Weekly check in!

My favorite lantern display from this year's Chinese lantern show at the Botanical Gardens

So, I've had quite the busy week! I spent quite a bit of time with my Sweetheart, naturally. He stayed over at my place on Wednesday, then on Friday we went out to the movies since he wanted to see Skyfall, the new James Bond movie. It was my first time ever seeing a James Bond movie and I really liked it. Sweetheart says I now have to see all of them, but luckily for me he only has one on his computer at home. I may have liked Skyfall, but I'm not sure how I feel about an all-out James Bond marathon! I'll be seeing my Sweetheart again later on today since he'll be coming to my choir's concert and then I'm hoping we'll head back to his place together for a nice quiet end of the day and evening!

I was also at the movie yesterday with my friend V. We went out to lunch at Boccacino's and then she proposed that we go and see Twilight: Breaking Dawn part 2. As I've mentioned before, I've always vetoed going to see the Twilight movies in the theaters because I want to avoid the die-hard Twihards, but I figured that since the movie had been out for a week and it was a middle of the afternoon showing, it would be okay to risk it. Luckily it was fine and the movie really was quite good! I'll be buying the DVD when it come out so I can watch it with my Sweetheart. He will of course be satisfied before there is a 'Jacob shirtless' scene. A Twilight movie would not be a Twilight movie if Jacob did not take of his shirt and show off his six pack at least once :oJ

Aside from that things have been pretty quiet. My father is doing well right now. He's signed himself up with a personal trainer in order to help him get some of his strength and muscle tone back, but is taking his time filling out all the forms he needs for his first appointment. He's been getting out more though, which is nice to hear and he might even come to my concert later on today. He's flipped back and forth twice so far on whether he is going to coming or not though, so I'm not putting any money on it and neither is my Grandma G who would really like to come and is counting on my father for a ride. I'll let you know how that turns out, but Grandma G and I are both crossing our fingers!

Well, I had better get a move on since I do have quite a bit to do before leaving for my concert, namely figuring out what to do with my hair!

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend :o)

My favorite :)

So after a week of listening to the Breaking Dawn (part2) soundtrack (on and off, I do have over a day and half of music on my iPod, so I rarely listen to just one album, most of the time I turn it on, hit shuffle and off I go), here is my favorite song from it. All of the music is quite good, but this is the one song that I still listen to twice in a row before moving on. Let me know what you think of it if you decide to give it a listen :)

On another note, my Sweetheart has been home since Thursday. We were happy as could be to be reunited on Friday, even though my poor Sweetheart was of course still a bit jet lagged and suffering from the tail end of a case of food poisoning he got from his first class meal on the flight from Luanda, Angola to Amsterdam. He was lucky he didn't eat the fish, because his business partner, E, and another engineer who worked with them in Angola did and they got even sicker. So never let it be said that the food is better in first class, that is a myth!

Sweetheart did not get as much time together as we would have liked since he and E had a bit of work to catch up on on Saturday morning, but we should be getting together again either tonight or tomorrow. We just can't get enough of talking with each other or spending time together, I could hear my Sweetheart grinning through the phone when we talked during my break at choir practice last night and I naturally grinned right back. We're like a couple of kids when he gets back from long trips like this, it's quite something to see :)

Not too much else going on right now aside from work and my being in concert with my choir this coming weekend. It should be quite a nice show, I'm looking forward to it!

On that note, I hope you're all doing well and that all of my American readers have a lovely Thanksgiving with your family and friends this Thursday, just be safe if you go shopping on Friday, I couldn't believe it when I read that there were already people camping out in front of stores to take advantage of the sales that don't start until FRIDAY!!! That's pretty nuts.

I'll try and pop in again soon, but I'm quite liking this weekly blogging format, it's much easier than trying to get a post up every day!

He's coming home!!!

Another view of the illuminated Japanese Gardens at the Botanical Gardens (click to enlarge)

Today I...

...am thrilled to report that my Sweetheart is finally on his way home! He sent me an e-mail telling me so this morning. He was quite looking forward to his day in Amsterdam tomorrow where he will be on a day-long layover. He was also looking forward to leaving Matala since they were beginning to being victims of the weather there. Sweetheart told me that there were beginning to be more and more thunderstorms and that when there were, their work camp and bedrooms would flood. He also told me that their generator was hit by lightning during one storm and that since then they had fallen prey to frequent power outages and that they had spent two days without Internet (which is why I had not heard from him since Thursday), but more importantly they were often short on water and that therefore personal hygiene was beginning to be a problem. Yup, it was time for him to leave. 

I have naturally been in an exceptionally good mood since reading his e-mail this morning, I could dance and sing I am so happy. As I told my Sweetheart the other day, I do okay when he is away, I keep myself busy, but when he is here, something in me comes alive. Nobody else has that effect on me, it really is quite exceptional. I try to describe it to people who ask me how on God's Green Earth I can handle being in a relationship with a man who travels so often and who, as I have mentioned on here before, is an admitted commitment phobic. It's simple: we make each other happy and have been constantly moving forward in the relationship, especially since he has moved back from Toronto. Besides, even though having my Sweetheart away is difficult, having him come home is always something wonderful. The expression 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' is not a myth folks, not if the two halves of a couple have a personality that is compatible with long-distance relationships! 

Aside from that, I am currently listening to the soundtrack for the final installment of the Twilight movies and it is wonderful. Think what you will of the Twilight saga, the music that goes with the movies is often full of amazing music. As I have once again mentioned before, I enjoyed reading the Twilight books and I have also enjoyed the movies (in both cases they make a nice change from my usual movie and literary fodder, which is  more, shall we say, intellectual), but I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a Twihard. Those people are pretty intense, which is why I have not seen any of the Twilight movies in the theaters. I would rather steer clear of all the raging young teenage hormones, I get enough of them giving tours to teens at work, thank you very much. I read the books way after they were released and have waited for the movies to be released on DVD to watch them in the comfort of my home, but always with my Sweetheart who enjoys laughing at them and waiting to see how long it takes Taylor Lautner (aka: Jacob) to go shirtless. Sweetheart keeps trying to get me to admit that I find Taylor Lautner hot, but I honestly don't think he is, he just isn't my type :oJ I'm sure he would be relieved to find that out, as are all the crazy teenage girls out there who dream of dating him. One less woman to compete with! 

Sunset

Here is a stunning sunset I was treated to when leaving work on Thursday of last week :-)

Skywatch Friday

One of the fixtures of the Montreal Skyline: the tower of the Olympic Stadium. This photo was taken from the Japanese garden at the Botanical Gardens a few weeks ago when it was lit up for the Halloween season.

To see more Skywatch photos from around the world, stop by the Skywatch Friday blog.

Downton Abbey: Maggie Moments Series 2

Here are the Dowager Countess's best moments from Downton Abbey, season 2. Enjoy :o)

Downton Abbey: Top 10 Maggie Moments

As you all know I love Downton Abbey and one of my favorite characters on the show is Lord Grantham's mother, the Dowager Countess. Here are some of her best moments out of Season 1. If you have never seen Downton Abbey before, this just may convert you, seasons 1 and 2 are currently available for download on iTunes, which is where I got them. Season 3 is currently airing in the U.K. and will be debuting on this side of the pond on January 13th on PBS's Masterpiece.

Today I...November 2nd

Today I...

...am taking a bit of time to check in with all of you.

My father seems to be doing pretty well this week. He has an anniversary dinner for the curling club he and my grandparents have been members of for over 30 years now tomorrow and he called me on Wednesday because he was hunting around for his tuxedo. I spent a great deal of time cleaning my father's room while he was in the hospital and he was wondering if I had moved it out of his bedroom closet. I hadn't, but he called me back about an hour later to let me know that he had found it in another one of his upstairs bedrooms. I was very happy to hear that my father was looking forward to the dinner and that he was planning on getting all dressed up for it, he was just a bit concerned that his tuxedo might no longer fit him because he has lost quite a bit of weight since buying it.

Aside from that, I've had up days and down days. I don't always do that great for sleep, which is not good and I've had a lot of appointments all over the place, so I feel like I'm rushing a lot. I could definitely use some downtime, but I'm nearly two months away from my next vacation :ox I'm also running low on sick days because I've had to take so many to help out with my dad and take care of some stuff on my end as well. Sick days sure start going down fast when you encounter a situation when you really need them. I don't know what to do. It is very tempting to take my week off earlier than planned, but then I will end up having to work between Christmas and New Year's, which is never fun either because I always have family in town over the Holidays and as you all know, the Holidays are often far from restful!

My Sweetheart is still in Angola. He's supposed to be coming home on the 15th of this month, but he told me earlier this week in an e-mail that the work has not been going as quickly as they thought it would, so he might be coming home later. I hope they can catch up on their schedule and he can make it home on the 15th as planned, because I miss him like crazy.

On another note, I'm beginning to doubt whether I'll make it back to daily posting. I'm really beginning to lack the motivation for it, but I do frequently thing about what I would like this blog to become. I definitely still enjoy blogging, but I may just tweak what I blog about :o) Anyhow, I hope you'll all stick around no matter which way this blog goes, because I really do love having you follow me and leave comments!