Week 22 -- April 20 - 26
Monday April 20
A typical monday at work. Tons of reports! Bosses were leaving at 3pm today, walking warehouses in the West. This translates to PARTY TIME at work! YAY!
Tuesday Apil 21
First day at work without bosses. All the department staff were relaxed. They work more efficiently when the bosses are not around.
Wednesday April 22
After two years careful and thorough decision, I have decided to become an Independent Demonstrator with Gold Canyon.
I was approached by Nicole (the then demonstrator now gold manager with Gold Canyon) right after host my second Partylite party! I was skeptical at that point. A. I have never heard of Gold Canyon, and B. I had tons of free gifts from Partylite just by being the host. I got some free tealights from Nicole but simply shuffed them aside without even bother to use them, as I was too much in love with Partylite at that time.
Joe has a bad nose, and often time when I lit up Partylite candles (tealight, votive, pillar or 3 wick, you name it, and I have it! That just shows you how crazy I got when I went through the Partylite phase.) and asked Joe if he liked the scent. His usual response was always,"What scent? I can't smell any!" I kept asking myself what was the point to continue use partylite products if my husband can't smell it?
With the decison of not hosting any more Partylite parties or puchasing any Partylite candles, my inventory had depleted throughout time. One day, about 1 1/2 yrs ago, I lit my very first Gold Canyon candle. It was a Sweet Pea tealight. When Joe came into the kitchen, all he said,"What smells so nice?" HE COULD SMELL THE CANDLE FINALLY! No words could describe how surprised I was. Right after that, I started looking into the Gold Canyon catagloue, and ordered a few items (tealight, votive, jar candles) to try out the fragrances. Joe particularly likes Cozy Cabin, and I have developed a strong attached to Sweet Pea.
So fast foward back to the week of April 20, Nicole had asked me a few times to join the Gold Caynon team again. I thought about it. With the baby on her way, a few friends suggested that I wait till the baby is older as I will be swamped with taking care about the baby. I gave it a bit more thought. I am a person-on-the go. I would rather that super busy then to lay low or have nothing to do for a day. By being an independent demonstrator, it will keep me busy during my 1-year maternity leave and have something exciting and challenging (well, besides looking after Baby B) to look forward to! Joe has been very supportive about my decision. He has given me a few good ideas how to get started. He has also suggested a few ideas on my debut party.
So, here I am... a new independent demonstrator with Gold Canyon!
www.mygc.com/louisapang
Thursday April 22
I made invitations to my debut gold canyon party last night and we went out and delivered each invitations tonight. We had 9 invites to give out, and since they are all in Barrhaven. We figured we could get it done in an hour and still had time to stop by at Dairy Queen for an icecream. Our first stop was a no-answer, and we just dropped off the invite in the mailbox. The second stop took us about 30 mins as we ended up chatting a bit. (BTW, all the guests are the wives of the Knights), and everyone is excited to see that I am showing and they all asked if we know the baby will be a girl or a boy! The third stop is the house of the baby's godparents. We eneded up staying for an hour or so. They have a little doggie called Daisy (a yorkie and bischon frise mix) and she is a ball of energy. She is so cute that I think it is a good idea to arrange a playdate between Bee Bee and Daisy! Annette got me another gift, A Mommy Journal!
By the time we left their house, it was shortly past 9pm, and I was getting tired that we called it a night and went home without stopping at Dairy Queen.
Friday April 23
I went to the first Barrhaven GTG (get together) organized by a webber on Weddingbells.ca. A bunch of us started a thread about two weeks ago and was surprised that there are a bunch of us gals living in Barrhaven. So we decided to get together and had a fun night out. We went to Boston Pizza (all the hubbies were left behind at home :-) ) and it was a great night to chat away. By the end of the night, I was invited to a Scrapbooking Party on May 9, and I am also organizing a second Gold Canyon Party!
Joe is usually the one on-the-go in our house. He has far more meetings than I do. In an average week, he is usually out two to three nights, and I am always at home, with Bee Bee and the computer. Tonight, it seems like the table has finally turned. I was out and about, while he stayed home with Bee Bee. It feels strange! :-)
Saturday April 24
We went and delivered the rest of the invites and managed to stop and chat a bit with the guests, or their hubbies. Weather was so nice that it felt like summer.
We had an apartment showing at 11:30am, and we drove all the way to my condo apartment. This was the second showing we did and I hope we will know by the end of next week who the new tenant(s) will be! I hate this waiting game.
We then stopped by at Costco for some gardening. I bought a Sage plant... I love preannial as they come back every year. I love gardening work but at the same time, I do not want to be slaved into the garden. We also bought a few bags of fish compost, as Joe said that are good for the lawn.
I went shopping at Thyme Maternity in the late afternoon. I noticed that with the weather changing, I am not prepared for the summer. One, I have zero maternity shorts and I wonder how I will surivive the summer with my growing tummy. I bought a skirt, a pair of shorts and two nice floral tops. With the tops that my mom made for me, I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will have enough clothes to last me through this pregnancy.
Sunday April 25
Church in the morning.
We then went for an hour walk (we did 3.9K) with the Barrhaven Walking Group. We joined last June and had been out a few times prior to Joe's and my surgery last year. We are glad to find out that the walking group is starting up again. It was a great workout and I had a great afternoon nap when we came home! When I woke up from my nap, I felt the baby kicked!
Joe is a big friend of sunday beef roast. Knowing that with the sunday mass and the walking group, I would have have enough time to prepare a decent meal, so I figured the beef roast would be a good option for a hearty meal. By the time I got up from my nap, the beef roast was ready! Thanks to the invention of slower cookers!
Week 21 -- April 6 - 12, 2009
I am half way through the pregnancy! When I look at myself in the mirror, there is no way I can hide the fact that I am pregnant! I walk slower these days... and eventually I will be waddling like a duck! :-) So far, I have put on 12 lbs and my doctor said I am on a healthy weight gain. I hope that I will only put on 20-25lbs max by the time this pregnancy is done!
Monday April 6
Busy day at work as a staff of mine took a vacation day.
Barry and Annette came home after dinnner. The boys were in the basement checking out the website Joe built for the KOC. Annette and I were upstairs chatting ourselves away. It was a fun night. I did not notice until after they left that I did not even offer them a drink at all! What a hostess I was! Hey... I will use my preggo card if I need to! :-)
Tuesday April 7
Another busy day as a staff of mine took a sick day. The weather was nice today, and I wonder if he called in sick to spend a day on the golf course.
Joe went to the KOC's general business meeting tonight. Another night of being home alone!
Wednesday April 8
An uneventful day.
Thursday April 9
Spring is really here! I took my car into the car to swap the snow tires out and get the all season tires on. I thought it was going to be just oil change and tires swap. The bill came to a whopping $640 as the front brake need to be replaced (only 25% left! I do not take car mechanic but all I know is that the number is low and it is not good!)
Joe and I decided not to go to the prenatal class tonight. Partly because the nurse is super boring and part of it because I knew most of the stuff she taught already! I bought "What to Expect When You Are Expcecting" the minute I found out I was pregnant and I read the entire book on my flight to Vancouver in February!
Friday April 10
Two things got accomplished today!
1. We went to the bank and get a car load.
2. Joe went to H & R Block and filed two years worth of income tax and got a income tax refund sufficient to pay for the premium rust proofing package on our new toy!
I have given some serious thoughts on becoming a demonstrator of Gold Cayon Candles! I love Candles and have been a loyal Partylite fan for the last 4 years. Last year, I was introduced to Gold Cayon Candles and was amazed with its quality of the candle, and have been using Gold Cayon ever since. Joe is very supportive should I decide to become a demonstrator, and I guess need to find out if I will have time to host a show after the baby is born. I know I need to keep myself busy when I am on maternity leave, and everyone keeps telling me that my hands will be full once the baby becomes part of the family. But I figure, when the baby is 5 months old, the feeding schedule or other things will gradually be under control and that I will be able to have time to do other stuff! Still need to do more serious thinking!
Saturday April 11
Joe went to Smith Falls for Scouts Training. He left this morning at 7:15am and did not come home till 6:30pm.
I managed to scrub the tub, clean the bathrooms. Went for facial, went to the mall to pick up mother's day cards, took Bee Bee to the vet for heartworm testing, and made cabbage rolls for dinner!
Saturday April 11
We had pancakes for breakfast this morning. Ever-since I entered the second trimester, my energy level has picked up quite a bit, and I am able to pick up on all the cooking expermiments.
After breakfast, we were on our way to Bel-Air Lexus Toyata in Vanier. As we were driving along Bank Street, we came across Mendes Toyata, and Joe said, "Look there is a Toyata Dealership! We might as well go in and look."
So there we were, after two hours. We signed the purchase agreement and became proud owners for a 2010 Toyata Matrix XR (color is Radiant Red)!
We then went to Costco and Sobeys for our easter dinner shopping.
Sunday April 12
We had waffles with stawberries and whipped cream for breakfast this morning! We then went to SEAS for the 10am mass.
We got home around 11am, and I had been in the kitchen busy chopping, mashing for about two hours. Joe helped out with the putting the ham in the slow cooker. Now that all the preparation work is done, I can go back and knit a bit!
Week 20 -- April 6 - 12, 2009
I have reached the halfway mark in Pregnancy! Yay! Knowing that Joe and I will finally meet the little bundle in 20 weeks really excites me. :-)
Monday April 6
Went to the GP this afternoon. I have been having weird sensations in my tummy since last Thursday. Joe kept telling me that it is the fetal movement. I googled fetal movments the other day, and all I got was "gas bubbles", " flutters" or "butterflies" which did not really mean much to me. Just to be on the safe side, I called my GP office (as my OB-GYN was on holiday till this Thursday). When I told my GP my concern, he smiled and nodded, " Yes Louisa... those are baby kicks. They will get more obvious once you hit 24 weeks!"
Heartbeat: 151 (I knew the baby is going to be a girl... it is mother's instincts!)
Tuesday April 7
Dealt with department drama at work. Knowing that I will be out of the department in 4 months. I could help but laugh at those silly power struggles in my department. Russ, the new buyer in training is totally useless. He spends all day, pretending he is busy, while everyone knows that he has nothing to do. I wonder how he got the promotion last July!
Wednesday April 8
Today is the big day! Ultrasound at 9am. I managed to get a lot of my friends to "think pink and dream pink" for me. I even used the gender predictor on the internet (I know this sounds silly!) and all I needed to type in was my conception age and the due date (well just the month) for the baby. I went to two different websites and they both says I am going to have a girl! Also the heartbeat is an old-wives tale too. If heartbeat is under 140, it is going to be a boy. Anything higher than 140 will be a girl.
1st ultrasound: when I was 12 weeks -- Mid Feb, heartrate was 161
1st OB/GYN: when I was 15 weeks -- Early March, heartrate was 155
GP appt on April 6, heartrate was 150
-- are these not signs that that little bundle will be a girl???? I kept telling Joe that we are going to have a girl. He just laughed and told me relax, as he is both content with a boy or a girl.
So... Ultrasound lasted for 30 mins. Baby was not cooperating. "She" was lying on her stomach, against the spine. All we could see was the back of her little head. The technician kept poking at the tummy so that the baby would turn around. I am sure this baby is going to be a pretty stubborn one... after being poked for like 10 mins (when I almost pee'ed my pants), she finaly turned a bit, just enough for the technician to see that she is a girl!!!!!
The technician said, "It is a girl!"
I said, "How sure are you??????"
Joe was silent.
The technician then replied, " I am 95% sure it is a girl!"
Ha!!!! I have known since day 1 that it is going to be a girl!!! A huge thanks for all my friends, especially Annette for thinking Pink and dreaming Pink for the last 4 weeks!!!!
I am sooooo happy that Joe can finally return that "Jesus's picture" to his mother finally. What a relief to know that the picture will diappear in our lives shortly! When Joe and I first started dating, we went to Saint John for Easter. The "Mother Mary and Baby Jesus's picture" has been in Joe's possession for a long time. His mom told him (right at my face) that Joe can keep the picture as long as he has a son, and if he does not, he will need to surrender the picture as his mom wants to give it to Cody (the only grandson she had at that time). It was a very insensitive comment of his mom. Who on earth would say such thing like that in front of your son's girlfriend? She does not even know the basic, proper social etiquette! I told Joe later that I really disliked the comment that his mom made. He told me that his mom is known for making comments without really thinking, and thus upsetting a lot of people, both friends and families.
As much as it is sad that Joe's mom means nothing to me and the baby, it is reality. Joe and I have been through a lot last month. Joe finally told me last week his mom is far removed from our lives and the only way to have sanity in our lives is to pretend she does not exist. I know it took a long time for Joe to come up with this conclusion. As much as Joe wants to deny it, but I think he has finally relalized the extent of damage his mom has done to our marriage and that he has made a decision to draw a line with his mother. I have never understood the relationship between Joe and his mom, but I always suspect that manipulation and controlling are the two elements in that relationship.
Thursday April 9
OB / GYN appt at 2:30pm. Everything went fine.
Heartbeat of the baby: 151 / 145 / 150 -- the little bundle was moving around again.
I drove Joe back to the office after the appt while I took the rest of the day off.
We went to prenatal class from 6:30pm - 8:30pm. Ok, the nurse was boring everyone that one expectant mom almost fell asleep.
Friday April 10
Good Friday.... I made breakfast in the morning. Though Catholics are supposed to fast on Good Friday. But I am not eating for two and even if I don't eat, baby needs to eat right?
We went to mass at 12noon at SEAS and gosh it was long one. The hall was packed and I had trouble breathing. I suspected the guy sat beside me must have put an entire tub of fabirc softener in his laundry. The scent was awful!
We went for Dairy Queen after mass. During my first trimester, I was not able to have any icecream. I usually threw up after I had an icecream, it was horrifying. Yesterday was the first time I had icecream since I got pregnant.
--- to be contintued----
