Hendrik Lawrence Brinkman!!

He's here! Much more to come, but I wanted to find some time (10 seconds?) to post a few pictures. We welcomed Hendrik Lawrence Brinkman to the world on Sunday, November 28th at 7:42 in the morning, and everyone is happy and healthy - hurray! We are all sooooo happy and are now at home with visiting Grandma Mary from Vancouver. Pics!

One minute after birth... happy he's here and happy labour is OVER!


A new family of three - happiness!

t-ONE DAY!!

Still no baby! Even the intensity of watching Avatar in 3D at IMAX wasn't enough to coax him out... though it was enough for me to feel seriously overwhelmed for a few solid hours after the show ended. What an awesome movie - I loved it! But the metaphors and lessons and parallels overwhelmed me, and so did the beauty of the blue people and their culture and their planet; last night I even dreamt that I was one of them, living on Pandora. The special effects were incrrredible - I'd love to watch a how-it-was-made deal... it won most of the Academy awards last year, no? Anyways, in retrospect it may have been a little too intense for me, but I'm glad that I saw it on the big BIG screen. I wonder how superSteve felt about it, with all of the noise; probably none too happy.

Soooooo it looks like the little guy will be here by December 7th, at the very latest. If nothing gets going before then, that's my induction day - eeeek! Eek. It's still a ways away, and we're both super excited to meet him, so hopefully it happens before then... wait wait, waiting waiting. And sleeping sleeping. No other baby news really; I'm feeling good, and am definitely not at the get this thing out of me stage... yet. We are both getting more and more excited about meeting him, and that's the only real hook that is pulling the days forward and by.

Okay, projects. I saw something like this on a design blog a few months ago (I might have blogged about it... I think), and we finally put it together ourselves. It was, for the most part, a one-person job, so Steve was all over it - with the super glue and staple gun and man tools... arrr. SO! We finally have something up on our wall! A year later - incredible. It looks great though, and we love it; it's easy to change the pics too - we just don't have so many vertical photos, which isn't a bad thing, since it made the task of choosing pics a whole lot easier. So, voila.




Also voila, pics of the delicious roasted red pepper soup that I made the other day; it was SO good, and so good with corn bread (said with very twangy southern accent). The corn bread recipe was gleaned from allrecipes.com and was decent, but not amazing... I don't think it will be my go-to corn bread (accent) formula - I'll have to keep looking. (Or does anyone have a good recipe? Light and not too sweet?) The soup recipe follows.... YUM.

ROASTED RED PEPPER SOUP, C/O MARG!

1 oz. sun dried tomatoes, about 8 pieces (do not use the oil-packed variety) - I did!

soak in warm water for an hour.

4 large red bell pepper

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)

1 large potato, peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 cup)

3 cloves garlic

1 carton chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian option)

1/4 cup milk

3 Tbsp butter

Cayenne or hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste

1 Cut the red peppers in half and take out the seeds. Roast by placing skin side up on baking sheet and bake in 425 oven for about 25 min...the skins will start to blacken. Place the blackened peppers in a bag, close the bag and let the peppers steam for 10-15 minutes, or until the skins feel like they can easily be slipped off. Remove the peppers from the bag, peel off the blackened skins. Chop the peppers roughly.
2 Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes and cook another 1-2 minutes, then add the garlic and roasted peppers. Stir well and cook for 2 minutes.
3 Add the stock, stir well and bring to a simmer. Cook over medium heat until potatoes are soft.
4 Purée the soup in a blender/hand blender or food processor until very smooth. Fill the blender about halfway with the soup. Start the blender on low and keep your hand on the top, in case the lid wants to pop off from the rising steam. Once everything is well chopped, turn the blender to its highest setting and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. You might need to do this in batches.
5 Return to pot set over low heat. Add the milk, stir well and taste. Add some cayenne or hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4-6.

Next time I will double it up for SURE. Delicious.

decor and more

It's 13 and sunny out, and there's no way that I should be inside right now on the computer. Snow and cold are both on their way to stay, so I must must must get outside and enjoy the weather while I can. BUT... I did want to blog about the fact that I'm 39 weeks pregnant with 4 - or 14 - days to go (!!), and post some pics of our latest decor project. It's funny that the most decorated and put together room in the house is our second bedroom, which is tripling as office, guest room and baby room. We are working on getting things up on the walls elsewhere in the apartment, but the focus has definitely been on that second room. So! Here are some pics of Sunday morning's project, with completed room pics to come.





And now that the conference is over and my volunteer stint at CAC has come to a close, I'm sort of wondering what to do with myself. I can aaaaalways come up with things, but as far as having something structured(ish) that involves working or volunteering outside the house... I got nothing. And I know that it would be silly to look for something now, since the bean could come any day. So I suppose I'll stick to projects around here, read (The Elegance of the Hedgehog and The Art of Racing in the Rain are up next), and ?? I have lists, and there's always something to do. I'm just so curious - when is he going to arrive, and what will it be like?!

(Steve just pointed out that it is -9 in Vancouver (what?!) and -29 in Calgary; it is 30 degrees warmer here than in Calgary... 30!!!!)

busy?

Woops! Six days since I last blogged? And one week until the due date?! Eeeeeesh! Time is flying. I don't think I've been too busy to blog, but the past week has held a schedule almost as inflated as my belly. On Wednesday night I spoke in front of a few hundred people at the Ottawa Fusion Volleyball Club's opening night, which was not on fun-par with, say, going down a waterslide, but, well, I enjoyed myself. Isn't it strange, that, at least for most people, getting up in front of a large crowd is a source of anxiety, nerves and general uncomfortableness? I wasn't too nervous or apprehensive or anything, and I feel that the message I can send to younger athletes by talking about my/our sport experiences is worth a few steps out of my comfort zone. So yes, it was a few steps out of my comfort zone, but nothing major. And then since Thursday I've been helping out at the annual Sport Leadership conference, which has, for the most part, been fabulous. I've been in charge of session management - making sure presenters have what they need, that gifts are distributed, blah blah blah - which involves basically sitting in a room, directing volunteers and managing problems when they arise. This equals some short bursts of flurried activity and demand amid long days of near nothingness. So, boredom, sort of. But! I had Mme Ramotswe and all of the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series characters to keep me company, and I can't really complain about that. This morning someone took over my post so that I could attend a session - one session! - and it was great: Advancing the Canadian Sport System: Investigating Critical Issues, run by Roger Jackson, the former CEO of Own the Podium. And now, I'm back in the room at my post, with a few hours of conference to go.

There is so much great dialogue here, so many questions about our sport systems and how we can make things better across the board; it's a great networking opportunity too, that is, unfortunately, almost completely lost on me since here I sit in this room. But, lots of seeds have been planted and ideas and questions and to-google lists formed with thoughts of a potential future or at least involvement in sport administration. I will always want to coach, but there are so many ways to contribute and make sport in Canada better... it's a dynamic and exciting field. With lots of potential. Ramble ramble ramble. And that's all I've got for now - back to my volunteerjob!

12 days...

Can you see me can you see me? Right, I know... if it weren't for the belly. Only 12 days left until the due date - eeek! I can't believe it. But I think we're ready, and I'm mentally ready (I think) for the wheels to start turning any time.

We had a great weekend with visitors from all the way down yonder in Bowmanville: Bob and Marg arrived Friday and left this afternoon. There were plans on the table and things to do, and most - or all? - of it is finished! Project one was to put a counter on top of the washer and dryer in the laundry room AND to raise an existing shelf a few feet to increase storage space and give ourselves a place to hang non-dryer items. I had zero involvement in this project, and actually wasn't even that interested in giving input... other than good job good job keep it up and making lunch, which, I suppose, is a very important sort of input. Project number two was to get curtains hemmed and up, and sadly, I didn't have much to do with that either. We'd searched high and low (something my mom would say) for red curtains... red ones, and all we could find were burgundy drapes that might fit perfectly in a mahogany study or with droopy heavy furniture. BUT! When Marg and Bob were south of the border last week Bob spotted these perfectly fire engine red curtains at Target; I mean of course they have to have red curtains at Target! So Marg worked her magic and hemmed, and I ironed, and the room is slowly looking much more put together. More put together than any other room in the house I might add... but anyways. It was a productive weekend, and we had some great meals and enjoyed good company - hurray. And now it's back to me and Steve and the little time that's left before the new addition arrives. We are trying to sponge up these days, and take advantage of this just the two of us time... we know that it's in short supply. We are, however, getting more and more excited to meet this little one, and the question now is - when? When when when?

serious self-control...

I have exercised such major restraint in buying (er, or, in not buying) for baby that I'm kind of - no, I AM - amazed; I never have this much self control. And there's cute baby stuff everywhere. And a lot of it is affordable, so I can see how a little overboard turns into a lot overboard with all of the little things adding up, which, I suppose they're doing anyways. We've had a pile of very generous pass-ons and gifts from friends and family, and, like I said, have somehow managed to not go bananas over the non-stop-cute. Clothes and blankets are in drawers, a few packs of diapers are stashed, and the few books that we have are on the lovely shelf that Steve put up on a whim - it looks fabulous. So the clothes have been one thing that I've really resisted buying (since we don't really know how big he's going to be - more on that in a sec), and the other item, I suppose, are books. Books books books, anyone who knows me knows I love books, and I especially love children's books... so that self-control is even more commendable. Part of me wants to hit the second hand stores and library sales and go berserk, but the practical-Polly side of me is saying nooooooo, Christmas is coming up and you can buy stuff later. Later later later. The necessities now, and the nons later; plus, what's the likelihood of us being able to read Good Night Moon to the little guy in the first few weeks? The answer to that question I really don't know. Hm, google maybe. When do you start reading to them? And when can I give him his first soft book? Eeeeee... so exciting.


Two other things before I get back to dinner on the stove. First: at my doctor's appointment today they finally gave me the results from the growth ultrasound that was done two weeks ago, and the little guy weighed in at 2.641 kgs (5.8 pounds) - 52nd percentile. So, will he be an average-sized baby or long and skinny? Hmmmm, we'll have to wait and see. Secondly: I am back to Alexander McCall Smith and I LOVE his writing. This one, In the Company of Cheerful Ladies, is, for some reason, extra enjoyable... the stories, the tone, the people, they are all so delightful. And with that, I'm back to the pot of potatoes.

37 weeks!!!!!

Christmas stuff is out and all over the place, and for the first time in a while, I actually don't mind! I think I'd be annoyed if jingly jangly Rudolph music was playing in every store I walked into, but as far as the decorations and the hints at get-ready-for-this-season soon, I like it. Anyways, so I'm 37 weeks pregnant (!!!), and still feeling good. I signed up for an email newsletter from babycentre.ca (it usually just gets deleted) which tells me this week that I "may be getting huge, and increasingly impatient" - I know that I'm lucky that I'm feeling neither of these things. And on that note, I have a funny story. So I went to see my GP the other day, just to check up and see when I need to make appointments post-partum, ask a few questions etc. I think when I made the appointment I said it was with regard to pregnancy (vague), so when I walked in and was asked for a urine sample, I didn't really think twice. Well, it turns out that the receptionist thought that I was there because I wanted a pregnancy TEST and not because I'm 37 weeks in...!! Very flattering, yes, but I'm not that small. Maybe she didn't have her glasses on, or she thought my fitted sweatshirt was just bunchy in the wrong places... who knows. But as a friend pointed out, this is a way better side of the fence to err on than the mega foot in the mouth alternative; now that would be embarrassing.

Are we any closer to being organized and ready? Mmmmm yes. My hospital bag is sort of half packed, and most of the need-to-haves are around, here and there. We went to Ikea yesterday to return and pick up a few things, and on our way out I had a small coffee and sort of (but not really) shared a cinnamon bun (sooooo yummy) with Steve. Has anyone else ever had the coffee from Ikea? Because I'm not sure if it's to blame, but on our way home we stopped at Solutions, a ridiculous storage and organization store, and at first I felt fine; lots of cool organizing knick knacks and things and boxes and you get the picture. And then - I don't really know what happened, and whether or not it was the coffee or the pregnancy or whether or not I was totally thrown off my game because I swear Jessica Simpson was in the store - I could not handle being in there any more. I was overwhelmed to the MAX... incapable of making a decision, incapable of absorbing or managing the ridiculous amount of storage solutions for any and every space in any room imaginable. It was like quicksand... organizer quicksand, and I almost lost all ability to function... it was sooooooooo weird. So we got out and by the time we were at dinner an hour later, I felt more or less back to normal. It was, however, after a mild laughing attack in Pharmaprix because the toothless french lady behind us in line thought we were from England, and that perhaps that was why Steve was so tall - giggle attack. Anyways, strange. And today we're getting stuff crossed off the list: install car seat, set up futon (again), put stuff up on walls (finally) and more. And with that, I better go and help with these things. Until next time!

winter wear

Winter time is solidly on the in. Mornings are consistently frosty, and flannel pyjamas are OUT. I'm saying it's too early for flannel sheets... but not by a long shot. We've had the fireplace on and the heat too now and then, sooooo the time is coming. The first snow came this past weekend, and with mucho gusto; we came out of Scotiabank place to a blanketed, snow-covered parking lot, and I drove home in a blizzard-white flurry frenzy. It didn't last long, and the past few days have been sunny and lovely, but cold early and late.



And now we can say that we're due this month (November 27)... !! I'm super curious whether or not he'll be a November or a December baby, but there's no way to know... so we'll just keep on keeping on and try to get as close to ready as we can. He's been moving a LOT... like father (and mother) like son - it feels like he's playing vb in there some days. Even though I still don't feel overly humongous, the belly is getting more cumbersome; getting out of bed and out of slumped-in-the-couch requires a little more effort, and maybe a bit of the side-roller move... which definitely makes me feel like a big pregnant lady. I'm in lulus and leggings all the time and overall still feel pretty good! Lucky me, I know. Though we still have a few weeks to go, so I am aware that I may bust out of this profile soon.

In my flannels... just over 36 weeks :)

36 weeks

It's almost November... !! A good friend of mine Anne-Marie just had her baby three weeks (ish) early, so that gave us both a bit of a wake-up call - step on it and get ready already. I had two doctor's appointments this week, one of which was an ultrasound, and I love seeing baby up there on the screen, even though much of it is unrecognizable to me. I was asking questions what's that and that and that, and the only comment that the technician offered on her own was this: in her thick Indian accent she said, "this baby's legs are very, very long." Hm, go figure. As far as measurements, I'm not so sure; the results weren't in for my appointment the following day :( I know they're most estimations anyways, but I'm curious about how big he is and how long he is and oooh I'm so excited to meet him. There's no rush though! Little babe, come out when you're ready.

As of le moment, we have no plans for Halloween. I've been mega tempted to buy a bag of Halloween candy, but I hadn't found one with all of the necessary goodies until I was in Costco the other day. I stopped, and picked it up and then asked myself, do I really need a $15 Costco-sized bag of candy? The pregnant foodie in me says "yes! yes! this is the perfect opportunity to play the pregnant card! buy it eat it!" and the rational person in me says "no. pig pig piggery." The chances that we'll get any trick or treaters are slim to none, so it would be all for us, and I'm sure I'd be sick of it and want it out of the house pretty quickly. So instead I just came home and ate the M&Ms out of the trail mix... awoops. I'll have to go to Bulk Barn to restock (otherwise the trail mix is just boring - only raisins and peanuts and cashews and almonds), and we'll see if I can resist temptation - giant bins of mini-chocobars? We'll see.

a car for the car seat!

Big news -- we have wheels! What was it, seven or eight weeks ago now (or more?) that the engine blew on our 2005 Ford Expedition (just 7 months after the warranty expired, DOH!)... and since then we have been driving a borrowed car. Until Saturday! After the bad news about our truck (which now I realize I liked more than I thought I did - so much space!), Steve was all over the net and all over town looking for a car that would fit, and I even remember posting a blog one day about the fact that Asian cars were just not going to work for us. Well, I'm not sure if we were influenced at all by our experience in Japan on this car decision but we decided to go with a NEW Toyota 4Runner... new! (Made in Japan!) We looked at some used ones (not so easy to find) but with the deal we got at Villa Toyota in Gatineau, we decided to go for the nouveau voiture. I'm still in shock a little bit - it's so nice! And it's ours. Ours! So finally, we have a car to put the car seat in. Not that we've done that yet, but one thing at a time here. We took the borrowed car (merci Freddy) out to a barn in boondocks Orleans yesterday afternoon, and Steve was able to maneuver the Chrysler into its parking spot for the winter in one shot. It was definitely a tight squeeze (think Austin Powers parking job) to get it turned 90 degrees, but now there it rests in lane #2, sans snow tires - for the winter.

In other news, we had the BEST pancakes for breakfast yesterday morning! Yes, I'm aware that almost any homemade pancake might be the best to me, but these were goooooood. The recipe also made a whole pile of 'em, so we've got an extra little stash in the freezer, yum yum. La recette, from the back of a bag of milk:

Hearty Oat Pancakes
1 1/2 cups quick oats
2 cups milk
3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix oats and milk and let sit for 5 minutes; add eggs and oil, then the dry ingredients... DELISH!


And I'm in week 36 of this pregnancy - eek! As you can see from this photo of the non-cleaned up room, we are not overly ready yet. If he came 30-something days early I'm sure we'd be fine BUT it would be nice to get things put away and have everything just a little more set up. Plus, that car seat does need to be in the car... right. I'm still feeling fine, but the belly is definitely getting bigger bigger bigger. And as a result, I'm feeling bigger bigger too - some days good big (I'm pregnant!) and other days not-as-good big (ugh, I need to work out). The clothes too, make a difference. I've only bought a few maternity things, but with the colder weather setting in, I'm not sure my clothes are really going to cut it. I may just end up wearing the same thing every day, or living in lulus and Steve's old sweatshirts (or my flannel pyjamas). I don't have a winter jacket, but after a trip to MEC yesterday, realize that it is completely unrealistic to even think about buying a new one until after the babe is born. I'll borrow from my hubby... I hope it's okay with him. :)


Just over 35 weeks

from west to east

34 1/2 weeks!

38 days until I'm due! EEK! Is this the home stretch? I don't feel overly huge - not like I thought I'd feel at 35 weeks, but the weeks are passing and the days getting thinner and thinner. Sleep is also getting thinner, and for both of us. There are nights when I'll sleep like the dead, and then wake up to find that Steve was up for a few hours in the middle of the night; then, there are other nights where the roles are reversed, and Steve will sleep well and I'll be up. Could it be that both of our bodies are getting ready for bebe? I don't think I'm woken up by the jumping bean moving about in there, but hmmm... it's possible. And as far as Steve goes, I'm just hoping that he's subconsciously training himself to get up in the early hours for feedings and diaper changes. We shall see.

I started a blog on Monday and never finished it. Recap: Vancouver was amazing, and the only real mentionables are that ooh! I bought maternity jeans, we had some great dinners with my parents, a great evening with Rod and Colleen and family, saw friends, and went for some good walks, including one around the Lynn Canyon Suspension bridge and another at the Capilano fish hatchery. The trip to the hatchery was initiated by Steve, and my mom and I happily went along. The whole phenomenon of the trip these salmon make to their spawning grounds - the incredible journey - is so amazing; would we, as humans, survive as a race if we suddenly had to make an epic, self-powered voyage in order to propagate? It would definitely be a survival of the fittest, as it is for so many species. Maybe (or surely) people would train for the event, and run and cycle and row and go to the gym not with a regatta or marathon (or bathing suit) in mind but with the journey to the top of Mt Delivery in their sights. It's amazing what some species do: the penguins? Amazing. Turtles? Also amazing.

At the hatchery last Wednesday


What a journey... and they find their way back home! Incredible...

And moving on. We've been back since Friday, and had a great weekend with my 20 year-old cousin Duncan. He stayed with us on Saturday night, and we got out and about to a few places, including Sears, twice. (Woops. Another woops? He got to witness me buy a breast pump... thrilling! It was 50% off, so I couldn't say no.) On Saturday we did errands, cruised the Byward market, made pizzas for dinner, and watched hockey. Sunday, we made the most of a super beautiful day and checked out the Mackenzie King Estate in Gatineau Park. The grounds were beautiful - lots of golden leaves and fall colours - and we spent a few hours walking around and exploring the property. And then... Monday rolled around and Steve went back to work! The full-time training centre started, and he is one sore dude. The knee seems better, but he's taking things slowly SO... so far so good. I started volunteering at the Coaches Association of Canada on Tuesday, and will do that a few times a week until either a. I have the baby or b. the Petro-Canada Sport Leadership Conference comes and goes. The conference looks amazing - totally my cup 'o tea, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to volunteer and check out some of the goings-ons. I suppose that the chances that I'll go past my due date are pretty good, so, with week of leeway in between conference and due date, I may be fine.





We are getting closer and more set up as the weeks fly by. We have a change pad and a crib, a bassinet stand, and I made my first diaper purchase yesterday - ! There I was in the diaper aisle at a massive Loblaw's, probably looking completely overwhelmed by the number/variety of diapers stuffed into the shelves when a super sweet woman (about my age maybe) made some very helpful recommendations. Honestly, why do there have to be so many different kinds! Ugh! We are thinking we'll start with disposables, and might try a service run by a store out in Kanata that lets you try out a few different kinds of cloth diapers before making any purchases. Again, we shall see. We've been trying to be economical shoppers (we've had some luck with kijiji, and the same goes for some consignment stores) BUT... in my quest to find some cool art for room #2, I came across this amazing French company e-glue that makes the most creative wall decals... and I want! They are amazing. Some links, some pictures, and then I'm out of here...

Above and below from e-glue; there are so many other super cool decals... love!


On Etsy: Artwallproject, Simple Shapes; walnutz and design with a z have some neat ones too...

the doodle says it all...

There's the school year, the fiscal year, the calendar year, and for me, in my world, the book year. Well, it's not really a year, but for some reason, when I started keeping track of tomes read, October made the mark. So, since somehow we find ourselves just two weeks away from November, I thought I'd share what I've read over the course of the last year. I've tried to organize/keep these lists online (sort of) with halfhearted efforts on shelfari and goodreads, but it is my mini elephant embossed book that gets regular attention and input. In the front go lists of books read, and in the back go the lists of books in line. I make little marks behind some entries - a star (or two or three = I loved!), a check mark (I liked), a squiggle (decent) or an arrow down (boo) - in an effort to separate my favourites from the rest of 'em. No mark = no comment (I suppose). And so, here you go:

The Origin of Species (Nino Ricci)
Dogs and Demons (Alex Kerr)
The Somnambulist (Jonathan Barnes)
The Island of Lost Maps: The True Story of Cartographic Crime (Harvey) ~
The Book Thief (Marcus Zusak) **
Snow Country (Yusunari Kawabata)
The Children's Book (A.S. Byatt) *
Eat, Pray, Love (Elizabeth Gilbert) ~~
The Old Capital (Kawabata) check
The Road (Cormac McCarthy)
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing (Melissa Bank) arrow down
Wolf Hall (Hillary Mantel) **
Snow Falling on Cedars (David Guterson) arrow down
The BFG (Roald Dahl)**!!
Blink (Malcolm Gladwell)
The Dogs and The Wolves (Nemirovsky) check check check
When You Reach Me (Rebecca Stead)
La's Orchestra Saves the World (Alexander McCall Smith) *
Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures (Vincent Lam) check
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (Smith) *
Portuguese Irregular Verbs (Smith) arrow down
Tears of the Giraffe (Smith) check check
Morality for Beautiful Girls (Smith) *
Beatrice and Virgil (Yann Martel) arrow down double
The Kalahari Typing School for Men (Smith)
The Secret Scripture (Sebastian Barry) **
1491 (Charles Mann)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Larson) arrow down
The Full Cupboard of Life (Smith) check


Is it obvious that I'm on an Alexander McCall Smith kick? I love Mme Ramotswe and I love that the library just down the block has the remaining six books in the series... yum.



Lighthouse Park, on Thursday...

In Sargeant Bay Provincial Park on Sunday morning



And it's already Wednesday? Say what? The beautiful west coast has given us more than a few memories in the past week, and many were made this weekend - at the Sharmellini wedding extravaganza on the Sunshine Coast. It wasn't looking so much like a sunshine coast when we arrived on Saturday to rain and drizzle and greyness, but somehow, miraculously, blue skies welcomed Sunday, and we were showered with sunshine from morning to night. We made it over to our bed and breakfast in Halfmoon Bay on Saturday afternoon, and had time for a quick nap before driving up to the wedding venue in Secret Cove for dinner. Our bed and breakfast was amazing - the space was great, there was homemade baking waiting for us and ? the people were super nice and not at all intrusive. Dinner was great - the scheduled barbeque was moved indoors because of the blustery weather, but most (or many?) guests made it down to the waterfront bonfire for hot chocolate, beer and marshmallows before the elements (mostly wind, then rain) convinced us to make for home. Sunday was gorgeous, and we made it out to Sargeant Bay Provincial Park in the morning for some beach time and a short hike. We walked around Halfmoon Bay little bit, had some friends over for a beverage, ate lunch and then back up to Rockwater Secret Cove Resort we went... just in time for the nuptials! The bride - Miss Barb Bellini - looked stunning, as did the groom - Mr Jeff Sharma - and the rest of the wedding par-tay. It was a super fun event, and it was great to see so many former teammates - there were more than a few of us that played together on provincial teams when we were 15/16 (Barb, Mel, Mackenzie, me), and a the same goes for national team as well. PLUS a friend of mine that is also pregnant (and only 10 days ahead of me...) was there, so it was fun sharing stories and gabbing about our giant bellies and the preparation (and unknown) that lies ahead. We ate we danced they drank, and it was a blast... I love weddings! Love love love. It made me think about our wedding, and how amazing that was too.

Barb and Jeff ... beautiful!

Me, Griff and Leah

Down by the bay... and an artistic shot by Steve


The girls! Such a fun group...

Monday brought us back to the mainland AND back home to a big bird roasting in the oven! My mom and dad had planned a dinner, and the kitchen was on the go - yams, bird, veggies, salad... the whole meal-deal was there, and it was DELICIOUS! Yum, turkey dinner gobble gobble. The combination of turkey smell and being here in my parent's house made me think and feel Christmas; we're never here for Thanksgiving, and 20-odd years of this combo almost time warped me to December. And today is another beautiful, sunny October day, so I'm a bit more inclined to be outside than on the computer up here in my old room. I feel like I have more and more to write about, but our time here is short, and sunshine is calling...

Turkey DINS!


ps - 33 weeks!