DANCIN' FINN GIRL

Baking With Lee

2010-02-10T15:49:00.004-05:00

YAY!!! I finally got my photos to download :) My goal this year is to have more posts than 2009... a pathetic amount of three. Count them... 1, 2, 3. Such is life and we must move on. I promise 2010 will be better than 2009 for my blogging abilities.

Here is a slideshow of my experience Christmas Baking with my best friend Leanne. We tackled many recipes with gusto and when the day was done, we said to ourselves, "we will never do this again." I mean, it was heaps of fun, but it was also loads of work... especially the pulla. However, I like making the best out of the moments of life and savouring the memories. Thanks for the adventure Lee!

Is it summer yet??

2010-02-10T12:45:00.006-05:00

So, blogging isn't as easy as I thought it would be. It takes a lot of dedication and time. It is now February 10th and my last post was sometime in December of 2009. Now, I do have somewhat of a good excuse for not writing, would you like to hear it? I have a bunch of pictures I want to upload, but for some reason my cable isn't working on my camera. So alas... I have put it off. Why put off tomorrow what you can put off today :)

Therefore, no pictures today... but I thought I would share some random thoughts about summer since I was wishing it was here already!!!

1. Merla Mae- chicken burgers, milkshakes and ice cream, what more could you ask for?

2. "The moose" at camp- those of you who have been there, know what I am talking about

3. Walking outside in the fresh air, free of brown slush :)

4. Camping with the Matson's

5. Cloud Watching

6. Marina park on July 1st

7. Swimming across the lake with Edie Täti

8. Picking wild flowers for my mom

9. Road trips with my hubby

10. No SNOW!!!!!

What about you? What are your random thoughts about summer time?

BOSTON- Samuel Adams

2009-11-29T20:27:00.007-05:00

At the end of October I surprised my hubby with a trip to Boston. It has been on our list of places to see, plus there was a special GUSTER concert on. Our first stop after arriving... Samuel Adams Brewery. Honestly, one of the best tours I have been on... and I'm not just talking about the fact that we got free beer- though, it was quite delicious! The philosophy of the company shows in the quality of their beer. Samuel Adams will buy back any of their beer that has expired from their distributers; that way, their distributers do not lose money, nor do they have to sell a great beer that has gone bad. What do they do with that beer you may ask??? The owner, Jim Koch, has a year end party with company executives in a tropical location, then he fills a dunk tank full of the expired beer and they get to dunk him in it! Jim said that he would rather be in bad beer than have bad beer in his customers.

We got to Sample to Boston Lager, Brickyard Ale and Oktoberfest. By far the Winter Ale (Samuel Adams Seasonal) is my favourite :)

GLORIOUS R32

2009-11-15T13:47:00.005-05:00

Okay, okay... I know it's almost been a year since my last post! Circumstances have prevented me from being online as much, but now that I have a laptop, hopefully that will change.

Here are some shots I took of the new car Ryan & I got... a VW of course. Fun to drive, I tell you!

Light Fantastic

2009-01-06T11:28:00.005-05:00

On Christmas Day, the sun was hitting the fire place just right. So naturally, I took out my Cannon and had fun playing around with the light and shadows. Here is a look at my spontaneous photo shoot of self portraits. As always, enjoy :)

Winter Time

2008-12-30T21:15:00.004-05:00

Here is a look at my mom's yard in the winter time. These were taken Christmas Day. The sky was so blue and the sun was nice and bright. Thought you would all enjoy seeing what I see most mornings :)

More Finnish Traditions

2008-12-30T19:11:00.011-05:00

Another tradition I have at Christmas is making Lihapiirakka. Little deep fired meat/rice pies, made in a sweet dough. Since I got home from London/St.Thomas (ont) too close to Christmas, I never had time to make these tasty treats. So I thought it would be fun to teach my nieces Airyana and Marissa how to make them. I also invited my friend Leanne and her daughter Kelti over to join in the festivities. It is quite a long process, as the dough has to rise twice. Here is a look at our adventure:

Marissa kneaded the dough.

Airyana giving it a try.

As always, Kelti gives me that look, "You want me to do what?"

Me and my girlies!!

While the dough was rising, we went out sledding down my mom’s driveway. I haven’t had so much fun… I was giggling so hard. Again, it brought back memories of going sliding with Holly and Jeff. We used to pretend we were in the Olympics, racing down the hill… be cautious of “corner 13”, which caused my slight concussion in ’96. It was fun watching the kids going down the hill, crashing into the snow banks. At one point, we thought we would all try to stack onto the Snow surfer. All 5 of us! When we took off, Rissa and Airy fell off right away, as Leanne, Kelti and I headed down the hill. I was laughing so hard, my stomach hurt. Sometimes it feels great to be a kid again. Afterwards, the 3 kids piled on the sled and I pushed them down the hill, in hopes of making them hit the jump- hee hee. Here is a look at their sliding escapades. (Photos taken by Leanne).

This picture was actually taken the next day with my NEW digital camera :)

HERE WE GO....

Love the faces in these photos- classic!

After we prepared the Lihapiirakka, we had to let them rise one more time. While waiting for them, we headed over to Edie Täti’s for the traditional Boxing Day Dinner. When my Grandmother was alive, she would have loads of family and friends visit on the 26th. Edie thought it would be fun to carry on the yearly event. I have always enjoyed Boxing Day over there because it gives me a chance to see my cousins from out of town and other family members I don’t see all the time. I also enjoy hearing the stories about my dad. Lately I have been really wishing I knew my dad better. He passed away when I was 9 years old and I always knew him as “My daddy the hero”. As I get older, I really wish I had the chance to know my dad, the adult… So family gatherings always give me glimpses of what my dad was like as a man. I really cherish hearing my family talk about him. Especially the stories of when he was a young teenager getting into mischief with his siblings. Of course at every family event, Edie busts out the camera, which causes Uncle Dan to bring out his camera…. So naturally, I had to get my camera to capture what I love about my family. These pictures probably won’t make sense to most… but I took them for Holly and Jeff so they can see what they are missing and maybe they will make their way over here for Christmas one year.
It was also fun having Leanne and Kelti over to experience a family gathering at the Repo house… and I got to show them the fabulous Bubble light

Cutting circles out of the dough

The filling

Uncle Dan taking a picture of....

the typical candid shot of the people on Edie's couch....

Edie taking a picture of Danny taking a picture.... gotta love my family!
Me and "Ed"- I love my aunt, she is loads of fun and has taught me a lot about being finn!

A look at the blue bubble light... maybe you have to see it in person to understand why it is that cool!

Once we returned home, we finished our all day project. Here are some pictures of the final product.
Thanks to Leanne and Kelti for spending the day with us! And thanks to Rissa & Airy for letting Amy Täti teach you some of my favourite Finnish/Christmas traditions.

Oh so yummy!!!

Christmas Traditions

2008-12-27T18:53:00.006-05:00

Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year. Ever since I was a kid I have always been anxious for Christmas time. I guess it’s because it’s a time for family, memories and Finnish traditions. One of my favourite things to do during the holiday season is make Finnish Ice Candles. Edie Täti , (Täti means aunt in finn) would always have her deck decorated with numerous ice candles she made. Every night she’d light them up and put on her Christmas lights and my sister and I would watch from our bedroom window across the field at the spectacular display of lights.
On the 21st, I went over to my aunt Edie’s to help her decorate her real tree, which she chopped down herself from her yard. We had so much fun hanging the old ornaments that have been around for so many Christmas’, ones with the years printed on them, old fashion Joulupukki figures, and the classic bubble light. When I was a kid, my siblings and I would sit for hours in front of the tree watching those bubble lights. That is Christmas to me- that bubble light.

Brings back so many memories of Christmas’ past. (As with most of my posts, if anyone will appreciate my blurb on the bubble light, it will be my sister Holly.) As I was leaving Edie’s, I noticed all her ice candles on her deck- if anything, my aunt has always been consistent. I, of course, was inspired to make my own ice candles to keep the tradition going. My mom and I had fun adding food colouring to them, pine needles and lemon slices. Here are some pictures of our creations.Another tradition I had when I was younger was going over to Edie Täti’s on Christmas Eve close to midnight. We’d sit around the tree, fascinated by the bubble light and listen to family stories. We’d also count down to midnight so we could go home and open our presents! Since I am living at my mom’s right now, I thought it would be fun to revisit this old tradition. So at 12:30am, after all my Christmas Eve festivities I went over to Edie’s with a bottle of Cabernet Franc (one of my favourite wines). Judy Täti was there too, along with my cousin Sara. And like most visits at Edie’s, we sat around the tree, telling family stories, laughing and being mesmerized by that infamous bubble light. I didn’t end up leaving until after 2… it definitely was one of the highlights to my Christmas. I couldn’t help but miss my sister Holly and my brother Jeff. Perhaps that is why I wanted to write about my Christmas Traditions… in hopes that my sister and brother would come home for a Christmas, since it’s been too long since we’ve giggled together, drank egg nog, quoted “While You Were Sleeping” and been awestruck by Edie’s amazing bubble light. Miss you guys!!!

Narrative State of Mind

2008-11-23T21:07:00.015-05:00

So I find myself in a narrative state of mind lately. I remember when I was younger, my sister Holly and I would always make up narrative pieces about our life or pick out the songs that would best suit our soundtrack to life. It's how we spent countless nights (instead of studying) - over analyzing our thoughts and the non-existent romances in our friends lives and even our own. We'd journal these epic events that seem so trivial now, but were defining moments at the time. So here I am again, on a new journey in my life, narrating the thoughts that are floating around in this mind of mine. I think this also has to do with me watching episodes of My Boys and Men in Trees, which feature lead actresses as writers, often ending the show in narrative blogs. And if no one understands this, I know Holly will. Even though we live miles a part and we don't have that much time together any more... we still know how to appreciate a good "thinking out loud" bit.

As many of you know, I am a lover of wine. Especially red. It is deeply layered with surprises and subtlety, mystery and familiarity, aromas that can take you back to the Tuscan hills where you first discovered it and most of all, good conversations. There are so many varieties of red wines, it's hard to say which one is the best- as I believe it depends on personal preference. Some of my favourites include Chianti, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. But there is one that out ranks them all for me: Brunello di Montalcino. A super Tuscan wine. It is rich with flavour, smooth and rare. And like most great wines, it keeps getting better with age. I believe good friends are like a bottle of wine. They are there when you need them, they are full of depth and they add character to the day. And of course, friends get better with age too!
I was writing with a friend of mine last week, who I have discovered is an amazing writer. I told him that his writing is like a bottle of Brunello - to which he replied, I think you've had too many glasses tonight. But honestly, when he writes, it just makes sense. Just like when you drink a brunello, it just makes sense. The only way I can help you to understand this Brunello friend of mine, is to share with you what he shared with me. (with his permission of course). I am also trying to convince him to start up a blog, as I feel we could all benefit from "how he sees life". Some of you know that I have recently left my family business and have been struggling with the transition of it all and the aftermath. So here are some words of wisdom from my friend G... enjoy

Gianluca writes:
I know that it would be easy to propose extreme solutions to you, black and white solutions, but we live in a colored world and nothing is determined and sure and feelings are like shades of different colors waving continuously like the light of candle flame...

also:

Every new thing we don't "possess" is more interesting then our usual things, especially because we don't own them. And enjoying what we have and taking care of them is not giving up the better thing but living deeply and not just staying on the surface.

It's like my old tap shoes, always comfortable then I wanted to change them last year just because I thought the new ones were better. As a matter of fact I had problems with the new pair more than with the old one (I lost my big toe nail and suffered a little pain and still I am) so next time I change them it will be for a better reason than because they are my "old tap shoes". But when I had in mind the new shoes I couldn't see the rest in the right perspective.

Sammy & Keri's Big Day - Part 1: Getting Dressed

2008-11-06T16:00:00.011-05:00

Hey Sammy & Keri- I realize you have been married for a year and a half already, but hopefully this will bring back some wonderful memories of your special day. Thanks so much for allowing me to share these moments with you. Miss you both!

I love the above shot of Keri. It was after she was all dressed, she looked in the mirror and said "Damn, I look good." It was the cutest moment- love you Keri :) I think it was also a bit of "Sammy's gonna love the way I look"! And well, he did!

Keri spying out the window, seeing if she could catch a glimpse of her groom.

These last 3 are my favourites!!!

Paris

2008-09-19T14:54:00.006-04:00

Ah, the city of love... well, not so much when you travel there alone. Maybe just the city of: French Men think they are irresitible, therefore they can hit on every woman. But I made the best of it and had a lot of fun with my ONE day in Paris. I met some really nice people and tried some really great food. Here are some highlights from that day.

I love the way the bakeries look there. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but I enjoyed the art form of the food :)

Musee Du Louvre

The whole reason I went to Paris was to get a picture of the Eiffel Tower for Marissa.

The Notre Dame

Proof that I was there!

Paris at night :)

My TOP 10 Moments of Summer 2008

2008-09-03T22:53:00.007-04:00

Okay so I have tried to narrow down my Top 10 moments of this summer... so many to choose from. Feel free to comment on this blog and tell me about your top 10! Anyways, here they are:

10. Camping at Clearwater with the Matson family. It was such a relaxing time and I had fun playing cribbage, even if I had to LET Dwayne win!

9. Seeing the Eiffel Tower at night. Wishing Marissa was there to see it with me.

8. Seeing "the corner" from the Grand Prix in Monaco. (and having all the boys back home hating me for it!!!)

7. My dance program; meeting Catia & Gianluca and having great dinners & gelato with them. Dancing at Subway- good times!!!!

6. Going to the Guinness Store House- pouring my own pint and having the goodness in its homeland!

5. Northern Ireland- all of its beauty, but especially the landscape around the Giant Causeway

4. St.Andrew's in Scotland- the beautiful beach, the Old Course and watching Ryan play the Old Course.

3. NYC- going to Bobby Flay's restaurant and also hanging with my friend Alex who I met 5 years ago at my dance program in Italy. Unfortunately Alex and I didn't get a photo together.

2. McMahon's- for the Murphy's & the people: Laura, Simon, James, Rebecca, Aisling, Angela & especially Emily!!!

1. Cannes/My Last Night in Nice

No Place Like Home

2008-09-02T10:32:00.006-04:00

It doesn't matter how many places I see, nothing compares to the feeling of my gramma's camp. On Sunday at 10:30 at night, my aunt Edie and I spontaneously decided to go spend a night out at camp. This used to be a tradition on the Labour Day weekend with my sister Holly, our friend Hoa, Edie and myself. So Edie and I set out on yet, another adventure.
You wouldn't believe the stars that night that filled the sky as we swam in the chilling late August waters; not without a sauna first of course. We wanted to live life wildly & with abandonment, so we went skinny dipping- another tradition from those Labour Day weekend sleepovers! Being here made me miss Holly & Hoa and all the memories we made back in the day. The next morning, still seeking adventure Edie and I swam to the Island and then over to Auntie Eunice's camp. It took us about 40 minutes and we felt as though we had conquered the world... or at least Island Lake.
I love spending time at this camp because there is no electricity, it's very quiet and peaceful and it's where I spent most of my summers growing up. There is a feeling like no other as you sit on the end of the dock and look out to this tranquil place and reflect on your summer and what you hope for in the fall. I know it is one of the things I will miss the most when I move away.

Stay tuned for my TOP 10 picks of the summer and of course- PICTURES!

Across the Pond

2008-08-26T18:17:00.003-04:00

NYC here I come! I am finally flying back across the pond after being over here for 5 1/2 weeks. I am sad to be leaving, but the thought of sleeping in my own bed is calling me. Just one stop left.
Ireland has been such a wonderful experience. By far, Northern Ireland was the prettiest- the scenery is breathtaking. We had some great fun in our travels. We happened to stop in Tralee along our travels and they were having this big street festival. We were entertained by this awesome Celtic band that was very talented. We also drove the Conor's Pass on the Dingle Penisula which was incredibly tight- of what we saw of it. It was so foggy when you looked out the window you couldn't really see anything- but that's also what made it so scary and fun!
Sorry this is a short post but this computer is slow and I fear it will take forever to laod up.
Anyways, I am closer to home and I will see most of you soon! I have heaps of pictures that I will post sometime in September. Oh, and for those of you who were aware of my struggle to find Murphy's in Ireland- the circle is complete. I finally found a pint tonight. It almost made it taste that much better. Knowing I had waited so long to get something so good. Just like so many things in life... it's sweeter and worth more when one has to wait for it, fight for it or go through obstacles to get there. Ah... but when you get there- there's nothing like it.

Cheers,
Amy

Love is in the air!

2008-08-19T17:58:00.004-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posts... I am on an iTouch so I am limited in what I can do.

I am in love. First with St.Andrew's in Fife Scotland. The beach is so beautiful & peaceful. You feel like you could walk for miles. The little town is so picturesque with it's old buildings & coblestone streets. While we were there Ryan got to play st.andrew's old course which was a dream come true. It is the oldest course in history & one of the most famous. I walked the course when Ryan played- what a beautiful and difficult course. So Ryan & I changed our plans just so he could play there. In fact, we slept in the car and Ryan was in line at 2:30 am just to make sure he got on the waiting list. You see, normally you have to book a year in advance for tee off times. But they also take walk ons the day of if there is space. That morning there were more than 20 guys lined up hoping to play. It was an amazing experience to walk where so many GREATS have played- such as Bobby Jones, Tiger Woods & Arnold Palmer.

Holly, you'll love this next part. I got to see the William Wallace Monument. That's the Braveheart guy, incases you didn't know. And no I don't mean Mel Gibson. I was wishing Holly & Kristy could have been there with me. You could even buy the his Tartan there.

I am in Dublin now and I am in love with Ireland. We have had the priviledge of hearing live bands at the pubs and they are so talented. We even were a part of a live taping of one bands DVD. Old Irish folk tunes and some original ones too! Everyone in the pub is singing & clapping along; you can't help but smile and join in!

Tomorrow we are off to Northern Ireland- can't wait!
I hear Thunder Bay is hot... It's been raining almost every day here, but I am still having fun :)

I, Tarzan

2008-08-14T05:40:00.005-04:00

Top o' the morning to you friends. Yesterday was Mystery Date. For those of you who don't know, I'll explain. For our 3rd yr anniversary, instead of buying presents for each other, I thought it would be fun to plan a mystery date on our holiday. So yesterday was the one I planned for Ryan. We went to Aberfoyle to an ariel assault course. What an amazing experience! Ryan was very surprised and super stoked. The site consisted of zip slides through the trees, rope bridges, wires, suspended tunnels, and the tarzan swing. The zip slides were really fun and the view of the forest was spectacular. The scarist thing I've done in my life was the Tarzan swing. There was such a big drop before your harness actual caught you for the swing. I thought for sure I was going to pee myself, but don't worry I didn't! But I did the Tarzan swing and I felt like I conquered the world. Mind you I was still shaking when I went onto the next obstacle, but it was well worth it. If you want to check out the website, they have some pics and video demos of what we did- we were on the Aberfoyle course.
http://www.goape.co.uk/ContentArticle.aspx?Id=114&ate=115
Unfortunately we didn't take any pics because we didn't want to lose or damage our camera. However, Ryan kindly went on the last zip slide first so he could get some pics of me coming in- I'll post them once I'm home in September. Ryan's mystery date for me is in Dublin. I've put in a request to go dancing... but we'll see if he'll actually break down and go to a club.
We're off to Inverness to the Whiskey Trail with a stop at St.Andrew's first.

Cheerio- Ames

PS thanks for the posts Mary & Kelti... miss you guys :(

Life in the OTHER lane

2008-08-12T09:11:00.003-04:00

I'm in Scotland now. It's much cooler than Nice and I do miss the sun. But it is still amazing to see such beautiful countryside and be somewhere new. I got to drive on the OTHER side of the road; some say it's the right side, others the wrong side and I say: why is somebody driving in my lane?? It's been fun, but you REALLY have to concentrate on driving. Hence why I am letting Ryan do most of the driving. We of course got lost the first day because the signs are so ridiculous here... but it's part of the adventure. And get this, you know how we have caution MOOSE signs, they have yield SHEEP signs. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw that. Don't worry I'll get a picture of that.
We are staying at this beautiful castle that was established in 1199- it's been very relaxing and the scenery is breathtaking. And I have the most amazing clawfoot bathtub in my room. I'll take a picture for you. But not with me in it because that would be awkward.
It is my favourite feature of the place.
We went to Edinburgh Castle yesterday. It was lovely to see so much history and I couldn't help wonder what it would have been like back in the day. The fringe festival is on right now too and there are so many street performances going on. It also brings a lot of interesting characters mulling about the streets, so it definitely fun people watching.
Ryan is golfing today. I swear if I stood in one of the bunkers here, you wouldn't be able to see me. And I am not saying that just because I am short (no comments Shane). But it's ridiculous how deep they are... we'll see if Ryan enjoys golf after today...
Kelti- on my last day of classes we did a jazz routine to "Can't Stop the Rock"- it made me miss you!
Emily- I think Ryan is sick of hearing me talk about you or McMahon's... he thinks maybe I should be married to you- LOL! :) miss you.

Anyways, I'm off to go check on Princes Street...til next time.
Cheers!

Goodbye Nice... it's been BLOODY wonderful (for you Em)

2008-08-07T05:16:00.005-04:00

Hey Everyone! Hope your summer is going well. My classes have been so much fun. My first week I had 2 jazz classes, 1 modern & 1 tap. Amazing!!!! I have learned so much, I can't even begin to explain how greatful I am. Although it is really hot here, so it's like dancing in a sauna! I have yet to leave a class where my clothes aren't soaked- it's a good feeling :)
This week I have modern, jazz and african. The african is my fav this week- such a great workout. And my classes don't start until 3:30, so I have more time for the beach- YAY!

Last week, my friend Gianluca gave me a tour of Nice on his motorbike. It was the most amazing view I have ever seen. He took me up the mountains in Ville Franche and I could see the sea, mountains, fog, all the houses and it was at sunset. It definitely was one of the highlights of my trip. Another highlight was meeting Emily and all my friends at McMahon's. They have made my experience here so much fun. Last night we went to Cannes which was pretty cool and they had fireworks on the beach.

Well that's all for now. I leave tomorrow to meet up with Ryan for our vacation :) Not sure how many posts I'll get in, but I'll try.

Miss you all!!!!

Hello Ferrari

2008-08-05T04:43:00.005-04:00

This was my saying on Sunday when I was in Monaco. You wouldn't believe how many I saw... and better yet- heard! ahhhh, beautiful. I also went to Ville Frache with my flatmate Katia- from Italy. I had so much fun at the beach and walking through the tiny streets here. The views have been breathtaking!
Anyways, my times up... more later. Just know I am having the best time ever!!
Off to the beach :)

Il fait chaud!!!

2008-07-30T05:56:00.003-04:00

hey everyone!
i am having such an amazing time here. it is soooo beautiful and the weather is great. the old part of nice is so pretty and lively. i walked down la plage- the beach- last night with my roomate katia and a guy named Luca who was a translator for us. Katia is from Italy and speaks some english. between the 2 of us we speak english, french & italian... good times. Luca has been coming here for a number of years, but he only started dancing about 10 years ago. Get this: he is a mechanical engineer... who happens to dance. He was helping me & Katia with our conversations. I also met this cool girl Emily - who looks like Ryan's cousin Niina- from Manchester. She is not in my program, but she is living in Nice for the summer. She works at the pub I happened to stop in on my first day. we hit it off instantly. I also met her 2 roomates from Ireland. We all went out for dinner the other day and I had so much fun!
Anyways classes are going great, I am learning soooo much! I'll update more later... I am running out of time.

Ciao & au revoir

Long, long day

2008-07-25T10:50:00.003-04:00

I arrived at the jfk airport at 3pm Thursday. My flight was suppose to depart at 7:30pm. But of course it was delayed....until 9:40. Then once the plane was boarded we had to wait until closer to 10:30 to take off because there were so many planes taking off at the same time.
However, because of this delay I sat in the Sam Adams brew House and met this really cool girl, Kristen from Long Island, who happened to be on my flight. We were chatting with some other travellers at the bar and we managed to get FREE Pints of beer.... can't complain really :) Hopefully Kristen will keep in touch and let me know how her tour of Ireland went.
Back to my long day... it is now 3:55pm Ireland time (10:55am back home) and I am at the Dublin airport. Since my flight was delayed so long... I missed my flight to Paris. And since they don't offer travel insurance for ppl who don't live in europe, I had to fork out 75 Euros to get another flight- major bummer!!!!!! Not much to do here, but I did have a pint of Kilkenny for you Mary!
Anyways, that's my newest update, I'll keep you posted.

Oh, I forgot to mention I stopped by the M&M store in NYC and picked up so M&M Almonds (I thought of you Sam). I can't believe how much M&M stuff people actually buy.

Thanks for leaving a comment Kelti. Anyone else can feel free to leave me notes on my blog wall.

Ciao

Best laid plans and other random events

2008-07-23T23:51:00.003-04:00

Best laid plans... or so I thought. When I left on Tuesday, I was originally suppose to land in Newark at 6:29pm. However my flight was delayed from Thunder Bay... and then from Toronto. I finally landed at 8pm. No worries right, this is typical with travelling. So I get my ticket for the train Timmy told me to take. I asked one of the attendant's what track I should be on just to be sure. When I got there I missed the train by 2 minutes. No biggie, I could take the next one in 20 minutes- right? So in 20 minutes a train comes on another track and everyone gets up and leaves. I think this is rather weird, especially since no trains have come on the track the lady told me my train would be on. So after I watch that train pull away, I asked another attendant which train to take. He so kindly informed me that I should have been on that one. So I had to catch the next one... in another 20 minutes :) By the time transit was all done I arrived at Timmy's apartment at 11pm. But I am here now. It's not how I planned, but that's part of the adventure.

July 23rd

Today I started off the day at this fantastic THAI place Timmy brought me to called SPICE between 20th & 21st. WOW amazing!!! I had 2 spring rolls and chicken pad thai for under $10- what a deal. Thanks Tim for sharing this gem.

This afternoon I went to see Mary Poppins. Gotta love Disney- they always know how to put on a GREAT show! The set was awesome. My favourite moments were: Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious ( I hope that's right)- very creative, Step In Time- so entertaining and they used TAP dancing- I have to admit, I was taken in the number imagining little Sammy up there in his bert hat. And the best moment was when Mary Poppins flew over the audience- very magical.

Then I headed off to a Celtic Pub and took in a beer for Mary :) I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! It's practice for Dublin.

I decided to buy tickets for Legally Blonde for when Ryan & I come through NYC in August instead for better seats. So I got 1/2 price tickets for Spring Awakening this evening- the 2007 Tony Award Winner. Great singing- like Rent- but no dancing- like Rent. Not a happy musical, some serious issues tackled (like Rent)- sometimes it's good to leave your audience feeling something other than happy, right Kerri? It's good to make them think. However some of the issues they tackled even made me uncomfortable, so I didn't enjoy the whole show. At least I only payed 1/2 price. This show is DEFINITELY not recommended for children... like Rent.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: When I was in the women's bathroom and some girl just randomly broke out into "Shut Up & Drive". Nice and random.

NEW YORK CITY- Here I Come!

2008-07-22T10:04:00.004-04:00

I leave for NYC today. I'll be hanging out with my friend Timmy and see the city through the eyes of a local. I'll keep you posted on my adventures. I am not sure if I will be able to upload any of my photos since I don't have a laptop. If anyone knows a website I can do that on, to store them to show you here on my blog- let me know.

Ciao- I'm off to see the world :)

Better Late than never

2008-04-28T10:05:00.007-04:00

Okay, so here are some pics of the twins. I realize I haven't posted since January... but better late than never. Anyways, spring has arrived and my dance season is almost done, which means- in theory- more time for photos. We'll see. Here is something to tie you over for the time being.

The Twins

2008-01-18T08:54:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of them together. I'll post the twins again in a couple of months when I am done editting.

These are my 2 favourites!

Suvi

2008-01-15T00:39:00.000-05:00

And here are some of Suvi's pictures :) Let me know what you think.

Satu

2008-01-09T11:49:00.001-05:00

Okay- I realize it has been too long since I posted anything. But now is better than never :)
Here are some pics of Satu. I did a photo shoot with twins which was a lot of fun. I'll post Suvi soon. And then some of both of them.

Behind the scenes...with Elise Chien

2007-10-08T12:48:00.000-04:00

So I know it's been awhile since I've posted any pictures. Here are some before the "I do's" shots that I took of Elise, her mom and her maid of honour Paggy. And of course the dress. Hope you like them Elise :)

A Day with the Bernardi & MacRae Families

2007-08-06T00:36:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay- I've been promising Kerri & Jess I would post these pictures for awhile now. Anyways, this was a little spontaneous photo shoot I did with Kerri and her kids Sydney and Sammy (all 3 of them dance at SOD) and Jess and her son Gabe ( Jess also takes classes with me and who knows maybe one day little Gabey will join too!)

The Girlies

2007-08-02T09:49:00.000-04:00

Here's a look at our day at the lake.

START THE CAR! START THE CAR!!! WOOOOOO! I sense a little Thelma & Louise.

NOODLE WAR

SISTERS...they were never such devoted sisters....

Rissa & Airy's first smores :)

Riss thought this was a perfect picture frame.

My favs:

Airyana

2007-07-23T11:16:00.001-04:00

And here are pictures of my niece Airyana- who just turned 9. I particularly like the 2nd picture- Do you eat your crackers with pinkys up or pinkys down? Stay tuned for pictures of Marissa & Airyana together.

Airy thought it would be fun to drive Uncle Ryno's car :)

My Favs:

Marissa

2007-07-20T12:32:00.001-04:00

Here are some pics of my niece Marissa. I love the first one because she looks exactly like her mom did when she was that age. Riss loves the camera so it was a lot of fun snapping shots of her. Let me know which one is your favourite.

The Boys

2007-07-11T15:30:00.000-04:00

Here are some shots of my hubby Ryan playing drums, my bro-in-law Shane (Sunshine) on the bass, Matt on the electric guitar, Petri on acoustic and Petri's shoes. I really like the sun shots.

Music: Close Up

2007-07-03T21:29:00.001-04:00

Conversations with Chelsea

2007-06-30T22:52:00.000-04:00

Thanks Chelsee-ah for the wonderful day. I enjoyed taking pictures of you and appreciate the insight from our conversations.

I really like the character of her feet & legs :)

THESE ONES ARE MY FAVOURITES!

Carly's Bday

2007-06-29T18:34:00.000-04:00

Here are some more pics from Carly's bday. Enjoy!

A Day in the Rain

2007-06-28T12:59:00.001-04:00

So the Sr Girls and I decided to walk to MacDonald's for Carly's birthday since Merla Mae was closed. Here's some pics of our adventure.