The Wilson Turners in Angola

Welcome to Angola

2012-01-26T14:57:00.001+01:00

Yipee! We are finally here! I can hardly believe it. After months of planning and packing, a rather bungled exodus, and we have arrived in Luanda Sul, our home for the next three years. Well, I hope three years, but after three moves in less than three years, in locations that were all meant to be three years, anything is possible...

The Arrival

We left on New Years Eve, flying out of Milan via Dubai with two legs - one 8 hours the other 10. We were exhasted from the move, everyone was run-down with the cold - so we opted to up-grade to business. This was a huge Christmas gift to ourselves, as we had missed any sort of real Christmas holiday. I have done buisness class twice before, but on Air Canada, nothing really special, just a wee bit more room. And alcohol. We went via Emerites, and I can honestly say that air travel will forever be a disappointment. I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

We arrived the next day on New Years and it was wonderful, hot day with a cool breeze and a deep azure sky. Marcus, having lived here for 5 months already, had the house organised and tidy. He had his own homemade spagetti sauce and stock frozen in the fridge, as well as cold Cider awaiting me. Contrast this with our arrival in Libya!

Over the next few days we got to explore our new world. We live on a compound in Luanda Sul, the 'burbs. Here we are sheltered from the realities of real life. There is a shocking amount of urban poverty here in Luanda. The first thing I noticed was how the city shimmered in the sunlight while the plane was descending due to the glint off the sheet metal roofs of the slums (musseques). Compare this to large opulent oil company buildings. The city is bursting with development and every direction you look you can see a spindly neck of a working crane. Some roads look fairly organised, busy with people sweeping the sand and rubbish into bins, there are working traffic lights, sidewalks and signage, but then you turn down another street and its just sheet metal houses with boulders holding the roofs down. People are throwing their waste water into the street, and wild dogs and chickens sifting through it. I have driven past a stream of water that runs next to a road and watched mothers wash their kids in it. I have no idea where it comes from but it is a mere trickle of brown water. On the other hand, the compound is neet and tidy, two little playgrounds, a decent sized swimming pool and a little gym. The giant generator works 24/7 to provide our little compound electricity. We have drinkable (aka: boil first), running water which is trucked in. A giant ancient Bao Bob is at the entrance of the compund and I wonder, what with all its ancient knowledge, all the changes she has seen over her life of nearly a thousand years... it must be odd to have started on a wild track of land and end up surrounded by brick houses, pavement, and razor wire.

Ordinary Life

Money
The currency is the Kwanza named after the large Kwanza river, just south of Luanda. When you leave the country, you must go through a check to insure that you are not carrying any out of the country. If you have any on you, apparently it is confiscated. I can't say that I have ever heard of this in any other country, I should look it up. It seems an odd rule to have in place, and I can't fathom why it would be enforced. I guess its a good way to scrape more money off people. Too bad they can't put it into the infrastructure of their country. As of today 1 US Dollor = 95.1 Kwanza. There is no coinage, just bills - the smallest being the 5 Kwanza, worth .05 cents US. I have a stack of them - they seem impossible to get rid of once you get one. The cost of living and the price of things will be another post.

Malaria
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Malaria remains the number one cause of death in Angola. Its one of the Malaria areas that also has a resistance to the main cure and treatment in the rest of the world, chloroquine. We are not taking any prophylactic medicine, but we try and use other preventive measures such as a fly repellant, wear long trousers or sleeves near evening, get indoors and close the shutters by six, sleep under treated bed nets, have screens installed on bedroom windows, keep the AC down at night. We live next to an SOS clinic, so when someone gets a temperature, we get it checked out right away. Marcus has gone twice now. No doubt Malaria is a concern but with a bit of common sense and preventive measures, we should be fine. Hopefully no one will get it, but it does happen. I am attending a Malaria preparedness training session tomorrow, and I think this will be good for re-enforcing vigilance with the girls.

Bugs Bugs Bugs
Emma said it was important to include this in our post, and indeed, not a day goes by when we are not investigating some large insect or lizard. Our first was a cockroach. I know they are everywhere in the world, but they always seem bigger in Africa. Our first morning we caught one as long as my middle finger, not including the antennae. I bought a beautiful entomology text book beftore we arrived, and this has been a source of constant excitement. I only wish I had a magnifying glass! Next trip out I will be sure to get one. As well as some latex coated pins so we can mount our bugs. Below is a Carpenter Bee that we see quite a lot of in the Bao Bob here. The male hasn't a stinger, so it is harmless, just makes a horrendous noise. When I was putting him in the bottle I was aware of the blood pounding in my ears. Emma said, "be brave mom, what would Bear Grylls say?". I think that every time I put a bug in a jar now. Today it was a 2 inch long Wolf Spider, and I conjured my best Bear Grylls spirit to do it. Yuck.

Day Trips

Benfica Market

Last Sunday we had a small day trip out to the Kwanza river and stopped at the Benfica Market as we headed out of the city. We didn't buy anything, but it did have everything I might need for gifts, so I am happy to say I have next Christmas organised.

Ivory. Legal to sell here, but I can imagine you would have troubles getting it into any country. Val, I thought of your poor chipped up ivories on your piano. These guys could get you sorted. Your conscience however, is another story.

A great addition to any home.

Emma said she would buy one and set it free.

Miradouro da Luna

Impressive views about 45 south of Luanda at Miradouro da Luna. Marcus, our geologist in residence, enjoyed this one and if I remember correctly, this landscape was carved by wind and rain. The soft clay erodes to give these impressive ravines and gullies, not unlike the surface of the moon. Marcus, leave a comment if I have gotten this wrong.

Taking time out to read. Notice collapsed tarmack behind.

Kwanza River

Our destination this outing was the Kwanza River. We stopped at the Kwanza River Lodge which has a number of bungalows you can rent for over night trips. They even had a large fishing boat, which I guess you could go out on an try your hand at fishing. Its meant to be a pretty good place for sea and river fishing - plus crocs and manatees. Next time perhaps. Our trip was cut a bit short this time due to certain persons suffering from the usual stomach aliments that accompany a transfer to Sub-Saharan Africa. That could be another post too. There is no shortage of wild and wonderful things you can pick up here, as our doctor re-assured us as he wrote out a perscription to have the entire family de-wormed.

Surprisingly heavy. Makes you realize why there is no contest if you get caught in a famous Death Roll.

Anyhow, I keep saying this, but I am going to make sure I post every week. We are off on another adventure this weekend, so will try and upload some pics Sunday nite.

Christmas in Italy

2011-12-25T20:28:00.003+01:00

Having moved country three times in less than three years I would like to think that I could accumulate enough knowledge on what takes place in the transition stages to minimize any major sets-backs or stresses. Perhaps next time. Sigh. We did not obtain our much-needed Angolan visas in time to go to England for Christmas. We will also miss the flights we booked to make the journey from London to Luanda. And the movers took everything away nearly two weeks ago. Hopefully the mistakes we made this time are more a testament to the red tape and beaurocratic processes of Angola/Italy, than to our inability to learn from our experiences. Perhaps after 4 international moves you become savvy.

At any rate, we are in the NH hotel for our Christmas holidays, which is the building next to our now packed-up and empty apartment. This isn't so bas as we are in our "hood" surrounded by friends, the Sporting Club, and the play ground. And the hotel is actually a residence with a small kitchenette, two bedrooms and two bathrooms - not hard living.

In fact, we are the only people residing in the residence during the holidays (queue long creepy talks about The Shining). We have a special key to operate the lift, as there is no staff in the building. Yesterday Marcus rang to say he was downstairs and needed me to come let him in. I told the gals to run down the hall to the elevators (as there is no one else here) and operate the lift. As they were running screaming down the hallway, a shrieking and giggling gaggle of blonde children, Evie shouts: "Emma, DO YOU LOVE ME???", Emma: "YESSSSS!!! WOO- HOO!!!", Evie: "I LOVE YOU TOOOOOO!!!!! DON'T LEAVE ME EMMA!!!!". It is moments like that that moms live for. We are not stuck anywhere. We are always at home wherever our family is.

Christmas Eve night we were invited to the parents of our friends Francesco and Federico, who have children the same age as ours, as well as a beautiful newborn. Babo Natale (Father Christmas) happened to sneak in and leave some presents for the children and we had a great time watching them open everything, running around like wild beasts and playing with a train set.

Our host, Anna, gave us a wonderful Italian culinary feast. The longer we live here, the more we are bewitched by Italian food. Like true ex-pats in who can't get enough, we were taking photos of each dish (see below). What is so different about Italian food? Italy is a pretty big place and each region brings its own gastronomic delights, but from what I can tell, it is simple, tasty and healthy. Well, mostly. Nothing Anna cooked last night would be considered simple. And I am certain a cardiologist would not approved of anything wrapped in bacon. Anyhow, our host is part of some exclusive Italian culinary institute, which I don't know the name of (so it shows how much I know), and the meal was F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C.

Today we woke late and enjoyed a lazy morning of Lego, then were off to the Sporting Club restaurant which luckily, cooked a Natale Pranzo (Christmas Lunch) for those of us without ovens, or the desire to cook. This was followed by a sleepy winter's nap and a frenzy of Skype calls, a ton of Bellini's, and here we are. We will wrap up today with an Italian version of a Muppets Christmas Carol and more Lego. We are anticipating the arrival of Paul and Jenny tomorrow evening for what will undoubatably be a few days filled with walks in the mountains, Italian food, and Prosecco! Buon Natale! Auguri!

Eating traditional Italian Pandoro

Unwrapping our traditional Milanese Panettone. Two cakes in one week. Feel as big as a barrel....

Kitchen (senza oven, which means less cooking for me)

Children had handmade ravioli with spinach for dinner.

Busy, busy, busy...

Large Italian cookbook.

Antipasto - Raddicio...oh, I forget. It was heaven.

Primi. Handmade ravioli.

Everyone enjoying the meal. I look like I am enjoying it too much.

Secondi. Bacon wrapped and stuffed with artichoke!

Dolce. Semi-Freddo. Cream and hazelnuts covered with chocolate.

Mommy's shoes, which didn't fit mommy after dinner.

Papa

After Babo Natale

Francesco's head.

Happy people

A treat in art, that equals that of the meal. A fantastically preserved fresco magically hung on their wall. A home filled with Roman and Greek Antiques and curios that made me realise how much I have forgotten since university.

The glowing new mommy with her beautiful baby!

Christmas morning and Lego!

Christmas dinner at the Sporting Club.

Barbie with new Zoo-keeper outfit. A little on the short side if you ask me.

Gnocci - kids favourite dish.

My antipasto. Fruits del la mare!

Auguri! La nascita di cinque cigni! or the unlikely birth of 5 Black Swans in November

2011-11-19T23:29:00.000+01:00

After hitting the "post"button for the blog yesterday, I left the apartment to gather Emma at school. Making our usual after-school visit to the swans, we saw the male strutting about the makeshift house, occasionally honking and spreading his wings regally, and the female inside settling, shifting, settling, making twitchy movements - very odd. And then I saw a little head poke out from underneath her wing. You could have knocked me over with a feather. When we returned this morning, it was official. 5 baby chicks, two unhatched eggs (one which they have already rolled out of the next so I guess that one is a dud, the other remains in the nest, so I assume there is still hope). Evie has been singing "I'm almost hatched! I'm almost hatched!" from the book Antartica Antics. Emma has been drawing pictures of swans on everything. You can't walk about for someone telling you to go up to the lake to see the babies. Its really something special.

Il Cigni Nero, or, the Black Swans

2011-11-18T10:32:00.000+01:00

There is a man made Leggatto in Milano Due with ducks, geese, turtles, koi fish, one pelican, and a pair of black swans. When we first arrived, one of the swans died. It was big news. Everyone talked about it. I didn't know much Italian at the time, but "Cigno" was one of my first words.

Some months later, another female swan was introduced, and I can only assume they hit it off, because the lady swan recently laid 6 eggs. Eve and I were passing by on bike one sunny afternoon and the lady swan was standing around awkwardly near the sidewalk. On our way home, twenty minutes later, she was standing next to a rather large egg. The male swan was frantically pulling up grass and throwing it in the direction of the egg. He too seemed to be just as surprised that she just happened to drop an egg next to a busy footpath. Without having a nest built. With winter a short time away... A few hours later and the male sawn had managed to amass enough grass to make a hastily built nido (nest) and another 6 eggs were laid. Within a week, someone had built a crude little shelter and put it over the nesting swans. 6 weeks have passed and it is really cold now, even for my Canadian sensibilities, so I am not sure what will happen. When you walk past them lots of people look at each other and say "Speriamo!!!" ("We hope!!). Truly, it is a bizarre occurrence (which is where the term Black Swan Event comes from, I suppose) and one that has filled us all with hope. We visit them every day, so I will keep you posted!!

Early October

Middle of November

Evie is THREE!!!

2011-09-21T22:42:00.001+02:00

Evie is now three!! She loves riding on the back of my bike. She likes pop music and wants to dance in the kitchen after supper to pop-bubblegum hits from the likes of Shakira or Katy Perry, but has a healthy respect for, and often requests, Tom Waits or LCD Soundsystem. She still has an afternoon nap, but sometimes skips it. When she gets a devilish look in her eye she may taunt you and say "I'm the king of the castle and You the dirty waskle!" or "You have POOPY PANTS!!!!!". She also likes pretending to get married. She wants Emma to dip her when they dance, and then get planted on the lips with a big smooch. She thinks motor bikes are "cool". When we curl up to sleep she asks me "lift your chin up mommy!!" so she can tuck her head underneath. She flings her arms around my neck and insists that we sleep like that. She enjoys my piano playing, wrong notes and all, and will turn up her nose to Clementi and instist on "Wing Around the Wosie" to be play 500 times. She will ask to help out in the kitchen. She will not wear anything you pick out for her. She has to wear whatever she wants. You will put up with it if you ever want to go anywhere without an argument or arrive in a timely fashion. She likes to shout "Ciao!" to everyone she sees. She is very concerned when she sees a child crying and will try and comfort them or give them something. If you seem preoccupied or upset, she will say with the most heartfelt voice full of sincerity and concern "You ok? mommy? You alwight?" She has a smile that makes you forget things...

Evie, September 16, 2011

Her new Playmobile caravan. Later we watched her playing with this and we when the mommy speaks, she says things like (in squeeky annoying voice), "get your feet of the back of the seat!". Sigh. Do I really sound like that Eve?

Bellissima!

Please take note of Papa's pearly whites! Senza braces!

We had a wee party for Eve and I made the famous princess cake that her and Emma love so much.

Again, Bellissima!

Evie is a mean Mortal and Pestle worker. She helped me make some good Italian pesto last Sunday.

The above film is Evie with her new shoes. I wish I had caught the whole dance, but I was laughing too much to have gotten the phone out on time...

Ah, Italia!

2011-08-27T20:59:00.001+02:00

We have returned from our Canadian expedition at last. Daddy is in Angola, and I will load this video mainly for his entertainment. It has been swelteringly hot here and the local pool provides some needed relief. We don't have AC, but we have a membership to our neighbourhood Sporting Club - so in the afternoons we have, jet lagged and drenching with sweat, bummed over to the pool. A friend of ours has a little three year old who began jumping off the diving board and when Emma saw her do it, she never said a word, but quickly jumped into the queue. I quietly said "Erm, Emma, you know you have to swim to the edge of the pool - I can't go in to catch you". Confidently she said "yeah, no problem, I can swim on my back". Sweet. Today was day two and I recorded it so daddy could see. Love it!

Newfoundland bound!

2011-08-08T14:27:00.002+02:00

In an alarming reminder that "time waits for no man", nearly three weeks of our glorious family vacation have flown by. We arrived in Newfoundland togeather (highly unusual) and retreated to my parents' cabin (senza hot water, shower, electricity, phones or cellular coverage!!) and we have, for the majority, forsaken email, facebook and telephones. It has been a glorious time, and much needed after a hectic spring and the news of yet ANOTHER move, this time to Angola.

Renewed and refreshed, and full of fantastic family memories, Marcus leaves us today to head back to the rigors of work, and departs for his new assignment in Africa - anti-malaira medication in hand. We are going to stay on for another week in Newfoundland, then round up the vacation with a pitstop in Halifax for a week to see Auntie Val, who hopefully will have had baby #2 in arms.

Evenings spent at Grandaddy's fire pit.

We saw Shakespear By the Sea's Hamlet at Signal Hill. Luckily we were armed with blankets , coats and contraband "green tea".

Baked beans, fish cakes, toutins and molasses from the Mad Rock Cafe, Bay Roberts.

The caplin were rolling, so Emma and Marcus rolled up their jeans and jumped into the Atlantic and tossed them up upon the beach.

Caplin

Marcus eating his first caplin. Notice Bear Grylls shirt.

Grandaddy at his cabin, bbqing caplin

Western Bay, Newfoundland

Firepit. And I would like to note that it is probably no more than 10 degrees out.

Northern Bay Sands.

Man who maketh fire. Woman who love him.

Bell Island in the background.

Prickle backs at Neary's Pond.

Bonavista.

Catalina.

Cape Bonavista.

In the old lighthouse at Cape Bonavista.

The Dungeon at Bonavista

Uncle Harrison (a young 93!), Mom, Aunt Emma (a young 86) and Marcus

At the cabin...

Marcus and Emma canoeing down the pond.

Next post will undoubtably be from our newly named blog "The Wilson Turners in Luanda". Stay tuned!

Emma at Scuala Nuoto

2011-05-31T07:36:00.001+02:00

Last September Emma began Scuola Nuoto, or Swimming School. Every Monday from 5:50 until nearly 7 in the night, we spent at the Sporting Club here in Milano Due. This month her lessons ended and, a few Saturdays ago, Emma had her Festa della Nuoto where she and her class mates got to demonstrate their new skills and then receive a medal of participation. It was such a special moment and I am so glad they made a big deal of it for the kids, and for the parents.

And in advance, I apologise for the poor filming quality - through a glass darkly indeed!. I have to get something better than my camera to film these moments!!

Evie on her Scoot Bike

2011-05-11T10:29:00.000+02:00

Evie had no interest in the little pink bike, and then yesterday, decided that she would ride EVERYWHERE on it. Kids are amazing. Brava Evie!

Out of Libya!

2011-05-10T15:01:00.003+02:00

Good news from our friend Issac, who has safely returned to Ghana! Issac worked in our home when we lived in Libya in 2009/2010. When the problems began in Libya in late this February we bagan calling him on a weekly basis to make sure he was safe. It was dangerous being there he told us, but true Issac-style, he was quick to laugh and tell us not to worry. Which we did anyhow. He told us he would ring us if he tried to leave the county. It has been nearly a month since we spoke to him last and Marcus got the call on Thurday last that he had arrived home in Ghana. Safe!!!! He was totally zinging with excitment and we and the girls were whooping and yelling and the line was'nt that good...so details are scetchy, but it seems he made it from Tripoli to Tunisia, then onto Morrocco, then Senegal and I think he said from Dakar to Ghana. When we talk to him again I will get a more detailed account, but it did'nt sound like a stroll. He left behind everything he owned and carried a little cash and his papers. We are so proud that he made such a dangerous journey and made it home safe at last!

We have a fantastic book called "We are all Born Free: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures", published by Amnesty International. Each of the articles is accompanied with a beautifully illustrated picture from a well-known children's illustrator. I have looked at it with Emma, and much of the issues are pretty heavy for a 5 year old so I keep the conversation age appropriate. To Emma, it just seems like common sense that every one be entitled to these things. But when we read "We all have the right to belong to a country" and the illustration is of a lone boat, afloat in the middle of the ocean...filled with refugees, Emma says "Do you think Issac is on a boat somewhere? Where is he going to go? How will we know where he is? I think the guy there (pointing at picture) looks like Issac. What if we call Issac and it rings and rings and rings. If he doesn't answer, do you think he is dead?" When Marcus and I talk about things that you just don't want to reveal yet to your five year old, such as the horrors of war and violence, we often spell it. Or we wait for another time to dicusss what is going on in Libya. I was really suprised how aware she is of what is going on, and the impact it could have on our friend Issac. What we even feared to think, she had no problem vocalising it. At any rate, I am glad that today he is in his home country. Issac, I hope you write that book someday!

Easter in England

2011-05-03T23:16:00.001+02:00

We have just returned home from Easter in the Cotswolds. It was wonderful, the weather was spectacular! It was hard to believe it was England and not the Mediterranean. It has been two years ago THIS WEEK that we left Houston and touched down in England for our, what we refer to as, refugee stint before we moved to Libya. I remember it was so cold that May, that I had to go out and buy mittens and hats for the girls. Check the pics and you shall see that there is narry a winter garment to be found.

Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol. Can YOU see Marcus?

Clifton Oberervatory's Camera Obscura, viewing Clifton Suspension Bridge

My first Pims and Lemonade, compliments of Uncle Nick!

Clearing the stile, with a little help from Poppy

Look at the blooms!!

Easter egg hunting!

Checking out the spring lambs

Clothes are always optional with Eve

Welcome Primavera!

2011-04-07T11:09:00.001+02:00

Warning: The word "fantastic" will be used too often in this post. Before I go on and on ad nauseam about how fantastically warm and sunny it is here - I apologise to all my poor friends and family living in the grips of winter back in Canada. While you are tripling your daily alcohol content to cope with the crippling cold, we are here in Milano are whooping it up, drinking fantastic procecco on our balcony at night...in our shorts (possibly tripling our alcohol content too). Take heed friends - spring is coming, and if it is'nt soon enough - we have a spare room and bathroom!!

Ah yes, spring. The fairest of the seasons. I usually reserve that phrase for autumn, but today I take it all back. It is spring! I am posting pics to show you how wonderful it is here. I get woken up at 4 by a cacophony of birds, yes at 6:45 the planes start (bummer), but at 8 you hear thwack of the tennis rackets and the throngs of kids walking to school. When I take Emma to nursery school the air smells so fragrant - the magnolias are out and the cherry blossoms full bloom - I could live here forever!

Milano Due (M2) is also a fantastic place to live - the community is planned so that you never have to walk on street level - incredibly safe for children. There are schools, a hospital, a library, parks, a pond (with 9 new baby ducklings!), cafes, restaurants, bakery, banks, doctors, ets. I thought our former haunt in Greatwood Texas was pretty sweet - but this is pure heaven. Ok, ok, I warned you I was going to make you sick by going on and on... I am sure there are some drawback to M2 - but today, its just trees of green, red roses too, I see them bloom...tra la, la,la. And remember folks, the word on the street is: FANTASTIC!

Eve has set her piggies free in this one!

Memories of Libya

2011-03-19T23:40:00.000+01:00

It has been nearly a year since we left Libya. So much has happened since then - to us, and Libya. Tonight we are very concerned about neighbors and friends who are still in Libya, as the UN has ordered air strikes. We are hoping everyone is safe. So I will post some of my favourite pics of how remember it best...

There were PLENTY of these around...

Mountain climbing near Gharyan.

Dunes near Ghademes

It is fresh!

I loved waiting in line for hot bread.

At the beach in March, Tripoli

The Wilson-Turners Take Libya OR Excuses, excuses, excuses....

2010-02-01T21:43:00.004+01:00

This post has been a long time coming. We have not been the most diligent of blog keepers (note 2+ year since last post), but when it came to our transfer to Tripoli, we felt we should really try. Our transfer was not the easiest, taking nearly 5 months for us to arrive - having left Houston April 29! It took an addition 3 months to get Internet access and even now it is quite temperamental; interrupted by sandstorms, the odd cloud and power outages. The past week I have spent trying to access my blog in English, as opposed to Arabic. You can't imagine how infuriating that was. Well, praise Allah, we are back on-line, so let the blogging begin...

Under Construction!

2007-05-27T14:27:00.000+02:00

Sorry we have been son negligent as of late! We have been busy in the Lone Star State and bedazzled by its...vastness. Yes, so as the temperature creeps up into the late 30's, and we are spending more time with our friend AC, you will see more updates and hopefully a face-lift to this sadly neglected little blog. Talk more soon!

Life in the HOV Lane

2006-11-29T06:22:00.000+01:00

Whew! Its hard to get a second to write anything anymore since Emma began "cruising". If it isn't prying her off the poor cat, or loosing her behind the couch, she is telling me I don't know anything and that "everyone" in play group is doing it, so why can't she.
OK, so I do exaggerate a smidge, but it feels that way. She is growing so quickly. Emma has been crawling since she was 5 months old. She is now eight months (nine next week) and is climbing on top of everything and walking holding onto the couch or a wall. I think we are in for trouble shortly. Well, the cats are at any rate.

We started solid foods over three months ago. Until two weeks ago, we would feed her only to have it blown back onto ourselves a la raspberry style. I have tried advacado, banana, sweet potato, apple, and cantaloupe. I make the food myself and water it down with copious amounts of breast milk. Its very funny actually. Have tons of proof on YouTube, so do check it out if you haven't already. Lately she is warming up to eating "solids" and has been known to swallow a spoonful or eat a handful of cat food.
Putting your faith in the Cloth
Lots of people have emailed me to find out how we have been doing with the diapers, so I will give a quick song and dance on how great we find them. We started with Kushies (plain cotton unfolded, with nylon outer wrap), and have discovered Motherease (prefolded, fits beautifully), Kissaluvs (low-rise,terry-cloth like hemp)and a few local made ones. There is nothing hard about cloth diapers, they aren't messy, they are easy to wash, and (I think) they are the best for baby's skin - we have had no diaper rashes! They have just been marketed by Proctor and Gamble as a pain in the butt! Recently I cut open a disposable diaper to look at it - it is filled with rice sized super absorbent polymers that will expand when exposed to urine. This is how they absorb so much. I'll change my kid a few extra times a day gladly, then have her sit on that. I am already in danger of beginning a rant, and seeing as I haven't had breakfast yet, it could get nasty. I'll put a few links at the bottom in case anyone is thinking of trying them, or you can always drop me an email to ask me any questions and I'll tell you more than one reason why the disposable diaper industry just plain stinks.
Marcus of Arabia
Marcus spent nearly a month in Saudi the fall. This was a great cultural eye opener for him. As as he is returning on Sunday, I'll let him do a post to give you the update. Although I hate to have him leave - it is nice that he gets to visit such culturally diverse places. I don't have much cause to go to Saudi, and I have my doubts in Ted Kopple's slant on the place, so I am glad that he has gone and experienced it first hand. He brought me back a few newspapers from the region and it is is just shocking the disparity between what graces the pages of the Globe and Mail and these.
Mrs. Turner Goes to Washington
Whilst Marcus was in Al Khobar, Emma and I flew up to Maryland to visit Karen, Peter and Jessica. It was such a nice change from the hot weather here in Texas. We donned our mittens and hats with pride - even when it was debatable whether we needed them or not. Karen took half days at work and we went to the District to see the museums and galleries on three occations. And thanks to theSmithsonian Institution, it was all free! Jessica and I saw a movie and a play as well. This was the first movie I had seen since last January. Must get our more. Saw "Stranger than Fiction" and it was really good. I am not saying that because I haven't seen anything in ages. It really is good - and Emma Thompson is just brilliant. There are not enough good roles for women.
Anyhow - Paul and Jenny are arriving in two weeks so we will try and get in a few updates before Christmas.

Small step for Emma, huge step for parents

2006-09-04T06:36:00.000+02:00

Emma Takes a Bite

2006-08-18T16:44:00.000+02:00

A Cheesy Post

2006-08-16T04:49:00.000+02:00

Marbled cheese in the shape of Texas. This is a hoot. I love trying cheese that is indicative of the region - and I didn’t think Texas has any to brag of. But I did tell you that whatever you want, you could get here in Texas? As you can see, there are even things that you probably wouldn’t want (not huge fan of marbled cheese, it is the Kestrel, or Budweiser for those on this side of the pond, of the cheese empire). Nothing stinky here I am afraid. Fetch hither le fromage de la Texas! M-mmm! Stay tuned for other tasty Texan tidbits.

"Shrimp are the fruit of the sea"

2006-08-08T15:51:00.000+02:00

Howdy Partners! (Sorry, I can't resist)
We are finally back home on the range, having spent nearly a month back up in Canada. Valerie and Tim were married on July 28. Wedding was gorgeous! Congratulations to you both! It was certainly a nice ceremony and reception. I'll stick in a few pics so you can see how beautiful the bride was (you were pretty too Tim!). Marcus and I would like to think of it as our wedding really. We were so preoccupied with wedding preparations last year, it was nice to chat up relatives and friends we missed during the last round of nuptial celebrations.

It was lovely being back in Newfoundland for a "vacation". We have been so busy these past four months with moving, that it was nice to finally wake up and say "I have NOTHING to do today!" Well, theoretically. There is always something to do when there is a wedding on the horizon. I would have liked to visited more friends whilst I was there, but it was a bit of a circus with friends and family flying in and some party or gathering every night. And if you know Keith and Elaine (aka Mom and Dad), you know that life moves pretty swift and you are only allowed to sleep when you are dead. So needless to say, three weeks felt very brief indeed.

Emma is great. She will be 5 months old tomorrow. When I arrived back from Canada I started putting her in her highchair. We have been practicing sitting by doing "row, row, row your boat" on the floor about a million times a day, and we get her to practice sitting supported by us whilst we sit crosslegged on the floor. Seeing how strong she was in her highchair, I placed her on the floor on her blanket and sure enough, she can sit up unaided for a considerable length of time. This morning I timed it. 9 min. she spent playing with a ball, sat bolt upright. When she finally fell, she fell backwards and put her hands back to stable herself and she lowered herself down gently. When did she learn this? Incredible. Anyhow, to those of you who don't have kids, your eyes have glazed over by now, but we are seriously impressed by this. She turns 5 months old tomorrow and she is already sitting up unaided. Pretty cool. I am teaching her the Periodic table of elements next week.

So what is Texas like? So far, here are some of my observations:
1. Hot
2. Super friendly people
3. Big cars and big trucks
4. Big stores - whatever you want, you can get it here
5. Big highways
6. Really Hot
7. Cheap produce
8. Cheap gas
9. No, you don't understand, REALLY Hot!
10. Very different social structures to Canada (ie. Health care, maternity/paternity benefits, etc.)

numbers 1, 6, 9, and 10 are things that we take very much for granted in Canada. Very very important things. Anyhow, without going on too much about that, I will say that we are really enjoying it here. I guess we are still in our Honeymoon phase of the move, where everything is curiously different and cool. Marcus has BBCAmerica on the tele, and that makes all the difference. I miss my CBC, but I listen to the radio via the web, so Sounds Like Canada is still the morning staple.

This weekend we cooked Giant Texan shrimp. You know that phrase "throw some shrimp on the 'barbie"? Well, this is precisely the type you would use. If I were swimming in the ocean and saw one of these suckers, I would probably lose my noodle. So, I guess, in keeping with my observations, they were like much of Texas is, VERY BIG. But by the time I cut the heads off and the legs, deveined (blech!), and deshelled (what seemed like whole days off my life) then threw them on the "barbie", they curled up quite small and resembled the large frozen tiger shrimp you get prepackaged at Dominion. So basically lots of work for something I could have picked up in the frozen food aisle. Lesson learned. Anyhow, it was fun to do Bubba and Forest Gump impressions for a bit.

Well, going to go about my day in the land of the free-to-carry-firearms. Stay tuned on developmental progress of Emma - who I bet you any money, will be crawling by the end of the month.

Howdey Y'all!

2006-06-02T01:49:00.000+02:00

Well it’s been a bit off time since I updated everyone. I have decided that Chaos cannot be used as an excuse any longer. The rest of my life (if not everything leading up to this point) will be a series of chaotic events strung together. Deal Lisa. And I am tired of offering up the same excuses when people say "why haven’t you called/visited/written/updated your blog/been to the gym/picked up the mail in three weeks/washed the floor...etc. The response..."I'm a new mom with a new born who is moving to Texas" is gett'in old.

Did I mention we are moving to Texas? Ahh yes. Well, Marcus has accepted a new position within his work that will warrant moving there for 2-3 years. He was offered this not long after Emma arrived. To get ya'll up to speed (in mph, to be sure):
1. We took a ten-day trip to England so Marcus could get his Visa processed. Emma and I hung out in the Cotswolds with the folks and enjoyed some nice weather and the gorgeous scenery. Emma got lots of lov'in and clothes!
2. Put the house on the market. This place is perched high on top of a hill overlooking Conception Bay. Nice location if you are a sea gull or a windmill. The place is like Weathering Heights. Buffeted by the cold wind. I have been doing Kate Bush impersonations for years and Marcus has never found it funny. This was a sign. Anyhow - hate to say it but I will be glad to leave this house. Can't wait for it to sell as am perpetually cleaning for viewers. Those of you who know me well know that I am no housekeeper. So just imagine it. NOW you understand why I don’t write!
3. Jose Cuervo, you are a friend of mine. We are trading one extreme for the other. Winters in Newfoundland that make you want to stay inside for 6 months and treble your alcohol intake, for Summers in Texas that make you want to stay inside for 6 months and treble your alcohol intake. Sounds depressing now, but wait till I call you next January and tell you how I'm drinking a Margarita in my backyard listening to the Dixie Chicks. Yee haw. Right - so we have a house. A nice little bungalow in the 'Burbs. I am very excited about the sprinkler system. Just like on TV. Little sprinkler heads come out of the ground at 5 am dump a load of water and then disappear again. This has amused me to no end.

And now, Emma and I are back in Canada - Marcus is still in Huston working. My days are filled with Emma and the endless list of "things to do" that accompany a transfer.

As for Emma? She is the best baby I could imagine. She laughs and smiles all the time now. Her latest party trick is holding on to your finders and sitting up - which she then follows up with standing straight up. Obviously she can't sit or stand by herself, she isn’t three months old yet - but she does just fine with the support of two fingers. She also has started blowing raspberries and blowing bubbles, much to our amusement. We don't listen to the radio in the car anymore; we just listen to our baby gurgling in the back seat. And she loves books. No, she can’t read yet - but she finds the pictures interesting and occasionally there is a rhyme that goes with the picture and I assume she finds the repetition or the sound pleasing. She kicks her legs and sometimes lets out a squeal. I live for those squeals. Every day there is something new...

Yikes her ears must be burning, she is yelling into the baby monitor again. Until next time. Ya'll come back now, y'hear?

Announcing Emma Elizabeth Turner!

2006-03-28T18:47:00.000+02:00

Emma arrived on Thursday, March 9 at 10:15 am. She was 7.3 pds, 23 cm long and absolutely gorgeous. This was nearly three weeks ago now! Time has certainly flown by. We have been absolutely flat out ever since. Mom and dad arrived 5 days prior to her birth and stayed until last Sunday. So we were quite busy with baby, recuperating and visitors. Things are yet to really calm down, as we are still trying to get used to breast feeding, diaper washing, napping when we can, singing every song we ever heard, etc. On top of this, I am still convalescing. I had thought that after giving birth I would be up zipping about as usual. But I have been lumbering about like I am sill nine months pregnant. I got a sweet case of sciatica whilst bringing Emma into the world and my joints and bones are still loose and painful. That and I only learned to sit on both butt cheeks this week. I will spare the details but any woman who has had a child will understand this. I am off to Vital Statistics office this afternoon to get Emma registered so I will leave you with a blog update that Marcus never quite finished and forgot to post. He wrote it after we had been in hospital for a day...will write more soon - as time permits (or rather as Emma permits!)

March 10, 2006

Well this morning I woke tired and a father for the first time in my life. What a beautiful day it was. I felt like the luckiest man alive.

It was like being in the early stages of love again. I could not wait to get back to the hospital to see Lisa and Emma. They were all I could think about. Of course I had other responsibilities to attend to first like feeding the cats and firing the new snow blower up to clean off the snow from last nights fall.

Emma looks like most babies little scrunched up little face, light blonde to white blonde hair in places and totally gorgeous. Her little squeaks and gurgles canÂt fail to entertain me. Just the mere movement of an eye or the faintest furrow of the brow has me captivated.

My greatest fear was having to deal with the umbilical cord drying up and waiting for it to fall off. While watching the educational baby films with Lisa, we had both dry heaved at the sight of the this. However fortunately EmmaÂs does not phase either of us.

Lisa is doing well. Super tired (To be expected), however still looking radiant and despite both of our initial fear of what to actually do with Emma, she is taking to mother hood like a duck to water and looks very natural.

The Waiting Game

2006-02-28T14:16:00.000+01:00

Happy 39 weeks Emma!

That is right people, our little bundle-to-be has been hanging out (bat-style) for over 39 weeks in my belly. The big question now is, when will she make an appearance?

Lets see, what can I tell you to fill you in on the past 6 weeks...

1. We have been to the case room on 5 official FALSE ALARMS. The last visit was after many hours of contractions that got closer together and more intense. About 3 minutes apart and difficult enough that I had to utilize my breathing techniques to get through them. This would have you believe that labour had begun. Nope. Apparently this is what is known as Pre-labour and once this starts your cervix begins to dilate and thin. We were dilated to over 2 cm (10 cm is the goal for those who don't know about this stuff)! Eager and excited we were told to return home until labour contractions were too difficult to talk through or my "waters had broken". A few hours later and things had quited down and eventually - disappeared all together. Now...take that emotionally and physically exhausting drama session and multiply that by 2 or 3 times. That's right folks. Marcus doesn't even believe that I am pregnant any more.

2. Baby Room finishing touches
We have refrained from loosing our minds and plastering Emma's room with any cultural symbols such as Winnie the Poo or Minnie Mouse. As you can imagine, every paint store has a special line of paints with corresponding Disney themes. Its a bit much really. "Gett'em while their young" branding and marketing. Sheesh. So we have gone "theme free" and painted the room colours that are not sexually stereotypical (i.e. not pink) and won't make the kid embarrassed to have her friends over when she is eight. Marcus did a brilliant job doing the room. I'll attach a pic.

3. Cloth v. Disposable
This may have been something we would have spent hours deliberating over initially, but thankfully, our brave friends Jan and Paul have fought many of the baby battles before us and have found that cloth diapers are not as cumbersome as Pampers and Huggies would like you to believe. We have 28 cloth diapers and 6 cute plastic wraps which you use to secure them - so no pins!! For new parents-to-be check out the Kushies (made in Canada!) line.

4. Breast is best
Oh yes - this was never a question. Hopefully they will work of course. You spend all your life thinking they are such a great invention and dress them up in pretty bras and low cut sweaters and you never really think about their real purpose. So it is time to put these puppies to task! We have much about the benefits of breast feeding and in our prenatal classes the nurses don't even entertain the idea of a bottle fed baby. Which is funny, as back when I was born my mother told me there was very little support for breast feeding and nurses encouraged new moms to take the convenient, and supposedly more nutritious, supplement Similac. Funny huh? Babies are a huge commercial business. And apparently my dad was nursed on Carnation Milk. Can you imagine? Well, it obviously didn't do him much harm and I'm sure you can take all this a little too far, but we are going with the "breast is best" route. I attended a La Leche Society meeting which is a support group for breast feeding moms. Again, I am lucky to have Jan who has gone through all of this and she will surely be a great person to talk to during this time. La Leche seemed cool - I'm not sure about the whole breast feeding when my kid can speak whole sentences concept, that seems a bit too "right-on" for me at the moment, but who knows??

5. Physical Changes
A few people have told me I have skipped this part of the pregnancy in the blog. Well, as a recap I will say I was pretty green during the first trimester. The second semester was groovy - lots of energy (well, I did nap during my lunches sometimes) and I felt so proud of my new burgeoning belly and my new pregnancy clothes! Then the third trimester began and it was nearly textbook - aching body, sleepless nights, having to pee no fewer than three times a night, outgrowing some of my lovely pregnancy clothes, a few stretch marks despite slathering body with expensive creams (battle scars!!), ridiculously tired, etc. Not that I haven't enjoyed my last few months - any pain or discomfort is for a purpose. All in the name of a little gal named Emma. So bring it on I say.
My favorite change? My belly button! It has popped ot like a meat themometer telling you that whatever you have been cooking in there is now done to perfection. I love it - its my greatest point of pride. The other thing we have had great fun laughing over is the weight gain. I was circa 135 when this began and I steadily gained 4-5 pounds each month, which is what they "recommend". However, Christmas was in there somewhere and I have had a few weeks where I put on 5 pounds without even thinking about it. So I am now 189 pounds!!! This means that if Marcus and I were boxers, I would be in a weight class above him. Hahahaha. Oh well, I am sure things will go back to normal eventually.

So that's it for now...I'm at home now from work, having left last week. The false alarms and sleepless night just took their tole and although I had optimistically hoped I would work up until she made an appearance, it was time to give up the ghost. Marcus is home now as well and has been a great help psyching me up for labour, pampering me, and keeping the driveway clear of snow!! So we will keep you posted of any arrivals.

Gazeeeeeeebow......boy ya ka sha!

2006-01-29T02:42:00.000+01:00

Gazeebow....the latest music sensation to hit SJ since Great Big Sea?.......Thanks to this new band I nearly died laughing.

CBC are responsible for this post, they had an article talking about Skeets in Airport Heights, SJ.?..Lisa will have to elighten our British readers on the Skeet definition. I think a Skeet in the

would be a hooded youth.

Gazeebow are recording these songs and getting them posted on the www. (See links below) It is very funny, sad.....almost as good as the Shirehorses.

Lyrics are not for the faint hearted, consisting of a prolonged diatribe of offensive adolescent views. If you think you could be easily offended do not listen.

Fog Lights

GawkinForgot 

About Hanx

IAintChanged

LifeNLocals

mtothacc_s song

ScalabrineGazeebowUnit-MixedFeelings

The Anthem

Trikes and Bikes

Mugsy

This is their only collection so far. Various blogs have links to articles or music of theirs. Watch this space, as crazy as it sounds I can see them having their 5 mins of fame in Canada atleast.

Our Honeymoon/Babymoon

2006-01-15T16:49:00.000+01:00

Happy New Year! We seem to write in fits and bursts, so now that I have half and hour, I thought I'd update you on our honeymoon/babymoon. Which was now nearly two months ago!
It was such a wonderful time and I highly recommend it to anyone. It may have been very good training for having a baby now that I look back on it. Early mornings, doing shift work, eating on the run, exhausted by 7 pm and in bed by 8. Does this not sound like parenthood?

I kept a journal of everything we did - something I wish I did more. So here is the Coles Notes version of our time in the UK.

Part 1 - London
The first week we spent kicking about in London. We stayed with John and Dave who live in West Greenwich. They were, as always, amazing hosts. Dave put together a lovely book of "things to see and do" complete with sightseeing maps detailing where to nip in for a bit of lunch or a drink.
Weather was amazing - we wore t-shirts and light coats the whole time. We walked for hundreds of kilometers. Took lots of pregnancy breaks - resting feet, frequent trips to the washroom, lots of snacks, sparkling water...

Day 3: Tate Modern. Often I drag Marcus to museums and galleries to see lots of paintings by dead white guys. He finds this very trying. I find it a challenge to get him to walk around with me. But we BOTH agree that the Tate Modern is the perfect. Sam Taylor Woods Still Life, a 4 min time elapsed film that shows a gorgeous bowl of fruit rotting, was perhaps our highlight. For the entire week we laughed ourselves silly trying to see the "juxtaposition" in everyday life. You just had to be there I guess. Lets get this straight, I love walking around art galleries but there is a significant speed difference between Lisa and I, to the point where I fell asleep on a gallery floor on our previous visit!

Day 4: Week 21 of pregnancy. Baby at this point is small enough to do somersaults and we can visibly see my stomach ripple and bump as she has a party. Had to be the most exciting thing I had ever seen. I'll never forget it. We were also in London for the Lord Nelson / Trafalgar celebrations. Being somewhat over zealous in the protection dept of wife and future mother to our baby, I decided we should opt out of the celebrations just incase some terrorists decided to join in the celebrations.....

Day 6: Royal Observatory. Very pleased to be married to someone who can take me to these places and explain what it all means. Marcus will make a fine dad because it is days like this that I feel I am married to Bob MacDonald.
Had great time with John and Dave later in the evening as we saw Guys and Dolls starring Ewan McGregor. We all agreed it was great - a little too many songs ("enough singin already!"). There is something about musicals that I love and simultaneously hate. It is the ultimate cheese of course - watching grown men and women breaking out into song. I can deal with musicals like Rocky Horror because there is a huge element of the ridiculous there anyhow, but when two adults try and express how much they love one another and starting dancing and singing...My gag reflexes kick in.

Day 7: Natural History Museum. Again, we HAVE to go to the geological section of any museum, for obvious reasons. And after having gone to half a dozen ones with Marcus I am proud to say, I know the three types of rock. Only because he quizzes me each time. Later met J&D again for night of surprise destinations. First saw Kew Gardens at night with the Chihuly Nights exhibit. Really something. Oh yes and can't forget amazing view from Vertigo 42 - if you are going to London, do not waste your time on that tourist trap known as the London Eye. Go to Vertigo 42!

Day 9: Left London for the Cotswolds. Spent a day with Paul, Jenny, Louisa and Oli in Bath. Did the Pump Rooms and Marcus went shopping. Its like Freakie Friday in our relationship sometimes.

Part 2 - The Canal Boat
This was what we had been planning for months! A week of picturesque rural scenery, peace and quiet, no emails, no phones, no television...just peace and tranquility.

Day: 10: We start off from Worcester (Home of Worcestershire Sauce!). with our "Viking Afloat" canal barge. Nice man rides with us for the first lock to make sure we know what we are doing and then leaves us. We don't start until nearly 3:30 pm, so much of what we did was in the dark. I steered the boat, Marcus operated the locks. I had issues with the fact that when you steer to the left you boat goes to the right. I felt like I was on drugs and spent a few hours wildly swinging from rudder trying not to crash the thing. Which I did numerous times, into the lovely 200 year old brick work of some poor lock. Marcus did his best to be a grumpy old man directing me to the left, then to the right and throwing up his hands in dismay. We did quite a bit of blaming one another and had no problems with communicating this at the top of our lungs. Many cows and sheep were traumatized along the way. We both wove a tapestry of obscenity which probably still hangs above the midlands somewhere. After we moored up for our first night (At Tibberton) we worked out what was going on and decided to be a little more teamlike. After this we found we had a wonderful time!! I still managed to crash the boat and Marcus found a way to drain most of the British Waterways by forgetting to shut some paddles, but we laughed the whole way and over all it was a wonderful experience. Here are some pics of the trip...

So as you can see, we had the most amazing time. We traveled all the way up to Birmingham and back again. The River Avon was flooded and we were advised to take another route - it was wonderful. There is a whole other culture that exists in rural England upon these waterways. Similar to camping I suspect - families have their own barges and set off on weekends or whole month long trips on barges. There are public moorings along the way and these always have some quaint little pub near by.
Day 17 - Fast forward on week...we arrive back in one peice and are psyched for the next time we do it! We have spent 7 days just talking to ourselves, dreamign about our baby, and looking at the country side. What else could you want? We are so lucky I can barely explain it to you.

We spent so much time laughing and talking that in the end the honeymoon turned out to be everything we had hoped it would be. And if you ever need counseling or some sort of team building exercise - I highly reccomend going on a barge trip as you will either learn how to work together, or you will drown one another. Hopefully not the later...

Next week - baby update! T-minus 6 weeks and counting!!!!

The Journey Begins.......

2005-11-30T09:04:00.000+01:00

Ok it has been some time since I strayed onto the blog to write something. This being said, I do frequent the site marveling at Lisa’s quips and comments on our antics.

Things have obviously been changing. Particularly Lisa’s belly, never have I seen such a large beautiful belly!

However Lisa has an incessant desire to make me look at how her inni belly button is becoming an outey. Please someone save me from this!

Lisa said in her blog before last how there has been a subtle but unmistakable change in the way we are thinking and feeling, with the imminent arrival of our first child. I can only say that so far it has been an amazing magical experience (apart from the belly button thing).

We are fortunate to have friends and siblings around to coach us and give us advice. This being said both of us hate talking baby all the time. We made each other promise that we were not going to do this.

You know what I mean the couple that perpetually talk about nothing else other than their new addition. You may be sat peacefully drinking a coffee in Starbucks and someone comes in with all the clobber (prams & nappie bags) and all you here is “Little Wills took his first standing pee pee today we are soo proud” followed by a 3 hour diatribe on how he is so far ahead of his piers. Please note if you ever hear either of us telling people about our super human baby and that she is effectively the next Isaac Newton or Linford Christie or even both, feel free to shoot us!

Hopefully we will never be that bad, however we have both come to realize that we too are already guilty to a certain degree of baby verbal diarrhea. You can’t help it. Although hopefully we will never have the terminal case afore mentioned.

Lisa is getting more pronounced kicks from her belly. Of course each time I feel the belly the kicks stop. I have even gone out buying baby clothes and made my first mistake.

I had purchased a couple of jumper suits ranging in age from 3 months to 9 months, as I am very aware that they grow quickly. As the cashier was folding the suits she asked “Would you like the hangers?” I responded with a no thank you to the customary question. Much preferring the wood hangers we have at home.

5 seconds later as I realized the physical impossibilities of trying to put the baby clothes on full size hangers. I had to admit to the cashier that I was new to this and that I would need the baby plastic hangersafter all. For some reason I felt I should also explain that I was intending to just put them on our regular hangers at home…….

In true sympathetic husband style I have also been suffering with pregnancy, symptoms are forgetful, tired and growing belly. I'm looking forward to returning to normal......hahaha....The journey begins!

PS.
Finally I think I talk for both of us on this one, but as we mentally a tune to being the responsible parents for a new borne, it gives us time to reflect also on what are parents went through with us and how they must have felt. So as our love grows for our baby in turn our love has deepened for our parents as we understand more of how they must feel for us.

So Long and farewell Roaring Twenties

2005-11-27T00:10:00.000+01:00

I know I promised a post about the honeymoon, but I think it is only just and fitting to dedicate this one to the departure of my lovely Yellow VW Bug.
Well technically she hasn't gone anywhere yet, she is still in the driveway. But I did place an ad for her in today's paper. Immaculate condition, lady driven, alloys, VW undercoating, pw, pl, sunroof, sunny yellow...sigh.

Farewell dear youth. I know I am waxing lyrical about a car, a heap of metal and plastic that was, lets face it, manufactured in Mexico and possibly way over priced. But the old Bug has served me well for nearly 5 years now and has been a large part of my twenties. Not many people can say they wave at at least two kids a day. Not many people can look in their rear view mirror and watch a couple out for their evening stroll and see the wife playfully haul back and nail her husband on the shoulder. Punch buggy baby. Oh yes, punch buggy. Doors as solid as bank vaults I tell you. What a car. Flowers on the dash, yellow everywhere, people smiling at you just because, and kids loosing their nuts as you drive past them. Just sitting in it could bring your happy level up a few notches.

Now I recognize that this is just a car people. And this car is not at all kid friendly. It cannot fit a baby seat and a stroller at the same time. Baby and I would have some very sad outings together sans stroller. Or sans baby. You just can't fit both in there at the same time. So practicality dictates I move on to a newer, larger, four door family car. So long roaring twenties. Hello thirties, hello baby, hello four door sedan.

Perspective is: a little girl kicking you as you write this posting. Hello little baby in my belly, I know you are more important than a car.

So here is a final farewell to my Beetle! And some pics of her memory.

The baby in my belly

2005-11-22T00:58:00.000+01:00

It has been about a month now since we had our ultrasound! I don't know where times goes-it has simply been evaporating! I am now 25 weeks pregnant and have a nice little belly. This pic is about 2 weeks old - and I have certainly gotten bigger since then.

What was the ultrasound like? Well, unfortunately we had a rather crusty technician who was in no mood to answer our questions - and this was a huge put off and damper on the excitement. I understand now that she was probably just doing her job and trying to get the measurements and the pictures that were necessary for a Doctor to analyse to determine if everything was progressing ok - but there were no bedside manners at all.
I had to lie on a table for half an hour with an uncomfortably full bladder while this woman pressed on my belly with what looked like a microphone and lots of cold gook. Up until this point I was amazed to hear a heart beat, had felt sick and tired, and put on some weight. But there were no other obvious signs that someone else was hanging out in my belly. This was truly and eye opener. Both of us were deeply touched and amazed by it. For the first 5 min. we had very little idea of what we were seeing. Lots of dark and light patches and the woman exclaimed that it was moving around quite a bit. However, I couldn't really feel anything. Then we saw the profile of a little baby curled up. Secretly we both were frantically counting limbs and digits in our heads. Once we saw that everything was where it should be, we asked the sex of the baby. Marcus told me that at that moment he silently began to pray that it was a boy.
Best guess, she announced, a girl.
With no bits and pieces to be seen, it certainly looked like a girl. And to be honest, I have always had an inkling it was. That and the profile of her little face - she really looked like a sweet little girl. An adorable little nose! And you could see her swallowing and her little arms moving and the heart strong and steady.
So with the aid of TV screen, a microphone and a bit of gook - it confirmed that there is someone in the world that is more important that we could ever articulate. A little person that both of us would step in front of a moving train for. If required.
We were lucky that mom was able to be there for this as well. She came in the room once we had seen the baby, and was able to share in our happiness. She did point our that the technition was so horrible, that we shouldn't put too much stock in the sex - as perhaps she was just telling us that as part of an evil joke she likes to play on naive new parents. We are playing it cool with painting the baby's room, just as a precaution. Sexually nutral colours for now!
After the ultrasound I became acutely aware of her rhythm's - when she was awake and when she was partying. I can even see my stomach move now when she rolls around or practices kicking. My uterus is now nearly 2 inches above my belly button I have gotten a few pokes in the lower, floating ribs.
Marcus has adjusted well to the idea of having a girl. He is over the moon to be honest. He was concerned that a girl wouldn't be interested in playing ball or mountain biking or finding out what do-hicky goes where in the car engine. But enough of his friends have girls that he has soon realised that this is all nonsense and that a girl can do anything a boy can do. Only better. (heh heh)

So stay tuned and soon I will return with some pics of our amazing honeymoon - and some good stories.

This is not a time to be vein!

2005-09-25T21:31:00.000+02:00

Well our little mini-baby is now 18 weeks old! And for such a young whipper snapper, it sure knows how to run the show.
Now baby is dictating my fashion!!! Last week I wore a pair of heels for the last time. How the hell did Sarah Jessica Parker shoot that season of Sex in the City while traipsing about in Manolo Blahnik's ? Makes me sick.

So today I went to an orthopedic store to get the very sexy and fashionable support hose that pregnant women and old ladies wear. The guy measured my legs and when he looked at my ankles, he declared that I was very swollen. I had to admit, I didn't notice. But there was a very distinct pattern from my pink argle socks left on my leg. So perhpas I was a wee bit. And then he declared me a prime candid for, gasp, VARICOSE VEINS. He insisted I get out of the shoes I was in with the same vigour and panic that one might tell someone to jump from the window of a burning building.

He said my joints were becoming looser and it looked as though I may be up half a shoe size. Then he began to explain, in great detail, about the loosening up of ligaments, the weakening of joints, the expanding of veins and the breaking of valves. I got very weak. I had to sit down.
Apparently this is your body'sway of preparing for labour.

Nice.

He recommended I start wearing sandals at work, like a pair of Birkenstocks, WITH my new panyhose (BTW: they cost 100$!!!!) and sit for no more than 15-20 min, then walk about. So I am going to be quite the fashion victim for a few months!

Otherwise, we are all happy and health, which is the main thing. Ultra sound is coming up next week. We can't wait. Such an exciting adventure. Will keep you updated.

Zucchini Baby

2005-09-17T01:29:00.000+02:00

Here we are on our wedding day! Such a beautiful day! As we both like to live dangerously, we choose an outdoors wedding. Risky. Very risky. But, the weather was almost too good to believe. At 5:30 pm it was a lovely 25 degrees and not a breath of wind.

I haven't said too much about the wedding, as talk of baby has pretty much dominated our thoughts for the past few month's. But it was
simply perfect. Except for when the waiter tipped the punch bowl over the front of my dress. But even that garnered a pretty good laugh. And all the pictures we over, so I didn't mind a bit. Besides, it will make for a good story to tell grandchildren.

Right, so on to Children. Our friends, Jan and Paul Guise, just had a baby 2 weeks ago. He is just a gorgous little peanut. We visited them last Sunday and I realised I had never held an infant. He was so tiny and fragile I was afraid I might break him. Everyone tells me it will be different with my own. I hope so.

Jan had religiously recorded her pregnancy in a very insightful series of emails that she sent to friends and family, named Preggo Prose. For someone who hasn't personally known anyone to have to go through it, it was quite illuminating. Marcus and I can't decide if it made us excited or scared. She did give a pretty detailed account as to what happens during labour. For example, Marcus has made notes to make sure the passenger seat is covered with towels and lined with a garbage bage...this is something you probably don't think about when your water breaks.

So perhaps our blog will serve as a good guide to friends of ours who are trying, or at least trying to not think about it for a while but intend to get pregnant "someday".

This is week 16. It is the size of a small zucchini and measures 61/2" from head to toe. Funny looking baby huh?

I have heard the heartbeat twice now. The first visit I heard it, the little squirmer could only be heard for a few seconds at a time. But now that he is bigger and can no longer hide behind moms pubic bone, its easier to detect and much stronger. They use a special device to hear it. A stethoscope is still not powerful enough at this stage. The Doppler picks up the sound and amplifies it so you can hear it. I have recoded it with my mp3 player and occasionally play it back to myself and each time I feel speechless. For a while, it was the only thing that gave me confirmation...

Which leads me to what I now look like. Well, I have gained 10 pds so far. Mainly of course in my stomach area. Having no energy during 1st trimester and not exercising too much possibly aided to weight gain, but I suspect the lions share is just baby stuff. I say baby stuff because right now baby is only 6-7 oz or so. There are other things like the gook that it lives in and the placenta that help make up the rest of the pounds. Plus a little fat duvet that is probably necessary. Jodi lent me some clothes she had and this has been a great help. slowly starting to wear them as many of my slacks won't do up, and most of my skirts look ridiculous. I feel a bit like a poser in the preggo shirts, but man they are so much more comfortable. As right now I don't look like the classic pregnant woman with the tell-tale belly, but rather someone who has a fat-ish looking belly. But it isn't fat at all, its really quite hard. Pretty weird.

I am still sleeping quite a lot. 9 hours a night. I am bed by 9 or 9:30 each night. And I get up to pee at least 3 times when I am asleep. I have had tons of dreams where I am on a bus that won't stop and I am screaming that I need to go pee or standing in an incredibly long line up to get to the toilet and I am begging people to let me cut the cue. Then I wake up and realise I am desperate to get to the washroom (no accidents yet!). In all of my life, I have never had to get up in the middle of the night to go, so I find this highly amusing/annoying.

Anyhow, that's all for this week!

1+1=3

2005-08-30T01:33:00.000+02:00

Well if you haven't guessed what the surprise was, that will have given it away! Indeed, we are going to have a baby! Right now, it is only a tiny blob-like baby, but soon it will be an actual baby!

Two weeks before the wedding we found out. Which put a whole new perspective on things. No more stressing about silly details, there were greater forces at work!

We are now on our week 13/14 and baby it is now the size of plumb. Still teeny tiny. But that little sucker sure packs a mean punch. Mama has been sleeping a record amount of time - upwards of 10 hours a night PLUS naps in the evening or if I can sneak off on my lunch break to the sick room. I have been pretty nauseas as well - although no actual vomiting. Weird. And it can happen morning, noon or night, so forget "morning sickness". As well, I have had a horrible change in appetite. I have just started to drink coffee the past few days (decaf!) but it has been weeks since I could look at a cup. My stomach was turning at the sight of chicken and other meats. It was all I could do to eat a salad or vegatables. I was practically gagging getting anything in. All I wanted was pasta, toast with peanut butter, and salt and vinegar crisps. I am slowly starting to come around now, but for a while I felt like my alter ego appatite took over.
But nevermind. A small price to pay I guess.

So stay tuned to this blogspot as the Odd Couple become even odder as the become...Expecting Parents!

The Newly Weds!

2005-08-08T16:49:00.000+02:00

Wow - so much has happened in almost two monthes!
I am now Mrs. Lisa Wilson. Perhaps may become Wilson Turner as does have glamorous ring to it. "Mrs. Wilson Tuner, your limo awaits you..." or think "Yes Mrs. Wilson Turner I feel you have made a lovly choice with those 1 caret Tiffany earrings". Perhaps we should have a vote...
Negligent as usual, we have not posted much but will promise some new hilarious stories of the wedding, married life and...wait for it - a surprise! Oh yes, I know how you love suprises.
But not yet.
This blog is going on a honeymoon for another week or so and then I shall return with delicious details.
And hopefully a hook to keep you reading for at least another year...

DJ Jazzy Gillian and DJ Lady Miss Lisa need YOUR help!

2005-06-22T14:22:00.000+02:00

The illustrious DJ Jazzy Gillian is in need of a few tunes to spin at the wedding. There were a lot of requests for special songs and despite already having an exhaustive repertoire of music between the two of us, we are still lacking quite a few. Perhaps you have some of these in your own collections at home? If you do - you can help. Drop me an email, let me know what songs you can provide and I'll will give you some instructions on the format we would like to have them in and the means by which you can pass them on.

Those who fear the pending Bill C-60 amendments to the Copyright Act, do not fear. This music is for personal use only and we aren't making it available publicly. So no Mounties will come a knock'in just cause we're rock'in!! Word to yo muthor...

Here are the tunes we need. Of course - if you have any burning desire to add something that is'nt on the list, no problemo...

Dancing Queen ABBA
Fernando ABBA
I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do ABBA
Goody Two Shoes Adam Ant
Loveshack B52s
Good Vibrations Beach Boys
Stand By Me Ben E. King
Take my Breath Away Berlin
White Wedding Billy Idol
Crazy Train Black Sabbeth
Jamming Bob Marley
Other Half of Me Bobby Darin
Total Eclipse of the Heart Bonnie Tyler
Everyday Buddy Holly
Lovefool Cardigans
Freak Chic
I'll Tumble For you Culture Club
You Spin Me righ Round Dead of Alive
Come ON Eileen Dexie's Midnight Runners
Ain't No Mountain High Enough Diana Ross
Rio Duran Duran
The nearness of you Ella Fitzgerald
I'll Never Fall In Love Again Elvis Costello
I Can't Help Falling in Love Elvis Presley
Wonderful Tonight Eric Clapton
At Last Etta James
Funk Soul Brother Fat Boy Slim
Always Frank Sinatra
Our Love is Here to Stay Frank Sinatra
The Way You Look Tonight Frank Sinatra
Relax Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Henry the VIII Gerry and the Pacemakers
Low Grand Theft Bus
Pennies from Heaven Guy Lombardo
Sea of Love Honeydippers
You're the One that I Want John Travolta & Olivia Newton John
This Very Moment KC and Jo Jo
Celebration Kool and the Gang
Take This Waltz Leonard Cohen
Jimmy Mac Martha and the Vandellas
Billie Jean Michael Jackson
Harvest Moon Neil Young
These Days Nico
Don't Go Away Oasis
If you leave Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
A Goovey Kind of Love Phil Collins
Kiss Prince
Wolly Bully Sam the Sham and the Pahros
Truly Madly Deeply Savage Garden
Tainted Love Soft Cell
Spice up Your Life Spice Girls
Is'nt She Lovely Stevie Wonder
Superstition Stevie Wonder
Sh-Boom (Life Could Be A Dream) The Crew Cuts
Cathy's Clown The Everly Brothers
I Only have Eyes for you The flamingos
We Got the Beat The Go Go's
Carry-Anne The Hollies
Every Little Thing She does is magic The Police
Ruby Tuesday The Stones
Sonney's Dream The Wonderful Grand Band
Whats up Pussycat? Tom Jones
Blister in the Sun Violent Femmes
Wake Me Up before You Go-go Wham
Fell in Love with a Girl White Stripes
Stairway to Heaven Led Zepplin
Don?t Phunk With My Heart The Black Eyed Peas
No Hollerback Girl Gwen Stephani
Toxic Brittany Spears
Hey ya! Outkast
Rock Your Body Justin Timberlake
Crazy In Love Byonce

Peace out!

Don't fear the seamstress

2005-06-17T02:20:00.000+02:00

Easy Schmeesy. I have no tales of woe, weeping or gnashing of teeth. No one was told that the dress was simply too small, no one lost consciousness from the act of sucking in and holding the breath, no one was told to go on a crash diet of carrot sticks and celery until the big day and there was no pins stuck into my side in the process.

It was painless and there is no hilarious story to recount.

It will cost me 54$ to get the straps altered and to have a thumb loop attached to train to ensure sure I don't trip and break my neck.

Yes $54 dollars. I could do that for free. Ofcourse my mother would then take the opportunity to remind me that the last time I tried to sew something the arm piece was attached to the neck hole. But surly people, straps can't be that difficult. Not $54 difficult.

Marcus is is presently (conveniently?)out on the briny ocean tusk blissfully aware that he is missing prime wedding preparations. Don't worry, there is a bathroom that needs re-tileing before guest arrive,so I take comfort in that. I would gladly plan and organise two weddings to avoid hard labour.

Saw musician who is playing at wedding on Monday. Marcus and I went to her house and she had a CD which we collectively reviewed to make sure she was including all the arrangements which we felt were appropriate. I ix-ne'd the Pacable and Vivaldi (they are SO done) and Marcus pressed for his favorites. Not Mendelssohn, but rather the Star Wars theme. It was quite difficult to get his attention AWAY from Star Wars ("Sweetie, isn't that a lovely arrangement of Hayden? - "Emm...yeah, but I much prefer the Star Wars theme") but we eventually had it all sorted.

So really, I think the major things are taken care of now. Except for the weather, which so far refuses to co-operate. So don't be surprised if someone at this wedding gets cold feet - literally. Its the 18th of June and a balmy 6 degrees. Blech.

T-minus One month two days!

2005-06-13T14:28:00.000+02:00

Yowsers. Where has the time gone? And why do we blog so sporadically? Everyone else who has a blog seems to be able to take the time to make a posting but us...like every thing else we are so slow.

Well negligent bloggers or not, the wedding is fast approaching. Thanks to everyone who has sent us such lovely emails and phone calls letting us know your plans for attendance. We are getting excited now! Its a constant topic of conversation these days. Everyone seems to asks us about how our plans are going and what we are doing to prepare and I'm wondering what anyone will have to talk to me about once its over...

Feel cheeky having to do this and both of us grappled over the whole registry dilemma, but so many of you asked us we ended up doing it. As a disclaimer we would like to say that if you should rather make a donation to a local charity in our names, that would be fine as well.

The two stores we are now registered with is Sears and Living Rooms. Most of you are familiar with Sears and the registry can be seen online. LivingRooms however is a local store full of gorgeous nick-nacky things. They do however have a toll free number and will fax you details of anything you would like to speak. There, now that that stuff is out of the way here are some local charities that need supporting more than we do!

St. John's Clean and Beautiful
habitat for Humanity
St. John's Women's Centre

Marcus and I are great. We just spent a weekend doing odds and ends about the house. I have started a new garden next to the front door. Its meant to be a shrubbery but I haven't bought any shrubs yet. So we may try our hand at pretending to be the Knights that Say Ni! and begin demanding Shrubberys from all passers by ("one that looks nice and not very expensive!"). Hahaha.
Never mind, silly joke.
And we helped Val out around Dad's house as well doing little domestic stuff that is meant to help us in our certification for marriage, i.e.. changing light bulbs, helping one another erect shelving units and holding the step ladder, making sure all sarcastic comments are muttered under breath...I think we passed.

Have dress fitting appointment this week. Will warrent a new posting I am sure... Wish me luck!!!

Brit Pop Star To Wed Canadian Idol!

2005-05-17T00:41:00.000+02:00

request, originally uploaded by Theoddcouple.

So we never really got them out when we said we would...we found a teeny weeny spelling error (does this surprise you?) and as am officially BRIDEZILLA, this certainly wouldn't do. They all had to be printed out. AGAIN.
So I hope you have received it. If you have'nt, blame Canada Post. Or Marcus.

I blamed Marcus when my grandfather demanded to know exactly WHO was the "Mad the bad and the ugly".
It really doesn't mean anyone in particular and its just how the British might say "everyone and their dog will be there". Am I right Marcus? Or did you just tell me that so I would'nt force you to re-print the lot.

Nevermind. I think they are great. Thanks again to Marcus who was zee master mind.

Sooon!

2005-04-26T17:01:00.000+02:00

So here it is, end of April and we still haven't sent out the invitations. That's because we decided not to invite anyone...
Kidding.
Nope, in true WilsonTurner Overdrive style we are behind. In fact, in our house we still insist that it is March.

But soon, in fact tonight, Marcus and I are going to sit around the television and watch the new Dr. Who and hand write the addresses on each one.
BTW - a word about the invitations. I have to give thanks to my uber cool partner for these. He's really done a brilliant job, I'm sure you will all agree. I'll post a pic of it after we know you guys have received them because I think they are really out of sight. Marcus you rock.

Marcus is home for the next little bit, but will be off to the UK starting May 9 for about a month. He will be attending a 4 week course in Nottingham and then will be take a jaunt down to visit the folks. And speaking of the inlaws, they live in Stroud, I found this really awesome site where there is a webcam of the community. As you can see its truly an idyllic spot. I can't wait to go back and visit.

Thanks for all who voted on where to go for the honeymoon - here is a breakdown of the results:

Cotswolds, England 19.35 %
Tuscany, Italy 45.16 %
Las Vegas, USA 3.23 %
Hedonism (Nudie Resort), Caribbean 32.26 %

I can't believe 32% said the Nudie Resort. Phulesse. As if. But thanks for the feedback anyhow! It looks like Tuscany will be the next trip!

Anyhow - we have settled on England, for a number of reasons but mainly so we can visit friends and family. I am determined to meet up with old friends Stuart and Michelle who are now residing in Sheffield and I have a hankering to visit Annette and Michael Stavely as they will be teaching over in Harlow during the fall.
We shall see...
Check your mail boxes at the beginning of next week!!!

First steps and The BIG race!

2005-03-10T14:12:00.000+01:00

Ok first tentative step onto “our” blog! No really I’ve been an integral part of the machinery behind the scenes…honest. I felt it is now the appropriate time for me to grace the site with my presence (Said in mock arrogance as Lisa has set the bar v.high, don’t tell her I said that). What a team we make :)

I’m a little disappointed that I have not been able to rig the current poll for our honey moon, I have tried to put extra votes in on one particular location (I’ll leave that to you imagination) but to no avail. The very clever software said only one vote per person please. Opps.

Ok I better give an update as I have not contributed, it is some what of a daunting task when your other half is very witty, I am the straight guy in this comedy duo, aka a relationship.

I almost entered a post charting our progress on the “Big Race”(New Years Eve). Now by this I do not mean the one to the alter, or the one from the alter, but the one to beat my boss (Oscar) and his lovely wife (Taina) in a fun run. Yes that is right fun run, however the gauntlet had been laid down and I’m not one to back away from a challenge. That is why I am with Lisa!!

Anyway the preparation in the middle of the Atlantic during several big storms running like a demented hamster on a running machine almost killed me. Needless to say we lost the challenge but had a great time participating. I guess that is why they call it a fun run. That is my story and I’m sticking to it, you will have to ask Lisa for her side of the story.

The Music Nazi relinquishes her death grip on the remote - send me your suggestions!!!

2005-02-20T20:45:00.000+01:00

Marcus and I bring to our relationship very different strengths (and arguably weaknesses) that help make our lives as rich and colourful as it should be. And these strengths complement each other perfectly.
For instance... Marcus is wonderful at putting things in its right place. I have not had a pair of matching socks since 1998. Together out floor is not cluttered and I no longer look like a mental instution escapee.
Another example, and the cause of this discussion today, I have impeccable taste in music and am more than moderately equipped with a wealth of music knowledge. I usually win when I play Music jeopardy and I rule when I get the "Hum-dinger category" when we play Cranium. (Marcus, on the other hand, does not know who Neil Young is, refers to my music as a " that noise" in true circa 1950's father figure fashion and believes that Robbie Williams is the best male singer/songwriter...of all time.)So I spend hours injecting musical pleasure in his life and in turn I feel like Hi-Fi Goddess, keeper of music, dispenser or pop music wisdom.
Without the appropriate checks and balances however, occationaly these delicate but important rolls that we play, are set off-kilter. Marcus's once wonderful organisation skills sometimes seem more like obsessive-compulsive behavior of an anal retentive and clearly, a very sick individual. Who keeps their clothes hangers spaced EXACTLY ONE INCH apart?And maintains colour order within sock drawer? Exactly.
Anyhow in all fairness to Marcus, I am too musically opinionated and sometimes things go a bit pear-shaped and a nice meal ends with Marcus accusing me of being a Music Nazi as I refuse him access to the CD remote. And as I now re-consider the dead-bolt I have installed on the home entertainment system and the Shania Twain Albums that I have hidden from Marcus, I too believe that I may have a problem.
So as my 10 steps to self-healing, the first having admitted that there is an issue, the second one involves me relinquishing my hold on musical devices that are shared by others who have ears. So essentially, my psychiatrist has recommended that for the wedding I ask everyone to list 5 of their all time favorite songs (not necessarily wedding oriented) and that these I must incorporate into the evening at the wedding. Wheeew. There. I said it. So people, if are interested in trying to help me. Post me (or email me directly) a list of songs you LOVE to hear and I will make sure at least one gets played*. Let the healing begin!!!
*Does not include Shania Twain, Celene Dion, Whitney Huston, Barbara Strisand, Chicago, The Eagles, or anything from anytype of "boy-band" anytime after 1988.

Some del.icio.us suggestions

2005-01-14T19:20:00.000+01:00

For those "come from away-er's" who are planning your trips, Marcus and I have put togeather a virtual bookmark of various places to stay, things to do, where to go drinking websites.

I'll place the link on the sidebar eventually - should be a good start for those who what to start planning their itineraries!

Check it out here!

Happy New Year! Or rather, the Bride-to-be gloats...

2005-01-05T01:19:00.000+01:00

Happy New Year and hello 2005! Christmas was rediculouly wonderful. We saw and heard from tons of family and friends, ate, drank (and was merry), and to top it all off, we managed to find a wedding dress. So glad to have heard from all of you in one way or another! It was so lovely catching up and finding out what everyone has been up to.

As for the wedding dress....
For some time now today has been slated as the day in which my mother and I go off in Normal Rockwell style in search of the "perfect" wedding dress. I admit I was not really looking forward to this task. Besides donning a new layer of Christmas fat on my body, I knew there was no way we would escape this day morally unscathed and with our fingernails in tack. I even had a dream last night that I had two hours till "I do" and was sponging out of some hideous gauze-like wedding dress a massive gravy stain. I took it as a bad omen from the fates above.

Nevermind a silly old dream! After surveying only the second wedding dress I have EVER looked at, and doing quite a bit of sucking in and holding my breath, we decided it was perfect and that was that. Who knew! Beginners luck perhaps?

So the New Year is off to a great start - and at least I will be dressed for the wedding! That is a relief.

And the clock keeps on ticking...

Don't forget...because we might.

2004-12-05T19:04:00.000+01:00

Yes - the wedding clock. Occationally I update this site and casually glance at the time bomb at the bottom of the site. I laugh to myself and say to Marcus - "heh babe, only x-amount of days till the Wedding". Which is usually followed by more nervous laughter and generally some naive statement from Marcus like "We have everything done really, don't we?". I love Marcus, I really do. Incidentally, we have everything important figured out - such as I want to marry Marcus, he wants to marry me, the number of guests attending, where and what we are eating and how much wine will will serve. What else is there to figure out? Please don't actually respond to this post with a list mom. Apparently there are important things like flowers, a minister, a permit, a dress, a cake, music, a photographer...Yes, I am aware that the clock is ticking and many details will have to be worked out. I have to go now and deal with an acute attack of nausea. Please enjoy the clock.

Save the Date Magnets that even Martha would envy...

2004-11-13T16:34:00.000+01:00

Hopefully by now, you will have all received your magnet! We hope you REALLY like them. It was during the creation of these magnets that Marcus and I discovered what the true meaning of the saying "If it doesn't kill you, it can only make you stronger". It took us about 2 weeks to get them done and out in the mail, during which time I almost put the printer through the window, Marcus and I had a row over the margins and fonts, I spilt a Crantini all over the Oriental Rug and Marcus topped if by tipping his coffee (accidentally) over the entire stack of invitation ready to be mailed. By the time we made it to the post mistress and placed them in her hands, we vowed not to talk about the wedding for at least a month. A month has passed and we have decided we are actually more determined than ever to get married (after all, everyone has a magnet!). However, we have reached deep to come up with some solutions that should help us last forever. A: Do not pretend to be something you are not. We are not crafty people and never will be. We will leave all that stuff to Marthas Stewart type A personalities who can handle that sort of pressure. Not us, we would rather pay someone else to do it. Currency is the key. Not craftiness. B. You are asking for a world of hurt when animated and holding a martin glass. Any fool will tell you that the dimentions of a martini glass practically beg the drink to leaped even when on a flat surface. Which mean "Lisa, step away from the Crantini". This naturally leads to C: Never under any circumstances eat or drink on the rug. Or better yet, never ever eat or drink on the rug when there is a potential for Marcus catching you at it. D: Nobody cares if it is in Comic Sans MS or Tahoma. Let it go... E. Word to the young: Elope. Elope now and don't look back. Even if that is the sound of your poor mother weeping behind you. A wedding is the biggest romance killer since the headache.
Now, all of this being said - we are delighted to say that all is on schedule and we are really looking forward to next summer. Delighted in fact. Hope to hear from you all soon! And don't forget...July 15

Posted by Lisa and Marcus

2004-11-05T02:44:00.000+01:00

Feed me!

Posted by Lisa

Content Syndication At Last!

2004-11-05T01:53:00.000+01:00

Yup - I coudl'nt resist this bandwagon. Official content syndication of the site! So for those who REALLY want to stay in the loop, read this - but in laymans terms, if you download some newsreader or aggregator software (for how see this pretty cool site) , you will get an automatic message letting you know when we have updated. Of course, there are TONS of sites that already do this, so you can make sure you get the latest info from the world of Lisa and Marcus (and yes Harriette too) as well as news feeds from some of your favorite websites. No more checking a dozen pages to see the latest updates!

So come into the lab, and see what's on the slab

2004-10-27T02:40:00.000+02:00

Its official now, am Rocky Horror Picture Show maniac. I am sorry, but Tim Curry is very hot in stockings. After making Marcus listen to the soundtrack a zillion times, and annoying practically everyone I know, I finally bought the DVD. Interestingly there is both a UK and a US version. And speaking of fishnet stockings and heavy applications of make-up, Halloween is up on us. If I get my way, Marcus may yet be Frank... I am going as the Nun with the Bun. Very easy and requires little preparation or makeup. But may warrant renting the Sound of Music for the weekend. Marcus is rolling his eyes...

2004-10-27T02:39:00.000+02:00

Harriette the Cat

Posted by Lisa & Marcus

The Fairest of the Seasons

2004-10-12T00:54:00.000+02:00

I do declare, fall must be the fairest. Seasons of mists and mellow fruitlessness!
We are a little fatter after the Thanksgiving weekend. Already we are preparing to dawn a fat duvet to keep us warm through the winter. The inevitable spread about the waistline has begun...
So we have some new news! We are proud to announce that we have an addition to our small suburban life...Hariette the cat. Harriette got off the plane last Thursday night and has not stopped shredding and biting and eating house plants and sitting at the dinner table and chewing up the paper, and inflicting utter chaos in our life. We are delighted.
Hope you like the pics.
As you will see, she is Siamese. Marcus insisted. He loves them. I am only familiar with the Disney version of the cat and thus thought she would be a terror. I anticipated her arrival as one might anticipate the arrival of a crazy aunt who you weren't sure was going to like you and may just make you clean up after her and fetch things for her all the time. Sorry Aunties, none of you fall under that catagory, but you get the idea.
I was wrong. And we have gotten along fabulously. She is indeed lovely, as you can see. But she does have a slight evil glimmer in her eye....will keep you updated!

Details details details!

2004-09-06T15:01:00.000+02:00

A bit of time has elapsed since we started this website up, and for a bit I was afraid this would just become a public struggle for wedding planning, but in the past few months we actually got our acts together and hammered out some details. First we decided we both need to see a relationship psychologist. Second we needed a place to pull this thing off.
I'm joking about the shrink of course (although at times it sounds like a very good idea) but we do have a date!
July 15, 2005 at 5:30 at the Bungalow in Bowring Park, St. John's.
Since so many of our family and friends are scattered about the four corners, we are sending out in the mail some "save the date" magnets to remind you to mark it in your calendars.
Since I have done this, I have realized that I have turned into the dreaded Bridezilla as I have spent a small fortune in wedding magazines, poured over websites, consulted wedding guru Martha Stewart, spent hours in the basement on the computer and then emerged, crawling up the stairs wild eyed and disheveled to fling myself at the feet of my husband to be (who no longer recognises me at this point) holding aloft...the fridge magnets! Of course I'm kidding. Well, I guess you should speak to Marcus.

2004-06-07T02:44:00.000+02:00

Marcus & Lisa

Dah-dum-tee-dum, Dah-dum-tee-dum...

2004-06-03T01:40:00.000+02:00

Well if you didn't know before, you will now! Marcus and I have decided, despite our wildly differing personalities - to tie the knot (and he will probably even disagree with that statement). And we are so thrilled about it! So far there has only been one thing about the wedding that we have really agreed on, and that is that a weblog would be the most efficient way to keep our friends and family up to date with our plans. Between the two of us, we have quite a dispersion of friends and family spread about two continents and since we are both shockingly bad at phone calls, we figured informing the masses via a blog would do the trick.
Actually, we have decided on a few other things as well:
1. We'll do it in Newfoundland, Canada
2. And it will be sometime in the last two weeks of July, 2005.

So please stay tuned over the next 13 or so months as we slag out the details of the nuptials!