Confabulation with the Freemans

Sometimes I write down things we say during our days that make me giggle. I had quite the list so I thought I'd share it with y'all.

We were talking about a new couch pillow cover I found at a garage sale 
Mark: These pillow are kinda scratchy hey? 
Beth: Yah. You kinda need to stay away from them. 
Mark: Seems like a great selling feature. 

*

Talking about organ systems (I was studying biology) 
Beth: If I had to get rid of one (organ system) I'd choose reproductive system, cause it's the only one you wouldn't completely die without. 
Mark: I'd choose muscular. 
Beth: …. 

*

I cringe most of the time Mark puts his feet on me, especially when they're cold. Even though he lets me do it to him all the time… I'm a terrible person. After one instance where I particularly cringed: 
Mark: You have to love all of me. Including what's below my ankles. 

*

Beth: If you had fifty million dollars what would you wanna buy?
Mark: I'd wanna get prosthetic arms and legs. 
Beth:…. what?!!? 

*

Beth: Whoa.. look at how foggy it is over there. 
Mark: It looks like there's mysteries going on over there. 

*

Beth: What were you just doing?
Mark: Tai chi. 

*

Drinking from one of those large mouth nalgene thingies..
Beth: It's really hard for me drink water bottles like these on jiggly trains. 
Mark: We're on a bus. 

*

Beth: I wonder how many people die every day in NYC… Think about it, if there's thirty million people living there… that's like the population of Canada.. think of how many people die every day in Canada… Probably thirty. 
Mark: I like how many numbers you're pulling outta your butt. 
*
Here is a crappy video of a video that Levi Binder took of Mark dancing last year that I love... 

Buying Bulk, the Job Hunt, and Crossing Traffic

Hi guys! 

Things I have learned in the kitchen so far: 

I have an ongoing grocery list on the side of my fridge, so when I run out of something I write it on there straight away. This is to avoid me going to the store and assuming we're out of something and coming home to realize we have three 2 litre milks in the fridge already. Done that a couple too many times. 

Also, newsflash! Some things you (I) need to buy in bulk.. such as: 

Onions - I've been buying individual onions for so long… Individual ones are freakily gigantic (cut my finger real bad cutting one last week) and I always use half and have to wrap the second half for later… in a big bag of onions they are a more natural size and cheaper. Done and done. 

Basmati rice. I've been buying these puny bags every two weeks. Wussup with that? Bought a HUGE BAG this week. 

I WISH I could find arborio rice in bulk… we eats a looottt of risotto 'round these parts. 

I also wish I could afford to buy a 4 litre bottle of gin. I want g & t's all summer long! I'm obsessed. 

I'm trying to think of more things I can start buying in bulk.... 

Hey, it really annoys me when I know I have something and can't find it in the kitchen. I KNOW for a fact I have a bag of potatoes around here. I was just in the kitchen trying find them muttering aloud 'Where ma taters at??!' and I still can't find my taters. Sometimes I'm scared being home so much during the day is making me go a little crazy. 

More job applications today! I have yet another interview tomorrow at 11, and one on friday as well. I have so many call backs from these recruitment agencies who are filling positions for big companies. I'm just confused with the whole thing. Do I call them back to follow up? Also, so many job postings don't end until the end of June. Don't they know I can't wait that long? C'mon guys, get your crap together. 

Does anyone else get nervous when they're crossing a crosswalk at a packed intersection? I always get these butterflies, like I'm in a one-man play, and all those vehicles paid to be there, to watch me walk. I get super aware of my arms swinging at my sides, usually resulting in a slowww dowwwwn of the arm swing which probably looks super weird. I feel like I might trip any second or stub a toe. I usually end up taking out my phone and looking at it mindlessly to feel aloof, like I don't notice them. It's also annoying when you're about to jay walk and you're all .. watching the cars, choosing your moment to lunge into the street, and then a car slows down and holds up traffic and you have to run awkwardly across the street in front of them and look grateful at the same time. Guh… let me live my life! But thank you for the gesture, kind and thoughtful stranger.

Hmm.. post without pics? Say it ain't so! Here are some of Mark & I for all the grandmothers and mothers reading :) 

 Mark is really enjoying that peck on the cheek, hey?

I got a new app that I was playing with in the car. I kept adding these little doodles to photos and showing them to Mark. He said 'Uh huh' a lot, which means he LOVES them I think.

We went on a lil' neighbourhood walk. Mark wanted to show me this bridge. The water was high. I took a picture as a record. We will return at the end of summer and record it again. Yes! 

Our busy, un-matching bed in all its clashing glory. Yes, that is Darth Vader you see on the bed spread.

At the zoo. 

At T & G's rehearsal dinner in Vancouver this weekend. 

My peeps. Nuff said.

Car 2 go! Yah! 

This morning we went out for a little bite to eat after we did our taxes. It was a bit chilly to sit outside but we did anyway cause it was packed inside. Those sammies were real good! Thanks Wurst Boulangerie. 

Ok, I'll go make supper now. 

It's Monday again.

Oh heeey!

These days have been filled with leisurely walks, thrift store shopping, discovering Calgary in the spring, watching Arrested Development, library visits, eating popcorn and sleepovers in the living room.

Since discovering our neighbourhood library and getting library cards last week we've been back twice. They have everything there guys! I'm never downloading another movie... they have them all! And so many documentaries. It's amaaazing. Today I picked up 'The Meaning of Marriage' by Timothy Keller (on recommendation from a few friends) and also, I'm downloading an iBook of 'The Hour I First Believed' (the library copy was falling apart) by Wally Lamb, because oh. my. goodness I LOVED 'I Know This Much is True' by him. So addictive. Very long. But verrry addictive, see? I also finally picked up 'The Book of Negroes' by Lawrence Hill which I've never read (gasp!) This book has literally been starring at me from friends bookcases and bookstores in the airport for years.

The job search continues. I have heard back from one place so that's good. Interview on friday. This is so nerve wracking, by the way! I kept checking my email obsessively, feeling quite slighted when I hadn't heard anything, until Mark told me to stop cause it was the weekend and no one works on the weekend. I applied to Apple. Teehee.

I found this cart at a garage sale for $1.00, isn't that insane? 100 cents.  

Then I painted it and I love it so much! I can't decide where to put it. I might put plants on it and leave it in the kitchen. But it also is sweet for putting snacks on. So many options. 

I found this bright red/orange ottoman at MCC this weekend. It's so great! I also found an HBC blanket for 12 bones. Not bad..

I've been slowly collecting a random assortment of 'pots' for outside and today I hunted down a nursery in the area. So far I have rosemary, mint, parsley, edamame, chives, & strawberries and some annuals. I think they've really upped our curb appeal. When I was taking these pots out of the car this afternoon, one fell onto the ground and smashed. I thought it was the mushroom pot (my FAVE) and my heart dropped and out loud I was like 'NOOOOO!!' in the middle of our street, and then I realized it was just the other plain beige one, and mushroomy was safe and sound. I then felt really guilt for being so happy it was the other pot that got smashed. In conclusion, both pots were both beautiful in their own way.

I found these sandals at Bibles for Mission. They are so comfy, I love them. Bibles for Mission is great, all their clothing items are one price, for example, all the dressed are $4.99. Value Village kinda pisses me off lately. I couldn't find any dresses for under $10.00 and lots were $19.99. That's not even that cheap and they smell funny. Not worth it, VV. 

$3.00... but they're a little tight. I might stretch them out, or give them to a friend who has smaller feet. Which is pretty much every single one of my friends. 

Like my oddly tanned feet? Thanks Cali.

He's pretty handsome, no? 

We've seen so much more of our neighbours in the past week than we did all winter. I love this nice weather. The beach volleyball courts nearby have been packed. I can't wait till they fill up the outdoor pool. We need to buy some park things.. like a frisbee, nerf football (Mark says) and a tennis racket for me. 

He's like 'C'mon girl! This way!' 

The flowers are so pretty! I got to be home in BC for Spring and now it's all happening in Calgary. It'll be like two months of blooming flowers. The streets smell so good from the lilac trees. Oh, nature, you're too much! 

What we've been up to! Anyone else been watching Arrested Development? I can't wait to talk about it with peeps. Some episodes are so funny (Gob, Tobias) and other aren't as funny, but still have their moments (George Sr.), but all in all its just so nice to see them the whole gang again! 

I'm also currently listening to the new She & Him album. Typically it takes me a couple (dozen) listens to like their stuff, but once I do, I'm in love! It's weird. There is so much new music lately and it's overwhelming and awesome. So far, I love Justin Timberlake and the new Daft Punk. 

Ok. 

Bye friends!

Calgary, is that you?

Home. 

Half an hour after I stepped through our front door I was on the floor in our bedroom ripping things out of my suitcase, bawling. Mark sat behind me saying 'hey, hey' to get me to turn around and stop. This was towards the end of a pretty big argument we had. I was overcome with disappointment and Mark was drowning in unworthiness. We fought, we cried, we talked again about our expectations, we made up and hugged sitting cross legged on the ground for a really long time. Two hours later, I posted a picture on Instagram of us happily cuddled up on the couch with the letters H-O-M-E scrawled across our faces. I posted the picture and then suddenly felt like such a crock. It's funny how little people know about your real lives you know? Not that we weren't happy in the moment, not that I wasn't again reminded how good it is to curl up next to the one you love and in a way I think we needed to have that argument, as much as it took the happy haze of homecoming away for a little while; it was us and we made it through to the other side. It's just funny the things we choose to share with the world. But seriously how acceptable would it be to post a picture mid argument saying 'Mark and I are fighting'.. people would be so uncomfortable, right? I think so. I don't know what I would think, it's just so far from the social media reality we've created. It'd be pretty cool though. 

Yesterday Mark had the day off and we slept in, puttered about, went for coffee (root beer for Mark) went for a walk, got library cards, ate popsicles and watched a movie with wine and popcorn (again, root beer for Mark) and then went to sleep on our futon in the living room (Mark's Dad is staying with us). It was a good day and I was acutely aware of how much I was enjoying it. I used to not enjoy this type of day, would constantly feel like we needed to be 'doing something important', but i'm slowly realizing/allowing these days to be important as well. Days where busyness is far away and enjoying each other is our only task for the day. How lucky. 

I need to find a job. Desperately. I need to finish my online courses. Even more desperately. Guys, I put every single important tax related piece of mail I had somewhere in the house before I left 5 weeks ago.. every T4… and now I can't find them. This is the worst! I've been tearing everything apart and they are nowhere to be found. What would possess me to do that? I'm so forgetful. It's starting to be a problem. We need our tax return. Crap. Also, it's super rainy in Calgary which I'm not used to and feels awfully west coastish. I am resisting the urge to jump on a plane for one last visit to Halifax before real life sets in. I think Mark would kill me though and I really don't want to leave him again. Resisting...This last paragraph has been a list of my problems.

Meeeanwhile, here are some things that I photographed on our floor whilst unpacking. 

First... we have this crazy chocolate stash thanks to Mark's per diem down in California. To be honest, I'm not a chocolate person. So anyone in the Calgary area... come and git it (with a visit).

This is some sweet Japanese stationary supplies I picked up in San Francisco.

Thrifted finds. It was a little bit ironic, when Mark and I were having our lil' argument, one of the things I wrenched out of the suitcase and threw onto the bed was this 'Home Sweet Home' picture. We giggled about it later. 

              

I came home to see a new globe has been added to our collection, thanks to the amazing garage saling skills of Mr. Peter Freeman

I found this sweet jacket in Portland. 

I picked up some prints in Portland as well. In hindsight it's a bit funny that I chose this bird print, since I am really quite frightened of birds and find these two to look a little angry and scary. Mark loves them though, so that's good. 

Reminders, y'know? 

Gardening themed art. I can't wait to plant some stuff now that I'm home! 

More reminders.

I put these carnations between the pages of a book before I left, and came home to these perfectly pressed little darlings. Happy.

On our walk yesterday. Sometimes it's a challenge getting a good picture of this guy. But usually not. 

Our library! And guess what? It's built into the side of a hill, so there is basically a park up top. Hobbit library. We like it. There was a pretty librarian with a few wispy grey hairs who set us up with library cards, and she was just so librarian-y, we loved it. 

P.S the new Hillsong United album 'Zion' is so, so good. Love it. 

BC for a bit.

I'm sitting in my parents living room at the moment. I just got back from saying goodbye to Mark at the airport and sending him on his way to Calgary, with my credit card, debit card, and license secretly stowing away in his backpack. Whoopsies! Luckily I married a patient man who has agreed to courier them to moi asap. I love him. While I was leaving the airport I kept turning around and waving again, and blowing kisses, and he did this hand signal that he grew up with that means 'I love you' and I tried to do it back but the keys in my hand made it pathetic and even though the sliding doors had just closed I could see him bending forward at the waist, laughing. I just love that he was standing amongst strangers in the security line at the airport and he just laughs out loud without restrain. His joy brings me joy.

I've had the best time in BC so far! One more week and I'll be back in Calgary, looking for a job, finishing up my online courses, and being a lil' homemaker again. :) I'm so blessed to have this time. I know it, you know? We were blessed to have time in California and meet wonderful people. I'm blessed that I was able to work while being home. I was beyond blessed to see two beautiful friends get married this past weekend, what a celebration! I was so happy to have Mark with me for the past four days. I'm looking forward to a road trip to Portland this weekend with my best girls, and seeing two more friends join together forever. Sigh...  living is so good. Here are some unchronologically ordered pictures of lately. 

Even got to see the scholarly Elizabeth Ashton in Vancouver because she headed off to join her man in the bush for another season. 

 There is wisteria growing in that tree! Pretty HEY? 

The venue for Lisa and Levi's wedding. Pretty HEY?!

I was so happy to be home in time to see the cherry blossoms! My fave. 

Tessa's new abode is my new favourite place. These two....

Tessa's only just moved it, but her house is so lovely already. 

She found this in her garage, what?! Jelly. 

The best place for BBQ's on unseasonably warm May evenings. 

We were famished after our bike ride. 

 Gin and tonics all day long. 

 We went to Hemlock for Lisa's staggette, which was so fun! 

Mark and I stayed in the guest room at Atangard after the wedding, which was nostalgic and awesome and included a delicious breakfast and surprise hearts on our bedroom door.  

Been spending some qual time with this one. 

Spent part of Mother's Day with this lovely lady and her brood. They are the best of the best. 

It's a good thing I offered to drive home after our visit with the Prangs. He was twitching and I was singing to tunes on The Beat.

Family time at the Mans'. We were missing Bruce and Lydia and Eli to the max. We try not to think of it, but it was mentioned numerous times. 

My mom and me, twenty five years ago. I hope my arms are that skinny after two little ones. I'm still always losing socks... that hasn't changed. 

I found this picture on Mark's phone and liked it. This was at Big Sur in California. Good time for a nap, ammiright?

Now I'm off to my... wait for it... FOURTH dentist appointment in two short weeks. Boo. Ciao for now mes amis.