I would suppose this is more Stacy's thing, but...

I'm going to Crufts tomorrow anyway. Every year my mother-in-law Wendy looks forward to this event like no other. God forbid that anyone should get in her way. When she was recuperating from hip surgery, it was the one thing that kept her focused: 'Gotta get to Crufts, Gotta get to Crufts'... Unfortunately she is not yet well enough to drive herself the the three hours to Birmingham, and as her sister-in-law's husband refuses to drive them this year, the task falls to yours truly.

I accompanied Wendy to a couple of dog shows when I first arrived here, but the thrill was short-lived. It's definitely a dog-eat-dog world and I'm not that hard-nosed. However they were interesting to see, and as I'm told that this is the mother of all dog shows, I'm actually looking forward to our day out tomorrow despite the fact that I'm in for a long day. (Our departure time being 5:15 a.m.) I'm looking forward to seeing the craze of people and dogs all stressed out and the fantastic displays, but more importantly to bring my baby home a whole stash of treats. After all, she is Best In Show, no matter what any judge might have to say about it.

The Way Things Turn Out

31 years ago today my parents tied the Knot. Did they really know what they were getting themselves into? Probably not, but with one little 2 year old running around and another on the way, I suppose they figured they'd better go for it and hope for the best.

Like most marriages, I can't say that the whole of their married life was an easy one, Lord knows they had enough problems, even without disagreeing about how us lot should be raised, but theirs is a marriage that is of the old school, one of the ones where a couple decides to try and get through the bad times, rather than just ducking out when the going got tough. (Although on a few occasions I sadly thought I would have preferred if they gave up.) Again, I'm sure both of them had their own reasons for the decisions they made, but today on their 31st Anniversary, I'm glad they made it this far and I'm glad they are content. During the past five years I think my parents have been stronger together than they have been for years. I know that makes me happy!

After being married for just over a year, Andy and I are still at the point where we are truly happy with the decision we made and I'd like to think ours is going to be a pretty solid union as we have both been through more stress in our short time together than some couples experience in 10. Because of our decision to marry the other, we have taken on a whole different way of living, especially since we are an international couple. I thank my lucky stars every day for the wonderful opportunities open to me because of my choice to marry a Brit, and I believe Andy feels the same:

Points in fact: He now as the opportunity to take his children on a three week vacation to Canada, for a lot less, as we will be staying with family; and they will be introduced to a different way of living. It will certainly open more doors for his children in the future via school/job choices.

As for me, well let me just say this: I doubt very much that my husband and I would have the opportunity to be living it up with four of our treasured family members (Stacy, Dawn, Tawny and Taylor) in LONDON & PARIS in the spring if it were not for the fact that I was living in Britain!

I only have two words for how I'm feeling about these latest developments: Rock On

Who's Holding Who?



Triple The Love

I've Been Tagged...

Four Jobs I've Had: Burger King Drive-thru; Shirt Presser at a Dry Cleaner's; Mail Room/Photocopy Clerk, Day Care Worker

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over: Stand By Me; The Princess Bride; Gladiator; About a Boy

Four Places I Have Lived: Argentia NF; Halifax NS; Beaverbank NS; New Waltham, England

Four Albums I Can't Hear Too Often: James Blunt - Back To Bedlam; Jimmy Rankin - Song Dog; Alanis - Under Rug Swept; Tim McGraw GH2;

Four Places I Have Vacationed: Dominican Republic; Greece; Venice; Mexico.

Four TV Shows I Love: Lost; Prison Break; Everybody Loves Raymond; ER.

Four Of My Favorite Foods: BBQ Pizza; Stir-fry; Chips (fries)and Gravy; B&J Choco Chip Cookie Dough Ice-cream.

Four Websites I Visit Daily: My blog list, hotmail.com; The Halifax Chronicle Herald; Various Job Sites

Four Places I'd Rather Be Right Now: Swimming in the ocean under a hot sun; Drinking in a pub with friends; At the movies; With Andy - he's away again.

Now I'm tagging Dawn, Stacy, Jeff and Jaime

Just another day... In the Ghetto that is

Today I was notified by a member of staff working in a portacabin just outside the main doors of the building that there was a fellow in a white ball cap lurking behind the fence with a rifle style gun. He was not only lurking, he had the gun pointed through the slats of the fence towards the car park and main entrance to the building.

Naturally there was no sight of him by the time security made their tortoise like way to our clinic, and the police also saw no sign of him. However past occurrences would prove that there is indeed a trigger happy idiot who creeps around our clinic as the windows of an office have had shots fired through it. Hrrmmm. Time to seriously start looking for other employment I would think.

Ever wish you could just turn back time, if only by 30 seconds?

Bleach is a very bad word when it comes to my vocabulary. I usually prefer to do all my own laundry because if something goes wrong, I only have myself to blame. My mother used to do all my laundry, as well as my four siblings, my father's and her own. That is a lot of laundry to get through and she was a good woman to do it all, without complaint. In later years, I noticed from time to time that the odd piece of clothing would come back with a bleach mark on it. Normally something I adored. I know that Stacy has had this problem from time to time as well. Sometimes when my husband, who always seems to have the washer on, kindly washes my clothes, the delicate white laundry has come back grey. Thus, I prefer to do at least my delicates myself.

When someone is good enough to do your laundry for you, and you are lazy enough to let them, damaged clothing is a risk you have to be willing to take. More times then not with mom (and Andy), the clothes would be fine, but for about the past 10 years or so, I'd just gotten into the habit of doing my own. And I never use bleach - at least in my laundry. I do own a bottle, as sometimes general cleaning agents just don't do the job in the kitchen/bathroom that bleach will do, however if I make the mistake of using bleach, I always wreck whatever I happen to be wearing. You'd think I'd learn by now to change into something old. (Normally I do.) However the other day I took on a task that Andy normally does, and decided to wash down the back patio area where Molly makes her mess. Andy uses a cleaning agent with bleach and I stupidly poured (splashed) it onto the patio, thus splashing it all over my new pants. G-R-E-A-T. If there was ever a moment in time where I wished I could press the rewind button, this was it. Unfortunately there isn't a rewind button for stupid behaviour.

Weekend Update:

I had taken Friday off in order for my friend Helen and I to go shopping to Meadowhall, a huge shopping complex in Sheffield. For £13 we were able to purchase a return day ticket. Much better than driving I think.

We arrived at the mall around 11 a.m. and hit the shops with much gutso. There were plenty of sales on and we both came out with at least two shopping bags. I was over excited to hit H&M and came out with one full outfit, however was bitterly disappointed as a) the selection wasn't great and b) a top that I loved didn't fit me. Of course they didn't have the next size up. I don't know if it's me, but I do find some of the clothes there made very small, although I never have a problem with skirt sizing.

We had a light lunch and then headed to the pub for a half-pint before moving on. Around 5 we'd decided we'd had enough and went to M&S to buy a picnic lunch avec wine for the train journey home. We enjoyed our sandwiches and wine and of course I ordered another small bottle of wine from the trolley. When we got off the train we headed into the pub next door for one more drink while we waited for Helen's husband to pick us up. They both came in for a drink with Andy and I before we all called it a night.

Family Time

On Saturday we took the three kids to visit Andy's sister Claire, who had fallen and broken her ankle last week. She was in great spirits and we had a very relaxing and enjoyable time sitting at the table with Claire and two of the other ladies in the group home putting puzzles together. It's times like these when I think I'm in the wrong career - I love spending time with Claire and her friends. However I do know just how hard carers work and its not all fun and games. However I can go see Claire whenever I want - she really is a joy to be around (when she's in a good mood that is, lol)and I think having a family member who isn't healthy certainly puts a different perspective on life.

We decided to go to Hull for lunch and ended up pigging out at Frankie and Benny's. Surprisingly, I could still fit into a size 14 (size 10 in Canada) jeans when we went shopping at a designer outlet in Hornsea. All the kids came away happy as Tasha got a pair of jeans as well and we bought the boys gorgeous winter jackets that were marked down from £50 to £12.99.

One Naked Stravos, 40 Girls, One Tighty Whitey and a Dance Pole

We had to rush to get home as I was going out with Helen on a Hen Night for one of the District Nurses out of her clinic. We met at the local pub where a bus was taking us on to Louth, a town about 25 minutes away. What a scene we all made, approximately 40 women, walking into the Italian restaurant, one sporting a naked blow up doll with a full-blown woody. We took up two long tables at the back of the restaurant, while the third was occupied with a group of children celebrating a birthday. They were all laughing gleefully upon our arrival and were very excited to find out which of us was getting married. When the little boy was brought his cake, he was sung happy birthday by the whole group of us, which in turn silenced the whole restaurant. He turned a bright shade of red when one of our ladies ran over and gave him a kiss.

We left the pizzeria completely stuffed and made our way along the streets to the first pub. On the way we passed a very posh restaurant full of people enjoying fine dining. Someone shouted out for Tina (the Hen) to show them her Stravos (the naked doll) and she cheekily held him up to the window as we walked along. The faces on some of the diners were absolutely priceless. The first pub we arrived at was playing good dance music so everyone grabbed a drink and made their way to the dance floor. I knew by this point that with the amount of food we had eaten, there was no way in hell I was gonna be able to drink much. I was just too full. I was enjoying the antics of an obviously gay fellow gyrating with all the ladies, some of who very clearly weren't picking up on the fact that he was sooo gay, which I rather enjoyed. I often miss all the gay boys from Halifax - they are tons of fun and always up for a good laugh, something you rarely see in my local area. There was also a gal on the dance floor with the tightest, whitest jeans I have ever seen. More than painted on. What made it even funnier was when Helen pointed out she had a camel's toe. Now I wasn't sure if that expression meant what I thought it did, as it's been so long since I heard it, and I didn't want to look, but through my laughter I couldn't help myself. And she was right! It did mean what I thought it did! Nasty!!! God I don't think I've seen one of those since the 80's.

About 45 minutes after we were moved on to the next club, which was to be the last visit on our night out as we had been told we needed to get to this particular place early as we would be in line ups all night if not. Along the way to this club, we passed a group of men and I was floored when I heard my friend Helen yell out "Come on boys, get your cocks out!" Now this is a phrase I had once heard my fiery little sister-in-law holler unexpectedly, and that surprised me, however hearing Helen yell it out completely stopped me in my tracks. I turned and asked her if she'd really said what I thought she did. She laughed. Wonders will never cease to amaze me! Here is the girl who told me she thought the photos Andy took of me on my birthday were 'rude' yet she’s yelling this to a bunch of lads. Go figure! What a laugh.

The club itself was trendy and modern and played good enough music, they even had a pole in the middle of the dance floor that the more adventurous would shimmy around, however this I'm afraid was the most exciting aspect of this particular club. (Other than the very nice and good-looking bartender). I believe that by 10:30/11:00 most of the ladies were a little tired as we had been expecting more than two venues and of course when you have a big meal, it doesn't bode well for a night of drinking. Helen and I made small talk with a few nurses, amused ourselves chatting to a few of the younger crowd and of course danced a few songs to try and pass the time away more quickly. When we got on the bus to take us back to town at 12:55 we were all ready for it. Partying in another town was fun, and it was good to see what the pubs/clubs were like, however I think I'll stick to going out closer to home as I can always jump in a cab or ring Andy to take me home after I've had enough.

Always remember to read the small print

This afternoon around 3:30, after lazing around for the better part of the afternoon, I decided to take Molly off to the beach for a long refreshing walk. We parked up in the mobile home summer caravan park where Andy always used to take me in the summer and off we went. We left the car at approximately 3:50. Although it was slightly overcast, there wasn't a breeze, and the water was very calm, which made for a gorgeous stroll on the beach. After romping in the water, losing our ball (and thrower),and clumsily playing with two extraordinary huge dogs whose only threat of hurting Molly was the fact they might slobber her to death, we made our way back to the car. I was feeling refreshed and looking forward to a nice relaxing evening but as I pulled off the grass parking area and made my way around the bend in the road I was stunned to see the park gates had been shut with a small notice stuck to it saying that in January and February the park gates are closed and locked at 4:00 p.m. and wouldn't open until 9:30 a.m. the next morning. For the second time in this country, I had the pleasure of finding myself behind locked gates.

Luckily, I had my phone with me so that I could call the number on the sign to have a warden come and release me for the extortionate fee of £30. I also rang Andy to see if there might be another way out of the park but unfortunately there wasn't as far as he was aware. I took a drive around just to make sure and along the way encountered a lovely retired couple who were out walking and tried to help me find an alternative route out of the park. (They had known to park there car on the other side of the gates.) Leaving the car behind and walking home was not an option as a) I live too far away and both Moll and I were wet and it was fastly becoming dark, and b) the car might not be in the same condition when I got back to retrieve it the next day as vandalism is high in the area.

The phone call to the council was a bit ridiculous as the guy on the other end, although slightly sympathetic, kept insisting I'd have to pay the fine and did I have the cash to do so. Of course I didn't, I was walking the dog, not shopping. He then moved on to ask if I had a credit card. Let me see, I don't carry more than a fiver on me while out for a stroll, but yup, I keep my credit card in the back pocket just in case I need to make a transaction from a tree. He then moved on to ask if I could give him a number of a relative to verify who I was. At this point I got pretty incensed and said 'look, I know I have to pay the fine, I should have read the puny signs, but I didn't so here I am, alone in the dark in a deserted caravan park and your worried about the fine. Send someone to get me out and you can send me the bill, you have my registration number in case you don't believe the address I will supply is legit.' He asked me to wait while he called a truck and then informed me it could be 30-40 minutes. Naturally, I would wait, where exactly could I go?

fter half an hour, 3 vehicles pulled up on the other side of the barrier. An official looking man in plain clothes walked over and asked me what happened and if I was waiting for the warden to let me out. I conceded. He walked over to the gate, undid it to let other cars gain entry, then waved me through without another word. Will I receive a bill in the mail? Or will it prove lucky that someone other than the warden let me out? Probably not, the council still has my info, but we shall see in a few days time.

When you have absolutely nothing to say...

Subway opened in town on February 3rd. Over two-and-a-half years of agonizing waiting are finally over. Andy and I naturally lunched there both Saturday and Sunday. The kids and I will be taking another trip there this weekend I'm sure. They are well versed by now that Jojo might say no to McDonald's but the likelihood of her saying no to a much more healthy option such as Subway is practically non-existent.

Andy and I haven't been up to too much this past week besides trying to stay on a healthier eating plan and going for long walks with the dog. The boys now stay with us on Wednesday nights and enjoyed taking Molly for a walk this morning before school.

In other news, IT have stopped access to personal web pages at work, and it now looks as if they are trying to keep staff off the internet all around, however that makes no sense as they have links to the net for things that might be of interest to staff via the staff website (which we are able to access) so tell me if that makes any sense. All it ever takes are a few idiots surfing sites that are totally inappropriate to ruin it for everyone else. Don't these losers realize they are always being watched?

As a result, when I'm finished any work I have absolutely nothing to do to amuse myself or to assist in the quest to make one look busier than one actually is. Now if I held an intensely busy position that required hours of my attention, I could care less about the internet. Luckily for me, my audio clinic has been busier than usual. However I'm still searching for another position as I feel like my brain cells are on stand-by during the down time. I just need more stimulation through work and I'm not getting it. I need to do it now, before I get too comfortable doing not much of anything after the majority of my work is done - which doesn't take very long. Thank God I only work part-time. 40 hours of this routine would drive me insane.

Not too bad for an old girl...



My birthday came and went on a rather pleasant note. I received many birthday wishes and greetings via email and cards from friends and family, the girls at work gave me a beautiful boquet of flowers and naturally the phone kept ringing into the early hours of the night. I also received the much anticipated annual birthday blog from Dawn, Tawn and Stacy - all fantastic in the unique style of each publisher. Of course it wouldn't have been my birthday if I didn't stuff my face for not only one afternoon, but three consecutive days. We all know how I positively have to make use of any little excuse to keep the party and food fest going, especially when in honour of myself. What better reason? Of course now I will have to listen to my digital scale say 'get off fatty' tomorrow morning!

Andy took me for a wickedly romantic and luscious meal on Friday night (we chose Friday so that we could enjoy a few drinks and celebrate in proper style). My mother-in-law was good enough to have the boys overnight enabling my husband and I to have our own private party here at the house. My husband, who got a little camera happy with my new digital camera, insisted on taking a few shots of me, and in the style of a true McDonald girl, I readily succumbed to having my picture taken. Again and again. I'm pretty sure most of you realize we don't have an aversion to being photographed at all.



I do have some news to convey that some of you might be interested to know:

1. We have booked our holiday home this summer. My boys and I will be hitting the shores of Nova Scotia in full force on July 27th and won't be departing until August 17th...

2. The notorious twosome of Dawn and Stacy will be hitting the Isle of England on the morning of April 29th and will be keeping us all amused until May 21st! I can't tell you how excited I am for that - the Strongbow is already a-chillin. (Dawn, I've told Scott you are coming and he is looking forward to reminiscing with you over your cozy time spent together during the wedding!)

With this I bid you all good-night.

Finally...

For years I have been ahead of most of my friends/family when it comes to wine, white wine anyway. My Scottish friend Val and I have been inhaling bottles of it for over three years now, but I remember drinking my first full bottle of wine at the ripe old age of 16. Most of my friends wouldn't drink it unless it was overly sweet i.e. Boones, which we all know isn't real wine anyway. In recent years a few of my closer friends and family i.e. Tawny and Dawn, have taken up drinking wine and are actually becoming quite knowledgeable about it. Dawn even has a Rabbit, the most fantastic invention since the invention of wine itself, and I'm really coveting one for myself (hint to Dawn - if you see one mate, could you possibly pick it up for me and I will reimburse you upon your arrival in this great land).

Anyway, what I initially began this post for, was to say that I have finally, finally come across a red wine that I not only LOVE, but one that doesn't give me a migraine. At Christmas, Tawny had a lovely bottle of red that we opened on Christmas Eve. After one glass I had a throbbing headache and could sadly drink no more unless I wanted to hibernate in the bedroom all night in complete darkness with a bag of ice held to my forehead. This Kumala that I have discovered through my good friend Beryl, is the best tasting red I've ever given my taste buds the pleasure of experiencing. I now finally feel I can be part of the red wino group, even if only part time.

Note to self: Begin building up my immunity to wine once again so that I'm not completely pissed after only one bottle.

Hopefully she has some comfort in knowing she is not the only freakish sleeper in our family.

'You scared the shit out of me last night'

This phrase was uttered to me in the early recesses of the morning as I was either a) making my way from the bed down to the couch wrapped in my new (huge) fleece blanket that I brought back from Canada, or b)making my way back up to bed wrapped in my fleece blanket as Andy came downstairs to get ready for work. I was having difficulty getting to sleep last night due to a dry throat and sore ear, something that was only compounded further by Andy's snoring. He's still getting over his cold which makes his breathing at night worse than normal. After a very broken sleep I finally gave up and when to spend the last few hours of the night on the couch curled up with Molly.

This morning as I was driving to work, I recalled him saying this but also remembered I didn't pay any attention to what he might be talking about. At 8:15 a.m. it suddenly came back to me. In the earlier hours of the night I had been on my side under the covers and opened my eyes to see this HUGE spider dangling from the ceiling in front of my face. Now spiders generally don't bug me, but this baby was the size of my fist. I opened my mouth, screamed and proceeded to hide under the covers, shaking like mad. Andy had much difficulty in convincing me that there was nothing there. Fuck me.

This isn't the first time something like this has happened. There have been times in the past when I've seen things that aren't there, and I certainly can't go to sleep at night until all the closet doors are closed - firmly. While I was at home over the holidays Tawny and I had chatted about her sleep patterns and how she has a clinically proven sleep disorder. (Something she has talked about over on locobellatuna.) She has even reached the point where medication has been necessary. I myself do not yet feel ready for this, as it's something I think I'm able to manage on my own especially while it's occurring infrequently. Every now and then I experience times when I suffer bad bouts of insomnia and cannot sleep at all, thus spending the night downstairs reading or watching tv. Thankfully these times are few and far between as it is very difficult to make it through a full day on little or no sleep. Luckily this morning I'm only suffering from my physical ailments and not feeling overly cranky or irritable. I do however have the satisfaction of knowing that I can lay down for a nap this afternoon before the kids come down.

Some positive Points to start 2006 on:

1. We've been granted a court order to take the kids to Halifax this summer.

2. I've gotten through today on only two diet cokes... a very large feat in itself.

3. We are in the process of sorting out tickets for Stacy and Dawn to fly to the UK in late April/early May.

4. I've begun my healthy eating kick-start and again, have made it through one day - and as in times past I know I can stick to it, this is not just a New Year's resolution for me.

5. The children's mother and I have reached an agreement to try and sort out any contact issues surrounding the children between ourselves. Granted, Andy and I wanted something similar to this 2 years ago, however better late than never.

I won't go into details over the very unexpected phone call I received, or what brought the call about, (however it did involve seeing the children - unexpectedly, at their request, for an hour yesterday at the displeasure of their mother.) I will say this: I agreed to speak with her on a need-be basis provided she not mention my husband (she has a tendency to speak untruthfully and abusively about him) and that we keep it civil at all times. She agreed to this. I don't care what her reasons are for agreeing to this, I only care about the children and what is best for them. As I said to her, we are both two women who love the same children - I'm looking out for what is good for them. At the moment Alex is yet again having a very difficult time with his mother and it would appear as if he is once again headed back to stay with us.

Anyway, point is, I believe that we are beginning 2006 on a more positive note than 2005. I don't have to like or respect the woman to have polite contact with her for the sake of the kids. Let's just see how everything goes.

Some of my favourite moments of my trip home:

1. Seeing snow at Christmas time.
2. Laughing complete belly laughs over old pictures with my sisters, some that were completely unflattering!
3. Drinking martinis (again with my sisters - Dawn included naturally)
4. Spending lots of time with my mom doing the things we always used to do - i.e. just chatting, working out.
5. Eating mom's chocolate chip cookies, especially hot from the oven while watching movies.
6. Eating lots of May Garden and other Chinese foods.
7. Playing with some awfully cute babies:





8. Napping with Stacy and Tawny on Stacy's comfy bed (my old one,lol).
9. Pulling Christmas Crackers and playing the games tucked inside with my family during Christmas dinner.
10. Bowling and pizza with the Bezanson's and Rudolf's.
11. Watching my dad's joy at preparing to head back on the road again.
12. Seeing some great movies and eating WAY to much popcorn avec butter, white cheddar and dill pickle toppings.
13. Hearing Connor ask 'Jojo, how many more days NOW till you come home?'

14. Messing around at the Airport with John, Stacy, Aunt Marg and mom, getting some great photos - like these:







15. Speaking of pictures, all the fun times I had taking so many great shots of my family and friends! I will post more photos to my yahoo site when I get a bit more time later this week.

Farewell to Nova Scotia...

Well tonight I begin my journey back to England and my family there. It's been a fantastic visit and I will be sad to go. I've done so much and gotten to spend great quality time with loved ones while here at home. Some of you - not enough , some of you - more than others, but still not enough. However, I have this summer to look forward to because I will be back, this time avec my family. I cannot wait for that. But before then its back to living my life in England and sticking to my New Year's Resolutions. (Which are not so unrealistic as to become impossible to uphold). I'm a bit fearful that my husband may not recognize the much plumper woman who walks through arrivals in her haste to greet him. Here's crossing my chubby fingers! Not stressing though, I enjoyed the numerous calorie filled sessions that brought me to this point and by the summer I will again be back to my normal size and as it will be a vacation full of fun packed activities I will hopefully not have the same problem upon my return to England.

Anyway, I am straying off point as usual. I have a few last visits to make this morning before coming back to finish my prep for tonight's flight. I will be posting pictures from this trip once I get settled in again. It has been an absolute treat.

Happy New Year!



Last night Stacy, Christina and I headed downtown for some East Side's and whatever would follow next. We headed to the casino, which was crazy busy and the highlight of the night were the girls walking around dressed up like Vegas Show Girls, which was something new to witness. We couldn't find Dawn and left around 11:10 to find somewhere to ring in the new year. Pogue's was only taking ticket holders so at approximately 11:50 we made it to the Grand Parade to partake in the festivities there. Stace's friend Catherine and her boyfriend were there and we found them easily enough via cell phone contact. It was the first time I was in the Parade Square for New Year's and it was actually quite fun - I thought the music was great and was very disappointed to find out I had missed JP Cormier. We didn't have the proper clothing on but we didn't feel the cold as 2006 was rang in to a chorus of music, dancing and fire works.



After the fireworks ended we headed out to find a pub for a New Year's drink and ended up in Maxwell's Plum, which was very nostalgic for me as it was the pub that Andy and I spent hours chatting in, getting to know each other, way back in 2002! I was with my sister and good friends enjoying a laugh in person, however because we were in Maxwell's, I had my husband there with me in spirit and heart!

The drive home was funny (I was sober) as Tawny kept ringing (she wasn't!). It made us miss her even more and wish she could have been with us, but it was great knowing that we were all enjoying ourselves, and hey, here's to a great New Year for us all!

Dawn, sorry we didn't get to hook up buddy, but I know you probably had a smashing time and I'll get to see you a few more times this week before heading out on Friday!

The only disappointing factor of this weekend is that Wayne was supposed to have been with us and has had to undergo more surgery. My heart goes out to him and his family and I'm hoping with all of it that this is a much better year for him, for all of us!

My love to all of you. Thanks for being such supportive readers in 2005 - here's to another great year of posting!

A McDonald Christmas



I haven't blogged since I've reached home over a week ago. Time is passing quickly and I'm absolutely loving every minute of it - I've still not had a chance to see everyone and am hoping to do so this week. The only drawback is that I'm missing my husband and our family back home, but I know that I will be with them soon so I must embrace every moment I have with my loved ones here in Nova Scotia.

Christmas here has not been uneventful. Tawny and I turned up on Christmas Eve after a few visits and some shopping to see a car with Ontario plates parked in the drive. It was Sandra and Brad on a very unexpected surprise return home, after 3 and 1/2 years. After a few deep breaths we went inside and so began our Christmas as a complete family for the first time in many years.

I won't go into any detail except to say its been a bit stressful and difficult at moments for reasons I won't really eloborate on, but aside from the shock of my sister coming home unnanounced after so long and so much, it has been a good Christmas and we were satisfied to see Sandra make the effort, especially for the sake of our parents, even though I wish I had known she was going to be coming home, for a number of reasons. Everyone has handled themselves in a brilliant way and for this I am grateful. I know how very difficult this has been for Tawny and I'm just so thankful to have had my family with me at this time of year.

Last night we had relatives visiting until after midnight and we watched Elf, our chosen Christmas movie this year. Both Pam (John's girlfriend) and Taylor have spent Christmas Day feeling quite ill, but I'm hoping they have a better time of it over the next few days of celebration.


I brought a little bit of England to the dinner table and we did have fun playing the games in the Christmas crackers. Why everyone doesn't do this during Christmas dinner is beyond me - what a good way to amuse and keep everyone focused on the festivities.

I will post more photos later in the week, after I have mixed and matched with some of Tawn's shots. I'm sure we will have a few good ones, and I'm hoping to get more tonight before Tawny and Taylor leave early tomorrow morning.

Oh and I have to post this great picture from last Thursday night, taken just after exchanging gifts with Dawn - a fantastically funny and amusing evening. I hope to report more from that evening this week! But I do love this shot:



Thank you to all of you who have done so much to make this Christmas so wonderful for me (especially my husband, for loving me enough to give me up to my family for the holidays.) I love you all. And for those of you I haven't seen yet, we still have 12 or so more days...

PS - notice the much improved quality of these pictures - compliments of the new camera given to me as an early Christmas gift by my generous and loving man.

Christmas Parties x 3

Friday Night
Friday night found me out at the local pub with four fantastic girls I've met through work.

The night began with a few glasses of wine that led quickly to more than a few bottles. We had a great laugh and it was a terrific way to begin the Christmas festivities.

It's a warm feeling to know that this time, while I'm back at home, I'll have these great mates back in England.



It wouldn't be me I suppose if I didn't have a cry at some point while, well let's face it - shit canned. I told the girls a story about sitting in the same pub over a year ago with my husband, enviously watching a group of girls on a night out at the very same table we were sitting at Friday night, and informing him that if back in Canada, that would have been me with my friends. And a year later, although not in Canada, I was at that table with four of the best women I have had the pleasure of knowing. And then I started to bawl. Nothing new there really.


Helen G and Sharon


At some point in the evening, we decided to take the party into town (this would have been downtown in NS speak) and Janice (who wasn't drinking) patiently drove our drunken asses to a pub called O'Neils. We danced, we drank some more, and had a great laugh. Unfortunately Helen E. had her handbag nicked. She luckily found it in the gents, but sadly minus phone and money. :(

Around 12:55 I made a drunken call to my angel of a husband. For a little insight as to how absolutely wrecked I was, this is a snippet of the conversation with him:

ME: Hi Sweetie can you come pick us up?

ANDY: Yeah, where are you?

ME: I don't know - HELEN WHERE AM I????

10 Minutes later I phoned him again:

ME: Where are you?

ANDY: Almost there - you still at O'Neils?

ME: I don't know - HELEN - WHERE ARE WE?

I can say though that my not knowing where we were the first time was due in part to the fact we went out the back door of O'Neils into the car park, which I didn't know even existed. Remember, I have only been out in Cleethorpes on three previous occasions.

Saturday Night
Needles to say, Saturday morning didn't find me feeling so swell, however my slight headache was nothing in comparison to poor Helen G - she had been sick. I don't understand how I can drink SO much and not ever be sick.

Anyway, I'm digressing as usual. Helen and her husband Trev met us at our place for a drink before going to our other local. We had a nice dinner by the fireside then made our way back here to have billinis in my Venetian glasses. We sat and chatted, neither Helen nor I drinking very much, we still had enough flowing in our veins from the previous evening.

Sunday
Today we got up and drove to Lincoln for a pre-Christmas/birthday luncheon with Andy's siblings, their partners and his mom. (Andy's brother and sister are twins and they'll share their birthday on Friday with Ali's partner Scott.)

The food and conversation was fantastic and I'm glad we all made the effort to get together before I fly home on Wednesday to spend the holidays with my other family.

My English Family

An 'Old Fashioned' Christmas

Last night the boys came down for their weekend stay and we decided to decorate the house for Christmas. Alex eagerly helped Andy get all the stuff down from the loft and within an hour the tree was up. While Andy was trimming the tree with white lights I was busy making silver bows for it, as I decided to go with a white and sliver theme this year, with a few black baubles to set it off. Usually my ideas don't always fly, especially when there is craft-making involved, but this actually turned out to be a very pretty tree. I took the idea from the lady we were staying with in Belgium, who had a beautiful tree. It didn't take Molly long to try and eat it, but the most amusing segment of the night was when Connor commenced with this discussion:

Connor: Dad - you know back in the olden days?

Andy: Yeah?

Connor: Yeah, back in the olden days when you were a kid....

LORD! I thought the Olden Days were back when our dads were kids! Both of us were expecting him to talk about those olden days! Neither one of us can remember what came after that as we were both a bit taken aback with laughter and the realization that Andy now hails from 'The Olden Days'.

I'll be home for Christmas,
you can count on me...
Please have snow, and mistletoe
and presents on the tree.

(Well out of those three, its the snow I want, at least for Christmas Eve.)

13 more sleeps!!!!

To Belgium and Back

We left for Belgium at lunchtime on Friday and were back in the country by tea time Sunday.

The reason for the trip was to be a courier service to Andy's mother as she was importing another dog for breeding purposes. As Wendy's friend and granddaughter were the dog 'dealers', our only obligation was to drop the ladies off on Friday night and pick them on Sunday morning. The trip through the Euro tunnel was pretty cool, as was driving through a portion of Europe for the first time, I just never expected it to be through a snowstorm. Now this snowstorm wasn't as severe as those that Canadians experience, but it was worse than England ever gets. It was sticking, making visibility poor and reading sign posts impossible. Naturally we went slightly off track, but after 10 hours finally made it.

Andy and I stayed in a lovely little B&B and on Saturday morning amidst the snow, and armed with a local map, set off to find the small city of Gent where we would catch the train to Brussels. We were impressed with our ingenuity for thinking to wear our heavy coats and hiking boots. We don't always get it right, but this time we did.

Andy at the Atomium

Brussels was a great city with a lot of history, but after touring around on bus and then by foot, we were happy to give up around 3 p.m. and settle ourselves into a cozy pub for some grub and beer. I'd been informed by Darla to try Belgian beer as it is 'great' and she was too right. Yummy.

Mmmmmm... Warm Bar, Good Beer

But even more yummy were the waffles you could pick up hot off the street. I wouldn't turn one of those down on a sunny, hot day, never mind a day when you're freezing your ass off.

The other highlight of the trip was actually realizing I had not only taken in, but actually managed to retain a few phrases of French from the lessons I painfully endured in school. I made a slight mistake by answering her polite Bonjour with a Bonjour of my own, not thinking that she would proceed to carry on our dialect in French. I gave it my best effort and came out alright. It was fun, and now I think I would rather take up French again, over Spanish. I never realized how much of it had sunk in through my thick skull. I not only surprised my husband and our companions, but myself. Pleasantly so - to the point of having a slightly swelled head - it's not often I get to be the one who understands what the foreign person is saying.

The journey home was quite uneventful, made all the more comfortable by our smooth ride. If anything good came out of our crash last summer, it was that we ended up with an 4WD SUV. It's a smooth, comfortable ride and came in handy during the bad weather.

The number of countries I have now travelled to is beginning to grow: Canada, US, Mexico, Grand Caymen Islands, England, Scotland, Wales, Greece, Italy, Belgium and France (well we travelled through France). It is our plan when Miss Stacy next comes to travel to yet another - Germany? Holland (Amsterdam)? Possibly back to France to actually see something of it - maybe Paris??? Being on this small Island ensures a whole list of endless possiblities. Australia is calling to Andy and I, but that will have to wait a few years, and of course there is always Africa.

It's a Hard Life

Struggling to Sleep

Last night I probably got maybe an hour's sleep in total. Andy is suffering from a cold and as a result I had to leave our cozy bed. I normally have to sleep with earplugs in as he is a mouth breather and often makes a rattling sound in his throat, but due to his illness he was full out rumbling and snoring. Around midnight, after about an hour of trying to ignore his strangled breathing, I grabbed my water, a comforter and with Molly in tow, made my way to the couch around midnight. I read for an hour and finally decided to try and get some sleep. By three a.m. I'd given up and turned on the t.v. I was watching yet another sad Hallmark movie when Andy came down at 5:30. I was back in bed by 6:00, after he had left, but still no luck. At 7:15 I was still watching the clock. It must have been 7:30 when I drifted off, only to have my alarm go off at 7:45.

At work today numerous people commented on my pale faced, sleep deprived look, asking if I felt well. Of course the fact that I'd put my contacts in only added to the itchiness and constant blinking. I suppose I could be excused for such a stupid act, considering I was running on diet coke alone. One of the nurses asked me if I take anything for the insomnia. I vehemently shook my head and informed her that it wasn't necessary. After two nights at the most it usually passes. However, I will take my medication in a completely different, but more enjoyable form: tonight I am using liquid medication in the form of a big old bottle of wine - Orvieto Classico Abboccato - a lovely semi-sweet Italian wine. It was my plan to submerge myself in a scalding hot bath to assist the wine in calmly pointing me in the right direction of lala land. So with approximately two glasses left, that is what I will do as soon as I finish posting this. Not being able to sleep just sucks. Especially when one likes sleep as much as I do. I have never been one of those people who say, 'why spend so much time sleeping? Time enough for that when I'm dead. I LOVE my bed and can't wait to get there some nights.

In or Out
I have this complete fascination lately with boots. High heeled black leather ones, flat soled suede, fur lined, ankle length, whatever, I love boots. Last spring I was ecstatic to see that the cowboy boot was back in style. Not only was it back in style but it was the style to wear your jeans tucked inside the boot. I remember wearing cowboy boots around 11 years ago. Problem was, the style was to wear your boot cut jeans outside of your boots. Now that it is the in thing, I'm thinking why not? Problem is, I don't feel like wearing cowboy boots. I do however love the style of the almost knee-length leather high heeled or flat boot with pants tucked in. I notice that a lot of the celebrities are wearing this style and from reading the fashion mags - it appears to be the in thing these days. Now I don't normally conform to a fashion because its the in style, however I do love this look and because I'm lucky enough to have long and slender legs, I feel that it is a look I could pull off, especially since it makes your legs look longer and slimmer. I know its not for everyone and of course not everyone could do it, but I honestly think its something I will roll with this year. I've always been told I've got great legs and if I can work with it, why the hell not??? Normally all the fashion trends don't work with my build, so when they do, it's time to take full advantage.

Relief in a BIG way...
This bracelet was given to me over two years ago as a leaving gift from the Board of Management of SVGH. When I was presented with the blue box from Burke's Jewellers by the Chair of the Board, and opened it to see this bracelet, my breath was taken away. I was amazed to think that I had done such a good service and had meant so much to these twelve men and women, that they would honour me with such a lovely gift. I would cherish it forever.

Over four months ago, it went missing. The clasp must have come undone somewhere along the line as I was always very careful to take it off and put it safely away. I've searched everywhere for it and about a month ago gave it up for gone. Andy was sure it would turn up somewhere, but after redecorating and a good clean out of the bedroom, I gave up. To say I was heartbroken over it was an understatement. The sentimental value of that bracelet was priceless. It was a memento from a very important time in my life. I couldn't believe it was gone - I missed the weight of it on my wrist, as I wore it quite often. Every time I looked at bracelets in the shops they never compared. Nothing looked as nice to me, or was of as fine a quality. Until Friday while I was shopping at one of my favourite places -In The Pink, and found a really pretty but more delicate silver bracelet with gold and bronze circular links. Although it wasn't as solid as the other one, I figured I had finally found a surrogate. Andy agreed it should be one of my Christmas presents. I was very happy with this, but at the same time still saddened and reminiscent of my other bracelet. I decided I would wear it and be happy and finally try and get over the fact that my bracelet was gone for good.

A few days ago, Andy had left a small box of mine full of old cards out on the shelf that he had taken out during a clear-out and never replaced. I was putting a few cards in it that I've received recently and felt something slide around underneath the cards. Lifting the bulk of cards I was absolutely floored to see my bracelet. I was stunned into near tears. Relief surged through my veins until I thought I might cry with joy. I'm so happy to know that it was not lost, just somehow misplaced at the bottom of a bunch of sentimental cards!

Now how can I be more thrilled than to have in my possession, not one, but two gorgeous, meaningful bracelets. I am truly, on this day, a lucky girl.

Saturday Stroll

As not much has been going on other than a few head colds, and running errands, I thought I'd post a few pictures from a walk in the park Andy and I took with Molly on Saturday. It was gorgeous - sunny and crisp, perfect for being in a park as gorgeous as Hubbards Hills. There weren't many people around and Molly certainly enjoyed it. We are really relieved that she has finally begun going in the water on her own, something she gleefully did last weekend as she flung herself madly into the stream after a flock of birds.





I love these two:







Sorry, More Boob Talk

I just finished watching Tyra Banks' talk show. (I realize we are probably at least a month behind in episodes). It was all about breasts. Apparently there has been much rumour and speculation that she has had implants. Hrrmm. I have never thought that. I've never really paid it much attention to tell you the truth, but I have noticed her boobs on the rare time I see footage of her strutting it down the walkway in a VS bra. And every time I've never once thought real or fake? So many people have such an infatuation over breasts and if people have had boob jobs or not. She was a star on this episode and proved to all her viewers that she is in fact real - very real. I was worried that my boobs were sagging a bit sans bra. Tyra succeeded in making me feel that I'm actually ok. When that bra of hers came off - under t-shirt - it was very clear that those boobs of hers are natural. I just need to get myself some of the bras that Tyra has been wearing. She's a D cup, so I figure it can't be that hard for me to find something both pretty and uplifting in a DD. Definitely the one thing America has up on the rest of the world -Victoria secrets.

I mentioned her being a star on this episode. If I'm being honest, I have to admit that I'm enjoying her talk show and will continue to watch it. She seems genuinely kind and is working hard to make women feel good about themselves. That in itself says a lot - to me anyway. On the first show she and the audience all took off their make up - revealed their naked selves. And let me tell you, the lady looked, well, different without her makeup, not so pretty as the face we always see - she obviously was wearing a lot of face. If she wore less make up then the change probably wouldn't have been so dramatic. But she proved what most of us already know. It's easy to run around being envious of, or salivating over the models, and cover-girls - but so much of it is FAKE... make-up, air brushing, fake eye-lashes, hair extensions, etc. Any of us could be size 6 with perky tits, great abs, perfect skin, long locks, etc. if we had the money to blow on personal trainers and top scale salons...

I am me. I'm not happy with my body the way it is but it'll do. I've got more important things to spend my money on. I'll stick to the self-improvement regimes that I can afford - what I can fix (flab) will hopefully be fixed with a healthy work-out regime, what I can't afford to fix, or don't want to blow a heap of money on, will just have to stay the way it is. I'm too busy enjoying my life to get all caught up in that game.

Since I've been told...

It's good to know some of you read this blog and miss me when I've been lazy ;). Honestly, I haven't really had that much to post about. We've been busy with the finishing touches on our living room and I've had to take care of Molly.

She had the big operation that will now make it impossible for her to procreate. It was hard for me to leave her at the vet's, even harder still to realize I had to leave her there over night. When we picked her up the morning after she was so happy to see us, but I have to say, she was not very well for awhile after. Her insides had taken a real knocking around and what with all the damned fireworks going off last weekend she never fully returned to her usual self until Monday/Tuesday of this week. As her insides were so sore and it hurt to squat for any amount of time she had this pathetic way of wriggling around peeing as she went. Nevermind the fact that our girl was having this trouble peeing, but add to the fact that nearly every time she went to the toilet she was disrupted by the loud boom and bright lights of fireworks. It didn't make for a very nice experience. She got to the point where she wasn't able to finish and when our next door neighbour decided to launch a few, well that just put paid to her going outside at all. Thankfully, all this business is behind us for another year and we have the consolation that next year she won't be a puppy who has just undergone a serious operation. What were we thinking? To have put her through that at a time of year no dog likes, nevermind a sick pup.

Time to Get Moving

I ordered this on Sunday and it arrived yesterday. It's called the Lateral Thigh Trainer. I of course got the advanced addition with an armband attachment. The combined stepping/skating motion is designed to work more muscles than a straight stepper. I got on it last night and after only ten minutes could feel the muscles working. This weekend I will tackle the first of the videos and hopefully by early next week I will be on to the armband/advanced workout video. I've frankly had enough of not getting enough exercise. Since we got the new vehicle I haven't been biking as much, and as I'm not at the gym anymore, something needs to be done. Molly and I continue to walk everyday, and sometimes I throw in a half-hearted jog, but its now seriously time to get moving. Christmas is coming and this year its going to be even worse for over-eating as I will be munching on all my favourite Canadian food! East Sides, May Garden, KOD, Dairy Queen, Movie Theatre Popcorn, Mom's Christmas Baking and Cooking! Sheila's Cooking! Yummy!!. Of course I fully intend to gym it with Mom and Stacy as much as possible, can't be letting things get too out of control!

Anyway, hopefully within a few weeks I will be seeing a slight result, if nothing.

I was just finished my bath when there was a knock on the door. I hesitated, wondering if I should answer it in my sopping wet condition. After throwing on my bathrobe and wrapping a towel around my hair the knocking had become more persistent, so I figured I best make my way downstairs and find out who had such an urgent need to get me to open my door.

Somehow I had forgotten it was Halloween Night but my memory clued in as soon as my foot reached the bottom step. I could see no outline through the glass partition so assuming it was a small child I flung open the door. There was no one there. I looked around for a moment longer before closing the door. After ensuring that I did have a few treats for the next trick-or-treaters (we don't usually get many around this area, but its better to have a few treats on hand just in case) I headed upstairs to begin the long drawn out process of drying my hair.

I was about three stairs from the top when the knocking started again. I turned around to begin my descent, looking to see the outline of the goblin at my door. Nothing again. I opened the door more slowly this time and peered out. No one. I tentatively took a step outside, wondering if this was a nasty prank to get me outside thus ensuring an easy target for egging. I braced myself for the impact and when none came I opened my eyes and looked around. There wasn't a soul in sight. No kids were on the street. I also noticed at this time that there were no lights on in the surrounding houses. It looked like I had the street to myself. After checking around the corner of my house to make sure the dark crevices weren't hiding any tricksters, I went back in and closed my door. No sooner than it had shut when there came yet another knock. I stood there, rooted to the spot and just looked at the closed door. Two more successive knocks followed. I could here no other noise. No little giggles, no hushes to be quiet. I leant down and peered through the letter box just as another knock came.

There was no one there.

Hope your Halloween has some frights in store.

Bag full of loot alright

This morning as I was cleaning out the kitchen drawers, I came across a party loot bag, took a quick peek inside and saw that there was still some good stuff left in it - i.e. candy and a toy streamer thing and figured it must be an old one of Connor's and gave it to him. I heard him pop the streamers and start reading the sayings on the little pack of love hearts before just as I asked him to come back into the kitchen and hold the bin bag open for me. It was then that he showed me something from the loot bag and asked me what it was. I absentmindedly told him I didn't know and told him to just throw it in the bag. When he left the room I glanced into the empty bag and looked at what he had discarded. It was a condom. The loot bag was from a Hen Night I'd been on back in July. Oooooops. I guess we should thank someone that he's still innocent, at least when it comes to these issues. In the clinic where I work boys not much older than him are coming in constantly asking for 'johnnies'.

How to keep me smiling

Today Andy and Alex were going to be busy painting our living room and as I'm allergic to paint and Connor gets bored with the process, we decided to take ourselves off to the mall for a little bit of shopping. We came back around lunch time to see our living room transformed into a beautiful deep blush colour and on Friday when we have our new cream carpet laid (getting rid of the nasty green thing) our front room will be much improved. We want to keep it as minimalist as possible, however with all the business paraphenelia Andy has, and all the books I have, its a little difficult with the limited space. Anyway, I am digressing from my point. We came back to find A&A almost finished but still hard at work. They'd treated themselves to the chippie for lunch and as Molly was continuously trying to eat the paint Connor and I decided to take her with us in the truck for some lunch and a walk on the beach.



Just before leaving though, I had let Molly out to do her business. It was a bit of bad timing though, as a few idiots decided to set off a few fireworks. This is something quite common in England at this time of year due to the forthcoming Guy Fawkes celebrations on November 1st (a night when the community council hold a fireworks display but so do a multitude of people around town - some are obviously very keen to get started.). I found it pretty neat the first year I was here, to see a multitude of random fireworks exploding over the village, but it soon got tiresome and annoying. Anyway, some losers were setting them off today in broad daylight and happened to do so while I had Molly out in the back yard. I heard her petrified bark and was just heading toward the back door to let her in when I saw her hurtle herself straight at it. She must have been waist high in her desperation to get back inside. If this keeps up she's going to hurt herself. As usual when something frightens her i.e. vacuum, lawnmower, etc. she came straight in, went upstairs and hid under my bed. Alex had to drag her out so that we could get her in the truck.

Connor and the dog had a great time racing alongside the water and although it was overcast with a few raindrops, we weren't deterred. To see them having such fun was worth a few splatters.

Tonight, we just came in from seeing Tim Burton's new flick, The Corpse Bride and it received a thumbs up by all four of us. The paint is almost dried and although the scent is giving me a slight headache, by tomorrow all will be well.

The highlight of my day though came when Connor and I were shopping with my friend Carol-Anne and her little girl. We were at the checkout, the children happily 'assisting us' with our purchases when the gal ringing through my purchases grinned and said 'darling kids'. I just smiled. That's when Connor leaned into my hip, arm around my waist and said 'Yeah, but Madeline's not your child, I am'. Does it really get any better than that?

Venezia

We arrived in Venice Airport just after 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon. We were met with a sultry sun and the bus/boat to take us into Lido, a small Island off the main island of Venice. Lido, we were informed, is the only surrounding island that has vehicles on it.

The boat ride itself was uneventful and we both felt a rising anticipation to get settled into our hotel and head back out to the Boat Stop to catch a boat to Venice.

As we walked on to the boat, Andy was ahead of me and made his way to the front of the boat where he quickly sat down. I glanced at the signs behind his head and motioned for him to get up, telling him that he couldn't sit there as the sign was indicating 'no men', he turned round, looked at the sign, and stood to move. It was through laughter that I heard a lovely Italian gentleman telling Andy to 'sit' 'sit', that it was ok. The sign was a picture of a man with the red line through it saying no in four different languages. Next to it was a picture of a person sitting with yes (again in four different languages). Sorry but I couldn't help myself to that little trick.



It was shortly after five when we disembarked at the boat stop for Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square). The place was throbbing with people of all different nationalities and merchants selling their wares. A three piece band was playing as we made our way past Doges' Palace and on into the Square. It felt a bit surreal to say the least, to finally see the historically famous square that has been in countless films. Although the place was very crowded, I think the pigeons outnumbered humans by 3-1. There was a fellow standing there with seeds in his hands while at least 20 pigeons landed on him in the scramble for food. Andy and I decided to pass on this aspect of St. Mark's Square as neither of us was looking to get covered in pigeon droppings.





We walked around just taking it all in before stopping at a quaint little restaurant for an Italian Supper. I was dying to try a slice of pizza from all the little pizza houses we passed, but I was saving that for the next day. I ended up eating pasta and of course Tiramisu. It was devine. After eating we made our way up the side streets once again and did a little shopping. I couldn't help myself and selected a gorgeous soft pashmina that could be doubled as a scarf. I made only a half hearted effort to haggle with the guy over price, and got Andy to pay the man. We headed back to the boat-stop and then took a ride up the Grand Canal for a look at how the Aristocracy of Venice live. It was absolutely breathtaking.



After this we made our way back down the canal, out onto the bay, and then back to Lido. We quickly figured out that the boats are obviously run on the 'honour system' as we paid our fares but no one ever validated our tickets.

We had a restful sleep and after a breakfast of crossaints we made our way back into Venice. We decided to head to the other end of the Island, past the train station to the quieter and less touristy areas. It was lovely to browse the streets and shops amongst the locals who were out buying bread. We were drooling over the various ice-cream shops and bakeries. By 11 a.m. both of us were in short sleeves as it was just fantastically gorgeous out. We made way back to the Rialto Bridge (the busier and more expensive side of town) to grab a slice of pizza for lunch. I have never in my life tasted pizza this terrific. I was already dreaming about pizza for that night.



We made our way back across the Rialto as the further you walk away from St. Mark's Square it not only becomes less crowded, but the prices of wares are much cheaper. It wasn't long before we were stopping for ice-cream. The flavours were out of this world - I ended up with Tiramisu, Panacotta and some other chocolate flavourur. Scrumptious! Andy tried the Sorbet and Panacotta. Let's say that both of us weren't long in polishing our bowls off! We stopped at a little restaurantnt along one of the smaller canals for drinks (I had a bellini of course) and happily watched the Matre'd pat the pretty womens bums as they passed by.



After trying the proper Italian Bellini's I of course couldn't pass by a shop that was selling this tasty drink and bought 2 bottles. (I'm thrilled to bits that I also managed to purchase some beautiful hand-blown Venetianan glass mini martini glasses that I will happily be drinking my Bellini's out of!)



We spent the remainder of the afternoon out enjoying the sun and taking in a few interesting sights such as the Venetianan Ghetto, Bridge of Sighs and Monumenti Dell'assistenza. At the Monumenti, which is a tall leaning tower, we actually witnessed a local Bride and Groom descending the tower after a photo shoot. We then took ourselves off to relax over some wine and beer as we watched the world go by in yet another of the lovely local squares.



We debated taking a ride on one of the Gondolas, but as they cost 100 Euro an hour, and as we were pressed for time, we decided to forgo it. It was very commercialized but we promised ourselves if we ever make it back there we will experience the Gondola.

We headed off to the train station to meet Valentina and Mike who had travelled down from Trento. It was so fantastic to see them after all this time (2 Years) and Val and I both kept saying how wonderful it was to finally be hanging out again and
who would have figured it would have been in Italy, especially back in the day when we were both working at SVGH!

We all took the boat back to Lido so that V&M could check into their hotel and Andy and I could change. This was the first time where Andy and I actually took a cab back to our hotel as our legs and feet were finally beginning to feel the strain of non stop walking.

When we met up that evening at 8 p.m. we decided to go to a pizza house on the Island as there were some pretty nice places to chose from. We sat and ate more amazing pizza while drinking Italian Beer, happily reminiscing about old times, groaning about Immigration and discussing all the other hoo-ha people have to go through when they relocate to another country (but its worth it). We then moved on to a great little bar for further drinks where we laughed the night away.

We made plans to meet up the next morning after check out, and upon doing so, walked around the Island until we came to the beach, the only beach in Venice we are told. It was an opportune moment for a few more pictures before heading back into town for some Italian Coffee prior to catching our boat back to the airport. It was sunny and warm and it was sad to have to cut our time off at midday but alas, our journey was ending. We waved V&M off after hugs and promises of plans to meet again soon, probably in England. I look forward to the day!



On the boat Andy and I were kind of quiet as we both reflected back on the breathtaking city of Venice. Words cannot express the absolute wonder of this place and I'm so grateful that we were able to have the opportunity to explore it together. Despite numerous warnings of how wet/cold it would be, we are pleased to report that nothing was disappointingng about this trip, including the weather. Everything was a dream.

For more pictures look here

Never One To Pass On a Dare...



To have a full understanding behind the reason for this photo, you will need to visit Tawny's site:LocoBellaTuna and then Dawn's The Ramblings of Globose Thought

However it all started because of The Blogger Annual Boobie-Thon in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness. Both Tawny and Dawn have posted beautiful shots of their bra-clad breasts. I took it a just a step further because as we all know, I'm not shy. Sure I have all the same 'issues' with my breasts that most bigger busted girls do, but they are mine and I love them just the same and hope that they stay healthy for the remainder of my life. I wish the same for all the women in my life.

Tawny, Dawn - it's been fun. I love you both for being brave and beautiful.

Where's Dad?
Today while playing with Molly I informed her in an excited tone 'Molly, there's Daddy!' and up she went, paws on the back of the couch, eagerly watching out the window for Andy. She stood there for about 3 minutes, scanning the street before giving up. About 20 minutes later when Andy actually did arrive, I said it again and was met with a look that would be the equivalent of 'To hell with you mama, I'm not falling for that one again'. But, she heard the car door slam and back to the window she went. I don't know who looks forward to his arrival home more - me or her.



Let the Weekend Begin
To begin our Anniversary celebration, last weekend my husband took me out for a fantastic meal where I just happened to drink too much wine over dinner and ended up slightly drunk. I intend on doing the same this weekend but this time I will be consuming the wine (and pizza) in Venice... have I mentioned that already?

Andy and I will have Friday night and most of Saturday to ourselves prior to meeting up with my pal Valentina and her husband Mike (a fellow Nova Scotian) late Saturday afternoon, with whom I imagine we will then again be consuming copius amounts of Italian Wine and Beer.

Fino al nostro prossimo incontro...

One Year Ago Today



To celebrate, we leave for a weekend in Venice - Yes, Venice, on Friday morning.

Our Little Racing Stars



Last night Andy and I took Alex, Connor and two of Alex's mates Karting for Alex's 13th birthday party. It was just over a week late, but what with all that is going on in terms of Andy's mom, etc. it was the best we could do. They had a fantastic time and of course our Alex won every single race. This Karting place isn't like the one out at Atlantic Playland. They set it up just like a mini Formula 1, with scoreboards and all. I was so pleased that Connor, being the youngest, never came last once, but felt rather sorry for poor Jimmy (Alex's best mate) - who drove in the overly-cautious manner of a senior citizen and came last every time. My heart nearly broke for him when he turned to me and said 'I'm just gutted Jody, that I came last everytime'. I told him to nevermind, that when it comes to the ladies, he'd never come last. That made him smile. So when the boys went up on the podium to get their medals I was pleased that our Alex had his best mate share first place with him.

Maybe it's who U know, or who U aRe, or maybe, just maybe, dumb luck...

I was just reading The Ramblings of Globose Thought, where Dawn mentions that Martha Stewart, due to her criminal record, was having difficulty in being issued a visa to get into Canada (she's partaking in the Windsor Pumpkin Fest). Luckily for her, it's been granted. Lucky Martha - and how lucky for the Happy Homemakers of Nova Scotia who can witness Martha racing down a river in a Giant Pumpkin...

My friend, who is working at an Ontario prison while doing her thesis recently informed me of a British woman whom she encountered. This woman was granted entry to Canada with a criminal record. Within one month she was robbing banks and landed herself a Go Directly To Jail ticket. Hrrrrrmmmm. Where the fuck is Immigration headed? Instances like this are reaffirming (at least in my mind) that most countries don't have a just Immigration System, that world-wide it basically comes down to your own luck and whatever dimwit, or asshole (bitch-faced cow) you manage to encounter on your quest to enter a country.

Go Figure.

The Shit Just Keeps Getting Bigger

Close friends of mine from back home have a little baby of 7 months old and to define how much he has grown throughout the stages of his life, they have been placing a bunny rabbit beside him in pictures. It was a great idea, because although you know they are growing, sometimes it's hard to remember just how small they were unless you see the evidence.

I know that our baby Molly has grown quite a lot over the past three months as I weigh her, but more importantly I know that she is slowly moving from little puppy to big puppy because her shit piles in the back yard have steadily grown bigger.

It Rubs Off Both Ways

Yesterday was a busy day for Andy and I, what with settling his mom into the hospital for her hip replacement surgery (it went well), taking both our dog and one of Wendy's, to the vet, and taking my last driving lesson, and then test (which I passed of course ;). We were looking for a spot yesterday evening in the hospital parking lot (which I have free access to what with working for the NHS), when a guy starting backing out from a space without checking to see if anyone was coming. Andy slammed on the brakes and yelled out his window 'Watch where your going BUDDY!!!'. I couldn't help but laugh. Buddy of course if a commonly used term in good old eastern Nova Scotia, and to hear my very English husband come out with it made me chuckle. I can't imagine how it would sound to a local. Funny enough I'm just beginning to pick up on the term Mate, something I've been avoiding for a long time. I guess this acquirement of local terms works both way.

Flight Frustrations

Initially when I began looking for flights to take me home, Andy and I agreed that as lovely as it would be, he wouldn't be travelling back with me for the holidays. We reached this decision due to the fact that flights are usually very expensive over the Christmas/New Year season and as he would only be able to come for a week it just wouldn't be financially feasible. Just the other day I was chatting with Tawny and the possibility of my flying into Toronto was discussed. Tawny has an Annual Christmas Party and was hoping I could make it. I have investigated numerous possibilities as I would love to stop over in Toronto, even though it means an additional 2 hours on top of a 9 hour flight, but sadly I just can't get the right flight. I've decided to fly Air Canada as they don't have as strict a baggage allowance as the other flights, besides, the only other flight that I could take only flies to Toronto and although I don't mind flying into Toronto, I want to leave from Halifax. It sucks that the cheaper Airlines don't fly out of Halifax during the Holidays, but also have such stupid baggage restrictions (I know its because they offer flights at a discount.) The cost of getting to and from Toronto would bring the cost up to more than it will cost to fly Air Canada, an added expense we can't really afford at the moment, one way from Toronto to Halifax wouldn't have been too bad.

Andy had also decided on the weekend that he really would like to come over right after Christmas and fly home with me in the New Year, but so far, that too is a no go as the prices are extortionate. As we are hoping to buy a house next year we just can't afford to drop the extra money. Maybe, and this is a big maybe, there might be a flight special prior to Christmas that would allow my husband to join me.

Tawny and her husband will be in NS over the holidays which is a great consolation.

100 Things About Me (Sad But Bluntfully True)

1. My eyes are usually hazel but when I cry or get angry they turn green
2. I'm the only one in my immediate family with that colour eyes.
3. I once punched a (big) boy on a school bus in grade 8 for grabbing my boob
4. I love Dairy Queen Blizzards
5. The first time I moved out of my parents house was when I moved to England
6. I love babies
7. I've lost nearly 30 pounds but am struggling to get more off.
8. I love drinking cider
9. I cherish the friends I have
10. I have kissed over 200 people
11. I never realized what I was capable of until I met my husband
12. I love squeezing zits, and not just my own
13. I often second guess all my decisions
14. I wish I was funnier
15. I want to write a book someday but don't think I will ever have the courage, or stamina
16. I have a tattoo of a tribal sun on my lower back
17. I can't go to sleep at night without reading first.
18. My husband is my greatest love
19. I never have a book very far from reach
20. I love going to movies, especially with my kid sister
21. I love being able to talk to my husband about anything
22. I had to stop being friends with someone because she expected too much from me
23. I find body piercing sexy when not overdone
24. I take over hour long baths
25. My husband is the first man I've ever really been faithful to
26. Sometimes I can be very hard to live with
27. I don't mind cleaning the bathroom
28. I wish I'd done something more exciting career-wise
29. I have a high pain tolerance
30. I've never had stitches
31. I've kissed more than one girl, but only liked kissing one
32. I love Chinese food
33. I often dream I can fly
34. I spend to much time wondering 'what if'
35. I feel more comfortable in my current relationship than I ever have before
36. I get melancholy more than I'd like to admit
37. I love to sleep in but often can't
38. I drink way too much diet coke, but I’m not gonna stop
39. My lips are my favourite feature on my face
40. I've never broken a bone
41. I don't feel bad for falling in love with my husband while he was married to someone else
42. I used to love Another World
43. I think Michael Jackson is a freak and don't understand why anyone would let a child sleep over with him
44. My love for my dog is HUGE
45. I think people of mixed races are especially good looking
46. Sex and the City was one of my favourite programs
47. I want to visit Australia
48. I'm a great procrastinator
49. Sometimes when opportunity knocks I'm too busy procrastinating to answer
50. I worry about leaving my hair straightener on and often go back to check
51. I don't really like my job
52. Sometimes I want children, but more often I don't
53. I love the smell of fresh mown grass
54. I can't ski but wish I could
55. I've made myself throw up before and still struggle with it from time to time
56. I'm proud to be Canadian
57. I love my music loud when driving
58. I hate the word Cunt
59. If I find a clothing item that works I'll buy it in different colours
60. I love high heel shoes but hardly ever wear them
61. I'm mostly ok with my teeth- I've gotten used to them
62. I'm obsessive about food
63. I always wanted to live in the UK but never really thought I would
64. I always wear lipstick, if no other makeup
65. I've blacked out more than once
66. I'm very grateful for the love of my husband and his children
67. I cry over the littlest thing
68. I can hold my breath under water for 32 seconds (at least)
69. My mother and I are friends
70. I usually say what I think
71. I once had my passport stolen and am terrified of it happening again
72. I've peed in public before, and not just in the woods
73. I love my husband's hands
74. I always wear polish on my toenails
75. I look forward to the movies and food on airplanes
76. I love the word fucker
77. I always notice what people are wearing on their feet
78. I didn't like high school
79. I hate it when people say one thing to your face and another behind your back
80. I love my husband's two sons more than I ever thought possible
81. I hate feeling guilty
82. I rarely told the truth about anything while in the bars during my early 20's
83. I really miss a friend who left my life for reasons unknown to myself
84. I've debated joining the English Police but figured it would be too tedious to deal with
85. I enjoy singing karaoke
86. I like driving a standard better than an automatic vehicle
87. I miss my Nan more than anyone
88. I don't believe in organized religion but I do believe in a God of some sort
89. I love the smell of wood stove on an autumn day
90. I bought my first car at 19 and have owned my own since then
91. I want to be one size smaller
92. I constantly worry about something happening to a member of my family
93. I love 'spooning' with my husband
94. I learned to tie my shoe laces in bunny ears from the show Romper Room and still tie them that way
95. I love being right, especially when someone thinks I'm wrong
96. I usually don't like to watch a movie more than once, unless it's a favourite
97. I love 3 course meals, but usually choose a starter over a dessert
98. Tiramusu is one of my favourite desserts
99. I don't have just one favourite movie
100. I love coming from a big family

You're an Expert Kisser

You're a kissing pro, but it's all about quality and not quantity You've perfected your kissing technique and can knock anyone's socks off And you're adaptable, giving each partner what they crave When it comes down to it, your kisses are truly unforgettable

What Kind of Kisser Are You?

Now... tell me something I haven't already been told before (more than once). Eh Dar??? ;)