Thursday, May 13, 2010

milk in a bowl

sloane is my baking partner and helps with anything that involves dumping things into bowls. we've made muffins, pancakes, waffles, cakes and cookies! our measurements may be slightly off and the kitchen...well....ends up a mess, and sloane can be heard saying "mess, mess", as things hit the floor. but we have fun! today we made banana mini muffins, and they were deeeeelish!

the other day while i was on the computer for a couple minutes sloane started a little recipe of her own...

Monday, January 4, 2010

the big move

so, we've been in georgia for 2 months now, and have been overwhelmed working our way through our never ending to-do list. if you can imagine getting rid of your house, car, cell phone and all other belongings with the exception of 2 suitcases worth of clothes, plus you move to another country......oh, and you lost your wallet with all your ID. that is how i've felt. our belongings are in storage until we move into our new house.....we did not get rid of them, but we don't have them in our possession none the less. aquiring all our necessary ID has been the most frustrating b/c unlike a SIN, a social security number is required for EVERYTHING! everything including getting a cell phone, cable tv and a drivers licence. which is why i don't have any of these items. j and i were surprised to learn that we couldn't buy a car w/o a georgia drivers licence....and we couldn't get a drivers licence w/o a social security. we were also surprised to learn that a written test and road test is req'd to get a drivers licence, as a canadian drivers licence doesn't count for much. we now have a car, thank you j! as for my social security and drivers licence, i need to do some more paper work, take my drivers test, cross my fingers and hope for the best....maybe be wpg winters weren't so bad;)

unfortunately it was last winter's unseasonably cold temps that sealed the deal on our decision to move. i was cooped up with my sleepless, needed to be held baby girl with only my mom groups and walks at the mall to keep me going. all the bundling and unbundling req'd just to run to the drug store was too much for me. when j came home with the job opportunity to transfer to georgia, i jumped on it! had i known the move would be so hard, i may have thought twice, but i never living anywhere else before, i was clueless. of course the hardest part of the move hasn't been getting a social security number, it has definitely been being away from friends and family. facebook definitely helps fill the gap, but it doesn't come close to having people near by.

j and i are now homeowners, once again. we took possession of our new house a few days ago after looking at MANY houses. j has already taken a sledge hammer to an interior wall...not too different from our first house where the carpet and some plaster was ripped down within 2 days. just some minor changes to be made prior to moving in later this month:)

it is quite chilly here today. i heard the radio annoucer recommend keeping a tap running, so your pipes don't freeze and to keep you cats and dogs indoors b/c they can't survive in these temps. we must have different cats and dogs in canada! haha!!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

livin' it up at the hotel fort garry

i have been homeless since sunday officially, but been in a hotel since thursday. i am also carless!! all of my possessions are sprawled around me in a few suitcases, while the rest of my belongings are in storage until i find a house in atlanta. i'm sure i could have survived with less stuff, but it's weird how you get attached to your stuff. i can now relate to homeless people wheeling around shopping carts with all their stuff. even the homeless are comforted by having their stuff! s has recently taken to wheeling around her stuff in her doll's stroller. she jams in as much as she can, then marches down the hall to the elevator. i continually strive to have less stuff, as i believe too much stuff ways you down, but certain things i can't let go of. cause i might need them one day. my parents are at opposite extremes of this spectrum. my mom has almost no stuff, while my dad has a lot of stuff....with a garage 3 times bigger than his house to keep it all! my 2 vw beetles live just outside my dad's garage....in the compound:) i'm somewhere in the middle of my parents, although my house did look like an episode of hoarders for a period of time during the summer/fall. i'm just hoping for big closets!

anyways, i have 3 more sleeps in wpg, then i'm off to atl. i am excited, as it signifies the end of the wpg to do list that has been causing a lot of stress....even though i will be facing a long atl to do list including getting a visa, social security number, a car and a house. oh, and i need to find some friends.....i desperately wish all my friends and fam were coming with me!!! i have been practicing talking to strangers to get some practice in making friends. i almost always talk to moms i don't know when the opportunity arises....."how old is your daugher" or "what's his name?" or "i love your stroller!" sometimes a conversation follows and sometimes i get a one word response, which is my signal to talk to move on!

gotta run, my sleeping beauty is calling!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

travelling with a toddler

it looks like a BOMB went off in my hotel room! despite my best efforts, my room is a complete disaster. our already tiny room is crammed with a playpen and a stroller. our huge suitcase is on the floor and our overflowing garbage can is sitting on the desk b/c s pulled my starbucks cup out of it yesterday and tried to drink out of it. s put j's shoes in the bathroom and mine in a drawer. complete chaos.

s has her other front tooth now! she seemed to handle it alright, however we've had a few temper tantrums that can be most likely attributed to teething. although many of the tantrums are a result of s asserting her independence.....pushing her stroller as opposed to riding in it is a perfect example. if only she could walk in the right direction. so inevitably i scoop her up. i'm not sure what people think when i carry her down the street with her screaming her face off, one arm threaded through her legs so i can get a good hold on her. i swear all these babies i see happily riding in their strollers must be sedated.

off to london today. got a 5-hour train ride from edinburgh to catch. can't wait to walk up and down the isles with s!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

glasgow, edinburgh

we spent our first week near glasgow, staying with j's fam. we got a chance to eat, drink and relax! with all the chaos prior to leaving for the UK, it was well deserved. j and i got the opportunity to go for dinner, just the 2 of us, and do some shopping! a special thanks to anutie l and my mil. we got some curry, as i had a craving, bought some new clothes (to account for all the rainy days that i hadn't planned for) and had tea at The Willow Tea Room (http://www.willowtearooms.co.uk/buchanan.htm). the tea room was fun....i wish i got a better picture of it. tea sandwiches aren't my fave (kinda boring), but the atmosphere was amazing! our room was all black and white and the chair backs were black and taller than i am, so that when you sit down you feel almost like you're caged into your table. the servers were wearing black dresses with white aprons, similar to a maid costume. oh, and the tea was good too!

we arrived in edinburgh by car yesterday. wow, is it busy! we walked up the royal mile a few times, which is VERY touristy, but worth while, none the less. we went a neat little restaurant last night called the dogs. sloane was soooooo exhausted that she passed out on our way in. i was so excited that i got to eat a meal without chasing her around that i didn't take any pics. there were dog statues, paintings and ornaments everywhere. there must have been some actual dogs somewhere too, b/c i saw a dog dish. i had barley risotto and j had lamb. delish! toffee pudding for dessert, which is my latest food addiction. did i mention, i'm wearing leggings almost everyday, so if my jeans are getting snug from all these indulgences, i am unaware.....however pushing a stroller uphill is a great workout!

today we went to the edinburgh castle, which was over half an hour to get in, but worth the wait in the end. i am not much for history, but it was quite impressive. i won't try to describe it, let's just say it's big and castle like, with beautiful views.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

the journey

so, obviously we all made it here safely! almost a week ago. things got better as the journey went on. it all started with some moron at wpg airport security. after being asked to hold my belt open with both hands so i could be scanned WHILE HOLDING SLOANE, i thought i should put sloane down, and was told to pick her back up. j intervened by picking her up and was quickly told to put her down so i could grab her.....while holding my belt open.....with both hands......arrrrrrrggghhhh. after turning around so he could scan my rear side, he informed me that he was 1 minute from shutting the whole airport down on my account and none of this would have happened if i would have remembered to take off my belt. i'm getting pissed off just typing this. j told me to forget about it.....so i did after repeating a few "serenity nows".

flight to TO was kinda brutal b/c s was crazy and needing to be all over the place. flight to london was delayed a half hour or an hour. first class rocks, although we deserve a discount b/c i didn't eat or drink anything. i did make use of my air canada slippers though. s passed out before our flight even took off, sometime around midnight. i passed out shortly after, and we woke up half an hour before our flight landed. phew. it could have gone much worse! i had visions of no sleep and walking up and down the isles for 7 hours. it was a bit of a gong show when we landed, as our connecting flight to glasgow took off 30 minutes after we landed. air canada was nice enough to drive us across the tarmac and escort us to customs, but we still missed our flight. the following one was 4 or 5 hours later. man, there were some pissed off canadians. we went to the private lounge and had a nap.....s included.

anyways, the flight to glasgow was uneventful and now we're here!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

off to glasgow

tomorrow glasgow, followed by edinburgh (sp?), london & lymm!