Summer and stuff

I just checked the weather forecast in Houston, and see it will "feel like" 102'F. HOTTT indeed. Makes our 86' F. from yesterday not seem so bad after all, and today's 70'F a treat. Perspective.

Anyway, why am I talking about the weather??? I guess that's how all good conversations start...or, how I start my blog when I have no clever way to start it. Oh, but one more interesting tid-bit about the weather:
Yup. That's hail in our backyard. In JULY. Cool or weird?

So we're here still. I continue to "nest", and having fun doing it. I'm really enjoying meal planning and cooking the most. Most of my recipes are Tania's-mind plus Tania's-mom inspired. My pseudo-experimenting has proved good so far. I plan meals for the week and grocery shop at the beginning of the week accordingly. It's a great way to save on meat, since you can buy the "for quick sale" items that have been discounted since your going to cook them that week anyway. 50% off big juicy steaks is never a bad buy. Thank you Super Store! I'm realizing that food prices, although higher, are not so terrifying. I just needed to go somewhere else besides SafeWay (i.e. Randall's)...duhh.

I've begun my job search with a little more intensity. Fortunately, the job market is pretty sizzling. I heard on the radio last week that 400,000 new jobs are going to be created in Calgary in the next 10 years. The labor shortage has provoked the province to slacken its certification requirements for teachers, dentists, and other skilled workers who are coming over from other provinces. Hopefully this also translates into Tania won't have much problem finding a good job.

Shawn is excited to be starting school again in September. His construction job is beginning to be his biggest motivator:) We found out a few days ago that half of his degree credits were able to be transferred from his previous college in Vancouver, so it looks like, Lord willing, Shawn will be in school for just 2 years! We are also about to launch a campaign to recruit drum students for the fall. I'm excited for my husband, as music is so life-giving to him. He's been invited by his ex-band director to play in a community band concert, and is in the works of getting into the Worship band rotation at church.

Below are some pictures of us with our friend Megan at the Devonian Gardens 2 weekends ago. We had a picnic afterwards. Megan has been such a comfort and encouragement to me as I transition here. She is amazing gal, and I am so grateful for her friendship. Shaw has awesome friends (A shout out to all of you). This weekend I met his friend Crystal and her fiance Victor. What a neat couple! Shawn and I were so encouraged and uplifted by our dinner/hang-out time with them. Thank your Lord for great friends!


This past weekend we played ultimate frisbee with Megan and some of her friends. Below are some pics. Gorgeous day. Afterwards, Megan and I went to a farmer's market-one of my new favorite activities.

Celebrating the 4th in Canada

As 4th of July rolled around, I suddenly felt a little sad that I wouldn't be seeing all the Coke and Frito Lay sponsored displays at the grocery stores, the firework stands in the suburbs, the American flags lined up on the roads, and all the other festive images of Independence Day. So, my sweet husband comes to the rescue Wednesday night and invites some friends over for a "4th of July Party." His Facebook Invitation read:

Only YOU can stave off homesickness.
Your attendance here is a vote against it.
We're in Canada. Let's get Tania weened SLOOOOOW.
FRIDAY July 4th @ 8pm. Please RSVP ASAP. Sorry for the L.A.T.E.

So we had our first gathering at our new little house. We'd gotten a free used bbq grill from one of Shawn's neighbors the day before. (It's been sitting on their driveway for about 2 weeks with a sign reading "FREE," so we finally took it) With a little cleaning it worked great, and we were able to grill some burgers for our 4th of July party.

From left to right: Neighbor Aaron, Shawn's Dad Craig, Shawn's mom Marily, One of my flower girl's Karli, Karli's mom Tayna, Tayna's husband and Shawn's Best Man Tim, Shawn's friend Roni, and Shawn...I'm taking the picture.

On a sort-of random note, I love the Canadian custom of taking of your shoes at the door. It keeps the carpet so clean, especially when you have company over. We should adopt that in the U.S. I know my mom would love. She's always steaming her carpet clean.

Being silly...fake fun...cool.