{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Wishing you a sun-filled weekend!

*** *** ***

A bit random.

I'm functioning off 4 hours of sleep in the past 36 hours and I have an entire night shift to look forward too so I'm a little bit out of it.

Like the Forrest Gump Suite, this brings me back. Look at Sawy! This was a year ago today... I know it is blurry, but it perfectly shows how itty bitty she was. I can't believe it has been over a year already. I miss our late night cuddles. And I miss how perfectly tiny she was. And I love the spunky little thing she is turning into.

haha. I don't know what's going on here, but I think it's hilarious. 

I didn't get to watch the Canucks last night because I had practicum at the hospital. Thankfully most of our patients were watching the game so they kept us well up-dated. I was so relieved to hear we won... I have to admit I was a bit nervous after Chicago tied it up.

I am officially half-way through my marking!! It is taking forever and I am so tired of it, but I know that I expected my instructors/markers to put effort into marking my assignments so here I am. Elbow deep in papers. They take at least two hours each to mark. Like I said earlier, it's painful.

Other than marking I have been working at the hospital. Well, volunteering... doing my final preceptorship really. Things are going well and I am already half way done. No job prospects yet... but I'm not holding my breath. I hear there will be many of us waiting for a while. It's too bad Erik likes his job so much or we could up and move where work is.

Oh, and it's too bad I love my friends here so much. I don't know if I could leave my babies either.

Blue Skies and My Baby... what more could I want?

And in my non-existant spare time I have been packing up our basement suite in preparation for moving this weekend. Yup, things have been busy around here. I can't wait for it to slow down! But does it ever?? After we move I have to unpack, finish my practicum, and study for my CRNE. And then who knows what will be happening with work. We'll just have to wait and see.

this brings me back

I used to listen to this song on repeat as I studied in the wee hours of the morning in high school. I haven't heard it in years and I don't know what made me think of it, but I'm so glad I did! It will hopefully serenade me to sleep. G'night!

a little bit of enchi

I first set foot in Enchi over a month and a half ago! That's unreal! All of Africa is beautiful, but I was struck by how lovely Enchi was the moment I stepped out of the trou trou. That may have been due to travelling in front of a little boy who vomited and heaved the entire five hour drive to Enchi. Or it may have been due to the fact that I was finally able to stretch my legs (they had been squished into the seat in front of me). Or it may have been because I could finally empty my painfully full bladder. Or it may have been because my head finally stopped smashing into the window as we bounced along the road. I like to think it was solely due to the breathtaking beauty of the place.

It was so refreshing to see the green of the rainforest after being up in the dry north for weeks and weeks.   The air was delightfully humid and the dirt was such a rich colour.

This was the clinic where we had practicum. It was a lovely five minute walk from out hotel and there was always someone out and about to talk to. The patients here were treated much much much better than the ones in Tamale (you may remember this post and I have many more stories just like it). The nurses asked us questions about how we do things in Canada and they were open to our suggestions. The morale in the clinic was incredible and we were told by the staff that they are so busy because patients refuse to go to the hospital -- they would all rather sit in line all day to be seen at the clinic. The clinic really was wonderful.

These little girls lived along out walk to the clinic. The little one, Benedicta, LOVED us from a distance, but as soon as she was within 10 feet of us she would freak out. She would see us walking down the road and she would run towards us with her wild hair. As soon as she got too close though she would turn in the other direction screaming. I was so sad when her mother shaved her head three days before we left Enchi. In Ghana though you'd be hard pressed to find little girls with hair -- all the girls had shaved heads.

This is downtown Enchi. It was a happening place! This road was even paved... a luxury. We were the only four white people in the town so people would stand outside their shops, school, and houses to watch us walk by. Everyone said hello and we usually had a group of followers.

On our way home from town on our first day in Enchi we saw these two little girls walking with their umbrella. We laughed and thought they were adorable because we didn't think it was going to rain... until the floodgates opened and it poured on us.

This was taken the day of the rainstorm. By the next afternoon all the water was gone and the dust became outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! It would poof up as we walked and there was a dust storm each time a vehicle drove by.

And that's a little bit more Enchi...

Grading Papers.

It's killing me.

Five down, twenty-five to go.

Three days of marking and I have only finished five papers!!

Hopefully things start speeding up as I have been promised they will. I didn't think it would be this difficult, but it is.

**correction: six down, twenty-four to go. 

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

*** *** ***

s.w.e.a.t.

In Africa I sweat like never before. I sweat in areas I never imagined possible... and not in areas I expected to. It was bizarre.

Take my arms, for example. My arms sweat more than any other part of my body. It wasn't even my armpits that would sweat, but my actual arms -- especially my forearms. (By the way, and completely besides the point, there was always dirt in my opposite-of-the-elbow crevasse). I'm not sure I have ever noticed my arms sweating, but they certainly did in Africa.

I had a sweat-stache like you wouldn't believe. I lied before because my upper lip definitely sweat more than anything else. I carried a sweat rag with me constantly to wipe my face and my arms. The girls all made fun of me at first, but they soon followed suit when they realized how awesome it was! The few times I forgot my sweat rag I had sweat dripping into my eyes and pouring down my face. My neck and scalp, oddly enough, hardly sweat at all.

My belly also sweat. Yes, I do mean my belly... not my chest. I didn't believe it myself. The photo above was taken at 10am when after I had been in an "air-conditioned" room all morning. So much belly sweat.

I guess it goes without say that my backside sweat constantly. I don't think I ever stood up without my entire rear end being drenched. It was often so drenched that you didn't even notice because my shorts were soaked the whole way through... from top to bottom. And you can forget about crossing your legs/arms or resting your arms on your lap. That just resulted in even more sweat!

I can't believe I just wrote an entire blog post on sweat.

London - two short lay-overs.

We were talking about the Prince William's wedding at work last night... in the few brief moments we had a chance to talk. William made me think of England and England made me think of London. And, you get the picture.

So here are some photos from my time in London. Our travel agent only gave us an hour to connect to our flight to Accra when we were landed in London so missed it, not-surprisingly.  I didn't mind though. The airline put us up in a lovely hotel and gave us the most delicious breakfast I have ever had! Also, I got to walk the streets of London the night we landed and the morning before we took off for Accra. I also got to spend 7 hours there on our way home.

I saw the same things three times, but it didn't matter because it was so nice to walk outside in the brisk air. Also, I got to see London at night, in the fog, and in the beautiful sunshine. And London is beautiful especially if you are interested in architecture and history.

Some of my impressions:

Parliament (at least I think this is parliament) was gorgeous! Especially at night all lit up. The architecture, seriously, the architecture was astounding!

Buckingham palace. Not as grand and luxurious as I had anticipated... on the outside at least. I was expecting a large and beautiful courtyard in the front or something, but I could have walked right past it without realizing it was there. That may be due to all the other lovely buildings in London, but still, I expected a little bit more.

And Big Ben... with the London Eye in the background. Just as beautiful in clouds as it is in the sun... and at night for that matter. I really loved Big Ben... though the other girls didn't seem as enamored by it.

I was amazed at how much busier London was in March than it was at the beginning of February. There were so many people there! I am glad we got to see London earlier as it was quiet, peaceful and serene. In March it was bustling! Beautiful, but busy.

And we went to Trafalgar Square too, but I didn't pull up any of those pictures... I had to go there because that's where they filmed the opening scene from Mr. Bean. My family (especially my older brother Zac) used to love watching Mr. Bean so Trafalgar Square was a must see.

Also to do with London -- the red telephone booths were just as cute as they are in photos. When you are crossing the street there are signs that tell you which direction to look for all of us foreigners. Their vehicles are adorable. Westminster Abbey was lovely. And the city is beautiful. That being said -- England is so expensive (especially after you have been in Ghana) and if I went back again I would skip London and go to the countryside. Unless Erik wanted to see the city in which case I would walk around again. Or do one of those bus tours.

My Baby is One!

It was a year ago, yesterday, that I welcomed my little Sawybean into the world. I can't believe she is already one! I remember being completely in awe of her from the moment I laid eyes on her and nothing has changed. That little thing took a hold of my heart and she hasn't let go. I had tears in my eyes yesterday as I kissed her one year old cheeks and nuzzled her one year old neck. Auntie wanted a snuggle, but Sawy pushed me away because she was far more interested in holding my fingers and walking. She's got a mind of her own, that one, and I love her for it. I love her something fierce.

Sawybean

Sawyer Dawn,

I welcomed you into the world a year ago today. All 6lb and 12oz of you were kicking and screaming as you were brought to your mama's chest. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life -- you were perfect and I was in love. You've had me wrapped around your chubby little finger ever since. 

We have spent many nights snuggled up together, you and I. We would chat with each other while the rest of the world was sleeping. I told you all my secrets and you trusted me implicitly. It was blissful.

I can still sit for hours memorizing your perfect face, inhaling your delicious baby scent, and cooing softly to you. You don't like snuggling as much now, you'd rather be on the go, but there are rare occasions in which you still lean into me and rest your head on my shoulder. It is those moments that I wish would last forever.

I remember the first time you smiled at me. The first time you rolled over (you were only a couple weeks old and angry about being on your tummy). Your first giggle. Our first camping trip. The first time you sat up unassisted.

I have loved being a part of your life, Bean. You are remarkable. You are adorable. You are joyful. You are lovable. And you are perfect.

I love you with all my heart.

Love your Auntie Ashley

Wish I Was Here

Sleeping on the beach in Ghana. Wish I was here... though it was quite chilly when it dropped to 30 degrees at night. Life was rough.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

*** *** ***   

My Hair.

I took my braids out almost two weeks ago and I miss them more then I thought I would. It's just hair! Fake hair at that. But they were so easy and so lovely. It didn't matter what I did to them because they always looked good - save for the time Erik told me I resembled John Travolta in Battlefield Earth.

I can honestly say that more hair came out than I expected. More of my own hair, that is. Everyone says that always happens, but I was expecting a lot of hair to come out. Some of my braids were made up of 99% synthetic hair and 1% real hair. And in those instances I lost 99% of the 1% I had to lose. Some braids were actually formed around 3 strands of hair!! I don't know how they did it, but I loved it!

Before

I took them out because a. I've started my practicum in the hospital and b. it looked like I had dandruff or something because my hair was falling out of my scalp, but the braids were holding it in place, and you know the little part that inserts into our head?? That looked like dandruff from afar - especially when there were hundreds of them.

After

It took me three days to take them all out and I worked pretty consistently on those days. Erik got his hands in there for me too. You can imagine how amazing it felt to finally run my hands through my hair again! My head feels so light and I feel bald... And my hair is flat again... and it gets greasy so fast! I guess I'll just have to go to Africa again.