Bubbles likes to move it move it

Well, there are certain areas that Bubbles like to either poke me to get my attention or maybe is irritated by the choice of my music.

I find that if my pants or seatbelt is too tight then it likes to start kicking it for more personal space. It feels a little strange to see something protruding out of my belly as I think “Wait, my heartbeat is not all the way down there” and then I realize it’s Bubbles. I’m have a feeling it’s his/her foot but I’m not sure as it still has room to tumble in there.

Bubbles also moves up a storm when I’m on my left side as maybe I get close to more squishing and then it’s like “Hey! I need the room! Move on over!”.

Today it has stated tapping me on my right top side of my belly as well and maybe Bubbles wants more chocolate chip cookies or something. I do notice Bubbles likes the milk and tea I drink.

The joys of being pregnant. T and I have yet to come up with names or even really made a checklist of things we need to purchase when the baby comes. I thought I would take some time and put a “wish list” together because right now baby’s got nothing. Well, not nothing, but we have no way of taking it to the hospital and home at this point without some kind of car carrier.

Happy Monday!

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Week 22

As the weeks pass from my last entry about my pregnancy state, I have started to notice that my belly button is getting shallower and shallower and on Thursday, I notice that it’s halfway gone. It’s so weird to see this changing body of mine.

I am really starting to feel the uterus push against my back lower muscles as my doctor has said that my uterus is now a few centimetres above my near non-existent belly button. I am having a tough time getting up and down from chairs and finding a real restful spot on the chair.

I think the only I do enjoy is taking walks at this point in time but it’s also bloody hot out there!  I also started a new job and I had an ogler which I thought was the weirdest thing because I’m pregnant and I really wasn’t sure what he was all about.  I just thought that was really weird.  I also notice that I get a lot of looks and the eyes go to the belly.  At least it’s not my boobs, so I should be happy about that.

I have also had the weirdest dreams as well with different friends who are pregnant but not me.  I have been trying to write them all down but sometimes they are just too disturbing to even remember.

My butt is also permanently numb and my leg is completely sore when I sleep.

Oh well, enough about pregnancy.  Tonight I baby-sat for my niece and I think I’m the worst baby-sitter as I’m being played like a fiddle by a two year old!

At least I fed and bathed her, put her diaper on backwards (again!) and then she told me she had to potty to late and then I had to change her diaper again but this time I think I got it on the right side but she’s pretty good at being patient with her dumb aunt and then I managed to brush her teeth before she sucked on the toothpaste as she was was crying about her bleeding lip from earlier.

I think could not find her care bear anywhere and told her she had to sleep with Puppy and her 5 pei pei’s.   She also proceeded to keep sliding on her new bed which has a slide in her diapers and I had to get her into her pj’s and tucked her in. Then she made me read her 4 books and then finally I just said, I need to eat and lights out and she yelled at me for awhile and then fell asleep.  I’m not sure I’m ready for this parenting thing.

I’m happy that my SIL and goh got me some Liberté yogurt as I ate the last Activia yogurt. I think my dad bought fat free yogurt and I hate fat free yogurt so this batch will make me so happy and wipe away any bad thoughts I have.

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Commuting and bubble tea

Bubble Inn, originally uploaded by lilsoak.

Trinity Western University is surrounded by farms, golf courses and Fort Langley and my commute is close to an hour. This past week I have been experimenting with different routes home to see if it’s any faster or at least more enjoyable.

Enjoyable for me is just being able to move, even if it’s slow, I like to move and then also see some interesting scenery.

Today, I decided to stop in Walnut Grove and take 88th Avenue home because I wanted to try the Bubble Inn which is about a 10 minute drive from Trinity. Now, that’s what I call nice scenery. It’s been awhile since I have reviewed a bubble tea place and I decided to try it upon recommendation from my office mate.

I ordered a regular bubble tea and prices are reasonable as it starts out at $3.00 before adding your pearls. Their menu has an array of flavours and I think I would try the pina colada slush next.

They even serve cheesecake but I have yet to see whether it’s homemade or store bought.

Results? I give it a solid A. They bubbles were nice and chewy and the milk tea was perfect. Not too creamy, not too watery. The sweetness was also just right.  Also their price points are reasonable.

I’m so happy that there is a good bubble tea place in Langley!

Bubble Inn
8790 204 Street #2
Langley, BC V1M 2Y5
Tel: (604) 888-4270

I then drove to along 88 Ave westbound and then up to the 96 Ave then back down to 96 Ave as I need to avoid Highway 1. Overall the drive was pleasant but I’m not sure I would take this route unless I wanted to stop for a bubble tea after work. It took about an hour to get home.

I’m trying to get a feel for the neighbourhoods so that I can give potential students a better description of the kind of life to expect at Trinity. I also really like neighbourhoods in Langley and Surrey that I would have never would have experienced if I didn’t work in the area.

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Starting my long commute today!

I have become soft around the edges since I have moved back from Toronto because I can’t stand long commutes but I am hoping that I love the new job that it doesn’t matter.  I’m excited at my first day of work but it is a solid 50 minute commute one way. I think it’s also because the transportation and transit is just not as efficient as Toronto.  That being said though, the Canada Line opens today which means that Richmond becomes a lot more accessible which would be great except I’m going the opposite way of the Line.

Well, I better jet if I want to make it on time!

Oh if you want to take the Canada Line — it’s free today until 9pm.  There is also a bike and walk lane which I think is really cool as well.  They say 25 minutes to downtown!

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Happy 2 year blog -updated

Over two years ago, I finished the BEd program at UBC and decided to launch into writing in a blog to help improve my writing. There have been times when I have been too lazy to blog as I couldn’t find the right words to put down, and also I didn’t think I had anything interesting to say.

There are times when I got so busy that there wasn’t enough time to commit to writing in my blog as you can see here:

• Helped out with Tenth Avenue Youthgroup and met a lot of really great people — one of them being my future nerd hubby
• Went to Toronto and participated in a MissionPrep program — God’s still working on me/us in that area
• Got engaged
• Attended 6 weddings — one of them was my own
• Was a wedding photography for a few friends
• Went on a road trip across the US and Canada
• Taught at two different high schools in business and Home Ec
• Taught craft classes in the summertime
• Met my niece Naya for the first time
• See my niece Cess grow into a sassy toddler
• Observe my goh grow as a dad and doing a great job — again I need to take notes.
• Moved twice!
• Had a mini-reunion with good Canadian Tire friends and the gaggle of toddlers and babies
• Met up with old friends here in Vancouver and made new ones
• Got a purty new computer from T
• Trying everyday to work with a strict budget
• Probably consumed a 1000 bubble teas
• Observed my good good friends become parents and taking notes along the way.
• Launched Lilsoak Designs and Photography and slowly improving it every day.
• Got acquainted with awesome youth and hope to keep in touch to see how their lives shape up.
• Got pregnant — feeling the baby move is a new sensation
• Starting a new full time job

Crazy eh? Besides reflecting, this is what I finished up today which I posted on lilsoak:

and there is another blankie but I find myself being utterly repetitive so you’ll just have to click on the links.

Thanks for reading to my random posts, I have loved receiving comments and learning each day how to improve. God’s been good to me these past few years and more good things to come.

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20 weeks

It’s getting to the point where I can’t reach my toes which is annoying as my toe nails are looking gnarly.  I think I should use the gift card I received from my wedding shower to get a pedicure because soon my feet will not be suitable for public viewing.

Many people have been asking me about the sex of the baby and I have no idea but I usually call the baby “he” just for simplicity sake but then people are like “He?! Is it a boy?” and then I have to go through the long boring explanation that I have no idea and so I took S’s advice and decided to name our baby belly “Bubble Tea” but you can call him/her Bubble for short.

Bubble has been moving more in my tummy and at first I thought it was something landing on my belly that I subconsciously brush off. I then looked down and since there was nothing there, I realized it was Bubble! It’s an interesting sensation as it feels like light pins and needles.

A few days ago, I was watching a documentary and in one scene, they played indian music and Bubble reacted quite enthusiastically to the beat.

When I told some of my youth girls that Bubble started to move, they proceeded to assault my belly by constantly rubbing it.  V even put her ear towards my belly to listen to who knows what.  JH remarked that people around the church foyer must think we’re weird.  I just think I’m lucky to  have my own personal belly massagers.  At least it’s them and not some complete stranger touching my tummy which would creep me out to no end.

Today also marks the first time I actually puked up my food.  I had terrible nausea during the first trimester but I never threw up but on my way to church, I had to stop by the side of the road because I was feeling extremely ill.  I have a feeling it’s the fact that I took my pills before eating anything but I thought it wouldn’t make much of a difference as I was going take a bite of the bun right after I swalled my iron and folic acid but apparently timing does matter. My tummy also can’t handle the all the fruit I have been eating.  I have a feeling it may be too acidic. What a waste.  I guess I better monitor my intake of fruit.

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Sweet

The past two weeks, I have been teaching a craft class for ages 6-8.  The ring leader and most talkative girl in the bunch from last week’s class brought me these flowers and a ziploc bag of blackberries. I was extremely surprised and touched.

On the last day, Ter came to help me out of which I was super grateful as the kids were finishing up their stuffies.  The class that I taught before didn’t quite get a chance to finish it so I was happy to have the help to have the kids finish up their stuffies with Ter’s assistance.

These are not all of them but I took a picture of the ones that were completed.  I had three boys in this particular class and the eldest boy did a great job of sewing his stuffy.  He had a great creative imagination and I just love helping kids discover their talents.  I wanted them to make their own stuffy of their own design.  The only rules I put forward is that they drew their patterns fat enough so that we were able to stuff it when the time came. The red one is called “Nessy” and she needed a little help with sewing as her neck was a little too skinny to be stuffed.

Overall, I was impressed with their sewing skills and I enjoyed teaching the class.  I was hesitant in the beginning as I get overwhelmed with all the prep work that I have to do:  scouring the city to find good deals on fabric, yarn, paper, glue and so forth.

Ter and I rewarded ourselves after the class by going to Emma Lea farms in Ladner to pick berries.  I haven’t picked blueberries in such a long time and I think we were too late for the “u-pick” blueberries so we ended up picking raspberries instead.  We were such newbs to picking raspberries as the bushes were overgrown and it didn’t look like we could walk right through it but we managed to pick 2 dollars worth of raspberries and they were really sweet.  I ended up buying a box of blueberries for 4 dollars.  I think I’m going to freeze half of them as I need to look for recipes on making preserves and dessert because we are so blessed in Vancouver to have all these fresh fruits to pick and eat.

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What is wrong with my grammar and sentence structure?

Ugh. I need to think through my blog posts because when I re-read them, it sounds stilted, boring and safe. It’s really annoying. I really need to post when I’m more alert so I can fix simple grammar mistakes as it is driving me batty. I can only imagine how it is for you reading my posts. You probably want to take a big red marker and slash away.

I’m working on my engrish, don’t wolly. Me engrish is so goo ooo d.

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BC Day – Bike hurting bum day

I spent the holiday Monday with a big goal of riding along the dyke from the dog park off Gilbert towards the Olympic Oval which is the East dyke.  I didn’t quite make it that far but I was pretty close. I was hot, my bum hurt and I needed a lot of water breaks. I was also a little paranoid of riding along the gravel dyke as I realize my body was vibrating profusely and I started to think “What if this affects my baby’s brain?” so then I walked part of the dyke as well.

Bike riding is safe for pregnant people but I wasn’t entirely sure so I ended up riding along neighbourhood streets where the pavement was nice and smooth.

Overall though I have to say that I enjoyed the bike ride and I wasn’t so scared of the parts where I had to ride with traffic as it was during the middle of the day.

Steveston Village was busy with many tourists and bikers alike.  It was just one of those rare hot summer Vancouver days.  The above shot was taken at one of the docks near London Farm.  I love the grass and reeds growing in this marshland.

I was playing around in Photoshop this morning but it’s not capturing what I fixed into what I posted in Flickr. It’s a learning curve for me.  Productive is my middle name as the weather is finally cooling down so that my brain can think in multiple sentences.  I have been loving our summer but the last thing I want to do is be in front of a hot computer slaving away on Photoshop.

By the way, my bum still hurts.  I need a big cushion for my bike.

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