New Years Eve!

I can't believe it's New Years Eve! It seems so strange not to be home with the NB gang. We'll definitely miss them!

Jamie, Chris and I started preparing early afternoon by heading to the grocery stores and getting everything we needed for food. The 3 of us spent a few hours cooking and getting it all together. Most arrived late afternoon and we had quite the full house. The evening ended up being pretty quite with all of us just sitting around chatting. I tried to get it going by bringing out the shooters. It worked a bit but most of the alcohol didn't seem to kick in until after midnight. It was also strange to ring in the new year knowing it wasn't 2008 in Canada for another 4 hours.

I wanted to talk to Karen and wish her a happy new year so I decided I'd call the legion as I knew she'd be there and I could surprise her. It ended up working out perfectly as I was able to talk to her, Graham, Jeffrey, Glorie, Travis, Shannon and Kelly! Couldn't get anymore perfect! They were all quite surprised.

All in all it was a good night but much quieter than previous years. I guess that comes with age though!

Link to New Years pics:

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=82303&l=e826f&id=732460083

Back Home!

Keith and Eric had crawled back to the room at some stupid hour this morning in fine form. I made a bed on the floor for Eric from the pillows on the pullout couch - yeah, he didn't want to sleep on the couch. It was more of a fort really. Keith was so drunk I had to take his shoes off and unbutton his cuff links. Haha. It was kinda funny.

There were some headaches this morning but after a nice greasy breakfast in the hotel restaurant we were good to go. Well, I could have used many more hours of sleep! At lunch time we went to Lauren's parents place where Emma and Dave were hosting a little gathering for the Canadians. Dave made an amazing stew called African Beef Stew. He grew up in Kenya and his mom still lives there so this was a recipe he grew up on. And no there were no funky animals in it! Haha. After lunch Jamie, Brad, Carolyn and I headed out. I was anxious to get back home and wanted to get the drive over with.

A few hours later we were home. I could have slept the drive I'm sure, but it wouldn't have been very safe since I was the driver. We borrowed Emma's car for the week since we had so many people without cars coming to ours for New Years. Keith, Eric, Chris and Vern hit the road not long after us. Everyone (Jamie, Chris, Vern, Eric, Brad, Carolyn, Phil, Karin) who was in Helston for the night came to our place for supper. We ordered Indian and enjoyed a great variety. It was an early night as we were all bagged from last nights festivities. Plus, we have to prepare for tomorrow's New Year's gathering.

Dale & Lauren's Wedding Day!

Lauren was up early and headed to the Fox & Hounds to meet the girls and have her nails done. Chris and I waited at the house for Jack to have a nap then we headed down to meet everyone. Lauren was brave enough to have me do her hair so with Laura's help we did it. After we were finished it was my turn to get my nails done. I wasn't very smart about this as I should have gotten dressed first because I basically had to get dressed as soon as my nails were done. You can imagine how nice my french manicure looked then! Chris and I rushed around getting ready then getting the boutonnieres up to the boys at the house. They looked fantastic! But sorry guys, Lauren looks fabulous! We had a few minutes at the house and then it was off to the church, which is just a few minutes walk. The wedding went perfectly and was a beautiful ceremony.

Afterwards we went back to the Fox & Hounds Inn where the dinner and reception were held. We had about an hour of drinks and mingling than sat down for dinner. The dinner was incredible and was a really nice, cozy venue. Everyone did their speeches and Dale's made me and many others cry!

After the dinner it was time to start dancing. Olivia and her cousin Molly got the floor warmed up. It wasn't long and the dance floor wasn't empty for the rest of the night. We had such an excellent time. Everything came together so well. The pub in the hotel was perfect in size and atmosphere, the band was excellent and just the family and friends together made a great mix. I can't say enough praise about the day. Except that Keith and I have a tough standard to meet when we finally have our wedding!

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Dale Esliger! I'm honored to have such a wonderful brother and sister-in-law! xo

You'll have to follow these 2 links to my Facebook albums as I still can't upload pictures:

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81686&l=18fdc&id=732460083

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81698&l=6a655&id=732460083


I think the quality is causing the files to be too large to upload to Blogger.

Hen Party & Man Day

Today was Lauren's day to spend with her friends and Dale's day to spend with his. The guys spent the day golfing in the rain and pigeon clay shooting. The girls spent the day bowling and having lunch at the Exeter Inn where Lauren used to work. Late afternoon everyone met up at the recreation centre for a game of football. Jamie and I weren't interested in playing so we went for a walk through town, then her, Chris and I made the centre pieces for the wedding.

After everyone was back, the girls went to Jane's for drinks, munchies and the chocolate fountain! I bought the fountain a few weeks ago on eBay and it was a hit. Afterwards we went back to Lauren & Dale's for a drink, then went to the pub just down from their house. All the Canadians hung out and enjoyed being together. It was awesome. It felt like we were back home in Canada.

Off to sleep for Lauren & Dale's big day tomorrow....

The Canadians Arrive!!!

I am SO excited! Jamie, Eric, Brad and Carolyn arrive today! Everyone but Eric is traveling together as he's flying in from Denver where he lives. He called last night to say his flight was cancelled and he's on a different flight.

Jamie, Brad and Carolyn are taking the bus from Heathrow to Exeter where I'll pick them up. The wedding rehearsal is today so everyone else will be busy. I wanted to go anyway because I was so anxious to see them. It's about an hour to Exeter. When I arrived at the bus station they were already there. We headed back to Dale & Lauren's and everyone was back from the rehearsal when we returned. Eric was intending on getting a bus to Exeter, then another to Chulmeigh as a bus comes right to Dale & Lauren's. He was to catch the bus around 6pm but at 6:30pm while we were on our way to the pub for the rehearsal dinner. Eric called to say the bus never showed in Exeter.

I dropped everyone off at the pub, went back to the house to pick up Jamie for company and we went back to Exeter for Eric. Poor Eric, when we got there he had already been traveling for 24 hours and was bored stiff at the station. We came prepared with cider as it's legal here for passengers to drink. It was a very quick trip to and from Exeter as we wanted to try and make it back for the rehearsal dinner. We went straight to the pub and we had such good timing that everyone was just getting their main courses. We thought for sure we'd miss it because we were gone for 2 hours. We were happy to make it and order some much needed food.

Boxing Day

Congratulations Angie & Bruce on their engagement!!! They spent Xmas in Paris so Bruce proposed at the top of the Eiffel tower on Xmas Eve! Can you get any more romantic than that? We are so happy for them!

Happy Birthday Alexandra! Today is my best friend's daughter's birthday.

Christmas is over already? It's amazing how long we prepare for the day and it's over so quickly. Today was a quiet, relaxing one for what I remember. This is another day I can't remember a whole lot of what we did. I do remember Chris cooked sausage and peppers for supper as it's one of our favorite meals. AND Angie arrived! Angie & Bruce arrived after a very long evening of driving and not killing each other. Haha. It was Bruce's first time driving in the UK and to add the darkness and unknown territory to it all was not easy. They spent the evening with us which was really nice. They're staying until the 30th as they have to be in Ottawa for another wedding in Bruce's family.

Merry Christmas!!!

'Merry Christmas Baby' and a kiss on the forehead was what I woke up to this morning. That made my day already. This is mine and Keith' first Xmas together. Can you believe it? We've been together for 6 years or so and have never spent Xmas together. And out first Xmas together is as a married couple!

So far this doesn't seem so bad. Went down stairs as everyone was just getting up (around 9:30am or so). Olivia started the gift opening and she made Xmas! Xmas is not the same without kids. It reminded me of Matthew and Graham when they were young and how excited they'd get and the piles of gifts they would open. We took awhile to get through all our gifts and I didn't even fill up as I was opening my gifts. I kept my mind off the thought that it is Xmas and I'm normally opening these with my parents, brothers and grandparents. Whew, made it through!

After we opened our gifts we decided to meet Lauren's family for a walk in Eggsford forest where there's a nice walking trail. It's a really nice day out, mild and of course no snow because that's rare here. We slapped on our rubber boots as it's a bit muddy and headed out. Spent an hour or so walking and it was really nice for us all to be out.

Not long after our walk we all headed to Jane & Terry's (Lauren's parents) for Christmas appetizers and eventually Christmas dinner. Jane & Terry had a fantastic spread as always and we enjoyed smoked salmon, herring (I think) and even some caviar! Later we had Christmas dinner with turkey and ham and more fixings than I ever thought possible. It was amazing. Once gifts were exchanged and we were all stuffed, we headed back to Lauren and Dale's.

I called home before we went for our walk, then again when I got back from Jane's. It was weird to wish everyone Merry Christmas over the phone and to ask what they got for Xmas and tell them what I got. This was also Matthew's first time away for Xmas. He spent the day with our cousin Dawn who is also living in Calgary so I was relieved he wasn't spending it alone. I wasn't able to have much of a conversation with Mom as the first time we were kinda running out the door, there was no time during the day and then later the connection was so bad we couldn't talk so I was really disappointed about that. The same when I called Dad, Nan & Gampie, Matthew and Nanny Neil. I wasn't very impressed as it was my only way to spend some time with them today. But we (me & them) all made it through the day so I was very happy about that. And spending Christmas with Keith was excellent.

Christmas Eve

Happy Birthday Chris! Today is my mother-in-law's birthday.

Worked until lunch time then headed to Dale & Lauren's from there. Stopped in Truro for about an hour to grab a few last minute things. Arrived mid afternoon just as everyone was preparing for the Xmas Eve gathering of Lauren's family coming over for drinks and appetizers. We spent a few hours getting everything ready and it turned out great. I was very anxious to see Lauren's sister Emma as she's almost 4 months pregnant and we haven't seen her since August. Also anxious to meet her husband Dave who Keith and I have not yet met.

During the evening Keith whipped up some famous Moose Milk for everyone to try. It is so good! Everyone seemed to enjoy it. We all had a really great evening and it was a perfect way to start the Xmas holidays. Before heading to bed I opened my stocking stuffers from Nan & Gampie. I did have a tear sneak out, but then I was fine. Off to bed for the big day tomorrow - still nervous I'm going to cry like a fool opening my gifts from my family.

Blogger isn't letting me upload pictures!

Back to Helston

Today Olivia was in her very first play. The local church held a nativity play and she played an angel. She was the cutest of them all of course! The whole family went and watched with great pride at our little Olivia.

Mid afternoon I jumped in the car and came back home. I have to work tomorrow for a 1/2 day so I had to come back this evening. Not a big deal really, it gave me a bit of 'me time' which I always enjoy. Talked to Mom & Dad and continued to prepare myself for Xmas Day away from them. I can't believe I'm not home. And I'm missing Tipsy Eve!

South Molton

The girls went into South Molton to look for trim for centre pieces for the wedding. And from there I am drawing a blank! I can't remember what else we did that day. This always becomes a bit of a challenge when it's weeks before I update the blog!

I think we went to Lauren's parent's place for a meet and greet of the new family. Chris & Vern and Terry & Jane have not yet met so today was spent meeting the other side of the family.

Exeter Bound

What a morning! I thought I gave myself plenty of time to make my train, but I just made it! I had forgotten that I needed to fill the car up before returning it so that put me behind and almost caused me to miss my train. First I missed the turn off to the gas station, then there was a line up. Once I was finished I booted it back to Hertz to drop off the car - which is at the train station. I dropped my keys and ran out the door, I'm sure they thought I was crazy. Went to print my ticket off and the machine wouldn't print. I had to get in line and have one of the agents print it for me. The train arrived as I was doing this so I had to run to the train. Whew! My ticket was good for the next train in an hour but it wouldn't have been convenient.

Arrived in Exeter around lunch time and Keith, Dale, Vern and Olivia picked me up. We went into town (well Exeter is a city - largest one in the South West of England) to meet Lauren, Chris and Jack who were shopping. It was so nice to see Chris and Vern! The girls shopped for a bit then met the boys at a restaurant for lunch and drinks. Once finished we headed back to Dale & Lauren's. We spent the evening relaxing and just enjoying all of us being together as it happens maybe once a year.

1/2 Day At Work

I had one 1//2 day left of vacation so I took it today since I wasn't able to use it for Xmas Eve. Oh well. Finished at 1pm, popped into Asda to get a few last minute things and came home. Enjoyed a quiet afternoon and evening relaxing and updating the blog. I'm packed and ready to go for tomorrow morning to catch the train around 9:30am. Can't wait to see Chris and Vern! I'm so happy Keith's parents are here but I can't help but be jealous that my parents aren't here.

Chris & Vern Here!

Yay! Chris & Vern made it! They arrived this morning, caught the bus to Exeter and Keith picked them up there. They are all at Dale & Lauren's now enjoying time with their boys and their grandkids.

I had another late night at work so when I got home I realized I really don't have enough time to get the things I wanna get done to go to Dale's tomorrow. I've decided I'm going to wait and catch the train Friday morning instead. It was weird to talk to Keith and hear his parents in the background. you know, I find it really hard to comprehend it's been 8.5 months since we've seen friends and family from home.

Keith's Parents On Their Way

Chris & Vern fly out tonight! They leave Saint John this afternoon, fly into Halifax where Jamie will entertain them for the evening, then they fly out around midnight.

I took the afternoon off work as I'm trying to use up my vacation days. Did a bit of running around and was able to pick Keith up at work. Since Keith is heading to Dale's tomorrow, we went to pick up a rental car for me to get me to work. We spent the evening doing last minute things and getting everything together for him to leave. Speedy also dropped by for an hour (Rach was working) and enjoyed a wee Xmas dram with Keith.

Sick Again

This really sucks. During the night I woke up with one of the worst sore throats I've had. How spectacular.

Today I spent a few hours creating a few CDs for Dale & Lauren's wedding. There will be a band playing at the reception, but they want to have some music to play during the band's breaks. I got a bunch of requests from friends and family and put together what I hope are two good compilations.

I can't believe it but in just a few days Keith's parents will be in the UK! I also can't believe how fast Christmas is coming. The closer it gets the easier it seems to be that I'm going to be here and not at home with my family. I still have no doubt Xmas Day will be hard, but it'll be really nice to spend Xmas with Keith, especially our first Xmas being married.

Christmas Cookies

Keith headed to Truro with Speedy again to finish off their shopping. He had a few things he wanted to pick up so the 'girls' went on their way again. While they shopped, Rachel worked and I baked. Been forever since I've seen Rach as we've both been so busy. I spent a few hours baking shortbread and ginger snap cookies. I just can't get the ginger snaps right here with this damn oven, not like I can at home. At least they taste good.

I was starting to not feel great today. Well the past 2 days I've been quite tired and sure enough this evening I feel a sore throat coming on. Dammit! This is the third cold I've had in 3 months. Not sure what this English weather is doing to me. Whatever it is, I don't like it!

Dress Shopping Success!

Glad I'm not Keith this morning having to go to work.

Still on a mission to find a dress; I headed to Penzance. I spent an hour in New Look and came out with a dress, shawl, top, and winter boots. What a successful day! So relieved to have finally found a dress. And I found a top to go with my new grey skirt. So I'm all set.

Keith and I spent the evening wrapping his family's gifts. We were both really tired and lazy so it took the entire night to wrap them. We were in no rush and Keith just wanted to sleep.

Work Christmas Party

Another busy week at work. I'm only working 3 days this week as I still have some vacation days to use before Xmas, so I took today off. That made the week even busier trying to cram everything in.

Keith has a work function today that involves finishing work at lunchtime and going to meet everyone at the Legion here in Helston. It should be an interesting day for him! I enjoyed the day doing absolutely nothing, it was really nice for a change.

My work Xmas dinner is tonight so I'm heading back into work around 6pm to meet everyone. A few of the London crew are coming down so I finally get to meet the people I talk to everyday. When I arrived at work they had mulled wine ready so we were enjoying that. Then we headed to the Hunky Dory restaurant which is very nice fish restaurant in Falmouth. We spent the entire evening and almost until midnight there. It was a great evening with excellent food and company. I didn't drink so I drove a few of the guys home. When I arrived home just after midnight Keith was passed out cold in bed. He must have had a good day/night as normally he's a light sleeper.

Happy Birthday Lauren & Emma!

Happy 29th Lauren & Emma! Hope your day is excellent!

Feeling much more ambitious today I started making truffles for Christmas. I spent a few hours in the afternoon making various flavors; Kahlua, mint, rum, raspberry and I can't even remember the last kind. The raspberry ones I made with milk chocolate and the others with dark. Unfortunately the milk chocolate didn't set so they are pretty gooey, but work when eating them right out of the freezer as they are still soft. The Kahlua ones turned out the best. Hopefully I can contain myself from not eating them all before Xmas!

Christmas Decorating

Keith and I got up at 8am this morning as he was going to Truro with Speedy to do some Xmas shopping. I'm officially done so I'm not going near any stores on a Saturday...too manic for me. Well except for B&Q as we had to pick up a few things. It was early though so it was very quiet. I was pretty lazy after being out until late so I didn't do a whole lot. I did attempt to make some Red Onion soup which I had in Germany but I ended up grabbing the wrong recipe. It was alright, but not what I was looking for.
Keith arrived home mid afternoon and we spent the evening decorating and going through the gifts we'd bought.

Dress Shopping

Busy week getting back. Work has become busier and busier. Not that I'm complaining because I'm happy to be busy. Went to Truro today to see if I can find a dress for Dale & Lauren's wedding. This place (meaning the UK in general) is painful to find a normal dress. The fashion here is frightful to say the least, especially when it comes to dresses. If I was interested in wearing something really flashy and short with tights underneath, I'd be all set. And let's top that off with a really big, ugly sequence belt and some bad flat shoes. Haha. I'm not joking! I've seen girls wear belts with gym pants. It's just not right. Anyway, no luck today. Visited several shops, but no dresses I would be caught dead in. I did however find an awesome long heavy grey skirt. It'll look great with my high boots. After shopping for a few hours I headed back home.

Pete invited us out tonight so we went to his place in Penryn for a few drinks. On our way to Falmouth we stopped at the Old Barrel pub beside his place and grabbed a quick drink while waiting for a taxi. We spent most of the evening at Weatherspoons where we met up with Nick. Afterwards we went to Fin McCool's where there was actually a live folk band playing! It felt like we were at the Lower Deck! We felt so at home. The place was packed but it was good. To end the evenings we went to Remedies. As Keith and I were drinking we crashed at Pete's but not before Pete whipped us up some bacon sandwiches. Haha. So funny I know, but they are traditional English fare and so good after drinking.

Train back home

Sooooo tired! I can't wait to get home. Up at 6am this morning to go into work with Padre. She's dropping me at the tube station which is on the way to the base. I grab my 2 tubes back to Paddington and off to home I am. 5 hours later I arrive in Truro and Rach picks me up because Keith is flying.

Once I got home I pretty much did nothing for the rest of the day. Unfortunately Keith had a second flight today and didn't arrive home until 9:30pm. I was anxious to see him too, but had to wait. I had a fantastic trip but I'm glad to be home and crashing in my own bed tonight. Just wish I could sleep in and not go to work tomorrow. Who invented work anyway?

Back to England

Happy 29th Birthday Becks!

Seems weird to be in another country and saying I can't wait to go home....to England! Up and at it early this morning as we had to get on the road to home. Really not looking forward to this super long journey. We drove an hour or so and then stopped in Monschau for a few hour visit. More Xmas markets here. Very small town for what I could see. I didn't really buy anything as it was all the same as the others. It was also raining again and I was just anxious to get this drive over with.

The drive ended up being as painful as I expected. We ended up being late leaving Monschau which caused us to have to drive with fewer stops to try and make out time for the Chunnel. Even after all that, we still missed it. Which really sucked. We were almost an hour late arriving at 7pm and we ended up having to wait until after 10pm before we could get on the train. So here we are hanging out in the Eurotunnel terminal for a few hours. Thank God it's similar to an airport terminal so there are shops and duty free to entertain us. We finally arrived at the base at 12:30am. I'm staying with the Padre tonight as there's no way for me to get to Cornwall tonight. Finally crash at her place around 1:30am.

Blogger still won't let me upload pictures.

Trier Markets

Today we spend the entire day in Trier. Yay! No driving! To start the morning off we took a tour of the city on a little train/wagon thing. We saw most of the city this way and the commentary was given in German, French, and English. It was alright but I did get a little bored.

Once the tour was over Stacey, Eve, and I took off to explore more markets. There is absolutely no shortage of Xmas markets in this country. Some of the unique German items to buy are 'smokers' which are carved wooden figures (mostly male) that their bottom screws off to insert incense inside. With the lit incense the smoke comes out the figures mouth which always holds a pipe. It's really neat. I had to buy one because they're so unique. Nutcrackers are also obviously very popular and proper beer steins. I brought a nice stein home to Keith - I'm sure he'll have no problem putting it to good use.

It poured rain for morning and we, along with everyone else were soaked, but that didn't deter us. We spent the rain time in one of the impressive churches and courtyard. We grabbed lunch at a small cafe and after we were finished the rain had stopped and I ventured on my own. I'm not a good shopper with other people. If I'm on a mission, which I was to get Christmas gifts for Keith's parents, I have to shop by myself or I won't get anything done. I spent a few hours roaming the streets and shops of Trier. It was awesome, I loved it. Such a neat feeling to be in this foreign country, roaming on my own and not feeling overwhelmed or intimidated. When I was finished shopping - oh my God the stuff I bought, my backpack was so full - I called Stacey and met her and Eve for supper. We went to a restaurant right beside the markets. It was very busy and once again the food was excellent. We spent about 3 hours in the restaurant eating, chatting, drinking, and laughing. What a great time. Funny that I just met these girls and we clicked so well.

Once we were finished at the restaurant we headed back to the hotel. We were invited back to one of the rooms with a bunch of the girls so we went there and continued to drink some more wine.

I'll have to add the rest of the pictures another time because blogger is not cooperating.