I Miss my Mind the Most

Okay I'm up UNbelieveably early...  perhaps it was because I actually slept well last night and even went to bed a little earlier than usual.  It would have been nice to sleep in though.  GOD?!  ARE you HEARING THIS???  JUST ONE SLEEP IN??  PLEEEEEEEEEEEZZE!?!?!?&nb sp;

Today is the day we get everything ready for tomorrow's halloween festivities.  We are going to have trick or treating, a party and fireworks!  It's going to be fun- I'm hoping it doesn't rain!!  Paige is sooo looking forward to trick or treating- the excitment is contagious.  I can't even eat any candy this year, but it's the most excited i've been about halloween in a LONG time. 
I'm a little bit bummed since my In laws had to leave suddenly for work, out of province, they are going to miss Paige in all her cuddly, tastey, kitty sweetness!   I'm kinda bummed too since I've been missing my family so much, it was nice to have SOME family around to chat with.  They had JUST got back from a month long trip through the states and now they are gone again.  I really hope my family can make it out for Christmas, I'm in desperate need for some FAMILY around me right now.  If I wasn't prego and paranoid, I'd just fly out and see everyone.  PLUS I don't have the energy to tote a toddler on an aircraft by myself- that would just be STUPID. 
So to my family:  I MISS YOU!!  Hope to see you soon!!
To everyone:  HAVE A GREAT PRE-PUMPKIN PREP DAY!

Hug your family if you got some,

~jen

Life can sure take some crazy turns and twists.  Even when you think you can see the road clearly ahead.  Sometimes, You think you see twists and turns but once you arrive to that point in the road it's actually straighter and alot smoother than you anticipated.  Life is crazy like that, and I've learned that it's alot less stressful to roll with the punches.  Mr. Island learned this morning that his company is going through a massive upheaval.  They purchased a large portion of another company, and that is where the twists start to appear in our, so far, straight road.  The changes in his company could be really great for us or not so great but we really don't know.  I'm hoping that we drive down this road an come out at a much better place than we could have imagined.  I could sit and worry about it, and I admit I've thought about it most of the morning- but instead I've decided to see where it takes us.  I hope that Mr. island is taking it all in stride- he tends to worry about twists in the road 'just incase'. 

These are the times we usually look back on and think "What were we so worried about??".

To top off My husband's great day, he found his car had been broken into this morning and his new snowboard was stolen.  That really pisses me off, because it's so rude.  At least they didn't vandalize the car, which is what happened to me last time.  That is the 'bonus' you get when you actually LOCK your car doors... they destroy it to get in.  Have you ever had that happen to you?  Did you feel violated or just plain P.O'd like me?

We are going to batten the hatches and try to have a nice warm day inside.  Please do the same!

2 more sleeps till halloween!!

Hugs and Pumpkins,
~jen

Last night we had a Lunar eclipse.  WOW.  It was pretty cool to see the Shadow of the earth crawl slowly over top the moon and turn it into a deep red color.  There have been several other lunar eclipse opportunities that I have missed (due to clouds etc.) so this was my VERY first.  For some reason I was unable to see the darn thing with my bare eyes- without my glasses on i was seeing 3 moons.  I took pictures with my camera but I am FAR too tired and lazy today to go through the process of taking them off my camera to post them on here.  Instead I'm showing you a picture I snatched off the web- which for all intents and purposes looks EXACTLY like the moon I stared at last night. 

COOL eh??

We bought my daughters halloween costume yesterday.  She is going as a kitty.  She tried it on for us last night and she had to be the cutest thing in the world!!  The costume has padded hips and a tail and she looks so squishy you could eat her.  She's pretty excited about 'trick or treating' this year and I spent most of the day explaining to her how it works, over and over and over again. Our neighborhood is putting on a little halloween party and I'm excited to see her having fun this year.  The great thing about being a parent, getting to relive the excitment of holidays through the eyes of your children.  You've heard me say that before, but it's so bloody true.  What was your favorite costume as a child??  I can't really seem to remember many of them, but one I really liked was the brown kitty costume my mom made for me in First or second grade-  I really liked that one.  My first halloween, in my baby book it says, I went as SPIDER MAN.  What was my mother thinking?  My baby book also mentions me cutting my own hair off several years in a row- within a few days of halloween.  Weird. 
I should run and get my rug rat ready for a nap... I'm worried that she's forsaken naps for a few more epsodes of Dora the explorer and Strawberry shortcake.  Help me!

Hugs and pumpkins,
~jen

Well hello again,  I bet you were hoping for a  happy blog entry after all of the bummers that you've been reading.  This one is definitely happy!  I talked to my dad yesterday, and he informed me that his Friend at work is really PUMPED about having me paint a painting for his wife for christmas!!  Apparently the gentleman got so excited about the painting that He ended up telling his wife about the plans- so she could have some say in the painting.  He will be sending me 3 photos that he wants me to work from.  I told him that it's possible that his subject of choice may not be something I can Paint well and I may not be able to execute his ideas perfectly but I will try ANYTHING.  Dad told me that they are really into hunting, I'm hoping that they want Deer or something as a subject, I've never painted Deer.  Or Moose.  Moose would be cool too.  I'm secretly hoping that it's not a portrait... I've had my FILL of portraits.  I feel like painting an animal of some kind.
There is nothing like a PAID job to get you excited about painting again.  LOL!  I'll be sure to share the progress as it comes along... I'm excited!!

It's a beautiful sunny day so I'm off to enjoy it,

~jen

 

I'm feeling kinda wound up tonight, as is everyone in the house.  I think the shorter days are giving us all 'cabin fever' a few months early.  If I had more energy i'd run around the block a few times to burn off steam... but I won't and just say I did.

I had an appointment with my doc this morning about the insulin problems.  He said that I handled it well and kept a good control on it.  He said I looked exhausted and i told him (again) about being up all night long itching everywhere.  He asked me if I was willing to see a specialist in Vancouver about my liver.  I suspected something may be up with my liver but my last tests came up clean.   He tried to reassure me by saying he's taking a proactive approach this time around but I'm worried anyway.  During the appointment I got to the baby's heart beat and all I could think was "It doesn't sound normal to me..."  but it's probably just me worrying about nothing again. 

All I want to do is sleep but I'm too fricken wired.  I want to go chop some wood, that is what I WANT to do.  I'll probably just have a shower and go to bed, or try to.

Hopefully the next blog post is in better spirits,
Hugs,

~jen

 

I took the opportunity to take my dog for a walk tonight.  Just the Dog and I.  We went around the block twice- it was nice. 
Anyone with a toddler can tell you that it's rare to go or do ANYTHING in complete silence.
  You don't notice how wonderful  complete silence is until you are deprived of it for 2 and a half years.  Don't get me wrong, hearing the wonderful chatter and thoughts of a two year old are some of the highlights of my day but a person needs some quiet time too.  My dear husband took my girl to the pool tonight so I have a couple hours of silent time to myself... I am enjoying it to it's fullest.   Not like I have a lot of brilliant ideas that I need to mull over in order to save the world, but I do have THOUGHTS and it's nice to be able to think them- all in the same stretch of time- without screaming or crying.
Besides, it is so absolutely beautiful outside right now.  With any distractions, I wouldn't have been able to concentrate on that 'smell' of fall, the crunch of the leaves and acorns under my feet and the warm glow from the windows of my neighbors- all cuddled up in front of their fireplaces.  Very inspiring stuff, I'm glad I was able to enjoy it tonight.

I am including some NEW, old artwork in my blog today for your enjoyment.  Another one of my Pet portraits, it's from a picture I stole off the web somewhere and decided it was cute enough to paint.  I like the entire painting except for the poor cat's nose, it looks like a snout of a pig... don't ask me why.  For those detail people out there, this was a 5x7" watercolor and gouache painting i did back in February, March or April (I can't remember).

Enjoy, and go out and take a walk if you can...

Hugs and Fall Leaves,

~jen

I found this cute little countdown ticker so everyone can see how many more months of pregnant 'bliss' I'll have to endure.  I had to shrink the image ever so slightly to fit on my blog... you can't read it very well BUT you get the idea LOL!  Cllick on the image to see it full sized... You guys are so spoiled at my blog!!

I'm lucky though, I'll probably get to knock of at least 2 weeks of this time or maybe more if the little one decides it's had enough of sleeping all day and night in the comfort of my belly. Here's hoping!

Just so you all know, I knocked my insulin down alot last night and skipped a dose today at lunch and everything seems to be back on track.  Yahoo!
I'll get the full story from My Ob/Gyn on monday.... HURRY UP MONDAY!! 

~jen

My body has been doing some weird stuff lately.  Those of you that read my blog often know that I'm currently suffering from Gestational diabetes.  You also know that I have to watch what and how much i eat in order to keep the sugars under control.  You might NOT know that I have to inject insulin 4 times a day to keep everything in working order.  I Love insulin.  It lets me eat food and not feel like keeling over in a dead sleep after every meal, or suffer from a persistant and pounding headache for the entire day.  Insulin is a beautiful thing and i don't mind having to use it at all. 
It took me several weeks to iron out what kinds of foods agree with my system and what food I should stay away from.  Also I had to figure out the best time to eat etc.  The last thing I diabetic person wants (especially a PREGNANT diabetic person) is to have your sugars drop too low because you didn't eat enough food to keep your sugars HIGH enough.  I have been pretty predictable and am ususally fighting to keep my blood sugar levels DOWN until about 4 days ago... all of the sudden I have had to eat pretty  much CONSTANTLY to keep my sugars from DROPPING!! 

In the morning I wake up with VERY low sugar levels and each morning they drop lower.  One of these mornings, if things keep on this way, I WILL NOT wake up due to hypoglycemic shock.  I have decided to cut back my insulin just a few units today and see if that makes a difference- but it's starting to worry me.  At first, I was enjoying being able to eat more food but now I literally can't stop eating.  I ate CAPTAIN CRUNCH cereal for breakfast this morning!!!  That is basically made of pure sugar.  I should have had SUPER high levels of sugar in my blood but it was no different than any other breakfast I've eaten lately.  I don't know what is going on, but It's all too weird.

Don't worry i'm Calling the Doctor Right now.  I'll keep you updated on the progress. 

~jen

Most of you probably don't know that my Hubby also has a blog.  That could be because he only just started blogging a week ago.  He has a definite talent for writing and you may enjoy stopping by to say Hi.   He started the blog to fight night shift boredom at work and I was most flattered by his first posting so I thought I'd help him out by decorating his blog a little.  He goes under the moniker of "LesVegas"- that's his vegas nickname, his best friend goes under the name "GenoNevada"  Those two crack me up. They have an alias for every thing they do.
Anyway... 
He liked the Jeopardy theme so I went looking for some Jeopardy style clip art.  I found the cover of an old Jeopardy board game and used it as inspiration for the header.  I was short of a couple good fonts but I think it turned out nice anyway.  Mr. Island thought it was a very girlie design but I claimed it was only RETRO, NOT GIRLY!!!  Check it out for yourself and leave some kind words behind for my Honey dearest.

Thanks guys,
~jen

 

Yesterday I promised to share my latest illustration that I designed for my personal christmas cards.  You may think that it's a tad early to think about christmas but really, if you want to MAKE your own cards you have to be on the BALL. 
I like to send my cards out in November so that people can display them for awhile before they have to take them down.  I'm sure most of them end up on a shelf collecting dust or worse, in the garbage collecting coffee grounds but it's the thought that counts.  Christmas is my favorite time of year, and it's about more than just gift giving- I like to make the most of it.

Here is my design

Now keep in mind this is the illustration before I've jazzed it up with some sparkles and gold pen.  I'm not big on sparkles etc. but i think a christmas card is worth naught without a little flair.  I'll post the finished product once I buy all the supplies I need.  I'm thinking I may try and sell some of these (if they turn out okay) as sets- like they do in the stores.  First I'd have to work out what price would make them WORTH buying.  At one of my local galleries they sell cards (done this same way) for 4 Dollars each!  I think that's a little steep but I suppose it's cheaper than purchasing the actual piece of artwork.  Like I mentioned yesterday,  I did this piece with watercolor pencils which have properties all their own... but I like the blotchy look of the sky.  I think the stars and moon will be getting the sparkle treatment to help them stand out a little. Let me know what you think of my design, I'm curious.

Hugs & Sparkles,
~jen

last night my hubby and i curled up in front of the TV finally for a little ADULT time.  I mean, to watch CSI Miami of course!  We heard some racket coming from upstairs but when no crying was heard afterward we simply kept on watching.  A little later on my daughter came downstairs COATED in a white lotion.  It smelled faintly of coconuts.  I went upstairs to discover that she had found, opened and emptied an entire bottle of Waterproof suntan lotion all over my bedroom floor, hallway, stairwell and her bedroom. 
Have you ever tried to remove waterproof sunscreen from your skin???  It's like runny wax- and it takes A LOT of soap and elbow grease to remove.  Multiply the difficulty by 1000 when dealing with sunscreen and carpet.
I got out our carpet steam cleaner, but it just barely was able to remove anything so we got down on our hands and knees and tried the old fashioned way.  If anyone has any magic tips to get the rest of it out... PLEASE SHARE IT WITH ME!
I'm currently taking wagers as to when the 'white' spots turn a deep shade of brown...

I'll use my winnings (if I win the wager) to buy new carpet.

The really stupid part is that I wasn't half as pissed about the carpet as I was about missing CSI Miami.

Hugs & bissell cleaner,
~jen

 

I'd like to thank Misskendy for letting me have full run of her blog this afternoon.  She Foolishly agreed to let me design her a new header and give me all the freedom I wanted.  Well, i tell you I took this opportunity and ran all over the block with it. 

First, I painted a picture using my illustrator pens and some watercolor pencils.  I scanned it into the computer, brought it into Photoshop, cropped it, fiddled with it some more and used some fancy postal brushes on it.  I had so much fun and I think it looks really cool.  OF course  you know that in my usual style I have no idea what Misskendy looks like so the painting is straight from my imagination.  She was next on my list for a 'crayola portrait' but I lost steam a few months ago... I hope this makes up for your long wait!  Please hop over to her blog and tell her what you think of her new header... Please be gentle.

CHECK IT OUT HERE....

I also managed to create a little illustration for my OWN christmas cards this year!  I'm really pumped about that.  I'm going to scan it in the computer and print off several small versions- add some sparkles and gold or silver pen highlights then I'm going to adhere it to the front of a blank card.  VOILA my very own designed christmas cards!  I'll post the picture tomorrow of the illustration and you can put your orders in at any time LOL! 

Well I've had one of those crazy days where I've had energy to spare... I have been eating like a HORSE because my sugars won't stay up!  I think I may send Mr.Island to the store for some sugar free icecream... ughh my latest craving.

Hugs & more Hugs,
~jen

 

Just when I think I've got nothing to blog about, here I am. 
I've been having the WORST case of insomnia lately, I'm not sure what's up.  It feels like my body has given up on the pursuit of sleep because it realizes it is a losing battle.  I still have my usual urge to keel over at around 3:30 in the afternoon but for some reason I've been to distracted to give in to the urge to nap.  For some of you that know me really well, you probably don't believe what I'm reading... JENNY, NOT TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO NAP??  Yes folks, it's true.  I hope it passes soon because I really enjoy sleeping and miss it so.  
I've been having some urges to paint lately...  but with Paige being the CLING ON that she is I don't see an actual painting coming around for awhile.  It would be nice to make a few dollars for christmas though... I did really well last year doing custom portraits.  It was bloody hard work, but enjoyable.  I did 5, and after I was done I didn't want to do another for a very long time.  It's been a year and I'm just starting to come around.  I feel like I'm SOOOO out of practice because I haven't painted anything since May-ish.  Whenever I feel like I'm out of practice- my best work appea rs.  I'm weird like that.

Speaking of paintings,  Here is another Painting I did in April 2003.

I call him GUY SMILEY  He's special because this painting is the first one I did in this style using gouache paint as well as watercolor- which has since become my ONLY STYLE for animals.  Can't you just FEEL how happy he is???  Can't you just hear his PURRING???? This is a truly great painting.  I love it.  I hope you do too.

We are off to a birthday party,

~jen

I'm kinda outta blog at the moment.  I keep sitting down to write something witty, clever and interesting but I get writers block as soon as my fingers touch the keyboard.
 Instead, I've been spending my days and nights playing online video games... DAMN, are THEY addicting!!

Well I'm off to have some much needed breakfast and ovaltine.  Well okay, maybe JUST the ovaltine.

~jen

 

While standing at the counter the other day picking through the remains of the turkey carcass I came to reallize something. My mom would stand at the counter for an hour doing the very same thing while she was packing away the turkey leftovers. Now, i realize that some of the most succulent & tiniest pieces of meat are too good to put into cold storage and need to be eaten right then.
I'm SO turning into my Mom. I'm scared ya'll.

Hugs and Moms
~jen

Great news, the turkey came out wonderful and I celebrated this morning with my first turkey sandwich. I'm sure it will be the first turkey dish of many this week. I'm thinkin' turkey quesadilla's....hmmmm

Hugs to all,
~jen

First of all, I hope all you Canadians out there are having a wonderful Thanks giving weekend!! I'm cooking my first turkey as we speak. Mr. Island and I are crossing our fingers and our toes that it turns out as delicious as it smells because we both have a hankering for turkey. I kinda cheated and bought one that was already stuffed, but the stuffing is cranberry and we both hate cranberries so I'll be making different stuffing on the side. It also came with a packet that you mix with water to make gravy. Yumm. So all I have to worry about is taking the BIRD out on time and making sure that the spuds and other vegtable side dishes are ready when the bird is. I'm so excited!!
I'm fighting a case of the blues lately. I'm hoping it's just raging hormones or my SEVERE lack of sleep or perhaps the bladder infection I'm fighting right now- and that it will go away when I can solve some of those other problems. My wonderful neighbor Laurie, along with her daughter Desiree- was nice enough to bring over a tray full of Cinnamon buns to thank Us for helping install their new water heater. I don't even think I thanked her properly because all I could manage to do was cry. Perhaps I was so very sad because I really wanted to sit down and eat the entire tray of carmelly confections- but couldn't. Or maybe it's just because She caught me off guard with such a nice gesture on a day when I was feeling so poopy. Whatever it was, I would like to say THANK YOU LAURIE. I broke down and ate a sweet, delicious bun anyway and paid the consequences with a booming headache- but it was sooo bloody worth it! Ken was smart, after we had each eaten a bun he quickly wrapped them up and stored them in the deep freeze to kkep them out of sight and out of mind. So smart. I'll pull them out when I have company and when they exclaim how delicious they are I'll say... "Oh I just whipped them up one saturday afternoon..." LOL just kidding.
If it's not my nice neighbors making me bawl, it's the dang TV. I spent the entire night blubbering over misc. stuff during primetime last night, it was sickening.
I tell you, I can't wait until this baby comes so I can get back to normal.
Then, I'll have something new to cry about.
Happy Thanks Giving,
~jen

Yesterday was my 4th wedding anniversary. Yes, I forgot all about it, even after my husband wished me a happy one first thing in the morning. My Mother in law called later on in the evening and I had forgotten all about it again (as she knew I would). These things are cool too look at on a calendar but I'm just not one of those people who make big deals out of special days. So don't expect a card from me.
I do think our anniversary is special though. I should have prepared something nice for dinner but instead my poor hubby came home from work to the cold remains of the 'flank steak experiment' I had prepared earlier in the day. Let's just say he politely claimed he was 'full'. Poor guy. I sure Love him. He puts up with all my Moods- pregnant or otherwise, constantly being out of clean underwear, having to eat spagetti AGAIN and my neglect of the toilet bowls. Is it any wonder that the last 4 years have seemed to fly by- they say it does when you are having bucket loads of fun.
Thank you for being the man you are and helping make this family a special one. Everyday is an experience and a memory that I treasure and every tomorrow is a present I can't wait for.
I Love you so very much-

Please remember than when you look into your empty underwear drawer.

Love,
Moi

Everyone knows, well, Pregnant women know that you tend to have desires for strange food when you are 'with child'. The cravings for me tend to me for items that normally wouldn't cross my mind and/or totally repulse me. You always hear about pickles and ice cream but my cravings were along different lines. During my last pregnancy I couldn't get enough of those 'frosties' from Wendy's, Orange Crush soda, Peanut butter, and lemon merangue pie filling (by the pot full) pickles however, made me want to hurl. When i found out I was diabetic it put a real damper on the cravings, I still had the urges but i just couldn't follow through with an eating binge.

This time around i've found a couple new and very strange cravings as well. Today, while buying groceries I saw a container of Ovaltine... and suddenly I HAD TO HAVE IT. This purchase was justified by the fact that there is only 2 servings of carbs in a glass and it contains milk- Which my dietician says I need to drink much more of anyway. I just made myself a large mug and it was pretty good, kind of reminded me of a warm Frostie LOL perhaps that is the connection?? I just recently survived a couple weeks worth of craving breakfast sausage. ?. My latest breakfast passion has been oatmeal. Normally I HATE oatmeal, the smell and the texture repulse me to NO END. But I rather enjoy it at the moment, and it's healthy for me so I won't complain about a good thing. I always crave hamburgers but that is one thing I am allowed to eat anyway so I eat them, and I eat them often. There is the constant craving for chocolate, but that one is present wether I'm prego or not. Once in awhile I indulge in a diabetic chocolate bar but most of the time I supplement with diet hot chocolate. So now you know my inner most cravings... what pushes your buttons?? Even if you aren't 'lucky' enough to be prego like me, share your cravings I'm curious.
Okay I'm off,
Hugs & Ovaltine,
~Jen
p.s. i've eaten enough pickles during this pregnancy to make up for 5 pregnancies!!

I was looking at this little Avatar of a toaster that I put on my blog the other day and it reminded me of a funny 'Paigism' that I heard for the first time this morning. 
Lately she has taken to having toast for breakfast and I noticed that she doesn't eat the pieces with crust.  So I asked her one morning if she wanted the CRUST taken off, She agreed that would be a good thing. 
This morning she asked for toast again and while I was walking to the kitchen the called after me,

"Mom, Take the CRUD OFF!".

  I laughed so hard and everytime I see toast the only thing I think about is that pesky crud.

Hugs and Crudless toast,
~jen

G'day, yesterday was my monthly doctor appointment and He siad I'm the 'picture of health' and all of my blood work  came out great.  The ultrasound was also looking great he said and the baby looks absolutely perfect.  I knew I was worrying for nothing... sort of. 
He had no idea why I'm itching because my liver is functioning perfectly so there was no help there.  The only crappy thing is that stupid UTI is back if you can remember back to the kidney infection I had in July??  Ugh, I have to go in for tests again.  At least 'Rosie' is Okay.  "Rosie" is what Paige calls the baby when we ask her what she wants to name it.  I ask her, "What if it's a little Boy??".  She says "My bruszer is Rosie!"... uh, ok then.  So Rosie it is!  I guess it's better than 'Bubba'.

I also have another piece of artwork to share, aren't you excited??  Thanks for all of your comments on the artwork I posted the other day- you all have such Excellent taste in art!  This piece is called 'Beach Chair", yes, I'm really challenged when it comes to naming my paintings. 

An unrelated question but does anyone know of a place on the internet (besides Sony image station) where you can host video clips????  Sony's site is great but it makes all of your guests sign up for their own account wether they want it or not.  Thanks in advance for your help!

Later Gaters,
~jen

I'm not feeling good today, so it's probably not a great day to be blogging. BUT I do have a suprise for you. I was discussing the internet with friends last night (ya, I know, a real shocker) and It occurred to me that I have a HUGE stash of old artwork online that NONE Of you have seen yet!! so Over the next week or so I'm going to feature some of it here. You will have to click on my links to view them otherwise you will need to get a membership at Sony imagestation which is just a pain in the Butt.

Here is todays Featured painting;
It's called "Portrait of a hydrangea" it was originally done in watercolor and it's size was 5" x 7". I sold it to a nice lady from my home town. I really liked it and I sold it far too cheaply LOL but any money is better than no money. What do you guys think??

Tomorrow I'll have another one for your enjoyment...

till then,
Hugs and sunshine

~jen

I talk alot about love don't I???  One of these days I'll shock you all with a blog about things I hate- maybe.

ANYWAY, I wanted to let you all know how much I LOVE my neighbors.  They have to be the most WONDERFUL people on the planet, really.  Let's start with my closest neighbor (only by about 30 feet), Suz.  She watches Paige for us whenever we ask and doesn't care for a single thing in return.  Our daug hters play well together, on most days and she never turns down a walk to the park. An true friend.  Please check out her blog, I recently managed to get her slightly addicted to the medium of blogging and she's set up a really cool blog, it's worth a look or 10. 
My other neighbor would give you the shirt off her back if you were in need.  Her name is Laurie- or as you may have seen in my comments- 'MamaLee'.  She is very kind and thoughtful person and I enjoy her 'adult' company more than she probably realizes.  She's the only other stay at home Mom I know, She has two beautiful daughters.  I can't express how reassuring it is to know I can call her if, say, I lose my keys 10 minutes before a doctor's appointment! (Me??  Lose my keys??  Never!)  One of these days it's my turn to invite YOU over for tea... so be ready!!  She doesn't have a blog, but she should. 

Since I moved to this city, I haven't had many friends- Certianly no friends I would actually consider calling over for tea.  When I moved to this neighborhood I didn't realize I was getting more than a nice home to live in. I gained some of the best friends I have ever met- IN MY LIFE.  Thank you ladies for making me feel so reassured to know that you are there, 30  feet away, everyday and please know that I am here for you should you ever need it (and even if you don't NEED it LOL).

Much Love,
~jen

Yesterday Mr. Island, Paige and i went to the clinic for our first 'detailed' ultrasound of the new baby. We were able to catch our first glimpse of the new little one, and it even appeared as if it was waving at as and trying to talk LOL. It was opening and closing it's mouth alot - it gets that from me. I saw the heart beating away and saw it kick and wiggle around. It was exciting because I've been feeling the baby so much lately, I have been curious what it actually looks like in there. The little arms are up by the head and the legs were squished together tightly and tucked underneath.
Normally I feel reassured after having an ultrasound but I happened to have a nurse with no bedside manner this time around. When I asked her if the baby had all of it's parts intact she replied "Well, I'm really not supposed to say anything until the radiologist looks at the pictures."
Uhhhh okay. So is she saying that something IS NOT okay??? I've had SEVERAL ultrasounds and they usually say 'It looks fine from what I can tell" or "Looks good to me", very vague but slightly reassuring. I'm hoping that she is just an idiot... but I see my doctor on Tuesday so I'll get the lowdown from him.
In the meantime, enjoy the pictures I brought home with me. It looks more like a tiny little skeleton but I can tell it's a dang cute little skeleton! [line]
This is the baby's head from the side with a bonus view of the spinal cord. [line]
This is the frontal face view... you see that cute skeleton look I was talking about??
Enjoy the pictures, there will be many more to come in the following months since I'm considered a 'high risk' pregnancy- I get a lot of ultrasounds.

Hugs and babies,
~jen

Mr. island and I went to see a concert last night at the Port Theatre. The headliner was GREAT BIG SEA "www.greatbigsea.com" with two other artists by the names of Liam Titcomb "www.liamtitcomb.com" and Jimmy Rankin opening for them. I was MOST impressed with Liam Titcomb and will be purchasing his album as soon as it's release (November 2, 2004). Jimmy Rankin was Good, his music isn't really my thing but he's definitely talented.
Great big sea put on a very high energy great show. They sing a popularized type of folk music from the maritimes, very addicting which is why I've liked them for YEARS.
But again, I have to say how much I absolutely enjoyed Liam Titcomb!! It's isn't very often that you hear music from an artist for the first time and you never want it to end because you are enjoying it so much. That is what it was like for me. Please go to his website and check out the sound bites for yourself. he has a musicbar on the opening page, turn it off so you will be able to hear the other music bites he has on the site. Enjoy. Great big sea also has some soundbites on their site as well... check them out!
I need to get a move on since Hubby is making a trip to the dump today...we are doing a massive 'old toy clearout' to make room for new toys and for our legs when we sit on the couch!
Take it easy Ya'll
~jen
I can't get the dang links to work now that I'm using the Mozilla browser so you'll have to copy and paste- the old fashioned way.