Soccer

This is perfect!

Sweater Sets

Is "sweater set" one word or two? Ok, weird question, I know. I bought this sweater because it's cold at work but not that cold, it's summer. My sweaters are all big, bulky, winter sweaters. So, I found this really nice green one. And I love it. Although, it's sort of the type of sweater you'd have as part of a sweater set, but it only came with the sweater not the matching tank top for underneath. Anyway, I sort of feel old wearing it. I mean isn't it only Grandma's that wear sweater sets? Despite the fact that I feel old, I also feel good about myself. I'm not sure why. I'm not sure whether it looks good or I just feel so comfortable but still dressy. Usually when I dress up I'm not comfortable but today I am.

So, here's to comfortable sweatersets and Grandma's who wear them!!!!

Another baby!!!

Wow, I can't believe I blogged about Alanna and Brian's baby and not about Amanda and Derek's. Amanda is my cousin, one of the family of cousins that we grew up with in Ottawa. She lives with her husband, Derek, in Montreal. They had their baby on Thursday at around noon. Here's a link to Ezekiel's site with lots more cute baby pictures:) Congratulations!!!

New Hart Baby

Just wanted everyone to know that there is a new Hart baby!

Zachary Curtis Eelco Hart was born on Sat. evening. He is the son of Brian and Alanna Hart, there are more details and pictures on their blog.

Third Anniversary and Father's Day

Yesterday, was Father's Day, our 3 month anniversary and it was also really hot! Our church does not have air conditioning and Reuben doesn't handle heat very well. It's like he sweats but it doesn't cool his body off, he just keeps getting hotter and hotter. It's hard to watch because I don't know what to do for him.

We didn't do anything to celebrate our anniversary, just mentioned it. We're saving it all up for our one year. I'm wondering if anybody celebrates monthly anniversaries in their first year of marriage. I suppose it's sort of silly.

As for Father's Day, we planned a great evening meal including ribs, green beans, baked potatoes, coleslaw and the piece de resistance was my frozen chocolate mousse squares and frozen banana chocolate ribbon cheesecake. MMMMMMM!!!! It was all really good! Anybody want to come over for leftovers, we've got lots of cake left. This is because both my brother and sister, Diana, couldn't come. So it was just the 6 of us.

We got my Dad a personalized license plate for Father's Day. We've been planning to do this for about a year but just haven't got around to it. It says "dlta 4ce". This is what he calls his research group. Delta has something to do with enzyme activity. If you remember the delta symbol from calculas, it signifies change. Anyway, he was really, really surprised!! We can hardly ever surprise him but this time we got him. I think he really likes it too. It will come in 6-8 weeks. We also got him some golf balls for his upcoming trip to the Maritimes with Rich and a cell phone cover, which he desperately needed.

All in all, it was a fun day despite the heat!

Camping - UGH

Ok, so we went camping. My family doesn't camp. I've been camping maybe 3 times in my life and each time it's been so frigidly cold I said I'd never do it again. I guess my parents never camped because they never camped as kids. Well, anyway, they just aren't the type to think that it's an adventure. I guess that's why I have the same mentality.

Well, Karin and Josh have been going camping with their group of friends for the past 3 or 4 summers and this time they invited Reuben and I along. We thought it might be fun to hang out with these people and get some camping in. Reuben grew up camping every summer. He loves it, he's used to it.

The weather didn't promise to be very good and we just about canceled. At the last minute we decided to stick it out and go anyway. Even though as we were packing the car, it was pouring rain and 10 degrees. I was trying to be brave and stick it out for Reuben's sake.

The weather didn't get any better. Our air mattress didn't stay inflated. We couldn't go swimming cause it was too cold. We sort of wished we knew our fellow campers a little bit better as it would have made for better bonding.

The good things about the weekend (because I hate to complain about the whole thing) was that sitting around a fire really is very enjoyable (if you don't get smoked out). And hearing rain on your tent is quite soothing.

We nearly went home Sat night. It started raining again and I had just about enough of being dirty, cold and uncomfortable. I can't imagine camping for a whole week!!! But we toughed it out and stayed overnight.

We're scheduled to go camping with Reuben's family in July. What should I do? Any tips to make it more enjoyable.

Another fun-filled weekend just passed. We had our friends, Josh and Dina, over from Brampton. On Friday night we did some groceries so we'd have enough food to feed them. And then we cleaned up the apt and did some dishes. They arrived around 10:15 and we sat and chatted till about midnight.

On Saturday, we got up around 8 and the guys went to play a round or two of squash while I got breakfast ready. Homemade waffles with whipped cream, bananas and blueberries. Mmmmmm!!! Then we got ready to go downtown and left around 11am. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't very nice and it pretty much rained the whole day. But we trudged through and toured around the outside of the parliament buildings until we were allowed to go inside. It was an open door day so we could go wherever we wanted. We went up the Peace Tower, saw the Memorial Chamber, the House of Commons and the Senate. And last but not least we got to see the newly renovated Library of Parliament. It's been under construction for 4 years. But it was worth the wait. It was very beautiful! I will try to get some pictures up soon or get Reuben to put some on his blog. After this we decided to get something to eat as it was pouring rain. Our original plan was to walk around the Market but it wouldn't have been much fun in the rain. So we went to Darcy McGee's pub on Sparks Street. I had an excellent Summer Tomato Soup and some fries along with a warming cup of cocoa. The rest of the day was spent in our apartment warming up, playing games, eating pizza and watching a movie.

On Sunday, we went to church and between services we went for a nice walk by the river. The weather was gorgeous, sunny, warm with a slight breeze! After second service we went to my parents' for dinner with Mike and Diana, who were also down for the weekend. Josh and Dina left around 7pm. We had such a great time with them! We hope to do it again soon.

My amazing husband and babies

There's nothing really exciting to post about but I wanted to share that Reuben continually amazes me! This past weekend I spent all of Saturday in Montreal and Reuben stayed home. He did groceries, he baked cookies and he put up this amazing canopy above/around our bed! I will try to get a picture of it up here soon. I would also like to post a picture of the other side of our livingroom.

In Montreal, my Mom and Emma and I went to a baby shower for my cousin, Amanda. She is due on June 17. We had a lovely time but it certainly was a long drive just for an afternoon of fun. My aunt and uncle and other cousin, Corrine were there so we didn't have any excuse not to go (not that we wanted one) because we rarely get to see them. The shower was fun! We played some interesting games, the food was delicious and Amanda and Derek received some really nice gifts. I'm glad I got to see Amanda one last time before she has the baby. I also can't wait to see their baby!

Speaking of babies, I'm now allowed to inform the world that I'm going to be an Aunt. I wanted to start another blog dedicated to this so there is a link to it on my sidebar. There won't be much to say for awhile as she is only 8 or 9 weeks along. Oh, you're probably wondering which one of my family is having this baby! My youngest sister, Diana!!!! I'm so happy for her and Mike. It's so wonderful that God can bless them with the beginning of a bigger family. Anyway, I should let you read all about it at my other blog.

Our Second Anniversary

Second month, that is.

We've been married for 2 months now. It doesn't sound like a long time when you say it like that but it feels long. In a good way. We are really discovering the wonderful depth that is marriage. The saying that you don't know what it's like to be married until you are, is really true. I've dreamed long and hard about being married and now that I am it is so much more than I thought it would be. More wonderful, more precious, more intense, more fulfilling. When there is someone to come home to at the end of the day, it makes everything seem so much more worth it. (I'm not sure if that makes sense.)

Admittedly, it's not all sunshine and roses. There are an infinite number of things that annoy him about me and annoy me about him. But somehow it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, you just forget it, give eachother a hug and go to sleep.

We've done some more painting in our apt. I was really tired and sore the second night(it took 2 nights to finish) so I wasn't very enthusiastic whereas Reuben just wanted to do as good a job as possible. We got it done though, hopefully, we'll get a picture up here soon so you can see. It looks great! So much more cosy than the off-white they had in here. It's looking more and more like home!

We are heading down to visit my sister, Diana and her husband Mike tomorrow night. Then on Saturday, we are going to Waterdown to stay with Reuben's parents and to hang out with some of our friends whom we haven't seen in quite awhile. We are looking forward to it. It has been a long time since we have been to Southern Ontario. I hope the weather gets better.

For the love of Airports

Big news, folks!

I will once again be a WestJetter starting on Tuesday, May 23. I'll be doing the same job as before only for the Airports department at the Ottawa airport. More thoughts on this to come ...

Pics

My husband just posted 2 pictures. One of our new paint job in the livingroom and one of the view from our balcony last night. It was amazing how the stormy weather came up and their were so many sailboats out on the river. I love where we live.

My Birthday

I was thinking this weekend about how everyone congratulates you for your birthday. I wonder how that started because really why do I need to be congratulated. I didn't really do anything. I think my parents should be the one congratulated and in our Dutch circles they do. I think it's appropriate. I also think that we should be giving cards and presents to our parents on our birthdays to let them know how much we appreciate all the things they have done for us over the past year. I guess that is what Mother's Day and Father's Day is for. (I'm sorry for the continued use of dangling participles. I wish there was an easy way for me to stop using them.)

Speaking of Mother's Day, my sister, Karin and I were racking our brains for what to get our Mother and we couldn't think of anything. She seems to have everything. But then we came up with the brilliant idea to take her out for lunch. Pretty brilliant, huh? I'm sure it's been done before;) Then we are going to a ballet performance. It's just a children's ballet involving some of the girls in our church. It should be pretty cute!

We painted our apartment last night. It's called Copper Coin but it's more orange than brown. We have to do another coat tonight. With Reuben and I working on it together it only took 2.5 hrs whereas when I did our bedroom it took me 4 hrs. It's much more fun to have someone helping you. Some of our friends said that painting together would test our relationship but I think it just made it stronger. Although I did nitpick a little about Reuben's technique, as I've painted a few more times than him but in the end it went fine.

We'll be putting on the second coat tonight and then we'll take some pictures of that wall and our bedroom and post them here so that ya'll can see how our place is turning out.

The Ottawa Hospital

I am working at the hospital. Who would ever have guessed it? It's crazy where life (God) can take you. I am working in the HR department and further in Compensation and Classification. They deal with Job Descriptions and pay rates and try to keep track of all the different jobs at the hospital. They have a big challenge right now because the Civic Hospital just amalgamated with 2 other hospitals to form one Ottawa Hospital that has 3 campuses. So it's a big job to sort through everyone's job and make sure that everyone is being paid fairly. I think it's pretty interesting and had definitely never thought about the fact that this was going on. And is probably going on behind the scenes at a lot of major organizations.

At first when I heard that I was going to be at the hospital, I was a little bit apprehensive because I, like most people, do not enjoy hospitals and the thought of being around sick people sort makes me nervous because I do not know how to deal with it. But I'm actually across the street from the main building and no where near any patients. It's called the Clinical Studies building and it's really old and run down but they have run out of room elsewhere for offices. Apparently, the building was supposed to be demolished but they decided to keep it up because they odn't have money to build something to replace it right now. At first I was a little leary about it but it's not too bad once you get used to it.

The job is very undefined. What they really need is someone to be a data analyst. For now I'm just filing and organizing and photocopying and taking some time to learn their database. They have a permanent job posted and they are wondering if I want to apply for it. I just looked at the job description and I'm not sure if it's a job that I would want. The pay is very good so that is one incentive but I am just not sure if it's the right job for me.

Besides the job thing, it's my birthday this Sunday. Reuben is taking me to Montreal tomorrow. And my parents are hosting a bbq for me. It should be a good weekend. I guess I'm in my late twenties now but that doesn't really bother me. I think I'm pretty comfortable where I am and Reuben keeps me feeling young:)

Well, that's the excitement from my life right now.

Blog Title Change

As the Best Day of My Life has come and gone, I think it's time to change the title of my blog. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to start a new blog but I figured a change in title would be easier. So what do you think?

I start a new job tomorrow. I'm with a temp agency and they got me a 3 week contract at the Civic campus of the Ottawa Hospital. It looks like I'll be doing some admin work for them. Sounds pretty cool. I'm always nervous when I have to go to an unknown place and start an unknown task. But as my life progresses, I've learned to take things more in stride and not worry so much. Things usually work out in the end. The job starts at 8. I have to take the bus because the parking fees are horrendous. I'm going to have to be an early riser again. But it's not as bad as 5:30. I think I can handle 6:30 a bit better. At least I won't be the only one in my whole world awake at that time. Reuben won't get as much care and attention in the morning though. Currently, I make his breakfast and his lunch but I'm not sure I'll be able to keep that up as he has to leave 20 min. later than myself. We'll make it work though. It'll be nice to just be working to save instead of having to spend it all on living costs.

Well, onwards and upwards as they say. I'll keep you posted ... no pun intended.

Our Wedding Pictures

If you'd like to see more pictures, click here .

Our Bridal Party

Sorry, I could only get this one picture working but it's something at least. I'll keep trying!

Where do I start ...

I am starting this post today because I know that it needs to get done but I'm not sure where to start or where to end. I probably will not get it done today, either. I am at a computer in the library and it's very hard to concentrate. There are people milling about and people on other computers talking to themselves. It's very disconcerting to say the least. I wish we had the internet at home. I feel very disconnected. I am very used to just popping on to google whenever an idea hits me and now I tell myself to look it up later but I don't write it down and I inevitably forget.

So, yes, where to start. Well, we're married now. Tomorrow it will be 3 weeks, already. My does time fly. It's a rainy day and I have just done our weekly grocery shopping, I also did laundry and organized some files. I'm not working again yet. Being a wife is different than I thought it would be. It's wonderful! It's also challenging. I love my husband, I love spending time with him, I love cooking for him and keeping our house organized and clean. I love going to sleep with him and waking up with him beside me. It's hard to articulate the challenges except to say that I have higher expectations of myself now or at least I think that's what it is. Anyway, maybe I'll write more about that later. On to the good stuff, the wedding.

Our wedding day was perfect. It truly was the best day of my life!! I actually did get some sleep the night before, maybe 3 or 4 hours but I felt good when I got up and even though I didn't need to be up, once I was awake at 6:30 I couldn't stay in bed any longer. The first thing I did was have a bite to eat and then a bath!. Our hairdresser, Erica, arrived just after 7 and by that time the rest of the girls were starting to stir. Erica worked on our hair from 7 am till 12:30 .. she was amazing and we all turned out wonderfully! It was a long morning for me, the time went slowly. I just wanted to see Reuben. Finally, it was time to put my dress on. I wish I had some pics to add to this blog but since I'm not at home I don't have them with me. I wanted to have a picture with Mom and Dad outside before we left for the church so we did that but it was so cold and windy!! That was the only downfall about the day but at least it was sunny and I didn't have to worry about get wet or muddy. We arrived at the church on time and Reuben had arrived on time and was escorting the grandmothers in. My bouquet and the girls bouquets were beautiful and exactly what I had envisioned. Waiting to walk down the aisle, I almost starting crying but my Dad distracted me by talking about his tie ... which was the plan!!:) And finally, when the doors opened, I took a deep breath and tried to see Reuben but the aisle was so long, I could hardly even see him . So I just tried not to look at him until I could actually look in his eyes. It was a magical moment! The rest of the service went smoothly. Apparently we looked quite calm and happy. Which we were. We had already decided not to worry if anything went wrong and we didn't. I was just trying to absorb everything and remember every moment. Saying I do was the easiest thing in the world because we are so certain that we are supposed to be together forever. And then it was over and we were walking out and were ready to relax for the rest of the day.

Getting our pictures taken at the RBG center was a breeze. We had a great photographer in Corny. I was getting pretty tired of posing and smiling by the end and was super hungry. But it was just nice to be with everyone, our family and closest friends for that time.

Our reception was fun and there was great food and laughter and singing and good speeches and the slideshow of us growing up was awesome! (sorry, run on sentence). I don't know what else to say, I had a good time and I think everyone else was having a good time.

And then it was off on our honeymoon, which is another story for another blog for another day.

WestJet

Today is my last day at WestJet. It's sad and it's happy. It's hard for me to process the fact that I am leaving because all I am thinking about right now is the wedding and starting my new life together with Reuben in Ottawa. But I know that I will miss this job. I have enjoyed learning about the airline industry. I've enjoyed being at the airport and seeing the planes everyday. I've enjoyed getting to know the people I work with here. Generally, they are a good group! I have learned a lot at this job. I've learned that I hate driving in Toronto. I've learned that I can get up at 5:30 every weekday for a year and 4 months and not totally disintegrate(I am happy that this was my last morning getting up that early for work, hopefully forever!). I've learned to cope with the commute of just under an hour each way everyday. At first, I didn't think I was going to make it but it's amazing what you can adapt to and get used to. Now, it doesn't even feel that long. Unfortunately, I've also learned the difference between those who are friendly on the outside(because that is what is promoted at this company) but not friendly on the inside and those who are genuinely friendly both inside and out. I've met some really happy, positive and lovely people at my time here.

So, it's onwards and upwards. This was my second full time job since leaving University in December 2001 and my third job (the other one being just a seasonal contract).

I just realized I hadn't posted this on the intended day. Let me do that now and then move on.

Leg cramps

Kay, weird title for a post, I know. But I have the worst calf cramp of my life. I woke up with it at 5:15 and it's still here!!! I don't know what to do about it. I tried massaging it, walking it off and nothing helps. Any ideas, folks? I know that noone is reading this but I thought I'd throw it out there. I'm going to see if our first aid kit has any hot patches, maybe that would help.

There is nothing much else going on so there's not much to write about. Just that there are only 16 sleeps till the Wedding Day:)

My emotional ramblings on our new apartment

Ok .. so Reuben challenged me in his last post to write something emotional about our place. I guess that's one of my jobs in our relationship!!

The weekend of packing and unpacking was so whirlwind that I hardly had any time to digest the fact that we were moving into our very own first apartment. Wow ... it's all coming together and our wedding day is fast approaching! Less than 3 weeks to go.

On Thursday night, I had my first night of not being able to sleep from excitement and nervousness. I also think it's cause my mom was sleeping over and it's hard for me to fall asleep with someone else in the room. I am always conscious of them. I guess I'll have to get used to that when we're married! So, I was pretty tired on Friday. The troops came over at 9 in the morning and we(I mean, they) starting carting things up the stairs, down the path, around the house and out to the driveway. Around 10:30 we took a Tim's break and then loaded up the rest. We visited my Oma Buist before hitting the road. Jared drove down with me to keep me company and to help with the move on the other end. We decided not to try and stay with the cube van as they were driving quite slow. We made it home before Reuben got home from work ...around 5:10. Mom and Dad got there about 6:30.

On Sat. morning we got up bright and early again and made it to the apt building by 9am. We loaded all the stuff in the service elevator and were done by 10am. Then the unpacking began. We got most of the kitchen stuff done but we quickly realized we were going to run out space. I don't know where all this stuff came from but I've been accumulating it for awhile plus all the new stuff we've been getting for our engagement and bridal showers. I wished we had more time to set things up on Sat. It was really hard to leave. I wanted to stay and nest but it's back to Burlington for me.

Reuben had some adventures on his first night sleeping there but I'll let him tell that story!:) I have one and a half weeks of work left and then it's wedding, wedding, wedding. And finally, 4 weeks after we moved in, I will get to move in!!