So....Many....Boxes...

Slowly but surely we are getting ready to make the big move across town, away from the biker bar, over by the slammed civic gang mall, but more out of small arms range. I am sure that there will be fewer disturbances in the parking lot that make me want to tell Jenn to lie down near an interior wall away from windows. Although the scene in our living room is slightly more organized than it had been before, as noted in the pictures below, it is even more densely packed with full boxes.

Moving has, however, caused me to think about the things that I have in my "ready" shelves and what might be moved to different housing. I reckon that the food dehydrator might well need to be shifted to a more remote location despite the sentimental value as a gift in favour of something that we use more often. Ditto the chocolate fountain. The Electric grill and bread maker, however, along with the rice cooker, shall remain front and centre.

Have I mentioned how hyped I am to be moving to within a five minute drive of T&T Market? It is really going to put the zap on making any Asian food that I might want. Ah, what we give up in proximity to the Mill Woods little India, we gain in proximity to the best dang supermarket in town bar none.

Oh, and just so you know it isn't all cheap talk

I have a giant cat. He is really too big for his own good, and getting bigger every day. Remember, he is just now turning 8 months old, eleven pounds, with at least a little more growth spurt left in him.

As you can see, I no longer have a chair, I have a blue cat perch. Sometimes, he lets me sit on his cat perch. That makes me happy.

The place is neck deep in boxes.

So here we have assorted pictures of what my place looks like right now. I think that people will appreciate how much space wedding gifts take up and how many accessories wives come with when they realize that I moved from Peace River to Edmonton with one load in a compact pickup truck and two loads in a sedan. This time it Might fit in a 17' cube van, but if it doesn't, I have a truck of my own now.

The latest update on our move:

Our new moving date is May 1. Thanks to everyone who has agreed to help, and if you are reading this and feel like helping me move on that day too, let me know.

The plan as it stands right now is to do the inspection at 10:00, and then immediately load up an elevator full of boxes, rush over and pick up the dolly from the store

The truck is set for a pick-up from the company at 4:00 PM that day and so I will go, pick up the truck, and hopefully meet up with the people who are wanting to help me move at my place in the East end. At some point I may pick up Kayla from school in order to get the extra pair of hands. Incidentally, all this time, Jenn will be doing inventory at the store, so we will have already loaded up the truck by the time Jenn is done work, so we will pick her up, go to Burger Baron for supper, and then we will wheel across the city and start to unload the stuff into the building, (with maybe someone dropping Kayla off at the hospital for volunteering) hopefully with the assistance of assorted people, which ought to make it go faster. Once that is done, I will drop off the truck, pick up my truck, and wheel back across town through post-rush-hour traffic while Jenn supervises the rough unpacking of stuff and I will spend the evening hosting on the patio with my new blender.

Actually what will probably happen is that Jenn will come home, read this, and yell at me for not planning to move right, and tell me what will actually be happening.

Speaking of my new blender, can I just say how much I like it? It has way more power than my old blender, and so it makes blender drinks that are much more blended and less grainy, with fewer chunks of ice. I didn't need to constantly shake the machine to get the sides to blend down or anything. It works just great. Happily I have found a recipe for mango margaritas made with fresh fruit and no sugar that tastes good.

Getting...A...Little...Pissed...Off.

No sooner had I finished the previous post than I get ANOTHER call from the fine folks at the new apartment complex telling me that my move-in date _might_ change again. They don't know, because they can't get all their shit in a pile. It turns out that when buddy told me that I would be able to move in on the 27th, what he really meant was the 1st of May around noon. How silly. I am Jack's growing resentment. The place is so huge that it employs 3 full time "leasing agents" and the one we wind up dealing with is the one who is clearly an alcoholic failed used car salesman, who can't tell the difference between April and May.

Someone can't get their act together

And it isn't me.

I got a call yesterday from our new apartment complex telling us that instead of being able to move in on the 27th, we would have to move in at 4:00 on the 28th. No biggie, in fact it will probably be easier to conscript help, but c'mon, people, I had made arrangements. I had hired a truck. I had harassed my hired goons into helping schlep my junk into and out of the truck.

Anyway, now instead of picking up the truck across the street from my place, I have to haul myself up to 118 ave and 36 st, which is a hassle, a mere hour before the only time that the new apartment would get me for a move in inspection. I'm not sure entirely how this will work, but I think that it will, in fact, work. I have little doubt of the presence of helpers on the unloading end of the move, where there is an elevator, but it is the getting this crap into my truck in the first place that concerns me. Oh well, that's what life is about, isn't it? Living up to new and exciting challenges?

Also, Courgette Gratinee a la Mornay? Sumptuous as only things with a lot of butter and cheese can be. The potato chips that followed? Not as sumptuous, but more crispy. My pants? Probably tighter than they should be. Need to work on that.

No Pancakes.

I guess that the prize package for husband of the year doesn't include your wife making you pancakes for breakfast while you are in the shower. Grump.

Finished. Now to Chill for a Bit

I am now finished. I think my choral final went ok, at least I really hope I did ok, I really don't want to take that course again. Also, I passed my make-up class with really high marks, so I am now a certified make-up artist. Anyhow, the next couple days I plan to relax, not check my grades and pack boxes. We move in one week.

By the way, a big thanks to my Excellent husband for being so wonderful while I was so busy and stressed out for the last month or so. He gets the Husband of the Year award.

Almost Finished...

Well, today I wrote my first final and tomorrow I have my last. I am not at all looking forward to my final tomorrow though. The midterm for this class was a pig and I really haven't even had a chance to study for it yet. So tonight I cram. My exam is at 8am, who schedules 8am exams?!! Yuck. I haven't even seen 8am in months, does it still exist? Anyhow, following my morning exam I will be cramming for my make-up exam. I don't think it will be nearly so brutal as my choral techniques exam (the one at 8am). But since I won't be working for the Bandstand this summer please send any business my way in the form of potential flute students, make-up clients and anyone looking to hire a musician for various events.

The packing has commenced over here at our apartment. The cats think the various cardboard boxes scattered about are the coolest things yet. They run around them and hide in them and bite them, oh to be a cat... So our official moving day is April 27, if anyone has empty boxes to donate that would be excellent, you know how to reach us. Also if anyone has the burning desire to help out that would be cool to, especially if you have room in your vehicle for boxes full of stuff... Anyhow, it might be sort of hard to find help since the day happens to be a Thursday and we have the elevator booked off for us from 11am-1pm. I am sure they won't make us carry the rest up the stairs if we aren't done before then, and I am equally sure we won't be done by then, so give us a call and see where we are at.

Other than that, not much new to share. I am very much looking forward to my last few weeks at Bandstand and after that my first summer course is a Jazz Band workshop so I am very excited about that one. I am looking forward to some time off, and I am very glad to be less than a year away from graduation finally!

Oh and the picture at the top is of my friend Jocelyn who was brave enough to be my in-class model for our glamour make-up night in the Marvelle make-up class. The assignment was to create something that would attract many stares, and it could not be an everyday look. Enjoy!

On the Move Again

Well, we are moving, AGAIN, but this time we plan to stay where we are going until such time as we are both working and can secure a mortgage. We will be relocating to the west end of Edmonton, to a large sky-rise apartment. We are looking forward very much to the 1200 square feet of living space as well as the patio we will be spending much time on this summer. We will also be able to enjoy the use of the full fitness centre with 25 meter pool and hot tub as well as the gym equipment and raquetball courts. Mostly though, we are looking forward to the extra space and the not having the biker bar right behind our apartment...

In other news, I have one project left to submit electronically, two final exams and my make-up exam until I get a couple weeks off. Then it's back to work. I am taking four courses this summer and so I will be very busy. So busy, that I have resigned from my position at the Bandstand where I have been happy to work for four years. I love my job, but it is getting close to the end of my student experience and thus it's time to worry more about my teaching career and getting ready to look for a teaching position. So as of May 27, I will no longer be working at the Bandstand. :( I am hoping to freelance as a make-up artist this summer though, so if anyone needs a make-up artist, do send them my way ;)

And another thing...

My 7 month old kitten is now over 10 pounds, and longer than my 2 year old cat. Here's how we figure his heritage works out:

1/4 Domestic Shorthair, 1/4 Maine Coon, 1/4 Cougar, 1/4 Siberian Albino Tiger.

By our reckoning, he still has the bulk of a growth spurt ahead of him. Our other two cats stabilized at about 5 pounds for a month or two while their teeth fell out, but Koda was already 9 pounds when his teeth fell out. My guess is that this cat will be well over 15 lean pounds, and tall enough to take things off of the kitchen counter without jumping on them. It's not that far away.

And by the way...

Happy Birthday to Drew,
Happy Birthday to Drew,
Happy Birthday, Andrei Glenneovich,
Happy Birthday to you.

Well, thank goodness that's over.

Yesterday, Jenn performed at her final recital for her BMus portion of her BMus/BEd degree. How was it? Not nearly so terrible as we had been expecting. First off, the anxiety attack I had been expecting to grip Jenn at any second never arrived, thus my only duties all day were to cook her a steak for breakfast, load and unload equipment and food in the rain, ice five dozen cupcakes, ride herd on the assorted concert-goers in order to ensure that intermission eventually ended so that Jenn could start playing again, and then cleaning up and loading the truck afterwards and driving Jenn to the BBQ at her parents house for the combined double-birth-a-versary-recital party where I was supposed to bbq a pile of burgers and hotdogs, but Malcolm did it for me. (Malcolm is now officially my hero and favorite houseguest of all time, even though he will tell you he isn't coming and then show up out of the blue with your brother in tow wanting to do something for the evening on a half-hour notice. Let me just take this chance to apologize for my role in his vehicular dragging that one time, but to be fair, it was mostly C.H.'s fault, since she was driving.)

As for the recital itself, Jenn played great! She totally rocked the house with the Quantz Concerto, to much approval during intermission. She also looked a vision in her lovely new blue gown and fancy earrings. There were a few little problems in the Hindemith, but really, nobody could tell who wasn't familiar with it (and if any of you have talked to me on the phone for the last two months, you have heard it, over and over).

This has led me to a number of happy sidebars. First, I got a total haul for my birthday. I got a book of ingredients (it's way better than it sounds. It is a full colour encyclopedia of obscure ingredients which are called for in any number of my Australian cookbooks.) A cookbook holder, a *framed* certificate proclaiming me to be a member in good standing of the Law Society of Alberta, the first season of Battlestar Galactica 2.0 on DVD, and a (loaner) copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 1, until I can find my own copy used. More on this later, although, I will not be doing anything as insane as the Julie/Julia Project.

Jenn got a ton of flowers which are now happily sitting in a lovely crystal vase we got for a wedding present, making the house as nice as it gets right now, what with the no cleaning for so long. She also received a totally cool set of towels with a flute embroidered on them and the date of her recital, which I thought was awesome cool, and so did she. She took them to her repertoire Class today to show off to the (inevitably jealous) other students.

After all the ladies and Jenn's Grandpa got paraffin manicures, we went back to our apartment with some folks, and then to the Hardisty pool for a soak in the hot tub, which was just what the doctor ordered, then to BP at Capilano where Jenn enjoyed a blender drink of somewhat more complex proportions than I am accustomed to making. All in all, a very successful day. Now all that is left for Jenn is to finish a major assignment, do a commentary on her conducting project, and prepare for her Jury on the 14th, and then start cramming for her finals. Yes, we are bound for nothing but relaxation in the next couple of weeks, I assure you, compared with the last couple of weeks.

Home Stretch

A couple of things in the "Woot! Woot!" vein:
First, Jenn's EDIT 488 assignment got pushed back to the 14th, well after her recital is over. This is a cause for great joy because it removes a monster piece of stress. Now, all that needs to be done is the regular weekly EDIT 488 assignment, an annotated bibliography, and practicing for the recital in the next few days, instead of having a major assignment due.

Second: Jenn's recital is on Sunday, which is scary in itself, but that means it will be over soon, which will be good.

As an aside, if anyone wants to give me a belated birthday present, you can give me a toner cartridge for a brother HL-2040 printer.

Quick Update

Hola, Amigos, I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya, but things have been crazy at the Embracing the Lifestyle house. First, Jenn has been doing homework. Then I've been writing my thesis. Well, that's mostly it. Oh, I have also been going to flute recitals and the Opera this one time. That was pretty cool. La Bohem. Next year the EOC season is going to rock, with Don Giovanni, The Barber of Seville, and MacBeth. Wikkid. We are definitely getting tickets again. Time is clicking down towards Jenn's recital, now less than two weeks away, so we are busy getting ready for that, and we hope to see as many of you there as can come. Anyway, back to the grind.

Lot's of Notice...You ALL Had Better Be There.

OK everyone, I have been working my butt off for the last 11 years, and most specifically, the last month and a half, to prepare for a recital for all of my wonderful friends, family and adoring fans and so I am pleased and excited to invite you all to come and hear me play on April 9th, 2006 at 3:00PM. I will be performing at First Mennonite Church, 3650-91st Street, admission is free (so no excuses) and there will be a short reception to follow. Anyone who wishes to contribute is invited to bring squares, cup-cakes or cookies etc, to share at the reception. See you all there!

A la Recherceh du Temps Perdue

Just now I was listening to the Mahones and drinking Molson Canadian, and I had a total Proust moment, flashing back on concerts, days, festivals, bars, quiet moments, and karaoke sessions from times past. Funny how that happens. Anyone ever get that"remembrance of times past" feeling? Post your comments below!

Happy St. Paddy's Day

Those of you who have had the pleasure of knowing me for the last several years know that if St. Paddy's day falls on a Friday, it will involve a great deal of drinking and dancing and listening to loud live Celtic music. Not this year, unfortunately. I just don't have the energy. Really there is nothing that I would like better than to go out to a bar and hear a really loud band with a name like "Drunken Whiskey Louts" while knocking back shot after shot of rye chased by pints of beer, but I just don't feel like leaving the house. Meh. Oh well, I'll just put the Mahones on the stereo and go to bed early. Call it "Whiskey Ennui". First goes New Years, then goes St. Paddy's Day. Next thing you know, I'll be sober on Canada Day. Oh Well. Cheers, Slainte, ta.

Another Sleep Related Post

For those of you fortunate enough to have slept in the same bed as me, Owen, for extended times, you may know that I occasionally wake up screaming with horrifying nightmares. Not often, just about once a year or so, I get a really bad one and bolt awake in a cold sweat screaming and clawing at the covers, trying to leap out of bed. Well, I had one last night, and the super-sympathetic response I got was, "Chill out." mumbled half heartedly from the side of the bed with all the covers and my wife on it. So this morning, I mentioned that I had woken up screaming with nightmares, and the response was, "Nightmares? I thought you were screaming at me for waking you up." Apparently Jenn had been woken up by the violent shaking and moaning which happens before I start screaming and trying to escape, and was in the process of waking me so that I would stop disturbing her sleep. She assumed that the incoherent terrified screaming was in fact me yelling at her for waking me up.

Two problems with this theory:

1) When someone wakes me up, I do not have the energy to start screaming, you'll be lucky to get, "Mrmhghmmmmmrhtphhh." before I roll over and go back to sleep.

2) If I have enough energy to scream at you, I won't just go, "Aaaaaaauuuuuuuugggghhhhh," I'll really tear a strip off you in an overly verbose manner. I use my words like a big boy.

Hopefully future night terrors will be met with more sympathy than abuse. Let's all keep our fingers crossed.

A good night's sleep

We jerry-rigged a setup that prevents Koda from clawing the carpet under the door in an effort to get in to sleep with us, and blacked out the windows with foil so that the security light in the parking lot wouldn't make it high noon at midnight, and finally I got a good night's sleep. It was glorious. It doesn't seem to have adversely affected my relationship with the cats either, since Mandy is purring away in my lap even as I type. In fact I have to type one handed because she has pinned my hand with her paw and is in the process of grooming my fingers. Stripey ones are not evil.

Last night I made some apple crisp, which was fairly tasty even though the crust came out of a box that we had lying around for some reason. This made me especially happy, since apple crisp is one of my favorite breakfasts. Tonight we will be having leftover roasted turkey breast with stuffed potatoes and Caesar salad and later on for a post-concert snack we will have hummus and pita. The concert is Jenn's flute class recital, but she doesn't have to play because she is doing her own recital in April.