Thanks a Latte!

Hello ladies and gents! We made it flawlessly through our first week back to this blog. Can we repeat last week's perfection? I sure hope so!

I am pretty much responsible for this week's topic. You see, as the Canuck, I get to share with you all my world view and my countries traditions and national holidays. Today is Canadian thanksgiving! I had my turkey last night and it was delicious...so delicious that I nearly died. So full!

Anyways, this week's topic is "Things I am Thankful For."

The Obvious

My Family

I am obviously thankful that I have supportive, semi-cool parents who listen to rock and roll and don't smoke or litter. They have tolerated me in my failure to launch - and we get along a bit better lately than before. My dad likes to watch HBO with me on Sunday nights and my mom and I listen to Florence + The Machine and Feist in the car. I don't starve to death because of my parents. My brother is cool too - a bit of a jock, but whatever. We are total opposites but we have some common interests. I am also fairly close with my aunts, uncles and cousins. 

My Friends

I'm weird and I have tiny little factions of people I call friends spread out all over. Most of the factions never intersect and this means I don't see all of the friends all of the time. But each group serves an important purpose in my life. To make me laugh, to remind me of simpler times, to support me when times are tough, to listen when I just need to talk. I have people who will gladly drink pints on patios with me all night long, I have friends who will get ice cream with me and walk by the lake as if we were on a date, friends who will do my nails for me and tell me if my outfit looks good. I have guy friends who offer me a different, and sometimes disgusting, perspective on things. I'm thankful for each and every one of them!

Food, Water, Shelter...

I'm thankful I get to eat fresh, healthy food daily and I don't have to beg for it. I have taps that give me fresh water to drink and shower in. I have a roof over my head, a bed, clothes. Basically I have all the necessities in life plus plenty of luxuries.

*cough* I'm lame *cough*...my boyfriend

Don't worry, I won't get sappy here. But he is someone I should be thankful for. He tolerates my insanity when I text him and he doesn't text me back and I freak out and think he's ignoring me - that means something, right? Truthfully I was content, for the most part, with my simple, uncomplicated single life, but somethings are worth the stress and complication. 

Oh, and I'm thankful for his British accent :)

Not as Obvious

My Education

My education is something that has caused me a lot of stress, and given me few rewards but I must remind myself that I am lucky to have had that experience. Not everyone is in the position to do what I got to do, so I am thankful for the enlightenment. My four years in university really helped me grow and mature as a person.

Music

While I CAN technically live without it, I can't imagine my life without music. My relationship with music isn't the same as Lauren's - I don't create music - but I do surround myself with it. 

Arts and Crafts

My whole life has been about art. Painting was always my favourite thing to do in pre-school. I can't imagine a world without art and homemade things.

~

Anyways, I think that's all I can think of for today...I'm sure I'm thankful for a lot more. Actually, I'm thankful that I "met" Tom and Lauren and that we get to share our crazy lives with one another though this blog and our personal blogs.

Thank you for reading!

I'm thankful for friends who have birthdays so I have an
excuse for photos such as this.

Putting Away My Summer Clothes

So cold!

Welcome back to The Transatlantic Support Group! We took the summer off to chill out and not feel the pressure to blog weekly for a bit, but as the cold weather rolls in so do we. Blogging is really an indoorsy activity, so it only make sense.

We started this blog around this time last year because there's just something about fall that makes 20-somethings a bit sad. Maybe we miss the back-to-school feeling. As students we got so used to major changes happening this time of year. New classes, new people, that we're let down when autumn is just a colder, sadder version of summer.

But let's not start out a new TASG season all depressed - let's reminisce. Let's talk about our summers.

WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION

by The Canuck

• I went to England in May

• I got into a relationship that was long-distance for most of the summer. Scary, but good. I am officially an insane version of myself!

• Had a lot of cold pints on patios with amazing people.

• I listened to new music from bands I love and bands I've just discovered.

• I saw a few movies: Bridesmaids, Bad Teacher and Harry Potter (3D!)

• I saw the musical adaptation of Billy Elliot with my mom and two of my aunts.

• I ran my first 5k race and ran my second 5k charity fun run.

• I met up with old friends from years ago.

• I visited my university for the first time since graduating in 2007.

• I went to the driving range.

• I threw a goodbye party for a friend who left for college.

• I took plenty of naps.

• I learned to enjoy mornings and wake up earlier.

• I nearly gave up coffee, but still have the occasional cup at work, but only in the morning.

I'm sure I did more than that, but that's just a quick re-cap. It wasn't the best summer ever, but certainly not the worst.

Hope you all had amazing summers - or at least not the worst.

Tom - Mr. Wednesday, I can't wait to here from you love! (I'm dating a fellow Brit, so I'm allowed to talk like that now, right?)

"You Sound Like You're From London"

All packed?

It's 9 a.m. on Monday morning here in Southern Ontario. At 5 p.m. my airport taxi will pick me up and take me to Pearson International Airport where I will board a 8:40 p.m. flight to London, Heathrow. In honour of my trip abroad I suggested the topic of Travel Stories. I feel like Tom (who lived in Italy for a bit) and Lauren (who spent time in Egypt) will have way cooler stories than me - but I will list my most memorable vacations.

• Florida, 1989 - When I was five and my brother was four our parents drove the family to Florida. My mom's cousin was living there at the time, so we were to stay with them for a bit. I don't remember the drive much - but I do know we stopped and picked pecans in Alabama, and we stayed in some motels in the Southern United States. I remember my dad went fishing and caught a pelican. I also remember swimming and sucking on my hair because it tasted salty. We did the whole Disney World thing - which was fun. We also visited JFK Space Center - where I got to try on a space suit.

• England, Scotland & Wales,  2003 - During my last year of high school my family booked a tour of Great Britain. It was the first time I'd ever been on a plane - so I was excited and nervous. The tour was a whirlwind, but I saw so much and fell in love with Edinburgh, Scotland. For a while I considered trying to go do a Masters degree there just so I could live there for a bit. It was an exhausting, but life changing trip. Also, travelling with my family was stressful and staying in a hotel room with my brother was a bit annoying.

• Montreal, Quebec, 2009 - For my 25th birthday I took a trip with one of my best friends - Amanda. We  took the train and arrived in Montreal, took a cab to our hostel (bunk beds with annoying crinkly plastic mattress covers) and got out our maps to plan our trip. Instead of exploring the nightlife of La Belle Province, we basically did a walking tour of the city in the rain. We also sampled all the famous foods - Poutine, Montreal-style bagels, and smoked meat sandwiches with a cherry pop. We saw the John and Yoko exhibit at The Montreal Museum of Fine Art. We walked through the outer section of The Bell Centre (where the Montreal Canadians play). We bought wine at a variety store and weird fake vodka and drank out of plastic cups in our hostel. It was an amazing trip - even though it rained a lot.

• Ottawa, Ontario, 2010 - My cousin (the one I'm visiting in England) got married on January 2 last year. My parents and I drove to Ottawa (with a stop-over in Kingston, Ontario) for the wedding at the Delta hotel. After a beautiful and super fun wedding, we stayed an extra day to see the sites of our nation's capital. We saw parliament, the Canadian National Gallery, The By-ward Market - all in -20 degrees Celsius weather. It was cold, but I'm so happy I went though. My hotel room was amazing! I've never stayed somewhere so nice.

• Belleville, Ontario, 2010 - Last summer I took the train and visited my friend in Belleville. Not exactly an ideal vacation spot, but I was excited to visit my friend and see where she lives. I also rented a car - a first for me. It rained a lot, but we had fun visiting some small towns and looking at knick knacks.

So, I'm not the most travelled person I know - but I feel like I'm pretty good at making the most of my holidays. I mostly spent my childhood years camping and going to my cottage (or grandparent's house). I live pretty close to both Toronto and Niagara Falls - so I have taken many day trips to those places. I actually lived in Toronto when I was in university. I can't wait to come back and tell you guys all about my trip!

Tom & Lauren, I'll read your posts in a week - 'Cause I've got a ticket to ride!

Bonus points to those of you who can tell me the name of the film the title quote comes from.

I'll reply to comments when I return - so don't be shy! Tell me your travel stories!