I'm [kind of] back

Alas, I have an internet connection. We moved last weekend and after three failed attempts by Telus, they finally showed up for our install. You'll notice I don't have a new monthly banner up, but that's only because I'm not acknowledging that December has officially begun until we no longer have stacks of cardboard boxes in our kitchen. This move-in has been exhausting. Let me give you a taste...

We got the keys last Wednesday and did nothing more than show up and rub our faces on the granite countertops. Thursday we painted. By we, I mean not me. I was at work while Luc and my Mom handled the painting. Friday we started installing the crown mouldings and new baseboards. And by we, I mean our finishing carpenter who happens to be my old baseball coach and who, I have to say, did an impeccable job. Saturday was moving day—out of the old place, into the new. Saturday was also part two of the moulding/base board installation. Sunday was the Grey Cup and, to the dismay of my CFL-fan husband, we didn't have a TV signal. So, despite walls to be painted and boxes to be unpacked, we got mildly drunk downtown watching our dear Saskatchewan Roughriders crumble once again. Monday I was at work, distracted by the to-do list awaiting me at home. After a long Monday, the crowns and baseboards were done. Tuesday through Friday were spent unpacking and organizing, and this weekend, I'm happy to report that we're 80% moved in and organized. 

We're moved in enough to relax in front of a fire with a bottle (or two) of wine this evening. Our TV and internet were at long last installed this afternoon so I have some catching up to do! The December banner is on its way. The monthly photo is coming down the pipes. But forgive me if it takes a while, I'm bloody exhausted!

On some recent accomplishments

It's been a while, yes, but I'm back from wedding mania and home from the honeymoon and I have lots to report. I'm just going to start with some things that I recently knocked off my 101 Things To Do in 1001 Days list.

Let's start from the top...

#13 - Get a job in publishing
Check! I was fortunate enough to be offered a full-time position by the company I did my internship with. I start in a week and I couldn't be more excited. Although working full time means writing my thesis will take a bit longer (pushing graduating to a later date), this is the kind of opportunity I've been hoping for since I went back to school. And bonus, we can finally start looking for our own condo! So maybe that "buy a home" item on the list will be the next thing to be checked off?

#26 - Order room service
A honeymoon is the perfect time to indulge, so I'm happy to say that this item can be checked off several times! Pictured below is a champagne breakfast on our balcony. This is moments before I shot the cork off the champagne bottle into the pool area below. Whoops!

#47 - Read 100 books
I'm getting ever closer to my 100 books. My most recent conquest was "Committed" by Elizabeth Gilbert, the infamous "Eat Pray Love" author. I received it as a birthday gift and thought it would be an appropriate post-wedding read. Maybe not, though. Although Gilbert eventually comes to peace with her second marriage and finds her own nesting spot in legal matrimony, the entire book is basically her squinting skeptically at the strength and longevity of modern marriage. There was a bevy of fascinating historical information on marriage, but it was a little bleak for a beach read.

#54 - Swim at the bottom of a waterfall
We left our resort for one full day, and on our agenda was climbing a waterfall. We took a tour bus down the North coast to Ocho Rios, where we climbed Dunn's River Falls. It's a 700 foot high, unique waterfall that is broken into several shelves. Many spots involve linking hands in a human chain to increase stability when scaling the rocks. The most fun was swimming around at the bottom of the falls and the spot where the rocks had formed a waterslide.

#73 - Watch a sunrise
It's pretty much against the rules of vacationing (let alone, honeymooning) to get up at 5:00am, but after watching several amazing sunsets, we really wanted to take in the sunrise as well. We actually snuck onto the roof of the hotel...and it was worth it.

#80 - Take Luc to the spa for a massage
Not only did Luc get a massage, but we also did the sauna, steamroom, hot tub, water therapy, freezing cold plunging pool, and couples facials. He probably doesn't approve of me telling my blog readers that...but after my lengthy absence, I'm not even sure how many of you there are left!

#98 - Go an entire week without checking the stat counter on my blog
Needless to say, with the wedding and the honeymoon I've been pretty disconnected from everything digital. And it's been a nice break. But make no mistake...it's nice to be back!

I still love my reading nook

One of the conditions of me going to grad school was that we would no longer be able to buy our own place. At least not until I graduated and got a job. But when I have time, I revel in the torture of browsing for condos on realty sites. My other favourite exercise in masochism is watching Property Virgins, where young couples in the US buy 3-bedroom houses for less than the price of a single bedroom condo in Vancouver. My anxiety to get our own place has nearly peaked, and my dreams of being carried over the threshold into our own place when we're finally husband and wife have been quashed. Now before I sound like a big whiner (too late?), read on to see what I'm talking about. And keep in mind that I just finished blow drying my hair - you'll know what that means in a minute...

I have a tumultuous love/hate relationship with our rental apartment. I love that it's got three huge windows in the living room, but I hate that those windows have obnoxiously ugly blinds from nineteen-whenever the hell they built this place. I love that our bathroom is big, but I hate that its colour scheme is fuschia and baby blue. Yeah, the blue toilet matches the blue bathtub, but I feel like they clash with the pink tiles on the countertop. I love the hardwood floors, but I hate the crusty tiles in the bathroom that are no longer physically possible of looking clean even after you scrub them on your hands and knees for an hour. I love the size (for a one bedroom), but I hate that when someone from out of town visits we have nothing better to offer than a blowup bed. I love that we have lots of cupboards in the kitchen, but I hate that not one of them can fit an upright cereal box. I love that we can control the heat to our apartment, but I hate that our heaters have two settings: off and sauna. And the one last hate that has no love to balance it out...I hate that I have to turn off every light in the place before I blow dry my hair (except in the bedroom where I have to do my hair because the pink bathroom has no sockets) and still, even still, with just one light on in the entire place, the fuse blows. I know we don't have it that bad, but sometimes, when I trip over some shoes that don't fit in the hall closest on my way through the dark to fumble with the breaker again, I just really want our own place that doesn't have a million little hates.