Man's Best Friend

Saw this glorious photo op outside of JJ Bean a while ago. So many people ran over to snap a picture of this cutie!

1000 Julys

July this year really did feel like a thousand rather than just one month. So much happened. Goods, bads, ups, downs, laughs and cries.

First and foremost, I need to acknowledge my friends. Besides my irreplacable, beyond stellar family, I don't think I would've survived this month without my brothers from other mothers. I can't explain exactly how much they mean to me and how blessed I am to have them in my life!

I picked up a new ride somewhere along the way. AKA MY FRIKKIN DREAM CAR! No more walking for Christine. Obesity here I come. Hey, at least I'll look sweet in a VW right?!

Grocery store adventures: PB as far as the eye can see and Kasey telling Mark he can't get five pounds of bacon for dinner.

Winter Ale? In July?! "This can't be right!" you say. But it is. This smarty pants stored a few WA's where no one could find them just to prove it's possible. It almost tastes better when you're drinking it in the summer heat!

Fun in the Okanagan sun. Orchards, cherry pickin' and so many beach days.

Breakfast's of love made by none other than my mumma-bear.

And a chapter closes on finer days.

When It Rains, It Pours

The thing I've never understood about this cliche saying is that sometimes it really is just a trickle rather than a massive thunder storm. When it's actually raining that is. In terms of life, love and death though, it all seems to come at once. These are (or were rather) my two pups, both of which have died in the past three months from cancer. Talk about unfair! I can't figure out in my head how there are such bad people alive and roaming the earth, yet our two innocent babies lives were taken away. There are times when God's plan is just too hard to see. I hope one day I'll understand why things happen the way they do.
This is Bentley. The definition of puppy-dog eyes was created just for him, I'm sure! He was a clumsy, oaf of a dog. I remember him standing tall beside the dinner table, his height just perfect enough that his eyes would peer clear across at everything he was missing out on. His nose would start to sniff and he'd just stare at you until your heart melted. Then a scrap would come his way and he'd be so stoked! We also called him Linus sometimes. Rarely would you see this dog without a blanket, towel or some other kind of linen hanging from his mouth, getting towed around the entire house.
He was the second of our two friends to go, this one I was there for. He seemed to be getting gradually sicker until his last few days. His health spiralled downhill in a very short time. Thursday, July 23 we brought him into town. He was so excited for a car ride while we all cringed knowing his fate. Dad, Mum, Rae and I all went in the sterile little room with him. The vet took Bentley away to get an IV started in his arm. When she brought him back, she laid him on a blanket, one that would typically be carried by him rather than carrying him. She put the first needle in, a sedative. His vibrant eyes drooped and mine instantly overflowed. The second needle, an anasthetic. It hit him quick and his body fell, so tired and weak. My tears were bottomless by this point. Then the third and most dreaded needle, the killer. His eyes closed, his body relaxed and we knew it was over. It was so hard to see the life literally slip from his face, yet at the same time, months of pain and suffering left with him. A truly bittersweet experience. Deep down inside I believe that Bentley would've been strong enough to defeat his illness, but with the loss of our other precious pup only months earlier, he was too sad to go on.

That brings me to our girl, Lexie. Smart as a whip, more loyal than any other creature I've encountered and overall, just an extremely beautiful dog. Ask anyone who has ever spent any amount of time in our home, how she would sneak up to your chair and nudge her nose under your hand just to get a pet. She was so incredibly gentle too. Whether we tested her on eating corn on the cob without annihilating the entire cob or teaching her to take a treat from a baby's hand, she used the most tender grasp. I can distinctly remember getting ready to take her for walks when we still lived in the city. We'd get her collar and leash on, which would rile her right up! While you're still getting your shoes and jacket on, she'd have the leash drooped from her mouth, eagerly pacing around the house. Looking back through old pictures at her animated face makes me realize how smart she was. The looks she would give you let you know that she wanted so bad to tell you something, if only she could say it!

Lexie's health also deteriorated very quickly. Once we found out she didn't have much time left I went to Salmon Arm to visit, not knowing if that would be my last. Unfortunately, it was. I called my Mum the evening of April 16, 2009 to check up and see if Lexie was making any progress at all. With her choked up response of "No. No she isn't well at all," I knew. The only way to describe what I did was to say that I sobbed like a baby. I felt like I couldn't even breathe I was crying so hard. I've never had to deal with cancer before so this was my first emotional ordeal with the disease. There will never, ever be a dog in this world like Lexie again.

Girls, Girls, Girls

Motley Crue said it in 1987 and we were living it this fine day in 2009. Well, we weren't quite living exactly the way they were in that song but we did have a girls day out, which is rare. My three Starbucks girls and I started with an awesome breakfast at a diner on Granville called the Templeton. Two Trucker's breakfasts, a Big-Ass breakfast and one decadent grilled cheese later, we trekked to Richmond. There are these infamous Japanese photo booths in Aberdeen Mall that I'm slightly addicted to! (Once I figure out how to scan things I'll post all my photobooth adventures.)

After our photobooth fun and laughing so hard we cried because we can't read Japanese, we decided to take a breather by the fountain. My camera was highjacked (as seen in these pictures) by Kasey which always yeilds ridiculous results!

We calmed ourselves down enough to each get a frozen yogurt from a yummy little place called Qoola. Lychee frozen yogurt with raspberries is probably one of the best things I've ever tasted. A fantastic day all in all. I love my girls!

Sweets for My Sugar

I decided to whip up a batch of vegan Oreo cupcakes for my babe after he had a crappy sorta week. Kasey helped me seeing as I don't have one homemaker's bone in my body. We had one fairly big mishap. Well, it wasn't really our fault. We bought all our ingredients from the bulk aisle at this market on Commercial. After baking the cupcakes and preparing about a five litres of icing, we realized the 'icing sugar' bin at the market didn't actually have icing sugar in it. Instead it housed a large amount of BAKING POWDER! Sick. Worst icing ever. We quickly ironed out that wrinkle and finished our little cakes. I surprised Justin at work with a plate of them and they seemed to brighten him up a bit, even on such a dreary day!

The Year Summer Ended in June

Although June has just come to an end, I'm afraid my summer is pretty much over. What can I say? JJ Bean is a total life ruiner. Here is a small documentation of how my 30 day summer went.Kasey gettin' nowhere fast.

Some serious hang outs with my boy.

G&Ts, 3eb and my number onesies.
Mumma-bear and daddy-o that is.

The fabulous four reunite.

Finding random cats and bringing them home.

Jesse Martin. NUFF SAID.

Friends and drinking games. Need I say more?
Beer, beer, beer and Rockstar vodkas.

Roommates at rock shows.

And babies?! Only if they aren't mine.

This little cutie is called Olivia.
I give her right back once she starts to cry.