Happy New Year!

Holy man, how did it get to be December 31st already?

Today is a busy day of work (boooo!), last minute errands, and two New Year's gatherings.

It has been tough to plan what to do tonight, but I think I've figured it out. I will be having dinner at our favorite pub with one group of friends, then heading to a small house party to ring in the New Year with another group.

I won't get to see everyone I would like, but I just can't be in ten places at once (somehow I think that wouldn't be as cool as it sounds anyway!).

I'll be heading out shortly to pick up the mandatory bottle of champagne (or two!) and some sort of snack to contribute to the party. I might even try to find some New Years headbands and such to get into the festive mood....

DBF is on the road from Winnipeg to Toronto today. He's pushing to get as much distance in as he can tonight, so will likely be somewhere on the snowy northern Ontario highway when we ring in the New Year. Thank God for cell phones! I just hope he has reception at the time...

Happy New Year to you all....and see you in 2008!!!

And the homesickness begins...

Well, not homesick yet, but definitely sad to be leaving.

Yes Mom, I cried in the car when I left.

I'll probably dehydrate myself with all of the crying this week. Time is ticking by so rapidly now that I am overwhelmed with all of the visiting I still want to do. I'm slowly realizing that I just can't fit everyone in. And when I do see someone for the last time, it's hard to wrap my brain around that. Close friends I know I will hopefully see when I visit, but who knows when that will be....

Plans for New Years have been tough too. I want to do something with EVERYONE, but not everyone is friends with each other or can agree on what to do. In the end, I am choosing a quiet home party with a few friends and for those that I don't see tomorrow night I hope to see them during the remaining days and evenings I have left.

I am also not looking forward to the inevitable homesickness when I actually get to Halifax. The dog and the cat are not going to be thrilled with the extra cuddling I'm going to need. Did I mention that DBF and I only get 2 days together before he has to set off on his first sail on his new ship? Yup, that's right. New city, living in a hotel, and he has to leave right away. Booooo!

It's an exciting adventure for sure, but the lead up is not too terribly wonderful. I do not recommend embarking on a life-changing move at this time of the year. If we have the choice next time, we will certainly try to do it during a less emotional time of year!

Family Fun...over.... :(

Well, my time here at Mom's is coming to an end today. I'm heading back to Victoria today to stay with a friend for the remainder of my time on the West Coast. I fly out to Halifax on Friday night.

Today I have to repack my suitcases (trying to fit in my Christmas loot!), sort out all the extra crap in my car that I dragged up here from Victoria, clean the litter box for transport back to Vic, convince the cat to get back in his little carrying case for a while, and drive back to Victoria.

I am staying with a girlfriend who is returning from Edmonton tonight. So I will stop by her place to unload and get the cat settled, then I'm heading out for dinner without another friend and then meeting up with the first friend for drinks after that.

Who knew last minute socializing could be so stressful?!

DBF's time in Winnipeg is dwindling down and he is getting sad to leave his little boy. He has to leave in the next couple of days to drive to Toronto to visit his Mom on his way to Halifax. It's gonna be a tough drive with shitty weather conditions, but I have faith in him!

We will both be so happy when all this rigmarole is over!

I'm dreaming of a white....

...Thursday...?

Well I guess Mother Nature was trying to teach me a little about what Halifax weather will be like. Very little...haha.

Here in Nanaimo we awoke to a dusting of snow yesterday. Around noon it picked up and by the time we went out there were a few inches on the ground. Of course, it was typical south island snow and it was all wet, heavy and mushy. Not at all what I'm expecting out East.

It was pretty for a little while, but then just mainly gross to be out in. At least with the freezing cold temps in Nova Scotia, the snow might actually be pretty and dry enough to walk in and play in on occassion.

Who am I kidding? I am soooooo NOT prepared for what Mother Nature will be throwing at me out there!

Boxing Day

While others go crazy for Boxing Day shopping, my Mom and I turned Boxing Day into the family dinner day. For years, we scrambled to do presents in the morning and dinner in the evening. The family would barely have left for the afternoon when they would just have to turn around and come back for dinner. Mom never got to see anyone open anything because she was constantly in the kitchen stirring something, mashing something or basting something.

A long time ago we decided to start doing presents on Christmas Eve. It was the best idea the family ever had....until a few years ago.

Every Christmas the uncles would have to try to decide between our house or the inlaws'. They would always be letting someone down. Once my cousins got older, they preferred to go to the maternal grandmother's house....so our dinner table got smaller and smaller. Then one year we realized that it doesn't matter what day we do dinner, as long as we do it. So we do it on Boxing Day now. This way the uncles can do the inlaw thing and then they can do the family thing. Mom and I get a day off to relax and do nothing and then a whole day to prepare the meal without all the added stress of family yapping, yelling and ripping presents open.

This year, it was great. I got to sleep in, help stuff the turkey and then head out for coffee with a friend that I really wanted to see before I move. Then still had time to come home and help get the appies ready, make the salad, get the table set and get all the other assistant duties out of the way.

Just immediate family this year which was fun because that doesn't happen often. Turkey dinner was delicious and we have enough leftovers for turkey & stuffing sammiches with all the trimmings!

Five hours of prep and cooking for five minutes of eating. But somehow it's always worth it. :)