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August 5, 2003
Before I begin, a disclaimer:
Please forgive me if my entries are scattered and full of run-on sentences. I've decided that I'm just going to type them into the Entry box as I write, without doing up a properly written and edited version beforehand. So things will be very off-the-cuff and will probably read like verbal diarrhea despite my being an editor!
The Long Weekend
This was a three-day weekend for us Canadians. Ahh, bliss. We stayed home on Friday night in order to avoid the traffic, and went out for dinner. We went to a Japanese/sushi restaurant, where I proceeded to feel like a loser for ordering all the "safe" foods like chicken teriyaki and vegetable tempura. Since I can't eat sushi, Chris ate more than his fair share. It was all delicious though, and nice to have a meal out. Then, against all my good sense, I let Chris choose the movie rental. We watched "Old School," which certainly had its funny moments, but was basically silly. I do admire Will Farrell (and other SNL alum) for being able to make a total ass of himself and have it all captured on film. So that was our Friday night. Oh, and lots of cleaning. Apparently there are certain members of Chris's family who look upon our house as a Toronto hotel. I have nothing against house guests, especially those who book in advance and are mindful of the fact that our house is very, very small. Well, ever since Chris's brother, his wife and their three kids moved back to the province (about 2 hours' drive from us) they have been taking full advantage of their proximity to the big city and make lots of day trips for sporting events, theatre, shopping, whatever. The only problem is, they often call us in the evening to say that it's too late for them to drive back to their house, would we mind terribly if they all (yes, all five of them) crashed at our house?? And this weekend was the worst - they called Friday night to see if we could leave a spare key somewhere so that they could spend Saturday night at our house (yes, while we were away). I was so annoyed, as the house was a mess, the beds all still dirty from the last guests, etc. So we did a mad scramble and cleaned up before bedtime, and left a key outside so they could let themselves in. Grrrrr.
So anyway, Saturday was our one-year anniversary, and in the morning we left bright and early and arrived at the IL's house in time for lunch. My MIL put on a lovely spread of quiche (yum), salad, fresh rolls, etc. She'd also made a lemon cake in honour of our anniversary. It was all lovely. They presented us with a gift of a scrapbook, all filled in with pictures of us as babies, children, teens, then the early days of our relationship, special events like our university graduation day together, vacations, then finally a few wedding photos. I was very touched. She also showed me a few baby items she's working on already. I had told her a while ago that we're going with a red and white baby room since it's a nice unisex colour scheme that can be adapted to be more feminine (add some floral patterns) or masculine (throw in some more blue) later on. So she's making a beautiful red and white patchwork crib-sized quilt. She's also knitting a two-piece white baby outfit with little red hearts on the front. Very cute.
Later that afternoon we arrived at my parents' house and they gave us a card with $200 for a really nice dinner out that night. We puttered around and soon it was time to go out for dinner. We had chosen a nice little Italian place downtown in the Byward Market area. It was small and cosy, just what I was in the mood for. We both had the escargot appetizer (made with gorgonzola cheese and assorted gourmet mushrooms), which was delicious. There was wonderful fresh bread and rolls to start too. Then Chris had gnocchi and I had lamb chops, one of my favourites. Usually when you order lamp chops at a restaurant, you get three of four chops. Well, my plate came and it was enormous! There were EIGHT chops, and large ones at that. I actually ate them all, and didn't touch my potatoes and veggies. I felt like a caveman. So delish. Chris had Creme Caramel for dessert and I wanted the Creme Brulee (sorry, can't do the accents) but it had a lot of booze baked right in so I opted for the fresh fruit plate, which was light and refreshing after my giant carnivorous dinner.
We slept in on Sunday morning and woke up to the smell of a big brunch being made by my mom. Bacon and eggs, sausages, toasted french bread and homemade strawberry jam. Most of that day was lazy. Chris went golfing and planned on going out with his friends afterwards, so I had invited my friend over for dinner that night. The day was spent sitting around inside (it was really hot and muggy), baking and just hanging with my mom. In the afternoon my dad and I took the dogs for a long run, and I managed to slip in my flip-flops and fall into a mud puddle. It was rather comical, as I had a large water bottle in my hand, and I must have flung it into the air to free my hands for catching my fall. I was already getting up and assessing my muddy clothes when we heard a big "clunk" ten feet away. My water bottle had been airborne all that time.
When we got home, my friend Laurie had already arrived and we sat on chairs in the backyard overlooking the river and just talked. She is getting married in three weeks, and I'm in the wedding party, so there was lots to talk about. I also spilled my beans about being pregnant. She was so excited, if not surprised (I'd dropped a few hints about us trying this summer). We're both hoping that when the dresses come in two weeks, everything still fits. Eek. So, since I've already written about all the other food, I might as well rhyme off what we had for dinner that night: Chicken, ribs, yellow beans (fresh from the farm stand), broccoli, corn on the cob (again, fresh, local), homemade raspberry pie. Definitely a good weekend for food!
Monday: Meeting Jennifer B. of Mom's Today
Jenn and I had planned to get together for a coffee (even though neither of us drinks coffee, apparently!) on this day since we were both going to be in the Ottawa area visiting our parents. I had her number, and I called her at about 10:30 that morning. She sounded much more bubbly than I expected, and we arranged to meet at a Second Cup coffee shop around noon. I wasn't going to have much time, as we had to make the long drive back to Toronto in long-weekend traffic that afternoon. I pulled into the parking lot and had that funny feeling of wondering if the person you were meeting was going to see you first, or vice versa. I walked in, and immediately saw Jenn sitting in a comfy armchair. I waved. She got up to greet me, and she looked just like her pictures: short, cute, flippy blonde hair, big smile, and fun. The freckles were a surprise though. We immediately ordered hot chocolate (me) and tea (Jenn) and laughed about the fact that neither of us drank coffee. We settled in, and I was suprised at how easy conversation came. I am usually quite shy when I meet new people, and it takes me a while to come out of my shell. I like to think I was pretty chatty though - I guess Jenn will have to say either way. Anyway, we talked for a good 45 minutes before one of the cafe employees came up to us and said there was a phonecall for me (I don't have a cell phone). It was Chris, calling to say I'd taken his car keys and that I needed to come back to my parents' house, rather than leave for Toronto, when I was done with Jenn. It was kind of funny. I'm sure Jenn must have thought he was checking up on me to make sure I hadn't been murdered or kidnapped by this mysterious internet friend. So anyway, we talked for another 45 minutes or so, and I had to go. I'm sure I could have sat there all afternoon and gabbed, but alas, I had a long drive ahead of me. Jenn is funny, warm, and I guess I'd use the word ebullient to describe her. She's full of energy, or at least that's what impression I had after a short 1-1/2 hours with her. Definitely someone I'd be friends with in real life. With any luck, she and her hubby and son Sam will be moving to Ottawa sometime, and I'll get to hang out with her on a semi-regular basis. That would be very cool. The rest of Monday was spent in the car, not much to say about that!
Pregnancy symptoms, etc.
Since this is a pregnancy diary, maybe I should actually throw in a few tidbits about the pregnancy! Today I'm 9 weeks, 4 days, and I feel totally fine. In fact, I am starting to wonder if I am even pregnant at all! My first "real" midwife appointment isn't until September 3rd, and I hope to get some sort of concrete evidence that there is indeed something going on in there. I think I get an ultrasound then, and I imagine she'll do all the other basic prenatal appointment stuff too. I am looking forward to the ultrasound to make things feel "real." I'm almost tempted to go out and buy some more pregnancy tests just to ensure that I'm not imagining all this. Mind you, I'm really grateful that I'm not barfing my guts out. I feel bloated and I think I've put on some (more) pudge, but nothing is centred over my belly at all. My pants feel tight all over. I want to wear sweat pants (or apartment pants) all the time. I wish!
Until next time, thanks for reading and come visit me at my Talk to Me board.
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