SPROUTING!

Last Thursday evening, I went at my cousin’s house and her mom, taught us how to sprout our own vegetables. My aunt has been sprouting for a while now and she just loves it. She orders the organic seeds in bulk online, so I was able to buy the seeds from her. When I left that evening, I was so excited. I am really looking forward to eat my own sprouting in my salads. To start off, I am going to try, red cabbage, lentils, broccoli, garlic, green peas, alfalfa and clover. When I got home, I was so looking forward to start that I woke Victor and explain to him what I was going to do my sprouting and gave him a lesson on the benefits of eating sprouted vegetables. I almost didn’t sleep that night. I wanted to start my sprouting right away. I woke at 5am the next morning to start the soaking on the ones that needed to soak for 12 hrs.

Today I can say that I finished my first batched of sprouts. I was able to add the lentils and green peas in my salad. It was delicious! The rest of them are still in progress.

Update on Haiti

On July 12, 2010, we just hit the 6 months anniversary of the Earthquake. Since the earthquake, there haven’t been many children coming in to the O to be adopted. You would think that more would be coming in now because there are still over 1,200,000 people in Haiti that are still living under tarps and tents.

A few weeks ago, Dixie posted on her blog that parents will have to travel to Haiti 3 times to complete the adoption. On top of that, she mentioned that the Canadian Gov. was considering stopping adoptions in Haiti for 3-6 months. Here is her post “Now parents will be required to come to Haiti 3 times. They will come at the beginning of the process to appear in front of the local Judge, they will have to appear at the Civil Court, and then come at the end of the adoption to take their child home. The law does not require this civil court visit, so now Mrs. Cazimir is making up new rules. The Canadian government is considering stopping adoptions from Haiti for 3 to 6 months because of the adoption process being so disorganized right now.”

I contacted my Province and was told that she has not heard a thing about the Canadian Gov. Suspending adoptions for Haiti. We’ll see what the upcoming weeks are going to bring. In the meantime, I continue to read Dixie’s updates and hope to see more of the new babies coming in... Here is her latest post.

Hot Week

We just finished a week long of high 30 degress. It was a heat wave. Lucky for us, there’s always a breeze in the evening because we live by the ocean. We open the windows in our bedroom and I sleep like a baby. Each day, when I got home from work, I put on my bathing suit and off the beach with the dogs. It’s so much fun to come home from work and be able to go for a nice swim. The water was like walking in a bathtub.

Yesterday, I dropped off the dogs at the daycare. I knew we were going out in the evening and I did not want them to be alone all day and night. When I picked them up, they were tired out! We got home and went for a quick dip at the beach and then they slept like babies. We left for an evening boating with friends. We had a great time. The breeze was even warm after sunset.

I am still off the caffeine! I was 2 weeks yesterday. I am so proud. In 2 weeks, I can honestly say that I only had 2 days my mind was telling me that i needed my cup of coffee.

5 Days today without Caffeine!

I haven’t been updating my blog lately. I’ve been too busy working outside. I am so happy to say that my arrangement that I hired a house cleaner is giving me the time to be outside. I’ve been pretty good a weeding my flowers. It’s not perfect but it better than previous years.

Today is going to be 5 days that I haven’t drank coffee! I am so proud of myself. This is something that I never thought I could do. When I went to Haiti that was one of my biggest concerns... what happens if I don’t have coffee. I had even brought instant coffee in my suitcase in case. When I don’t have my coffee first thing in the morning, I just did not function. I used to have a huge headache and would get cranky. About a month ago, my cousin told me she was going to California to learn how to prepare raw food. She said that she wanted to stop drinking coffee before she leaves because most of the people that would be taking that class would probably be %100 Vegan, Organic... no caffeine type of people. She didn’t want to clash so she challenged herself to not drink coffee for 3 weeks. I honestly thought she was crazy because she loves her coffee like I do. Anyhoo, she did the challenge and is still going at it on her 4th week. I went for lunch with her thinking she would look like hell because he had no caffeine in her body but she was looking good. I got thinking and decided to try it myself. I said I would try it for 1 week and if it came too bad, I would have a sip. So on Friday, June 25th, I left work with my coffee mug filled with coffee but did not drink it. I smelled the aroma of coffee in the car. I drank lots of water during the day to keep me going. I was so proud when I got home that I had worked all day without coffee. Then the weekend came along. I think for some weird reason, it took more will power. I took several naps during the day and did not go to bed late.

My goal is not to stop drinking coffee; however I wanted to prove myself that I could do without. I don’t want to live knowing that I have an addiction. This morning, I woke up and did not even think of my coffee. I don’t have headaches during the day, but I drink lots of water. I can honestly say that I feel good and full of energy. I hope I can continue for a while and then just have an occasional coffee here and there.

Collection for GLA

2 weeks ago, May 22, 2010, we did a collection of donations for God’s Littlest Angel’s in Haiti. When the earthquake hit Haiti January 12, Jeanne, my step-daughters aunt on their mother’s side felt that she needed to do something for the children in Haiti. I probably already said all of this in a previous blog post, but for the ones that don’t know, she decided to start a FB group and get people to donate items for the children. She was collecting them little by little and storing them for now. She didn’t know how or who she was going to send it to but she knows that it would all work out one way or another.

Before we left for our volunteer week at GLA, I had found on GLA website a contact in Halifax that we could bring donations for Haiti and they would have it ship to Haiti. We were all excited because we knew now that we could collect more donations and we would know exactly where it’s going. GLA is so good for their Country. They are not only operating as an orphanage since the earthquake, but they are helping out the nearby villages and tent cities with the supplies that they receive from people like us. Since I’ve planned my trip to Haiti in April, I’ve been collecting donations from coworkers, friends, family and random people that I don’t even know. I usually have a few loads ever week that I pick up after work. I cannot describe the feeling of how honoured I am to be doing this. Every bag I collect is like if I would be receiving a bag of money for my own. I get home all excited with a big smile on my face.

The morning of May 22th, Jeanne, Nicole and I were in the Downeast Plastic parking lot with posters, balloons and pails to collect donations for Haiti. This was the last collection before we start packing the boxes.

The following weekend, we were all back in the storage area sorting the items and filling out the boxes. We had lots of people coming to help us. It was great to see everyone lending a helping hand. I am so proud of my 2 step-daughters. They have been very active in all the activities for helping Haiti. Jeanne was able to get a company, sorry but I don’t remember the name right now. I will add it later when I talk to her. They donated 200 boxes (2cubic) for Haiti. We filled 140 boxes on Saturday May 29th. Since then, I’ve still been collecting items. Westmorland Fisheries in Cap-Pelé is going to donate a trucker to haul the boxes to Halifax. It’s amazing what 1 person can accomplish. Jeanne started this collection and as people got involved, we got more and more donations and people donating their time to make this work.

For the past month, I’ve been busy with the donations and it has kept my mind of the waiting process of our adoption. I think I will continue to collect items. I will be traveling to Haiti for sure in the next while so I will be able to bring more. Haiti will still need our help next year and in 10 years so there is no point of stopping now. This is just the beginning for me. I have finally found something that I am passionate about. I will have Haiti in my heart forever. Every day, I check out GLA blog and FB of the people that I have met in Haiti. I can’t wait to go back and see them.

I even got a package from my good friend Angele who lives in Halifax. She has such a good heart. Thank You Girl!!!!

Training the Dogs 101

I think it’s time again to try and get Sam & George to sleep on their own single bed beside our bed. I’ve been to the chiropractor 5 times and massage therapist 2 times in 2 weeks for my back. When I told my chiropractor that my 2 boxers sleep with me, she said ‘no wonder you wake up every morning with a sore back and neck.’ So I guess for the 5th time, I will try and get them to sleep beside me on a separate bed. I will still be able to touch them with my foot so they might believe that they are actually in my bed. We’ll see.

I have also bought a new pillow and a new duvet comforter so I should be getting a good night sleep tonight.

Good night!

Good old Mondays!!!

Monday! I’ve been having a hard time to like Monday’s lately but somehow, this Monday was awesome. I woke up remembering my dream. I dreamt of my 2 dogs that passed away a few years ago. Gucci and Chubbs. They were Chinese Sharpei. I loved them so much. I cannot compare them to Sam and George because they don’t have the same character at all. Sam and George are always by my side. They always have to be a few feet away from me. Gucci and Chubbs. They were always happy to see us but after a few minutes, they wanted their space. They were so loyal dogs. I miss them very much. When I woke up this morning, I felt that they were with me last night in my dream. It was really comforting.

I got to work and decided to clean my workspace a second time to try and find my Immigration papers. I was at the last pill of paper thinking it was not there and all of a sudden, I pulled it out. I was so happy! The girl beside me did not understand why I was so happy to have found that document. I immediately ran to the scanner to scan a copy to my email and did a paper copy as well. My morning started off so good!

At lunch time, I posted an add on kijiji for house cleaner. I need someone to clean the house next door that we have for rental this summer. I have put my foot down and said that I was not cleaning anything in that house. I tried to get local people and nobody was interested because it’s on Sundays. After a few hours that my add was posted, I received 3 replies. I think I found the right match. They are 2 ladies going back to school and they wanted a part time job for the summer. They didn’t want to do it on Sunday’s but guess what... Money Talks!!! So I will be meeting them sometimes this week for a short interview. She seemed really nice on the phone. So 2nd great thing happening on a Monday!

Got home from work and even cooked a nice veggie lasagna. Cooking on a Monday, that’s usually not happening.

My husband then arrived and said he just loved the great meal. He usually visualize that he is eating meat lasagna LOL! He is always complementing on what I do. I love him so much. So for the past few months’ I’ve been bugging him to put plastic on 2 holes in our walking closet. Its suppose to be 2 cubby holes to store stuff and have a door but it’s not finished and I hate the smell of insulation... I always say that it smells like a barn. He’s always telling me to remind him tomorrow and he will do it but then he gets caught up doing something else. So today, I decided to bring it up a supper time. Without telling me, he got up and went to put some plastic to cover the holes. When I got up I thanked him and asked him at the same time if he removed my shoes before he screwed the boards and plastic. Well as you can imagine, I will not be putting on my fancy pink shoes this summer! I will not try and undo his work because ... well just because. I guess another great thing happened on this great Monday, I will be able to go buy another pair of shoes. I can still see them but just won't be able to wear them.