Renovated Home

For the last few years, home has been Ottawa. But at the same time, home will always be Prescott. Recently though, my parents have renovated the house and upgraded many features that they have been talking about for years.
My dad is taking advantage of the home renovation tax and environmentally upgrading the house. He has increased the insulation in several parts of the house, installed a tank-less water heater and new windows throughout.
One of the biggest things they have done to the house is the installation of a downstairs bathroom/powder room. My dad has been talking about this and planning it for the last twenty years and for many of the past years, this room was used storage for the Proctor and Gamble products. It has a black and white theme with slight hints of mauve and purple and looks so great.
Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it when I was home, so you will have to take my word on this.

Thanksgiving 2009 - #1

Today marks the beginning of the Thanksgiving the weekends (officially) as well as the beginning of our Thanksgiving roadtrip (I am trying to put a positive spin on all the driving we have ahead of us). Unlike last year, we do not have Thanksgiving with both families in one weekend. My parents have decided to move their Thanksgiving dinner to next weekdn to allow for everyone to have a more relaxing Thanksgiving, and for more time with them. This weekend we are off to the Konings - well actually the Mantels as it is Dave's mom's side of the family we are eating dinner with. We will be travelling to Peterborough today and then tomorrow heading with his immediate family, to Newmarket for the actual meal. We will likely be spending the night in Peterborough and driving back to Ottawa Monday.
The Beach Family Thanksgiving celebrations are always the last to get scheduled as Tyler and Lynn have to go all the way out to Wilno and we have to go all the way to Peterborough and Newmarket. Both Dave and Lynn's families also tend to be a bit less flexible when it comes to planning holiday festivities as well. I don't mean to be offensive, just stating facts. They get told when hers is and we get told when the Konings are and so far they have both been on the same day which enables the Beach one to be nicely planned around those. As previously mentioned, Mom and Dad decided to move theirs to decrease the stress and troubles on both Tyler and Lynn and Dave and I. It also allows for more time with them that will be really nice.
Anyway, I am looking forward to some good food and photography (I tend to be the unofficial photographer for the Koning/Mantel events). And of course - leftovers!!

One Minute Writer #20

Write about the first item you remember saving up to purchase.

The first thing I remember saving up for were twin dolls.
When I was little, sometime around grade 2 or so, my Mom's Dad gave me $50 for Christmas. My parents matched that and I therefore had $100, which is an unheard of amount for someone that young. I knew exactly what I wanted - twin dolls from Canadian Tire.
The old Canadian Tire in Prescott had this backroom where most of the toys were and that is where I had found the dolls a few days or weeks earlier. They were matching dolls, one boy and one girl in a blue and pink outfit and with brown and blonde hair respectively. They had soothers and would cry if they were not in their mouths (as long as the dolls were turned on). They were much higher quality than any other crying doll on the market and in my opinion are still higher quality than most dolls on the market today. I loved them very much and my friends and I played with them for years. I took them to show and tells at school and daycare and pretty much dragged them to every ball and hockey game Tyler played in. Stephanie and Stephen were their names as I had just learned what the male version of my own name was and for whatever reason named them both after myself. They are still stored at my parents house with all the rest of my toys and are still great dolls which were well worth the money.

Car Extravaganza

(image found through Google).
On April 17th, 2009 Dave's 2001 Nissan Sentra was t-boned while I was driving it to work. I was on turning from Conroy onto Thurston on a yellow light. The cars coming in the opposite direction were stopping and I thought it was safe. Obviously I was wrong as a Mazda Protege 5 smashed into the passenger side of my car bringing me to a complete stop. Somehow I managed to keep the car from hitting any other vehicle and then parked it on the side of the road. In an attempt to make this part of the story a little shorter, the man who hit me was extremely upset and unnecessarily rude. A witness came back and told me he saw the man run the red light (this witness had been behind me in the turning lane and obviously also thought it was safe to turn as he was right behind me when I was hit). The car had some pretty serious damage to it, but it still ran. The passenger side doors no longer opened and the back passenger side was smashed in so far the you could stick your hand through the opening.I went into work and my boss helped me find out what station to go to and how to get there, I really appreciated how helpful he was. When I arrived at the station I spoke with an officer, waited for another officer and called the insurance company. I also called my dad and asked him to come up and help me as Dave was in Toronto for work. After taking the car to a body shop and getting a rental car (a stupid, horribly designed Toyota Yaris), my dad took me back to Prescott where I spent the weekend trying to relax and figure out what had just happened.(image found through Google).

When I returned Sunday afternoon I had several messages related to the accident one of which was from the constable assigned to the case. He came over to the house and charged me with making an unsafe turn. The man who hit me wasn't getting charged with anything. My witness had changed his statement after speaking with the constable (in my opinion, he was scared out of it by the constable but I do not know exactly what happened). I was upset and angry. I have since decided to fight the charge and have a court date on July 6, 2009 at 1pm. I hope it goes well.
Later on in the week I learned that the car was a total loss. After quite a bit of deliberation with Dave about the situation, we decided to take the money offered to us by the insurance company and find a new car. We started looking for cars when he was home for the weekend and then while he was back in Toronto. We had quite a hard time with this as we really didn't have any money and were both extremely stressed. The leaders in the car search were: a red 2008 Honda Fit (sport) with ~50,000km (image found through Google) and two red 2007 Dodge Calibers (with ~80,000km and ~60,000km) (image found through Google).Later on we also thought about a new 2009 Pontiac Wave (image found through Google).
After about 2 weeks of car shopping, we came to an agreement to buy the Honda Fit from the dealership owned by family friends back in Prescott. We liked the look of it and felt it was a better fit for our lifestyle. It has tons of space inside (seriously - just wait until you see it, it looks tiny but inside it feels huge!) and has so many features we couldn't afford in a new car.
We went to Riverside Saturday to purchase the car only to find more stress. Someone had the car out on a test drive! I was very upset (again) and was afraid that we were going to lose the only car we both liked and felt was the right price. We went back to my parents' house and made a few calls to some of the other dealers we had been talking to and were able to make a deposit on the car. Eventually we were able to go and test the car out again and we luckily saw that we hadn't built it up too much. It was still great so we purchased it. I got a courtesy car to drive, a red Pontiac Pursuit, until our car was ready as it needed to have a safety and inspection done to ensure it was up to the standards of the Riverside Pontiac Buick dealership.(image found through Google).
I picked up our 2008 Honda Fit on Tuesday and am absolutely in love with it. Dave will be home on Saturday (he is back in Toronto for work) and I can't wait for him to come home to our new car. It makes me so happy to have our own set of wheels again - ones we got to pick out and buy.

Mom

Yesterday I saw my mom while we were down in Prescott for the day and I gave her a card for Mother's Day. I don't usually get her a gift since she is impossible to buy for and no longer wants little knick-knacks and trinkets. I will call her later on as she is probably out for Sunday breakfast (or just about to leave for it).

A Different Kind of Easter

When I was little I would wake up to a basket or bowl on the floor with a trail of Easter eggs leading to the living room where I would then find a small gift from the"Easter Bunny". Later when we got Eddy, the trail started and ended in my room with the remaining eggs in the bowl already as Ed would have eaten all the chocolate lying on the ground. But I still knew to go to the living room to receive my small, but great gift. When I went away to school the "Easter bunny" sometimes came to me in Ottawa and sometimes waited until after exams were completed to deliver the goodies. Though Easter sometimes got looked over due to the craziness that is university exams.
This year was a pretty different from any previous year. I went home for Easter dinner with Dave and we got our chocolate which was really nice. We had spent Good Friday trying to go to the Agriculture Museum and then hanging out with a friend for the rest of the afternoon. Today is the day that makes it all so different. Dave left this morning to go back to Toronto for the designated substance surveys for DST. So I spent Easter Sunday walking around Mer Bleue and then driving around the City trying to find something to distract myself with. Now I am back at home going through photos and blogging (and worrying about work but that is another story).

Family Visits

I really enjoyed this past weekend with the families. Dave and I drove to Peterborough on Saturday and then joined his mom's side of the family in Newmarket for Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. Monday we headed to Prescott to spend the day with my family. Tyler and Lynn were already there as they had drove up the day before and it was really nice to see them again.

This weekend was also my parent's anniversary (11th), my mom's birthday (11th) and Tyler and Lynn's 1 month anniversary (13th) - so there was even more to celebrate than just Thanksgiving itself. It was a very nice relaxing day.

Unfortunately I got sick sometime during the weekend, though I think it was building up throughout last week.

Thanksgiving Preparation

Thanksgiving is the weekend of the 11th and it is currently looking like it is going to be a good one, though quite busy as well. Not only is our guest moving out two days before the weekend, but we have lots of family dinners in the works as well. In previous years Dave and I go in opposite directions for Thanksgiving (each to our respective families), but this year we are going to try and get to both families together – should be interesting to say the least.

Dave’s Aunt Melinda is having the Mantel Family Thanksgiving at her place near Toronto on Sunday. We will probably be spending the night at his parent’s home in Peterborough and then driving to Prescott to have dinner with my parents, brother and new sister in law on Monday. It will mean lots of food and possible some good leftovers to get us through that next week too. We could move my family’s Thanksgiving up to this weekend, but that would mean we lose two weekends to this holiday instead of just one and quite frankly I have been so tired lately I need the weekends to rest up from the previous week of work and early mornings.

The Mantel Family get-togethers are very different from the Beach ones. To start with The Beach Family Thanksgiving consists of about 5 or 6 people while the Mantel consists of ... well a lot more. Mantel Family events are planned way in advance as it needs to be decided which sibling will get to host the event (or have to host it depending on your outlook) while the Beach events are rather unplanned and just semi-‘go with the flow’. Dinner is of course planned, but the day that it happens doesn’t really matter as long as there is even notice to make the meal.They have the same family togetherness feel to them and there is really no drama at either of them, so I guess it is really just the size and pre-planning of the event that makes them different.

I am looking forward to being part of Dave’s family holiday as I have been attending the family reunions for the past three years and enjoy them very much. It will be nice though to have a quiet, peaceful day with my family after it all though.

Cold and Alone

I got back into Ottawa yesterday (through a big storm) only to be greeted by nothing and no one. The house was freezing and took a while to warm up to even a live-able condition let alone a comfortable one. Dad didn't spend any time at the house since he wanted to get back on the road before the storm got worse (luckily he made it home safe and sound in about 1.5times the length of the normal trip). None of the roommates are back in town until the 3rd of 5th, I forget which, and classes start on the 7th (so I am told) so they will definitely be back by then, but until then I am left all alone in the 5 person house. I keep hearing sounds from the neighbouring townhome as they walk around and live their lives. I don't usually hear them since my roommates make noises that cover them up, but when there is no one else to blame the noise on I had to make up excuses for them. My imagination is still really good even at age 23 and I kept dreaming up intruder scenarios and when the snowplow went by I thought someone had broken in for sure. Oh well, people will be back soon and Dave get back into the country on the 8th, back into Ottawa on the 9th or 10th. That's right, I am semi-counting down to his homecoming. Mind you we only get to spend 4 or 5 days together until I take off for London and then if he gets the Mississauga job we might only get a couple of days together when I get back until he has to move, but I am not thinking about that too much right now.

It was -27 degrees Celcius (with the windchill) this morning and I wore several scarves, my mittens and my hat to the bus stop. I put on two pairs of socks to keep my feet warm in the insualted boots I have but unfortunately forgot to further cover my legs so they were freezing by the time I walked from the bus stop to my building. Itook about 2 hours to fully warm up in here and I suspect it will take even longer by the time I get myself home tonight. I need to do some running around my little neighbourhood getting things that I need for the next couple of days, like bus tickets since I am not getting abus pass this month (the math doesn't add up). I left the heat on a tiny bit when I left this morning so I am hoping that my room won't be an complete ice box for me but rather just a chilly fridge or something. Perhaps I will do my exercise as soon as I get home with my coat on and everything to warm the place, and me, up faster.

Christmas Presents II

I just finished Christmas breakfast with my parents after opening Christmas presents. Thisyear was a little different as Tyler wasn't here Christmas morning. He and Lynn, his fiance, will be coming downlater today. They spent Chirstmas Eve at her place and are coming her for dinner and more presents later. I openned up all the presents from "santa" and comet and my parents. I got the normal things like socks and batteries, choclates and my Gund toy (a little lamby one since I collect both those things). My big gift was a set of luggage - 6 pieces! It is really awesome. I am going to be taking at least two of the piece with me to London perhaps even three. Inside each bag was a little stocking with 50 or 100 dollars in it! I got a grand total of $500! I am not sure what I want to use it for just yet - probably a combination of London and the camera I want. There are still two more gifts from Tyler yet and I should be getting them later on. My parents liked their gifts from me and the ones from Dave which makes me really happy. My dad went and opened up his hockey cards right away - as he usually does Christmas morning. Comet seems to really like the little doll I got him which is good because I didn't know if he would as I bought it before ever meeting him.
It has been a really great Christmas so far - Hope everyone else's has been good too. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

More Shopping...

Mom and I went out shopping again while I was back in Prescott yesterday. I ended up spending about 80 bucks at Cotton Ginny on 3 skirts a pair of pants and a shirt. I also got a new pair of sandals from Limestone and Ivy. I then purchased another jacket at Danier (white leather this time) -- mind you it was significantly cheaper than the red one I purchased the other day.
I don't think I should be allowed to go shopping with my mom anymore haha!

Time to Relax

Dave and I went to Prescott for the weekend - it was such a nice relaxing time. Dad came and got us Friday and we sat around watching tv Friday night. Saturday we tried to find something to do in town seeing as how it was Harbour Days - unfortunately that wasn't any good. Brockville was pretty boring too. It was a nice drive around the two towns though. We ended up just sitting around the pool all day - during which time I got a nice burn on my shoulders. When it got dark we sat in the hot tub and watched the lightning bugs - it was really cool.
My brother Tyler and his girlfriend Lynn came on Sunday and showed us all the pictures they took when they went to Florida a couple weeks ago. Then Tyler and I went shopping around the house basically placing dibs on the different pieces of furniture that are up for grabs from Mom and Dad. I really enjoy going home - just long enough that you get to relax and whatnot but not long enough that you really get bored.

Searching on the Net

I wanted to see how long it would take me to find my blog ont he net so I searched my name. When I did it just normally it took a while and several pages to find anything relating to me. Then when I went selected pages from Canada I instantly found something about me http://www.now.carleton.ca/2007-3/1569.htm - it's an article about a project I did this past school year on the City of Ottawa's Green Waste Program. Also on the first page of sites was this: http://www.prescottjournal.com/2001_archives/11-14-01.html a list of honour students from my high school (grade 11) which was printed in the Prescott Journal. Another article from the paper shows up on the second page of results, its about the double cohort year I was a part of: http://www.prescottjournal.com/2003_archives/06-18-03.html.
The only way to get to this actual blog (or my blogger profile) is to search all the net and to actually add +blog to the end of my name. Eventually you can get to my profile and my blog - but not as easily as I had hoped. You would think that this being a Google owned operation that when searching Google.ca you would be able to find their blogs easier - silly program.

Eddy is home now.

My mom called the night before last to tell me that Eddy came home. We had him cremated so that if mom and dad move, Eddy can move with them. It takes about 2 weeks after you put him to sleep to get his ashes back and I had asekd them to call me when he returned. At first I thought it was Chris and she was upset since all I intially heard was mom crying - then I realized what was going on. She says that his urn is the size of a mustard jar - which is fitting because he was a little dog. I was okay while we were talking but then later when I was trying to fall asleep I got really sad thinking that he really is gone and when I go home next weekend he won't be there to greet me. I am dealing with it and eventually I will stop blogging about him - but not yet.