Happy Halloween!

Ohhh where to start, I feel like I have lot's to write about! How about we start with the most exciting news - IT'S SNOWING! We went to church this morning, noticing that is seemed quite cold out, maybe even cold enough to snow! As soon as we arrived back home, it began to snow!

It's been snowing pretty good for about 30 minutes and sticking to the ground and cars but it looks like the sun may win this round, I can already see it break through the clouds! Good thing I got my new winter jacket when I did! Now all we need is snow boots!

Now onto the next big and exciting news - I got a new job! I went for my meeting with the community manager for the Scotiabanks in Kingston on Tuesday. First of all, he went over my scores for my previous phone interview. There is a rating for each question that was asked that people should score close to, but don't normally reach or go above if they haven't actually done the job yet. I was surprised to see that all my scores were either at that level or above - I must have had someone really nice scoring me! I was asked a few more questions by the manager and then told that I would find out by the end of the week as to whether I got the job or not. On Friday, I was asked by my manager to come in a few minutes early to have a meeting with him. Thats when I was told that the job was mine! So, as of November 15th, I will be a Personal Banking Officer "in training" at Scotiabank! I will be training at the branch closest to our place, which is nice because it is in walking distance! After my training is complete, I will be transferred somewhere in the area (within an hour away) to a branch with an opening. During my training time, I will be learning how to open accounts, do credit applications for loans, visa's, mortgages, etc and I will also be doing a mutual funds course so I can sell mutual funds and advise people on their investments! I'm a bit nervous but excited! When I came home that day, Carl had picked up some flowers and a card for me :)

We went out for dinner to celebrate the new job and our anniversary of meeting each other! It was 2 years ago as of October 30th that Carl and I met for the first time! Pretty crazy all that has happened in just 2 years! So with the good news of getting a new job, comes some bad news. At first, we had planned to come home for the summer but now with a new job, we will have to stay here! Having said that, this summer would be a great opportunity for you to make that dream of driving across Canada come true! You have a place to stay on the other side and since we can't come see you, we think you should come see us!!! I know our calendar will fill up quickly with visitors so make sure you let us know when you are coming ASAP!

Soooo the sun won out for a bit but the snow is back.....

Between working at the bank and Starbucks this week, I had several hours to be productive so I painted another painting to go above our kitchen table.

Although I really have no talent when it comes to painting and find it to be frustrating sometimes, I do somewhat enjoy it! I also found some picture frames at Value Village (my new favorite store) that I painted black and put some pictures in. It's feeling more and more homey here with things on the walls (but home is where the heart is, and mine is still in BC!). Also, this week, I tackled making Butternut Squash soup for the first time! My recipe called for cumin, carrot juice, pineapple juice, etc so it wasn't your traditional nutmeg and cinnamon squash soup. It turned out pretty good but I did steal a cinnamon and nutmeg recipe from a friend who I apparently inspired to make the soup as well! I might try again in a few weeks!

So with Halloween fast approaching this past week, we were invited last minute to a Halloween Party in which we needed to find a costume! With little time, little funds and little creativity, here is what we came up with!

Juno, a cute movie that came out a few years back seemed like an easy costume to pull off - I think we did alright, what do you think?

We met up with what has become our usual group of friends for a pre party party and then headed to the real party!

Anna the dinosaur, Carl as Bleaker, Leah as Juno, Carolyn as a robot (much to her displeasure), Kellie as an outlet, Kris as the plug (you can see the plug beside Kellie but Kris was taking the picture).

Well, it's still snowing and there is no longer sun in sight but the weather forecast is calling for sun this week with highs of 8 and lows of -1 (but could feel like -5). Oh only, 6 weeks and 3 days until I am back in the warm and rainy Vancouver weather!

All Ready for Halloween!

The cookies are baked and iced, the pumpkin seeds are salted and roasted and the pumpkins are carved - bring on Halloween!

Tonight we had 7 of our friends over for a spaghetti dinner! Since we have never had people over to our place before and since we'd never cooked for 9 people before, we had a bit of preparing to do! We had to buy a big enough pot to fit the spaghetti in, we had to buy more cutlery so we didn't have to eat in shifts, we had to buy a rolling pin to roll out the cookie dough and we had to figure out how much spaghetti we needed in order to feed 9 people - I think we have leftovers for at least a week!!! Everyone brought their own pumpkin (and carving knife cuz we don't have enough!) and we all carved our own pumpkins.

Carl, being the Urban Planner that he is, just had to carve a city!

I, on the other hand, wasn't as creative

We enjoyed some yummy pumpkin seeds that I soaked last night and roasted today

And then everyone got to decorate a plate of sugar cookies to take home with them! Pumpkins, ghosts and Halloween men! Here are some of mine...

And here are some of Carl's...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Job Update

Just wanted to give you a wee little update about my job status as it has been a main topic for us these past few weeks and some of you (or maybe just my mom) probably want to know if I've heard anything...I'll start with Starbucks - I started there on Monday and have been working 7am-11am there and the heading to the bank and working 12-4pm! Besides getting used to the early mornings, it's actually been kinda nice. So far I've done a lot of reading about Starbucks but today I got to put on a head set, listen to drive thru, make (as in heat) the breakfast sandwich's and get pastries ready - exciting! I can't believe some of the crazy drink orders we get and I feel like I will never get them right!

Anyways, I had a job interview for a teller position on Tuesday and before we got to far into the interview, I told them I had just done another interview for a PBO (Personal Banking Officer) post and just wanted them to know. The people doing the interview were a little concerned as they wanted to make a decision that day but I wasn't scheduled to hear back from the PBO interview until today (Thursday) and even then, it was only to find out if I got the second interview! And of course, my first choice would be the PBO post but I was doing the teller interview as a back up...We did the interview anyways and all the way through, the interviewers commented on how well I would do as a PBO and that I wouldn't be used to my full potential if I was to stay as a teller. We finished the interview and the interviewer said that if I ended up being the candidate they wanted, she would call the person that did my PBO interview and tell them that if they weren't going to take me, she would but that she needed to know ASAP.

On Wednesday I got a message that I was to call and get the results from the teller interview. I was kind of procrastinating, not knowing how to respond if I got the job "well, I want it, but can you wait and see if I get this other job before I say yes?". My manager, who has known me for 6 weeks has really stuck his neck out for me, instigating this whole PBO endeavor (all I did was mention that I was interested) came over and was acting all funny. With a smirk on his face he said "you should call, I think you'll be surprised at what they say...Just call". So I called - in my mind I was thinking "Why am I going to be surprised at what they say? If I don't even get the teller job, how am I gonna get the PBO job? If they offer me the job, what do I say - I want to wait and hear about the PBO job first". The call was answered and I found out that indeed, I did NOT get the teller position?! The person on the other line said that it was really close but that the other candidate was just better suited. She seemed very hesitant and I almost got the impression from her that something was going on, like she was told not to hire me?...I thanked her and hung up the phone not knowing whether I should feel disappointed, relieved or excited.

A few minutes later I received an announcement (that I don't think I was supposed to get) congratulating the girl that got the job, a girl that had been in the bank for 7 months compared to my 9 years...Now I really knew something was up (cuz if there wasn't, I could easily dispute the decision based on experience). My manager, dancing around, being suspicious again, came to me and said "ok, now you should be receiving an email shortly". Sure enough, in my inbox was an email from the Community Manager asking if he could have a follow up meeting (not even another interview?) with me in regards to my previous PBO interview. Soooo, this coming Tuesday, I have a meeting to "discuss my PBO interview".........Wish me luck! (Although I find that prayers work better ;)

Interviewed Out!

So I guess I should start this blog by saying thanks to all those who took my prayer requests from the last blog and prayed for them! Carl finished and felt good about his exam (no marks yet) and is feeling optimistic about the groups he's been assigned for his upcoming and final projects for this semester. As for me, well, maybe there was too many people praying (never!)! I had 2 interviews at Starbucks and was hired during the second interview! I start tomorrow at 7am! My interview for the teller position was postponed until this coming Tuesday BUT I also had another surprise/last minute interview on Friday for the Personal Banking Officer Trainee program - the job that I really want! Sooo within 9 days, I'll have done 4 interviews (possibly 5) for 3 different jobs! Although I hate interviews, I'm feeling a little more at ease with them! If I end up getting one of the jobs at the bank, I will probably stay on at Starbucks at least one day a week - it'll help out with our monthly coffee costs :) So again, thanks to all those that are keeping us in your prayers! As for the rest of the week, not to much to report! I have still been getting work everyday -everytime I think I have the following week free, I get scheduled! It's been good, especially because the main branch I've been working at is a fifteen minute walk away! Carl has been walking to school to, it takes about a half hour but we like not having to drive! It's been getting pretty chilly out here with highs around 12 but then we get days like today that are warm and sunny! It's been mostly sunny here with a couple days of rain during the week and it seems that whenever it rains here, it gets windy too! Not a fun mix, especially when walking! Our walls in our place are still pretty bare and we are hesitant to spend a lot of money on decor so a few weeks ago I picked up some paint and canvas's from the dollar store so I could create our own decor at a small cost! I am definitely no artist and this painting goes to show that I put little thought and effort into it but it looks good on our wall in our bedroom and matches the curtain! It's hard to tell from the picture but it does have a bit of depth to it...And I now have more appreciation for abstract artists! We still need more stuff on our walls in our bedroom and in the living room/dining area so if you have any suggestions, I'm all ears! I may try and tackle another painting but my creativity was already pushed to the limit with this one and look how it turned out...?

Hope you have a fabulous week!!!

xoxoxox

Leah and Carl

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! We once again had a fun filled weekend! On Friday night Carl went out with a friend who he went to highschool with. Carl randomly ran into this guy (Tyson) at school here and it turns out he is studying something similar to Carl and is in classes in the same building on campus. They had a nice time catching up while Carolynn and I walked around town, and then went back to her place and watched some TV. Ahhh TV, how we miss you...Carl spent Saturday working on a project with another guy in his class and I prepared for the evening ahead! We were going to Kris and Kellie's for an evening of appetizers! I found some fun recipes and then had to go buy all the ingrediants as well as stuff to bake everything in! Oh how I miss my Pampered Chef kitchen at home! As I sat on the kitchen floor beside the garbage can peeling apples with a dull peeler from the dollar store, I dreamt of my Pampered Chef peeler. As my spatula melted into what I was cooking, I dreamt of my nice heat resistant spatulas from Pampered Chef, sitting in a box at home. Oh how much more I appreciate Pampered Chef now that I don't have it! I cooked up an Indian style dip, made Prawns stuffed with cream cheese and coated in cornflakes, made a veggie and dip platter and for the finale, I made my first ever apple crumble! Mmmmm, mmmm it was good! Although it would have been better if I had my Pampered Chef ice cream scoop for the ice cream! We had a nice evening, enjoying the company and food - we all ate way to much!

The following morning Carl and I headed out to Tweed to meet up with Great Great Aunt Joanie and Fred. From there, we headed about 45minutes farther to a lake where 4 of Joanie's children each have their own cottage (they are cottages here, not cabins). There we met some of Joanies kids (my moms cousins), some of there kids and some of there kids kids! I was also reunited with my short term pen pal from my childhood, Renee! Although I can't remember half of their names (there was at least 30 of us), we had a good time and had a huge feast with 6 different desserts! Everyone was welcoming and we were invited to come back anytime! Around 8pm Fred and Joanie were ready to head to home. It was very dark and where we were, there were lots of deer and no street lights. Fred, insisted on driving home (even though Carl offered) - I was a little hesitant and got even more hesitant when we started driving and Fred started talking about how he can only see out of one eye! I sat on the edge of my seat the whole way home but we made it, and to Fred's credit, he is a pretty good driver - especially for an 80 year old guy with only one functioning eye! Although we did spend our Thanksgiving with friends and some distant relatives (and got to Skype the Funk's during their Thanksgiving dinner!), being away from friends and family at home gave me a different perspective on the holidays. It made me realize how often I take for granted the times that I do get to spend the holidays with my family. I often forget just how blessed I am to even have a family to spend the holidays with!

On Monday, I had an interview at Starbucks! Although I am getting shifts everyday at the bank and have applied for some permanant posts at the bank, I just wanted to have a back up plan...And really, who doesn't want a free pound of coffee every week?! I have a second interview scheduled for tomorrow! After the interview, Carolynn and I headed about an hour out of town to a small town called Westport along the Rideau Heritage Route. Westport is a small little town with lakes all around it and a small look-out over the town. It's where all the pictures on this blog are from. Carl couldn't come because he needed to do more reading:

This week, as I mentioned I have an interview at Starbucks, another interview at the bank for a teller position and I have also put an application in for a Personal Banking Officer (PBO) Trainee position that I'm hoping to hear about soon! Feeling a tad overwhelmed by it all! I know what I want to happen, hope it happens and that it happens all in the right order! Prayers are appreciated! As for Carl, he has his only mid term (take home) exam this week and is feeling that things are going to start getting a little more hectic in the weeks to come!

Until the next update, this is Leah and Carl signing out!

Montreal

This past Saturday, we picked up our friends Kris and Kellie at 8:30am and headed for Montreal! It was our first school field trip of the year! There was a planners conference going on and so all the people from Carl's program were taking a bus to Montreal for the weekend! We decided to make things a little cheaper so the four of us drove together and booked a cheaper hotel. During the 3.5hour drive, we stopped once to of course get a picture when we crossed from Ontario into Quebec! The drive wasn't anything spectacular except of course for the mix of beautiful yellow, orange and red trees that are changing during the fall! We arrived in Montreal, and had a little trouble finding the hotel we had booked because there was so much construction going on right where our hotel was! We parked our car, walked through the construction, and into what seemed like a scummy part of town. Old, unkept brick

buildings surrounded us, a few homeless people walked by, we passed a strip club, a sex store and then there it was, right next door - our hotel! It looked nice on the website? As we opened the door to our hotel a man gave Carl a stern glance, shook his head, pointed into our hotel and said "No!". I think he was trying to tell us it wasn't a good hotel...To bad we had already put our deposit down! The place wasn't so bad on the inside. It was clean and despite the construction and certain "amenities" offered in the area, it was quiet! We shared a room with Kris and Kellie and shared a bathroom with the whole floor. What can I say, it was better than some of the hostels we stayed at in South America! We found safe parking for our car close by and then we headed towards the hotel that the rest of the group was staying in (about a 10min walk). The guys took off with their group to do a "planning" tour and Kellie and I decided to explore Montreal! We mostly stayed on the main drag where all the shopping was, going into stores and drooling over all the things we wanted but couldn't afford, dreaming of the day when our men finish their schooling and start making money! We already decided that when that day comes, we are coming back to Montreal, staying in an expensive hotel in a nice part of town and trading in window shopping for REAL shopping! When the group returned from their tour, the four of us plus Carolyn and Anna headed towards another popular street called St.Denis in search of food! We found a little Indian Restaurant that served up some amazing food and some of the best chai tea I have ever

had! Since we were the only table in the restaurant, the service was amazing too! From there we headed to Old Town Montreal and found a pub where we chatted and had a beer! Unlike the rest of the group that partied until the wee hours of the morning, we were in bed asleep by about 11pm! The following morning, we grabbed breakfast at a busy diner and went to meet the rest of the group again for a long day of touring, this time Kellie and I went with. We started at Mont Royal where we got an amazing view of Montreal! Enjoy some pictures...

Myself, Kellie and Carolyn

Beautiful Montreal

From there we headed to other parts of Montreal to learn about the way different communities were developed, who they were developed by, why they work and why they don't....ZZZZZZZZZ, Ooops, did I just fall asleep writing about it too?! It was a good tour, just a bit to long and a bit to cold! I definately did not pack enough warm clothes for this trip! We got back to our hotel around 6pm, put on another layer of clothes and headed out for dinner! We found a massive Italian restaurant and enjoyed a couple bottle's of wine and some amazing pasta and pizza between the five of us! Of course then we found a pub, had a bit more fun and retired into bed! On Monday, the SURP's were in a conference from 8:30am until 4:30pm so Kellie and I had the day to ourselves! We slept in and went for a lovely brunch in Old Town Montreal, eating our jambon and oeuf croissant under an umbrella in the crisp air outside, while watching horse drawn carriages stroll by on the cobblestone roads. It was lovely. This is what we saw:

Habit '67 built by architect Moshe Safdie for the Expo. From afar it looks like an old run down complex...

...but up close you can see it's a uniquely designed apartment building

We hopped on a bus and headed to the Jean Talon Market! Finding it was easy, we asked for directions as it seemed that everyone is fluent in English! Even when we attempted to speak French, people would reply in English!

At the market was neatly arranged local produce! We thought there would be a bit more variety of goods but we did see this multi colored cauliflower! At first we thought it was dyed to get it this was but the seller informed us that it was actually different seeds from different places that gave the cauliflower its color!

From the market, Kellie and I hopped on the underground metro and headed back in the direction we came from. We got off earlier though so we could stop in at Schwartz's, home of the famous Montreal Smoked Sandwich! It was a hole in the wall kinda place that had a distinct meaty smell to it that you got over once you sat for a bit. We ordered a pickle on the side for $1.60 - it was a BIG pickel! The sandwich was good, the service was quick and the place was always full!

Our next stop was "Juliette & Chocolat" for a warm cup of the thickest, yummiest, most expensive hot chocolate you can get! It was recommended to us by Anna, a SURPer who had lived in Montreal for the past few years. The hot chocolate arrived in front of us in a small pitcher with a spoon and a bowl. We looked at each other and looked at the hot chocolate, wanting so bad to drink it...But not quite sure knowing what the etiquitte was on drinking it?! So we looked around at the others in the restaurant and noticed them pouring the hot chocolate, into the bowl and then drinking from the bowl! Not sure what the purpose of the process was, but we followed suit! Yum!

We debated on renting bikes from Bixi, a communal bike system set up in the city where you can take a bike, ride it and return it to another stop near your destination! We decided it was to cold for bikes but I am however intrigued by this system! They are trying to encourage people to bike instead of driving and you don't even need to own a bike! It's cheap, convenient and good for you! I think Vancouver should consider :)

It was time to meet back up with the guys and they of course wanted to go get themselves a smoked meat sandwich to, so back to Schwartz's we went.

With our stomachs full and the evening upon us, it was time to head home!

Au Revoir Montreal!