August Update

Well here's an update on a few things...

We won't be moving in to the house I thought we were, the owner had something happen and can't rent it. C'est la vie. So I'm back on the hunt to find a place to live!

Rob was accepted in to the Basic Peace Officer Course interview process. He had to get signatures as a go-ahead from the chain of command and in 2 weeks he'll complete the physical test and then soon after an Oral Board interview. If all goes well there he'll be in the course from January to November next year. After the course he'll be Deputy Paradis. :) I'm so excited for him, it will be rough but well worth it!

Tonight I'm driving to Waxahachie, TX with my new friend Rebecca. She's 7 months along with little Natalie. Tomorrow is her baby shower an apparently I'm in charge of pictures! I'm sure they'll be posted on my flickr soon.

We're Back!

We've been back for almost a week now and honestly it feels good to be back in the swing of things. I'm probably just putting a positive spin on the end of our vacation because we found a house to rent here! I am so excited about this place! It's a 2 bedroom 1 bath on 2 acres of land about 20 mins from downtown. It's 1400sq ft and has a nice open floor plan. The master closet is bigger than our current bathroom! The landlord is super laid back and told us that he wants us to treat the house as if it were our own. There are a few remodeling things that we'd like to do but I'm looking forward to it! It will be so nice to get out of an apartment and have some space of our own for the dogs to run around in! We move in September so I dont think it will be as hot.

I took a lot of pictures in Maine when we were there. Okay, maybe too many, as most of you will attest to. I've uploaded the good ones on my flickr. Thanks for a great time in Maine, everyone!

Plans Planes and Places

Yay! Rob got approved for a week off so we can make our trip to Maine in July! I've also got the time off so we'll be buying tickets tomorrow and packing some bags! :)
I've also started planning a weekend beach trip with a couple of my friends in August. We're going to Corpus Christi for 3 days to relax and have fun on the beach. I'm so excited because we always have a great time together but are usually so busy we never spend more than a couple hours every few months together! We'll be renting a cottage on the beach for the weekend and enjoy some margaritas, sun hats, and the sun!
This weekend is also our 1 year anniversary so we're going tubing down the Comal River in New Braunfels and having a relaxing day.
I'm looking forward to all these great plans this summer! Check out my pictures here!

Quick Update

Rob's car is finally fixed. We went for a ride in it last night and when he went to plug his phone in to charge it but it wouldn't charge! It seems like if it's not one thing it's another with us. Hopefully he can bring it back to the store today and get it replaced.
Last week I ordered something called Miracle Fruit. It was only $15 and I wanted to see if the reviews were true! Plus I thought it would be fun to try! Here's where I got it: http://www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/wacky-candy/ab3f/ It's so true! We each tried one and I bought some grapefruit and strawberries and I swear they tasted like we had rolled them in yummy sugar! If you're curious, you should definitely try it for yourself. Here's some more info about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_fruit
I've been kayaking a bit more lately and my arms really feel it! I went for about an hour on Saturday and Sunday and I've got to say I just love this sunny weather we've been having! It's cloudy today but that's okay because I think we'll go for a bike ride as long as it's not too humid.
Well, that's about it for now. Better get back to work.

B(ored at work)log Time!

Wow, May 20th already.

In less than a month Rob and I will have been married a year! It really doesn't feel like it though because it doesn't feel a whole lot different than before we were married. Well, beside the whole "Mrs. Paradis" thing, but that only took a few weeks to get used to.

We've been riding our bikes and hanging out with friends and enjoying this much warmer weather. We even went in the pool a few weeks back. It was nice.

A couple of our friends have little ones and we've been hanging out with them more than the child-less friends so I think I've gotten a mild case of baby fever. Not that I'll give in to it because we're certainly not ready to take on that role quite yet. Last night I visited with a friend who is expecting. She had the sonogram to find out the gender of the baby yesterday afternoon but because her husband had to work during the appointment she asked the doctor to write the gender on a special album that she had been making and they would find out together. She allowed me to peek at the cards and of course the surprise answer when I was there and I'm so excited they're having a little boy! She waited to look with her husband when he got home from work and they're both excited! We talked names and clothes and toys all evening and it was pretty fun!

Rob's car has been up on blocks for a week now, he and his friend have been working on it off and on and it needed a lot of parts to make it safer. I wasn't surprised but the expense is always surprising. I won't go in to details but somehow this car is slowly costing more than its worth. I don't mind so much because I'm hoping that we can keep it for several more years as sort of a hobby car for Rob since he likes it so much.

Well, this weekend is Memorial Day weekend and we don't have anything planned. Mainly because Rob still has to work. Hopefully it will be nice so we can just relax.

Twilight

I am now on the 4th book of the Twilight series. I am not a fan of Jacob, but of Edward. I am both impressed and annoyed by this story. On one hand it's a good story and fun to read and on the other hand it has some typos and really frustrating points. I wish there was more action in the past 3 books, I wish there was more vampire action, and I wish there was a much less brighter spotlight on Jacob. As far as I'm concerned he should have a smaller role than Alice or Charlie! Instead I start with the 4th book and find that after about 100 pages of some pretty adult content that the next 200 pages or so are from Jacob's point of view and allll about Jacob! Blah!

Okay, enough rant about that. I'm sure I'll be through with Breaking Dawn by next week and griping that I want more.

I can't really remember when we started biking at the Veloway but I know it's been more than a month. I remember those first few days were so difficult! I thought I could barely make it a mile. Now I'm up to 6 miles! Of course Rob can do way more than that, but hey, at least we're doing it! I'm pretty proud of us being active together. Plus, we really like doing it. We've seen bunnies and deer and birds and I think I saw a fox once! It's pretty neat.

I went to the doctors last week. For the two weeks after Rob and I got really sick I had red bumps that were pretty itchy all over and was worried I had a heat rash, that wasn't going away, from biking in the recent humid weather. Turns out they were hives and a reaction from the illness we had over Easter. I'm much better now, and I found a doctor to stick with here! He game me some allergy medicine and a cortisone shot to boost my system. The shot wasn't so bad but the allergy medicine makes me so drowsy! I'm feeling so much better and clearer now!

I didn't do so well with my last Flickr 365 project so I'm going to start over today. I think that if I have some sort of focus, rather than just and random idea, I'll be able to stick with it better. I think for May I'll start a series called 'Where Am I Today?' that way no matter what I'm doing everyday, I can take atleast one picture and make a sort of diary of pictures. I might try to continue through July- when we'll probably be able to go to Maine. Since it's summery and green out I should find myself in some interesting places!

Salty & Sweet

This past Friday was Good Friday, my boss let me have the day off because he's a pillar of the Christian community and all his friends were doing it. So I used Friday to get some errands done, one of them was a stop at Sam's Club to get the rest of the Twilight series that my generous grandmother got me hooked on. While I was there I got dog food and a couple other grocery items like strawberries and trail mix.

If you've never been, Sam's Club is a good place to get a lot of something for a good price. So I go home, show Rob what I'd gathered and moved on.

Saturday afternoon comes and I had been reading all day Saturday, (I did mention I was addicted, right?) , and after a light lunch I grabbed some of the trail mix I bought the day before. It was pretty good, different than I had had before, it was really salty but that's what the package claimed "Salty and Sweet" so I didn't think much of it. Rob wakes up and sees the mix and helps himself to a few handfuls. We're just chatting and munching and it's all really innocent.

A couple hours later I get to the point where I realize that the ill feeling is not going to pass. I decide to just chill out but it seems that my stomach had other things in mind. As my stomach flies in to reverse I barely beat it to the bathroom. Now, Rob just thinks I have the stomach flu or some other condition and goes on his night. My trips to the bathroom continue and just because I felt so weak I asked Rob to call out of work to make sure I didn't do something to injure myself or worse. He called out and just a few hours later he was in the same predicament I was in. This continued all night and in to the afternoon on Sunday. Yeah, Easter Sunday. We felt so bad we thought we were going to have to go to the hospital because we just couldn't hold down anything! Late that night we were well enough to run to Walgreens to get some fluids and other meds.

We both slept pretty well but still had lingering migraines and threats to be thrown in reverse early Monday. Monday evening Rob and I drove the rest of that tainted trail mix back to Sam's Club to demand our money back. I was still feeling nauseous so Rob did all the talking and got our money back with no fuss. I wanted him to explain to the manager that we looked like a bad version of The Exorcist on Easter weekend, but no luck.

How was your holiday? :)

This Week...

Tuesday I drove all the way to Houston to visit with my Dad for a while. It was really good to see him and the visit made me miss everyone in Maine. We'll be visiting in June though, and that's less than 3 months away! We walked around the hotel he was staying at which happened to be right next to the Galleria, a huge mall. We walked around and nearly got lost in that mall and talked and talked. We were going to get some BBQ at a place called Luling City Market. I say we were because as soon as we walked in it just didn't feel right. It was dark in there, no one greeted us, and the smell was too musty. Rob claimed all he could smell was rotten meat. We turned on our heels and had dinner at a restaurant that was nicer by ten fold. Dad and I talked a lot and it was nice to just be with him and not feel completely rushed by a short visit. We even took him to Cavenders, a western wear store and hooked him up with some boots and a hat. Hopefully I'm writing this after he's had a chance to surprise Mary and the little ones at the airport with his new ensemble.
I took a bunch of pics from the trip, they're on my Flickr.

Time For a New One

Right now Rob is sleeping.
It's 4 O'clock on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and he's asleep. Meanwhile I'm taking a lazy day and sitting in my pjs listening to music and playing around on the internet. I know I could be doing something more productive like cleaning or reading or even taking pictures but I could just as easily find an excuse not to. So I am using all those excuses at once.

Yesterday was a great day, 80 degrees, gorgeous sun, and a new lens! The lens I bought for my camera was a zoom lens meant for pictures further than 3 ft. It was great for when I wanted to get pictures of things that were too awkward to be close to (like a stranger or turtle)! So we took the top off the Jeep and went to Auditorium Shores to check out some free SXSW (South by South West) stuff. Pictures are posted on my Flickr. After all that my battery needs some charging so that is why I am not shooting now. I made (MacGuyver'd) my own light box, still haven't tried it out yet, so I might after I'm sick of looking at the computer.

Last Tuesday was St. Patricks Day. I'm not a big drinker so it was basically a day to wear green and act silly for me. That day always makes me think of and miss my mom. Her birthday was the 17th.

Enough there, moving on.


This week better go well. I got free box tickets to the rodeo and Sara Bareilles concert on Tuesday. I'm excited for that because it will be my first time at a real rodeo show. The first time I was there, 2 years ago, I thought it was just a fair, just a big Fryeburg Fair. It is actually a lot more than that, and I'm glad because they sure make a big deal about it!
Then Wednesday is my birthday. 23. Eeeh. Should be an interesting year, I'm just hoping it's better than the last 2 have been.
Saturday I made reservations at a great restaurant for my friends and I to go to dinner and then some sort of activity after. My friend reminded me that last May was the last time we all got together for a night out!

Be sure plenty of pics will follow these events!

March Madness

No, this is not about basketball, nor will my blog ever be about basketball.
I'm talking about the madness that has and will occur this month. Now, I'm going to stretch it a little here and include the last day of February, so deal.
On Feb. 28th my grandmother passed. The battle with cancer that she had given quite a good fight with ended. I was and I am sad but something is slightly relieving and peaceful about it too. My grandfather was at her side and she passed quietly. I know the last few months were pretty bad for her so I'm glad to know that she is in a better place and is not suffering anymore. That is not a way to start or end a month, or even a day for that matter. Life goes on and I know she would want me to be happy and live my life. That is what it's about anyway, living your life how you see fit.
Rob and I have started biking almost every day this month. I started out with going less than a mile and Sunday I finished the whole track, 3 miles. It wasn't easy or pretty, but I did it. I'm hoping that in a few more days I'll be able to go more than just 3 miles. I've noticed that I am able to fall asleep easier and faster and I'm not as hungry or bored during the day. I like having something fun and healthy to do with my husband. Of course he speeds right on past me on the track but I don't mind because we're still doing it together.
My 23rd birthday is in 2 weeks and I don't really know how I feel about it. It seems that after 21 birthdays are just not as exciting. I'm sure we'll find something to do. My friend Krista just called to see if I had anything planned. I don't, but I do have a few ideas so we'll see how that goes.
I've also started a 365 set on my flickr account ( www.flickr.com/photos/chaychayolei ). The 365 is for the number of days in a year. My goal is to take and share at least 1 photo a day. I want to be able to document my progress and hopefully my new knowledge of photography. I started this on March 1st so I'm about 10 days in now. Not much of a start, but it's been good to push myself to use my camera every day.
On the 30th my Dad is coming to Houston! Yes, I said Houston, not Austin. He's going to be putting on a training there for a whole week so I'm planning to drive out and visit him for a night. It's not much, but better than not seeing him at all when he'll be a few hours drive away. I'm excited to see him, it will be the first time since our wedding last year. I miss him and all my family in Maine but I really don't think they understand how cold it is there! Oh, I'm just kidding, they are very well informed on the weather. :) I've just given them a good excuse to come visit some place warm!

Well, I don't think there is any other madness to report so I'll leave it at that.

'Til next time.

Addiction

I originally started this blog as a way to try to write down the goings-on in our life but I feel compelled today to write about a problem that I have.
I really feel pretty hypocritical because for a while there I was getting after Rob for being so seemingly obsessed with cars and trucks. Now that I've finally found something to focus some of my energy on I really feel bad for trying to steer him away from getting that part for the car or this part for the truck.
I guess I'll just come out with it... My name is Chantal and I am addicted to photography. There, it's out. In writing.
Ever since I brought my great gradnfather's old film camera out of hiding it's all I can really do to keep myself from getting more! I bought a big book on the basics of photography, I downloaded the manual to the 1970 camera, I bought another film camera for real cheap on eBay, and a very nice digital camera on craigslist. I spend 90% of my time at work ( you read that right, 90%)looking at other photographers photos, reading tips and techniques, looking up different accessories and lenses, and looking at different places around town to take pictures. Even when I get off work it is hard for me to do anything else. I usually have my camera with me or I'm on my laptop or the mac and I'm trying to organize or edit the pictures I've taken. It really seems at this point I can't get enough.
So Robbie, this is to you... I am sorry. Buy your truck parts, fix your car... I'm going to take pictures of it all!! Hahaha.

That's my confession. Hopefully I can use my addiction for good!

Warm Wednesday

Today is supposed to get up around 80 temp-wise. I'm pretty excited because I am so ready for Spring and Summer! Tonight it will be back around 40 so that isn't too great, but I'll be sleeping! Right now the sky is a beautiful light blue and there is not a cloud in sight! I really wish I could say I was outside in this sunshine but sadly I am inside getting the ole fluorescent tan. If the weather keeps up like this I might suggest a camping trip to Rob next weekend!

I am glad to report that our apartment has not been flooded since last week! There have been a couple nights where it rained but nothing came in.

I've been practicing quite a bit with my new camera. I love it! I'm trying out new things and looking to learn more about photo editing. My friend has asked me to take some pics of her family, that should be fun!

Well, that's about it for this week. I'll write more if anything interesting happens! (Which I'm hoping something does!)

The Letter C

I saw this on another blog and joined in the fun!Here are the rules...If you want to play, leave a comment on this post letting me know, and I’ll assign you a letter. You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it at your place. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on!

1.) Cookie - Cookie is our little Cocker Spaniel and she's the perfect little dog. I picked her out at a pet store about 3 years ago and she has been Rob and I's little sweetie ever since.

2.) Carnivals- I like going to carnivals and though I'm leary to ride the rides, the food and entertainment is always interesting!

3.) Christmas- The one time of year I'd actually admit to liking winter! There's nothing like a chilly Chrsitmas day spent inside warm with your loved ones.

4.) Chocolate- This probably should have been number 1. I love chocolate, dark and milk are my favorite and hot cocoa is so good!

5.) Crackers- I'd prefer a good cracker over chips any day.

6.) Chipotle- really good burritos. I was really hesitant at first, but Rob got me to come around and try it. I get cravings every once in a while for them!

7.) Car rides- I really like going for car rides with no real purpose and seeing the world around me.

8.) Cupcakes- Who doesn't love a little cake all to themselves? I just think they're pretty cute.

9.) Crayons- I always loved coloring with crayons. The best kind are Crayola. I don't know how RoseArt does it, but they are definitely inferior to Crayola.

10.) Comedy- Really who doesn't love a good comedy? My personal favorite is The Office. :) The characters are so great... and that also starts with C. :)

February Update

Well it's been a while since I've written. I apologize, it's just that most times when I sit down to write I think about how our life has been anything but exciting in the past week. So I figured now would be an okay time for a general update.

Rob's been working hard at his new job. He really likes it and I'm really happy for him. He's been getting in shape and it's really boosted his confidence! There are so many possibilities for him in this career field, he's very ambitious to make the most of it.

I forgot to mention, Jan. 2nd was my 1 year anniversary with this agent and honestly I'm just grateful to have a job this year. I now get paid days off, not many, but it's better than nothing!

Yesterday was quite an eventful day for us. Rob woke up at about 6:30a yesterday morning and immediately said "Chan, get up, our apartment is flooded" I was half asleep and honestly didn't believe him so I just rolled over. Then I hear, "Chan, I'm serious, our apartment is flooded!" Now, I woke up and could hear the rain falling outside. Who doesn't like sleeping with the sound of rain? I got up and stepped in the bathroom only to see a big puddle of water under the door that goes into the hall to the kitchen and dining area. I followed the water to the front door which is near the kitchen and dining area. The water was cold and I was looking around with my jaw open. I could see Robbie was pretty upset about it since he had to get ready for work. I looked all around and there was about an inch of water from the front door to the back door and the rain was still coming down. I went to the closet and grabbed some towels. I put them down near the computer desk to try to keep the wires dry. I unplugged everything to keep it from shorting. Rob called his coworker to let him know what happened. I called my boss to let her know that I was going to be late if I went in at all. I opened the front door to see how bad it was outside. There was probably 4 inches of water ready to come in and as soon as I opened the door it welcomed the invitation. I tried putting a towel against the door to keep anymore from coming in. It didnt work so well. Then I heard the neighbor say "Should I knock to see if they're flooded too?" I opened the door again and said "No need! We're flooded too." She said she had already called the maintenance people and they were on their way. They brought sandbags to stop any more water from coming in and a couple of wet/dry vacuums and a big squeegie on a stick. It took them about 4 hours to get our apartment mostly dry and back in order. Then I waited another hour or so for the carpet cleaning guy to show up since the water had gotten a couple feet of the carpets wet. At about 12:30 the carpets were drying and everything was normal enough.
I decided that since I had missed a half day of work I might as well do something productive and I went to the Social Security office to officially (and finally) change my last name. So officially on my documents I'm Chantal Nicole Paradis. I only waited 2 hours at the SS office and then I went to work. I didn't do anything there, I guess it was a pretty slow day, but at least I'll get the paid time off!
Well, I can't really think of anything else that has gone on. I'm going to get back to researching photography!

Being Productive...

Today is the last full day of Bush's presidency and I think so many people are happy about it!
It was a beautiful day today, 70 degrees, a nice breeze and very sunny. I got the oil changed in the Jeep, got a new dress, picked up some developed film, and returned a faulty grocery item. It was a pretty relaxing and successful day and weekend. Saturday and Sunday we were lazy, we didn't do a whole lot.
This past week was Rob's first week in Cobra, which is like basic training for Travis County. They have him doing running and doing pushups every day on top of trying to get back to a daytime schedule. I think he was grateful for a lazy weekend!
I got a new camera that isnt so new. It's from the '80's but it still works pretty good. I've started playing around with it, and so far I haven't been very good. I have more control over the settings on this camera than any other camera I've owned.
Hopefully I'll get better with time, but for now I'm still learning!
Not much else has happened since my last post. Just working and having fun!

Happy New Year 2009!

It's my first post of 2009. How time has just flown! We had a pretty relaxing New Year Celebration. Kevin spent New Years Eve and New Years Day with us. We watched movies and played video games. It was nice hanging out with him again, he even helped us set up a more secure wireless internet network.

I dont think I've written since before Christmas. To sum it up we had a very small short and sweet Christmas. Robbie got me a tripod, camera bag, and a workout aid formy iPod. I got him some movies and a video game and some socks he's been wanting. He also wants a watch but hasn't decided exactly which one yet so that will be a late christmas gift. :) Our tree is still up, I might take it down this weekend. I love the lights though, it's a calming glow at night. Saturday after christmas we visited Skye & Nate and I brought a lasagna. It was really good for my first attempt at lasagna. I had no idea how much noodles to make and now I know I cooked way too many, but I know for next time. Skye had a friend over who made a Polish soup for us. It was basically beet and spinach soup. I tried it and it honestly wasn't that great. I'm sure it's good for you, but I am glad I'm not Polish! We also tried kale salad which had an interesting texture. Lamb is something that I had been wanting to try and Nate's dad made it for us. It was sooo good! It tasted like the best steak I'd ever had cooked well. It was a good time. Sunday we were invited to Carrie and Jake's White Elephant (Yankee Swap) party. Carrie told everyone not to buy anything for their gift but to find something from around their house and wrap that. Well I had bought some drip pans for our stove a couple months ago. Robbie advised me that I had bought the wrong size and they were just hanging around the apt. I wrapped those with some hair gel and shaving cream we had never opened. I felt a little bad to be giving a sort of crappy gift so I snuck in a scratch ticket. The other gift I wrapped was some candy cane flavored glasses I had bought the year before and never opened. I snuck a scratch ticket in with those too. Both our gifts were a hit. I know it was mostly because of the scratch tickets, but it was a fun way to get rid of some stuff! I ended up with some Starbucks coffee grounds and poor Robbie picked some old VHS tapes that we can't even watch because we dont have a vcr! I put them in the closet and we'll save them for next year!

I've been getting out more with the camera and taking more pictures. I really like doing it. I've gotten some good feedback from posting them online and I'm hoping to get even better.

I hope this year is better than the past couple years. Here's to 2009! :)