Big Storm Headed Our Way

2nd Floor Video!

We swung by the house and no one was there... a few houses had some trades but it was pretty empty. So we went inside.. YAY! The first floor hasn't changed much... we found a vent pipe that is broken and needs to be repaired before the drywall goes in. If we don't have heat on the second floor, we know why! But the most exciting thing was that we got to explore the second floor. The shower base and tubs are in. It was really nice to see just how big it's all going to be.

Coop Scoop: Safety First, Sleep Second

Needs More Cuteness

Just a dash...

SAFETY FIRST!

I love the eyebrow. It's like... "Oh... hey baby, how you doin'?"

Is It Friday?

Snowy Shack!

Happy Anniversary!

It has been one year since Ian and I got married. The year turned out to be not what we expected. It flew by but it was a fairly good year. I asked Ian jokingly what his hopes and dreams were for the 2nd year. He said "I hope and dream that Brittany will not have a heart attack as we get closer to closing on the house". Wishful thinking! =P

Icy Roads

The crash that blocked my way home on Friday was caught on camera. Crazy! No one was injured.

Hannelore & Me

Last night I was frustrated with being me. Following my surgery, I've become a bit of a hypochondriac. But that has kind of combined with a sense of impending doom. I worry about everything. I worry about my health and the health of my family. I worry about the house and the paperwork involved. I worry about driving and getting into an accident... including my 5 year old car. At any given moment during the day... I am usually worrying. Going to the gym has helped... but not enough... And when I don't go - for example this week because I'm in Toronto - it all comes rushing back. Last night was no exception. It doesn't keep me up as late but it's still there. I know medication is not the answer for me... At one time in my life it was... but it's not now. I just have to work through it I guess.

Hannelore is a character in a webcomic called Questionable Content. She has a bit of OCD... she worries about everything... I share her craziness. For Christmas Ian got me the Questionable Content book. The artist drew a picture of Hannelore on the inside cover and signed it with "To Brittany, someone to share your worries with..." It was very sweet~ Lately in the webcomic, Hannelore is branching out. She seems to be overcoming her issues... Maybe I should follow suit.. lol.

The thing that I need to remember is that I can't waste my life worrying. I can't change most things that I worry about. I can't change the fact that I won't have my permanent residency by the time our house closes. I can't change the fact that me or any one of my family members will get sick at some point in my life. When I worry I have two voices in my mind (yes I'm crazy) - one quietly worrying about x issue, one shouting furiously that I am being stupid. I KNOW it's not worth it. I spoke to a friend of mine this week... she told me that she's been living with a brain aneurysm since 2002. She worried herself sick over it. Her surgery was scheduled and all she did was worry about it. Then she met a doctor who basically said it's better to not have surgery. You can live with it and she has. If a person who has had a brain aneurysm for nine years can function without worrying, so can I! Extreme example of course... but I know that worrying does not change anything and it certainly does not help anything.

The Shack Update

Our house has a blankey! They have started brick and stone work on the front of the house.

Last Sunday we walked through the house again... the only real change was that they had finished the duct work. Still got a video though!

Weird.

This morning Ian and I walked out to the car and I stopped in my tracks. My car was covered in a bit of snow. Then I looked up and saw this:

Creepy. We think some moisture came through the concrete above, froze and then started to melt. It was kind of creepy because it looked like cobwebs. It doesn't really come across in the pictures but Ian agreed. Weird.

Wanted!

Also wanted for various other crimes:

• Excessive Use Of The Dance Move "The Worm"
• Copyright Infringement of Old Spice Ads
• Inciting Smiles and General Mayhem
• Complaining While Crawling

Please note that his brother is still on the run. If you see either of these boys, please take extreme caution and lots of pictures. Thank you.

Awwww

My Mommy Taught Me Well

This morning (1:00am if you can call that morning)... a fire alarm went off at the hotel I am staying at. I vaulted out of bed... threw on some clothes... and headed to the stairwell. I was up on the 11th floor and started going down in the freezing cold. I met one other person who was going down but that was about it. At about the 3rd floor we met a woman who was asking something about doors further UP the stairwell. We told her they were open but that there was a fire alarm. She replied that yes, she did know there was a fire alarm but she wanted to get to the 35th floor and the elevators weren't working... WHAT??? I'm sorry... but my mommy told me better safe than sorry... a.k.a. better safe than be really stupid. Yes, I climbed down 11+ flights of stairs and walked out of the exit door onto a random Toronto sidewalk in the middle of January. But still... if it had been real... if there really was a reason for the fire alarm... wouldn't you rather be outside in 25 degree Fahrenheit weather???

I'm so tired it hurts and I'm still trying to settle down... but I have the hope that my future children would do the same thing. Better safe than sorry.

Snowed In!

What We're Currently Listening To...

We saw them on Conan the other night... and while the lead singer/band is pretty odd. I like the music. Kind of an 80s vibe...

The Shack Update

I've been taking pictures of The Shack but not much is happening in the front. They have finished the brick on the left side and around back. They've also delivered the shingles to the roof.

Here is the first set of brick they finished. The window on the bottom is the office and the top two are laundry room and guest bedroom. I really like the black and red mix of the brick.

I haven't shown our street in a long time. This is the view looking down the street... the awesome red brick house is our friends, Alicia and Alex. They got to move and make me super jealous!

This is the house next to us. They've been working pretty hard on this one... I'm surprised how many guys are there each day. I love that we are on a corner though... we only have the one real neighbor.

Max Quacks - Do The Worm!

Jack Jack Is Superman

This is my friend, Megan's baby Jack Jack. He just ripped off his shirt to reveal this onesie beneath it. =P

His name is really just Jack... but when I hear the name I think of the Incredibles character Jack Jack. I see a resemblance!

Oh, Canada

I love this song. So much. It's mixed with Canada's actual anthem. It's serious song... but it's pretty damn funny. Lyrics are below.

(Oh Canada we stand on guard, for thee)
Uh, yea
From the land of the lost, Trans-Canada crossed
Patriotic and a honor with a hand on my heart

From the greatest of lakes
To the greenest of greens
To the rockiest mountains
And everything in between

O-o-oh Canada
Oh you're no fan of us?
Cause our movie and TV shows are so amateur?
Yeah, we laugh it off, that don't really bother me
Look, we ain't serious unless you really gotta be

Humorous attitude like Kidz in The Hall
Like Jim Carey, Mike Myers, hell we claiming them all

It's the great white north
Home of the funniest actors
The butt of the joke
With an abundance of laughter

The red and white flag
Keep it high, keep it visual
People say Canada and get stereotypical
Think we finish every sentence with "buddy" or "bye"
And if it ain't that it's either "dude", "eh" or "guy"
Canadaka eh,
Yeah we consider it people
And smoking marijuana
We consider it legal

Still doing rap like the 1990's
But that's how we like it off timed and grimy

I know where I'm from and I told ya before
North of America hard to ignore
Every time I go away I tell them for sure
I'm from Canada o-o-oh Canada

(Oh Canada)
Oh Canada o-o-oh Canada
(Oh canada)
I'm from Canada
O-o-oh Canada

When Class makes a sick beat, we call it a classic (x4)

I've been around the globe and
Heard of confusion
Honestly a lot of y'all are ignorant and stupid

Yes, we have microwaves, tvs and cell phones
Unintelligent fuck, we invented the telephone
We made Yahtzee, the light bulb, hockey
And bred the greatest players - Gretzky to Crosby
We all got at least one drinking buddy
And after one drink, all of us think we're funny

Our national mascot's a damn beaver
Oh Canada we love our beaver
Home of Hell's Angels and RCMP
Home of Gordon Lightfoot and SCTV

No doubt, the underground railroad
Georges St. Pierre
Right here is where he call home

Our health care system
Y'all know it's free
Keep a girl banging with a full mouth of teeth
I won't even get into the music industry
They say hip hop is dead
Nah it's up north with me
I could do this all day, it's a part of my routine
But supper's almost done and tonight - poutine!

I know where I'm from and I told ya before
North of America hard to ignore
Every time I go away I tell them for sure
I'm from Canada o-o-oh Canada
(I'm from the east coast of Canada)
O-o-oh Canada
(I'm from the east east east coast)
Yo yo!
Yeah, I'm from Canada so sometimes the words come out of my mouth like this
Get used to it!

(Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee)

Max Quacks - I Can Still Smile

Max is in the hospital because of an upper chest infection. Little guy can't breath! It is both adorable and heart-breaking. Get better little dude!

Last Day Off

Today is sadly my last day off. Ian had to go back to work... I am spending my day packing a bit - mostly Christmas stuff but regular items are making it into boxes too. Here's my stack so far. Gotta love Grand & Toy paper boxes...

The PMP side of me gets to kick in a bit and organize everything. I've already made a list of lists I need to make. I've started a tracking spreadsheet for the contents of each box. I really want the move to be easy but, as most people say, they never are. Ian and I had a freak out this weekend about our apartment. It's really filled to the brim with STUFF. It's pretty bad when you've got Ian wanting to organize everything and me wanting to just throw everything away. Here's my map of the house that I have numbered. Each box gets a room number and then a sequential number. FUN!

Max Quacks - Drunk Again At The Racetrack

Happy New Year!

It's officially 2011. I'm officially happy about that. 2010 was an interesting year for sure. First year of marriage. Bought a house. Got my PMP certification. Got to see my mom every quarter. Succeeded in throwing my sister a surprise party. Went to Disneyland. Missed Erik a ton. Helped throw a very awesome Pirate Party - arrrr! Had a very nice honeymoon in Seattle. Successfully surprised Ian with a mini-vacation. Didn't get too terribly sick this year. Got to see two of the cutest nephews in the world - Cooper and Max and my sister and her husband. Survived the Boss From Hell.

I am looking forward to 2011 mainly because there is some good stuff happening! One year anniversary. Ian turns 25 and I stop feeling so old. =P I have a couple new trail books for our area. I am interested in exploring where I live a bit more than the few square miles I know. Work is becoming decent again. I think I will start to enjoy it once more. And, of course, our house will be finished. It is a source of both great stress and great pride. But it will be worth it. It is not as easy as we were thinking it was going to be. Eventually I will become a permanent resident in this country and I can feel settled a bit. One day I can begin the process of officially shedding the Hensley name and legally become Brittany Matheson. All in good time. =]

I don't normally make resolutions. Sometimes I make silly ones though... For instance, in 2011 I am going to finish posting and presenting all of our wedding photos. There are just so many that it's a bit overwhelming. I really want to be prepared for the move when it happens in July. We have the exact date that we will be moving so it to be fairly well planned. I am already making lists of lists I need to make. The PMP side of me is kicking in.

All I really want for 2011 is for the Matheson, Gates and Petty families to be safe, happy and healthy this year. And for The Willow to be completed... =P (our house).