Molly Cherie Burzuik

Welcome to our psychotic family...

Looks like your hair is already trying to fit right in!!! :P :P

I'm an auntie x 5! WOOOOOO. And let's be serious folks...how cute is she???

P.S. Congrats Mike and Miriam, for getting your little girl. Finally an excuse to buy cute frilly (possibly furry) pink stuff... :) :)

Oh where to begin...

First of all I would like to announce here on my blog what most of you probably already know, but I'm a proud "new" auntie (for the fourth time) and need to proclaim my jubilation (another awesome word) as loudly as my little keyboard will allow:

WELCOME ZANE JEFFERY TO OUR CRAZY AWESOME FAMILY!

I knew it was going to be a boy!!!

He was born this Friday the 10th of October (just a day before his uncle's birthday) around 12pm Ontario time and is just the most beautiful newborn baby boy. At least it looks like it in the two pics I've gotten so far. :)

I'm sure Craig is already planning umpteen father-son hunting trips and scouring his magazines for Zane's perfect rifle. Future rifle of course...

The only crappy thing is that he'll literally be over a year old before I get to see him in person. And by that time he won't want to just cuddle with his auntie anymore. sigh.

On to the next important thing on my list (which is lengthy seeing as how I haven't blogged since Thursday...): that is BRIA'S BIRTHDAY. Bria my darlin' you are one of my most precious friends. And I NEVER EVER use the word precious. Too girly. So you should be feeling honoured right now. That's right, I'm making your birthday all about me. :) Seriously tho, I love you like crazy, I think about you every day and pray for you constantly. Much much much love is being sent to you via crazy-powerful telepathic waves across the ocean. xoxoxo.


And ya...the weekend. Let's see. Franzi and I ended up driving to Ellefeld Thursday evening already. On Friday I got together with Daniela. We had the most AMAZING weather this weekend and the trees are all different shades of red, orange, and yellow. We hopped on our bikes and rode around our old stomping grounds. After a little shopping excursion of course (two pairs of beautiful boots. and a sweater. and lots of school supplies. i feel like such a teacher now...) Anyways, I went to school in Falkenstein for three years so we drove out there and checked everything out. It was strange because I had already driven past all of these places in August, but in a car. For some reason when you're in a car everything on the other side of the window is lik a movie...like you're not actually there...just watching something far far away. But going all over the place by bike made it all so real. It was so strange to stand right in front of the door I walked through every day to get to class. Or to touch the red bricks that contained so many rambunctious and obnoxious 10-18 year olds day in and day out. I've mentioned before that sometimes the five years of my childhood in Germany seem like a dream; this bike ride yanked that dream straight back into reality. In a good way. :)

here are some pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76755&l=cbfce&id=573967603





On Saturday I got together with Claudia. Not much to report. Lots and lots of girl talk. Muchly needed. :) I've really noticed how much I talk since I got to Germany - no surprise to the rest of you, just to me. It's nice to have some super super close friends out here that I can tell everything to, makes it feel more like home.

a few fall pics from Saturday. it's an old album so you'll have to find the new pics at the end:


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=69362&l=27d46&id=573967603

And last but DEFINITELY NOT LEAST the Dresdener Semperoper, which I have been waiting for in nail-biting anticipation for a month and a half. It was absolutely spectacularly transcendentally fabulous. Wow those words fall flat in comparison to my memories. I think the pics tell it much better than I do.

more pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76759&l=a69fa&id=573967603

Hmmmm, I have never written about so many events in so few words. Today has been slightly hectic and psychotic. I'm a little wound up (not in a bad way) so I think I'll just leave it at this today or I might end up typing a bunch of nonsense and gibberish. You might be wondering how that would differ from my usual blog entries, but I really don't want to get into the fine details and intricacies of my mind's inner workings tonight. Too dangerous. I'm in a strange happy mood. :) Need to get up and do something. Or maybe it's cuz I'm cold. I should turn on some heaters...


I feel like the squirrel from "Over the Hedge" or whatever that movie's called...

I Proclaim Parents Day!

Yay! My best friend from the years when I lived in Germany, Elisabeth, is coming to visit me this weekend! She left for Africa (practicum) shortly before I arrived in Germany, so this will be the first time we have seen one another in 5 years! I am beyond ecstatic.

________________

But now the actual reason I wanted to blog today...

Warning: This note is meant to be facetious and ironic. Don't get your panties all twisted in a knot about my apparent ignorance! :)

I've started realizing that along with the freedoms of living alone come certain responsibilitIES. I mean, I've always known that. But here is a list of things that don't suddenly and miraculously happen on their own. Maybe one needs to rent a more expensive apartment for these things to take care of themselves??? Oh wait, I think that's called a HOTEL.



- the garbage just piles up beside my door. what? there are bins outside that I need to CARRY it out to? you've got to be kidding me...



- contrary to popular belief a microwave is not the only kitchen appliance needed in the grand world of meal preparation. In order for you to even have leftovers to heat up, you need to first make a meal "from scratch" (Julia's translation: from a box. It's just not very fun cooking for one person).



- my clothes no longer magically appear neatly folded in a basket on my bedroom floor. shocker!



- in the past, when my computer decided to be a big ole ******, I would just complain incessantly for a few days, my computer would somehow disappear into the deep dark depths of my dad's office (for what reason? i never understood...), only to suddenly reappear in perfectly restored condition. go figure!



- the bills that appear in front of my apartment door have....what? my name on them? ALL OF THEM? this must be a mistake... rent? utilities? i need a dictionary...



- fridges don't self-replenish? so when i feel hungry in the evening and stare into the yawning void that is my cupboard it's my fault?



NOTE TO ALL OF YOU MOTHERLY TYPES WITH FINGERS POISED, READY TO POUNCE UPON MY STUPIDITY: Please refer back to preceding warning about facetious...ness? and irony. What I'm trying to say is that all of this kind of only truly sinks in once you actually have to do it all yourself, no matter how much head knowledge you have beforehand.


I am proclaiming October 2nd Realizing-How-Awesome-Your-Parents-Are Day. I appreciate my mom and dad, and all that they've done for me over the past 21 years, more than ever before. (Please note that the aforementioned sarcasm does not apply to this paragraph.) Am already anticipating the day I get to fill my belly with mom's homemade spaghetti sauce. :)

Happy Happy birthday...

...to my 4 year old nephew, John! (I really hope I got the date right...)

From the very first time I saw you, I thought you were just such a beautiful little baby. My very first nephew. And now it's 4 years later and there's nothing "baby" about you anymore!

I love you, little monster. I love how much you love chocolate milk. I love how you make friends everywhere you go, especially the McDonalds playgrounds. I love how dedicated you are to your obsessions: pirates, Buzz Lightyear, any form of motorized vehicle, and anything that looks like it could possibly have been a sword in another life. I love the unbelievably adorable 50's-style inflections you use when you speak ("Oh THANK YOU mummy..."). I love that look you get on your face when you're annoyed or upset with me...and how long you can keep that expression going! And most of all I love your sensitive heart.

I am very sad that I won't be with you this year, John, but I'm sure you'll have many stories of your adventures with Fella to tell me when I get back.

XOXO Auntie Julia

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P.S. If you haven't read the post under this one, DO! It's soooo worth it!

I'M ELOPING

I'm back. I know, I know, you've been sinking into a deep dark pit of depression during the week that I've been missing from the blogger-abyss. Well, I have returned to rescue you all from the brink of insanity.

Oh and don't worry about the title of the blog. I'm not actually eloping, like, this week or anything. Just one day when I decide to actually get married. And the reason is Tim and Andee's wedding. I mean, don't get me wrong. It was beautiful. But I could NEVER handle actually planning that. I mean, I generally plan absolutely everything! I´m talking what time I´m going to the bank to withdraw money and who I have to call during the day...even things I need to do on the internet. I know, I'm psychotic. Like, everything! (My keyboard just switched to German for some reason and it won´t let me change it back. I am frustrated beyond belief. z and y are switched around and all the ü, ä, ö buttons are all wrong. and I can´t find any of the proper buttons. i can´t handle this! If there are tons of spelling mistakes, itäs cuy of this fricking computer kezboard that sucks! (see why I´m frustrated...I can´t find the question mark button...!"§$%&/()=? there it is!) Rebekah is making me eat m&m´s to make me feel better. hmmmm. not working.YAY. i just figured out how to change it back. stupid 'puters...

Anyways, as I was saying, normally I'm totally a planner. I plan everything. But after this wedding

there is nothing that could induce me to plan a wedding anytime soon.

Like, if I had been dating someone for three years and he proposed to me tomorrow, I'd either say we run off to the Bahamas to get married by the banana king or we make it a decade-long engagement so I don't have to deal with planning. Not even kidding. Like, just listening to Andee and Tim talk about all the work they put into this and seeing how stressed Andee got at times. I mean, they (Andee's whole family) have been working on their cabin and property for almost an entire year just for the wedding. And I saw that fat ol' notebook Andee's been carrying around since they got engaged, just filled with lists of things. People she had to call, things she had to buy, stuff she needed to get other people to bring out to the cabin because she hadn't thought of it, stuff she had to plan for in order to plan for all the plans....ya, that's right! You heard me.

And then I went out with them last week Tuesday to help set up for the wedding. And the stuff we had to deal with! Like, Andee had to get a whole extra tent THE DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING cuz the ones they had rented weren't big enough. And that was a gamble because we had no idea if the tent rental company (which was an entire headache in itself....seriously, never rent from Best Way in Kenora) even had any more tents or the time to set another one up! And decorating was NOT easy. That pink and orange organza was freaking PINK AND ORANGE, folks. (Kudos to Lindsay, who was in charge. I just stood on the ladder all day and pinned what she wanted me to pin. And let me tell you, this was not easy/fun pinning, like pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey or whatever. I'm not very good at decorating...) And there was some other big thing that almost went all screwey that I totally can't remember right now. But like, even the small things. I mean, all of a sudden we realized we needed power cords, like, a buttload of them. So we called Jared and made sure he brought tons of every different length. And don't even get me started on how utterly USELESS glue dots are. "Holds everything and anything" my a**. And I just want everyone to know that I hung all the green lights that went around the sides of all the tents. Bonnie handed me stuff and Andee held the ladder, but I dealt with ALL the large spiders hiding in every corner where I had to zip-tie the cords. Grrrr. (Oh, and then taking them all down after...)

And then came the rehearsal. I mean, it all went well, it's just another thing that has to be organized and takes up time. But it actually went super-smooth:

getting the wedding rehearsal started

the flowergirls/ringbearers playing ring-around-the-rosy
the groom's side (Pastor Donovan, Tim, Craig, me, Jared, and Josh)

all the kids tumbling down the hill to not spot in particular...good rehearsal....

icing all the wedding cupcakes

So anyways, it was a lot of work. I mean, it was absolutely beautiful. (Thank the LORD the rain stopped 45 min before the ceremony started.) I hope their day was as amazing as they hoped for and I was very happy to do everything I could. I loved helping. The 2-hour beer breaks were helpful. Plus being a groomswoman was really awesome....except the picture session in the rain with Tim and the other groomsmen where I looked like a drowned rat about 10 minutes in. I am scared to see those pics... :) Honestly, don't get me wrong. I had fun setting up for the wedding. I don't want you to think I'm complaining. What I'm saying is....

I WOULD NEVER EVER SURVIVE PLANNING THAT WEDDING.

Andee is obviously amazing. I mean, I don't possess much sanity to begin with....so it wouldn't take much for me to go absolutely mind-buggered.

Here's a few pics of the reception, though.

the beautiful bride

taking the boat as we left the ceremony. that's the whole bridal party!

my bro-in-law, craig, and i at the head table (he was best man)

the newly-weds

oooooooooooooooooooooooo.

THE END.

Full House

"What ever happend to predictability?

The milk man, the paper boy, evening T.V.

You miss your old familar friends,

but waiting just around the bend.

Everywhere you look (everywhere)

There's a heart (there's a heart)

A hand to hold on to.

Everywhere you look (everywhere)

There's a face of somebody who needs you.

When you're lost out there and your all alone

A light is waiting to carry you home

Everywhere you look.

Extended Version:

Ahhh Ahh Ahh Ahhh Ahhhhhahhhh "

Remember the Full House theme song? Just humming that tune to myself still makes me smile. Oh man, that was one of two shows we were allowed to watch growing up. (The other was Family Matters. Awesome.) Did you know that John Stamos actually wrote that song?

Well, let's just say he's got more goin' on in the looks department than talent... I watched an episode of Full House a few years ago for the first time in about a decade and WOW was that a terrible show. CHEESY!
I was afraid slime was going to start oozing out of my tv. But it still brings back good memories.


Anyways, the reason I'm blathering on about Full House (I love the word "blathering". I so rarely have an opportunity to use it in a sentence... Almost-quote from Kill Bill Vol. 2 anyone???) is because this weekend my house (ok ok, my PARENTS' house) is a full house, for the first time in a while. I had been noticing lately that our house is SO DANG QUIET. I mean, I've gotten used to it over the years. Ever so slowly, siblings have been moving out and taking a little bit of commotion with them. It happened so gradually that I hardly even noticed it. But last Sunday Jordan came by to pick me up on the way to James and Bria's and when he stepped in the door he asked me if it was always that quiet in my house. My first instinct was to say "no", but then I stopped (in my head :) ) and thought to myself that it really IS usually that quiet at our house. You know the kind of Sunday-afternoon-parents-taking-a-siesta-so-you'd-better-not-make-any-noise-or-you'll-pay kind of quiet. That made me really nostalgic for the "olden days" haha. Fighting with Tim, siblings practicing instruments, Adventures in Odyssey playing in someone's tape recorder, mom clanging around in the kitchen...all those good homey noises.

This picture is of noone in particular...just some random housewife...just in case you were wondering

So now Rebekah is at our house with Jaden for three weeks and Miriam brought the boys (John and Mason) over for the fair weekend. Folks...the ability to make and sustain commotion has been passed on to the next generation in abundance and I am proud to say they know exactly how to use it. :) Jaden runs around chasing the "BA-loon" and yelling "Poppa, watch!" (Poppa=Grandpa). **Oh MAN! You should have seen the look on Jaden's face when the balloon popped right in her hands. I had been waiting all evening for that to happen as I watched her fingernails dig into that thing. HILARIOUS, people!!!** John is like a never-failing battery pack...there is so much energy...and he LOVES being around people. Mason tends to go off and do his own thing somewhere in a corner...either removing the registers in the floor or just dragging poor Tigger around by his purple hat (yes, our Tigger has a purple nightcap...) with intermittent unintelligible screeches of protestation at nothing in particular. And don't let this cute little booger (did you notice I used a snotty colour on that word???) with the most beautiful almond-shaped brown eyes fool you...he's got lungs that rival my german uncle Roland...HAHAHA. Seriously! Anyways, the point is that the noise and the constant whirlwind-feeling that has invaded our house over the past few days is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. Plus last night Tim and Andee ......(my brother and his fiancee, for those who don't know them) came out for the fair but it started raining around 8:30pm (RIGHT WHEN I CAME HOME TO CATCH THE END OF THE FAIR) and so everyone was at our house. 10 people in our small living room...it was just like old times. Eventually kids were put to bed and "Gamma and Poppa" left to go watch the fireworks and help clean up Main St afterwards ...so it was just the siblings left. And let's just say that the 5 of us can hold our own...volume-wise. I'm not going to delve into the finer details of our "discussions" as the topics are as diverse, strange/gross, and sometimes even disturbing? as the people conversing. :) (Let's just say that "bodily functions" tended to be the conversation pieces of choice as the evening wore on.) That's what happens when parents leave their children to their own devices - children OR adults. But all I know is that I have missed evenings like this. Being the youngest I often felt left out when I was a kid. I never had anything to add to conversations because everything I said was old news to everyone else. But the older I get, the more I realize that siblings are a HUGE blessing and I am very thankful to have three of the most interesting individuals I know in my own family. And let me just say that Andee fits RIGHT in. :)

Case closed.