Out with the Old in with the New....Fridge

Well, it finally came..yipee!  So this morning I will get all the food switched over and start enjoying haveing more space and more ability to organize.  We will keep the other fridge as a drink fridge and extra freezer space for when our 1/2 side of beef comes in.  One more thing off the checklist.

I went swimming at the local swimming area on Monday.  It was so much fun!  The lake was refreshingly cold and it was so peaceful and fun to watch the kids swim and the boats come in and out.  I could do that every day...it is too bad that I have to schedule it around when the girls are swimming.  It is not cool to have your mom swimming with you.  Well they may just have to ignore me someday.  It was really fun.  Plus the tan is nice.

I am having alot of pain in my right leg.  It swells quite a bit and it seems that I may have some sort of problem on my right side.  My right hand swells alot more than my left.  Of course, I need to get rid of some of these pounds but I can't figure out how.  I have done the calorie thing for a year and have increased my work outs and I just keep putting on the pounds.  It is very frustrating and the swelling is really painful at times and my fingers get so bad that I can't wear most of my rings.  I can't get my wedding set resized except in the states so I am really bummed that I can't wear it right now.  Oh well, I am trying to not stress about it but it is frustrating.  Just pray for me.  I am trying not to go to the doctor right now because it will cost us 20% so I am trying to wait until the provincial insurance kicks in which won't be for several months.  We shall see if I can stick it out.  I have a lot to distract me right now which is nice.

Well, that is all for now.  I need to get going and get the fridge switched over and start working on getting the house ready for Wil's birthday dinner.  Homemade lasagne and garlic bread.  Yum!  More later.

What to do this week??

Well, what a productive weekend.  Wil and I painted.  The computer room is done, Tiana's room is done except for the polka dots, and the family room is 3/4 done.  I couldn't finish it because there are areas of drywall that they guys are still working on.  So if it could be painted..it is painted.  I am fairly happy with the colors.  Wil picked a gray for the computer room and it is a little dark...the girls call it the dungeon room but we will set everything up and go from there.  Tiana's room is funky and fun, just like her.  The family room started a bit iffy.  I wanted a dark red contrast against a taupey red but the taupey pink that I picked looked a little like a pencil eraser when I put it on but now that the red is on...it looks much better.  The red is gorgeous.  Tabitha is already picking out colors for her room.  That will be next after we unpack.

They are supposed to be putting the floors in this week so we are coming closer and closer to the end of construction.  So hopefully next week I will be busy unpacking. 

We all got in the hot tub on Saturday...it was very nice.  It looks like we have some jets that aren't working but that should be fixed when we put our claim in so I am not worried. It is heating and it sure was nice and relaxing.  That is going to be one of my favorite places.

After painting, Wil started clearing land again.  We have 2.1 acres but when we got here, there was only about 1 acre cleared, the rest is au natural.  The weeds are 6+ feet tall.  We can't use the lawn tractor because it seems that there are pockets of huge rocks and other trash so we are using a huge weed eater that we are borrowing with a steel blade and cutting it down.  So one of my projects for this week is to walk the areas that he cleared, clear out the rocks and then use the push mower to mow it shorter so that we can see what is there for the lawn tractor.  While he was doing that I was push mowing some of the areas we cleared last week.  I started without gloves and now I have a large hole in my thumb from a blister that I didn't feel happening that ripped open.

We went to a Baptist church yesterday.  It was a beautiful old building and I really enjoyed the pastor.  But what I enjoyed most was it was their traditional service so we sang a bunch of old hyms including Jesus Loves Even Me.  At one point I swear I heard my dads voice singing...what memories.  I don't think Wil and the girls liked it as much...they didn't know any of the songs but we will see.  They have a very active youth group it seems so it has a lot of promise in my opinion.

Hopefully I will have a new refrigerator tomorrow and then Wednesday is Wil's birthday so we will celebrate that.  He has asked for lasagne and cheesy garlic bread so I will add that to my grocery list for today and order him a DQ cake.  I am hoping to go swimming at least once or twice this week.  We will see what the girls have planned.

Until next time, I will share the poem that I have framed that I found while unpacking.  It really is so true of how I give things to God many times.

LET GO AND LET GOD


As children bring their broken toys,


with tears for us to mend,


I brought my broken dreams to God,


because He is my friend.


But then instead of leaving Him in


peace to work alone,


I hung around and tried to help,


with ways that were my own.


At last, I snatched it back again and cried,


"How can you be so slow?"


"My child" He said, "What could I do?


You never let it go."

Lauretta P Burns is the author and wrote the poem in 1957

The battle for a refrigerator

Well my main frustration this week was that the refrigerator that we ordered from Sears Canada on July 3 and was supposed to be delivered on July 15 was put on backorder until October 16 or something rediculous like that.  So as we tried to find another fridge, they were all on back order so we decided to cancel it.  Well then we find out that it can take Sears up to 6 weeks to get us our money back.  Oh did Sears corporate customer service hear some pleasantries from me.  I have never had problems with Sears USA like I had with Sears Canada.  We won't be buying from them.  Luckily we have a fridge, it is just way to small to keep any decent amount of food in...but at least we have one.  Well, we found a place that can have the fridge we want delivered on Tuesday so we will see what happens. 

We also did finally buy a microwave.  I kind of went through microwave withdrawals at first but then I got used to using the convection oven and I didn't miss it at all for me.  I did however miss it for the girls...it was very difficult for them to figure out the oven...lol.  I love the taste of the food warmed in the convection...it has yummy crispy areas like leftover night when I was a kid.  I know I will use the microwave less now.

Wil went to work on Monday, well kind of.  He still doesn't have an official posting/job so he showed up and surprised the commander and they have been winging it all week.  For right now he is working in Quebec which is about an hour commute.  He likes the guy he is working for and I am concerned about the long commute, especially in the winter but until we get the official word...who knows.  He keeps running into people he knows from his different postings and is enjoying seeing familiar places.  There are other places that are much closer to us which would be nice.  He is just taking it day by day. 

The girls have been hanging out at a local youth center and are making some friends.  They of course seem to have the boys all abuzz.  Tiana has already found a boy that she likes and she is all a twitter about that.  They swim alot at the local swimming area, at the beach yesterday and tonight is a dance.  School doesn't start until September 7 so they have alot of summer left.

Me, well, I am hanging in there.  Wil has friends, the girls are finding friends, it is a bit harder for me.  I don't have anywhere to meet other adults so it will take a bit longer.  I did put in an application to volunteer at the local animal shelter so we will see what comes of that.  We did try a church last weekend and it was nice.  I had forgotten how friendly smaller churches can be.  We are going to try a different church this weekend, so that may be where I get involved, when we pick a church.  Maybe once the girls are in school I will try to find a part time job at a thrift shop of somewhere fun like that.

We did get notice from immigration that they are ready to put our visas in our passports so I mailed off our passports on Tuesday.  So hopefully we get those back with the correct visas, which will give Tiana and I a little more freedom until immigration gets everything settled.  It makes me nervous being without our passports but they didn't give us an option really unless we wanted to drive to Buffalo.  Oh, well we weren't heading to the border anytime soon.

I am trying to adapt to a humid climate...still struggling with stuff like my trash can stinks all the time.  I am thinking about getting a smaller one that we empty more often and a composter for food trash.  Food molding in the refrigerator.  I don't get that at all...not sure what to do about that.  Things not drying...towels, swim suits anything, our bathroom always seems damp so I am concerned about mold but I am working on that.  I need a book, "living in humidity for dummies".  Maybe I will write that??

Today, the girls and I are going to get out of town and check out a mall.  Should be fun, we'll see.  Tomorrow we are going to try to get the other two rooms downstairs painted. 

As far as construction, the walls and ceiling are done.  They are waiting on the electrician to finish the wiring and lighting and then they need to put the floor in.  So maybe by the end of next week, we can start unpacking and cleaning.  We shall see.  The hot tub is hooked up, we are just waiting to get it warm so maybe tonight or tomorrow we will be able to sit in it.  YAY!!

I think that is all for now.  I love hearing from people, either in comments or emails so keep them coming.  I got a package from my sister which was a wonderful surprise and a beautiful hand made card from a coworker with a blessing on the inside.  Both items put a big smile on my face!  I love you all and miss you!

Parades, Paint and a Date

Parade...

Well our little town had a huge festival this weekend and we went to the parade.  It was a typical small town parade...short but a fun feel.  Then we went and walked around the fair...rides and vendors and lots of great people watching.  It was a nice afternoon after an interesting morning.  The girls got asked to volunteer at the fair so we dropped them off and then went into the next town (or so we thought) to drop Wil's bike off for a safety inspection so he can register it and use it to get to and from work.  We weren't going to do it since he wasn't going to be using it until next year but we are changing our plans as the government changes theirs.  Anyways, the shop in the next town ended up way outside the next town on lots of dirt roads.  Well, for any of you non-riders...big street bike on dirt roads not a fun drive for Wil but we made it.  We dropped it off and went into town for the parade.

We got the safety done on the trailblazer and all is ok except I have a dial that turns off the daytime running lights and that is illegal.  All Canadian cars have to have daytime running lights all the time so we had to run it in to the Chevy dealership and have the flash it with Canadian programming so that they don't turn off so now I have to run it back to the safety place tomorrow to get it signed off on and then I can register it.

Before

Paint.....

The drywall in the rooms has been sanded and primed for painting so we thought we would get started painting Tiana's room...so we did.  She picked 4 colors..angry lemon, majaraja, sexy girl and picnic....or yellow, blue, orange and green in lay terms.  :) So we started.  As of tonight we have all the walls complete with all the coats except the touchups and the polka dots (which I still have to figure out how I am going to do).  I will just show you one wall and leave the rest for when it is complete. 

We also started painting the computer room and we have the colors picked out for the rec room, pics to follow as we get them done.

A date....

Well, maybe becuase I have been so cranky lately, my family decided that I needed a night out so Wil and I went on a date.  We went down to a bar called Rob Roys and had some great food and then they had some entertainment for the festival.  2 guys called Heely and Roy, just some home town duo but they were very entertaining and funny and a nice band.  It was a neat little bar and a fun night away from the madness of drywall dust, dirt and boxes.

Things are going ok but it is hard.  I didn't realize how much I would miss family, friends and work, specifically  my boss and coworkers.  For 25 years I have worked full time and I always thought it would be neat to be able to stay home.  Well, I am blessed to be able to do that now but I really miss the adult interaction.  It is very difficult when you are in a place with no friend, no family and no other women to talk to regularly.  My emotions definately are highly charged.  There are so many things that I try to look forward to and it seems like they all just fall short...not finding the church last week....trying to plant a tree and hitting clay...ordering a fridge that should have come in on Wednesday and hasn't and is now on back order...not being able to clean the house and having a thick coat of drywall dust on everything...feeling dirty,dusty and sweaty and disgusting all the time...having boxes everywhere.  All little things but they add up to me being on the verge of tears.  I know that I am blessed and I have a wonderful family but I am fighting the negativity constantly.  I am not winning but I am still fighting.  We did find the church, I planted the tree, we have a fridge we can used and we are all equally dirty so whatever.  I will continue to fight.  But please pray for me and my attitude.

We did find the church this morning and it was a nice little Methodist church.  The pastor is a hispanic, New Yorker who married a Canadian who was going to school in New York and has been pastoring this church for 15 years or so.  Nice guy, unfortunately we didn't hear him preach because there was a guest preacher.    Very friendly church and a nice youth pastor.  The youth don't meet during the summer but it definatly has promise.  There is a Baptist church and a Presbyterian church that I want to try and then we will pick one from those I think.

Wil goes to work tomorrow which is kind of funny because although he did get the cancellation of the posting to the ship, he never got the new posting.  So he doesn't know what he is going to be doing.  He is going to show up where he was posted for the time between Colo Spgs and the ship but that commanding officer may not know that he is going to be there tomorrow.  So we shall see what happens tomorrow.

Tomorrow I am going to go grocery shopping which in itself is interesting...new brands...new packaging (milk comes in bags)...not as large a selection in this small town but I will work it out.  Then I am going to go to the spa place and get hints for setting up the hot tub.  It is supposed to be wired tomorrow and then we will fill it...maybe not heat it but fill it so we can get in it and make sure it is working.  I think I may mow the yard too, I am the only one that hasn't used the lawn tractor yet.  Or maybe I will go swimming with the girls...who knows.

This is what you get with drywall dust, dogs and them jumping on your leg.

Quick Update

Well we got the pad for our hot tub done...now we are just waiting to find enough people to help us move it on the pad.  Our AC is in a functioning so it is much nicer in the house and will hopefully help us be more productive knowing that we can cool off when we get inside.

We went to Calypso waterpark yesterday for some much needed fun.  It is brand new and has only been open since mid June.  It was nice, not nearly as big as Waterworld in Denver but I do remember going to Waterworld in the 80's and it was much smaller.  It was fun to go on some different rides for a change.

Today Wil is going to take the trailblazer in for the safety inspection so that we can get it registered.  Hopefully that goes ok.  2 of the rooms are  primed for painting, so Tiana and I are going to work on painting her room today.  It is going to be bright and funky so I will post pics as we get it going.

There is a big festival in town this weekend so we will have to go check it out and see some things that are going on...parades, cardboard boats, carnival, etc.

Oh and we did find out that there is a swimming area right in our town and the girls love it.  No beach per say but a large area in the canal that is set aside for swimming.  They had a blast 2 days ago and are planning on going today too.  Some of the fun was that there were a bunch of boys there I think but that is to be expected.

I think that is it...I need to get moving and I don't have much energy, it is very hard to get productive when you don't feel like you are making much progress and you still have to walk around box after box after box.

God Will Make a Way

God will make a way..this is my song for today.   Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zo3fJYtS-o&feature=related.  More on that later. 

This morning we went to Kingston, a little over an hour a way, to go to service Canada to apply for provincial insurance for the girls and I.  Unfortunately, we found out that Tiana and I can't even apply until are immigration stuff comes through and then there is a 3 month waiting period.  We did get Tabitha's done.  It is not a huge deal because we are still covered by Wil's military insurance and can keep that until we get provincial insurance but it was one more thing on my list of to do's that wouldn't get crossed off and that I would have to deal with after Wil leaves.  It is so frustrating.  So we headed home.

I went to take the girls to the youth center again.  They went for the first time yesterday.  It is an older renovated house that has been converted to a small rec center.  There is a pool table, a kitchen, a hangout area, a dance room, etc.  It is kind of a place for tweens and teens to hang out...totally free...volunteers plan activities for each day and the kids just go.  It is only in the afternoons but the girls have had fun the last two days, it has gotten them out of the house and meeting some people.

Back to earlier in the day..as we were making lunch, Wil got an email telling him to call his career manager ASAP!  So he called, well plans have changed yet again.  He is not going to sea this year, he will be posted somewhere to Ottawa.  Why, we don't know but wow...that was unexpected.  There was quite a bit of disappointment in the house including Wil but what can we do.  Actually, I don't know that disappointment is the right word for it but it is hard when you have plans and they get changed..it is hard to immediately be excited about the new plans.

On the way home from taking the girls to the center, I was in the car and a song came on called God will Make a Way.  I don't remember every have hearing it before but I probably have.  It kind of caught me and I listened to it a couple times.  I realized a couple days ago that I have been stressed out but have not been praying like I usually do so I have been praying more and trying to focus on the Lord more and then this song.  Needless to say, my stress from the morning and the recent MAJOR plan change eased some and I left it on play on my radio.  I will listen to it many more times over the weeks to come.

Sooooo, we are starting to make new plans but we are waiting until he finds out where he is going to be posted for next week.  We have some new challenges...we weren't planning on needing a 2nd vehicle because he wasn't going to be here...now we need to figure out a way to get the tires on his motorcycle so he can ride it on nice days and we need to work on refinancing the Volvo so we can import it so he can use it this winter.  Add your prayers on that please.

All I know is that God will make a way!  Love to all!

P. S. I think that I found a new beach to try...I will let you know.

A night at the drive in!

Well it has been kind of a funky weekend.  It has been very frustrating and very overwhelming to think that Wil is going to be leaving in a week.  There is soooo much to be done..so my attitude has been awful.  Add to that two teens that are bored and won't move off the couch and seem to think that I will clean up after them..and momma hasn't been happy.  So I sat down on Saturday and picked a church to try.  We all got up, got dressed, headed to the chuch and couldn't find it.  AAHHH!!!  Very frustrating.  So we stopped at the weekly flea market and I could have dug around there awhile but we kind of skimmed it and I found 2 ashanti stools.  WOW.  For those of you non Africans, ashanti stools are very symbolic to the people of Ghana and we always had one in our home.  They were a bit pricy but I think I am going to go back and get one of them. 

After that, I decided to take some time and go to the local green house.  Met a nice older lady who showed me all of the cool colorful things you can grow in a humid climate and all I could think was..this would be a perfect job for my mom.  So I picked out a tree and some bushes.  A red maple, to contrast with our green cedars.  2 lilac bushes including one that reblooms in the fall.  A hydrangea and something else I can't remember right now.  Oh also 2 sunpatiens for immediate color gratification.  So I am heading out to plant.  We also have a truckload of crushed stone coming that we will spread for the hot tub and patio stones to go on top of the crushed stone..then the hot tub...yeah!

On one of our exploring tours we found a little drive in so last night we went to the drive in.  Neither girl had ever been so it was an experience.  We saw Despicable Me...that was funny and we watched most of Robin Hood but at 1am we were all pretty much asleep so we went home.  We will catch the rest on DVD. 

Well I need to get out and water and dig holes before it gets too hot so I will chat more later.  I miss you all dearly!

A day at the beach!

Well we went and found a beach yesterday.  It has been so hot here, we decided we needed some water.  So we found a beach about 7 minutes from the house.  It is a small beach but it has sand and a grass area with picnic tables and water.  That is more than I had in Colorado.  And the lake...HUGE.  It is on Rideau lake and it is so hot that we walked right into the water, it was like a warm bath.  Very nice.  We stayed for a couple hours and got a little sunburned..despite the sunscreen but we had fun.  We forgot the noodles so we are going to bring them next time.  We want to explore other beaches but we sure can't beat this for proximity to the house.  However we did find out today that there is a small area for swimming off the canal in Smith's Falls so it is even closer.  Not a beach but another swimming area and it is free.  So we will try that too.

The girls miss their friends and are quite bored but we are working on finding things for them today.  We went to check out the youth center and they have afternoon programs every day with some day trips so we will get the girls over there next week.  I also plan on starting church shopping this Sunday.

Wil and I went and got our drivers licenses.  We didn't have the problems that others have had although, my paperwork from Colorado said my license was issued in 2005 which was a renewal but didn't say anything about the 17 years prior.  Oh well, it was long enough to give me a full license which at $75.00 each should have gold on it or something...we will see when it comes in 3-6 weeks.  Monday we are going to go apply for provincial medical insurance.  I hope that goes smoothly as well, then Monday afternoon, Wil starts working on registering the vehicles.

The basement is going well, they have the drywall up and the mud is drying so hopefully it will dry and they can sand on Monday.  I don't think they will be done before Wil leaves but we will see. 

Today was our first overcast day in over a week so we are enjoying the fact that it is under 100 and not sunny.  YEAH!  We are still looking forward to A/C next week since the news said that it is supposed to be hot all summer.

I have checked out all of the supermarkets and have picked my favorite although I went to one in the next town today and it is much bigger so I think a once a month trip there will work to fill in what the one right here doesn't have.  Food is more expensive, especially dairy and meat.  Sticks of butter, you know the 69 cent ones..don't exist the cheapest is like 3 bucks...ouch.  We went to bulk barn today and that seems very reasonable too so it will be part of that once a month trip.

I am very overwhelmed and feel very badly for Wil.  We can't unpack many boxes because they belong in the rooms that aren't done and I see so much that has to be done and I know that Wil is leaving soon.  He is doing what he can but some of it is stalled because we are waiting on other stuff.  I know it will get done one way or another but with everything else going on, it is difficult.  I am sure he will be glad to have a break from my moodiness, I try to control it but I am afraid I don't do a very good job.

Well tomorrow is a farmers market I think and then Sunday there is a flea market so we will see what they are all about and what else we can discover.

Holy Heat Wave

Well we are in a heat wave...we are seeing record temps according to the news.  Yesterday it was something rediculous like 105 plus the humidity.  It is crazy as I sit here and my fingers are sweating off the keyboard.  We were hoping to wait on putting the AC in but Wil and I are going to break down and get it in next week.  It is very hard to be productive in the house but I got some curtains hung which helps it stay a bit cooler.

I got my picture of Garden of the Gods hung on a west wall.  It looks beautiful...I was going to take a picture but we moved the 60 inch TV in front of it for a bit so you can't see it as well.  I also got the cukoo clock hung so now it sounds more like home.

We went and picked up Tabitha from the airport yesterday so the family is reunited.  She has definately grown in one year!

Today we are going to go to the DMV and get our drivers licenses, hopefully and then go to OHIP and get the provincial insurance application in.  The girls want to walk around downtown so we will let them do that while we are doing admin stuff and then we are going to check out some stores for slip and slides or pools or something.

Tiana took a cold shower this morning and said it was wonderful so I am going to try that shortly.  They have the basement framed and wired and are starting to drywall today.  They are making progress but the humidity may slow it down a bit because the drywall mud won't dry quickly.  They will be delivering some crushed stone today or tomorrow so we can get it spread to start the hot tub pad...although I think it will be a cold tub with ice if we get it set up.

Things are going...we got half of the satellite installed yesterday...they won't do all the tvs at once and the second set is more expensive since we are now existing customers...how stupid is that!  Oh well, at least we can get news and stuff now.  Slowly, but surely we are progressing an inch at a time.

Reality Hits

Well, I am kind of in a funk today.  Anyone that has moved recently can relate, I am sure.  I have been unpacking for 1 week and I don't feel that I am making any progress.  Boxes, boxes everywhere.  It is so much more difficult because 3 of the rooms that I need to unpack in aren't even built.  I also looked at a calendar and Wil leaves 2 weeks from today.  I just don't know how it is all going to get done.  Oh well...keep on keepin on.

Well on July 1 we celebrated Canada Day...Canada's 4th of July.  We decided to do it right and we went to the Parliament Buildings and watched a concert with 350,000 other people.  What an experience.  It was a bit frustrating because 80% was in french which doesn't make any sense because less than 20% of Canadians speak french from what I am told but the capitol is on the border with Quebec so I guess it is all political here also.  It was fun...a bit intimidating when you saw all the people but an experience.  I have pics but I can't figure out how to post them...I will keep trying.  We didn't get to see the queen but we saw a lot of interesting people.

We ordered a fridge and we bought a lawn tractor.  Tiana did an awesome job and mowed our "lawn".  We have 2.1 acres but probably less than one is cleared.  We started to clear the rest but there are rocks and stuff that looks like it got dumped on the rest so we will have to figure out how to get that cleared.  The natural grass is as tall as I am so I would like to get it cut down.

Challenges???  Lots of mosquitos....LOTS of mosquitos...we are trying to figure out how to minimize them but man we get chewed up at night.  We did buy some "fly swatters" but they are battery operated and they zap the mosquitos and they work great.  You should see our eyes light up when the mosquitos go up in flames.  Heat...we are in a heat wave right now and are adjusting to no air conditioning.  Our window air conditioner won't work in our windows and so we have the fans going...trying to get the curtains up to help keep it cool.  Any suggestions on either...let me know.

We did light off a couple of fireworks yesterday for the 4th.  Couldn't do all of them because I didn't have anywhere to bury them..so we have some for next year.   I tried.  Its the thought that counts, right?

Well, Wil is heading to work so I better start unpacking again.  Talk to you soon.  Miss you all dearly.

Back online

Well, we are back online.  YAY!  I tell you what, it was hard to be in a new place without it but we did great.  I stole the phone book from the hotel and we used it more than once.  I am so proud of Tiana!  No internet, no cable and no microwave and not a complaint.  She is awesome.  We ordered a fridge today and bought a lawn tractor.   Tomorrow we mow the acreage.   I am just catching up online so more later.