Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Furthermore....

Okay, as many of you know, we're headed back to Texas on May 13th - 2 weeks from yesterday. I'm still working at the MBA program at the U of T, gaining both experience and money. Since the plan is for this money to last us the summer (along with free rent and food ala parents (yay parents!), every day of money earned is a good day. On the other hand, I have so much to organize...I don't want to leave it all 'til the last minute. It's a dilemma alrighty.

Lately I've been listening to a lot of Tom Lehrer. Very whimsical guy, Tom Lehrer.

I packed up 50 lbs of clothes in a bag...actually, it was 41 pounds of clothes and 9 pounds of bag...why does the bag have to weigh so much?! And this was the bag we purposefully bought for it's lightness! The others weigh a full 10 pounds. I wish I could find a 5 pound bag for my "fourth bag purchase." I also wish Scott didn't have to take his guitar as his carry-on...that truly limits our options. It means all the electronics have to fit into my carry on. And, while I don't regret having Ginger bring up my blender, it's been awesome to have, it weighs 10 lbs! I look at everything around me and I see lbs and $$...it's sad but true.

We'd like to bring back our laser printer - but are prepared to not. When we bought the printer, we knew we might have to leave it here. So, it's okay if we have to.


Anyone know any cheap ways to ship anything from Canada to the US? I sure wish I did.

I'll be missing the street meat - or maybe not. Maybe Austin will have it's own variation on this theme...it'd be nifty. Oxford had Kebabs, Toronto has Sausages...who knows what we'll find in Austin.

I wish I could get back to writing more. I love to write and haven't been doing it enough lately. Hopefully our South Padre Island vacation will give me time to relax with my notebook and a frosty beverage. Maybe in a hammock. Hmmm...I should also prepare a list of "books I own that I want Lynna to pull from the boxes and pack for vacation reading."

Right Here Right Now

Attempting to find blogging inspiration through a one word meme...we shall see...

1. Yourself: planning
2. Your spouse: reading
3. Your hair: braided
4. Your mother: anticipating
5. Your father: reading
6. Your favorite item: Wii
7. Your dream last night: lake
8. Your favorite drink: DP
9. Your dream car: convertible
10. The room you are in: yellow
11. Your ex: wha?
12. Your fear: overweight
13. What you want to be in 10 years: mother
14. Who you hung out with last night: Scott
15. What you're not: ready
16. Muffins: tops
17: One of your wish list items: book
18: Time: dinner
19. The last thing you did: pasta
20. What you're wearing: pjs
21. Your favorite weather: sunny
22. Your favorite book: many
23. The last thing you ate: pasta
24. Your life: momentum
25. Your mood: content
26. Your best friend(s): distant
27. What you're thinking about right now: paradox
28. Your car: nonexistant
29. What you're doing at the moment: relaxing
30. Your summer: busy
31. Your relationship status: wedlock!
32. What's on TV: commercials
33. The weather: cold
34. The last time you laughed: moments

Friday, April 25, 2008

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Today is better by far

Well, last night a literal load was lifted off my shoulders when our lovely landlady Virginia offered to mail books for us from the states (Media Mail being inexpensive). We took her up on the offer and packed two boxes with a total of 55 pounds of books! These are books we now do not have to pack, do not have to carry to the airport and do not have to pay overage fees on! YAY FOR VIRGINIA! God has truly blessed us with a wonderful landlady this year. I can only hope our next year's living arrangements can be equally friendly.

Also, things seem to have cooled down at the office. My co-worker who was mad at me yesterday has been quite amicable today. I think more in her life is stressing her than just this job and she kind of let that stress out on me yesterday. It's okay...I just wish I'd known now what I know then - would have made my life a lot less miserable.

Finally, I brought a fan from the house (again, thanks to Virginia, The Great Landlady) which makes the temperatures in our office much more bearable. It's not really hot here - just very, very stale. And they've said they're going to turn off the heat...so we should be dressing for A/C in about 2 weeks time. Yay!

I also got a good night's sleep with pleasant dreams. Even though we went to bed late last night (due to packing boxes with books, so a good late!) I slept almost 8 hours and felt rested when I woke up. I could have easily slept more...but I was okay with the amount I got.

God is good to me. He takes care of His daughter. He loves me. It's amazing how quickly I can feel His love when I need it - I just wish that I could feel it even when the outward situations are not so conducive as they are at this moment. Them's the hard times.

Also, we can has tickets! Flying in to Abilene at 8:30PM on Tuesday, May 13th! It was not terribly more expensive to fly in to Abilene - so we'll catch the puddle jumper from Dallas and save my folks a trip. See ya'll soon!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

I didn't realize how the day had worn me down until now...

Sometimes I think it would be good to work all by myself from home - because the politics and the people can get on your nerves. It's almost like a prison some days, locked in a room with the same people all day every day for a whole week. If you don't build a REAL rapport with your coworkers, then you're doomed for not good days. Many not good days.

So, pray for me you guys. Because one of my coworkers has decided that I'm trying to edge her out for a job that I don't even need to keep past the end of the month. It just sucks. Because my days are not going well...and I'm trying, I'm trying to be a good Christian....they know I'm a Christian...but it's a hard thing. And it's all these subtle things...people intentionally going into other rooms to talk away from me...snide comments...it's just hard. I'm facing a bad situation and I need to make the best of it. Pray for me. Because I need strength tomorrow. Strength I don't know I have.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

A Glorious Day!

Hmm, it seems that I shall be using this blog for it's most stereotypical purpose - to tell about my day. How very normal of me.

This morning was highly successful. I woke up at 9AM and yawned, turned over, went back to sleep for a little bit. Then, come 10, I got up and hauled the Reluctant Husband out of bed as well. Setting him on the task of laundry & dishes, I proceeded to clean other parts of the house. Together, we have made our small apartment MUCH more habitable, with novelties such as a cleaned off coffee table, mopped up floor and clean laundry hung in closets not in piles on floor. YAY!

Then, we headed out, taking the TTC to Chinatown to purchase some fruit for our fun times planned for the afternoon. After acquiring fruit, we TTC'd down to the Eaton Centre where we waited for our friend Sybila at Lush (after a brief pit stop for a VERY TASTY lemonade for me and a quite good Raspberry Tea for Scott.

We then went out to the Toronto Island, where we really just meandered around, appreciating the amazing weather and lovely scenery. We'd hoped to be able to take the little trolley they offer there, but it was closed for "winter" (even though it was 70 degrees today). Ah well. It was amazing just to be out in nature, walking among trees and to look out at the beautiful lake and just talk with Sybila, who is a truly unique, wonderful and interesting person. (And no, I don't think she reads this blog, so I'm not playing to my audience.)

Then, Sybila took us to an AMAZING Thai food restaurant. Not only did I have some of the best food I've had in Toronto, but I also discovered how to use my sticky rice - it requires mangos & coconut milk to make instant amazing! mmm mmmm nom nom.

Then, completely unexpected, Sybila offered to treat us to a movie. We went to the nearest theatre, which was playing only things none of us had heard of. We were willing to give it a shot, though and signed up for "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day." Awesome. Movie.

This is the movie I will be showing to my in-laws and EVERYONE from Ginger to Terry to Taylor will enjoy it - all for different reasons, but all, I think, sincerely & equally. I'm not AS sure that my family would enjoy it...but if they could get past the "1950's pin-up" moments, then I think we'd all be enjoying ourselves greatly. (See Scott's blog for further review of this movie.)

THEN we take the train home and, literally 6 minutes after we walk in the door, as I'm pulling on my comfy sit-around-the-house PJs, Kent calls us. And I proceed to have a rip-roaring conversation with him. Such fun! I am really looking forward to being able to enjoy my friends on a regular, not-so-long-distance basis in the near future. And, while I will miss my Toronto friends, we will be able to host people at our house again with ease...and THAT, my friends, is something I am truly looking forward to.

Now Scott is talking to Kent...it nears 11PM...and the day has been terrific. Thank you God, for this wonderful, beautiful day!

Friday, April 18, 2008

This is William Shatner "singing" a Frank Sinatra tune...as only he can.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

My cup runneth over...





Take a look at these cool robes. Now imagine Scott wearing them. (I know, the excessively perky girl who is wearing them at the moment makes this difficult. I LOOKED for a different picture and we had one last night...but I cannot find it at the moment.) Quick! Take away the wooden stick of doom! Such things are dangerous for Scott to carry for too long. He is bound to swing them dramatically or, at the very least, get "ideas" about how it lends to his "dignity."


Okay, that's better. Those are some pretty cool robes, no? They make Scott look very cool, no? I sure think so. I wish I got a cool velvet tam hat like that. Maybe I'll buy one. Only green. And no tassel. Yep, then I will have a cooler hat that Scott. But he will still win the regalia contest. Because in 4-6 years, my friends, he will have those robes, wear those robes and receive a doctoral diploma in those robes. (Well, not the exact ones said perky girl is wearing...what would she wear then, poor thing?!)


Now gaze at this gorgeous skyline. Yes, it is the skyline of a big city. But it IS the folk music capital of the south. I mean, Flight of the Concords came here! Cool, no? Plus, the countryside around Austin is beautiful. And the hills, the old trees...Austin has some of the loveliest landscape in all of Texas. Somewhere in that skyline, hiding on the edges...somewhere near campus, in a nice neighborhood, a house has been neglected by it's owners. It is up for sale. And it will be mine. Mine to love, mine to appreciate, mine to remodel and improve. Also Scott's. But mine. Ours. In a way that no place has been mine or ours before.



Also somewhere out there is a job for me. The Right Job for me. Maybe working for the Faculty of Music or for the university library. Maybe somewhere else. But it is there, waiting for me to find it and claim it. And this job will not be like all the other temporary positions I have held. It will be, in fact, PERMANENT. I cannot tell you how much this thrills my heart. But the amount is large. And if you've read my blog for a while, and read how hard temping can be on me, then you know a small portion of my jubilation.



Now this, my dear friends, this is not a cowboy hat. It is an IMAGE of a cowboy hat...and as such, it is a symbol of all the "Things Texan" that I shall be reclaiming.

-- Warm weather and sunshine in the wintertime.

-- Enchiladas, Tex-Mex, burritos, beef from my parent's cows, REAL salsa (not this fake sweet
not even hot stuff), mom's Lasagna...

-- MOM and LYNNA and DAD and MATT and all my family! FRIENDS! Garbacz Family!


-- Bathtubs & baths taken in them. Our lovely sleep number bed. Our blue/green couch. All the wedding presents we had to leave behind and all the books.

-- Central time - which means an earlier bedtime during the weekdays.


But don't think I will be turning away from Toronto without regret. On no. Toronto has given me much and I am grateful. I am so very thankful for:

-- Grace Toronto & Grace Toronto Friends! You will be missed but we will stay in touch via Facebook, I promise! Come and visit us in Texas anytime! It's WARM there even in winter! (Usually. But if you don't like the weather, wait a while...it'll change.)

-- Mass Transit. Hopefully we will be taking enough advantage of the UT shuttle system to remain a 1 car family. (Also to not have to pay for parking at the university!) But I shall miss you, TTC.

-- Chinatown. How I shall miss you...the bun shops, the produce, the awesome bargain hunting.

-- Our very fun landlady Virginia, our lovely little apartment.

-- The Granite Brewery - you are expensive burgers and good brews - but both are super tasty and worth the trip.


However, all in all, I'm very glad to be going back to Texas. I have missed so much and gained so much...but, all in all, the South is my native land. I am glad to be returning. I am glad Scott got accepted to UT. I am super glad he gets a progressively better paying TA-ship. I can't WAIT to see all my friends and family again. The Good Times, they shall roll.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

WANT!


Okay, I was looking on Amazon.com for the book on buying/contracting repairs that Mike Holmes is supposedly writing/has written. And I came across this shirt. Which I want. In black with white letters. Ah...for the days when I worked for a T-Shirt company.

Least Favorite & Most Favorite...chore?!

Okay, so occasionally I go over to my LiveJournal and one of their "Writer's Block" tips really catches my interest. Such happens today. The prompt was: What is your least favorite chore?

So, what is my least favorite chore? Cleaning the bathroom. Funnily enough, this is not because I really mind the gunk & dirt...when you grow up on a quasi-farm, you get used to nasty dirt and know how to deal with it. No, it's really the big, gigantic process. Bathroom cleaning, unlike other cleaning, requires you to get out paraphenalia. You need special scrubbers, special disinfectants, special everything! Plus, you have to section off a big block of time. Because no bathroom cleaning task is short. You're scrubbing a toilet or a bathtub or shower or mopping the floor...no short tasks there.

This year, it is made even more difficult by the fact that my bathroom is TINY. I mean, literally, there is barely a place to stand...which makes the prospect of trying to manuever a mop around the floor rather daunting.

I wish I was better at this. I really do. But at the end of a long week of indeterminite work and frustrating lack of acceptance letters, the last thing I want to do is spend an afternoon in a 2x3 box filled with cleaning fumes.

On the other end of the spectrum is my most favorite chore. I love to chop vegetables. This has shown forth in our preferred eatings as I tend to favor stir fries & pastas...things that let me chop, chop, chop away. I chop in front of the TV, watching Holmes on Homes or Star Trek: Voyager. Life is good.

And now. . . . .you know.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Knut is going to kick butt!

Humorous Pictures
see more crazy cat pics

I know, I know...this is probably not my favorite German baby polar bear. Heh, it might not even be a polar bear. But still...I heart K-Nut and his Song! I will gladly e-mail it to you if you have not heard it.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Looking forward to heading back to the states!

As I lean back in my plush pink swively rocky chair I think about the various things that I will leave behind when we leave Canada. Scott and I spent about 30 minutes yesterday talking about the things we plan to take with us when we go home, the things we'll leave and those few things we will really miss. It's an interesting cross section of our life here in Toronto.

Things we'll be taking:

Our rice cooker. We love our rice cooker, we love its non-stick surface, we love its size and its efficiency.

The legs from our Ikea desk/table. This is a "if we have room" item, but I really hope we have room. These are red Ikea legs that will go on any Ikea table top. We can't afford the weight to bring the table top, but I figure, it'll be fun to pick out a new one, perhaps a rounded one...and this'll be my craft table/desk.

Our Pom glasses. We started this year by buying 2 glass containers of "Pom" pomagranite tea. Mine has a little color on it, Scott's has the Pom logo in relief. These glasses have been our individual water/juice/ginger ale/chocolate milk glasses all year long and will always instantly evoke memories of this year.

Our pillow top mattress cover - I bought this one in a queen size intentionally so that we could use it later. I mean, we can't leave all our $100 purchases in Canada, eh?

Things we'll be leaving with much regret

Our beautiful swirly red lamp shade. Well, maybe if I can fit it in somewhere...it doesn't weigh much!

The bookshelf we spray painted red. It's pretty - but not pack-able.

The aforementioned tabletop.

My black boots - they've served well, but their time is slowly becoming past.

Our Goodwill overcoats - they have served their purpose and will be retired...probably back at a Goodwill somewhere.

Things we miss...and are looking forward to reclaiming

A bathtub...any bathtub. 'Nuf said.

Our couch...with the bed and the relaxing for a movie...it has not been the same without you, green/blue couch!

Many, many books. We had to leave so many good friendly books behind!

My sewing stuff! I hadn't realized how much a part of my life I'd made sewing...until I didn't have it for a year!

Summer. I miss summer. I miss the sunlight. I miss the heat. And could do without the bitter wind.

My craft & scrapbooking stuff. This is really more about the space to lay it all out and DO crafts and scrapbooking...I brought some stuff with me, but haven't really been able to use it for lack of space.

Choice Lolcat of the day

Humorous Pictures
see more crazy cat pics
Another spotted cat makes it's way into my heart...sneakily.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

My life is full of Awesome!

Okay, to start off - Blogger's "Google Blogs" April Fools is just funny.

And so are the comments on my facebook photo album cum birthday present for my bro about Milk In A Bag.

But, you know what, my life is full of even more awesome than that! So, today is my day to take from both the classic meme of counting your blessings and my friend Lily's blog and have a "Things I Like in my Life (and just plain things I like).

Thing One:
This Saturday I got to spend 2 hours with Tamora Pierce and her "spouse-creature" Tim. This was a pretty amazing event for me. I have been reading Tammy's books since I was about 14 (MaryLynn has a head start on me...she's 14 now and has been reading them for 2-3 years!) She writes well-crafted fantasy stories about girls growing up and discovering their strengths. Her heroines are interesting and often unsure of themselves. It is how they overcome their uncertainties that makes these characters truly interesting and believable. Spending time with Tammy over lunch was, therefore, a really awesome experience. I got some inside tips from a best-selling author on how to create interesting characters. And we talked about Star Wars, and politics and the publishing industry...and many other random things. Thanks Tammy, it was amazing!

(P.S. I made the mistake of forgetting to get a picture of Tammy & Tim...sad puppies. But this one from an AudioBook website is the closest to what she looked like when I saw her that I could find online. I guess authors who have been writing for a while have a large number of pictures - because I was amazed at how different she looked in her different pics.)

(P.P.S. I did not, however, make the mistake of not getting a book autographed. I may be silly but I'm not THAT silly!)

Thing Two:
Okay, this one falls in a "things I like" category. I found out the other day that David Tennant is playing Hamlet at the RSC. This is cool. Because it's awesome to see a really interesting actor go forth and play serious roles as well as funny ones. (Yes, I am aware that, for all intents and purposes Hamlet is about the least serious role you can get in a Shakespeare drama...or at least the most famous least serious one. But theatre people take the role seriously...which is what I meant.)

Thing Three:
This is a small, but big thing. My lovely pastor's wife Sue and, of course, my pastor Dan (but Sue comes first, 'cuz she's the to-be-mom) will be getting to adopt a baby this May. They found out last Thursday. Like I said, this weekend has been one for good news.

Thing Four:
I like lolcats. I really, really do. Why? Because they are funny. And they are cats. I want a cat. But I don't have one. But many, many lolcats are pictures of Bengal cats - because Bengal cats tend to do things that you want to take pictures of. Plus...SPOTS! My kitteh will be named Pounce. When I get her. Which is not yet. Because we are short of the monies. And therefore...no kittehs for the moment. Except lolcats. Like this one:
Humorous Pictures