Unexpected Awesomeness

I love when boring days turn out to be awesome days.

Today I had a couple small errands to run (one of them was to pick up my refilled prescription.. sigh..), and when I was done I was kinda sad because I didn't know what to do next. So I decided that it being Cinco De Mayo and all, that I should celebrate by having a Taco Salad... So I went to Taco Bell... Haha... That's as good as it gets when it comes to Mexican food in Canada. It was actually pretty good though.

Then I had a nap... for three hours... I love how being pregnant enhances my ability to sleep more than I've ever been capable of. I guess I should cherish this time now. Sleep won't be so easy to come by with a little one who relies completely on me for everything.

When I woke up, I caught the last little bit of the Nashville/Vancouver hockey game. I'm kinda proud of Vancouver. I mean... They've gotta screw up pretty bad if they don't advance to the next level in the playoffs. They'd have to lose the next 4 games in a row and I don't think they're bad enough to do that. So. Early congrats to Vancouver! One step closer to the end!!! (I heart hockey)

Then, I got a text from my good friend around 11:00PM asking if I was still awake. Of course I was still awake. I had just woken up a couple hours ago from my nap! haha! She continued to tell me that she had had an exceptionally terrible day, and she wanted to either jump in front of a bus or eat ice cream. She concluded that ice cream was the better of the two and wanted to know if I was willing to go with her to get some. haha. Obviously my friend was in need, so I promptly left, to go save the day for my friend.

After picking her up and hearing why her day had been so terrible, we decided that the best solution for this situation was Denny's. Yes. Denny's.

I have quite fond memories of Denny's actually. I'm not saying their food is the best, but I have definitely had my share of late night meals with awesome friends full of laughter and happiness. Obviously this was going to brighten my friends day, and I wasn't let down. We got some food, and ended up sitting there until 2:00AM. haha. We talked a lot about our missions, which is always fun. She served in Taiwan, so it's interesting to hear the crazy things she's encountered there and how differently they go about the work in that culture and environment. It's also nice to be able to hang out with her and feel completely normal, because sometimes its hard being with friends from Singles Ward while I'm married and pregnant. I'm kind of just in another place, and this friend doesn't make me feel weird for it. That's not to say that other friends do make me feel weird, it's just less obvious with her somehow.

Anywho... Awesome night talking with her at Denny's.

As I was driving home, I started thinking of my husband and how much I love him and how terribly excited I am to see him in 11 days!!!!! Seriously... The more we talk, the closer we become. As much as it sucks to not be able to be together right now, I really do love that we get to talk everyday. It brings us closer in a way that is more difficult when we're face to face. I dunno how to explain it, but I just love that communication is something we're getting better and better at. It will definitely be a huge strength for us in the years to come. So... I just love my husband a lot. haha. That's the whole point. I was just reminiscing about him tonight and it made me smile.

What made the day even better was when I got home at 2:30AM, I decided I was gonna call my husband and leave a message for him so that he could listen to it in the morning, but to my surprise, he actually answered and was wide awake! This is very uncharacteristic of him. He likes his sleep, and staying up late isn't his thing. But I was just glad to hear his voice. Turns out, he went to a midnight showing of Thor and he was just on his way home. haha. I love my husband. We told each other about the great times we had both just had and laughed with one another. So that was basically the perfect end to a great night. Marriage is awesome.

Apparently A Little Education On Canada Is Required...

Alright. For the sake of those who have never ventured to the Great White North before, I've decided some clarification about how we do things up here is necessary. There needs to be more of a mutual understanding of one another.

- Travel via dogsled...  While I'm sure there's somewhere you can do it in this vast country, it's definitely not the main source of transportation. Can you imagine how much dog poo would be around?? YUCK!!!

- The Queen isn't in charge of the country. Come to think of it... Is she even in charge of her OWN country??? haha.. I have no idea. All I know is that we have our own government. We have a Prime Minister who's in charge, not a President, even though it's basically the same thing... just a different term.

- While there are some different stores up here, we can't escape the world domination of Walmart. However, our Walmarts are not all open 24/7 and aren't even all Super Centers.

- We get the same movies in theaters that America gets. Thank goodness too, because we get some channels on cable TV from the States which means that they show American commercials. So if I was seeing movie trailers for movies I couldn't see.. I'd be upset...

- It does make me upset however, to watch the American commercials for food establishments just because it makes me jealous. For the most part Canada has the same restaurants, but there are some places there that we just don't have up here. Sonic is the first one that comes to mind. No happy hour for me... It also upsets me to see how cheap food is in America. The whole $5 footlong thing at Subway doesn't exist in Canada. Sigh... So I have to be extra careful when I see a commercial for a sweet deal at some food place to make sure it's a Canadian commercial.

- Snow does not magically appear once you cross the border. No, Canada is not one big white landmass.

- One thing that is true about Canada though is our love of Hockey. Everyone has their team and as we Edmontonians prove, even two years straight of our team, the Edmonton Oilers, ending up placing dead last in the NHL won't deter us from cheering for them... EVER.

- Not all Canadians use the term "eh" in a over repetitive and obnoxious way. Most of us don't even have discernable accents.

- Canada does have two official languages, English and French. Quite frankly though, I think that's dumb. The only people in Canada that speak French all the time are in Quebec, which in comparison to the rest of the country is small. But because of this singular part of Canada we ALL have to deal with French being on every single product label as well as all the signs in our National Parks. The National Park employees have to be bilingual too. Also, almost all French Canadians know English anyways, reaffirming my previous statement of the two official languages thing being dumb.

- Not all of our Police dress up like Mounties. Mounties are comparable to State Troopers and Sheriffs. Each city has their own Police force which is unassociated with the Mounties, and they don't have to dress up in the silly hats and puffy, red pants. Also, not all Mounties ride horses. They have cars too.

- Summer actually DOES exist in Canada. It's not very long, but it does get hot!

- We don't live in Igloos. I'm sure there are some people that build them WAAAAAAY up North to preserve their heritage but not to LIVE in. Canada as a whole is way beyond that. Our buildings are just the same as anywhere else in the continent.

 - There are slight differences in some word pronunciations... But it's kinda hard to write out how they sound different. Ask my husband, and he'll tell you. haha. There are a few different terms we use though. For instance, you say garbage disposal, we say garberator. Don't ask. That's just how things are up here.

- We don't hate America. I promise. We just like being Canadian.

I think that's a good start. If you have any other questions about life in Canada, ask me. I like proving that we Canadians are well integrated into modern society. haha... :)

The Great Bedroom Cleaning of 2011

I've kinda been living in a mess of a bedroom pretty much ever since I moved back home after Ray had to go back to Colorado. First I was too sick to go through all the boxes, but then as I started getting better-ish, mom was on my case to clean up and organize things to make moving to the States that much easier when the time comes. In theory, that's a great idea... But in practice, it sucks. Alas, I finally got around to it today. It was a huge deep clean and I'm quite proud of myself for it. I should get a #1 Wife sticker or something...

Here's the before...

And the after...

It's so much less disastrous! And I also realized that there actually isn't that much left over stuff that I'll need to bring with me when the big move to the States finally happens. That's a relief.

Now the trick is keeping it that way... Maybe this will help motivate me...

In other news... The lack of Diclectin has turned out to be an utter failure. As the day progressed, I started feeling worse and worse, so I gave in and took the remaining pills and called to get my prescription refilled... Sigh...

Wish Me Luck...

For basically the entirety of my pregnancy, I have been heavily dependant on medication to help with nausea. Diclectin has become my best friend. An expensive best friend, but still, it's always been there for me. I have one more refill left before my prescription runs out, but I've decided to stop taking it and see how I do. That way, if things don't go as well as I hope, there's still a prescription there to save me.

Yesterday was the first day of no meds, and I did pretty good I think. Today's the real test though. Last time I tried to stop taking my drugs, by the second day it just ended up teaching me why I was on them in the first place.

Needless to say... I'm a tad apprehensive today...

There Really ARE Things Worth Blogging About!!

I'm 23 weeks pregnant now. This is what it looks like.

It's strange to realize that I actually LOOK pregnant now. Like... It's totally apparent, and I guess I forget that sometimes. That's not to say my body doesn't remind me on a CONSTANT basis that it's not in it's normal condition... ie. Suddenly having back pain all the time?? I feel like I'm 80 sometimes. Also, having an increasingly more difficult time getting up from the couch. Also, not being able to bend over to pick things up off the ground. Also, having to hold on to something to help me pull myself up when I have to squat for what ever reason... Being pregnant is... Something else... that's for sure. I have a brand new appreciation for all mothers.

Speaking of Mothers... SUNDAY IS GONNA BE MY FIRST MOTHER'S DAY AS A MOM!!!!! Well... Kind of a mom... Almost a mom. haha.

As if that's not significant enough, Sunday is also Ray's and my FIRST ANNIVERSARY!!!!! We've almost been married a whole year! That's nutso! And also terribly exciting.

Even more terribly exciting is that I get to go visit Ray in Colorado in TWO WEEKS! I get to stay for a WHOLE month! Thankfully I'm not driving. haha.


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This month is just looking to be the best ever. May seems to agree with me quite nicely.

Breaking The Monotony

So this whole being pregnant and not working thing has gotten kind of old.. haha. Mostly just because I'm not so sick anymore so I'm not spending every single day on the couch waiting for the next time I'll throw up. Now I actually get to DO stuff!! ... But that's the thing... What stuff?!?!?! haha. I'm suffering from a severe case of monotony, and I'm trying to figure out what I can do to fix it.

I conducted a poll on Facebook and got a bunch of suggestions. Mostly crafty things... But I'm not a crafty person, and as much as I appreciate the ideas to create mosaics, or take up scrapbooking, or paint, or do fruit carving (haha I heart Randi), that's just not something I'd be good at, nor do I have the patience to try to acquire the talent. That left me with the suggestions of puzzles, coloring (as in coloring books of awesomeness) and gardening. Sorry Sarah, but gardening is just not gonna happen. Gardening appeals to me even less than crafty things. haha... Puzzles are a possibility, and I've always loved coloring, so maybe I'll be investing in a couple coloring books for myself in the near future. Don't judge me.

Then it dawned on me. Duh. Just keep track of the random things I see that make me happy every day. Someone had suggested blogging to me, but I immediately dismissed that idea with the thought that I need to actually be doing things worth blogging about. My epiphany was this. It's true that there are few exciting events happening in my life these days, but there are definitely things I stumble upon that stir up my thoughts each day. Why not document those things. My posts don't always need to be about some incredibly exciting event in my life that takes two hours to write out, resulting in a ridiculously lengthy blog post that in all reality few people would ever even bother finishing to read. I credit this epiphany to my friend for unknowingly reminding me that blogging can keep me occupied as well as fulfil some sense of accomplishment. I've also started following a couple other semi-popular blogs that have new posts daily. None of them are terribly significant or recount life altering events, but they're interesting and short, which I've come to realize I actually appreciate and kinda wanna try to emulate.

In saying this, I realize this whole explanation in itself is kind of a lot long winded... Give me a break though. I'm just starting and I still need to learn. My talent for long windedness dates way back. In junior high and high school, I always had a hard time keeping my essays under the required number of words because I felt compelled to explain every little detail... in detail... because if I didn't I'd feel like I didn't get the message across clearly enough. Obviously this is still an issue for me and I need to overcome it...

Challenge accepted. Let the random thought documenting begin!

Half Way There!!!

It seems like an appropriate thing to celebrate, don't you think??? I made it half way through my pregnancy!!!!! WOOT!!! My celebration was intensified by my newly restored ability to eat! REAL FOOD!!!! A WHOLE ACTUAL MEAL!!!! YAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!! I'm finally becoming normal again!!!!!