We've taken on a lot, and somehow managed to stay in tact. Living life now as a family of 4!

I realized the other day that it has been over 10 years since I have needed my passport. Doesn't that seem a little crazy? I spent the year after high school travelling around Europe, all confident in my travel and survival skills, unafraid to head out to a new country with little or no prior research. When I came back to Canada, I was sure that international travel was my destiny, and that it wouldn't be long till I was hitting the road again. Instead, I moved to Winnipeg, and have been here pretty much ever since! My passport expired, and I didn't do anything about it. Didn't need it. And now, on the eve of departure, I'm feeling kind of nervous - about customs, about long flights, about making connections, about what will happen when we get to our destination (although, I really shouldn't be - I'm pretty sure that when I get there what's going to happen is we will be enthusiastically greeted by Jake's family, and promptly escorted to the beach).

You know, it wasn't that long ago that the Christmas season was a source of great anxiety and stress for me. Having family in different places geographically and stage-of-life wise made it tricky to get my hands on that 'Christmas'y feeling I had come to associate with the season. Lately, though, Christmas has returned to its status as one of my favourite times of year. I love the lights, the tree, the family time. The past two years my mom and siblings have gone to a cabin for the days right around Christmas. We make sure to get one with an outdoor hottub, and spend time together eating, playing games, skiing (except this year there is no snow (BOO to global warming!) so we walked around instead), and cooking ourselves in the hot tub. It is amazing. This year our cabin was 'ultra delux' and it was perfect for us. We completed 2 puzzles (500 pieces and 1000 pieces), read books, watched movies (Jake's first experience with The Sound of Music! He didn't ha

Did you know that at some wedding dress shops, people spontaneously burst into tears and ring a bell when they have found 'THE ONE' - that is THE DRESS they will get married in? Finding the 'perfect' dress seems to be just as, if not more, important than finding the right partner! And let me tell you, more often than not, the dresses they deem 'the one' are HIDEOUS, even as the people around them are saying 'you look incredible!'. But let's not get off track here. This is about how my cheapness, combined with a strong reluctance to buy into the 'bell ringing' sent me and my sisters driving into one of Winnipeg's sketchier neighbourhoods and into a stranger's house. In all the dresses I tried on, I was always drawn to lace overlays. I'm not sure exactly why - maybe because it's not princess-y per se, or maybe it's a little bit sleeker, usually, or something. Maybe I felt more grown up. For sure I felt more like myself i

Our house has started renovating itself, it seems. It hears us planning and scheming and plotting about which wall we will knock down first, and appears to be fully on board. First and foremost, chunks of plaster scattered around are common place, as Jake borrowed two oak doors and their frames from downstairs for the upstairs bedrooms, leaving exposed lath and plaster right where people are most likely to bump into it. I figure everything we sweep out now is stuff we don't have to shovel out later, right?

Hi family and friends! It has been a while, and I apologize for that. November is even the month where bloggers (ok, some bloggers) challenge each other to write every day. Maybe next year I'll do that about being newly married! Some disjointed thoughts: 1. 100 year-old houses with radiant heat are ridiculously hard to program. Jake and I (ok, Jake) are trying to figure out the best program for the thermostat, recognizing that we like the house cool to sleep and also that rads throw heat long beyond when the thermostat tells the boiler it's warm enough. For a few weeks it was too hot at night to sleep cozied up with the down comforter, which is pretty much my favourite thing. However, we seem to have swung the other way because now it is FREEZING in here. When there is infloor heat and a new boiler, hopefully this will no longer be a topic of conversation! 2. School has been a serious roller-coaster lately, for both of us, but since Jaker is at the Jets game, I'll j