Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Lily!

We started this morning with phone calls and texts from Lily's parents and mine, and our friends, which was really nice. I sneaked downstairs first and got her breakfast ready (we pre-make our oatmeal, so I pulled it out of the fridge, and voila!), made her a cup of Chocolate Rocket (which is one of 12 flavours from Davids Teas that she received from her sister in a care package last month), and stuck a candle in one of the cupcakes I made for her at our neighbour's dinner party on Saturday. Lily liked it so much, she made me take a photo: 

Today my beautiful wife is another year older, but she has a peculiar genetic quirk where she doesn't age physically past the age of 18. I guess she got that from her parents, who are in their 50's, yet are still sometimes carded for alcohol, whereas I am in my late thirties, and am struggling to maintain my semi-youthful visage. 

A few minutes ago, there was a knock at our door, and some BLCS boys had a brand new fridge in their truck, and I thought, what a great birthday gift for Lily! We have been waiting for a full-size fridge since we got here, having to make do with a bar fridge in the interim. The lead guy comes in to look at our current model, and says "Good - same size", and my heart sank. I walked outside, and they were unwrapping a brand new fridge...same model as the one we already have. I patiently explained and apologized to the group, but there was no need to replace the fridge with an identical model. They said there was miscommunication, and they would be back in a few hours hopefully. Classic. 

On a slightly sadder note, since we came up here, I have been battling insomnia, something I have never had to deal with before. I can be yawning and half-asleep at 10pm, and by the time my head hits the pillow, my drowsiness has disappeared and the fun begins. Most nights I lie awake for an hour or two, then head downstairs and make myself a cup of herbal tea. I've tried reading, working on the blog, and other activities to try to convince my body I should be comatose, but so far, it's not picking up on my unsubtle clues. Mom & Dad are sending us a big care package which will hopefully arrive at the end of this month, and there should be some naturopathic remedies in there, but in the interim, I have been sipping Ny-Quil, which sometimes works, but is unhealthy when one is not suffering from a cold/flu. The nurse at the health centre suggested that not having a job (read: routine) was to blame, so we will see if that resolves the issue. If not, they say they have something that will work, but they don't offer it readily, as addiction is a more prevalent problem per capita. I have found that I do sleep well after dinner parties, so it may be that I need to laugh and drink wine every night before bed. Obviously, to ensure this is a valid experiment, I will need to conduct a month-long study. Hopefully, the quality of writing doesn't suffer too much!

I came downstairs on Sunday morning to find Lily blubbering on the couch. I thought, surely an impending birthday can't be the culprit, and I was right. She was watching that classic film, Marley and Me, about a newspaper columinist, his family, and their belloved labrador retriever, Marley. For anyone who has ever owned a dog, this is a must-see film, as you will laugh throughout the film, but as evidenced by my discovery of Lily that morning, there are some scenes that can reduce anyone to tears, myself included. Afterwards, she mentioned that there were newborn Husky/Retriever puppies for sale, and spent the morning wavering between "Can we get one?" and "I never want a dog, because they break your heart, eventually". I don't know how to broach the subject with her, but I believe children do the same thing, and a cost a lot more, despite the outrageous cost of dog food up here. 

I hope to have good news to share soon about employment, and pending that, this wretched insomnia. I'm off to do another 30 minutes of P90 and those vicious ab-ripping exercises. I know that I will eventually look fantastic because of all this hard work, but it's cold comfort when I'm gasping for breath and curled in the fetal position. Happy Birthday again to my wonderful wife - you will always be 28 to me. 

-J