Just NB

Having normal Canada days (as opposed to stressed-errand-running-around-like-crazy days) is so cool! This is the third day in a row where I've led like, a normal-ish life. I've gone to supply shopping, grocery shopping, to the gym, done laundry, walked the dog, cooked supper, ordered supper out, read a book, slept, ate ice cream before lunch (not looking forward to next week's weigh in :( ), and this afternoon we're going to a mall and going to watch the movie, Life of Pi (although it will be in French. Not sure how I feel about this). I've found myself more than once walking aimlessly around the house wondering what I should do, clean, organize, etc, and then I realize, Oh! I'm just supposed to relax! Sometimes it's harder than I realized? I thought that it would be awesome to have all this relax time, but that's just to catch up on sleep. After I catch up on sleep....I guess I'm not used to having multiple days off....without plans? It's kind...

Louis and I like seriously had fun going to Costco. After six weeks (or maybe a bit more from me since I was in China the last time), fresh fruits and vegetables are SERIOUSLY exciting to us. We had to stop in at IGA for a few other items, but our fridge is stocked with the most amazing stuff. The only thing I find odd in this situation is that Louis wanted to buy pineapple, when all we get for six weeks is freaking pineapple. Oh well, he's a weird one. That's why we make a good couple. :P coconut water milk frozen cherries (x2) blackberries (x2) blueberries ground turkey smoked salmon snow peas celery sticks brussel sprouts raspberries grapefruit sections greek yogurt mixed peppers pineapple (NOT MY CHOICE!!) mixed lettuce navel oranges

It's not fun to say, but most times when I leave Edmonton, I'm haggered and exhausted, and kind of stressed. I try to cram in too many things and I fuss too much about who I want to see and what I want to do and it seems like I end with a list of ninteen hundred "to dos" and I haven't spent half of my time actually spending time with the people that I wanted to spend time with. This time, I'm tired, but I'm leaving with my heart full of love and happiness. (Wow, that is incredibly hippy-sounding, but true). Instead of running around, I made one day in one spot where everyone....well, sort of came to me. Those who could make it made it, and those who didn't, didn't. I had a few stressful moments because I planned a surprise photographer and a surprise "We are all wearing matching pajamas and then the proffessional photographer is taking a picture of us", but other than that, no stress. Love, family, friends, no running around. No erran...

Well, I have too many electronic devices set up with too many different times. I was all pumped that I had both slept through the night AND slept until 08h50. Our alarm is set to go off for 09h00 this morning. I turned if off and then went downstairs (SINCE WE'RE ATTACHED TO A SECOND CUP!!!) and got a coffee for Louis and I. I was going to wake him up with coffee in bed! (OK, not as cool as breakfast in bed, but still cool). I get the coffee, go back upstairs, wake him up, and he's all groggy and like, " What time is it? ". I tell him it's 09h00, he looks at his watch and it's 07h00. I looked at my iPod clock which is set on Montreal time for some stupid reason. So  I'm up two hours before everyone else. Oh well, I have a lots of things I need to catch up on and....(what's most likely going to happen) have access to a CANADIAN TV, with CANADIAN (or more like American) TV shows. Yesterday we went to West Edmonton Mall Waterpark. Since I'm all li...

I'm still really not used to this kind of life. It's taken me 3.25 years for me not to break into a sweat in the airport. OVER THREE YEARS. I didn't realize what was going on the entire time, I just always thought airports were really warm. No, I freak out. I remember once landing in Toronto en route to Edmonton and literally soaked my tshirt and I had to buy a new one in the airport. I could have used it to mop the floor with. Add Louis into the mix and oh boy!!! Did we ever have some fireworks! I think the last time we flew back together, I made him a promise that I wouldn't cry for 48 hours. HA! I had a few tears and it was probably the most drama-free flight that we've ever had together. There have been flights where I boarded the plane in Montreal, BAWLED myself to sleep (we have those cool pods so no one could tell) and we started to speak to one another in Antananarivo - a mere like 30 hours later. And what we fight about? One person giving the other pers...

I am so, so, so feeling sorry for myself. I know I'll be fine, and I know that this is quite typical of the last week of rotation. It's not excitement, it's a bit of dread knowing that you'll be working your butt off....only to have to re-do a lot of the work later on because you're away for two weeks. I NEED this two week break, or else I'd work a lot more on vacation. I'm happy that I have running and yoga....or I might lose my sanity and cry at my desk while eating cake or something. :D   I fly out one day early because I have a meeting in Johannesburg, then Louis will meet up with me the next day and we'll fly out together. Flying out together is always fun. We're excited and we get to talk German (haven't lost the fascination of pretending to *quietly* speak German). We spend five hours in Zurich (I think) which is just enough time to check work emails, shower, and do a little bit of shopping. There is actually a "chalet" just...

I'm really tired. While things are hectic at work in the best possible way, I'm super, super tired. Like, I want to learn how to sleep with my eyes open. I think that it has something to do with putting in such a big effort to focus on all of the great things in life and fighting the...melancholy (ok...let's face it...mega homesickness) from being away from home for Christmas. I think that after New Year's, I'll have to work less at fighting being sad, and I'll just be excited to go home for a post-Christmas celebration. We're leaving January 15th, arriving in Edmonton on the 16th, and then the girls are meeting us on the 18th! We're only staying until the 20th, which isn't long enough at all, but I wanted to try this really cool concept the upcoming rotation. The concept is to do as little as possible, make as few appointments as possible, and make as few errands as possible. Like, I want to go two days without changing out of my pajamas. How...

Shocking surprise, I messed up on the day that I thought we were travelling. Very last minute (which isn't like me when it comes to travel plans), I was on-line tonight booking a car for our 12 hour layover in Munich (Louis wants to go to a bunch of places) and booking a hotel for a night in Johannesburg (I need some minor medical tests done that I couldn't get in my two weeks in Canada), and by pure chance, I checked our entire itinerary (seriously, if you travel or are planning a vacation, Tripit.com is freaking awesome), and saw that we leave TOMORROW. We've been planning our entire week thinking we leave Tuesday. Luckily, we've had two cars and have essentially all of our "Canada" errands done, but I was really looking forward to having one more day. Oh well. We'll have a pretty nice day anyway.....and we don't leave until 20h15 so we'll at least get to spend most of it here. Still not super thrilled about leaving.

It's amazing how a little GPS device and a couple of hours running errands on my own can make me feel like a real person again. Not one that's always asking, Can we go here? When can we go there? Can we do this? When can we do this? Louis graciously drove me all around the last time I was here, but all of his errands, plus my errands, plus cheer/violin/tumbling/swimming/etc/etc/etc were a little much. Today I went for a coffee, then to Canadian Tire to return something (and spoke French!! I know I speak French like more than 50% of the time but I get so nervous here!), went to Walmart (surprise), to the Post Office, the pharmacy, AND the grocery store! Normally this wouldn't be like, such a big deal, but independance is wonderful!!!! My little doggy friend follows me around and it's so.freaking.cute. She's not the brightest so she gets the odd kick in the head when I'm putting my jeans on or something like that, but she'll get over it. My cough is all...

Look like (for now at least) there will be no "extended vacation" (ie: no job) for us, at least in the near future. The Malagasy government granted the project an operating permit. Not sure of the conditions, it seems a little too-good-to be true right now, but that's what "they" are saying. What a crazy country!

My cough is still kind of running my life and it better be gone soon. Good old regular Buckleys, drunk out of the bottle in the parking lot seemed to help a lot. (For some reason the "nighttime" cough medicine creeps me out because I feel like I'm some kind of zombie). That is my exciting life. I really, really, really need to either practice driving more often or calm down . Maybe a bit of both. I DO NOT like driving in Montreal. I think it was the day in general that helped end things in tears, but the getting lost for over an hour certainly was the breaking point. I was happy to see the girls (well, technically I only saw one because the other one is having a bad day and locked herself in her room. I don't miss being a teenager AT ALL) and of course, my little dog friend Maggie. She was happy to see me and follows me around wherever I go. We were playing last night and I kinda forgot that I'm like, half allergic to dogs/cats (sometimes I don't notice an...

It's somewhat comforting that I was happy to get to where Louis, I, and the girls live tonight. It was seemed like a very, very long ride. My day started out a little rocky (I hate leaving, and I feel like seeing my family/friends for such a kind time is kind of like torture. I get to see just enough of them to really feel what I'm missing. I'll save that for another post). Next was some upsetting news. I have a second cousin, who is very young (under thirty), that passed away last night due to a very serious infection. Although her and I were not close, the loss is felt throughout my entire family. Death is always shaking, but death for such a young person is even more unsettling. I didn't sleep last night (cough and drank a coffee) and then didn't sleep on the plane. I rented the car - and got lost in the freaking parking lot. Somehow I made it 90% of the way here, and then just lost it. No sense of direction, crying phone calls, coughing....I found my way t...

Adjusting to a blended family is never a streamlined process for all parties . I've had struggles, and although it's never been officially talked about, I'm sure Louis and his girls had to learn to adapt to the +1. It's still not a streamlined process, which is fine by me. I never thought that Facebook comments would impact me like they did today. I post this picture, but didn't tag anyone. Louis tagged the girls, who both clicked "like" on the picture. Along with 10 (now 11) of our family members and friends. The comment I like the best is from one of the girls' friends that translates to, Cute family! And we are. I'm not their mom. (Or even their step-mom). I don't see them every day, or talk to them every week, but we are all somehow linked. We've spent the last two years figuring out how to interact with each other, in a way that works for all of us. We're probably still figuring it out. (I still struggle with bicke...

Wow. I wish I would have taken the time to write down in half-day increments just how I feel when I have jetlag, so that the next time I have it, I can read what it's like and be like, Oh. Ok. That's why I feel like this. Next time for sure. This afternoon I left the house FOR NO REASON, no errands to run, no nothing, just because I felt like I had energy and wanted to go to do something. My head was clear and I could like, speak properly. Yay, jetlag is gone! (Until next week...). Anyway, I was thinking back to my first couple of days in Montreal. I didn't get to write (or take pictures of, which is what I really wanted to do) about my traumatizing salon event. Ok, perhaps traumatizing is a little dramatic. I booked my hair appointment for the day that we landed, so that I could get my hair colored and cut right away and be done with it. Good idea - in theory. Louis and I got to the airport, sweaty, disoriented, and we hadn't really discussed who was going to do...

Well wasn't that last post a bucket of sunshine. This post is quick because I only have a few minutes before our next (and last) flight. We had to stay in the plane, on the ground for one hour on our flight to Frankfurt because apparently they have these things called "noise pollution laws" and airplanes can't fly over the city before 06h00. Wow! Anyway, it was uneventful and a very good supper. Louis and I kind of acted like teenagers (or maybe younger??) but they had "rice balls" on the menu. I swear that the high altitude messes with your brain. I've also found a cure for when I have my "I hate the entire world" moments when I travel. Well, maybe not a cure, but it helps. I DO NOT TALK. That way, I can't say anything cranky, or pissed off, or just annoying. The mood (that usually doesn't last too long anyway) goes away quicker and I haven't said something to try my travel partner's patience (um.. just since we're on...

As of today it has been ONE HUNDRED days since I was on Canadian soil (unless military bases in foreign countries count. In which case...it has been like, fifty or something like that). Also, as of today there are: until I leave for Canada. I know, I know it's been a few years since I've been doing this but I still can't grasp the concept that I leave at 11h30 on the 4th, travel a ridiculous number of hours, and but arrive at noon on the 5th. (great on the way there, not so awesome on the way back.) Travel schedule will be a bit crazy, as usual. Quebec for three days, Edmonton for five days, Quebec for five days and then on my way back to work, with almost a full day stopover in Munich. Love travelling to German countries, even if it's just for the day!

I have a few tricks that I do so that I don't cry at the airport back from my early twenties. Back then, I'd cry the entire hour and a half flight home from Vancouver. Anyway, I'm not battling a very good average for not crying. Yesterday I had a friend drop me off - we were early and needed to eat breakfast so he came into the airport with me. BIG MISTAKE. Number one rule is that I cannot say goodbye in an airport. I thought I would be fine. I even put on makeup. The goodbye scene wasn't pretty. I sort of made it through security and sort of didn't look like THAT much of a mess. But once I got through security, I had a full blown ugly cry in the corner (of the new Edmonton airport! It's super nice!), called a friend, calmed down for a bit, got a super nice goodbye text message from a family member, cried again, and then walked my butt over to Starbucks, which seemed to do the trick. Thankfully. My babyness for the airport goodbyes is something I don't ...

...and I really don't know when I'll be back again! (I have a wedding in September, but my 2012 plans are truly and completely up in the air.) I am SO happy and feel so much better that I was able to get here earlier for my grandpa's birthday. I am SHOCKED that I was able to keep it a surprise!!! Christmas always seems like such a whirlwind. Between jetlag, climate adjustment (although I was SO lucky this year!), doctors, dentists, fitting in quick visits with friends and family... coming back to Canada hardly feels like a vacation, but there is definetly something that I get from the chaos and weird sleeping patterns and quick visits that I need. Last Christmas I was a disaster and even though I've been running around, sleeping and waking up at odd times, spending way too much money, I'm so happy I came back this year. Now off to part two - Montreal and then Quebec City for a few days!

I wanted to do two posts in a row so that I don't leave on a sad-oh-woe-is-me note. There's a post that I never got to do about my recent British Columbia vacation because I lost ALL OF MY PICTURES. So thanks to the internet and Louis' kids that sent me what they had, I wanted to post one of my most favoritest (yes, it's a word) parts of the vacation!! It was a tour organized through Jamie's Whale Watching . First they gave us these awesome suits that kept us warm. It was a warmish day, maybe +20*C, but we were going on the water and it was overcast, so I loved the suits. They also work as floatation devises.....just in case. For just over an hour we watched seals, sealions, and whales. It is SO HARD to get a good picture of a whale!!! We saw quite a few and even got close enough to "smell" the spray of the whale. They smell really bad actually!!  We got to a island and started a fourty minute hike.  Most of the hike was paved in wood. A l...