The Grand Finale

I'm in the mood to post and seeing as I didn't get a lot of great shots at the wedding this weekend, I'll post about that once I get some better pictures emailed to me from my friend Kim.

So for now... Rome.

I realized that I had never concluded our Mediterranean Cruise update and some of you may have wondered why I never posted anything about Rome. Well... to be honest... I completely forgot about it. I hadn't looked at our pictures for quite some time, so when I was sorting through our pictures on the computer this week, I came across the "long lost" Rome pictures :) So to satisfy my blogging 'itch,' here is a little picture post about Rome. It was probably the biggest highlight of our entire trip. We saved the best for last...

Just outside St. Peter's square... (not too sure why they call it a "square" because its really more of a circle but whatever :) ...

St. Peter's Basilica...

One of many intricately painted ceilings in the Vatican Museum...

The Colosseum...

"Gladiators" outside the Colosseum... we watched them rip off some young tourists by scamming them into taking pictures with them. The tourists thought they were just being nice and were shocked when the gladiator asked them to pay 10 Euros for the picture... I snuck a picture for free :)

Here's a little video of some "buskers" we came across as we waited to get into the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. They were really good and it made the wait much more enjoyable...

View from the Colosseum...

Inside the Pantheon...

The Trevi fountain...

Our final night in Rome-- the Shade-o-Matic Farewell dinner...

Boarding the plane in Rome...

Hopefully we'll be able to go back to Europe again someday and do it on our own schedule with less rushing around and more relaxation :) But it was definitely a trip we'll NEVER forget!

At Last...

Well... I'm back. I'm sure by now I have very few readers left out there, but for those that have stuck with me, here's a new post with lots of pictures for your viewing pleasure :) Unfortunately, I won't post all of the pictures of our place because I still have some "decorating" to finish. But I will give you a sneak peek at the main part of the house. Just ignore the big, blank dining room wall please. I have to paint the canvases that are going to go on that wall and just haven't had the time or the inspiration to do so lately. I'll post pictures of my "creations" as soon as I get them finished. So without further ado, here are the "BEFORE and AFTER" shots of the main floor....

BEFORE...

AFTER...

BEFORE...

AFTER...

BEFORE...

AFTER...

BEFORE...

AFTER...

So there you have it... so far anyway. There are still things I'd like to change (such as getting new living room furniture, etc... but we can't do it all at once so I just have to be patient!) We're definitely enjoying it though and its really feeling like "home." We're also loving the fact that McD's & DQ are right across the street and have enjoyed quite a few "treats" already :)

Another nice thing about our neighbourhood is that there is a great little park just down the street. We had Naomi and the kids over for dinner last week and took a stroll to the park. I think Konrad really enjoyed it... and secretly, I think Uncle Jon did too :)

Seriously... too cute!

Some quality Uncle/nephew time...

The girls...

"Hmmm... what's this?"

The Queen of the castle...

Its been a busy month and we'll be finishing it off with more "busyness." My good friend Izzy is getting married this weekend and has asked me to sing at the ceremony (a true honour!) so we'll be heading to Washington on Friday afternoon for the rehearsal/dinner. I'm really looking forward to this wedding as it will be a chance to reconnect with lots of my "long lost" Capernwray NZ friends. Plus Izzy is going to be a VISION of beauty and the whole wedding itself will, I'm sure, be incredible.

But for now, I need to go feast on the unbelievable dinner my wonderful husband has made for me. I came home from work to a surprisingly delightful smell. And there on the counter, slowly simmering in the crock pot, was a roast with potatoes and veggies. Mmmm... such a nice surprise. I just love him! Then I'm off to enjoy a little Starbucks with my wonderful sister Viv. Should be a good evening...

FINALLY!

All systems GO! We've finally got the internet up and running! I'll post soon, but first I must get some much needed sleep. Talk to you soon...

Frustration

I'm quite certain that by now, you've probably given up. And if I was completely honest, I think I have too. My lack of blogging is very out of character for me, but we STILL do not have our internet hooked up at home. It was OK for a while, but now its just getting annoying.

I set up an appointment with Shaw about two weeks ago. The soonest they could come (during an evening because both Jon and I work full time) was Thursday, Sept. 20 between 4 and 7pm. Yes... that was yesterday. And do I have internet yet? NO.

I work until 4pm every day, so I was a bit worried they might come before I got home. But just before I left for work yesterday morning, I got a call from Shaw asking what time I would be home in the afternoon. I said between 4:15-4:30 and when the guy asked, "Will you be home any sooner?" I replied NO. He then told me that he would only be able to come quite a bit later than 4pm. "No problem, we'll be home all evening."

So when I arrived home from work at 4:15 (I made sure I left the office RIGHT at 4:00), and waited til 6:00 for someone to come, I was a bit surprised when no one showed up. Jon got home and seeing as I hadn't made supper yet, I decided to run out to pick something up. As I opened the front door, a small slip of paper fell to the ground. This is what it said...

"SORRY WE MISSED YOU. TO SET UP A NEW APPT., PLEASE CALL SHAW at ..." It then listed the time that the tech guy had come....yup... 4:10pm!!! Talk about frustration! I wouldn't have been that mad if it weren't for the morning phonecall, informing me that it would much LATER than 4:00pm.

Now we have to wait until Tuesday evening. Another 5 days with no internet. I realize that there are much worse things in the world, but its just so inconvenient to have that very convenient form of communication unaccessable. Especially when I've becomed admittedly relient upon it.

You can expect a post just as SOON as we get things worked out at home. So until Tuesday...

Sad good-byes & Sunny skies...

The finished product of their last house together... over 5200 finished sq/ft ...

Sometimes I wonder how they ever got any work done :)

Todd left for Calgary today and it was definitely a sad good-bye. Work just won't feel the same for Jon without him. Then again, life in general won't feel the same without him. Jon was so blessed to be able to work with such a close friend!

We'll miss you Todd & Brianne!!

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We finally got a sunny Saturday afternoon so Jon and I decided to make the most of it. We popped over to Jon's parents place to enjoy their refreshing outdoor pool... Jon wasn't too happy with the temperature of the water :)

I must admit that it was absolutely FREEZING but once I was in, it was SO relaxing. What a perfect afternoon of lying in the sun! Simply glorious.

Though Jon did come in the pool for a while, I think he preferred playing board games on the deck with his mom... :)

Mom E. spoiled us with yummy treats after our swim...

Ended the day with a stroll through the garden...

Life

It has felt really strange for me to be "internet deficient" lately and I apologize for the lack of updating, to anyone that may still read my blog. Life has gotten away on me and with work being as busy as it is, I haven't even been able to write a quick post on my lunch breaks. I'm just about to leave work now but thought I should at least try to give you a quick update while I have a minute.

We've pretty much settled into our new home and are very much enjoying it. I won't be able to post the "AFTER" pictures until we get our internet figured out at home but I promise to do so as soon as possible. We still have a bit of painting left to do but with the crazy month that its been, it may not happen for a while still. Jon has been working LONG days in the attempt to finish up this last house with Todd before he leaves for Calgary. Todd has been staying with us for the last week (Brianne has already left for Calgary to settle into their new place) which has been great. Jon is thankful not only for his help on the house but the last bit of time they've been able to spend together as friends.

I've been very busy at work and based on the TERRIBLE day I had yesterday, it could be a LONG month :) We've started a lot of new projects and seeing as my boss will be taking most of October off, we have to work hard to get everything done before then.

I'm just praying for the energy to get through each day as I've felt pretty tired and discouraged lately. I know that nothing is too big for God to handle and yet, so often, it feels like my world is spinning out of control. I'm just so thankful for His sufficient grace and love in these moments.

Well... its already after 4pm and I really should sign off before I get any more work handed to me :) Hope everyone is doing well and I'll try to post something a bit more interesting soon.