New Shoes & Other Stuff

This morning I went into class, handed in my final assignement, did a very quick color seperation quiz in class in front of my teacher (one on one) and got my Illustrator Project back (the Barbie girl I did) - got 35/40 which is a 87.5% and I'm very happy with that. Yesterday, I got back my 16 page brochure that I did - (she only corrected 3 of our projects from 11 of us, and mine happened to be one of them) and I got 36/40 - which is a nice 90%. I am VERY happy with my marks. Go me! I am expecting to do VERY well on her exams, and it will get me a very high mark - low to mid 90% as a final mark!

Since there was no point in me staying the entire 4 hour class (I was there for maybe 30 minutes), I went shopping to see if I could find an outfit for Friday night. I ended up finding a dress for 16$ at Winners (TJ MAXX for you Americans) for Friday night, which I will also use for the wedding we have the last weekend of August, and I will bring it on the cruise for one of the 5 nice outfits I have to bring. 16$! What a good deal! I also got this really awesome shoes (clogs) for also 16$. I love love love them!

My new fave shoes!

Today, I ran around the city to discover that the Old Navy by me does NOT have a maternity section (so I will go out to where my mom lives tomorrow to find myself something hopefully) and I did find some stuff at Winners (besides my new shoes & dress) and some stuff for the baby too (which some I may have to return next week after I find out the sex of the baby!)

I going to start knitting at sock (for Veronik), which they are paying me to do. The pattern is really awesome, and so is the yarn. I'm in love with the yarn, which will be available sometime in the spring I think - to purchase. I'm totally into "appletini green" lately. Here is a sneak-peak at the colour of the yarn - all I can show you! I took it close up - so you can't tell what it is - etc..

Isn't it gorgeous?

Above is the invite to my graduation Friday night. I don't know who came up with the Monopoly theme for it - but it doesn't fit and I don't like it at all. I can't wait to graduate - let me tell you! If you double click on the ticket, it opens in larger for more details.

This evening, like last night, we went to the shiva house, and this time, we celebrated Jamie's Uncle's birthday. It's is really unfortunate that he is sitting shiva on his birthday, so Jamie's dad sent over Chinese Food from my fave place (mmm! it was exactly what I was craving) and I picked up 2 pies (Lemon Merangue & Chocolate Truffle) from Rockaberries. Boy was the Chocolate Truffle delicious! When sitting shiva, you are not supposed to celebrate for pleasure, pretty much anything - even after sitting shiva (not sure if it's for 1 month or for 12 months - it depends on your tradition - I think). But since Bubbie Rae would have wanted us to get together and celebrate (she was always on top of things to get everyone together) we decided to go ahead and just celebrate (immediate family only), and it was nice.

Lots of errands and things to do tomorrow. Studying to do too!

No knitting news - there will be knitting news once I GRADUATE FRIDAY!!!!

All Assignments Done!

I've been finding Zeus sleeping & hanging out in really odd places lately. Earlier, I found him in the laundry room, on my counter (where I fold laundry, or keep delicates until there's enough of them to wash, etc):

Silly cat!

So, all my assignments are now done.

Tonight after school & work (Jamie) - we went to Jamie's Aunt's & Uncle's for the shiva house. It is really nice to see everyone, and it's unfortunate that it takes a death in the family to bring the family together, but it really is nice spending quality time with everyone. I plan on being at the shiva house almost all week (except Wednesday night, as Jamie has a ball game and I have to study for my 2 exams on Thursday).

Oh, I can't wait to be DONE school! Friday, friday, friday! Can you see my excitement???

I already consider myself a graphic designer. I have enough marks in each class to pass (without the exams that I have coming up) but will take the exams anyhow, to get a VERY good mark! I am already expecting a 91, 92 and a 95 in 3 of my 6 classes! Go me!

Long Day

Today was a very long day.

I got up, got ready, and Jamie & I headed over to Jamie's Aunt's & Uncle's house (where Bubbie Rae used to live). We were being picked up at 11 am by Paperman's to go to the funeral.

The hard part was sitting in the room with the coffin. At one point, there was WAY too many people in there, and there were a lot of unecessary people in there as well. What made me cry the most was Jamie's sister giving the Eulogy. It was very touching. It's too bad the funeral for the rabbi was a business transaction, and he even invented stuff about Jamie's grandmother (along with grandfather too). Who does that?

After the service, we went to the cemetery, however I was not allowed into the cemetery (because I'm pregnant). (Jewish Law does not forbid pregnant women from attending a funeral or visiting a cemetery. However, many Jews believe pregnant women should not visit the cemetery due to superstition or, more specifically, belief in the evil eye (ayin hara). The basic premise of the evil eye: if we are happy, then evil spirits will harm us to change us from happy to unhappy. People who believe in the evil eye will avoid "tempting the evil eye.") Now, I am not at all superstitious, but it seems that there are a LOT of people in my family who are - so to please them, I waited by the funeral limos, and didn't step inside. I didn't want to start anything with anyone.

After the cemetery, Jamie's mom, and two uncle's started to sit shiva.

Shiva is:

In the Jewish tradition, shiva is the seven-day mourning period that begins immediately after the funeral of a loved one. The custom stems directly from the verse in Genesis in which Joseph mourns his father, Jacob, for a week.

1. Observe shiva for any of seven relatives: your father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter or spouse. Other relatives may join in for some or all of the observance, but Jewish law does not mandate their participation.

2. Keep in mind that shiva always takes place in the home of the deceased or in the home of a principal mourner. If space allows, all the mourners stay in the house together.

3. Cover all the mirrors in the house and leave them cloaked for the seven-day period. This centuries-old custom began as a belief that spirits were attracted to mirrors and could be trapped there; the modern reinterpretation is that the practice discourages vanity and encourages inner reflection.

4. Place a basin of water beside the outer door so people can wash their hands, a gesture that separates the mitzvah (or duty) of honoring the dead from the mitzvah of comforting the bereaved.

5. Light a large shiva candle, also known as a ner daluk, or burning light, and keep it burning for seven days and seven nights as a symbol of the divine spark that inhabits the body.

6. Remove your shoes when you return home from the funeral and refrain from wearing leather shoes in the shiva house. You may wear cloth slippers or socks or go barefoot, which is considered a sign of being humbled by loss.

7. Eat food brought by friends and neighbors for your first meal after returning from the cemetery (called seudat havra'ah, or the meal of consolation). It is traditional to emphasize round foods to recall the cyclical nature of life. (You are not allowed to serve yourself for any meal while sitting shiva).

8. Sit low to the ground, on cushions or very low chairs, on the floor, or on special benches provided by the funeral home. This practice symbolizes being struck down by grief. (Visitors to the house sit on normal chairs and couches.)

9. Leave doors unlocked so that visitors can enter without distracting mourners with knocks or doorbells.

10. Refrain from virtually all usual activity during shiva. Jewish law prohibits mourners from cooking, running errands, attending school, shaving, wearing makeup or engaging in pleasures of any kind whether sensual, sexual, athletic or intellectual.

Tips:

Because Jewish terms are translations from the Hebrew, spellings vary. For instance, the seven-day period of mourning can be correctly spelled shiva, shivah or shiv'a.

Parts of days count as full days of shiva. For instance, the day of the funeral is considered the first day, even if burial takes place in the afternoon. Traditionally, shiva ends on the morning of the seventh day, right after the shaharit, the morning prayer service

Warnings:

Jewish law prohibits sitting shiva on the Sabbath.

With shiva, as in virtually every other part of Jewish life, the degree to which people stick to the letter of the law varies greatly, not only among Orthodox, Conservative and Reform branches of the faith, but also among individual congregations and families. Some people observe all of the steps outlined above; others observe only a few.

So that is what Shiva is. I will be there all week, as it's my mother-in-law who is sitting shiva. Jamie and I will make sure that we keep up celebrating everyone's birthdays, anniversaries and holidays, since Bubbie Rae would have wanted it that way - and would have wanted us to continue it. She was always the organizer of birthday gatherings, etc.

Upon getting home this evening, I fixed up my 2 ad's for my IPOD project due tomorrow. I didn't realize that it was the IPOD that had to be in 2 different colours. (I thought it was the 2 different ads - but apparently you could even have the 2 different colours on the same exact AD even!)

It's been a long day, and I want to crawl into bed.

Homework Day

Today I slept in a little, and when I got up, my nephew & sister-in-law were gone. It's too bad, I wanted to see them before they left, but that's okay. I'll at least get to see them tomorrow, even though it's not under the best of circumstances.

This afternoon I got A LOT of work done. I finished my IPOD project. Basically, I had to create an IPOD unit (MP3 Player) from scratch, using only photoshop tools. We had a tutorial on how to make one, and then we had to use our own buttons, etc, to personalize it

After finishing my work, I got ready for my cousin's bachelorette party. Dinner was supposed to be called for 8pm, but then I got a call from my Aunt saying that it was being pushed to 8:30pm, due to first call seating being behind on time. I had to pick up my grandmother, then drop off some videos at blockbusters, then pick up my cousin's other Aunt, and then head to the west island of Montreal. Dinner was at Baton Rouge. I haven't eaten there in years. I had a good time at the bachelorette, but the service was horrible (who has to ask 6 times for a glass of water?) and even though we were about 3 or 4 round tables pushed together, almost every table had their own waitor or waitress, and our waitress (for like 6 people) screwed up orders and bills (as it was all seperate bills) , was rude and I didn't like the service. Needless to say, I'll never go back there again. Maybe I'd try another location, but this one, never again. My cousin Jenn seemed to have a good time, and I'm happy for that! It was nice seeing all the girls in my family. I didn't take pics, but I'm hoping to get some from maybe my Aunt (who took tons!)

Long day tomorrow, I'm going to get some sleep.

Happy 27th Anniversary Mom & Dad.

I Don't Even Know Where To Begin.... (So Much To Say)

First off, I guess I will start with Jamie's grandmother. Turns out, that her status had changed from 6-8 months, to 1-2 weeks. I had no idea of this. I did know though, that they had changed her status to a different level (from testing her and giving her meds, to not even testing her to find things because she wasn't eating anymore, and if they give her meds to fix things, it would just affect other things, and it just wouldn't be a solution anymore, so they changed her status). Jamie and I had plans to go see her on Saturday, going along with his sister and Merlyn. It's too bad that it happened this way, but at least the memory that Jamie has of his grandmother is a better image than the one which could have been of her lying there as a vegetable pretty much, since her whole body was shutting down. The cycle of life... it's too bad that we live our life, and then have to end up at the end, as such. I am just happy though, that she was comfortable during her last stages and she didn't suffer too much, if anything at all. The funeral is Sunday at 12:15pm, which doesn't allow me to go to my cousin's grandmother's unveiling at 12:30pm. We may actually bump into them, because Jamie's grandmother is being burried at the same cemetary as where her husband is, but also at the same cemetary as my cousin's grandmother. So we may see each other there, perhaps.

Second thing to write (vent) about... is school... (I have a list in my head of things that I wanted to talk about today in my post)... I was at school yesterday from 11 am - midnight. Now, I was planning on being home for dinner. Well, I ended up having dinner at school, some crappy food from the cafeteria. I did my work, and got a LOT accomplished, and it was good because I have no AC at home in my office (just a fan) and with the heat that is going on outside, it's disgusting. So I stayed with Laura (the only other student who stayed on the night before some HUGE projects were due) and got a lot accomplished. I had asked Jamie last night when he called me about his grandmother if he wanted me to come home, but he told me to stay and finish my work. I am really glad that I did stay, in the end, but I only got home around 12:15am this morning, and then had MORE work to do to be prepared for class today. I finished my poster for my Illustrator class.

I also finished my 12 page brochure that I was doing on Bnai Brith Canada. Wow - that was a LOT of work, and I am really happy that it is now done. I had a lot of prints to do for that one, and a lot of things to take care of to hand it in, but I'm glad that it's over and done with and I don't have to really think about that project anymore (except for one part - a mock-up, that no one in the class finished, so she told us this morning, that if you hand in ABSOULTELY everything else, to her, that we could hand in the mock-up next Thursday with no penalization. If we hand in most of it, and don't have that done, then we lose 10%). I handed in EVERYTHING else, so I'll be okay. I just was stressing to get everything handed in, and didn't want to ruin my mock-up, so at least I have a couple of extra days to finish it). A mock-up is basically mocking how our brochure would print if it were going through a printing press. It's pretty cool, actually.

The third thing I want to talk about is my tenants, but I think I will save my energy on that one for later. It's a long story, that's been spanning since last month, but also for the last three days. I will save it for another post.....

After class, I came home, and picked up Jamie, his sister and Merlyn and we went for lunch. After lunch, I took an hour and a half nap, and then went with Jamie's sister and Merlyn for dinner with my mother-in-law and her wife. (Jamie's mom and her wife).

Me - 18 weeks pregnant

I absolutely love my little belly! I'm loving it more and more each day! Love it Love it Love it!! :)

This evening, after dinner, I was zonked. As soon as my head hit the pillow around 8:30pm, watching Wizard of Oz with my sister-in-law and Merlyn, I was out cold. Eventually I transfered to my bedroom. I just got up for a few, I wanted to check my email, and blog, and now I'm going back to sleep. I'm still very very tired. So I'll leave the story of my tenants for tomorrow perhaps, and I'll write more later!

- No knitting has been done since the one row at McDonald's and seaming of the charity blanket at Knitting Meet-up. Hopefully after I graduate I will have PLENTY of time to knit, as I won't have too much to do until the baby comes in January. (But I do have a HUGE to do list, of things I want to accomplish!)

He Got "The Call"

I'm still at school, it's 9:44pm, and I'm working away at my assignments due tomorrow (there's AC here, and just AC in the bedrom at home!) and Jamie just called to tell me that he got "the call". At first I didn't know what he meant, but then as he started spitting it out, I realized....
Jamie's grandmother just passed away not too many moments ago. Bubbie Rae was his last living grandparent. Just a few days ago they said she could live another 6-8 months. Just yesterday I was on the phone with Jamie's sister making plans to go this weekend to see her in the hospital.

Not sure when the funeral is, but I am guessing it will be Sunday. Wow, what a week next week will be, shiva and 3 exams and 2 final projects. I can manage, I'm good at handling things. I'm good now, I broke down as I was getting off the phone with Jamie, in tears. I loved Bubbie Rae, even though she has only known me for just over 4 years. It's too bad that she didn't make it to see her 2nd great-grandchild, but her name will live on, for we shall give our daughter the middle name of Rose, for R for Rose and R for Rae, both of Jamie's late grandmothers.

Anyhow, it's almost 10 pm, and I do want to get out of here sometime soon, as I do have more work to do at home with my printer (no colour printer here in the classroom - only in the school bookstore, which closed at 7pm)....

More later. It's been a long day.

How Many Sleeps 'Til Mcdonald's

My nephew has been counting down how many "do-do's" (how many times he has to go to bed at night) before he got to go to the big Mcdonald's with the playground and video games. Friday night, I took him to McDonalds, but at Walmart. He told me I was going in the wrong direction for the McDonalds that he wanted to go to. (How did he know "what direction"? I am still not sure, he's 3 years old, and doesn't live in Montreal, how could he possibly know?) Anyhow, here is our day, and our adventure at McDonalds.

This morning we got up and headed to my OBGYN appointment. Everything is great, and the baby is growing in the right direction. (Head was in the right spot, as well as where the feet should be at the moment. The doctor knows this just by checking my abdomen. I wish I knew how to feel what was going on in my belly, but all I feel is hard tummy forming!) Merlyn was a good boy at the doctor's office and told everyone he encountered that I am a good Aunt and I'm taking him to McDonald's today. (That's how exited he was about McDonald's).

After leaving the doctor's office, (and getting my "permission" slip from the doctor signed for my cruise (because I'm pregnant, I need permission to be allowed to cruise), we headed home to pick up the mail, and drop off something, and also pick up something that I had forgotten to take with me.

Our next stop was Zellers. I had a return to do, and then I wanted to look at a few things, and in the baby department, I discovered they had a maternity section. Not only did they have everything on liquidation (I guess to make way for the new fall stuff), everything on liquidation was 30% off. I had a field day. I ended up with a basketful of clothes (not sure how much of it I will keep as I didn't try anything on in store, I will have to try on at home (I don't like trying on stuff in stores, so as long as they have a return policy, perfect!) and ended up even getting some really cute maternity shirts and tank-tops for like as low as $2.10 - on sale from like 14.99$ originally, etc... Don't ask how cheap - I don't know. But good for me, saves me a lot of money and updates my lacking wardrobe!

After Zellers, we went to Acura, where I brought my car in for my first checkup. The first two check ups (8,000 Km and 16,000 Km) are free. The first one was pretty much an oil change and a filter change, etc. There was a small waiting area that was really comfortable (unlike the waiting area when I owned my Civic at Honda was cheap and cruddy and lacking), and there was a huge TV where Merlyn got to watch Zaboomafoo (sp?) and eat some Ritz Cracker Cheese Sandwhich snacks and behave himself. My car took shorter than I expected to be ready, (which is good) and I managed to cast on Jamie's 2nd sock. (And knit half of the first needle).

After Acura, I went over to my Wedding Photographer's house, which is where her office was just moved to, and picked up my frame for my wedding enlargement.

I hung it up as soon as I got home from being out. I think it looks fantastic above our bed! And the Sepia photo is just gorgeous. I love it. I discussed a bit of my wedding album with her (I'm finally going to sit down and order my photos once school's out next Friday) and I'm debating whether to go with the traditional old style album, or with the new digital album. They're gorgeous the new albums and you can stick in 75 photos instead of the old tradition 50-60 photos. So you get more, but the price difference is a little higher. But it's gorgeous, and I think I want to go "digital" album - rather than traditional. You know?? We'll see what happens when I go back with my 75 images picked and decide.

After Wendy's, we headed to McDonald's, to meet Jamie for lunch. The parking lot was a zoo, and took me forever to get a spot. I think it was because people in the area still had no power due to the weather, and so every mother with her kids were at McDonalds for lunch and to play, because they couldn't stay home.

Eventually we got our food and sat down and ate. And then, after lunch, Merlyn got to play in the playground at McDonalds. Jamie stayed for a while, and then headed back to work.

Merlyn got his fix of video games at McDonald's - that's all he's been talking about!

I love how cute he looks in this picture!

I even got ONE complete row knitted (K2 P2) while Merlyn played. (Can you see the lovely McDee's slide in the background behind my knitting?)

I even made a little girl cry (she was probably just around a year old). She was going to push my drink over onto the floor, and all I told her was "No, that's not yours, please be careful" and she burst out in tears. How else was I to react to her reaching out for my diet coke? I had paid for it, it wasn't my kid, or even my relative, and it was hot and muggy and I didn' want to waste an entire glass of coke.

After Mcdonalds, we headed to the LYS by there and I used up my gift certificate that Jamie got me for my birthday. They were having a sale on some stuff, so I picked up a ton of stuff for the value of my money! I got some nice stuff, and I can't wait to use it. (More yarn to add to my stash! LOL) I'll photograph it later, too exhausted right now!

While at the LYS it started to pour. Boy was it nasty. All we had was Merlyn's spongebob umbrella, so I picked him up and carried him to the car running both trying to not get wet. It was nasty.

He fell asleep on the way home, and I put him to bed upon getting home. He slept for a good two hours, and was still ultra cranky upon getting up.

Thank goodness I had Angela over at that point and we were heading out to go knitting (I should have been at home doing homework, but decided that I deserved 2-3 hours to myself to go knitting). I worked on seaming the blanket that I knit for Charity, and when I'm done seaming, I'll take a picture of the final product. I also have to single crochet around the edge of the blanket with the leftover yarn. I think it came out really nice.

Knitting was fun, and I stayed a little longer than I should have (because now I'm beyond zonked) but it's all good. It was much deserved time for ME. I am sure going to miss ME time when I have the baby! But that's okay, I've come to understand that I will be giving up my time!

Alright, bed time. Night.

Feeling Better!

This morning I had Merlyn a little bit entertained as I had work to do. So during this time, he coloured on his magna-doodle thingy.

I got a lot done this morning, and even finished off the rest of the assignment I was working on last night, so I that I could hand it in this afternoon in class, and be done with it. 2 assignments completely done, and only 4 more to go. (2 are almost done, and 1 is getting there, and the last one isn't even started yet, but I'm soooo not worried).

Merlyn came with me to school today, and coloured and watched some DVD's and played with some toys, while I got some work done.

He even got to draw on the board, the teacher gave him some eraser wiper markers:


And while he was doing that, I worked on my Illustrator project that is due on Thursday (or by Friday latest). Here is what I'm drawing in Adobe Illustrator. (The guitar has an actual picture of actual wood in it. We had to do one textured mask, and I chose to do the wood!):

I am in love with my drawing so far, it's coming along great. I'm just stuck on a font to create for it (we have to "design" our own font, and what to make it a poster of.... I have NO idea... ugh! I am soooo overtired, exhausted and pressured with soooo many assignments, that I feel like I have no energy for any creativity right now, whatsoever. And I have time still, and hopefully will sleep on it tonight, and figure something out tomorrow.. (which tomorrow is a long day in itself. Ugh). (Obgyn apt, bringing my car in (they said the first check up should only take an hour) and a pick up to do from my wedding photographer, and a return to do at a store near the car dealership (but it's not walkable from the dealership, so I'll have to figure out what to do with him for an hour.... Hmmm), what else! I am actually going to get out of the house tomorrow night and go knitting. I have my in-law's taking Merlyn to go watch Jamie's ball game, so that will give me a break. MUCH NEEDED!

Tonight we lost power for about an hour, and it really stormed. I hate stormy weather. But I love the rain, because it takes away the humidity, and it's been NASTY here today. Barely breathable outside. I am sooo happy that we have power back now, so that I can sleep tonight with my A/C. I'd die without it!

Today I am feeling sooo much better from yesterday. Even though I am still overtired, yesterday I was just in a VERY rotten mood. (Mood swings suck!)

Alright, must get sleep. Long day tomorrow.

UNTANGLED!

Last night I stayed up til 2 am, COULD NOT SLEEP and wanted to get the friggin' huge ass knot out of this yarn. I put in probably about 5-6 hours of detangling, and finally got it undone, and into a cake. I can't believe my dedication to this yarn. Had it been some yarn that was bought from a store, I would have given up, and gone to buy a new ball. But this yarn was specially hand dyed for me, and well, I was determined! I can't wait to see how it knits up.

Today was a LONG day with only 4 and a half hours of sleep.

I got my photoshop final project about 93% finished, and I am so happy about that. I just have a few final touches to do, and I'll hand it in next Monday and not have to worry about it any longer.

In my afternoon class I got some troubles fixed in my Quark Assignment (16 page brochure that I'm doing a travel guide on)... and tomorrow my teacher said I could bring my nephew with me as I can't find a babysitter.

This evening I tried lying in bed tonight at 8:15 until about now, but couldn't fall asleep. I am beyond exhausted due to lack of sleep and school and my 3 1/2 year old nephew whom tires me out! Boy does that kid have energy!

I am going to try to get my hand on this book, because I own the second one, A Good Yarn, which apparently is the sequel to this book! Ugh. Oh well, I will keep my eye open for it, but amazon.ca says 4-7 weeks for shipping! What is this! Books that I want, I can't seem to get delivery in a decent amount of time! Has anyone read it, any good?

Today I got a bill from the government saying that because I'm married now, they paid me too much in returns at tax time. WTF??? I am going to speak to my father-in-law about it, but I don't want to pay them the money they originally said was mine! Ugh! (And that money is long gone on bill payments, anyhow!)

Rent is due tomorrow, and I hope I do not have issues with my *new* tenants whom have not moved in yet. I forgot on Saturday to write about the cigarette smoke that we were smelling in our bathroom and our hallway of our place. Someone was upstairs smoking in their bathroom. We share the EXACT same air ventilation shaft in our bathrooms, and you can actually hear the people upstairs loud and clear. (That's the only downfall of the way that was built). Anyhow, who smokes in the bathroom? So I went upstairs, and rang the bell. Rang the bell again. Heard someone in there, but no one was answering. Knocked. Someone finally came to te door, still not opening it, asking who it was. I said I was the landlord. They opened the door, she had a cigarette in hand. I had no idea who this person was. Anyhow, turns out, she's a cousin who came to clean. When I told her that I didn't mind if she smokes in the apartment (I do mind, but whatever, I had no idea that smokers were inhabiting the place, and that will be a clause for the next lease for whomever rents - that it is a NON-SMOKING PLACE) but to not smoke in the bathroom, since we share the same airshaft. I told her I was pregnant and the smells was making me nauseas. SO GROSS. She apologized and was all friendly, etc.

Ugh. Didn't even think to ask if they were smokers, and I will have them clean the apartment from head to toe to my satisfaction before they clear out their stuff, and wash the walls, etc, to get as much smoke out as they can. The shit stays! I really hope that I do not have a problem with the smoke. I hadn't smelled it up til now. And I realized later on that evening when it sounded like the water upstairs was running for 2 hours, I thought someone was cleaning something at first, but it was the toilet running, and no one was there. Anyhow, I went up to check it out, and knocked, no answer, so I entered with my key. Fixed the toilet. On my way out I noticed that there was a matress on the floor in one of the rooms with a TV on the floor was well, with a packet of smokes on the bed, and trash all over the floor. Geez! Ugh. How dirty. So I was right! She's been bringing back gentleman callers in the middle of the night. FUN!

Anyhow, getting back to how I started this whole subject, if I don't hear from her by 6pm tomorrow, I'm calling her to ask where the rent is, and if I have to, I'll threaten to deposit the check I have from her. (She says she wants to pay me cash, well it's due on the 1st of the month!) I am really starting to get a really bad feeling about these tenants. I hope they only stay one year and I have the joy of finding new tenants next year, but hopefully it will be worth it.

Mood swings have really taken over this week, and I'm finding a lot of things irritating me. I should just let things slide. I hope this is just a phase and it goes away. It could also be because I'm over tired. That is a HUGE possibility.

I just got off the phone with my grandmother, it was really nice talking to her. It's been a while because school has been so busy. I'm picking her up Saturday night to go out for dinner for my cousin Jenn's bachelorette dinner, should be nice. (My grandmother doesn't drive at night anymore, if she doesn't have to, or can avoid it, so I figured I'd offer her a lift to dinner and back afterwards). It'll be good to see her.

Alright, it's WAY past my bed time. And I'm struggling to keep my eyes open anyhow.

Letter Magnets, Homework & A Bigger Belly

This morning I got up and Jamie was taking care of Merlyn, so I got to get a lot of work done. I managed to get a big leap ahead in my project that is technically due tomorrow, but I technically can hand it in as late as Friday. I kinda wanted to have it almost done for tomorrow, so that I can get it out of the way, and get cracking on my assignment that is due on Thursday, and then after that's done, I can concentrate on my assignment due on Friday. So much going on this week, I feel there is sooo little time.

Jamie's mom and her wife came over this afternoon for lunch. Jamie BBQ'ed and I only had lunch with them, the rest of the time I was working on my assignment, and I did not feel anti-social and they understand that I only have TWO weeks of school left, and that all my final assignments are due this week, and that I have finals the week after. Ahhhh!

Today, I took some more pictures of my belly bump! It's REALLY getting big fast! I can't believe it! Before, there was NOTHING, and now... there's something!

Don't you just love that belly. I can't believe I am almost half way through my pregnancy! Almost 18 of 40 weeks. Just about half! Time flies!


I love my belly bump!

Today I was playing with letter magnets. I love letter magnets. I actually went out today for 15 minutes when I was at the point of frustration with Quark Xpress, the software I've been using for MOST of my final projects, and just needed a break, so I went out to this shop around the corner from my house, and picked up some more letter magnets.

Oh, Jamie and I decided on a boy's name, and a girl's name (which the girl's name has been decided on for months.... it was the boy's name that I couldn't decide on - as I had decided that I didn't like ANY boys names but Zachary, but Jamie didn't want a girl and a boy with both the letter Z.....) So.... drum roll please... here are our two names (first name and middle name) that we have decided on!

Sean (which has grown on me), and Zoey, are not named after anyone. The two middle names, are Edward for Jamie's late grandfather Edward and Rose after Jamie's late grandmother (on the other side of the family), Rose. Rose can also be after my grandmother's sister Rachel who passed away in a concentration camp during the war. I didn't like any H names, not boy's nor girl's after my late grandfather Hymie.... which is unfortunate, and I have all the rest of my grandparents still alive and relatively healthy, so, in the Jewish "Faith" we don't name babies after people whom are still alive. It's bad luck or something.

We'll have to see on August 17th, if I'm having a Sean or a Zoey! I can't wait for my ultra sound!

I couldn't stop at just names on the front of our fridge... on the side, I wrote a little note to my hubby...

Well, it's late.... Jamie and I just watched Big Brother, and he's been asleep for a while. I am *THIS* close to untangling the Neopolitan coloured yarn, and want to finish that before going to bed. (I've put about 3-4 hours of untangling time into ungtangling this yarn! I'm determined to get it done tonight). I know I have to get up SUPER early tomorrow, but I'll be okay. TWO more Monday classes and I'm DONE with 8 am classes! WOOHOO!

I sense this week is going to be a LONG LONG week, so I'm going to take a deep breath, and take it one day at a time....

Swimming & BBQ Dinner

This afternoon Jamie & I got to his step-sister's house and I went swimming. The kids were already in the pool for a long while, apparently. They were having a good time, and I'm glad. Nana & Zayda picked up Merlyn, and went earlier than us!


Merlyn was having a good time, (even though in a life-jacket)

Little Jamie was having a good time too. (We call her little Jamie because my Jamie is "big" Jamie (LOL)

Merlyn was so cold coming out of the pool, I caught him unhappy in this really cute frog towel. I've got to get my future child one of these, soooo cute!

He really seemed unhappy after getting out of the pool, mainly because he didn't want to get out of the pool!

Dinner was fantastic, we had a HUGE BBQ of a LOT of things... There was... Sausage, Chicken, Salad (my favourite dressing from my MIL), beans, rice, corn on the cob - it was a FEAST! I love it. Baby loved it too. And homemade dessert from my MIL, mmmm, to die for!

We hung out there for a bit, and on the way home, Merlyn fell asleep in the car. My turn for bed. (No knitting today).

Hugs xx

I Got A SWIFT!

I just ordered myself a swift from Joann.com ! Woohoo. You can use a 40% off coupon online on 1 single item. So it was 69.99$ - 40% - Wowee! Only one problem. They don't ship to Canada. Problem solved though. My friend Lauren and her hubby Seth are coming in the weekend of August 18th to Montreal to visit, and I'm shipping it to her house. What's retarded, is you can have a Canadian billing address, you just can't ship to Canada..... (It actually has Quebec in the pull down menu for the billing address State/Province, etc!) Weird.... Anyhow, I can't wait to get it - hopefully it will help me solve my hank tangling problems!

Oh beautiful swift - I can't wait to receive you!

Off to my step-sister-in-law's shortly to swim and for a BBQ, Merlyn's already there with Nana & Zayda, who picked him up a few hours ago (to give Jamie and I some time to relax and get things done around the house, which wasn't much, lol.... Oh well. Tomorrow will be a homework day, I promise. I HAVE TO! Everything's due this week. (Gotta kick myself in the arse to get things done!) I am the queen of procrastination!

Long Long Day

Today was a very long day. First off, I had a make-up class after our regular class, and so I was i in school from 9am-3pm instead of 9am-12pm. But, it's air conditioned at school, (I only have portable A/C units at home, no central air (which I'm DYING for!) so I didn't mind being at school. Also, with Merlyn at home, I have had no time to concentrate on my school work, except for when he's asleep, which is past my bedtime too - lol (as it is now, but it's Friday night, so I'm pushing my limits). I've been soooo tired lately, it's unreal.


I got a LOT accomplished today at school. I am very happy about that. I also, handed in my final assignment for my Estimation course, and have NOTHING left to do in that class. I await my mark on that final assignment, which actually will give me my final mark in that class. I am so positive that my teacher will give me back my mark next week, as she's a very fast marker, but I probably won't get to take home my assignment, because the others still have until Thursday, August 10th to hand it in, so I won't be able to get mine back, so that others can see it...etc..... Not that I'd show it to any of them, but still... I completely understand. I'm hoping for a 100% on that assignment, which will give me a very high mark in that class. I think if I get perfect on that assignment, I will have a 95% in that class. So hopefully that is my mark! I'm totally not worried, and that assignment was a breeze once I sat down and finished it, so I'm pretty happy about that. 1 of 6 assignments done, phew! 2 of those remaining 5 are almost done, and 2 are actually not even started, but they're not due til the week after next so I'm not even worried!
One last assignment that I have not started yet, is to do a die-cut, and re-design a box. Originally it was supposed to be a die-cut for a VHS casette box, but since this semester we already did a DVD cover, and who uses VHS anymore, she changed it to ANY box we want. So I think I'm going to do a travel size Q-tip box, it's really tiny and cute. It's about the length of a credit card. Should be easy. Not too sure yet what I'm going to do with it - but I'm either going to re-vamp it - or do something completely not Q-tip to go in the box. Not really too sure what the assignment is really about.

This evening Jamie had ball so I took Merlyn to McDonalds at Walmart for dinner (I had to return something to Walmart and pick up a few things there). He gave me a hard time because he was over tired and because he wanted to go to a McDonalds that has the playground there. Well, this McDonalds doesn't even have a full menu, so definitely no park there!

Quite the apetite this kid has, he wanted nuggets AND a burger!

Making faces at the camera.

French fry moustache!

After, while doing my errands in Walmart, had a few things to pick up, Merlyn wanted to go see the toys, so I don't know why, but I took him. Of course he wanted a toy that was 75$. This kid doesn't understand money..... and cried because he WANTED that specific toy. I tried explaining to him that it cost 75$ and that I don't have the money for that right now, and he bawled.... in the end, he settled for a .97 cent toy, which as you can see, he fell asleep 5 minutes after getting home, on the couch, with the toy in his hand...

Tomorrow Jamie's got a meeting in the morning, which I didn't realize, and was hoping he'd watch him so I could do some homework. But Nana & Zayda will eventually pick him up and take him to my step-sister-in-law's house for some swimming and we'll join up later, for some more swimming and a BBQ! Sunday Jamie's mom and her wife are coming over for lunch, and there goes my entire weekend, I shit you not!

Today, in this nasty nasty heat I'm feeling more fat than pregnant, and I don't like this feeling. Mood swings, I guess! It's been another long long day today, with no knitting to report. HOPEFULLY SOON - I'm dying to start Jamie's 2nd sock...

It's passed my bedtime. Goodnight.

UPS, Yarn & The Remote Control

Last night I forgot to write about our trusty remote control....! Remember on Tuesday night I couldn't find it, and swore that it was thrown out? Well, for some odd reason, at 10:45pm after lying in bed watching some TV, I decided to check to see whether or not the garbage had been picked up or not. It had not. So.... I dragged the garbage bah down to our garage, and with a fresh pair of yellow rubber gloves, and a new garbage bag, I tore apart the bag I knew it had to be in, and what do we have? The remote control in the exact spot that I ripped the bag open.... My luck - because now I did not have to dig through the garbage bag! Phew!

This morning, after Merlyn got picked up by Nana for the day, I worked a bit on school things, and then hopped into a shower to get ready for school. As I was done rinsing out the shampoo from my hair, the doorbells rings. So I spring out the shower (knowing that I was expecting UPS as I had tracked the package since my pal had given me the tracking number) and in a towel I answered the door. It was UPS. He had my one skein package, and was also questioning me about the transaction from June 16th (my birthday) (it was the same UPS guy, the one that had forgotten my expiry date). Anyhow, He wanted my expiry date now. I was like "Uhm, NO!" So, I ran to my office and got all my paper work (still in my towel just to let you know) and provided him with the information that I had received a bill, etc, and the people I had spoken to when I called UPS on June 16th, and all that jazz. He said he would look into it. I also told him, that on top of my payment, that my pal in the USA was called and also charged for my import tax. WHAT? How stupid is UPS? They are sooooo dumb, let me tell you. And that is why I do not ever deal with them!

On a horrible note, my new yarn is in a tangle. Not too sure how that happened, but I do need one of those swift thingies, that would be a great fanstastic purchase, but I heard they can be quite expensive, so I will be holding off on that purchase for now

Today was a VERY productive day at school. I got a lot done, and I'm very happy. I've now (as of this evening, maybe 30 minutes ago) have 1 of 6 assignments done. 3 are due next week and the other 2 are due the week after. I also have 3 exams the week of August 7th. I'll manage. I'll do fine.

I also finished printing up pieces for my portfolio, as tomorrow in class our teacher is giving us each 30 minutes to go over our portfolio with us. I wanted to have a lot accomplished before going in tomorrow, so that I'm not empty handed. I'm very happy with my progress on that, and that I have 1 full assignment ready to be handed in (and it's actually the last thing that I have to do for that class, so as soon as I get the mark for that back, which will probably be next Thursday, (when I have that teacher next), then I'll know my final mark for that class. (WOOHOO!) I like knowing final marks upon completion of final assignments. Makes me worry less!

Alright, that detangle is calling my name.

Swimming & Rain

Today Merlyn was dropped off at about 8 am. He right away asked to watch Wizard of Oz (his fave movie) so I put that on, and fell asleep on the couch next to him. Then, once that was done, since it was icky outside, he asked to watch Madagascar. He watched, I napped on the couch, and he also played with the toys in the den.

After Madagascar was done, the weather got nicer, so we slowly started getting things together and then evetually headed over to my parents house, where I had promised Merlyn we'd go swimming.


And so we swam for a good hour.And boy did that tire me out. (The sun, using up energy I don't have), but a good time was had by all. On our way home, we stopped off to get some groceries at the store, and then came home, ate dinner, and then decided to go watch Jamie play baseball.

We left, shortly after 7pm, the game started at 7pm, but I had a few things to do before leaving the house. On the way, after dropping back off a rental to blockbuster, Merlyn fell asleep in the car. I would have woken him up, but it started pouring rain. So much for watching Jamie's ball game, or playing on the cement at the park with chalk..... I was in the mood to colour!

Robyn's tired from entertaining a 3 year old all day (and probably got way too much sun!) To bed I said!

(No knitting today, even though I had it in my bag). I hope to have some time to knit, but right now Merlyn and my homework are both my priorities. So we'll see... I did start winding that Neopolitan coloured yarn on my ball winder just now, but half-way through got hit with a huge knot, that I've been working at for the last half hour... I hope I don't have to cut the yarn, what a shame that would be. I could weigh the yarn to see if it's exactly half the weight, so that I could wind two seperate balls.... but I'll leave that one for tomorrow.

Exhausted... Yarn Arrived Though!

Today was an exhausting day. My nephew left to spend the day with nana at around 8:15 am. Since I was up and couldn't go back to sleep, I had a ton of work to catch up on (for school) so I got right to it. I started organizing my work, in a folder, made a list of what needed to get done, and what all the due dates were, and I seem to have everything under control. I am the master of deadlines and working under pressure and I seem to think that everything will get done. I'm hoping to get a lot of work done tonight while Merlyn's at his nana & zayda's place, and that way I can spend the day with him tomorrow, maybe swimming if it doesn't rain, (it's calling for rain all week). (I'm not really sure what's up with the weather this summer, but it's been raining all summer long and I'm not really too happy about that)! But I guess it beats the heat!

Today I realized how exhausted I am from watching my 3 year old nephew. I'm sure it will only be worse (exhaustion) once the baby is born, but that's a different kind of exhaustion. I am really glad that Merlyn slept through the night though, and it wasn't a repeat of Sunday night.

This morning while packing Merlyn up in Nana's car, the mail lady was delivering the mail. I received my "Neopolitan" Ice Cream yarn from Knitpastis. It's handdyed yarn, especially for me! She also sent a few more goodies, which I love! Thank you Knitpastis! What I'm curious is how she wound it up into a skein. Is there a trick to do that? Does anyone know how to do it? I've been SOOOO curious lately about hand dying yarn, I'm soooo interested in getting into that. Trying it out, figure out how to do it, all that jazz. Here is a close up of the yummy (SUPERWASH!) sockyarn! Delicious!

Today in class I worked really hard. We had a "make-up" class for a missed class this afternoon, and I stayed a bit longer working on my assignments. I got a lot accomplished today, I think, anyhow. But I do have a lot more work to do. (Ugh!) At least I have some flexibility with my due dates next week, some assignments I have until the end of the week (phew!) (All good!) I plan to get a lot more work done on Thursday in school, and maybe even Thursday night since Merlyn will be at Nana's and Zayda's.

Tonight I actually worked on my portfolio, getting all my assignments that I want printed for my portfolio touched up and corrected, and some organized so that I can speak to my teachers about it. (Questions I may have on them)... etc.

Alright. I'm off to play a little Bejweled to relax and then off to bed, as I'm ZONKED. We can't find the remote control for the VCR in the bedroom, so there goes using the VCR anymore, because we can't access TV/VCR so we can't tape anything but the channel it's stuck on, and we can't watch anything because that means we have to get up at each commercial to fast forward. UGH! I am sure it fell into the garbage can and went out with the trash tonight. As digusting as this sounds, I am going to go check to see if the garbage has NOT been picked up yet, I *may* be able to rescue the remote control?

Jem, Frou Frou & Curls

Last night my nephew woke up at 3:30 am crying for his mother. Since she was in New Jersey already for her business meeting this morning, we couldn't exactly do anything for him, so Jamie went into bed with Merlyn, and stayed there until he fell asleep. I hope this does not happen again. I hope it was only because he wet himself and was not sure where he was. Tonight I made sure he made before going to bed. Hopefully that is enough.

Today, we got up at 9 am (Jamie had already left to work). We ate breakfast and then he watched Wizard of Oz while I napped on the couch. Then we did a few things around the house including laundry, and eventually it was time to leave the house. We went to the bank first, and then to get some hot dogs, as that is what Merlyn wanted. Then we went to Walmart, and I did a return, and then spent more money. Jamie had promised Merlyn some new toys so we got him a few things.

After Walmart, I went to Blockbuster to see about Xbox games appropriate for 3 year olds, and the guy there was helpful. Then, to the dollar store, as I needed a jumbo gift bag, and I let Merlyn pick out one more toy.

Upon getting home, I put on Madagascar for Merlyn, and then started making my homemade meat sauce. I made 2 big batches in 2 pots, and that is what we ate for dinner with pasta. Now we have plenty of meat sauce to last us a while. (I'm very happy about this).

After dinner, Merlyn got a bath, and then played an hour of video games with Jamie. Tomorrow nana is picking up Merlyn at about 8:15 am, or so, and I've got a TON of stuff to do before going to school. Tomorrow night is a HOMEWORK NIGHT (since I procrastinated on Saturday night and didn't get a single stitch done. I kinda half to, since all my final projects are due next week! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

I introduced myself to two new artists today:

Their music is very nice.


It is so humid today, that my hair is curling! Isn't this curl really cute?

Lately I have felt like wearing my yellow glasses instead of my new pink & black ones. No reason. Just like that! No knitting today. I hope this isn't the case when I have kids. I wouldn't be able to go days without knitting! Hopefully Jamie will be a big help when we have kids. He has been a big help with Merlyn, but still! It's TIRING! (Good practice though).

Alright, laundry needs tending to, and I need sleep!

Tam Tam Jam

This morning I got woken up at about 10:30 am, by my sister-in-law ringing my bell. They had arrived from Beauce, to drop off my nephew, as he'll be staying with us for 2 weeks. (Mainly with us, but staying a few nights at Nana & Zayda's house as well). You see, I was tired getting up, because knowing my hubby was getting home late last night, I tried staying up for a bit (I hate being in bed alone with no one home), and I was only able to make it up til about 3:30 am. Jamie came in last night at about 4:40am, but with good reason! He came in first place in a poker tournament amongst friends and their co-workers, and won 80$! (They were 7 guys, at 20$ a piece, with first prize 80$, second prize 40$ and third prize money back (20$)). So because he won, I didn't mind him staying out THAT late! I couldn't believe how long the game took! (They were 7 guys, at 20$ a piece, with first prize 80$, second prize 40$ and third prize money back (20$)). So because he won, I didn't mind him staying out THAT late! I couldn't believe how long the game took!

So as my SIL promised her son, and her ex's daughter (she came in with her ex and his daughter as well), we went to Tam Tam's (which is held at Mount Royal every Sunday during the Montreal summer), with a picnic lunch of McDonalds (as per request of the kids). I had no issues as I was craving cheeseburger anyhow!

By 2pm, it was crowded with dancers, drummers, etc.

Merlyn, my almost 4 year old nephew (he'll be 4 in November),
decided that he had to take off his shoes and play in the mud:

His cute little feet all dirty:

Then it was time for some dancing, so this really nice man gave Merlyn a music thingy (not sure what it's called) to play with. As you can see, the instrument has been modified with shakers taped on to each side:

After leaving Tam's (thank goodness for the wonderful Montreal day today, we stopped at Dairy Queen for some ice cream, which Merlyn of course got all over his face. Next stop was home, where I napped for about an hour, (headache/overtired). Then my in-law's came over for a BBQ dinner, and then we bathed the muddy and dirty Merlyn, and set him up in our den (his bed, his things) and put on some Caillou, and now he's fast asleep. Tomorrow brings a whole new day, who knows what's in store. Jamie and I just finished watching tonight's episode of Big Brother (which we taped) and I did some laundry, and now it's time for bed. Hopefully Merlyn will sleep in a bit longer these days than he used to, and tomorrow will be a nice day (calling for 40% showers) but maybe we can go swimming at my parents house.

Socks & Cooking

Last night before we left to to the show I managed to find some time to finish Jamie's first sock. I really want to learn how to do the heel the "other way" as now I'm doing a short-row wrap & turn heel, and I'm sure the other way is better and nicer. My sock turned out good in the end, but I'd love to learn the "other way".

So, voila - what I wanted to post yesterday, was a picture of my lovely sock. But - upon getting home from the Gala last night, I was so excited about how close we were to Jason Alexander, and being a huge Seinfeld fan, I kinda forgot about my sock).

This afternoon Jamie and I watched the movie Last Holiday (which was on the dish). Well, I watched it and Jamie napped on the couch. I thought it was cute. A few laughs, some sad moments, but overall, I enjoyed it. I tried casting on for the 2nd sock to match the one above, but for some reason my hands were being very dislexic, and I didn't get a chance to actually cast on to my DPN's today. I'll take a look at it later.

This evening I went over to my in-law's for dinner, as Jamie went out to play poker with the boys at someone else's house. My mother-in-law made cabbage rolls, and my fave salad, so I was in heaven. I helped my father-in-law with something on the computer, talked with both of them about our plans for my nephew (their grandson) for the next two weeks (he's coming in tomorrow and staying with mainly us, but also with his grandparents a bit) and then did some groceries on the way home from their house and I'm about to go make some cabbage rolls myself, and also possibly some meat sauce. If the meatsauce doesn't get done tonight, it'll get done tomorrow. I must make some. We have no sauce in the house, and I've been craving pasta lately, (we've been BBQ'ing a lot lately).

I should be working on homework. All my final projects are due the week of July 31st (not this monday, next monday). But I think once I get the food that I'm going to cook on the stove, ready to be cooked without my watching over, I'm going to install Bejeweled, and play. I played a few rounds at my in-law's house tonight, and it's soooo damn addictive!

16 Weeks & Jason Alexander

This morning I had a review in class for our exam on Friday, August 11th (my third of three exams) and then 45 minutes later we were in another part of town (Plateau Area) on St-Urbain (the street where Mordecai Richler grew up on) at a printing place where we saw the pre-press department where all their graphic designers work, and also their printing area. It was kinda cool, but I had to stay out of two rooms because of chemicals in those rooms (because I'm pregnant). It ran longer than I wanted to be on my feet, and I could have done without this field trip.

Upon getting home, I took this picture of my stomach, since people have been asking to see my "bump" It's tiny, but it's there. This is me at 16 weeks (and 1 day) pregnant.

This afternoon I briefly saw Katie, an old old old friend, whom I haven't seen in probably 6 years. She passed by on her way to her grandmother's for dinner, as her grandmother lives around the corner (off my street). She doesn't live here anymore, Katie, she's living in Hamilton, Ontario now, and was in town house sitting (and I think dog sitting) at her parents house. It was really good catching up with her, and finding out what was going on in her life, and reminiscing about old times. Hopefully we'll keep in touch. I can't remember how or why we stopped talking, or even when it was, but all I know, is that I forgive her for all the boyfriends she's stolen from me in the past, lol.

This evening we got picked up by a white limo, that looks exactly like this: (This is the stock photo off the limo company that we hired's website - it was too dark when I was picked up to photograph quickly the limo as we were pressed for time):

I have not been in a limo since grad (June 1998) and the limo that we had for grad was crappy. It was a 6 seater limo, and we were squished into it, and there was NOTHING fancy about it at all. The limo tonight was fantastic, and really nice.

My dad hired the limo because we were 8 people, (my mom, dad, brother, sister, myself, Jamie, my brother's girlfriend and my sister's boyfriend). My dad's Lincoln Navigator only seats 7 people... so that was the dilema. And on top of it, the lot that my father always had priority parking in (for all nights of the show), was torn down to build some huge office building, so parking was in question as well. Limo it is! What a fantastic idea.

What found out - is that there is a new law now, that you can only have 8 people in a limo. That is the law. You can't have a 10 or 12 person limo. Well, you can rent the stretch limos, or lincoln navigator limo, but you can't have more than 8 people in it. I'm not sure if this is a Canadian law, but it's certainly a Quebec law.

The show was great. We sat front row. (Click image below to see seating chart properly).

Jamie sat in seat 8, and I sat in seat 6. Next to me was my mom, then my dad. Then my sister, then my sister's boyfriend, then my brother, and then my brother's girlfriend in the last seat (seat 7). We sat in those exact same seats last year for one show, and for another show we had almost all of row AA (but we were only 6 people, not 8). Last year since my sister was still living at home, and my brother had just just moved out with his girlfriend, only Jamie was invited, as he was almost my husband (two months later). This year, since everyone is out living with their significant others, my mom included them too. I can't remember how my mother got this hook-up for excellent seats, and priority advance purchasing, but I love the fact the my parents love comedy and that they have the hook-up! My mom's got connections!

I had Jamie's little digital camera with me. Our ticket reads that you can't use cameras. So, I decided to be a little devil, and use mine, with no flash. Most of the pictures came out great.

Jason Alexander came out at the beginning of the show, flying on cables, pretending to be "Jewperman" as Jewish Action Figure. This is how close we were sitting:

Here's a full length picture of Jason's outfit:

After the first act came out, Jason changed and came back after that act, dressed normally:

The show was okay, Jason Alexander was my favourite part, and he only hosted. The line-up of other comedians were:

July 21
10:00 PM (There was a 7 pm show with different comedians)
Tim Minchin
Willie Barcena
Mike Britt
Lachlan Patterson
Pete Zedlacher
Kristeen Von Hagen
Dov Davidoff

At the end of the show, Jason Alexander needed a volunteer and chose my brother out of the audience. I guess it pays to be front row, and in a yellow shirt (stands out!)

So my brother got to be right next to Jason and was having a good time pretending to be a crippled child for this song/skit Jason wanted to do.

After the show, we got picked up by the same limo company, but this time in a black limo, with a new driver. What excitment!