LCBO DAYS

I'm nearing the end of my holiday strech with the LCBO and as a whole, it's been a great job. Working in a small town where every person there was either from Port Stanley or St. Thomas, went to school with my mom, or knows a relative of mine was nice. I felt like I fit in right away. There were only a handful of bad customers (thankfully I only had to deal with one and he just seemed like a grouch so I didn't take it personally) and some of them could get VERY vocal but that's any customer service job. I loved the Christmas Eve shift and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's New Year's Eve shift. I love it when it's so busy that you aren't watching the clock. I've noticed the change in customers from Christmas (adults) to New Year's (teens) and it's very obvious. It has been exhausting working 7 days a week but I am looking forward to that big paycheck!

When I started working at the LCBO I knew that I would run into ALOT of people I knew from high school, sports, etc. At first I was really anxious, like I was attending my high school reunion every day - and in total I saw hundreds of people I once went to school with. It wasn't because I didn't want to see people or that I had bad experiences I just got flustered when they'd walk in the door - not that they didn't get flustered too, I had a guy I dated in high school SWITCH out of my line when he saw me! I wanted to say "hi!"

But after the first few flusters, I thought about why I was anxious, and decided that I wanted to talk to these people. I wanted to know what they were doing, if they were married, and where they worked/lived now. I would just smile, take a deep breathe, and say hello like we were old friends.

A few dozen reunions later, I was searching my line hoping to see a familiar face. How could I have been so blind - this is what I was missing during my 20 months on Saba. This is what I craved - Recognition! Smiles! Hellos! I wanted so desperately to walk into Big Rock and not have them ask me if I was new to the island (after shopping there over 100 times), why would I even consider treating someone I knew like that? I'm better than that, and not just because I know how it feels.

Now wherever I go in St. Thomas I search out people I know to say hi, I don't turn and go down a different aisle because knowing and acknowledging your neighbour is one of the greatest things about life in small towns.

Gatherer

Today we went to a Christmas church service at Faith Church and then headed to see Amy and Jay Woodley at Amy's parent's house in Union. Amy had her family Christmas at 1, so when we arrived at 11, we had enough time for a nice visit before the house got to crowded with "Trinnies" (Amy's mother Isabel's family is from Trinidad).

This afternoon my family was finishing off some holiday desserts when Nathan told my Dad about some berries he saw on our walk - and then decided to eat. My Dad said they were probably poisonous but if he hasn't had any effects yet - he should be fine. I don't know why he eats berries off the trees when we still have so much pie left over.

Merry Christmas

ahhh...a break from work! Today we were able to sleep in until 8am! Nathan and I have started a small family tradition in that on Christmas morning we make a nice breakfast, eat together, talk about our goals for the upcoming year, then go on a long walk. It was so nice to spend a few hours together, just the two of us, because I haven't had much free time lately. The walk was clear and crisp, and I'm glad I dressed - as Nathan said - like I live in the Arctic.

 After we got back and warmed up, we napped (another part of the tradition) and then started to help my mom get ready for our first Christmas dinner hosted by my parents. Usually we alternate between my Mom and Dad's families but this year we decided to just have a simple dinner with my parents, Nathan and I, and Fraser, Shelley, and of course, Scarlett. June, Shelley's mother also came along and it was nice to have so many faces around the table.

Scarlett got into her usually trouble - finding the stairs in a matter of seconds and beginning her ascent, then crawling to the bathroom to stand at the edge of the tub and play with the taps, turning the water on and off, and laughing. She's started standing by herself and Shelley is sure that while she and Fraser are away on their honeymoon next week she will start walking.

Nathan using Scarlett for practice with our first baby gift from Grandma and Grandpa Stinson

TROUBLEMAKER

I have another busy week coming up because New Year's is another big "LCBO" holiday - but I'm thankful for the work, and maybe Nathan and I can squeeze in a morning visit to the Janome factory store.

Pregnancy Update - 16 Weeks

This past week has been a crazy one. I've worked 9 hours each day at the LCBO and it's been super busy. I'm so exhausted by the time I get home that I haven't had the energy to blog. I did want to give a short pregnancy update since we are apart from so many of our family members. I've been feeling great and haven't been sick once yet - so fingers crossed that holds out for the next 24 weeks. My expanding waistline has been the hardest thing to see/feel because I'm starting to not feel like myself, which is ok. I know I'm changing and I'm happy for the change - I just feel like I've been so busy these last months that I haven't really taken the time to think about it and find joy in it. It's just a pain when my work clothes get tighter, and my back hurts from standing at a cash register all day - I don't think - BABY. And I've been offered to stay on with the LCBO after the season, so I have alot to think about. But for now, I'm just going to try to make it to my Saturday off so I can relax with Nathan and Baby Sanderse.

Goodbye Nathan

Nathan's Saba classmate, Billy Wagner, is in Toronto visiting a family friend, so Nathan decided he had enough of the homemaker life here in Boxall and went to TO to meet up with his friend. Nathan will be gone until next Thursday or Friday, which is fine by me because I work 8 hours each day next week.

Nathan has been great to have around the house since I've been working because I am so exhausted when I come home and he's getting really good in the kitchen. He really likes cooking and is getting creative. Here is a little snack he made for us after a trip to Costco - shrimp cocktail.

Family Supper

Tonight my parents invited Fraser, Shelley, and Scarlett over for dinner. It seems like such a long time since my mom and I saw Scarlett and boy has she changed in just a few short weeks. She's still a sweet kid, but she's so serious now and isn't as easy to smile. She ate her spaghetti all by herself and made quite the mess. We had a really nice dinner and it's nice to think that this is also the kind of dinner we'll be having at Christmas - that we're forming a new family dynamic of grandparents, kids, and grandkids.

Grandpa playing with Scarlett

Creepy

I live next to a cemetary but I've never found it creepy because it's just normal to me. I spent alot of time there as a kid doing school projects - crayon rubbings - and art projects in high school. It's small and I knew quite a few people who are now buried there and I just don't think they would want to spook me, anyway...I was bored and wanted to take some pictures using my new flash (and since a flash can make things look really harsh, I thought the cemetary would be a great place to practice). So I went next door after dusk to take some photos.

  

 

Hats Hats Hats!

After work last night I was feeling a little creative and wanted to do something crafty. Since I don't have a sewing machine yet, I decided to try to make a couple of hats that I saw pictures of on the craft site, Etsy.com. Figuring out the patterns wasn't too hard and I think they came out pretty good.

Christmas is Coming!

My mom put up our Christmas tree this week and this year the colors are blue and silver. I love turning on the tree lights as soon as dusk hits, it makes it really feel like Christmas is coming!

BIG NEWS!

After 3 long months of secrecy, Nathan and I are thrilled to announce that we are expecting! Baby Sanderse will (hopefully) arrive in June. We are so excited for this blessing. It will be difficult because Nathan is starting his rotation in Kansas in March, and I will most likely return to Ontario for the birth, but we have the support of amazing family and friends.

In true Stinson tradition, to celebrate our news, we had a Dairy Queen ice cream cake.

Snow Day!

Today we had the first snowfall of the season! Luckily we didn't get it as bad as London but the roads were quite slippery (we narrowly avoided being hit by a fish-tailing car on our way home from church). My brother and his wife hit black ice tonight and did some damage to their Jeep, but luckily everyone was ok. Driving in bad weather makes me so nervous. I'm already getting anxious about driving to work tomorrow!

Latest Hat

When Nathan and I were working at Canadale's last weekend I saw a baby wearing a hat like this and thought it would be cute on Scarlett. I was right! I made this hat this morning while my mom watched her. Scarlett is here visiting this morning, which is perfect because I could get the measurements just right. Isn't she adorable?!

STEGH Kids Christmas Party

Today Nathan, my Dad, and I went to my mom's work (the St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital) to help with the kids Christmas Party (kids of staff). We loaded up countless boxes of chips, bottles of water, hot dogs, buns, and craft supplies to fill St. Anne's Centre in St. Thomas. There were over 500 people in attendance and the place was swarming with happy kids. Like last year, I was in charge of taking the pictures of kids with Santa. It seems like a really easy job but I find it exhausting, especially since there's no break and it's so busy. Nathan helped in ushering the kids off the stage and getting them their bag of candy from Mrs. Claus. Fraser and Shelley came and brought Scarlett to Santa. She did really well-- she didn't even cry! And boy, was there ever a lot of crying kids who DID NOT want to sit on Santa's lap. I couldn't believe the what the number one request of the kids was......a iTouch. That's a gadget that has internet, mp3 player, game centre, video calling and retails for over $200! I was shocked! What happened to Lego and Barbie?

Candy Night

This morning Nathan and I went with my mom to volunteer at the Canadale's open house. The STEGH auxiliary needed people to serve/make hot dogs and nacho's and cheese. Nathan and I stayed from 8-1 and it was fun. Santa and his reindeer were there again (although it wasn't as busy as it was 2 weekend's ago - too cold!) and we had fun watching all the kids. Afterwards, we went to Walmar to pick up some holiday candy to make the candy grab bags for the hospital's kid's christmas party next week. We made a small assembly line at home and got all 250 bags made in under and hour. It was fun but really hard not to eat all that delicious looking candy!

Go Whalers..I mean Knights...I mean...

Tonight to celebrate Nathan's big success this week, my parents took us out to dinner and a Knight's game. The hospital gets a section of tickets and Donna Gilbert (a family friend) bought most of them because her son Jay plays for the Plymouth Whalers (who were playing against the Knights). We all went for dinner (about 15 of us) and then met up with about another 20 people at the game. There was a huge support there for Jay, and when Jay scored an amazing goal in the first period, our whole section went crazy! The even announced our support on the radio broadcast. The Knight's fans gave us some dirty looks but we were all so proud to be there and so proud that Jay performed so well under the pressure of showing us all what he's capable of!

Helper

Today Scarlett came to visit since she hasn't been feeling very well and Shelley didn't want to take her to daycare (she needed full time love and attention - and I was here to provide it!) Scarlett loves getting into my stacks of granny squares that I'm making for a baby blanket for my friend Amy's niece. She also like to suck on the yarn, so while I'm crocheting, all of a suuden I hit a very wet patch--gross!

 

Congrats Nathan!

Today Nathan got his Step 1 score back. He did amazing! He did so much better than he thought he would (but on track with what I thought) and he is so happy. If I thought he seemed like a different person after he wrote his exam, now that he has a fantastic mark, he's so relaxed and confident. This is a grade that will follow him through the rest of his education and the fact that it's so strong is such a blessing. All Nathan ever wanted was for his hard work on Saba to pay off, and he now has proof that it did, he's thrilled! To help Nathan celebrate this great achievement, Nathan's parents sent this amazing bouquet to Boxall. Waterspots, a Port Stanley flower shop always does such a great job (they even did the flowers for our wedding) and it makes a great centerpiece at the house!

Movember

For those who don't know, Movember is a fundraiser and awareness for prostate cancer where men grow a moustache through the month of November and take pledges to keep growing the moustache. There is a committee at the St. Thomas Hospital (the Mo-Sistas) that wanted to have a pancake breakfast to raise funds, so-- of course, Nathan and I volunteered. We had to be up at 4am-- YES 4AM! It was a very early start, and I basically went in my pajamas - which was fine since they completed my already charming outfit with a surgical cap. Nathan loved flipping pancakes and he had great oppurtunities to talk to a few of the doctors on staff and also the president of the hospital. I was at the other end of the room, and whenever I watch Nathan I'm always so proud of him that he can talk to anyone, get along with anyone, and even standing in a surgical cap, serving pancakes at 5am, you can tell he's a wonderful person.

Sanderse Visit

Today we had the oppurtunity to travel to Toronto to spend the day with the Sanderse clan. We had the chance to catch up with Martin and Marlene (who had Calvin visiting for the weekend) and Heather and Ian came to dinner. Marlene treated us all with her big bonus and provided Chinese food! It was so tasty and such a great treat! Nathan taught Calvin how to ride his toy backhoe, Nathan and Martin changed the oil in the car, and I got to touch Heather's rapidly growing belly! The Sanderse family just keeps getting bigger!

No More Scarlett Days?

 I just got a call from the LCBO offering me a seasonal job as a cashier in St. Thomas. It's good money and works perfectly into our unknown schedule (are we moving in January? February?). I'm looking forward to working, I really enjoy it but I will miss having my Scarlett days, although depending on my schedule I might still get to see her one day a week.

Spiritual Sunday

Last night I drove to Brantford to my friend's house (Amy and Jay). Nathan met me there and the 4 of us had a big supper together. Jay and Nathan spent Friday night and Saturday at a men's conference at the Hershey Centre in Toronto. They both said that it was a good conference with great music and speakers. After dinner I was going to drive home alone, but Nathan decided that he would come home with me, spend Sunday with me, then get a ride back to Brantford with Amy on Sunday night (Amy travels to St. Thomas every Sunday for our girl group so it worked out perfectly). Nathan and I were able to go to church together in the morning, then head over to my cousin Becky (and her husband Chris') house. Their daughter Emma Leigh was baptized today at St. Anne's church. I've never been to a Catholic baptism before and it was interesting to hear about baptism making people saints, etc. After the baptism Nathan went with my mom to Becky's house and I went to meet Amy for our girl group. Afterwards, Nathan and I had some time together until he had to head back. It was nice to see him, even after a week apart, I missed him!