Happy Canada Day!

In honor of Canada Day I thought I'd make a list of what I love about my country. Notice there will be no mention of igloos in this post. I have never even seen one. And I bet you 75% of Canadians never will. I just wanted to clear that up!

#1  The People Two words: kind and polite. Don't be surprised if you hear three "please"'s and two "thank you"'s in the same sentence while speaking to a Canuck. I do it often. Can't help it. It's in our blood!

#2 The Rocky Mountains

 Banff National Park (about 4 hours away from where I live)

#3 Public Health Care

 #4 Poutine (Pronounced "poo-teen")

 French fries, gravy and cheese - a heart attack in a bowl! But so yummy. We eat it with a fork of course.

#5 Hockey!

Canadians looooove their hockey. And we're good at it too! Both our Men's and Women's Olympic teams won the Gold in Vancouver this year : ). Oh yeah, and we love to drink. The legal limit for consuming alcohol is 18 in my province and Manitoba but 19 for the rest of Canada. Boo-ya!

#6 The Wild Life

 Canadian Deer

Buffalo

My parents and my brother own a buffalo farm so I see quite a few of these massive beasts on a regular basis. The babies are really cute.

Insert story here: Above is a pic of my brother's dog (who has since passed - Harley we miss you!) and a baby buffalo named Davey in his backyard when he lived in the city. The baby had a twin but the mom was only feeding one so my brother transplanted the other one from the farm to his backyard and bottle-fed him until he was strong enough to be on his own. Insert disclaimer here: I am a Vegetarian. I do not agree with the slaughtering of animals and have never eaten buffalo nor will I ever! K, thanks : )

 #7 Vancouver, B.C.

One of the most breathtaking, beautiful cities in the world. The ocean, the mountains, the beach - all in one place. So much to do, so much to see, so many amazing restaurants to stuff your face at. I was lucky enough to live here for a couple of years in my early twenties. I miss it dearly.

#8 Alberta Wheat Fields

photo by Jay Parkinson. These legs do not belong to me.

#9 Homegrown Talents such as Joni Mitchell, James Cameron, Rachel McAdams, Celine Dion, Sarah McLaughlin,  Ellen Page, Ryan Reynolds, Chantal Kreviazuk, Eric McCormack, Hayden Christiansen, John Candy, Jim Carrey, Kim Cattrall, Ryan Gosling, Drake and oh yeah: Justin Bieber (had to mention The Biebs), to name a few. Plus amazing and successful models such as:

Coco Rocha

 Jessica Stam

Daria Werbowy

#10 FREEDOM! Don't take it for granted.

 weheartit