I'm Back!

So I figure it’s about time I start blogging again, and no, not because I have more time but because, well, it’s a good idea!


It’s been a long time since I last posted and yes my little man is as cute as ever and up to all sorts of new things. But everything else has changed, well, almost everything else. We no longer live in the UK, we made our big move in October and a lot has happened. So, I’ll start a recap from August and we’ll go from there.

In August we sold everything we could and moved into the in-laws. They were SO good to us considering it was all going to end in tears.

Beginning of September we had a long deserved holiday and probably the last one for a long time (well, last one that doesn’t include camping! LOL!). We went to Crete with the In-laws for 2 weeks and had a fabulous time. We returned home to finish up work and packing and saying goodbye. We had a good gathering the Saturday before we left despite the torrential rain that fell! I refused to cry that night but it makes me so very sad knowing we left all those friends and family behind. I wish we could have just packed them all up and brought them to Canada with us! The Sunday before we left we have a scrummy lunch out with a few friends, a much more intimate gathering to say goodbye…now this is where the tears flowed…and they didn’t stop for a good week.

Saying goodbye to such good friends is never easy and even now I’m shedding a tear or two remembering how hard it was to say goodbye. The 3 days that followed I went indoor skydiving with Sandra and we had a family dinner out at a curry house. More goodbyes and more tears!

We left the house at very early o’clock as we had to get to cargo 4 hours before our flight. That’s right, our faithful companion Moose moved to Canada with us. This was not a goodbye we were prepared to say! After a heart wrenching goodbye with the in-laws I proceeded to cry halfway to Heathrow Airport! I love my in-laws dearly and they were such a help and great support while I lived there. I will always be grateful for what they did for us and how well they let us go.

So we’re in Canada…and this is where we start spending money…Oh, and I don’t have a job yet (at this point!). We need a place to sleep and something to sit on and since we’re not packing up and moving across the pond again, we’re doing it right. On the 12th we moved into our lovely 2 Bedroom basement suite that doesn’t look or feel like a basement suite with loads of additional space for storage and Smiley has made his office in the boiler room. He actually sits next to the water heaters but you get the point.

While I was looking for work my parents offered me a job at their company until they find a replacement for the girl that just left. So I worked full time for them till December and then part time till the beginning of January when they just didn’t have any more work for me to do.

We had Christmas Dinner at our house, our first ever time hosting! It was yummy and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, but you can never tell, it’s Christmas after all and my family is weird!

Lynda and the boys came down and spent a week with us and that made our suite feel VERY small but we all had a good time and I’m pretty certain the three of us drank WAY too much but at least the wii got a good workout!

I spent most of January feeling frustrated and discouraged and some of February as well. I still didn’t have a job and other than one ok interview and one very bad interview I didn’t have any nibbles! But then Fujitsu came along and I got one of two jobs I applied for and I started last Wednesday! Hooray!

So we’re feeling that we can now “Start the rest of our lives”. We’re in the midst of sorting out a mortgage so we can buy a house, our first ever. And with my new job things won’t be so tight and we can start planning things again. I like a good plan!

So my new job is great…I think. I’ve only been here a week and there is a bit of upheaval happening but I’m sure by this time next week I’ll be slaving away on some task given to me by my project manager…which I’ve yet to get! So in the mean time I’m just trying to do my best and making a hack job of some project schedules.

Z will be 2 and a half next week. I can’t believe how quickly time has flown. He’s such a darling little boy and just as cute as he’s always been! On the 14th we start him at Daycare 3 days a week and I’m sure he’ll be just fine. I really believe a good social environment is important to every child. He has started singing and we can understand so much more of what he is saying to us and he has been potty trained for 6 weeks now with only a handful of accidents.

There will be more to come over the next while (I will blog, I will blog!) but for now this is the beginning of the rest of our lives!

(written on the 2nd of March...not posted till the 23rd! Ooops!)

Monkey See, Monkey Do

On the way home yesterday Zachary was getting into a right state, so when it was safe to do so, I looked behind and there is Zachary trying to put his pink ball into his jacket...why you ask?


Well, Grandad had taken it from him and said “My Ball” and put it in his shirt pocket. (A little game they play but Grandad had never put it in his shirt pocket before). Zachary was just trying to do what Grandad did! Bless!

Prison Break Obsession Part 2

Season Three arrived yesterday and we've already watched 2 episodes! Yippee!

Prison Break Obsession

So, last week Smiley and I ran out of shows to watch so I started watching Prison Break as we had the first two seasons loaded on to our BT Vision box. We didn't start watching it when it first came out as we had a lot of other shows on the go at the time. So...I started watching...and then Smiley started watching with me...and it became an obsession, we would watch 2 or 3 episodes in an evening and even spent our lunch hour sitting in front of the tv just to catch an extra episode. SO BAD! I know...I'm still so tired from staying up way to late to watch the nail biting adventures the "Fox River 8" were having. Almost every episode I would say "Oh dear! How are they going to get out of this one?" But sure enough...it was fine. The story line is great! But...here is my confession...I seem to be totally infatuated with the lead character, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller). I know, SAD!

But seriously, he is HOT!

Ok, the show just reeks of hotness...Michaels brother, Lincon Burrows (Dominic Purcell) is pretty smokin' as well not to mention other cast members.

So I've thought about this for a week and I decided that it is indeed the character I’m infatuated with, not the actor himself. How have I come to this decision you ask...well, I don't know the actor, Wentworth Miller, at all. Ok, he's hot (or was from 2005 - 2009) but...that's it...so what. But Michael Scofield...he's smokin' hot and ever so clever, and loyal and broody! OMG!

I just want to clarify that this NEVER happens to me. I can admit that a celebrity is hot but I never get weak in the knees at the thought of one. Oh well I guess there is a first for everything!

But it turns out that Wentworth has let himself go recently. Here is a picture of him taken from the daily mail. Even hot guys get older and softer sometimes! Oh well!

Smiley had ordered Season 3 off eBay and we're just awaiting its arrival so we can continue with our Prison Break obsession!

Happy Easter

So it's Easter morning...and no, the first thing I did wasn't to log on to facebook. Not enough time for that, it'll have to wait till tonight probably.

However...this morning I did get an email from facebook. See the snippet below.

So, looks like facebook will be keeping me busy for some time! Giving up Facebook for lent was difficult but probably not as difficult as giving up something like chocolate or alcohol because, although I don't have either of those very often, saying I can't have them will make me want them more!

Getting ready for our car boot sale...and it's raining, hopefully it'll be like yesterday when it rained a bit in the morning but cleared up for the rest of the day.

Easter is Here...nearly!

Ok, so I've not blogged nearly as much as I thought I would have as I've been busy doing other things, like surfing the net, or vegging and watching tv or doing my latest project, a cross stitch for my baby boy...not so much of a baby any more. He's 18 1/2 months now!

So today is the last day of lent. As tomorrow is Easter Sunday I'm allowed to get back on facebook. I can't wait. I've missed so much. I know, whatever, plenty of people survive without facebook. But sure, if you've never had it then your friends and family regularly update you of what's new...but since I'm usually on facebook I've missed loads. Apparently friends of mine Krista and Sep have had a baby...don't know the name or the sex. My best friend has sold her house and leaving Victoria for Nelson...but will she be there in May...Apparently my cousin is pregnant...but I don't know when she's due...my bff has moved from Boston to Portland and I still don't know if they've made it there safely. So I am definitely looking forward to getting back on facebook and being able to keep up with my friends and family. I do have some BIG news as well, but it'll have to wait a day or two...and no, I'm not pregnant again :)

I will try to blog more often than I have done recently...I always think of things to write about when I'm away from my laptop and can never remember what it was when I'm sitting here with time on my hands. I know, pictures of Venice have yet to appear...there are just masses of them and it's very tiring trying to sort out what I want to put up.

Tonight we had our friends Noel and Julia round. They have a 5 year old Daughter who is great company for Zachary. They get on so well but it was very difficult to get Zachary to bed. He will be VERY tired tomorrow as we have to get up early and he didn't go to bed till 10:30 as we ended up getting him up until our guests left.

Why must we get up early tomorrow, well, as a start of getting rid of everything we own to move home to Canada we are going to a Car boot sale. For my non-English visitors, a car boot sale is like a garage sale but instead of people driving round to everyone's different houses, the people with stuff to sell jam their cars full of their junk (er treasures) and head to a field or car park etc and unload all their stuff and sell it there. Currently our CRV has the back seats down and it is absolutely packed full to the ceiling of our crap (er...treasures...really!) We figure if we come home with £100 then we'll be happy, I'm hoping for more as we've labeled everything and we're looking at nearly £700 worth of stuff (and there is a load of stuff labeled  £1) I am a bit nervous as I keep being told about watching out for the dealers and other people that will steal our stuff. So I'm hoping that between the two of us we'll keep the theft down to a minimum. Fortunately Smiley's parents have said they'll have Zachary for us while we get rid of all our old junk (er...fantastic, bargain items!)

So...as I'll be extremely busy tomorrow with Car Boot and then Dinner round the in-laws...Happy Easter! I'll see you on Facebook!

More Pictures

I have just realised that I really don't post enough pictures on my blog. I will try and start posting more! (including the Venice pictures!)

I'm doing ok as far as not accessing Facebook. But I did have to get DH to have a look at my step sisters pictures today to see if there was a weight and birthday for her youngest son as I'm nearly finished his cross stitch! Pictures to follow!

Only 12 more days till I can go back to my beloved Facebook! So Sad I know!

BTW, Zachary has got a funny rash on his bum which seems to have spread a bit down his legs and one or two dots on his tummy and neck...Chicken Pox? Who knows, but he's just as happy as ever. He's at nursery at the moment and I've not got a call to say to pick him up. I'll see what they say at 5:30!