Funny, I consider myslef a cat person...

Excerpt from a Dog's Diary:

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Dinner! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Excerpt from a Cat's Diary:

Day 983 of My Captivity.

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my capabilities. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am.

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow, but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird must be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now ...

----

Thoroughly enjoyed by my family over Christmas and, of course, stolen the web.

Speechless...

I like to worry about little things that probably don't matter.

I try not to blog about pregnancy all the time.

No seriously, I make a conscious effort to avoid the topic for a few posts at a time (scroll down...see?). I think you'll get sick of me if I monotopic... But I also think it's time to stop filtering like that. If you stopped by to read about what's up, then I'm sure you'd appreciate a post about pregnancy more than no post at all. And after all I am pregnant and you stopped by to see what's up. Also, I'm a bit disappointed that I haven't been on the ball about pregnancy photos. We have a grand total of 5. What's up with that? We're usually photo junkies. I thought for sure I'd have a Tuesday Tummy weekly belly shot or something.

But not even close.

And I'm already fretting about how I'm going to keep the Manitoba families up to date with pictures and stories after the little one is born... Duh, the blog, but then I worry I'm going to baby over-load it. Montopic again. But does that matter, really? I honestly never get sick of hearing about other people's kids on their blogs. I mean, come on, that's what I go over there for! I'm following the person, I'd rather a kids post than no post at all. Sometimes I pine for more stories and more pictures about the kids (especially the babies!) but I'm so proud of moms who also blog about themselves, their interests, their life in general... It really brings a balance to things. I wonder if it comes natural to them or if they worry about these silly kinds of things too.

Achieving balance on the blog. Honestly, is worrying about this a good use of my brain space? I'm not so much worried about achieving balance in my life as a person... I'm way too self-centered, obsessed with my husband, and crazy about God to become all-consumed by baby.

So this would be a great time to post my latest pregnancy shot and one of the photos we have from the 3D ultrasound, wouldn't it? Or should I wait to show you in person? Seeing as we are flying to Manitoba TOMORROW!!!

Learning from each other

A girlfriend of mine has two small children, a load of work, and a billion responsibilities. When she loads the car up on winter mornings it takes multiple trips from the house to strategically buckle the little ones in, without them getting too cold, or together in the car too long without mom to intervene on fights, or left unsupervised long enough to get into mischief.

So she loaded the little one first (because she can't get herself out of the car seat and go play on the street when her mom takes another trip back to the house, like the older one tends to do), then in go the day bags for nursery school, student teaching material, lunches, etc, then it's time for child number two. But this morning, upon returning to the car with child number two, to her horror she found the car doors locked. So she panicked. And so did her little one who was locked in the car by herself.

And of course, it's these moments when the husband can't be reached at work. Cuz life is like that. After what felt like eternity of trying to get a hold of her him with no luck, she called 911. They dispatched 3 officers who came and smashed the window of her car for her... (Just as her husband pulled into the driveway...)


She phoned me to tell me to always have an extra car key.


I thanked her for being bold enough to let me learn from her experiences too... And that she should have a fire extinguisher in her house.


Today I found myself in a little predicament. I had a grease fire going on in the oven and there's just so much a poor husband can do about it when he's at work. (To his credit, he left for home immediately, cell phone in hand, but it's not like he works down the street.)

The fire was getting worse, and our place was filling with smoke. I swallowed my pride and went to the neighbor's to see if he had a fire extinguisher, because we ~ erm ~ don't. The neighbor looked at me a bit puzzled as to why I'd be on his doorstep, without a jacket, looking for a fire extinguisher. I told him I had a fire in my oven and, although it's contained, I would love for it to be out. (For some reason, neighbors that share a wall with you are more than willing to help put out fires...) By God's timing he had something even better than a fire extinguisher, he happened to have his buddy over, who's a fireman! Both of them tore out his door and into my place... It was out in seconds.


So there you have it.

Be sure to have an extra key for your car, a fire extinguisher for your kitchen, and girlfriends to learn from!

*Side note: Hooray for police officers and and firemen
taking care of daily crises when our husbands are at work!!!

Published... sigh

Well, it's exciting to know that not all the hard work, blood, sweat and, yes, even sometimes tears over my grad degree wasn't completely in vain. A portion of my final manuscript has been officially accepted for publication and will appear in the Food and Nutrition Bulletin's March 2011 edition.

Yay! Right?

Well sorta. Here's what I'm struggling with:

1) The final product had most of the actually interesting aspects of our theory removed... Due to their 'speculative and controversial nature'. Well, isn't that the point of research and publication? To reach a little further, to think a little harder, to shine light on a new way of thought as opposed to continually ascribing to accepted theories? You know, help evolve science, blah blah blah?

2) The title starts with "Diarrhea..."
Yes-sir-ee, after March 2011, a quick Google search will pair my name with first author on a scientific publication apparently about loose bowl movements... And to revert back to #1, this wasn't even on the top 10 list of interesting findings... Sigh.

But hey, I'll take it none-the-less!!!


** UPDATE: I re-read this post this morning and realize I sound ungrateful that we got accepted... For the record, that's not true at all! Yay for first authorship!!

Year in review -snapshot of Facebook statuses throughout the year

{Click on image to enlarge}

Your opinion, please!

Scenario 1:

There are a group of us ladies (mostly from the church) gathering at a restaurant for breakfast. The place is filling up fast so a friend and I offer to move to the end of the table to share a seat in order to make room for a new comer and her 83 year old mother. The new comer responds: "Sure! You two skinny-minnies can fit on the end! Oh wait... I guess you [finger pointing at me] aren't a skinny minnie anymore though, are ya!?!?"

Umm... I guess not...



Scenario 2:

After the lady's breakfast I go to a friends' home where the young adults/youth are having a get together. The place is packed. I get a bit anxious when I have to enter a room full of people on my own at the best of times... But then I hear Tom's voice coming from the kitchen. He's talking about me... "... Yeah, Candice is doing really well and she looks amazing. She should be here soon..." Awww! Refill on the self-confidence! So I take a deep breath and enter the kitchen. There's about 30 people in there, and the hostess (who has had 3 kids herself) blurts out, over top of all conversation happening "There's Candice!! WOW, so that's how you'd look if you were FAT!!!"


Tell me, dear bloggers, what's the correct answer to that?


Scenario 3:

We're at a Christmas party pot-luck. There's about 100 people there. Tom and I are sitting at a table talking to a young couple we just met. Yay for potential friends! A gentleman we know (who's wife has had 4 kids) walks up to the table and upon greeting me, says "You make me feel thin!!" (Sidenote: This man is anything but thin.)

Totally taken aback (and embarrassed in front of our new friends) I needed to clarify before I got offended, "You mean, because I'm pregnant?"
Realizing this is not a good situation, Tom jumps in" "No, no, Candice, he was talking about me!"
The man, completely oblivious to the fact Tom just offered him an out to his off-colour remark, responds "No! I meant her [pointing directly at me]!"


Scenario 4:

Last night I was discussing these comments to a few of my more 'philosophical' friends. You know, ones that you'd expect to laugh along with you at the absurdity of the comments, and help identify the causes these social behaviours at a deeper level. Right after ending my rant of how these types of comments are not funny (in the same way) to a pregnant woman, how they are a blow to the self-esteem, and, considering you would never say such things towards a non-pregnant adult actually boarder on verbal abuse (in my opinion) because they leave a woman wounded and defenseless (because if she were to snap back and defend herself and her ever-growing and chaning body due to the NEW LIFE GROWING INSIDE her, she would be labled "hormonal")... Where was I? Oh right, so I just finish this rant with a "... And because there's so many changes happening in her body, the woman is barely comfortable in her own skin, let alone take blows from friends... So comments like these make you want to go home and cry."

And what does my most philosophical, (usually) sensitive friend say? "No, those are the HORMONES doing that!!" And the room bursts out laughing.



I would love to continue this rant, underlining the absurdity and double-standards that pregnant women face: Needing to gracefully accept gaining weight and becoming larger (in a society that shuns such body changes) to adapt and foster the human being developing inside her (while people critique her every move as to whether or not it's harmful to the fetus). To keep smiling and 'glowing' while people take great joy in teasing you with the horrors of labour, delivery, and parenthood ("... But I guess I shouldn't say things like that to you, you may regret getting pregnant! Blahhaaha!) To answer people's questions honestly about what I'm feeling, just to hear "Oh, just wait until..." Like the stage I'm at isn't 'there' yet. Like parenting teenagers is when it really starts...

Yes, I would love to continue that rant (because, oh boy, I've got more where that came from!) but instead I want to be a little more constructive. I'm wondering...

1) Could this be a cultural thing? In Costa Rica I was told to turn around so they could see my back end and make comments regarding it's plumpness. I wrote it off as cultural and was able to laugh it off. That would be great if this were the case here, too. Could it be that Quebec's social behaviours towards pregnant women are different than where I grew up, explaining why I feel this is unacceptable yet domestics don't seem to feel the same way? PLEASE, let me know what your experiences were so we can compare notes!

2) Am I over reacting (is it hormonal?) Would you be offended? Tom assures me that no, I'm not being overly sensitive, but rather some people are rude and some comments are hurtful. Period.

3) What would be a constructive way to deal with comments like these? Just to note, my offense stems from the fact that people are comfortable (and think it's acceptable) to slam me with body image comments, and not that I feel grossly large (but I'm willing to bet that after enough comments my brain will start to think they are right... And I don't want to buy into that!).



Wow, that was long!

Happy Monday!!

Extended!

The Montreal Diet Dispensary requested an extension of our contract 'till the end of January!!! Working for them has been such a sweet deal, I'm very appreciative of this opportunity to keep it going!

Oh my, how time flies

Alright, who's been toying with my ticker?! I'd swear it said 150 days just a few short days ago...

Things are progressing nicely around here though. So far my pre-natal appointments have been wonderfully uneventful, and I've been feeling pretty darn good. Prenatal yoga rocks.

We had a 4D ultrasound this past weekend which *definitely* confirmed the gender and gave us a sneak peak into what he looks like.

Mr Kickboxer often makes himself known, resulting in many friends catching a feel of a moving fetus. Pretty neat!

We are also proud owners of a beautiful white crib (thanks, mom!), and scored a matching dresser/change table off Kijiji for just $25 bucks! These pieces will go wonderfully in the newly painted baby's room, which is now green. The white and brown polka-dot stickers I ordered online have arrived and will be put up in January with the help of an artistic friend (sure, slapping round stickers on the wall may sound easy...) The dresser already contains a few baby gifts and hand-me-downs. How exciting!!!

Yes, things are shaping up (including my belly!) and thanks to my hubby, I also have a pair of new winter boots with built in 'traction control' (a.k.a 12 spikes built into each shoe's grip that can retract into the sole when not needed) to combat that nasty ice Montreal is prone to. The last thing I want to do is fall!

Incoming!

My mom comes to visit (for a week!) tomorrow!

I have a few things planned, like shopping, and dinners, and Mount Royal and stuff. But she has a few things planned too... Like painting the baby's room, filling it with a few cute things, and making rice-paper spring rolls!!!!

How do moms get to be so cool?

I could do a month's posting on the times that my mom had my back. Growing up, she was my best friend. From times that I was bullied in elementary school, to being heart broken by some boy in high school, she was there. Then, even though we were living in different cities, she was with me through every university exam, first-day of new jobs, and when I received my acceptance letter from NSERC for a full scholarship to grad school. She was the one I would call and pace the floor talking to about this guy I was working with, trying to work out why I was falling so fast for him... She was the one I flew up the stairs to call at midnight of March 2nd, 2007, after arriving home from the most important date of my life. She was sleeping when I called, but when she heard it was me, she said "Just a sec, I'm getting up!" You see, she already knew. Tom had asked her (and my father) for my hand in marriage a few days prior.

She bought me the most gorgeous dress I've ever seen to wear on my wedding day. She came into the city to help us pack the uHual to move to Montreal. (We cried so much that day!) But I'll never forget when I was unpacking in Montreal, feeling a million miles away, stuffed inside the packed microwave was a super-cool hard-to-find drip meatloaf pan, and a hand-written card with my mom's meatloaf recipe on it (her meatloaf rocks!) . So, not only was she there supporting us in the move, she was also planing ahead for those hard moments we'd face once getting to the other end, where she wasn't going to be.

I know that if I tun out to be half the mom my mom is, my son's gonna be alright... :)

Dear technology, I heart you.

With friends and family now spanning over continents (never mind straight across this one great big country), it's nice to be able to catch up for a few hours with a girlfriend provinces away ... Or phone a friend for a few seconds while prepping bread dough.

How did people survive long-distance without the phone?

And now Skype is entering that same category - being a world shrinker and all. How else would you be able to see your parents' faces after dropping the bomb on them that they are going to be grandparents, when you aren't even on the same continent as them... And for free?

Phones, texting, instant messaging, e-mails, e-cards, blogs, facebook,.... Oh technology, I heart you. Thank you for keeping me connected to those back 'home', because we are starting to have a few of those!!

Well, that was fun!

Blogtober, in my humble opinion, was a huge success!

Not only did four bloggers entertain us on a daily basis - yay Tiffany, Sonya, and Pamela! (I'm not sure if I count, I used the automatic posting tool for days I was without internet...) - but also a few of those who did set out to blog everyday, did indeed succeed at blogging a whole lot more than usual for the month of October, good work gals! And I couldn't help but notice that even a few of you weren't interested in the challenge, still blogged more than usual, awesome! We even have a new Blogger, welcome! And the number of comments per post are at an all-time high. Nice!

For me, Blogtober was great for cultivating my thoughts for posts and getting reconnected with all of you. For readers, apparently, it was refreshing to read something new everyday and made it easier to remember to check up on us.

I hope you've enjoyed the past 31 days as much as I have (even though it was challenging at times!) and that you, too, have developed a habit of remembering to stay in touch!

Happy Halloween!

According to some (hopefully inaccurate) internet sites, this is what Tom and I may produce:

Scary!

He told me I could tell you.

One day, while living in Costa Rica, Tom decided to help by cleaning the bathroom.
He asked me where the cleaning bucket was.

My response? "Bucket? I just use the toilet!"


I was obviously joking; it was my way of dealing with the fact that we'd been there for months and he somehow didn't know where a cleaning bucket was.



About ten minutes later I caught a glimpse of one of the funniest things I've ever seen:

Tom, kneeling beside a suds-filled toilet bowl, dipping in his hand with sponge to retrieve more 'cleaning water' to continue scrubbing the sink.


I laughed so hard I cried.

Bombay Fog

A fraction of the price as Starbucks, but oh just as delicious!
(Plus you don't have to leave the house, bonus!)

• 1 cup milk
  
• 1 chai tea bag
• splash of vanilla extract
  
• sugar to taste
• sprinkle of cinnamon for colour
  

1) Nuke milk in a tall microwavable mug until steaming (not boiling), about 35 seconds.
2) Froth milk (by hand with whisk, or with hand-held AA powered milk frother for $5)
3) Throw in tea bag and push down with spoon. Let tea steep in hot milk for a few minutes.
4) Add vanilla and sugar to taste
5) Spinkle with cinnamon (or that delicious coffee topper you bought from Tiffany's Eipcure!) for colour.

Enjoy!!

x-border bargains!

With a few malls and a great big Wal-Mart (Wait a minute... Why is Wal-Mart so much better in the states?), shopping was a major part of the plan this past weekend in Burlington.

Some of our best bargains:

• White long maternity pants from Old Navy for $5! ($5 pants are unhead of for me, never mind mat pants!)
  
• A cute striped t-shirt for $7
• Maternity tops for $5 each
  
• An adorable brown OshKosh onesie for $0.76!

Other pretty decent bargains:

• New dinnerware with place settings for six
• Measuring/mixing bowl with spout
• An insulated cookie sheet (Why is it easier to justify items like this when you're on a holiday?)
  
• Sunglasses that Tom has been searching for for a while

What made them even better bargains:

• The border patrol waving us through, not requiring us to pay duty on the items even though we were over our $50 limit a piece for one night away.
  

Freebie we picked up along the way:

• A nasty head cold, but so worth it for a weekend away with my man!
  

Yay, spring!

Sorry Saskatchewan, but I'm lovin' the effects of this strange weather! It reached 20 degrees today!! Honestly, felt and smelt like spring.

Took in the beautiful weather and went to the park - Realized that I love the Bugaboo Frog stroller that my friend has. This is a problem because it's a bit pricey, and she's offered to lend me anything except the stroller because they use it all the time. And second hand Bugaboos, for some reason, aren't a whole lot cheaper than new ones... And really, I don't know a whole lot about strollers. Can you please tell me what I actually need??? Or, at least, what you love/hate about yours???

Speaking of little people, I've been spending a lot more time with little B lately. Hanging out with him and learning some mommy moves makes me think that I stand a chance... Then I read blogs like this and realize, I really don't.

So stay tuned for more questions in the little people department!

Progress

5 weeks

19 weeks

Heart-Melting Monday

After a wonderful weekend away with my husband, it was time to get back to business this Monday morning. After dropping hubby off at work, picking up my laptop from the shop (again), and settling in at the home office with a Bombay Fog tea, the doorbell rang.

It was the mailman.

And he had a package, for me! (Just so you all know, I absolutely LOVE receiving mail.)

And in that package was the most wonderful, sweetest things in the world.

A thoughtful gift.

A heartfelt thinking-of-you note.

Lindt chocolates.

Can you think of anything better to receive on a Monday morning?!?! Seriously!!! How am I so blessed with such an amazing friend?

2000 parts? Really??

A recent house guest left behind a bar of Level 2000 soap. Which got me thinking... Are there really 2000 parts to clean?

So I stayed up late one night scouring the internet for a list of the 2000 body parts Lever 2000 claims to clean.



I've never been so disappointed in the internet before.



Their site even claims the following:

Yes, there really are 2000 parts and Lever 2000 cleans all of them - from head to toe.

But no list.


There are, however, webpages after webpages of other people wondering the same question. Are there really 2000 parts?

I even found letters written to the Lever 2000 company (Unilever) asking the same question. But they were not given a list with the response letter.



I feel cheated in some way.

Surprise!

We're off to Vermont for a surprise (to me) get-away to celebrate our anniversary and baby boy.

(I'm also wondering if it has something to do with a destination to plug into the GSP navigation app in the iPhone to see how well it works, but I'll take it!!)

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Nearly Speechless

We saw tiny little fingers, and itty bitty toes,
We saw baby sized lips, and a cute little nose,
I lost my breath and my heart filled with joy,
'Cuz oh my gosh, we're having a little boy!

Dear Baby,

Do you know that we never knew if we could have you? Do you know how delighted we are that we are!?

You see, when I, your mommy, was just 15 years old, the doctors found a really large tumor on one of my ovaries. Ovaries are little organs that play a very special role in the reproductive process. When the doctor operated to remove the (8 pound!) tumor, there was no way to save the ovary so he had to take it out too. This made your mommy very sad.

The doctors told Baba and I that the other ovary 'should' pick up the slack, eventually recognizing that the other one was gone. But there was no guarantee.

This, matched with other health concerns really made me wonder if I could ever have kids. Then I met Jesus and realized that my life goals and dreams weren't what really mattered anyways... It's His will that mattered. So I accepted that he knew what was best, even if that meant no kids of my own.

Then I met your daddy. I started falling in love with him right away, but needed him to know. Out of love and respect I told him as soon as possible that reproduction may not be reality with me. Your daddy, who always thought he wanted to have kids, didn't even leave enough time to blink (never mind time for another tear to fall) before responding that he loved me, no matter what the future held. Two months later he asked me to marry him, and later that year we became husband and wife.

A few years had past before you seriously came to mind. With every check up, the doctors found a cyst on my one last ovary. The OB/GYN (that's a doctor) told us that if we were seriously considering having a biological child, it was time to seriously start working on it.

Your daddy and I weren't sure what to do. We were traveling a lot, working in other countries, and our lives were pretty hectic. We had big goals and dreams (including you!) and weren't sure how to balance everything. So we prayed. We asked that the Lord's will be done, not ours. We asked that our goals and dreams be put aside and have His will be done, no matter what that meant for us. Baby or no baby.

Three short weeks after we starting praying that prayer, we found out you were already with us.

Within another 3 weeks we saw you on the monitor for the first time. (You looked like a kidney bean!)

We've been watching your progress Little One, watching you grow with every glimpse we get on the ultrasound machine when the doctor is checking your heartbeat. And yesterday, when you were kicking with certainty for the first time, I nearly leapt out of my chair with joy. How proud we were as parents!

But this morning my love, this morning we get to find out even more... It's the day we've been awaiting for nearly 20 weeks now. We get a head-to-toe ultrasound exam, finding out details of you we can't even imagine.

I've been dreaming about you. And every time I've met you in my dreams you have been a baby boy. Are you a boy? Doña Macha and Baba say you are a girl. Are you a girl? I love you no matter what, but am really excited to find out everything and anything about you that I can.

I'll see you in a couple of hours my sweet babe.

Love,
Your Proud Mama

3

Today, three years ago, I married you my best friend.

The Lord has brought us many places over the past three years, beyond anywhere we could've imagined. We've been through challenging and amazing times and I am reminded on a daily basis that you are my better half. You are a gift from God.

As I reflect over the past three years I can't help but get butterflies about our future. The Lord's plans are far greater and far better than any of our own, and I look forward to experiencing them with you.

I love you.

I'm baaaaa aaaccck!

Well, that was fun!

Here are some highlights:

• Seeing all of those that we were so close to last year. My heart skipped a beat so many times!! We were taking the bus in to town and after climbing aboard someone excitedly shrieked from the back "Candi?!?!!" in disbelief that a ghost just got on the bus. Then we would spend the ride catching up. Sooo welcoming, like visiting home!
  
• Noticing many positive changes have taken place over the past 6 months. Yes, change is sad sometimes, but for the most part they were positive changes.
  
• Playing Dutch Blitz with the youth... Neither they nor I have played since April. It was a 'throw back' for all of us. We even played the full-sized version.
  
• Informing people that we are pregnant. There, babies are viewed as a true blessing from God, so they are happy to see we have been blessed.
  
• Attending a church service at the Voz Que Clama mission. I've especially missed their praise and worship time. What energy!!
• Catching up with A, who is originally from Canada but now lives and works there. Her and her husband were married two weeks before Tom and I were... And now they are due two weeks before Tom and I are!! It was so nice to talk to someone at the (exact) same life stage.
  
• Going to the beach with our Costa Rican family. The Caribbean ocean was warm, the pick-nick was delicious, the company was fantastic, and the rain held off for most the day.
  
• Chasing a Capuchin monkey away from rummaging through our stuff. Malo mono!!! ("Bad monkey!") Yes, I really did yell that at him!! He hissed at me. Then I got a little scared.
  
• Putting on a big pre-warmed jacket at the Montreal airport upon our return... And when slipping my passport into the pocket, feeling something strangely techy and rectangularish inside... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  

Before and after... Livin' it!

We're flying home today and needed to leave wwwaaaaaaayyy too early to compose something crafty, so I prewrote this for your enjoyment. 'Tomorrow', when I'm home, I'll tell you all about our trip. Probably.

***


When we moved out of our last apartment we sold the couch. It was a relatively new couch, but it was cheap and uncomfortable. At least it looked good.

Because this


is what we had when we moved back.


Ick.


And our living looked like a student's apartment.

Double ick.


I really couldn't stand it.


The plan was to buy a replacement couch when we returned... I spent hours scouring Kijiji and Craigslist for a good deal. We even visited a used one, but it didn't work out.


I dreamed of making over the living room.

So we did.

What do you think?




Not so icky, at least?


And the best part is that everything was on the cheap!

Cheesed.

A flashback post... Because we're off to the beach today!!!


**

Last Friday night on our way home from dinner, we decided to stop in at the fondue restaurant to enjoy some wonderfully melty cheesy goodness on the board walk.

Romantic, no?

We order an appetizer to share. We'd already eaten, so it was just for a taste.

The waiter told us no. He said that the tab was simply too small and if we weren't ordering more we couldn't stay.



Excuse me?
Seriously?




Here's a little black heart sticker for you, sir.




So we walked to our little grocery store, bought a No Name cheese fondue and enjoyed a whole mound of it, for half the price, while coozied up watching a movie at home.

Believe me, it was much better than anything that restaurant could have offered!

changes

I knew it would happen.

Some things changed.

Some youth grew.

Some now have cellphones.

Some are dreaming of visiting the states.

Some of the elderly passed away.

Some of the young adults are going to get married.

Some parents are sick, and because of it are now out of work.

Some can't afford groceries.

Some bought a car.

Gardens have grew, trees have been removed.

As time passes, some things change.

But our God does not.

How blessed are we to live in such an ever-changing world, yet serve an unchanging God.

Because I don't think anyone will let that fly...

Hi all!

We made it and are doing well. It's sooooo nice to see everyone again (and realize I haven't completely lost my Spanish). And wow, I haven't had my belly kissed so many times in my life!

The word here is that I'm carrying a girl, because apparently my behind and love handles are significantly larger than before :P I guess we'll have to wait until next week to see if they're right!

Misses the Mrs.

I'm not sure if it breaks the rules to use a guest blogger to keep an unblemished "Blogtober" streak alive. She may have a post planned for today, but I thought I'd log in and save the streak proactively. I'll try to keep it quick and painless.

You know how God teaches you lessons sometimes?

My wife has finally emerged from the "all-day sickness" phase of the pregnancy, enough that she can travel to be with some dear friends from what-once-was-home.

I'm stuck at home today, sidelined with a bout of stomach flu. Yeah, it sucks, but don't feel sorry for me (you probably don't).

I wished I had remembered exactly how much it sucked when Candice was going through it for months. Maybe I would have been a little more supportive.

Miss you Candice, I'll apologize when you get home!

A love list.

Yes, this is a scheduled post.

I just have no idea what internet access is going to be like, and I didn't want to take my chances!

I also thought this would be a good post to read myself upon returning, because who knows what my thoughts will be down there!!


***


It's interesting to note all the things that I love about day-to-day life here in Montreal. (For me, at least.) So often when we were living abroad, we would note things that we loved about where we were living and working. So why not do the same while living back in Canada?

Here's my love list about days I go to the office (which can be the longest days of them all).

1. The commuter train. It's punctual, safe, clean, and warm. The seats are comfy and I'm able to get a half hour of work done on the way in, and then again on the way home. This makes for a much shorter day at the office. I love that I get to break up my workday and be paid for my commuting time.
   
2. The rush of the metro when it comes out of the tunnel to pick up passengers. The wind, the sound, the streak of blur before suddenly stopping. It kind of gives you a rush.
   
3. Picking up a skinny Chai tea Lattes from the Second cup on the walk to the office.
4. Walking up the steps of the building. I know the appreciation of this one will probably fade quicker than the others, but I still get a little rush out of "I'm going to work. I'm getting paid. As a professional. In a clinic that helps at risk pregnant women in Montreal."
5. The francophone work place. Yes this has it's challenges, but it's amazing how much the language acquisition and survival skills I learned to use while in immersion Spanish settings have translated into this French setting.
   
6. Being productive during the day in a readily recognized, tangible way. Sometimes the hardest part about mission work was going to bed at the end of the day and not being able to place your finger on what exactly you did that day. Worked? Most definitely! But in a much different way than when you are working for an employer. During my days at the office (or working from home) it's nice to be able to point to something and say 'That. I did that today." I do miss many of the aspects of mission work, but this post is to focus on what I'm loving about what I'm doing right now.
7. Chatting with Tom online. We're connected to each other pretty much all day via gmail chat... and I love it. It's so nice to get home at the end of the day and already have a good idea of how his day went.
8. Heading home. No matter how well my day went, it's always nice to be homeward bound. I leave at 3:30 to catch the train, which gets me home in good time to get a homemade healthy supper on the go and tidy up before Tom gets home.
   
9. Tom getting home. My heart still skips a beat when I hear his key in the door. No matter where in the world we are.
   
10. Not having to always work in the evenings as well. This is the first time in, well, ever that I haven't had to study during the evening or run a dozen programs from our home throughout the week. We do participate in programs, and will be hosting a weekly one soon, but the higher-than-ever-before down time is so appreciated right now. But I'm sure that will come to an end before we know it!
    

pink or blue?

Alright! Today is travel day for me, so to keep you entertained while I'm away, I figured I'd do a fun little poll.


Yay! Right?


Next week we are having our 20 week ultrasound... And we get to find out if it's pink or blue in there!!!


What do you think our little bundle is?

Pack?

I am still in complete disbelief... I'm going to Costa Rica tomorrow!

Here's the itinerary:

4:00am - arrive at Montreal's international airport

6:15am - depart Montreal... Miami bound!
9:55 - Arrive in Miami, grab some food

12:05pm - depart Miami, San Jose bound.
12:50pm - arrive in San Jose.

Clear customs, connect with driver, and head out for a 2 hour twisty-turny van ride to beautiful Tuis, Costa Rica.


Oh, how I've missed thee.


And the itinerary for the following 5 days is pretty much open! Of course we have a few coffee and tortilla making dates lined up, and the youth group on Friday night, but I'm just looking forward to slowing down, relaxing, and reconnecting with old friends.



(Unfortunately, I'll still be putting in a few hours for work... But at least I'll be doing it in flip flops.)

What I'm thankful for

Amongst many, many other things, I'm thankful that 'something' told me to back up my hard drive an hour and a half before it crashed, burned, and died last week.


I was able to recover all but 1.5 out of 100 hours of work saved on it.


Now that is nothing but the grace of God!

Speaking of llamas...

My grandma has two pet llamas.

She didn't get two pet llamas on purpose.

Who would?

She got two llamas to hang out with the cows.

To scare away the coyotes.

You see, the coyotes were killing the calves.

So she bought two llamas to put out in the cattle pasture.

But the cows were scared of the llamas and kept running away from them.

It isn't good for cows to run.

Especially into the mouths of the coyotes who seemed to be hanging out in the same hiding-from-llamas spot.

So she had to separate them.

The llamas from the cows.

And now she has two pointless llamas.

I'm sure the farm hand loves feeding them everyday.

I wonder if he needs a jacket.

Little stickers, stickers for everyone

Sometimes I think that I should carry two rolls of stickers in my pocket. One roll of beautiful gold stars and a roll of ugly black hearts. I could hand them out, grade 1 style, to people throughout the day for acts I've witnessed.

Care for an example?
I thought so.

Yesterday the metro was packed and a little old lady squeezed in at the last minute. One young gentleman grabbed her to help her with her balance as the metro picked up speed; a second guy quickly gave up his seat so she could sit down.

Good job gentlemen!
Now that's two gold stars right there.

And as for the black hearts? I'd give one to the guy that stepped right in front of the preggo lady trying to get on the same metro.

Dude, not cool.
Here's a black heart, now go and think about what you've done.




What would have you handed out lately?

The Jacket

This past April, Tom and I took a trip to the west coast with his parents. The trip was wonderful, but boy howdy was it colder than anticipated! We were all under dressed for the weather and were left begging and borrowing relatives’ garments.

I froze.

Well, until I found The Jacket.

It was beautiful. Sitting there on it’s hanger in the marina. Cozy, trendy, wooly, wonderfulness. Could you ask for more? I gave it a test run by wearing it out onto the dock to visit the seals. And I could still feel my arms after. Sold!

I loved it. It was wonderful.

Well, that was until it happened.

It was in Montreal when it happened. We were out with the young adults group from our church, hanging out at the top of Mount Royal watching the city lights one evening when we got caught in the rain. A friend actually asked “Do they let horses up here? Honestly, it smells like horse manure all of a sudden!!!”

There were no horses.

It was The Jacket.

Maybe you knew this, but I did not. When wet, wool can stink like the animal it came from. I'm not positive what animal produced this jacket, but it sure wasn't a cute one. I'm thinking more llama than sheep.

I was neighed at for the rest of the night.

We went to Ecuador the next week. Haven't needed it when since we returned. Until now.

I love the jacket, I really do… I even get compliments on it from people (who are standing at least 6 feet away). Oh, but the stench when it's wet! It fills the room.

This morning I Febreezed it.

And now it smells like a Febreezed llama.

Health, the most important part?

The conversation usually goes something like this:

Well-meaning person: "Do you want a boy or a girl?"

Pregnant couple: "Oh, it doesn't matter to us. We'd be delighted with either."

Well-meaning person: "Right, as long as it's healthy. That's the most important part!"


Um, no it isn't.


When people wish me a healthy baby, I know they mean well, but do they really understand what they are saying? It makes it sound like unhealthy babies are less desirable, something you wouldn't actually want.

Yes, the complexities that parenthood brings about are often in greater abundance with children who have special needs, but is that the end of the world? Is that the most important part? Do you know anyone with a child with medical needs or a social behaviour problem who would return their child if they could?

Let's take a more specific example, do you know of anyone who would rid their Down Syndrome child? In my opinion, they are some of the most peaceful, beautiful children loved dearly by their parents {yet 91-93% of fetuses diagnosed with Down Syndrom in the womb are aborted (Prenatal Diagnosis 19 (9): 808–812)}

I think these kinds of wants and decisions exemplify the limit of our human mind!! We want what our feeble minds can muster up as to what is best. But remember, we don't know what is best for us. Moreover, this world isn't even about us. Not at all. Not even when it comes to 'our' kids. They are gifts from God, and it's the Lord's will that is the most important part. He knows infinitely more than us. He was here before us and will continue to be here after we pass on.

When you wish someone a healthy child, what you probably really mean is that you want the best for their child (which is nice) but you are also saying that you know what is best.

As I watched B (the 13 month old I babysit on Wednesdays) trying miserably to put the colourful stacking rings on the cylinder, I wonder if that's how God sees us sometimes. Fumbling, trying to do things our way (a way that just won't work), when it is so crystal clear to him what needs to be done and what we need in order to get those things done.


I pray that the Lord's will be done, not mine, for this young life within me. I pray that he blesses my child to be part of his perfect will, no matter what that means for me. It isn't easy to do; if I were to admit my worldly human desires, a healthy full-term baby would be lovely. But if I am to focus on my heart's desire, which is far closer (yet I realize still far from) inline with the greatest thing in life, I pray for the Lord to bless our child, to create him or her in his perfect image (which we all are, as flawed as we all are!) and to use him or her in his perfect will.

God knows each of us. He created all of us the way we are on purpose.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

Psalm 139:13

If you can follow this, kudos to you!

(Warning to Tiffany: If inappropriate tense changes kill you, please for the sake of your children, don't read on.)


Yes, I'm going to Costa Rica next week.

How did that happen, you ask? I wonder the same thing myself.

Let's see, where did it start....



Let's rewind, to August:

We were in Colorado Springs, sitting in a stinky hotel room, battling through the weeks of training at HCJB... Amongst all the chaos of travel, of morning sickness, of trying to figure out what we are suppose to do with our lives, and of just wanting to 'go home' (where ever that would be)...

C: "Tom? I think I need to go back to Costa Rica. I need to see everyone. I need to know they are all still there. I miss them so dearly, and I don't know when we will get a chance to go."

T (who was telecommuting into work via the hotel's free wireless): "Then you should go. If it's laid on your heart to go, you should go."

C: "Well, I don't want to go by myself."

T: "I absolutely cannot go. But I would love it if you could go for us. Think and pray about who should go with you. Then ask."

So I did, and I surprised an acquaintance (A) out of the blue with an e-mail from our Colorado Springs hotel room. I extended her an invitation to travel to CR with me without a date, budget, time line, or agenda included in the e-mail.

She said "I'm in!"**



Fast-forward to September:

Over a month had past. We spent time in Manitoba visiting family and at Tom's brother's wedding. We came back to Montreal and life started to really pick up. Between moving in, shopping for apartment stuff, and both of us starting to work outside the home full time (which was a complete surprise), it could have easily gotten lost.

But it didn't. It was still there. A nag. A pull.

I looked up the price of tickets. *WOW* They nearly doubled since I first proposed the idea to A. It would just be too expensive now!!



Fast-forward a bit more:

We were at a church BBQ when someone I didn't know sat down beside me to eat a burger. We introduce ourselves. Her name rings a bell...



Rewind to June:

We are in Ecuador, and I receive a very encouraging e-mail via the candiceandtom blog. It's from a new comer to our church. She wants to get together when we get home...



Fast-forward back to BBQ:

C: "Wow, wait! Did you write to me while we were in Ecuador?"

L: "Yes, that was me!"

C: "Cool! I'm so glad we got to meet. How are you doing?"

L: "I'm good, but I need to tell you something: I'm an independent travel agent. If you ever need or want to go anywhere I can get you tickets. At cost."

C (nearly chocking on her burger) "Excuse me?"

L: "This isn't a sales pitch or anything. I just know you guys travel a lot and I'd love to help you out."

T (who is grinning): "Can you get her and her friend some tickets to Costa Rica?"

L: "I'll see what I can go."


Fast-forward 2 days:

I receive a quote for two flights to Costa Rica in my inbox. The price is way better than I could find. Pretty much the same price as when I was looking in Colorado Springs. The dates are great in respect to how much time A and I can manage to get away for.

I e-mail A, and after over a month of not talking about it, I send her dates, budget, and time-line. The departure date is only a few weeks away.

She says "Book 'em. I'll go get my shots."


Fast-froward to today:

So, yes. I'm are going to Costa Rica next week. Not with Tom, but with an acquaintance (we don't know each other that well right now, but oh, we will!!).

I'm looking forward to touching base with everyone there and introducing them to my belly.


Please pray for a safe, uneventful trip. We'll be gone from next Wednesday to the following Monday!!

Four truths, no lie!

1. On the 20th of this month, I will have been married to the man of my dreams for 3 years. It took him less than 3 months to propose. I could hardly wait to marry him.

2. We have been living in Montreal now for almost 5 weeks. That’s the longest we’ve stayed in one place in the past 6 months.

3. When I go in to the office, I take the commuter train then the metro line. It makes me feel all grown up. Then I remember I’m 26, married for 3 years, and over 4 months pregnant…. And realize I am grown up.

4. Next week I'm heading back to Costa Rica for a few days to visit some people we miss dearly.

Just like Sonya, of course all of the above are true.

WAIT! I didn't tell you about the Costa Rica thing!?

They grow up so fast!

Last week we went to parent-teacher interviews.
Lat night we practiced parallel parking until 11:00pm so she'll be okay on her driver's test this afternoon.
Next month she turns 18.

Wow, they do grow up fast!




P.S.> Investing in young people's lives may be good training ground for being a parent!

It's the small things.

Tuesday morning was garbage day.

Monday night it was raining.

Tom told me to leave the bins in the backyard, and he'd move them in the morning before leaving for work (so I wouldn't have to do it in the rain).

And he did.

Even though it was still raining.

And I was still sleeping.






Reason #38 757 945 why he is my hero.

Whatever moves ya

I know.

Exercise during pregnancy is important. For you. For baby. For husband (due to increased feel-better hormones).

I've read studies, my little app reminds me on a weekly bases, and I've even sat through scientific presentations about it when I was at McGill (although it needs to be notes that the jury is still out on how much and which kind is best, but I'll spare you the details).

So, yes. I know. Exercise = good.
I also know that pregnancy can be exhausting. Up until about 3 weeks ago, I just couldn't do it. Heck, I nearly gave myself a gold sticker every time I crawled into bed at the end of the evening. I could barely make dinner, never mind go for a walk.

Then about 3 weeks ago I started to feel a bit better, which was excellent timing because that's when I started working (God's cool like that). I found myself with more energy, but also with more energy-using obligations on my plate. I started going for extra walks once every few days. I even bought a prenatal yoga video. Emphasis on the bought, not used.

I would whine to Tom that I sucked as a mom already. Could I really say "I did my best"? I felt like a was failing. I knew all the benefits.

Then one morning, 10 day ago, my Little App told me something that changed my life....

Are you having trouble getting enough exercise in during the week while pregnant? Then be sure to reward yourself when you do get it in! Figure out what moves ya, and be sure to follow through. For example, maybe a pedicure for meeting your goal of exercising for 5 days/week. External motivators can really help!

External motivators? I never thought of that... Gifts are one of my love languages, I'll have you know. (You can call me shallow, or honest. Your choice.)

So that night, when we went to bed, I let Tom read the app blurb. This is how it went from there:

T: Alright, for every hour of exercise you do, we'll put $ toward anything you want.

C (who was originally thinking scoring a pedicure or maybe new runners would be awesome): Anything?

T: Anything.

C: Well, I don't know what I'd want. You let me have pretty much anything I can make a good case for...

T: Yup, but this doesn't have to be anything justifiable. You've told me that I need to help out with getting you to do more exercise. So here it is: It could be anything. Soemething completely fun. Something you'd love, but we just couldn't justify.... Maybe you'd be interested in exchanging your iTouch for an iPhone?

C: Squuueeeeek!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

T: I'll give you $5/hour.

C: Huh? DUDE, I'm your wife. I'm carrying your unborn child. And you're going to lowball me with $5/hour? That's not even minimum wage!

T: Take it or leave it.

C: ....

T: If you get exercising, you might be able to buy a used one by Christmas. If you want a new one, well, you should be able to get it before the baby's born...

C: Sold!!!

...

C: Hey, wait. This means you'll get my iTouch doens't it?

T: Yuppers!!!

C: Well, you can 'buy' it off me. $3 for every hour of exercise you do.

T: $3????? WHAT?

C: Well, there's only one of you and it isn't as expensive. Take it or leave it.

...


Well, that sure got me going!!! I'm happy to report that I now have $40 towards my prize. Yes, that means I've only missed 1 of the past 9 days!

Blogtober

Ever think of something and without thinking it through, you ask others what they think and if they want to do it too... Then all of a sudden you need to come up with 31 posts?

31 posts? I posted 31 times on this site between the beginning of March and the end of September. That's 7 months, people!


So brace yourselves for some poorly composed posts... And maybe my belly's debut.... For today is the beginning of Blogtober, where I, along with a few other awesome bloggers, are commiting to posting something everyday during the month of October. Be it pictures, a short blurb, or a full on rant... Bring it on, and let's see who's the Queen of Blogtober!!

(Do you think that if I stick a prize in the mail by the end of next week, Tiffany will receive it by the end of the month?!)

Get outta me head, and into the internets..

I've had many a blog posts lately. They are all living in my head.

I heard of a challenge, it's about blogging everyday for a month straight... Just to help get the creative juices going.

I think I might just do it. Not just for you, but for me, too. It's kind of fun sometimes to look back at old blogs.

Watdayathink? When should I start?

And even a better questions.... Who else is up for it?!?!!?

What's in a name?

We're four months pregnant.

It's time to get a little more serious about deciding on names.


Here's the criteria:

1. Spellable - NO ONE seems to be able to spell our last name, so out of pure respect to The Kid, it deserves a first name that they won't have to spell every time they meet someone.
   [Tom says: "This is so true. It's not fair that the kid should have to spell both their first and last names all the time -- every time I make a phone call and have to give my name, it's always 'Tom Supercalafragilistic S-U-P-E-R-C-A-L-A-F-...'. I don't even wait for them to ask."]
   
2. Gender specific - For example, I love the name Jordan (I know, it's taken!), but it would never pass because we know both a girl Jordan and a boy Jordan.
   
3. Maybe not start with a B. Someone graciously pointed that out to me the other day...
   

Boy's name:
It's been decided. It's meaningful to us, I love it's biblical meaning... And just all around good stuff. Done. (Don't type it in the comment section if you know what it is!)

Girl's name:
Here lies the problem... We have two, but we aren't sold on either. They either don't jive with the boy's name we have (does this matter?) or breaks one of the above rules (can't we just change the criteria to suite our needs?)


What about you? If you've named a kid or two, or four, what was your criteria? Were you sold on a name the first time you thought about it? What if you loved one but your spouse did not?

Forget the boxes, let's get on with life!

Alright, so I'm done with the move-in thing for now.

We're pretty much not any closer to being done since the last time I wrote, but I figure that we've either found or bought whatever we need on a daily bases, so the rest can just chill for a while.
It will feel like Christmas when we open them, you're pretty sure you know what's in there, but often it comes with a surprise!


What else is up, you ask?

I started working. Full timeish. Woot, woot!!! At a big girl job and everything!! Yup, this past Monday I started working for a prenatal health clinic downtown, four days a week, and on the fifth I baby-sit for a girlfriend. She was the cool chicky that set me up with the gig downtown in the first place, so the least I can do is hang out with her 12 month old one day a week (and she pays me for it too, which is kind of nice). Her mat leave it over, so she's back gone back to school to finish up the last year of her master's degree (the same one I did). So she has her 25 month old in day care, and a baby-sitter at the house with the 12 month old. Now she's a busy lady!

The clinic that I'm working for has a tonne of demographic, medical history, intervention, pregnancy, and pregnancy outcome data that they want statistically analyzed to help determine if their services improve empowerment of low-income at-risk pregnant women. And that's just one project. They also have a study going working with the Ministry of Health of Quebec that they need reprocessed, and a number of other things. Never did i think I would be a research consultant/analyzed, and never did I think I would have this much employment in Montreal (and being hired while pregnant!) but so far it's going really well and I get to work from home two out of those four days! Sweet deal. But maybe the sweetest part is that in Quebec, any income in the calendar year prior to your due date qualifies for mat leave. Booya!!! So forget the boxes, let's spend a bit of that energy on income generation, shall we?

I'm also really diggin' my baby-sitting gig on Wednesdays. It offers such a change of pace from spreadsheets and number crunching, and sometimes a change is as good as a break, but it also offers a glimpse into what life may be like a few months from now. (Well, minus the gorgeous house they live in!)

Tom's doing well too. Not only with work but he's also helping start up a young men's program for youth. Our Montreal church is very much into outreach, especially to those at risk, and he's getting in elbow deep. It's very cool to see some of the lessons we've learned over the past year relay into the life we are setting up in Montreal. Tom also spoke at a men's breakfast last Saturday morning, so he's got the young and the old guys covered, lol!

Still. Moving. In...Zzzzz

Garg! It takes a lot to move.

We've almost finished collecting our stuff from the numerous households that so graciously stored it for us over the past year (even though the original deal was to store it for only 6 months ;)

We didn't loose too much to mould... But the things that we did were, ewwww, ever so mouldy. EEWW.

Sometimes when I unpack a box you think to myself 'Why did I bother keeping this?' but then proceed to find somewhere to store it in the new place. Go figure.

I tire easily. Which means the moving and unpacking can only happen in bouts. And when I tire? Boy howdy! I have about a 5 minute grace period before falling off a cliff into exhaustion. We'll be in the middle of Costco and I'll look at Tom and say, 'Wow. Honey? I'm getting tired...' He knows that's the cue to high-tail it home before things get ugly. Anyone else out there get spells of exhaustion during pregnancy? All the cute little preggo books tell me that all that goes away in the second trimester.... Well, I'm still waiting. And taking a nap while I'm at it.

And for those of you who care to hear about my pregnancy woes, I haven't puked in a week! BOOYA!

Bag Lady

I've been carrying around a plastic Safeway bag full of stuff lately. Seems to be too handy to just throw everything I need for an outing into one convenient bag.


Money? In the bag.
ID? Yup, it's in the bag.
Snack, iPod, phone, and sunglasses? You bet, just throw it in that cool plastic keeper.


So why was I so surprised this morning to find that every other woman in the clinic waiting room had one too?



Because theirs were purses.



Hmm, now there's a thought!

Random Updates

• We got to sleep in our own bed last night. It was the fourth time in 12 months.
• Montreal is HOT. Yesterday we stepped off the plane into 30 degrees... Today's high is 32. Tomorrow's? 29...
  
• Our air-conditioner can't be installed cuz our windows are old and crank out side-ways. Not window-unit friendly.
  
• There's still a lot of moving in to do...
  
• This morning while drinking a big ol' glass of OJ I read my lab referral sheet for today's FASTING blood tests. Oops.
  
• We got Costco memberships yesterday. Yes, we are somebodies now!
  
• On our second day in Colorado Springs my old supervisors from McGill contacted me. The Good News: The scientific journal we submitted a piece of my master's work to didn't get rejected! The Bad News: Now that I'm home it's time to help with the revisions requested... Boy howdy is it hard to remember what in the world I all did with those numbers over a year ago.
  
• I've received a few job offers! One of which I start on the 13th of September, doing part-time contract work as a nutritionist for a non-profit prenatal health clinic that serves low-income women. I'm so thankful for this opportunity. I really didn't think I stood a chance at working as a professional in Quebec, considering I'm only a nutritionist (didn't do an internship to be a dietitian) and don't speak French. But this opportunity kind of fell into my lap, which is tres cool...
• On October 21st we're going to have our 20 week ultrasound.... And get to see the baby's, umm, parts.
• Tom's aunt told us that when she was pregnant with her first, someone gave her a yellow sleeper as a gift very early in her pregnancy. She propped up the yellow sleeper on the couch and the visual made it all the more 'real' (and the pregnancy symptoms more bearable!)... Inside the beautifully wrapped box she gave us was the most adorable green-with-white polka dot outfit I've ever seen. The outfit is currently sitting on my lap.
  
• To continue with the baby talk... According to my iTouch ap, I'm in the first day of the second trimester. That means all this nausea and vomiting are going to disappear today, right? RIGHT?
  

Home!

We're back in Montreal once again.

And looking forward to settling in this time!

More to come.... No, like seriously... I'll blog again, I promise.

Yeah, the similarities are uncanny...

Tom and I just finish a presentation to the entire organization about who we are and where we're from... A man from the audience approaches us after we finish speaking:


Audience man to Tom: Wow, so you're like that really nerdy
guy from the Red Green Show!


Tom to Audience man: Um, I guess...

Random Jibber Jabber

I stole the blog title from Sonya.

Sometimes life is waaaaay easier when it offers fewer options. But who wants easy anyways, right?

I'm in my 11th week of pregnancy...Which means I'm 10 weeks pregnant. But I'm all about reporting it using the higher number.

We've seen our baby twice now. It's the cutest little kidney-bean-shaped-thingy I've ever seen... Seeing and hearing it's heart beat on week 5 (that's only 3 weeks gestation!) was miraculous to us.

At this moment we're still in Colorado Springs, trying to make some really big decisions. And I'm constantly trying not to puke.

While in Montreal, we lived in our apartment for three nights... We lent our place to someone who needed a place to stay while we're away, so as of today, our friend has stayed more nights in our place than we have... And he has used our stuff more than we have all year... Funny thought.

From here we will fly to Winnipeg (Yay!) for a quick trip to see the families... Tom's brother is getting married on the 28th and Tom is the best man. We both just adore his brother and are so very happy for him. We're pretty big fans of marriage, ya know.

I'm wondering if anyone would be up for helping me with my hair on the morning of Saturday, the 28th? Haven't been feeling the beautifulest lately (feeling like a sausage in your own clothes just does that), so I'm looking forward to doing a little something with the locks for the wedding.

Our hotel room smells like cigarette smoke... Blah!

Although stainless steal pots and pans may look pretty, some aren't the best to cook with... And they often sure don't look pretty after I've cooked with them.

HCJB officially extended us an invitation to join their team in "serving with partners around the globe as the voice and hands of Jesus." That's a pretty exciting deal. Tom and I conditionally accepted... We need to talk to a few peeps before anything becomes more official than that.

Guess what!?!

.


Roses are red
Violets are blue
Looks like more blog fodder's a comin',
and I couldn't wait to tell you!

Yes, we're pregnant!









Alright ladies, now tell us all your tips!

Welkome home

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Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday