From Louie to Hansen

love

2012-01-21T22:25:00.000-08:00

I
love
my
Husband

Herb Roasted Beef with Potatoes and Carrots

2011-01-11T14:22:00.000-08:00

Tonight I am going to try my hand at roasting a rump, this recipe seemed like the easiest one to start off with. It comes from Jessica Seinfield's Double Delicious book and website which is linked below :)
Hopefully Tim and Ava both enjoy it.

Herb Roasted Beef with Potatoes and Carrots : Recipes : do it Delicious

Head Ache

2011-01-10T15:11:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day back to class for my (almost) last semester, I only have one other class to finish when I am done this term and then I will finally be a graduate of SFU with a major in Criminology and a Minor in First Nations Studies…HOORAY! This has been a long time coming since I have never been the typical student and I moved to another country and got married half way through my studies (I definitely don’t recommend doing it that way but in the end it has all worked out for the good).
Today was not how I wanted to start my first day back; my plan was to wake up with Tim and go to the gym before getting ready for the road trip north to school, but my plans were thwarted ! Last night while Tim and I were playing our much loved game of Dominoes a domino found its way smack dab on the bridge of my nose and believe me it hit HARD! So much so that my eyes got all teary, I received a raging headache instantaneous and pimple looking thing appeared on my nose, the annoying thing is I did it to myself because I was protecting my dominoes from Tim (I thought he was trying to get a peek). Well that raging headache turned into a raging migraine that kept me awake through the night and kept me sensitive to light, sound, motion and made me feel dizzy up until about 10 minutes ago (My sweet mother gave me something to dull the pain). So there was no gym, there was no morning coffee with Tim and there were no happy feelings towards driving to Canada, just sleepy, hurting, grumpy, decaffeinated me.
Here is to hoping for a smoother next Monday.

Lappy

2011-01-05T16:06:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago my laptop decided to not work for no real reason so I have been using my Hunnys huge desktop to do all my schoolwork and waste time on facebook. Well 2 days ago I decided to do something about my broken laptop and bring it to a repair shop in town, but before I did that I tried one more time to turn the old thing on and it worked as if nothing ever happened which got me really excited.

I know this isn't a very big deal but it is to me because: I dont like sharing a computer with Tim because, well, we both wanna be on at the same time and that creates conflict, I like being able to bring my laptop with me to school and I have all my music and photos on it.

So today I am thankful that my aging orange laptop is back on my lap !

Booooo

2010-12-20T20:22:00.001-08:00

I felt like I tried really hard this semester at school but my marks dont show it like I thought they would, so its sad face time :(

I guess cooking, cleaning, looking after sassy sally pants and her Daddy all while working almost full-time at the Bucks doesnt partner well with a full course load at school.

Better luck next year?

Reading

2010-12-16T16:22:00.001-08:00

FINALS ARE OVER.
Now I can relax, and blog

And Read books that I want to read.

The first one on my list is a book that I have never read before but that I have thought about reading for the last 10 years or so and that is the
Chronicles of Narnia, I love the movies and hopefully will enjoy the novels too.

I cant wait until this evening, post gym when my Timmy is playing his video game so that I can open up the first page !

sick

2010-11-16T20:02:00.000-08:00

The icky ick ick bug hit me.

Of coarse it hit right when I have 3 essays due this week.

Here is to hoping that Nyquil and Buckleys do their job for the next couple of days so that my Professors do not receive jumbled up words compiled into incoherent sentences making up 13 pages of semi intelligent thoughts.

Friend

2010-11-10T11:36:00.000-08:00

Last night I went out with my friend Michelle, we hadn’t seen each other on a one-on-one basis for a long time so it was a much needed gathering. Eating dinner and chatting with her reminded me how much I cherish that friendship. She knows and understands me and isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions about my life and she is also a great encouragement for me to pursue my OWN relationship with God, something that I have been neglecting lately.
One of the major highlights of my week is getting to come back to Canada and seeing the people that I love and miss but sometimes that leaves me with a ungrateful feeling about what I lack in life because they are not with my in the states. I have a great life and shouldn’t have a negative spirit about what I don’t have but like a child having a tantrum “I just want them there with me!!!!!” Like I told Michelle last night, the hardest transition for me in getting Married was not my husband leaving the toilet seat up but not having the regular deep friendship type friends around me for whenever I needed or pleased. Thankfully because of prayers from such friends I am starting to build those solid relationships with the people God has put in my life, so gradually this spirit of ungratefulness is changing into one of thankfulness and delight that I get to have great friends on both sides of the border.

Wifeness

2010-11-08T18:54:00.000-08:00

I love my Hunny dearly, he is sweet, creative, funny and a rad bass player but I really think that I would have benefited from some sort of "wife school" where they could have taught me how to communicate in man language (and basic cooking too)unfortunately i don't think that type of thing exists so I will have to rely on God, Married Peoples Advice,Grace and a Couple more years of semi alright meals. Thank goodness Tim graceful when it comes to my learning curve and also not a picky eater and Ava is young enough that she will hopefully not remember the weird habits I have.

Pizza Dinner

2010-11-05T18:22:00.000-07:00

While at work yesterday I was thinking about what to make for dinner that night which is often a struggle for me since no one taught me how to cook , I am not that good at it yet and most nights I am too tired to even want to be awake let alone do anything that requires a brain. Well I knew I needed to get over those thoughts and plan a dinner, so in-between making a decaf tall ristretto soy no whip extra hot gingerbread latter (not a joke) and a American misto the brilliant idea of making a pizza was born, I went to the store and bought all the ingredients but on my way to pick Ava up from school I thought it would be much more enjoyable for all of us if we got to do it as a family and if we would get to make our own mini pizzas, so I went back to the store and bought the 6inch pizza dough dough’s and then went home and did all the pre production.

It was a really fun activity to do together and I could tell that the usually sassy Ava enjoyed it because she didn't complain once and was all smiles. I want to try and include her more often in cooking dinner but I am in need of some kid friendly recipes, so if you have one please share :)

Two Years ago

2010-11-04T17:32:00.000-07:00

All of my most favourite people, including the one who was taking the photo too :)

Sister

2010-11-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

I feel super blessed for being born into a big family, I am the oldest of 5 and in these last 6 years I have definitely grown closer to my younger siblings, especially my only sister Jesse.

Last night after a long and physically exhausting day at school(we did some cedar woodcarving) I went to my parents house to unwind. I have been feeling the need to be more involved in my sisters life lately because it seems like she has all of a sudden grown up without me realizing it and i don't want to miss anything more with her since i missed so much when she was little. Well my sister wasn't at my parents place so after numerous texts and pleading she finally came home to hang out with me. My sister is so sweet natured and caring even though she has had a much more difficult life then me and is often lost in the mix with three teenage brothers at home. So We decided to watch the first Harry Potter together ( she was very surprised and flustered that i have never read/seen Harry Potter before) and while we were watching it she noticed that i was in pain/uncomfortable from carving that she volunteered herself to massage my back... for the whole movie !!!! I don't think anyone has ever done that for me and/or done it so happily.My Jesse is loving and thoughtful and treats me so well that I am glad that I get to call my sister. The Point is, I love my little sister and am excited to get to know her more as she grows into young adulthood.

Rush Hour

2010-11-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

Since I live in America with my husband and step daughter and am also finishing my degree at SFU I spend two days a week in Burnaby with my family so that I can go to school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On Tuesday mornings I usually wake up around 4:45am to be able to get on the road by 530am to make it to class on time. Well today I was exceptionally fast and was out the door 10 minutes earlier than expected and was excited because I was in Canada by 6:20am ( doesn’t seem like much to be excited for until you realize that every moment counts in rush hour traffic when you are trying to get from Surrey to SFU). I was happily driving along until I saw a sea of red brake lights on HWY 99, GAHHH I thought to myself, why today when I was ahead of schedule? Well I was pretty frustrated about the situations, there was an accident and it was slowing me down! Stupid drivers I thought! As I drove by the motorcyclist that was hit and still lying on the road, my thoughts quickly changed to those of shock, sadness and thankfulness that it wasn’t me or that I hadn’t hit another person with my car. I drove pass this motorist soon after the accident happened and it probably took me about 30 minutes to go 1000 meters but as I was listening to radio reports traffic only got worse in that area, I wondered to myself that had I left at my normal time my time stuck in grid lock would have been exceptionally worse. Once I finally cleared the area and was over the bridge I realized that it was pretty foolish of me to be annoyed over a 30 minute inconvenience when God so clearly has everything in his hands. I wasn’t lying there on the pavement and I wasn’t late for school yet my selfish nature told me to be angry and annoyed that I would be disrupted on my drive. As I drove into my schools parking lot, early enough to get a spot at a reduced rate I was glad that I was given a gentle reminder about my attitude and perception over situations that are out of my control. I am grateful to know the GOD who loves me enough to set me straight, even on the little things.

God

2010-07-25T13:11:00.000-07:00

He guides ME

in paths of righteousness

for HIS name's sake.

Psalm 23b.

camping

2010-07-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

WOOT WOOT for mini-vacations.

Today, Tim, Ava, Winston and I are heading on a four day vacation to Eastern Washington to go camping with our friends.

We went last year and stuffed our little petey (91 Honda Civic HB) with loads and loads of stuff, this year we are taking our new car which has a nifty little roof rack thing to old all of our gear ( our car still is stuffed to the rim)

more room to put stuff means more stuff !!!!!

Right now

2010-07-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

I am trying to pick classes for fall 2010, its very difficult.
I cant believe I am still in school.
I am so much slower then everyone else.
In my own culture I am one of a few who get this far, the few who do take a long long time.

I want to take things I like but I also want to finish my degree. I like my degree but I have been touched with a cynical mind.
Please cynical mind go away so I can pick my classes and then finally graduate. ;)

slow

2010-06-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

I am very slow at getting started at something
or even at getting re-introduced to something I use to do daily (blogging)

But I am going to try
and I also going to slowly try and get the pile of clean clothes folded that are collecting dust in the spare room.

The Days

2010-06-22T18:43:00.000-07:00

Today;
lil'miss and I began some needed work on our "soon to be" vegetable garden. I took some coffee grinds home from work and kind forgot about them until today ( when the sun was shining) , well I have always wanted Ava to be part of the gardening process with me so i thought she would enjoy spreading the coffee grinds everywhere, and YAAA she did it wish joy. Hopefully we will have tomatoes, cantalope, blueberries and spinach sprouting.

Last Week;
Tim, Ava and I went to Canada to visit my family and do a little exploring, well we ended up in Stanley park and spent the majority of our time just laying in the grass with the daisy's, relaxing while the sun did its work.
A Couple Days ago;
Winston, Tim and I went to play on Rosario Beach. Last year we acquired ( unbeknown st) a very yuppie dog from the pound, a West-Highland Terrier, a small white fluffy token dog. Well luckily for us he is actually a hippie out-doorsie dog who loves the water and camping and being stinky.

Cant do

2009-12-31T20:08:00.000-08:00

What I learned today...

You cant make someone happy,
even if you really really want them to be.

Wine

2009-12-23T21:33:00.001-08:00

I am drinking a glass of wine
I am drinking a glass of wine all by myself
I am drinking a glass of wine all by myself while eating my yummy homemade pasta
I am drinking a glass of wine all by myself while eating my yummy homemade pasta and thanking GOD that school is over for the semester.

An ode to my glass of wine

School

2009-12-14T08:46:00.000-08:00

I have a final exam due in 12 hours.

I have a final exam due in 12 hours.

I have a final exam due in 12 hours.

I need to get off the computer.

More to come

2009-12-14T08:41:00.001-08:00

I need to I need to I should write a new blog.

But,
I spend so much time reading other peoples blog's that I just forget or become lazy.

School Books

2009-10-04T15:50:00.000-07:00

I have just spent the last week in my Literature class reading, watching and disecting the book Smoke Signals by Sherman Alexie and it brought back memories (and made me want to read another of his books called The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian which is now added to my favourite books off all time.

Well reading both of his book brough me back to my childhood.

-Back to the days where I would watch my uncles clean salmon
-Where I would watch my aunties make the most delicious bannock
- Where I would watch my GrandMA do beadwork.
-It made me remember the days that I would steal food from other kids lunches in grade school because I had none of my own ( and sometimes no breakfeast).
-These books made me remember how often I got moved around from school to school, so much so that I don't really remember any of my school teacher's names

These books and this class have started a dialogue within myself about a past I thought was forgotten, about a life that I thought was lost and a story that each one of us has to tell

read

2009-09-01T15:12:00.001-07:00

I love reading blogs

just not so much into writing them these days

maybe when school starts again

Gosh

2009-06-11T17:16:00.001-07:00

Sorry

I suck at writing, consistently.

I get sucked into my non blog life and forget about my blog life, when really they are basically one in the same.

Update:

Tomorrow I have a job interview at 10 am at Horizon Bank. I need a job. I want a job.

I thought my dog ran off and got lost but he really just got locked in our spare room.

I won 3 one hour massages from my Gym from a fitness challenge I was involved in.

My husband and I have been going fishing lately...our boat is from the 1940's. It is a shady boat.

I am listening to the Ruth Series by Marc Driscol right now. Listen to it. It is really good.

roadtrip

2009-05-21T20:57:00.000-07:00

So I just came home from an amazing road trip with my honey and have a whole bunch of photos i want to share with you....

so i will
... when i figure it all out.

Photo Time

2009-05-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

so it would seem that i have been mute as of late
i don't know where i lost my voice because i havn't really found it yet
what i have found is pictures on my camera taken by a 6 year old named Ava ( she loves taking pictures)

So this will be a picture post of three varieties
1) pictures I took of Ava when me and her were doing girly type things
2) pictures Ava took of our mini trip to Canada
3) pictures of my little doggy

( Ava and I were cooking dinner and she was begging and begging to wear her flower girl dress from our wedding so i said yes but only if she wore one of her daddy's shirts and my apron over top. She was so happy and looked really cute trying to peel potatoes).

Malfunctions.

So two pictures in and blogger decided it did not want to be my friend and let me upload anymore.

Booo, maybe later.

New

2009-04-24T17:27:00.000-07:00

I am starting a garden today. I have a huge yard. I dont know how to garden.
We got our furniture today. It is too big for our living room. I like our new furniture.
I might have a job. I dont know much about it. I think I start monday.

Sunny Days

2009-04-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

I was going to write a blog about something specific but couldn't concentrate enough to write it out ( I am easily distracted)

I went on a afternoon motorcycle ride with my hunny today and it was pretty sweet. We rode to Fort Casey ( which is friken creepy) and enjoyed some amazing scenery along the way, I wish I had brought a camera because the Olympic mountains looked heroic and inspiring. It was a day of beauty that made me remember how great the creation around me is and how often I go about my days not even realizing that i am surrounded by wonder.
I love where I live.

Update on the dog with three names.
I love him. He is sweet. He loves us. He fits in. He listens ( kinda). He is happy all the time.

Good Days

2009-04-09T20:50:00.001-07:00

Peace

My rings have been "found". I think my husband stole them as an April Fool's joke but wanted to take it a step further and kept them hidden from me for 6 days ! So far only one out of the two has been accounted for. He insists ( with cute grins) that he DID NOT do it and that I should stop accusing him. He did it.

Joy

Monday afternoon I arrived back home from a Vancouver visit to find a new furry addition to my household. The Thursday beforehand we had put an application in for a cute little white dog ( our fifth attempt at adopting a dog) and they finally approved us for one. He is sweet.
He is also a digger. Today when Ava and I went to the gym we came home to discover a huge hole had been dug under our fence and no dog in sight, so we frantically started looking for him in the forest lands near our house but had no luck then we decided to ask Jesus to help us find him. Well we looked and looked and nothing happened so we came home. Well when we arrived we found 5 tweens in our yard with our dog...Apparently they had seen him running loose on our block and being the friendly dog that he is he ran up to them and they kept him safe for us. God hears the littlest prayers.

Love

Sunday night Tim and I made a deal ( I though it was a joke), well I came home Monday to see that he had stuck to his word and I saw a flower with a note on it that said "a deal is a deal" even though I didn't even think there was a real deal to be made.

freaked out

2009-04-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

when you get married you ushaully get a ring

i take my rings off when i wash my hands, take a shower and sleep.

i
cant
find
my
rings

agghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Life

2009-03-31T11:38:00.000-07:00

Life Update:

I had my second interview with the Bank this morning at 9 am and I am hoping that I get the job but I am really wanting to get a new job that I came across two days ago. The job is for a part time county clerk position that pays substantially more then the bank and fits in nicely with what I have been studying for the last forever years.

Yesterday I started an "around the world" competition at my gym that is "the ultimate body challenge" and is kicking my butt. It consists of running 38 miles, doing 2100 feet on the step machine, 279 sets of core training, 120 miles on a bike, 148 miles on the elliptical, 300 sets on free weights and 250 sets on the circuit machines all in 30 days and we are only allowed to do 1.5 hours per day. My body is screaming at me :P

Last week Tim, Ava and I bought furniture for our house. If you have ever been here you would have noticed that all we have is a couch there is no kitchen table, no coffee table, no chairs, no carpet, no place to put shoes, no place to eat dinner... It was really exciting to be able to buy new things since neither of us have ever really owned anything new before.

For about a month we have been going back and forth to the Skagit Humane Society looking for a dog and as of today are still waiting and looking.

So maybe next week I will have a job, a dog, a sorer body and pictures to show you of my new furniture.

I need to work

2009-03-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

When your married in America
Yet hail from Canada you cant always do the job that you wanted to do because of the many many different social structures of the town you live in.

So you (me) apply at a bunch of places and wait and wait

Until today comes along and you have two interviews in one day for two completly different jobs.

1) a hotel
2) a bank

I interviewed (if you can call it an interview) at the hotel at 10am and it went well even though the hotel dog (the owner's) growled at me.

In about 9 mins I will start an interview with the bank.... I am nervous. I like being nervous. I just ate a bunch of ice cream too. And hummas. Gahhhhh

i am hot, aren't i?

2009-03-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

i'm Canadian.

i can hold a guitar.

i've got AMAZING hair on my head.

i can sit nice and quietly and i'm pretty while i do it.

plus, my butt looks cute.

and i've got a terrific friend named leah who is soo dead for posting this, but at the same time she doesn't mind that much because she did an amazing job revamping my blog and taking these fabulous photos.

the end.

Day 7

2009-03-19T19:18:00.001-07:00

8 am.... What shoes to wear today?

11 am- At women's bible study with my choice of shoes

3 pm I worked out, but my feet and shoes always look the same when I do that.

7pm In a new pair of socks ( cause I worked out in the others, thats also the reason they match)... I love red

So I now know why I have been tired...dang flu !

Day 6 feet

2009-03-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry I missed yesterday, I got home and I was too tired to think properly.

2pm Leaving SFU campus and walking to my car ( you cant see but it is snowing/hailing)

3pm Hanging out with my dad at Lougheed Mall

7pm Back at home and in my husbands favourtie socks

Day five Feet

2009-03-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

1230PM WOOT WOOT I got my husband to come to the gym with me ( I think it helped that he had his very first pair of Lululemon pants)

5 pm Some post gym napping in Ava's room because our bed had a bunch of clean laundry that niether of us wanted to fold at the moment

6pm I couldn't nap anymore so I went to study ( and hangout on facebook :)

Feet Day Four

2009-03-15T23:28:00.000-07:00

This day consisted of lots of home duties...you know the fun stuff

12pm Cleaning the Dishes:)

1pm Doing Laundry

130 Studying :) ( I wore what you can see of a pink apron for basically the whole day, i love that apron)

4pm Checking the mail.....nothing for me today

My computer wont upload anymore and I am sleepy...maybe I will try later...

love, me

Feet Day Three

2009-03-14T16:51:00.001-07:00

So I once again I forgot my camera as me and Timmy went on a mission to Skagit Valley Humane Society and N.O.A.H to find our family a dog and/or cat to adopt.

We found no cat that would be suitable but we found two dogs that we liked...one a pit bull and the other a jack russell terrier that was recently rescued from a huge puppy mill bust that happened at the beginning of the year. We put an application in for the smaller dog and now are patiently waiting until Monday to see if we qualify.

1pm Eating lunch together at Red Robins ( I wear these shoes alot)

230pm-3pm Patiently but not so patiently waiting in the car as Tim picks up electrical supplies.

4pm Washing dishes together before we begin to make some food.

Feet Day Two

2009-03-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

So the day started out with me accomplanying my husband somewhere for about 5 hours but I forgot to bring my camera :(

130pm Went grocery shopping with my non plastic bag and favorite semi new purse.

3pm I went to study but first changed because a buckle on my boot broke ..booo

6pm Post workout dinner with Ava at a very yummy restaurant

7pm Pre Bedtime Game of soccer with Ava, she basically kicked my butt cause I am not at all good at sports except for watching some hockey.

Today

2009-03-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

If you don't already know I was born and raised in Canada, west coast Canada to be exact.
On October 18th 2008 I got married to my American love, I packed up my things and moved to America and because I got married in America there were two things I needed to do to be legal.
1) Apply for Green Card
2)Apply for Social Security Number

I did both of these things the beginning of November 2008. I received my not-so-green Green Card in January and was excited because it said I was legal to live and work in the States.

My social security card is another story. At the office they told me it would be 2-4 weeks, well I applied November 3 and excpected my card by the end of November which would have meant I could have started some type of Job but it never came.

I went back January 6th and told the social security office that my card never came and the man who originally talked to me said he forgot to send my information and that my card would come in no more then 4 weeks but it never came

I went back for the third time March 4 to figure out what had happened with the time frame they told me and talked to the exact same person but what did he say? He told me that I did not exist in their computer, I showed them the official document that they gave me in November saying I would recieve my card in 2-4 weeks and they looked baffled, then pushed some buttons on their computer and said it would be at my place in 2-4 weeks ( ya right is what I said) . Well today I found out they lied because I got the card today, one week earlier then they said.

So to commemorate that I finally have my SSN, here is some cute pictures of my step daughter Ava(there is no real correlation between what happened today and her but I thought that she looked so cute while we were out eating)

Feet Day 1

2009-03-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

7am laying in bed with Ava, not quite ready to get dressed for the day.

8am Ava dressed for school and me getting dressed for the gym

1pm At Penguin coffee "studying"

6pm About to start cooking some dinner... Here I am standing in the doorway from my room to the hallway highlighting the two hardwood floor colours we have in our house.

The Start

2009-03-11T14:28:00.001-07:00

Hi

Welcome here.

This is my new blog.

Because I live a new life.

Join me while I am married in america.

Feet for a week

2009-03-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to be more diligent at blogging I am going to utilize a concept that I really appreciated on my friend Leah's blog in which she photographed "her life in feet" for a week, so starting later on tonight you will be invited to join me via blogger and photos "in my life according to feet" for a week.

First Post

2009-03-11T14:14:00.001-07:00

Married in America has made it so that;

Instead of driving my sweet little Honda Civic I now drive a Cheverlot Truck that needs bungee cords to keep the doors closed