Weather Healthy or Not

May 6, 2013, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada reached a high of +31.1 degrees centigrade.  Now, about a week ago, we were dwindling around the +1 mark.  The trees were not even budding yet and the geese that traversed into our wintery province were still on little icy patches of water in the fields along the highways.  Albertans everywhere were wondering 'when is spring coming?'.  Now we have...summer.  Where did spring go?  Weather changes and forecasting is one of those things that goes in one ear and out the other for me.  It really doesn't matter to me, I love snow, I love extreme heat, I love rain, storms, wind, sleet, hail.  Doesn't matter.  I'm happy with whatever God throws our way.  The main reason is because I know it cannot be changed.  If it could, we definitely would have figured it out by now.  Heck, we can create "perfectly" cloned animals.  Nasty.  I could rant about that but that is for another day, another post.  Yesterday my mom and I started our 'juicing' at lunch time.  We have decided that we are going to juice fresh vegetable for our lunch most of the time.  I'm going to do it everyday except Thursdays because I go riding after work on Thursdays and skip supper so I need something more sustaining.  We will be juicing kale, celery, cucumber, carrots, apples, parsley, pears, pineapple.  It is not the most amazing tasting thing, but I know I will really get into it once I see the benefits.  I've been researching and studying raw eating, juicing, organics.  Getting healthy and beautiful from the inside out instead of covering it up all the time, ei. certain clothes to "flatter", makeup, hair dye.  When I lost weight before the wedding I didn't have to wear clothes that 'flattered'  because everything looked good, I didn't worry about what I was going to wear because I felt confident in everything.  I want to get that way again but from the inside out this time.

By His grace,

Kaela

Abuse, Not Fair

I just read an article from the Edmonton City Police about a dog who was dragged behind a truck yesterday.  It makes me so angry and so passionate about these poor babies who get abused for nothing at all.

Dog dragged behind vehicle in recovery

EPS looking for witnesses

For Immediate Release:24-Apr-2013 @ 4:00 PM

MRU #:13R075

EPS File #:

At around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, 2013, citizens in the area of 92 Street and 114 Avenue notified police of what was first described as a white dog being dragged by a rope or leash attached to the rear bumper of a pick-up.
Edmonton Police Service downtown officers responded to the area, but were unable to locate the dog or the vehicle. Witnesses had described the truck as a 1999 Black Dodge Ram pick-up truck and provided the license plate to police.
The officers proceeded to an emergency vet clinic to see if any dogs had been taken in, and found a brown and white female pit bull that had just been dropped off by two males. The animal had injuries consistent with road rash.
The dog is being treated for severe injuries to the pads of her feet. She is expected to survive, but has a long recovery, given the nature of her injuries.
The registered owner of the reported vehicle has since contacted police and is being interviewed.

Police are actively investigating the incident and are asking anyone with information to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.tipsubmit.com/start.htm.

 

So I wrote a story of my own, from the heart of so many dogs that live horrible unfair circumstances.  I just kind of wrote, from my heart, sorry about the cursing.

 

I must have done something really bad, my alpha is swearing and yelling right into my ears.  It hurts so bad I just want to run away but he has his hands around my neck.  I am so scared that I pee on the floor, “now you’ve done it you stupid bitch” he yells.  He kicks me in the stomach and I yelp and run to my soft bed.  He walks away for a moment and I think that maybe he is not angry anymore.  He comes back with my leash and I instantly jump up in excitement.  The pain in my stomach makes me jump back onto my bed and whine.  He then grabs my collar and pulls me toward him so hard I think my neck is going to separate from my spine.  He is choking me as he tries to clip my leash on, my head is pounding from lack of oxygen.  Finally he clips it on and says “we’re going to teach you once and for all you dumb bitch”.  I joyfully but painfully walk towards the front door, imagining all the smells I will encounter on our walk.  My alpha’s friend Zach is in our front yard standing beside his car, I get excited as we walk toward it, a car ride!  I stop to smell the corner of the grass that all of my friends have marked with their scents and I get jolted by a hard punch in the skull.  I can’t see clearly for what seems like hours, and then all of a sudden I feel my leash tugging my neck slightly.  I look up to see the bumper of a car, no person in sight.  It’s pulling me hard now so I start to walk, looking around very confused.  Then it starts to pull me faster and I am getting scared.  I decide I want to stop and it doesn’t stop with me, it just keeps going!  I get slammed into the road on my side and scramble to my feet.  Maybe I can make it stop by pulling back on it.  I plant my feet firmly into the road and instantly my pads are worn raw.  It hurts so much I fall to my knees and feel the skin tear from my body.  Why is this happening?  I feel like giving up but I cannot, I try to stand but collapse from the pain.  Then the car stops, they unclip me from my leash and bring me inside the hot smelly vehicle.  I am whimpering in the backseat, wanting to feel old breeze and sniff fresh grass.  I hate these men, I will always hate men now.  They are not trustworthy.  I will always be aggressive toward anyone who touches me, because humans are horrible animals. They stop at a building and carry me inside, “we just found this dog on the highway, looks like someone dragged her”, they place me on the counter and walk away.  I never see my alpha again, and I never want to.

By His grace,

Kaela

April Showers?

Well, it's been a little bit busy this year so far, obviously.  I'm really going to try and write more, seriously.  I just sometimes feel like I have a ton on my plate.  And my butt get's tired from sitting on the pillow on the floor with my laptop on the coffee table.  Yes, I have a desk, no I don't use it, yes I prefer the floor.  Okay.  I have been writing in a journal every night since the beginning of March, so that is really good for me.  Lots of days I have nothing to say, so I just comment on work, supper.  That's it.  Sometimes I go shopping so I write that.  It doesn't matter what I do I write it.  I decided to do that after my grandma Melnyk told me she has been doing that everyday since the 70's.  That's amazing!  It will be so neat to read those one day (if that is her wish) and so I thought I should start my own.  It really will let people know who you really were, your real person, in your heart. 

We have a family with two children living next to us in the apartment now.  It's nice to know that there is someone there that I could go to if I needed something.  Before it was just single men or who knows who.  It's nice to hear the oldest, a little girl (maybe 3) running up and down their hallway.  Stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp.  It's fine, because it will never happen at 3am.  Unlike fighting, screaming, throwing things.  That can happen anytime.  And it does... not in our suite though...just to clear that up. 

Today was a really awesome day, we went to Mark Gungor's Laugh Your Way To A Better Marriage seminar yesterday evening and this morning until noon.  He is so hilarious.  It's so nice because it's not corny "Christian" humor.  It's REAL hilarious, make fun of people, kind of humor.  And it's perfect because he works stuff in there that REALLY impact your marriage.  There were things we learned that are going to change the way we interact with each other forever, for the better.  It's 100% worth checking out.  Amazing.
Mark Gungor, Laugh Your Way To A Better Marriage

Then, we went for lunch with my parents to HLD (High Level Diner), BEST PLACE TO EAT EVER!  Had our usuals, vegetarian burger with tabouleh salad.  YUM YUM YUM.  Went to Strathcona Farmer's Market for an afternoon stroll before it closed, mom and dad bought grandma Melnyk's birthday gift there and then we all parted ways.  We went around and picked a few things and then pointed our carriage homeward.  When we got home I began to make my homemade Cheddar Corn Chowder...so delish.

 

I saw that my beautiful dill plant has already sprouted, which I am so proud of it for because it is only 7 days old.  What a little keener!

So because of this fact, I decided to check my germinating lavender seeds in a cloth.  They were germinated!  They were supposed to take 20 days...they are 7 days old too!  Our apartment must be perfect environment for them or something...or I am just that good.  So I planted them in their own little pots too.

 

 

So our day was wonderful, our soup was delish, our plants are growing like snails on acid and best of all, it's snowing on April 20th.  Yes that's right, snowing, blizzarding, and has been pretty well for 2 days straight.  But, this coming week is supposed to be in the teens!  So hopefully that's true.  Thanks for hanging out!

By His grace,

 

-- Kaela (& Shawn)

New Year, New Journey

Our life is pretty docile.  At the moment Shawn's work is pretty consistent and he is getting home around 3pm everyday, sometimes earlier, which is nice.  I am still employed at Mirage Eyewear in Devon but right now am laid off because of shortage of work.  Will be returning back to work end of this month sometime.  I have had a lot of time to relax, clean the apartment, organize things, think to much, visit my momma and others.  It has been good.  Shawn got a good chunk of time off of work for this holiday season.  He was off just before Christmas Eve and then is going back January 2nd.  It has been really nice to have him home during this time and it has actually not gone by really fast, which is awesome!


Shawn's dad Blaine came down on the 22nd of December.  His wife Yvonne is in Ireland visiting her family right now and so we invited him to join us in our Christmas festivities and stay in our home as long as he wanted. I love hosting people, even though we are in this little apartment in the 'rougher neck of the woods'. I enjoy the insane cleaning spree that it brings up in me, the whirlwind of a woman I become.  It's fun knowing that you are cleaning for a reason.  Not just because it should be done.  BORING!  I love planning the menus for the time they are here, planning the events and things going on.  Organizing the times and informing everyone what's happening.  I am an organizer, a planner and I love it, I get an adrenaline rush from it...seriously. 

Anyway, Blaine came down before Christmas and was planning to stay a few days after as well.  Shawn's last day of work for the holiday was the 21st so we were able to spend lots of time with his dad and the sibs as well (Lorriann and Jeff).  The 24th was the annual Mosicki get together, this year held at gramma Mosicki's house.  It's always a wonderful time to see everyone from that side and have an amazing Polish/Ukrainian dinner (even more traditional than ours is!).  I got introduced to a few new menu items when I first attended the Christmas Eve festivities at Marlene's in 2008 with Shawn.  First was Kutia (ku-cha).  Served cold, it's a poppy seed and wheat mixture in a creamy, light, sweet sauce.  Very good, but I'm told either you like it, or you really don't like it.

 

The other was nalysnyky (nal-yes-nah-keh).  This dish almost made me decide move perogies into second place on my favorite food list, not quite but almost.  It is a crepe, with mashed potato and cottage cheese filling, it's heaven.  Pure and simple, heaven on earth.  Then again, I'm a sucker for anything with the word potato in it!

 

Anyway, enough about the food.  After Christmas Eve dinner at gramma Mosicki's Shawn and I went to my parents house in Devon for the night since we were to be there in the morning anyway.  Blaine went back to our apartment as his dog Lindor was there and they came in the morning with Lorriann and Jeff.  And there in started another Christmas celebration, all day long.  I think there were probably 20 people in that little bungalow at one point in the day, crazy but cozy!  Dogs everywhere, people laughing, Christmas prayers, present wrappings flying, candles burning, food flying everywhere (mostly into mouths) and laughter being shared.  It was a very heart warming Christmas all around.

 

New years evening was quiet.  Mom and dad went away for the night so we decided to stay at their house in Devon, kind of like a hotel?  Made a nice dinner and watched Shawshank Redemption.  We didn't even realize that it was past 12am until I got up to check and it was 12:15am.  We kissed and kept watching our movie, just not a big deal to us.  Then we went to sleep...well, went to bed, didn't sleep, all night long.  For no reason whatsoever.  Usually we sleep great there because their bed is 92% more comfortable than our little one is.  Then, we woke up in the morning and I was sick for 2 weeks after that.  So that was great.  I went back to work January 21, 2013.  Still trying to beat my illness from the 2nd.  Bad cold...or something.

 

By His grace,

 

-- Kaela (& Shawn)

Devon and Katherine's Lovely Day

This year was a very busy year for weddings in my group of friends.  We were the first to get engaged, September 5th, 2011.  Then came my friend Kyra getting engaged maybe 2 weeks after us.  By the time she was engaged we had already picked our June 30, 2012 date so they had to decide theirs around that.  Around this time I found out my friend from back in junior high was engaged and getting married same day as us in Devon.  Very cool!  Then Katherine and Devon got engaged a couple months after us.  Katherine is my best friend, she is my confidant and my life long trouper.  We have gone through, so far, the toughest parts of our lives together.  Every troubled time, every bump in road and every wonderful time in our lives, have seemed to happen in the same time frame.  Then the weddings.  They planned theirs for September 8th, 2012.  Just over 2 months after ours.  We have spent many nights over the past year baffled by that fact.  It's just so amazing to us that we got married in the same year.

Anyway, this blog was going to be about their wedding.  Not our friendship.  But it's just so amazing to me!  Okay.  Their wedding was amazing.  One of the things that completely blew me away was the love and dedication that those two received from so many people.  Not to complain because we did too!  But their wedding and the way it was planned was very different.  I didn't want anyone to be involved in the planning or set up process except those who I knew would listen to what I said.  Because I'm a perfectionist and I wanted everything just so.  Katherine is much more easy going, she designated each person a job, I was on flowers, Keryn and Val...well they did pretty much every thing else.  And then lots of guys and family to set up tables and chairs.

The little town of Rocky Mountain House (where Devon grew up) was the location of their quaint, "golden era of travel" themed wedding.  Val, Keryn and Katherine collected several vintage typewriters, globes, maps, books, vases, pictures, postcards, aviation anything, perfume vases, cameras, doilies, trinkets, suitcases, trunks and trophies.  (They also used our table numbers...heehee.)  Their wedding ceremony was in the Reformed Church there in the town and the reception was held just 20 minutes out of town in a little hick town called Condor.  The hall there was large and perfectly simple layout for decorating for weddings.

When we got to the reception hall the day before the wedding I was given 5-8 buckets of flowers picked from gardens and given a simple task.  "Make them look pretty."  So I plucked leaves and arranged tiny bouquets, each of 2-6 flowers depending on the size of the bud vase.  When finished they looked perfect for the theme!  Wonderful idea!

The sanctuary where the wedding ceremony was taking place was simply decorated with big beautiful stems of red gladiolas tied to the pews.  Perfectly simple.  The ceremony was incredibly beautiful and so God centered.  Katherine looked so elegant and just shining.  The most beautiful bride I have ever seem in my life.  I was so proud of that woman of God I saw walking down the isle to her groom.  God's presence was there blessing their marriage.  They had communion where they and a few others from the wedding party served everyone else in the congregation communion.  It was beautiful.  The couple also washed each others feet as a sign of their complete sacrifice and humble hearts toward each  other for life.  Such a incredible symbol. 

It was so fun to be on the other side of things, getting to completely relax, watch the scenes.  Watch my beautiful friend enjoy her big day.  Smile pretty for pictures and then sit and wait.  Then smile pretty some more and then go away for 'the couple pictures'.  Sat and had some appies in Boston Pizza and then off to the hall for the reception.

The reception hall was absolutely incredibly decorated.  The corners were laden with suitcases piled three together, top one open with flowers, pictures and trinkets inside.  There were all of those collected vintage things on the tables in bunches of threes (long tables) gathered on vintage doilies.  Each table with three bud vases of flowers.  Blue and white adorned tables with whispers of Devon and Katherine's lives written all over them.  Katherine's traveling past and love for the world and God's people and Devon's passion and love for aviation and photography.  Perfectly captured in a little hall, in a little town in Alberta.

-- Kaela (& Shawn)

Our Wedding Day

When Shawn and I first got engaged I had already had an idea of what I wanted our wedding to look and feel like.  I knew I wanted to DIY (do it yourself) most of it.  At the beginning of planning we knew we for sure wanted it to be all about God and His love for us and His ultimate plan for marriage.  We also knew that we wanted to have the day feel like a family reunion more than a party.

Shawn and I like to think that we are old at heart, we love old country houses from the early 1900's and anything else made in that era.  We loved the look of old mason jars, especially the blue ones with mixed flowers in them, I also loved milk glass bud vases.  After researching, Googleing, blogging, creeping and brainstorming I came up with this decor.

My dad build tons of wooden 'props' for us, including these amazing signs.  Our wedding ceremony and reception was in the same church but there was a 4 hour time laps in between.  We had people going around to the side doors, saving the middle isle for only the wedding procession, so I wanted the signs so that there was no confusion.

Shawn and I found this card box at the Rocky Mountain Antique mall here in Edmonton.  We love shopping there, it always becomes at least a 4 hour excursion for us.  We had been searching for the perfect card box for a few months and finally found this 'homemade toolbox'.  The base box was a British Columbia Sugar Refining Co. Ltd. Rogers Syrup box and someone quite a long time ago built it into a toolbox with a tid and an wooden insert.  It had very old hardware (handles) on the sides and very old nails sticking out all over.  We loved the look, only $25!  I made the burlap CARDS banner, super quick and easy, just to finish it off.

 

The isle decor ideas came very early in the game, I thought of these mason jars hanging off of the pews when Kathy came to visit me 2 weeks after we were engaged.  Then they got forgotten and we decided it would be to much work to try and do.  One week before the wedding my mom and I were talking about the isle and decided to try one mason jar.  Before long, there were 20 done and we had isle decorations.   Mason jars from mom's basement (these ones didn't have to be nice at all), small pebbles in the bottom, burlap and lace ribbon around and flowers from my mom's garden.  

My dad also made us our arbor to be married under, made mostly out of old wood from Shawn's grandmothers original farm house and from my grandparents original farm house.  We loved having such a significant piece of our families to stand under.  To the sides of the arbor we had two blue mason jars wrapped in burlap and lace ribbon with big, beautiful dark pink peonies from my grandma Melnyk's garden, it was perfectly beautiful.

 

Blaine and Shawn worked very hard hanging the annoying, ripped, old tulle behind the stage in between the stands of fabric.  I was very appreciative of it though, it transformed the sanctuary in a way nothing else could have.

 
Taking communion together during our marriage ceremony was one of the most important elements of our wedding to us.  We wanted to fully express that we are allowing God to run our marriage and we are willing to follow where ever he leads.  We will sacrifice because He did for us.  We are not only one with each other but one with Him as well.  It was the most beautiful bonding experience I have ever felt in my life.

My flowers were a beautiful pale mix of hydrangeas, garden roses, spray roses, Scarlet O' Hara peonies and dusty millar.  The ladies had the same but smaller and minus the peonies.  My dad wore a Ralph Lauren charcoal grey suit, and Calvin Klein organic weave light grey and ivory striped tie.  He looked so great!

My handsome groom wore a grey Calvin Klein 3 piece tuxedo and a Dion ivory paisley tie (which had little birds all hidden through it...love it!!).  Shawn's groomsmen (from left, Jeffery, Blaine, Larry and Mike) wore grey Calvin Klein 2 piece suits with celadon green satin ties.  They all wore one cream spray rose as boutonnieres, except Shawn, who sported 2!  Lucky guy.

The beautiful ladies on my side of the party (from left, Maria, Kathy, Leigha and Lorriann) wore celadon green dresses by Jasmine B2, Jasmine Beloise, and Alfred Angelo.  They each wore their own rendition of ivory earrings, wooden bangles and dawned matching tan Spring flats.

My dress was a beautiful lace overlay Alfred Angelo piece.  Strapless and a-line.  Just as I always pictured.  Beautifully adorned, shallow sweetheart neckline.  No necklace to complicate things, it was just so perfect on it's own.  I wore 3 bracelets, one given to me by my mother after falling in love with it at Magnolia, and 2 from Aldo, one sparkly and one pearls.  My shoes were dusty rose 2 inch wooden wedge sandals.  A little vintage.  My veil, my favorite part of my attire, was worn by my mother on her wedding day to my father 28 years ago.  What an inspiration.  What beauty in a love like that.  I love my veil.  It is a treasure, just like my mom.

I had an idea quite early on from other wedding blogs and websites of doing our table chart in the panes of old windows.  It seemed like a great idea for us because we had these beautiful old windows from my grandma and grandpa Zornes old cabin at the lake.  They are so sentimental and also just so gorgeous.  I was leery about writing on them with my own handwriting but when I got to the middle and stood back and looked I realized I loved the 'homegrown' look of it.  It turned out amazing and I am so glad we decided to do that.  Got lots of great comments on it.

Our reception was much more decorated than the ceremony was.  We figured we'd be spending much more time in there so we would put more effort into making it what we envisioned.  Unfortunately we did not have a photographer for our reception so these pictures are before the beautiful flowers were put in the vases.  My mom made us a gorgeous banner with our 'theme scripture' for behind our head table, which I just loved.  So unique and special.






 In the reception we wanted a couple really awesome stations for people to enjoy.  We decided early on that we did not want alcohol at our wedding for multiple reasons but we know that many people enjoy that part of a wedding.  So we wanted to make ours fun and exciting without it.  So one thing I created was this drink station.  In the two metal wash basins we had glass bottles of Coke, Diet Coke and Sprite.  In the punch bowls in the middle there was grapefruit fizz punch.  Off to the left was a table full of mason jar glasses for people to fill with their drink of choice and add a beautiful paper straw and an umbrella or three.

 

We also decided on a candy buffet for the favors for the same reason.  Our wedding was a little bit different in setup and timing so we wanted there to be things for people to get up and do.  The candy bar was a huge hit!  I decided to collect crystal bowls and vases for the candy instead of the modern bowls and vases to stay with the feel of the day.  It looked beautiful and was very popular.

 

 I loved making the little signs for all the different candy and picking out candy that we both loved and we knew that guests would love as well.  Shawn's favorite was there, peanut butter cups, and so was mine, Grapefruit Slices (sour!!).  I collected old silver gravy ladles from thrift stores for the scoops to keep those vintage too.

A few weeks before the wedding on the weekend my ladies surprised me with a horseback riding bachlorette I recruited Lorriann and Leigha to help me stamp, cut and punch all 250 candy bags.  We cut the tops with fancy scissors, punched the corners with a doily looking punch, and stamped them with bees making a heart and "Thanks for Everything".  Our hands were very sore and red after that night!  But it was very worth it!

That was our day in a nut shell.  After some speeches, an amazing Ukrainian meal, games and visiting Shawn and I headed out to our little hotel room at Hotel MacDonald.  Our view out our 6th floor window looked down onto the garden grounds and the river valley.  But...the honeymoon story is for another day.  I will probably add more to this wedding post later.

Thanks for stopping by!

-- Kaela (& Shawn)

Short and Sugary

Just a short little note to say, it's been way to long since I've written.  Sheesh.

Planning the wedding was extremely busy but I totally loved it because I love planning and organizing.  I knew I would really like it and I was right.  Everything was really great until about 3 weeks before the wedding I had a little emotional break down (don't even remember what it was about now) but it was over quickly and I got right back on the horse (I wish literally).  The week before the wedding my whole focus was just getting to that day.  Once I was off work (Wednesday before) it went pretty quickly.  We were able to start decorating the church the Thursday before so when that started time flew by.  Kathy was down Friday morning to help set up and be my support system, it was amazing having her here.  She was so great, getting me water all day so I wouldn't dehydrate.  Ahhh, what would I do without her?  Dehydrate, whither...

Then the day came and it went incredibly!  It was the most amazing, fun filled day I have ever experienced in my life.  What a thrill, a ride!  Walking down the isle I was extremely shaky, my bottom lip would vibrate unless I smiled big, so I did.  When I got to the front, dad wrapped his arms around us and prayed for us, then I went up with Shawn and from that point it was bliss.  So amazing to hear such profound words from Rev. Dave.  His words from the Lord were so perfect for us.  We just enjoyed the sermon so much and when we were pronounced, wow, what a feeling!  The photo shoot was super fun, Andy Walton (Something Sweet Custom Photography) always makes it fun!  We had a '69 silver Chevelle as a ride for the afternoon thanks to my father's boss, Nick.  It was an amazing car!  The photos out in the fields were extremely warm to do, it was +30 Celsius.  Not complaining, but just a little.  Very hot!  We were sweaty...I'll tell you that!

The reception was incredible as well, so relaxed and enjoyable, just the way we were hoping it would be.  The food was to die for, the first dance went smooth (phew), the speeches were beautiful, the candy bar was a hit, the tears were flowing (in a good way).  It was a perfect day.  I will definatly tell more details later on and put pictures up as well.  Thanks to everyone who helped with our day, thanks thanks thanks!!!

-- Kaela (& Shawn)