Not so much Viva Las Vegas.

As Caron and I arrived the sun and warm weather decided to take a vacation. Plans to laze by the pool were quickly replaced with some good shopping, serious napping and an evening of roulette.

We didn't end up going bridal gown shopping as most of the places I tracked down didn't carry the designers I was looking for. I did try on one dress at White House Black Market but it was more of a formal dress than a gown but it was fun to put a white gown on.


On Sunday before I left I walked over to the Mandalay Bay to visit the Shark Reef Aquarium. It was great and I would totally recommend it to anyone planning to visit Las Vegas. The fish and sharks were absolutely beautiful and the aquariums were unbelievable.


Sunday afternoon, after Caron had left and just hours before I took off the sun made its return. Unbelieveable!

After updating Trent on the tomato plant purchases he asked a good question. How are we going to eat all of those tomatoes? I don't have an answer yet but I am up for the challenge.

I am sun burnt from my swim today. Silly me didn't think to apply sunscreen anywhere except for my face this morning. My arms are a bright red and my back even more so . Must apply lots of sunscreen tomorrow. On a positive note, at least I will have a little base for Las Vegas next week.

Happy first day of summer.

Alright, its not officially summer but everyone knows that May 24 is the start of the summer season and with that the Kits Pool opened today. I was there just after 12:00 PM (gates opened at 12:00) and the line up was a couple of hundred people long. Lucky for me I had my swim pass and was able to walk up to the gate and right in. It felt great to be back in the saltwater pool with the ocean and mountains in the background. I thought I would just do a couple of lengths (each length measuring 137.5 m's) but I felt so good I kept going for a total of 16 lengths or 8 laps (2200m's). All that swimming this winter really has payed off.

Earlier today I visited the local nursery and picked up a few things for the balcony. After last season's discovery of the heirloom tomato at the Farmers Market I wanted to try my hand at growing some. I came upon one heirloom the Eva Purple Ball (at right) and picked up two others, a beautiful yellow tomato and some husky reds (cherry tomatoes). The balcony gets great sun in the afternoon so they should do well...as long as I can find someone to water them while I am away. I also picked up a variety of herbs which are happily tucked into the resident rosemary and thyme.

I was in Victoria on the weekend for a swimathon on Saturday.

Friday night I met up with a friend for dinner at Rebar Modern Food. I had heard about Rebar from my sister years ago and remember leafing through the cookbook at her house. I was glad when a colleague from the Island suggested it for dinner. Rebar is famous for their seasonal, local and mainly vegetarian fare and it didn't disappoint. The hummous and tomato chutney we got to start was to die for and I had the three sisters burrito which was sooo good.

Saturday morning I met up with another friend who teaches at UVIC for brunch at Mo:Le. Again...it was primarily vegetarian and delicious. I had a bacon and cheese risotto with poached eggs and broccoli (yes, I know bacon is not vegetarian and that is the reason I am not vegetarian).

At noon I headed over the Saanich Commonwealth Pool for the swimathon. I was part of the BMO Belugas team and had set a goal of swimming 4000m's. It quickly became evident that there were 4 of us who were a more serious swimmers than the rest. I proposed that after every 1000m we go down the slide. To my surprise the two local guys and RR all thought we should do it every 500m. So off we went taking turns leading each set, clamoring out of the pool every 500 m and run walking over to the slide to join the line of kids snaking up the staircase to the top of the slide. Ohh how I wish I had photos as we must have looked so funny. At 3000m's I lost my swim partners and finished my last 1000m's doing an assortment of different strokes to give my tired shoulders a break. The complex is awesome...it has an Olympic sized pool, dive pool, wave pool and the 3-4 story high slide.


Saturday night it was off to dinner in the Rosemeade Dining Room at the English Inn. The food was fabulous and the evening was only topped by the tour of the show kitchen at the end of our meal. Apparently the kitchen has just undergone a $1 million reno, now only if they could afford heat.

I've added a weekend in Victoria to the list of places Trent and I must visit this summer.

Less than 40 days not until I am off to Deline! Yeah.

The date is set and the venues are booked. All this happened last week while Trent was in Yellowknife with a bunch of 9-12 year olds and I was neck deep in marathon. Thank god for Trent's mom...she's been the one getting things moving.

So here it is...

Date: July 11, 2009

Wedding ceremony: St. Agnes Church

Reception: Pier 21

I'm really happy that we got Pier 21 for the reception. Both of my parents immigrated through Pier 21 when they came to Canada from England in the 1950's. I'm really happy that we are finding ways to link my family in to the event as there are so few of us compared to Trent's family and until Trent we had no ties to Halifax. I am also wearing my mother's engagement ring as well as receiving Trent's mom's (yes...I know I am a very lucky girl). It was really important to me to involve my mum somehow and I know she would be so happy to know I was wearing her ring.

I am off to Vegas in 2 weeks with my sister for a little R&R. We are planning to do a little wedding dress shopping while down there. I wanted my first time trying on a dress to be with her though I suspect I will end up buying in Vancouver. I know the style I want but now we just have to see if how it looks when I actually get to try one on.

I think we are going to get Trent's suit through Maxwell's Clothiers. Anyone who has been to Hong Kong on a canoe trip will know Maxwell's. They come to TO/Vancouver a couple of times a year and when I thought of it, it just seemed right.