Dreaming of a Vacation Someplace Warm

It's amazing how quickly a student craves for a break to a sunny destination on a beach drinking lemonade and only worrying about whether they are getting an even tan on both the front and back.

Or maybe just a break from the everyday routine of life.

That's precisely how we are feeling at this point. Although it is only mid-point of the semester (gosh that went fast!) we are both needing a break and a sleep-in that lasts longer than a few hours. School is exhausting. In and of itself it is a time-consuming, ALL-consuming, daunting task that squeezes out every ounce of energy in a day, a week. Papers, practicum, editing, readings, assignments: it's all one big blur staring at the computer day after day, hour after hour. We just need a break!

The mid-semester Reading Week is next week, so one would THINK that we'd get a nice change of pace. But sadly there is still practicum, work, and catching up on school assignments to do...while our friends vacation off the coast of who-knows-where and spend oodles of money on expensive food and cruises. *sigh*

We will take a full day off everything next Tuesday to celebrate Andrew's birthday, including a quiet afternoon at the museum and a romantic dinner out. I am probably looking forward to that day more as a day-off than a birthday! In the same breath I really hope Andrew has a wonderful birthday - he completely deserves it.

We are almost finished with the university application process, thankfully. I handed in my last application last week and Andrew has a deadline in about 3 weeks to be finished his. The end is in sight!! Except that after that will be the waiting period, followed by the traumatic results, then the decision-making process, then the move-if-we-have-to details, and then back to school in the fall. Not to mention working full time in the summer, being in a large drama production, graduation and family visits....oh, and making time for just the two of US!

We are lucky we have each other. I don't know other husbands who would settle for a bowl of cereal for dinner some nights, or a late-night editing session, or strict 10pm lights-out policy, but Andrew does, and he is a trouper!

Okay, back to work!

We've Been X-Weighted

After my sister's fancy debut as Season 3's X-Weighted participant , we have been involved in the X-Weighted scene for a few years, watching episode after episode and enjoying the drama in the show. This year, the show has put forward the X-Weighted National Challenge and Andrew and I decided that we definitely wanted to participate. So this morning we ventured downtown to complete our fitness test and get our official measurements and weigh in.

Oh, did I forget to mention that my beautiful sister is the poster child for the challenge?! How awesome is that?!

The fitness test was challenging, and rightfully so, since we are not so 'fit' ourselves (yet). We were timed to see how many reverse burpies...

...bench jumps...

...and ski jumps over a skipping rope we could do.

Andrew came out with 1 min 47 seconds (an excellent score, especially against the others we watched) and my time was 1 min 30 seconds. We will go back to the same gym and get tested with the same exercises again in 6 months time to see how well we have improved over that time period. We are also hoping to lose some inches around our chest, stomach, and hips, and of course shed a few pounds. Andrew is hoping to shed 28 lbs, and for myself, 20 lbs.

It was a neat thing to go and experience a tiny bit of what my sister went through. We met "The Dr" of the show (Dr David A Macklin) and also the executive producer (Margaret Mardirossian). They were super encouraging throughout the morning and offered some tips and advice to help us reach our weight-loss goals. (One huge goal for the both of us is to eliminate late-night eating completely. Once dinner's over, the next food to enter our mouths is breakfast. I told Andrew we might be eating around 8:30pm each night :P )


And because we were among the first 50 participants who showed up, we scored ourselves some neat X-Weighted bags with prizes inside, including a pedometer, measuring tape, and coupons for healthy cereal and granola bars.

We've also set up our online profiles on the X-Weighted website to help us keep track of our progress. We will also be chatting with others on forums, putting up pictures throughout the 6 months, and watching the charts and graphs move (in the right direction!) with our progress.

All in all, a great experience - let's hope we can reach our goals!

Christmastime is Here

We certainly have been enjoying our holiday vacation in Alberta so far. We have been fortunate to make new memories daily with our family and friends out here. Our visit has included a string concert, a Wayne Burton concert, cross country skiing, rock climbing, movies, mini golf, amazing food, time with nieces and nephews and aunts and uncles and cousins and siblings and parents and FAMILY! It has been absolutely wonderful thus far and we are anticipating some great memories to be made in the next few days.

(Cross Country Skiing in Waterton Park)

(Sister Terri, friend Teri, Marci, Andrew, sister Debbi, brother-in-law Bryan, Mom & Dad - the group in a beautiful mountainous setting(

Tonight begins with a giant sleepover with over 20 people as we celebrate "Christmas Adam" (the day before Christmas EVE) by sleeping under the Christmas tree. We'll stay up eating treats, singing songs, tobogganing on the huge hill outside my parent's door, and laughing until our sides hurt. Tomorrow evening we will have a large family dinner to celebrate Christmas together and then enjoy the rest of the festivities that accompany the holiday.

Merry Christmas!

Just a Little Bit Crazy...

Things around here are getting VERY hectic and VERY stressful. There's got to be an easier way to organize a school year without midterms, finals, university applications, and huge projects due in December, isn't there?! It is *so* difficult to get into the Christmas spirit that we are absolutely craving when we are bogged down with overloads of schoolwork and stress. We are literally counting down the days until we are completely finished for the semester and can finally celebrate the holidays and enjoy the season (9 days for Andrew, 12 for me).

I will probably feel close to 20 pounds lighter when I complete my university applications (which are due in 2 days--YIKES!) and don't have to worry about that for a while. I'm finished 3 out of the 4, but they are just so time consuming and stressful. Andrew has also been working hard with essays, essays, and more essays. It kind of sucks that we don't do much else besides schoolwork these days, but that's the stage we're at. I always feel so redundant and boring when someone asks "what's new?" and I really have nothing to say except, "Oh, I have this project due, and then this essay to write, followed by this exam..." yadda yadda yadda.

I can't wait until we are more into our careers and can actually have memorable Christmas traditions (like having our very own tree and putting it up and decorating together!) I feel it is so difficult to get into our own groove of Christmas when our minds are clearly elsewhere. I guess it's alright for now because in less than 2 weeks we will be enjoying a snow-filled holiday with our families WITHOUT schoolwork (except for Andrew....*sigh*). I keep having to remind myself to enjoy these days because they are making us and our relationship what it is.

We most certainly appreciate each other for being our extreme editors and motivators when it comes to schoolwork. We also appreciate the moments we get to actually sit down and eat a meal together, or ...(*gasp!*)... enjoy a little bit of tv together (the only advantage of late-night hockey games on tv is the inevitable mid-day nap the next day together).

We just keep pluggin' along...

Babies

In the past 4 days we've had two close friends give birth and a third who is about to deliver any day now. Obviously we can't but become involved in the hype of having that tiny, new, wrinkly, precious miracle. These couples are so lucky to expand their family and welcome their newest into their home. Babies are just so darn cute!

It's also interesting to note that (as of 4 days ago), we know 23 couples currently expecting. Can you believe that?! 23!! It's absolutely wild! But, as I explained to some friends before, when we were getting married we were extra observant of who else was getting hitched. Naturally, because we are in those child-bearing years, we seem to notice whomever is expecting. No, we are not pregnant (who would announce that on a blog, anyway?!) I'm only saying that as we approach the 2 year mark of marriage most people think we are taking too long to hop on the baby-making bandwagon.

It also doesn't help that being in Early Childhood Education and having an occupation as a caregiver/nanny, I see children EVERYDAY, literally. I am surrounded by children between the ages of 1 day and 10 years old. Between the 5 families I work for, the kindergarten classroom I volunteer in, friends and their kids....I am surrounded by children on a constant basis. Some believe this is the best type of birth control, but to me I just love children so much that I thrive in their presence. It's also great practice for when we DO take that step into parenthood.

We can't wait to become parents ourselves. I'm pretty sure we've already named our children in full and we're not even trying to get pregnant right now! We are looking forward to that next priority in our life, however, it is not necessarily the next step for us. We will get there...when we are ready. In the meantime we will continue to live vicariously through our 46 friends in celebrating the new budding life of their newborns. :)

Thanks on Thanksgiving

We have many things to be grateful for on this wonderful Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Although my list could go on and on and on, I'll try to narrow it down to the most important ones.

Family. We are both so blessed to have been brought up and loved by such tremendous family members. Our parents are the most kind, charitable, generous, giving, thoughtful, and pleasant people to be around. Our many siblings bring us happiness and laughter the more we spend with them and make memories together. Truly it's ironic that we BOTH lucked out with great families, and now as we have created our own family we hope to inherit some of those remarkable qualities.

Friends. Even though we may not be the most social people around, we are grateful for the few token friends we do have. We cherish the friendships we have made both as single adults and as married ones. We love that we can get together with our friends for an evening of fun, great food, laughter and conversation. We feel so blessed to have them in our lives, in fact, that we are celebrating this holiday with some friends tomorrow with a great feast (plus, our one friend is very pregnant, and she needs some serious King pumpkin pie!)

Health. We are certainly blessed to have, on a whole, a very healthy family. I am grateful that Andrew heeds my annoying nags about washing our hands constantly...but fortunately it has paid off thus far. We may have our minor issues to deal with here and there, but as we look around at our friends and neighbours around the world, we are definitely privileged to have the health we do.

Education. I know, I know, we complain quite often about school and the work that comes with it, but deep down we are eternally grateful for this knowledge we are receiving. We both are passionate about our career choices and although the means of getting there may be time-consuming, difficult, and VERY expensive, we feel blessed that we are able to overcome these trials and get some excellent education. This is the stage that we are in currently and we will continue to enjoy each step as we learn together.

One Another. Yes, a little cheesy, but I feel that the greatest blessing that we have is each other. I believe that we are such a great match and we compliment one another in so many ways. We try to be supportive, helpful, generous, compassionate, selfless, and most of all, loving. We certainly do not have a perfect marriage and we are definitely continuing to learn and grow together, but we are beginning to understand the process and how to effectively make this marriage work. I love Andrew and he is by far my best ally.

Six Word Saturday

Celebrating a friends' birthday equals PARTAAAAAYYYY!

Tonight Andrew and I are taking a break from our serious studying and essay writing (read that as watching movies and sleeping in) to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday. What's better than some munchies, fun people, great music, and a little dancing?! Not much...

Happy Birthday Sandy!

Moving Ahead

We are back in our little apartment in Toronto and settling into a new, back-to-school routine. Our trip out west was definitely worth it and we loved every minute there. The weddings, birthdays, and baptisms turned out beautifully with so many new memories to lock away in our hearts.

My brother and his new bride looked wonderful on their special wedding day. It is exciting to have a new sister-in-law (a first on my side!) and for my brother to have found someone so fantastic. They are really fun together and their wedding celebrations echoed their personalities.

My sister and her new man also tied the knot while we were visiting (great planning, eh? :P) They had such a FUN and "Debbi" wedding which turned out to be on a perfect day. The colours, the people, the music, the food--everything was amazing. I am thrilled for them and the new chapter they are making in their lives.

Being with my whole family is always so exciting and exhausting (in a good way!). Having to coordinate where everyone will sleep, who is showering when, what's for dinner for these 30-something people...it's craziness!! But I truly love it all. I love being around them all and being goofy and silly together--that's the BEST! They are such incredible men and women and I feel privileged to call them my siblings.

And my amazing husband is definitely my angel. He is always so grounded and supportive when I need him to be and is my constant companion in every sense of the word. He was a fantastic date for the many occasions we had to celebrate and I am so grateful for this wonderful man I married almost 2 years ago (can you believe it?!)

We are excited to be back in school (Andrew more so than I, mind you) and are anticipating what this next school year will have for us. It may be difficult at times to coordinate computer time usage, editing hours, grocery shopping and laundry duties, and school applications, but we manage it and have fun with it.

Here's to a fun summer, and a promising school year ahead!

Weddings, Weddings, Weddings!

Our time in the west has proved to be eventful and exciting. We love being around my family, no matter how crazy or insane we all are when put together. This last weekend, we celebrated with everyone in the marriage of my sister to my new fantastic brother-in-law. It was a gorgeous day for a wedding and most things went off without a hitch. My sister looked STUNNING in her dress and the couple couldn't stop smiling all day. It was so exciting for everyone to see my sister finally find her dream man and marry him for time and all eternity in the temple.

We also celebrated two baptisms and a birthday this week, while also driving down to see Andrew's older sister and her new (giant!) home in Montana. It was a nice, yet short, visit filled with yummy food, a trip to the dinosaur park, driving through the mountains, watching butterflies, walking kids to school, playing Twister, watching movies, sitting in the hot tub, and making many memories. We're not sure when we'll see them again, so this visit was well needed and we are happy to have made the trip.

Now we are back at my parents house prepping for the next wedding which will take place tomorrow. My brother is marrying a beautiful girl in the temple tomorrow and tonight there is a calling reception, and tomorrow an open house at my parent's place: read that as "we have a lot of cleaning/cooking/baking/decorating/WORK to do"! I'm sure they will love every minute and enjoy the celebrations with them as the centre of attention.

Not long after my brother gets married, my other sister will tie the knot to her fun and friendly new love. They are super cute together and I am so happy she has found a man to make her happy and to love her unconditionally. Their wedding will be beautiful and I'm really looking forward to being a part of it by providing some music for everyone and the couple.

There's lots of people coming and going, lots of tasks to complete and several things to look after. It's a busy home, but it'll all be worth it with the memories that are being made.

Woah, Tomato

Last week, my dear mother-in-law taught me a new life skill and I'm thrilled to say now that I can preserve my own food. Andrew was out of town at the conference, but MIL and FIL drove down to my place and we traded expertise on a few things: they taught me how to can tomatoes, and I taught them how to change their Facebook profile picture.

Canning tomatoes is much easier than I imagined! Sure, I don't have any of the necessary equipment, but I learned how to do it and actually completed half of all the preservatives. I remember my mom canning all sorts of things when I lived at home; tomatoes, peaches, pears, crab apples, and even salmon. I'm just starting with the easiest but maybe one day I'll have a little factory working for me.


I had an AMAZING teacher who was patient, knowledgeable, and forgiving of our little apartment-sized kitchen. I loved getting down and dirty with tomato skins all between my fingers. It feels like a great accomplishment to have 20 new jars of canned tomatoes to add to our little (but growing!) food storage. Thanks for all your help and knowledge, Mama S.