Just Below 63

The Prince is travelling!

2012-02-10T00:44:00.002-05:00

If you don't know already how crazy I really am, I'm going to solidify it for you. I found a stuffed red eyed tree frog that we called Prince Naveen. I wanted him to be a travelling frog and now he is. My goal is to get him to as many places as possible. I just want people to have fun with him the way we did. And of course, he went to the Yukon and is having a blast! Check him out on my side bar. You know you want to. Seriously. Go now. Stop reading. GO!

Oh my......

2012-02-09T23:43:00.003-05:00

I am a huge fan of the reality show The V.oic.e. I love the concept behind the show, and since I am a HUGE Blake Shelton fan, it made it a lot easier to watch. Now that the second season is on, I find there is a new Adam in my life. I didn't really know who Adam Levine was before the show. Yes, I knew his music, but never truly appreciated the package that voice came out of. And boy, it's a yummy looking package, don't ya think??

Gotta love Sackville people

2012-02-07T22:01:00.002-05:00

Sackville, Nova Scotia is where I grew up. For as long as I can remember, my dad would spend his spare time at the Sackville Arena, home of the Jr. B Blazers. Dad went from being a fan, to well respected member of the club. He travelled everywhere with the team, never missed a game, even if it meant travelling 4 hours to see it. Mom washed and repaired the jerseys, my brother helped with the equipment, my sister sang the canadian anthem at the home games, and I sold tickets at the door and the 50/50. When dad started working at arena, he continued to do as much as he could with the club. When he died, (which was a Friday), the following Monday was a home game for the Blazers and they had a moment of silence for him at the game. On his obituary, it was requested in lieu of flowers, donations could be made to the club. He loved it that much. So, when Joey started hockey here, I really had a bit of a hard time with it. This is something Dad should have been here to see. I don't think that way very often, but this is one of those times that it really really hit me that he's not here and he should be. Both Joey and Alan are in hockey this year, and I know he's watching and is very proud. The hockey here in town is, well, it's a small town. Coaches are volunteers and are stretched very thin. It is not unusal for a practice to not have a coach. The pre-novice this year only have 3 players, Joey and 2 other boys in his class. Unfortunately the interest just isn't here in this town for hockey as it used to be, and these guys are getting in on the very end of it. I don't see a lot of hockey in Joe's future, not if we are here. It's just not going to happen. Anywho, back to the jersey story. I emailed the current coach of the Sackville Blazers, who I know quite well and was coaching when my dad was still alive. I explained the hockey (or lack of) situation here, and told him that the little boys here don't even have jerseys. I asked him if there was any way to get a little jersey for Joe of the Blazers. I offered to pay for it if this was something that could be done. I received an email last week, asking me what number I wanted on it and where to mail it. Since Joe is a Sydney Crosby fan, 87 was the only number I could think of. And this is what showed up in the mail yesterday. I am going to enlarge this picture and mail it back to the coach, and when I go back there this summer I am going to visit him to say thank you in person.

I miss you Dad, but I know you're very proud right now.

Where did my baby go?

2012-02-04T22:13:00.001-05:00

Yep, those are my kids, racing around the yard on quads. Joey is now big enough to ride the mini quad. Damn why are my kids growing up so fast??

Happy birthday Dad

2012-02-01T00:20:00.003-05:00

Today (well technically yesterday if you look at the date this posted, but as I am typing this it is still January 31st for another 40 minutes) my dad would have been 59. We would have joked that in one year he would turn the big 6-0, and we would probably be planning a big birthday party. When he turned 50, we rented plastic penguins and had them on his front lawn. For his 60th I would have strung big ugly panties and bras and we would have laughed. Instead, I had a little moment and sent my happy birthdays to heaven, when I hope he is celebrating with a great game of crib with my grandparents. My sister on the other hand burnt a lemon meringue pie and ate lifesavers for supper. To each his own. :)

Taking a break

2012-01-25T22:59:00.003-05:00

No, don't worry. It's from from blogging. It's from photography. I have all but stopped taking pictures in town. I initially stopped taking pictures because the unit that I was using is no longer available, which means I had no place to do indoor photography. I found that I was really busy with photography with the months leading up to Christmas, so much that when I was asked why I wasn't posting pictures of my own kids I was ashamed to admit I hadn't taken any. So I packed my camera away for a while. I used it when my inlaws were here for Christmas, and I hadn't touched it until the other day when the northern lights were out. I honestly had to go looking for my camera, because I couldn't remember where I had put it. I found I really enjoyed taking pictures of the lights, something up to this point I have never been able to do. My camera is really sophicasticated, with more bells and whistles than I ever thought I would use. But now I have decided to take my photography in a new direction. I had downloaded an amazing app showing all the ins and outs of my camera, and have spent the last couple nights curled up reading it. Hopefully by the time the summer comes I will be more knowledgable with this camera because we will be driving across Canada again and through the states. I also want to aggressively start a postcard business, and I'm hoping with more shots like the last northern lights one I did will help me get that going!

This was a shot I took just before Christmas during a family shoot I did for a friend. I forgot all about it until I was cleaning up my picture folder.

I LOVE this town

2012-01-23T13:06:00.003-05:00

What makes this so much better is Joey was with me watching the lights. We have made many sacrifices over the past 5 years, but nights where my son and I can watch the Northern Lights dance make it all worth it.

Vacation time is booked!

2012-01-15T15:36:00.010-05:00

We are driving back to Halifax this summer. I must admit I am super excited. We (and when I say we I mean Rob) bought a motorcycle last summer. Huh you say? Well, it looks like this:

We bought this for a steal (honestly, for about 1/5th of what we would have paid for the equivelant bike on the east coast). And before you ask, there this NOTHING wrong with it. It runs like a top. We decided we would buy this bike as an investment. We also decided that it is not feasible to keep this bike here, as we never know where we could be transferred. So, before we bought this bike we talked to my brother about storing this for us. We told him that he could use it, as long as he maintained it. He said this: We figure if we ever need to sell the bike, we can sell it on the east coast and have a tidy sum of money. So, we are going to be driving back to Halifax during the middle of July. I already know that a friend of mine who looks like this: Is also going to be in Halifax this summer, so I am really hoping that we can hook up. This is really exciting for me because she lives in Italy! I really want to see her little princess and my little prince together again! And of course, since we are driving through Ontario on the way back, I am really hoping we can detour so we can finally meet 2 little girls that look like this: I am currently in the process of trying to fill out the paperwork for our passports so we can drive through the states on the way there, so right now I look like this: But it will all be worth it. So for now, as it is currently -stupid outside right now, I'm going to be like a friend of mine, and spend the evening like this: But before I can do that, we made donairs for supper, which of course look like this: Have a good night everyone! And, if you're going to be in Halifax during the end of July, let me know!

My rant

2012-01-11T12:37:00.004-05:00

Alright, I promised those who saw it on FB a rant. I'm not nearly as worked up about it as I was last night, and I would have blogged last night but honestly I spend more time on the Ipad than I do at a computer and I can't really type on there. I am getting REALLY TIRED of society pushing weight loss on people. There, I said it. All you see on FB lately is "want to lose weight?" "Come join the 90 day challenge" and all you see on TV lately is commercials for "Jenny", "WW" whatever. If you want to lose weight, fine, do it. But STOP telling me I have to. I read many blogs online, and that seems to be most all are talking about. (Except you Kara, your story is different). Why can't people be fat AND happy? My kids love me, my husband adores me, my preschoolers don't care what I look like. For the most part, I eat healthy. You say I'm not healthy? Well, I'm in control of my own destiny. You think you're going to live longer than I am because you are skinny and I'm not? Skinny people die just as much as fat people. That's the one thing people cannot control. I'm a firm believer of when your time is up, it's up. You can't change that. So you might as well be happy. I will admit, I was obsessed with weight loss when I lived in the south. It's a totally different mentality here. In this community, people who haven't seem each other for a while don't greet each other with "boy, you look good, did you lose weight?" People here accept you for whatever package you come in. If you choose to change it, you are complimented. BUT, there is not the pressure that you would feel in other places to lose weight and keep it off. Not one person in the community that I live in is doing this "90 day challenge" crap. I don't need to spend 250.00 for powdered shakes and diet pills. If I want to lose weight, I will change my eating habits and physical activity level. If I want to spend the day playing video games with my kids when it's warm and sunny out, well I'm going to do it. I'm spending time with my kids. Would I go to the gym 6 days a week if I lived in the south? No freakin' way. No offence to those of you who do, but if I want to exercise I would rather do it by getting outside and playing with my kids. Or going for a walk with my husband. Or better yet, going for a walk with my Ipod. I HATE this time of year because weight loss is always a new year's resolution for people and society tries to monopolize on it. I wish people could just be happy with who they are. You don't see that much anymore. There, I've said it. *steps down off soapbox*.

Prince Naveen

2012-01-01T20:27:00.002-05:00

Sometime last year i found a stuffed red eye tree frog at a 2nd hand store. My sister has always been a huge fan of tree frogs, so much that she has a tattoo of one on her back. My original plan for him was that he would travel back and forth between us and we would take pictures with him in different places. Well, it started out all right but we both dropped the ball on it. I took the prince with us when we went to halifax with us this summer and tried it again. I told his story to the twins, and even went as far as to buy his travel journal and start his first entry. I even made a blog about him to help follow his travels. I promised rebecca that I would start his adventure when I got back to Saskatchewan. Time got away from me and the prince remained in my house. When my mother in law was here last week she mentioned that Rebecca keeps looking at the blog to see if it has started. So, he is en route somewhere. If he ends up in your mailbox, please play along. My goal is to see how far i can get him to travel. For details and to see what he has been up to so far, check out his blog, its listed on my blog roll, The Adventures Of Prince Naveen. If you want to play, either leave a comment here on or his blog. You dont need to have kids to play, just a good sense of adventure and be willing to have fun.

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T00:23:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year everyone. What a year it has been. I would love to do a monthly play by play like Jody did, but I'm not that organized to remember. This has been a great year for my family, both immediate and extended. We had a fantastic trip to Nova Scotia last summer, with many memories made and lots and lots of pictures taken. I am not one for new years resolutions, but I have made some promises to myself that I plan on keeping. I have seriously dropped the ball on keeping a relationship with a special little girl in my life, that I made a promise to myself that I would change that. I plan on writing lots and lots of letters this year, and I am hoping that through this I can build the relationship that I want to be there. This coming year is going to be a great one. We have another trip planned to Nova Scotia this summer, but this time we will be driving back. I really need to get my arse in gear to get our passports, as we plan on driving down through the states. Colby really wants to see New York, so we thought, well, why not? It's on the way, kind of. I am thrilled that the same time we are there Valentina will also be there with her family, and her and I have a "secret outing" planned that I am just thrilled about. I also just found out that Jenn and David will also be there with their adorable Caelan, so I finally get to meet him. I will be meeting up with them in Digby, as there is a woman there named Jolene who is also a lifelong friend of Jenn's that I got to know when we stood in Jenn's wedding together. There is a joke between us about a girl named "Cindy", and of course when she found out I will be in NS the same time as Jenn she joked about me bringing Cindy along. Rob's parents were here for Christmas, and are already talking about when they come back next fall for hunting season. Our friends Adam and Genevieve are also toying with the idea of coming out here, which would thrill me to no end. Our house will be renovated this summer, which I can't wait for. Mom will be moving to NL sometime this year, as soon as her house sells, which means she will also be able to come visit us more often. Happy New Year all. Be good to each other.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T21:58:00.008-05:00

I have been keeping a secret since April. My in laws decided last year that they wanted to come spend Christmas with us and they didn't want to tell the boys. We (and when I say "we" I mean me) suggested to also keep Rob in the dark about this also. There has been many phone calls back and forth as the time got closer, trying to keep Rob in the dark. It ALMOST worked. I had to tell Rob the night before they got here that they were coming. I had made up a lie to convince him to take an extra day off work, as this would have been the last day his parents were here. HE decided to take my lie (that I wanted to take the boys out of town for the night) and turn it into a work trip and bring back supplies for his store. He was actually quite proud of this and was going to confirm with a distribution centre that we would be in the city at the beginning of the week to bring an order back for the store. Of course, I couldn't let him make this confirmation as in fact were NOT going out of town. We did keep the secret from the boys, and boy were they surprised to see their grandparents pull in the driveway! The only thing I regret (and I know you will be shocked by this) is that I didnt have my camera ready to catch their reactions.

Unfortunately these next pictures are backwards, but frankly I'm tired and I don't want to change the order.

A typical Schwartz Family picture. People in this community are very generous. We received ALL these trays of goodies from people in town. I LOVE it here. My mother in law was just astonished by it all. It seemed every 10 minutes someone was coming to the door with a tray for us. My christmas coffee.

We bought Colby and Ipod Touch. He has wanted one for the past few years but we felt he was now responsible enough for one.

Waiting impatiently for me to put the camera away so they could open presents.

Throwing colored reindeer food so the reindeers would know where we live.

The traditional Christmas eve "Twas the Night Before Christmas". Jean started this in 2001 when Colby was just a month old. Since we have lived in the north this tradition has been kept alive via webcam. It's the first time the boys have been on THIS side of the webcam.

Christmas eve seafood chowder. Our friends from across the street came over to share it with us. There was just one small bowlful left when we were done.

Reading stories on the Ipad.

Walking outside with Puppa. For some reason Joey kept falling over into the snowbank.

Baking with Gramma. We were making Maids of Honour, which is a cookie that Rob's grandmother always made and I love them. I have never been able to make them right so I asked Jean to make them so I could see how they were done. Unfortunately somehow between us talking and Joey "helping" we quadripuled the butter (it called for 1/2 cup and we put 2 cups) so they ended up as Maids of Honor Crumble instead of individual cookies. It only took a couple of hours of soaking the mini muffins tins to get them to come clean. Although my new clean oven it's so clean anymore!

The best book E.V.E.R

2011-12-17T19:42:00.002-05:00

If you have children, or know someone who has small children, buy them this book. This is BY FAR the best book I have ever read. Joey and I have read this book many times, and Joey has read it many times on his own. It is an amazing idea for a book. It promotes imagination and it's a truly magical book. I can't wait to sneak it to work on Monday to share it with my preschoolers.

I can't do it

2011-12-13T23:25:00.003-05:00

I just can't go private. I have taken a lot of time over the last 24 hours (more than I should have honestly) to think about this. I have had many comments on how this blog has helped people, whether it be dealing with the death of a parent or just looking for information on where I live. I've decided I'm not going to restrict the blog. I really do appreciate all the comments that I have received from each and every one of you who reads this. It really means a lot. And like Tammy said, I'm not going to let "a blip on the radar" restrict what I do. If you don't like what you see, there is a red X in the top right corner. Press it. :)

Going private

2011-12-12T20:06:00.003-05:00

It has come to my attention that some negative comments have been made about the blog. In order to keep blogging, I now want to control who is reading it. It honestly upsets me that I have to do this, but I REFUSE to have people insulting the content found here.

The 2 babies in my house

2011-11-25T13:30:00.002-05:00

One proud momma

2011-11-24T08:23:00.002-05:00

I am amazed how well my kids are doing. Colby is on the volleyball team and they are playing in a tournament today. Joey was awarded star student of the term yesterday. It was all I could do not to cry.

How I teach color recognition to 3 year olds

2011-11-10T23:50:00.001-05:00

New blog to follow!

2011-11-07T08:08:00.002-05:00

I love that more friends are getting into blogging. One of my closest friends (and certainly the friend I've had longer than any other) has started a blog. I now have it in my feed but you can check it out HERE.

Your daily laugh... brace yourself

2011-11-05T15:42:00.000-04:00

Happy 10th birthday

2011-11-04T14:54:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday Colby. I can't believe you're 10. You are turning into quite the little man. We love you very much.

4 years

2011-11-02T19:22:00.002-04:00

If you knew my dad, you would totally get this. If you didn't, I will enlighten you. Dad always had mints in the ashtray of his car. Specifically these pink mints. We called them "car mints" and still do to this very day.

Finally, a college graduate

2011-10-17T18:46:00.003-04:00

Looks like I'm 9 months pregnant here. Horrible shadows and a a gown that was miles to big. Luckily everyone looked like they were pregnant, including the woman who was sitting next to me who was in fact 8 months pregnant.

My partner in crime. Anna works with me at the preschool and honestly I was more proud of her graduating than of myself.

I finally graduated on Saturday from Lakeland College. For the past 2 years I have been completing my Early Childhood Education Certificate by correspondance. I graduated with Distinctions (which is a GPA of 4.0 or higher). The highest you could. And so did Anna. I will admit, I did get a little welled up looking out in the audience seeing Rob and the boys watching me. There's just something special about watching your husband and children watching you graduate. Life is good.

Seen today

2011-10-08T15:28:00.004-04:00

It's not the best quality picture I've ever taken, but I couldn't delete it. I just happened to look out the window and saw this guy playing in the wind (it's very windy here today). I quickly grabbed my camera and telezoom lens. This was taken from my doorstep, no tripod and I didn't want to miss it. I felt like it was watching me the entire time, and when I cropped this picture to take out some of the background (it's all sky), this is what I saw.

The most wonderful time of the year

2011-09-28T00:19:00.003-04:00

For a photographer that is. This is the scenery all around me, and tonight after Joey's bath we went outside on our front deck and watched the Northern Lights dance above our heads.

My preschool classroom

2011-09-11T23:08:00.003-04:00

I sit here, knowing that I SHOULD blog, but I don't know what to blog about. Well, that's not true. There are many things that I want to write about, but because of the nature of this public forum and the fact that anyone can read this stops me. I am having a personal moral dilemna right now. I am, for the first time in a VERY long time, alienated from members of my family. It bothers me, but because of the details around it there is no easy solution for this, and I fear that this is something that can never be resolved. Sitting in church this morning, the priest talked about forgiveness, and the importance of letting anger and hurt go and to forgive those who have wronged you and asking for forgivess of those you have wronged. It really got me thinking about my current situation. But again, I'm not one to air my "dirty laundry" on the blog, this is not why I started it in the first place. At times I am soo tempted to start another "anonymous" blog, so I can really write what I want without fear of making a very bad situation worse.

With that being said, I promised you a post about my classroom. I have changed my classroom this year, with the emphasis of making it as homey and comfortable as possible. Take a look.

The desk that Rob built for me with plugs. Initially it was for computers but since I am teaching 3 year olds I switched them out for light brights and puzzles.

Our quiet reading / circle time / fine motor skills area. Yes, that is a FULL size couch. This is a work in progress. The bare walls behind the couch will be filled with framed pictures of the kids. I have a whole basket of frames that I have been collecting that I will be filling as the year goes.

Our latest addition, thanks to the school division. A light table!

Our loft. The bottom is a walk in area that I have set up with cars / blocks/ ramps and the upstairs is a mini living room with books. On top of the little shelf are puppets. I put the shelf on an angle hoping they would use it for a puppet stage and they do!!

Joe's first letter

2011-09-07T18:32:00.003-04:00

As you know from the past, when I get a call from a teacher about something that happened in school, I have always made Colby write an apology letter to his teacher. Well today, I got a call from Joe's teacher (who happens to be a colleague of mine). She said that Joe took off on her after school without waiting for his brother. Normally he has to wait for his brother after school and they walk across the street to meet me at the preschool to head home. I always get Joe to wait for Colby to cross the street with him because it is very busy at that time of the day with parents picking up their kids, buses coming and going, etc. So, in true form after Joe and I talked about the importance of waiting for Colby, we wrote an apology note. As much as I want to ask her for it back, I'm sure as a teacher she's going to want to keep it herself.

Very seriously writing his letter. I wrote the letters and he copied it.

Translation (and if you look closely you can see it). I'm sorry. From Joe.

Scaffolding!

2011-09-06T00:50:00.001-04:00

Just cause i am a geek, and if you are laughing this is for you.

Joey's first day of school

2011-08-30T01:00:00.002-04:00

Drawing pictures of KITT.

No, he's not excited or anything.

Look at that grin!

He was soo excited he ran all the way in.

In the truck on the way. He was soo excited to go, and you should all be proud of me. I didn't cry. Now, when he gets on the school bus for the first time will be a totally different story.

Taken today

2011-08-21T23:52:00.001-04:00

Where did August go?

2011-08-21T20:32:00.002-04:00

Who the hell stole the month of August? I CANNOT believe it's August 21st. August celebrated our 13th anniversary and Colby's first fish. I have been super super busy with portraits lately and I feel like time is just flying by. I go back to work this Wednesday teaching 3 year olds. I will admit, that scares me. I've never taught kids this young.

A letter to my younger self

2011-08-04T11:05:00.004-04:00

Dear 13 year old me,

A friend of mine inspired me to write this to you, and I have been thinking long and hard on what to say. The biggest thing i want to tell you is that although you will make some serious mistakes in the next few years of your life, you turn out fine.

I want you to do something for me right now. Stop listening to people when they tell you that in order to succeed in life you need to be thin. There are people in your life right now that have a bad habit of comparing you to others. Even though you are not as tall as some people, you are not as thin as some people, you ARE just as pretty. Stop listening to them. Right now. This harmful information will soon put you in a very dangerous downhill spiral, and because of this you are going to stop eating. Your weight is going to drop to 78lbs which is dangerously low on your 5'1 frame. Your parents are going to try everything, including threatening to hospitalize you. Now, I am not saying it is solely because of this comparison, because lets face it that comparison started years and years before now and you are really good at ignoring it. If she is not there yet, you will have an aunt come to live with you for a while who will also unbeknownst to her also add pressure about you losing weight. She will honestly think she is helping you by encouraging you to exercise regularly with you, but you are so eager to please that you will take this to an extreme. Stop obsesing about your weight. Trust me you are on the verge of your final growth spurt and these 3 inches in height are going to make a huge difference. In 2 years you will be heading into high school, and boy does your life change for the better. You develop this amazing self confidence that truly makes you beautiful. People, and yes when I say people I mean guys, really start to notice you. You obsess about one guy per year of high school, and follow him around like a silly puppy. In grade 11 it is a guy named Joey, which is really funny because you will end up naming one of your boys Joey for a totally different reason. You will be completly madly in love with this guy, even doing something silly as makinng a Joey box, but I wont ruin the surprise by telling you what is in it. You will also get involved with a few not so nice guys, one in particular that will turn your world upside down and inside out before you find your way again. Just remember younger self, your friends and parents are only trying to protect you. Thry can see what you can't. The relationship that you are searching for, you will find. Believe me when I say that it will seem like in the beginning his mother hates you, she really doesn't. I now believe that she was able to see, even back then, that her son and I were meant to be together and she knew that I would eventually take him away. You will also become quite the traveller. Don't believe me? At your point in life I wouldn't either. Let me just tell you that you will spend many nights staring up at the Northern Lights on the frozen tundra of NWT, and you will be able to say you have been in every province with the exception of 3. Hopefully by the the time you reach MY age, you will have suceeded in making it to those final few provinces. You will grow confident, independant and will build an amazing life for yourself with your family.

You will also go through some horrible, horrible times where it feels like the world just isn't fair. You will watch a loved one get sick, but at the time you won't realize that they are fatally sick. No, I won't tell you who it is, because that's not fair. But I will tell you this. Stop sweating the small stuff and spend as much time as you can with your loved ones. You never know when they will be gone. You will leave one day, assuming that they will be there when you get back, but they're not. It will leave a hole in your heart that never truly heals.

But enough about the sad stuff. You know that love of taking pictures that you are just starting to have? Don't lose that. Trust me, you will find one day that people will want you to photograph them, and will pay very good money for them to do so. You'll also drive over frozen lakes, develop a LOVE of the outdoors and have a new appreciation for wild meat. You will learn what it feels like first hand to be the victim of racism, and for people to judge you soley on the color of your skin. And you know what? It makes you a better person for it. You will LOVE to drive a quad, and will quickly become the girl who trades in a car for a full size Ford truck. And you'll LOVE it.

In closing, what I want you to take away from this letter is learn to love yourself for who you are, and accept what you look like. The true man of your dreams, the one you fantasize about when you think about that dream wedding in Newfoundland (spoiler -- IT HAPPENS!) will love you for who you are, both inside and out. I wish I could visit you back there, just to take a peek at the life that I nearly forgot about, until I started writing this. Hug yourself, and then go hug your dad. Give him one for me too.

Thanks Jody for this idea. It was very therapeutic. I encourage everyone to do this. You'll be amazed what comes out when you start typing.

I'm re-hired!

2011-08-03T23:52:00.001-04:00

Yep, I finally got the call I have been anxiously waiting for yesterday. I have again been offered the position of pre-k teacher. The only difference this year is that I will be teaching 3 year olds, where as for the last 3 years I have been teaching 4 year olds. Time to start planning another year of fun!

13 years

2011-08-03T23:50:00.003-04:00

Rob and I celebrated our 13th anniversary a few days ago. I still can't believe we've been married 13 years. We've had our bumps along the way, as all couples have, but I wouldn't change anything. Everything we have gone through has only strengthened our relationship that much more. We spent our anniversary here at home, just hanging out. We rearranged furniture in ours and Colby's room, and then ended the day with a supper of pan fried Nova Scotia scallops. It was perfect.

The rest of vacation... in pictures

2011-08-01T07:52:00.008-04:00

I have been very disheartened lately due to some private family issues. Nothing in my immediate family for those of you who may be worried, but enough to make me want to stay away from the computer. It just solidifies my choice to stay away from Faceb00k and put more here. I promised you the rest of my vacation pictures, because frankly I just got back from a great weekend of camping and have more pictures to share, so I need to get my ass in gear and put the rest of these up! So get comfy, here we go. :)

The menu at Jack Aster's in Dartmouth. I was going to order the Dueling Sausages Pizza but couldn't say it with a straight face.

Rob's ride to the hospital. He was playing volleyball and broke his rib when he dived. It didn't bother him until a day later when we were camping and my brother made him laugh. First trip to the ER told him he had torn ligaments. Next night had him waking me at 4Am telling me he couldn't breathe. We made it about 2kms down the road by car and I had to pull over and call an ambulance to take him the rest of the way. The ER in the QE2 hospital is beautifully renovated.

We took the boys to visit Great Nannie. She passed away a few months ago.

Joe decided he couldn't walk anymore.

My mommy.

These two were best buds. One of my new favorite pictures.

Crazy kids.

Nanny and all her boys.

My brother's family.

All of us.

Classic. I wouldn't expect anything less.

Kid cam

2011-07-26T00:58:00.004-04:00

One of the first things I did when we got to Halifax is give the kids the "pink camera". It is a small Canon Powershot that I bought used and use at preschool. It's very versatile and almost indestructable. (It lasted a whole year being used and dropped by preschoolers). I LOVED looking through the pictures, and here are some of my favorites.

Notice the "We love our Crosse". They were over an hour in the driveway with this. Each color in the cross had meaning. Blue for Nova Scotia, Green for Saskatchewan, Red and White for Canada. They amazed me with this, and I'm so glad there was a picture of it.

Sitting under the palm tree. Gramma and Puppa brought this back from Florida.

Only my kid

2011-07-25T22:56:00.002-04:00

Me: Joe, if you don't stop bugging I am going to bite your nose off and spit it on the floor.

Joe: Mom, if you do that you'll see my brain!

The beginning of our trip

2011-07-21T10:54:00.005-04:00

We had planned for a while that we would travel back to Nova Scotia for vacation this summer. The boys had not been there for 2 years, and although many family members had travelled up in this time, we had not seen Rob's parents, Rob's sisters family or my brother's family in that time. We had a nephew that I had never met, and it was time. School here in Ile a la Crosse ended on the 30th of June, and because of some great seat sales with Westjet we booked to fly out that day. June 30th was also the day of the high school graduation, and that is a BIG thing here in town. Many of the grads had asked me to do their photos that day, but one in particular had booked me for that day LONG before we ever considered vacationing in Halifax. (Think booking in January here). So I couldn't dissapoint her, so we made plans for her to have her pictures done at 11 and then I would leave right after that (our flights were not until 8). As the day drew nearer, I was contacted by another grad who wanted me to do their pictures also. I explained that I was leaving the day of grad and she wanted to get dressed up the night before and do the pictures then, as she really wanted ME to do them. How could I say no? Also, I had 2 other grads contact me for cap and gown pictures that week, so I spent the week taking pictures. I managed to get one session edited and back to them before I left, but the rest knew that they would have to wait until I got back. How could I say no to this?

Thursday the 30th arrived, and I raced around getting that photo session done. Rob and the boys had the truck all packed, and we were on the road by 12. We had to make a detour into Prince Albert for Northern related stuff, and then made it to the airport by about 6:30. The boys were so excited, and Joey had to put his luggage on the weigh in thingie.

All was going great until that dreaded "D" word was mentioned..... delayed. Yep, our flight was delayed and there was a chance we would not make our connection (we were flying to Calgary to get the red eye to Halifax). We watched anxiously as the time ticked away, and our flight was not there. Our flight which was suppose to leave at 8:45 did not leave until almost 9:15. We were suppose to make a connection in Calgary at 10:00. Luckily we were not the only ones that were catching that flight. We boarded the plane, and I noticed that "nervous Colby" was coming out. I honestly assumed that any air sickness would be from Joey, but it was Colby. He was REALLY nervous about flying, and was really upset when we took off. We ended up giving him a Gravol to settle his stomach, but that first part of the flight was quite rough on him. He did manage to keep his cool, and we landed in Calgary. We knew we had NO time to waste making this connection, but walking to the gate we saw a small convenience place and thought it would be a good idea to grab some Gingerale for Colby. While Rob did this I quickly took Joe to the bathroom (which again, right on the way). As soon as I came out of the bathroom (maybe 2 minutes) we hear "Schwartz Party of 4 please go to your gate IMMEDIATELY" so we RAN to the gate. We just made it! Of course everyone else at this point is waiting for us, so we sheeplishly made our way to our seats. I sat next to a woman who smiled at me and said "So, where were you that you made us all wait?"..... to be continued.

Colby is trying to be brave, but his belly got the best of him shortly after this picture was taken. Prince Naveen...... the next post will have his story also....

I'm back... for good this time

2011-07-20T20:00:00.001-04:00

I have made a big decision tonight. I will no longer being updating my Faceb00k status anymore. I have sorely been neglecting this blog, and I realized it tonight when I logged on to the blog to see who has updated their blogs, and realized I haven't done my own. I have a HUGE 2 week family vacation to blog about, and I will be doing that as soon as I have the pictures edited. Anyone who knows me knows that I NEVER post pictures that I haven't edited. So I will be blogging about the vacation in pieces, with pictures to go with it. I'm glad to be back.

Halifax

2011-07-12T15:23:00.002-04:00

We are having such a good time in Halifax that there has been no time to blog. Many pictures to follow, I promise. :)

Leavin' on a jet plane

2011-06-24T09:53:00.002-04:00

In less than a week!! Preschool is now done for the kids, so I have a few days left next week to disassemble my classroom and pack up my personal items. There is still quite a bit of uncertaintly surrounding my current job, but unfortunately I can't post any details yet. Keep your fingers crossed!

Happy father's day

2011-06-19T15:07:00.002-04:00

Father's day is bitter sweet for me. Rob is an amazing father and this is his 10th father's day as a Dad. It's also one of the days a year that reminds me that my Dad isn't here.

Maybe it's an East Coast thang....

2011-06-16T21:28:00.002-04:00

I've been told I'm too nice (Shut up Adam, your opinion doesn't count). There are contractors in town right now doing some work for the store in the next community and in Rob's store. When they were here a few months ago, I would make extra supper and send it over to them. Tonight we made home made burgers and potato salad, and I took out a couple extra pork chops and some chicken thighs and threw them on the bbq along with the burgers. We plated it up and sent it over (there are 4 contractors here right now). When I have told people about this, I get mixed reactions. (We do this for everyone that comes in town). I've been accused of being a "suck up" (we always cook for Rob's district manager when he comes into town) and was told today that we are just "too nice". One of the women I work with admitted that she would never think to do what we do when someone comes from out of town. Here's the way I look at it: the contractors are here doing improvements on Rob's store. These are 4 guys here, working 10-12 hour days, eating frozen pizza and Hungry Man dinners. I would hope that if the roles were reversed and Rob was one of those guys, someone would make them a home cooked meal every once in a while. The town we live in is really small, and there is only 1 restaurant that the food is average at best, really really crappy at worst. The same goes for when someone comes from out of town. I figure if they are travelling all the way here (it's a 5 hour drive from the airport unless they come on the private plane and then it's only 5 minutes away) they should at least have a decent meal when they get here. Maybe it's just the Newfoundlander in me, or maybe it's the way I was raised. When I asked Rob about this, he said "it's an East Coast thing". What do YOU think?

joey reading

2011-06-15T01:03:00.000-04:00

Your laugh for the day

2011-06-13T14:31:00.001-04:00

My baby's pre-k grad

2011-06-04T21:27:00.003-04:00

You can kiss the student when that student is yours.

So proud!

Joe and Brian. Notice the Metis sash around his waist?!

They're baaaaaaack!

2011-06-03T00:33:00.002-04:00

I love them. I always will.

When did he grow up???

2011-05-28T22:54:00.001-04:00

There are perks to being the pre-k teacher AND the class photographer.

My not so little boy

2011-05-27T01:51:00.001-04:00

I totally get it

2011-05-23T11:20:00.004-04:00

Before I met Rob I never camped. We were never a camping family, and the closest thing we ever did was set up a tent in the yard and sleep out there. When we first starting dating, he took me to the campground where his parents were seasonal and showed me where they spent most of their free time. I just didn't get it. Rob's parents, in my opinion, were quite well off. They had a big beautiful house, 2 vehicles, nice EVERYTHING, and yet they packed up each weekend to spend at their camper. They ate off dollar store dishes, lived in a space 1/2 the size of the trailer I lived in, and seemed genuinely happy about it.

Sitting at the campground this weekend, eating breakfast off paper plates, looking at my kids who were already dirty from playing, I got it. I completely understood why they left their lives in the city and camped. I'm not saying that I think we are the "rich" people I thought Rob's parents were ( I see everything very differently now), but for the first time in 16 years we are comfortable. I felt so relaxed when we were away, something I haven't truly felt in months. There is a lot going on right now, some things I can't post here but if you read the news about Saskatchewan teachers and remember that I am employed as one you will understand. I uploaded these pictures last night and it shows how much fun we had. We won't get out camping again until after we get back from Nova Scotia, but we left all the supplies in there. It won't be long after we get back that we hit the road again.

Walking on a suspension bridge we found at a nearby park. I played the girl card and chickened out.

That's Joey, climbing to the top of the hill.

My great rummage sale find. I LOVE this suitcase. Colby had to take a turn running down the hill also.

The boys spent the weekend playing badminton.

Heavy times

2011-05-19T09:46:00.002-04:00

I am really trying to get out from underneath the black cloud that seems to be following me around. I've kept it off FB and here, but so many people have been asking why they haven't heard from me so I feel I owe you all an explanation. Yes cyber family, I love you all for your concern.

There are HUGE changes in my very near future (and no, we're not moving). My job is a term position, and the term will be up as of June 30. Every year my job is reposted, and every year I wait to see if a certified teacher will realize what a jewel of a job I have and apply. If a certified teacher applies for my job, I will automatically be bumped. I am in the last course of a 2 year program to obtain my ECE, but unfortunately although the school board has paid for this they cannot guarantee me a job. The Saskatchewan Teachers are also in a union fight right now, and we had our first "rally" day a few weeks ago. These scare me because again, although I'm not a teacher I have to fight with them because I am part of their union. So I have already been required to spend a rally day with them knowing full well I will not be paid for it. They are currently returning to the bargining table so I check my email everyday to see if there is another walk-out planned. We get 36 hours notice by email if this happens.

Add to this I have taken it upon myself to do all the pre-k grad pictures (of course, why wouldn't I?) I did all their pictures in front of a green screen, and there are 34 of them so I have been photoshopping every night trying to get these done. The grad is a big deal here so there's a lot of work.

And speaking of work, there are also big changes happening with the pre-k program. Currently, the program is offered in the headstart program here in town, but next year it will be operated right out of the elementary school. For anyone who lives in a small community, you know that most programs are provincially funded, so this is a HUGE impact for the Friendship Centre to lose this program. So there is a lot of uncertainty going on, because frankly no one really knows the details yet. All I know is this will be the last year I will be working in this building, with these women. That really sucks.

And to top it all off, yesterday at work that one of my students will not be returning because of an incident that happened in her house. Although I am not comfortable discussing the details, let's just say all the children were taken from their home in the middle of the night, their father is in jail and their mother is in the hospital in critical condition. Another little girl told me yesterday on the day home that "Daddy hit mommy and made her cry and now he's in jail". It is hard not to cry at work, and yesterday finding out these 2 things within an hour of each other left me coming home with a very sore lip, because biting it was what I did to not cry and scoop her up to hug her.

But, as usual my hubby is coming to my rescue. I had been asked to do a photography shoot in Prince Albert this weekend, so he decided to make it a camping weekend. Oh yes my friends, we're going camping! The camper is set, we bought a new mattress last night for our bed in there, and we're heading out of town for 3 glorious days. It is just what I need right now. No work, no stress, just 3 days camping with the most important people in my life, and Jamie and Clare of course. :)

Happy birthday Joey!!!

2011-05-11T09:39:00.003-04:00

The blog challenge is on hold, because well frankly I have more important things to blog about and I'm honestly losing interest. So I'm going to pepper it in. Today my baby turns 5. Really, 5? Where did the time go? He is growing into quite the little man, so much like his brother. He is now independantly reading, to the point when reading buddies come to preschool he reads TO them. He also reads to us at at bedtime. All he wants to do is go to the "big school". He's funny, smart and idolizes his brother. We are very lucky. Excuse me while I go cry now.

Day 24: Something embarrassing in your bedroom

2011-05-01T10:14:00.002-04:00

Made ya look, didn't it?

I have thought about this one for the last day or so, wondering how I would write this. There really isn't anything embarrassing in my room. My room is actually quite asthetically boring. The walls are white, the furniture is mismatched and there is always a pile of laundry just waiting to be put away. (Don't forget, this house is technically a furnished rental). The one thing you will see on my bed is an extra large stuffed Sneezy Dwarf. Rob bought this for me when I was pregnant with Colby. I'm the type of person who, when they sneeze, sneeze at least 10 times. It's an ongoing joke with us.

Did you expect me to write a post about Bob? If you know who that is, then you probably have a Bob of your own. :)

Day 23 - Favorite music video

2011-04-29T16:40:00.001-04:00

I haven't watched music videos in years, not since high school. This is one of my all time favorite songs. Although I feel like Saskatchewan is my home now, I will admit I do miss the smell of the ocean. This amazingly beautiful lake I live on is very scenic, but it's just not the ocean. I'm sure there is salt water in my veins, and the pull of the ocean will always be with me. This song explains EXACTLY how I feel.

Day 22: A picture of you today

2011-04-28T23:27:00.002-04:00

Well this one will have to wait, as I don't have a webcam on my computer (it's on the laptop). If I did, all you would see is my big smile because I received this in the mail 2 days ago: I'm in love. I have been saving the money I have made from photography sessions since the beginning of the year and finally had enough 2 weeks ago to upgrade. I just bought the body as all my other lenses and cards are interchangable. I'm a very happy girl right now.

Winners of the contest!!

2011-04-25T10:03:00.002-04:00

Since only 4 people played my game, (well technically 5) you ALL get presents of love from me in the mail. Here are the answers:

You've Got Mail

27 Dresses

The Wedding Planner

The Truth abou Cats and Dogs (whe she's on the radio when he called in)

The Emperior's New Groove (will forever remind me of my brother)

The Princess Bride (my brother does this PERFECTLY)

The Wedding Planner (I use this ALL the time)

The Wedding Planner (still puts me in stitches when I see it)

How to Lose a guy in 10 days (the game they played)

You've Got Mail ( the last line of the movie)

Day 21 - favorite movie quote

2011-04-22T20:37:00.004-04:00

I am going to steal this idea from Tawny. I have many favorite movie quotes so I am going to make this into a fun game. A present from me will be up for grabs for the person who guesses these all right. Leave your answers in the comments.

1. " That cavier is a garnish!"

2. "I feel like I just found out my favorite love song was written about a sandwich"

3. "I only eat the brown ones because I figure they have less artificial coloring because chocolate is already brown"

4. " What's wrong with you dawg?"

5. " Lemme guess. Waterfall? Yep. Sharp rocks at the bottom? Most likely. Bring it on."

6. "Mawwage is what beings us togwether today"

7. " You smell like sweet red plums and grill cheese sandwiches"

8. "There was a damn deer in the road! Did you see that?"

9. "Bullshit!"

10. "I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly."

Day 20: A 10+ picture of you

2011-04-20T08:51:00.003-04:00

Me, in all my hairsprayed and permed glory. This was my confirmation in 1993.

Day 19 - Something that made you smile today

2011-04-18T23:40:00.002-04:00

In the mail today I received a scholastic order for Joey. It was an easter book, but not just any easter book it was Happy Easter Little Critter. Joey's favorite series right now is little critter and he has almost all of the books. When this package came in I wanted to read the little critter book to see if it was a book I wanted to take to preschool to read. Joey took it out of my hands and said "no mom, I want to read it first" and took it to the couch to read it. Did I mention that Joe is now reading independently? Not just memorizing and reciting books, but actually reading.

Day 18: Favorite board game

2011-04-17T19:50:00.004-04:00

Crib was always a big part of the evenings in my house growing up. My dad and grandfather always said "if you can count to 31, you can play crib". I grew up playing this game, and we have a crib board and cards in both the house and the camper. We even have a coffee table back in Nova Scotia in the shape of a crib board, which I am hoping the next time we drive back there we will bring it back with us.

Make blogging fun by doing the 30 DAY CHALLENGE.

Day 17 - A childhood photo

2011-04-16T13:50:00.003-04:00

I will admit, I never did get a chance to do yesterday's challenge, so to make it up to you I will share 3 photos, not just one. Luckily at some point in my life I was smart enough to scan old pictures my mom had and I have them all on my external hard drive.

Yeppers, that was me around age 3.

One of my all time favorite photos. I'll show you why later.

Me and my grandfather.

Day 16: Future tattoo

2011-04-14T20:43:00.003-04:00

I have always said I wanted a tattoo. I want to design it myself, and I want 2. I want one that somehow incorporates the boys' names in it, but I don't know what. I don't want to do flowers or anything like that, so I'm still working on that one. The other tattoo I want is a zamboni. I want to have it on the inside of my forearm. Anyone who knows my personal life will understand that one.

Day 15: Current Grades

2011-04-13T23:15:00.002-04:00

I am currently enrolled in an Early Childhood Certificate program. I am in the 2nd last course of a 2 year program. And my grades? I am thrilled to say I have a 95% average, or an A. I have never in my life had these kind of marks. Where were these brain cells when I was in high school?

Day 14: Favorite purchase ever made

2011-04-13T00:51:00.002-04:00

I know I should answer this one by saying things like my husband's wedding band, the first outfit for Colby, our first house..... well, you get my drift. All of those were great purchases, but I have to admit I call this my 3rd baby. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my camera.

Day 13 - Favorite memory

2011-04-12T00:32:00.003-04:00

There are so many, how does one choose? The one that I would say is my FAVORITE memory is the time that Rob rented a Lincoln Navigator for our anniversary. I love the Navigator, I always have. For our 5th anniversary Rob rented a Navigator for a night and took me away to a beautiful B&B just outside Hubbards, NS. It was amazing.

Day 12: Where your family is from

2011-04-10T12:36:00.002-04:00

Well, that's a big one. My parents grew up in Harbour Main, NL where we spent every summer vacation. Rob's dad was born in Halifax, and his mom was born in Burgeo, NL. I was born in St. John's, NL and Rob was born in Halifax, NS. Both my boys were born in Halifax, NS but currently we call home Ile a la Crosse, Sk.

Day 11 (the real one): Recent picture of yourself

2011-04-08T19:27:00.002-04:00

Taken yesterday at work. My uber serious no fun at all job. :)

Day 10: My favorite outfit

2011-04-07T21:19:00.003-04:00

I know, you're shocked. It's girly. BUT, in my defense, it's blue. I own these pajamas. I ordered them from Avon and I LOVE them. When I have pajama days at home, this is what you can find me in. Super uber comfy.

Thanks Kelly, you're the only one who noticed. :)

Day 9: Favorite Flower

2011-04-07T00:13:00.003-04:00

My favorite flower is my annual porcelain rose that I receive from my mother in law. She started giving me and my SIL porcelain roses on Mother's day the year we each became mothers. She hasn't missed a year, and I have the last 2 of mine in a beautiful wine bottle in my kitchen. The rest are in my hope chest in Nova Scotia.

Day 8: A picture of your room

2011-04-05T22:51:00.002-04:00

Sorry, forgot to turn the lights on. :)

Day 7: Favorite TV Show

2011-04-04T20:01:00.004-04:00

I don't have time to watch a lot of televison anymore, but thanks to our DVR we record a lot and watch them on the weekends or late at night. Sister Wives is my favorite show. I have not missed an episode. I watched the first one out of sheer curiosity, and was totally hooked. It really does give a different view of polygamy. I love how open and candid they are. I am in awe of their level of comfort in their relationships, and the fact that they can separate their individual relationships they have with their husband with the relationship they have as a family unit. I wish I had that level of security. I just don't know if I could ever get over the jealous aspect of it, knowing my husband loves another woman just as much as he loves me. I applaud them all for it, and look forward to Sunday nights when I get to spend an hour with them.

I challenge you to do with with me. You can find it at 30 DAY BLOG CHALLENGE

The blog challenge is temporarily interrupted

2011-04-03T22:20:00.003-04:00

A beautiful angel in real life received her official angel wings early this afternoon. Indigo was a beautiful spirit who touched everyone she came in contact with. Although I have never personally met her, I have known her for all of my "Northern" life. We received a beautiful carving from her when we lived in Hay River, and she also included a beautiful Elk pin for me made out of elk anter. She was a nurse who travelled all throughout the North and will be sorely missed. The blog challenge will be back tomorrow.

Day 6: Favorite Song

2011-04-02T19:32:00.001-04:00

This was our wedding song. Rob had heard the song first, and when we were deciding on what we wanted for our song, he suggested this one. It still gives me butterflies.

Day 5: Favorite food

2011-04-01T21:23:00.003-04:00

I really had to think about this one. I was raised to eat "whatever is put on your plate" so being picky was never part of my vocabulary. And, as someone who has struggled with my weight my entire life, food has always been a comfort for me. So, for this challenge I decided to think of it this way: What food do I miss the most from the East Coast? The answer is a donair. We have made them here and they are ALMOST as good, but not quite. There's nothing better than a donair delivered from Jessy's Pizza in Sackville. I can just smell it now. This is one of the first things I endulge on when I travel back east.

Day 4: Favorite book

2011-04-01T00:37:00.003-04:00

I can't pick just one book, because the entire series is just one big book to me. I have read them many, many times and right now am up to (again) book 6.

Day 3: Favorite musician

2011-03-30T20:09:00.003-04:00

This blog challenge is going to be harder than I thought. I really had to think about who my favorite musician was, because I like a wide variety of music. I listen Dr. Hook to Ozzy Osbourne to Meatloaf to Sara Brightman, and everything in between. But right now my IPad is full of Pink Music. There isn't a song of hers I don't like, and really the performance she did (where this picture came from) solidified my love for her.

Day 2: Favorite movie

2011-03-29T14:18:00.003-04:00

This was a hard one for me, as I have many favorite movies. This one reminds me of my Dad, which is why it's my favorite. There is one scene in this movie that makes me cry EVERY time (for a hint, see yesterday's post). I remember when I was still living in Nova Scotia this movie was on one of the movie channels. My dad called me (as he was watching it, he was a HUGE Jennifer Lopez fan) just as Richard Gere was coming up the escalator. It was a long standing joke between us because he knew everytime I saw it I would cry. Now I have to go watch it again.

Everybody's doing it

2011-03-28T23:40:00.003-04:00

Everyone these days seem to be getting back on the blogging train by doing a 30 day challenge. So I'm going to jump on. You should too. The Thirty Day Challenge.

Day 1: One Favorite Actor.

This was a hard one for me. I have many favorite actors, but to just pick one would have to be Richard Gere. This is my favorite scene from one of my favorite movies of all time. I'm sure that will be a post for another day.

My amazing friends

2011-03-28T09:27:00.007-04:00

With the passing of Rob's grandmother, we were scrambling to figure out, well honestly, how we were going to get him there. We had just bought 4 plane tickets for Nova Scotia for us for June, and for anyone who has travelled knows, buying a plane ticket to fly the next day is brutally expensive. Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I stress over money, even if there is more than enough to go around I will still worry about running out. I check our bank account more times than is really necessary, just to make sure I know exactly what is in there at all times. (This I believe comes from when we lived well beyond our means earlier in our lives, being naiive about credit and budgets). Yes, a little more information than I should probably share, but really, who hasn't maxed out a credit card (or two, or three...) at some point in their lives? Anyway..... since moving to the North and not having a mortgage, we have been super smart about our finances, and because of our living situation we have been able to clear off more debt in the 4 years we have been here than honestly I thought possible. We live quite frugally to do this and it is paying off. We now save to buy the things we want, and with some great finds have been able to buy some of the things we normally would never have been able to($300.00 for a skidoo, really who WOULDN'T pass that up??). Frugal is one thing, but we (ahem *I*) have also learned that you have to also enjoy life. With this being said, when Rob got his call that his grandmother had passed, we both knew that I would somehow find the available funds to buy that ticket. I vented to a close friend of mine about this, and joked with her "Don't suppose you have an extra $1100.00 laying around, do ya?". She called me an hour later at work, telling me that it wasn't much, but her and her husband were able to scrape together $600.00 if we wanted to borrow it. I bawled. Here is a family who are living day to day, but willing to give us all the savings and available cash they have right now (they are saving for an out of town medical trip, and yes they are Metis, having lived in this community their entire lives). I really have amazing friends in this community, and now more than ever I feel like we belong. We have never been made to feel like the "white people" in town, and when people ask me what it is like to live in an aboriginal community, I tell them it's like we've always lived here.

This summarizes our last week

2011-03-24T09:48:00.003-04:00

SCHWARTZ, Mary Alice – 85, of Hubbards, passed away March 23, 2011 surrounded by her loving family. Mary was born in Burgeo, NL to the late Bertha and Benjamin Green. At 14, she left Burgeo for the big city of Montreal and later moved to Halifax, where she met her sweetheart, Bernie.

She was a member of the Loyal Hubbards Union Lodge and Queen’s Lodge of Past Grands, St. Luke’s ACW, and Hubbards Ladies Auxiliary. She spent many years preparing mouth-watering meals at the Hubbards Shore Club. A devout Blue Jays fan, she was an avid quilter and knitter and loved bingo and darts—and was a force to be reckoned with at cards.

Mary was predeceased by her husband of 57 years, Bernie, in 2001. She is survived by her daughters Rosemary (Jim) Grant of Dartmouth, Debra (Trena) Cornish of Brampton, Ontario; sons David (Pat) Schwartz and Gary (Pam) Schwartz of Trenton, Ontario and Donald (Jean) Schwartz of Timberlea; 10 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren. She is survived by her brothers Henry (Carol), Morris (Barb), and Don, and sisters, Harriet (Harold) and Joyce. She was predeceased by her sister, Eva, brothers, Edward and Lester, and a sister in infancy, Dora.

Visitation will be from 2-4 and 7-9 on Friday, March 25th and the funeral service will be 11am Saturday, March 26th— both at the Ronald A. Walker Funeral Home in Hubbards—with Reverend Mike Conrad officiating, assisted by Reverend Judie Lafford. Interment will follow in the Pine Hill cemetery, Hubbards. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mary’s memory to St. Luke’s Anglican Church, Hubbards, or the Canadian Lung Association.

Very special thanks to the compassionate nurses at the VG Palliative Care unit and the staff at Melville Lodge and Melville Gardens.

Rob's grandmother has been a big part of our lives. She always remembered to send cards, and was very active in everyone's lives. I first met here when Rob and I first started dating, shortly after I lost my grandmother. She has never referred to me as anything but her "granddaughter". Rob will be flying back there tonight to be with his family for the funeral. We miss you Nan.

Happy Birthday Scott

2011-03-05T22:50:00.003-05:00

This adorable little man turned 1 today. In my heart I was there celebrating with him. Him and I will party it up when I get there in July!

Happy birthday Bone

2011-03-05T22:34:00.003-05:00

My sister brought up a stuffed moose when she came to visit. It is a Webkinz, and Joey loves it. He is a master of the webkinz site, and he carries this moose that he has named Bone EVERYWHERE with him. He decided that today was Bone's birthday, and of course what is a birthday without a cake!

Super decorating skills!

He insisted the "W" for Webkinz had to be there, and he copied the colors from the Webkinz symbol on the Moose. Of course there was testing of the icing. Many, many times.

So proud. He had to feed Bone some of his birthday cake!

Skiing

2011-02-27T12:27:00.003-05:00

How we spent the weekend. I love this town.

My incredibly stunningly beautiful sister

2011-02-24T19:35:00.004-05:00

This isn't fun anymore

2011-02-24T19:06:00.006-05:00

It isn't nearly as fun as I thought it would be to summarize our trip. Here's the end of it. We spent a week in Winnipeg, with Rob going to meetings through the day and me remembering what it is like to relax. I spent lots of time designing some new photoshop templates, took lots of hot baths and enjoyed napping in the afternoons.I met some great people, developed a taste for raspberry vodka and long island ice tea, and spent some great evenings with Rob going out on dates. From Winnipeg we flew back to Saskatoon to pick up our truck and drive to Edmonton. We spent a great night in Edmonton, and then drove the next day to Jasper. Although we only spent one night there, it was worth it. Actually, in retrospect we spent more time travelling than we did in any one spot, but the time alone in the truck just talking is what I will treasure most. I really am a lucky girl to be married for as long as I have to such a great guy. And now, the pictures. :) Our room in Jasper. We were told we would have a balcony with a view. What they didn't tell us is that the view was of the building behind us.

The rest of the room made up for the shitty view.

We walked all over Jasper, going in and out of little stores. Of course I couldn't walk into this store without walking out with something, or 4 somethings. And yes, they tasted as good as they looked.

I had to get out the zoom lens and play around a bit. These pics were all taken from the truck.

Elk on the runaway of a tiny airport.

Mountain goats just hang on out the road to say hello.

At one point the mountains were in every direction we looked.

I think I'm going to play with this picture at a later date.

The pictures really don't do it justice.

Yes, I admit I was slightly tempted. Good thing I wasn't driving.

Tim Hortons with the Rocky Mountains in the backround. My personal heaven.

My first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains.

My sister dancing in her trap door jammies. I saw this in Jasper and just knew she had to have them.

Part 2

2011-02-20T01:31:00.001-05:00

So we get up the next morning at 6 am and head out on the roads. I would be lying if I said I was not scared, but thankfully the roads were snow covered and full of traction. We arrived at the airport in loads of time. Rob and I were not able to get on the same flight, so he left 4 hours before I did. Luckily I had my sisters phone and amused myself by taking pictures with it. I arrived in winnipeg 8 pm that mint, and surprise surprise it was storming. I shared a cab with a very wealthy woman named Marilyn and after a ride through what I would think was the richest part of Winnipeg I arrived at the hotel. I spent a very relaxing week at the hotel, enjoying sleeping in and doing a lot of computer stuff I never have time to do. I met some great people, met up with some that I haven't seen in years (like my pool boy) and gained a new appreciation for raspberry vodka and seven up. I met a few people that I hope to meet up with again, and even fabricated a story with a girl named Tamar about us being life partners. It was really a great time and I hope I get the opportunity to go back again next year. Stay tuned for more...

Part 1

2011-02-16T19:03:00.004-05:00

This post has been super long overdue, so get comfy. Rob and I decided last year when he came from his annual manager's conference that I would go with him. It would be the first time in.. well ever that Rob and I went on vacation by ourselves. We arranged for Kassie to fly up and stay with the boys while we were gone. I went to pick Kass up on Thursday January 30th. Joey and I left 6am that morning, because remember folks it takes 5 hours just to get to the airport from my house, and her plane arrived at 11Am. It was a beautiful drive in, and Joey and I made it just as she arrived. We grabbed some lunch and headed straight back, as I wanted to be able to show her around town before it got dark. We made excellent time coming back, and I was sure we would make it home by supper. On the way, we saw a rainbow. We started chatting about rainbows and realized it wasn't just a single rainbow, but a complete double rainbow. It looked liked this:

Just after this, I noticed there was an accident on the highway and pressed my brakes to slow down. Then nearly shit a brick when I slipped and slid all over the road. You guessed it, I was on black ice. Luckily I was able to get the truck back under control. I had just passed a sand truck and pulled over to wait for it to pass, but it never showed up. Of course I was in an area with no cell service, so I put on my brave face and got back on the road. 130kms and over 2 hours later we came to the end of the highway from hell and arrived at the turn off for the ice road to my community. I breathed a huge sigh of relief and turned onto the bush road to get to the ice (for you Southerners and you Chris a bush road is a road cut through the woods that leads to the lake which we drive over to get to our community). No sooner did I have my sigh of relief that I slid off the road and into a snowbank. I was beyond pissed, and of course in the woods there is very little cell coverage. I tried to call Rob but I did not have service. At this point I'm in tears, more of frusteration than anything else. I got a hold of Rob and told him I slid off the road and for him to come pull us out. Every car that passed me stopped to make sure we were ok, but they couldn't really stop to help either because if they did they would also be stuck. And of COURSE I slid off at the top of a hill, so no one could really stop either. Luckily a very sweet man and his wife turned around when they saw me. He tried to stop beside me but slid right past me (he had a tow rope and was going to pull me out). He got out of his truck and told me to put it in 4 wheel drive, which should drive it out. I told him it WAS in 4H and I couldn't move. He told me to put it in 4L, but by this time I was so frazzled I kept screwing it up. And God love him, he said "Want me to do that for you? " And he jumped in the truck, put it in 4L and drove it out of the bank. I started to freak again because he nearly slid right into his own truck, but managed to recover it. I then stayed right in front of me until I met up with Rob. We made it back to the house, where I burst into tears like a blubbering idiot and couldn't stop. Great welcoming for my sister right?? All I could think about is that Rob and I had plane tickets to fly out the next day, so we had to leave the house at 6AM the following morning. I had no idea how I was going to get up the nerve to drive BACK over those roads, in the dark no less.

To be continued.........

My latest adventure

2011-01-23T22:57:00.001-05:00

6 more sleeps!!!

2011-01-22T21:28:00.003-05:00

Our vacation is quickly arriving. We have been making lists of things to remember, things for Kassie to know about the boys, things we need to buy, things we are going to do.... oh the lists are endless. I would be lying if I said I was not the slightest bit anxious, as this will be the longest that we will ever be away from the boys. I have been updating the laptop with all my photoshop programs and templates, and have lots of plans on how I will be spending my days. I have lots of templates that I want to complete, so when I get home I can expand my photography business with photoshop extras, such as wedding invitations (I've just been contracted to design an invitation for a wedding I will be photographing in August), graduation cards, etc. At least if I had the templates completed and printed, people could look through them and decide which one they want. I also spent the day restoring an old photograph of an elder here in town when she was a teenager. I really enjoyed doing it, and I think will be offering this service here in town as well. I started a "piggy bank" at christmas time for my dream camera (Currently the Canon 7D which retails in the area of $2000.00 with the new lens I want with it) and all the money I make from photography will be going in this bank. I have 2 weddings booked for this summer and both couples have asked if they could pay me in advance, so those 2 alone will be over 1/2 of the funds I need. Plus I have already been booked for one session on the day of the high school graduation so I'm hoping by the end of this summer I will have the camera. I have no real reason for upgrading, the camera I have more than suits my needs. It's just not fast enough. My current camera (Canon Xsi) only shoots 3 frames per second, and the 7d shoots 8 frames per second, so it obviously has a faster processor. And it looks cooler. And I want it. So the only way I can justify getting it is if I save all my extra money for it. I even sealed the bank closed with glue so I won't be tempted to dip into it.

One day my pretty, you will be mine.

Our honeymoon.. 12 years late

2011-01-13T21:18:00.002-05:00

When Rob and I got married, we were young and money was tight. We paid for the entire wedding ourselves, and as we were living in Newfoundland at the time we decided not to go on a honeymoon and went back to Nova Scotia for a visit. We always said that we would eventually take a vacation for just the two of us, but as we all know life gets in the way and this became less and less of a priority. Rob, as a manager of the Northern store, is required to attend a week long conference each year in Winnipeg along with every other manager in the Northwest Company. We talked after he got home last year that I would go with him this year, and after the conference take a few extra days and do a mini vacation for just us. Honestly I didn't know if this would happen, because well, things always have a way of coming up and changing plans. I am THRILLED to say I can finally share with you our travel plans, because flights have been booked, approval has been obtained for me from work and hotel rooms have been reserved. I will be going with Rob in 2 weeks (on the 28th) to Winnipeg for a week, and after that we will fly back to Saskatoon and drive to Edmonton. After that, we're heading here:

JASPER! I have never seen the Rocky mountains, and although we did talk about heading somewhere warm I thought it would be a shame to leave the country to sit on a beach when there is beautiful scenery pretty much in our backyard that we have never seen, and it's close enough that we can drive there in less than a day from Edmonton. After Jasper we will head back home, probably stopping somewhere halfway between there and here, so I can at least spend one day with my sister before she goes back. So in total we will be gone 2 weeks, and my sister will be coming up to stay with the boys. They are super excited to get her for 2 weeks all to themselves, and I know she feels the same.

2011-01-07T10:34:00.002-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

To my best friend and the best wife in the whole world!

This is my 16th time celebrating my hunny's birthday and it still doesn't get old!

She is the very best Mother, Wife, Daughter and Friend a person could ever have!

We love you Tina and hope you have a great day!

1957 Chevy

2011-01-03T22:57:00.001-05:00

It's amazing what you find in the back woods of the Northern Saskatchewan.

It's that time of year again

2011-01-03T22:51:00.002-05:00

Ford tough, even on ice.

OMG he's on a crack in the ice.

Then of course I had to step on it and take a picture of my boot.

It's that time of year again. The time of year that we save 47kms on our trips out of town by travelling "as the crow flies". Of course, when we cross the ice we still all take off our seat belts, because let's face it, we ARE driving on frozen water.

Goodbye 2010, hello 2011

2010-12-31T20:47:00.002-05:00

2010 was, well it was quite a year. It was a year of great happiness and a year of great sorrow for many around me. My boys each celebrated their birthdays in the North, something that has not happened since moving. My sister-in-law had a beautiful little boy, my friend had a beautiful little girl, and another friend met her daughter and said goodbye to her daughter in the same moment. I've become closer to a woman who I've never actually met , to the point I would call her one of my closest confidants. We did a lot of travelling this year all over Saskatchewan and into Alberta. My boys finally visited the West Edmonton Mall and we have all become very settled and comfortable in this community. I am almost finished a 2 year Early Childhood Certificate program, paid for by my employer, and have a photography business that is really taking off. Happy New Years to you, my blogger friends and family. Here's hoping 2011 is all you want it to be, and more.

Hello my name is Tina and......

2010-12-28T21:18:00.002-05:00

I am a yarn hoarder. I was talking to my sister on the phone this evening and we were chatting about what she'll be doing when she comes here in February. The topic of knitting came up, as she is trying to teach herself how to knit. I told her crocheting is much easier and more fun to do, at least in my opinion. Which got us to talking about how much yarn I have here. I told her I would take a picture for her. I started collecting yarn last year when I had a crocheting club going in the evenings with a few ladies here in town. I was in a thrift store and found some great deals on yarn (BOXES full for $5.00 sort of deals). I labourously sorted through the boxes, winding up the balls of yarn, and even tying the little ends together to make big balls of multi colored yarn. Rob keeps threatening to throw it all away, because I honestly don't crochet much anymore because I don't have a lot of time. I can throw just about anything else away, but I can't throw ANY of the yarn away, and if I am at a rummage sale or a thrift store and see yarn, I just HAVE to buy it. I have no problem giving it away to people who need some, and I have a friend who will often call me up to see if I have a certain color because she is starting / finishing a project and doesn't have the right color. I can't help it. Here, let me show you what I mean.

The main supply. I put Joey's Tonka truck next to it to give you an idea of how big and full this is. This one is kept in the closet in the playroom, because Rob kept giving me grief about it when he saw it in our closet. This bag is in our closet, and it's full also. This bag has a much of smaller balls of various colors in the bottom, plus a few patterns and some hooks of various sizes. This is the "emergency" bag that I keep inside the door for when we're going on road trips and I don't have time to pack a project to work on in the truck.

Even as I type this, I realize how crazy this looks. Everyone has to have one obsession right?

Christmas in pictures

2010-12-27T00:00:00.004-05:00

The night before Christmas via webcam (for some reason this picture won't upload properly)

Remote control 4x4

Tinkerbell DS game

Present from Gramma Jeannine.

Hand made gloves from Kara.

Chocolate in stockings is always a good thing.

Only my husband

2010-12-26T23:41:00.002-05:00

Earlier this year Rob and I decided that we would not spend a lot of money on ourselves this year because we are taking a mini "just us" vacation in February and I wanted to save our money to spend there. Of course, with my husband this went in one ear and out the other. I, being true to my word, kept within the budget we "ahem" I set, and of course he blew it right to hell. The only thing I wanted for Christmas is a Kindle, or some version of it. (For those of you who don't know, (MOM), a Kindle is an electronic reader. When we were in Edmonton, Colby let it out of the bag that him and his dad we in an electronics store asking the sales rep about e-readers, so I have been very quiet about knowing what I was getting for Christmas. I even accidently saw an email come in about Kobo, so when I saw that well, I knew for sure. Rob has been super secretive and dropping hints about Christmas, so I didn't want to burst his bubble by telling him that I knew what he bought me. The only thing he said is that he blew the budget out of the water, but it was OK because the gift he bought me we both could use. So Christmas morning he keeps this box for me to open very last and I was preparing to pretend to be surprised when I saw my e-reader. Well, when I opened the box I was confused when I saw the Apple symbol and it took me a second to realize that he didn't buy an e-reader, he bought an I-Pad. And when he turned it over I started to bawl.

Can you see the inscription? No, here I'll give you a closer look. He knew I'd be pissed when I saw it, knowing how much they cost. I wasn't pissed, I was in shock. I really didn't know what to think. I felt horrible because I stayed within our budget (which was 200.00 including stocking) and he .. well, you know how much this cost. But, now that I've had 2 days to get used to it, I love it. And I'm very quickly filling up my e-library with free books, because let's face it, I'm cheap. :)

Happy Christmas Eve!

2010-12-24T15:29:00.002-05:00

Making cookies for Santa. Merry Christmas eve everyone!

I LOVE baby sessions

2010-12-19T00:15:00.000-05:00

The smartest idea I ever stole from someone else

2010-12-17T09:36:00.004-05:00

We went to a house one time and a friend of ours had something like this set up. The mom (super smart savvy woman she is) used a shoe organizer just inside her door for her kids to put their hats and mitts in. I have been using a laundry basket at the top of the closet and it has been a nightmare. When we went out of town the other day Rob found one and I have to say, it works like a charm. You're welcome. :)