A mountain of generosity

Wow, what a fun weekend with some very special friends.  It all started off with a spa pedi and mani with a fabulous friend, project 'grey elimination' at my hair salon, and then my Friday shower - an after-work cocktail hour confection bringing together some of the fun, intelligent, exceptional women I have met through my recent years in my career.  All of them have become great friends. 

Saturday began with a nice, long, in-depth meeting with our doulas.  Some interesting troubleshooting happening with them, I have to say. Trying to consider all the various scenarios of how this birth will go, and how we wish to handle all the situations that might befall us, is interesting to say the least. I came away feeling excited about the possibilities, anxious about the outcomes, but secure in the knowledge that I have built up a great team around me to tackle all that may come our way. I have a number of detailed questions to ask the high-risk team at the General now that will help me know what is possible from their perspective, and I have some new resources to pursue to assist with other challenges I will have, such as breastfeeding and pumping challenges.

Then...another GREAT shower (the big one!) hosted by one of my longest and most dear friends, with help from a number of other key women in my life.  How does one express how important the deep-seated and invaluable friendships are to me?  I can't.  I really and truly can't.  Seeing women who have been my partying partners in crime, my sporty supports, my family for a lifetime, and friends of my husband who have become correspondingly essential additions to my posse portfolio all present to celebrate this crazy, exciting and transitory time in my life filled me with a sense of incredible gratitude, and a sense of how truly blessed I am. I love the thought and effort put into making the event special to me. I loved the banner made up for us that can be strung up to announce to the world of our great fortune. I loved my 'two peas in a pod' t-shirt that I will wear with pride as I parade around Ottawa shopping for last minute finishing touches to get ready for my little 'peas'. And I loved the laughter, the stories, the energy in the room.  And, ya know...the mountain of presents that kept coming and coming and coming!  I will never forget it, and I'm sure that the pictures, sure to be forwarded to me, won't LET me forget it!

And now?  Now, I sit here, writing a blog post, and staring at a living room rife with miniature goods, snuggly things, rattling gadgets and pretty little outfits ready to be washed, packed away or put on appropriate display. I have work to do.

What a lovely weekend. What wonderful people are all around me. What a wonderful life.

I can't wait to introduce two new lives into the mix.

On the eve of our next appointment - Chinese Food!

It has been a REALLY long week.  Ups and downs, and a lot of attention paid to my sometimes moving, sometimes not moving, belly to see if Baby B is going to kick.  Lost weight initially and have only just now gotten back to my weight over a week ago. Eating plenty, so that's worrisome.  Just trying so very very hard not to worry too much, but it's mentally exhausting.

I won't get into our issue with the new carpeting, which was supposed to be done yesterday and enable us to start decorating the nursery.  More delays at a time when we don't need them...

So yeah.  Ultrasound tomorrow followed by meeting with the doctor at the General Hospital, our new care location from now forward.  Have a LOT of questions and really hoping to have a way forward and a few answers, even though I know we won't have all.  We're tired and anxious and so happy this day has finally arrived.

Until then, our wonderful neighbours have taken pity on us, and have suggested we go for Chinese food for dinner. 

I.

AM.

IN!

Addendum from our meal:
I picked a fortune cookie with two fortunes inside, and hubby found a single packages fortune cookie with an accidental two fortune cookies inside...I'm liking those signs, my friends!

Of grouse, deer and friends - a snowshoeing expedition

I couldn'ta said it better - my gal Kerry, who was the inspiration for our little excursion yesterday, posted a summary of the great time we had yesterday, trudging through the heavy snow in the green belt of Kanata, Ontario.

Hope we can get out a few more times before the snow is gone.

Have I mentioned that spontaneous weekend outings rock, and that friends who make you laugh rock even more?

Quick hits - recommendation for three wines for a friend

Just got asked by a great friend of mine for my recommendations for wines under/around $10.  She didn't care if they were red or white, but just wanted them to be "yummy". What did I recommend?

Well, you would guess the first two, if you had read previous posts reviewing these wines.  The first was the Pedro do Monte from Portugal ($8.95). The second was La Casona from Spain ($9.95), but I thought I would mix it up for the third and throw in a white wine that hubby and I really like, the Birchwood Estates Niagara Gewurtz/Riesling blend at only $10.95.  We love this blend, especially for casual sipping, appetizers and spicy foods.  Yumminess.

Was flattered to be asked for my input, but kinda wish I was going whereever she going to be able to enjoy what she'll have on offer!

The incredible benefits of coffee and how hangovers make it tough to taste wine

So I had these big plans today. Was going to have some fun with a good friend, Sean Moher, the creator of Groovy Grapes wine and food pairing events and many more wonderful things. Thought it would be fun to open bottle #3 of the top ten under $10 series for us both to try, and get his thoughts on it, but I don't think I can do it, given my impromptu Karaoke romp last night with my neighbours @westendchiles.

That said, coffee does wonderful things to help revive you on a morning like this. How bad does it suck that I plan to give it up again shortly, and mentioned my intentions to my husband (so now I'm accountable)...

For now - yay for caffeine!

Suprise! People can be delightful!

So this summer, shortly after miscarriage number two, I received an email from a volleyball contact out to her entire list of vball friends. The email was asking if there was anyone willing to play beach 2s with a girl who had 'lost' her partner to a bad ankle sprain. So...since I hadn't signed on for a beach league, I thought...what the hell - let's do it, and have fun. So I met the new partner, and proceeded to have a decent beach league season with her. Who is she? Well, a petite, asian, environmental engineer, who, up until this week, I knew very little about.

Turns out she's a really funny, interesting person, and it took me all summer to even know it. To celebrate the end of our beach season, we decided to head out for drinks and dinner after work on Wednesday night. So now, without further ado, two interesting anecdotes from my partner.

Story 1: Sun-dried worms

She is so funny. A discussion of the pseudo-environmental approaches of each of us in our lives - a little self-justification and pontificating on how bad others can be led to a discussion about green boxes, then composters. Then...she gave me advice, should I ever decide to compost. She said, "Don't get the worms. Waste of time. I tried, but you have to try keep them from dying in the winter, so you end up with kitchen pet worms during the winter, and they, in turn, invite the flies. Then, after all that effort, after you move the bin back outside, the PH changes in the soil, they all struggle to survive, and so they crawl out, all over the deck outside the door, and die, baking in the sun." She added..."Just little black, shriveled up sticks. Not very sustainable!"

Story 2: Time for kids
So she's 30. And like any conversation with me lately, the discussion turns to pregnancy and trying again, and she says to me, "Hey, I think we're gonna try soon too - that'll be great - I'd love to have someone go through it at the same time as me!" So far, so normal. That'd be great, right? Weeeelllll, maybe not. She proceeds to tell me that ever since she got married, her husband has been trying to get her to say she's ready. According to her, she said that in 4 years (yup - it's been four years) she would be ready. She's not so sure. So guess what she's done to put off the inevitable a little longer? She's making her husband earn it. Yes, folks, getting to baby-making status requires real EFFORT - it's a competition with a lot of sacrifice! Or, at least, that is my partner's approach to it. She has created a points system for her poor, hapless man. He gets points for making her dinner, points for buying her a gift, etc. etc. etc. The objective? To earn 1,000 points. His current tally? 20.

Like I said, delightful.

The mixed bag day

You know what I am referring to, don't you? The day that has some really great moments and some crapulous ones. The day that makes you feel like life is sometimes just a roller coaster and now that you are on it, you just have to hold on and if necessary, close your eyes (or ignore what you are seeing)...

So what was good? Lovely sunshine. Time on the deck with a glass of wine while I water the lawn and my now lovely garden. Getting some errands done, including freeing up credit on our Home Depot card in preparation for our very exciting kitchen reno. Getting an invitation out to good friends for a full-day social and sport day we have planned on Saturday that starts out on the beach volleyball courts and ends with drinks and food at a friend's home - very much looking forward to it. Great stuff, right?

Then there's the tough moments. Unhappy coworkers and a tough work environment. Taking a multitude of busses to get around town because I didn't have a car today, but I DID have an appointment. Which brings me to the really tough moments. Any time I now go to my doctor's, I face kids. Babies. Pregnant ladies. Lots of them. It's not a fun environment for a woman who has had two back-to-back failed pregnancies. And then the big moment, when my doctor calls my name out, and I look up, and SHE is pregnant. So pregnant that while I was suffering miscarriage, she was happily pregnant. Jeeeeeez. C'mon people! Ya gotta stop! Every day on Facebook - pictures of babies, pictures of growing bellies, status updates about baby heartbeats...and then....visiting babies at work in the hallways...it's a steady stream of reminders. All. The. Time. Over. And. Over.

Okay. I'm done. I am fine. I am sure that we will eventually have a family. I have lots of hope.

And sunshine, a garden and a new kitchen to enjoy and/or look forward to.

Duelling Qs

You know that the summer has officially launched the first night that my husband and our next door neighbour get together to plan and execute an elaborate BBQ meal. It's not REALLY a competition, but they sure seem to try to step up their game constantly.

This Saturday was that night. Slow smoked pulled pork shoulder with a cumin spiced coleslaw, warm rosemary grilled potato and green bean salad for the main, and three different types of grilled dessert pizzas (with some cocktails and wine thrown in)... soooo gooood!

Great friends, great food and the great outdoors...fabulous.

Just call me the workaholic hermit

At least I am ready to collapse into bed each night, too exhausted to think too much. The dreams haven't been pleasant, though.

I just can't do it. I just can't get out and back into my life yet. Crazy how heavy and onerous it feels to contemplate. It's my life, and it is a great life...so why so hard to face?

But holy crap, the garden is looking better and better, the fence is getting painted (but after 4 full days of painting still not done - ! - so a word to the wize for all those contemplating repainting your fence with a brush, DON'T DO IT. Rent a sprayer, buy a sprayer or hire. Seriously.), and the new toilets are now in. Nothing like a need to keep busy to strike big items off your to do list, I guess!

I have incredible family and massive amounts of friends all offering love and support, and it is wonderful, and yet I can't reach out to them. It's like all I want is my man, my home, my garden and time. So if that's what I want, I guess I have to listen to that...

Warm up for Superbowl

Ready for the kick-off? We are heading off for a little pre-superbowl bowling party, followed by the game on the big screen at our favourite pub, the Blackburn Arms. Should be a great time, and as a lead up to the big event, I thought it would be fun to showcase the best part of last year's game....the commercials!

Enjoy!
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Ce-SJreIA

Yippee - a call from a longtime friend!

It's so great to hear from a good, good friend. I miss her! I think when we all get really busy in life, we forget how much friends can alter your mood, highlight the fun and wonderful things in your life, and just simply enrich your day. What a great way to close my day, with a win at volleyball with a team full of good friends, and a call from a close, albeit remote, friend.

G'night, and hope tomorrow is filled with many encounters with people of the friendship ilk.