O Canada

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've made a post. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I took an eight-day business trip to Toronto, Canada for the Prison Fellowship International World Convocation. It was a gathering of nearly 900 individuals from 130 countries to discuss reformation, freedom and hope for prisoners, their families and their communities. It was an amazingly inspiring conference. 

I actually returned home July 3, but I just haven't sat down to blog. I think the summer heat has made me lethargic! But, I'm back now. 

My trip to Toronto was a bit different than most of my business trips in that I actually had some free time to do a little sight seeing. Matter of fact, my colleague and I went a day early so we could take a side-trip to Niagara Falls. If you have never seen it in person, I highly recommend putting it on your bucket list. It truly is an amazing God-created wonder.

There are actually two different falls, the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls. We were fortunate to see the Canadian side of the Falls first, which I must say, has a better view than the American side. 

I was amazed at not only the roar, but also the mist that accompanies the Falls. Matter of fact, when first arrived, we came along the side of Horseshoe Falls. All of the sudden, a drizzle began. I thought it was rain until I realized that it is a constant drizzle from the Falls. Luckily, I had brought a rain jacket. 

The power of the water was amazing ... 150,000 gallons per second.

If you are a fan of "The Office," you might recognize that little boat at the bottom. It's the "Maid of the Mist" on which Pam and Jim were married. If you aren't a fan of the show, you might just be aware of this famous boat. It takes tourists each day to the base of the Falls. We didn't splurge on this, but I can only imagine how amazing it is.

The American Falls is much smaller than the Horseshoe Falls, but equally as beautiful.

We thought while we were at the Falls, we would go ahead and walk over the pedestrian bridge to the American side of the Falls. 

As I mentioned, I didn't enjoy the American side as much, but it does give a different perspective. We only walked to the American Falls, since we were getting tired and hungry.

After a little walk in the National Park, something I did miss about the Canadian side (which was all concrete), we made the walk back to Canada. It was well-worth the trip and something I'm very grateful to have seen.

After our trip, it was back to Toronto. We spent most of the remaining time at our hotel, but I was lucky enough to have been put on the 40th floor, so this was the view from my room.

 

We were able to see a little bit more of Toronto and even had the fun of experiencing Canada Day, which is the celebration of the unification of the Canadian provinces. Having a free lunch, we chose to enjoy it at the CN Tower, which is the third tallest tower in the world. 

We ate in the revolving restaurant, which gave us a full 360-degree view of the city.

Also, the Toronto Blue Jays were playing that day, so we were able to get an aerial view of the game.

 And one of the neatest aspects of the tower is the glass floor observation deck.

Overall, it was a great trip, but after eight days, I was very happy to come home.

What about you ... have you been anywhere fun this summer?

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

At least I'm hoping that's the case! I realize it's been over a week since my last blog post. Life has just been a bit busy lately. I have several posts to be written but it's finding the time to sit down, format the pics and write them that's the problem. If you are a fellow blogger, you know what I mean.

I'd like to tell you that will all change this week, but it's highly unlikely. See, in about two hours, I'm boarding a plane headed to Chicago and then another for Toronto. That's right, I'm headed to Canada for the week. I wish I could tell you of all the great things I'll be seeing while I'm up there, but I'm actually headed for work and won't see much outside of the Sheraton Convention Center. But, I am hoping to make a trip to Niagara Falls tomorrow with my co-worker.

I've never been to Canada, so I am pretty excited. The weather should be amazing, with highs in the low 70s. Sure beats the 100-degree weather we've been having! 

When I return July 3, I'll be sure to tell you all about the trip and about a few things I've been doing around the house. Until then, have a great weekend and week!

California

I'm sorry I've been so sporadic in my posting lately. My work travel has been keeping me busy and so I've haven't had much time, but I have the entire weekend free, so I hope to have some good new projects to post about next week!

Until then, you may remember me telling you about my trip to California for work. I wrote this post last night before receiving news of the record earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It's amazing that now that I post it, the California coast is bracing for a possible tsunami. It makes me grateful to have been in California on such a peaceful weekend. I'm praying for all those impacted in Japan. The devastation is heartbreaking.

Usually when I travel for work, there is little down time, but this trip was slightly different. Matter of fact, I had Saturday late afternoon and evening completely free, so rather than staying in my hotel room, I decided to get out and explore.

I took a trip down to Laguna Beach, which was only about 30 minutes from where I was staying. It was a gorgeous 80-degree day! So, I spent about two hours walking the beach and exploring the shops along the shore. 

One of my favorite shops was a beach decor shop called Cottage Furnishings.

If I had, had room in my suitcase, I definitely would have snagged something to bring home!  Check out their website to see all the fabulous things they offer: www.cottagefurnishings.com.

I must say that I do love California. It is truly unique, with the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. I couldn't live there, but I definitely enjoy visiting. I'm hoping to one day go with Landon, so we can explore California together (Oh, and take a trip to Disneyland!).

Home Sweet Home

Well, I made it home from Nashville on Tuesday evening around 9 p.m., and in about an hour, I am leaving for California - the Orange County, to be exact. My work travel goes in ebbs and flows and this just happens to be a busy time. So, I had a bit of time at home but not much time to get to any of my projects. It looks like it will be another weekend without any work, but I'm sure I'll make up for it next weekend! 

Perhaps I'll have a little time to shop around for some inspiration while in California, if I can get a bit of time away from working. Here's some of my past "California" inspiration, which may come in handy for my "beach" themed sunroom.

Have a great weekend!