hmmm

Self portraits

2012-02-02T15:59:00.001-05:00

I love the option on this phone I use the front camera. I saw decorating ideas with pictures of mommas and their babies and it reminded me to take as many pics as possible of us. And now that I've started I can't stop!

Design help..

2012-01-30T16:02:00.004-05:00

What do I do with this dresser? I got it from Oma and Opa Wikks when they moved. I don't now what attracted me to it since I'm not normally a vintage mid-century styler but still.... and now I don't know what to do with it. Any suggestions? Do I paint it? Move it to a kids room? Design our master room around it? Make it a TV stand in the living room? Here are some pictures of similar dressers and their uses. Help.... suggestions?

Plants

2012-01-18T11:04:00.001-05:00

One of my orchids started blooming today. I haven't really been into gardening that much lately and I actually do miss it. I'm hoping to start just a few plants inside this winter and since it's already the end of January I had better get those seeds ordered. I've ordered from Stokes seeds before but this year I think I'm going to try an heirloom seller. Also this year I think I'm going to grow more annual seeds. This is inspired by how LONG and well mom's allysum lasted in my garden - long after i gave up on any kind of outdoor maintenance (I'm blaming my low iron levels).

Good or Gross?

2012-01-16T11:58:00.001-05:00

What do you think? Since my breakfast was at lunch time and my typical breakfast ingredients were gone I made dippy eggs on....STUFFING! Next time I will fry the egg in the stuffing, like egg in the hole.

Jordyyyyyn!!!!

2012-01-14T13:53:00.001-05:00

I just love love love love this baby!!!
I can't get over it. Makes me want to wake her up a squeeze her. But I won't since this is a pretty good nap.

January

2012-01-05T09:32:00.002-05:00

Nothing like clothes drying on the line... in January.

Today is a cleaning day. It seems like I haven't cleaned the Timmies cups up for the last week! And now that Dan is done work (yeeeaaaahhh!!!) before he starts his next job (yeeeaaaaahhhh!!!!) he will be able to help. I'm hoping that by tonight I will be sipping wine with mom W, eating a good meal in a clean house.

Diapers

2012-01-04T19:03:00.002-05:00

I just finished making my first pair of longies.

I'm using cloth diapers and have been tweaking my diapering system. We have the easy cute picket diapers and also prefolds. The pocket diapers are the easiest but leak more often. I bought some better inserts for them (since it turns out I was using far less absorbent doublers) and we will see how they turn out. The prefolds work the best but cause such a huuuge bum. Until I got these wool diaper covers on her. They not only are the Cadillac of cloth diapering, they also take away the need for pants on TOP of the diaper and are therefor more trim. I got an awesome pattern online (Katrina's Sew Quick Soaker) and easily made the soaker and the longies. Love them! Yes, they are a bit long but she's a long baby and this gives a bit of room for growth. Plus, if I find they are reaaallly too long I can always hem them again.

Two and a half years later....

2012-01-02T19:06:00.002-05:00

And here I am. For the last few months I've been saying to myself that once I have my new iPhone I'll post. So, to start it all off I'll do a quick summary of the news since then:
•we moved. Wait, that's where I left off.
•I got pregnant again. And miscarried again. It was a much simpler and less traumatic miscarriage than the first time but still not easy.
•Sarah and Peter are still gone traveling.
•Opa (dad's dad) passed away. He had been ill for a while and the family had been expecting it for a while. I am sad for his children and the affects on them but I myself didn't have much of a relationship with him.
•Got pregnant again. This time we enjoyed a full 9 month pregnancy. Despite loads of vomiting, low iron (and the accompanying tiredness), and the heartburn, I LOVED it. Yes, I was one of those annoying pregnant women who talk about how wonderful it is to be preggers.
•Sarah and Peter are still gone traveling.
•

Had our baby girl: Jordyn Mackenzie She is such a beautiful awesome baby. Dan is such an awesome dad. Both of those things make being a mom so fun. I love being home and indulging in wholesome soul-filling fun. Like knitting and coffee with Larissa+girls.
•Dan got the job of his lifetime. What a huge blessing. We are overwhelmed by the relief of knowing he can settle down into a permanent job that he loves and that will be able to provide for our family.
•Opa (mom's dad) passed away. I am so happy for him. At his funeral we heard again how excited he was to go to heaven. The thought of this relief and joy makes me so happy for him. Yet I will miss him. I had just missed bringing Jordyn to see him. Thinking about what she will miss reminded me of the fact that she still has four great-grandmothers. FOUR. Beautiful. I love the maternal strength she's got behind her.

OK, Mom, here it is...

2010-05-11T09:00:00.004-04:00

Pictures of the new house! We moved here in April/May and I still feel like I'm adjusting to this being "home". I love it, it's beautiful, but I just can't believe we live in this place!! It's ginormous! It's beautiful. It's got really crappy soil (I'm going to have to do something about that). So, here's just a few pictures. They are supposed to be of the house but I added people in there just to make it interesting.

So this is the front of the house. There's already tons of weeds in the flower beds and the tulips have been blown away by our crazy winds we've been having but there's lots of room for creativity and playing there.

When you walk in the front door, there's stairs going up and down. The downstairs is like a whole other apartment. Going upstairs puts you directly in the living room, and kitchen. Down the hall to the right are the bedrooms.
The kitchen is quite large with lots of cupboard options. Thankfully Cass helped me pack and move the kitchen. I'm the worst kitchen planner so between Cass and Dan they figured out the best cupboards for the kitchen stuff.

If you look out the back window of the kitchen you would see this back yard. The yard has a fence but on the inside of the fence there's all cedars. I like them but I have to learn how to prune them and make them look healthy. Unfortunately we have the worst lawn on the block (except for the one property that has let their yard go ferrel, complete with garbage) but that will be a project for Dan and I to work on for the next few years.

The kitchen has a door at the back which leads to a landing where I can HANG THE CLOTHES ON THE LINE!!!! Woohoooo. I'm super excited about clothes lines! There's a bit of a back pad that can be worked on over the next few years to our tastes. Already we have two beautiful muskoka chairs that Rich and Dave made for us for a house warming gift. So sweet. I love that. Good friends.

So that's it for now. The rest of the tour you will see when you come to visit!

Away we go

2010-04-17T11:39:00.003-04:00

Has anyone seen the movie "Away we go"? Maybe I've been away from movie ads lately but I had never heard of it till last week when Dan and I watched it and I fell in love with the sound track. So, while you are reading this, first click on the youtube link to listen to the first song at the same time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R5IQoIYvTM (if it doesn't work, look for "All of my days" by Alexi Murdoch). It makes me think of finding a real home and having a family and people around us who are important to us.
Dan and are I packing up our tiny house and moving... hopefully for the last time in a loooong time. We've got a place just down the road from Larissa and James and really close to the in-laws (which truely is a good thing). Dan is doing almost all of the work. He's been purging things that I don't want to look at and moving heavy things that I pretend aren't there. He's vaccuuming and cleaning up after everything too. At this moment he's going through his closet and getting rid of clothes that he wants to donate. How awesome is that?!! That's about a once every 5 years job. The spring weather is getting into my bones and I'm getting the itch to put my hands into some rich soil. I remember last year my aunt Jo Ann had a delivery of soil and when I was visiting she asked me in a giddy way if I wanted to put my hands in the bag... she totally understood the job of just sinking your hands in. It reminds me of harvesting my potatoes back at our last place. I didn't even need a shovel. I could just sink my hands in and find them.
I'm also dreaming of chickens. I don't know what it is about that animal that makes my heart big. I just LOVE seeing a group of them pecking and scratching at the ground. I love how they look, move, taste and especially the eggs. So my FIL and I are building a chicken coop. Well, we have the plans and I think he's got the wood. I'm not really doing anything except providing the excitment. I love chickens and will go there everyday if I have to to take care of them.
And I'm knitting. I'm knitting!!! And I love it! I can't stop. Actually, this past week I stopped because I was sooooo stuck (mom and dad are on the road again) but I finally got over the problems and have started again. Now Dan is finally giving me the nudge to say... ok.... time to start working again. So I guess it's time to get up, start moving and Away we go....

I definately didn't want to write this post

2010-04-01T14:39:00.003-04:00

Last week Friday morning I miscarried. It was a very traumatic and sad. Dan was the best husband in the world. I've got great friends and family around me and (because Dan has rightfully insisted) I have taken the week off to recuperate (whatever that means).
Most of you know that Dan and I did not try at ALL to keep the pregnancy a secret. Before we got pregnant we had breifly discussed the issue of to tell vs. not to tell. We both wanted to tell. And when the tests came back positive there was no holding us back anyways. I rarely hold back what I'm feeling and need to talk to others when something is on my mind. And how would I be able to make it a whole THREE months without talking to people about it?! Another reason, we figured if we did miscarry, we would once again want to talk to others about it. The third reason is purely out of practicality. After the second time of turning down a drink everyone would know anyways.
And now that we miscarried do I regret telling people? Not at all. People have been so supportive. Mom has spent lots of time with me and on the phone. Both friends and family have been there to do whatever I have needed them to do/not do. Cass sent me beautiful flowers and family friends have called. I'm not reluctant to talk about it and, in fact, if people ask will explain what we went through just to help avoid the shock and trauma that scared me half to death.
So, we had 12 weeks of looking forward to this baby. I'm happy that I had that time and I'm grateful that we could share with everyone and enjoy the pregnancy as long as we did. Thank you everyone. Thanks for the prayers and support.

What an excellent day...

2010-03-17T22:24:00.004-04:00

There's nothing like a good day that starts as a good day, remains a good day, and ends a good day. I met with mom for breakfast this morning since I didn't start work till 12:30. I can't say how much I LOVE that woman. Mom knows me and understands me like no one else. I think our love languages just match up perfectly. I never feel drama or politics with her. I always understands where she's coming from and feel like she understands where I'm coming from. I never worry about feeling judged by her. We share many of the same passions and when she gets passionate about something, I often get passionate about it too. We both have a bizarre love of chickens, gardening, reading. Mom came loaded with gifts for me. Dan has often said in a joking way that food is the way to my heart. Well, he's right. I love food. I need food and if I don't get it when I need it, well, watch out. And now (wait for it, here's the big news.....) that I'm pregnant, if I don't eat regularly and often (only little bits) I get sick. So, being the understanding woman that she is, she brought a cooler LOADED with ziplock bags filled with snacks. Oatmeal raison cookies, dried fruit, nuts, etc. I haven't really looked through it since I'm supposed to keep it in the car and nibble as I drive. I'm feeling guilty about eating enough of the right foods and I do a lot of driving so this is the solution. What a wonderful mom. Isn't that just beautiful? And it keeps getting better. We both are getting into knitting. Maybe it's the hormones, maybe it's nesting(???) but now, I suddenly want to be able to knit diaper covers for the baby (I'll be cloth diapering and don't even try to talk me out of it). Mom not only is encouraging me, she has my extremely talented aunt on board who is lending me her favourite knitting needles. Mom bought me my first project and two balls of yarn. After breakfast, which she paid for, she taught me how to cast on. I can't wait to get back to it.

Later that day, Dan texts me telling me he's cleaned my puke bowl (the toilet, thanks), the kitchen, and the living room. Isn't that just music to your ears? It is to mine. What a wonderful husband. I came home to a house with smelling of spring (he opened the windows) and slightly of bathroom cleaner. Sigh...

Dan is out tonight for a meeting so after work I went out for a coffee with a co-worker to just let out work frustrations. Sometimes that can be a dangerous bitch fest but it was good. He's a really supportive guy that is good at both setting me straight and encouraging me so it was good to chat without having a flippen receptionist spying on me and watching the clock.

So, really, what a good day. Now I'm going to get back to the knitting since that's all I've been thinking about today. That, and the food.

(This is my entry back into the blogging world!)

Living with a lazy eye

2009-11-05T17:12:00.005-05:00

This afternoon when I was driving home from work the sun happened to be in that right spot where it was shining directly into my eyes. Instead of putting down the visor I decided to live a bit dangerously and soak up the sun (it wasn't the bright white but rather the deep yellow kind of sun). It was nice until I hit a shady part of the road and suddenly I had spots all over my vision so, I automatically shut my one eye that I usually use and used my lazy eye instead. The lazy eye wasn't looking directly into the sun so it wasn't as spotty. I did this naturally since I've always had this until suddenly I thought about how wierd that was.

I have a little bit of a lazy eye that normally isn't that noticeable unless I'm tired. I'm not really embarrassed about it but more annoyed when it's obvious that people can see it. When I was working retail (yeah for not working retail anymore!) and I would the next person in line what they wanted they would usually turn around to see who I was talking to. So annoying. Actually, I kind of think it's neat. I remember when I was a kid it really intrigued me.

I don't know if I actually use my lazy eye. When I close my lazy eye my vision stays the same (except for a little bit of peripheral). When I close my good eye, my vision shifts (about an inch or so perspective, right?). Is the visual input from my lazy eye actually going to my brain? Because it's not being integrated into the final product that my brain sees. If I close my good eye, forcing my brain to see from my lazy one, and then slllloooowwwwllllyyy open my good eye, I see from both eyes but seperately so it's like I have double vision. I remember telling my dad this when I was a kid. He didn't really understand so I looked at the table (the guys had just finished work on a Friday) and I said, "I can see two beer bottles. One here, and one there." Of course I saw two tables and two kitchens too but that's just how I explained it.

They tried to fix it when I was super young (beyond my memory). I had a patch on my good eye that was kind of like a big band-aid. There's a few good pictures of me with that eye. Mom says that she would rip it off at night when I was sleeping. Maybe that's why I don't remember. Dad nicknamed me cyclops. I thought it was great to have my own nickname. When I learned about Greek mythology I thought it was a great coincidence that they had a character also named cyclops. Until I realized that dad named me after a one-eyed monster. They also said I was a great chicken-catcher because of that one eye. I have no idea what having only one eye has to do with being able to catch a chicken. I was just quicker than the rest of them.

I also had the pleasure of testing out a theory from my optomotrist that bi-focals would fix a lazy eye. Do you know what it's like to go to grade 4 with thick bi-focals?!! You who are just trying to get used to them now when they are all chic and seemless have no idea. What a pain in the but! No wonder why I lost 3 or 4 pairs till we finally decided that it wasn't going to make a difference.

There are some differences. The eye that I use (the left one) is a teensy bit near (or is it far?) sighted. The lazy eye (the right one) has 20/20 vision. The lazy eye sees colours juuuusst a little bit bolder and brighter. Probably from less use. I can't really read that well from my lazy eye. That's a super wierd point. I can see everything just fine but I don't think I recognize words as fast or something. It's hard to explain. It's like the letters are all jumbled. Does the vision from each eye go to a different part of the brain?

I don't know if these are things that are normal with everyone's eyes or if it's just mine but I think I'll be a little disappointed if it is. I don't mind having a lazy eye. I still kind of have soft spot in my heart for cyclops.

Surfing

2009-10-28T15:26:00.002-04:00

Feeling a little bit guilty about the amount of time I'm surfing on the internet today, I'm inspired to think about how one site leads to another, leads to another, leads to another.... and the list goes on. Surfing the internet is like conversing with a person. I find if I don't speak with a friend for a long time, I find I don't know what to talk about. And then you see those couples that have been together forEVER and they seem to have so much to talk about still. The same goes for the internet with me. When I haven't been on in a while, I don't really have much to browse through. The more I'm on, though, the more I get sucked in a find more. So here's how my surfing went today:
- check my gmail
- check my facebook. Facebook goes waaaay to slow here so I moved on...
- oh ya, I got a lead at work here about a Farm Training place that looked interesting called Everdale It is a super neat place that I want to keep tucked in my memory for future reference. - Well, they have a video on youtube. Well, actually it's a collection of videos. They were neat to watch. The last one was neat too and it looks like the maker of it has her own website.
- Meghan Telpner is a nutritionist. I love nutrition. mmmm food. Her website was interesting (even though in an inteview she said something about not wanting to become a Birk-wearing hippie) and had a lot of other links on her blog, Making Love in the Kitchen, to websites that I wanted to check out but, since a client walked it I haven't followed up on those links but possibly in the future I'll go back and check them out (lunapads, redtentsisters, all from an interesting post that I think Sarah would like.... like in 5 minutes.
- But back to Everdale because another client walked in and I paniced a little because I had "Save the Vag" written on my screen and needed to shut that down fast. I just barely got into all the resources available on Everdale when I saw a link that I've been interested in:
- Harvest Homes is a straw-bale home builder. I don't know much about straw bale homes but the idea really attracts me. I would LOVE to live in a straw bale home. They look interesting and different. Of course every window sill would be wide edged so there's lots of room for plants etc. The insulation factor is a HUGE draw and I love the idea of not needing an A/C. I know Dan would still want one but it wouldn't be needed. Plus the lack of chemicals is a new factor that the website offers. And they also mentioned something about how it is building that is easy for the builders and family and friends to become involved in. I love that. I think that a group of interested family and friends should all get together and we should go on a road trip/tour of interesting workshops like a straw-building workshop.
- And then, I noticed the time and that the end of the month is coming up so I really should NOT be bored at work because an intense month-end report is due by Friday. They want all my statistics and a narrative summary of what I have been doing for the month. eek. Do you think I should add the list of websites on the browser History?

Meditation

2009-10-22T08:55:00.002-04:00

I had to come up with some "opening words" for a meeting that I went to last night. I was a bit nervous about that since for most meetings I could come up with a devotion or Bible passage. This was a community meeting though and, for some reason, I felt that it wouldn't be right to bring something overtly Christian. Is that wrong? Probably since the event that I went to on Saturday, hosted by this board, was opened by a prayer from an Imam and traditional spiritual words in Cayuga (a native language). Either way, this is what I found:

From the outside, the monastery garden can be seen as a romantic, sentimental place of sweet spirituality. From the inside, that garden may be an enclosure of interior torments for the monks who struggle with their desires and passions and self-examinations.
At our homes we can evoke the sweet and the tormented monk in our enclosed gardens, with their trellises and gates, their walking paths and their shade. The soul seems to benefit from having an external manifestation of its internal states. The dialogue between the inner and the outer in this way is the very essence of ritual.
Gardening is a monk's way of caring for the soul.
(Written by Thomas Moore in his book "Meditations: On the Monk Who Dwells in Daily Life")

I thought it was PERFECT for both me and the group since this is the board that initiated the community garden. The board chair also brought some opening words and after looking at what I brought said that mine might be "a bit too esoteric". I had no problem with this since I was nervous anyway. I wrote this because I liked the meditation but now, as I'm writing it, I'm kind of confused and annoyed. Esoteric? What is she saying? The smart people at the table wouldn't understand the concept of "caring for the soul"? Or is it just too spiritual? I don't know. I really like the woman and respect her but right now I feel a bit ... dismissed?

So it's Sunday

2009-10-18T21:18:00.002-04:00

And that means there's the chance of Sunday Evening Blues. And of course I've got a good case of it right now. I don't know what is so bad about tomorrow being Monday but I just don't feel like starting another week yet.
So, here comes the comfort food. Remember, my house right now is filled with the most cancer-causing, fat-building, terrible yummy foods. Anything from gummy bears and pop products to kraft cheese slices and street-meat hotdogs (thanks to Dan's end-of-the-year "bonus"). But I feel like eating..... POTATOES! I first cut up a leek (from the community garden I helped with this week), sliced up a potato, and minced half a garlic clove. I slowly fried them up in olive oil with some salt until everything was golden yummy. It was delicious. I'm pairing it with the remains of Friday nights bottle of white, sans wine glass, and am following up with a package of M&M's.
As good as this food was, I still don't feel like starting another week.

Fall?

2009-09-26T19:20:00.002-04:00

It's barely 7:00 and it's dark already. I'm barefoot and my feet have been cold all day. The sky has been dark and gloomy all day and the weather has been cold and ominous. Fall has begun. And so, I've got a pan of cream of brocolli soup on, Randy Bachman on the radio, and a few fun recipe ideas spread out on the kitchen counter. I hope cream soups can freeze because I know that Dan won't eat it and I'm not sure if I can eat 2L of soup before it goes bad. I'm sure I could eat it but I end up getting bored of a food really fast and it just goes bad.

I have got to say, as much as I DISlike Randy Bachman (I'm only listening to him cuz he's on the CBC and I do like the music), I REALLLLLY dislike the chick that comes on the show with him. Man, does she drive me nuts!!! Holy Cow!! The two of them deserve eachother... the most annoying people ever!

The soup turned out great. Next on the list is JoAnn's fresh (not fried) spring rolls. The carrots have to marinate first. And I've got to cook the shrimp. I think sometime this week I also want to make chili the way Alisha made it when we were camping (hint hint, I'll have to get that recipe from her). I still like to make funky new recipes but I'm finding that I really have to tone it down and make some more down-to-earth, simple, easy recipes that I can make after I'm done work, otherwise I end up eating Subway every night. And with the weather changing, I should probably use the slow cooker more.

ooohhh, my feet are warming up.

Moving on...

2009-09-15T13:13:00.002-04:00

This weekend I'm going to a 2-day conference. I won't be able to use my Sunday as a day of rest and worship but since the conference is on Horticulture Therapy, it will probably bring both, anyways. I have known about the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association for a few years now but for some reason, I never went out and got my membership. About a month ago I saw that there is an annual conference that is going to be in Guelph this year. Finally, I sent in my registration and $$$. Yeah! One more step closer to my dreams. I'm hoping for lots of connections and collaberating. I hope to learn some new things and be inspired by other peoples lives and projects. I'm looking forward to it but it still feels a little surreal. I hope that I will finally get over another bump and keep moving forward.
Oh, and I reworked my resume, built a cover letter and applied for a new job closer to the area we both want to settle down it. I'm not counting on getting the job and if I do I'm not sure what I'll do since it's still quite a drive but it seems like a smart thing to do right now. Phew, another bump.

2009-09-09T21:53:00.003-04:00

I thought that my cupboards and fridge were too empty to make anything good. And then... Maybe I should put off going grocery shopping so that I can come up with some more good creations. This is chickpeas, garlic, lots of curry powder and paste, badly grown tomatoes (thanks to my poor gardening skills this summer) all on top of the last of my rice.

OH YUM!!!

(worth coming out of my blogging hibernation)

2009-06-21T15:00:00.000-04:00

Here it is... finally. An update! I do have to say, I have a bit of dutch stuborness in me so everytime someone complains about the lack of good reading material it makes me want to do this less and less.Right now I'm actually sitting in a lawnchair at my campsite waiting for my sausage to be cooked. Isn't that the life?! I love being able to go camping this often. It's also a great way to see Dan more often.The new job is going very well. I really like the work and it's a great company to work for. I'm almost done my contract but there's a possibility that I'll get a permanent position soon (cross your fingers). There is a ton to learn, tons of paperwork and some really heavy stories... But it feels so good to be doing something that I like and am good at. It is really fulfilling. On top of that, the company has been supporting every single innitiative and idea I bring up. They sent me to a 3 day paid conference, they are paying me to sit on 2 different commitiees, I asked them to pay me for 2 hrs. a week to do commitee work, and I asked them to sponser a garden plot for the addictions/mental health clients so that we could run a horticulture therapy program. And they said yes to everything! I don't know where all these ideas and energy is coming from but I love it! Maybe it's the 7 years of dead time selling beer. It's just a lot of pent up energy.Unfortunately, my home life is suffering from all of this. I hardly have anything for a garden, I'm embarassed about how little I clean the house (and it shows), I never get to cook and bake anymore and our diets are crap! I don't remember the last time I ate a vegetable or fruit. I'm just not used to this kind of schedule! It's a terrible thing to complain about since this is what most people have to juggle. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually. I have to make some sacrifices and get a house cleaner or something. I have to learn to make the quick healthy meals and forget about the fun, inspiring long meals that I used to make.So that's it for now. By the way, I typed this whole thing out on my blackberry. Pretty good, eh? I guess it was worth it!

Is a picture worth a thousand words?

2009-05-02T17:47:00.003-04:00

I hope so because I really haven't had the time to sit by a computer on my time off to write a post.... even though I've got about 4-5 of them all planned in my head. I just don't feel like sitting behind a computer for some reason!

I've been taking Chloe for a walk through the fields in the morning. I throw on the old barn coat, step into the barn boots and head into the muddy fields where other mean dog owners won't bug me. I've since discovered my new favourite smell. A corner of the field was burnt down one morning and within a week the new grass started coming up. mmmmm. Just the smell of the burnt field was wonderful but mixed with the smell of new grass and dew... you just can't beat it.

Here's my new tomatoes growing under Opa's grow lights that he gave me. Sarah sent me some heirloom tomatoes. My heart has been craving some gardeing but I really haven't been putting in too much of an effort. I don't know why. Maybe it's the fact that I don't even have a garden patch yet, I don't know. So really, all I've got is 4 brocolli plants about 10-15 young tomato plants. I started them late but, oh well. It's still fun to watch them growing. Their on their 3rd pair of leaves right now.
I really don't like this picture of me but it's to replace the thousand words I should have been writing to update you all on the new job. I was wondering if I should be writing anything about the job at all online just to keep some anonymity. To keep it simple, the job is as an addictions counsellor. I like this line of work, I really like the job, I'm not enjoying being a rookie. The office is probably the best office I could want to work for. It's relaxed and comfortable but I'm still new at this job and I still need to ask a lot of questions... something I'm getting used to doing.

And last of all.... we were out visiting today so I got a chance to hang out with Jaela.... I love that kid!

Saturday morning

2009-04-11T10:52:00.002-04:00

It's Saturday morning and I'm sitting here drinking my second coffee and baileys (yes, even though I'm going to work later today) and trying to figure out which of the 3-4 things that I love doing I should do in the next 2 hours: Bake me some treats, bake the dog some treats, plant the very over-due tulip bulbs I was going to plant a few months ago, read some research for my next job or go grocery shopping. Instead I'm blogging. Oh well. Sounds like a good morning, eh? I went for a walk with the dog this morning so my house feels dark and dreary after being out in the beautiful strong sunlight. The curtains are open but they just aren't letting in enough light. It's too cool and windy to have the windows open yet. Its the kind of day that I would love to have a sunroom for. That way I could feel like I'm outside but skip the wind-blowing-into-my-eardrums part. Tomorrow I'll take the reading and research to mom and dad's and enjoy their sunroom. It's going to be a short trip but I'm very much looking forward to it.
I've got my last shift at the old job today... hopefully. I could be back in a couple of months but it sure feels good knowing that I won't be there for a while. My uniform is dirty and I'll have had a few shots of baileys before I get there but I don't care. It's going to be a good day!
The oven is preheated so I'm going to get started on those treats... and maybe plant up the plants while they are cooking.
Enjoy your Saturday!!!

The sun is shining!!

2009-04-09T08:39:00.002-04:00

Busy busy busy.... but fun. Sarah R is in town for the week and I've been spending a lot of time with her and Hannelle. It's like old times right away. Luckly I'm still working the retail job this week so I had a few days and mornings off for us to go out... or just stay in and have tea together. I only ended up buying one piece of clothing (a really nice coat/sweater so I don't have to where my giant dog walking coat everywhere) so I'm still a bit nervous about what I'm going to wear to work for the next couple of weeks. But I'm sure that will fall into place too. I've got 2 more days working the retail job and they are bound to be BUSY since it's the easter weekend. Why do people think that's a good weekend to drink? I don't get it. Still, Friday and Sunday are off so both days I will be spending with family!
So I hope you all have a good long weekend, wherever you are. I know I will be.

Job

2009-04-02T14:46:00.002-04:00

(I won't be naming any companies just so I can be at least a bit anonymous here. Try not to mention them in the comments either, if you feel inclined to comment. Thanks)

Last week I was encouraged by a few people to go ahead and put my resume in for a job that seemed way beyond my abilities. I got my resume in on the last day it was due (because I procrastinate, of course). Two days later I got a call from my supervisors boss saying she would like to chat with me about another opportunity. Yikes.... so I call her back and she explains that besides the job opening that I applied for, another counsellor in the same job is taking a 2-3 month paternity leave and would I like to cover that for him. Holy cow.... I didn't think I'd actually GET the job! I'm nevous/excited/flattered/nervous etc. Honestly, I don't know what to do! I don't have any experience as an actual counsellor and its been a few years since those university courses. I'm apprehensive because I don't want to seem like I don't know what I'm doing! duh! I'm super flattered because they thought of me. I've probably only worked about 100 hours with the company and yet they thought to offer this job to me (although very possible there was no one else). I'm excited because next week is my last week at my retail job. I probably will miss it and I definately won't quit but I'll have to take a leave because there's no way I can work from 8:30-5:00 Mon - Friday and then want to work in retail on my Saturday. If that's what I need to do to keep the job, well, I'll do it but I'd rather not. I'm really happy that I have this short term learning opportunity because no matter what, it can't be a bad thing. Even if I don't go on, it will still be a good learning experience and resume builder. I'm excited that this seems to be a big turn in my life. This is what I've gone to school for. This is the job that I've said I was waiting for. Now it all seems so surreal and I'm wondering what in the world to expect and what have I been expecting. For a long time I've felt embarrassed and pitied for not having a "real" job, until I came to terms with that. Now I'll have the job that will seem like career material.... ewww... a career. I don't know what to think of that. I'm really going to miss my free mornings and days off during the week. The commute is going to be a bit brutal but the pay raise will make it worth it. Plus I'll be driving while 2 of my favourite radio shows will be on.
I met with the guy that's going on pat. leave today for a few hours. It was really really good to chat with him. Some was formal chatting some informal. He went through some counselling counselling but also encouraged me. He empowered me.... he gave me confidence and a lot of excitement to start this new thing in my life. He cautioned me not to get burnt out and to make sure that I really follow up on gardening and horticulture therapy directions for both personal reasons and carreer reasons.
This really has hit me like a brick wall. I wasn't expecting it or really looking for it. And it's so sudden. I need to find my boss and tell him I need to leave. I really don't want to tell my co-workers first so I'm going to have to keep my mouth shut. Then.... I need a new wardrobe... and shoes. Oh boy!! Good thing I have a few days off next week.

Tired

2009-03-31T23:32:00.002-04:00

I had 2 things - TWO things - on my to-do list today and I failed them both. Mind you, they were huge things but still. I had ALL my laundry from the past two weeks to do and I had to help Cass get her wedding invitations designed, built and sent out. I slept in until 10:00 (this could be why I failed), walked the dog, grabbed my laundry and was at Cass's by 12:00. I got a late start on the laundry and had a heck of a time using Word to design just the wording and map for the invitation. By American Idol time I had just finished cutting all the card pieces to size and started the assembly line for building the invitations. By this time 3-4 loads had been washed, dried and folded. At 10:00 I finally gave up on completing either task, packed my remaining wet laundry and headed home. An hour later I've had a chance to reply to the most urgent of emails, quickly check facebook and now can vent (really briefly) on how maxed out I feel right now.
Hannelle, a friend I haven't talked to in ages, called me yesterday and I vented for the first 3 minutes without even getting a chance to hardly say hi and how are you doing. I feel like I'm not having enough time to get any of the chores done that I need to get done and definately no time at all to do the things that I really want to do: visit family, check out blogs, write posts, plant some seeds and visit with the neighbors that live about 10 steps away and have been asking for a couple weeks now to hook up! Where has all my time gone?!! Why am I feeling so busy?! And I only have 20 hours of work this week. All of this must be leaving me scatter brained too because I left my wallet at Hannelle's (I figured that out at the end of the grocery checkout with no money... and now no groceries for the 3rd week in a row) and some clothes and a needed belt at Cass's. BAAAhhhhhh!! I HAVE to go to sleeeeep!

writing

2009-03-26T06:55:00.004-04:00

My apologies about the last two posts. I really wasn't in a writing mood for the past two but I felt like I had to get them up before I had something else to say. The result: a boring discombobulated story.
The show we went to was for Roxanne Potvin. You can hear her on CBC Concerst on Demand.

One memory the trip did trigger was of going to Ottawa on a family vacation. Mom and Dad dropped us off at the parliment buildings with a mission to go and find our MP. At the time and in my memory it sounds completely normal but telling the story it sounds like the funniest wackiest thing for a family to do. How OLD were we? And why in the world did you guys need to drop us off somewhere? I have such .... odd (but GREAT) childhood memories like that. Funny....

The black sheep Inn, part 2

2009-03-25T08:48:00.003-04:00

So we get to Wakefield, leave our stuff in our rooms and walk the strip. It was cold. Well, it wasn't that cold but it was colder than here so Dan and I hadn't brought our coats. We walked through a few unfriendly shops, didn't buy anything and settled on a place to eat. We went for Thai food. Our choices were a pizza place, a pricey bistro that served game food (interesting), or the Thai place. Even if there were more choices we still would have gone for the Thai and my GOODNESS!!!! it was sooooo good. It was a really small restaurant where the kitchen was seperated from the dining room only by a small counter so we could easily watch the chef mixing and frying etc. It was such a good dinner. Everyone really enjoyed it. Since we were told to get to the "sheep" early if we wanted seats Dan and Mike decided to wait in the line while Meg and I ran back to the b&b for the tickets. While we were there I started dawdling and taking my time since the show didn't start for a while. As we started walking back Dan and Mike came huffing back all hot and bothered.... the doors had opened, the swarms had entered and now all the seats were taken. Ooops. I felt really bad. So we found some stools against the far wall in front of the sound guy and hung out there for a while. We were wondering how the "sheep" started and got so legendary so I turned around to ask the sound guy what he knew about it. It turns out that he was the part owner. Wow... what a life. He has met so many amazing musicians. He ended up telling us the whole story of how the "sheep" started. It was something to do with a lottery ticket win but I think I'll make you guys go out there to get the story yourselves. So it turned out to be a good thing that we came late. We never would've met Paul and gotten the scoop on the place.
After the show we pretty much just went to our rooms to crash. In the morning we slowly woke up and got ready for the day. We had a great breakfast downstairs from our host and then hit the road again. We stopped in Ottawa to check out the Byward Market which made me feel like I was at the Forks in Winnipeg. I love markets like that. Sarah would've had a hayday with the tables outside laden with jewelry and scarves. It was very hippie-granola (as Mike called it) but St. Jacobs would probably be just as good (I think... I haven't been there a while). The rest of the drive back was ...... ll ooo nnnngggggggg. But not terrible. We dropped Mike and Meg off around 6:00 (i think?) and were home about half an hour later. I sure slept well that night.... and I had Sunday off.
And here I am in the middle of the next week and almost at the end of March. Wow, time really is flying by. I'm super glad we went on this road trip. We all agreed we need to go again but for a longer weekend.

The Black Sheep Inn, Part 1

2009-03-24T11:35:00.002-04:00

What a good weekend. It was a whirlwind of a weekend but still a good weekend. Mike and Meg came over Friday night so that we could get an early start the next morning off to Ottawa. We decided to rent a car for the trip just for the fun of it so we didn't really get started till around 10:30. That's alright though because the trip really only took about 6 hours. Dan and I got a GPS for Christmas and before March we really hadn't used it too much. There's little things here and there but this weekend we really found it helpful. We left without even looking at a map to see where Wakefield is. It turns out it's about 25 minutes past Ottawa into Quebec. The trip there really didn't seem to last too long. We had lots of time to chat and catch up on our lives for the last 6 months and where the next 6 months are heading. It was neat going through Ottawa and since Mike's been there a bit more than us he pointed out all the important buildings to us. I really don't have any live memories of driving through Quebec so once we got past Hull I was really impressed. You can see distinct differences right away. Besides the street signs there were plenty of things that made it seem like we just entered a different country. The houses looked different and even the landscape looked different. When we got into Wakefield I'm sure someone actually said "is this it?!" It's realy just a small hamlet although I'm sure there are more houses tucked into the hills. The town is right on the edge of a wide turn in the Gateneau river so on one side of the road is a beautiful view of the river and on the other side is a row of cafes/shops/pubs and then behind them are houses going up into the hills. It's really beautiful. I could very easily live there but the other 3 said they would prefer to visit often but couldn't quite live there. It seems very isolated and quiet (even though it's so close to Ottawa).
We drove up to the B&B and were brought to our rooms. The house seemed like an older house but was comfortable enough. Before we had our bags down Meghan was just drooling over the home renovation ideas she would have for the place (have a look at the rooms and you'll see what I mean). It was a good place to stay the night at though.

I have so much more to say but, alas, I have to go to work so you're all going to have to wait for a part 2.

Relief is soo addicting

2009-03-20T21:16:00.002-04:00

Maybe that's why I get myself all worked up about schedules and multi-tasking. I just finished a 50+ hour work week and I still get Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. Phew. It feels sooo good to get it done yet there's still this and that and sooo much more to do... or so I thought!! Dan and I are going to Ottawa area with Mike and Meg this weekend. The dog has to be brought to mom and dads, a B.Y.O. bed needs to be picked up, the house is a disaster (!!), bills have to be paid and the list goes on. Plus, I realized I still have to arrange my schedule for next week. I was so worked up about scheduling this week around my life that I forgot to ask off next weekend for another camp. I rarely double book myself (thanks to my handy day timer) and I was super stressed out when I realized that I do have to work both jobs at the same time next week.
At 7:00 tonight, I finished work, went to my other job and very easily switched some shifts around to make sure that I could work both jobs (overlapping a little bit and hoping for some leniency with start times). I drove home getting ready to do a crazy fast clean up job so that if M&M have to sleep on the floor they won't wake up with dog hair in their mouth. Oh, it was soooo beautiful. Dan had, once again (second time this week) cleaned the entire house. The kitchen floor was washed, the living room vaccuumed twice, the bathroom cleaned and even our bed was made!! Sigh. I have such a good husband. The relief I feel from all of that feels like such a high. Now I can go on vacation this weekend, enjoy myself and get ready for another 50+ hour week next week.

Nicole's day so far....

2009-03-09T07:58:00.004-04:00

Good morning Family!!

I only have 3 minutes to post before I have to run off to my first job. I just got back from a quick walk with the dog where I believe I met our first grouchy neighbour. I wasn't prepared for that so I might have taken it a bit personally and would be more upset if there wasn't some more neighbors around to defend me. It's muddy and gross out and I think the mice are out like crazy because Chloe has been digging and sniffing through the ditches like mad. Well, I started to turn a corner and saw 2 dog owners talking to eachother and another one coming towards us walking her dog. So, I put Chloe back on leash and kept walking. The single lady and her dog passed me but both her and her dog hissed a bit and the dog barred his teeth... whatever. Then, as I passed the 2 ladies she turns around and comes half way back to yell about how she's been living here for 15 years and if you guys don't live here you should go away. The one lady called back that we all do and even pointed to where we all lived. Then the grouchy lady pointed at me and yelled something about calling someone on us!! What?!!?!?!! She walked away and the other ladies just told me to forget about her since she's just a grouchy lady. We should make sure we buy her dog tags now. oops.

So, now I'm off to Job #1 and then I have 3-4 hours to kill before Job #2 so I think I'm going to bring some laundry and find a landromat. And a mall so I can find some jeans. I have a dumb story to tell about that one but I'll do that tonight with pictures on my other blog (after I shave my legs).

I hope you all have a GRRREEEAATTT day. Especially those of you who will be in tropical places!

Nicole

PS. Mom wants us all to post a lot so she doesn't waste her $5 for 15 min. internet time. It'll be fun to try to post everyday anyways.

Grocery shopping

2009-03-04T11:08:00.002-05:00

I love grocery shopping. I don't see what there could be to hate about it. I get to slowly browse all of the aisles, be inspired by new ingredients, think about things that I would like to make and EAT (mmmm), and do some guilt free spending. Everyone needs to eat so I don't think I should feel guilty about spending money on food, right? Well, I'm starting to re-think this a bit. I've heard that groceries is one of the biggest expenses that is easy to cut down on. So here are some of my grocery habits that I have and I need to know what I should change. What are some ideas that you all have about grocery shopping?
- I never look through flyers. I'm a spontaneous shopper and I like to pick things up as the inspiration hits me.
- I don't feel guilty about throwing away food. I know I should but I would rather buy the apples and peppers and have them at home with the hopes that we'll eat them (and we usually do) rather than stocking the house with processed food that won't go bad. Besides, compared to the processed food, it usually is cheaper.
- I have NO problem with no name brands. In fact, no name is one of my favourite brands. It drives Dan nuts (he swearst he no name sour cream is soupier than the name brand stuff) but I think there is rarely any difference at all.
- I will almost always spend more money to buy the local food than the stuff from California. I don't care if the Gaylea cottage cheese is more than the other stuff, it says right on it that it is made from Ontario product. Yeeahh... I also always buy Hewitts when I can. I always go home from the shopping trip planning on calling all those 1-800 #'s on the packaging to ask about where it's from but I never have.
- I love to do the once-a-week big shopping trip but sometimes I just don't get around to it and I end up picking up something everyday. Sometimes I end up doing both.
- I love to grow and preserve as much of my food as I can. I figure I don't really have the energy to grow that much food so I'll buy bushels of whatever is in season and preserve as much of that as I can. Unfortunately, I don't do that as often as I would like (last year it was just a lot of red peppers). I'm hoping that as a stay-at-home mom I can one day have more time to do that (?).
- I love to host and make people feel comfortable. I know that I probably spend too much money buying the food etc. to make people come over.... although I sometimes fail in this area too.
- I love eating. I love eating expensive food. I limit myself with buying these foods but I do enjoy buying a new expensive cheese (or something like that) once in a while.
- There's a foodland grocery store about 2 min. from our place where I buy most of our stuff. It's an okay grocery store. I don't think the produce is all that fantastic and neither are the prices but it's still alright. There's a Fortino's right beside my job which I LOVE!! They have everything! They have all the meats and cheeses and funky produce you could want and it's all fresh. But the prices are a little high. I rarely shop at the food basics across the road from work. I do NOT like that store. I feel dirty shopping there but that's because I'm a snob. I should get the basics there because I do love their prices.

Pinching pennies is not fun for me. I know some people live for it but it's like pulling teeth for me. I feel like grocery shopping is my one area of life where I get to just forget about it. So is there a way to enjoy my grocery shopping and still make things cheaper? What new grocery habits can I start and still enjoy getting food?

Today I need some horticulture therapy

2009-02-18T13:06:00.003-05:00

I was late for my meeting this morning. I was going to a departmental planning meeting that I would be sitting in on. I didn't know exactly where the meeting was and I was a bit late. It's been so warm here and I know that winter is far from behind us but still.... I was getting too comfortable. I was coming around a huge bend in the road and even though I wasn't going TOO fast, I hit the middle of the road where some snow had collected and I lost control of the car. I zig zagged back and forth enough to slow the car down a touch but not enough to stop me from going into the ditch. I've never been in an accident before (and have been pretty proud of that). I knew I was going to end up in the ditch but I probably have watched too much TV to be realisitc about it. I thought there was going to be broken windows, blood and lots of bent metal. I was soooo lucky. The ditch was probably about 8 feet deep strait down and I slid down it sideways (I think, my eyes were closed) and the only damage I can see right now is one tire completely off the rim and the other tire is low so it's probably off too. I broke a small corner of the front bumper towing it out of the ditch but I can't see any more damage. This is probably way too soon to say though. I could have bent rims and even have some problems under the car yet. But there was no loud noises, no blood and it all seemed quite soft. Its funny, the first thing I noticed was that the radio was running like normal and so was the engine. I almost felt like I could drive right out of the ditch if it wasn't so steep... until I saw the tire. Going down into the ditch I was thinking.... my seat belt IS on but man! i really don't want to hurt myself.
I'm fine though.... I'm home and waiting for Dan to come home tonight to see if we can fix those tires yet. And now.... I just wish I could do something. Dad says that I should get downstairs, set out some pots and start planting some leek and some herbs. I've got the lights set up so.... why not? I can even going into town and see if there's any seeds that I don't have that I want to start. Some horticulture therapy.... that's what I need.
Thanks again to Dad and Cass who hooked me up with CAA and got me home safely (and cheaply). Thank you!

*edited*

And now it's all said and done with.... $15. Only one tire needed to be put back on the rim and filled up. All done. Well, that was a little bit of drama for very little. I guess all I did was just slide into the ditch backwards. Thanks everyone for the thoughts and prayers.

Blessings!

2009-02-17T12:12:00.005-05:00

So, yesterday was Family Day. What a good day it was for me. For Dan it was just an extra long day of Sunday evening blues but for me, I enjoyed every minute of it.

We woke up fairly early (for a day off) and left right away for mom and dad W's. Dan wanted a paved driveway to work on his truck. I wanted a working washer and dryer. It was so beautiful out. If it was April I probably wouldn't say this since it was still 0 degree's out but the sun was shining and we had a day of zero plans. Chloe spent the day sniffing out voles in Caleb's snowmobile and laying on the remaining piles of snow. Between Dan, Dad and Caleb, the truck sounds significantly better and doesn't smell like exhaust anymore.

Mom came home from work early and we just sat around drinking coffee, doing crossword puzzles and online scrabble. Eventually, we decided to go into town so Dan could clean the truck and we could all go and visit Oma and Opa. Dad still has to send those pictures to me. We all crammed into the exteneded cab Ford Ranger and drove to O & O's. It was really funny and cute. Mom giggled the whole way .... kinda like how Caleb did when he first sat in the back on the pullout seats in that truck. :)

And here's where my day starts to get REALLY good. Oma and Opa are trying to give away their stuff. They are downsizing and planning on moving out soon so their years of collecting and building and making things that work for their hobbies have to be given away now. I don't really like this and could write a whole other blog on this issue but that's not the point of this post. Opa and I both LOVE gardening and so.....

I GOT HIS SEED STARTING STUFF!! This might look like a pile of junk to some people but to me, this is GOLD. I woke up this morning with the same feeling of excitement that everyone has (come on, admit it) just before we remember that it's Christmas today or your birthday. My parents have tried to convince me that it's really a waste of money to try to start your seeds indoor. It takes a bit to put together your operation with lights, tables, soil, containers etc. And then you have to pay to keep those lights going for 16 hours everyday..... blah blah blah. Well, I haven't done it before but this year I thought I would start. I was talking about this when Opa mentioned that "boy, do I have the thing for you!" He gave me a table top, the lights, trays, soil, and even (if you look hard it's on the trays) a timer for the lights to automatically turn on and off with!!! Isn't that awesome?! Dan is bringing home some chain for me tonight so I can hang the lights. I have some seeds saved from my beautiful garden 2 years ago that probably aren't even viable anymore but who cares! Both mom and I are working on our seed orders from our different seed companies. I have a "poop calender" (you know, those dutch birthday calenders) that I don't use that I think I'm going to turn into a gardening calender where I can write last frost dates, seeding dates and maybe even harvesting dates. These lights and stuff really is gold to me. I don't even have a compost pile let alone a garden or even back yard yet. To dream about spring and planting just injects life into me again. Not that this winter has been bad.... in fact it's been a really good winter. I'm just excited to look forward to something... even if its temporary or even just a dream that won't happen. I'm going get a good box that I can mix my dirt in. I'm going to get some plastic from Larissa and James' to drape over the lights and keep the warmth in. I remember mom and dad starting their seeds down in the dirt basement at home with the exact same set up. I remember we weren't really allowed to go near it because the heat had to stay in but I CLEARLY remember the smell of warm dirt when you snuck a peak under the lights. mmmm.... I can't wait.

When we got home, I transplanted some indoor houseplants and spent the next 3-4 hours trying to replicate Oma's bami goreng recipe. mmm ... It's actually pretty good this time. I doubt it's close to right but it sure tastes good. I can't wait for lunch.

So, I spent Family Day hanging around with family, dreaming, planting and cooking.... can you see why this was such a good day for me?!

OH Oma

2009-02-12T14:35:00.003-05:00

I called my Oma today (my mom's mom). What a hoot. She is such a funny lady. I LOVE her. Well, in our conversation she mentioned she got a fwd. from someone about "you know you're dutch when..." I could name a bunch of them before she even told me about it. So here's the list:
You Know You're Dutch When..

The temperature is so low in your house that 2 sweaters is a bare minimum if you want to be remotely warm.
During the winter it's warmer outside than it is inside. You open the freezer and are excited to find a container of ice-cream, only to open it and discover it's full of homemade soup or stamppot.
When looking in the fridge, you never trust that the yogurt or margarine containers contain what the label says.
You were green before it was popular. Why recycle when you can just reuse!
You have a pair a wooden shoes in your house.
Your china cabinet is filled with Delft.
You like pickled herring.
You've eaten oliebollen at New Years.
You enjoy chocolate sprinkle (hagelslag) sandwiches.
You have cousins who wear size 14 shoes and are over 6'4"
You wash and reuse plastic cups and plastic cutlery.
You have soup and open-faced sandwiches for Sunday lunch.
The most frequent phrase uttered growing up was "Turn off the lights!"
You get a chocolate letter every year for Christmas.
All the tables in your house are covered in tablecloths.
You like krokets.
You know that Vla is better than regular old pudding.(Vla is a runny custard pudding.)
You drink tea with breakfast, coffee at 10 am, tea at 3 pm, and coffee again at 8 pm (with cookies or biscuits of course!)
You have an afghan knitted by your Oma.
You collect coupons like they're going out of style.
Your Oma had a calendar with everyone's birthdays & anniversaries spelled out in capital letters (bonus points if it hung in the bathroom!)
You've been known to recycle aluminum foil. And ziploc bags.
You own a special utensil that is only used for cutting cheese.
You know that Gouda is the best cheese ever.
You have at least 5 relatives with the same name (and somehow you always know which one is being talked about).
You reuse teabags.
When you hear all the "new ways to save energy" you yawn and say "I've been doing that all my life!"
You eat your sandwiches open-faced. "What? You want another slice of bread? I'll make you another sandwich."
You rarely have both meat and cheese on the same sandwich.
You have never met half the relatives at your family reunion
You have 100 rolls of toilet paper in your house because they were on sale.
You put a little water into the jar of tomato sauce and shake it to make sure you got it all out.
You have trouble shopping for hats. There should be at least two sizes:'one size fits all' and 'dutch'.
You wipe the last of the butter out of the container with your bun.
All your cookies taste like almonds.
You make the bed in your hotel room.
You have lace on your windows but not on your underwear.
You like dubbel zout drops, and have occasionally tricked a friend into trying one.
You've put mayonnaise on your french fries.
Your kitchen is filled with milk bags drying, waiting to be reused in the freezer.
You drink Heineken out of pride.
You have a front room but nobody sits in it (or it's only used for special occasions).
You have a spoon collection.
Your favourite mustard comes in jars that can be reused as drinking glasses.
You leave a window open year round to get fresh air.
You eat stroop waffles.
You love the colour orange.
You have a vegetable garden because there's no way you're paying that much for veggies at the grocery store.
Your fridge is always stocked with leftovers. Throw out food? Never!
You go to the "Dutch Store" because the smell brings back so many childhood memories.
You have pictures of windmills around your house.
Everything is Do-It-Yourself - it's cheaper than hiring someone.
You use "washandjes" (facecloths that you can put your hand into).
You have to explain what 'om' and 'tante' means when you're discussing your relatives with non-Dutch people.
You own tea towels and oven mitts patterned with windmills and dancing women in clogs.
You call it "MELK" not "milk".
All your cousins have the same names as your brothers and sisters, because everyone is named after Oma and Opa.
And finally, you know you're Dutch when..You're laughing along with this list because you can relate to most of it!

I know it's a long list. I laughed at most of it.... the others I didn't understand. Maybe I'm getting a little weak in my dutch genes.

Evening shifts

2009-02-09T11:00:00.002-05:00

This week I have a lot of hours but most of my shifts are closing shifts. That's a good thing and a bad thing. I like having my mornings and not having to get up so early. On the other hand, I won't get home before 9:00 any night this week.... these are my prime cooking hours. I love cooking in the evening and it's rarely too late to start a project. I definitely wasn't planning that when I went shopping this weekend. I bought sooo many fun ingredients that I hoped would inspire some fun cooking projects. I bought a block of Parmesan cheese, prosciutto, leek, 2 whole chickens (they were on sale), fresh parsley, 2 different types of pasta, savoy cabbage.... the list goes on. Now what am I going to do? I don't want to freeze those chickens but I don't know when I'm going to get the chance to cook them. Besides, who feels like cooking a supper in the morning?! And even if I do, I'll have to throw it into the fridge for Dan to reheat when he comes home. Maybe I can do some slow cooker meals this week. We rarely eat a real dinner anyways and the whole point of the meal is to make something good to take for lunch the next day.
Besides all of this, I did cook this morning. I spent some time researching a good recipe and then.... ta da!! Browned bread crumbs and pasta!

oh, so anticlimactic!!! I can't upload my pictures!! so sad. Well, briefly, it was shell pasta, browned bread crumbs, prosciutto and Parmesan cheese all tossed together and topped with some parsley. The next picture was of my empty bowl. It wasn't bad for the mid morning. It wasn't a really fulfilling meal to make. I wasn't really inspired, hungry or filled up. Oh well, it was good.

Things customers have given me...

2009-01-28T11:31:00.004-05:00

Okay, it's time I write this list before my incredibly terrible memory lets it all slide through the cracks. For the first few years at work I would describe myself as quiet and unsure. A few years later and I am the person who has worked at this location the longest. I know the oldest stories, why that part of this wall is broken, a lot of part timers who have come and gone and, most of all, our regular customers. I'm almost cocky now. New employees are warned to stay on my good side (cuz I'm picky about part timers) and I'll take on the grumpiest of customers. Maybe boredom of the same ol job has promoted growth in these other areas that I wouldn't necessarily say I was strong at. Dan is always telling me that I have to be more assertive... I think I just use a different "mask" at work. Anyway, the point of that is that I know plenty of the customers and they know me. I probably talk WAAAY too much about my personal life but it's nice to be familiar. Most of the regulars know that I like gardening, farm life and my family. All of them knew when Gavin, Grace and Jaela were born. I've even shown a few of them pictures. But then again, I've been shown pictures of their kids and grandkids too. It does get a bit creepy when a customer who I don't really recognize comes in and asks me about something that I totally forgot that I told him about. I forget what I all say to people. On the other hand, it is soooooo nice to have people ask about how I'm doing, or my sisters, or my farm or my garden.... and then, sometimes, they come in with gifts! And the list is getting quite long. So here it is, things customers have given to me:

-Leek - this was one of my first gifts. He came in a few times with leek for me. I wasn't working but my co-workers knew it was for because it smelled strongly and had dirt on it. ??? (shortly after he started getting creepy so I stopped talking to him)
-A recipe for "Cassia bud pickles". I love this customer. We talk often about gardening and chickens since he has both. This recipe took 10 days to make so, even though I don't like them at all, I can't throw them out. I don't know what to do with these old jars of pickles. This same customer also made ...
-Home made fudge - he made it for halloween and gave it out to his friends. One of his friends who got a lot of it came in and gave some to us. I love this lady. She does detailing on cars and offered to give me a deal for our car. I've never gotten around to it.
-Amazing home made cookies - this customer started out as a real JERK. No one liked him. He finally retired from his business and then cooled down a bit. Now he's in business with his daughter who grows, harvests and mills her own wheats and grains for baked goods that she sells in Toronto markets. This guy jumped into her business and has his own bakery and mill set up close to our store. He comes in once in a while with packages of AMAZING cookies for us. I think he's hoping we'll come by and buy some but I haven't gotten the chance yet. I make sure that I always advertise for him when he comes by though.
-Chocolates and other goodies - from a small handful of customers at Christmas time... nice.... since we're all chocolate junkies.
-Croquets!!! That's right. A customer came in who had overheard us talking about droppies. He asked if I was the one who liked dutch food. We started talking about how he learned how to make croquets etc etc and had made some the night before. Ten minutes later and he brought in a package of 8 frozen ones. Isn't that awesome? I made them that week and brought them into the store so some co-workers could try them. We all loved them... they were very good. I'm impressed. Especially since he's not even dutch!
-An offer from a short Italian old man to paint our bathroom. Our store is so old and gross. There's so many problems with the building I don't know why they are putting any money into it at all. ... well, they don't put much money into it which is partly the problem, i guess. And the employee bathroom gets it the worst. I don't think it's been painted since the 80's. It's so gross. There's constantly cobwebs in all the corners. I tried to clean the walls a few years ago but they dried just as dirty. We were talking about this when the old Italian guy comes in. He had a look at it and said he would come by and paint it for us. This was last week and it hasn't been done yet so I don't know if it's going to happen but I'm almost glad it hasn't... i'm afraid he'll bill us for it after.
-Carpet - this one is really strange. A customer comes up and says "hey, I know you.... you have a golden retriever, right?" yup. Well, it turns out he's the flooring guy for this new subdivision. When we first moved in, when Chloe and I would go for walks, the construction guys would watch and laugh as I threw Chloe's ball down the road and she would take off after it. He remembered me from that. Well, I told him about THIS problem (grrr) and he said he would come by with some carpet next time he was in the area. I'm going to see if he can fix it in anyway.

I know there's more but I can't remember it. If I do, I'll add them to the comments. What a good list though, eh? It's not a very classy job, but it's not that bad either. It's got its up sides, that's for sure.

2009-01-27T13:56:00.002-05:00

Well, I can tell we're well on our way through winter.... I'm starting to look up agrarian things online. I've already started a seed catalogue list (even though I probably won't order them) and I've been dreaming about the size and shape of my garden for a while now.
So today, I've been looking for a really good inspiring blog about gardening, goats, chickens and the rest. My goodness is there ever a lot out there. There are some pretty crazy hard core agrarians out there too. I found this one blog with a list of other blogs and they are all hard core Christian agrarians. For some reason, it all really does not sit with me. The ladies are all talking about how they strive to be the woman of Proverbs 31 and the men all talk about taking their boys out and teaching them how to be men... good providing, shooting and butchering type men! I can't really put my finger on what bothers me. I like providing and shooting men. I love Proverbs 31.
I've been reading this one blog (it has a soundtrack!! I had to pause my concert of Daniel Lanois to read it) is about a family who moves out to Texas where they will be living off the grid. It's so bizarre to read and hard to stop reading. She looks like a mennonite with her hair pulled back under a hankerchief and always wearing an apron. There's lots of butchering and canning pictures yet the blog posts are daily. It's very strange and interesting to know that this is happening right now... somewhere in Texas. Here's a clip from one post of her describing why her husband is doing this: " ... the Lord has commanded him to lead his family out of this "ungodly world society" and separate. He is being obedient to the Lord and seeking His will in guiding this family and in his duties as a husband." .... I just don't know what to think.

Where to start....

2009-01-22T18:51:00.004-05:00

I don't know where to start. I haven't posted in while and I have so many good post ideas! I've thought of a good list of books that I have read more than once and a list (a long one) of things that customers have given me (mostly food stuff). I could write about how I got pulled over again.... and how I got let off again....

But Dan wanted me to post a picture of our latest and most exciting news:

Earlier this week we had a heated discussion about how long it's been since he crunched up the last truck and how I DON'T WANT TO CARPOOL ANY MORE! And so, I guess the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Three days later and we have a second vehicle. I don't know if the timing is bad, or if it'll turn out to be a lemon. We need to get it saftied and e-tested but its already in our driveway and it looks GREAT. Dan drove it home (about 45 mins.) away and he said it felt good. The guy who sold it to us was selling it because it was his dad's who had died late last year. The inside looks great and so far, I already like it better than the last truck. It's a 96 Ford Ranger and so it's already 2 years newer than the last one. The tires are great. Breaks feel good. We'll see what needs to be done for the rest. I feel so relieved and happy but still.... I feel like I should hold my breath for just a little bit longer.

Oh, and we got the price dropped.... considerably.

Nicole Running

2009-01-16T13:30:00.004-05:00

It's not a myth... I have run before... I even found a picture to prove it!

I'm going through all of my parents pictures of when we were kids. I've got a few projects of different picture collections going on. I'm scanning like crazy and having a ton of fun. We have sooo many pictures. What a childhood I had! Wow.

What I'm up to:

2009-01-13T11:10:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Dan said his nose was raw already from just one day with the cold. I picked up some Kleenex (with lotion!) on my way home from work yesterday and figured he would call in sick today. Sure enough, here he is, miserable and filling up the garbage with used kleenexes. Poor guy. Oh, and on top of that, Chloe is sick. I think she might have gotten into something at mom and dad w's because she's got diarrhea and she puked yesterday twice. She hasn't crapped in the house but every time she whines at the door I come running. Really, I'm not doing much though. I've got a book and don't have to leave for work till 2:30. Hopefully the snow plow comes by then.

Books I would love to love

2009-01-09T13:25:00.002-05:00

I used to read every book I picked up cover to cover. It almost felt like I was killing something if I didn't read the whole thing. I still usually read the whole book but in the last couple of years I have put down books that really weren't keeping my attention. The thing is, usually, they are great books! Here's my list of books I would love to love:
The polished hoe - Austin Clarke : Mom gives us Chapters gift certificates every year for Christmas and for some reason, I picked up this book. I could NOT finish it. It was a mix between the type of writing and how slllloooooowwww the book went. I just could not follow it. I agonized over it so much that mom finally picked it up. It's almost a family joke now.
The memory keepers daughter - Kim Edwards : This book even came with so many recommendations. I was told it was suuuch a good book. I might have been a little too concerned with what was going to happen so I will admit that peeked ahead to see what was going to happen. Once I did that, I was disappointed and I didn't want to read it anymore
Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi : There's no good reason for me not to like this book. I've just never gotten very far in it. I've started reading it a few times and usually another book comes along that I'd rather read. So sad.
The brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky : For years, my favourite book was "The Brothers K" by David James Duncan. It still might be my favourite book but I haven't read it in years. Of course it refers to the former book and I'm intereseted in reading it for this reason. It is about 4 brothers and one of the gets very involved in Russian literature. I'd like to know what the other allusions are... why else is it "The brothers K"? The only thing is, it's been sitting on my book shelf for years now and I still haven't picked it up. I just haven't worked up the ... the what? I don't know.
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky : When I was in Honduras I gobbled up anything that I could get my hands on that was written in English. I loved reading and read a lot. I read anything. I read harloquin's and mystery novels. I read the Chronicles of Narnia and the most whacked out book about a German midget. At the bottom of all the books that I could find and were sent to me was "Crime and Punishment". Eventually, after everything else was read, I pulled out this book. I even got pretty far. I think I only had a few more chapters to get through. Why didn't I finish it? I came home.

I don't know why I want to love these books. Maybe because I wish I could say I love Russian literature (all that intellectual posh). Maybe it's because I don't want to waste a good dollar I spent on a book. For some of the books, I know it's not the book... everyone loves that book. It's not you... it's me. Sorry. It's almost a relationship.

Loose ends

2009-01-08T11:19:00.003-05:00

Oh man... today is one of those days that I'm finally facing a bunch of dreaded chores that I've been putting off for WAY too long. I think I'm finally getting at them because I've been stuck in this house for so long without much to do. Of course, I could be cleaning the bathroom or wiping down the cupboards and every other surface in this house that is covered in dust (at least the floor is vacuumed!). I have been working and out of the house but not much. There aren't that many hours available at this time of year, plus I don't have a second vehicle to get to work so I have to work around Dan's schedule. I've made 2 weeks worth of chili, dog treats, a terrible pasta salad and banana bread. The house is pretty clean (except for that dust and some clothes to put away) and the dog has had plenty of walks.... now what? So, I started finding a DJ for Cass's wedding and stag and doe. I'm looking into a long lost purchase of my mom's that she never received, I'm making arrangements for Bella's new home (Larissa's rabbit) and now... I guess there's nothing to do but my old chores that I don't want to do. Here's confession time: Dan and I still have stuff at our old place back in the country. Luckily we know the people there so we can go and claim our stuff but eventually they are just going to get rid of it themselves. We have an old car sitting in their driveway (what a waste!) and a spare tire for our Jetta in the garage. These are two things that we for sure should make sure we take care of. How does one go about getting rid of an old car? I know the tires are seized up and it's not worth fixing anymore. If I found someone with a trailer, and we somehow managed to get it on there, do we just drive to a wreckers and drop it off? I don't know!! I have NO experience here. I called the wreckers and they said I would get about $75 for it and they would pick it up.... would I get much more if I pulled in favours from friends and dropped it off ourselves? It's pretty humbling picking up the phone and calling the people that have lived with that car in their driveway for so long. I know they are nice people but I'm still quite embarrassed. And then, I made the dreaded call for a sit down with the bank. It's not really a bad meeting but we have to change our home branch now that we've moved out here. Really, it's not that bad but it's something that I've been putting off forever too. The only consolation that I have after all this is that I'm hoping it feels so good to get it all done. Next, I need to repair our only working car and get rid of the crunched up truck in OUR driveway (by the way, is that the right word? driveway?).

Things I LIKE about winter

2009-01-03T20:51:00.002-05:00

... more specificaly, about this winter.
The festive seasons are over and the long winter begins. Or so it seems. Usually I get 10x the usual Sunday evening blues at about this time but this year I'm bracing myself against it. Firstly, now that we have to walk the dog every day I'm testing out the theory that I just need more light and exercise in the winters to keep my spirits up. So far it's working. Second, I'm making a mental list of the reasons why I like winter and I'm working to make sure that I have good things to look forward to. So here it is:

-Christmas, New Years and all the other good socializing and relaxing.
- The silloettes of trees. I don't know why but I love looking at the bare tree just before sunset. There's so many different shapes and sizes... i wish I could identify them.
-Mom and Dad told me about the "blue hour" and how it turns into the "grey hour". Described in that way, I like looking for the right colours to feel out the day.
-Cass and Mike's stag and doe. Not just that day but for the next two months I'll be trying to organize and plan it. By the way, keep Feb. 28th open.
-It's freezing so there's no mud at least!
-Pulling out the graph paper, seed catalogues and the imagination. I love planning a garden in the winter. I rarely actually use any of my plans but it is almost as good as the horticultural therapy of actually being in the garden.
-Dan and I are planning on going away for a weekend with our friends Mike & Meg to the blacksheep inn. We haven't picked a date yet but I think that March would be a perfect month for it. I'm super excited about this one. It's a road trip, a night (or 2) away, good visiting with friends and probably some really good music. Maybe we can get some snow shoeing or something in too. Fun eh?
-As soon as there is any thaw, I have full permission to make whatever garden I want here. That should be fun. Good thing I have a roto tiller!

That's it for now but I'm really going to try to add to this list.

2008-12-27T23:18:00.002-05:00

I'm vacuuming the house, cleaning the kitchen, and cooking all at the same time! What? How is that possible.... even for a talented multi tasker like me? That's right, I got a Roomba for Christmas!!! Yaaahhhh!!! My husband bought me a vacuum cleaner for Christmas! I know that's not usually a good thing but I am soooo stoked! I love this present and will treasure it every time I vacuum.... which will be every day! I have the best husband in the world!

(I can't find my computer memory stick or else you would see a picture of my vacuuming in progress.... it will come eventually)

Sleeping

2008-12-16T14:59:00.002-05:00

Today is my day off and I wasted it! I can't believe how late I slept. And I even went to bed early the night before so there was no need for it. I haven't done a thing around the house and only went out because Chloe needed to go for a walk. What would I do without the dog? I did end up visiting at my book shop and getting some groceries but it is now 3:00!!! yikes!!! and I still haven't done a thing. I need to unpack groceries, find some way of making pork tenderloin with apple butter and sweet potatoes, and then hopefully clean the bathroom yet today.
I guess I'm just making up for my very productive day yesterday. I don't even have a book I can waste my time with. I think this is all because I'm just waiting around for this weekend.... it looks very fun and promising... I can't wait!
What a random post.

Oh fun

2008-12-11T12:39:00.005-05:00

Years ago, a roommate tried to get me Christmas decorating. I don't think I'm very artistic and can't make things look "perfect" like you would see in all those craft magazines, so generally, I don't try. This roommate, Sarah, wouldn't take that for an answer and just said that my creativity just had "character". I love that word now and laugh at all my lopsided creations while announcing that they are full of character. Well, today, I made quite the creation. I had a bunch of coniferous branches from the Christmas tree outing that I thought I might make into a wreath. I was putting it off for a few days but finally, this morning, thought I'd give it a try. I first did my research on "how to make a wreath" but quit shortly after since all the pictures were perfect and I didn't have any of the supplies I was told to have anyways. So, with bare hands, Opa W's cooking string that he gave me, and all those branches, I made a Christmas wreath. And what a wreath! I doubt it will stay in tact till Christmas but by the end I was laughing, and festive and so it was worth it. Ta DA!!

I decorated it with some leftover small ornaments.

Then I went inside and decorated the half wall by the stairs too. Oh, the decorating can go on and on. But at the same time, I'm thinking about how frustrating it is going to be trying to take off these tiny ornaments in January. They are going to get stuck in everything.

Speaking of these ornaments, I'm trying to remember where I got them. They are tiny little wooden figures of Christmas things. Some are toys, some are angels or a stable. Some are little Santas. I know I got some wooden ornaments at a tree farm a few years ago but I've got tons of these. Oma Z gave me some ornaments a few years ago so I'm wondering if these are part of them. If anyone knows, let me know. I want to be more careful with them if they have any meaning to them. On the other hand, if they are from the dollar store, I don't mind if I lose a few in the middle of the tree.

Synesthesia

2008-12-09T12:28:00.002-05:00

This summer, while drinking beers at a folk festival, I had a super interesting conversation with my brother-in-law, Peter, and a musician friend of his. It was sooo neat. Basically, I was told that some people experience things in the world through other senses. For example, a person can taste a word or see shapes to music. Weird? I thought so. But the conversation kept going on and had so many different imaginative scenarios. Since then I've thought about it a few times and wondered what it would be like.
Well, here I am, researching how to make dog biscuits and I heard on the radio about this condition. It has a name! I really had no idea about this. So neat!

Synesthesia (found on wikipedia)
Synesthesia is a neurologically based phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme → color synesthesia or color-graphemic synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored, while in ordinal linguistic personification, numbers, days of the week and months of the year evoke personalities. In spatial-sequence, or number form synesthesia, numbers, months of the year, and/or days of the week elicit precise locations in space (for example, 1980 may be "farther away" than 1990), or may have a (three-dimensional) view of a year as a map (clockwise or counterclockwise). Yet another recently identified type, visual motion → sound synesthesia, involves hearing sounds in response to visual motion and flicker. While cross-sensory metaphors (e.g., "loud shirt," "bitter wind" or "prickly laugh") are sometimes described as "synesthetic," true neurological synesthesia is involuntary. It is estimated that synesthesia could possibly be as prevalent as 1 in 23 persons across its range of variants. Synesthesia runs strongly in families, but the precise mode of inheritance has yet to be ascertained. Synesthesia is also sometimes reported by individuals under the influence of psychedelic drugs, after a stroke, during a temporal lobe epilepsy seizure, or as a consequence of blindness or deafness. Synesthesia that arises from such non-genetic events is referred to as "adventitious synesthesia" to distinguish it from the more common congenital forms of synesthesia. Adventitious synesthesia involving drugs or stroke (but not blindness or deafness) apparently only involves sensory linkings such as sound → vision or touch → hearing; there are few, if any, reported cases involving culture-based, learned sets such as graphemes, lexemes, days of the week, or months of the year.
Although synesthesia was the topic of intensive scientific investigation in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was largely abandoned by scientific research in the mid-20th century, and has only recently been rediscovered by modern researchers. Psychological research has demonstrated that synesthetic experiences can have measurable behavioral consequences, while functional neuroimaging studies have identified differences in patterns of brain activation (for recent reviews see). Many people with synesthesia use their experiences to aid in their creative process, and many non-synesthetes have attempted to create works of art that may capture what it is like to experience synesthesia. Psychologists and neuroscientists study synesthesia not only for its inherent interest, but also for the insights it may give into cognitive and perceptual processes that occur in synesthetes and non-synesthetes alike.

I blatently plagerized this from Wikipedia so if you want to look more of this up or quote it, don't start here.

News on the dogs...

2008-12-08T13:34:00.002-05:00

Sunday morning, as Dan and I were leaving for church I waved at the neighbour who owns the black dog and asked if she could take care of the dog poop problem. I didn't hear what she said but at least I've asked her now. And later I was walking with Chloe who walked onto their lawn and peed right in front of them on their fresh snow... take that!

Chloe is LOVING the snow. It's fun to watch her jumping through it and rolling all over. Cute. I've also notice that she is taking care of all the burrs that get caught on her. I'm super thankful because the research I've done on dog grooming says that it would cost about $70 to get her cleaned up. What's the point? She'll just get more in her later.

Christmas!

2008-12-07T19:01:00.004-05:00

We went to the second Sunday of Advent today. It was a really good service, especially because my mom and dad came and met us there. After church they came to see our new house. It was really nice to show it off and feel comfortable sitting around in our place. We ate cheese and almonds and sausage while drinking coffee and wine. We went through Sarah's wedding pictures and talked the whole time. For lunch, Dad had brought the leftovers of Sarah's Red Lentil Coconut Curry so we tried it with all sorts of different toppings (pears, sundried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes and tortillas) and rice. Eventually, probably too late, we left to go find a Christmas tree. Mom and probably should have left much earlier but this was the only time I could get it. They graciously drove all over creationg to find me a place that was open and sold them. We drove some neat roads and saw a deer watching us up close and finally ....ta da!!!

And now our place looks really festive.

It was such a good day. Thank you soooooo much, mom and dad. I'm so happy you came!

Suggestions?

2008-12-05T09:13:00.003-05:00

For the last couple of weeks we've been noticing a lot of dog poop accumulating on our lawn and the one next to ours. Even though I've noticed that no one else in the neighbourhood walks their dog, Dan and I religiously do and so we KNOW it isn't Chloe's poop. I've talked to other neighbours and ensured them that it isn't our dogs poop. I've had my suspicions about a big black dog that lives a couple of doors down but didn't want to accuse anyone if it wasn't. Sure enough, last night I caught the dog pooping on our lawn. It is so gross. Really. There's about 20 spots on the lawn next to ours (it borders our driveway) and about 10 now on our lawn. Big black dog poop too so it's not such a small little pile. This dog is an old dog and doesn't move much (Chloe wagged her tail right in his face while she was in the middle of heat and he didn't do a thing).
So my question is, what do we do about it? There's no way I'm going to pick it up myself although I've been tempted to since there's one right where you would step getting out of the car. Dan, of course, wants to throw it on the guy's doorstep and yell at him. I just want to keep the peace. Besides, the people are kind of sketchy. I'm actually a bit afraid of them so I don't want to start a feud.
What would you do? I really don't want to just leave it.
If I don't get some good responses soon I'm going to post some pictures with this post. :)

Wedding Pictures

2008-12-01T22:15:00.004-05:00

I really don't have a lot to choose from right now but here are a few pictures from my sisters wedding.

2008-11-26T20:02:00.002-05:00

WHAT is THIS?! I'm working a lot this week yet I'm still cooking... why? Dan said to just go to subway but noooo i decide to buy the on sale PC green curry sauce. I followed the directions but I am not so sure that I want to eat it now. My guts hurt just looking at it. Dan just finished his and he says now he's afraid to fart. Oh man... wish me luck.

Oh, and I took this pic for Mom W so that I'm actually in some of the pics and they're not just of dumb computers and food. :)

Advent calendar

2008-11-25T14:55:00.008-05:00

Does anyone have any good ideas for an advent calendar. I'd really like to have one but have been avoiding those plastic/cardboard Nestle cheapies that you can buy at the grocery store. I'd like to have something more real and something that I don't think Dan will pillage before Christmas actually gets here. I don't mind making something but I'm not a really crafty person. It has to be worth it to make too. I want something that I will probably wrap up to use next year and think fondly of... not one that I'd rather just toss. So far its either this one:

.... since it seems to be one that I could easily do and would probably appreciate...

or

... since it looks the nicest and I could probably get it done.

This might be too far out of my abilities but I like the look of this one and figure I would probably save it (whereas the paper would just end in the garbage)

I don't know. I'd love some suggestions though. If I want a traditional, special one that would be used every year I might as well just buy a fancy one.... but i hate buying stuff. Who knows.... i might be the beer case one after all.

One of my favourite things about this computer

2008-11-24T19:13:00.002-05:00

See the memory stick ports in the middle? I love them. It is so easy to upload my pictures. No need for a missing camera cord.

Another favourite thing, the monitor is thin. We have a really small place so all the space is needed. Right now the whole thing is on our table (as you can see) but we hope to get a tiny little desk that fits just the computer.

And my most favourite of all favourite things about this computer......

I have high speed internet!! Boy did I miss this these last two years. It took me about 2 seconds to upload the picture!

The American Chestnut Tree

2008-11-21T12:31:00.003-05:00

I've found a new hobby/love of mine. I've been talking about it with my family for quite a while and I seem to be pretty passionate about it so I'm surprised I haven't written anything about it on my blog yet.
Part of my Horticulture Therapy course for this saturday is to bring a project. Since the chestnut is what I'm excited about I wrote up a blurb about it. Since most of it isn't really important for this post I just copy and pasted the part that might seem interested. If you click on the link and follow it to other links, you might get excited about it too. check it out.

History of the American Chestnut
Seventy years ago the American Chestnut made up 25% of our trees in our woods and forests from south Georgia up to southern Ontario. The wood was used for furniture and the nuts were used as food. The American Chestnut has a sweeter taste than the chestnuts we know today and the nut harvest could be depended on since the tree was quite drought resistant.
A blight believed to be introduced by the Chinese chestnut tree was introduced in the 1940's and rapidly ran through our forests destroying almost all of the trees. VERY few trees are left standing and because of the nature of cross pollination, these trees are left standing alone with little capability of producing further nuts for more trees. Some tree roots are left from fallen chestnut trees and these send up shoots once in a while but the shoots generally are killed off by the blight. In 1986 the World Wildlife Fund declared the tree a threatened species.
There is research and teams of people interested in ensuring the trees survival. The research involves attempts at cross pollinating with the Chinese Chestnut to produce a version of the American Chestnut that is blight resistance. Other research includes using a virus to kill the bacteria that causes the chestnut blight.
Most people of my generation do not even know what an American Chestnut looks like. People are needed to go out in their own neighborhoods, back yards and woods to find chestnut trees, help the pollination so that we can collect the precious few nuts, plant them, and then, if they die keep planting more.
More information on the American Chestnut can be found at: http://www.uoguelph.ca/~chestnut/

Thanks Cass

2008-11-19T13:19:00.002-05:00

Cass gave me her old dead dog's bed for Chloe to sleep in. Here she is curled up in it.

House and Truck

2008-11-19T09:54:00.002-05:00

I just realized that most of you haven't seen our new place yet. And since I was taking pictures, I kept on going and took some pictures of our tragic truck. I wish I could just get rid of that thing instead of seeing it sit there everyday reminding me of how we need a new one. boo!

A long weekend and a long day.

2008-11-17T20:49:00.002-05:00

I feel like I've had an extreme weekend. I worked 27 hours this weekend, drove 5.5 hours and slept about 7 hours a night (too little for me). The weather was super crappy; everything from rain to sleet and snow. Yuck. I worked at the kids camp job on Sat. and Sun. and we ended up spending quite a bit of time outside in that crappy weather but it sure makes me appreciate my bed and duvet. I went to my parents place to get Chloe bred (done and done!!) and really am happy I did (besides the puppy thing). It was hectic but it was so nice to come home at the end of the day, smell the wood smoke outside, come inside and smell freshly baked bred and have good music playing throughout the house. Mom and Dad got a Wii so there was lots of entertaining there too. At 6ish in the morning mom and dad would wake me up and then go downstairs to make me tea and porridge before sending me out for the day. Isn't that great?! And they sent plenty of scarves (thank you Oma) and mitts and hats for the kids too. Dad felt bad for Chloe and let her in the house so she was so spoiled all weekend too. After her traumatic day (or really good day?) she was pretty soaked so she got to lay by the fire place and dry off, even though she was really dirty and stinky. So, thanks mom and dad. It was definately worth it.
Today Dan and I both had the day off so we went over to a friends place who is putting a HUGE addition on his house. Dan is wiring it up and needed to finish the roughing in part. I didn't really think I'd be useful so I wasn't looking forward to standing around in the cold all day but Dan was awesome and taught me how to do really helpful things so I ended up being busy and working hard all day. My finger tips HURT! I tied the wires into the boxes for the plugs switches and lights. Dan is super picky about all the wires being straight and neat so I took quite a while and I'm sure that it wasn't as nice as he wouldv'e done it but I was busy all day and they said it was helpful. Actualy, I feel pretty good about it all... kind of proud. I'm happy that I could do it and not whine about how cold it was or about cutting myself (I did cut myself).
And now, I'm beat! The dog still had to be walked, but the house is neat (Dan did that this weekend!). I can hardly sit here to type this out now so this is it. I'm going to bed, sleeping in tomorrow (a day off!!) and then relaxing tomorrow... maybe I'll do some cooking.

Yaaahh!! Me and Grace

2008-11-14T11:43:00.004-05:00

After spending 8 days with the family and baby Grace and then coming home, I'm having some home sickness for the kid. So, here I am in hilo so I thought I'd come and visit. I LLLOOOOOVVVEEE this girl!

2008-11-13T09:07:00.002-05:00

I'm waiting for my rental car. I told them to come early so I had plenty of time to get to work. Good thing too since no one showed up. I finally called another location who is now sending the guy down to pick me up. I called work and said I might be late so all will be okay... i just hope I get an upgrade or discount or something for all of this, right? Am I cheap or deserving?
After work I come back here, switch cars with Dan and take Chloe to Hilo to hopefully breed her. I counted the days out and I think it's the right time but we'll have to see. I'm staying there all weekend so we can keep trying the breeding thing to make sure that she's good and ... bred (?). In between all of that I'm working a couple shifts at the kids camp and working my main job. That's a lot of working and running around. I'll be returning to hilo at nights driving all over creation for my jobs and then finally, on Sunday, coming back here. Home. Kinda. I still have lots to unpack and settle. Still no art on the walls.

I hate vacuum cleaners

2008-11-06T12:58:00.003-05:00

That's not true... i like vacuum cleaners. I just like them when they work!!! Grr!! We've been living in a tiny apartment with a DOG for 10 days!!! WITHOUT A VACUUM! Can you understand how yuck it is getting around here?
We do own a vacuum cleaner but since at our old place we had central vac., we had lent it out after it had been sitting around for too long. I don't know if it is the 2 years of inactivity or the fact the bag wasn't changed properly or on time but now, it doesn't work. I spent an hour or so this morning walking all over town trying to find a store that sold vacuum bags. Not many do. And the ones that do, probably don't carry my brand of vacuum bags. I had to guess on the type of bag because, of course, the vacuum model and the bag model ISN'T the same thing, of course. I get home, it's the wrong bag. I try it anyway? It just about blows up the whole vacuum cleaner. I spend almost another hour trying to find my vacuum cleaner online so i figure out what bag # i DO need... and guess what?.... My vacuum cleaner doesn't exist! That's right. The model # engraved on my cleaner does not exist!! No kidding!
I'm so frustrated with my vacuum cleaner, the dog hair, the dog that is in heat and the washer/dryer problems that I haven't even started on, that I'm ready to go and just buy everything new.

Time change

2008-11-02T08:50:00.002-05:00

Last night I set my alarm clock so that I'd have plenty of time this morning to take the dog for a walk, clean the kitchen (a Saturday job that didn't get done) and take a shower. I slept in for half an hour so I had to cut back on the dogs walk and did a poor job of the kitchen. When I got out of the shower and yelled at Dan to get up NOW, he said "oh maannn... I hope you haven't changed the clocks yet." Woo hoo!!! An extra hour. I'll finish the kitchen and spend the rest of the time reading my book (Pigs in heaven - Barbara Kingsolver)
Woops, I take that back. The inlaws will be here in a bit and we'll visit over coffee until church time. Oh, the good ol' days.

Mornings

2008-10-31T10:59:00.002-04:00

Tonight I work from 3:30-9:30. While it's too bad that I have to miss our first halloween in our new house and I'll miss out on dinner and movies with good friends (I'll make it for drinks after), I really do LOVE having the morning at home.
I slept in till I felt that it must be noon (it was really 9:00) and then read my book till the dog started whining. Chloe and I went for a walk into town so I could by a long over due frying pan and scrub brush. We kept walking to the post office (no mail!) and then came home. Now I'm sitting here with an amazing breakfast and coffee. I can spend some time online, unpack my bags (still) and see my husband for a few hours before I have to start work.
I looovvve mornings at home!

The next few weeks, months etc.

2008-09-24T11:08:00.002-04:00

I'm mixed with lots of different feelings about the future right now. Really, I should just stick with not thinking about the future and have fun right now.
Dan and I are moving out next week. This should be an exciting thing but except for the part where we get to set up a brand new house and unpack all our things, I'm not really looking forward to it at all. I'll be living in a quiet clean new house with no one around when Dan is gone (which has been a lot this summer). I'll cook for myself and Dan (who appreciates it but isn't near as verbal about that as mom and dad are) and that's it. I'll have to walk the dog everyday, which is a good thing, but won't have the reassurance that Caleb is out playing with her everyday too. I'll really miss the company and humor of this place and just thinking about it is putting me down so I'm going to switch directions now.
I'll have my own computer set up with my favorites, I'll have neighbors, I'll have lots of time available to get on the phone with my long lost sisters and friends. I'll get into more of a routine and schedule with housework and cleaning. I'll have a new house to set up with my own things and own styles.
Two weeks later I'm going to B.C. This is the best thing coming up in my schedule. Sarah and Peter are getting married and my sisters and I are going out there for 2 weeks of straight celebrating... hilo style! The guys are coming a week after us (the day before the wedding) and we're all going to travel around for the next week touring the island and wherever else we want.
I'm hoping that Frank and Alisha will be coming out with Gavin soon so that will be something else in the schedule and before you know it, it'll be Christmas.
I'm looking forward to some changes at work. If the posting ever comes up I'm looking to jump on that job advancement and my second job is looking promising in terms of career development.
I'm going to a seminar on Sat. (the first of five) on Horticulture Therapy. This is a big step for me in developing myself academically that I have wanted to do for a while now so that's pretty exciting for me too.
I have my own car now. Dan bought a truck so there's none of the carpooling juggling that we had to do last winter.
So, except for this moving business, life seems pretty exciting for the next little while.

I'm not done yet

2008-09-07T22:50:00.002-04:00

This is my new favourite CBC program.
I am sooooo impressed by French music. I don't know why I haven't heard so much more by now. I don't really like the translation parts of the program but the music is sooo good. I don't even care that I don't understand it. And I think I do understand parts of it. I'm at the website for Daniel Belanger where I've been able to follow enough of the French to find out where to go to listen to the music for free. It's good. Happy listening (as he says).

Sarah, this is for you!

2008-09-07T22:26:00.004-04:00

This picture is of a notebook that I got from Sarah for my birthday. I've always wanted a nice notebook that I can jot notes, book ideas, book thoughts, recipes, etc. in. The only problem is that whenever I do get a nice book I feel like it's too nice to write just "simple" things in. When I got this leather covered very nice notebook I wrote this on the front page: "This is a notebook that Sarah got for me on my birthday 2008. I keep it on me at all times so that I can write anything in it whenever I want. It can be mental notes, lists, recipes or blog ideas... It doesn't matter because it's my notebook. Knowing me... It'll probably be all practical lists." I wrote this to remind myself to really use it for whatever I want. I took this pic, because I'm here at hilo, and there are herbs just thrown down beside it (Dad was boasting about his herbs and making us smell them) and there's a fresh wine spot on a new page (a list is on it). There's a few cards sent by Sarah pasted in them, lots of lists, and some other notes for myself in it. ... Nothing really important but I want to use it in everyday life because that's what it was given for. Tomorrow Amy and I are going to spend the day canning. I want to make tomato sauce, salsa, oma's pears and roasted red peppers. There's a list tucked in there for how to take care of baby Grace tomorrow morning since I'm babysitting her (she's staying over night!!) while her mom power washes the barn (???).

I just thought that I'd like to share this picture/thought.

By the way, the notebook comes with a gift from Aunt Yvonne: a quilted bag/purse big enough to fit my purse, wallet and new important notebook.

A very detailed account of babysitting Jaela

2008-08-09T19:58:00.003-04:00

Here I am, it's 7:58 and I've been babysitting now for about... 3 hours. Larissa and James are gone to a wedding, so are mom and dad, Dan is working and Caleb has run for cover in some quiet corner of the house. I promised that I'd be GREAT at this. In fact, all week I've been saying "oh, I can't wait till Saturday". A chance to babysit Jaela. Not that I haven't seen her a lot or that J&L haven't been dropping her off here regularly when they are out. I just haven't been left with Jaela, by myself, without some other family member to take over when things hit "red alert". I've been warned and warned.... evenings suck!
Sure there have been a few shaky moments but as of this moment, phew.... we're okay... cross fingers... knock on wood... send up a little prayer.
4:45 - James and Larissa leave for the reception. Jaela is sleeping. I do my round of internet surfing for a bit and then pull out my book.
5:15 - Jaela is waking up but I resist the urge to snatch her up the second she flickers her lashes.
5:30 - She's definately up now and has her bottle. Larissa left an already made bottle in the fridge so I warmed it up a bit and she drinks... sparatically. I'd love to see the day where she grabs the bottle and drinks it down. The way she gulps (you can actually hear the fluid hit her stomach!) you'ld think that the ounces would just depleat like crazy! She drinks for a while and when she finally spits out out and I'm burping her, I notice that she's barely had more than an ounce.
6:30 - Caleb came up for a bit and noticed a happy Jaela so he took his turn cuddling and feeding her (another 1/16 oz. gone). She's seems unsettled but not really grumpy... like she just wants to move around. I rocked her out to some Neil Diamond for a bit, changed a diaper (again... i don't know when you're supposed to this... it was wet though) and tried to feed her another 1/16 oz.
7:00 - yup.... so now she's gruuuuuumpy.
7:30 - Larissa says that around this time, when she's starts getting this way, she makes sure she's not hungry (check), gassy (check), full diaper (check) and then just lays her down to cry for a bit... after which she falls asleep. Caleb strongly opposed this idea but I'm going to take a stab at it.
YIIIKKKKKEEEESSSS..... I'm sure it works better when it's in her crib, by her mom and in her own house. My goodness this girl has lungs.
I let her cry for the suggested time (I won't say how long but I did have the timer on the microwave set) and finally picked her up. Aww... she's damp and sweaty for crying so hard. I'm so sorry Jaela.
I pick her up and after a few gulps and sighs, she falls asleep. I sat outside with her on mom's swing and watched the rain till I was sure she was asleep. At this point I should have put her down to keep sleeping but instead, I held her while I started writing this post.
8:30 -My sister calls (cheap flights!!) and Jaela wakes up. She's not as grumpy and the 2 oz. that I make for her goes down while I'm on the phone. She would have drank more but mom and dad's water is cold and she doesn't like the next 2 oz. That's okay though cuz right now she is just giggling and squirming and smiling like crazy. What a kid. And Dan thinks I have mood swings. wow.
8:40 - she's sneezed 5 times in the last 5 minutes.... should I not have brought her outside?!!!
9:25 - I ate, Caleb took his turn again, she's grumpy again and I think I'm going to try laying her down again
9:59 - ELATION! I did it. She screamed for the whole timer, I picked her up, sat outside again and rocked her while she cooled down (she was definately properly wrapped up but the air is refreshingly cool). She fell asleep and this time, i super super super carefully laid her down. whew. elation!
11:21 - .... still sleeping....
11:47 - And my job is done!!!

It really was a good night... a fun experience... and really, it wasn't good birth control.

OK, here's some promised pictures

2008-07-28T22:07:00.004-04:00

Here it is!!! The bathroom.... only happy comments please... cuz I LOVE it!

Here's my tomatoes. Yah, I know they're small still but that's okay. I got them from Opa. I guess they are heirloom tomatoes but I don't know what kind. It'll be interesting to see what they grow into.

Look at my sad brocolli. I don't know why that one plant is so much worse than the others. I like the sage in front though.

Here's a pic of mom enjoying the summer. This is what she's always saying she wants to do: sit on the deck and read. The petunias in front are from the magic planter. Mom never plants anything in it yet every year there is this gorgeous full display of petunias.

I need to unpack my poop calendar

2008-07-27T11:41:00.002-04:00

Yikes!! I should not have packed that thing away. We moved here in May (right?). Since then I'm sure I've missed at least 6 occasions when I should have sent a card, made a call, or at least written an email. I missed my best friends birthday (although that was before the move) and we haven't talked since (oops), I missed my sisters 29th birthday (and haven't brought it up or even appologized), I didn't miss Frank and Alisha's (phew... I was there, right?), I missed my own parents 30th anniversary (!!!!), and today is my Opa's birthday. Not that I remembered on my own... mom called and told me this morning. The thing is, I haven't even really forgotten all these events. I thought about Amy's birthday about 10 times that day. I just forget to make the call or write the email. Today, I'm going to write an email to my Gramps and call, just in case. And I'm sorry about all those other missed calls. These are things that could be important to some people.... And I'm not just saying this all because my birthday is on Tuesday (nice drop there, eh?).

Painting

2008-07-22T22:51:00.003-04:00

You know that feeling when you're standing in front of the paint chips section? You know, those bright beautiful paint chips stick out and there's pictures of already-finished model rooms that debbie travis designed and you think... "i could do that! I wish that I was gutsy enough to just step up and do it. no.. nahh.... I'll get the tan". Well, Larissa and I stopped after the first thought. We bought the paint, came home, painted... and ... well... It'll sure wake you up in the morning!
Pictures to follow.... unless we go back and triple coat the tan before anyone sees it.

oh man, I did it again

2008-07-13T15:46:00.002-04:00

If there's still a party happening, I can't seem to leave. This weekend has really been a good time for me. Yesterday we woke up late-ish and had another wonderful breakfast that couldn't be beat (frittata's with our own chickens eggs). We headed over to the park and spent the rest of the day there. I don't know where 13 hours goes when you're hanging around a festival but I doesn't seem to take long. One of the musicians, Rueben DeGroet, who is a friend of Sarah and Pete's came first thing in the morning and we all hung out all day. It rained pretty hard for a while but the rain couldn't shut the festival down. Oma and Gramps came out for a while. Opa took off on his scooter for a while just to check things out on his own. I love that scooter. I saw lots of old childhood friends walking through with their strollers and kids. I did listen to lots of music but I probably spent more time in the beer tent. There were plenty hearts being poured out in the beer tent. :) When then night closed down I had just started dancing so I really didn't want it to be over yet.... so it wasn't. I went to the first after-party party with Peter and Rueben. All the musicians had gathered at a local restaurant/pub for a few drinks. Rueben really wanted to jam but since it was all talk there and no music we took him home to my parents place. Neighbor Dan had a jam session in his gigantic garage so we walked over there with Rueben's guitar and danced the rest of the night away. Dan and his band are old rockers so Rueben jumped in with them but eventually started doing his own songs and leading the guys. It was a night of no pretentions and nothing to prove. The crappy singers sang into the mike and the just learning drummers had a go at a few songs.... and I got to dance as much as I wanted whether I was by myself or not. Peter (what a good brother-in-law) spun me around the dance floor more times than I can remember and tried to teach me how to move these awkward giraffe legs to move to the two-step. Even mom and dad didn't hit the sack till 4:30. Peter, Rueben and I jumped in the hot tub for a few minutes and watched as the sky slowly brightened to day. We were in bed by 5:30 and up again for breakfast at 10:30.
We spent today at the park again. I came home a bit early to start to get ready for the next party. All the leftover carcasses from the swine and wine are here. We picked them clean and are having a bunch of people over for salads and leftovers. I don't know how much of a laid back visit or a rowdy party it will be but either way I'll enjoy it. This food smells goooooodd. Time to go finish off my brocolli salad.

2008-07-11T10:29:00.002-04:00

I'm at Hilo!! Sarah and Peter flew in on Tues. evening so after work I met up with mom and dad for some visiting time while we waited for the plane to land. I was in the area so it was a good opportunity to see my parents and to welcome Sarah and Peter. Thursday morning Dan and I raced over here to start my long weekend. It's very relaxed here. People are coming and going and things are happening but there's no rush and no stress to do anything.
So you might be wondering why we just all spontaneously decided to come home to Hilo.... it's folk festival time!! That's right... we love the folk festival. This festival started 9 years ago and our family has been involved right from the begining. It's like a great big family reunion every year. Even though our town seems small and dinky and really kind of sketchy sometimes this festival seems to bring out the best in everyone. It really doesn't start until later tonight but last night the park was already a bustle of activity and when I woke up this morning, half our household was already at the park. There are pigs on spits just starting their day of roasting, tents are going up, stages are going up and the organizers are getting ready for all the vendors to roll in later today. Years back Dad wired the park up specifically for this festival so for the last couple of days Dad and his guys have been wiring up all these stages and tents. When I woke up this morning everyone had already left except for Sarah, who then crawled into bed with me and we chatted for the next couple of hours. Cass and Dan came home with a coffee for me and a report on the progress of the park. Sarah and I made an AWESOME frittata for breakfast (on rye toast!) and since then we've been getting ready for the day. I've got to do up my hair and brush my teeth and then we're off to the park... probably for the whole day. I'm not going to wear jewelry today with the hopes that I'll find something folksy to buy from one of the vendors.
I know this festival doesn't compare with festivals like the Winnipeg Folk Festival (!!!) and some people will argue that point forever but I think that festivals (free ones) like this have their own class. They don't compare.
In other news.. I have seen baby Grace again! There have been some pictures but I don't have my memory stick here. I'll add them later. We even had a few fashion shows with her already. She's totally a different kid from Gavin and Jaela. I love that kid!
More news later...

2008-07-05T18:42:00.003-04:00

Look what we came home to:

Dad found a hummingbird nest.... somehow. It's tiny! Really, this nest is probably about the size of a toonie.

Family

2008-06-27T12:29:00.003-04:00

So we're here! Really, I am happy that I'm here but I WAS NOT looking forward to travelling. It's not that I get sick or anything. I just hate waiting. And all you do when you travel is wait First, you wait for the day of travel to get here. Then, you wait till it's time to go to the airport. Then, when you're there, you wait and wait and wait FINALLY get on the plane. But once you get on the plane you sit down and wait till you finally get to your destination. Then, just to top it all off, you wait to get your luggage. AAARRGHHH! Anyway, we're here... I'm good now. At least until we start driving back.... for 24 HOURS!!

We all travelled out to Winnipeg to visit with family. Nicholas is getting married on Saturday so that is the technical reason that we're out here but really, any excuse is good to come and visit. We don't really have any plans to go out and do anything for the next day but I like just hanging around and visiting. There's lots of baby time for everyone because if Jaela is unavailable, Gavin's here too... and vice versa. It's really neat to see Gavin in person. What a character. He's got sooo much personality. I'll have to post some pictures. There's definately tons of them since he's very photogenic.

Fun in the Kitchen!!

2008-06-24T22:50:00.003-04:00

How's that for a cheese picture!!!

Even though I've been camping for the majority of the last week, I've been having some pretty fun, inspiring times in the kitchen.
Last week Wed. I went shopping with Caleb (with a pre-warning that I would be spending lots of time browsing) and came home with lots inspiring ingredients. Some were to snack on while I was cooking, others were to add to some great meal ideas. I bought a triple cream soft cheese with a rind... kinda like a Brie but I don't think it was brie. Really, all I was looking at was the triple cream. I also bought a small roll of goats cheese for some future recipe. My plan for the evening was to make calzones... "Jamie at Home" style. That means with his "best pizza dough ever" recipe and his "quick and easy tomato sauce" recipe and then there's still the inside. After putting together the dough to rise, I made the tomato sauce. It definately was an easy recipe but since I used my own canned tomatoes from last year (!! impressive, eh?) they were really juicy and needed to cook down for a long time. The guts of the calzone was a cooked down, mash of mushrooms (a pound of torn up mixed up mushrooms!!), spinach, 3 cloves (!!) of garlic and the final outcome of my tomato sauce. Oh, and top it all off with fresh (not homemade :( ) mozzerella, torn to pieces on top. OH YUM! Now this sounds like a lot of work but it really was so much fun for me. Having one pot of sauce bubbling away in one corner and a bowl rising of dough in the other plus a glass of wine and some cheese... well, i don't know who wouldn't like that.
Saturday night I got hit wth the urge again and found a recipe for vidalia onions. I read somewhere that they are super super good onions and are only good at this time of year so I had to try them out. Once again it was a pizza recipe. I really have to get away from these pizza recipes. Another dough recipe, topped off with my leftover tomato sauce. Slice some tomatoes on top, sprinkle with mozzerella cheese and then top it all off with sauteed (lightly) vidallia onions. Yum again. Not really my favorite but it did show off the onions nicely. James couldn't understand where the meat was, Larissa thought it gave her the shits but everyone else thought it was great. Really, I don't think mom and dad would complain about anything I'm making them since mom is getting a bit of a break in the kitchen and I am actually having fun at it.
Tonight, there was NO urge to play in the kitchen so I cracked open a few cans of pork and beans to go along with mom's iceburg lettuce salad. Oh well, I'm still in camping mood, right?
Next I want to try something with chick peas. Dad says he doesn't like them but I think he hasn't tried them fried up with lots of garlic and curry powder and salt. oh yum.

Gardening!

2008-06-17T13:20:00.002-04:00

Today, about a month to late, I finally got my garden started. After tilling it about 3 weeks ago I finally bought some manure, herbs and vegetables. Opa gave me about 8 tomato plants that he had extra and had repotted into nice large containers. At least my tomatoes are a seasonal size right now. I picked up 6 different herbs (at crazy high prices), 4 red peppers and 4 brocolli plants. I knew that I wouldn't be able to fit much into that garden but I was surprised how it filled up. It looks so empty still but hopefully those plants all fill out and take up their "36-48 inches" that the tags insist upon. I'm worried about the quality of the soil. After the first tilling I expected to have to do it a few more times just to keep the weeds down. I only had to till it this morning once to till in the manure. There wasn't a single weed up. I only got 3 bags of manure (Dan had a hard time spending money on shit, ha ha ha) and so I really don't think there's many nutrients around the roots. I'm going to have to get a few more bags of compost and hill a bit up around each plant. Oma said that the herbs like poor soil so maybe they will at least do well. I got parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme. I've never grown or cooked with sage before but my Jamie Oliver cookbook uses it a lot so I thought I'd give it a try. Oma and Opa also have some sage at their place and I was really impressed by the smell. When I've got more of a permanant place I'd love to grow some bay leaf and "whatever-that-leafy-soup-herb" plant is that Oma and Opa have growing by their door. I LOVE the smell of it. I've even picked a bunch and put it in my car before. I know that mom and dad have a big plant of it too.
I've tied up a bunch of strings above each of my tomato plants instead of staking them. I'll ask dad W. tonight what the proper way of tying a tomato is. Until then, the poor plants are just bent down from the wind. It is so windy here. I don't know if it's always like this or if this is just the summer for it. Luckily the small plants are shielded a bit by the sandbox walls. Once the plants are all properly tied up I'll take some pictures. It looks pretty desolate right now though.
I've been addicted to this once salad lately. Brocolli, raisins, red onions, bacon, all tossed in a mayo/sugar/red wine vinegar dressing. mmmmMMMM! You're supposed to throw in seseme seeds with it but I wouldn't want to ruin it with seeds or nut so I'm just keeping it at that. Mom and I made it a few weeks ago and since then I've been craving it almost everyday. I picked up a head of brocolli just to make a whole salad for myself. Crazy, eh? And for lunch today I made quesadillas. The recipe is a mix b/w my mom's recipe and what we had on hand. Chicken, half a pepper, red onions, a clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp chili powder and a few good shakes of cuury powder (it was supposed to be cumin). I topped the quesadilla off with cheese and parsley. mmm. It was supposed to be for mom too but she didn't come home for lunch. Dan didn't get the option to eat it so I just enjoyed it on my own. And there's leftovers for whoever wants it.
I guess I'm in an agrarian mood so I'm going to do some cheap book shopping online and see what I find. I have my eye on a few already.

Jaela and I

2008-06-12T14:42:00.002-04:00

I had the day off today. That's twice in one week! I love it... the bank account doesn't but who needs a bank account. :) I had lots of ambitious feeling good type plans. I wanted to give the car a deep clean (that's a scrubing inside and out), go see Oma and Opa W, rototill and plant the garden and also clean our rooms. Yah right. Instead, I hung out with Larissa and Jaela all day. Larissa had to do some dress fitting so I went along for the heck of it. By the time she was done, which wasn't really that long, I didn't feel like doing anything anymore. We went to the mall, bought some essentials (cute baby outfits are essential right?) and then headed back to her place. She's got to get some more dress fitting done so I'm probably going to hang out here with Jaela while she goes with her mom and sister-in-law. That means that I get to babysit!!! Woo hooo! Larissa will come back and I'll have her dressed up in a million different outfits and probably have her diaper on the wrong way. There was a camera sitting here so here's a good one for the picture frames:

Icecream!!!

2008-06-11T18:55:00.004-04:00

Last night mom and dad took us all out for ice cream. YUM.

War Wounds!!

2008-06-10T19:44:00.003-04:00

This weekend I worked for the second time at my new camp job. I really don't remember what I've told you all about the camp. It is set up to run 1 weekend a month (or so) as a getaway for kids who are just having a tough life. I don't know if it is more to give the parents a break or to give the kids a good time once in a while. Either way, there's a big variety of the type of kids there. Some of them have behavioural problems, some are quite mentally handicapped and others are just kids who've had a tough life. This past weekend I worked both a Sat. and a Sun 8-4 shift. What a weekend to go to camp. It was soooo stinkin hot! I couldn't believe how hot it was. Even the shade was unbearable. But nooooo... the activities planners decided it was still nice enough weather to go rock climbing and hiking and play capture the flag. YUCK! Sat. actually was a pretty good day. We had a 3 hour water fight and everyone got completely drenched. Sun. was a different story. By this time everyone is so hot and tired that tempers flare up. Mean kids got meaner and snobby kids got snobbier. The laid back kids got more laid back though. Either way, I had a bit of an incident. They all swear that "this never happens" but still, i think I need some training. Even though I've been hired I'm not signed up for the company training, including PMAB (Prevention and Managemenet of Aggresive Behaviour), until September. One of the much more handicapped kids flipped out. We were walking to another building that was just a bit too far for him and he just got angry. I was with another support worker so I wasn't alone. He started screaming and turned on me. He grabbed the first limb he could reach, my arm, and just dug in his fingers as hard as he could. I had NO idea what to do. I'm a big wimp and it hurt like heck (I was sunburned, of course) but I was afraid to hurt him. He was also reaching in with his head to bite me, which scared the heck out of me. We ended up tackling him to the ground and sitting on him till he calmed down but he flared up a few more times and got my arm and my leg, again. Really, the war wounds aren't that spectacular, but if you ask Dan he'll tell you how much I like to show off my scrapes and bruises. So.... here they are:

Just passed my wrist there's a pretty good bruise but closer to the elbow is where he took some good chunks of skin out. Behind my knee there are some bruises and a few scratches too. I know it doesn't look like much but I'll blame that on the "bad lighting". :)

2008-06-06T10:52:00.002-04:00

hey all...
another week over.... almost. Dan's coming home tonight finally. Last week when he came back he was saying that he can't wait to get to work and now he's saying he's glad he's got a bit of a break just to let everything settle in. Everytime I talk to him he's either coming or going to some sort of study thing... he's a new man!
Larissa had her baby this week which was soo much fun for me. Actually, I don't know if fun is the word but I love being able to be totally comfortable around and baby and not worried about getting the stink eye from the mother for not holding the kid just "right". James had to go back to work on Thursday so I was even asked to go pick Larissa and Jaela up from the hospital. What a priveledge, eh? We weren't really sure we got the car seat in right but everyone made it home okay so it all worked out. Now I look at pictures of Grace and I can't wait till Jaela gets that old. I looooovvveed those pics of Grace with mom and dad. She looks like she's got such a personality. It makes me want to come over and hang out with her more.
Cass, James said he would do your brakes for you some Saturday if you want but I think they'll be a little forgetful about it and busy for the next little while. James' uncle found gramma Smith on the floor of her home yesterday.... she had a stroke. I don't know how she's doing at all but I'm guessing that life is going to be a bit difficult with Jaela and gramma now.
I'm going to have a super busy weekend now and it looks like it's going to be stinkin hot too. I woke up super late this morning (10:00.... 11 hours sleep.. mmmm) and slowly walked upstairs and could hardly make it. It's nice and cool here in the basement but upstairs it was 26! Freaking hot! and this weekend is only going to get worse. And I don't have a thing planted. All that rain and heat isn't doing anything for my garden.
So I bought a ticket to Winnipeg. $79! not bad eh? I was going to drive there with Opa, James, and Caleb and then drive back with John, Tena and Caleb but you can't beat $79. At least I know for sure now that I'm going. I leave the last thurs. of June and come back the beginning of next week. Then..... SARAH AND PETER COME!! I'm so excited about that. I have to make sure that I ask off the weekend right away.
Anyway, I hope you all have a good weekend. I doubt I'll get any phone calls in but I miss you girls! We'll talk soon.
Love nicole
.... wierd.... I just about put an "h" in nicole

Jaela Jacqueline Tena

2008-06-02T22:26:00.002-04:00

YAAAAAYYYY!!!!

2008-05-31T14:49:00.002-04:00

An old sandbox is the best place for a garden. Especially when the surrounding soil is hard clay. The sandbox here was full of wild strawberries, a wild raspberry and lots of weeds. I felt terrible taking out the strawberries so I left about a foot on two sides so we can eat lots still. Mom and I picked up the ol' rototiller and I cleaned it up. No more pricklies, no more weeds and a lot less strawberries. I need to take a rake to it now to get rid of a lot of the tilled up weeds and I should till it up a few more times but I'm starting to see how a garden would look there. There used to be a canopy over the sandbox but the tarp is gone now. A frame is around the garden now though so I think I should string up some ropes here and there for growing beens. Or maybe I could tie up some tomatoes there. The space isn't really huge and I don't think gardening in a row would be the best use of that space so I think I'm going to quarter it. I'll have a walk way going through the centre of the garden from both directions and then I should be able to reach into the middle of each section for weeding and harvesting. I have to remember that this garden isn't for production, so much, as for enjoyment. A few good tomatoes and a meal of ? peppers ? beans ? is all I should expect. I want to dig up a small area at the back too for a couple plants of zuccini and pumpkins. They can grow as much as they want back there. Maybe we'll get a zucchini bread out of it too.
I hope there'll be some pictures to follow!

2008-05-28T23:02:00.002-04:00

The shower was a hit. We all had fun and 2/3 games were almost completely original. Here's a few pics.
I always forget to upload the larger version of the pictures so take out your magnifying glasses for these:

This cupcake was the winning cupcake from our competition. Larissa said the unibrow reminded her of James. ha ha ha

I'm trying to get a good pic of the expanded version of Larissa. She looked even bigger tonight in her hoody at the baseball game.

Here's Brenda decorating her cupcake.
And here's Oma W. smelling the diaper to see if she knows which chocolate bar was melted into it. Supposedly that was a new one for lots of people and really grossed them out. I didn't even see how they turned out but there were lots of extra chocolate bars to eat afterwards.

That's it for now!

A day off

2008-05-27T12:00:00.002-04:00

... means lots of work.
I'm hosting a shower at mom and dad's today for Larissa and James' baby. The kid will be born in a week (!!!) so we're having a last minute shower. Judging by what was left on the registry she's really going to need it too. I won't write exactly what's going on just in case I ruin it for those coming tonight yet but we have to clean the house, go grocery shopping, assemble snacks and game (hee hee hee) and they look our best yet for tonight. Oh ya, and we have to eat supper yet too.
I went home and saw my family this weekend. We had our mothers day celebration a little late. It was fun seeing almost everyone again and just hanging out (although it wasn't really a long weekend). Baby Grace was still just as cute but I can see so many changes in her already. I love the fat cheeks... they make her look grumpy but I think that's cute. Her bottom lip can actually stick out farther than her nose. And when she cries, there's actually a stream of real tears coming down her face. Oh it's so heartbreaking... but really she's just being pushy cuz she wants her food NOW! A girl just like the rest of her family. I'm not a baby any more so I can't out right cry when I'm hungry but I sure get grumpy and mean. It's a family curse.. what can I say.
I hope the weather turns nicer for tonight. We were really hoping to sit outside. Oh well, I don't mind bumping shoulders. We'll just all have to move about in different rooms.
I'll try to take pictures of the shower for you all.

Monopoly update

2008-05-21T08:34:00.003-04:00

Last night I got home from a long day and Caleb was right there to pin me for another game of Monopoly... of course now I'm hooked so I had to say yes. That kid is ruthless. He's trying to take everything I've got! And then he laughs! of course he did give me some grace and super good deals a few times but I think that was just to keep the game going. Either way we had to quit at 11:00 since we all needed to go to bed. We tucked the game away though so that we could finish it today... sigh.
I did get dinner delivered to me though. Mom came up and saw that I was stuck already and made me some pork and beans with hot dogs and apple sauce on the side. Isn't that awesome? It's speaking now, though. Good thing I've got the house to myself. :)

aakk, monopoly

2008-05-20T10:04:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I probably spent 5 hours playing monopoly. Considering that it's monopoly and I actually played 2 games that's not too bad but it was bad enough to make me dream about it. What an awful experience! Have you ever played so much solitaire that when you close your eyes at night all you can see are different solitaire plays? Well, that's what happened with Monopoly. The first game I played against Caleb and James. I won, of course. :) But Dad couldn't stand seeing me win and insisted that we play again and I would get to see a real challenge. I didn't want to hurt his ego so I lost the second game for him. :) Mom didn't like the way we were playing (trading and loaning) so I think she just wants her chance to try to beat me. Even though this first night sleep was terrible after so many hours of Monopoly I think I'll challenge them all again (but maybe play in spurts) especially since I'll be a single woman for the rest of the week.
Dan is going to his training for his new job that he's got for the summer. He'll be working as a park warden all summer. I'm really looking forward to it since it means a lot of camping for the both of us and a job that will make him happy and excited to do. It will be a different schedule for us though. He'll be working evenings from 6-2 but only 5 days a week. That means I've got lots of day time with him. It really opens up my schedule at work though so we'll see how busy we both get this summer.
I haven't planted anything yet but I might get my hands in the dirt this week a bit. I want to plant at least a couple of herbs, some different tomatoes, zucchini, ... any suggestions? oh, peppers!
Living here has been very busy. I guess this is just life as normal but I'm not used to having so many people around. The days are just wizzing by. There's usually someone around for me to do something with. Lots of friends live close by and there's baseball games to watch at least twice a week.
Well, my husband is packing up and getting ready to leave so I'm going to hang out with him a bit before we're both too ferfalent (?) (I think this is a Wikk word meaning a mixture of anxious, bored, pesty and just plain not unhappy) to get any visiting in.

2008-05-13T19:54:00.002-04:00

For a person who has internet access everyday I sure haven't been posting much... or so dad W. says. :) I figure I'm just having too much fun hanging out with everyone. I know my cooking has failed in this department too. It could also be that I was reading a book though. For those of you who are on facebook this book list will be a repeat but here it is: Jamie at home, The Glass Castle, and Water for Elephants. I just finished reading Water for Elephants. It was a good suck-you-in type book but isn't on my top 10 list. The Glass Castle is on my top 10 list though, so I bought it and the Jamie at Home cookbook with my $50 gift certificate that mom gave me. I love those dates!
I don't think I like facebook even though I'm spending more and more of my time there. It's a good connecting tool but it really isn't as good as reading peoples blogs. I don't really like snooping through peoples pages. It makes me feel sneaky.
Tonight we had BBQ'd sausages with a side of fried up bacon/onion/perogies. mmm mmm mmm Now is that the best meal you've ever thought of or what?! what... potatoes are vegetables, right? and the cheese and sour cream hit the dairy food category. I don't feel guilty at all. In fact, I might go have a pop or something. gurgle gurgle...
Here is an attempt at my top 10 books:
The Brothers K - David James Duncan
The River Why - David James Duncan (I haven't read his 3rd and last book yet)
The Glass Castle
How I spent my summer vacation - W. O. Mitchel
Watership Down
Fifth Business - Robertson Davies
The curious incident of a dog in the night time - Mark Haddon
Jane Eyre
Lullabies for little criminals

I know there's more here that I forget so remind me if you know there's one that I love.
And one more thing... I have to say that I hate having the links bring you to a chapters or amazon site... I don't want to advertise for them but I want you all to be able to read up on whatever book it is that I'm talking about. If there's a better site that shows and reviews books that I could advertise, let me now.

A week later

2008-05-08T23:23:00.002-04:00

Yikes! Here I am a week later after saying that I'd be posting everyday. Ya right. One step at a time. I remember when I had internet access all the time I started narrating my life in my head as if preparing for all the posts I would write about. I think that's too much. It feels like it has been a busy week but really, we haven't really done a lot. The week just goes a lot faster when there's more people in the house. There's something to do every night of the week and we're always upstairs socializing with the family. We're having family dinners almost every night of the week and Larissa, Caleb, Dan and I even went and visited with O&O once this week. I love the family dinners and the spontaneous visits in the kitchen that we're having. I haven't seen Brittany much yet this week but Larissa's been here a lot this week since James has been working nights and long hours. Tonight was mom's first baseball game of the season plus it was a double header night. It's probably been about 10-13 years since I've gone to see a baseball game. We used to go a lot when I was a kid but when Amy went off to university we stopped going... i think. I loved those summer evenings. There's a fun energy at baseball games. Tonight was cold but I know there'll be lots of nights that we'll be wishing it was a bit cooler. We had blankets and went for a coffee run in between games. Larissa kept score and I started to re-learn the baseball cheers and hollers. Mom's team has been undergoing a lot of changes which means that they need some practice. I think if they get in the right niche and play like they know they can win it they'll do awesome. Plus, the could use some fans too. There was about 5 of us there and we were all new fans this year. The more people, the more fun. Either way, they lost the first game but tied the second one... which they really could have won.
With baseball (cheering) once (or twice) a week and 3 different friends within 10 min. and camping for the weekends I think my weeks are going to fill up pretty fast this summer. Dan and I still don't have a lot of answers about our summer schedule and how it's going to work but things are really falling into place perfectly as if "it's meant to be" (i don't really believe in that saying). Soon enough we'll know more and we'll start to see how everything is going to work out. I'm not really worried though. I'm more excited to see what this summer is going to bring. This week has been a good one anyway.
To all moms: Happy Mothers day. My mom, Mom W, Oma W, Oma W, Oma Z, Oma D, Amy, Larissa even... happy mothers day! I love yas all!!

2008-05-04T13:39:00.002-04:00

I don't really feel like posting much right now but I have to write a bit about where I am. Dan and I moved in with his parents yesterday. I was a really quick move even though our stuff(!!) was going to three different locations. I guess it really helps when you don't have any of your own appliances. We had enough people out to help us but at times I wasn't sure if we would have enough. Good friends and family are always around though. Most of our stuff went into James and Larissa's loft and the rest of it came here. I've already got a mental note started of all the stuff that I want to get from the loft (Sunday shoes, CDs) We'll have an interesting summer for sure. I think I'll enjoy having more people around all the time... more people to cook for... more people to talk with... and definately more internet. MIL (mom in law) already got me started on her favorite past time... Scrabulous. I hate it already. I love crossword puzzles and other puzzle type games but I suck at coming up with good words that make lots of points.
Pretty much, this short post is just to tell you that I'm here, living with the in-laws so now you all know how to get a hold of me. Expect more online and most of you should know my #.

Good bye Mozz

2008-04-13T15:09:00.002-04:00

sniff sniff... we've already made Larissa cry telling the story. Yesterday Dan and I bagged up Mozzerella in a feed bag and brought her to her new home. A neighbor of a friend of Larissa's has a little funny farm (similar but larger than ours was) and he offered to adopt Mozz for as long as we want. ... or forever... we'll see. Dan sat in the back seat holding Mozz and once in a while I would see Dan and Mozz's head perfectly in the rear-view mirror as I looked back. Other times she had her head laying on Dan's lap. It was really bizarre. She didn't really fight either. She didn't like going in the bag but once in there she was completely quiet and observant. When we got to the farm we let her out of the bag and she followed us as we walked over to the pen. She wasn't scared or aggressive to the other goats (3 pygmies and 1 boer) and even had a few good head buts (which, apparently, is playing to goats) right away. But when we slipped out of the pen she was right away at the gate bawling her head off like the first day she was dropped off at our place. I'll admit that I was the one that was so insistant on bringing her away right that minute even though we have a few more weeks but the ride home and the next couple of hours were quiet and snippy. I tried to get a peak at her today as we drove by but I couldn't see her.
It was so much fun having a goat. What an interesting topic of conversation when people came over. The comments were almost as fun as the time when our family had rabbit that humped our chicken (Mr. Hagels and Flossy). I know that we will forever be saying things like "hey, remember that time when we had a goat?". And who knows, maybe we'll get her back one day. I'm guessing by that time we'll opt out though.
Here's a book for the W's that I heard of. As I was listening to the conversation on the CBC (The Current, part 2), I thought of you guys right away. I'm gonna get it one day and bring it to a family get together.

Warning: Language

2008-04-04T20:56:00.003-04:00

Sorry about the bad language on this post but I just had this picture sent to me and have been laughing about it for the last 10 minutes. This has got to be the funniest fwd. I've ever gotten (and for some reason I thought U. Bert would like this one).

Enjoy!

News

2008-03-31T21:57:00.003-04:00

So there have been a few small changes since the last time I posted. First, there is now only 1 month left before it's time to move... and we still don't have a place to go. We are looking but with limited internet access it seems that most places are already rented out before we check our emails the 2nd time. I'm having a debate in my head right now between 2 different houses. Both are farther from work than I would have liked but a good 25 min. closer than we are now. The first house is a really small (no problem really) house in the country. It's right next door to the landlord who seemed to like the idea of both a dog and a garden. If he's open to those ideas then he shouldn't be too much to worry about but you still never know. It's an old house that (I think) was moved to this location. I asked how the utilities were but the landlord didn't know since he's only had to pay the bills of an empty house. Still, just heating the house minimally the gas bill was about the same as our gas bill is with heat, stove/oven, dryer and fireplace. yikes. The second house is the same amount for rent but it is still being built. I'm guessing there is a subdivision going up and the landlords are building this place for a second income. We get to choose the colours and all the appliances are brand new. If we want the basement finished it's an extra $100 a month (which puts it up to our expected budget rent costs). I'm guessing with a new house the utilities are going to be cheaper. What I don't like is that.... it's in a subdivision. I want country. I want a garden. I don't want my dog to run around outside. I don't want to live in a lego world where all the houses around me look the same. Another problem is that this house isn't ready until September. That means we would be homeless for the summer. We are thinking of options and places to go but there are so many complications involved with bunking with family/friends. On the other hand, it could be an interesting and fun summer. We might even be able to save some money. I've also never lived in a brand new house. I feel so consumeristic just thinking about it though... I don't know why. Comments? Suggestions?
The second news in my life is.... I got hired at a new job. That's right! I finally got out of my rut and put out some resumes. I went to my first professional job interview and got in. The job is for a non-profit organization with a division in mental health. I'm not taking leaps and bounds here though. I've still got my plain old job as my main job and this one is very very part time. The hope is that once I'm trained in this organization I can start to pick up other hours in different programs than the one I was hired for (since my program only runs once a month). This job will get me more training in my field and good experience on my resume (which is lacking!). And maybe I can start to do more of my own personal training in what I love (horticultural therapy) and develop my own programs within this organization, or at least put it to use. This weekend is my first weekend to work at this job and I really don't know what to expect. I have a new job but since I haven't even worked there yet it doesn't really feel like much. I guess I'll have more to say about it later.
I'm looking forward to hearing some comments on this post. Dan and I seem to always want opposite things and sometimes it's hard to know when I'm being stubborn about an issue (because I know Dan wants the other) and when I actually have a legitimate arguement. Help.

Stolen pictures

2008-03-25T15:31:00.005-04:00

I rarely get a chance to go online and browse slowly through other people's blogs but I was doing just that and stumbled on these GREAT pictures of Gavin, my nephew. I took them off of Aunt Michelle's blog who took them off of Alisha's blog. Wow.

And then, I found this picture of Grace, my niece. She is being compared to her brand new baby cousin who was just born (on the other side... i don't know her). Gavin and Grace are only a few days apart and it's hard to tell in these pictures but I think that Gavin is bigger. I haven't really seen Grace's smile yet much either. She was just developing it the last time I saw her. I can't wait to see her again. They call her their little mammoth. cute.

P.S. There is a guy sitting beside me here at the library who is watching REALLY loud youtube videos of European (???) military marches. It is super frustrating and loud. The drums and trumpets and the whole works.... grrr. I'm too embarrassed to say something though.

A quick getaway

2008-03-17T22:08:00.003-04:00

I'm a bachelorette for the week. Dan is gone for the week taking an instructor course to teach First Aid/CPR. He's actually only gone till Thursday night but that feels like a week to me. I guess I've left him a few times so he should be able to take off for a week once in a while. Anyway, since he's gone I decided to go to my parents. I'm still working this week but why not drive to work from here than from our home. The time is the same but it's probably more mileage to go to work from mom and dad's than from our place. Mom and Dad are actually gone to a resort till tomorrow but I wanted to come here anyway since then I get to see my ADORABLE neice. I love that kid soo much! I can't get over how much love you can have for a person that didn't exist a year ago. I came here to Hilo late last night and woke up early enough to spend the morning at Amy and Joel's. As soon as I got there they took off for the barn and left me to babysit Grace. I love how they feel so comfortable to just leave and even say thankyou for babysitting. Yah right, it's my pleasure! I went to work for the afternoon and am back now with a fire in the woodstove, a stinky dog at my feet and a glass of wine close at hand. It's not quite the same without people here but the music (Tanglefoot?) and the wine helps. Besides, now I get to spend some focused time on this computer.

I wish that I had more of a habit of taking pictures. I have a great digital camera and I never use it. Half the reason is that I always forget it at home. Since I don't have pictures I'll describe a few that I have in my head... some mental pictures to describe what I've been up to:

Alisha and Frank, James and Larissa, and Dan and I sitting at the end of an empty hospital wing. Larissa has her foot up and is holding baby Gavin.

Dan and I are in mom and dad W's living room with the family. Dan is holding Gavin and making funny noises at him. It looks like Gavin likes the singing so Dan starts singing the "meh na meh na, do do do do do... " song (I guess you have to hear it). Gaving was actually laughing he liked it so much. It's soooo cute seeing a baby smile and laugh.

The couch bed is pulled out in our living room and Dan and I are sitting on it. Larissa is laying on the other couch and we spent an entire day watching TV and having all sorts of comments on every kind of show that we watched; mostly "the baby story", "bringing home baby", and "girlicious".

I'm in Amy and Joel's kitchen and I'm holding Grace in my right hand kinda like a football and I'm mixing flour with some of the stew juices (to thicken it) with my left hand. Grace is mostly sleeping and I don't need to hold her but I don't want to put her down because I love it that I'm with her and I get to hold her as much as I want. I eventually did put her down because I was getting food on her.

Okay... two more.

2008-02-28T15:02:00.002-05:00

She is such(!!) an adorable baby. I loved holding her and feeling free to really love my heart out for her. It was so much fun to have Sarah home for the 10 days. We had some good bonding but we bond just as well over the phone. I guess it is better to be able to hug eachother (although she's getting too skinny to hug properly). It was a really good 2 weekends with lots of family time. And it's not over. This weekend Alisha, Frank and baby Gavin are coming over! Isn't that great!? I get to meet Gavin for the first time. I hope we get lots of pictures of him with us holding him. We all need to remember and look at those pictures. The only crappy thing is that Larissa will be in the hospital for the whole visit. She has some sort of text book pregnancy related problem where a vein in her leg has a clot in it. Her leg turns blue everytime she stands on it and so she is in the hospital laying down and will be like that for at least another week. The poor girl is going crazy. I think that I could manage it since I love to be lounging around with books but for Larissa, who is far more active than I am, this is driving her crazy. She's getting moved into a private room soon, which is good since her visitors tend to be loud and then at least she's got her own bathroom (she says that maternity ward bathrooms are disgusting... ?) I truly hope she gets out soon. I was thinking of taking her animals (or at least the dog) for a while since James has been spending only minutes at home and that poor dog is trapped inside for way too long. I just have to convince Dan. Kia (the dog) is a really high energy dog but that's because she's less than a year old still. I bought some dog treats and maybe we'll see if we can train her a bit too (at least to "come" when we say).

Well, that's it for now. Enjoy the pics. I hope I have more to say next time! (hint hint?)

Two pictures

2008-02-23T15:07:00.004-05:00

I'm at Hilo for the weekend because baby Grace is getting baptized. Sarah is home for her reading break and it feels like the whole family is finally all here and hanging out together. (We're still missing Sarah's b/f Peter). Since we are all here we decided to have a shower for Amy and Grace. Oh man!!! Shower's bring in so much stuff! I loved it. There are some pretty cute baby clothes here. These onsies are from my cousin who knows the funky shops:

If you can't read them, they say: ipood, homemade, you can't see me, and i might barf. Isn't that hilarious?!

This next picture is now my most favorite picture in the world. I love that you can't actually see her face... and she doesn't look as grumpy as she actually was. I love that kid!

My sister's coming home

2008-02-15T10:54:00.002-05:00

I'm in Ingersoll on another weekend off of work! The good part of having less hours available at work is that I'm getting a lot of weekends off! I love it. Less work but more time with family and friends. Sarah is coming home! She didn't come home for Christmas so I'm really looking forward to the visit. Of course life will go on for the rest of us during the 10 days that she's here but I'm going to do as much as I can to hang out with her. I hitched a ride to Hilo last night so that I could be here when she gets here this evening. It looks like this weekend is all booked up already and we're going to have lots of good bonding with the family. I bet even Amy, Joel and baby Grace are going to be around a lot. Oh... baby Grace. Because I wanted to see her so much mom and I took a spur-of-the-moment trip to their place last night. It's not always a good idea to drop by unannounced at someone's place on Valentine's Day but we figured we were just going to go for a second. It turns out she had the Gems over for a quilting thing and we were able to quickly snag Grace away from some kids arms and take her away for ourselves. The girls left shortly and I got to sit and rock Grace while we had a quick chat. By the time Joel came home (he gets home late!!) Grace was ready to eat and Amy was ready to put together their Valentines supper of crab legs! How romantic. Amy is baby sitting at a friends today so I'm hoping to go there this afternoon again. And then.... SARAH'S HOME!! And we'll go to see the babe again! I can't get enough of this bonding. Unfortunately Sarah is sicker than a dog right now. She's been cramming her studies and working like crazy and not getting any sleep so I think the first little bit of her visit will probably be sleeping a lot.
Well, I'm off for now. You'll probably see more of me in a month or so (the way I've been writing lately). Ta ta!!

2008-01-31T15:38:00.000-05:00

I wonder what everyone is doing this weekend? I'll have to call to find out though because I'm not going to be online for a week now. I work a short shift tomorrow and then have Sat. and Sun. off. I love having weekends. Next week is even better. I work mon-thurs. and have Fri-Sun. off. They are full days so I'm still getting okay hours too. I think Dan and I will be getting together with some friends on Fri. night and then I don't know what else we have planned. I feel like doing something productive but with the big storm that is supposedly coming I doubt we'll really get out much. Maybe we'll hide out in the basement and go through all our junk. I bought 2 big tupperware bins to start organizing anything that I want to keep and throw everything else out. Does anyone know what you're supposed to do with old computer monitors, cords and keyboards? What do you do with about 20 different switch and outlet covers? Or how about 5 years of university notes? Do you keep these things? Where would you put it all? It really isn't that much but the stuff down there is just all very random. A pencil holder here, a broken plane wing there... We need a dumpster.
Hopefully I can talk to you all soon.
Nicole
ps. Read that book mom was talking about ... it'll catapult you into spring feaver if you've got the winter blues.

January 24 - Independence Day

2008-01-24T09:25:00.000-05:00

January 24, 2000, I moved to Honduras for 7 months. Really, 7 months doesn't really sound that long from my perspective right now and going into it didn't sound very long either but by the end of the 7 months I felt like it was a long time. I came home in time to start the new year in September (grade 12 for me) and then when the year was over I went to university for the following September. Even though that means that I spent a whole year home after coming back from Honduras I still look back on that date and say that is the date that I stepped out of my parents home independent. At least a little bit more independent because I really don't think that I'll ever be independent from my family and friends. Spending the week here at Opa's I've really come to see how much I rely on my family. Opa laughs every time the phone rings because of how often I talk with my sisters. My mom and dad came over for supper last night and I had such a good evening of visiting with them that I realize how much I depend on my family as a social group. My family really is my favorite group of people to hang out with. And even though Dan doesn't really act like it, family and friends mean a lot to him too. In fact, he would have a hard time moving to a practical good location if it means moving away from family and friends. We'll see how much I can change that.
Back to Jan. 24, 2000. I moved away from my family for 7 months at the age of 16 and learned sooo much about myself and life and other people. It really was an eye opening experience and has shaped a lot in my life. I don't keep in contact with the family that I lived with anymore. It's really hard. They only speak Spanish and if they have the Internet it isn't very regular. I really love that family and think of them often. I still have the key to their house (oops). I hope that I can go back someday soon. Happy Independence day, Me!

I'm an aunt again!

2008-01-21T20:27:00.001-05:00

Amy and Joel's first child, Grace Evelyn, was born last Tuesday afternoon after about 4 hours of labour. There are many more pictures on mom's flickr, so check her out. I went and saw her for a little bit on Wednesday (thanks to Larissa driving up with me and staying the night). Sunday afternoon Dan and I went up to Hilo to meet her again. Dan held her for a good long time and tugged at everyones heart strings. It always surprises me how much of a natural he is with kids. My dad says that he's a nuturer. I think he just picked up his mothers skill with children.

My Oma had to go to Holland for a week because of a death in the family and so I am staying with my Opa for the week. Dan dropped me off here on Sunday evening and I'll be here till Saturday. It's going to be a long relaxing week full of experiences and memories. Opa is really just fine on his own but Oma didn't want to leave him alone and I don't think she quite trusts his cooking skills. So, I've got the internet, a couple books, a journal and lots of time to fill. It's almost awkward though, not having a schedule. I don't really know what to do. I would love to do more with Opa so that I really do fill the week with memories but it's kind of hard to think of things. I don't think he likes cards. I already asked once and he didn't say anything. I'll go through Oma's games shelf tomorrow. I was thinking of reading to him but what if I hit a spot in my book that's too awkward to read to my Opa.... yikes. He might just sleep through it. I'm not really interested in the TV he is watching either so that makes for a lot of wandering around. The good thing is that we have lots of opportunity to go and visit Grace. I hope we get to go tomorrow because Opa hasn't seen her yet. I can't wait.

I'm sure with all this time I'll have lots more to post this week. Any suggestions for time, recipes or games would be much appreciated. Opa loooovvves sweet food.