how qualified or deserving we are, we will never reach a better life until we can imagine it for ourselves and allow ourselves to have it." — Richard Bach

fun!

For Audrey

Happy Weekend my Lovelies!

I am loving this robin's egg blue called For Audrey by China Glaze! It's the exact colour of the Mini Egg I am holding;)

I have Yoga Teacher Training all weekend which should be heaps of fun! And it's Apple Blossom weekend in the Annapolis Valley! I can't wait! I am hoping to get out for at least a drink or a dinner on Saturday night! And it's suppose to be sunny all weekend! What else could a girl ask for?!?

sugar

I also enjoy sugar...

happiness is a journey

Bye Bye, Oprah

I will admit I am not a huge Oprah fan. I know I must be one of the only women my age who "grew up with Oprah" to not love her and watch her at least once a week, or everyday for that matter. But I will admit I do enjoy her magazine and I have watched a few shows here and there over the years. The ones that stand out were when James Taylor was on, I honestly didn't know who he was before that and now I love him! When Jill Bolt Taylor, who's book I have read and loved! was on and of course when Elizabeth Gilbert and Julia Roberts were on promoting Eat, Pray, Love. But I wouldn't say that I was an Oprah Fan, I have tried watching a random show here and there and quickly lost interest...

That being said, watching this last show she had some great advice for her viewers. Here are some notes I took while watching:

• Everybody has a calling.
• Start embracing the life that is calling you and use your life to embrace the world.
• You are responsible for your life. You are also responsible for the energy you create for yourself and others. Please take the responsibility for the energy you bring into this space.
• You are not alone! There are others like you.
• Everyone is worthy of happiness because you are born and alive! You alone are enough:)
• Do you see me, do you hear me, does what I say mean anything to you? Everyone wants to be heard. Be validated. What you say matters.
• Wait and listen to the guidance that is bigger than your mind. God is life. And your life is always speaking. First in whispers, and then louder and louder and louder. What are the whispers in your life? Your life is speaking to you, what is it saying?
• You were my safe harbour, be that for someone else. Make people feel like they matter.
• Only divine order, no coincidences in life.
• Gratitude is the single greatest treasure I will take with me from this experience.

All of which I think is amazing advice! I could personally talk about each one of those points for hours... So does that make me an Oprah fan?!?!

A little packet of cozy

judging

5 things you may not know about me

1. I eat food 80% because of its texture and about 20% because of its aftertaste. Which is why I really don't like bacon but love ice cream cake!

2. I don't like wearing pants. (I am kind of like Lady Gaga that way;) I would rather wear a skirt or dress. Which is sometimes a problem in the cold Canadian Winter so I have learned to adjust. Since we have been having nice weather I have been picking and choosing fun dresses and skirts to wear, it is sooooooooooooooooo exciting!!!

3. I own a lot of things purple. I am guessing it is my favorite colour based on this. I have a purple car, many purple yoga pants and yoga sweaters, I always chose the purple dry erase marker when writing on the board. However, if you were to ask me my favorite colour, I would have probably have said turquoise.

4. I tend to read mostly Non-fiction books. I don't know why, but I do. So I have been trying lately to throw a fiction book in, here and there:) I will keep working on that! If you have any suggestions of fiction books you love please share!

5. I am an English teacher but I have the worst spelling ever! I would say of anyone I know but that would not be true. I write so much that my spelling has got much better over the years, but it is a weak spot for me. I work REALLY hard to make sure everything is spelled correctly. When I taught in England sometimes I would spell things wrong and some of the kids would say "leave her alone that's how they spell it in her country" which I always got a kick out of! I encourage kids to correct my spelling when I am writing on the board if I do make a mistake, and trust me, they love it!

Image taken by SandyLee

So very true Napoleon...

success

Strawberry Tequila:)



Strawberry Tequila:)




First dance with the beautiful bride and the groom!




We don't know what is going on here, but it looks like a good time;)




Wedding favours!




Baja Rosa time;)




I love this picture because it is so random! I don't know what is going on here... but it looks like we are having fun!




Near the end of the night people were dancing on chairs... haha good, good times!


As promised here are a few of the pictures from the wedding reception! As you can tell it was an amazingly great time! Some of the pictures have me wondering what the hell I was doing, so you know it was a good party! And don't you just love the Bride Julie's Dress?!?!? I don't think she could have found one that fit her or suited her any better:)


Images taken by Sandylee

word!

forgive

What I found in my coffee cup today...

I went to my friend Nat's today for coffee and this is what ended up in my cup from my Cafe Crema! Doesn't that look like a fish to you?!?!

Image taken by SandyLee

and all your teachers thought you were a genius...

I have finally decided that I am going to run regularly this summer:) It was a really hard decision to make because it makes my yoga practice a lot harder, but I don't think I could go the whole summer without it... and here I thought I didn't even enjoy it. I guess the big difference this summer is that I am only going try, and the key word is try, to run only 5-10k... and I am going to listen to my body when it comes to pushing it harder... so that means maybeeeee no half marathons this year:(

Perhaps we should just see how the running season goes... Wish me luck!

dobut

There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.


-Siddhārtha Gautama

kinda

Picture I took on my run tonight:)

Yes, I actually allow myself time to stop and take pictures with my phone now when I run:) It's such a foreign concept for me to run for fun and not keep track of time or distance... although I still cheat a wee bit by looking at the clock before I leave and when I come back:)

Love is in the air!

Here are a few photos I stole from my friends Facebook of the wedding I went to last weekend! It was so beautiful with the Wakefield covered bridge over the Gatineau River, the handsome Mounties and of course the beautiful Bride! We all had so much fun and I don't think I have ever seen a Bride have so much fun at a wedding before, she was even dancing down the isle when they were leaving! But this is my friend Julie, and I don't think she would have had it any other way:)

I will add more pics of the reception when I get them, which was also a great time!

The Bride and Groom are in Bali on their honeymoon now... can't wait to see the pics of that! Perhaps I will try to post some:)

Have a lovely long weekend my Lovelies!!! I know I will, it's my first weekend off in over a month:) I have plans to relax and perhaps have a few drinks! xo

be confident

beginner’s luck

“What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one ‘dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon. Every search begins with beginner’s luck. And every search ends with the victor’s being severely tested.”


- Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist.

something completely different

head high

never be reckless

Ice Ice Baby...

So I have made the discovery that I am old... My friends and I were rocking out to 90s music all weekend at the wedding and we were really enjoying it! When we went out for the bachelorette on Thursday night to a bar that reminded us of our 1998-1999 party days (my feet were even sticking to the floor:) we were surrounded by 19 year old girls who were looking at us and thinking, how the hell do they know all the words to Ice Ice Baby? I think we may have even made up a dance to it too...
Good, good times;)

accepted

heart shaped Frog in the Hole

When I lived in London, England I ate heaps of Frogs in the Hole for breakfast and brunch:) I couldn't help but share this heart shaped recipe with you for this weekend in celebration of my attending my lovely friend Julie's wedding! Make one for the one you love;) 

Enjoy your Friday the 13th weekend my lovelies! I know I will be;)

Ingredients:

• 1 fresh egg
• 1 piece of bread
• butter

Cut a hole or a heart out of the middle of a piece of bread (we used whole wheat). Butter both sides of the bread and the heart cut out, and toast on the stove top until brown. Once toasted, crack the egg into the hole and heat for about 5 minutes on LOW heat. Be sure to put it on low so that the egg whites cook slowly.

Via a bicycle built for 2

creating yourself

Ottawa Town

I am off to Ottawa for the weekend to attend my friends wedding! Can't wait! We are having a wee Bachelorette party tonight then the rest of the weekend is booked with fun activities! Perhaps I will catch the wedding bouquet...

note polish..

 

I am assuming you would do the same thing to get these nails that you did to get these ones... So insanely cute! 

How to do this;
1. Paint your nails any colour you’d like & LET THEM DRY.
2. You will need rubbing alcohol & music notes
3. Cut out a little section of the newspaper; place it on your nail
4. Put rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and dab it over the newspaper
5. THERE YOU GO :)

baby got back...

bonkers

Lately I have been feeling this way, quite like the Mad Hatter! Glad to hear being entirely bonkers is the best;)

close your eyes

New Beginnings

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending a Greek Wedding as a friends plus one, it was heaps of fun:) There was tons of food and drink, and of course some Greek dancing and plate smashing. Which had me wondering what the origins of the plate smashing were. This is what I found:

New Beginnings

There may be two reasons that plate smashing was a tradition used at weddings:

1. Smashing plates symbolized new beginnings. It meant that the couple were throwing away their old life and embarking on a new life together.
2. Smashing plates could fool the spirits. It was believed that breaking plates would keep the evil spirits at bay because they would believe the people involved were angry and upset - instead of celebrating. Of course the evil spirits would not wish to interfere with an event that was already making people angry, while they may interfere with a happy celebration.

Source

The Greek music was also beautiful and the dancing was so much fun, even I couldn't mess it up! However, the best part of the wedding for me was the warmth from the families of the Bride and Groom, they were always fussing over us making sure we were having fun and had enough to eat and drink. It was so nice and very sincere, it really set the mood for the whole event and warmed my heart:)

Thank you Meiz for asking me to be your plus one:) I wish I would have had my camera when you were doing the Carlton Dance ... maybe next time! And don't forget your swag for this weekend;)

when

Happy Mama's Day!

Just wanted to say a happy Canadian Mother's Day to my Mama! Love you! She spent 36h in labour to give birth to me, and for this I am thankful! I am also thankful for her unconditional love:) This is a picture of her and her BFF... She loves animals! She has 5 dogs, 1 cat and 1 pet raccoon! And she tries to add more daily! (Tries is the key word, my Stepfather puts a kibosh on that as quickly as he can) I will perhaps post some pictures of the funny farm this summer;)

Image taken by KeliaCarroll

word