Royal Quiz

I am ashamed to admit that I am not doing very well on this quiz.... yikes!

Things I've noticed lately...

• Sliced tomatoes with salt sprinkled on them is an acceptable and delicious dinner
• I no longer crave chocolate :(
• Changing your uniform at work causes a lot of ruckus….I've had more people stop to talk to me today than ever
• Apparently afternoon tea is all the rage… when Pete and I lived in Victoria, we would partake once a month - haven't done tea in Ottawa yet, perhaps during the Tulip fest we'll find a cute tea house
• I love that my new city has a festival dedicated to Tulips
• After growing up in a very Conservative city, and having the PM as my MP, I think I've actually changed my tune for this next election
• Baby furniture / accessories are rather expensive
• My job is very Excel heavy - somehow this is really exciting to me.. I guess I'm a closet Excel geek

Epidemic

So it seems there is somewhat of an epidemic going on, first here, then here, also here, even here and a good number of my facebook friends are also signed up - so I thought what the heck, why not?

I'm speaking of course about babies…

I've been married for over a year now… lived in the same location as my husband for only 4 months (that would be thanks to different military postings) and am currently 3.5 months pregnant.  Yep, correcto-mundo - the Sands family is growing by one in October. 

The thought suddenly hit me on Wednesday when I was staring at the fuzzy black ultrasound screen watching a teeny tiny baby (8.8 cm long) move around, kick his/her legs, open and close their mouth and generally live it up inside me - what a bizarre concept.  I did have a few symptoms but nothing that really made it hit home until I saw that image, which is now of course up on the fridge and greets me every time I walk by.

I'm so lucky to have a husband that is beyond excited and has already begun chanting "Go Leafs Go" to my tummy (I had to marry a Leaf fan - ughhh).  Plus a fantastic family of in-laws who live close by and are ready to help in any way - it also helps to have a sister in law who is a soon-to be nurse and adores babies (jackpot!).  The plan however, so far is a bit off kilter when it comes to dates - Pete goes away on training Sept to Nov, Baby S comes in early Oct, and the house is ready mid Nov…. But hey, that’s how we roll apparently - never a dull moment for us.

Giveaway - Sony W series Walkman

Because everyone loves a good giveaway....Also, if you are into running (as most of you are I suspect) check Laura's running blog... full of all sorts of neato stuff.

Weekend Update - a day late...

Since my last post, life has been quite busy with the new, new job. My life
still has some "Devil Wears Prada" parts to it, I no longer fetch coffee
for people, and act on their every whim. However, I do work for another
"strong female personality" and everything that entails. Luckily, I
have others in the office to balance that out. My new job puts me back
in uniform - hallelujah for not picking out a "work outfit" every
morning, and goodbye to bad hair days. Plus, my health benefits are back and
my pay went up, and I wear combat boots to work everyday (except civie
Fridays of course).... I love being in the military.

In non-work life, Pete and I have been busy visiting friends - more
people swung through Ottawa these fast few months, and a few repeats!
As well as been busy visiting family - all the in-laws came up and we
went down - more visiting to come at Easter :) We also started the
"house building" process. We meet this evening with the builder to
finalize our floor plan changes and then later on, another meeting to
pick out the finishes inside. We've been told several times how
flexible the builder is regarding moving walls and changing parts of the
house - for free! As long as we don't change the "structure" we are
good to go. Hopefully we'll end up with a house that has all we need
and isn't as cookie cutter as the others in the neighbourhood of the
same model.

This past weekend Pete and I were able to sneak away for a mini holiday to Mt Tremblant. I had visited once before with a friend from Montreal,
but hadn't spent much time seeing what they had to offer. This time, Pete was able to find a great hotel located right on the main square (at the foot of the ski hill - check the view). When we got to our room - read: condo suite - our living room windows opened to the square where they had a big outdoor concert happening. I felt a bit badly for telling Pete that I thought the room was even nicer than our apartment- then even make you a gourmet hot breakfast in the morning! ! If only we could
bring it all home with us! After exploring the ski hill shops, we ventured down on the other side of the lake to the "village" for dinner. We opted for Italian (can't go wrong with Italian) and ended up having the best Spaghetti Carbonara of my life! If you do go to Mt Tremblant, try the Resto Ital Delli!

Back in Ottawa, and back to reality we are dealing with overcast skies and thundershowers.... At least April showers bring May flowers... or at the very least, Tulip festivals :)