Valentine's

This year, Jon and I decided to stay home for Valentine's Day. It was one of the best! It included making dinner together, dressing up, candlelight, dancing, and a movie. Lovely.

Jon is the cutest. I came home from work on V Day to these beautiful "Happy Valentines Day + Happy New Job" tulips!Our meal: Ricotta & Spinach stuffed Cannelloni with a Rose Sauce, Parmesan/Garlic Breaded Chicken, Spinach/Romaine salad, and wine. Yum! Not only was our food incredibly tasty, but we had a fantastic time making it together.We got dressed up...

Jon's head is a bit cut off, but this was the only slow shutter picture where I didn't blink! :)

Job

After much searching, applying, and waiting...I am pleased to announce that I now have a full time job!! It is not teaching (for a while now I have known that teaching will have to wait until September) but I am very excited nonetheless. I think too, that I am all the more grateful for this job because I had to wait so long for it. Had I gotten this right away, I think I would have been disappointed it wasn't teaching related, but because I have had time to just want pretty much any job, this is perfect!! The next couple weeks will be spent in training/finishing up my tutoring position.

So, I am now a customer rep. for a car rental company. It will be perfect for us until we move back to Winnipeg. Jon and I are pretty happy. Thank you, God!

A Kite

I picked up A Child's First Book of Poems (pictures by Cindy Szekeres) the other day and had so much fun reading the poetry! My Auntie Gayle gave it to me a a child. As I read through the poems and studied the pictures, childhood feelings and memories came back to me. I love that. Here is one poem that I think is really sweet.

A Kite

I often sit and wish that I
Could be a kite up in the sky,
And ride upon the breeze and go
Whichever way I chanced to blow.
Then I could look beyond the town,
And see the river winding down,
And follow all the ships that sail
Like me before the merry gale,
Until at last with them I came
To some place with a foreign name.

~Frank Dempster Sherman

Inside My Purse

My purse sometimes feels heavier than I think it should...and I discovered why a couple days ago! I have this thing with lip balm, as most girls do, and have always had at least one in my pocket, backpack, or purse since probably grade 7.

Lately I had been wondering how it was possible to lose some of my lip balms. It's normal to lose one every now and then, but there have been a number that had gone missing. I recently found a hole in the lining of one side pocket in my purse, and with a little digging, discovered things had fallen through the hole and landed in the space between the lining and the leather! Five minutes later, and after much excitement...
I'd like to point out that all the lip balms were given to me--I don't have a lip balm-buying addiction! Three were stocking stuffers, and two come from Clinique bonuses...in my defense. My purse now feels lighter, and I don't have to wonder how I lost these anymore!

Peterborough Family

After 5 months of living in Hamilton, Jon and I finally made the trip to Peterborough to visit some of the Nayler family! Peterborough is where my dad grew up, and everyone except for him still lives there. From Hamilton, Peterborough can take between 4 and 5 hours by bus, but thanks to my generous Aunt, we were able to rent a car, which takes only 2 hours and 15 minutes! Turns out renting a car was cheaper than the bus anyways! It was also very convenient as far as getting around the city. As Jon's term has just begun, and I am only working very little right now, it was the perfect time to visit!

We stayed with my grandpa, which is something I love to do. Jon and I have made 2 'just us' trips to Peterborough, and it is so relaxing and fun to have my grandpa all to ourselves! It's so neat hearing stories from his childhood, some of his experience(s) in WWII, of his relationship with my [deceased] grandma, and of my dad's childhood. I love learning more about other people's lives, and especially when they involve my family! As a grandchild growing up in another province, even though we visited every summer, I have not been able to get to know my grandpa in the casual way my cousins have. The visits we have had, however, have always been very special and I value them greatly. We hope to make a couple more trips out while we live so close.

Here is a picture of my grandpa and I. After it was taken, I asked him if he had smiled and he said, "I don't know." I'm pretty sure at the age of 87 you know whether you are smiling or not! He's funny and I love him! In hearing him talk, I noticed that, mixed in with my mom's personality, I think have inherited some of my bluntness from him! Can you see the resemblance to my dad?

Some other family members we were able to visit included my Auntie Sandy, Uncle Bryan, Uncle Dave & Aunt Carole, my Uncle Len, and my cousins: Kristan (and her adorable baby girl Sierra), Michael, Stephen, and Victoria, and my cousin Ashley and her husband, Robin. And that's not all of them!

My Auntie Sandy and me. You might not be able to tell in this photo, but we share the wide-eyed Nayler genes (or "Bambi eyes" as Janessa and I call them) that my grandpa also has.

My cousin Ashley (my wedding photographer if anyone recognizes her!) & me.

Before the Peterborough visit, we were treated with another visit. Jordan, April, and Cori-Anne were on their way back to Nova Scotia and stayed with us from Thursday to Friday, just before we left for Peterborough. It was so great to see them again! That, and I scored some wonderful Auntie cuddles with Cori-Anne. She is SO cute! Here are a couple of pics of my beautiful neice.

This picture of Jon makes me want to have a baby!

Soooo cute!

Home Visit and Now

Back in Hamilton after a wonderful home visit to Winnipeg for Christmas. We were able to spend some quality time with both families, see many friends, and feel the cold that Hamilton does not have! Some highlights included seeing friends and family, experiencing one of the best Nayler Christmases ever, having laughing-so-hard-we're-crying sessions, and meeting our new niece, Cori-Anne who is ADORABLE!! Even though our visit ended off with both Jon and I burdened with the flu, it was a most excellent time. So I'll leave the description of our holiday at that. I've included a few of my favourite pictures from the holidays.
And now, I am back to the job search. I was feeling quite motivated the other day, but now have this heavy feeling and am not excited one bit about trying to get a job. Even as I type, I should technically be dropping off resumes to local businesses, but find myself procrastinating. Sigh.

It's a new year, though, and even though it doesn't feel any different than 2008 yet, I know this year brings with it much change and excitement. So I look forward to that.

A Post!

Some things that have happened since my last post:

- Turned 25
- Made good Hamilton friends
- Worked at a bookstore (in addition to the tutoring)
- Had many a cry
- Had many a laugh--one that was so hard it made me cry, actually!
- Became at peace with not renewing my Ontario Teachers Certification/not teaching while in Hamilton
- Painted with watercolours and oils..and quite loved it (and still do love it)
- Had a mom visit
- Caught and held on to a couple colds!
- Have had obvious answers to prayer and have experienced God's grace, faithfulness, and love in many ways
- Read some awesome books
- Took care of the sweetest dog for a weekend
- Sang with Jon at an art show

Things have been so busy that I have yet to decorate the house for Christmas! This is something I LOVE doing, and is an important tradition for me. So, even though we won't be here for Christmas, the decorating will be done this week!! Despite the lack of decoration, a heck of a lot of Christmas music (which I love) has been playing!

Right now Jon and I are looking forward to our Winnipeg Christmas visit! We fly out from Hamilton this Friday (the 19th) and are there till the 31st. Our visit is already looking pretty packed, but in a really good way. I am so looking forward to seeing family and friends from 'home!' Let the countdown begin...see you soon!

I'll leave you with a painting and some photos: