december thirteen :: 154 weeks old

Sean is 154 weeks old today!

This morning I had booked a studio session to re-do Sean's school pictures after the school photographer had done a horrible job with the ones she took at the daycare. I really wanted to have them, so I had them re-done. So we started with that. I just love these! Isn't he a handsome kid? I'm just biased, but still!

Then I added Mack into the mix. Both of them wanted to hold a football. Thankfully the guy taking the pictures had 2, one for each kid. I'm in love with this picture. It's just perfect. I love it. I love my boys. They're too cute. Ok, I'll stop gloating!

Then came the "famous" Habs jersey shots. Had to do them. Though, Sean had to hold a huge (dirty) soccer ball and cover his jersey. Next time we do this I have to remember to bring the mini hockey sticks. That would have made the shot!

Then I snuck into some photos. Wasn't having a good hair day. But we were having way too much fun with the photographer. So we decided to snap some extra.

And then my mom, who didn't come "dressed" for a photoshoot came into some photos. I think she looks great regardless. I wasn't "dressed" either for a photo shoot.

The photographer said he usually only takes about 10 shots for one booked sitting. He took 147 shots! I got them on CD, since I took the large package which gave me the 7.99$ special that is going on right now (for 30 prints) free (which is 6 sheets) as well as 12 other sheets of my choice, and the entire session on CD. The 7.99$ package that I was getting for free I used it to take Sean's new school picture so I would get wallets to give to family, and an 8x10, etc... and the other 12 sheets I picked from the above photos and made wallets and 5x7's and some 8x10's. I can't wait to get those, but the guy doesn't know if it'll be before Christmas or not. I'll cross my fingers and call on the 23rd to see. If not, no biggy.

I am so happy the way the session turned out though!

On our way home we made some stops. I was looking for a copy of Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2009 and cannot find a copy anywhere in this city. I've checked a few LYS', a few magazine shops and as well my local book store. Not a single copy to be found. Let me know if you have access to a copy, and don't mind sending it to me. I'll send money for it! I really want a copy. I did pick up a Foot in the Door door stop at one of the stops we made (pictured above). Isn't it cute? Sean brought it to me while I was in the kitchen earlier and said "mommy, I found your shoe in the door." I got a good laugh and put it back telling him it was meant to be there! I also picked up a thumb thing today. I can't wait to try it out. Looks neat. I am hoping it will help me hold my book while reading in bed. I'm still working on Julie & Julia. I really want to finish it soon so I can watch the movie. It's sitting here waiting for me to watch.

Tonight we went out for dinner with my parents and siblings and celebrated Chanukah.

Each kid got a really nifty Habs housecoat from both my siblings. Thank you - they love it! I also got a cute knitting notepad from my mom and a remote control to replace the one we lost (we think Mack accidentally put it in the garbage can and it got thrown out, because it's no where to be found in our house), from my sister who got it from a supplier from work. Thank you so much! Now we can finally use the sling catcher in our room again. Just need to load the remote with batteries.

Tonight I watched the movie Funny People since Jamie was still out. It wasn't even really that funny. It was also a little long (just over 2 hours). I won't be watching that one again. I didn't hate it, it just wasn't that great.

Jamie came home tonight from the poker tournament he played in today and now he can't find his scarf. He is so upset. If it doesn't turn up I told him I'd knit him a new one. I am going to see if I can found out if there is a lost & found from where he was today. Jamie thinks it's a waste of time, but I am hopeful. Jamie made it to the final table tonight out of 39 people. Since it was a work night, they all decided when it got down to the final 7 people to split the winnings fairly. Jamie came home with some winnings, which was a nice birthday gift. His dad and step-mom went with him today to play, (They are poker players as well) and gave Jamie money to enter the tournament. So by him winning, was a great birthday gift! He said it was really a lot of work to make to to the final table. I'm glad he still had fun though, that's what counts.

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I was nominated for Best Canadian Craft, Cook & Other Activities Blog for 2009! Please vote for me in 1st place here! You have until Saturday, December 19th, 2009 to vote. Thank you in advance! And thank you for reading my blog!

May 4 of 31

I got the most amazing Secret Pal ever!! Really! Wow! I absolutely love her or him! Just in today, package number 2! All I have to say is WOWZERS!

I now own some fibers and my very own spindle! I'm not sure really how to use it, but I have some instructions that came along with it. These two items come from Hello Yarn. I got some Pink Dyed Corriedale Spinning Fiber. Oh wow! I'm freakin' excited!

Isn't this gorgeous? It's from Etsy Seller Kindred Spirits Yarn. It's just beautiful. My toes are going to love me. Must finish other projects so I can cast on!

I also received Quick Baby Knits by Debbie Bliss. I had ironically purchased this book on Wednesday while at Chapters with my mother. I have the bill, so I'm going to exchange it. Hopefully I can maybe find a book on spinning instead!? Great minds think alike!

I also got some soak wash for handknits and some really cute post-it notes. I heart post-it notes! I'm a list maker and post-it note leaver!

Sean even got a present from my wonderful SP10 pal. I haven't taken it out of the packaging just yet, but he'll get it tomorrow!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! You rock Secret Pal 10!

Here is your daily dose of Sean smiles. Sean was my good luck charm during poker tonight. I came in second place making my 10$ back. So I didn't lose out tonight, and I had a lot of fun. Too bad I didn't have the patience anymore to come in first place. (I would have made 40$ profit!)

Here are the 2 skeins I dyed the other day. It's Lannett Superwash yarn. This was with food coloring. The other 2 skeins were Regia, and with Kool-aid. I'll only be able to post those after SP10 is over and I reveal myself to my pal! Being a hostess I have to be very careful, and not post anything I send my pal, incase she stumbles across my blog! Wouldn't want her to know who I am too early!

Kerry, my SP10 Hostess is having a contest to blog about our garden and/or talk about our fave flower. I do not have a fave flower. I hate flowers actually. I told Jamie never to buy me flowers when we first started dating because they die. Why spend money on something that will just end up dying. However, I do think flowers are beautiful, even though I hate them. They are a lot of fun to photograph.

Last year, this time, exactly today a year ago, I had tulips in my front yard. Fast forward a year, and the weird weather we've been having, and here is my front yard right now (above). Hopefully my tulips will bloom soon. Then, in my backyard, not for a few more months, I'll have orange flowers (June) & purple ones (about July/August) too. There are three little areas with tulips next to each other. I had no idea they were there until they blossomed the year after we moved in. You see, they don't last long. Maybe 2 weeks if we're lucky. We got possession of the house on May 18th, 2005. We only officially began living her May 26th, 2005, when all our stuff was officially over here. We were sleeping on a matress on the floor in our living room for about a week (until our new carpets were installed) but we were officially here. Hence missing out on the tulips in 2005. In 2006, last year, we were surprised with the tulips. We had no idea they were here.

So this is my entry for the SP10 contest for the group I'm in - talking about flowers & gardens!

I got this in my email box from Lion Brand this morning. Can you say EWWW??? I also got a really cute pattern for a Knit Baby Hoodie, but it's more for a girl, not for Sean. So I've saved the pattern in my pattern folder on my desktop, and maybe one day it'll come in handy, for a baby girl or a gift! Or both... (here's to hoping the next kid is a girl!)

I did some pattern ordering today and got myself:

- Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (I'd seen one of the girls in my SP10 group talk about some wonderful patterns in this book, and had to get it. luckily they had it, while browsing for the next title!)
- Classic Elite Summertime Knits (Been eyeing this booklet, and found it cheaper here! I'm making the cabled pullover - I have the yarn already!)
- Sirdar Knitting Pattern 2062 Snuggly DK (While browsing originally for the Classic Elite Pattern, I came across these!)
- Sirdar Knitting Pattern 1507 Supersoft Aran(Sean will look super cute in both these 2 Sirdar patterns. (My first time hearing Sirdar -I've never seen their stuff before either, but I was browsing the patterns on sale, and what do you know - they have some really cute ones for babies!)

And that's it for today my friends. It's getting late, and I want to get to bed. On tap for tomorrow? NOTHING! I want to relax, and relax and knit?! Jamie has a team practice, his first softball game is on Monday night. I'm hoping my tattoo heals, because I want to go to post-natal aqua on Monday night, and Sean has his first swim lesson on Tuesday. They say to wait 2 weeks to go swimming or longer if you can avoid it, but the pool at the local Y is not chlorinated water, it's on another system, and I'm itching to go in the water. My ankle seams almost healed, it's my back that is scabbing and taking longer to heal. I only have a few weeks left of post-natal aqua (the instructor is going on leave, and doesn't know if she will come back to teach the class, and right now can't find an instructor, and even if they do, it won't be the same, so I probably would not continue). I'm cancelling my membership as of June....! Whether the Y likes it or not.

Knitting Lazy Day

Recently, I made a big decision that I never thought would actually happen - This year, I’m not sending out Holiday Cards. No Christmas. No Chanukah. No Happy Holidays. I’ve always been big into written, paper/pen communication. I’m a big letter writer, card sender, and thank-you note giver. That’s why it surprised me when it peacefully occurred to me a few weeks ago that I wouldn’t be sending a batch of cards out this year. It just feels right. And I’m learning to listen to my intuition. I think I don’t want to send them out because I wonder if anyone will miss them. I’m curious as to whether I too, will miss the process. So I’m just going to sit this one out. It feels right. But it feels kind of weird, too. I never get any back, and well, why send out when no one ever says anything about getting them, etc. Maybe I'll send out next year with pictures of Sean... but for now, this year, I'm sitting this one out.

Today, I slept in until 12:30pm again. I watched Sopranos Season 4 (I'm half way through season 4 now) and I worked on catching my sock up to Jamie's. I'm back to being caught up now. I caught up, and then knitted 10 rows on Jamie's sock more, so now I've got to knit 10 more in mine to catch up! Hee hee... The joys of knitting 2 pairs of socks at once. This way no one complains!

After the 2x2 ribbing I did, I'm doing now a two row pattern repeat. Row 1: knit. Row 2: [k3, p1] repeat to end.

The picture above was scanned in my scanner. I didn't want to take out my camera and then have to deal with my retarded card reader, so I scanned it. Now it looks flat! Anyhow! Next progress report, I'll photograph it and not be lazy!

Tonight we had my in-law's over for dinner and poker. Some friends came for poker. The usual suspects.

What else is going on today? Last night I finished Not Buying It. To be honest, I was very disappointed with that book. It had some good ideas, but not what I was expecting out of it. I picked my next book to read, I'm going to start reading Confessions of a Super Mom by Melanie Lynn Hauser.

Tomorrow, I have lunch with my husband's mother and her wife.

Barcelona, Spain, Day 12

This morning we got to sleep in a little as we had a 10 am tour, instead of any earlier. So we get our act together, meet in the spot designated, sign off the ship (you have to sign in and out of the ship electronically so they know how many passengers are missing at the end of the day) (It happened on the first day of the trip where 2 passengers didn’t make it back to the boat on time, and had to fly to the next destination of the ship - Idiots). We make it on the bus, and the bus departs.

First off, the woman in charge of our tour, I can’t remember her name, had a horrible accident when speaking in English, as well, she mumbled. We did manage to catch her say that it was going to be a 2 1/2 hour tour, BY BUS…. no stopping. We were supposed to get off the bus for “Great Photo Opportunities” as the tour ad described (that’s why we chose to do this tour). Anyhow, it turns out, that she tells us that the Olympic Stadium, where we were supposed to go, is closed due to renovations, so we won’t even get to go see that.

J and I last about 40 minutes on this tour. When every single person on the bus convinces her to stop at the Sangria Familia Cathedral to actually get out of the bus and take pictures of something that isn’t “A GREAT PHOTO OPPORTUNITY VIA THE BUS WINDOWS” - she gets the bus driver to stop. J & I decided to tell her that we’re not getting back on the bus after the 20 minutes that she has alloted everyone to walk around this huge cathedral and take pictures. Our anxiety levels (for the both us) dropped DRASTICALLY as soon as we set foot off that bus…. (Another thing that was bothering me was a lady sitting across the row from us, coughing and coughing the entire time. (Smoker’s cough and she STANK like she smoked 4 cigarettes just before coming on the bus). So on top of mumbling tour lady, I had a heavy cougher next to me. Imagine!

We didn’t tell the tour guide that it was also her fault we weren’t going to get back on the bus, but with her mumbling and poor english, it just wasn’t worth the 30$US per person for the tour to sit on that bus for another 2 hours. Pregnant or not pregnant… I didn’t want to suffer! Neither did J! Plus we also didn’t want to start shit with her, so we just blamed it on Princess Cruises and walked off. We probably won’t get our money back, but that’s okay, shit happens. I am going to open my mouth once we get back and see maybe I can get our money back, but for some reason, I highly doubt it.

J & I had a map… so we set on foot to see some sites and then eventually slowly head back towards the pier.

First we stayed by the The Sangrada Familia, which is the only cathedral in the world which is still under construction. It is Gaudi’s dream, to which he devoted much of his life. At the time of his death in 1926, only one of the towers had been completed. The continuation of Gaudi’s project has become an unmistakable symbol of the Barcelona, not just because of its spectacular size, but because it also reveals the spirit of a city which always been committed to building its future.

After visiting the Sangrada Familia, we sat down for a few minutes with a slushie, and I don’t think I would have ever paid 7€ for 2 slushies. (8.89US or 9.90 CAD). OUCH! But, I needed the sugar in my body… and it was, well, refreshing!

After that, with our map in hand, we made our plan and saw a lot of stuff. We saw a lot of the monuments that we wizzed by on the bus, and basically from where we were, not including all the stops we did, it was a 40 minute walk back to the pier. So we took our time.

For lunch we sat down at a restaurant called Sandwich&Friends. I really enjoyed my sandwich, for some reason I was craving Pepperoni!

We walked through the Gothic Area of Barcelona in the afternoon, and it was gorgeous. There wasn’t too much shopping to be done here at all - it was all junk pretty much. I think I did get myself a necklace though - but at a store that looked very American.

From the pier to the ship (you could probably have walked it - but not me at 6 months pregnant), was a 4.60€ ride across the pier area, over a bridge too. It may have been a 20-30 minute walk, but I was zonked by the time we decided to head back to the ship, after a lot of walking from the Sangrada back to the pier area.

My throat…. still bothering me. I hope it doesn’t really turn into anything, that would be sucky. Why me? Why do I have to get sick in the most BEAUTIFUL of weather? (We’ve had SUN and Beauty for the past week and a half. Who gets sick in the heat? I can understand not dressing properly in the rain for example, or something, but in the most beautiful European weather? ME! Just me! No one else gets sick but me! Just my luck!)

Tonight, was “Little Italy” in the dinning rooms for dinner. It was cute, and boy I won’t say no to Italian.

After dinner, we headed to the casino (of course). Tonight I started with 100$ and walked away at the end of the evening for me with 225$. I am VERY impressed with myself and with the way I am playing the game. J on the other hand… he’s a little shark (if that’s the right word). He started out this trip with 150$ and is now at over 500$ in his pockets (including his original 150$). At the end of the evening he had like 535$ in chips, so he kept the 500$ in his pocket, and went with the 35$ to the blackjack table. He played 20$ and doubled his money, so he walked away. Quit while you’re ahead. That’s my motto!

We headed up for a snack to the 24 hour buffet, and I’m going to go read a bit and head to bed. Poker was good to me today - I’m still floating around on cloud number 9 with luck!

Tomorrow we’re in Cannes, France. Oh - I can’t wait!

Day At Sea, Day 11

Today we slept in until noon, and that was much needed. We have both been zonked, that last week is kind of catching up to us. All the walking around - it’s tiring. Especially at 6 months pregnant!

My sore throat from yesterday is still bothering me. I really hope that it goes away. This afternoon I checked my emails, and then headed down to the casino where J already was. (Go figure!) I started with 102$ in chips and ended my afternoon with 160$ in chips. I am very happy about that. My best hand today - which J stayed in on (I tried to send him vibes to fold his hand - but he was being stubborn - and RAISING TOO - but we weren’t the only two in the hand… so that’s okay)… so yeah… my hand! I had pocket Cowboys (two Kings) and on the flop comes King, King, something else (the rest is irrelevant!) The turn and the river are irrevelant as well, as I had FOUR kings! J had a good hand too, but not as sweet as my nuts…. (Nuts is a good poker hand - so you can learn your lingo!) He’s still shocked about that hand - let me tell you.

Anyhow, tonight we had dinner with our new friends Dustin & Jazzy, who are really nice. They are from the Portland, Oregon area. They have been married just a few months longer than us (May 2005), and are also Texas Hold’em players. (It seems to be that the friends we made on this cruise are all hold’em players - lol).

After dinner, we all headed back down to the casino for some more poker action. I am still up, but I lost the 60$ that I made this afternoon. That’s okay though, I think I was playing a little stupid. Or, just not the right hands. That’s okay though, there is still time to make back the money! As soon as I lost the 60$, I walked away from the tables, J’s still down there playing, but I had to walk away before I played even more stupidly… you know?

Today, being a sea day, nothing else is going on. I didn’t partake in the slot tournament today, just didn’t feel lucky enough… J did try out the blackjack tournament, but didn’t make it in. I did tell off some guy this evening that was standing around the poker tables smoking. You are allowed smoking in the casino, but not at the texas hold’em tables… so I opened my mouth. If people aren’t allowed smoking at the table, then this guy shouldn’t be allowed standing over our shoulder smoking, so I opened my mouth, but I don’t think the guy spoke too much English, because I don’t think he understood me. Eventually I made a motion of smoking and waved my finger no, and I think he got the idea, cuz he finally left. It’s absolutely disgusting how many Europeans smoke. It’s like every single European and their dog smokes. That’s one thing I’ve realized in the past week. I swear! It’s like 4 out of every 3 Europeans smoke. I’m not joking. My unborn child is getting 2nd hand smoke from Europe, it’s pretty gross!

Alright, I’m going to go read. I’ve finished reading Tales from the Crib by Jennifer Coburn, and now I’m reading Marley & Me by John Grogan. I’ve been reading about one book a week now since I’ve graduated…. and I want to keep up the reading as there are so many books that I want to read before the baby is born and I have no time to read anymore!

Tomorrow we’re in Barcelona, Spain! I can’t wait!

I Win Poker!

I have been sleeping in all week. I have decided to start not setting my alarm anymore, I just can’t do it. I have been so exhausted lately, I do not know what is wrong. (I thought 2nd trimester is supposed to be so much more energetic than 1st and 3rd trimesters?)

I took care of some chores in the morning, on my to do list (I’m a list maker, always got a list!) and then went into my dad’s office for a bit, to get a little bit of work that he wanted me to do accomplished. I will work a little from home next week, but as I see it now, it’s going to be a very busy week next week. I better relax and have fun during the weekend, so that I can be refreshed for next week! So much to do!

Tonight we went out for dinner, and celebrated our friend V’s birthday. Dinner was not bad.
Tonight, I got convinced into playing poker again, and well, I won 20$! Here’s how. I ended up tying for first/second place. It was getting late, (as it is now) and I wanted to go do my own thing. So J’s friend and I decided to split the first and second prize, which was 60$ + 20$ = 80$ divided by 2 = 40$ each. I gave J back his 20$ (He paid for my entry and his entry of 10$ each) and I walked away this evening with 20$ (Two weeks in a row!) Just my luck!

Oh, today, I watched House of Wax. It was alright. The special effects were really cool though. Tomorrow I have a huge clean up day, and my friend Jennie is coming over tomorrow night, to help me learn my sewing machine! I’m very excited!

And She Wins @ The Casino Again!

This afternoon, being frustrated with our interrupted internet service (can't figure out why the signal is sooooooo weak) and Videotron (our service provider for our cable TV and internet), couldn't send anyone today, so they have someone coming first thing monday morning, sometime between 8 am - 11:30 am - so Jamie will stay home a bit from work & go in late, I worked on my DVD cover, and I am VERY DAMN proud of the way it's turning out. It's due on Monday morning so I will finish it up (last finishing touches) tomorrow, and all will be good to go. I can't believe it's down to the grind of only 4 weeks left of school! Arrrhhhh!

Tonight we picked up Sherrie & Brad from the Sheraton Four Points Downtown Montreal, and headed out to the casino first. Here is a picture of Jamie & I at the casino:

I love love love my new shirt - it's not maternity, but I bought it in a larger size, so for now, it fits! I actually wore a skirt out tonight - though you can't see it in this picture.

This is Sherrie & Brad. They're sunburned from rafting today in Montreal (got caught a little in the rain though - poor them - especially since it was lightning and they had metal oars!)

This evening was fun at the casino, since I won some money! Jamie had given me 40$ to play, but I didn't want to even spend that much. So, while Brad was losing money on craps, and Jamie watching & trying to figure out how to play, Sherrie first lost 5$ on a poker slot machine, and then 20$ more on Roulette, and then we picked a video slot machine for me to sit down at. I found a Draw Poker (where you have three lines to have more of a chance to win). Sherrie sat down at the same Draw Poker machine one machine over from me (there was a guy inbetween us at a different game). We both wanted to play poker. So I put in 20$ (which gave me 80 credits on a .25 cent machine). I didn't know what I was doing at first, so I accidently bet only 1 credit and lost that one quarter. Then I realized what I was doing, and of course you have to bet the max (15 credits, which is $3.75) or you don't actually win anything if you win. So the way you play is, when cards come up that you want to keep, you press the corresponding "HOLD" button, to hold the cards, then you hit the "DRAW" button, and it replaces the cards you don't want to keep, hoping to match up cards. You get only 5 cards per line, and let's say you hold to Kings then it holds two kings on EACH of the lines (three lines in total) so you have three chances to pull three of a kinfd or four of a kind. With two kings, though, you win your 15 credits back, because you win 5 credits per line - totalling 5x3 lines = 15 credits. About the 8th or 9th hand in, FOUR 10's come up on the line, so I HOLD them all. Not realizing what this meant - I hit draw (knowing that I can't get five of a kind, because that just doesn't exist in a deck, but that four 10's is a GOOD combo to have), I won 250 credits PER line, and for a total of 750 credits! I cashed out right then, at a total of 779 credits! 779 credits equals 194.75$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The only one machine I sit down at - just my luck!

So we went out for a very expensive dinner (on me of course) to Vargas - this REALLY good steak & sushi place. (The bill for the 4 of us was 250$ with tip)! Crazy. Sherrie & Brad felt so bad that I was paying, because they ordered 60$ worth of wine between the two of them. But they treated us REALLY good while we were in Boston back in March, and it was our turn to pay back. Had I not won though, at the casino, it may have been another story in regards to going to this restaurant! LOL.... I had a pretty good salad, and an amazing dish of Linguini Pescatore (Linguini with muscles, shrimp and scallops in a white wine sauce - Mmmmmmmmmmmm!) Delish! It was a little late to be eating (10:45pm) so I took the rest home with me.

I had a really good time tonight, and that is a good thing. I'm usually a lazy bum, and prefer to sit at home watch movie & knit. I am glad we got out of the house!

I'm still shocked at my winnings!

Sunlight & I HEART REGIA!

Did you know that in an average week in May in Montreal, we get 55.5 hours of sunlight in a week. This week... you want to know how much actual sunlight we've had?

A total of 5.5 hours.

We've had nothing but rain. Rain. Rain. And guess what? More rain....

*Rain, rain, go away, come back another day*

Today, I had my 9 am class, which I almost didn't make it to, due to feeling a bit nauseas and under the weather and also - TIRED. You guessed it. TIRED. Pregnancy = tired. I don't think I've ever felt this tired, in a long, long, long time. Not *THIS* tired.

Class was a drag, but I got some stuff accomplished and also - it was a heavy duty theory class with a lot of notes, so I'm glad that I finally dragged my ass out of bed. That's for starters. Second, we had a 5% exercise to hand in, which was marked on the spot, and I got 5% already of my final grade. That was an easy 5%. I also have another 5% exercise due next Friday, which accompanies my sketches (thumbnails) that are due for my 12 page brochure that we have to hand in at the end of the semester, on which, I chose to do it on B'nai Brith Canada.

For lunch, I went with Jamie to Marathons (the other food I crave besides cheeseburgers) and had a delicious lunch. We met up with 2 of Jamie's 3 ex-coworkers that he usually gets together with every Friday for lunch. It's always nice seeing them.

Got home and my REGIA sock yarn was waiting for me.

Here's what I received (goodie, goodie, goodies * giggle!)

Ain't this lovely? And I'm in heaven with the colours. It was the right choice for me. 100%! They are all 50g balls (takes 100 g to make a pair of socks in full length).

This afternoon I knitted a bit in front of the TV, worked on my Clapotis. This evening we had our usual poker gang over and I played the first of 2 games. I came in 3rd, which is pretty good, but since we were only 7 people playing, I guess it's not that great.

Alright, I'm not feeling too good, so I'm hoping into bed. Tomorrow you better believe I'll be sleeping in. Tomorrow afternoon apparently we're having people over - the same people who were supposed to come up north with us - Jamie's making a BBQ in the rain. Fun fun. I just want to sleep right now, and catch up on sleep. The nausea will hopefully NOT keep me up tonight, as it has the last two night.

Speaking of nights - I had a really odd dream last night/this morning. I dreamed that I was on vacation with Jamie, and I accidentally stayed out all night on the beach - fell asleep on the beach - with a ton of other people, as some party was going on - and when I got to the room in the morning, Jamie was gone, and had left a note, that the dang hotel room cleaning lady had broken his glasses, and he had to go find somewhere to get them repaired, so he can see again. What an odd, odd, dream. Very weird. I've been remembering my dreams more and more lately. Apparently it's something that happens during pregnancy (remembering more dreams).

Alright, sleepy time.

Clapotis & The World Almost Knows

Today I bid on and won some bamboo DPN's on ebay. I got each set for .99 cent! I couldn't believe that no one tried to outbid me! The first set is 12 paris 15cm (6 inches long) and the pair below is 14 sets at 20cm long (which I believe is 8 inches almost). I know you can travel on air planes (for my future travels) with bamboo or plastics. I only have 1 set (non matching - different lengths) of plastic, 3mm, so it'll be nice to have matching lengths. I've been into bamboo knitting needles lately, so I had to have two sets at 1.98$ (.99 cents each!)


Last night I started my Calpotis. I'm in love with the colour. Here's her progress so far:

This morning in class, I had to tell my teacher that I'm pregnant, because she was worried about me. I had to get up to go to the bathroom several times (ok, more than several) as I just kept having to pee. I tried to hold it in, as she was giving a lecture, but it was just really hard! She asked me after class if I was okay, she thought I was sick - I just told her that I had to go to the bathroom because I'm pregnant. She was really excited and told me that with one of her kids, she was sick for 8 whole months. I hope that is not the case with me - so far I've been very lucky. Breast tenderness and tiredness, no sickness yet. Knocking on wood...

This afternoon I sat on my couch and watched A baby story on TLC and Bringing Home Baby right after, and worked more on Clapotis. I am really enjoying working on it - and I've learned some new techniques. I've done SSK (slip slip knit) before, but never KFB or PFB (knit front back and purl front back) or yo (yarn over) and I've never knitted through the back loop before - which are all techniques I've just learned for the Clapotis. A very helpful site - with video is: Knitting Help. (Thanks to my cousin Jenn for the site!) The videos are VERY helpful.

This evening, we had Jamie's dad and step-mom over early for dinner, and Scott, a friend of Jamie's came to our Friday night Poker game early, so he also joined us for dinner. We told Scott about me being pregnant. So, we couldn't not tell Jamie's best friends whom were over for Poker. So we shared the good news! Everyone was very happy for us. I am so glad!

We also decided that we are going to tell my brother and his girlfriend, as well as my dad's parents. I'll be calling them tomorrow.

Tonight I played 1 game of poker and came in 3rd. It was fun.

Alright, I'm off to bed to knit.

Shoes & Shopping

Today was our last day in Vegas. I'm now in the airport waiting for the plane home. We got to the airport quite early and I just finished watching a movie with Jamie. We watched the movie Saw II (SICK SICK Movie!) but I really enjoyed the way it was done, and recommend it to anyone who has the stomach for it!

Today, Jamie and I had lunch at the Wynn. We bought a 24 hour pass last night for the bus, and headed down to the Wynn first. There was a line up at the buffet - but that was okay - it was WELL worth the wait! I really admit that as the truth. What I didn't know is that it was only 150 points for 2 meals - I thought it was 150 points per meal. So basically I gambled money for nothing - losing it - (hoping to win of course) but thinking that I needed 300 points for 2 meals (worth about 50$ each!)

After lunch - I headed to the Fashion Show Mall while Jamie went to the Flamingo Casino & Hotel - our fave spot) to gamble in the poker room (Texas Hold'em). At the mall, I found a payless - as there was some shoes that I was eyeing back home, and really wanted.

So I bought them. I got 4 pairs of shoes for 40$ US - all using money that I won! So technically I got them for free! It was buy one get one half off at Payless.

So I got the champion flip flops that I'd been eyeing in red (I had them a few years ago until this past year in black - but I accidently left them out on our back patio last winter and when I went to get them this spring - there was animal doodoo on them - so they went straight into the trash.

I also got these really cute pink shoes - I LOVE THEM!!!

And fake crocs - which I was thinking about buying the originals - there was a stand in the Fashion Show Mall selling them - but decided for half the price - I liked the colour of the airwalk ones better than the original ones! I can't find the colour of mine online - but they're a GORGEOUS Hot Pink!

The last pair of sandals I got - have no picture online, I'll have to photograph them someday when I wear them - after I paint my toes. I do not plan on wearing them unless my toes are painted!

I went into a few other stores, picked up a few other items that I wanted or needed - got a few more souvenirs that I wanted, and needed, hoping I'm not forgetting anyone.

Here is one last look at the Strip - I'm going to surely miss it.

Oh - and this is the ONLY picutre of Jamie and I - zoomed in and cropped (from the image below it) of the two of us in Vegas. I'm lazy and kept forgetting to get people to take pictures of the two of us together (I have a bunch of each of us in Vegas alone though - but not together - silly me!)



But the one picutre of the two of us - it is cute nonetheless. This picture was taken about 10 minutes before we got back to the hotel to pick up our stuff to head to the airport. I guess the entire trip I was just paranoid that if I gave someone my camera to take a picture of the two of us, that they'd run off with it - call me a worry-wart - it's true, that's me.

The rest of the afternoon in Vegas, was fun. I met Jamie at the Flamingo - and put down 100$ at the poker room - at the end of that sitting - I walked out with my 100$ turning into 294$. Wow - what a fun time that was - and now, we've pretty much spent nothing on our trip in Vegas. The only thing we'll have to pay for is the hotel and the taxes on the plane tickets - which we took out of our honeymoon money, which was a present from Jamie's dad.

I've had a really good time in Vegas. I ate like a champ but got a good work out. I have nasty blisters on my feet from all the walking (three blisters on the bottom of my feet - and one on each heel). I thought my good nike shoes would serve me good - but they didn't. And Jamie didn't get a SINGLE blister from the NEW sneakers he bought before we left to Vegas - lucky dog!

Alright, see you back in Montreal - we should be boarding any minute now to fly back - over night to Toronto then to Montreal.

Local Yarn Shop Too Far - But Met at Chippendale!

So upon getting up this morning, Jamie and I had decided that he would get over to the MGM Grand to play in the poker room and I would go over to the LYS and to Michaels and then meet him there.

Got ready, took my time, took a nice hot shower, and then went down to the lobby. Decided since there was no on on the internet in the lobby, to check my email and toss my friend Miriam an email - since it was her birthday yesterday, and I kept trying to get to a phone, but never did.

I then asked the front desk about the LYS. Turns out - we were at 3100 Tropicana West and the LYS - Wolly Wonders was at 3421 EAST Tropicana! Apparently it was on the other side of the airport, and the airport was a 19$ cab ride. That went that.

Then I inquired about Michaels. Apparently the closest one by cab was about a 4 mile drive, which would have been a 20$ cab ride at least each way. (The airport was not even 2 miles from the strip, but you had to take the highway to get over to where our hotel was - so it was a little more than 2-3 miles driven to get around). There was NO WAY that I was going to pay 40$ round trip and spend 80$ in cabs to get to and from the LYS and Michaels.

I was a little disappointed.

On my way to the MGM Grand to meet Jamie - I got my picture taken just outside the Tropicana Hotel for 20$ for a 5x7 with a Chippendale! Good laughs!

Met Jamie at the MGM grand and played some Texas Hold'em. I lost 100$ so I walked away from the table. Wasn't really too happy about that.

Today we spent the afternoon at the Flamingo for a bit, and then for dinner we took the bus over to the Old Strip on Fremont Street just off of the new strip which is Las Vegas Blvd. We walked around a bit over there, and then ate dinner at the Upper Deck restaurant in the Plaza Hotel and Casino.

At the Upper Deck restaurant - they have the 9 lb burger. 9 POUNDS! (For size referance, take a look at the FULL SIZE ketchup bottle behind the burger!)

For those non-diet conscious carnivores who consider a half-pound hamburger a mere appetizer, the Upper Deck Restaurant at the Vegas Club Hotel and Casino in Downtown Las Vegas has just the hamburger: the 9 pound "Big Daddy Burger." Served with a bun 12" in diameter, a half head of lettuce, two tomatoes, two onions, four pickles, mayo, mustard and 12 slices of American cheese, the burger big enough to feed a softball team is available for $49.99. If one person finishes the burger within 24 hours, it is free!

CRAZY! I'd like to see the person who can eat this. In 24 hours.

Tonight was fun, I bought some more souvenirs for people at home, and some for friends (which I will ship off to them in their next package) and had a good time walking around. Took the bus back to our hotel street (then it was another 10 minute walk from the bus stop) and took some pictures from the front row of the top deck of the bus. The ride from downtown is so ghetto between downtown and the Wynn hotel. (Ghetto includes Circus Circus, the Stardust, etc.... it's looks like a scene from some white trash movie where people get killed). I kid you not. We were scared to get off the bus.

Shopping in Vegas is Great!

This morning I was up only 201$US (I had lost 300$ last night at the Wynn - not very proud of that) and then this morning I did a ton of shopping. But atleast the shopping won't be coming out of my pockets. I bought myself:

- 2 long sleeved shirts at the Rainforst Cafe (they were on sale, and did not say Rainforest Cafe on them - didn't really want to advertise for them, they're food ain't the best).- 1 sweater that says Las Vegas on it in a small heart in one of the top corners by the hoodie strings- 1 3/4 length CSI: Las Vegas Unit shirt in pink - very cute- 1 CSI: Las Vegas Unit baseball cap - got one for my brother as well - since he's picking us up from the airport, I got him this as a little extra- 1 pair of 24$ sunglasses. (I honestly forgot mine at home, and was interested in a 5$ pair, but I couldn't find anything I liked). I have nice sunglasses at home, from my uncle's glasses shop, so the pair was really just for the trip.- 2 pairs of dice earrings (tres cute) one in red for myself, and one in a nice baby blue for my sister- I also picked up 10 postcards - 2 which I'll keep for my scrapbook, and 8 to send out to friends.

Then, after doing my shopping, I lost 100$ in the poker room at the MGM grand. My mind just WASN'T there. I probably would have been up more money, but I didn't call a guy, and had a lot of money in the pot already, and had Ace, Jack in my hand, and there was an Ace on the table, and I was worried he'd had something better in his hand, and he had an Ace, Nine, which means, I had the higher kicker, and would have won the pot. He showed me his cards after I folded his bet. FUCK. I am really mad at myself for that one. I really need to be more confident when I play, however, it's different playing a friendly house game with friends and family for 10$, than playing with "REAL" money, in a casino in Vegas with "The Big Boys". You know? This was my FIRST time sitting down at the casinos and playing Texas Hold'em (which is my favourite poker game) in Vegas in the "poker" rooms - which house only Texas Hold'em.

But later on, at the Flamingo Casino (Jamie's and my new favourite place), I won my money back and then some, by putting 100$ down to get chips, and walking out with over 200$ in winnings after being done today in that room.I am having a great time! So is Jamie. Mind you, he isn't eating much. He is a cheap date! I kid you not. When Jamie flies, his stomach gets all weird, and it always takes him a couple of days to get back to normal. He says he's not even hungry, but it makes me worry, I feel really bad. And here, I'm being a pig, eating like crazy, you'd think I was pregnant. (Who knows, maybe I am). But, gosh, it's really odd. This is the second time it's happened, but the first time, is when we went to Boston to visit Sherrie, the first night, his stomach was just not feeling well, and he barely ate, until Saturday night. (We had left Friday morning).

This evening, after leaving the Flamingo, we walked around outside, checking out more hotels (just to say we saw inside almost every casino!) and we saw some free shows (the water show at the Belagio and also, the pirate show at Treasure Island). Both were very nice, and we enjoyed watching them. I really want to do a dinner show while we're here, but I don't think we'll have the time, since tomorrow night we're going down to the "old" strip at Freemont Street, to see the original casinos.

We also stopped in to check prices at Madamme Tussauds, but it was about 40$ a person to get in or something rediculous like that. So we took pictures outside with the wax statues there. I also saw Lucy from I love Lucy and Gerard Depardue (or however you spell his name) and Princess Di, so I took pictures of those as well. Those should be on my Flickr site when I return home).

Tomorrow morning I'm off to check out Michaels and a LYS here called Wolly Wonders. They're on my street - Tropicana, and apparently really close by! How could I not!

Not Too Fond of the Wynn (In Regards to Gambling)

This afternoon we checked out a few more hotels. We also, had dinner at Margaritaville, which I fulfilled my craving for a burger. I don't know why, but I was dying for a cheeseburger.

Alcohol and Pregnancy Don't Mix

Drinking alcohol while you're pregnant puts your baby in danger.
Common consequences of drinking alcohol include:

-Miscarriage
-Fetal alcohol syndrome, the most common cause of mental retardation
-Physical defects such as bent, fused, webbed, or missing fingers or toes; facial and organ deformities; and curved spine and hip dislocations
-Low birth weight
-Hyperactivity
-Decreased attention span

And this is why I've decided to not drink on my trip. Just incase I could be pregnant, and well, I shouldn't be drinking anyhow, if I want to get pregnant if I am not yet.

Tonight, we walked all the way over the Wynn hotel. Jamie wanted to play poker there. So I decided to play a little bit of slots. However, little did I realized, that I kept losing 100$ bills there, so, I was down 300$ when I left there. I don't know what possessed me to keep trying to win money, but the good thing is - that I signed up for a Wynn Player's card, and have some free meals on the card for their All You Can Eat Buffet. Which is a value of approx. 25-35$ plus taxes, depending on when you go there, per person. (Expensive hotel - expensive buffet). It's 150 pointes per meal, and I have just over 360 points. Sucks to lose, lol... (You get points for losing).

As you can see, I hate the Wynn. Not very fond of gambling there. Oh well. Still up though on my winnings, so that's good. At least I gambled away "Free" money.

Winning Money in Vegas!

I'm sitting in the MGM Grand. Typing away on my palm pilot keyboard. This is the ONE time I use my palm pilot. It just usually sits on the charger. Not sure why I upgraded my old one for the m515 which is now pretty much obsolete, but anyhow.

My luck is great, already and it's only noon (3pm EST).

I put 1$ into a .05¢ slot machine and won 6,000 credits - so I cashed out at $300.40.

I put 5$ into another slot machine at .o5¢ and doubled my money, so I cashed out at $10.45.

I put another 1$ into another .05¢ slot machine and won 3800 credits, and cashed out at $190.75.

I am up over 500$ right now.

Jamie's in the poker room.

I'm not feeling 100% though. My stomach hurts a little. I am not sure what it is?

It's very warm here, about 85F. We're staying at the Golden Palms hotel - a 1/4 mile off the strip (about a 10 minute walk from the hotel to the corner of Tropicana/Las Vegas Blvd. which houses The Excalibur, MGM Grand, New York New York and Tropicana Hotels and Casinos.

The only thing I find DISGUSTING here is the smoke. People smoke at the tables, at the slots, walking around, in the bathroom. GROSS. The only area that is smoke free is the poker rooms. I'm not sure I want to play poker with the big boys.

Jamie said he needs half an hour more and then we'll move on to the next hotel. We plan on visiting all of them - not necessarily gambling in all of them though. We just want to see the different themes in all of them! There is sooooo much to do here, it's crazy.

I still can't believe I'm up over 500$ US. FANTASTIC.

I'm hungry. I had a cinnamon scone from Starbucks around 9:30-10 o'clock this morning, for breakfast, and I'm hungry again.

There is a Lion Habitat right here and I just took pictures of 3 gorgeous lions. It's funny, they're just huge cats. Just like my cats playing and fighting with each other - they do the same.

I'm a HUGE PEOPLE watcher, and this the perfect city to people watch! Let me tell you! Lots of people, pretty, ugly, skinny, fat, trendy, trashy.... lots to look at.

I just witnessed a lady breastfeeding in the middle of the casino. WEIRD. In the casino. At least go to the gorgeous resteooms that they have here!?

People her are friendly, which is good.

This morning I was talking to this lady and she asked me whre I was from. I said Montreal. She's from Virginia - EAST COAST AS WELL - and not even a 14 hour drive from Montreal. Anyways, during that conversation - the short conversation that we had - so said "So is there any casinos in British Columbia where you live?" B.C.? Is this lady retarded? Is she fucking kidding me? I told her that I live on the east coast, just above New York State. So she goes "Oh you live across the border?" What the fuck? Who is this dumb woman? Really weird.

Yesterday, at Pharmaprix by my house, before being picked up to go to the airport by Jamie's step-mom, I bought 1 x 1 liter pepsi for Jamie, 1 x 1 liter diet coke for myself, 1 bag of doritos for Jamie, 1 bag of ketchup lays for myself, one Maxim magazine for Jamie - he likes that one for airplane reading - and 1 People magazine for me - wanted to read up on the TomKat baby. So the girl at the cash says "Going on a trip?" and I said yes, to Vegas. She said she was going too, leaving today, actually and staying at Excalibur. Maybe I'll run into her in Vegas. Funny.

Yesterday flying down here - oy fun fun fun. There was a huge confusion when we landed in Toronto. First off, we were late landing. Then we thought we had to wait by the regular carousel to pick up our lugguage. Turns out it was on the connection belt and we had to go elsewhere to retrieve it - all in under 30 minutes, and go through customs to enter the United States. It was the last Canadian city we're touching base on before entering the USA - so that's where we have to go through customs. Thank goodness there was no line up at this time of the evening, and we got to the airplane just as they were preparing to call Final Boarding call. Just in the knick of time.

What an adventure.

When we landed our lugguage was the first off the plane, as we were the last ones on. Glad our bagguage made it on!

We had our very own TV's on the plane, with Satelite TV. Movies cost 5$ each. WestJet only hs ONE section on the plane and it's all considered first class. For the entire flight, I watched A&E - Dog the Bounty Hunter and also some Animal Planet with some rescue show in Houston, Texas (so sad). Also - I worked on knitting my sock, and got well advanced into it. I had NO issues bringing those plastic DPN's I found in my stash at the last minute.

Going to go cash in my 500$ and check up on Jamie. More later.

Spontaneous Hair Cutting

My exam this morning was a joke. But I had previously known that it was going to be a joke. It was 10 questions, and I had them, along with the 10 answers. Two weeks ago (not last week, because last week was Easter Friday and we had no school). I know for sure, that I got 10/10 on that exam. A piece of cake. I knew all 10 answers off by heart, as I studied them. Between last night and this morning.

But now... I'm ALL DONE school until May 1st. I am so relieved, and I'm going to relax and take it easy and HAVE FUN IN VEGAS on Tuesday!!!

Speaking of Vegas, as soon as I pulled out my suitcase - guess who found himself a new sleeping area..... None other than Zeus. (This below, is the red suitcase that Jamie got my for my birthday a couple of years ago)

I spontaneously got a hair cut today. What do you think?

I cut off more than 4 inches. My hair was below my boobies. But now, my hair looks healthier, not all different lengths, and LIGHTER! The guy who cut my hair - and blow dried it - also... what's the word.... thinned out my hair? He used this special comb that cuts, to thin out my heavy hair. I think it looks very cute. He also layered it a bit - so that it gives shape!

When I had gotten to the hair salon, which is next to my grocery store - in the same out door strip mall, I had never been there before, so I didn't know what to expect. Anyhow, I got faught over, as three people wanted to cut my hair. 1- an old jewish guy named Shlomo, 2 - this nice hip lady (would probably have preferred she did it) and 3- this really gay morrocain jewish guy named Sam- who owned the place. In reality, I did get bounced between all of them - Shlomo washed my hair and put in a treatment, the hip lady combed out my hair (huge knots, hopefully now that my hair is thinned out and shorter, I won't have that problem?) and then Sam took over. He "appologized" for me being bounced around, even though I didn't really care, but he said it was unprofessional of his people, and I shouldn't be treated that way, etc. I don't know if I will ever go back there. It's conveniently close, but we'll see.

When I was leaving, the hip lady, who had previously (while combing out my hair) told me that she loves my hair colour, asked if it was natural - YES IT IS - I haven't touched my hair (colour) since before I met Jamie and chopped all my hair off (in 2002 I cut it VERY short) and have not colour treated my hair one bit since growing it out).... that she loves and it wants to find a dye to match it to, so she can dye her hair. As I was leaving, SHE SERIOUSLY TOOK A PIECE OF MY CUT OFF HAIR AND PUT IT INTO AN ENVELOPE. HOW NASTY!!!!!!!!!! She was serious about finding a colour to dye her hair similar. Oh my gosh... WEIRD. Maybe I don't want her cutting my hair in the future.....

I have another thing to say about the hair cutting in just a bit... let me continue on in my day.

Got home, Jamie didn't even notice that my hair was cut.... I asked him if he noticed anything different, and he asked me if I got new pants. They actually were my first time wearing them, but huh?? Men. I swear... blind. In the end, after telling him I cut my hair, he noticed. And liked it... even though he loves SUPER LONG HAIR!

I got this purse a while back. LOVE THE COLOUR and Love hobo!

However, I wasn't fond of the sequins on the bag. Not one bit.... Took me about a week, little by little while watching TV, talking on the phone, etc... and I cut each one off.... one by one...

Now, I have a super cute brown bag, that I LOVE. What do you think???

The last picture I have to show today, it the progress on my sock. I am in love with the sockotta yarn that I got in the booty swap from my partner Melissa. I am hoping to find more ... soon! I am still addicted to sock yarn. Very very terrible.

I just turned the heel. Very proud of myself, I've mastered Short Row heels with Wrap & Turn.

This evening, we had our usual gang over for poker, and I actually played tonight. I was actually very impressed with myself, I came in third. It was fun - and it was a practice run for Vegas - not sure I am going to play the tables though - but if I did - it would be Texas Hold'em. I don't really know any other game. I like the slot machines though. LOVE slots. They're fun. They make fun noises. LOL.

So, Jamie's dad and step-mom came over early for dinner, and we made a chicken salad, it was delicious. Fresh BBQ chicken, amazing homemade dressing (I love my mother in law's salad dressing) and we got to talking. I told them about my sponteaneous hair cutting today, while Jamie was out of the room, and Jamie's father turns to me and says. "Robyn, did you know that Jami's mom cut a lot of her hair off the day she found out she was pregnant with Jamie?"

Jamie's step-mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday. (June 16th - still a month and three weeks). Hmm, that's a very good question. What do I want for my birthday? I am really NOT sure. I will have to get back to her on that one. I already asked Jamie for a vaccum cleaner - We have a vaccum cleaner, it's just old and falling apart. I'm waiting until we run out of bags for it - and then I'm getting a new one. One that will work 100% of the time and pick up EVERYTHING! (And won't smell like burned carpet!)

Ok, I'm going to go watch some TV and knit. Jamie's playing game two right now (I only played game one)... but there was no way I had the attention span for two games tonight. Goodnight.

The Swatch

Class this morning was a waste of time. I didn't get enough sleep last night because I only got home from babysitting late and stayed up until 2:30 am working on my Illustrator assignment that I thought was due today, but because our class was canceled last week - she gave us until next week to work on it. Why are teachers always changing their minds after setting a due date? And we've had 6 weeks already to work on it! LOL (So why wasn't mine 100% complete - well because life has been busy! LOL).

After class I came home and read some emails, caught up on some blog reading and then crawled under a blanket on the couch and watched 2 movies one after another, and finished my swatch for the socks I want to make. I watched the movie Proof, with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jake Gyllenhaal and Anthony Hopkins, it was a little slow but I thought it was okay. The second movie I watched was The Weather Man with Nicolas Cage and Michael Cane. It was also not bad, but not the greatest movie I've ever seen.

This is my swatch. Just before I figured out how to bind-off. Took me a while - but there was a good description in Stitch 'n Bitch and I also used the Knitting Answer Book for help. My stitches are too many for the 4" square that the pattern has, so I called up Jenn and figured out to use a sock pattern generator on the internet. Printed one up - but I can't figure out how to cast on onto 4 needles. I kind of have something on the needles, but I don't know if it's right, etc, so I think I am going to wait for some help. Just to get it going. Jamie requested a pair of socks, and I have the same yarn in brown, so I'm going to make myself a test pair first, and then once I know what I am doing - make him a pair!

This evening, Jamie's dad and step-mom came over for dinner, I made fish and she made a salad (I LOVE HER SALAD - it's all in the dressing!) and they also brought us a bottle of wine. I also got a present from them - a bunch of bath & body stuff (I will never say no to bath & body stuff!)

I played the first poker game tonight, my mother-in-law convinced me to.

Off to bed. I'm ZONKED.

Jamie's 30th Birthday Party

Robyn bringing Jamie the cake!

Robyn & Jamie


The poker cake we made for the poker party!

The party last night was a huge success. We had almost 20 people over (I thought it would be more, but there are a couple of people who didn't show up.) My cousin Aaron won the first game, and our friend Sheldon came in second. Jamie didn't even make the cut, even though we gave him a free roll of a chance! (For his birthday). It was fun. I didn't play, because there were a few wives of Jamie's friends who didn't play poker and since I was hosting the party, I had to entertain.... which is okay, because after most people left and we played a second (small game) I kicked my brother out in 3rd place, and it was down to 2 people left, Jamie & I!

I had a lot of fun this past weekend, hanging out with my sister-in-law, and just chilling out. Today Jamie & I chilled, we watched Apprentice which we taped on Thursday night, and then we watched the movie The 40 year old virgin. What a funny but stupid movie. You know what? It was mindless entertainment for 2 hours. Exactly what I needed today. Didn't even get out of my pj's. I love days like that! I worked on my scarf, did a letting bit of sketching for my layout class tomorrow, so I can continue on my project in class tomorrow efficiently.

What is he doing?

Last night I fell asleep in the den watching TV (nothing much was on because of American Thanksgiving). It was so nice to have a fire going, tucked under a nice cozy blanket and to just fall asleep. I was very good last night, and as soon as I got off the computer, I shut it down and didn't use it for the rest of the evening. I am very proud of myself. Somtimes I need to PRY myself away from the computer!

I finally got in touch with my wedding photographer last night. WOOHOO! Sooo happy about that! I managed to find out that I will have my photos in 2-3 weeks tops. My images are at the lab being printed. (I've worked in a lab and it doesn't take 2-3 weeks to get 1200 photos done)! She took 2000 images at my wedding, and 1200 approx were sent to make proofs. (4x6's which I get to keep). I can't wait to see them! Next week she said she'll call me with the password to view about 25 images on her website... I can't wait to see those. I am dying to see any of the wedding pictures! YEY! So, over xmas break I will be able to go through them and pick out which ones I want for an album... Yey!

This morning, my illustrator project was due, and the teacher collected them. Then half way through the class, while we were working on our final project, one of the kids in my class (and I say kid - because he's not older than 18-19), Olivier, starts wandering around, and happens to "end up" next to the pile of assignments that were collected. This is all next to my computer station - in the middle of the class. He "puts down" a piece of paper on top of the pile of assignments, and then he thinks no one is watching him, he starts peeking at all the assignments. This pissed me off. Especially since Olivier gets up randomly, even during exams, and walks around any classroom he's in, and LOOKS at other people's work. This pisses us ALL off. Anyhow...

I said to him "What are you doing?"

He said "Isn't this the sample that the teacher lets us look at?"

I said, "Uhm, no... those are our finished projects, do you mind?"

He said "Oh, I can't look at them?"

I said "No, go back to your seat and finished yours"

After he was dumbfounded that I knew what he was doing, I went over to the teacher and I asked her to kindly put our finished (and handed in assignments on time) into her book bag, so that Olivier can't look at them "to get ideas". She understood, because she knows what he does, we keep telling teachers that it bothers us (his walking around class looking at people's work) and she put them in her bag. (Olivier isn't passing, so I don't expect him to be back in class in January, but I have to put up with him for atleast another 3 weeks)....He has yet to get a passing mark on a single assignment. I kid you not. This guy is dumb. He cannot follow instructions or directions or even specifications on a handout.

Ok, I'm done venting about Olivier, and I don't want to think about him anymore.

So, we now have to make sure that we keep the toilet seat down, completely.... because Zeus has been going into the toilet. And I'm not talking about just sitting on the seat drinking the water - I'm talking about actually going into the toilet. What a dumb cat! It's cute and funny, but annoying at the same time.

I got home, did a few things, then decided that I was going to walk to lunch to meet up with Jamie and his ex-coworkers that became our friends. It ended up being a 20 minute walk to where I had to go, and I had to pick the coldest day ever! It was freezing! I just wanted exercise. Jamie thinks I'm nuts for walking there, but I just wanted fresh air and exercise. Never again in this weather will I walk that far!

After lunch we watched Survivor and Apprentice from last night, which I taped, and I kind of started dosing near the end. We were on the couch in the den, fireplace going (Oh - I'm going to be LOVING my fireplace this winter!) and it was just so cozy and warm, I had to snooze! I snoozed for over an hour after the shows were over, on the couch.

We had our usual gang over for poker tonight. Jamie won the first game, and neither of us won the second. It was fun though. I love having our regular poker games. It's a nice get together with friends. Next weekend the game is on Saturday night, since it's for Jamie's 30th birthday. I can't believe he's turning 30. It's my 4th birthday of his during our relationship. I celebrated his 27th, 28th, 29th, and now his 30th with him! Time flies! I have to start organizing things for his party.

Tomorrow we have a ton of stuff to do, and I have some chores and house cleaning and groceries to do. We're having 2 of my friends over for dinner tomorrow night, Fritz (whom I graduated in photography with) and his girlfriend Karine.

I started the beige crochet scarf for my sister. It's a harder wool to work with, but I think I will be okay. So far it's coming along very nicely.

Time for bed.

2 Month Anniversary

Today is my 2 months anniversary with my husband! Wow, I've been married for two months!
Class this morning was productive, I got some more of my illustrator project done. It's due next Friday, so I have more time to work on it, still. I have Tuesdays off and every afternoon, so I am not worried about getting it done! Not at all!

After class I came home and watched some Desperate Housewives, then after lunch I watched Survivor and Apprentice from last night with Jamie, and then more Desperate Housewives. I have 2 episodes left of Season 1 and then onto Season 2 to catch up to where it's on TV at the moment.

We have guests over for poker at the moment and and I played the first game (didn't win) and now game 2 is on, but I didn't feel like playing the second game.

There is a party going on upstairs - (I was asked permission if it was okay - since his parents are on vacation for 3 weeks) and they're doing some awful kareoke. It's the son's girlfriends birthday and she just graduated from nursing, so he thought since his parents were out of town he would throw a party.

I'm going to get back to the last 2 episodes of Season 1 of Desperate Housewives, and take the scarf I'm crocheting (it's turning out really nice) into bed with me! I absolutely LOVE crocheting! So much more than knitting, only because knitting is really hard on my "early-arthritis" as I call it. I have really bad joint pain in my hands.