Best holiday ever!

This post has taken me a really long time to write because things have been crazy at work. Read my upcomming post to find out what!

This year was an awesome Christmas. Two things made it especially awesome: some great new gadgets, and a surprise at the cottage. One of the best gadgets I (well, really Amanda and I) got was the Magic Bullet. I used to laugh at the infomercials for it on T.V (actually, I still do, but now I make fun of them while using the Bullet!) but it actually works very well. Not exactly like in the infomercials, but still pretty good. Another fun gadget I got was a scrolling LED message license plate holder. I saw one awhile ago, and had completely forgot about them. I haven't got it installed yet, because I'm not quite installing it the way it's supposed to be installed. It's supposed to be installed into the break lights, so it only comes on while your breaking, but I figure more people will see it if I have it on all the time. So dad and I are going to try to hook it up to the stereo power, so that it runs as long as the ignition is on. I haven't tried it out much, but it's going to be fun.

Those gadgets (and others that I got) are fun, but by far the best part of this holiday was the cottage. We went up with Catriona and Jeff Friday morning, stopping at the Alpengruss in Wakefield for some lunch (if your ever driving through Wakefield, definitely stop in there, they have great poutine or grilled cheese, and ice cream in the sumer). We got up there around 12:30 and only Gail was there (Charlie and Erin were off skiing), unpacked, then Jeff and I went out and shoveled off some of the ice for a skating rink. Charlie and Erin came back around 1:30, followed soon after by mum and dad. After a bit of a rest, everybody decided to head outside to do some skating. Amanda and I didn't have skates, so we decided to borrow Gail and Charlie's snowshoes and go snowshoeing on the lake. I had actually been planning on doing this (well, not exactly the snowshoeing part, but going off just the two of us) for about two weeks before heading up to the cottage. I had chosen this moment to ask Amanda to marry me.

Before I continue on, I need to o back and tell some other stories. So about two weeks before Christmas, Amanda and I went to St Laurent to do Christmas shopping. I decided I wanted to get her a really nice piece of jewelry, so I went around all of the jewelers. I found a really nice necklace, and decided to look at engagement rings while I was there. While looking at some at Charm, I found the perfect one. It wasn't too big or too small, and it was white gold, and I knew Amanda would love it. I got the lady behind the counter to write down the SKU so I could make sure that I got the right one (cause I was going to go back later to get it). The next week I went back and bought it. I had to keep it away from Amanda until we went up to the cottage, but I didn't want to leave it at home, so I put it in my jacket pocket and carried it with me for the next two weeks. When I got the necklace, they asked if I wanted them to wrap it, and because I'm horible at wrapping gifts, I went for it. Little did I know that they wrapped it in a ring box. So of course Amanda sees this every day of December under the tree, and starts thinking that it's going to be a ring. Well, on Christmas day when she opened it, she was extremely disappointed that there wasn't a ring inside. She tried hiding it, but it was still pretty obvious.

Now we fast forward back to the cottage, on Friday the 28th in the afternoon. Amanda and I strap on some snowshoes and start walking around the lake. I was really nervous (even though I was pretty sure she would say yes, but it's still a big question) so I kept stopping and looking at Amanda. She would just keep walking after a few seconds, and I would catch upto her. Finally she commented that I was acting really weird, and I told her that I was acting weird for a reason. We stopped again, and I told her I had a question for her, and then I asked her. Her first reaction was; 'Are you actually doing this here?' (because I hadn't taken the ring out yet) so I took the ring out and gave it to her. Of course she said yes, and we headed back to the cottage. When we got back around the corner and could see the cottage, I saw that Cat and Jeff were still out, shoveling part of the skating rink. I knew they were just there to see how it went. We got up to them and didn't say anything (because I knew they were wondering, but weren't going to ask), and then we decided to go and make a path to the toboggan hill for the next day. After we got there, Amanda had to take her gloves off to wipe snow from herself, and Cat saw the ring, and got really excited. We then headed back to the cottage where mum and dad were waiting to see what happened (the Moore's didn't know anything was happening). We got in and busied ourselves in the kitchen getting some snacks and drinks while mum was waiting in the other room. Amanda didn't want to make a big show out of it, so she just walked into the room normally, and mum noticed the ring and everyone got excited. Luckily theres always champagne and other booze at the cottage, so we had a good celebration that night. We ha fun playing Cranium WOW! and other games. The rest of the cottage was just as enjoyable, with more skating, snowshoeing, sledding, and we even made a giant snowman on the lake! It was definitely one of the best wintertimes at the cottage.