August 2012 – a hippie with a minivan

Quebec City

Around my birthday (end of July) we had some friends in town from Nelson, BC. Not just friends, but Sharon was like a mom to me when I was little. So, on the day of my birthday, Simon took the day off and we headed to the Cabin to spend the day with my mom, Sharon and her boyfriend Al.

This is Sharon… I just adore her!

We had a great day, hanging out, talking and walking around the property.

The boys took to Al who is a history buff and they were immersed in conversation all day long. They enjoyed the time with him and Sharon so much that they said that they want to move to Nelson soon so that they could be closer to them to be able to hang out more often. I can’t wait to move!

(My mom, Al, Sharon, me and the kids)

Sharon and my mom… friends for life…

A couple days later they were all heading to Quebec City for a few nights and I thought it would be a great opportunity to see them again and be hang out together.

Simon was OK with it, and I knew that Willa would be OK for a night, so early Saturday morning I headed to Quebec City on my own to go meet up with them. I finally arrived around lunch time, parked the car where I could leave it over night as the place that they were staying was easily accessible and without parking. We had lunch and then walked around old Quebec city. It was a perfect day and not too hot which made things easier.

We had supper and then walked a bit more and waited for the Fireworks before heading on the Ferry over to the Levis, where the apartment they were renting was. It was such a beautiful night and the Chateau Frontenac looked absolutely beautiful all lit up. above old Quebec City.

We talked on the balcony until it was much later, looking at Old Quebec until all of the lights went out and then finally headed to bed.
The next morning we had a late start as we waited for Sylvain, my mom’s boyfriend, to come meet up with us for the day.

We all piled into my minivan as it had the most space (and air conditioning) and we headed to Ile D’Orleans, a historical residential and agricultural Island just off the shore of Quebec City. We had lunch… which for me was an amazing Steak Tartare and then headed back to the van to tour around the island.

It was another beautiful day and we rode and stopped for a drink (Virgin for me) and then rode some more and stopped at a beach to get our feet wet.

Sharon and Al got a bit more then their feet wet though.. 🙂

We then headed to the Montmorency falls which is right at the foot of the bridge coming off the Island. These falls might look small in the pictures, they were also were very dry as we have not had enough rain this year but they are 1 1/2 times the height of the Niagara Falls at 275 feet. Stairs going up the mountain next to it, show the height a bit more…

After walking around a bit and talking pictures and talking I brought everybody back to Sylvain’s truck and we said our goodbyes and I started to head back home.

It was strange not having kids around, but it felt really good to just relax and think of only myself. I can’t say that I am not tempted to do it again one day…

Writer's block

What a better topic to write about when you are right in the middle of it. I seriously sit down to write and nothing comes up and because nothing comes, I get discouraged and then just started ignoring the blog altogether and that is not something that I want to do.

I love blogging, I love putting my thoughts down and sharing them with people. I love being able to look back and see who I was just a few years ago and how things have changed. But in the last few weeks, each time I sit down to actually write, my mind just goes blank. I am seriously forcing myself to write this right now!

I think that a big part of it is that I feel like we are at such a stand-still with our plans and I had a few weeks that I was feeling very down and depressed. I was not wanting to do anything and when I look back everything feels like a blur. It is not the head space that I want to be in at any time.

think a part of it is that we are still waiting for the house to sell. We are selling “by owner” and at first I was quite aggressive at getting the word out and advertising, and we did have quite a few visits but as time went by the visits dwindled and instead of fighting back with more advertising, I got discouraged and started to hide under the figurative rock. I had not planned on still being here by summer, so when Summer arrived it felt like we were failing at our plans. Though I knew that it could take time, I hadn’t thought that it would be taking this much time. So, we got the pool ready, started a small garden and the kids started summer camp and life went on and I just felt more and more down. So up to about 2 weeks ago, I felt I was in a daze.

Finally I snapped out of it and though I am not completely myself yet, I am feeling a lot better and more optimistic. I have started advertising the house again a bit more and we are thinking of perhaps finding a way we can get it listed on a larger site or with MLS but not exactly going with an agent. We really don’t have enough equity for that 6% commission and having a bit for ourselves and with Simon quitting his job when we move, we really need that money.

I have also started changing my diet a bit more and really want to start losing weight again and hopefully by doing so I will start regaining a bit of energy and feeling less sluggish.

One of the things that I have been taking pleasure in again is having a cup of tea.

Simon bought me a beautiful hand blown glass teapot for my birthday with 4 small double cups that keep the tea hot and your hands cool.

This flower tea was an amazing treat to the eye and the palette.

I am going to be making an effort to get back to blogging.. I truly have so much to write about… we went to the cabin and say a few special creatures, I went to Quebec city all by myself! made a doll carrier, made new dehydrated treats and so much more…

Ten!

Wow… I am really late on this post.
On July 16th my first born, my oldest son, turned ten. TEN! I have a kid in the double digits now!

Ten years ago I was a brand new mom, just getting used to breastfeeding and having this little baby to take care of.

(Here he is at 20 hours old… wow! feels like a lifetime ago)

He loves video games, bounce parties on the trampoline, swimming, biking and being a big brother.

Like every year, we went out for his birthday and he chose his gifts. We had a last-minute change of plans because the hospital had scheduled an ultra-sound and check-up for Wilhelmina so we had to head to Montreal bright and early. While I was at the hospital with Willa (we got good news and everything is looking great), the boys and Simon went out for breakfast and then met up with us after. Xavier had already gotten a new watch and a book and then chose two Halo Mega Blocks sets as his gifts and then we went out for a late lunch and headed back home and had cake.
His choice this year was my White (Butter Cookie) Cake with Vanilla bean buttercream frosting and strawberries on top.

Happy Birthday Xavier… You are growing up into an amazing little man…