A quick week

The last week went by rather quickly. All of a sudden I realized that I didn't update my blog for more than a week! My apologies. ;-)

Nader and I decided at the last minute to go to Burnaby for my dad's birthday on Sunday. We had a nice time visiting a couple of our friends who just had a baby (she is sooooo sweet and small). Then we hung out with family for the rest of the weekend. We went to the beach on Sunday afternoon and enjoyed a picnic and croquet in the sand. Then we went back to my dad's place and had a BBQ dinner and delicious cake. (There I go with the food again...I guess you can tell that I like food!)

This week back in Kamloops has been relatively quiet. The weather is unsettled, so one day is hot and sunny and the next is rainy or cloudy. I haven't really gone out for any walks. I did drive around a bit to explore some more areas of town. I unpacked a bit more and organized stuff. I went to a Tupperware party. We bought a new foam mattress...so much better than the spring one! Thursday evening we went for a tour of the Kamloops water treatment centre with some people from our home group. It was actually more interesting than I anticipated and I really appreciate where our water comes from. It's quite the process and the water is very clean here.I hope you all are doing great. Miss you all.

Love Nicole

Nader's birthday

We had our first visitor to our new place on Tuesday. My uncle Gerry came over for dinner, as he was in town for work. It was a good visit and we enjoyed a nice evening. Nader was very happy to have discussions about politics and the economy. We hope to have more visitors soon! Anyone up for a housewarming party? I would like to have one in June sometime.

Yesterday was Nader's birthday! We had a fantabulous birthday cake that I made.

I wasn't satisfied with any recipes I found, so I made a dense yellow/white cake and invented a filling and frosting. It was pineapple jam (which is very hard to find by the way!) and cream cheese and whipped cream with crushed pineapple on the outside. (I couldn't decide whether to make cream cheese icing or use whipped cream, so I combined them). Yummy!

Nader was very excited to open his present - he thought he knew what he was getting! Actually he kind of knew since he was making hints for the last few weeks. He got 'Teach Yourself French Conversation', 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' dvd, and some beer. We had some good laughs with the movie last night.

Today I am making cinnamon buns for a BBQ with our home group this evening. I am very excited about it...I hope they will turn out delicious. I just love being off from work right now. Its been fantastic. Plus I am getting EI, so we have some breathing room. Thanks Lord!

Love you and miss you,
Nicole

The long weekend

It amazes me how fast Spring came here. One week everything was brown, the next everything was green and blooming. Too bad you can't smell these gorgeous lilacs...



We had a great long weekend here and it was hot and sunny. We got to know a couple from our home group better by having a BBQ at their place. It was great. They have fabulous views from the front and rear of their house.

We were going to go to a nearby lake this weekend, but Monday it started to rain...shoot, we should have gone on Sunday. So instead I decided to make cookies and try out Dana's recipe for sweet bread. Both of them turned out delicious! And it was my first use of our full size oven!
I hope you all had fun weekends and not too many sunburns! Miss you and love you.

Nicole xoxo

Friday's Activities

I had a really good day. I think this day was one of the highlights of my week. It was a sunny and hot day. I spent the morning reading and rearranging furniture and the afternoon shopping. I found these items that make me smile and add a touch of whimsy to the mantle.
After eating dinner, Nader and I headed out to the North Shore (an area in Kamloops) to find a Farmer's Market. It was rather sad because there were about 6 vendors there. I had been hoping to find interesting things to take pictures of. Instead we drove around McArthur Island park, planning to have a walk there. Instead we happened upon a mini-golf course and decided to play! It was Nader's first time playing and he did fairly well. The first half of the game I beat him and the second half we tied. (Not that I am a very good player!) It was a fantastic location. We saw many birds and a groundhog. We then had ice cream at DQ which was very busy. I don't think I have seen a DQ that big before, but it makes sense in a place like Kamloops!
We then decided to drive around a bit to explore areas we hadn't been and discovered a Chinese graveyard. It is where Chinese workers who built the CP railway and worked in Kamloops were buried. We then went home and enjoyed a warm evening and the lights of Kamloops on our balcony.

Hope your weekend is a great one! Love, Nicole

So much free time

I don't know what to do with all my free time. Yes, I have many things to do. I spent 12 hours on Tuesday doing laundry.
I unpacked many boxes and put together shelving. Yet there is still a huge pile of boxes surrounding me. I actually spent half the day reading yesterday and the other half going shopping (for groceries mostly). Of course I was sidetracked in Costco...they have a nice section with plants and I have ideas for a few pots on our balcony. I have lots of nice ideas to make our apartment more homey and functional, however most ideas need me to buy something and since I don't have a job, its not feasible to put most of my ideas into practice. I think I will walk down to Chapters/Starbucks today. Its going to be a hot one! The forecast is over 30! Hmmm...time to find my shorts.

As for my job search, its not really a search right now. I have applied for EI and I am trying to decide what direction to take. I feel like I need a bit of a change. Nader and I are going to take AutoCAD in the fall. I wish they offered it in the summer time. I am also thinking about volunteering somewhere for one or two days a week.

Nader got his contract with his job finally! We are so excited. He is now a full time employee and the contract is open. He is on salary, but no raise as of yet. We trust God will keep providing for us like He has.

Nader and I are both feeling a bit lonely. We miss our friends and family in the Lower Mainland. I think we need to take some steps out of our comfort zone and reach out to connect with people here. At least we have a Bible Study on Thursday evenings and the people are really nice. Hopefully we can get together with a couple of them during the rest of the week. That might help!

Love you all, Nicole

New car!

Finally after days of searching and lots of negotiating, I managed to secure a car for myself. I am so tired of the process but took my time because I wanted to make sure I didn't get a lemon. However, only time will tell...

It is a Mazda Protege 5, manual transmission (better performance and gas milage!), has A/C and a sunroof. It will have new brakes and tires by the time I pick it up tomorrow. I think that I managed a good deal with a little help from my dad and my brother. I am happy with the outcome and excited to get to drive it away soon!

I came down to Burnaby to find something since selection is limited around Kamloops. It has been great to stay at my dad's place and also visit with Eric since he came back from New Zealand. In some ways it feels like I never moved to Kamloops! Everything is so familiar. I went to church on Sunday and it was just like I never left. I had a really good time on Sunday actually. I connected with my friend Ruth for awhile and then had lunch with other young adults at the pastor's house. It was delicious food too!

Love Nicole