The Story of Us

Only 35 sleeps left until our Wedding Day!!

No, everything is not ready yet.
Yes, I am getting a little panicky.

Sound about normal to you? Thought so.

So a bunch of you have been asking, and some of you already know the story of how Levi and I started out. There's a few different takes on the whole story, like how we met, or how we first knew we were interested in each other, but there was that one special moment when I knew that he was someone I had to keep in my life. What was it, you ask? The moment he kissed me on the forehead.

Before all that happened, Levi was someone I was just starting to get to know. The very first time I met him, I was actually on a date with his roommate. We had maybe a total of two dates, and I felt that was probably two too many. He was nice enough, we just never really had much in common. So that's how I was first introduced to Levi. Through a mutual friend.

A few months later, I walked into a classroom at Holland College to teach a First Aid course. Levi was sitting in the front row. Recognizing him from before, and feeling guilty about not returning his roommates phone calls, I felt a little awkward, but his easy going nature put me at ease, and I was able to get on with my day. Over the next three days that I was teaching there, we joked around, made light conversation, and I decided that I really liked him as a person. I had no idea if he had a girlfriend or not, but I had hoped that I would see him the next time I went out with the girls.

As it turns out, I did see him there. A few times. We would always say Hi to one another, he would usually buy me a drink, and we would dance for a bit. One weekend, my cousin Jason came over to PEI to visit, and I took him out to show him the local "wildlife" in Charlottetown. I saw Levi again, introduced the two, and then we met up with my neighbor. Everyone ended up coming back to my place for a bite to eat. Eventually, Levi and I were the only two left awake, out on the deck talking until about four in the morning and trying to do ollies on the skateboard. (I still do not know what an ollie is) I think we "liked" each other at this point, but neither one of had made it known to the other. That was the weekend before September 11 the happened.

After that, we didn't see each other so much. I was extremely busy at the Red Cross and with my two kids. The next time I saw him, it was October. My friend had decided to take me out, thinking I needed a break from everything. I had a great time that night, dancing, laughing and having fun. Until I had the wine. Levi was with Melanie, Dawn and I, and we were walking to Dawn's house to call a cab. I was wearing my boots with the four inch heel, and sort of walked on the edge of the sidewalk. I snapped my ankle and poor Levi ended up carrying me on his back up to the corner store. By this time, the wine was doing its work, and the pain was excruciating. I felt ill. Very, very ill. He called a cab and bought me a bag of ice and to put on my ankle while Melanie held my hair off my face in the bathroom.

Yeah, I know, not exactly at my best.
I got home, only having to get the cabbie to pull over once. Levi and Melanie pulled the boots off me, and then he carried me up to my bed while Mel got a bucket for me to puke in. I was in so much pain, and apparently allergic to the wine. He tucked me in, arranged the ice under my hugely swollen ankle, brushed the hair from my face and gently kissed me on the forehead before he went home.

I had a broken ankle and needed crutches for two weeks. During this time, I still didn't know Levi's last name, but I knew where I could find him. I called the College and left a message for him to call me. I needed to thank him for his kindness. Nobody has ever been so unselfishly kind to me like that. I didn't hear from him.

Weeks later, I saw him again. He told me that he was on OJT for school, and hasn't been to the school in two weeks. He invited me to his new place for steak and salad, I got spaghetti and fell in like. The following week, we had our first "real" date, lunch at Pat & Willy's. The rest, as they say, is history.

Some say he had a crush on the teacher. Some say I "fell" for him. I say He kissed me on the forehead.

Pilates for Cows ??

This week, I've had the opportunity to spend a few hours a day to myself. I was asked to provide the First Aid coverage at Old Home Week. Aside from the wicked cool rides that is associated with Old Home Week (at least at my house), it is also famous for the Gold Cup and Saucer Race, where the winnings are worth about 50 grand. It is also where agriculture buffs from all over come to exhibit their cows and horses, sheep and other animals, in hopes of winning first prize at the Provincial Exhibition.

On Saturday, I was sitting in the stands watching about 20 or so people walk their year old Holstein cows around the ring. The competitors are dressed all in white, with a 3 inch cardboard band around their head with their entry number written on it. There is the occasional bellow of a young cow, voicing their indignity at being led around in circles by the face. Patiently the competitors lead their cows around the ring, despite the objections.

Cows don't walk very fast. In fact, they sort of just step, stop, step, step, stop. Some call this "plodding". I call it how we're probably going to be walking down the aisle at my wedding. Anyhow, once the competitors are told to stand still, a strange thing begins to happen.

The cows do Pilates.

OK, not really, but what happens once the cows stop moving is really quite interesting. Apparently, a huge emphasis is put on the spinal alignment , body carriage, and head position of the cow. These contestants do to their cows what I would do to my class participants.
A touch here to lift the ribs and straighten the spine. A gentle nudge there to move the tailbone to a neutral position. Lengthen from head to tailbone, shoulders sliding back and down, chest open.

All of this amazed me. I've never seen cows being judged before. I thought perhaps the judges would look at obvious things like color, glossy coat, size, etc. You know, regular stuff. Once I caught on to how these cows were being judged, I began to look at them differently. #63 was a bit "slouchy". #60 wasn't too bad. #53 was long and straight through the back and open through the chest. Beautiful. As it turns out, #53 won first place. I wonder of this judge ever took a Pilates class? Or taught one. I bet he'd be good.

All of this made me think that good posture can make all the difference. I mean, if a cow can be seen as beautiful, even graceful, then why are we so hard on ourselves?? It's not our size, but rather how we carry ourselves that determines how others see us and "judge" us. So whether you are an actual barnyard cow, or sometimes just feel like one... stand tall. Head up, shoulders back and down, open through the chest. You are beautiful too.

Wedding Bells are Ringing!

Is that the not so far off sound of Wedding Bells ringing in my ears? Oh, wait - nope, it's just me! My ears are ringing, but it's only because of my (as my doctor put it) horribly infected ears. I actually lost the hearing in my right ear for almost two weeks!! With a little medicine and some TLC, I was able to get my hearing back just in time to go see Blue Rodeo in concert on Sunday night!! What a great show... my good friend Sarah and I went, and she is a HUGE fan. The seats were awesome, I really didn't think that we were going to be as close to the stage as we were. Happy Birthday Sarah!
Okay, for the Wedding Update... well, I'm still stressing out, although not as bad. My mom has Madeline's flowergirl dress made, (she made it out of her own wedding dress! How special is that!? ) and I finally found the perfect fabric for the bridesmaids' dresses in the same shade as the tux vests!!! HOORAY!! It had to be ordered from Montreal, but it should be here by the middle of next week. I cut out the material for my dress on Monday, so hopefully soon Mom will be sticking me with pins while she tries to fit the lace somehow onto the satin. Stuff keeps coming up though! I have to work all next week (First Aid coverage at Old Home Week... need a Band-Aid? Come see me!), and for the first time, it's actually a paid gig this time. Which is good, because money isn't exactly something I have a lot of. Or any of , for that matter...But back to the wedding...
So I checked my comments today and my old roommate Tracey (who is a chef) offered to make the cake!! Hello !?! How could I forget that she was a chef? The thought never entered into my mind that I knew someone who might be able to help us out!! So I'm going to call her tonight and hash out the details. She makes the most amazing stuff!!! Her Parmesan Chicken is to die for!!! (It's no wonder I had a hard time keeping the pounds off when I lived with her!! She can take hot dogs and make them into a gourmet meal!!) "Hello, my name is Amy, and I'm a food-a-holic." As if it wasn't obvious.
Levi and I also went out on Monday night and bought our wedding rings. They are so beautiful! They had to be sent off to be sized, we're both a half size smaller than what they had at the store. So the rings should be here in about 2 weeks. I can't wait!!
I've been getting a great response for my classes since my ad ran in The Buzz. In the last week, I've had three registrations for the aquafitness classes and an inquiry about the postnatal pilates. Whoo-hoo! The fall session starts the week of August 29. I am so excited!!!
That's all I have time to write for now, we have some major cleaning to do... my Dad and step-mom are coming over this weekend. I want the place to look like, well, like a hurricane didn't just rip through here.