The Burger Rant

Today, the lovely fast-food restaurant, A&W had their annual Muscular Sclerosis fundraiser.  Customers were able to donate for the past month or so, but on August 25th money from every Teen Burger bought across Canada went towards research for MS.  Unfortunately, I was unable to drive into town to by myself a burger or two and support this great cause.
Instead, I phoned my grandparents who were in town for the day.  I would be getting a burger for supper and helping those who have MS.  I thought for sure this would be something my grandparents would be willing to do.  It was not even out of their way.  My granny told me, however, that they were planning on picking up chicken.
This does not help anybody really!  Chicken is a great deal worse for the body than a burger and KFC does not have any fundraisers going to help find a cure for a horrible disease.
I pointed this out and would you like to know what I got in return?  "People don't help anybody with Lymes."  I honestly almost slammed the phone down.  I am so incredibly tired of hearing about Lymes disease.  She uses it as an excuse for anything and everything.  Quite often there are magical symptoms that she comes down with that are not actually associated with the disease.  It is simply something used to gain attention, and I am being deadly serious when I say this.
Apart from this.  Lymes disease is completely, 100% curable.  Yes some people spend years with it before they are diagnosed, but once they have been it does not take long to rid themselves of the disease.    People no longer need to support Lymes research because they have already found the cure! 
Muscular Sclerosis is still a mystery to scientists.  There is no known cause and no known cure.  Research has found a way to temporarily hold it at bay, but even that is not forever.  Some doctors have found a solution that cures some with the disease, but even this has not proved successful for others.
I understand that having any disease is a horrible experience.  Depending on what it is, it can be extremely painful and exhausting.  It can even take your life. 
How many family members or friends do you know suffer from MS?  This is something that affects millions of people all across the globe.  We should all contribute where we can.  I cannot afford to donate hundreds or thousands of dollars, but I know I can afford to buy one burger on one day of the year and even donate the remainder of my change.  Every little bit counts people; do what you can!

Clarification

Alright so it has been officially nine days since Jeff got down on one knee.  I still look at my ring and find it a little strange.  I love it when my family and friends who didn't know, grab my hand and go, "What the heck is this!?"  Apparently I have been blinding people a little with the amazing rock that is sitting on my left hand.  So far, no car accidents have occurred.
Jeff and I both want to clarify something though.  Just because it has been over a week, does not mean we have a date picked.  He is currently in MB and I am currently in ON until the end of the summer.  Why would we want to plan a wedding apart when in a couple weeks we can sit down together and really talk about it?  This is a massive step in our lives and yes, we are extremely excited... but we are also being patient.
So.  For all those who have been asking... whether it is those who ask every hour just to bug us, or those who seriously want to know, we have not picked a day.  We have not even talked about what season we want to have it in.  Give us a break folks!!!
When we know, you will know!

Are you shittin me!?

So the day was Tuesday, August 9th, 2011; Jeff's 27th birthday.  We started out by doing some work at camp in the morning so we could have the entire afternoon and evening off.  I gave Jeff this first half of his gift, two movies right up his alley: Team America and Super Troopers.  He got a kick out of them. 
After lunch we packed up some snacks and towels and headed out on the quad.  There is an amazing waterfall hidden way down the road, even more in the middle of nowhere than our camp.  It takes an hour to get there and we accidentally forgot the map. Oops!  Thankfully, we did not get lost down some quad trail.  After spending an hour or so at the falls, exploring and picnicking, we decided it was time to head back.
The last part of Jeff's birthday was supposed to be dinner and a walk.  The Plaza is a little Greek restaurant in Kenora that is crazy busy!!  We managed to snag a back booth where we had our lovely romantic dinner.  We laughed, we talked, we ate way too much food.
Eventually we left on our walk to the lovely Husky the Musky.  Despite the massive fish, the gardens there are beautiful and there is a lookout spot where we sat and looked out over the city while the fountain blew a hundred feet in the air.  I gave Jeff the rest of his gift, which consisted of Keith Urban tickets and a BP gift card.  Needless to say, he was excited.
We waited while people took pictures of the fountain and Jeff managed to hold his tongue, but not quite long enough.  He whispered to me while we sat there, "I was almost going to say something rude to make them leave!"  I asked, "Like what?"  "Everyone these days goes out and buys these fancy cameras and thinks they are a photographer."  Turns out the lady with the camera was only just behind us, still taking pictures.  She left pretty quick after that.
"Well, this was a pretty okay birthday but it wasn't the best one I've had."  Jeff said to me and stood.
My face fell.  I had tried so hard to make it such an amazing birthday, our first one as a couple.
"But you know what would make it an amazing birthday?"  He got down on one knee and pulled out this small box.  "If you would marry me and become my wife."
I lost my breath after that one.  Nice sneak attack on Jeff's part.  "Are you shitting me?"  I asked.  "Are you serious?"
He nodded and laughed and I nodded and whispered, "Yes" as he slipped the most amazing ring onto my shaking finger.
We hugged and kissed and I teared up a bit.  Eventually we walked back to the truck, talking and laughing the whole way.  Mostly Jeff was just laughing at me while I was stuck in my shock.  He apparently had carried the ring around all day, waiting.  Who knew?

Thanks to everyone who planned and kept the secret from me for MONTHS!  It was the most amazing, beautiful surprise ever.