Going back to where I'm from

Well. I'm sitting Regina international airport typing this on my itouch.

I mentioned to one of my coworkers that I was going home for Christmas, but he corrected me. He told me that I was going back to visit, Saskatchewan is now my home. I guess he is right. Slowly but surely, this place is becoming my home. Mine and Vero's home. It's a whole different life out here. The pickup truck is king, everybody knows everybody else, a trip to the store means at least a couple of hours in the car, but this place is starting to grow on me. I used to joke before I moved out here that I wasn't going to miss 401 traffic, and by god, I don't. In fact, on the trip up to the airport, I probably saw one car every 10 minutes. The nice thing about the roads out here is that the speed limit is 100 km per hour everywhere. Makes the distances between towns seem a little shorter.

Well I still have about three hours before I can checkin for my flight, but I just wanted to say that I am looking forward to getting back to visit and spending time with everyone.

Merry Christmas,
Neil

ps I remembered to buy gum for the flight home, so hopefully I can hear when i get off the plane.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

Well folks! Sorry we haven't posted for a few days.
Neil has been working really long shifts (13.5 hour days) and i've been off work, but trying to get everything ready for Christmas!
Those of you who know me well are aware that i love, love Christmas!
I especially enjoy spending Christmas eve with my side of the family, enjoying awesome dishes prepared lovingly by my mother and sharing, laughing and eating until the wee hours of the morning and then heading out to Neil's side of the family on Christmas Day and doing it all over again with the rest of our peeps!
This year will be a little different as Neil won't be flying home until Christmas morning, but it will be just as sweet as we try to spend time with as many of the people who love us and whom we love right back! Who knows what next Christmas will look like, with Neil and I in another Province, but the one thing we know for sure is that we will pay special attention to all the precious, unique and great moments we will have with family and friends for what is left of this year and the Holiday season.
There are a lot of changes in the horizon not only for us but for a lot of the people around us and we look forward to wrapping up 2009 with both the good and the bad moments that we all have experienced. No one know what next year will hold, but if you ask me, 2010 is already looking great!
Our wish to all of you who read these words this Holiday Season is for each and everyone of you to have a very happy, healthy and amazing Christmas and may the New Year bring you and all the people in your lives all the blessing you wish for and deserve.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Joyeux Noel et Bonne Annee!
Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Nuevo!

Vero & Neil :)

90 days so far...

Ninety days... wow.
That's how many days it's been since Neil and I have resided at the same address.

On September 18th, we left our apartment (our AWESOME apartment) together to drive him to Quebec for his training in the hopes of a better, more promising job opportunity!
The good, actually, the GREAT news is that not only did Neil succeed at obtaining this opportunity, he totally NAILED it by getting an award for TOP MARKS in his class, thereby making all of us who love him so, so proud!!

The down side? We've now been apart for 90 days and we still have another 50 or 60 days to go before we can share the same address again. Don't get me wrong, we are thankful to even have the opportunity to start a brand new life in another Province, and for the excitement of figuring everything out as we go along, good AND bad... we want it all!! But we'll both feel better once we're doing all of it... in the same time zone!!! :)

Our friend Valerie, as well as a few other of our friends often ask us how we're making it through this separation? Having only seen each other 16 out of the last 90 days and only another 8 days in the next almost 60 days, i gotta tell you .... IT KINDA SUCKS!!!! ...(Trying to keep it PG 13 here!).
I won't even try to sugar coat it or b.s. my way through any other answer... IT JUST PLAIN SUCKS....
Although we have an AMAZINGLY, SPECTACULAR support group of ridiculously awesome family and friends, without whom we could not have survived even the first WEEK, let alone all this time.......... today, on this 90th day, we're hoping time starts moving a little faster so we can be together again! :)

For now, we are thankful that Neil will be coming home for Christmas!!! He will literally be the best Christmas present i receive as I will be picking him up at the airport on Christmas day morning!! Thank you Santa!!!
Oh yeah and Santa?... can you make it February already?

Looking forward to Christmas y'all!
Veronica

Picture Time

Finally, got something to get my pictures from the camera to my computer.

Here's my plane! (Well not MY plane, but the first one I was ever on)















Inside the airport:




















And some pics from the drive down:







Here's me driving.

















Just feeding the stereotype about the province.













Yup, lots of the drive looked like this.












The area is swimming in oil, so these are scattered everywhere in the fields.









That's it for pictures for right now. I'll be taking more during our travels and posting here for your viewing pleasure.

Going to try and stay in tomorrow, gonna be -50C with the windchill!
G'nite,
Neil

Week One

Well, here I am one week into my new job. Have a few days off now. Mostly going to be looking for a more permanent home.

Things are nice and slow right now which is ok I guess. Really get to take our time trying to learn the job. Get experience now for when it starts to pick up as the seasons change.

So I have relocated temporarily. I am out of Estevan, and just south of the town of Oungre temporarily. A rather nomadic lifestyle until I can nail down something more permanent. Borrowing a neighbours wi-fi (with permission) to make this post, and to look for a place to rent.

The people that I have met/work with all seem to be very nice and they are offering to help in anyway they can.

Certainly a different feeling from when I was staying in Quebec. Its a whole set of different worries, but not the stress of testing. Second, it's a little more lonely as I don't have people right next door or across the hall to hangout with. I do miss everyone and I am looking forward to getting home for Christmas.

Just trying to stay awake long enough to make this post. It was my turn for my body to give up. I have been sitting on the sofa and pretty much unable to keep my eyes open.

I will be taking more pictures tomorrow hopefully, and I will stop in to a store somewhere and get an SD card reader in the hopes that it's just the card slot on my computer that's messed up. Then I can post a couple of photos from the drive down.

Btw, another weather update. It was a little bit warmer today, -14 or so. Not bad, but tomorrow the wind is supposed to pick up and it will be back to -40 windchills. Can you hear me shouting, "hooray" from two provinces away?

signing off,
Neil the Nomad

Warped Anniversary...

So, today is December 10. Unbelievable.
Today marks one year since I slipped on some ice and ended up in crutches.... for A YEAR!! :S

At the time, I remember speaking to my employer and not being able to fathom being away from work for more than a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, as most of you who are reading this blog know, that was not to be the case.

It's been a very challenging year, with visits to the hospital, I.V. antibiotics, home care, X-Rays (while using Andre and Neil as crutches), MRI's in Buffalo (thanks to Virginia and Charles) and physiotherapy. There was also the non-conventional therapy such as the Tea House therapy, 4 or 5 different TV series (Alias and Weeds Rock!), all the movies The Movie Network had to offer, every Oprah and Ellen episodes of 2009, every new and old TV series available on any and every channel, day-time and night-time nurses, tons of Starbucks and of course, lots and lots of spoiling from Neil, family and friends!!
Today however, I'm down to only one crutch, I can drive myself everywhere, I'm back at work and we will be moving to another province in a little while.... so, things are looking up!!!! :)

I'm very lucky to have received the love and support of a lot of people in this past year. And i guess if i have to mark this day in any way, it would be to thank all of those who have helped me in any way. So, to all you who've been there for me throughout this experience (you know who you are), THANK YOU. I could not have done it without you.

Kisses to all from the now One-crutched girl,

Veronica :)

Day 4 - Nobody warned me about this...

Sitting here watching Corner Gas and I just realized something. I don't remember that show ever being set during the winter. You know why? No one voluntarily goes outside at -40! That's why.

I have been greeted by -40 windchills every morning this week. No sign of it letting up until at least next week. That's when they say the El Nino winds will be back and bring some warmer weather. Well, at least warmer in a relative way. I never thought I would look forward to -10.

Sorry to harp on the weather, but it really is the most startling thing I have noticed (other than the flatness). My whole evening revolves around trying to get food, but still be back in time to get a spot in the parking lot to make sure that I get a space to plug in my car. There are a lot of oil workers and construction workers staying here and their trucks take up a lot of room outside.

I also learned not to pump gas without a glove on. Fingers stuck to the handle.

Oh, and by the way Vero, I don't think you are relaxed. I think it might just be the exhaustion. The last few months have really been a marathon.

Freezing various body parts off in Sask.
Neil

Day Three - Am I "TOO" relaxed?

So, after seeing Neil off this past Sunday, I can't help but wonder: Am I too relaxed?

I don't know if it's that I'm relaxed per say, what I do know however, is that I can't seem to stay awake! I had taken yesterday and today off (originally because we thought we would both be driving to Saskatchewan after Neil's training) and I thought I would get a whole lot of things done, but nope... not a chance!!!

I guess after all the running around in the weeks leading to Neil's graduation and having slept only 2 hours before taking him to the airport, something had to give! Now that Neil is on the job, I don't know what to do with myself because there is nothing else to prepare for or get done.... for now.
After giving up our apartment, packing our belongings, putting all of our possessions in storage, booking flights for Neil, filling out passport applications, making arrangements to rent a car, finding cheap, yet clean and nice hotel rooms, the only thing that is left now is pin-pointing a date for Neil to come back to Toronto one last time so we may finally leave together to Saskatchewan!! We'll be making more decisions regarding a date once we get more information from his employer. Which means that I can't do anything until that happens. And THAT, Ladies and gentlemen, is the reason i don't know what to do with myself!!! hehehehe!!

I guess I don't know what to do if I have nothing to do!! And, apparently, sleeping and being ridiculously relaxed is what happens to me when I have nothing to do! Those of you who know me well, know that i don't DO naps cause they don't agree with me, but I seem to have finally gotten over that issue! ;)

I go back to work tomorrow, so wish me luck! I forget...is it rude to fall asleep while speaking to a customer at work? I guess I'll find out tomorrow!

Nighty night y'all.... Veronica
......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Day Two - from Saskatchewan

Well I guess I better check in from Saskatchewan. Specifically the Uptown Inn Motel, only 1 and 1/2 blocks off 4th street, in lovely Estevan Saskatchewan.

Impressions so far: It's cold.

First Flight: take off was fine, just a little uncomfortable for the ears, but otherwise okay. The trip itself was fine, but oh my lord, my ears on the landing. That pretty much sucked. My ears still feel funny even a full day after I landed. How long is it supposed to take?

Did I mention it's cold here?

Regina Airport: Small. I just left Pearson 3 hours earlier, so I had a good frame of reference.

The drive out to Estevan: It's flat. Very flat. The jokes are true. I headed south out of Regina and didn't have to turn the steering wheel left or right for at least 45 minutes. It's so flat here, they have dotted lines on the curves. You can really see that far ahead.

It's supposed to be -30C tonight. Have I mentioned the incredibly low temperatures they are having here right now?

The land of the block heater: Plugging in my car is now my reality if I want to be able to get to work in the morning.

I did snap some pictures on my drive down, however, my laptop does not want to recognize my SD card, so pics will follow soon.

Signing off from the rectangular province,
Neil

Day One -

So, this is it! The day we've been waiting for. We've worked so hard for this! The big payout of Neil getting his new job and the beginning of our new adventure.
Although we didn't picture this day with each of us in a different Province, we know it's only for a short while until we're both in what we will soon be calling HOME.

This is the very first time either of us has had a BLOG so bear with us as we navigate through this! :) For now we thought we would each give our view on what the next few weeks will look like for each of us, kinda like a "HE SAID- SHE SAID" type deal. We hope you enjoy coming back and reading not only our funnest adventures, but maybe share on even the most mundane, everyday, run of the mill situations we encounter in the days, weeks, months and years to come!!!

Welcome, to Neil and Veronica's adventures moving from Toronto to the Prairies.