Dear Shoe Companies,

I kind of hate you.


Well no, I don't hate you, I hate your marketing, I hate your sizing charts, and I hate your complete disregard for those of us with large feet!

Yes - I admit it, I have large feet.  When I was in Grade 7 my feet were size 7, and then for the next 5 years every grade had a new shoe size until finally they stopped growing in grade 11.  Now I'm between a 10.5 - 11 in most shoes, I might be able to get away with a 10 in heels, but I have to go for an 11-11.5 in boots.

Many a men's shoe has graced my foot just to deal the lack of large sizing for women.  It's the shits, to put it lightly.

Of course the fact that I can opt for Men's shoes now and then makes me lucky - my loving Hubby however has no hope.  His 6'1" frame is settled firmy on a size 15 foundation.  He was the first man I've ever met who had feet that big, and then I met his best friend - who WEARS THE SAME SIZE!!! How's that even possible that such a minority end up becoming best friends?

Anyway, back to my rant...

I love shoes, I really do - but I hate shoe shopping with a burning passion.  Upon entering a shoe store I go directly to a sales girl and ask them point blank "what's the biggest size you carry?"  "a 9?  Okay - thanks anyway"

I was once told "we get one size 10 of every model, but those are always the first to go"  Really?  the 10's go first huh?  maybe because I'm not alone in my quest?  Maybe because it's not only ONE girl in Edmonton with feet this big, maybe there are many of us?!?  Did you ever stop to think about that Shoe Companies?  I mean really!!

And I know some of you are reading this thinking "Go to Payless!  They carry up to 12"   Let me ask you a question, have you ever taken a look at the ladies large shoes in Payless?  And if you have, and have any sort of style - would you put them on Your feet?  Apparently the bigger the size the more hideous the shoe has to be - because we don't already bring enough attention to our flipper feet, we need to cover them in gold glitter, and lime green flowers!  Not to mention, in the off chance you do find a shoe that isn't overly vomit-inducing, you can only really get 4-6 months wear out of it before it starts to break down, in a bad way.  I'm talking about holes in the soles, the heel breaking down, straps breaking, canvas pulling from the seams a whole other host of other problems.  Payless shoes aren't built to last - that's how they can charge $30 per shoe.

Stylin!

Just once I would love to go out in a pair of Nine West heels, or find that perfect fit in a pair of Jimmy Choo's.  Or buy a pair of runners from a store (not online) that fit - that are NOT men's, and that I didn't have to go to 4 stores just to locate.  Truth be told, I've looked into Drag Queen websites just to find dress shoes that are built for the size of my feet - and once again I find myself looking for Men's shoes for my female feet!  You don't see a problem with this?  Because I sure do!

This whole rant was prompted because of my quest for an awesome pair of running shoes.  I find when I run, my toes swell up and over lap each other causing blisters on the edges of every toe (not at all comfortable), so I was looking for a good pair of runners to help with that - which is when my search turned to Vibrams.

Vibrams, for those who don't know, are "Barefoot shoes" which sounds a little contradictory, but they are basically shoes that mold to your feet like socks, and are designed to bend and flex in the same way bare feet do so your muscles work the way they were meant to, but they give you a little bit of a barrier between your skin and sharp rocks or rough terrain.

This seemed like the perfect shoe for me, since it would separate my toes, and prevent the overlapping - thus improving my run!  Perfect!  ... until I got to the size chart...

  The way you measure your feet for Vibrams, is to put a ruler up against the wall, and step on it, with your heel pressed up against the wall.  I did that - 10.5 is where my largest toe sits (conveniently, the Big Toe).  What's that you say Vibrams?  the largest you sell in Women's is 10 3/8th?!?!  Oh joy!  They don't come in my size!

Story of my Bloody life!  Come on!  In this day and age where people are taller, wider, older, smarter you would think the shoe companies would catch up with the times and acknowledge those of us with big feet!  I really don't think that's too much to ask!!  Especially since the issue is only going to get worse with time!  I mean look at Ben and I, we both have quite big feet for our gender, our children are screwed.  Lets hope the Shoe Companies get a clue before our little Ben and Heather's reach High School and the shoe situation becomes a thing for them.  

Here comes the Bride...

Recently I had a friend online pose a question to the forum - what song should she walk down the aisle to?  And it got me thinking - there are so many choices these days!  There's...

Traditional or Classic:

The Wedding Song - the Song that everyone knows means to look at the back of the room/yard/church/field to catch the first glimpse of the blushing bride in all her glory.  It's a beautiful song, and you really can't go wrong with that.

Classic:

Pachelbel's Cannon in D Major is also a perfect Bridal Entrance song.  It's beautiful, it's graceful and classic, anyone would look amazing walking down the aisle on their wedding day to it. 

Non-Traditional

Truth be told, this is my favorite, category.  I love when a couple makes their wedding all their own - like this couple:

I can't help but smile like an idiot every time I see this video!  That is clearly a couple that truly knows how to have fun!  There's something so great about starting off this very special day in a way that fits you to a tee! 

Another great wedding entrance song (or in this case, exit song) is from one of my favorite movies - Love Actually, I remember watching that years ago, and saying "yes - that's what I want at my wedding" but unfortunately YouTube through my Blogger is refusing to post that specific video, so you'll just have to look it up the title of the video is "Love Actually Wedding".  But Basically as they start to exit the church they hear a choir singing "Love Love Love" a-la Beatles "All you need is Love", and then little by little musicians pop up from the crowd all around them and add to the song - trumpets, guitar, flutes you name it.  It's wonderful, and any use of the Beatles to celebrate love is A-Okay with me!

Which now brings us to my own wedding.  I didn't go traditional, not at all actually.  We were getting married in Mexico on the beach - there wasn't much about our wedding that was traditional, except that I wore a white dress.  I requested that the wedding party, and guests all go barefoot - including Ben and I (have you ever tried to wear any sort of shoe while walking in the sand?  I mean really, it doesn't work) and I walked down the aisle to the Imperial March.  That's right - I'm Darth Vader. 

The reason for this song has a bit of a story behind it - for one, every time I see a father walk their daughter down the aisle, I get a little choked up because I always knew I wouldn't have that for my wedding.  In fact, as soon as I get to that part in any wedding I get tears in my eyes (even watching the video above, as soon as it gets to the bride walking alone, I get a little teary), and I was adamant that I wasn't going to cry walking down the aisle - so clearly I was going to go for a fun song (sorry Pachelbel...).  The second part of this, is that I have always loved the Star Wars movies, especially the first scene where you hear this song - it's so powerful!  Like you know something big is about to happen!!  That's how that song always makes me feel, and I always had the thought of "wouldn't that be awesome if someone walked down the aisle to that song?!?"  - and when my wedding was approaching, I decided that that someone was going to be me.  I wanted to show our family and friends that we are here to have a great time, that it's a awesome day, and we were making it our own. 

Ben and I didn't tell anyone - I told my bridesmaids about 2 minutes before we walked down the aisle so they weren't thrown off, but to everyone else it was a surprise.  Ben told me later that right when the song started, Graham, one of his grooms men, turned to him and said "see, this is why I love you guys!".  It worked - I wasn't crying - in fact, I was laughing, and I can't think of a better way to start a new life with someone than that!

  I had another idea for a great entrance song the other day - the Turtles "Happy Together".  It starts out slow with the Bridesmaids walking down the aisle "imagine me and you, I do...", and when it gets to the chorus, that's when the Brides comes down.  How perfect would it be to walk down the aisle to marry your best friend hearing "I can't see me loving nobody but you, for all my life!"   And then it fades out once she's up there, and when they go to leave you bring up the ending with the ba ba ba ba "so happy together"  part!  .... I doubt I'm doing this song any justice - just listen to it, and what I'm saying will make sense!

Long story short, I love when couples make their special day, just a little bit more special by customizing it to them - you only get married once (that's my point of view anyway), might as well have a little fun! 

June 17th

*** Warning, this will be an emotional blog - this is the first time I've ever written out the events of my father's death***

June 17, 2004:

It was about 1am, I was downstairs on the computer talking to a friend on MSN and listening to music with my headphones on, when all of a sudden I heard my mom scream "Larry!!"  In a second I ripped my headphones off and sprinted up the stairs.  George (our lab) was barking because of the commotion, and my brother was on the phone with 911.  My mother was kneeling over my father in their bedroom trying desperately to get him to breath - he had had a heart attack.  I didn't know what to do.  What could I do?  I paced.  I wrung my hands, and held my breath. 

The ambulance had arrived in moments and we were ushered out of the room while they attempted to bring my father back to us.  I seemed like it was hours we sat at our kitchen table waiting for news as my mom went through Dad's medications with one of the paramedics.  "Dad was on heart medication?"  I distinctly remember thinking, and through my confusion was anger and frustration - I wish I had known.  I wish I had been told, so I could have done something, went for walks with him, helped him eat better, something - anything.  My father was a big man.  "Morbidly Obese" is the term they used.  I hate that phrase.  It makes my stomach bunch up in knots, and makes me feel sick.  I hated that they said it to us, we knew he was a big man, everyone knew - but it's rude to straight out say it, you know?  At least that's how I felt at that moment. 

"We lost him - I'm sorry"  Those are the worst words anyone can hear, a mother, a wife, a child - anyone.  I didn't believe it at first.  The whole time they were in there with him I kept telling my mom that it'll be okay, and that he'll be alright - but then he wasn't.  That's not supposed to happen!  He was my dad, dad's are supposed to be "superman", they take a hit and keep going!  But there we were - and it felt like I had just been punched in the stomach.  I stared at the paramedic who delivered the news, pausing to give him time to say "just kidding!"  in some cruel heartless joke, what I would give to have had that a cruel heartless joke.  I dont even think I remembered to cry at that moment, I was in complete shock.

An hour later, we were alone, just Mom, Jonathan and I.  They sent grief counselors at about 3am.  Just volunteers who were there to talk if we wanted too - and they left us with pamphlets on handling death, and support group information - but we couldn't talk.  We just sobbed, and Jonathan just sat there in silence (I never saw him cry that night - he was our rock, he had to be).

When we were alone again, we didn't know what to do - we cleaned.  Mom poured out my father's alcohol, we threw out the cookies and unhealthy snacks in the cupboards and fridge.   We went for a drive together and dropped off the movies I had rented the night before, and took George for a run.  We didn't know what else to do, we just needed to stay busy.   

By 7am relatives and family started calling and arriving.  My auntie Liz was amazing during that time, and took on the job of notifying all of the family and friends, and answering all the incoming calls.  By that time I hadn't cried in hours and was just numb, so I called my friend Amanda.  Amanda had also lost her father a couple years before, and I figured if anyone knew what I was dealing with - she did.  There was no answer, so I left her a message it started with "Hi Amanda it's Heather..."  and then I broke down, I managed to sob out "my dad died last night" and hung up the phone.  Not something I wanted to leave on a voice mail message, but I didn't know what to do - I wasn't thinking clearly, it still hadn't sunk in. 

Around 10am I was made to try to get some sleep, and managed to get in a couple hours.  Waking up was wonderful, and then horrible, for a brief moment I thought I had dreamt the whole thing, and then I was suddenly aware of how many people were in our house, and reality came flooding back to me. 

Neighbors, church members, friends and relatives all came by.  Our fridge and freezer filled up with casseroles, scalloped potatoes, and an entire roast turkey, as our living room was filled with white lilies.  That's another thing, to this day, the smell of white lilies makes me sick to my stomach, and my mom ended up with a similar affliction.  I've even gone so far as to call the company that delivered weekly flowers to the office I did temp work at a couple years ago, and request that not a single white lilly arrived in any bouquet.  I don't know why the flower of death has to smell like hot dog water - but there it is.  If I ever have to send sympathy flowers to someone, I will make sure I send something colorful, cheerful, and lilly free!

For the months following my dad's death I found I had a hard time in every aspect of my life.  My school work was suffering, I broke up with my boyfriend because I couldn't stand to be hugged or touched, I wasn't sleeping, and when I did I would wake up with that wave of reality hitting me every morning.  Songs on the radio would make me cry, especially Trooper - "We're here for a good time", and Roy Orbison "In Dreams" which were played at his funeral.  Several times I woke up in a panic because I heard an ambulance siren and the whole night would come flooding back to me.  At one point my mom once came home and dropped her keys on the side table at the entrance and the noise of the key clatter made my heart jump thinking it was my dad (my mom always hung her keys - my dad was the only one who tossed them on the side table, and that noise was always the sound of my father arriving home).  Even watching George sit at the stairs waiting for Dad to come home was heart breaking.  My dad was engrained in every part of my life, and I didn't realize it until he wasn't there anymore. 

Now here I am - 7 years later, and looking back I still wiped my eyes and blew my nose about 50 times writing this.  It still hard to think about, and it's still hard knowing that he's gone.  I feel silly saying this, but that's always the main thing people talk about when losing someone "I wish I had known, there were so many things I would have said or done"  I feel that way now.  The last time I saw my dad alive, he had arrived home and found me asleep in his bed and asked "What are you doing sleeping here" and I responded "I was rehearsing my lines and I fell asleep"  that's it.  that's the last thing I said to him. But the thing is - he can hear me now.  He knows what I want to say to him, he knows that I miss him, and that I love him, and he knows that every year I get a little teary on this day because I wish more than anything that he was still here with us.

Roy Orbison "In Dreams"

A candy-colored clown they call the sandman
Tiptoes to my room every night
Just to sprinkle stardust and to whisper
"Go to sleep. Everything is all right."

I close my eyes, Then I drift away
Into the magic night. I softly say
A silent prayer Like dreamers do.
Then I fall asleep to dream My dreams of you.

In dreams I walk with you. In dreams I talk to you.
In dreams you're mine. All of the time we're together
In dreams, In dreams.

But just before the dawn, I awake and find you gone.
I can't help it, I can't help it, if I cry.
I remember that you said goodbye.

It's too bad that all these things, Can only happen in my dreams
Only in dreams In beautiful dreams.

  I love you Dad <3

Zzzzzzzzzz........

I'm tired today.

It was a busy weekend, and Ben and I have been working extra hard on the house, to try to get it to a livable state, so we're run down, and exhausted.  And this morning at 7 when that alarm went off, it was damn hard to pull myself out of my coma like state and get ready for work.  And it's days like this, when my coffee mug gets a LOT of attention, that I think back to other sleepy days of my past.

There used to be a time when I would function (not very well - but decently) on 4-5 hours of sleep a night.  In fact that was considered a good night.  And I did it consecutively, for weeks.  Now I'm suffering on 7 hours - back in my University days that would have been considered sleeping in!

From Sept 2003 - Jan 2007 4-6 hours a night was the norm, with a couple 2 hours nights throw in the mix for a weekly total of about 24-34 hours of sleep.  Looking back, I have no idea how I did it for so long!

Like many students, I went to school full time, had a part time job (or in my case, a full time job) and pulled many an "all-nighter" just to get on top of my studying and papers.  In order to pay for tuition and rent, I HAD to work 40 hours a week, which meant I crammed my classes into my two days off.  This was my schedule for a couple semesters:

Monday:
Up at 6am:
7-4 Work
4-5 shower/eat/nap
5pm - at school, open theatre
5-10:30pm - Rehearsal (I was a stage manager)
10:30 - 11:15 - Rehearsal reports, cleaning up the rehearsal space, locking up
11:15-3:00am - studying, papers, readings, etc
3am - sleep

Tuesday:
Up at 8am
Classes 9-11:45
11:45-12:15 - eat as fast as I can, and then nap the remaining time
12:15-4:30 - class
4:30-5:00 homework or nap
5pm - open theatre
5-10:30pm - Rehearsal
10:30 - 11:15 - Rehearsal reports, cleaning up the rehearsal space, locking up
11:15-3:00am - studying, papers, readings, etc
3am - sleep
Wednesday (same as Monday)

Thursday (same as Tuesday)

Friday:
Up at 8am
9am-12:00pm - Class
1:00pm-2:00 - eat and nap
2:00pm - 11pm - Work
11:15-3:00am - studying, papers, readings, etc
3:00am - sleep

Saturday:
up at 8am
9-6 - Work
6:30-12:00am - papers and friend time (if I wasn't too tired) (potential all nighter)

Sunday:
up at 8am
9-6 work
6:30-12:00 papers/studying/friend time/sleep etc (potential all nighter)

Part of what helped me get through this stage of my life, was mastering the power nap.  I used to set an alarm on my phone for 15 minutes. put my head down on the lunch room table during my breaks at work, or curl up in a chair in the Drama Undergraduate Society Lounge and be out for 15 minutes, which would give me enough energy to last one more class, or one more chunk of work.

This was a common sight in this room

What started as my nap ended with a people pile, Drama student style

You'll notice in my schedule that I have listed "eat really fast and then nap the remaining time" the faster I ate, the more time I would have for precious sleep - and that was the only thing I wanted more than anything in the world right then.  Which is when I developed the scarf and nap technique, which has continued with me to this day.  If anyone has had a meal with me, you have probably noticed that I typically eat quite quickly - this is a result of 3 1/2 years of sleep dep. driving my hunger - and it just never left.

This weekend my mom and brother were in town, and Ben asked my mom if I used to eat really fast when I was younger, and she said no - in fact I was always the slowest eater, until University :p.

Caffeine was also my best friend at that time.  I had my first coffee EVER on the first day of University - not because I needed it, but because it was what all the cool kids were doing, and I wanted to try it, so I got an extra large french vanilla from "First Cup" right beside my Drama History class, and it was all down hill from there.  Throughout the year coffee was less an enjoyment, and more a necessity.  I would down 2 pots by myself writing one paper.  I had stomach aches, and shakes.  I was delirious, and couldn't focus, and had headaches that I would feel behind my eyes and across the back of my head - but I HAD to finish that paper, so this was my solution to battle the sleep.

Halfway through my second year coffee stopped working, so I switched to chocolate covered espresso beans.  At one point I had a friend who was having a particularly hard time staying awake for a class so I gave him 2 beans - he said he was vibrating and felt amazing.  I used to eat handfuls at a time to keep me awake.  Once they stopped working, I switched to energy drinks, and chugged them like they were going out of style!

Then it got to a point at the 3.5 year mark where I had a doctor tell me that if I keep going down this path, I would have to be hospitalized, and that I was one all nighter away from Chronic Fatigue.  But it wasn't even that warning that was the eye opener, it was the fact that I was suddenly bursting into tears out of no where, that I would have mini black outs where I suddenly realized that I was in a new room, and couldn't recall going there, or why I went, and that I was always sick, and usually with something like strep throat.  And then there was the day that I didn't wake up...  My alarm went off at 8am for an hour - I didn't hear it.  My boyfriend at the time spent an hour trying to wake me, and couldn't either.  I woke up at 5:30pm that night - completely sleeping through my 9-6 shift at work.  My body just decided that I was going to catch up on sleep if it was the last thing I did!  When I called my boss to apologize, she wasn't even mad, she was just concerned about me.  That was the final straw.  I dropped out of school shortly after that.

So right now as I sit here, with burning eyes, fighting to hold my head up on my 7 hours of sleep, I can't help but think back to my University days, and wonder what 21 year old Heather would have to say about me now :p.

And as a side note, for a couple years following my University stint, I quite coffee, just to get back to a place where my body could function without it.  Now I drink it because I enjoy it... and because once again, it helps to wake me up (and thank God for that, because I don't even know what the next stronger substance would have been, short of crack cocaine).  And speaking of coffee... I'm going to get another cup.

We moved!

We are so very fortunate to have such great friends and family, who all rallied and came together to help us move, and made everything so seamless!   Ben and I do not like moving, and we know "will you help me move" is always the dreaded question friends get when someone is moving, so we did things differently this time, we didn't ask a single person to help us.  This time around everyone who helped offered a head of time, we didn't have to seek out helpers, because our friends all came together and told us "we'll help you, just tell us when"  which was so great!  We never want to put our friends into a position where they feel obligated, and this way we didn't have to!

It feels like we have been moving for all of 2011 already!  Actually looking back, it was the end of January, early February that Ben and I made the decision that we would be buying a house this year.  It all started on January 14th, when we had a murder mystery party with friends, and I started chatting with our friend Lee about a new type of mortgage.  It sounded awesome, and the next day we looked it up just to see what the details were on it.  The day after that Ben gave the bank a call just to see if we would even qualify, and how exactly the mortgage would work for our situation - which is when we got the news that launched this whole madness. 

So almost immediately Ben and I started packing boxes to get ready to sell.  We painted the bedroom, got a new bedspread, changed out the shower curtain, hauled car loads of boxes to work with us every morning, and over all devoted every spare second we had to getting our home Buyer ready.  We were on the MLS system March 25th, and sold April 3rd.  Then we put our offer on our house on April 15th, which was accepted on April 16th.

Then we took some time off.  Not on a vacation or anything, but we got back to enjoying our evenings and weekends.  We went for walks, watched movies, had games nights, and just took some time off from the move.  It was very much needed.  Come mid May we were back in it full swing.

On Monday May 16th, I went to my dance class, and then Ben and I went dumpster diving for boxes (FYI the Future Shop Cardboard dumpster at the end of their parking lot is an awesome place to get decent sized boxes in good condition) and started packing up our house.  On Tuesday we packed and moved boxes and furniture to the office (our boss is awesome and told us to use a spare office rather than renting storage).  Wednesday was the same, so was Thursday - work all day, work all night.  On Friday we were exhausted and sore, but still had a couple more loads to do.  Luckily Ben's mom came out to give us a hand, and we were completely moved out of the condo by 4pm Friday.  Getting to Ben's parents place I fell asleep on the couch almost immediately, and then enjoyed steak and drinks with the family later on.

Saturday morning Ben and I went back to the Condo to clean, and that was it - we were done!

Fast forward to this last week....


Ben and I only worked until 12:00pm on Friday May 27th, so we took that oportunity in the morning to pack up the truck so by the time 12:00 hit we could head out to the new house to get the keys and start day 1 of our move to the new place.  Our realtor met us at the house, and gave us a bottle of champagne and a BBQ tool set, and handed us the keys to our new home.  We got to the front door, and Ben scooped me up and carried me over the threshold!  Our new home!

Shortly after 1pm the Telus guy came to hook up our cable, phone and internet, and while Ben was working with him, Mom and I did another trip with the truck and un packed the kitchen.  Then Ben and Mom went to go pick up Lee's truck, which he graciously lent us for the move, and we met up at work for another load, which Erik arrived to help us with.

Now because Ben and I hate disorganized moves, we wanted to make sure our friends didn't spend the day cursing us, so we put in a lot of extra work to make sure the move when as smoothly as possible, this meant by the time Erik arrived we had already been at work for an hour and moved all the furniture and boxes we were taking down to the front lobby of our office building, so all we had to do was line up the vehicles in front and pack them up and go.  Once we got home unloading the trucks took about 10 minutes - and then we gave Erik a tour and treated him to dinner.  Total time Erik had to help us move including loading, driving and unloading?  45 minutes.  now THAT's how we like to move :)

On saturday Ben and I were up early, and headed to work for 9am.  The rest of our friends and family weren't set to arrive until 10:30, but like we did with Erik we planned to get everything down the elevator and stack up at the front door so it was all ready to just load trucks and go.  We had the lobby packed by 10am, and finally took a seat to enjoy a coffee and muffin (Ben's parents graciously supplied the muffins and arrived at 9:30 to help us move stuff). 

We had our entire house moved in less than 2 hours, and in two trips with 3 trucks and a car.  While everyone went to the house to unload the first wave of trucks, I stayed behind at the office and moved the rest of our boxes and furniture from the office to the front door.  And then I got bored and started moving it out onto the landing outside our front door - had the trucks taken any longer I would have had everything on the sidewalk at the curb!  And that was WITH a muffin break!

Our move was done by about 12:30, I ordered pizza and by 1 we were all enjoying the sun on our new deck eating pizza and drinking beer :)


On Sunday mom arrived to help us paint, and paint we did.  It turns out it doesn't matter if the paint has a built-in primer, if you are working with red/oranges, you need to put on an additional primer - which we discovered after 6+ coats of paint in our basement, and 6 gallons of paint later.  Upstairs went much smoother, as I was able to do the whole living room and hallway with 2 coats and 2 gallons, and Ben's dad helped frame the ceiling when he was there yesterday.

Furniture has been delivered, tape has been pulled off, basement floors have been washed, lawn has been cut - more and more it's starting to feel like a home!

We still have a room completely packed with boxes, but that's because almost everything in that room either belongs in the living room, or basement, and until recently those areas were still covered in wet paint.  Last night we unwrapped our new sectional for the basement, and placed the pieces where they will be in the room, as well we moved all of our Ikea furniture downstairs so Ben can spend his afternoon today putting stuff together  (he took the week off to work on the house) while I'm at work.  As well last night we put our new sheets on our new King Sized Bed - and had an amazing sleep! As Ben and I are not cuddly sleepers, we have been dreaming about a King for years, and finally got our wish last night as we were both able to stretch and flail as much as we wanted without disturbing each other!

Little by Little the house is coming along, but Ben and I still have a long list of things we need to tackle before we can finally relax, and when that day comes, we're going to break out the bubbly and cigars, and soak in our new hot tub!  I can't wait!