Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The Dress

One of the few details of the wedding that will be true to the original plan is that my mom and future mother in law are still making the dress. Afterall, we already bought the fabric. The style however will be a little more modern, something that will flatter my figure a bit better than the 1812 dresses do. Today we picked out the pattern. We weren't incredibly keen on the dress as a whole, but I LOVE the way the bodice is shaped, and the nearly square neckline will look great on my figure. It is an empire waist, but then there's a funny ruched section over the belly that would make me look pregnant. We're gonna cut that part out, we can make up our own skirt, that's fairly easy. (Says the girl who will have no part in the sewing...) Wish I could post pics of the process, but Andrew reads this blog, and it wouldn't be proper to let him see the dress before the wedding after all... pics will follow in about a month I promise.
We also got the marriage license today, so once we send out the deposit to our officiant we'll be pretty well sent!

My Brain

Has gone awol today. Perhaps it's striking. Too many changes all at once, it's gone on vacation. If anyone sees it please return to sender.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Wedding bells

Are gonna be ringing right alongside sleigh bells this year folks! As if it's not enough to get through the holiday season with both sides of our family. If it wasn't enough to pack up what we own and ship off to the middle of nowhere in the great white north, and have to go through the hassle of changing our address. And just in case changing the course of both of our careers isn't quite enough for this holiday season...

We've decided to get married before we go.

Yes, I am insane, thank you I'm quite aware. Some of the best people I know are though.
The plans are still kind of forming up, but the idea is to have a really simple, dialed back ceremony at my parent's house. Just our immediate family, our maid of honour and best man. And then afterwards having a drop in type of reception, also at mom and dad's place. Anyone and everyone who wishes to can show up, share their well wishes, stay and enjoy as long as they feel like, we'll have snacks and finger foods out, and folks are welcome to bring their own beverages. We wanted to bring it down to earth, make it affordable, fast and easy, but without having to exclude anybody. It's also a great chance to see all our friends and family one last time before heading up. Our new date is Dec. 29, 2012. Wow...

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Spoiled Sweetie

Remember how I said I bought champagne, but we didn't get a chance to drink it yesterday because we had to work? Well, this is what I had waiting for my honey bear when he got home from work this morning. At 5 am. (I'm not an early riser normally... appreciate the effort this took). I lit a candle, bought a bunch of roses and trimmed them to make a wreath around it. We had blackberries, and raspberries stuffed with chocolate*, and champagne all from the comfort of our bed while we snuggled and cuddled and talked about what's to come. It was quite romantic really. Even if those aren't exactly champagne flutes. We make do.

*ever notice the hole in a raspberry where the core sat is roughly the shape of a chocolate chip? Push one in, tip side down. They are simply divine.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Drumroll Please...

Andrew passed the testing!! There is one more stage, it involves meeting the doctors at the base hospital whose license the medics operate under, to make sure they trust his medical knowledge, and feel comfortable taking responsibility for his actions in the field. In reality, it's a bit of a formality. Chances are if you've made it this far, you've got enough medical knowledge and a suitable demeanor. What this means is that Dec. 4th he goes back up to Sudbury, where the base hospital is, meets the docs, and if all goes well, (which I'm sure it will), he'll be offered the job and flown up to Moosonee for orientation. Basically, he's got the job!!! I couldn't be happier!! I've been hopping and skipping, and "squee!!!"ing all day. I'm so so sooooo very proud of him!! He did a great job, the medics all loved him.

So, now we start thinking more seriously about how to proceed. It was recommended to us (especially if we end up in moosefactory or moosonee) to bring his truck up. That way, we can load her sky high, drive it onto the train, and then drive it right to our door. Sounds like a nifty idea. It would work in the other communities too, assuming we're comfortable with the idea of driving on the ice roads over cold angry lakes (gulp.). Bring it on. But first, snow tires.

We still don't know if he's getting a full time or part time position or which community we'll end up in, but at the latest we'll know that by the time he goes up for orientation. They'll also discuss the housing situation then, since it's rather different in each community, they'll wait to tell us the details once they know where we're going. Sounds like a good idea to me, though it does make this phase of the game rather difficult. I'm struck by the feeling that there's so very much to do, but can't really proceed with any of it yet. Frustrating! I will tell you this: I am knitting slippers and mittens and hats, and I'm going to have to acquire some actual winter boots, and probably a pair of snow pants. Some more wool socks and a few more pairs of long johns probably wouldn't hurt either. Should I even bother packing my shorts? Well, the optimist in me says yes, we could get something of a summer, even way up there.

I do know we will have a very busy social calendar between now and then. Everybody wants to wish us well and see us one more time before we go up to the wild north. I think Andrew's buddies have offered to take him out for enough drinks to keep him drunk from now until the base hospital date.

My head is spinning... we didn't get a chance to crack into the bottle of champagne I picked up because Andrew had to work tonight, but I might just help myself to a glass... for the good of my nerves!

ps. Woohoo! I'm getting a dog!!! hehehehehe

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Bricks

Are being shat right now folks. I am so excited/nervous for tuesday. It's quite unbearable really. Tomorrow around noon Andrew sets out for sudbury, Tuesday he writes his test, and Friday we'll know if we're moving. It's gonna be that fast. There's gonna be a lot to deal with. If we go, I'm gonna stay behind for a few weeks and settle some things on the home front. Things like the car, and finding good homes for our reptile collection. Dealing with who will be driving Andrew's truck, and how we need to keep all that above board with the insurance people. Figuring out what will be required up there in terms of furnishings and supplies. And how to get it all there. There's a lot to think about right now... but first things first, I've got my fingers crossed for ya honey. I know you can do it.

* I wrote this on Sunday, but clearly it didn't post properly...*

Friday, November 16, 2012

staying fit and yummy snacks

I had this stroke of genius today. We've bought a bag of apples that are supposed to be empires but taste like sawdust. Think of the texture of say a gala apple that's a little old. Kinda mushy and mealy. That's what these taste like. Not overly sweet, and no tartness to speak of. So I was trying to jazz them up a bit but caramel dip just seems like a back step. Afterall, I'm trying to shed a few pounds here! And then it hit me: I have a hard time hitting my daily protein quota... why not dip them in peanut butter! OMG!! yummy. And just think how much better it would be with a nice tart, crisp granny smith or real empire... but one thing at a time, we'll finish these empire impostors first.
I have a new way of tricking myself into exercising. It goes like this. I unplug my computer in the morning, fully charged. I get to use it up until the charge is gone, and then that's it, time to get off the couch and do something with my life. This can mean going for a walk, gardening, cleaning, spending time with family and friends... whatever. If, however, I want to use the computer more, I have to hit the treadmill. I set the laptop on the shelf in front of the machine, plug it in, and watch an episode of something while I plug away on the machine. I then get to use whatever battery power has been generated during the 50 minutes or so that I was working out. This serves two goals: I get my butt moving and actually make use of the treadmill, and I don't get sucked down some idiotic wormhole and spend hours and hours with my face in a computer screen, often on stupid websites that I really need to put back in perspective. So what if my virtual pet dies because I didn't feed it 15 times today? Do I really care? Unless the way I treat my virtual pet dictates the way rescue workers treat some starving mutt in a third world country, I have news for my self: it's just dots in cyberspace!
They're not huge changes, but it's something. I'm down 2 lbs since Monday. Its a start.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread

... and who came up with that saying anyways? Clearly they haven't tried my homemade bread. Beats the wonderbread hands down, any day.

However, I'd like to introduce you to the bodum travel press, which continues to blow my mind. It comes with a normal lid if you just want to use it like a plain travel mug, or it comes with a french press lid so you can brew your coffee or loose tea right in your mug. It's great for those times when I'm the only one home/awake/craving coffee, because I just make what I need or want right there in the cup, as fast as I can boil the water. And, I don't have a clue how the thing is constructed, but I made a cup of coffee before heading to work at 1 this afternoon, and when I took my break for dinner at 5 the stuff was still hot. Hot enough to warrant taking small careful sips. Simply amazing. And by the time I'd finished up both work and paperwork at 7:30, it was cooling off because I forgot to flip the lid closed again, but it was still totally in the realm of drinkable. It holds not quite two of my normal, at home coffee mugs worth of coffee, and it fits in the cup holder of my car. I love my bodum.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Halloween Hangovers...

Are not alcohol induced at all. Or, at least not in this case. For me, it's more about discovering a new video game, having a day off, and having way too much left over candy. We had about 150 chocolate bars to hand out, and a grand total of 22 trick o treaters. And halloween and my period have decided to team up this year for a great big f the diet day. And then, this morning, Andrew's mom (who was on overnights at walmart) spied the leftover candy marked down and brought home another 500 pieces of chocolate, because she couldn't resist, it was 50% off. Oh bother. You know when you're a kid and your mommy tells ya you have to eat some real food before you're allowed to attack your goodies the next day? Mommy wasn't here. By around 4:30 this afternoon, the crowning achievement of the day was taking a shower this morning. The entire rest of the day had been spent on video games. So I put the controller down and had my first "real food" of the day, leftover porkchops done in a tomato sauce and egg noodles. I'd probably already consumed my daily allotment of calories in chocolate however. Feeling a little guilty and pathetic, but what the heck, it's only one day a year.