Friday

The end of the week has arrived, also known as the week end.

1. So, there's been this squirrel that keeps coming into our yard and it makes my cat, Spooky really feisty. She always chases after it, and even began climbing a tree to get that squirrel. Spooky is 13-years-old and quite spooky I guess, because the squirrel runs away from her. But it keeps coming back for more. Prancing in front of our patio door, taunting Spooky from behind the glass. I find it comical and I thought you should know.

2. Has anyone seen mine and Peter's skateboards? They've gone missing. Haven't seen them since before I went to Estonia, wondering if they are at anyone's houses or under someone's feet as they enjoy a day of skateboarding while we are unable to. I should probably say "while I am unable to" because Pete's birthday is on Monday, for those who didn't know, and he's getting a little too old for that sort of thing anymore (ooh got 'em).

3. I'd really love it if everyone, that means you reading this now, made me a sweet surprise mix cd and dropped in the mail or hand-delivered it for my enjoyment. It would be great. Doesn't have to be anything specific, just let me in on what you're listening to these days or some old favourites or songs you think I would like or songs that express your platonic love for me and your ultimate poetic gratitude for our friendship, you know, whatever. Let's share the music! Reward for those who comply. Seriously. Do it.

4. Annnnnnnnnnnnd that's all. Have a good end of the week. You are dismissed.

Neices and Nephews and New Cousins

Yesterday at work I noticed that there was a girl named McKenna there. She was about 5-years-old and looked like my sister-in-law Keri-Lyn when she was that age. So I started thinking about my family and my newest neice who's name is also Makena.

So I decided to show her off.

Then I got to thinking about my other neice, Kiara.

And she couldn't be left out, so I decided to show her off too.

But of course there's also my nephew Brady.

And I couldn't go without mentioning him either.

And then I rememberd that Auntie Michelle and Uncle Scott had a baby on March 27, at 9:54 a.m.

Carlee Michelle Wade - 8lbs. 15 oz. So I had to announce that to the blogging world.

And then I realized I have so many more lovely family members that I love and wanted to mention, but that there are so many that it was impossible! So this morning I feel so blessed and thankful for my family that is growing, growing, growing.

Prairie Pride

Last weekend, my friend Marnie and I took the bus downtown. I'm not really bus-savvy so she was directing me and teaching me in the way of public transportation. Since we were going to take a couple of different buses, she instructed me to get a transfer. So I did. And when I used the transfer, not really knowing the whole system, I handed it to the driver. He then said to me, "New to Victoria?". I was surprised. Somehow he knew. "Let me guess, you're from the mainland?" he asked. I said no. Because to me, when your on the island and someone talks about "the mainland" I always assume the BC interior. But I suppose Saskatchewan is considered part of the mainland. In fact, it's probably the most 'main' that the land gets (perhaps in competition with Manitoba...)

Since we've moved to Victoria I've had many conversations with British Columbians about "Saskatchewan". And I quote, because usually there's a big smile and nod when someone from BC finds out you're from Saskatchewan. The kind of "I-bet-your-happy-you're-out-of-there" look. Lots of jokes. And that's fine, I can take that, because I understand Saskatchewan and the beauty attached to her. But I want to give Saskatchewan a little credit (probably less than she deserves).

Saskatchewan isn't the kind of place in which you find immediate aesthetic pleasure. I keep telling people that it is an acquired taste: you need to learn to appreciate it. Here in BC, everywhere I look there are all kinds of pretty things. I'm quite sure that most people agree that it's beautiful. But in Saskatchewan, you really need to take a good contemplative look. It's truly captivating, in it's own unique way. And I guess that's my whole point, Saskatchewan is unique. She's not what you expect or probably not even what you want her to be. Her summers are blazing, her winters biting, huge winds, fantastic storms, tiny communities, an almost forgotten North, sunsets that remind you of how truly small you are, and so much more that even if I listed them it still wouldn't do justice proper. Saskatchewan just is. She doesn't try to be something she's not. And she's not going to try hard to win your love. She just continues on, being herself, like it or not.

To quote Chris Martin of Coldplay, "When you see it then you'll understand."

So, "Yes, Mr. Bus Driver, I'm from the mainland. And I like it just fine."

(PS- Much love to Victoria. I like you too.)

Special thanks to TrekEarth for their photos.

j'ai besoin une "nap"

The Summer of Weddings

Keri-Lyn and Alvaro, sitting in a tree... K-I-S-S-I-N-G... first comes love, then comes MARRIAGE, then comes a baby in the baby carriage!

You heard me. Congrats to Keri-Lyn and Alvaro who just got engaged!

This too shall pass.

It seems that I have a lot to smile about these days. Read on.

The weather today has seemingly been matched to my inner emotions. This morning was overcast, a little rainy, and my heart felt a little gloomy. I was excited, no doubt, to hear that I had been offered a position with Kids Klubs (the B/A program), but I was a little stressed based on the facts that I would only be working about 5 hours a day with them. I knew it wouldn't be 40 hours a week, but I thought it would be at least 6 hours/day. So I was confused. What's a girl to do? Obviously this position would offer me some great experience, a lot of fun, an opportunity to share my faith and to work with kids, and room for advancement. But the reality of life is bills.

So I set out for my interview at Starbucks. It was pretty cold, even with my thick wooly sweater, and I wished that I had brought my mittens because my hands were getting cold. The wind was blowing and it started to rain and I realized I had forgotten my umbrella.

Once inside Starbucks I was greeted with a cup of warm hugs: a Chai Tea Latte. Yum yum. Then I had a wonderful interview, very pleasant, very real (despite all the formal questions), and things started to look up. Turns out Starbucks is flexible, looking for part-time workers, and it just might fit right into my schedule with Kids Klubs.

I walked out of the interview and the grey clouds had lifted. The sun was shining and the sky was blue with huge white cumulus accents. There was a bounce in my step. I walked home carrying my wooly sweater, I met an old man wearing a funny hat walking a little dog wearing a sweater. I gave him a really big smile and continued on my way.

When I got home I looked for some music to match my mood and the weather and the closest thing was Tom Jones. I listened to that and talked to the love of my life (Peter, in case you're wondering!) on the phone.

Tom Jones soon became unbearable and Jack Johnson was substituted.

A lot of people say, "If you don't like the weather in Victoria, just wait." It's true for life's happenings too. Sometimes skies are grey, sometimes blue, but this too shall pass. We all have ups and downs. If you're down, the ups are coming. If you're up, appreciate it and those around you. We're not invincible, but we're durable.

The human experience sure is wonderful.

Local Girl May Get a Job!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

So today I hit the pavement, resumes in arm, applying for all the local minimum wage jobs. There were some places, *coughBoosterJuicecough* that I just couldn't bring myself to apply to, despite their large "HELP WANTED" signs. Man I love a good Booster Juice, but I'm not sure I want a career making them.

However... God may be leading me to... Starbucks. Ha. Okay so it's not that much better than Booster Juice but at least the colours are less harsh and they play good music and the smell is delish. DELISH. Yeah I have a job interview there on Thursday but more importantly, I got a job interview at a Christian-based Before/After Care Program, which is child care for school-age kids. Before and After School. Hence, Before/After Care.

I think it would be a really great place to work. I'll let you know how it goes.

On to tonight, the Canucks game. Now when I first started pretending to watch the Canucks play, they seemed to rock the ice. But now, from what I can gather from Pete's wailing, hollering, getting-up-in-front-of-the-TV-and-nearly-pulling-his-hair-out, the Canucks aren't doing so well. I kid you not, tonight I witnessed a scene not unlike one in the movie Amelie, where Amelie is on the roof pulling and replacing the cable plug on some obsessed soccer fan.

So.

So it seems that I haven't written in a while. Really only a week. But it seems like a while to me. And I don't really have much to say. I haven't really been up to much in the last week, just taking some time to relax and casually look for jobs (the official "search" commences tomorrow).

I did, however, decide last week that I will read the entire Bible in 90 days. I saw a pamphlet at the book store the other day, they have this special Bible that you can buy with all the days marked off and your readings set out for you so that you can read the Bible in 90 days. I took a good long look, contemplated buying it, and then realized that I don't need to spend some money to figure out how to read the Bible in 90 days, I can do it myself, using my brain. So, I did.

I've been seeking God for about 3 years now, and I have yet to read the entire Bible. And it is something that, if you asked me, I would say, "Oh yes, reading your bible every day is important" or "Knowing the history of those who went before you is important"... but I haven't been pursuing it. Talking some talk, but not really walking that way.

So now, I've started on a new journey. Checkin' out some Jewish history, learning from the successes and failures of my adopted ancestors, etc, etc. I will read the Bible in 3 months. Not such a bad plan, I figure. Any takers?

three month weekend?

So both Sunday and Monday have been excellent days.

Sunday we spent the morning with our church family and then we went out to Langford to have lunch with Kelly & Shawn Sims. I'd never met either of them before, but I'm getting pretty used to making conversation with people I don't know, so it was all good. We had a really good visit with them and I had fun playing with their 10-month-old Black Lab, Trigger. Then we stopped at Superstore! Langford actually has a Superstore (I think it's the only one in the Victoria area?)... so it was pretty sweet to visit the old grocery store and pick up some things for supper. We had Crystal, Hannah, Paul, Isaiah, James, Marley, and Marnie over for supper Sunday night so after we visited Superstore, we prepared for that and then spent the night visiting and getting to know everyone a bit better.

Then Monday I had my last day of practicum, which was nice, and after that I came home to find James in our kitchen baking a cake and making home made icing, which was a sight to be seen for sure. We met with about 15 other Young Adults for our Monday night conversation and it was another good night of laughter and a game of Wizard and dice. It is Marnie's birthday today (Tuesday) so we were having an early celebration. And I have to say, I won the dice game, and not only did I win it, but I won it with style: 950 extra points. I think I can brag on this matter, I've never even come close to winning before and probably never will again.

And now, it's Tuesday and the job hunt begins. Possible three month weekend? We'll see.

Schnitzel.

Yesterday we participated in being Tourists in Our Own Home Town. Basically, you spend $9 and you get this book of coupons for free and half price entrances to all the tourist attractions. It was Saturday and so it was busy so we didn't get to do lots of the stuff we wanted to, but it was still a most excellent day.

The photos have captions that will explain it all.

Honorable mentions: The BC Royal Museum had Linda McCartney's Sixities Exhibit, which is basically a ton of photos of famous artists of the time, and obviously a lot of Beatles stuff. Kamara you would've loved to have been there. Next we went to the IMAX and watched this movie about going to the moon and it was pretty cool. Eating at the German Schnitzel House was pretty sweet. And of course the wonderful baby goats that we saw in the petting zoo. Kelli. I know exactly what you would've been saying if you were there. (Oh they're soooo cute!)

(Those are mountains in the background)

Write us! Do it now.

Greetings faithful readers (and not so faithful ones as well)! We'd love to hear from you, be it first time viewer or long time reader, so please leave us a comment to let us know that you've been here.

Or, if you're bubbling over with so many things to tell us or you don't know how to leave a comment, you can also e-mail us at peterandchelsey@hotmail.com. We'd be happy to hear from any and all. The more the better. Don't be shy. It will make us feel loved. C'mon, do it now.

Ski Trip

Today I saw a commercial for the DVD "Lady & the Tramp" and I said to Pete, "Hey, look, it's our story!". I still think it's funny.

This past weekend we went up to Mount Washington with the Youth Group. It was my first time skiing in 8 years, and the last time I skied was at Ochapowace in Saskatchewan which is... a ski place in Saskatchewan, so you can imagine what that might be like.

Anyway we had a blast hanging out with those crazy teenagers and getting to know them better. It was a weekend of laughter, sore muscles, good food, and of course, skiing.

Click for photos from our weekend.

In other news... well not really news... here are some pictures from Mount Tolmie (in Victoria), but you should really see it on a clear day.