December 31 2011

Happy New Years Everyone! Hope you have an amazing night.

I hope 2012 is as great as 2011 was. I couldn’t have asked for a better year.

PS. This is my last photo for my picture a day for a year

December 30 2011

Group shot. Half way through the trip. We are off to go out to dinner tonight at a nice restaurant (yes, still all inclusive!).

December 29 2011

I needed to keep him around to fend off the mosquitoes for me.

December 28 2011

First time snorkelling. I got the hang of it pretty quickly once I figured out my breathing tube was backwards.

December 27 2011

First time trying out jerk chicken. Very tasty with the addition of the jerk chicken sauce. Very spicy but worth the burn if your taste buds are strong enough.

December 26 2011

And the four of us are off to Jamaica. First time at an all inclusive resort. I was a little worried when I thought I might have to pay for airplane food (turns out I didn’t!). We are ready for the 7 hour flight down.

December 25 2011

The animals and their Christmas stockings. Abby can’t imagine anything more exciting than a stocking full of toys and treats. She can’t contain her excitement.

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas! I’m off to Jamaica until next year. Will post pictures when I’m back!

December 24 2011

Braydens last day in Calgary. He’s giving me the stink eye here definitely not wanting to be moved to see the camera.

December 23 2011

The Christmas tree! Might need a tripod to show the true beauty of my little tree.

December 22 2011

The bike computer is officially installed! Now I have to put it to use!!

December 21 2011

One of my teddy bears that I sewed when I was younger

December 20 2011

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

December 19 2011

I went to a world junior hockey game (prelim) today with Justin, my sister, and Darren. It was nice to see the potential that we have on our team prior to the official games. Once our team figures out how to play together I think it could be pretty solid. I’m excited to watch the finals when I’m back from Jamaica.

December 18 2011

I love the colour of the sky in the mornings. I’ve started to bring my camera on my morning walks because the sky is just a magnificent colour.

December 17 2011

Brayden’s first Christmas ever. He tried to stay awake for most of it but passed right out after dinner.

December 16 2011

The days keep getting shorter and shorter which limits the hours that we see sunlight. There was just enough light to capture the ice on a swing set.

December 15 2011

A first hand look at the new underpass in Calgary. Would like to mosey on down there and take a picture of this with a tripod. Nice details..

December 14 2011

Hockey (def): A sport that many Canadians spend much of their time either watching or playing.

December 13 2011

I’m fascinated with the look of icicles. Not the best background but I couldn’t help but capture it!

December 12 2011

Justin and his nephew! He's trying to get some quality time in before he gets whisked away again. He’s adorable, you can’t help but fall in love with him.

December 11 2011

The lime green ornament if my special ornament that my Mom and I picked out for my tree. Every year my sister and I pick out one ornament for our Christmas tree. I thought this one was amazing and showed some really nice artwork on blown glass. I’m excited about the new addition and had a blast picking it out today.

December 10 2011

Spent much of the day looking for gifts and wrapping parcels. Sounds boring, but it really wasn’t. My weekend isn’t leaving much time for nice photography!

December 9 2011

It’s Justin’s work Christmas party tonight. Wine and good food included.

December 8 2011

Abby has learnt from Hershey that finding a stick is pretty awesome. She happened to find the biggest stick possible (almost tree size) to take on our walk. Fantastic!

December 7 2011

After playing all day together they needed a quick nap! I think Abby was ok sitting out on this outing..

December 6 2011

Today was gift wrapping day with my Mom. Can you tell it’s Christmas?

December 5 2011

Decorated the Christmas tree tonight!

December 4 2011

And more snow.. I've shovelled the sidewalk and driveway three times in 12 hours. It`s a good thing it`s warm out!

December 3 2011

So it snowed, a lot! Up until now there hasn't`t really been much of anything (in the snow department). Today we received a few cm`s of snow but maintained a perfect winter temperature.

I`m not sure if there is a dog that likes snow more than Abby. She loves playing in it until her toes are too cold. Here she`s looking for her next pile of snow to pounce in.

December 2 2011

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful sister! I hope the day was filled with friends, family, laughter and love.

December 1 2011

Trying out something different for my interview tomorrow. At least I can say I tried!

November 30 2011

The snow came just in time for December! I was getting worried because we’ve had a very mild fall and barely any snow so far this year. Don’t worry it came! It’s pretty wonderful to have it snow without the freezing cold temperatures.

November 29 2011

Waiting for the Fesko’s to arrive back in Calgary. My Sister and Dad were in Phoenix soaking up the sun while we were here (soaking up the sun) with a much milder temperature. Hope they had fun for the birthday shopping trip!

November 28 2011

The compost bin is going into hibernation for the winter. I’m glad I purchased another one because they fill up surprising quickly if they aren’t breaking down.

I cleaned out my garden and planted some garlic and onions in preparation for the new growing season. Did I mention that this occurred during the wind storm?! Here’s to another season behind us. Any suggestions for next year?

November 27 2011

After a day of 110 km/hr plus winds it’s nice to see some things still in tact in the yard. Snowfall on its way.

November 26 2011

First vegan cake ever! I don’t think I could have done it without my handy apprentice Justin. He helped me pull through. There was a large learning curve for this cake but it turned out ok in the end.

All natural colours. All vegan.

Note: Chocolate icing on white fondant is NOT good for hiding mistakes.

November 25 2011

Vegan fondant, vanilla icing, and chocolate icing. I’m making a vegan birthday cake for a little boys birthday. He wants it to look ‘fancy’ so I’m pulling out all the stops to make a great looking cake for him. It’s a bit tricky making it completely vegan BUT it’s possible and it actually tastes really good too.

I readjusted the chocolate cake recipe to be very low in fat and with minimal sugar. I think all the icing and fondant definitely make up for that!

Hope he enjoys it. The final product will be up tomorrow.

Quote for this experience: “If you only do what you know you can do- you never do very much.”

November 24 2011

A must have in the kitchen. I put this stuff in everything!

November 23 2011

Nothing like a glass of chocolate milk after a good swim.

November 22 2011

Peeling back the layers on an onion. What if you don’t like one of the layers? Then what?

November 21 2011

I can see the light! Trying to think of things to take pictures of other than my beautiful dog!

November 20 2011

Today was Matthew’s baby shower. Most of the time was spent deciding who was going to hold the baby though. He’s so cuddly and quiet you can’t help but want to hold him! This was the first time the entire time that he actually opened his eyes.

November 19 2011

So today was a very ‘domestic day’. I started off with a hair cut, then went to an arts and crafts show, then made these baby cupcakes for Alisha’s and Denis’ baby shower tomorrow. I was a little nervous making baby cupcakes but I think they turned out adorable!

November 18 2011

Justin took me to see my hockey crush (Jonathan Toews) get crushed by my team. It had to be one of the best hockey games I’ve seen the flames play this season. Either we played really well or they didn’t show up, either way it was a win!

November 17 2011

All alone in the corner. Collecting thoughts.

November 16 2011

Christmas lights and no snow? Seems like a weird concept in Canada.

November 15 2011

It’s starting to get dark really quickly here now. It’s hard to get creative in the dark so I’ll have to stretch my memory a bit so I don’t start repeating pics.

November 14 2011

Slowly working away on my portfolio. Wish I had an idea on how to put one together..

November 13 2011

Tired pooch after a weekend of hiking and barking. We always have a blast at the cabin!