...........

Getting Excited!!!!! 75 Days To Go!

2010-04-19T15:27:00.001-04:00

The countdown is on... only 75 more days until the wedding! I can't believe it's coming up so quickly. I recently got a lot done:
- Sent out all the invitations
- Booked the shuttles
- Went to the flower warehouse
- Bought my bridal shoes
- Ordered my pseudo-guestbook
- Bought my flower vases and candles
- Picked out groom and groomsmen attire
- Got my wedding band... James hasn't decided on one yet
- Chose a date for the bachelorette party

All we have left to finalize:
- Music playlist
- Ceremony music
- Menu

I love receiving my response cards every day. It's fun to read the notes people include in them.

I'm starting to have wedding nightmares though..... that is not fun!

I can't wait for the next 75 days to go by!!!

They've arrived!!!

2010-03-24T13:40:00.001-04:00

I'm super psyched!!! My LEDs, batteries and paper lanterns have all arrived!!! I've tested my LED + battery idea out and it works perfect. So far, the light has been on for 48+ hours straight. I'm sure it will last even longer. This is going to be perfect for the wedding. We can make all the "throwies" (LED+battery) and add them to the paper lanterns and hang them the day before the wedding. This will save us the trouble of having to hang them up on the day of or mess around with electrical cables. Never fun.... the other nice thing about it is that we can now hang the lanterns with clear wire so that they look as though they are floating in the tent! We can suspend them at the different heights, which I think will give a really cool effect.

We've sent in our sample invitation. I'm hoping to get a proof back soon so that they can be printed before Easter. I'll have an EXTRA-long weekend, and I want to be able to hand write all the address during that free time. It's going to be a lot of work, but that's what bridesmaids and family are for (only the ones with nice handwriting through!)

Anyway, that's all I have to say. Just wanted to leave a quick update.

Enough Coasting.....

2010-03-11T11:08:00.001-05:00

I guess I should consider myself lucky... I haven't really stressed about my wedding or had a major freak-out yet. To be hoenst, I've done no planning since January really. I think it's finally time I get the ball rolling on a few things. Considering we are close to mid-March, I definitely need to finalize the wedding invitations. I've got a sample done up for the printer. I need to finish doing up a response card, and a details page... once that's done, we can get everything printed. WOO HOO! Luckily, a few friends have volunteered to help stuff envelopes. I think we'll just print addresses on labels to make everything easier. I would LOVE to have each name and address printed on every envelope but I'm not that rich!!! haha!

We made some progress last night on our whole lighting issue. We decided that we wanted to hang paper laterns from the ceiling of the tent. The major problem was how were we going to light them?! Electrical cords are a pain in the butt and most battery operated lights don't last long enough (from the time we put them up until after the wedding - approx. 60 hours). SOOOOO I found this cool idea online - THROWIES!!! They consist of a 10mm LED light and a coin battery. Simple enough. We put a few of those in each lantern and away we go! Problem solved! This also means that we can now hang our lanterns at different heights in the tent. It should look AWESOME!!!!!

What else..... I'm supposed to meet with my florist some time this month and go to the big flower depot to scope out some prices and availability. That should be fun!!!! Once those big things are out of the way, the smaller details should fall into place.

Honestly, I think that as long as I have a fresh mamosa in my hand all day, I'll feel GREAT!!!!

I think there are about 114 days left before my wedding... yikes! that's really soon!! I can't wait though! It's going to be AMAZINGGGGGGGG!!!!!!

Oh, I almost forget.... Bridesmaid dress shopping on the 20th!! I can't wait for that either. Should be a great day with all my favourite ladies. We have a "Meet & Greet" planned for that night with my family and James'. Should be a great time!!!!

All I have to say is....

2010-02-05T09:03:00.002-05:00

Anton Volchenkov is the best!

And so it begins.......

2010-02-03T15:00:00.000-05:00

I've finally planned out my training schedule leading up to my 10k in May. It seems so far away....... I really have to stay motivated and stick to the plan, otherwise I'll suck! My goal is to finish under 55 minutes. I think it's realistic. I mean, if i really wanted to, I could probably run 10k today. I would be really slow, but I would finish. If I don't set myself a goal, I won't train.

The main reason I'm doing this is because I was convinced to do so by my dad. I've helped him raise funds for Team Diabetes for several years now, and after the success of my new year's bash last year he encouraged me to sign up. There is no way I would voluntarily sign up for any distance greater than 10k...... That is far enough for me!!The money I've raised ($880, hopefully $1000 by race day) goes towards a great cause. Diabetes is something that has affected several members of my family.

I also have a hidden agenda... I'm not going to lie... I need to shape up for this wedding that is coming up on July 3rd. That is SO SOON! Yikes! I bought my wedding dress to fit me how I am right now. I'm not going to try and lose weight, I just want to tone up certain areas..... like the armpit boobs and the Oprah arms.

I'm hitting the gym tonight with Alicia. Fun times... Body Combat!! It's an intense workout.

Hasta luego amigos.

HELP ME!!!

2010-01-29T09:51:00.005-05:00

Ok, so this post is totally intended for my bridesmaids and most honest friends (HAHA!) - it's an easier way to post all the ideas (photos) and get their feedback.

I've recently decided to not go with purple - I'm starting to think it'll be too blah... I'm not blaaahhh... I'm a lot more "colourful"... LOL

I've numbered the photos to make it easier...

Anyway, ladies - give me your thoughts.

Loves yas!!

Lisa

Wedding Plans

2010-01-12T10:00:00.001-05:00

A lot has happened since my last post.... James and I bought a new car - 2010 Hyundai Accent hatchback (manual transmission... yipee), and he proposed on Christmas Day!!! It was probably the most exciting moment of my life. I won't go into detail about the proposal because it is pretty intimate... I will say that it was the MOST sentimental proposal ever! I am the luckiest girl in the world - James is the best!!!!! Oh, and my ring is gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!! Solitaire, princess cut diamond on white gold. B-E-A-UTIFUL!

ANYWAY... since then we have started planning like mad! We've decided on July 3 as our date. THIS SUMMER! Unbelievable!!! I've already ordered my dress. It's amazing! My bridal party consists of my mom, my best friend Keltie, my two "sisters" Alicia and Ujjaini, and my sister-to-be, Amanda. I can't wait to go shopping for their dresses!!!!!

We are having a tented wedding, in behind James' dad' pub in Carleton Place. The tent is booked. Minister has been called. We have a photographer and a DJ!!! We have our food sorted... Not much left to plan! :)

I'll try and post more updates this year. :)

WHAT!? AS IF! Natalie wins Survivor Samoa (F-ING BS!)

2009-12-21T08:40:00.001-05:00

Last night, James and I sat down to watch the nail-biting finale of Survivor Samoa. We have been cheering for Russell since day 1 and he basically clinched the win on Day 1 of the season. I have never been so disappointed as when I heard Jeff announce that Natalie was the "Sole Survivor". WTF!?!? How could this happen!?!?

My biggest beef is with these idiot competitors who sign up for Survivor. You are signing up for a game! Deception is key in winning Survivor. Just because someone lies in the game doesn't make them a bad person in real life. Nobody has ever played the game of Survivor as Russell. The guy found every hidden immunity idol without clues! GENIUS! He is a strategic mastermind and I REALLY hope he joins the cast of Survivor Redemption: Villains vs Heroes and takes home the prize!

I think CBS should re-think the way they do things. I think they should give $500K to each a fan favourite and the winner chosen by the jury. This means that if someone is a storng player that the viewers love, and also a good "social" mastermind in the game, they could take home the $1M prize. I think I might write a letter to the producers!! I'm a genius!

Anyway... I just needed to vent. Natalie is useless and I'm really disappointed.

GO RUSSELL! YOU ROCK!

WOWSA!

2009-11-25T08:05:00.001-05:00

The last month has been absolutely insane. Hence, the lack of posts. It's been very exciting though....

Here's a quick summary:

The Halloween party at the Glen was insane! Tons of people showed up and we danced all night. My costume was definitely the best one there. ;) I wasn't allowed to win the Best Costume prize though... LAME!!!! (two Sens tickets...)

Since Halloween, James and I have been shopping like crazy for the house. We have pretty much everything we need, with the exception of a few smaller things like a coffee table and shower curtain for our second shower. We bought sofas, kitchen table with chairs, tons of kitchen stuff and a zillion pillows! I love accent pillows!! I can't wait to move in next week. Only 5 more sleeps!!!! I'm really looking forward to watching the Sens on my new massive flat screen TV with surround sound.

I was hoping to put pictures up sooner, but I'm going to wait until next week. I'll take some photos of the house after we've moved everything in. This weekend and early next week is going to be nuts!!! Packing, moving, unpacking.... painting... ugh... We are only painting one room though, so that's good.

Aside from that, I've been swamped with job competitions. I've had a few exams recently... I'm waiting to hear about on a couple of jobs. We'll see.... Regardless, I am permanent in the government, and that's what counts. :)

The countdown is on for my brother David's wedding next fall. Less than a year to go now! WOO! I can't wait to go out west. I need to start saving....

I'm really happy with the Sens these days. I don't want to jinx them, but they are playing great. GO SENS GO!

I should really start working now........ Stay tuned for more house updates next week.

NEW HOUSE!!!

2009-10-27T11:37:00.002-04:00

Great news everyone (and by "everyone", I mean "anyone who reads this"): WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!

I am so excited! We move in November 30th. Our inspection is tomorrow. So unless something really crazy comes up, it's OURS!!! YAY!

I'll have some pictures soon enough, I hope. :)

There is hardly any work that needs to be done. The house comes fully loaded with pretty much everything, except hardwood floors. We even have a pretty big backyard with a deck! WOOT!

Halloween is coming up quickly too! I can't wait to reveal my costume. It's going to be wayyyyy better than my carpenter outfit from last year.

Life is good.

The search is ON!

2009-10-01T12:34:00.001-04:00

James and I are slowly getting our act together. YIPPEEE! We've enlisted the help of one of his friend who is a real estate agent to start scoping out the house market.

We can't really get tooooo excited yet though, because the kinks haven't been completely ironed out in James' previous mortgage. Him and his friend are meeting with the lawyers next week to finalize so that James can get his cheque. Once he (we) have that, we can really start looking.

It looks like Kanata is a go. So far, we've seen a few condos we like. They are small townhomes (3 bedrooms, 2-3 bathrooms). We're hoping to get a sweet deal and find something around $190K. That would be awesome!! We don't want to be house broke, and with all of next year's happenings, we need extra cash flow (there are already five different weddings going on next summer!)

I am really hoping that I can have my house by Christmas. It would be so special. A Christmas tree!!! Me, James and Anton celebrating our first Christmas in the house. How awesome would that be?!?!

Anton is really excited about the big move, although he's scared to be lonely in the new place. He won't have his three furry friends around. My mom is trying to convince me to take Twinkle too. I might bring her as well. She is my first baby after all. I know my dad would be thrilled! He's asked me to take all four when I leave! haha!

Buying a house is so freaking expensive. Not only do you need money for a down payment, but you also need money for all these extra fees and taxes. Not to mention cash for furniture and a big screen TV to watch the Sens on!!!

... IN OTHER NEWS...

I've decided that the government isn't for me...... I don't fit in the mold of the public service. I will be applying to the part time teacher's education program at Ottawa U. I'm really excited! I will be applying in the French stream (less competitive), in the primary division which is K to grade 6. As much as I would prefer to get into the Junior division which is grade 4 to 10, I don't have the teachables.... and I'm not going to waste time picking up courses. And as my mom pointed out, elementary school teachers are more appreciated anyway. I think I'll make an excellent teacher one day and I'm really looking forward to the new challenges this decision brings.

Anyway... I guess that's all for now. TGTIF (Thank God Tomorrow Is Friday)
- L

SURVIVOR: SAMOA

2009-09-25T14:50:00.000-04:00

Oh yeah... one more thing to talk about... SURVIVOR! Man, do I ever love that show! I'm so fascinated by people's behaviour... This season has been pretty good so far. I'm loving Russell - what a beauty! (I think that's his name... the oil company owner who is striving to piss everyone off) He was hilarious last night. I don't even think his a real competitor. I'm starting to think Survivor has thrown him in there to stir shit up or something. He's likely a multi millionaire already anyway...

A bunch of other shows started recently too...
House
Heroes
Top Chef
90210
America's Next Top Model
Grey's Anatomy

The Hills & The City tonight!!!!!
Amazing Race & Desperate Housewives on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!

SWEEEEEET! I'm such a loser...

Dum dee dum...

2009-09-25T14:46:00.001-04:00

There hasn't really been too much going on lately.... hence, the lack of posts.

We finally got our groove back at ultimate last night. My cousin, Andrew, was the MVP for sure. This kid can dive like no other. His dives are picture perfect - horizontal in mid air. It's almost as if he's posing for the camera. I think the final score was 15-7, which is so much better than our last game. I won't even comment on that....

Tonight should be fun. I'm taking Eric, who I used to supervise at the after care program at GEC a few years back, to the 67s game. This kid is awesome. I love taking him out to do stuff. Last time, we went to see Up. It was a great movie. He's really good company - die hard Sens fan like me! :)

I'm looking forward to doing nothing this weekend. Aside from ultimate on Sunday aft, I don't have much planned. I'm supposed to meet OJ for a few pints at The Glen on Saturday night.

Speaking of The Glen.... James and I are planning a wicked Halloween party there this year. We've got a DJ booked! I can't wait! I'm thinking of going as one of those Arabian princesses. We'll see. I am notorious for changing my mind at the very last minute. Anything will be better than my "builder" costume from last year.... I was so disappointed in myself. I can't believe Halloween is in a month. September just flew by. I don't mind time passing quickly these days. The faster time goes by, the sooner I'll have my own house.

James and I have settled on getting our own house. No downtown duplex for us. We've talked to one of his friends, who is a real estate agent, and he's going to start sending us potential listings and taking us on visits. So exciting!!!

I guess this is a short post. I just wanted to kill a bit of time... Less than an hour to go at work. Fridays are always long.

Peace out homies.

Help me!!!

2009-09-14T13:46:00.002-04:00

For anyone who is reading this (...ummm... Shawna?) - Please help me reach my fundraising goal of $1000 for Team Diabetes Canada.

So far, I've raised $850. I hosted a summer kick off boat cruise and it was pretty darn successful. I only need $500 to participate in the 10K next May in Ottawa, but I'd like to have $1000!!!!!

I can do it!!!! (with YOUR help, of course!)

Go to this link: https://ocp.diabetes.ca/Pledge/csSearch.asp?prId=td and search for Lisa Perry

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!

Week in Toronto

2009-09-10T09:07:00.000-04:00

For all you blog readers out there - here is a brief day-by-day recount of my stay in Toronto last week.

First off, it was AWESOME!!!! James did a really great job at picking out our hotels. We get some really sweet deals using http://www.priceline.com/. We stayed at the Delta Chelsea and the Marriott on Bloor. The Marriott was AMAZING!!!! Our room was gorgeous. I honestly didn't want to leave.

Wednesday September 2: CELTIC
We left Ottawa around 10:30 am for our drive to TO. It was pretty quick and we hardly hit any traffic. We checked in to the Delta Chelsea and immediately put on our Celtic gear and had a few pints. We hoped on the subway (their public transit is freakin amazing!) and headed straight to the Exhibition. Our game ticket got us into the Ex for free. We decided to eat dinner in the food pavillion. Every type of food you could possibly imagine was in this building. It was intense. Due to my stomach sensitivities, I had to unfortunately stick to a slice of pizza and a hot dog. It was still delicious though. We hit up the Bud Light Lime beer tent where we drank a few beers. That Bud Light Lime is delish! I love it!!! We were only allowed one drink at a time though... what a joke! The Celtic chants were already underway. What an amazing experience. We eventually made our way into BMO field and found our seats, with a Carlsberg in hand (SO GROSS!). I've never seen fans this crazy in my life. Despite the shitty game played by the Glasgow Celtic, it was still a wicked awesome time. We hit up the beer tent again after the game to drown our sorrows and caught the last GO train back into town. We decided to go for a few drinks and food up at the Jack Astor's patio in Dundas Square. What a sweet patio!! You sit right over the square. It was really cool. I made my way back to the hotel around 1:30, followed shortly by James and his friend Marc. No hang over on Thursday morning. Wicked!

Thursday September 3: Shopping & Jays
James probably did not enjoy this day as much as I did. We did some shopping in the Eaton Centre which was pretty exhausting. I honestly didn't find all that much. Got a cute blouse at Aritzia (thanks Mom!) and a couple of sweaters at H&M. I also got a pair of sunglasses which I eventually sat on and broke at Wonderland. I'm a douche. We head back to our hotel for a bit of a rest and then made our way to Rogers Centre for the ball game. The facility is wicked!! I love that park. it's modern and very cool looking. We got to see the Yankees kick the Jays butt, which was fun! A-Rod hit a home run. He was booed by the fans every time he made his way up to bat. I can't remember the final score..... I do remember though that I was totally grossed out when the cashier fondled my hot dog before handing over to me.... gross!

Friday September 4: Shopping & Kid Rock
Yes, more shopping. It was my birthday, so James treated me to a shopping spree at Forever XXI. I got a couple of cute tops. I also picked up some nice shoes that day. On Friday, we also changed hotels. We moved to the Marriott. It was wayyyyyyy nicer. Not that the Delta was not nice, but the Marriott was just better. Our hotel was also attached to the subway station which was very convenient. Given that it was our first day in the new hotel, with the comfy king size bed, I decided to take a nice long nap after shopping to rest up before the Kid Rock show. We made our way down to the Molson Amphitheatre on time for a few pints and then the concert. We had general admission tickets on the lawn, but made our way into the actual amphitheatre. Kid Rock is absolutely amazing! It was one of the best live shows I've ever seen. He sang, played guitar, piano, drums and the turn tables. He also dissed Britney Spears and Pamela Anderson. Funny guy. We decided to take a cab back to the hotel which was sort of stupid idea. There was tons of traffic.... We eventually got off at Dundas Square and walked the rest of the way. I picked up a delicious waffle at Wanda's Waffles. The waffle was covered in a mountain of blueberries, whipped cream and maple syrup! YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!

Saturday September 5: O.A.R.
I'm trying to remember what we did during the day Saturday... I think we walked down Yonge for some window shopping and just take in the atmosphere. We made plans to meet Keltie and Louise for dinner at the Yamato Japanse Steakhouse. It was absolutely amazing. I had never been to this type of restaurant before and the food was phenomenal. Keltie bought me Lauren Conrad's book L.A. Candy for my birthday. I try and hide the cover when I have it out in public. LOL After dinner, we went back to the hotel to get changed. We took the subway downtown for the O.A.R show which was at Kool Haus on the waterfront. We didn't realize how long the walk was from Union Station to the show. It was suuuper long, but considering the amount of walking we had already done on the trip, it seemed pretty far. We were both exhausted and found a couch/bench to watch the show from. They are really great live. We were so close too. We cabbed back to the hotel and passed out.

Sunday September 6: Wonderland
We woke up early Sunday morning to get ready for Wonderland. We took the subway to the Yorkdale Mall where Alicia and Nevon picked us up. Once in the car we made a huge detour. We kept missing exits. It was pretty funny. We finally made it to Wonderland, stood in line for our passes and head into the park. Our first ride and longest wait was Top Gun. Still my favourite coaster ever! They have cameras filming you the entire ride now. It was really funny. I gave my thumbs up on the ride while James looked terrified. Alicia and Nevon bought their DVD which I thought was pretty hilarious! We did 9 rides that day in about 8 hours. It was pretty intense. We did Vortex, the Bat, White Water Canyon, the Behemoth, Thunder Run, Canadian Minebuster, Tomb Raider and the Italian Job. By the time we got back to our hotel shortly after 9, we hit the sack. I don't even remember going to bed....

Monday September 7: Breakfast in Bed
Monday was our last morning, so we had pre-ordered our breakfast. It was so cool. I had never had room service or breakfast in bed before. I ordered french toast coated with corn flakes and covered with bananas and strawberries. It was so delicious! James had eggs benedict - his favourite. We packed up, picked up the rental car and hit the road. Including a stop for a late lunch, the ride home took us just over four hours. We made awesome time considering all the cops on the road.

Overall my trip was awesome! James and I had a blast and I wait for our next vacation. Being back at work has been tough but you gotta work to play, right?!

Forceful blogging?!

2009-08-31T11:10:00.002-04:00

So.... my eventually-to-be-sister-in-law/friend, Shawna, has asked that I update this thing a little more regularly so that her and my bro can stay up to speed on what's going on in my life....

While they are livin' it up in Van, I'm in Ottawa, doing the SSDD. Fun times. No, but seriously, things are sort of exciting these days. I have some pretty big things coming up. Like purchasing a house? I guess that's a pretty big deal. James and I originally wanted to have our house by Christmas, but I don't think it'll be until January or February. We are still waiting on him to move out of his current house, and get out of his current mortgage (which he split with a friend). On the bright side, we'll have more money saved up for when we move. YAY! We're still kind of undecided about what kind of house we want to buy. We've been toying around with the idea of investing in a downtown property (duplex or triplex). It would be an awesome retirement plan. I'm sort of torn because as much as I love the idea of living downtown again (we would be living in one of the units), I want to settle into my "first home" with James. I want it to be somewhat of a permanent thing and I really want to make it lived in. Buying a house in Kanata is pretty much the lamest thing ever - Oh Suburbia! How I loathe thee.... Regardless, I am looking forward to it so much!!

What else?! On Wednesday I am leaving for Toronto for five nights. I'll be there with James, celebrating my 24th birthday. I feel like I'm finally an adult. 24 sounds "older", more "mature" and "experienced". ha! We have a crazy week planned out. We will be going to see the Celtic football (soccer) team play at BMO field. We are also going to see the Yankees play the Jays (should be AWESOME!) as well as Kid Rock and O.A.R. Sunday we are doing Wonderland. SWEET! Can't wait to get on Top Gun.

As far as work goes.... I'm bored. I'm actually supposed to be working right now, but I can't get myself to do anything. There is no motivation for me to do well or do things in a timely manner. Prettttyyyy lame if you ask me. Anything is better than being in my previous job at Justice though. I was so down in the dumps when I was there. At least here I am somewhat happy, and don't have any back problems. Yay me!

My sports have wrapped up for the summer. I play my last soccer game tomorrow. Ultimate was awesome. We made a huge comeback at the end of the season and won all our play off games after only winning one game the entire season. Talk about a true underdog story. I quit my football team a couple of weeks ago because there were a few idiots on the team who made it quite unpleasant to play. I'm looking forward to having a bit more free time. I need to get back into my gym routine since I'm running a 10K in the spring. I also really want to get back into my music this fall. I can't even remember the last time I picked up my guitar. I think I want to focus on my bass though. It's so beautiful.... electric blue! My goal is learn the bass part for Gimme Sympathy by Metric.

Speaking of Metric - their latest album is so great!! I LOVE IT! I'm hoping to see them in October when they are in town. Anyone who knows me well, knows about my infatuation with Emily Haines.

I guess that's enough rambling for now. Ok Shawna?

I'm off to James' dad's for dinner tonight. Should be good. Their pub is awesome (St-James' Gate in Carleton Place).

Peace out homies.

Ok, so I'm a shitty blogger

2008-04-10T17:55:00.002-04:00

I guess I'm not very good at this kind of thing. I haven't posted anything in over a month... and I only have two posts......... Oh well..... I've been busy.... sort of... I don't know. I have no excuse!

Anyway - I'm happy to say that my post-vacation depression has passed. However, I am now dealing with the stress of playoff hockey. I really hope the Sens can at least make it past the first round. Watching them last night was so frustrating. There was no cohesion whatsoever on the ice. Nobody seems to be stepping up in Alfie's absence. I'm upset. I feel like they've let me down. Only true fans understand this feeling. The feeling of heartbreak, when you invest so much emotion and time into something you love, only to have it all fall to pieces right before your eyes. Cheesy much!? I know... but that's how it goes.

Lucky for me, baseball season has started. At least I have something to look forward to once the Sens finish their run.

I don't really have much else to talk about right now. I'm feeling a little brain dead. Work is exhausting.

Peace homies.

Next Generation of Power Rangers

2008-03-01T12:20:00.001-05:00

I'm watching Saturday morning TV (or afternoon...) and this crazy new version of Power Rangers came on.

.... It just blew my mind...

http://disney.go.com/powerrangers/index.html

My cat is the coolest

2008-02-27T22:55:00.001-05:00