Weekend Recap

It is great to have Maya back! We arrived at my sister Naomi's house at 4 in the morning Saturday, and Maya didn't bark at all. She was doing a super crazy whole body shake while on her back and whimpering. My mom said that they all decided that I would be more excited than her, so you can only imagine how I looked. It was great to see so many family members and catch up a bit. I really love them. The older I get the more I want to live closer to them. This is a picture of my nephew Henry and I. So adorable.

Maya!

I am so excited to see Maya and pick her up this weekend. She has spent the last 4 months! with my parents bonding and I'm sure making best friends with their dog Sunny. I'm really happy to have my running, walking, dancing and cuddling buddy back. Family reunion! Yeah! I'm also really excited to see my mom and dad and sister and her family. Should be a great weekend!

Last week in Victoria

Wow. I don't think I have ever been so busy in my life (at least not that I remember, trying to live in the moment here). This post is going to be very random because that is how my thoughts are.
- A few weeks ago I took all these pictures of the village (area of town I live in) to post because all the trees are blooming and it is so beautiful here. I haven't had a chance to go through them yet.
- Dom and I went sailing for Easter weekend with my aunt and uncle here in the gulf islands which was fantastic and I have some cool pics from that and keep meaning to do a write up.
- The car sold! Yeah!
- Did a crazy, very emotional two day road trip to Seattle to drop Maya off at the airport to be shipped to my parents. Just got back last night and already miss her immensely. I wish she could be our buddy on the start of this adventure.
- Got to see my sister Naomi in Seattle yesterday with her adorable family. They are soooo awesome and make the best parents. I love them so much. Even though I only got to spend a couple hours with them, it was really special to me.
- My great friend Laurie drove us to Seattle and even though she was the first to start crying as Maya was going in her crate to leave, I don't think I could have done it without her. She always knows what to say, and is a beautiful positive person.
- I am getting really, REALLY excited to go. I am really proud of Dom and I for being able to make this happen.
- My body hurts. all over. (most likely from stress, emotions and hormones all at once)
- Don't know if I'll be able to post again before we leave... so if not, stay tuned for Norway!!! Ahhhh!!!

Sarah's Visit

Sisters :) Here we are on a hike, love the rain forest background.

My beautiful sister Sarah at the dog park with Maya

Great Weekend!

I had a fantastic weekend. The weather here is just beautiful and warm. Our really good friend (that is a pro photographer on the side) took some pics of us on Saturday which I will post in the next few days after sifting through the hundreds. I am so happy with how they turned out though. Really stunning work. We went out for photos at sunrise which kind of sucked because the ground was all frosty and it was really cold, and no sleeping in on a Sat. But, I am so glad we did because the light was great and it really shows.

This same amazing friend then went luggage shopping with me and we found a killer deal, so that part is all taken care of. Yeah! One more thing off the list. What else is on that list that is stressing me out?
- Sell the car... I have posted and listed it everywhere I can think of, and still no bites over the last week. :(
- Find someone to take over our cell phone contract or we have to pay $350 in cancellation fees.
- Find a place to live in Kristiansand. I thought we could stay in a hostel for a bit while we got to know the neighborhoods, but it is seriously 3X the price of renting!
- Finalize all the dog info for shipping: this is seriously frustrating as each site seems to say something different. Even the Norwegian official site has conflicting info. I'm waiting for an email response from them, and will try calling tomorrow.
- Plan our going-away party that is in 2 weeks
- Everything else :)

Sorry Maya...

Sorry puppy, your mom screwed up. Please forgive me. Last year when we were planning all this moving stuff I looked into importing our dog, and of course it said all this great stuff that I new I wouldn't have to worry about until later, and I called the vet who said she was due for her rabies vaccine around the beginning of the year. So... I somehow just put it off in my head and thought, "I don't have to worry about that that yet". Well, the vet never called to remind me and I was so busy with other things, that I forgot. I looked up the requirements again last week and long story short... she has to stay for another 3 months after we leave until she has a blood test. I told Dom that he better start checking all these things that I have looked into, because who knows what else I have screwed up. Maya will be shipped to my parents in Idaho (I told you I have the best parents right?) and stay with them and their awesome dog. Maya will most likely never want to leave, and in the long run I think it might work out better for us not having to worry about her in the initial settling in. My mom was so quick to say yes (love her!), but said "I'm not doing any of that raw diet crap." Hahaa, no problem.

Sick & Cranky

I've had a nasty cold for the last 3 days now, and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere even with all the garlic, lemon, tea and water I'm consuming. I'm sure it was probably brought on by stress with all the stuff going on right now. Even the dog can feel it and spends the better part of her day moping around whining at me. My energy is so low, and all I want to do it sleep... but then I feel incredibly guilty that I haven't gotten anything done. Yesterday I thought, yeah! I'm feeling a bit better, and proceeded to do everything as if I wasn't sick and by last night it was back full force. I'm cranky and totally over-reacted at silly things Dom would say, and feel like crap for it. Ahhh... go away cold crankiness!

Hope you are all well. I am starting to get really pissed off about the comment thing here, I don't want to have to start all over. I also don't want to feel like this is just my weird journal where I talk to myself though.

Spring has Sprung!

The last week or so in Victoria has just been gorgeous! Mild weather, everyone getting their gardens ready, and yes... flowers starting to bloom. I know many of you are still buried in snow, so don't hate, I'll be moaning with you next year. But since this is my last spring here, I have been outside every single day! Here are a few pics from hiking (you can kind of see Mt. Baker in the distance). Maya loves hiking, and is so good off-leash, I am a proud momma.
Poor Dom was battling the cold/flu crap last week and missed three days of work. It looks like he has finally won however and thank goodness no one else got it. I snapped this picture of him napping on the sofa while sick (which Maya totally loved!). The funny thing is that I already donated all our extra blankets in prep for the move, so he is inside my sleeping bag.

In other news, I have been inspired to change Maya's diet. After much research, I have started her on a raw diet this last weekend. I'm following a great book my girlfriend lent me (it's Australian). My poor pooch got fleas a few months ago, and was so miserable. I really didn't want to take the route of pumping pesticides on her every month, and I'm glad to say I was able to get rid of them using all natural remedies and lots of frustration in a couple weeks. She also has a sensitive tummy, and always seems to have digestive problems even though she was on 'really good expensive dry dog food'. Anyways... the raw food is a hit! She loves eating the raw meaty bones and veggie pulp (run through juicer, I drink the juice). Her snacks and treats have been raw almonds and cheese and peanut butter. The only thing she is not fond of that I just tried today was liver. I finally cut it up really small and mixed it with cottage cheese and honey, and she ate most of it. I however, almost hurled. Ugh. This new diet is really messy, and I think most people who do it must feed their dogs outside. I need a fenced yard!
I hope you are all happy and healthy and enjoy your day!