Carrie's Adventures

Storytime

2012-01-10T18:49:00.000-08:00

Storytime is a big hit with Reed and Chloe ~ this was where a lot of time was spent during the holidays... Sofie and I have raided the library and have begun our own storytime. I hope she enjoys books as much as her cousins do.

Christmas projects

2012-01-10T18:45:00.000-08:00

There were two big projects that were on the go. The first was the construction of the Gingerbread house. Krista wasn't a fan of the pre-made gingerbread ~ not knowing how long it had been there, so the project extended over a couple of days with the making and baking of the house itself. Chloe is a huge helper and is keen to be involved.

Decoration day was the day Aunt Sharon and Uncle Don came for dinner. The whole gang got into the creation.

The other creation was a gift for Grandpa Jim. Hopefully he can find a place for it!

Christmas visitors in the OC

2012-01-08T19:17:00.003-08:00

Sofie had a few visitors while at Auntie Krista's house. The traditional Turkey dinner was had with Aunt Sharon and Uncle Don. They came up from Waterloo to spend the day and meet Sofie. It was good to catch up as it has been a number of years since I have seen them.

Aunt Flo and Uncle John also came for a morning visit. After spending time with their family for the holidays, it was good to hear how everyone is doing and catch up with the Murrays.

Hanging with cousin Chloe

2012-01-06T19:17:00.000-08:00

We stayed with the Lavery/Loveys clan for almost a week and during that time, Chloe spent a lot of time with Sofie and was a huge help with our daily tasks. She was keen to get diapers, toss the dirty ones, pick out the clothes for Sofie for the day. She enjoyed spending time with Sofie and was fascinated that she was a real live moving 'big baby'.

Here are some photos of Chloe with Sofie.

These 2 were taken on the day we got there. It was great to see how interested and involved she wanted to be.

Gifts a plenty at the Lavery/Loveys house

2012-01-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

Grandpa Jim, Jane, Sofie and I made the trip from Southampton to the Orange Corners for the holidays. The 'sleigh' was weighed down with gifts and it was like Santa arrived for a second time. It was very quickly after our arrival that Santa's helper was busy with her duties.

A busy time:

Reed hanging with Dad ~ who can blame him, the festivities were thrust upon him after his nap.

Christmas with Grandpa Jim and Jane

2011-12-25T18:59:00.000-08:00

Akis, Sofie and I spent Christmas with Grandpa Jim and Jane. It was nice to be back at home with my family and show Akis what the holidays are like when moving at a leisurely pace in Southampton.

It had been a few years since I had been back to Dad's house, so it was a pleasant surprise to see all the changes he and Jane have made to the house. They have definitely been working hard. We also tried to see some folks while we were home. There we a number that were on the list ~ unfortunately we didn't manage to get to the entire list. Here's hoping when we come back we'll be able to catch up with the rest.

Before the big day, Sofie was sporting the holiday look...

The Chestnuts were also roasting by the open fire:

And there was much relaxing going on:

Sofie and I snuck out and found that Santa had arrived.

Grandpa Jim took a turn at posing with Sofie.

Other faces that morning:

Jane and Dad had a great beef dinner and I was only to ready to dig in. Gotta love not having to cook the great meal!

The trip home...

2011-12-23T18:44:00.000-08:00

With family scattered around the globe, air travel for Sofie is inevitable. Her first trip was back to Ontario to spend the holidays with Grandpa Jim and Auntie Krista. Sofie did quite well with only 2 meltdowns on the trip ~ the first being after attempting to clean a bum and the second was on descent.

Sofie slept on the car ride home with a small stop in Primrose for burgers. Overall I thought she did very well. Akis however, is wondering how things will be when we go back to Greece and the flight is longer!

Christmas spirit

2011-12-23T05:08:00.000-08:00

I had the best of intentions of getting my husband and daughter out to enjoy the festive atmosphere this year. Some how I fell a bit short. I thought we could go and look at the Christmas lights, check out the window displays, perhaps check out the snow ~ but alas, the days have passed and it is 2 days until Christmas and I have been very unsuccessful. I haven't even managed to really get gifts this year, nor cards, nor cookies. So much for having all this extra time to do things while on Mat Leave!

We did manage however to get to the mall to see Santa. I had been wanting to go for weeks and figured a week day would be far better than the weekend as there would be less of a line. Well, I miscalculated and ended up going the week the kids were out of school. So much for beating the line.

Sofie did quite well considering we had to wait almost an hour. Had a bit to eat before meeting Santa, she didn't cry, but she also didn't really smile. There were lots of people and things going on so she took it all in and just sat there a bit overwhelmed. Perhaps next year.

We are going to be spending the holidays with family. We are about to head to the airport for Sofie's first trip back to see Grandpa Jim and Jane. Grandpa Jim is going to pick us up at the airport ~ so here's hoping that she does OK, despite getting up at 3am to hang out for a bit.

I am looking forward to the holidays as we are going to get a chance to meet a lot of people and I know they are anxious to meet the wee Sofia. Merry Christmas everyone!

The days are long

2011-12-07T20:51:00.000-08:00

Being a mom is something you think about and as you approach motherhood you imagine what your days and new life will be like. You've seen your friends go through the experience and from the outside, you figure you have a sense of what it must be like to be a mom. While there are some circumstances that allow you to get a glimpse into what life could be like, you really don't know until you are there, doing the job, being a mom.

One of the big things I have learned in the past 3 months is to accept that I don't get things accomplished like I used to. I may have a list of 5 things, head out with the best of intentions to get them all done, however it is no longer up to me whether or not the list is completed. A daughter on the verge of a meltdown, needing a feeding, needing a nap or just plain over all the running around will put a damper on ambition pretty darn quickly.

That said, you also discover that many of your days are the same. You get up, you feed, you change, you play, you nap, you clean and hopefully at some point get out of the house or maybe shower. While there may be a few variations on that, this for the most part is what my day involves. You realize that you don't get a day off from being a mom. This is a new identity. This is who you are now, and that life is now bigger than just you. What you want at times doesn't matter as someone else's needs must be met.

But just as the days are long, you also realize that the years are short. Sofia is now 3 months and 5 days. She has outgrown 2 onesies, has a pair of jammies that now look more like a gymnastic leotard and a shirt that refuses to stay down over her belly regardless of how many times I pull it down. She recognizes who I am, will smile when she hears my voice, will make the effort to have her own conversation with me. She sits with minimal assistance, grabs at things, is now big enough in the 'Westy' chair to play with the dangling toys. And this is when you ask yourself ~ when did this happen? When did she grow big enough to hold her own head never mind sit? How did she manage to grow her little arms long enough to bat at the toys in the chair? Where did that tiny girl who slept in my arms go?

While that tiny girl may not be there any more, the girl who is there now, laughs when I zerbert her belly, smiles when she sees me in the morning, vocalizes herself when she doesn't think we are paying enough attention to her, has stories that she is trying to tell and is a great big sponge taking it all in.

I vowed that I would make a concerted effort to enjoy every moment and I have to admit, when the days are long, joy isn't always what you feel. Exhaustion, frustration and speculation as to how you are going to get through the day often replaces the 'joy'. This leads to the wonderment on how instantly your life changed and despite it only being a few months, you almost forget what it was like before. But as you reflect on how quickly it all changes, I long for the time I didn't take advantage of, the time I may have wished away so that I can make the most of each of those moments ~ live in the moment. To do that I realize that you need to make that effort, even though you are tired, even though you aren't sure it makes a difference, you still need to put your effort into it. It does make a difference ~ maybe not today, but it will make a difference. You need to enjoy each day ~ time is the one thing you can't get back.

So as I read somewhere, 'the days are long but the years are short'. I will endeavour to make the best of the 'years' and work through the days, appreciating them for what they are.

An expensive week

2011-11-29T13:34:00.000-08:00

Sofie and I have been going to Mommy and Baby classes. There is a company here in Vancouver that hosts postpartum classes where moms are able to attend to babies and work on getting their 'shape' back. I have joined and it has been great to know that you can take your baby and if they need attention during the class, then you are able to tend to their needs. Way easier than finding a babysitter.

So we were on our way to class this week only to find out that it had been cancelled. Unfortunately the instructor's son was ill and there wasn't a spare available. This was OK, as Tuesdays are Akis' day off so I figured I would go in the evening to the pool for an Auqa class. The other attempt I am making at being active. The class was awesome and I really felt great after the class. I was on my way home when it happened. That sound of crunching. You hear it and think ~ 'oh, that doesn't sound good'. And for a split second you feel badly for the person who has been hit. It is only when the car spins out and you are then disoriented as to where you are that you realize that the person that was hit was you!

There had been many storms coming through Vancouver and for another evening the power was out in places. The intersection was in full 4 way stop procedures. It was unfortunate that the person on my right was not aware of this and managed to run into my @ss end on the passenger side. Once things came to a rest, I was amazed that the first thing out of the other driver's mouth was that she had the green light. Some how this doesn't seem to work at an intersection with the power out. She then indicated that the person ahead of her went ~ which they would do in a 4 way stop procedure ~ but again didn't seem to realize that she was suppose to have stopped. Shaken up, I was just grateful that Sofie was at home with Dad as the majority of the impact was on her door and while the door was not pushed into the car ~ mostly a dent which then revealed that the car had been in an accident before ~ as a parent you worry about what could have been and then count your lucky stars.

At home, Akis was just happy that I was OK. I am still stiff from the accident and have been working on stretching out my back and neck. After getting the OK from the doctor, I am doing some light exercise but do appreciate that I don't quite feel back to 100%.

The second biggie this week was the laptop. It has been a good companion for Akis over the years and after moving to Canada, I sort of inherited it as Akis works primarily on his desktop. Despite being technical folks in technical jobs, we don't keep current on the 'geekware'. As such the laptop was over 5 years old and really at this point didn't owe us much of anything. What was disturbing however was the archive of photos which we had on the laptop. After unsuccessful attempts to boot the laptop, my fear was that the photos we had of the past 3 years were now no longer accessible and I wondered if the problem was with the hard drive or the inner workings of the machine. Inner workings could mean that we could access the drive somehow. After a day of meticulously booting, repairing, copying and burning, I have recovered all of the photos and learned yet again, when the time comes to archive photos to a secondary location, you need to go with your gut and do this.

As such, Christmas came early for me. The new laptop was purchased and I must say that anything would have been faster than what I was using.

The final straw was our oven. After previously cooking a meal for Akis and using the oven, we attempted to bake some fish and chips. As it turns out, the buttons for the oven would only register '4', '6' and '9'. This led to some odd ball temperatures that could be achieved with the oven, none of which were going to be good in the long run. Calling to get the service man out ~ and with a $90 call out rate, I should be an appliance tech! Between that and the $160 hourly rate, the replacement of the control panel was not a cheap repair.

Hoping that things come in threes, this should be the end of it. That is until I start my Christmas shopping.

Grandpa Jim comes to visit

2011-11-20T20:54:00.000-08:00

Grandpa Jim wanted to come out and meet Sofia. He decided he wanted to wait a bit so that she would be more interactive when he came to visit. This was a good call as he was able to sit with Sofia and have a few conversations. I should have gotten the conversation on video as they were pretty cute. I did however do a better job of taking photos for grandpa than I did for Auntie Krista.

Grandpa Jim arrived on Wednesday and Sofia and I went out to pick him up from the airport. He stayed until Monday and for the most part we just hung out. We didn't get up to a lot as Grandpa's foot has been bothering him, but we did get out to the craft fair and for a walk along Commercial Drive for a few errands and of course for coffee!

Some photos of Grandpa Jim hanging with Sofia:

Sofia with Daddy:

Sofia:

The Offer

2011-11-11T14:53:00.000-08:00

Since Akis' graduation he has been on the job hunt. This has been a completely different experience for Akis and at time it has been quite difficult for him. After a number of months of applying, waiting for feedback, attending interviews, Akis had an interview with Rainmaker. Not wanting to jinx things, Akis refused to tell anyone about the interview.

The whole process was a roller coaster. After giving the interview on Friday, he was told that they were going to make their decision in the next week. We waited patiently over the weekend and were very excited when he received an email Monday to provide references. The week continued and by the end of day Friday, the mood had deflated somewhat given that we had not heard back. He contacted one of his references and they had not yet been called. It was a bit of a bummer weekend.

Monday, Akis was working in the afternoon so we went for a walk with the 'kids' around Trout Lake. Discussing what to do next, Akis agreed that he needed to email the HR contact and ask for an update. While we were out, one of Akis' contacts called to let him know that he had been contacted. The mood was again very positive. Akis was trying not to get his hopes up, but I was telling him that for them to contact references, that they had likely made their decision and were now doing the required 'paperwork'. The email to HR was put on hold.

Tuesday there still wasn't anything from HR. Akis emailed them and they indicated that he should have an email by the end of the day. He then received an phone call saying that he would receive a call on Wednesday. Contained excitement was the mood for the day.

Wednesday ~ no call. Disappointment reigned.

Thursday Akis debated about emailing HR. I told him that despite him being very anxious about hearing, that they have many jobs and sometimes people get busy and not to take this as a sign that things were not going well. In the end, he did email and the response was favourable. They did not have the contract ready for him, but they were going to be offering him a position.

Akis still waited on pins and needles until he received the contract which didn't actually happen until the next week. It has been a lot of effort on his part to find a job in his field and he was very excited to receive this offer. It is a contract position for 4 months. Contracts are very common in this industry so we will have to see how things go and figure out what happens next when March arrives.

Until then, Akis has started the Render Wrangler position at Rainmaker Entertainment. It is very exciting as it is in the film industry which is where he has been looking to break into.

Congratulations to Akis ~ I'm very proud of you.

A photo shoot for Sofie

2011-10-17T10:54:00.001-07:00

Wanting to capture Sofia while she was tiny, I got in touch with Kelly. She is a local photographer who will travel to your home for the photo opportunities. She photographs in natural light and I have to say, I wasn't sure how well a photo shoot in our tiny home would be, it was very comfortable and she was able to create the environment she needed despite our new baby chaos. It was very comfortable having her in our home to take the photos of Sofia and even Hugo relaxed after a bit.

Originally Akis thought I was crazy to want to spend money on photos when we have a camera. His approach was that we can take these photos ourselves! However after seeing what Kelly was able to do, he was very pleased that I had insisted that we get the photographs done.

Kelly was very patient, and despite Sofie not being sleepy, she managed to get some fantastic shots of her. She even offered to come back for a second round of photos when Sofie just had enough on the first day.

Big thanks to Kelly for her efforts and patience ~ the feedback from folks who have seen the photos has been very positive, in fact it seems everyone loves the photos!

Here is a link to her site: http://www.ellephotographyvancouver.blogspot.com/
She is also on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/#!/ellephotography.vancouver
Here are some of the shots she got the first day. There were shots of Sofia on her own:

Some shots of the family:

We even tried to get Hugo in there ~ with some moderate success:

With Mom:

With Dad:

And here are some sneak peaks from the second round. She is pretty cute!

What we get up to...

2011-10-16T17:10:00.000-07:00

Some days it would seem like we get up to a whole lot of nothing. I have the best of intentions and have the list of things to do, but some days I'm lucky if I get Hugo and Sofie out for a walk. Our days often involve some nap time which has the 3 of us curled up on the bed in some fashion.

And if we aren't on the bed, we are then hanging out in our next favourite spot ~ the couch. I think there are some serious dents in the cushions from my recent couch sitting. I can honestly say, I think I have spent more time on this couch in the past 6 weeks than I did during my whole pregnancy and that is a lot as this was my favourite napping place.

Sofia ~ she spends a lot of time hanging out in her pillow. It seems to be a good spot for her to check things out and also helps when she is gassy.

And our buddy Hugo ~ who keeps us company. He has been really great and is still very loyal to me. He gets up with me, regardless of the time, when I feed Sofie and will sit with me in the livingroom until I put her back to bed. He then comes back into the bedroom and puts himself to bed in his crate. He does sometimes get a bit jealous and will put his toy bone on my lap while I'm feeding as if to say, 'pay attention to me too'.

Akis has been taking videos of Sofia ~ most of them are her in a resting state. Although he does like to poke her to see what she will do when she wakes up.

Auntie Krista comes to visit

2011-10-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

Krista graciously took a weekend after getting back to work to come out to visit us all and make sure that things were going well. She arrived very late on Friday evening ~ 11:30 our time ~ which means it was crazy late for her given she is usually in bed by 9pm!

With her arrival she did bring out some more goodies for Sofia ~ even though she had already sent a box of clothes, blankets and goodies out for us. Akis was most impressed with the arrival of the Baby Bjorn and has been enjoying walking with Sofia. I think he still finds it a bit surreal that he is walking and carrying his daughter.

As we got up on Saturday, Krista offered to take Hugo out for his morning duties. While he wasn't quite sure what to make of this person who sounds a lot like mom, he did go with her and by the end of the visit was pretty OK with her being around. Krista and I also managed to get into the garden for a bit ~ while Krista did most of the cleaning up, we did end up with a bucket load of tomatoes, some potatoes and onions. Akis was surprised to hear that all of this came from our garden! Shockingly enough, the only photo I have of her during the whole weekend was while she was digging in the garden. You can tell I'm a bit off my game as I am usually the photo capturer.

I also had a bit of a reprieve as Krista and I headed to Trout Lake to the market on Saturday morning. We were without Sofia and Hugo and it was the first time being out without 'responsibilities'. Akis did well on his own and didn't have to call the cell phone he made me carry.

Krista kept looking for things to help out with and was great at finding the small niggly things to get done. Cleaning up the garden, helping to run errands like getting a rain cover for the stroller ~ an essential in Vancouver, getting screws for the crib and making sure it was set up before she left. The most impressive to Akis as the purchase and installation of the dimmer switches ~ gosh, the Lavery gals can be handy sometimes. She even cleaned our bathroom! Now you can't beat that!

It was great to see her and it makes you realize just how far family is when they travel out to see you. It would be nice to be closer, so that we can see each other more frequently, but for now, we are where we are. We do look forward though to the visit from Grandpapa Jim. He is booked to come and visit in November for 5 days. It will be great to see him! For now, we have Skype and are making use of that Video Conference feature.

So a big shout out to Auntie Krista for taking time off to come and visit with us. We love you and are really glad you came!

More Sofia

2011-10-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

Well week 2 wasn't a whole lot different than week 1, although you do get into a bit of a routine and you also understand a bit more about your new one. I have started to figure out the sounds when Sofia is gassy, when she is hungry. Dad has figured out how best to clean her bum, although he still insists on trying to change her on the couch without the change pad. I'm waiting for disaster to strike. We have been trying to take lots of photos knowing she won't stay tiny for long ~ we keep thinking back to Hugo and how quickly he grew ~ and realized that we need to capture the moments while we can.

New things for the week ~ had our first bath, went out to Steve and Aislynn's for dinner, met up with Vanessa the doula and had coffee out, received a great basket from Janice and John, and got ready for our first visitor ~ Auntie Krista.

The first week ~ we made it

2011-09-29T22:27:00.000-07:00

As we drove home from the hospital, it was overwhelming to realize that we are now parents and this wee person is the visitor who will be staying with us always!

The first few days were all about just getting through the day. It was very little sleep and although you think you are ready for it ~ when you actually go through it, it is way harder than you think.

Sofia's replacement bassinet had not yet arrived, so we were trying to figure out where we were going to have her sleep. Akis was so worried that we would roll onto her if she slept on the bed, that the first night he spent watch both Sofia and I sleep. Sofia wasn't great at sleeping on her own and was only sleeping while held ~ putting her down was a sure fire way to wake her up. This makes it much more difficult to get sleep and we realized that for either of us to sleep we would need to adopt a tag team strategy.

Having visited a Haemotologist during my pregnancy I was made aware that the first 6 weeks post partum that I would be more prone to blood clots. During the first week, I did have a few visits to the Hospital just to get stuff checked out to be on the safe side. As it all turned out, we were good to go, but packing up a brand new baby and spending time in the ER was not necessarily the most restful way to spend the first week as a mom.

By the time the midwife came to visit on day 3 at home, I think we had 2 or 3 hrs sleep per day. A long cry from what I was used to. As it was, we were doing anything we needed to get by ~ car rides to get Sofia to sleep, frozen dinners, alternating napping. Hugo was still with Steve and Aislynn which was a help, but I really missed him and wanted us all to be together.

We did manage to get the hang of the feeding ~ and that is what I seemed to be doing on an hourly basis.

The first few weeks are a bit of a blur and it is true, you need to nap when the baby naps. It took me that first week to appreciate this advice and follow it. It also became very clear that first week that all priorities have changed. It's not about completing my list of 'to do's, but rather taking care of Sofia.

I write more lists ~ cause I don't remember things as well. I cross fewer things off the list ~ cause things seem to take much longer to do now than they did before. I've realized that I need to commit with caveats ~ cause you just don't know what will happen and if you will actually be able to get done what you are promising. These are the lessons I have learned in Week 1.

We received some lovely flowers ~ this arrangement came from Grandpapa Jim
These were from my work.
These were from the folks Akis works with.
Overall, she has been really great and a keeper. She is pretty cute but we may be biased. :)

Akis has been helping out with the bum changes ~ he is getting good!

Sofia Arrives!

2011-09-29T22:18:00.003-07:00

It was in the early morning hours of September 2nd that everything started to happen. I was up at 2am for my usual bathroom break when I noticed things were starting to change. I crawled back into bed and wondered if today was going to be the day. A few hours later I was up with some small rhythmic cramps and I sat and pondered if these were the beginnings of the contractions. After resting for an hour, I woke up Akis and said that I thought I was having contractions and we may be in for a long day. Making my way to the tub, I sat for the next few hours in the tub while Akis wandered in and out with his paper, pencil and a watch with a second hand.

With contractions coming at regular intervals, we called the midwife. Speaking with Thea, she said asked how the contractions were on a scale from 1 to 10. I said that it was about a 7, but that I really didn't know what a 10 was, so maybe it was really a 3. In hindsight, I would definitely say it was only a 2.5! We left things that we would call her in the afternoon and let her know how things were going.

I continued to labour at home and by 9:30, the contractions were more intense and closer together. I suggested that Akis call the Doula ~ Vanessa ~ and the midwife. Things then started to happen very quickly as Aislynn and Neva came to pick up Hugo. Kudos to him ~ depsite my labour, he wasn't freaking out and was leaving me to moan and do what I needed to do. Vanessa and Thea arrived shortly after 11am. Thea sat through a few contractions and then suggested she check how far along I was. I was surprised to hear that my cervix was completely thinned out and dialated to 4 cm already. My water hadn't broken, but it was quite clear that today was going to be the day!

With the option of staying at home or heading to the hospital, I opted for the hospital as they have drugs! We got into the car, 4 contractions later we made the 7km drive to the hospital. In true Akis fashion, I had to give directions on how to get there ~ 'Ela, where do I turn???'

Once I arrived, Thea asked for the epidural, however they would not administer this until I had blood work done to check my clotting levels. I was disappointed to know that relief would be longer in coming and tried to figure out a game plan to get through the next half hour. I started to labour in the shower as water seemed to be very soothing and had the support of Vanessa. Akis had a hard time seeing my labour and the pain that was occurring ~ he spent most of the time in the room but wasn't actively involved until the drugs came. After almost 2 hours of waiting, labouring and being somewhat cranky to both Vanessa and the nurse, I was worried that the baby was going to be coming before the drugs would. The contractions were like nothing I had ever felt before and I have a great appreciation for those folks who do this drug free ~ I also realized that this much pain is not for me.

I was really happy to see the 'drug' lady and once the epidural came, things were looking much better. The nurse even commented that I was quite humourous. It is amazing what can happen when you have drugs to numb some of the pain.

I had been 7cm until Thea broke my water and then receeded to 4cm. It would seem that the water had been stretching things out and without that pressure, we had a bit more work to do. It took about 2 hrs to get to the full 10cm and Akis and I spent some time resting.

It was around 5:30 or so when we started to push. I was pretty numb but was getting the hang of what needed to be done. We had pushed maybe half a dozen times when the heart rate dropped and didn't come back up after the contraction. There was also some challenges in reading the heart rate, so they put a probe on the baby's head. With the problems with the heart rate, the OB was called in to evaluate the situation. She arrived with someone in tow, and the next thing I know the room went from being 3 excluding Akis and I to 12. The was a lot of rushing, a lot of talk about heart rates, some attempts to resolve things by rolling me back and forth, and a final decision that we are looking at getting the baby out ASAP. The options were to try forceps and failing that it would be an emergency C-section. I received a LOT more drugs in anticipation of the C-section. I was quite concerned about how things were with the baby as there was a lot of discussion about the heart rate. Randal had replaced Vanessa as our Doula and she was fantastic ~ she stood next to me and let me know what was happening, what the plan was and that the baby was OK. Akis was also quite distressed during this time as he wasn't sure what was happening or what to expect.

I was rolled into the OR ~ Thea and Akis were there with me and there was a lot of prep. Being numb from the chest down, I can't actually tell you what they did, but I do know that there was some prep work done and then a request that I push. I'm not sure how effective I was but it was with about 3 pushes and the baby had arrived. She was placed on my lower belly with her back to me and the thing I noticed was her huge head of dark hair. She was taken away quite quickly to be checked out ~ and ironically enough no one told us if it was a boy or a girl. Thea asked Akis if he wanted to see the baby while I was being 'repaired' and it was then that I asked what we had ~ seems even the midwife didn't know.

The following moments were quite overwhelming with emotion and relief that Sofia had arrived, that she was safe and by all accounts healthy.

And this was our introduction to parenthood!

Our Midwife Thea
Back in our room

My pregnancy

2011-09-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

I haven't been very active in posting during my pregnancy. I think a lot of my 'hibernation' was due to the my constant need for naps. In the early days, it seemed like my days consisted of heading to work, coming home and then spending the whole evening on the couch in a semi nap like state... Often with Hugo joining me!

We did learn very early about the pregnancy and of course it was over the holiday season. It was while I was at the Christmas lunch for work where I was first outed by two ladies from the office ~ specifically the glass I was drinking from was not of the alcoholic variety. I had thought that the Club Soda appearance would lead people to think I was on the hard stuff, but these girls were good. Of course, the guys didn't notice.

The Christmas holidays I did spend much of my time napping and it was a bit of a kick in the pants going back to work in January. Around 2pm, I would want to curl up and take a nap under my desk. Of course I also hadn't told anyone, and the 2 girls who had it 'figured out' work remotely so that bode well for keeping my 'secret'. I waited until the end of January before letting the office know, at which point the news spread like wildfire.

I was very fortunate with this pregnancy in that I didn't have morning sickness, I didn't have weird cravings or much in the way of discomfort ~ no backaches, huge swelling or other crazy things you hear others experience. I did however have heartburn ~ and given the amount of hair Sofia has, I think I know where that came from!

I must say however, after the miscarriage last year, the first 15 weeks of the pregnancy both Akis and I were on pins and needles hoping that each time I felt a twinge, or small cramp that things were not heading in a bad direction. Having lost a baby previously, you lose some of that 'pregancy innocence' and ability to be excited. You worry about the heartbreak that may be coming should things not turn out in your favour. After hearing the heartbeat at our first midwife appointment, I did feel somewhat reassured and things were much easier once I was able to feel Sofia move about. These small movements served as a reminder that things were good.

The bigger I got, the more real the pregnancy and our life change became. When people started to offer me seats on the bus, ask about my due date and in my final week ask 'when is that baby coming??', I realized that my life in fact was going to change.

Looking back, I enjoyed my pregnancy. Even going over the 40 weeks, I wasn't in a rush for Sofia to come. Many women at the end of their pregnancy are anxious for it to be over. Other than not being able to sleep on my belly and my arms and hips falling asleep, I had no complaints. I enjoyed being pregnant and wouldn't have traded the time for anything in the world. I am more than thrilled to have met my little girl, but also did enjoy the process leading up to her arrival ~ in particular once I knew she was safe and sound.

Camping at Golden Ears

2011-08-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

I had been trying all summer to find an opportunity to take Akis for his first camping experience. Enjoying the outdoors ~ the trees and beauty of it all ~ I figured he would really appreciate and enjoy sitting around a campfire and taking in the experience.

With a less than ideal summer and my still working Monday to Friday, the opportunities to actually head out and give this a go were few and far between. We did finally manage to give it a try ~ and by the time we got our crap together and presented ourselves at the gatehouse on an August Saturday, the campground was full and had a waiting list. Having previously worked at a campground, I am familiar with the whole process and just needing to wait, I was also aware that the pickings of the sites became slimmer the further down the list you are. Do have to say, we got the second last site and the choice was either beside the bathroom or beside the playground. Having the bladder compressed constantly, it wasn't a difficult choice ~ just hoped that the bathrooms didn't smell!

So once we got to the site, we did our best to set everything up. Akis was quite excited about the opportunity to use the new tent. I think our neighbours looked at us a bit funny as we spent our time pulling new equipment out of a box and assembling it, all with a big ol' belly going on.

We were the recipient of a very long leash and I remember wondering what on earth we would ever need that for ~ turns out this worked very well at the site. Anchored to the table, Hugo had reign of the site and yet was able to stay put!

Akis definitely enjoyed his new chair and comfy spot by the fire. The thought that he could sit and drink his 'Hard Lemonade' in amongst the trees was a bonus.

We did have some 'assembly required' equipment. What's a trip without some IKEA moments?

Enjoying our day at the park!

Akis did enjoy the campfire ~ despite the high price tag for the bundles ~ it was great. I love sitting around the fire and enjoying the smell of the burning wood! Not to mention, it was a great opportunity for Akis' first SMOR experience.

Inside photos

2011-06-21T21:27:00.001-07:00

Akis has been patiently waiting for the opportunity to have some photos taken of the little one. He was hoping that the tech would be able to reveal whether or not it was a boy or a girl as there is much anticipation in Greece as to the gender.

We didn't get a chance to figure out if it was a boy or a girl, but Akis did hear that the heart rate of the baby could perhaps indicate the gender. He is now anxiously waiting the next Midwife appt so he can find out if the heart rate is over or under 138 beats!

Graduation

2011-05-07T21:57:00.000-07:00

So after arriving home from Greece, we had Akis' graduation. In efforts to try an make him look dapper for the day, I offered to iron his gown. Well that turned out to be a bit of a disaster as the gown doesn't appear to be constructed from anything non-flamable. So yes, even on a low setting, I managed to burn a hole right through the damn thing. Here is my attempt at a stitch job... so you'll have to excuse the wrinkles.

Doesn't he look great?

The crew marching in for the ceremony:

The expensive piece of paper!

Yahoo, we made it.

Greece for Easter

2011-05-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

With the wee one on the way, Akis and I decided that the best time to go back to visit his family would be over Easter. Akis is particularly fond of this holiday and the roasted lamb. I must say, not loving lamb, the whole lamb on a spit isn't really what I'm looking forward to with our return trip.

We also figured that it would be a good time to go as I wouldn't be too big to be uncomfortable for the flight, yet I would be big enough to recognize that there is a bit of a belly growing.

The flights were as you would expect. Knowing that I needed to get up and walk around more, I wasn't able to just curl up and sleep and this made the flight longer for me. In true Carrie fashion, we did cut things pretty close ~ arriving at the AC counter with about 3 minutes left for the woman to check us in, looking for the gate in Toronto and having to hop on a motorized cart to get there on time, it wasn't a calm way to start the travels.

We spent a lot of time with family and catching up with Akis' friends. We had hoped that the weather would be nice while we were there, but alas, it rained and wasn't more than 18C. So aside from the food and the company, we could have been in Vancouver!

We did spend some time in Plaka ~ love it there.

And of course there was the big Easter event. The day started early with Papou (grandpa) preparing the lamb and getting it on the coals. The lamb is hand turned and I must say there is a definite dedication to the whole process. Akis managed to consume his fair share of red wine with Uncle Yiannis and was half blitzed by the time we sat down to lunch. It was a house full of folks as Aunt Tula hosted everyone.

Lamb Prep:

The feast:

In catching up with friends, we did manage to meet Lefteria. She was born the day we left Greece in 2009. Who could resist such a cute face?

And of course there was the family. Everyone was excited to see me ~ aka 'the vessel'. There were plenty of belly rubs and views of the ultrasound photos we brought with us. There is a great insistence that the baby be a boy. However as I kept saying ~ 'it wasn't up to me'. Papou and Yiayia want a girl, so I figure either way I'm covered.

Some whacky curling

2011-04-04T20:25:00.001-07:00

I have returned to the world of curling here in Vancouver and it was cool to be able to curl with the group of folks that I curled with when I joined a club in Vancouver. The club itself is on it's last legs and we will be moving to the Olympic facilities for the 2011/2012 season. While it will be sad to leave the old club, there are some things that won't be missed. For one, is the ice. Officially 6' short of regulation length, it's no wonder I'm a heavy draw. In addition to odd measurements, the ice is also sitting on a sand base.

Not being an ice maker, I'm not sure what this means, but I do know that we have water which runs under the ice surface and you can tell each time it rains ~ the ice has different ridges. It got to the point at the end of this season where you were as likely to draw to the button as you were to call correctly heads or tails.

Because you will NEVER see ice like this anywhere, I took video of our last game and the shot which were made. Yes that is the skip standing on the left edge of the 12' and throwing an 'in turn'. Here's a few videos of our 'special' ice. Just watch where it ends up...

A night with Jon

2011-03-31T23:14:00.000-07:00

Akis is a child of 80's rock. Personally, I think this was how he first really got into English ~ lyrics from the likes of Bon Jovi and Whitesnake. For Christmas I got Akis tickets for Jon's visit in March. Who knew he was so popular ~ he had 2 shows!

Gotta say, he has gotten older, but he can still move around that stage...

Hugo gets a trim

2011-01-28T20:24:00.000-08:00

Hugo occassionally goes for a hair cut ~ we do get him trimmed fairly short, but it is always a bit shocking when he comes home to see just how naked he looks...

Akis made it!

2011-01-25T20:23:00.000-08:00

After 18 ~ actually 19 long months, Akis attended his final day of school. As part of his final project, he had to compose a Demo Reel which showcases his work and will be used when he applies for jobs. He has been working very hard over this past year and a half ~ attending school and working part time.

To celebrate, we had some friends over and a yummy ice cream cake. Who can say no to strawberry and chocolate??

Akis has compiled his work together in a separate blog. It can be found at the following link: http://gregorykoutrakos.blogspot.com

Our Christmas

2011-01-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

We spent the holidays in Vancouver. With Akis needing to continue his classes we did not have the luxury of him having time off. We received the care package from Southampton just in time to open the box on Christmas day and indulge in the Christmas morning scratch ticket ritual ~ and what do you know, these ones were winners. I've never had a $50 winner before!

We spent our second Christmas eve with the Radley family. We have felt very lucky to be embraced by this family and their traditions ~ of which include Bingo for gifts! The Christmas Eve dinner was a Tourtiere.

We also managed to wander out in the city to take in some of the sites ~ this included the gingerbread houses at one of the local hotels.

And it wouldn't be complete without some shots of Hugo!

Probably the best news of the holidays was that I am once again pregnant. It's very early on and we have many fingers/toes crossed that things will go well. Should all things go well, we can expect our bundle in August.

Learning some new skills

2011-01-01T19:47:00.000-08:00

I had been looking for a course where I could learn how to make Croissants ~ yummy croissants ~ and found the Vancouver Pastry school. (http://www.vancouverpastryschool.com/)

Marco started his business 6 months ago and has worked around Europe and Asia. We definitely had a great person to learn from!

In addition to learning hands on how to make bread, how to shape the funky rolls, and make tons of stuff, we were able to take this all home! It was a lot of stuff. This was a 2 course experience. The first course was the bread basics. I don't have any pictures of that as I didn't think to take my camera, but remembered for the second course which was the croissant and breakfast pastry class... We all had our wooden tables that we worked off of and let some of the dough sit while we worked on other items ~ this is the raisin bread.

With the goal being the croissants ~ we observed keenly the whole process ~ including the size of the dough after letting it sit in the fridge overnight!

Akis enjoying the bounty from the class.

Akis' first ski lesson

2010-12-09T17:16:00.000-08:00

With 2 years since moving to Vancouver, I'm embarassed to say that I had yet to take Akis to the mountains to strap on a pair of skis. So this week was the week that we were heading up to the mountain.

Akis was quite excited for the experience.

Once the rentals were fit and ready to go, we headed out to wait for our lesson. The view was great.

Akis decided he wanted a head start and decided to strap on all the gear.

We even had a visitor:

Once the lesson started, Akis was focused on the task at hand:

Somehow I think the video says it all...

A trip down under

2010-10-29T16:44:00.000-07:00

It was hard to believe that it has been almost 10 years since I have been to Australia, and I was quite happy to have the opportunity to return to Perth ~ home of one of my favourite places ~ Cottesloe!

As I prepared to head down, I realized just how far it is from here. The bum in seat time was close to 24hrs with flights from Vancouver to LA to Brisbane and then finally over to Perth. Shockingly enough, the sniffer dog had sniffed out my bag ~ damn tiny twigs ~ and left me missing my flight to Perth. Good thing the next flight was only 2 hrs later. Time enough for a flat white.

I arrived in Perth on Friday and managed to have the weekend to adjust to the jetlag and also make my way to my favourite places.

The first stop was a bit of a trip down memory lane as breakfast out was a common excursion while I lived in Melbourne. This reminded me of many a Sunday spent...

I spent the afternoon checking out the pier and taking a cruise down the Swan River to Freemantle.

Views from the pier:

Some shots from the 2hr tour and a peek at the birds the river was named for...

We arrived in Freemantle where I walked the streets and remembered how much I enjoyed the outdoor cafe culture.

After strolling through the streets, I made my way to the water. LOVE the water and it just felt good to plant my feet in the Indian Ocean. Brought back memories of the time I spent on Rottnest Island.

Having strolled and felt the waves at my feet, I made my way to one of the local fish and chip joints. While I'm not a seafood person, I seem to make the exception when it is battered and consumed with tartar sauce ~ don't know why, but I do. Gotta love it when it comes in paper!

I managed to make it to Cottesloe the following day, however having spent a lot of time in the sun, it wasn't the relaxing day at the beach, rather a quest to enjoy the surf and avoid the sun. It was fantastic to spend some time walking the beach. LOVE LOVE LOVE it there.

The rest of the week was filled with work and jetlag as I found myself up at the crack of 4:30am and needing a bed by 7:30 pm. The weather was fantastic and I couldn't have asked for a better time to be there. The food was great and it made me realize just how much I do miss the great food there. Some additional shots that show you really are in Oz ~ who else could get away with calling a bar the Lucky Shag??

My trip home was a bit of a schmozle as the trip began with a red-eye flight from Perth to Melbourne. So I spent Saturday wandering the river and taking in the last of Perth and visiting the first location of the Swan brewery. Unfortunately it is no longer a working brewery and I had to settle for a Swan lager. I know life is tough. The flight from Melbourne to LA was as one would expect ~ the challenge came when I arrived in LA. With an hour to clear Immigration and Customs, it was again my bad luck that once I made it through Immigration, the line for Customs took about an hour to pass through. Bye-bye connections. The shocker was that the next confirmed flight I could get on to Vancouver was 10 hours later. WHAT? So I booked that, and was on standby for all possible flights in between. It became the LONGEST day after spending over 24hrs awake prior to arriving at LAX ~ needless to say, this is my least favourite airport EVER. And go figure, with warnings like this, why would you want to stay?

The Certification is complete!

2010-10-10T21:53:00.004-07:00

After completing my course and the whole application process, audit and all, it was time to put the money where my mouth was and take the exam. There are many stories going around from those who have taken the exam previously, along with some anxiety I had from missing out twice by one mark on the last certification exams I had taken. But I decided it was time and put myself down for a date.

The date I chose however was selected prior to knowing we would be going to Ottawa/Orange Corners for a week. As such, I didn't take the 3 days off to study that I thought I was going to be able to take. I did purchase an exam cram book and started the reading. With only 4 days to go and a 72 hr deadline for rebooking, I was certain I would be selecting a date for after my trip to Perth. After seeing that the only dates available were first in November and then when I checked again, the middle of December, I decided to suck it up and just write it. What was the worst thing that could happen ~ I might fail, although I may also pass....

As luck would have it, I felt terrible the morning of the exam. A stuffy head and the makings of a cold. I hung out for the morning with Hugo, got some thing done like Air Care, renewing the insurance on the car and finally recycling things that had been in my bag for ages. As I made my way to the testing facility, I realized that the sun will still rise tomorrow, so if nothing else, this could be a learning experience. I'm not sure there is a more anxious time than after the 2.5 hours of selecting answers and finally submitting the results. As you wait for the system to tally up all of the results, there is nothing left for you to do but sit there.

I'm pleased to say that I did manage to pass the exam ~ and now can officially add the 'PMP', or as some like to call it, the pimp title to my name.

One more thing to cross off the list!

Orange Corners

2010-10-10T21:53:00.003-07:00

The eastern visit had Akis and I running for the train ~ quite literally. Jodi was great and took us to the train station. We had about 5 minutes to spare when I reached the counter and asked for 2 tickets to Port Hope. He said, 'sure, and it leaves from platform 2 in 4 minutes.' Akis thought I was joking as I started to run, but as we lept onto the train, just as it was pulling off, we were glad to make it.

Krista and Reed picked us up at the train station in Port Hope, where Akis met his other nephew. Dad also joined the group, driving up and allowing us to have our Thanksgiving a bit earlier than it is normally.

The 4 days were pretty relaxed, hanging with Chloe, taking Reed for some walks and just being able to spend some time with Akis. With our crazy schedules, that is the one thing we hadn't seemed to really be doing much of. So it was great to be able to hang out with my hubby again.

Checking out photos of Hugo:

Some Wii moments with Chloe:

Hanging with Reed:

A bit of drawing going on:

And playing with Grandpa Jim.

Craig had some exciting moments as his birthday gift was a new shiny laptop. He was just excited when he got to take it out of the box!

Visits to Ottawa

2010-10-10T21:53:00.001-07:00

The week had come and Akis was on break before starting his final term. During that week, his brother happened to be in Ottawa and we decided that we would take the trip out to visit him, Jodi and Kaden. It was also a chance for Akis to see the capital city ~ Ottawa is beautiful in the fall!

We were introduced to Kaden and the dog Ozzy. Ozzy is quite the fella, and makes Hugo seem like a very managable member of the family. I think Akis appreciated Hugo even more after learning that in Ozzy's excitement, he has little 'happy squirts'. Akis was quite pleased to recall that Hugo does know where the mat is, and he remembers to use it.

There were also some 'football' lessons going on.

We also managed to catch up with Marie and Jozsef. Having arrived in Ottawa and getting settled in, they seem to be busy busy with their jobs and enjoying the city. Jozsef took the time to show Akis what a beaver tail was ~ hey it was sweet and a bit like a donut, how could he say no??

The crew decided on heading downtown to see the parliament buildings ~ seems like it is the thing to do when you have out of towners here. We looked like your typical tourists as we snapped shots of just about everything.

We had a good visit ~ and as Kaden would say 'RockStar!'.

August Celebrations

2010-10-10T21:52:00.000-07:00

August is the month Akis and I celebrate both his birthday and our anniversary. Living the life of a student we haven't had much time and/or cash to go out and do a lot of things. We did manage however to take some time to head out for a nice dinner to celebrate another year. It's hard to believe how fast the time goes and realize that we should be looking back at what we accomplished.

For Akis' birthday I did get him an intro Scuba course. We have yet to take it, but it is there and I'm sure it will be a good time. Akis has been talking about taking Scuba lessons for ages and did become jealous when hearing of the adventures others on the ship were having.

I also received an anniversary gift ~ a new digital camera to replace my Sony. I have to say, that camera has been with me everywhere and at close to 10,000 photos, it doesn't owe me much. I have been slowly getting used to my new toy.

It's Westin!

2010-08-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Westin was born in Phuket Thailand on July 7th. He is already a world traveller as he made his way to Vancouver. Akis was terrified he would 'break' him, and was surprised when hey, he is pretty cute and all bundled up, you can hold onto him quite well.

How cute is he?? Marc and Beth ~ you make cute kids!

We ended the night with the dualing cameras ~ Marc's new purchase vs Perry's oldie but goodie. Ahh, film.

Ali's Birthday

2010-08-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

It was another nice day in Vancouver and after our emotional week, it was good to hang out with friends and just be. Besides, everyone should have a BBQ on the beach for their birthday!

Scottish Ali with Akis and the Birthday Girl.

The Highs and Lows of July

2010-07-31T14:28:00.000-07:00

July has come and gone and the month has had both Highs and Lows for our family.

The month has started off with the news that we were pregnant. Keeping things hush hush, we bought the sticks, pee’d on one and promptly had Akis tell me I had to pee on another cause the first one must be broken. With all the physical changes going on, I knew it wasn’t broken, and that double line meant yep, a new Koutrakos was in the making.

Like a number of Canadians, Akis and I haven’t gotten around to finding a family doctor, so a few weeks after the initial ‘stick confirmation’ I headed to the clinic to get my condition medically confirmed. After a brief discussion with the doctor there who confirmed that we were in fact pregnant, I was sent on my way and told that spotting I was experiencing was normal, but to keep an eye on it in case it gets worse. Unfortunately over the course of the evening it did get worse ~ so off Akis and I went to the Emergency Room at VGH. Arriving at 11:30pm that evening, we were finally released at 3:30am after some poking, prodding and the orders to go and get an Ultrasound the next day.

The next day was not only about me but also about Hugo who was unfortunately also sick multiple times. Not something you expect from the puppy. Worried about him, we scheuled his first of what would be 2 appointments that week to visit the vet.

I had my ultrasound that afternoon and the tech was able to find the baby and a heartbeat. She indicated that it was probably about a week younger than what the dates would indicate, but it was there and the heartbeat was as she expected. I received a report and was told to take it back to Emerg for the analysis. With Akis working evenings, Hugo was the next in line and we headed to the Vet.

With a $100 bill and 2 shots given to Hugo, we were given instructions that we were to watch how he progressed.

We then headed out to the hospital where we received relatively positive news from the doctor and were told to take things easy and monitor how things progressed. No sooner did we leave and get home, but conditions took a turn for the worse and we headed back to the hospital. I must commend the folks at VGH, as I had a speedy trip through the waiting room and within 10 minutes I was back in the treatment room and being evaluated. Unfortunately after all of the testing, the news was not positive and I did have a miscarriage. Akis and I have tried to keep positive through this experience and take away a few positive points such as a) we were able to get pregnant, b) we didn’t have to try a long time.

It was a tough few weeks dealing with the all of the physical aspects of losing the baby and then there is the emotional side. With much reading of forums, websites, talking to others who have been through similar experiences, and appointments to make sure that my body is on the mend, I think I am getting back to normal. I have been quite exhausted but hopefully this too will pass.

Here's hoping next time we have go through the experience we are able to make it all the way.

Hugo in June

2010-07-30T23:04:00.000-07:00

We took Hugo to the beach for his first water experience. While he needed to be shown that the water isn't a bad thing, he did discover that he really loves the sand and spent tons of time ripping around the beach. It's been a lot of fun watching Hugo grow. We are constantly amazed at his milestones such as losing his baby teeth, being big enough to jump on the bed.

It will be great once the summer is over and we can get access to the sandy beach again.

Another day down at Kits beach.

And then there was June

2010-07-30T14:28:00.003-07:00

Wahoo, June was the month to get things done.

1. Akis finished the 4th term ~ only 2 more to go
2. I finished my Master's Certificate course
3. I finally got some paperwork notorized that I had been procrastinating on for a year
4. We got the roof on the Miata replaced ~ we no longer look like the poor cousin who has to use duct tape to repair everything
5. Payments for Akis course went down by 30% ~ this one is my favourite
6. Hugo went to Doggie Daycare

Finishing up the 4th term, Akis is hitting the home stretch of his program. With only a week between sessions, I can fully appreciate that he is getting tired. It's been a year of school, homework and working part time, and without much of a break I think at times he wonders when it will end. Well, in exactly 6 months. Finishing up on December 24th, this will be his best Christmas present I think. Knowing that he will be done school, that we will be done paying tuition, the New Year should start off with a bang.

I was very elated to see my course come to an end. After 5 months of classes and homework, I can appreciate to a small extent what Akis is going through. We had a huge group project that we needed to work on and present during our final session. The project was to simulate a project and all the planning and work that must go into it. While the message of the final assignment was loud and clear, I think everyone in the group was excited to have the course over with ~ in particular the gal who came down from Prince George for each of the 9 sessions! That's a lot of flying in 5 months. With the course over, all that is left is to submit that application form and get the certification under the belt. Here's to getting this one crossed off the 'To Do' list.

It's amazing how somethings can sit on your list for a long time. One of these was to get some paperwork notorized to replace some Savings Bonds. After receiving the paperwork about a year ago, I finally dug up everything and got my act together putting the paperwork into the mail. At least my part is now done and hopefully it doesn't take them a year to send the bonds out to us!

It has been a while since the zipper on the rear window has functioned well. I think I may have still been on the ship when the zipper first 'caught' and undoing the window became an issue. The challenge with a bum zipper is that it seems once the teeth have been 'compromised' whether you are doing up the window or taking down the window, there is one part where it just doesn't work well. This was now the case and every time we zipped up the window, the zipper would split, and as you can imagine, this makes the zipper less than effective. So I inquired as to the cost of fixing the zipper. Well at a jaw dropping $400, I figured at that rate we should check and see what it will cost to replace the whole damn thing. Perhaps because I haven't needed to do much in the way of repair work to this car, I was equally, if not more stunned to discover that the replacement of the roof would be 3 times the cost. WHAT?? So I decided to live with it. Living with it meant that everytime it rained and the car was parked outside, I would need to strategically place an object such as a Kleenex box against the plastic window to hold it into place. With everything positioned just so, I would carefully close the car so as not to disturb the bracing. There were some instances where the 'propping' was not adequate and as a result the water pooled in the back window. A careful lift would dispell the water, however this was not a permanent solution. I finally made it in to have someone look at the roof to see if the zipper could be repaired ~ go figure, they said that replacing the zipper would only put holes in the roof as the material was too old, so a new roof it was. That said, I don't think it has rained since the roof has been replaced. Had I known that good weather would be the outcome, I would have replaced it in May and brought summer early!

I used to mock people that took their dogs to Daycare. I wondered why on earth would someone need to take their dog somewhere for the day? Would they not just play with their dog when they came home? These thoughts were ones I had until we had a dog that is crated during the day. Unlike when I was little with Woofer, Hugo doesn't get free reign of the house during the day. At 5 months, we keep him crated, so while we are away, he sleeps. This makes for one energetic dog when we get home. Unfortunately my energy level doesn't quite match Hugo's and his desire to play, run and fetch is met with mediocre enthusiasm as I try to get him to indulge in contained activities like chewing on his sticks. Hugo is not proving to be the most social of dogs, so it was recommended to us that we get him to a Groomer sooner rather than later to introduce the experience. I opted to take him to a place where they offer grooming and Doggie daycare which would allow him to stay for the day and hang out with other dogs. Not being great with others, this proved to be a good experience for him. He has been a few times and while he doesn't jump around and hang out with others all the time, we have noticed that he is more willing to approach others and play in the park. So I guess this is when you need to admit that I am now one of those that I used to mock, cause Hugo will be heading back to Doggie daycare.

The month of May...

2010-07-30T14:28:00.001-07:00

Wow, it seems to be somewhat challenging to sit back and remember what we did in May. Perhaps that is in part a result of settling into a more common routine ~ work, housework, course, sleep ~ no jetsetting to various ports of call to discover new cultures. That said, there is something nice about routine. I just wish the routine included having Akis home at night for dinner. With school and work, it seems that we don't get to spend a whole lot of time together and it makes us both excited about reaching the end of his program where he can go back to having a single focus rather than having to split between work and school.

Beth was back in Vancouver for her last visit before Westy made his appearance. I did manage to pick her up in the wee Miata, but I can tell you this will be the last time she travels this light ~ one small suitcase and a Lululemon bag. I'm sure motherhood will change the packing habits of the Tacchis, at least in the short term. We had a small shower for Beth with another pregnant mom in attendance. Suzanne, pregnant with twins and I think 37 weeks at the time, made a huge effort to be there. She has since delivered 2 beautiful girls. Maggie and Janet hung out as well as the girls gabbed over food and surprisingly enough, no wine! Bad planning on my part, and there were no photos. I should check with Suzanne and Janet to see if they snapped some good shots.

Hugo 'graduated' from puppy class. Not sure that graduate is the correct term as it doesn't seem to matter how well or poorly you behave, you show up, you get the certificate. Either way, I have learned a few tips/tricks but have fallen off the wagon as far as consistently providing him with training. He has grown a lot and it is surprising to reflect and realize a few months ago he used to fit in my 2 hands.

The other comical outing was the Arbonne party I went to out in New West. Yes, travelled out of Vancouver proper, even took public transit as Akis was working. The experience on the skytrain was almost enough to make the evening ~ heading out to New West, got on the train only to discover one of the passengers in her white summer skirt was sporting some very colourful undies. Later came to discover that it in fact tattoos and it made me ponder, as I always do with tats, is that something you want to have when you are 80. Regardless, watched as a fellow rider seemed to be very taken by the tat gal with the white skirt and proceeded to secretly take photos with his iPhone. While I appreciate that everyone snaps photos here and there now days, what seemed a bit more creepy was the flipping through of the photos and subsequent attempts to take better photos. Jeez, guess this means you need to be on your best behaviour as you just never know these days who is out there lookin' at ya.

With only 2 more sessions of my course to go, I was also looking very forward to when I could wrap up the Master's Certificate course I had been taking. In conjunction with the course I was pulling together details for my PMP (Project Management Professional) application. In the application you need to document 4500 project hours and that just seemed like such a daunting task. As it turns out, it was kinda like your taxes ~ it sucks to do, but at some point you just need to sit down and do it.

So that was May in a nutshell ~ seems I'm getting the hang of this 'routine' bit.

Operation Playground

2010-04-25T19:34:00.001-07:00

It came with a book of instructions ~ instructions with 23 steps and a recommendation of using a whole weekend for construction. For those who were not feeling comfy with the instructions, it also came with a step by step instructional DVD. It was a great day and we managed to knock off over half of the steps ~ full weekend, whatever

There were 6 boxes of parts including the pile of wood and the map of instructions. Craig and Dad set out to begin navigating the direction map.

The location was picked and the structure started to take form.

We had a very special helper.

And then it came time to play!

Introducing Reed James

2010-04-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

Arriving on April 6th, weighing in at 8lb 10oz, Krista and Craig saw that it was indeed a boy! There has been much speculation on who he looks like ~ some options include: Craig, Grandpa Jim, Krista if she were a boy, but the one thing you can not dispute, he definitely has the Lovey legs.

Chloe has been a great big sister. She gets things ready for the bum change and often can be seen giving baby Reed kisses and patting his head. She has also taken to looking after her own brood of babies ~ in particular 'big baby' who gets bum changes and can be found in the bassinet when Reed isn't sleeping.

We made sure that we all had a chance to hold him. Not to mention there was some Rock/Paper/Scissors to see who would change bums.

And of course there was some bath time...

Reed is a pretty hungry boy and is feeding at the 'boob buffet' what seems like on the hour. Looking for a bit of a break, Reed has successfully taken a bottle, so there is some hope that perhaps Krista may be able to share some of the feeding responsability, provided 'production' can keep ahead of the demand!

Gymnastics with Chloe

2010-04-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

With the arrival of my nephew Reed on April 6th, I have made a trip to ON to visit the Lavery-Loveys clan. One of my first jobs as Auntie Carrie was to go with Chloe to Gymnastics with Daddy. She is quite the jumper!

Singapore

2010-04-11T17:54:00.000-07:00

I learned a lot while I was in Singapore ~ and considering I didn't do much in the way of 'pre' reading on the country, I was surprised at what I learned, like how small the country is and over 4 million people live here!

The Map:
(Notice the scale)

A bit of history:
Thomas Stamford Raffles founded the British colony of Singapore. In 1795 Raffles became a clerk for the powerful British East India Company, which (with the support of the British government) was battling with the Dutch for control of Souteast Asia. Raffles flourished, rising to become lieutenant governor of Java in 1811. In 1819 he founded Singapore by purchasing the land for the British East India Company. Singapore became a bustling port and a key element in the expanding British empire, securing Raffles' place in history. (Singapore became an independent state in 1965.)

Interesting facts in Singapore:

Fact 1: In efforts to limit the number of automobiles on the roads, there is a predefined number of cars that can be licensed. As a result, each car owner must have a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) ~ yes the word is 'entitlement'. There are a given number of certificates which are issued in a particular year, and each is good for 10 years after which you must then go out and purchase another COE. The cost of this certificate is based on market value and is driven on good ol' Supply and Demand. In some cases, the cost of this certificate is over 20K. The use of these certificates means that there is a consistent number of vehicles on the road and the government can control the number of cars and thus the resulting traffic on the small island.

Fact 2: Singaporeans are not able to import tobacco into the country. The cost of cigarettes in Singapore is $12/pack. To avoid this, the cigarette cases became very trendy and people would put their cigarettes into these cases and dispose of the cigarette package. Trying to out craft the people, the government decided to stamp all Sinaporean cigarettes with a stamp on the butt which says ~ Made in Singapore. Now, should you be stopped and the authorities suspect that you are smoking imported cigarettes, you will be asked to provide the authorities with the lit cigarette for inspection and if found to be imported, you would receive a $50 fine. The authorities would then inspect all of the cigarettes in your cigarette case and would be imposed a fine of $50/cigarette.

Fact 3: As things are less expensive in Malaysia, gas tanks of vehicles going to Malaysia are inspected. If there is less than 3/4 of a tank, the vehicle is turned around to 'gas up' before being allowed to leave the country.

And what trip is complete without a taste of the local beer ~ hmmmm, Tiger.

On my last night, I decided to take in the 'Eye of Singapore' as suggested by one of the gals at the site. While I don't usually get freaked out at heights, I have to say the going up was not smooth sailing. I spend most of the time sitting in the middle of the car until we crested the top and started heading down. I unfortunately didn't get there before the sun went down, so didn't get a chance to see a distance. But it was interesting to say I've done it.

Singapore is undoubtedly one of the cleanest cities I have ever been in. There is absolutely nothing on the streets. No gum and no cigarette butts! Apparently you are not able to purchase gum in the city unless it is a teeth whitening gum and then it is sold under the guise of being a 'treatment'.

There are a number of workers who are going around the city to clean up after everyone. They don't work the regular 9-5 city hours. I saw 2 of them out at 9pm still working to clean up the debris from the rain earlier that day.

Surprisingly enough, Singapore is a food mecca. I had just about every type of food you could imagine ~ German, Thai, Indian, Sinaporean chicken and rice, not to mention an Aussie steak, and then some that I didn't have like the chinese egg and chicken feet. There was an outdoor food court, which looked very interesting but I must admit I'm not always the culinary adventurer and I just observed those around me.

I didn't have a lot of time to check out the city. The unfortunate part of travelling for business, you have to actually work from 8am to 5pm. The wander around town did show that the city was clean, it was safe to walk on my own and very pretty.

The night shots...

I was working with a Cord Blood Bank at the hospital. I was amazed at some of the signs that were posted for upcoming seminars ~ yes, you are reading correctly! And as I later learned, Han How Chaun is a man... Go figure.

Working later one afternoon, the QA Manager and I opted to get a coffee ~ this is the coffee with milk. No wonder they don't give you a spoon ~ this would eat right through it.

Hotel History: The hotel was founded by the four Armenian Sarkies Brothers (Martin, Tigran, Aviet and Arshak Sarkies). They opened the 10 room colonial bungalow at Beach Road and Bras Basah Road owned by an Arab trader and philanthropist Syed Mohamed Alsagoff on December 1 1887. Alsagoff developed the site of his late father's estate until it became the most modern building in Singapore at the time. Sarkies was a tenant on favourable short-term lease. The orginal location was by the seaside, although continued reclamation means that the site is presently some 500 metres away from the shore. No Asians were permitted as guests until the 1930s. Designed by architect Regent Alfred John Bidwell of Swan and Maclaren, the current main building of Raffles Hotel was completed in 1899. The hotel continued to expand over the years with the addition of wings, a verandah, a ballroom, a bar and billiards room, further buildings and rooms. The Great Depression spelled trouble for Raffles Hotel and in 1931, the hotel went into receivership. In 1933, however the financial troubles were resolved and a public company called Raffles Hotel Ltd. was established.

The Singapore Sling was created by a bartender between 1910 and 1915 in the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel. The famous drink is very fruity and I gotta say, despite the liquor in there, mine tasted surprisingly similar to Beth's virgin drink. Was a bit taken aback by the cost ~ yes it was an arm and a leg ~ or almost $30 a drink! Good thing you don't need to tip!

Easter weekend in Hong Kong with Beth and Marc

2010-04-06T17:50:00.000-07:00

I had a week of work in Singapore and was able to take the weekend to stay with Beth and Marc in Hong Kong.

The weather was overcast for most of the weekend and my budget was limited so we spent most of our time hanging out, but did manage to get in a Foot massage... Love the foot massages!

We wandered down to an area of town which has 'lady entertainment'. We originally headed there to get some items for Beth's jewellery but didn't find the store. We scoped out some of the massage places, hoping for one without a happy ending. It was a bit weird in that you needed to buzz in and they would open the door.

Once in the door, we then needed to wander up the stairs to see the menu outside the door.

Having never been here, it was a new experience for both Beth and I. As we walked in, it was almost as though we were walking into someone's home. The bucket to soak your feet in was a wooden basket with a bag to contain the water. I was a bit shocked when the colour of the water was brown ~ Beth mentioned it might be tea ~ I had no idea and just went with it. After a soak, the water was tossed and flushed down the toilet in the room next to us.

Marc and Beth have a 2 bedroom place in Mid-Levels. It is in a very convenient part of town ~ there is an outdoor walkway down through the city and lots of shops, restaurants and coffee places on the way. It is very busy at night ~ although we didn't go out ~ it is the thing to do and realized that Akis would have loved it as this is the one thing that he misses with us being in Vancouver, the energy and life you see after 8pm.

Marc, Beth and I went to Sham Shu Po ~ I think I have spelt it right ~ and this would have been like leaving a kid in a candy store for Akis. Unfortunately I had no idea what he would have wanted, or what is a good price, so I left with no computer goodies, but Akis could have spent ages there!

Hugo ~ week 7

2010-04-01T17:48:00.000-07:00

He's still tiny, but I know after heading out to Hong Kong/Singapore for 10 days he'll have grown so much. I'll miss you Hugo!

Asia bound

2010-03-31T01:58:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting in YVR airport at the crazy hour of 2am waiting for the 2:45 flight to Hong Kong to board. I'm heading ouit to spend the weekend with Beth and Marc before heading down to Singapore to work for the week.

I've been told the temperature in Honkers is a nice 23C, however the temp in Singapore is hovering around 36C. I have dug out all of those summer clothes, even found some sandals and despite 50cm of snow falling on Cypress yesterday I am headed for warmer weather.

I have left Hugo with Akis and it will be 10 days until I return. It was harder to go this time ~ watching how much Hugo has changed in the past week, I feel like I might just miss something. Guess this is what travelling parents must feel like. Hugo has been doing pretty well with the training to 'Peepee on the mat.' There are still the misses which was evident this morning, but he definitely does know where he is suppose to go.

Not sure what the weekend has in store ~ Beth is in charge of the activities. Being 20+ weeks pregnant I suspect that it will be pretty low key, which honestly isn't such a bad thing. Quite excited about the destination as I haven't been to Singapore before. That and I get to break in the new passport. I'm used to having the pages stamped and now it looks pretty naked.

Here's to the crazy flight in economy ~ yes, that was economy ~ but I am going to expense the travel pillow!

Here's Hugo

2010-03-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

Akis has been asking for a long time if we could get a dog. And for the longest time, I have been saying 'No'. It got to the point where I felt like all I said to Akis was 'no', so after we found someone who had puppies on Craigslist, we were on our way.

Not wanting to support the crazy puppy mills that support the Pet Stores, I wanted to find someone who wasn't breeding for the sake of the dollar. Searching for a dog that would fit in with our space, fit in with our style, we saw a post for cocker spaniels. My Aunt and Uncle had a Cocker while we were growing up and Ginny was a beautiful dog. She had lots of hair, but was incredibly well mannered from what I remember. We struggled for a few days looking for a time when Akis wasn't in school, when I wasn't in a course and when the guy with the puppies wasn't working. As it turned out we decided on Friday night.

With plans to stop by the Pet Store on our way to pick up the puppy, Akis and I left things until the last minute. We sailed past the store at 8:30pm only to discover, hey, the store is not there any more! Now what? We drove around looking for where I thought I remembered seeing another pet store only to drive past it on a divided Hiway at 8:55pm. Superstore here we come. Buying the ugliest collar, an overpriced leash, some food and a toy, we were off to the Valley. We arrived at about 10:30pm and found the 6 puppies. Akis and I were struck by how tiny they were. They are 6 weeks old, but look like they should be staying there! Akis wanted a boy puppy, and selected our new family member. It just about broke our hearts to leave with him realizing that we were taking him from everything he knows and how scary that must be for him.

We got him home and had a pretty good night. I was up with him twice, but he didn't really cry.

Without a crate, Hugo lives under a laundry basket at night. The minute he wakes up he needs to pee, so being under the basket means he scratches when he is ready to get up. We have had a few accidents, but for the most part, he is really good. He enjoys playing and eats lots. The trip to the proper pet store gave him a new bed, some more toys and a sweater that I managed to leave at the store. Being so tiny, even though it is spring he is cold when we take him outside. We are off to the vet tomorrow to make sure we are in good form. We'll have to see how it goes!

Say it ain't so...

2010-03-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

The great Kitchen Aid mixer no longer turns on. I made dough for cinnamon buns and got ready to mix up the dough for pizza. As I lowered the hook and thought 'I love this machine', the lever moved to the first notch. Nothing turned. Shocked and disappointed ~ I quickly verified that it wasn't just a fuse that went, that there was still juice to the outlet. Much to my dismay there was.

A call on Monday morning to the service desk confirmed that yes, we are out of warranty and the best I can do is take it to the shop. On the bright side, the guy at the shop called me back and said he has only ever seen 2 motor burn out in his entire time working with these, so unless I saw flames, it is likely something else. Here's to being optimistic!

In the meantime, I'm in mourning.

Men's Round Robin Curling

2010-02-18T19:11:00.000-08:00

Early on, I dragged Akis out to see the Men's round robin. Canada wasn't playing so it took a while for the crowd to warm up, but around the 8th end, the chanting and stomping started. You have to love the temporary seating for the noise it can make.

The teams were piped in by members of the SFU Pipe Band and introduced. How traditional!

The US playing Switzerland. En Suisse!

Sweden and Germany...

The Murdoch rink rom the UK ~ I think they were playing Finland.

The Chinese ~ they were surprisingly good!

I will admit that the seats were not the most comfy. With some large folks on either side of Akis and I, we were quite happy to see one go at the 5th end break and the other leave at the end of the 8th. Surprising though, I would think that if you had come to see the game, you would have stuck it out.

The best was a sign held up by a young guy in the crowd. Due to the melting snow on Cypress, some of the standing room tickets were no longer being honoured as the area had become too unsafe. His sign, $65 for Snowboard tix, $341 for a flight, Stuck at Men's curling, Priceless. Guess the sport isn't for everyone.

Go Canada Go!

Women's hockey ~ China vs Finland

2010-02-17T18:37:00.000-08:00

Akis and I did not purchase tickets for the Olympics as we have been on a pretty tight budget. Despite having the budget of 'students' for the next year, the Olympics are only here once, so I splurged and got 2 sets of tickets thanks to my co-worker Geoff. Akis had agreed to going to one event, so was a bit surprised when I came home with both Hockey and Curling tickets.

The women's hockey was out at the UBC arena and it was actually a great place to watch as the capacity is about 7,000 which meant that there really can't be a bad seat in the house. With the telephoto lense Akis received years ago, we were able to get some fantastic photos. It was quite exciting for Akis as this was the first time he and I had been to watch a hockey game live ~ hey if you are going to do it, you might as well go big and start with the Olympians!

The venue:

Warm Up:

The Finnish Line Up:

The Hockey:

The Final was Finland 2, China 1. Although with the number of shots on goal you have to give some credit to the Chinese goalkeeper.

The handshake and a wave to the fans.

The crowd:

Akis was fascinated by what they do with the nets and the guy whose job it was to remove the liquid from the hole. I have no idea why they need the baster and remove the liquid or even what it was that they put in there, but hey, some things need to remain a mystery.

Where were you when Canada won the first GOLD?

2010-02-14T21:27:00.001-08:00

The Men's mogul event was up at Cypress ~ and after seeing the women the previous day, I was onboard with going out to watch the men. The favourite to win the gold was the Aussie who is in fact a Canadian but for various reasons has opted to compete for the Land Down Under. The Aussie's wanting to rally around suggested a meeting at the pub.

Akis and I headed down and took in the volumes of people on Robson and Granville. WIth streets closed, it is remarkable to see how many people can fill the streets. We made our way over to the pub and found ourselves a seat to take in the event.

It was quite moving and you realize how patriotic you can be when you see someone from your country coming out on top. I think what was even more moving was the way Alex Bilodeau is portrayed. From what the media has portrayed, he is a humble man, with a love for his family and a great respect for his brother ~ it couldn't have been a better moment for him, or a more fitting person to go down in history as the first Canadian to win gold here at home.

Opening Ceremonies from the German House

2010-02-13T09:14:00.003-08:00

Opening Ceremony tickets were hard to come by with 60,600 in attendance ~ so many of us needed to find alternative locations to take in the ceremony. One of Ali's friends is German and had suggested that we headed down to Saxony House. In hind sight, it was a pretty good idea as the other possible venues were outside and the rain just poured down!

We arrived about an hour before the ceremonies began and met Katy in the VIP room. We managed to snag some seats which was a huge score as the chairs were tough to come by.

The ceremony viewing:

There was entertainment to boot ~ it was a great Umpah band. Nice Pants!

And there she is ~ the Olympic Flame in all her glory.

The Torch

2010-02-13T09:14:00.001-08:00

Friday was the final day of torch relay. With only a half a day until the relay was over, the torch was to pass just in front of our office. Akis met me at the office and we headed down to view the flame. Unfortunately we didn't quite get there in time and ended up chasing a train to get the photo!

After missing a chance to absorb the moment, we wandered to seawall. While we waited in the Vancouver drizzle, we saw the paddlers warming up and a young supporter with his flame. The spirit has definitely arrived.

The flame left Granville Island by boat and was taken across the water to Yaletown where it had a few more legs until it rested to the Opening Ceremony. We took in the boat We didn't take the camera with the zoom, so the photos aren't ideal, but hey you get the idea.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie

2010-02-10T17:09:00.000-08:00

40 of Australia's athletes are here in Vancouver to strut their stuff. Being a good Aussie supporter, Ali wanted to head out to show her support to the boxing kangaroos. I made it down in time for the skies to open up and the rain to come down. Lisa had been there for hours ~ bless her spirit ~ and she was having some issues with the cold.

The signs were in the required Aussie colours ~ Green and Gold.

The Aussie news crews were there and did take some footage which appeared on Channel 7. The shot was the back of Lisa's head, my hand and Ali's flag ~ but hey, we made the news half a world away! Yes the spot light is for the crew!

It's almost here

2010-02-06T09:13:00.000-08:00

For the past few weeks things have been changing around town. This road is closed, you can't park there, the sea of blue jackets from the Olympic volunteers. It's hard to believe after years of preparing for the Olympics that the time is almost here. Looking at the countdown clock, we are down to two hands.

Akis and I walked through the downtown spectacle thinking it would be good to see it before the world arrives. Unfortunately the camera wasn't fully charged, so we are going to need to return.

Granville street:

At Robson Square where they have revived the outdoor rink ~ yes, they clean the ice with a hose, no zamboni here...

The countdown clock

Life in January

2010-02-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

Life this January has been quite challenging for me. Unfortunately I haven't done a great job at keeping some of this contained and as a result Akis has taken the brunt of my moods as I try to figure out what to do and where my next step will take me.

The month started with the hiring of a new guy into my current position. While this should be a positive thing ~ another person to take on the workload ~ there were many things surrounding this hiring that would make most HR folks cringe. I have come to learn that my new co-worker is making a significant amount more than I am, almost 20% and this was enough to send me into a bit of a tailspin for the month. Being a Libra, there is a lot about me which craves equality and fairness. Realizing that life is not always just, not always fair, I needed to spend some time figuring out what I was going to do.

Compounding this was the confirmation from the office that I am able to take the Master's certificate I have been asking to take for the past year, however the conditions surrounding their involvement and supportwas significantly less supportive than I had hoped. I have decided to take the course and finance it on my own terms. It has been a bit eye-opening and has led me to re-evaluate what it is that I am looking for and the type of company that I wish to work for.

So the search begins again. I don't enjoy the job hunt, however for the sake of my marriage, Akis' sanity and the recognizing that you need to stand up for yourself, if you are not getting what you need and deserve, you need to vote with your feet. I'm choosing at this time to make the decision to actively get myself into a better space, and hoping that good karma is on my side. I'll let you know how the hunt goes!

Airport Gong Show

2010-01-09T11:16:00.000-08:00

With the heightened security that has been put in place for flights to the US, I decided that I would actually head out a bit early 'just in case'. As it turns out, this wasn't such a bad idea.

Flying down to Vegas for work, I headed to the airport on the new Canada Line. It was pretty sweet ~ only 20 minutes from the office and I was standing at the check-in counter. They have check-in kiosks along the way to allow you to print your boarding pass!

I arrived at the check-in and was 3rd in line. I arrived at the counter with my rollerboard, a laptop bag and purse. As I was asked about the checked baggage, I indicated I had one. The check in agent looked at my laptop bag and said 'that needs to be checked as well'. WHAT? Given the rollerboard was full, the laptop bag was checked sans laptop and power supply. As I walked to the luggage section, my boarding card was scanned and luggage tags scanned. With only 10 people ahead of me I thought, jeez this is going to be fast. I should learn that you never say things like that, you only jinx yourself. This is when the wait began. I have never seen security like this before. After scanning your goods through the x-ray machine, going through the metal detector, I was patted down more thoroughly than my hubby pats me when he is feeling frisky. She even got to my undies! They then proceeded to remove all of the contents of my purse, inspect them all and reassemble. The whole process took about 25 minutes which I have to say I'm glad I wasn't in a huge queue.

Overall it has tainted my desire to travel into the US. When I arrived in Vegas, you could see that flying out of the US that there was no issue with carry on ~ which to me begs the question why is it that Americans believe that the threat is going to come from outside of their country? Wasn't it an American who went on a shooting rampage killing a guard at the Federal building in Vegas the morning I flew? And this is suppose to be the most secure building in the US. There is something about the American mentality, and the belief that it is not possible that the problem could be coming from within, but rather the problem must be attributed to those who covet the American dream. I think for the nation to prosper, become safe and remove the big target they have managed to paint on their back, they need to take a hard look at what they have become and how they got there. They need to learn to play nicely in the sandbox and respect that sometimes others may dothings better than America does.

Moving Day(s)

2010-01-07T11:16:00.000-08:00

Move day is here. We spent the morning with Krista, Craig and Chloe before they headed out to the airport. The movers were scheduled to come at noon and Telus was going to give us a call ~ so we sat and waited.

The moving company was one which had been used by a friend's co-workers. As it turned out, it was perhaps not the best selection I have ever made. When the U-Haul truck pulled up in lieu of a Moving truck which was decked out with the company name, I had to question the validity of my choice. They continued to pull a bike out of the truck, place it on the lawn and in they came.

Dressed in long shorts and moving at the pace of snails, the guys started to assess what we had to move. We hadn't heard from Telus, so I was beginning to wonder what happened to them. I discovered that they only had our land line, which obviously had been moved to the new place. I gave them a call and made arrangements to head out and meet them. Before I left I asked the movers where the wardrobe boxes were and the photo boxes. I was told that they didn't have any. When I asked how they were going to move the photos, they told me it would be better if I moved them myself. WHAT? Isn't this why you hire movers? To move your crap?

Armed with my framed photos, off to the new place. Telus did their bit and to be honest, they were the most enjoyable part of the day. Once the phone was up and running, I called Akis to see how things were going. Apparently it wasn't so well. One of the movers had some 'tummy trouble' and spent 10 to 15 minutes in the bathroom. I decided to head back and try to light a fire under them. They managed to get everything into the truck, but I was shocked to see that they didn't wrap any of our wooden furniture and I was cringing wondering how it would come out the other side. As it turns out, I was right to cringe.

They packed up and headed over to the new location. Leaving before us, they almost forgot the moving dolly and Akis had to chase after them, and they did forget the bike on the front lawn. Despite leaving after them, driving slowly as we had put stuff in the car the we were concerned with them moving, we arrived 10 minutes before they did. The unloading didn't go much better either. I mentioned to the one mover that I was disappointed on how my things were being handled as I saw my table sitting end up on the elevator floow without any protection. There were scrapes and a cracked table leg along the way ~ after expressing displeasure with how they were moving my things, I opted to head out and leave Akis to deal with it all. In the end, I just wanted it to be over. Eventually they unloaded the last box, and we were left with the task of unpacking.

As it turns out Akis forgot about the locker and the next day Aislynn was gracious enough to help us move the contents. We cleaned out the apartment and were ready to hand over the keys. With the final task of filling the holes in the wall, we started off the new year filling the holes, turning over the keys, having breakfast at Sophies, and saying good-bye to our time at 2020 and Kits. It's going to take some getting used to, but I hope I embrace our new neighbourhood like I did our old one.

We got the keys!

2010-01-06T11:16:00.000-08:00

With the Lavery-Loveys crew out, they were scheduled to head back to Ontario the afternoon we moved. We were suppose to get the keys to our new home at noon on the 30th. Fortunatley for us we were able to get the keys on the 29th so Krista was able to see where our new home will be.

The crew took a tour of the house and Krista wants my stove and fridge. The place does look a bit small, so we'll have to see how everything fits in once we get it here!

Visitors for the holidays

2010-01-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

With the upcoming arrival of the Chloe's brother or sister, the opportunities to come to Vancouver were somewhat limited. As such, the Lavery-Loveys clan came out on Boxing day to spend 3 days with Akis and I. It was a bit of a chaotic time as the house was in the process of being packed up, however our guests were very forgiving of the state of the house and the cuisine that it offered ~ i.e. frozen pizza! I even managed to get them to pitch in with the pack up.

The Chaos

We did also have a chance to sit and rest.

Unlike Craig and Krista's last trip to Vancouver, we had great weather ~ read no rain ~ and were able to take advantage of this by heading out to the beach and park to play.

Day One at the beach

Day Two at the Beach:

Chloe did get up early and dad did a great job of keeping her entertained with her puzzles. She is so inquisitive and can hang out just about anywhere.

We did take a trip out to the Aquarium ~ a first for Chloe. A car had been rented as Auntie Carrie's car doesn't quite fit everyone. Perhaps the rental doesn't either, but we made it. Good thing Akis is a huge guy and we didn't travel long to get there!

I enjoyed our visit a lot ~ even if it was in the midst of the chaos ~ it's always good to spend time with family.

Christmas Day

2010-01-05T11:16:00.000-08:00

Christmas day began at home with gifts arriving from Santa Jim. Akis has been looking to get a drawing tablet for some time and we have been looking at various options. Akis was very excited to see a box for him appear under our non-existant tree.

Beth invited us to Perry's (her dad) for the traditional Christmas turkey. We arrived in the afternoon so we could hang out, celebrate the news that Bethy is pregnant and due in July, and enjoy some good food. Akis was a lucky guy as Santa seemed to find him there as well and he ended up with a new pair of snow pants to take up to the mountain.

Perry the host with the most:

It was a great day just hanging out.

And the dinner which was spectacular ~ it even came with Christmas crackers. Complete with hats, jokes and toys.

Santa did not leave me out of the gifts. Santa Marcus brought me a lovely gift from Bali. So the word of caution, be careful when you ask for the opener at my house...

Christmas Eve

2010-01-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

With Akis being in school and having just purchased a home, we decided that this year we would spend the holidays in Vancouver. We were fortunate enough to be included in the families of good friends we have here.

Christmas Eve saw us travel to Aislynn's sister's house where we took part in the Radley Christmas traditions. Akis and I arrived to find that the evening involved may small gifts. We were a bit concerned that we had overstepped as the two of us ended up going home with more of the loot than the Radleys.

Dinner was fantastic ~ traditional meat and tamale pies with wine and beer. Who could ask for more?

Prepping for the move...

2009-12-13T10:31:00.000-08:00

With the official date of possession being the 30th of December, we are now looking to get everything lined up and in order. The calls have been made to change over the services, and we are now on the hunt for movers. I did get an initial quote, however I just about fell off my chair and have been making some calls. Hopefully this week it will all come together.

We did have the deficency walk through ~ I guess this is the nice part of getting something new, you get to be picky and tell them to fix their mistakes! In seeing the house, we have become excited all over again on where we will call home in 2.5 weeks. Here's Akis taking a look.

We do have a view of the mountains ~ the best view is from the second bedroom, but you can still see them and know they are there! The first one is from the living room and the other is the 2nd bedroom.

The Master bedroom. It is a bit small, but it fits the bed and has access to the balcony.

The Kitchen

The livingroom which is the open space off the kitchen

The balcony off the livingroom

The second bedroom

Our Bathroom

And 'yahoo' for the in-suite laundry

They do have communal plots which are just out the back. It is a small gardening spot that will allow us to plant the tomatoes. One of our first things will be to check with the Strata to see what we need to do to be able to use one of these.

When it was all said and done, we headed out for coffee ~ to sit and ponder our new beginning.

Owners of a big mortgage

2009-12-04T21:03:00.000-08:00

This is where we will now call home. It is not in the same neighbourhood where we are now ~ it is about 5 km east on Commercial Drive. It is close to transit, close to 'the drive' which has a number of coffee shops and is known for showing a lot of European Cup games.

We are on the North side of the building and if you look between the trees, you might see downtown and the mountains. Being close to transit, Akis is a 5 minute train ride to school. We are both excited about the move and realize that we now own 63 square feet ~ while the bank owns the rest, we are excited to make it our own. Akis is excited as the space is a bit small and this makes a stronger case for him to get a flat screen.

The move is on December 30th ~ here's to all the arranging!

Weekends of Open Houses continue

2009-11-22T11:42:00.000-08:00

Despite our best efforts last week, we fell victim to the ruthless real estate market.

Our realtor came by on Sunday, went through all of the details of learning what it takes to put in an offer. She left at 3:30 with the signed offer in hand and was going to head over to present to the selling agent. Unfortunately she wasn't able to reach him and when she finally did he said that he wasn't going to be able to find the seller this evening. So the plan was to present the offer Monday morning.

It was presented, the seller accepted all of the subjects and the only objection was to the price. We went in under asking and the seller was ready to sign it back to us at 1,000 under asking. Prepared to sign it and finish the deal, I waited for the paper work to appear in my inbox. I wait, waited and then heard that the selling agent has received a call and someone else wanted a second viewing. The seller decided not to sign it back to us but waited to get the second offer.

The other offer was for more than asking, and we went back offering a few thousand over the asking price, but it still wasn't as high as the other offer. So it was not meant to be.

It was a bit of an overwelming day as we waited to see if things were going to turn out. There is the sense of disappointment that we are moving into the next 'phase' being home-owners but I also have to believe that if it was the place we were suppose to be in, it would have happened. So we are back to the hunting, and there are some moments when you wonder if you are going to find what you are looking for. This is where you need to believe that persistence will pay off. We have seen a lot of houses in Vancouver ~ here's hoping we don't have to see them all before we find the right one!

A new house?

2009-11-15T11:11:00.001-08:00

It's a rainy Vancouver Sunday. Akis has been working a lot and I have been sitting at home contemplating our afternoon. I went out earlier this week with our friend/Real Estate agent and saw a place. I took Akis to go and see it yesterday and we are on the brink of putting in an offer today.

The home is not in our current neighbourhood. We have come to realize the space we want is not something that we are able to afford in our neighbourhood on our current budget. The new location is a neighbourhood that does have character and activity. Moving here will allow us to get into the market and start building some equity. There will neeed to be some renovations done as the cabinets are OLD and the kitchen is SMALL. So we are going to need to have some creative solutions, but it is also something that will be ours.

We'll see what transpires, and keep you posted.

A night out with U2

2009-11-01T16:37:00.000-08:00

The entourage had tickets for the final stop of U2's 360 tour. I have never been to see U2, and it was a treat to see everyone and get out for the night.

I had been catching up with Beth and Darci over the past few days after spending Monday night at Beth's dad's place and heading out to Spa Utopia for a very nice pedicure treat. Wednesday night I came home from work to pick up Akis and we headed down to the Westin where the Tacchi's and Yeo's got a suite for the night and gathered the group. After a few drinks, some BC 'herbs', we headed down to our Limo which was suppose to be waiting.

We arrived in time to see part of the opening act which was the Black Eyed Peas.

Had some snacks and beverages while the stage was reset:

Not much I can say about the concert other than we had a great time. Despite playing at BC Place which is notorious for having bad sound, I thought they were very good. The photos look pretty similar, but hey, it's Bono so I took a few. Had we been sitting with Ali, I might have had some of him from the stage, but hey, you take what you can get!

Some of the sounds from U2.

And then the battery gave out ~ but I wish I would have had more of this one!

Great time was had by all ~ only bummer was I didn't have a fully charged camera. That and I had to work the next day, but hey, sometimes you just have to go out and play on a school night.

He's a licensed driver

2009-10-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Akis and I headed out to Richmond. For anyone who has been out to Vancouver, you know that Richmond is like a section of Asia has been sliced and dropped into Canada. The signs are in Cantonese, the majority of the population is Asian and the driving there is HORRENDOUS. I'm not sure why, but Akis thought that this would be a good place to take his driving test.

We headed out to Richmond and I suggested that we head out early. It was a good thing we did, as the directions I took from the internet were to a location where you could renew your license, but not the place where you take your exam. So with 30 minutes until the test, and uncertainty whether or not they would let Akis take the test with just his Greek ID, we left the wrong location and headed for downtown Richmond. Encountering traffic, we arrived with 3 minutes to spare. Sending Akis in to pay the fee, I parked the car and came in. I darted to the washroom only to come out to find the examiner standing there with his clipboard and Akis waiting for the keys. The examiner cracked a joke about the fact that the wife always has everything in their purse, and they were off.

I sat and did the crossword, Suduko and waited for Akis to return. He returned 30 minutes after they left the building and I thought ~ shit this can't be good. As I peeked around the corner, I saw the examiner talking and talking with his hands, and I thought, shit, shit, this can't be good. After sitting in the car for 20 minutes, they finally emerged and entered the building. The statement from the examiner was 'sorry buddy, but I can't give that to you'. Then I thought ~ shit, shit, shit.

It was only when the examiner asked for the $31 that I realized that yes, Akis is now a licensed driver! So wahoo, my days of Carrie's taxi with the 6am drop off and 11pm pick up is now over. Akis is looking very forward to picking up his Greek license from the North Van office and finally being able to tell them that yes, he passed.

What are you thankful for?

2009-10-12T09:15:00.004-07:00

I have made ~ and met ~ a number of turkeys over the years, this year Akis and I made our first turkey together. Armed with the roasting pan I insisted on buying last Christmas for a turkey that was never made, the only utensil that was missing from the bunch was the baster. I know, how can you live without a baster...

Out and about Saturday, Akis and I walked the neighbourhood running these errands. Stopping in at the store, we found the baster ~ a bargain at $2.50 and is made of glass. It reminds me of the glass pipettes we used to use in those Inorganic Chem Labs for Dr. Beauchemin. Jeez ~ isn't that a blast from the past... I can't help but remember Liz running around the lab. I'm sure there is a pipette story somewhere in our history.

With the hardware purchased, we are now on to thawing the bird. This guy has a bit of a history here. He was a nice free range fella who originally belonged to one of my co-workers. For Christmas, his wife's company purchases a turkey for each of their employees. While on a somewhat restricted diet, they were going to opt out of the turkey, but when offered to someone here at the office, they said they would take it off of Geoff's hands. Well for those who don't remember December in Vancouver, it snowed. A lot. And on the 24th, the fresh bird made his way to our office ~ as did only 3 people from our company. So as we sat here, Geoff tried to find a home for the bird that didn't involve a garbage can. The food bank didn't want him, as he was fresh. Geoff didn't want him as he was trying to keep off the 20 pounds he had lost. Simon didn't want him as he was biking and had no room for it. After failing to pimp out the turkey to folks in our sister company, that left me. So home he went and directly into the freezer. Over the months Akis has asked me if the turkey was still good ~ the fact that it had been in there for almost a year was quite distressing to him. Good thing he didn't see Dad's freezer in his pack-rat years.

So now thawed, stuffed and into the oven, we began preparing for our feast.

Akis and I sat down to dinner and realized that there are many things that we have to be thankful for. Just reflecting on where we were a year ago ~ couch surfing, with no job, no papers for Akis and no inclination of what our future path will be ~ we are thankful to have a place to call home. Thankful for good friends and family who support us when we make these kinds of leaps of faith. Thankful for our jobs and our ability to support ourselves. Thankful that we have found a path with great possibilities.

I hope you had a great weekend and are able to see all the great things in your world to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving!

House Hunting

2009-10-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

Let me start with saying that there are 3 things that I find to be rather stressing and not all that enjoyable. Those would be ~ in no particular order ~ job hunting, car hunting and house hunting. Perhaps it is because my experience with all 3 of these tasks has always had a time element associated with it. Must find a job, as we only have $X dollars in the bank and we need to pay bills. Must find a house as I am surfing someone's couch and need to give them back their space. Must find a car, as there is a transit strike and I'm in the middle of nowhere ~ OK it was New West but that felt pretty much like the middle of nowhere.

That said, with my probation under my belt, the mortgage pre-approved, Akis and I have set out on the daunting task of looking at real estate in Vancouver. Now there is something surreal about real estate here in Vancouver. The cost of a one bedroom condo is about what my sister or Dad would pay for their WHOLE house ~ which means that Akis' dream of having a house on grass is very unlikely to happen while we are here. However, I do feel a strong desire to get into the market and at least turn these large rental amounts into something that will help grow our equity.

My friend Aislynn has moved into real estate a few years back and has been great to work with. Despite my reluctance to want to move out of Vancouver proper, she does her best to locate what we can afford, with some of the required elements such as in-suite laundry, patio space, and 2 bedrooms. As with anything, you try to get the most bang for your buck, but as we are discovering that is a lot more difficult than we previously thought.

The housing market here seems to have rebounded quite well and we are once again back into multiple offer situations with bids on houses. Akis and I haven't found any where that strikes a cord enough that we would be thinking about putting in an offer, so for the time being we continue to look. A co-worker has just purchased with her fiance and feels in hind-sight that they did over pay simply because they wanted to get it done and had the heartbreak of losing a few other offers.

We are planning on taking our time, so hopefully I won't feel the pressure to make a snap decision. In the meantime, weekend time when Akis doesn't work seems to be filled with Open Houses and appointments with Aislynn to see what is out there. Here's to having faith that we'll find our right home and it will be somethign that we can afford!

It's been a year

2009-09-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

For many things. A year since we got married, a year since we came to Canada, a year since we have found our home ~ with all of these milestones, you look back and realize just how much we have been able to accomplish in a mere 365 days.

As a gift, our friend Marc gave us a weekend away in the interior. We are nearing the end of the season upon which we can drive into the interior ~ the Miata doesn't do snow so well ~ so I was glad we were able to fit it in. I haven't really taken Akis out further than the Lower Mainland so this was a great opportunity to show him another part of BC and I was quite looking forard to it.

We got off to a late start on Friday night ~ stopping in Chilliwack to fuel both the car and ourselves, we were off. As we drove out of the city, the surroundings grew continually darker. For Akis, he is often amazed to look out and see nothing ~ or as he would say 'tipota, I tell you, tipota'. As we turned off Highway 1 and headed into the mountains, there were very few people that crossed our path. We drove into the darkness and it was a bit unfortunate that the moon wasn't out to be able to see a bit more, however we were just excited to be getting away.

We arrived into Osoyoos around 2am ~ much later than we had thought, but it was good to be there and know that we had a full day ahead of us.

We got up Saturday morning and headed out for Breakfast. While I wanted a nice brunch, Akis wanted the Boston Cream donut from Tim's. We ended up visiting both establishments ~ where he puts all that sugar I just don't know.

After a leisurely wander back through town, we decided to get in the car and head up to Bliss ~ the bakery owned by my friends Barry and Darci. I knew that Darci would be out of town at a food show in Seattle, however Barry was to be around. We pulled up to the bakery around 3pm, looked a the huge line, joined it and when we got to the counter, proceeded to get coffees and ask if Barry was there. I wasn't surprised to hear that he had gone home for the day but was a bit stunned when the girls at the counter REFUSED to give me his number. What? So I did my best to talk them into sharing the number but they were having none of it. I attempted to call Darci ~ but the call wasn't going through and I wondered if her phone was set to roam in the US. Miffed that we came all the way up there and hadn't seen Barry is about a year, I was beside myself ~ which Akis found a bit funny. I proceeded to text Darci, only to not have the text go through and discovered it really wasn't Darci's phone that was causing the communication problems but my lack of signal. I wandered outside, managed to send the text and connect with Darci. She found it hysterical that the girls were being the gatekeepers, and I was given the magic words that would allow them to relinquish Barry's number. I tell you ~ it was a true mission.

We had a lovely visit with Barry ~ they have done so much work on the house and the deck has a spectacular view over the lake. Cozied up with some wine and good company we spent the afternoon and early evening hanging out.

Our trip home was a bit adventurous as we once again encountered some wildlife. Another bear wandered out to see what was going on. I'm not sure what it is, but it seems that every time Akis opens his mouth to ask if we are going to see Bears, Deers and the like, regardless of how remote the possiblity is, we do in fact see wildlife. I think I have seen more wildlife with him in the car in the past 2 years than I have in my many years of driving.

Sunday we packed up, took a small tour to the Burrowing Owl vineyard and headed back towards home. I love driving through the mountains with the top down. There is something very freeing about it. The trip home did take a bit more time as we stopped here and there ~ some lunch, some veggies stands. We were also able to enjoy the view. You can tell autumn is here ~ the air temperature as we crossed over the passes tells you snow isn't far away. Perhaps next year we can do this while summer is still in the air.

The Registry Gong Show

2009-09-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those tasks that no matter how hard you try to get it done, things just don't go your way... this is me and the Gift Registry. When Akis and I started planning our summer party, Dad asked that we register for our party so in case anyone asked, he didn't have to continually repeat the list. So in interest of making things easier for him, we did.

We opted to have a couple of registries and we did get some gifts off the registry. My friend Brandye, who now lives with her family in California was the first to jump on that bandwagon. She had mentioned it in passing back in the summer, however I never received a phone call so I figured, hey they are waiting until the 'big day'.

I also received gifts from the Noes and McMeekins ~ had a lovely gift card with the gift receipt and promptly returned to Vancouver. The days got busy, the list of 'to do' items was MIA, and finally I got a note from Brandye ~ had I gotten my gift from her? Feeling badly that it had been about a month since we had returned to Vancouver, I tasked myself with heading to Metrotown and picking up the gifts.

I arrive at the Bay, present myself and ask if there is anything there for me. The woman at the counter then promptly told me 'it can take up to 4 months you know for things to arrive. Did you get a phone call?' To which I told her I had no phone call, however I had the gift card and was a bit surprised that it would take 4 months to get some glasses... Anyway, she looked up my name, reviewed the page, and then said 'ah yes, we tried to call you but the phone didn't work. We emailed you to come and pick these up.' Turns out they wrote down one digit in the phone number incorrectly, and the email I gave them is my spam account, so it would seem I didn't read that very carefully. Guess it was a good thing I didn't wait for that phone call...

The woman brings the bundled package to the counter, asks me to sign here, here and here, date here and here and there you go. As I am signing, I do notice Brandye's name ~ great, her gift is in here, and there's Sue's name ~ fantastic. Everything gets put in a bag and carted back to the home.

It is only the next morning when I have unpacked the boxes on the kitchen table that I scratch my head and wonder, is this right? I have 3 boxes of glasses, however I think these are all from Sue and Nina. As I go through the gift receipt trying to decipher the codes, I am still confused. I go back to the gift notice the girls had put in their card and yes, it would seem that the glasses are the ones from Sue and Nina. Where is the gift from Brandye? How did this get so complicated, so confusing and hey wait a minute, I've already signed the registry saying I've picked up her gift!

So on the phone, it is too early on a Sunday morning. I leave a lengthy message explaining what I think has gone on and ask them to call me back. I sit to enjoy my morning tea and Akis asks if I can do something with the stuff on the table. Sure ~ as I begin to unpack the glasses and put them away, I open the first box and low and behold, one of the glasses is missing. As I uttered things out loud and probably the most polite of them being 'you've got to be kidding me' ~ I pick up the phone to call the Bay yet again to add another chapter to my story.

The woman who answers the phone is very nice, listens to my woes and then puts me on hold while she goes to look for paperwork. After a few minutes she returns to the phone only to tell me she can't find the paperwork ~ ummm, I just signed some yesterday... She apologizes for the confusion and tells me that she will call me back. A few hours later I hear from her, and they are able to replace the missing glass that I picked up the previous day, however she would need to look into Brandye's gift and track it down.

All in all, I did return to the store a few days later to gather the replacement glass along with the missing gifts, but I gotta tell you ~ it was the most bizarre experience, and the moral of the story, follow up on your registry purchases!

Time for a change

2009-09-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

As though our life has not been filled with enough changes... This time it is about trying to be a bit healthier. It used to be that I attributed my increasing pant size to the fact that I was captive to a menu on the ship. Now that I have been off the ship for over a year, I really can't rely on that for my excuse.

So turning over a new leaf, I have re-joined my gym. This time however I am spending time doing circuits and to be honest, it is a lot harder than I expected it to be. I have also decided that we are going to jump on the Organic bandwagon ~ well as long as our wallets will allow. I have been doing a lot of reading regarding the hormones and additives that are used with farming now days and realize that I don't really need additional growth hormones... unless of course I was hoping to reach 7 feet.

So as I endeavour to follow a more healthly lifestyle, I'm trying to figure out how the wine, beer and snacks will fit in. But I promise, I'll figure it out!!

We'll check in after a few weeks as they say it takes 21 days to form a new habit... I think I'm going to miss those mashed potatoes.

Our big 'Canadian' Day

2009-09-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

It seems that family only gathers when there is a crisis or a celebration. In this hectic time, it seems that it is all we can do to just 'get it done'. Because Akis and I opted to get married in Greece, we decided that it would only be appropriate to have a party for our Canadian folks.

I must say, while I did have a few spastic moments the morning of, the family really stepped up and pitched in. Dad and Jane did a spectacular job getting things around the house ready. Krista entertained my indecisive and multiple trips to pick up last minute things. Craig and Akis ~ superstars who got the cold beer! (Afterall what is a party without the beer???)

I opted to get someone to Cater and the food was fantastic. Tyler and his wife Carrie are local and make one of the best beef roasts I think I have EVER eaten. Christa has become a bit of a local star with her cakes and ours was no exception. I also opted to hire someone to take photos for us ~ I have seen a few of Brad's shots and am very excited about being able to post, however I have yet to receive them. So once they are here, I will be sure to post.

We had quite the mix of people ~ family, friends, previous co-workers and neighbours. I'm grateful that the weather held out and even more grateful to everyone for making the trip to spend the day with us. It was fantastic to see everyone!

Collecting Akis

2009-08-23T07:12:00.001-07:00

Akis didn't want to miss out on too many classes when coming home for the weekend and so we decided that he would fly in after me on the Thursday night red-eye. I took the time to go and visit Liz in Bayfield and spend some time with her. The plan was to spend the night at her place and then head down to London to collect Akis and come back home.

Akis, is not the best traveller when it comes to going somewhere he hasn't been before, or taking new modes of transportation, so I knew it wasn't good when Liz came into the room at 12:30 and said, there is something wrong with Akis' flights. I called Akis and learned that they were now planning on re-routing him through to Toronto instead. Turns out that the inbound plane from Kelowna had problems and would be delaying the flight to Calgary. This meant that anyone going to Calgary with a connection would need to make alternative arrangements. Akis spoke to the gate agent and his choices were, go to Calgary, miss the connection and fly on to London the next day or take the flight to Toronto and get in a cab with a voucher and drive to London. Neither was overly enjoyable, but we opted to have him go to Toronto and I would leave a bit earlier to pick him up.

As I got back into bed, did some mental arithmetic, I realized I only had 3.5 hours left to sleep and I had better be ready for a long day. Up at 4:30, I got my tea, got my stuff ready to head out to the car and then looked around and wondered hmmm, where did those keys get to. After a bit of searching, I found the hiding spot for them to keep them out of the hands of an 18 month old and then checked the internet for directions. I took everything out to the car and was on my way. 5:10, not bad. And then I had a moment where I thought, I have 1/4 a tank of gas, I should be able to get to Kitchener, but I better check to make sure I have my wallet. As I searched I realized it wasn't there and thought to myself, I wonder where that is. Yes, it was under the front seat of Liz's car from our walk on the beach the day before. So luckly I was only 5 blocks from their place, I returned and skillfully started to make my way into their car. Despite living in Bayfield, the doors were locked and as I entered and exited their house on multiple occassions in search of the keys and ultimately the remote to open the car, I was sure they would be getting up any moment and wondering if they were being robbed.

I was finally on my way and to be quite honest, I was surprised to see other cars on the road with me. I made it into Kitchener, and thought my Aunt Sharon would be glad that I did check for my wallet instead of needing to call her at 6:00am to borrow money for gas. I arrived at the airport about 30 minutes after the plane was suppose to have arrived and started the circle around Terminal 3. On the 4th loop and after confirming that the plane had landed 30 minutes ago, I decided to park as I suspected Akis of sitting inside waiting for me. As it turns out he was walking down the hall towards the escalator and I realize now how much easier life can be with cell phones...

We drove back to Dad's, stopping at Tim's for our morning meal. Insisting that Akis could not live on just Boston Cream donuts, we got an egg sandwich and back in the car we went. We approached Paisley and I mentioned that I was getting stiff and my back was a bit tired, Akis says to me, 'I thought you liked long road trips'... I think what he failed to remember was I had already spent 2.5hrs in the car before picking him up just getting to Toronto.

I think what made the whole situation funnier, was I had asked Akis to transport some Feta which we had bought in Vancouver. We had a couple of discussions about the Feta and if there would be problems bringing it and I assured him that he was not crossing borders so bringing the cheese would not cause a problem. I guess this assertion didn't take into consideration the fact that Akis decided to wrap it in tin foil. As he went through security, the guard asked if he could search Akis' bag for illegal drugs. Akis said sure and he went directly for the brick covered in foil ~ he was asked what he had, and responded this is feta cheese. It became a bit of a joke that the guys were searching for illegal cheese, so I guess the moral of the story is, don't wrap your brick like objects in foil.

Oh well, at least everyone, including the Feta got where they needed to be!

Trip home ~ before the celebration

2009-08-23T07:05:00.001-07:00

To celebrate our wedding, Akis and I will be throwing a party for some family and friends on the 22nd. I have opted to come early to finalize a few things and also spend some time with the family.

Taxi Jim graciously picked me up at the London airport ~ which I have never flown into. I was surprised to see that they didn't offer jetway service to the 737 which we came in on, rather we were instructed to disembark from the front and rear of the plane by the stairs. The other hints that the airport was small were that the only 2 luggage carousels in the place backed onto the boarding lounge and the cost for parking was $3/hour.

The Lavery-Loveys clan arrived the next day and we took advantage of the weather to spend some time at the beach and on the boat. You can tell I haven't seen my niece in a while ~ there were photos galore!

The Beach

Our Boat trip:

And now for a job

2009-08-12T06:51:00.000-07:00

With Akis going to school, I have been on him about finding a part time job. He is currently spending about 20 hrs a week at school with most of the time being in the afternoon, leaving his morning and evenings free for homework and hopefully for part time work. I know it has been a number of years, but I don't recall 18 months of school costing so much! As such, the endeavour to find work is to help us be only a few thousand dollars in debt when all is said and done rather than the 24 that the program costs.

Akis has been spending time looking at the advertisements and applying for jobs. He was surpised to see that for even jobs at Starbucks or the local grocery store, they are wanting you to complete a full application and document your schooling and previous work history. After a few unsuccessful attempts, Akis did hear back from the folks at Staples. Unfortunately the hours they were looking for didn't match with what Akis could work. The upside of that day however was Akis did receive a call from 'No Frills' ~ a grocery store ~ asking him in for an interview. The interview was to be on Friday, however that was pushed to Saturday and ultimately Sunday.

So Sunday ~ Akis birthday ~ in amidst the rain, we headed to the store in the West End near Stanley park. Akis met with a man and I waited out in the mall area. Less than 15 minutes later, Akis walked out but didn't have a good look on his face. My heart sunk as I thought, jeepers ~ what do I do if he didn't get the job. I was expecting that they would give him a call, but instead of that, they gave him a hiring package and said they would call and he would be starting in 10 days. Armed with forms to complete, we headed home, celebrated both his birthday and employment with friends. The phone call came the next day asking him to start on Tuesday.

I am proud of Akis for being able to get out there. It takes a lot of courage to go look for a job in a language that is not your native tongue. I am hoping that with this job will also come the experience working in Canada and even more confidence with his english. Wahoo ~ we can now pay for school!