Anniversary getaway....

So, here it is.... our whirlwind, one night, two day, 11th anniversary getaway....It all began last Christmas; as a WOW! gift, I went waaaay out of my comfort-zone money-wise, and splurged on a gift for Mr. Monkey.  While struggling to decide on the perfect "stocking-stuffer" gift, I had one of those light bulb moments (financially, I hate when that happens).

I said to myself, "What about one of those eco-adventure trips?"  It was something that the monkey-man had talked about often; but, seriously, I hadn't really considered it too much only because I didn't know the cost.  If you know me at all, then you know that I like to hang on to my coin.... it's a good thing.... and a bad thing too.  But, for some reason, I felt like I just had to do it (it may, or may not, have had something to do with the fact that I wanted the gift just as much.... just sayin').  Aaaanyway, I was relentless in my search for the right package.... and I say that like it took me weeks - when really, it took me two days.... hey, what can I say, I'm efficient (eyes rolling at myself).

Well, I finally got around to booking the weekend.  It was to happen the day before our actual anniversary; unfortunately, life sometimes takes over and plans had to change.  Now, I'm a roll-with-it-kinda-girl, so this little bump in the road didn't affect me whatsoever.... Mr. Monkey, on the other hand, was very, very annoyed.... of course, he was the one who had to work on our anniversary weekend - totally understand his frustration.
I found the perfect little bed and breakfast, 21 North, that was hosted by a retired architect/chef named Jean-Claude.  He offers 3 beautifully decorated and spotless rooms, all with private baths.... a definite must in my books as far as B&B's go. 

Our room, the master, looked out over vast apple orchards in the Beaver Valley, to which we had no problem taking in the view.

After dropping our bags at the B&B, we set off.... Our excitement began at Scenic Caves Nature Adventures .... the beginning of our eco tour started here....

As told by our very knowledgeable tour guides, this suspension bridge was built in the middle of a very cold and harsh semi-northern Ontario winter.  Stipulations were that the forest floor not be disturbed whatsoever other than to place the footings of the suspension posts.  This meant that no heavy equipment or machinery could be trucked through to the places where they were needed.  Essentially, everything had to be put into place using a huge crane, pulley systems and good ol' manpower.... did I mention that the weather was frigid?  Imagine, you're at the top of a mountain, stringing cable and slugging 3" thick wood planks from British Columbia in below zero temperatures.... not really a job that I'd like to do :P

After crossing the bridge we took a bumpy; but, fun wagon ride to where we'd do our tree-top walk.  This was a 600 metre, 15-span walk from 20ft-60ft above the ground (as close to the tree-tops as possible).  The only things keeping us from plunging to the ground were our harness systems and some 10" wide boards held up by tension wires.... This was the part of the day that I found the most nerve-wracking.  It was definitely a mind over matter thing, I kept telling myself to focus on my footing and not the big waves being caused by the two huge men flanking me - one being my husband.  We made it across in one piece, as I knew we would, and I am very proud to say that I did it.  Here's a picture of the beginning of the tree-top walk.... umm, there were no photos along the way as our hands were in a death grip on the tension wire "hand rails", and yes, there were white knuckles....

From the last tree-top platform, we hooked up for our first of two zip lines.  This one was between trees and only ran a 330ft. span.... in all, it lasted less than 10 seconds; but, it was less than 10 seconds of TOTAL exhilaration!  Check me out here....

What a rush!  I couldn't wait to get to the next one which was 1000ft long and off the side of the escarpment.  I was originally going to film myself on the ride down, then quickly decided against it for fear of losing my camera.... that would really, really suck!  Anyhow, I took a couple of pictures at the top of the 1000ft zip....

"Caution: When falling, be aware that your head will become dislodged from your body."   At least, that's what I get from this picture.... Too funny!

And, just to give you an idea of how far up our last zip was, here's one of our guides getting into position to harness us up.... you can see Georgian Bay in the distance.... Breathtaking view, and believe me when I say, the zip was AWESOME!  One of the greatest experiences of my life.

I hope you all get to experience the feeling of doing something so inspiring, exciting and daredevil-ish.... The only problem now is trying to top it!

Have a great night folks ;)

Vacation....

So begins another family adventure.... tomorrow, my husband and I and the three monkeys will be travelling 4 hours north for our very first family camping trip. From Monday to Friday we will be enjoying the beach, visiting family, sleeping in tents, staring at the stars at night, and hopefully-hopefully roasting 'shmallows around some nighttime campfires - although I think with how dry it's been around these parts, there may be a fire ban.... disappointing; but, totally understandable....

Most importantly; however, we will be together.... that's what family vacation time is all about, right? I'm looking forward to sharing this experience with the littles.... When my husband and I were younger and well before children, we camped.... a LOT!

Now that we're older, we're better prepared for everything.... queen, double and single airbeds are packed, 3 burner stove, HUGE coolers, toys for the kids.... it's going to be fun!

I'll make a full report when we return home, wish me luck.... enjoy your week people ;)

Bandwagon-jumping...

Yes, yes it's true... I can be somewhat of a bandwagon jumper... especially when the pros far outweigh the cons, and especially when no harm will happen to anyone or anything...

Recently, I joined the "No-Poo" revolution... no-no, not what you're thinking... "no-poo" as in no shampoo. I first read about it here, Sayward at Bonzai Aphrodite has a great passion for living a chemical-free life, hop on over and have a read of everything she has to offer...

I realize how gross no shampoo sounds; but, I have to say that my hair has never felt better, and my scalp has been itch-free for two weeks! This excites me like you wouldn't believe. I posted a while back about how sensitive my skin is and how I seem to rash just walking by certain body care products (an obvious over-exaggeration)... aaaaanyway. Yes, I do wash my hair; but now I'm scrubbing my hair and scalp with a mixture of baking soda and water. It's totally amazing how clean my hair feels when I wash with this stuff... then I massage and rinse the soda out with a mixture of apple cider vinegar, water and a few drops of lavender essential oil. Stinky, you'd think, but surprisingly not at all. Even my husband comments on how nice my hair looks after I wash... which I do every second or third day. I'm not saying everyone should go "no-poo", I think it totally depends on the type of hair you have. It works for my hair because I have lots of hair, lots of body, and a normal-dry texture... on someone with thin, straight and more oily hair, something like this may not work as a routine method of hair cleansing... however, I can totally see this working for everyone as a once a month way to de-guck your hair... it's a fantastic way to rid yourself of build-up. The added bonus are the benefits to your hair and scalp - stronger hair, and healthier scalp... vinegar has the same pH as skin therefore it returns your skin/scalp back to normal after washing... read more about it with Sayward at Bonzai Aphrodite or google it!

When we were on vacation in PEI a couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to visit this lovely place, The Great Canadian Soap Company. They have created a superb line of goats milk products that, while they smell fantastic, are beneficial in so many ways!... WOW! I have had my eyes opened up to the kind of crap I have been washing my body with my whole life... and have realized that all of my skin issues have probably been caused by using harsh detergents hidden in pretty little packages and masked by enticing scents. I am totally sold on the goaty goodness! I purchased soap for all the babes which will last at least four times longer than the zillions of bottles of J&J baby head-to-toe stuff I have bought past and present... by the way, J&J is nothing more than a "gentle" detergent - EEK! And their baby lotions all have parabens - YIKES! I feel like a more responsible parent/consumer, knowing that I am purchasing and using products that are better for me, my family and not harmful to our earth.

Do I sound like a hippy yet??? Maybe I will after you read this ;)

I had said a while ago, how I wanted to try making my own laundry detergent... well, I did. And I LOVE it... I made a powdered detergent, which I am totally not accustomed to using, but have found very effective for cleaning our clothes. I still keep a bottle of the chemically-laced-massed-produced-not-good-for-you-or-the-environment-liquid-stuff on hand for those extra dirty things, but use only a teaspoon of it along with my homemade stuff. I love the smell of it... I used the old fashioned Sunlight Pure Soap bar, When grated up and mixed with all of the other ingredients, it gives all of our laundry a wonderful lemon chiffon smell.... yummmmm! If anyone is interested in the recipe, I'd be happy to share!

What things have you been doing to better you and your families lives lately? What do you think of the whole "no-poo" revolution? Share your tips and hints for healthier living...

Enjoy your evening everyone ;)

Far, far away...

Prince Edward Island, I am in love...


I've heard people say that once you've gone, you always want to go back. Having been the person that has said that I will never visit the same place twice... ummm, correction, I will return... someday. And perhaps even for a very, very extended period of time... say, maybe, retirement???

When we arrived... we wondered what we were getting ourselves into... our driveway, and I use the term loosely, was nothing more than a grass pathway that wound between blossoming potato fields... but to our wide-eyed amazement, lead us to our little log cabin above the ocean...

perched upon a beautiful red cliff about 20-30 feet above the beach where the tide would come in and out everyday... the rickety stair descending to the red rock and sand just added to the quaint casualness that we would enjoy the rest of our stay...

from potato fields that stretched for miles, to clam-digging...


to taking in the beauty of historical homes and streets, to counting jellyfish, to drives down red dirt roads... we enjoyed... every. single. second.


with it's friendly faces, island festivities, and breathtaking views...



the allure was so much that we vowed to return to visit the shores that we had the misfortune of missing, and everything in between...


My three little monkeys were so wonderful on our loooooong journey; both there and back. My husband and I were so impressed that there were very few "are-we-there-yets"... I don't quite understand it... one of my boys has been known, on occasion (ah, several occasions... ok, maybe daily), to ask when we will be getting home before we've even had the chance to leave our driveway... I can only boil it down to them being so excited about visiting somewhere new, far-far away...


We created fantastic memories that we'll carry for a lifetime... we spent time laughing, exploring, hiking, swimming, digging, walking, discovering, searching... together...


I loved it...


and I love my family... so very much...

Have a fantastic day ;)

The ups and downs of life...

Happy, happy vacation filled with new discoveries and roads untraveled. Prince Edward Island will hold a special place in my heart always, and has become my new home away from home. I'll be sharing more about this fantastic place soon, but for now...

You just never know what will happen next. Life is like that. Unpredictability can be a wondrous thing... but, it can also be a completely dreadful thing. So, it is through tears and damaged hopes that I bring more bad news... my dear friend Becky has just recently found out that her cancer has spread to her lungs... and that her own Mother has found out that she too has breast cancer... and that her sister had a scare with this disease as well... What else can happen to this family??? How much more can one person take before all hope is lost???

Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.

There's so much to fight for, so many people to fight for... Never give up.

Becky, I am with you, at your side... let's kick cancer's cowardly ass... together... family, friends, strangers... we'll all do it... together.

Never give up.
Always hope.

xo ;)

3 more sleeps...

Three more sleeps 'til vacation!

Three more sleeps 'til we leave for our 2-1/2 day, 20 hour journey to our little island cottage paradise!

Three more sleeps 'til we load up the family bus and trailer with everything but the kitchen sink!

Three more sleeps 'til we're tv/computer/telephone-free (for the most part)!

Three more sleeps 'til we're clam-digging, crab-chasing and sea star-gazing!

Three more sleeps 'til 100% total family time!

Our house is bursting at the seams with excitement! Deep sea fishing, seal watching, general store shopping, and visiting places you read about when you were a little girl (ok... so I'm the only one excited about the visiting part)... A vacation that promises to be nothing short of amazing, educational, relaxing, or any other adjective you can think of... and I get to spend it with my beautiful husband and our three little monkeys... what could be more perfect?

Three more sleeps 'til we leave for Prince Edward Island... I'll see you when we get back... I'll take lots of pictures...


Have a fantastic two weeks... ;)