A little something to consider...

My good friend Cherry sent me this link last week. The idea is genius. I am thinking of participating...I just want to be sure I can fill the book up. What a brilliant idea for an art show.

http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject

Summer time

It's been two months, and even with gentle nudging from Gen...I have left my blog on its own to fend for itself. This summer has been quite the whirlwind despite not feeling like I've actually done a whole lot. But looking back at some recent adventures...that isn't entirely true!

Things to mark off...

3. Visit at least 3 of the 5 Great Lakes :: Visited Lake Ontario for our camping trip August 13-15 when we went to Sandbanks. It was one hell of a weekend. I had the best time.
42. Ride a rollercoaster. - Not quite a rollercoaster story, but I went to Ottawa'a Super-EX with J just over a week ago, and we rode the Fireball and, while its not really a rollercoaster I also went on The Zipper for the first time. I don't totally count them as rollercoasters, but as they are fair rides and Fireball was crazy I'm gonna put it here as an honorable mention :)
73. See a shooting star. :: More shotting starts! While camping at Sandbanks August 13-15 we went out to the beach and watched an incredibly clear sky lit up by stars. I counted about 10 shooting stars.

74. Buy a lottery ticket. :: Done. I bought a Lotto Max ticket in June.

75. Go on a picnic. :: Done! Had a great picnic with friends at Westboro beach. To make it more interesting the organizers decided on a theme. The letter M. That whatever we all brought to share had to have something to do with the letter M. I brought mimosa's and made rice crispie squares for dessert, as they are made with marshmallows.96. Plan and embark on a random weekend getaway. :: A plan is in the work for a girls getaway with Michelle.
100. Make something to put in the silent auction for our United Way Workplace Charitable Campaign. :: In the works: have notifies the organizer that I will be baking my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies for the auction.

I still have so much to accomplish and will be looking to my friends for the help!! They are fabulous and so supportive, we are all doing these things together and it makes me really happy to know that I have managed to surround myself with some pretty amazing individuals.

I had an amazing summer. My 26th burthday was another for the books. We celebrated on my rooftop and hit Elgin street for some dancing and some late night celebratory ESD poutines....

I also checked out some great acts at Bluesfest this summer. I saw Arcade Fire who were amazing. I was not a big fan before seeing them (i had no real opinion as I had never really listened to them before), and seeing them made quite the difference. I also saw Drake with the girls, and checked out a bit of the comedy tent and also got to spend a little time in one of the VIP suites thanks to some passes from work which I shared with my sister and Mike. That was a great night. Throw in all the random get togethers, dinners, breakfasts, dance parties, camp-outs and Mayofest shenanigans...this has been an amazing summer.

After the start to the year, I had been putting a lot of faith into having a good summer. I was hoping that the majority of my healing, mentally and emotionally, would have occurred. As it turns out, I wasn't too far off. I've taken a lot more time for myself and doing things that make me happy. There is only so much you can do when you wake up one day and realize nothing was how it seemed. There's a lot of rebuilding just on an emotional level, which I found has been the hardest part. I have always been a very open and trusting person and to have that blow up in my face I was very worried about how that would change me. And I really can't know until that is tested...but for now, I am feeling almost whole again, like myself, if not a happier version :)

Below: a shot of our picnic at Westborow beach, chilling in the hot tub at Mayofest, a group shot at Sandbanks provincial park beach and a gorgeous shot of the sunset over Lake Ontario.

I hope everyone had a great summer. And it's not over yet so if there's something you've been wanting to accomplish this summer you've still got just over 22 days to go!

Next on my to do list: start painting again (thanks for the suggestion Joce).