Thoughts on Pregnancy

The current ones in a bullet-point list:

• Everyone was right in saying that feeling Little Critter move makes all the first trimester grossness worth every minute.
• The semi-regular naps are wonderful however...
• Sleep is never without crazy dreams. A few nights ago I dreamt that my brother's law firm was involved in some illegal acts. My whole family found out, so the firm tried to bribe us. The only bribes I remember were free rounds of golf for life for my dad and a shopping spree at Victoria Secret for me - but the store only sold Crocs in kid sizes.
• Garlic bread has never tasted so good, which is strange since garlic was NOT MY FRIEND a few months ago. Also, Little Critter really likes strawberries.
• Wow, there is A LOT of stuff that a baby needs - and that's with us definitely not planning on getting everything that "they" say you need.
• My mom advised me that I should begin preparing for motherhood by working on my relationship with spiders. Living in Bangladesh and especially basements in BC have made the little spiders easy to kill, but big ones? I am trying. The shrieks are no longer coming out of my mouth. Plus, there is a large spider currently living underneath my bedside table who I am trying to live peacefully with. [There's no way I'm going to kill that monster!]
• I look forward to sleeping on my stomach again someday.
• We finally have a doctor. I do wonder, though, why it takes a pregnant woman two weeks to find a doctor when she lives in the fifth largest city of North America.
• Why has no one invented prenatal ice cream? It would be so much more fun to take than pills!

Canada's National Songs

The song "O Canada" is a recognizable song with a somewhat interesting history. For a long time there were many songs vying for the title of National Anthem of Canada. "O Canada" was originally written in French and for a long time found competition in "God Save the Queen" and "The Maple Leaf Forever". In 1908 an English translation (however not a literal one) was written and finally accepted as the one in the 1960s. Since then there have been multiple modifications proposed for the English version, such as these two:

"our home and native land" to "our home and cherished land"
"in all thy sons command" to "in all of us command"

Not only does the song have official lyrics in Canada's two official languages, but it also has a set version in Inuktitut, one of the First Nations' languages.

You now know the history of "O Canada". But I recently read an essay in The Walrus (think the Canadian version of The New Yorker) that proposed a different song for Canada's national anthem. This was definitely not the first time it has been mentioned in the same phrase as "Canada's national anthem." And I must admit I have heard more about this proposed song since living in Canada than any other song. It was even played in the Closing Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics! What song is so popular?

The old Hockey Night in Canada song! You may not recognize it, but this song (titled "Hockey Theme") is not only recognized but can probably be hummed by most Canadians. It was a BIG DEAL when the song for HNIC was changed in 2008. People still talk about how disastrous a change it was.

So, in order to teach you all more about Canada and its culture, here is...drumroll please...the Hockey Night in Canada theme song:

Two Weeks in Toronto

We've been having a busy, yet at the same time slow, time here in Toronto. I can finally say we have an apartment - after 17 viewings! The decrease in our levels of stress is unbelievable. Not having a home truly belongs near the bottom of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs!

Besides looking for an apartment, John has begun classes. His classes are Wisdom Literature, Isaiah, Syntax, and German for Reading. I'm adjusting to have him back into books all the time.

What fun things have we done? Here's a few:

1) Visited the beach of Lake Ontario


2) Realized the announcer lady on Toronto's subway is always going to sound grouchy

3) Eaten prune-filled donuts :(


4) Realized a BC spider (aka HUGE spider) is living behind one of our rear-window mirrors

5) Shared a picnic with BC friends - thanks for meeting us Dan, Jemma, & Levi!


6) Spent HOURS at the local library using the internet

Toronto is starting to feel normal
and in a few months may even feel like home.

John's Two Thrillers of Summer 2010

John has studied the Dead Sea Scrolls since our senior year of college. Three years ago he was extremely disappointed to find that the scrolls area in the British Museum was under construction, and thus, he could not see them. So one thing we HAD TO DO while we were in the midwest this past month was go to the Minnesota Science museum and see the scrolls.


According to John, the exhibit was put together really well. I definitely enjoyed the displays but must admit that my favorite part was walking through it with John. He would look at a picture on the wall and tell me a long story about the photographed people or that specific scroll. Or we would stand in front of a map of all the caves, and John was able to tell me about the different caves, the different scrolls found within, and the significance of them. Really, a wealth of knowledge.

Near the end of the exhibit you walk into a dark circular room with five small display frames near the walls. Beside each frame is a large banner showing the scroll fragment inside the frame and its translation. Next to that is a small plaque that contains a bit of information, stating why the fragment is important. Most people would read the banner and look at the fragment, perhaps checking out the plaque afterward but not John. He'd just wait his turn to look at the fragment and then examine it. Here's what happened one time:

John ducks down, looks at one of the fragments, and says "Oh yeah, this is Paleo Hebrew [basically a different alphabet/font from what is found in most of the scrolls]." Wait, how did he know that in a quarter of a millisecond? I had just read that on the plaque, but John is telling me without reading the plaque. Okay, I'm going to quiz him. "Why would this be in Paleo Hebrew and other scrolls not be?" "It is a sign that they might have revered the text more because it was the Pentateuch." He was right again!

Now please excuse my bragging on my husband. Most of what he studies and works with consists of ancient dead languages. Even though I have studied linguistics, studied the various aspects of language and gramamr, and teach a language, much of what he does means very little to me. Yet here was a time when everything was comprehensible and meaningful, and he just blew my socks off. So, thus the opportunity to brag had to be taken.

Okay, onto John's second thriller. It consisted of eating one of these:


A McDonald's Twist Cone.

These are rarities these days, as almost all McDonald's now only have vanilla. Why? Not completely sure, but once a manager told me in my McDonald's days that a machine that allows for chocolate, vanilla, and twist costs somewhere between $10-20,000 more than one with just vanilla.


I do know, however, that my husband seemed more excited to eat his twist cone than he was to see the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Our Almost Three Weeks Back Home

We had a wonderful time in MN and WI with family and friends. Most of it was spent with family, and we loved every second. Here are some photos...why is it that having nieces and nephews around just helps one take pictures?


My mom and me


Watching NCIS


Cinderella and Prince Charming at their wedding
with Sleeping Beauty as a bridesmaid


Reading


What a swimmer!


Batter up!


Look at her fly way up there!


A ride around the arena on Maggie


Father & Son


John finally got to go to Ted's Pizza!


Friends from high school, then into college, and still now...


Tom was in our wedding, and now John was in his!


Our oldest and our youngest nieces


With Grandma Helen & Grandpa Fran at Mickey Lu's


Coming up: Two of our vacation's activities that must be shared!

The Canadian Rockies with my Bro

We have made it to Toronto and are settling in. Today is John’s first day of events at the university – orientation! More about Toronto will come as we have thoughts/experiences to share, but for now I’m just going to try to catch up with blogging about the last month.

My brother Rob joined us in Langley right before we started the move. While I worked, John & Rob hiked the Chief. Check out who they visited!

It was my great pleasure to take him & John to Kobe’s Steakhouse for their recent graduations.

The food was delicious and the chefs were entertaining.

After driving for a day, we spent time camping and hiking in Glacier National Park (in BC, not Montana!), Yoho National Park (in BC), and Banff National Park (in AB). They are all located close to each other – really, it’s an amazing area of the world. We traveled through or next to mountains from when we left Langley to until we left Banff. It was incredible; the mountains surrounded us for eleven hours and then all of a sudden, they were absolutely 100% gone.

Natural Bridge in Yoho - Can you see Rob and me?

At Emerald Lake

John was clearly on vacation!

The men took a swim in the glacial Ross Lake. It was cold! The bottom was

surprisingly muddy and hard to walk on without falling in.

Takakkaw Falls in Yoho

Hike at Lake Louise

Plain of Six Glaciers

Lake Agnes

The three of us

Yes, this tree is growing UPSIDE DOWN!

Rob in Johnstone Canyon

Banff National Park

Then it was another day of driving to Billings, Montana, where

we visited John’s cousin Kaylie and her son Sullivan.

One more day of driving and the trip was complete – at least that leg...