Updates...

I apologize for being a bit slack in 'blogging' over the past while. Truth be told, I have been pretty exhausted lately. The morning sickness (or, more accurately, every waking minute of the day sickness) is starting to subside, which is a welcomed change, but the extreme tiredness lingers on. We are just about finished with the first trimester, so things should be picking up soon. Overall, I can't complain really. I've been finishing up things at work (exams, marking, moving things out of my classroom) and everything wraps up on Tuesday. This week has been busy with prom, graduation, and Safe Grad, but that's all done now, and all that is left is packing! We are currently living amidst a sea of boxes- I have no idea where anything is. We get the U-Haul on Monday, and we should be out of here for good on Wednesday! I'm really looking forward to it.
Earlier this month we went to PEI for our anniversary. We rented a cottage in North Rustico and aside from the fact that it rained a lot and I was kind of nauseated the whole trip, we had a good time. Here are some pics...

And baby makes 3!

Well, it's official! We are going to have a baby! We've known about it for a little while, but didn't want to say anything until we had our first ultrasound and got confirmation that everything was going well. That was on Thursday (unfortunately New Brunswick doesn't provide pictures... cheap province that it is...) and it was pretty unbelievable. We are only 9 weeks, and so there wasn't a whole lot to see. A little peanut really, 2 cm long, but the technician was able to show us the little tiny heart beating 160 beats per minute. Apparently this is well within the normal range, and everything is going along swimmingly.
I'm feeling okay, although unbelievably tired. The whole 'morning sickness' thing is a bit of false advertising too, as far as I'm concerned. It's more of an 'all day sickness', which becomes a particular pain at about 8:30 pm. But I can't complain. I just keep munching on rice cakes and crackers, and I do alright.
They told us that our due date is January 18th. It's still kind of surreal, but we are both getting pretty excited about it. Our parents are over the moon- my mom already bought a bunch of baby things. It will be so great that we will be back in Ottawa for the months leading up to and then the actual arrival of the baby.
I'm sure that we will have many updates as the weeks go by, so stay tuned!

New Camera

I got my new Nikon D50 a few weeks ago as a graduation gift from my parents. So far it has proven to be fantastic! I love the flexibility of an SLR. You can get it to do exactly what you want it to do. Here are a few shots I took with it.

Self Portrait

Lilac on UNB Campus


Tomato


Bee on apple tree



Taken from Kimble Dr. overpass in Fredericton this evening.

Fundy National Park and Foot Path

Mom and I went to Fundy National Park for a little R&R a few days prior to my graduation. We hiked in and spent two nights at the Goose River backcountry campsites with a day hike along portions of the Fundy Foot Path on day two. We both had a great time despite the rain we encountered on our second day. Hope you enjoy the photos of our little adventure... (Click on them for a high resolution)

Mom and I at the trailhead (Point Wolfe)

Home base for the next few days.


Ahh... Nothing like a warm fire.


Day 2: Breakfast


Mucking about the mud flats in order to cross Goose River at low tide.



Mom enjoys the river before lacing up the hiking boots for the start of the Foot Path.


Up up up we go...


A well deserved break on a thick carpet of moss.


The famous "White Car"



A little hydration was required on occasion...


Down down down...


Strike a pose.


Rose Brook crossing.


Day 2: Lunch on Azor's Beach (Cajun chicken & rice mmmm...)



Back up Rose Brook on our way back to camp.


The view from Edwin's Peak (The rain had begun during lunch)


Wet but happy.



Isn't my mom awesome! This was her first multi day hike.

This is what Goose River looks like if you don't wait for low tide. Since there was no way to cross the river in order to get back to our camp site, we had to wait for a few hours until the tide went out a little.

We made a little shelter with a ground sheet over our heads to keep the rain off and made some hot chocolate.

Finally back at camp. Making supper in the pouring rain. The MSR Trekker tent that a friend lent me was fantastic. You can prop up one side of the tent like an awning to keep dry while you cook. Thanks Jean-Guy!

Day 3: We stayed cozy and dry despite hard rain all night.


Heading back to the car at Point Wolfe. Wet, tired and happy...


We saw lots of these over the three days but no sign of the beast (moose) itself.



End of the journey!

St Andrews

Both sides of our family came to share in my graduation celebrations. What a great visit! This was taken on a day trip we took to St Andrews.

Aquarium Tour

Mama seal at the St Andrews aquarium.

The elusive mechanical engineering degree finally in hand. Celebrations ensued…

My Old Volvo

My relationship with this car started 8 years ago when I purchased it from my uncle with a little under 80K km on the odometer. She now sits with well over 300K and still runs. Unfortunately I think that we may be parting ways when Jen and I move to Ottawa this summer. At the age of 25, and countless years of service she is showing some major signs of wear. I think it will almost feel like losing a member of the family. I know that there will be other cars but this one holds a special place in my heart. Where is "pimp my ride" when you need them?

Ben

More Spring

This shot is from the same branch but a week later...

Ben

Signs of spring.

Here are a few shots I took this week. Don't you love spring!

Ben

Ani Difranco- Carnegie Hall

I just got the new Ani Difranco album. It was one of those unexpected finds when I was in HMV looking for a totally different album and there it was. It's a bootleg of one of her live shows, at Carnegie Hall (hence the name). I started listening to her music when I was in grade 10, and it affects me now as much as it did then.
I LOVE the song/poem "Self-Evident"... Check it out...

Self Evident

yes, us people are just poems

we're 90 % metaphor

with a leanness of meaning

approaching hyper-distillation

and once upon a time

we were moonshine

rushingdown the throat of a giraffe

yes, rushing down the long hallway

despite what the p.a announcement says

yes, rushing down the long stairs

with the whiskey of eternity

fermented and distilled

to eighteen minutes

burning down our throats

down the hall

down the stairs

in a building so tall

that it will always be there

yes, it's part of a pair

there on the bow of noah's ark

the most prestigious couple

just kickin back parked

against a perfectly blue sky

on a morning beatific

in its indian summer breeze

on the day that america

fell to its knees

after strutting around for a century

without saying thank you

or please

and the shock was subsonic

and the smoke was deafening

between the setup and the punch line

cuz we were all on time for work that day

we all boarded that plane for it to fly

and then while the fires were raging

we all climbed up on the windowsill

and then we all held hands

and jumped into the sky

Hiking- April 22

Today Ben, Riley and I went to St. Martins, where we did part of the Fundy Trail. It was a perfect day- sunny and warm enough to wear a t-shirt. I even got a sun burn.
We took some good pictures, so here they are. There are also some random ones- there are signs posted along parts of the trail calling attention to the flora and fauna. Some of the signs point out specific plants, but some of them... frankly, I think the Fundy Trail could use a little help with it's marketing. (Note the signs that Ben photographed illustrating the exotic things you might find on the Fundy trail -such as 'the mosquito', and 'the dandilion'... We also saw signs for 'the crow' and 'the fly'. I'm not even kidding.)
Enjoy the pictures!

Narcisism

It occurs to me, as I continue to update this blog, that the very act of posting my thoughts online is a kind of narcisism. The presumption that anyone would take time to read this- my random thoughts, the day to day stuff that makes up my life- I suppose it is somewhat ego-centric. Still, it is fun.

Another indulgence I took today, was that I finally went and used up the rest of my gift certificate that Ahren and Kath gave me to the spa (Avalon) for my birthday. I will not miss much about Fredericton (aside from certain people) when I leave, but man, I will miss that spa. I went with the intent of getting a pedicure -(which I did -"Blushingham Palace" purple/pink colour -the names are as much fun as the colour), but the spa was so quiet today (it is Easter Monday after all) that I ended up getting my brows and my hair done as well. I was so relaxed by the end of it that I forgot to use the gift certificate to pay for it all!

Back to work tomorrow. I don't expect to get much done on Tuesday, as the kids will all be coming down from their chocolate bunny induced sugar-highs, but exams are coming up, so we will have to pick up the pace a bit.

Ben is entering his last week of exams. He has two to write (one on Wednesday, the other on Friday) and then he is finished. For good! It is hard to believe- we have spent so many years thinking and planning about what our lives will be like once we can finally shed the 'student' labelling, and now it is upon us. Money has played such a huge role in our relationship- making sure we can pay rent, having enough for gas, etc.... that it will be surreal to finally be able to exhale a little bit. Not that we will be living large, not by any means. But to have some stability- that will be a welcomed change.


À bientôt-

Happy Easter!