Peter and Anne

30 weeks

2012-01-04T16:02:00.001-07:00

Holy cow.

27 weeks

2011-12-13T16:10:00.001-07:00

23 weeks (almost)

2011-11-13T18:29:00.001-07:00

15 weeks

2011-09-21T17:45:00.001-06:00

I promise I won't be one of those girls who gets really obsessed with her pregnancy and suddenly symptoms, doctor's visits and name lists become the only things she talks about. Those girls bug me. BUT. I've had some requests for a bump update.

It's really more of an "I had a family sized bag of cheetos and a 44 oz. coke for lunch" bump than an obvious baby bump. I confess, I'm looking forward to appearing a little more pregnant and a little less like I'm just stuffed from a gluttonous lunch.

Also I have to say. While I love seeing other girls' bump photos on blogs and facebook, it's kind of embarrasing to do it myself. The photo is grainy! I look fat! The mirror is dirty! I have bags under my eyes!

But I'm tryin to keep it real.

So, here's 15 weeks.

Happy News!

2011-09-04T08:23:00.001-06:00

We are so happy to announce that we are expecting a baby in March! I'm due over spring break so I think we'll have to go deliver in Cancun.

Here are the questions I get most often, in case you are wondering the same.

1. When did you find out?

We figured it out while we were in Greece this summer. It was kind of fun to be speculating but not really be sure. We kept saying "do you think....?" and kind of grinning. We confirmed as soon as we got back. I kept that little test on the counter all day waiting for Peter to come home. I must have looked at it 100 times!

2. How far along are you?

12 weeks. Tuesday I will begin my second trimester. No, I'm not showing yet.

3. Do you know the sex yet?

No, it's too early.

4. When will you find out?

In March, on delivery day! (collective gasp of horror) Yes, we are are going to wait to find out. We think it will be fun to guess! I was unprepared for how strongly the general public feels about this decision and how openly they will argue with me about it.

5. Will you stay home after the baby is born?

I think so. It's hard to even think about that right now because I'm so wrapped up in the beginning of school. That's always been the plan though. To be honest, I'm worried about being bored at home all day! I nearly died during the summer and during the part of our life in Canada that I was unemployed. I'm sure it will be different with a baby though.

6. Do you have names picked out?

No. Lol...we have about 2 boy names we like and 0 girls names. Guess we should eventually get a baby name book.

7. Do you want a boy or a girl?

I want a girl. Peter wants a boy. Shocker.

8. How are you feeling?

I have been feeling great! I haven't had much nausea, usually only followed by a strong smell. Oddly, I can't stand the smell of pancakes and syrup right now. And anything with a gross or strong smell makes me gag, like trash or feta cheese or dogfood. I've also been super tired. Hopefully all that will pass soon now that I'm through the first trimester.

9. How did Peter react when you told him?

He had the sweetest reaction. It's a moment I will treasure always. I had waited all day to tell him because I didn't want to tell him on the phone. I bought some teeny all-star sneakers and gave them to him when he got home. At first he didn't get it...then he figured it out and his face was precious. He just hugged me and hugged me and (don't tell him I said this) his eyes got a little watery. He is just so excited he can hardly stand it. He will be such a wonderful father and he loves the little peanut already.

10. Have you had an ultrasound yet?

Yes, we went in a 10 weeks and had our first look at the little guy. It was just an inexplicable feeling to see the little peanut wiggling around and stretching. We heard the heartbeat and it was strong and so comforting to hear and see it flickering on the screen.

Bathroom project

2011-07-22T08:45:00.000-06:00

Ever since we moved in (nearly a year ago) I've wanted to change some things up in our bathroom. The lighting was horrible and the wall colors just made the lighting worse. So for nearly a year I haven't hung anything up in there because I kept saying, let's paint the bathroom this weekend...well, 10 months later, I finally did. I painted it myself (lovely, calming blue), but had the expert help of my Dad and Peter to help redo the lighting (they added fixtures above the mirror and a beautiful, sparkly chandelier above the bathtub). Then I gathered up and arranged all of our wedding stuff and accessorized a little. I love it, I could just live in there.

Before: Yawn

After: Pretty!

The lovely chandelier and (finally!) a home for our wedding card frame that I made 4 years ago! Love reading the wedding blessings written by our friends and family.

The chandelier without the light on, so you can see how pretty the details are!

And this is how the floor of my bathroom usually looks when I'm in there...who needs nice rugs anyway.

Simba's bad habit

2011-06-06T10:34:00.000-06:00

Simba is a sweet boy. Very cuddly and cheerful and quick to try to please and do what we want.

Except for one little, teeny, weensy little thing.

He counter-surfs. Without shame (seriously, when we catch him doing it and yell "no!" he just looks at us like "whatever"). Big paws right up on the kitchen counter checking out (and stealing) anything within reach. And as it turns out, even the high counter is not out of his reach. He hasn't gotten anything when we are home, but has helped himself to a few things when we were out. So far he has eaten:

1 whole loaf of bread
1/2 of an angel food cake
1 whole box of crackers

I'm not sure how to teach him to stop, but we humans sure have learned to pick up and put away anthing we'd like to have for ourselves later!

A new member of the family

2011-05-31T08:54:00.001-06:00

This is our new fur-baby, Simba! We had been thinking and talking about getting another dog for awhile and we finally decided a golden from a rescue association was the best option. We adopted him Memorial Day weekend from the Golden Retriever Rescue of El Paso. He is a big sweetie and is seems to be getting along with Bella really well.

According to the good folks at GRREP, Simba and his litter mates were abandoned in the mountains in North Carolina when they were little and somebody found them and gave them to a rescue group there. He was adopted by a family and lived with them until they moved to El Paso, where they surrendered him because they had to move into an apartment. We contacted the rescue group asking for an adult dog about Bella's age so they suggested Simba. He's very sweet and affectionate and very well trained. He is a little aggressive about food and has a few bad habits that I think will work out as learns the rules of our house. He is super smart and very food motivated so I think teaching him will be a breeze. He is super hansome and very manly an his eyes are light gold in color (instead of the normal chocolate brown). They have the same startling effect as a husky's icey blue eyes, I find. He is lovely and calm and very gentle.

After a brief settling-in period with lots of pacing and panting, this is what has been going on since:

Followed immediately by long community naps.

Lather, rinse, repeat...

We love him already!

It's been so long I couldn't remember my Blogger password

2011-05-21T08:33:00.000-06:00

Did you know that I check your blogs everyday for updates, LOVE reading about you and seeing your pictures and feel guilty that I don't take time to do the same? Well I do.

This has been a tough year (I think I say that every year, but this time I mean it). The situation I walked into at school was difficult for lots of reasons.

*I just spent 20 minutes listing those reasons for you. Then I decided I was being a whiner and the reasons my year was so hard don't actually matter anymore in light of the fact that there are 5 days of school left so I deleted them all. Instead I'm embracing what I'm grateful for out of the situation:

1. I got a job. In a school.
2. After much drama, difficulty, hard work, tears, stress, weight loss, sleepless nights, etc. I am almost done. And have been offered a job in a higher grade next year.
3. Because of statewide budget cuts MISD is not hiring new staff next year so if I had not gotten in the district this year I would not have had another chance.
4. I have learned alot about the kind of teacher I can be when overwhelmed and stressed, and I'm ready to make some changes in the way I opperate to become a more calm, centered, organized, and kind teacher.

I vacilate between being excited and terrified about next year. I've had 4 "first years" of teaching (OKC - 2nd grade, Tulsa - Reading Specialist, Calgary - Special Ed, Midland - Kinder), next year will (hopefully) be back in 2nd grade so I'm at least familiar with that age group. My resume is bizarre and random and I am actually very grateful to be able to have a second year at a school. I've never not been the "freshman" teacher!

So that's where I am. 5 days to go! Then I'm going to go to the pool, watch daytime tv, eat bon bons and put my feet up!

H.A.G.S y'all.

Coffee and blogging on a Wednesday morning

2011-02-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

There is so much going on in my life that I refuse to (or am contractually obligated not to) post online. I don't know what to write about! Call me though, and I'll tell you all about it.

Here are a few favorite things about kinder:

1. The term "whycause" (instead of because) that one student uses consistantly. As in, "Why did you take that crayon out of your friend's hand?" "Whycause I wanted to use it!"

2. 90% of them say "hanitizer" instead of hand sanitizer.

3. I get a hug from my biggest behavior problem every time I have to change his clip for doing something awful. I'd like to think he's sorry and knows I'm trying to help him, but I don't think he's that self-aware. He probably just needs a hug and at least I know he trusts me to give him one.

4. A little girl picked up a book (not even a very easy one either) last week and started READING. Words I have not taught them. She was putting into practice the strategies for using letter sounds that I repeat OVER AND OVER. Yay!

And in case it is you're wondering how I'm posting at 9am on a Wednesday, we are having a delayed start for the 4th day out of the last 6 because of "extreme temperatures." I laugh, but I do not complain. Nothing wrong with rolling over and going back to sleep for two hours!

Peter is good, Bella is good. Our house is good. Midland is....Midland.

Oh I know.

2011-01-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a long time.
And it flatters me that one or two of you have said you wish I would. But see sweetpea, here's the thing. I don't have time for much blogging these days and I get so far behind in posting that I feel if I can't catch y'all up on everything then I just can't post.

And then I fall into the Depths of Despair, which is no fun.

So instead of updating about EVERYTHING, I'm just going to post a happy new year photo. And tell you that I'll TRY to update more often.

I'm sorry. I've been busy.

2010-10-30T08:31:00.000-06:00

Wrangling 5 year olds.

No, they didn't tie me to a chair and lock me in the closet, though some days I wish they would. It would be so quiet and dark in there...I could take a little nap...

Truthfully though, success is measured by the minute in my job. Sometimes I think some of them might have learned something, sometimes I'm pretty sure I've lost control entirely. I think the pendulum is swinging more to the learning side though mostly. There are proud little moments when one of them will start naming words that start with our sound of the week (which was P this week...one little guy got on a roll yesterday...pirate! pumpkin! pie! popcorn! pickle!) or one will point out sight words we are learning (their favorite is and, they find it everywhere and point it out).

And then there are days when I'd like to poke my eye out because they are turning chairs over to stand on the bottom and "surf" and I'm constantly fighting the battle of going OVER or UNDER furniture instead of around. And the TATTLING makes me CRAZY. And...

I could go on. But I won't.

Peter pointed out that my job reminds him alot of golf (stick with me, it makes sense) because in golf he will have like 15 rounds in a row that are terrible and make him want to back over his clubs. But THEN. Then, he will have one golden round where everything clicks, his swing is just right, his aim is dead-on, the stars all align and once again he loves the game. The one golden game balances out all the bad ones. He pointed out my job is the same. Occasionally, I get a golden day (usually when one of my troublemakers is sick, which I tell you its the troublemakers who have the most healthy immune systems, or at least the most unsympathetic moms) and everyone listens and participates, and no one wrecks anything, and there is no fighting and arguing about glue bottles or line order spots, and we actually get to do everything I have planned and I think to myself "hallelujah, they LEARNED something today!"

I'm still getting used to kinder, and the jury is out on whether its something I really like or not. They are very little. I get called Mama alot, and I tie ALOT of shoes and they are really wiggly. But I also get alot of hugs and they can be really funny. And they absolutely SOAK UP knowledge like sponges.

Can't believe its almost November already, fall is marching right along!

Hi blog, I forgot about you for a few days

2010-09-20T21:05:00.000-06:00

because I got a job!

As of this morning, I am a kindergarten teacher at my neighborhood school!

Yay!

I think.

Today was the first full day and OH. MY. GOSH. THEY. ARE. SO. LITTLE.

So cute. But so SMALL.

The story is: there were too many in each of the other classes so at week 4 they added a class and hired me!

So when I got there last Friday my room looked like this:

bibbity bobbety boo....

(ok, it may not look THAT different to you, but it was ALOT of work. Which, incidently, Peter helped out alot with. BLESS HIM.)

It's not going to be easy and I acknowledge that. Starting 4 weeks in with a handful of each teacher's kids will be a challenge. Comforting their distraught parents and getting them to trust me even more so. BUT I CAN DO IT. (I have to say that REAL CONFIDENT because I'm not sure I quite believe it myself.)

Wish me luck.

Warning: Due to the graphic nature of this post...

2010-09-13T08:16:00.003-06:00

A few weekends ago we went over to a neighbor's house in the evening to hang out with them and another couple. As we walked up to the house we saw the two guys in the garden with gardening tools held high over head. When we asked them what the heck they were doing, they said they had seen a rattlesnake in the garden and it had darted under a bush.

So they were hunting it.

Natch.

Now, I'm not necessarily afraid of snakes, but I wasn't real interested in teasing a rattlesnake out of the bushes so I went inside. A little later we girls heard a commotion on the porch so I went outside to see if someone got bit.

Instead what I found was a severed snake body and my darling hubby holding a bloody garden hoe while the other boys looked on with some amount of reverence.

The snake was still a little bit alive, so then dear Peter whacked off it's head once and for all. All at once, the boys began recounting how they had pulled back the bush and found the snake coiled up underneath. Joe had the garden hoe and the boys told him to hit the snake, Joe refused and handed the hoe to Ryan. Ryan didn't want any part of that snake either and handed the hoe to Peter who bravely hacked that snake to death. Hail the conquering hero! (I leave the actual size of the snake to your imagination.)

Ahhh west Texas...my front garden is a wreck, but I haven't been out there since.

Not even lying

2010-09-12T07:32:00.003-06:00

Last weekend at the dog park we met a couple who had just moved here from Chicago and chatted them up a bit. We all exchanged general info (where are you from, what do you do, why are you in Midland) and we all decided we should get together. Peter and I didn't have our phones with us, so we had to give them our number and hope for the best. We heard from them later in the week and decided to get together Saturday night for dinner. I invited them to meet at our house for a drink first and then go together to a restaurant.

After the arrangements were made, I started thinking back over our conversation and realized she never shared what she does. So of course I started speculating. I don't know this girl, so I have no grounds for any of my ideas. But regardless, I decided I thought she was an interior designer.

Then I started fretting.

Because I just did this in my guest bathroom (which I think is cute, but could be considered tacky I suppose, by a professional)

And I just did this on my mantle, which again, I think is great. But very well could be (as Tim Gunn would say) a lot of look.

Then I stopped fretting because I think my house is pretty and there was no way I guessed right anyway.

I mean, what are the chances?

She could be anything.

Then it was Saturday night and they showed up right on time and I offered them drinks and we settled in for a chat before dinner. And I asked her "so what do you do?" And she said "I used to work in the fashion industry and now I'm an interior designer."

Damn.

The end.

P.S. Dinner was great, they seem really nice!

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-07T15:59:00.000-06:00

My mom and dad came for a visit on Friday and brought Bella back to us. We had an awesome weekend with them "showing them around Midland." There's not much to see. We checked out a garden center which was pretty great and Peter and my dad installed a fan on the porch while my mom and I watched The Sound of Music. And we ate. Alot.

It was a great weekend and we are SO glad to have Miss Bella back with us. She loves our house and thinks we did a great job picking the new fridge (she told me).

Then on Monday we checked out the dogpark (which is actually pretty nice) and met a young couple who also just moved here. We're supposed to get together with them sometime, I'll let you know how that goes.

New home

2010-09-07T15:46:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the Mathew home

The look on Bella's face is priceless, she's like "moooom, daaaad, come ON!"

Lol...excuse the mess. I clearly felt that I didn't need to pick up before taking pictures for you. Just makes it more "authentic" I suppose.

Gold star to anyone who can identify what show I'm watching.

Master bedroom

I think we're going to paint the bathroom grey-blueish.

Guest room (the other bedroom is not in any condition to be photographed. I've been keeping the door shut in hopes some magic will sort everything out in there)

Porch

Coming to you live from Starbucks

2010-08-31T09:08:00.000-06:00

We are moved into the new house, busy rearranging and organzing because the movers (bless them, I'm so grateful) upacked everything and the house looks like a stuff-bomb has gone off. There is STUFF EVERYWHERE. Lamp parts scattered in all rooms, batteries and light bulbs stuck in the oddest places, ramdom things missing (that I KNOW will turn up eventually) like laundry baskets and picture frames. We've never had a place this big and its been very fun filling up closets and lining things up in the pantry (I've never had a pantry before!). And the closets DO FILL UP. Where did all this stuff come from?

I'm at Starbucks using their wifi because the cable guy doesn't come until tomorrow and my laptop battery is about to die. More about Midland, our house, new appliances and rattlesnakes later when I have more time to type (yes, I said rattlesnakes).

Unbelievable

2010-08-24T09:05:00.000-06:00

Ironic

Infuriating

Got an email from someone at Alberta Education asking for an updated address and confirmation that I finished my Canadian History course (which I did, months ago). I explained that I have moved and that I would not need to continue the certification process. Then she responded with this:

We have just recently undergone a regulatory change, and individuals who meet the academic and professional requirements and hold a valid work permit may be issued the Alberta Interim Professional Certificate to teach in Alberta. As you still hold a work permit valid to May 2011 the change affects you. Once I am in receipt of a transcript confirming the successful completion of 3 semester hour credits in Canadian Studies, you will be issued the Alberta Interim Professional Certificate.

It just makes me laugh. And then cry. And then throw something through the window. ONE WEEK after I leave Alberta they decide to change THE ONE RULE that kept me from being fully certified in Canada.

Good grief.

Odessa

2010-08-22T20:30:00.000-06:00

Until we move into our new house in Midland (Friday!) we are staying at an apartment in Odessa, which is the neighboring town. The saying goes "raise hell in Odessa, raise a family in Midland." As you know, I'm such a fan of raising hell, so Odessa fits like a glove.

Right.

Today we went to the "mall" (if you can call it that) in Odessa. It is a long building with a Sears at one end and a Dillards at the other, lined on either side with cheap, tacky stores and punctuated in the middle with an 8 foot recreation of Moses' tablet with the 10 commandments engraved in 4 inch block letters, complete with a row of chairs in front, in case you feel the need to reflect on God's commands whilst shopping for some shorty-shorts and a sequinned tube top. We were headed to Dillards for polos for Peter, but parked by Sears and as we walked the length my heart sank farther and farther into my shoes and panic rose in my throat at the utter lack of legitimate and non slut-tastic shopping options.

Most everyone in Odessa is significantly overweight, the main streets are 7 lanes wide, there are no sidewalks, nobody recycles, there are no organic choices and I have not seen even one person walking a dog or riding a bike.

Maybe Midland is better...

But for now, I miss Calgary.

On a happy note, we have found a potential group of friends to hang out with. The boys work with Peter and one of the wives is also in education. Both couples also live in our neighborhood and have dogs.

Friday can't get here soon enough!

Just kidding about the cell phone

2010-08-19T15:33:00.000-06:00

Thanks to my brilliant-problem-solver-mother, I have a cell phone! She suggested a "throw-away" phone, which interprets as a pre-paid cell, and doesn't require a credit check.

And since I'm the proud new owner of a VERY BASIC cell phone with a 432 area code, I marched myself into the substitute office at MISD and handed in my subbing application (sadly, the next orientation isn't until Sept 20, which I suppose gives me lots of time to "nest" in our new home before I start working) and then stopped into the HR office to "ask how to update my contact information" (even though I know perfectly well how to do it online) and ended up talking with the HR head honcho about what Texas certification tests I should take. There are no jobs to be had in MISD just now, but at least I got SOMEONE to look at my application and realize I exist. He said to keep my ears open for the next few weeks, as there is some amount of shifting at the beginning of the year. I'm not counting on that, but hopefully the subbing will open some doors for me.

Not much to report

2010-08-19T09:06:00.000-06:00

2,232 miles later...we arrived in Midland (technically Odessa, where we will be staying until we move into the new house) on Monday evening. Peter started work on Tuesday and has been enjoying getting to know everyone in the office and digging into his new responsibilities. I think he was restless after being away from work for so many days, what with all the packing and driving. He is glad to be busy again.

I am a bit stuck for awhile. I can't really apply for subbing (which is the new plan, as I haven't heard anything from any schools about a job) until I have a phone number, and I can't get a cell phone without a credit report, and my mortgage company has forbade any further credit pulls until our loan closes next week.

Otherwise...

It's really hot here. In the triple digits every day.
And the water tastes like lakewater.

Traveling

2010-08-14T19:35:00.000-06:00

By the way...since I forgot to blog it...and you may not realize...

We left Calgary yesterday to drive to Midland.

We had been staying at Tim and Christine's since our stuff was packed up, and when we left I admit that I fully burst into tears. The weepy, nose-runny, throat-chokey kind of crying. And then I continued for about an hour. It's a good thing Peter was driving. And that he kindly stopped and bought me a coffee and some timbits to console me. Doughnuts help heartache, you know.

We stopped in Billings MT last night and now we are in Denver. I figure we're about halfway, considering we have to stop in OKC to drop the puppy off at summer camp (aka, my parent's house) to stay until we close on our house.

So...here we are. I'm drinking wine out of a plastic cup and Bella is hiding/sleeping behind the armchair in our hotel room.

Tomorrow we carry on to OKC and then to Midland on Monday.

Are you tired of mountain pictures yet?

2010-08-10T13:41:00.000-06:00

Well don't worry, come Friday you won't see any more. You'll only get pictues of tumbleweeds rolling down the streets of Midland.

Sunday we went back to Lake Louise to hug the mountins and glacier lakes one last time before we depart. And to do the Lake Agnes Teahouse hike. We assumed (and you how that breaks down) that it would be an easy stroll. A lovely walk ending with a cup of tea and pristine view. Well, it was lovely and we did have tea, but the hike was no stroll. To get to the teahouse it is a full-on uphill hike the whole way up. My heart almost exploded.

Lovely Lake Louise. What you can't see is that it was crawling with people also taking in the mountain air.

Me and Bella...odd to be in front of the camera. Peter was the photographer for the day.

About halfway up the trail Peter pointed out my pants had a gaping hole in the hip. A good deal of flowery underwear and skin were showing. Oops. What's a girl to do but carry on.

This formation is called The Beehive and this is Mirror Lake. Oddly, this lake smelled like elephants. Bella had a little swim in it anyway. Incidently, she is at the groomer today...

The Lake Agnes Teahouse. Serving soup, sandwiches and tea. All supplies are brought up on horseback because there's no road that leads up here. There are also a million cute scampery chipmunks who live here, despite the many signs that clearly request you not feed them.

Lake Agnes did not smell like elephants. It was lovely, clear and cold.

Sidebar: We met a couple while we were lunching at the teahouse that were from Dallas (Flowermound, to be specific) so we mentioned we would shortly be moving to Midland. They choked on their tea, fell off their stools and had to be resusitated. Not really, but they did react with violent expressions of sympathy for our misfortune to have to move to west Texas. And they tried to convince us that the drive from Dallas to Midland is 10 hours. Good times.

3 days left...

Just one week left

2010-08-06T18:54:00.000-06:00

The plan is to leave Calgary next Friday, which I abruptly realized this morning means we have exactly one week left here. I feel like I've been spending so much time and mental energy preparing for what will happen when we arrive in Midland that I've neglected the important task of saying good-bye to Calgary. There are friends yet to see and hug, places left unvisited and (argueably most important) restaurants left untasted.

One week just doesn't seem like enough time.

However, as many of you may be pointing out to yourselves while reading this, I've known we were leaving for quite a few weeks. Yes, yes, I know. But still.

There's just so much to say goodbye to.

It all happened so fast!

2010-08-05T12:33:00.000-06:00

I just got back in town from my first lil' taste of life in Midland. Other than that everyone wants to shoot President Obama, it seems like a nice place to live. We'll just avoid political conversations I think...no need to provoke violence from anybody. Truely, the heat is not that bad. It's hot, no doubt about that, but it's not very humid and it does get cool-ish at night so the heat is not so oppressive.

We met with a great realtor and looked a ton of houses and the very last one we saw on Day 2 was it! We walked in a loved it to pieces. It's perfect for us now, and will be an easy sell once its time to leave Midland. It's the "baby house" on a big block, meaning the square footage and price is smaller than others in a very desirable neighborhood that feeds into the best schools in Midland district. Also, some of Peter's collegues live in the neighborhood, so we might have some friends close by. And they all have dogs, so friends for Bella too! Peter will supervise the inspection tomorrow and we close on August 27th! Here are some pics, taken from the listing online.

front (3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage, 1800 sq ft)

living room (yes, that is tile you see before you. Tile in the living area seems to be quite common in Midland)

kitchen (a glasstop electric stove is my only complaint, I much prefer gas BUT the granite counter tops do make up for that...so I forgive)

beautiful, fantastic, HUGE master bath, there is a large tub and TWO WALK IN CLOSETS to the right in this picture)

backyard and patio

I feel a bit like I might be jinxing us by sharing photos before the deal is done, counting your chickens and all that. But we've signed the contract and they've signed the contract and barring anything horrid discovered during the inspection, everything should go through with no problem.

Overall, buying a home together was not as frightening and intimidating as I thought it would be. We were blessed to work with a truely amazing realtor who walked us through everything with patience and humor (she has been selling homes in Midland for like 50 years, so she knows EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. Literally. She would point out who lives where and share delicious gossip about them as we drove around. We'll have to be sure to keep our noses clean or else she'll be driving people around our neighborhood and telling our secrets to potential customers). She put us in contact with an awesome lady at a local mortgage company who was a dream to work with. Now we just tie up the loose ends and in just a few short weeks we'll be living in our VERY OWN HOME!

It's like we're grown ups or something.

Now I must go organize and clean. The movers come to pack our stuff on Monday.

Just so you know...

2010-07-28T17:40:00.000-06:00

From now until we leave the only beverage you will be served in my home is going to be alcoholic.

See all this? I don't know where it all came from, but it can't go with us. Cops are funny about open containers you know. Not to mention customs officials.

So...you want water?

Sure. With whiskey.

Coffee?

Yes of couse, but with a shot (or two) of Kahlua or Baileys (your choice!)

Pop?

You bet, with rum.

In fact, you will also be doing vodka shots, drinking martinis, and swirling cognac.

After all (in the immortal and wise words of Alan Jackson) it's 5 o'clock somewhere.

Camping

2010-07-13T10:32:00.000-06:00

Last week Bella and I went camping in the Kananaskis with my dear friend Michelle and some of her family. We had an awesome time and I so grateful they invited us! I'm posting alot of pictures, so I'll try to keep the words to a minimum...

This is Michelle

Her parents and aunts/uncles all have their own trailers and ALL THE CAMPING STUFF YOU'D EVER NEED. We slept in a tent and ate their yummy meals. Seriously. Best breakfasts ever. And dinners complete with cocktails and appetizers. That little bed in front of the tent is where Bella would crash for HOURS after hiking.

Hike #1: Upper Kananaskis Lake to Rawson Lake

Upper Kananaskis Lake

The hike up was so beautiful. The pictures seem to wash out the rich green color of everything, in person it was so lush.

It was so forresty and beautiful. I kept thinking I might just see Oberon and Titania and maybe naughty Puck peeking out from a tree.

Rawson Lake

We stopped for lunch here and then went back down.

Hike #2: King Creek

This entire hike followed this river up a canyon. Bella loved the water!

There were "dry footers" and "wet footers." That little guy is Finn, he's a dry footer and tip toed across logs to get to the other side with some of the others. Bella and I and some others just waded across.

Tired puppy having a teeny nap at lunch.

Hike #3: Elbow Lake & Rae Glacier

Elbow Lake

That white spot is Rae Glacier, we hiked just to the bottom of it. This pic was taken about halfway up the trail.

Along the way we found a snowdrift and the dogs went NUTSO.

View from the top. We came from way down at the bottom of that green bit.

Finally...this is just a funny video of the dogs playing. Finn is a puppy and he REALLY loved to wrestle with Bella. Watch how he gets her closer to him when she gets too far away...clever puppy.

I'm so glad I got to spend some time camping and hiking before we left! Michelle and I have been planning and talking about this trip nearly since we met so it was awesome to finally go!

The Calgary Bucket List

2010-07-06T09:16:00.000-06:00

Since our time here in Calgary is tick, tick, ticking away, we have been making a list of the things we want to do/places we want to eat before we go. It goes like this:

-have a dinner party on our patio
-do the Teahouse hike at Lake Louise
-see both Shakespeare in the Park plays (Othello and Much Ado about Nothing)
-~~go to the farmers market~~
-eat pizza at the Italian Supermarket (best pizza IN THE WORLD)
-brunch at Laurier Lounge
-~~eat at Da Guidos~~ (a fancy-ish, very authentic Italian restaurant. Allegedly where the Calgary Mafia hangs out)

(the dinner was fantastic and the company, as always, was great)

-eat at the Vintage Chophouse (AAA Alberta beef!!)

-Stampede/Rodeo
-~~go to Spruce Meadows~~ (a world renown horse jumping facility here in Calgary)

(it was totally lovely...its a beautiful facility and the horses are so pretty! A lovely way to spend an afternoon. I got a weird shorts-sunburn on my knees, but otherwise entirely enjoyed myself.)

-squash/golf/paintballing with friends (Peter)

-drive a Masserati (Peter - he knows a guy who owns one)

-go shopping at Lulu Lemon and Aritzia (Anne)

-go camping/hiking (Anne)

There's about a million other little things that I need to do before we go, but those business-y things are boring so we won't talk about them here.

Me and Bella are off camping for a few days with my friend Michelle! Have a great week!

Entitled: Bella Gets a New Bed

2010-07-05T14:48:00.003-06:00

Warning: If you don't think my dog is the cutest and you think I'm nutso for posting videos of her, please navigate away from my blog for today. Thanks.

Today Bella got a new bed. A nice bed. A pretty bed. A rather expensive bed.

A bed formerly inhabited by the shop cat, Marg, who lives at the pet store.

When I brought it in, the following exchange went on for about 20 minutes:

Me: Bell! Look at your pretty new bed! Don't you want to lie down in it!
Bella: WTF! It smells like cat! Where is it???

The following video demonstrates. Bella looking for the cat, me trying to make her get in the damn bed.

Finally...but look how uncomfortable she is:

Turns out all she needed was a little moral support from Piggy.

Actually right after I took this, she hopped right out and hasn't been back all day.

Hm...Febreeze, maybe?

We all knew this day was coming

2010-07-04T13:57:00.000-06:00

The question we have gotten from friends and family almost weekly since we moved here has been:

"How long will you be in Canada?"

I can finally give you an answer. Not much longer.

Peter's had an offer for a really great position with his company in Midland, Texas and so we are moving!

I'm actually super stoked to move. But WHY you ask. Why would you want to move to MIDLAND? Hot, small, boring, 87% Republican, hometown of George Dubya himself, Midland Texas??

Midland Independent School District is why. And Midland real estate. And being within driving distance of everyone in my family. And Target. And Mexican food.

Since the possibility of this opportunity came up a few weeks ago, I have been making packing lists in my head and mentally preparing all the things that need to happen to move. WAY before Peter even interviewed. In other words, I have felt not the slightest hesitation about this decision. I'm ready. Let's go tomorrow.

Our time in Calgary has been lovely. We certainly have enjoyed being near the mountains and the city is great. And I will miss Christine and Tim TREMENDOUSLY (I don't even want to talk about that yet....), but for me our time here has been tough. I haven't been successful in developing my career and so I've felt a bit like I'm suspended in space, waiting for something.

So when Peter called to say he accepted the job, my head exploded. After I put myself back together and did a little tap dance around the house, I got down to business and have already done everything I can possibly do to get my Texas teaching certification process started and have applied for jobs in both Midland and neighboring Odessa. Now we wait (what's new). And now I focus on getting our household ready to move back across the continent.

In the way of details, I don't have many. We are going. I don't have an exact date, but by the beginning of August. I don't know where we will live when we get down there. I don't know if we will go for a visit first. I don't know what we will do with all the flower pots we just planted. We'll figure it all out.

For now, I am just celebrating the start of a new chapter for us.

OSU Sock (just the one, though)

2010-07-04T09:41:00.000-06:00

Canada Day

2010-07-02T11:27:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was Canada Day here so Peter was off work. Here is what we did:

-slept late
-made chocolate croissants from scratch (lol...NOT. I bought frozen ones from a bakery and baked them. They were yum though)
-sat on the deck for about three hours
-finished the first OSU sock (pics coming soon)

Once we got dressed and moving we...

-went to the Canada Day festival at Prince's Island Park (along with about a bazillion other people. I'm surprised the island didn't sink with the weight of all the people there) where we heard good music, waited in SUPER long lines for tasty junk food and watched the crazies.

(ribbon fries...possibly my most favorite food ever)

Then we...

-went to Chapters and got some new books (buy 3 get one FREE! Who can resist?)

-saw Knight and Day (LOVED it! So funny! Part 007, part rom-com plus Cammy D, who I adore, balanced out my loathing of Tom Cruise. Also his character is a total charmer so that helped too)

And lastly, we...

-grabbed up Bella and some camp chairs and went to see fireworks from the dog park hill overlooking downtown.

To all you Americans - happy 4th! Enjoy the weekend!

Watching news happen

2010-06-29T18:19:00.000-06:00

This afternoon I took Bella swimming at this super great off leash swimming area along the Elbow River. Nice pebbly beach, water deep enough for her swim but not swift moving, lots of dogs to play with and a great place to wear her out with fetch in the water. We got there about 1:00. About five minutes later firemen, EMS and police start trooping along the water in pairs. A few asked me if I had seen any clothes by the water (I had not). Then the helicopters show up and start flying in low circles along the river. Something was definitely up. Come to find out, some rafters had found A DEAD BODY floating in the water about 200 yards from where we were playing and everyone was out searching for it. I suppose by "clothes" they really meant "dead body." Yack! At least we were upstream from the decomposition germs.

CTV Calgary - Body Pulled From Elbow River

Under Construction

2010-06-24T14:56:00.001-06:00

My neighborhood, that is.

Three houses down they are building a new house and this week there have been GIANT bulldozers tearing up the street and digging big holes. For unidentified reasons. I can only assume they will soon be filling them back in.

My next door neighbors are re-siding their house (actually, putting up stone on the front), redoing their sidewalks and landscaping and fixing the edges of their roof. Yesterday they jackhammered the sidewalk up for about 4 hours and today the cement mixing truck showed up at 7:00 am. And all the while they have also been flinging junk down from the roof. Also, since their house is about 2.5 feet from ours the guys climb around on MY roof in order to be able to reach the roof-junk they are then flinging down. And they blast classic rock at about 900 decibals all day.

AND THEN....

This afternoon I got home to see MY OWN BACKYARD full of dangerous equipment such as table saws, etc and a dude on my garage roof (technically not MY roof, we are renters after all). A quick phone call to my land lord revealed he is re-roofing the garage. Starting today.

Not that I mind. But a heads up would have been nice. I would have picked up the dog poop. Instead, since Landlord Mike didn't choose to let me know in advace about this invasion, they can wade around in the poo.

(Not really. I'll pick it up tonight when they leave)

Voyage of the Dawn Treader

2010-06-22T08:53:00.002-06:00

J'adore...

(why the title is in Spanish, i've not a clue, the trailer isn't). Enjoy!

video platform video management video solutions video player

WTF

2010-06-21T12:03:00.000-06:00

Would you please check out this monstrous bite on my foot?

It's huge and very swollen (though you can't really see the swelling in the picture too much). I have not a clue what bit me, but I think it was not a poisonous spider because:

a. I'm not crippled by fever and vomiting

b. I'm not dead

So that's good news.

BUT I also think it was not a mosquito because it doesn't itch. Nor do I think it was a bee because I don't recall any kind of a stinger situation.

It's a mystery.

And it kind of hurts.

And it kind of really hurts to wear flip-flops.

Which is a total bummer because it finally stopped raining in Calgary.

100th Post

2010-06-12T09:34:00.002-06:00

Finally! Only took me two years to get to 100. In celebration, please enjoy this little gem:

I do so love Newsies...and Lady Gaga...

OSU Socks

2010-06-11T09:16:00.000-06:00

This is my knitting basket. It's full of junk (amazing since I only started knitting a few months ago). Knitting books, leftover yarn, Lily's blanket (yet unfinished), two new balls of gorgeous wool I HAD to have though I don't know what to do with, and right on top my latest project, OSU Socks for Peter.

I like the way they are turning out, though I hope blocking (washing and shaping) will do the miracle for these socks that it did for my lumpy sweater. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Far in the future, because I have to make another whole sock when this one is done (imagine, a pair!).

They are not difficult, necessarily, but they are done on double pointed needles (which means I use 5 at a time to knit different parts, that's what makes the squares) and the needles are TEENY.

This is the goal (except orange, obviously):

I'll let you know how it goes!

Road Trip!

2010-06-09T11:13:00.000-06:00

There is a commercial here (for beer, I think) that says something like "Canada has more square feet of awesomeness per person than anywhere else in the world." I'm going to go ahead and agree. We just got back from a road trip to British Columbia and I'm IN LOVE with that province now. Let's move. No Baker Hughes operations there? Oh well. Let's open a B&B and vineyard.

First we drove to Summerland, BC which is a teeny little town along the Okanagon Lake and this was our view:

This area is Canada's wine country, and it is LOVELY. It pretty much looks like this where ever you go:

We stopped and had wine-tastings at many wineries along the lake. All of which have different specialities (you can't get THIS anywhere else in the Okanagon!) and different personalities. This one was my favorite because it is teeny and very cute. It's called Elephant Island and they make fruit wine (surprisingly delicious!).

We had a beautiful lunch at this one called Hillside and sat out a little rainstorm.

This is a shot from the bottom of that little tower:

Peter's favorite (I loved it too, but it's numero 2 for me) was Mission Hill which was just on another level. It was very beautiful but very commerical. They have worked hard to ensure every detail of the place is pristine and enchanting. We took a tour here including a lovely "viewing" cellar and had another wine tasting (natch).

BC is so green and the wild flowers are gorgeous! For the purple ones I made Peter pull over on the side of the highway so I could take some pics. I could have just set up a tent and lived there. The smell was gorgeous!

And, of course, the highlight of the Okanagon portion of our trip was seeing the lake monster Ogopogo, cousin to Loch Ness. Who knew it would be bright lime green (with antennae, apparently)?

Then we drove to Vancouver to meet up with our friends Tim and Christine (of whom I have no pictures...I promise they were there too). It's so super cool there. Mountians, ocean, huge parks, very dog friendly, great shopping and restaurants, super hip downtown. I'm packing right now...

We were privilaged to take Tim's Driving Tour of Vancouver in which we saw the University of BC, some beaches and ocean...

A BALD EAGLE sitting on her nest (I'm sorry the pic is tiny, we didn't have our zoom lens with us - damn!) right in the middle of a neighborhood...

and Granville Island (a sweet little island with a farmers market and loads of hippies)...

We had an AWESOME time in Vancouver. Seriously, I'm loading my stuff into my car right now.

Then we drove home. And was it a boring long drive, you ask?

Nope.

We saw a Grizzly bear

and a mama Black bear and her two baby cubs!

Lucky lucky lucky!

We're so blessed to get to live in and explore such a beautiful country!

Probably my worst fear

2010-05-28T10:13:00.001-06:00

We don't have a bathroom on the main floor, so when nature calls there's always inner debate about which one is closer, upstairs or basement. This morning I went with basement...only to find...

A spider.

In my toilet.

I hate spiders.

H.A.T.E.

Spiders in my toilet water might be one of my biggest fears.

Let's get a closer look at the little monster

Look at him. Calmly waiting for me to sit.

Hoping I don't notice him.

So he can pounce and bite me!

Bahahaha...not today.

Die little bugger.

Then I used the upstairs bathroom. I will probably never use the basement toilet again. At least I won't have to worry about the proximity debate anymore. Thanks, spider.

Day 4

2010-05-25T15:44:00.000-06:00

I read that adding regular exercise to your routine makes you more conscious of what you eat and more likely to make better food choices. I find the opposite to be true. Regular excercise makes me crave cheeseburgers.

Finished!

2010-05-21T09:36:00.000-06:00

I actually finished last week, but I'm just now getting to posting pictures. My shrug/sweater is done! It's really pretty and smooth. I must say blocking (really just washing and laying flat to dry) a finished piece is kind of a miracle. Before I did, the sweater looked like a lump, now its beautiful, if I do say so myself.

front

back

And if you flip it upside down, it makes a different look

This was seriously SUCH an easy project. And it turns out great!

Next I am making some socks for Peter. I had to order the yarn online so I have to wait a bit to start. Anyone want to take a guess what colors he requested?

Shredding the "baby bump"

2010-05-19T14:34:00.001-06:00

Starting tomorrow morning...I'll let you know how it goes. I think I'll hate it. I hate Jillian, she's mean. But girlfriend has got her some FLAT ABS, so I'll give it a shot. Don't judge. I can't have any more strangers asking "how far along" I am.

Go team.

You just can't make this up

2010-05-18T20:18:00.001-06:00

Just now a lady came to my door trying for donations for something...Let me just recap the conversation for you (I SWEAR I am NOT making this up):

Lady: Good evening...is your mom or dad home?
Me: Uh...well...uh...they...don't live here, this is my house.
L: Oh...so sorry...you don't look old enough.
M: Older than you think, what can I do for you (already kind of pissed)?
L: blah blah blah (starts her speech about whatever she is asking donations for)
M: No thanks, not today. Thanks for coming by.
L: Ok no worries, have a good evening (starts to turn to leave, pats her tummy and says...) So are you expecting a girl or a boy?
M: ......(crickets chirping).......I'm not pregnant. (slams door ungraciously).

Ok folks. I'm insulted in every possible way. I'm not old enough to be answering my own door, but I AM old enough to be carrying an (non-existant) illegitimate child? Ouch. I may not weigh what I did when I went to college. Or even what I weighed when I got married. But pregnant? Really? Do I laugh or cry? I'm not sure. I think I'll have a glass of wine while I try to not think about it.

3 years

2010-05-12T08:02:00.001-06:00

Happy anniversary to our little family!

(sorry this is so fuzzy, Peter was squeezing Bella's neck and she was struggling and I was trying to hold up the heavy camera with one hand and not drop it on my face...so it's understanably a little out of focus, but I like it anyway. We were having a Sunday Morning Snuggle)

3 years ago, I married this hunk of a man:

(I am a lucky girl.)

I love that he...

lets me put Bella in the bed

works hard at his job and is full of integrity

believes the stuff in infomercials really works

suffers when his friends suffer

calls his mom

loves The Lord

ALWAYS chews a piece of gum on the way to church

forgives super fast

talks to Bella when he thinks I can't hear him

is taking a Pilates class with me
thinks about our future
dances crazy

and...

because its so cute...

and it's a special day...

even though Peter will probably strangle me...

I will suffer the consequences...

to show you the cutest picture ever...

Found!

2010-05-11T10:24:00.000-06:00

About two weeks ago, one of my needle tips went missing. I looked EVERYWHERE for it, but nothing. I suspected foul play (Bella). Poor, sad, lonely needle tip with his buddy missing...

Then, this morning I spied Bella sashaying around with her mouth clamped shut and guilty eyes (a sure sign she has contraband in her mouth, she cannot keep a secret) so I pried her mouth open to discover...

The missing tip! Hallelujah!

Now they are reunited and back to work, keeping my work from sliding off the needles. I wonder where its been this whole time...

Project

2010-05-11T09:31:00.001-06:00

We're working our way through season one of 24 (since we only VERY recently jumped on the bandwagon). Bit late, yes I know. I like the show, but Jack Bauer's shenanigans do go on and on so I've been getting lots done on my current knitting project, which I am now ready to share with you. It's nearly done, just needs some sleeves (which will require ANOTHER trip to the knitting store for a different circular needle). It's a shruggy-sweater kind of thing. Until very recently it was a long rectangle, then last night while Jack got himself into big trouble with the FBI (it's all a misunderstanding though I assure you - his wife and daughter have been kidnapped!), I did some fancy, and a bit scary, binding off that made it into a shrug shape. Amazing!

Front. The nubs on the sides will soon have sleeves.

Back: It will hopefully look less wonky after it's finished.

When it's all done it should look just like this:

(except I won't stand like that when I'm wearing it)

Dang

2010-05-07T14:01:00.000-06:00

Another one bites the dust.

Ouch

2010-05-06T22:13:00.000-06:00

Poor Bella wrecked her foot tonight at the park. BUMMER. You know that weird extra pad dogs have at the back of their foot (hint: its right under that bandage)? ALL the rough pad-skin got scraped off of it. Ouch indeed. It's VERY tender and makes me shiver just looking at it.

I patched it up as much as I could but Bella does not like her bandage AT ALL and every time I turn my back she is doing this:

This also meant we did not get to go to Story Pals tonight AND we will have to have a break from playing ball at the P-A-R-K for awhile. See how bummed out she is?

Hopefully she is a quick healer.

SSB

2010-05-03T16:09:00.002-06:00

On this one episode of Sex and the City, the girls talk about their Secret Single Behaviors, in other words, things they did when they were single that they wouldn't want their boyfriends to see. I can't remember what theirs were, something to do with examining pores and eating loads of junk food.

When I am a single gal (as I am this week, since Peter is in Tulsa on business), my SSB looks like this:
-order a load of Indian take-out and eat off it all week
-watch Harry Potter movies
-let my hair air-dry and don't straighten it (sounds innocent, but its actually frightening)
-wear sweatpants ALL DAY
-suspend all housewifely duties until immediately before he gets back and then, in a frantic blitz, cover my lazy tracks by cramming all the housework and grocery shopping I didn't do during the week into one afternoon

So, I must go. I've got a lot of HP movies to get through. Cheerio.

No TV Wednesdays

2010-04-29T08:13:00.000-06:00

At my request (insistance) we have started No TV Wednesday Nights. Last night was the first one. Now, technically it's supposed to be No Technology Wednesday Nights, but I thought we should ease into so we had the laptop out looking at blogs and Facebook also. The question, when you turn off the tv, is what to do? I admit, it was awkward. I was knitting, Peter was surfing. It was silent.

So then we decided to play Would You Rather!

Here were some of the questions (feel free to answer if you like):

Would you rather...
-go to work without pants or a shirt?
-break both your legs or both your arms?
-speak in only swear words or only in loud opera singing?
-stay in the same job with no raises/promotions or rise to the top but get fired for a sex scandel?
-be super ugly and famous or super hot and lead a normal life?

Made for TV

2010-04-28T09:09:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I watched a terrible (secretly awesome) Lifetime movie starring Tori Spelling. Which is the entire reason I started watching in the first place, I loved 90210 dearly back in the day, I was curious to see good ol' Donna Martin all grown up.

Well. Then I got sucked in by the intense glory of the plot!

Tori and her (super hot doctor) husband move to a small town so he can take over his dead father's medical practice. They desperately want a baby and have been trying invitro, with no success. Then The Other Woman shows up and befriends lonely Tori (but secretly she is an old flame of the husband's, on whom he himself performed an abortion of their love-child many years ago, which obviously sent her into a spiral of craziness from which she rises to exact her delicious revenge upon dear, sweet, innocent Tori) and puts into action her psycho plan to oust Tori as the dear doctor's barren wife and replace her, whereapon she steals Tori and hubby's last embryos and conceives their child, kills Tori's beloved cat, AND HER MOTHER, and generally flaunts her pregnant state. After she has the baby (and admits the baby is indeed actually Tori's and in a fit of benevolence, because after all they are friends) she tries to send Tori packing (instead of killing her), which doesn't go over well with dear Tori. The whole movie is totally worth the ending scene in which Tori is chasing the harlot around with a knife and yelling in this gutteral demonic voice. In the end, the psycho girl falls down the stairs onto the knife, thus absolving Tori of any guilt. and the rest live happily ever after!

It's called Hush. You should really see it.

Whew. It was a delightful way to spend a rainy afternoon, indeed. Not to mention the inches of knitting I got done while watching.

Formatting question

2010-04-27T11:26:00.001-06:00

Readers: I've been messing about with the html code on my blog changing the spacing of some things. It looks lovely on my screen, but I wonder: does it also look right from where you sit? Or do things get cut off? Or look wacky? Let me know.

Interview and Beer Can Chicken

2010-04-27T08:32:00.003-06:00

So I think the interview went pretty well. Of course I have been obsessing a teensy bit about how I could have answered some of the questions better. And I wish I could have stapled my hands to my thighs to keep me from waving them around while I talked. I did pretty good keeping them still, but a few times they got loose and took off. The principal was super friendly and I really liked her. The school facility is nice and seems well supported by donors. The principal told me she has a lot of candidates to go through and not to expect an response back until mid-late May. I am one of many, but hopefully I made a good impression.

And then we made Beer Can Chicken.

Here's how: stir up a rub made of garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt and pepper and after you rinse off and dry Mr. Chicken, rub him down. Pour out about 1/3 of a room temperature beer (into a glass so you can drink it, natch) and then set Mr. C's bum right down over the can (he will balance on his little feet and the can like a tripod) and put him right on the grill. Grill at med-high temp for about 1 1/4 hours (or until the internal temp reaches 170). Be sure to let him rest for about 10 mins before you carve him up! We had grilled potatos and carrots with it.

Yum!

Fail

2010-04-22T15:23:00.000-06:00

They say yoga is supposed to energize you. On the contrary, it zaps (rabbit trail: is the appropriate word sap, like draining a tree, or zap, like "don't taze me bro"? I'm not sure. I'm going with zap because that image is funnier) me of all my enegry and leaves me lethargic.

So I took a nap this afternoon. Tried. Tried to take a nap, actually. But my feet were cold. And all I could think about was how cold my feet were, but I was taking a nap (dammit!) and wouldn't get up for some socks. So I just lay there with my eyes shut. For an hour. Thinking about my cold feet.

Two posts in one day!

2010-04-19T13:54:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to say that I just got called for an interview for a private Christian school! Friday at noon. I might make Peter practice interviewing with me - it's been awhile and I REALLY don't want to screw up. School's website is really nice and their facilities look beautiful. I'm not getting too excited about the possibility of a job - but I am celebrating a little bit just for hearing back! Between a few rejections and more than a bit of silence, it's just encouraging to get a call at all.

Photography

2010-04-19T10:19:00.001-06:00

I have secret aspirations of learning how to be a photographer. Not a professional, of course. But impressive. I have a good camera, which is a good start, and I recently discovered one of my favorite bloggers The Pioneer Woman, whose photography I very much admire, has a section on her site for newbie photogs. Of course she also has a ranch full of people and animals to capture...I'll have to look more carefully for interesting subjects around here.

I'm into (what I very recently learned is called ) macro photography. As you can see from the pics of Bella up top. They are some of my favorites because I think they are interesting. She is a good subject because she doesn't complain when I get in her face. I think strangers might.

I'm not sure I have an "artistic eye." Is that something one can learn? I hope so. Here are some things I am going to try:

1. Position myself in unusal places to get shots of whatever from an interesting angle.
2. Use manual mode on my camera
3. Learn about composition
4. Bring my camera with me places more (it doesn't do much good sitting at home!)
5. Post some of my pictures here

Alright then. Go team.

StoryPals

2010-04-16T10:43:00.000-06:00

Last night Bella and I went to our first StoryPals night. It's a program through PALS where we go to the library and kids read to Bella (and me). We were there with two other dogs and their people and the kids got to come and read with a pals team for 20 minutes. One of the dogs was a wild flippy lab who WOULD NOT calm down. She was licking and pawing and generally acting like a silly lab. The other was an ancient golden who immediately went to sleep.

Then there was Bella. Wonderful, calm, Bella who discovered she loves children and stories.

Our first kid was a quiet, gentle grade 4 girl who read a book about golden retrievers to us. Bella immediately snuggled up to her and laid her chin on the girl's knee. Occasionally while the girl was reading Bella would bump under her elbow with her nose asking for a pet. Every time she did it the little girl would giggle (and giver her pets, of course). I love little girl giggling.

The next kid we had was a grade 2 boy who was just so delightfully squirmy. He was on his back, his stomach, his side, squiggling all over the floor around us. Bella laid down in front of him and kept laying her head on his book "to see the pictures." The little monkey read us a book about monsters and worked so hard at it that when he was done I told him he could just pet Bella for a bit until the time was up. He SO GENTLY examined her feet and her ears and her nose. And Bella kept giving his hair a lick (I think he might have had some dinner in it) which made him giggle. I love little boy giggling, too.

I so enjoyed watching that little guy work so hard to read his story and getting on the floor with him and talking about words and pictures. I really miss kids. I love listening to their mixed up, too-excited story telling where you have to decode what they mean. I nearly burst into tears with missing busy, curious, naughty, joyful kids.

And I'm pretty sure Bella wanted to take him home with us.

Worth it?

2010-04-15T12:39:00.000-06:00

This morning I started my childcare gig at the yoga studio. 2 hours of babysitting for unlimited free classes. It would seem like a good deal, right? Yes, except for that I had one 18 month old angel this morning who CRIED THE WHOLE TIME. Not true. She cried probably 3/4 of the time. The rest of the time she pointed at stuff and went "mmm MMM!" at me. Her mom could hear her screaming all the way down the hall in the studio and had to come console her halfway through class. I felt like a flop (I wasn't pinching her OR ANYTHING!) and I was trying everything I could think of: singing, demonstrating the fun toys, bouncing, letting her empty her diaper bag out, pointing at stuff out the window, snacks.

So...is yoga worth screaming children? I...think...so...

How do you like the new look?

2010-04-12T16:18:00.001-06:00

I think the "face lift" is mostly done. What do you think? Please check out the new "about us" and "books I love" pages I added at the top. That second one is actually still a work in progress so for now it's empty. I've often wanted to keep a list of the books I loved (hence the page name...clever) so I think I'll start here. I am ALWAYS suggesting books I think people should read, perhaps to the irritation of the suggestees, so now I can just refer them to my booklist instead. Ha!

Things that have happened (in no particular order)

2010-04-11T09:36:00.002-06:00

Peter and I went to India with his family (and Paris on the way home)
I got (and survived!) H1N1
My parents came up for a visit in the fall
Bella got approved as a therapy dog in a program called PALS. We now volunteer at a nursing home every other week and do various other "special visits" to schools occasionally. This week we start a reading program at the libraryy where kids will read to her.
I went to Oklahoma/Texas to see my family in February
We did not go to the Olympics
I quit my job. And haven't heard a peep from anywhere I've sent my resume to. Due to complicated certification reasons, I'm at the bottom of the pile as far as job candidates. I'm feeling its unlikely I will get another teaching job here. What else to do?
Our friends here (the dog park people) had a baby girl in the fall!
I learned to knit! I have made a scarf, a baby blanket for my niece, and I am working on a shawl/sweater thing for myself.
I turned 27
Peter's little brother came to see us for his spring break
We skiied (how do you spell ski in the past tense?) A LOT
It's FINALLY spring in Calgary

And things that are going to happen:

I *might* get to start volunteering at a yoga studio in exchange for free classes! (fingers crossed!)
We are coming up on our two-years-in-Calgary anniversary. No, we do not have any inside information on what will happen as far as moving in the next year. I will let you know when we know!
We are also coming up on our three-years-as-married-people anniversary. Officially not going to be newlyweds anymore.
We are going to the Okanagan (wine country in BC) and Vancouver in June

Now you're caught up!

Under Construction

2010-04-01T10:19:00.003-06:00

I'm going to start blogging again. This, I know, I have said before. But this time I mean it. And in the spirit of new beginnings I'm going to give my blog a little facelift first (nothing like a new "outfit" to help movtivate a girl). And I have hidden all my old posts. I may put them back, or not. So check back later!