Items 37-66

"Day 9 to 11"

Day 9
- 1 Gift bag
- 1 Magazine - Canada's Style at Home (see 8.4 and 8.5)
- 1 Magazine - Vanity Fair Oct 2010 (on hand for Lindsay Lohan photographed by Norma Jean Roy)
- 1 Purple-pink checkered dress (from when I was skinny and thought it made me look 70s cool)

- 1 plastic food container
- 1 pair of purple tights (colour)
- 1 purple blouse with bell sleeves (again skinnier times)
- 2 floral skirts (from Theresa)

Day 10
- 1 Gift bag
- 3 Cardboard gift boxes
- 1 cotton dress - too small was part of "edits"
- 1 magazine - Vanity Fair Dec 2008 - Turns out (when pressed) I do not have time / interest for Bloomberg news or Rupert Murdoch, but do for the 2008 Wall Street Financial Meltdown ("Wall Street Lays Another Egg" by Niall Ferguson) and Kate Winslet.
- 1 magazine - Vanity Fair Mar 2013 (Special Collector's Edition) - Yes to pictures of beautiful people, no to "Cinema Tarantino: The Making of Pulp Fiction".
- 1 Cuticle oil pen - good for hands... but not so much since the oil's gone rancid
- 1 UK Daily Mail dated Friday, January 10, 2014 (souvenir from our trip)
- 1 Black and grey, velvet rose top (maternity top from Theresa)

Day 11
- 1 Black, high-waisted pants (from Theresa)
- 1 bag of used batteries (over 50 for recycling)
- 1 bag of stale fortune cookies (29 cookies, favours / dessert from our wedding)
- 1 City Palate: The Flavour of Calgary's Food Scene (May June 2013) magazine, loved the cover, from our 1st year anniversary trip to Calgary
- 1 insulated wine gift bag
- 1 Pink with black polka dot circle skirt (great for twirling, but while it was once good to be fashion-inspired by Minnie Mouse, this is no longer the case)
- 3 tealight holders
- 2 floating candles

Merry Christmas 2015

Items 3-36

"Day 3 to 8"

Day 3

- 2 magazines 

- 1 wine bottle, over a year old with just a centimetre of (vinegar?) left 

Day 4 

- 1 magazine 

- 1 paper new year top hat 

- 2 Cardboard decorative boxes 

Day 5 

- 1 magazine, Martha Stewart Living May 2006 (I've given up on making croissants, candles, and collecting vintage glass) 

- 1 Metro newspaper, unread 

- 2 garlic choppers (as seen on t.v.?) Too hard to clean, used once and then I got another as a gift.

- 1 2L bottle of Sprite, over 1/2 full, 2 years old from a party? 

Day 6 

* Found missing phone!  

- 2 reusable shopping bags 

- 2 greeting cards 

- 2 scarves (gifts, never worn) 

Day 7 

- 3 pens, non-working, finally set up recycling program at work! 

- 1 book (Meeting Luciano by Anna Esaki-Smith), library discard finally read and do not need to keep! 

- 1 Mr. Porky snack, souvenir-gift from the UK, much past end date and not something we'd eat anyway

- 1 name tag badge sleeve 

- 1 Christmas wind chime, gift never used.

Day 8 

- 1 bra, ill-fitting and never worn, don't know why I bought it 

- 1 dress shirt, pink-not my colour 

- 1 grocery bag of mint stems - harvested from garden, not well preserved so no longer good to use

- 2 magazines, HGTV, a quick flip through each confirmed we have no time or money to decorate / renovate 

- 3 packs of a Christmas cards (19 cards I won't likely use)

Card-on blue

Paul: Tonight is Christmas cards blitz! 
Me: We could listen to Christmas music and be all Christmasy when we write cards!
Paul: Uh, maybe not.  

Well, at least we got to be a little rude...

Highlands High Street Cash Mob

The perfect time to shop local and check some people off my X-mas list... if I'd been smart :P  Instead, Erica was the smart one.  But, I did get a nice walk (wow, it was warm out) and some potential leads. 

We visited:
Chickies Antiques
Be-a-Bella Candy and Gifts
Wool Revival
Apple Box Boutique
Sabrina Butterfly
Mandolin Books & Coffee Company
Red Sparrow Gallery 

And a "neighbour" that happened to be having a living room craft sale!

Above right: Santa at Chickies reminds us what season it is. 

Above left: Erica was sure it was Bomble in Be-a-Bella's store window.

Right: Other garden club members taking in some local retail therapy

Left and Below right: At Be-a-Bella, signs and a mouse's santa costume on display. 

Below: We spotted some of Coconut's relatives at Wool Revival.

Left: A neighbour's porch we'd kind of like to copy - looks so pretty and cosy!

Life-Changing Magic

Steph's emailed me an idea.  Not in so many words, but she suggested that maybe Fish Griwkowsky's "Minimalism Game" might work for me.  Games motivate me.  I need to get rid of stuff.  I even have The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (what sort of sparked Griwkowsky's game plan) on request at the library.  This might work.  ...if I can stick with it.  (I'm even having trouble keeping up my photo-a-day...)

I guess the main factor might be how much time it would take to choose / find the items each day.  1-5 wouldn't be hard, but 20-31 might take hours.  And would the stuff that I'm buying as gifts or have bought as gifts count when I give them away?  Cards that I'm going to write?  It doesn't quite seem to be in the spirit. Do gifts and cards I receive count as negatives?

When Judge John Hodgman talked about Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic if Tidying Up, her method had seemed so holistic and positive, "Spark joy!"  But, many of the things I own know wouldn't be quite like that, rather they would spark a slight moment of less panic, less guilt when I hold them (that has value too, right?)  (See: "JIT vs JIC and JSN" and "Possessions")

Griwkowky's way at the very least will mean I'll have a goal (496 items) and I'll have to set some time everyday thinking of getting rid of things. :)

OK.  Here goes!  (But I don't hold myself to the timing.)  The easy bit of catching up:

1 - Teal runners - worn and falling apart; no interest to charity or for recycling, but just o.k. perhaps for one more wear in the garden.  Nope - garbage.
2 - Two jars of food much too old for eating, but I'd felt bad about throwing them out.  They go now. (But the jars, I can save, right?)

And here I was craving protein!

Perfect, it's apparently Sardine Day.

http://smithsonianlibraries.tumblr.com/post/133864218178/november-24-is-national-sardines-day-folks

Baby Ultra

Dr. Smith: "There's nothing more to say."
Me: "You're sure?"


Dr. Smith probably thought he was done with us.  But because the specialist (OB-Gyn) appointment was still weeks away, we went back to him for the results of the second ultrasound (~19 weeks).

In his usual, plain, laid-back-whatever voice, he told us, "Things are fine."

I didn't quite believe him.  Really?  After millions of pictures of the heart at different angles, the stony, uncomfortable silence from the ultrasound attendant, I thought she must have saw something was wrong.  She wasn't exactly forthcoming with Paul's questions, so I was too scared to vocalise mine. 

"On the small side, but normal.  What else do you want?"

I breathed relief and Paul looked happy too.  Didn't think he'd been worried like me, but maybe he was and just didn't want to burden me more...

"Do you want to listen to the heart?"  He seemed surprised that we didn't hear it at the ultrasound.  He pulled out a bundle of cords and placed something on my stomach.  Nothing.  He moved the device to different locations and still nothing.  I got a sinking feeling.  He finally called out to a nurse, "Could you please bring me another one?  This one's batteries are gone."  Phew.

And so you have it; things are o.k.  I probably need to stop freaking out.
 
Here are the ultrasounds for comparison.  The first is from approximately 13 weeks and the second approximately 19 weeks. 

Paul's glad in the second it looks much more like a baby.  Jackie wrote saying "...the baby looks just like Lana!"  I rather see Paul... but only because that's like the position he sleeps in! 

AB's Dinner and Meet Melanie

It took me much too long and I blame it on tiredness (and pregnancy brain?): I was sure I was walking in the right direction... until I wasn't.

But thankfully, I did make it to Andrea and Bob's for dinner not too late, and they where happily talking with Paul.  And there was Rebecca and  Melanie!











Aw, all so cute!  Rebecca seemed a great big sister (e.g. reading to Melanie).  Though, I could tell she wanted more attention.


Bob finished making dinner (roast chicken, salad, and homemade chocolate cake), as Andrea and I caught up and "talked shop".  I told her how things didn't seem real and I wasn't prepared.  She lent me her copy of the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy (since they're not sure when for the next one).  And told me she still had the frog-print wash cloths I'd gotten her for Rebecca's baby shower (Wow! I'd forgotten about them.)

Over dinner, Bob told us about some of things he's been doing as leader of the parents' group with Rebecca's school.  He's an impressive stay-at-home dad.

(Above: A cake so good that it must be cut precisely -- though Rebecca did sneak a couple finger dips of icing previously.  Since it was especially made for us, Paul made an exception and had a slice.)

*Gulp* He does make me nervous when he holds Melanie upside down.  She seems to like it though....

I'm not completely sure how Paul felt about Melanie's musical toy:
- "Yay!  It's Mozart!  Not all baby toys have to play annoying children songs!" 
- "Argh!  They've reduced a lush symphony to a plinky melody line!" 
But probably something closer the later. 

I thought it was pretty fun, though, any toy that plays a song over and over will likely be annoying soon enough. 

A House Divided

Paul exercises his rights as a citizen: Yay!  First vote! 

We didn't vote for the same party, but that's o.k. 

Citizen Paul

Three alarm clocks and a wake up call from the UK later: Yes, we're awake. And we made it on time (early). And things went smoothly, so here it is, the big news I wasn't allowed to share before: Paul (as of 9:30 a.m. today) is officially a Canadian citizen!

He didn't want to jinx anything, so we kept things pretty quiet.

Even as we were waiting at Canada Place, he was anxious. Together outside the main room. In the main room, but in separate sections. We watched a big screen loop through a video featuring scenes and words about Canada. (Oh, there's the Queen and Kate!) The soundtrack was, unfortunately, a slightly overly schmaltzy version of the anthem.

More candidates and more spectators arrived. Some could not resist the allure of paper flags.

Finally, at a decent hour in the morning, the ceremony started. The officiant was energetic and funny, talking about her own immigrant roots, how glad she was to be welcoming the candidates, some of the journeys they must have made to get there.

It was her speech that reminded me just how spoiled I am to have just been born into citizenship. Paul's application was quite the process, and there were many others there today who probably had to go through a lot more.

After the oath, she shook people hands as they each walked up to receive their certificate and take a photo.

Signed, and done. We could relax and celebrate!

First, his first snack as a Canadian (McDonalds). Followed by his first lunch and first sushi as a Canadian.

After lunch, I headed back to work. I wouldn't be surprised that with these recent restless nights, he might be now taking his first nap, as a Canadian.

Mid-Autumn Festival Reveal

Kevin: This pot's so big you could cook a baby in it. Maybe two...
Me: Is this our segue?

Celina: "I'm so happy for you!  I don't want to hold it."
Kevin: "Yay, I'm going to have another cousin.  I don't want to hold it."

What?  Do they think I'm just going throw the baby at them?!

Kevin jumped up from his chair - showing a bit of that excitement that we were hoping for.  Celina's mouth was opened wide smiling.

Regardless of these, I'm glad everyone's so happy... well, maybe except Theresa.  I don't know, my guard is up at every point.

Theresa: "Oh, you're going to be 36 when you have the baby.  That's later that me."

Kevin: "When your kid starts school, Jack and Jeff are going to be so old!"
Me: "Um... so will we..."

Theresa: "When's your due date?"
Kevin: "Darn, that's a school day."
Celina: "It's not like they'd want you there!"
Me: "Um... you guys realise it isn't clockwork, right?"

Mom: "Stop talking about it!"

Right, we wouldn't want to tempt fate, but I think Celina already (within seconds) posted it / shared it with all her friends.

Kevin: "You have to name it after us."
Me: "Kelina?"
Paul: "Celvin?"

Maybe not.

The day after...

Mom calls.

"Good news: We have all these things saved up from when your sisters were pregnant, so you don't have to buy new, go through the stuff and see what you need."

And then... more of the same nagging, "When are you going to get a car?  It's going to be all icy, and that walk of yours to the bus stop is so far away.  And you're not volunteering right?  ... Can you hear me?" 

"Yes.  I can.  And I only have the same answer.  It's tiring and tedious for me to answer the same thing over and over.  So if you want to really talk and not just lecture me, ask me real questions." 

"Don't get upset!  It's bad to get stressed."

Telling the Parents

Telling Jackie: 

Me: "I don't know what to say."
Paul: "Lana's pregnant!"
Jackie: "Oh....." (Followed by happy crying.)

Telling my parents:

My mom runs through her daily questions and speeds into her closing speech when I stop her: "Wait!  I have something to say.  Actually, Paul and I have something to say."

Mom: "Oh, I didn't think you had anything to say."

Me: "You know how you always say I should get / a baby... well, I've got one..."
(It was something in between, "I'm preggers" and "I'm gestating" (I didn't want to say I "have joy!"))

Mom: "Congratulations!  Congratulations!  I'm so happy.  Every night I worry about you, and now my heart is lighter.  I can't wait to hold the baby..."

Me: "That's great Mom.  Have a good sleep tonight.  Yes... yes..."

Mom: "... Oh, so don't eat cold foods.  Eat more nutritious foods... more eggs... don't do so much volunteering, you'll tire yourself out... and don't stay out so late..."

Yes.  Indeed almost in one breath it was I'm so happy and here's how you need to live now.  I don't like how (once again) my body is not my own.  But I know I have to fight my rebelliousness... because it's true, what I do is important and has great repercussions.  But it shouldn't belong to everybody... I know the judging will start.  I can't avoid it any more.

Today's horoscope (eerily accurate):
No matter how persuasive you may be with others you can no longer fool yourself that things can stay as they are.  Both at work and in your private life there will have to be changes.

Some people are jerks

Two of our sunflowers have been decapitated!  All that hard work and potential gone!

I'm angry and sad.

"They" also took / vandalised Erica's.

She tells me how as kids, she and her sister did that once too (cut off other people's sunflowers).  But they felt so guilty she went back and tried to duct tape them back on.

Well, I hope whoever did it to us feels guilty too.  Hrmph!

I can't think of a way to protect the other two.  :(