thoughts.

do more. be more. love more. make more.

Is it normal for us humans, to always strive for more?
I struggle between wanting more and being satisfied with what I have.
It's a never-ending struggle. Sometimes I feel like everything I have is enough. 
And other times I feel nothing is enough. 


Having enough.
I have a great apartment, in a fun city, with a great man and energetic dog. I have a superb family that I love dearly (and loves me) {and yes...i said superb!}, we are all healthy, strong, contributing members of society. I live a comfortable life where there is food on my table, blankets on my bed and clothes in my closet. I can be proud of what I have accomplished. 


Never enough.
But often I think there should be more to this life. We should do more outside, listen to more music, read more, enjoy the city more, see people we love more, make more take time for ourselves, workout more,  


What does it take to believe what you have is enough? 
What if enough, really isn't enough and you should strive for more?


Most of the time I think I want to live the simple life. 
But my mind seems to make things more complicated. 
Which leads to wanting MORE.

life lately.

(link)

Life has been mostly non-blog worthy these days. 
Matt and I have been busy doing regular adult things (which means helping out family and doing lots of work). I haven't taken a picture on my camera since Easter (which for me is odd).  


A few of the going ons:
~My older brother went to Japan to compete in the Strongman race, read about his trip over here
~I have seen my younger brother 3 weekends in a row (and that is fantastic and abnormal). It has been lovely spending time with him
~We have been watching a lot of hockey (GO SENS!)
~Saw my mom on the weekend, it's always nice to go home...even if a lot of housework was involved. In the cheesiest way possible, I love my mom, she is a fantastic lady! 
~Friends of Matt's got engaged this weekend - it is VERY exciting :)
~The weatherman is calling for snow today...which I am not surprised about, but am hoping the spring-weather will become a little more consistent. The temperature has been fluctuating way too  much for my liking. Anything above +10 (consistently) would be great, please and thank you.
~I have been running and have FINALLY made it passed my mental block of only being able to run for 20-30 minutes. I am not running fast, but I am running consistently and for longer than ever, so that is success in my books. Oh - and I am (almost) always enjoying it and not just forcing myself to do it.


Maybe I will have more fun pictures to share after I head to the cottage for a relaxing/working weekend with my BFF. 


xo.a

my puppy...

I wasn't blogging at the time of the new addition to our family. 

So I thought I would share the story of Rufus McFly!

(the day we picked him up)

A little history: 

I have always wanted a dog. Growing up I wouldn't leave my parents 

alone about wanting a dog. 

Every year at Christmas, they would get me a stuffed animal dog. 

Which was wonderful, but not exactly what I wanted.

{I always dreamt of waking up on Christmas morning to a golden retriever in my stocking}

Matty's family got a dog when he was just in his twenties. 

He is a dog person through and through. 

How it happened: 

We had been talking about dogs for over a year. 

Our discussions revolved around what breed would we get, puppy vs older dog etc.

Obviously I fought for a golden, Matty wanted a husky. 

We started looking at other breeds, seriously considering Bernese Mountain dogs. 

We started looking at breeder websites, and adoption websites. 

We watched Ceasar Milan on Saturday mornings just to get our dog fill. 

{yes, we are nerds}

I forget who sent the email first - but we started looking at some pictures of puppies on an adoption website (petfinder.ca)

They were adorable, I wish I had a picture. 

We started seriously considering it, and thought what is the harm in applying?!

So we did. 

Three days later we brought Mr. Rufus McFly home with us!

About Rufus McFly

He was (around) 8 weeks when we brought him home. 

He was clumsy and couldn't make it up the stairs because he was too small!

He weighed about 10lbs and was so soft. 

He is a sheppard, lab, collie cross. 

And he is just the sweetest dog. 

We think he is just over a year now.

He weighs about 70lbs. 

He is a mixture between being super hyper (especially when we go somewhere new or we have company - he LOVES meeting people and dogs) and a suck (usually after he has had lots of exercise and is rather tired)

He has been a brilliant addition to our family. 

xo.a

photo*log - gwen

I've been fortunate to see my friend Jenny's baby {almost} 

once a week since she was born in December. 

During many of the visits, my camera rarely leaves my hands. 

She is 4 months now...and gaining quite the little personality!

This little girl is one lucky lady to have her amazing parents and 

so many lovely people around her to shower her with lots of love!  

Here is a selection of my favourite pictures so far. 

(narrowing it down to 10 was hard!)

It has been wonderful being able to see her grow and change. 

And I am so happy Jenny and her family have let me take 

{so} many photos of little baby g.  

{some more photos from our first session can be found here}

***I am by no means a photographer - I just love taking pictures***

Most of these are unedited, other than a few tweaks in iphoto.

Easter Weekend.

I am always a fan of holiday weekends. 

Especially when they involve lots of family time!

This past weekend was full of family, and I loved every minute of it. 

Below are some pictures from my family's Saturday in the park. 

We were able to walk around the dog park and then visit the high park zoo.

After our afternoon in the park, we had BBQ on our deck!

{this weather has been ridiculously amazing}

It was fantastic spending time with everyone and seeing how much 

Madeline has changed in the past month!!

Sadly - in the Rob Ford era, the funding for the High Park Zoo has been pulled. 

(current it is a free zoo, with free parking - which is fantastic for families)

It is set to close June 1st. There are many efforts to try to keep this free zoo open. 

Check out here for more details - it is such a great place for families to go. 

I hope something can be done to save it! 

1 - madeline, her tongue trick and her mommy / 2 - beauty babe in a hat / 

3 - madeline and her handsome daddy / 4 - men with dogs / 

5 - me and my mamma / 6 - save the high park zoo!

It's a{nother} four day week for me!

oh - and I finally read the Hunger Games today. 

Gotta go see the movie soon!

xo.a

5 things to be {very} happy about

1. This really delicious breakfast sandwich (pictured above). 

A lovely treat for a Thursday/Friday. 

2. It is a week of 3 days on (working) and 3 days off. It has been a great week with very positive work wise and at home. (i.e. got some new work projects, went to a conference, did our taxes, made some delicious meals, matty's hockey team went onto the next round in the playoffs, the blue jays start their season, sens clenched a playoff spot, Matty and I have been running and there has been LOTS of sun!)

3. It is mini egg season, enough said. 

4. It is a Fam Jam weekend! Matty and I are hosting my fam on Saturday for some fun in the park and BBQ dinner. Sunday we are headed to Matt's for some delicious turkey and family visiting. Family time makes me HAPPY.

5. Rick Mercer announced the winners of the Spread The Net contest. My younger brother's school (PCVS) raised the most amount of money! Sadly, the school is set to close at the end of the school year. I am so proud of the students for accomplishing what they did and really going out with a BANG on National television! Check out Rick Mercer's rant: 

xo.a

burger and fries.

This past weekend was wonderful.

Matty and I went out of town to visit with my bestie from University. 

We spend a relaxing weekend with her hubby and baby Gwen. 

Sometimes one needs to be forced to slow down and relax. 

That is what this weekend did for us. 

Upon our return to the city, we helped my brother move.

(for the last time this year ~ he's been on the MOVE this year!)

and then he treated us to a tasty burger at the Stockyards. 

It was unbelievably delicious. 

I ate the Green Chili Pimento Burger and fries. 

The boys had the Animal. 

We were also there when it was chicken and ribs night. 

So we got some ribs to taste. 

It was a great way to end the weekend. 

Check out their website here. 

xo.a

{Luckily, I have tomorrow off as well...so I am enjoying this evening with the wonderful thought of having a productive day tomorrow. The list is made, the plan of attack is ready, after a good night sleep - I'll be ready to go!}