Sun's Out

My 21st Birthday ft. My New Timothee Chalamet Shirt

Sweet Anticipation

Lots of walking + Lots of food!

September 20, 2020

My mom lives about a 2 hour drive from me.  And I just love it every time she visits.  We always eat amazing food and make an effort to walk/jog around town.

A couple weeks ago, she came to visit me for the day.  At around 11am, we decided to visit Jackson Park for a stroll.  I brought her to the same area that I had previously visited with my housemates, but we also covered a lot more ground.  We even tried to walk through the creek with our bare feet, though we didn't last long because the water was way colder than we expected!

After walking around for an hour, we were more than ready to grab some lunch.  So, we decided to go the the Kettle Drum.  Now, my mom and sister have already been here, but I hadn't.  And I have to say, I really loved the food!  We really went all out for lunch, ordering mussels, pizza, and a steak sandwich with a beet salad.  I would absolutely recommend their PEI mussels, steak sandwich, and beet salad!  I didn't know a beet salad could be so amazing, but it was and I am really eager to buy some beets next time I go grocery shopping :)

Stuffed from lunch, we came back to my house to relax a bit.  We watched one of the most intense Criminal Minds episodes (yes, I cried), napped, then went on a 40 minutes jog down the trail.  Oh, and I also brought my mom to the labyrinth garden and had her try some raw kale lol.

As soon as we finished our jog, it was time for dinner!  We ate at a new Vietnamese restaurant downtown called Hanoi and shared a large $12 bowl of pho.  It's definitely a great place to share a meal with someone!

After dinner, we said our good-byes, and she drove back home.  I really look forward to the next time she visits, which should be sometime in October!!!

Driving 'round town

September 13, 2020

It's the start of my third year at university!

I was supposed to be studying abroad in France for the next 8 months, but with the pandemic worsening throughout the summer, it was canceled.  As devastating as it was when I first got the news, I think I'm in a really good place :)

Suddenly, I had space to add 10 more credits, instead of taking a full year's worth of French credits that don't really count towards my degree requirements.  I could still finish with an Honours in Biology, but I was also doubting if I wanted to continue down the path to vet school or working in a lab.  And there were many reasons for my doubts, that I won't go into depth explaining here.  Long story short, I decided to do a joint major in Biology and Information Systems.  I enjoy programming and the appeal of IT is that there are so many different paths to take and you are constantly learning something new.

So that's a little update on my life, which I have been meaning to do for a long time!  I feel like every week I have something to update you guys on, but I don't always have the time to sit down and write out my thoughts.  I'm currently writing this as I listen to an online lecture...oops!

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On this day, my housemates and I all went on a spontaneous drive to Kawartha Dairy and Jackson Park.  At the ice cream shop, I got a scoop of moosetracks and a scoop of salted caramel truffle.  I really love getting ice cream from Kawartha Dairy because their flavours are very well balanced (i.e. not too sweet)!  If you're ever near a place that sells Kawartha Dairy I highly recommend going!  It's a local favourite.

Anyways, I'll let you guys for now!  I've got a few more posts I have to write!  Oh and I should probably listen to my lecture ;)

Mornings under the pouring rain

It's raining this morning, but we didn't turn back as we crossed over the bridge and sat by the river.  You poured us coffee and we sat under the rain - you dipping your feet into the water.  We talked about dreams, memories, singing plants, and Coraline.  The rain was still pouring down as we had our last sips.  Together, we walked back up the path and kept on walking further out.  Out to the labyrinth garden where the Nichol's grow kale, cabbage and tomatoes.  It was a beautiful garden and someday I wish one of my own - one with lemon and lime trees, and with rabbits coming and going.  The raw kale tasted so good - the other plants you tried to eat, I'm not so sure.  And as we made our way back, we stumbled down a another path.  A path with big, white mushrooms and beautiful flowers that we both picked.  The path lead back to the bridge and we headed back home.  Thank you, Dana.  I had a wonderful morning.

Weekend Getaway

 August 27-30

Thursday

Spent a really fun and memorable weekend with my mom and sister.  We checked into the hotel on Thursday afternoon and just hung around in our room for the night.  A dip in the pool, a few episodes of Criminal Minds (ofc) and we were spent.

Friday

Bright and early the next morning, we hit the gym and then made our way to the Beavermead Beach for lunch.  Connected to the beach was the GreenUp Ecology Park which we also toured.

Diner was spent at Wimpy's Diner and I got to try my first Philly cheesesteak sandwich.  But the real treat was going to Kawartha Dairy to try out their famous ice creams!  We shared generous scoop of Moose Tracks and Blueberry cheesecake.  Moose Tracks was a 3-for-3 win!

Back at the hotel, we watched more Criminal Minds.  But, I also discovered how much I love Forensic Files and How it Happened on HLN.

Beavermead Beach

GreenUp Ecology Park

Wimpy's Diner

Kawartha Dairy

Saturday

Before heading to the gym, we spent the morning at the Farmer's Market.  We got some samosas, pikoras (with an amazing mango chutney), and fresh cherry tomatoes.

Lunch was spent driving down the "Fast Lane" as we liked to call it.  This included a stop at Mucho Burrito and KFC.  We took our goodies and headed up to the Riverview Park, but couldn't escape the downpour that followed suite.

Dinner was back at the hotel - cooking up some spicy noodles and eating leftover KFC.

Farmer's Market

Sunday

The final day :(

My mom and I went for our weekly Sunday morning jog around the beach.

Then, we had to check out of the hotel.  But not before cooking up a mean microwave egg sandwich for breakfast.

After, we strolled around the Otonabee River, then had a late lunch at the Silver Bean Cafe.  They had some incredible baked goods and drinks - notably their cranberry muffin, mocha walnut chocolate chip cookie, and raspberry lemonade.

My dinner was more leftover KFC with a even tastier pho takeaway from Saigon Boys that was waiting in my fridge (which I had for lunch AND dinner the following day).

Otonabee River

Silver Bean Cafe

I hope we have another weekend getaway like this.