World of Haab

The size of a standard letter

2010-04-08T21:36:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I read in my baby book that our baby at week 24 is the size of a standard letter (8.5 inches long). So far the comparison has been fruits and now we are on to objects...well, at least until its a watermelon ;) At work today I wrote some letters and put them in envelopes just grinning away thinking of this letter-sized baby. It is amazing how in pregnancy just about everything you do or talk about makes you think about this baby. It's crazy how much it permeates life when it's still tucked away.

I am thinking today of blessings in life. We had an amazing Easter weekend with Ben's Aunt, Uncle and family on Vancouver Island. Our dear friends and their 3 little girls joined us from Vancouver as well. These are friends we don't see often--maybe twice a year, but we can always pick up where we left off. This friend is one that challenges me - and often just by how she lives her life. I truly look up to her.

I am just so grateful for God placing people in our lives. Here's to irreplaceable friends, family and the amazing blessings God I know has poured out on each one of our lives. And to our letter-baby :)

Johanna

Amazing News

2010-02-18T02:51:00.002+01:00

My appointment went really well today! The doctor said the length of the cervix was actual 0.8 centimeters longer than the first ultrasound! She didn't really have an explanation for this. I think it's a miracle---an answer to A LOT of prayers.

She told me I can resume life as normal and go back to work and go on our holiday to CUBA (6 days!). I am feeling SO much better now knowing that she is 100% confident that everything is just fine. And if you prayed for us...thank you. It really means SO much.

I still feel a little paranoid, but I am just continuing to trust God through this time. Being a mom is stressful! ...and the baby isn't even here yet!

"...you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalm 139:13-14

Johanna

Second Ultrasound

2010-02-16T22:19:00.003+01:00

I had my second ultrasound on Monday (yesterday). It was a more enjoyable experience since I didn't drink quite as much water as the first time. THAT was uncomfortable. The technician was also more personable, thorough and spent more time at the end showing us the baby and all of his/her little details. I think our baby is so cute. Which is kind of ridiculous since it basically looks like a creepy skeleton baby on the monitor.

I know technicians cannot speak about what they are seeing, but did tell me I shouldn't worry too much about it. That was all he said. This is giving me a glimmer of hope! Maybe its going to be just fine....and maybe all these prayers have resulted in a miraculous healing!?

Tomorrow I see my doctor at 10:50 am...I am really looking forward to some answers. I will keep you posted.

We are also supposed to be going to Cuba next Wednesday...I am thinking we are going to need to cancel, but the Dr. said to wait until we meet tomorrow. Part of me still really wants to go, but I think a bigger part of me is just to afraid to travel far away from home and into a foreign country when things seem so uncertain.

Take care,
Johanna

The Stress of Pregnancy...

2010-02-14T21:05:00.002+01:00

I always imagined being pregnant as being this blissful, magical time where you felt like a glowing woman at peace with all around you. Well, there have been glimpses of these moments...but mostly its been very different.

Everything started off great - until about week 7 when the morning sickness started. There were many days where I told Ben that I better be having multiples or else this is going to be an only child. Then around week 13 the nausea went mostly away and the exhaustion began to diminish. I would say at about week 15 my energy came back. And today at 17 weeks I am feeling great and the baby is doing great.

Unfortunately, my body isn't really cooperating.

9 days ago we actually thought I was having a miscarriage and praise God we weren't. Through some exams and an ultrasound my doctor has discovered I have a shortened cervix which has lead to some complications that we don't really have an answer for yet. Tomorrow (Monday) I have an second ultrasound to monitor the progress. If it is in fact continuing to shorten, I have what is called an incompetent cervix (feel free to google if you want to know more). I won't find out for sure until I meet with my doctor on Wednesday. In the meantime, I am on "rest" and home from work until everything gets sorted out.

The positive side? My doctor says they usually only find out that someone has this problem until too late and a 2nd or 3rd trimester miscarriage occurs - we are so lucky to have caught it! There are also things they can do like sewing the cervix shut during pregnancy....interesting....but I am glad there are things that can be done.

We have been praying and trusting through this tough time. We know God's plan is perfect and we believe this little one will be ok.

So for now we are playing the waiting game and I should have LOTS of time now to blog :)

Johanna

Our cat loves us....

2010-02-11T19:25:00.002+01:00

By that I mean mostly Ben. Pickles and Ben are pretty much inseparable as I predicted. Pickles goes outside about once a day for a little bit…he usually doesn’t venture far and is often on the front step waiting to be let back in. Last night Ben went to let him in and on the step beside Pickles was……a magpie!!! Which is crazy…magpies are almost the same size as our 9 month old kitty! Ben was SOOOOO proud. I was SOOOO disgusted. How on earth did he manage to kill it and drag it home...and why!?

From my research I found out two explanations:

1.your cat views you as an incompetent kitten that needs schooling in the ways of hunting.
2.your cat is a natural hunter and sees nothing wrong in proudly presenting it to you as a sign of love

Well... thanks.... I think (??) My theory is that he brought the bird home to show his love for Ben. Pickles loves me if it is just the two of us, but as soon as Ben comes home I am not important. Talk about a fair weather friend!

Anyways, Ben threw the bird in the trees in the deep snow and I made him give Pickles a bath and I went to bed.

I am a little disgusted by our cat right now. I know its his nature and he was so proud of himself. But I can't help but think of the nasty bird guts and germs. Eew.

Babies, babies, babies

2010-02-04T21:32:00.002+01:00

I have not posted the news on our blog, but anyone who knows us and is on Facebook likely already knows we are expecting a baby this summer - due on July 26th. We are both so, so excited about starting our family.

It took a very long time for me (Johanna) to finally agree that we should start trying. Ben has been patiently waiting for many months for me to come around. It was not that I didn't want to start a family, I just wanted to make sure that all this would be happening on God's timing and not our own. In addition to that, I really like my job and found that it would be really hard to give up the path that I was on. Finally after we had been praying for many months, I just felt this amazing peace about taking the step in the direction of parenthood. And presto....a baby is on it's way! I think we both feel so blessed that God would entrust one of his children to us. All at one time, it is a scary, overwhelming, wonderful, exciting blessing.

2010 is officially the year of the baby. At least that's what I think and this has been validated by several medical clinic staff. It is amazing the number of women I know who are expecting. There are 5 in my workplace, 6 in the family, and several other friends. At my first prenatal appointment the nurse told me she does not recall seeing so many pregnant women in one year in the 30 years she has worked. How fun - I just better be able to get a bed at the hospital come July!

Anyways, more of this crazy adventure another day....there is so much I am learning...and so much more I need to learn!

Best wishes,
Johanna

Ben's Morning Routine Part 2

2010-02-04T21:30:00.003+01:00

Finally I got my pictures uploaded off my iphone to post. Here is Ben in his daily cocoon (see previous post).
What a special guy ;)

Ben's Morning Routine

2009-11-23T21:43:00.002+01:00

Ben is NOT a morning person. Many people aren't - including myself. But he is extreme. This is how every single morning goes. 5:45am - first alarm goes off. 6:30am - second alarm goes off. 7:00am - third alarm goes off. I get up - Ben hits 'snooze'. 10 minutes later, alarm goes off and Ben hits snooze again - he repeats this 4 more times until about 7:50 - he technically starts work at 8:00am but we are about a 3 minute drive from his office(and he usually gets to work at 8:15am - he's adjusted his hours to work until 5:15pm). Then he finally gets out of bed....goes to the bathroom and sits and sits on the toilet. Then he goes back to our bed, takes ALL of the duvet and wraps himself in it cocoon style. (I will see if I can get a picture of him tomorrow morning as proof - and it's kind of funny). Then he sits there. A few minutes later he begins a crazy high-speed mad dash to get out of the door on time. And in a whirl - he's gone. He also always showers a night so it won't cut into his sleep time.

He's a funny guy - one day it is my dream to get up at the same time and get ready long before we are due at work. Then have breakfast and coffee enjoying the sunrise on our deck (this is clearly during the 4 months of warm weather we have up here).

But I don't see my dream coming true any time soon...

Maybe it's time for a new post....

2009-11-21T03:29:00.003+01:00

Well, my attempt at blogging again begins...again! The only excuse I really have for the absence is a lack of time... and the fact that we are no longer on a Swiss adventure! That just seems a little more exciting ;) Life has been just crazy. It goes in waves - if I stay on top of everything and get enough sleep, I always find a way to plow through. But every now and then, I fall behind, have some short nights and then it feels like I'm drowning. That's when I have a small mental break-down! Me on little sleep is quite a grumpy version of myself.
But we're all busy in one way or another, maybe it's just that I need to find a balance and a way of dealing with my day to day.

Last week Ben and I went on a trip to Saskatchewan. It was a bit of a blur. We flew to Medicine hat then drove to Rocanville for a video shoot Ben was doing. It was fun tagging along, being his shadow and going on a crazy helicopter ride. It reminded me of our year in Europe. Not so much the helicopter part as just following Ben doing his work. I love seeing him in action. He is so confident and professional dealing with clients. It's such a contrast from the crazy after work Ben that I see the most often.

After that we spent a couple days in Frontier/Consul. My sister didn't know we were coming so it was so much fun to surprise her and see the boys. I still cannot believe my baby sister has 3 babies! They are all so much fun.

It was nice to get away to breathe again and catch up on some much needed sanity and alone time together.

Coming back to work after a week away can be brutal, but this week was great as I trained a lady to fill-in for me and 'float' things a bit. That sure made a difference - I am hoping to have her again for my Christmas holidays.

Well, I hope everyone is well! Look for another post soon.... ;)

Pickles

2009-09-19T21:57:00.003+01:00

So its official - we are pet owners....or just owners of a pet. This pet is a kitten named Pickles and he is just about 5 months old. And I am SO shocked that I actually LIKE him! I always look forward to coming home from work and playing with him. So our cat vs. dog debate has been laid to rest after 4 years.... and I lost ;( Ben was more stubborn than I thought!
But thankfully its worked out really well so far!!
Random facts about Pickles:
-favorite food: peaches
-favorite toy: a skipping rope and the toilet paper
-wakes up: 5:30am (like clock-work)
-loves: running water
-steals: pens

And the other day when I was getting lunch ready, I set a cucumber on the table and somehow he jumped onto the table ans when I looked back he was holding the WHOLE cucumber in his mouth.

So he is rather entertaining!

In other news, my sister Morgan had here third baby boy on September 12th - Everett Cole Danskin. I have only seen pictures but he is so cute! That is our 16th niece/nephew. Its crazy how fast the family is growing - but they are all so much fun.

I hope all is well and everyone had a fabulous summer!

This is what I did...

2009-07-03T03:24:00.003+01:00

NOTHING!! Can you believe it!? I think I was just too stunned to say anything. She actually walked right into the bank and everyone just stared as she walked by. Nobody told her or anything! Isn't that terrible? I am terrible.....

WWJD?

2009-06-17T04:41:00.002+01:00

This week Ben and I stopped in at the bank over our lunch break. As we were walking down the sidewalk Ben points out: "Johanna - oh my gosh - you can see that lady's butt!" And in my mind I'm thinking she must be showing some crack out of the top of her jeans. Oh you could see crack alright....but not at the end you normally would.
This heavier-set woman is wearing a tiny short yellow cotton skirt and it is hiked up so high you can see both bum curls!!!! Really!
It was incredibly shocking and disturbing. I just froze - do I run up the sidewalk to tell her I can see her bum or just let her walk along not knowing that she's showing the whole world her rear?
I see pros and cons here:
Cons: the closer I get to her, the more hideous bum I'd have to see
This may be a new FSJ style and she may be really offended
Pros: Like ripping off a band-aid, it would be over quickly
This would likely save this woman some embar-ass-ment as she is about to head into the crowded bank

So - What DID Johanna Do? Post your best guess and I will be back soon.

Oh the insanity...

2009-05-18T18:47:00.002+01:00

Having a house = insanity. Well it depends on your house I guess and how handy your husband is ;)

I love our home.... it is a 1978 bungalow and it had many key updates when we bought it such as a new kitchen, windows, appliances, doors, bathroom, etc.

There were some obvious changes we wanted to make such as: painting over the 'dusty rose' paint in the living room and the peach in the kitchen. And we plan to remove the pink carpet in the near future - well probably in the fall/early winter.
But it is AMAZING how one little job leads into another and then another until the whole place is in shambles. We finished the guest room upstairs and just as we did so - our renter in the basement moved out. Which is fine as we wanted to turn it into a completely separate unit with full kitchen and everything.

However..... there are illegal bedrooms in the basement - there are no windows. So, Ben being a handy-man as well as my fabulous brother-in-law Steve, thought it should be no problem to cut through the concrete and put in three 48" by 30" windows.
So this is day 3 of working on one window and constant drilling and banging. Ben has drilled about 175 holes through the one foot deep concrete in the perimeter of where the new window will be. And then using a sledge hammer to chip away at the concrete.

This is crazy -and there are 2 more to go. I am hoping we have the window in tonight so I can mud and paint tomorrow before the cabinets arrive Wednesday. It will all be worth it in the end, but I am more than ready to be done this project.

Have a great Victoria Day,
Johanna

The Cat vs. Dog Debate

2009-03-26T01:51:00.002+01:00

You will never believe this - if you know anything about our past. We have devoted numerous posts over the last years about this much heated debate between Ben and I.
We are actually planning to get a cat. I KNOW! That is crazy - I can't believe the words came out of my mouth one day. I think it started when I was looking through some classified ads with a cute picture of a kitten - and Ben just about melted into a pool beside me. I totally realized how much he loves cats - like he reallllly loves cats. He runs across busy streets just to pet a cat (then I get really grossed out that his clothing is covered in cat hair)....and aimlessly walks through pet stores just to see the kittens. Then he told me his story of his family cat Tigger:
Tigger was around a few years before Ben was born and lived until Ben turned 17. Then she needed to be put down at the Vet. Ben went to the Vet with his cat, watched her be put to sleep, then took her home in a box, and buried her by himself. He was heart broken. When he told me this story -his eyes even glistened a little bit. He will never admit that and when he reads this post he will completely deny it. And for all I know its an act just to get me to cave in....
So anyways, in my compassion I told he we could look for a kitten under a few conditions:
a)Ben has to scoop te poop every other day at the most
b)Ben has to vacuum up all the hair every day
c)We need to finish our basement suite downstairs with a separate laundry area , so we don't have a litter box on our main floor.
d)We get claw covers for it so it won't scratch the leather
e)it must be spayed/neutered.

and on the upside:
a)cats are more independent and I won't feel as guilty about being at work all day as I would with a dog.
b)cats use a litter box and dogs make yellow spots on our lawn
c)when we go away a cat is easier to leave behind with minimal check-ins by a friend/family member

So I can't believe it - see how nice I've become??!?!

Anyways, thats my story for the day. Have a great day everyone!

Don't hate us.... ;)

2009-01-28T21:48:00.002+01:00

I humbly say "Hello" to the blogging community. I hang my head in shame that it has been over a YEAR--- A YEAR!!! I am sure 99% of you have given up on us and I am also sure that 98% won't even see this post. But this is my grand attempt to reconnect and do less facebooking and more blogging.
A year in nutshell:

-Ben and I live in Fort St. John. We lived with our good friends/cousins Braden and Erin until May 2008
-In May we bought our house
-Ben is still working at Eagle Vision Video Productions and receiving several opportunities to travel and work on video shoots
-I started work at the City of Fort St. John in January 2008 and tomorrow is my 1 year 'anniversary' there. I love my work
-we STILL don't have a dog and there's no way Ben will let me unless we get a cat, so the pet discussion is over
-there have been multiple births within the family and we enjoy our nieces and nephews and our 'honorary' ones as well
-Ben's brother Bryan is getting married to his girlfriend (finally) this May in Portland, Oregon

All-in-all we are loving life, and God has been good to us and our loved ones. We hope the last year has been treating each of you well.

I look forward to posting soon,
Johanna

Life Back in Canada

2008-01-23T18:30:00.000+01:00

It seems time has gotten away on us once again. We have had a crazy last month and a half....to say the least. Our flight back home was pretty interesting. Our first plane had problems with the landing gear so we had to board a Spanish Airlines 'loaner' plane to Coppenhagen. That was the scariest flight ....ever. Some seats had broken seat belts and the seat cushions were coming apart here and there, and during take off, the plane kept 'revving' up slowing down then revving up again. Worst of all, because Ben's seat had a broken seat belt, he had to sit about 7 rows ahead of me. So, there I was, alone in the back, with empty seats with broken seat belts around me. I think I prayed the entire flight! SO finally we arrived in Coppenhagen and had fun checking things out in their mall-like airport. Then it was off to Seattle...10 hours. In Seattle we had a 3 hour layover and at this point were still on Switzerland time and trying to stay awake at '4am' when it was technically early evening in Seattle. Then it was off to Calgary and met by my dad, uncle, my sister Morgan and our nephew Tyson. When people ask how it was coming back in the country, the first thing I think of is "BIG". Everything looked huge! Even the butter and milk containers looked huge!
After 2 weeks with my family in Frontier, I joined Ben up in Fort St. John to have Christmas with the Haab Family. A week later, we were down in Frontier again for Megan and Jordan Rempel's wedding and two days later we were making the 16 hour trek back up north. It was crazy. Since then we have moved into Braden and Erin's basement suite and settling nicely into life. Ben is enjoying his work at Eagle Vision Video Prod. ( www.eaglevisionvideo.ca ) and I am on the job hunt and waiting to hear the results from a recent job interview. I was a little unsure of moving up here and just didn't know what to think....but I am finding myself literally loving our life here. Its been fantastic. We are having fun re-connecting with friends and family and even meeting some new people.
So, there's a bit of an update, sorry it took so long! And all the best in the new year!
Love and Hugs,
Johanna

My Inadvertently Abusive Husband

2007-11-19T22:31:00.000+01:00

What am I gonna do about this?? Really...!?!? Lately I have sustained bruises to my chin/jaw, nose, thigh, back of my head, butt, etc. People this is no exaggeration. The chin/jaw was at work when I needed some help taping a paint roller onto an extendable rod. I held the two together while Ben wrapped duck tape around....just as a lady with a baby & cat was walking by, the tape had a cut in the edge and snapped when Ben was holding it taught. His fist met my jaw with a loud popping noise while I was mid-sentance saying hello to the woman. He really hit me hard....I was stunned and my 'temper' instantly fired up.....as Ben wouldn't stop hovering and kissing me...telling me how sorry he was in between uncontrollable bursts of laughter. I just walked away with all the attitude I could muster and got back up on my painting ladder. I am not angry person.....but when I am spontaneously bopped in the face ....I am not a happy camper. It wasn't long until I was laughing hysterically.
Incident #2: Ben drops me on my head onto the cement floor. I was somehow pushed off our bed during a 'wrestling match' and he was holding my arms and pushing my body off with his legs.....then let go...and 'thwump'...thats pretty much it...I don't know how else to explain it.
Incident#3 Never dare Ben to a towel-whipping match....you will pay.....with purple thighs.
Incident#4 Ben was taking off his sweatshirt and as it was stuck over his head....I took the opportunity to poke him in the belly. It was like setting off a mouse-trap and his cat-like reflexes caused him to unintentionally punch me in the nose.
Incident#5 This one he totally did on purpose....but I am not sure he thought he would hurt me. We were having a crazy night play-fighting (I should learn...I always lose except for when I accidently jab him in the eye) and he decides to pull me up a flight of stairs by the legs of my jeans......It was hilarious at the time...but my bum told me later that it wasn't a great idea.
Thats all I can think of at the moment....but maybe thats the brain damage kicking in...
I am think of asking for a full set of football padding for Christmas.....especially a helmet for everyday use. Its not a bad idea I'd say....

Crazy Hair Day

2007-11-18T19:06:00.000+01:00

Hello All! Time has really been running away on us and we've had little or no time for an update. My sister has had a year-long countdown and I never thought the number would get down to the teens! As of Monday it is exactly two weeks until we land in Calgary. I can say we am very excited to see family and friends and certain food items we've missed! (AKA: steaks, meat in general, and chips other than 'Paprika' flavored...) You see there is plenty of meat over here, however, you really pay an arm and a leg for it. We received an extra-special treat when Uncle Dan & Auntie Rosmarie were visiting Switzerland earlier this month and took us out to a restaurant for steak dinner. Our mouths are still watering....it was amazing. A taste of things to come....;-)
On the other hand, leaving the country is whole other story....we're very sad to leave new friends, Mocha yogurt , pounds of the best chocolate and Johanna's favorite: Schoko Muesli. But most of all we'll just miss the country. Its beautiful and completely rich in culture and heritage. And all of our German skills may go out the window...
Recently Ben and I went to an Artists Party in Basel which had a "Crazy Hair" theme. For those of you on Facebook, you've likely seen some pictures, but many of you haven't so here goes...!

We have also had the opportunity to go rock climbing for Ben's Birthday. His boss gave him the day off and took us climbing with his family. It was crazy. We start at a point about 400-meters above a valley and then climbed 200-meters up to the summit. It was intense! Here are some pics from that day, Oct. 12th. They definitely don't do the cliff justice!

Castle Adventures

2007-10-30T20:14:00.000+01:00

We don't know anywhere in Canada where we can drive four hours and see two world famous castles....except maybe the Enchanted Forest castle by Revelstoke......but that is not centuries of years old or a historical site whatsoever! On Sunday we took Bryan and Andrea on a little road trip with us for 4 hours through Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Our final destination was Fuessen in Bavaria, Germany. There we visited Hohenschwangau Schloss, where King Ludwig II was born and grew up and across the valley Neuschwanstein Schloss the 'fairy tale' castle he built when he became King. This is the world-famous castle that the Walt Disney castle was modeled after...and it was just an incredible day. We will miss EUROPE!! Here are some pictures for your enjoyment ;-)

BreakForth 2008

2007-09-26T11:43:00.000+01:00

In my first year of CLBI I got to volunteer at the event BreakForth at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton. I absolutely loved it. I didn't make it my second year because I was sick with mono...However, every year since then I have been wanting to go! And it looks like we'll get to go this year! It's on January 25-27 and the website is http://www.new-creation.net/breakforth.htm
There will be amazing classes (you get to pick out of 140 different classes to attend over the weekend) and awesome bands...two of my favorites being Third Day and Mercy Me! Is anyone else planning on going??

Our Portugal Trip :-) ....and Other News

2007-09-21T12:58:00.000+01:00

Hello friends & family! We made it back from Portugal on Sept. 8th and came back to Switzerland relaxed, refreshed and as brown as the Portuguese! It was an absolutely fantastic trip. We spent our time down in the Algarve where the water temperature is warmer than the west coast. We had many beach days: body boarding, snorkelling, swimming and surfing. And when we weren't on the beach, we were exploring the towns where we stayed, eating LOTS of Gelato, visiting little shops and when in Lagos, eating at Ben's favorite burger joint in the whole world: Burger Ranch! Here are some pictures of our highlights:
Here's Ben surfing: He got up on his first try!
This was a beautiful view in Sagres
Here in lagos, Ben found a good cliff to jump off of...
Here was a Bratwurst stand in Sagres, it said "Die letzte Bratwurst vor Amerika" Sagres is known to be the "End of the World".
Burger Ranch!

Ben making his sandwiches....since living in Europe, sandwiches have become Ben's favorite meal...strange...
The popcorn man!
Snorkelling was a blast!
Here is bodyboarding! Very fun...
We went mountain biking for a day...the views we were able to see were incredible.
Here I am on top of a cliff
This is in Albufeira.
Here's Ben sitting on a cliff in Sagres

In other news, we have been getting back into a routine here in Liestal. I have joined Ben for 3 days/week on the construction site and am learning a lot! The other days I am continuing with distance education and babysitting 3 kids. The youngest is about 8 months old and is also named Johanna! She was sick last Monday with a flu and unfortunately I caught it and am in bed here as I write this blog.
Ben was also offered a job at Eagle Vision Video Prod. in Fort St. John, and when we get back to Canada in December, we've decided to do a 6 month trial period there! We are really looking forward to some family time and to see what God has in store for us. We will be living in Braden and Erin's basement suite, which will be a lot of fun for us and we're bound to create some great memories! Their baby is due at the end of February and it will be so much fun to be so close.
So, there is a lengthy and much-needed update. I hope everyone is doing well!!!
Hugs from the Haablies

Here we are in Portugal!

2007-08-27T16:05:00.000+01:00

So we have been in Portugal for the last week and its flying by way too fast...! We have 12 days left and then its back to good ól Switzerland/Reality. We spent only a day in Lisbon...it was ok but we knew the beaches awaited us in the Algarve. And it is all we could hope for. Ben was here 4yrs ago travelling with his buddies and could not wait to get back! The beaches are amazing...and the cliffs and caves too. The water is warm and beautiful blue-green. Can't wait to post some pictures!! We head to Sagres tomorrow to do dome surfing...however the wave forecast isn't looking so great....hmmmm. Ben is pretty disappointed! So, until next time... Keep fit and have fun!
PS.... Congrats to Steve and Virg on their 4th little rugrat!

Our 3rd Year Begins!

2007-08-18T11:42:00.000+01:00

On August 7th we had our 2nd wedding anniversary....I have no idea where those 2 years went! Ben was at work all day so I decided to cook him a Steak-feast! You see...we haven't had steak since Canada (Over 8 months ago!), just because it is so expensive here. So I thought this would be a very exciting meal for my beef-loving husband.... And I also made him his favorite stuffed potatoes and grilled mushrooms. I decorated our room all romantic-like :-) In the Wee-Gee where we live we have 5 other housemates so it is hard to find some privacy space! So I decide our room would be the best bet. And it was really fun! Here are some pics of our anniversary night!
Our room before Ben came home:

Ben Happy with his surprise Meal:

The juice, yummy steak:

Mmmmm Grilled Mushrooms:

Me smelling the flowers!

The Paris We Never Knew

2007-08-04T20:36:00.000+01:00

Just last Tuesday we got home from Paris....yes, oooh and ahhhh. To you. Maybe. To us: GOOD RIDDANCE! Ok, Its not all that bad. We got some great pictures and were able to see all the sights we wanted to. About 4 times each. Basically that everything that could have gone wrong on our journey, did.
1. Bunk beds. Don't let my happy face deceive you! After an evening of travelling and upon arrival our hotel, we found out they double-booked our room. But not worry....they still had a bunk bed left!
2. Johanna decided flip-flops for the both of us would be the best sightseeing footwear. Wrong. 'What would Jamie Primeau have to say'...Johanna thought at one point. It was quite possibly the most painful trip we have embarked on. Flip-flops are awesome...but not for walking across the entire city of Paris. Bad idea. Some favorite quotes included:
"Ben, it feels like my ankles are going to break off......band-aids don't fix that!" -Jo
"My feet are raw, my back is raw from my camera bag, my crack is raw....nothing else could possibly be more raw"-Ben
"See! even the Amish can have fun in Paris....why not us!?"-Ben
3.The top of the Eiffel tower was closed. All 3 times we went to check....
4. We got to Notre Dame, just as it closed.....when we went back the next day we had an hour wait to get in. It was awesome though.
5. One Tour de France would be great to see...however, not so when the crowds are so huge! And prevent you from.....moving.
6. Bag of souvenirs.........Vamoose! MIA! Goodbye gifts for our family.
7. Missed our last train to the hotel.
8. All Taxi's literally full
9. Finally get a taxi cab....then he gets lost! Go figure. Probably a ploy to sucker more money from us.
10. Two hours of sleep and got to the train station home to Switz. at 6am.
11. Croissant-lady....takes our croissants from us. Because she refused to break our $50 bill.
12. Starving, sleep-deprived, broke, and stuck on the only train car thats blasting air conditioning = us freezing the whole ride home.
13.....MMmmm sleep for the following 2 days.
So, this entry looks pretty negative, however, we had a good time anyways and laughed alot at our situations. Love ya'll
If you ever decide to go to Paris...take more than 2 days to see it!! (and don't wear flip-flops)
Arc de Triomphe:
Louvre:
We enjoyed everything to see at the Louvre, however, we probably only saw a quarter of it:

The Mona Lisa!

2007-07-03T08:18:00.000+01:00

An Overdue Update

2007-07-02T10:53:00.000+01:00

So, finally, I am clicking the New Post button! Its been awhile. Life has been fun and BUSY. This last month we met Erin and Braden in Interlaken and it was so fun spend time with frends from home. We went hiking up by Jungfrau and the Eiger. It was absolutely incredible. I would just love to pitch a tent and spent the rest of my life on the side of the mountain. I especially loved all the wild flowers and the friendly cows with the bells you could hear ringing through the valley. My Schwieger-mutter and Grossmutti (Mother in law & Ben's Grandma) arrived in Switzerland a few days ago and we have been having lots of fun. We went to a Wuthrich family reunion where we met so many relatives, practised SO much of our German, and ate way too many fresh-picked cherries! It was really great. We have so many invitations for dinners with them that we wouldn't have to buy groceries for the rest of the year! And we also went back to Wadenswil (I have pictures from there when we went at Easter on a previous entry). I always like spending time there....it is so beautiful....the best of all worlds. Big green fields, beside Lake Zurich and an incredible mountian view. Can't get much better than that! And Ben just finished another short film for a competition for Greenpeace. He had only 4 days notice... and pulled it off, and it looks super! Most people had months to prepare....needless to say he had little to no sleep last week. But, theres a little update for you. All is well and we are just taking life as it comes these days! Peace to all!

2007-06-08T17:53:00.001+01:00

And a last one for Ben's full name...

Benjamin Haab --

[noun]:

A dance involving little to no clothing

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

2007-06-08T17:49:00.000+01:00

Johanna Haab --

[adjective]:

Fuzzy to the touch

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Whaaaat??

Johanna Svee --

[noun]:

A person who laughs at anything (even this entry)

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Thats more like it....good 'ol maiden name

Ben Haab --

[adjective]:

Extremely extreme!

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Fairly accurate I would say...!

Life as a Haab.....

2007-05-28T18:33:00.000+01:00

.....is truly never boring. If its not parasailing, capturing intense film shots, blowing things up, or enjoying a weird sense of humour....its something else. This time it was cliff-jumping. Ben and I while doing some jogging, discovered a big waterfall and cliffs behind our house on the Ergolz River. So we trekked in a ways and Ben decided it was the 'perfect cliff-jumping site'......next thing I know Ben has invited our roomates and other friends in the area for a BBQ and Cliff-Jumping day. Here are some of the pictures from the day....it was a lot of fun. That day I did not jump... it looked pretty scary!!! But with many days of Ben's persistance, I did it also last week. And it WAS fun afterall....too bad we didn't have a picture to prove it. I guess I will have to go again....;-)

Pictures to follow....Blogger is not uploading at the moment!

Modepreis Basel 2007

2007-05-13T19:00:00.000+01:00

Ben and I had a really cool opportunity last night. Ben met a man earlier this week named Michael Flume, who happens to know all the celebrities living in and near Basel city and has actually written a book on them....soooo long story short...Ben gets invited to Basel's top fashion show to do some video work! Michael was directing and DJ-ing the event. It was AWESOME.
When we got there there was a huge line to get in...advance tickets only. But because was on the "List" we just got to walk on by to the giant security guards in front of the doors. All Ben said was "I am Benjamin Haab" and they parted the seas and said "Go right in, Sir" (and of course I was allowed too).... it was all we could do to burst out laughing as we went in....one of those experiences I thought you only see in movies....Here are some photos and there are more on Facebook.....which is still stealing our time. All the best to you,
Hugs, Johanna
PS..Ben says hello too!

Here are Ben and I, ready for the big event..
The following are several pictures from the fashion show.

And Ben filming the show!

Transformations

2007-05-09T08:52:00.000+01:00

The most recent of my small projects.

2007-05-06T22:06:00.000+01:00

So Facebook is now stealing all of our time...arg. So, hence the pictures, we went on a camping trip to Italy last weekend! It was a great time. We saw the sights of Venice....and quickly realized it is so much bigger than we thought! Life has been great the past few weeks....we are keeping busy but always make time for fun ...of course. Ben has been editing for mannnny many hours the last few days and I have been helping put together the Soul Works newsletter and trying to catch up the book-keeping. I will also be continuating my education with a couple distance courses that will go until mid August. And well...theres a brief little update for you, nothing crazy -exciting! And we hope you are all keeping very well!!

ITALY Trip....!

2007-05-06T00:04:00.000+01:00

Here we are at our campground...it was sooo nice. And nice and hot outside.
Our roomie, Guido, fell asleep onthe beach and Ben thought it was funny to add stones one-by-one to his stomach and take pictures.
Beautiful sunset at Lago de Garda (our campground)
A very amazing old castle on the lake........
The three of us on our Road Trip
A cool little side alley in Venice...with lots of clothes lines too!
Here is Ben checking out the sights.
One of the hundreds of neat old buildings in Venice
A traditional Italian Gondola! Really fun to see.
Johanna reading the map and playing tour guide
The Famous San Marco Piazza

A Trip to Zurich!

2007-04-25T14:14:00.000+01:00

Ben on a bridge in Zurich
The first camel I have ever see....too bad he was so mangy-looking
A view from around Lake Zurich
It was great to see a good 'ol Frontier friend again! This is Cady Thoring, who has been living in Zurich and working with Operation Mobilization for over a year and a half.
Us And Cady
This is me....And Zurich!
2 super-cute little monkeys we saw at the Zurich Zoo. The adult monkeys were too obsene to take pictures of!
Ben and a very large elefant.

Picture Update

2007-04-20T11:54:00.000+01:00

We went skiing in Andermatt for Easter. It was about +12 degrees that day skiing and the view was absolutley incredible. This is a church in Andermatt with mountain behind it.
Here is a mountain at Andermatt
Here we are in Wadenswil where Ben's dad grew up. Ben made a new friend....this picture makes me laugh because Ben is just SO happy when he finds cat. You can see the happiness all over his face...Ben, you are such a softie!
A nice view from above the farm in Wadenswil. It is currently my most favorite place!
This is me and Reggy.
Ben has a strong dislike of horseback riding....so I was very proud when he tried it again. This is him post-ride.....glad to be done I think.

2007-04-10T11:33:00.000+01:00

The beginning of our crazy night. We had races on the electric trolly's!
This is the result of too much sugar, three AM, and a late night of work.....
And this.....
AND this.....
This too.....
And again..... We had fun with the air nozzle....!
A couple weeks ago we went up to some old castle ruins and had snowball fights and sledding. Very fun day.
This is Manuela with her two girls Jordan and Shannon. She is our German teacher and I get to babysit the girls fairly often.
Johanna and Jordan
Bryan and Ben after a crazy slide down the hill.
Here is Ben doing what he does best!

"Multi-lingual Washrooms....

2007-04-05T17:52:00.000+01:00

.....no wait! I mean multi-sexual!" So it seems the more we learn German...the more our English gets screwed up! For instance...."Jon and Behanna" has been used on more than one occasion. Its getting a little ridiculous. Cady did you find this to be true?? When simple sentance structure goes out the window??? Pretty soon we won't be able to speak English or German and have to resort to caveman-like grunts.
So onto the latest near-death experience....(Darwin has it out for me I think...):
It seems my interactions with these Haab boys is a threat to my well-being. I don't think I will ever be the kind of wife with a "knight-in-shining-armour-defend-me-from-all-harms-way" husband.....rather he's the kind that will just grab me and drag me along for the ride! BUT to be fair.....When it counts Ben is always there for me. Especially last week when he saved me yet again. Here is the scenario: There is a 5ton cube truck with a hydraulic lift on the back. We had borrowed it to move Bryan's studio across Basel. On the way home we stopped for supper at a friends place and when it was time to leave....Bryan jumped into the drivers seat and *click* he locked all the doors and with a fiend-ish grin began to drive away. Johanna smartly figures "my brother in law won't run me over....I will just jump in front and block the way..." Johanna thinking how smart she is and goes ahead and jumps in front of the moving vehicle. Guess what. Bryan doens't stop but Johanna's cat-like reflexes (which Ben loves so much) help her to quickly dart out of the way. In the meantime Ben jumps on the back of the truck and easily climbs over the 6ft high hydraulic tail-gate. Johanna is running behind the truck and also jumps on the back.....BUT too short to get over the gate...and it is too awkward for ben to get a good grasp to pull it over.....Johanna holds onto Ben's neck, standing on her tipee-toes as Bryan turns onto the AUTOBAHN ( thinking Ben and Johanna are BOTH safe in the back of the truck). As cars go by and drive right behind our truck...Johanna is screaming and threatening to jump off as Bryan picks up speed. (You see all logic is thrown out in these situations) So....finally Ben yells to Johanna to grasp tightly around his neck as he lifts her straight up and over the back with one arm screaming and ripping his shirt with buldging muscles and throbbing veins....OK so not quite like that....But Ben did save Johanna's life. And alls well that ends well....right? So Now that I'm on my 4th life....I think I will be a bit more careful and aware of what these boys are trying to persuade me into.....! Hope all is well with everyone, Love Johanna and Ben

The Ups and Downs of Living Overseas...

2007-03-30T11:45:00.000+01:00

Well, the last couple weeks have been an emotional roller coaster....hence, the lack of my updates...just too much to process. There have been some family issues back home that have made me quite homesick and the project is in an intense phase and we have been working with Bryan in the studio until 3 or 4 am. So many little things seem to go wrong or not fall into place which causes quite a bit of frustration, and in the middle of all this Bryan has had to find a new place to rent for a studio because the work space he has been using for the last 6 years is no longer available. Things seem to be on an upswing though...the casting process is done, a postive has been made and also a negative of that postive....and then a negative of that postive again....I think....hard to keep track!! AND now the mold is being completed to hold the epoxy-resin and then, finally into a pressure chamber and then... voila! We have completed the first of 12 statues! Wow...its a crazy-detailed process....and I HOPE it goes smoothly....
On the lighter side...we have had many moments of hilarity during our exhaustion:
At german lessons for instance:
Ben had to say a sentance saying: "The brush belongs to the woman"
This is what he REALLY said: "The breast belongs to the woman"
Later he had to say: "After work I go home and peel 10 potatoes"
This is what he REALLY said: "After work I go home and poop 10 potatoes"
Good times....we have been having fun too. During our late night work session with Bryan we are sure to lighten the atmosphere by having fork-lift races, making jokes, and playing with high pressure air-blowing tool (I have no idea what to call it!)...you would be amazed at the shapes your mouth can take in the 'wind'...sooo funny. When we upload the pics I will post some.
Take care everyone!

2007-03-18T14:31:00.000+01:00

2007-03-13T18:21:00.000+01:00

Before you see these pics....a few words: these do not do us justice! Unfortunately during the most exciting action we were too busy with holding down the person in the air or running after the parachute....
This is Guido ( I think) in the air. And some of the guys holding him down.
This is Ben's cousin Remy. He and his wife have been so much fun to get to know. And they have the CUTEST little 7 month old girl.
Remy again....
Ben also had his new camera out that day and took some footage, so i am hoping he can soon compile some footage and edit together a video for our blog!

Summary of parasailing:

2007-03-12T17:25:00.000+01:00

1. Attaching rope to Bryan in parachute
2. Attaching other end of rope to Ben, Guido and Johanna on the ground
3. Wind picks up, pulling Guido off the ground
4. Johanna falls down
5. Rope slips up to Johanna's armpits, pulling her clothing upwards
6. Ben falls down
7. All three of us being dragged by Bryan in the parachute
8. Wind dies down....momentarily
9. During this brief window of 'opportunity', Johanna tries to escape the rope by trying to pull it over her head
10. Wind picks up again
11. The rope didn't quite make it over Johanna's head....
12. Instead the rope tightens, forcing Johanna's hands to be trapped around ears on either side of her head...
13. Johanna is dragged across half the field by her head.
14. Life flashes before eyes all she thinks is "what a dumb way to die...Death by Rope....my Dad will kill Ben"
15. Finally wind dies down and dragging ceases.
16.Ben freaking out and rescues Johanna from the rope.
The End.
Sooooo....As I thought, parasailing was a little crazy, but I got to fly too! And it was so much fun. Although, my body is a wee bit sore today. And the grass stains will never come out of our clothes!
I highly recommend parasailing...but only with a trained professional!

Army Update

2007-03-11T00:39:00.000+01:00

So. We think we're ok now. Well, we are hoping. We learned from Ben's Dad (who was a cpl. or sgt. in the Swiss army back in the day...) NOT to say we're leaving the country in December because Ben will just be forced to serve immediately. So, we sent the forms back in and asked for a deferral until Fall 2008. Which shouldn't be a problem. But if we want to come back again, it may become an issue. So we are hoping everything will still work out as planned. And hopefully there's no Swiss "CIA" or something to track us down be reading this blog and foil our plan!
Tomorrow we are going to a visit an old castle in the hills and go Parasailing (is that how you spell it?). Bryan has an old parachute and we can get up about 50 ft in the air......I don't really like heights. But to fulfill my "Haablie" obligations, I may give it a try......But the Bryan + Ben combinations scares me even more than heights....we'll let you know how it goes!

Houston....We Have a Problem....

2007-03-03T12:41:00.000+01:00

Ok....more like, Friends We Have a Problem. Really we do....We got something in the mail today that poses a problem, that may prevent us from accomplishing our necessary goals while we are here. Ben has been DRAFTED. To the ARMY. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Apparently, Switzerland has mandatory Military time for every Swiss citizen. That means they have have to be in Rekrutenschule: AKA boot camp for 3 months every few years. This way Switzerland keeps up a trained army of millions that can be mobilized within 24 hours. So on March 15th Ben is supposed to go in to be "categorized" into the area he will be trained in. This doesn't work for us. This doesn't fit into our plans. I don't care how much Ben wants to be a Sniper. So we must find a loophole to get out of this. It used to be that if you couldn't speak fluent German your were exempt. Now they have an English division. Sooooo...if anyone has any great ideas as to how we're going to get out of this...you should let us know...

Fasnacht & Fire: The Swiss Must Be Crazy

2007-03-01T13:46:00.000+01:00

Hello All! Well, its been a week since our last post and we have some new pictures to share. My birthday was so much fun. We had originally planned to go away for a weekend but instead opted to stay in the Liestal area because it Fasnacht Season! Fasnacht is an interesting festival....and no one could actually tell us what it was about so I did some research. Fasnacht is an ancient tradition dating back to before the 1300's! It is a masked carnival with many marching bands and colourful costumes. The festival originally started as a day(s) of indulgence before Lent. Besides colourful parades in the afternoon, there is also the infamous Bonfire Parade, where burning wagons are pulled through the town center, with sparks flying everywhere. It was definitely a blast to be in the crowd...and actually a bit scary.....you will see why:
A Lot of people came out for the afternoon parade....it was hard to find a place to stand.

One of the Many musical groups.
These confetti 'guns' were awesome, they blew tons of confetti over the whole crowd. After the parade the streets were literally packed with confetti.
The costumes had amazing detail and were all hand made. Some of them were pretty scary, actually.
One of the marching bends dressed as old-school pilots.
This how this parade works: there are candy and flowers and oranges, and beer for free BUT you have to go up to the edge of the float to get anything. And if you are brave enough to do so, it is likely you will get "Confettied". This is a man getting completely covered...it was hilarious.
This is right before the parade. Ben took a timed exposure of the street. You can see all of the confetti on the ground too.
This is one of the traditions: individuals carrying a bundle of wood on fire. It seemed sort of dangerous...the sparks and flames were right next to their head! Everyonce in a while someone would stop, throw off their helmet and dance around wildly until one of the firemen doused them with water.
A group carrying the wood-bundles.
One of many burning wagons pulled by men
This picture shows the street a bit more lit up.
The flames were so big on some of the wagons and as they were pulled through the streets it was very hot for the spectators! The first wagon that went by us they somehow kept veering closer and closer to the crowd. When it went by us the flames were literally a foot away and we had to turn and push our way into the crowd behind us. You could smell our jackets getting singed! After that, the wagons kept more to the centre of the street thankfully.
One year, the flames were so big that some buildings were scorched. I can see why...
Well, it was fun time and great birthday celebration! A day to never forget. Hope you are all doing well, Tschuss!

So You Like......Stuff???

2007-02-21T12:18:00.000+01:00

Why is it that we always want 'stuff'....? Ben and I had a great conversation the other day on this topic. What motivates us to want and have possessions? Is it purely for personal pleasure? Or is it more for the reaction you get from others....you know having things everybody else would want?? Its one of those things I think everybody feels and wants... but nobody talks about. But we want to talk about it. Its about keeping up with the 'Jones' and trying to stay ahead of them. Its about who has a nicer car or a nicer camera, or a nicer house, or a nicer apartment, or who has the best of this or that. So why do we crave nice things? Its partly personal pleasure and attaining materialistic goals....but its also about image and impressing people.
So we are in a crazy phase of life at the moment. But we gave up lots to be here in Switzerland....a car, many of our possessions, the chance to buy a house.....at the time it was hard, because we wanted all these things. We somehow built our identity around what we have. But amazingly.....we feel free. Nothing is really tying us down, we have been given the freedom to follow God's will. It was so relieving to leave everything behind. This feels like an opportunity....to start new and build life around what matters. And store up our treasures where they matter most and make the most sense.....in heaven:
Matthew 6:19-21 — “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
"A pretentious showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life" Prov. 13:7
A quote by Mary Morrison Suggs:
"We are made spiritually lethargic by a steady diet of materialism"
So, as we have really been struck by this topic, we felt it important to share with our fam and friends and ask you too "what is your treasure??" Here's to a simple life!
- love, the Haablies.

Age, Caves & Candy

2007-02-18T23:21:00.000+01:00

First thing I have to say: Someone actually thought I was OLDER than Ben today. I am so happy. This has never happened...for example, last November in Vancouver: Mike, Ben and I went out for dinner and the place was packed and I tracked down a waitress and asked if we could sit at the bar since there was some free space. She then looked at me and said "what are you like 17??? you have to be at least 19 to sit there" FOR the record...I am nearly 23. And I should be so happy to look so young for my age...when I am 50 I will be grateful.

SOoooo on a completely different note:
What do you get when you mix 60 meters of chicken wire, 85 newspapers, 7 kgs of flour, 15 meters of rope, one stone table, 8 cans of spray paint and 20 hours with nothing else to do????? YEP YOU GUESSED IT!
Ben and I built a cave. Yep, a cave. Not just any cave...a paper machet cave-bar. Why do you ask...?? We just had the most awesome Stone-Age themed party in our weegee (our community house). You see, we have a band called "Megalomania" living in the house too and they had a performance here 2 nights ago and we had about 70-ish people come out and enjoy their concert and have a fun time. There were some pretty awesome costumes too! BUT all said and done....it was awesome! On top of this *interesting* cave idea of Ben's he thought the weegee should paint replicas of cave paintings on the walls all over the house. Not just posters of paintings on the walls....but actually on the walls.....with paint.....that won't come off..... In short, it was a lot of fun...but a lot of work...and I don't want to ever paper-machet again. Here are some pictures.....(ps...i found time in there somewhere to even sew our costumes!)

The beginning stage...
....continued......
and....continued
...taking shape......
Here is our masterpiece!
And so the party begins.....
A small sampling of what our house now looks like
Meet Jo Leopard
...and Tiger Ben
Man hold woman
Is it just me or are we really weird...?? seriously.
Here we are in Lucerne in Valentines day visiting an awesome candy shop....where we bought way too much candy and ate it way too fast. It made one of Johanna's front teeth loose.
SO cool. This bridge was built in 1333. It has some neat medieval paintings on it, and they drowned criminals in the tower. Kind of sad.....but neat to see.
Another cool pedestrian bridge in Lucerne

Be my Valentine!

2007-02-16T10:51:00.000+01:00

Wow, I somehow can't fathom the fact that Ben and I have had 4 valentine's days together. Time goes so fast! Each year it seems he plans something more and more exciting. The first year we were together, we went to the Sugar Shack (a cozy old building in the woods) on his family's farm where he had a fire burning inside, and Wendy's burgers! Ha...we were so addicted to wendy's at that time. The second year we dinner at Ric's Grill in the top of the water tower in Lethbridge. Last year we spent our night with Kevin and RJ in the restaurant in Harbour Centre in downtown Vancouver. Its basically a version of the Calgary tower that spins around throughout your meal. So Erin I know what you mean....it seems the more expensive the meal the smaller the portions!! Ben and Kevin were still hungry after the meal....of course. THIS year though seemed extra special. I got a beautiful bouquet of roses, some COFFEE chocolate, and caramel machiato yogurt, and the Black Beauty DVD...then Ben took me to Lucerne....which is where I've determined is possibly the most beautiful place I have ever been. in the city centre it has a deep-green coloured lake, with these old walking bridges over it dating back to 1333! Old things fascinate me so much. The city is surrounded by the Alps. We basically wandered all over the city and enjoyed the view and each other. Then to top it off, rather than going to a crazy-expensive Swiss restaurant (which costs a billion dollars) we found the most fancy McDONALDS we could find! (Erin you're not alone!) And it was STILL 23 francs....for two regular cheeseburger meals! I don't even want to know how much it would have cost if we went to a "real" restaurant! Anyways, it was a super time and we will have some pictures to follow.
Have a great day Everyone!!
Hugs, Johanna

2007-02-08T17:32:00.000+01:00

Here is Ben ontop of the world! Last weekend we hiked a mountain and climbed a tower. Woohoo!
Swiss Pride....
Last Sunday we took a drive into the countryside and got lost. Good thing our car, Ron, is equipped with GPS!
Here we are...still lost in the country...
This is us back on the tower. We could even see the Alps from here.

And so the "Tagging" Continues!

2007-02-08T16:37:00.000+01:00

We have been Tagged by Janine....sorry we took so long! Ben has been using the computer so much for editing that we have had no time to Blog....anyways:
5 Random Facts About Johanna Marie Haab:

1. I'm a compulsive smeller. I smell things all the time like, letters, news papers, my fingers, money, all sorts of random things. I have no idea why.... I just do....ever since I was little.
2. I HATE being late for anything....and yet.... I married a Haab. This is a stressful issue for us....
3. I like to roll my clean laundry rather than fold. I think they stay much more wrinkle-free!
4. I really love chips! Well, I just like the salt on the chips. Sometimes I just lick the chips..... (and after I return them to the bag, Ben wonders why we buy tasteless chips......lol j/k)
5. I love soggy cereal.....sometimes I leave it for like 15 minutes...and then eat it...and I love eating super-buttery, soggy popcorn.....but its funny because I hate butter on everything else.

5 Random Facts about Benjamin Thomas Haab

1. I am completey obsessed with cats. I love them. If only Johanna had fur....then she could compare.
2. I HATE being rushed in the morning, in the afternoon, late afternoon and evening...basically anytime. I HATE being rushed. And Johanna is the Queen of rushing me. (refer to Johanna's #2)
3. My mouth specializes in over-active saliva glands. One time I filled an entire cup-holder in a truck with my drool during a quick nap while on a road-trip. Upon waking up I couldn't figure out why my face felt pruney and my hair was matted to my head.
4. I like to blow things up.
5. I puke if I see or hear other people puke. Can't stand it.....its the grossest thing in the world. Just thinking about it makes me heave.

So now it is our tag someone else! We are nominating MORGAN DANSKIN and KORTNEY STORY!! Good luck to you all!

2007-01-31T14:04:00.000+01:00

Bryan's Prototype of an old harmonica. The prototype is made of epoxy-resin.
Our artist Bryan Haab! Behind him is a propeller he made that was bought by an an art gallery.
This is a bridge over the Rhine in Basel.
We loved walking along the river last weekend.
As you can tell...Ben takes most of the pictures. We can't wait to visit Basel again!

2007-01-30T22:19:00.000+01:00

Here is a picture of canned potatoes....
Do we sell those in Canada? This was a first for us.

We spend $400/month on groceries and this is what we get for it...!

2007-01-28T11:34:00.000+01:00

Tonight we ate potatoes out of a CAN. That was special......we'll leave it at that.

2007-01-24T15:18:00.000+01:00

Well I am pretty sure that most of you know by now it is I (Johanna) who does most of the posting around here! I guess its because I am the one with the most free time! I thought it was important to let you know exactly what we are doing half-way across the world. I just realized that about 50% of you don't really know! Well, back in November Ben and I received a phone call from Bryan Haab (Ben's second-oldest brother) that changed all of our plans for the next year. Bryan is an artist who is the president of Soul Works Foundation here in Switzerland. (www.soulworks.ch) Bryan had developed an idea for an international-cultural art project that demostrated the worth of a human life and how we as humans value that life. So, to sum it up, Bryan will be composing 12-14 different full-body statues of people ranging from the fringes of society to individuals of more prominent status. It is HUGE project and takes a big step of faith to begin this process. This project is officially titled, "The Dust of Famous People." So, back in November, the first chunk of funding came through and the process began! Today Bryan began the first full-body casting on a fellow named Mathias. I don't know a lot about Mathias, but he is just a simple man who works in a socially-assisted program. So where do Ben and I come in??!?! Well, alongside the project itself, Ben is producing and directing a documentary....which alone can be a pretty daunting task. There are a lot of details to be taken care of...(I guess thats where I fit in!) So basically now, there is funding for the first of 12 statues and we will rely on God to continue providing! They are also in the process of deciding who will be the next models to undergo the casting process...I don't think I should name their names on here, but one is a famous European tennis player, a couple others are US/CDN icons, an African orphan, and several others. So its pretty exciting whats been happening and the potential this project can reach and the amount of globe-trotting we will get to do! Eventually, upon the projects completion, the big idea is to travel and showcase the statues and documentary film around the world. We have a big vision here!
Sometimes I am feeling like I am a just a tag-along...but hey...its a lot of fun for me! I am trying to find my place in the project and how I can be helpful. It looks like I will get to take care of some of the set-continuity and audio work. Other than that I am looking for a job! But its kind of tough finding an English-speaking job around here....I am currently looking into a couple of English international primary and highschools. As I write this and sip my peppermint tea, I can see out of the window into the front yard. It has been snowing for 24hrs straight and it is BEAUTIFUL. Its a good thing we have these nice big old-fashioned windows in our teeny room...! We are continuing to adjust to living in community as a married couple....but its all an adventure, right!?

2007-01-24T15:15:00.000+01:00

Tyson and Johanna loving the snow.
Tyson....again! Couldn't resist! He's just too darn cute!
My gorgeous Hubby and I with the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Clarke

2007-01-23T20:12:00.000+01:00

Amy (aka Nance) and I at the New Year's Part-ay
Mike Clarke at his bachelor party...poor guy...! That 200lb. block of plaster on his feet.
A sunny day at home with Auntie Helga, Morgan, Tyson and I.
Isn't my nephew, Tyson, the cutest!?!?
Mike and Ben on Mike's wedding day....check out those handsome boys!

More for your enjoyment

2007-01-22T23:26:00.001+01:00

Welcome to Heidi-land
Isn't it BEAUTIFUL here!?!?!

Some Swissy Pics

2007-01-22T23:20:00.000+01:00

Our SWEET car!!
Our (actually) 200 year old house

Our new Swiss Life!

2007-01-18T21:09:00.000+01:00

Well, its been awhile since our last blog entry. We have gone through many changes since our Vancouver days. The end of December was a whirlwind as Johanna finished exams, Ben worked everyday, moving our belongings into storage, painting our apartment for the new renters, finishing Christmas shopping and packing for the holidays as well as for our new venture in Switzerland! We made it home to Frontier on Dec. 24th and enjoyed ourselves there with family and friends until Jan.3rd. Then we made our way to Calgary for more family time, skiing/boarding in Sunshine, and Mike and Tamara’s wedding on January 6th. Then two days later we boarded a plane with a send-off from our family to Switzerland. And so we have been here a grand total of 8 days. We live in a town called Liestal just outside of Basel. It is a quaint little place with rolling green hills, some cobblestone streets, and ringing church bells. We have already discovered the amazing yogurt! Get this: Latte flavored, Mocha, chocolate, etc (Why don’t we have those in Canada!?!!? Really…?) Bread is insanely good, so many different varieties….not like Wonder Bread you can squish into an itty bitty ball. And the cherry on top is we already have a car! It’s a burgundy1993 Ford Fiesta. With a HUGE 1.0 Litre engine, with a staggering power-house 50 horsepower motor! (for comparison, your average “grandma’s car” in Canada has about 200hp) Its hilarious….we have to gear down to 2nd to make it up any incline! We are trying to figure out how it might leap its way to Rome with us. But it’s free and good on gas and we love it. We would like to give him (Ben decided it was like a little boy) a name…any suggestions?? We have adjusted surprisingly well to all this change…even Johanna enduring her sinus infection, which caused her some unpleasant discomforts and emotional breakdowns. Thankfully life here is like a small town and the “sinus specialist” opened his office just for her…and his secretary will call sometime to have us come in and pay. Things seem to be on the honor system. As for where we live: we are renting a room in a huge 3-story 100-year old mansion. It was actually supposed to be torn down a while back but a young fellow here has bought it and has been doing renovations (obviously not our room yet! ;-) But rent is super-cheap, only $260/month including all utilities! And if you know anything about the living cost in Switzerland, that is an incredible deal. So far he’s done a pretty good job renovating and its quite cozy. Five other young people live here besides us….mostly students. It’s a little strange for us to go from being so independent to living in community like this. But we shall see how it goes… Other than that life is going pretty well as we continue to adjust to our new life here! We have started an intensive German course with a private tutor named Manuela. She is amazing and is so helpful. We meet three times a week for 2.5 hrs, so hopefully we will continue to learn at a decent pace. This is especially important for Ben because he has other filming jobs dependant upon his ability to speak the language! And another thing to note: you should see how expensive fast food is here! McDonald’s Happy Meal is $7.00 and a regular adult’s Big Mac Meal is $13.00 CRAZY! (Ben is depressed) Well, goodbye for now, take care, come visit us or just mail us a box of KD! Our new address is: Erzenbergstrasse 71 4410 Liestal, Switzerland.

Pukey McPukerson

2006-12-07T03:54:00.000+01:00

Well, the time has come for another update. We just got back from Frigid Fort St. John. Ben's grandpa had passed away so we flew up last Friday to spend a long weekend with the family. It was a really special time...the funeral was unlike any other I had been to. There was just so much peace...it was a celebration. Besides some quality time with the a-m-a-z-i-n-g Haab family, we got to go skidooing! Which is a crazy experience if Ben ever takes you. The last time I went with him, he actually ran over my arm! My jacket still has burn marks to prove it.....so this time I was extra-sure to hold on tight....but it didn't really do any good. I think I am officially afraid of skidooing with Ben. We also were really spoiled with cheese fondue, toblerone fondue, and numerous meals out. But I highly recommend that cheese and chocolate fondue's should be eaten on seperate days....not back to back....I will let you imagine its effects.....not so pretty. On the flight home Ben was feeling really sick and when we got home he was wrecked. He had a really high fever and lots of body-fluid action. When husbands get sick its not so fun for wifey, let me tell you. Anyways ...the top quotes of the weekend:
1. Matthew: "Home Herbals for Herpes", "I'm Not Your Father" "Mitch and the Micky"
2. "Cheeeese! Fruit! Cheeeeeesssse.....Fruit!"

Hajeit Mama Gee!

2006-11-19T03:56:00.000+01:00

Translation: "Yes Mother" (Punjabi). Wow it's been a while since I wrote one of these. So yes lots of exciting things happening for us! Switzerland is going to be fun indeed... and don't worry I've already reprimanded Johanna for that teasing little "baby" comment... I know I know all your hopes were up/shocked out of your skin. Ooo that's an interesting thought... to be out of your skin? What would that look like? To have a big old pink monkey suit hanging in your closet... It would be like long johns you put on in the morning... You know you've got your Orange and Yellow Black and White... Be a black gangster the one day and a pasty white priest the next.... easy to shower too... just toss your skin in a laundry dealie and wala you've got your nice clean Hispanic skin. Yep say you get a tear or a crack.... a bigger crack than you want anyways you can just trade it in... hmm... neat... that would be an interesting short film... We could call it "The man that had many interchangeable skins that he owned".... (or TMTHMISTHO for short) Well My wife is awesome and she made Parmesan Chicken for me so I've got some gluttony to attend to. Chao!

Some News......

2006-11-06T22:53:00.000+01:00

Well I have some exciting news to share with you all. Life for Ben and I is soon to change in a drastic way. This is something we have prayed about for a while and its happening..... a life with God is never boring! So here's the news...We're having a BABY!!!...... Actually that was a lie...muahahaha!! But the real news is.... we are moving to Switzerland! (This time I'm not lying) In mid-January, we are heading over and Ben will begin his latest assignment, creating a documentary for Bryan Haab's project "The Dust of Famous People". We are not totally sure how long we'll be over there, but it looks like approximately a year. I will be continuing my school via Distance Ed. as well as finding some sort of job where I don't have to talk (I certainly can't speak Swiss-German) .....not sure if thats possible for me.......but teaching English could be an option. Our stay will be involving lots of travelling around Europe, so we are so excited about this opportunity of a lifetime!!! A lot has to be done to make this all happen on short notice, but thankfully Ben is a Swiss citizen, so that should help the process roll along. Anyways...... thats all for now! love ya'll.....

A mouse...In the House

2006-10-27T05:52:00.000+01:00

So an interesting event of this past week.....it is true that we did have a mouse in our apartment. How did it get here? I have NO idea. We are on the third floor of an apartment complex, so unless it can scale stucco walls or squeeze through a crack of half a centimeter I have no clue how our little house guest made it in. The scenario: 2:30 AM, "scratch-scratch, scratch-scratch-scratch" Ben and I look at each other wide-eyed. Ben: "I think its a rat! Its in the closet" Ben opens the closet holding the baseball bat and slowly starts to remove items one at a time. He discovers its been trying to eat a bag of flour. He grabs a flashlight and voila....there it is : a teeny weeny little mouse....not a rat.... THANK the Lord...I would have died. So instead of killing the thing and getting mouse guts on our floor, I insist to Ben we just catch it and release outside. He rolls his eyes at me and calls me a wimp...or something to that effect. Farm boys will be farm boys...something about the thrill of the kill they say...??? On the other hand, Farm girls may not always be farm girls I have discovered. Once upon a time I used to catch mice with my bare hands at our farm or carry dead ones with dad to the farm cats....or kill them with shovels.....or my foot....or a pitch fork. Anyways... back to my little story. I absolutely freaked.... I was out of control. First I was safe on top of the computer chair wrapped in a blanket...then Ben insisted I help him. So I grabbed an empty box and a stick and moved myself to the kitchen counter. Still not helpful. So I inched my way to the closet to "help". Ben cornered the beast and successfully prodded it into the box and turned it upright, when he did, the mouse litterally jumped out 2 feet in the air and ran towards me chasing me back onto the kitchen counter with my stick, screaming. It hid under the fridge....greeeaaaaat. So, we made a barrier so the mouse couldn't escape the kitchen. Ben put the box in a corner where the mouse would likely run and moved the fridge out. It didn't go into the box.... it squeezed its nasty little body through our barrier somehow. Long story short, we chased the thing around the apartment for an hour, ripping the place apart and then it went under the fridge again......this time, we got smarter and put out a sleeve from a camping chair (something long and dark). And sure enough, he ran inside. Then Ben threw him off the balcony.....Bye-Bye- Mouse... annoying, scary little mouse. (When we develop our pictures I will post them) Ugh.

Happy Thankgsgiving

2006-10-06T20:09:00.000+01:00

Wow....its already October. Life has been way too busy (hence the reason we haven't posted any recent blogs) School at UBC is lots of fun so far this year. I actually know people on campus now! Ben just finished with Masters of Horror this morning at 5:00am. He has been working 75-90 hours a week. That is no exaggeration. So, I haven't really seen him this last month! But he always has weekends off so thats nice. We are heading to the Island this afternoon with Corrie and Dave (our cousins) and staying with Uncle Wadi, Auntie Joyce, Daniel and little Ben. (They're from Ben's side of the family). Next week Ben gets to go on set with Fantasic Four! (the second one is filming here in Van.) He's pretty excited. In fact he's already been able to find guaranteed work for himself here up until Oct. 2007. He needs to just find work for himself for a set amount of days before he can apply to the Union and hopefully the camera trainee program. So ya, there's my little update to you all. Life is good. So, everyone have a super Thanksgiving!!!!!! Johanna

Masters of Horror!

2006-08-24T00:23:00.000+01:00

Well Ben has officially graduated from Vancouver Film School as of Friday, August 18th. He has come out of it as a competent professional cinematographer. So the job search began Monday morning. Through some personal connections he made throughout the year, he got ahold of Mike B. who is currently the key PA for the Masters of Horror television series. And Ben was offered a job!!! Which is a miracle. Masters of Horror was created by Mick Garris.... one of the best adapters of Stephen King material. So far Ben has seen Jason Priestly (Beverly Hills 90210) and Christopher Lloyd (Back from the Future, My Favorite Martian) and lots of other actors we have heard of but aren't as big. We are unsure how long his position will last as they are finished shooting the series at the end of October. He still has his sights set on Fantastic Four 2, though....thats where Mike B. is going so maybe Ben's connections will continue to help him along. So who knows what will happen from there. We know we will for sure be in Vancouver until January....and probably longer. I just wanted to share the good news with all of you!! He is working 16 hour days... so pray for his sanity.....and mine too for that matter. Goodbye my faithful readers, Johanna

So I work in a coffee shop....

2006-08-15T21:18:00.000+01:00

I work in this great coffee shop called Big News Coffee Bar. Its a fun place to work. You get to know all the regulars pretty well. And I am pretty easy going and get along really well with most of them. BUT there is this one man .......here is his typical order: "Give me a latte, no foam, skim milk, give the espresso 20 pounds of pressure (ps: I don't even know how much 20 pounds of pressure is), and have my milk steamed to exactly 170 degreees" He leans way over the counter to watch every move you make. If it isn't made to perfection he demands you re-do his drink or he will have to write a letter to the owner. Are you kidding me!?? And everyday he is in around 1:30. The girls always run when they see him (including me). I just find a broom and start sweeping somewhere in the back! I have been lucky enough to avoid his wrath on most occaisons. Although one time he threw a fit at me because the milk was 174 degrees. (ugh) And then demanded I throw it all away because it was 'burnt'. And so yesterday he comes and in low and behold he has changed his order to "165 degrees, 1% milk, and no extra pressure". He's crazy. Anyways.....I just had to vent...but all you Barista's and Barista's of the past KNOW how freaking annoying these Mr. Latte's are and how easily they can destroy a perfectly good day of work. Ugh....I am going to take a nap now. Have a great day!!!!!

One year of Bliss. Well mostly...

2006-08-09T23:26:00.000+01:00

Can you believe Ben and I have been married a whole year!? I can't. Time has really flown by. A lot has happened this year. Moving from a small town in Saskatchewan is one of the most major events as well as going to university (UBC) with a population of 55, 000 students. I'm still not used to being #5230405* Heck....I have NAME! Ben started school August 22nd last year and he is about to graduate next friday. He is nearly an all-out cinematographer. Its insane! And I know our second year of marrige is bound to hold some major changes as well..... but thats okay. God is steadfast.....and thats the ONLY stability we need. I have been thinking lots over the last year and these are some of the main things I have learned/discovered, and quite honestly they are mostly from Ben whether he knows it or not:
1. its okay to not plan every little detail of everything out. Its more fun to be spontaneous!
2. its okay to be poor students.... in our weaknesses and shortcomings God is STRONG. And its truly a miracle we survived the year financially...God never let us slip.
3. its important to give others the benefit of the doubt...its not cool to be judgmental.
4. Forgiveness is a gigantic key to freedom and peace
5. It doesn't matter what you have, or what circumstances you face, its who you have beside you.
6. Arguing can be a totally healthy thing... I am learning to be much less selfish and more fair when we end up on a topic we just don't jive on. PLUS....you get to make up again......
Okay...I could honestly go on forever, but this was just an incredibly stretching and learning year for me and I give God the glory....But I blessed with a wonderful husband who hears His voice and is filled with wisdom. I only hope as the years continue to go by that I will always learn and grow from the leadership Ben provides in our life. Thanks Ben for your love and patience with me. Johanna

48 hour Film fest!

2006-07-25T01:58:00.000+01:00

48 hours to make the bloody best film of all time... Our inspired director Mike M-glocks brings our crew through the best of comedy as I know it. As the screening is pushed back a week we can only hope that the wait is well worth it! arg! I cant take it anymore! I'm going to watch it again... this'll be my 5th and final time before the next time I think about watching it again. Fortified is the name and I'm sure you will all enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it. I would have been a little more awake for the making of "Fortified" but I had the great idea of dragging Darren and I to the Masters of Horror set to PA. At least we got to see (and talk to) Joe Dante... well sort of talk too... I told him where to park... then he said... and I quote "welcome to set".... oooooo ya you can touch me... (Sorry Darren I had to use it). And so here's where the story begins... up at 9:00am... skip to school at 12:30pm go to Festival lock kit session at 1:00pm 1:05pm Mike Bishop(Key PA) asks me and Darren to set 1:06pm $181.00 is mentioned 1:07pm Darren and I skip class and head out of town hot on the trail of Mike's Audi TT. 1:30pm get to set and spend the next 17 hours doing positively nothing and getting paid to do it. 5:12am the next day, finally get off set. 6:00am make it home. 6:02am start on Unison Credits. 7:40am finish credits and begin 19 min Render time. 7:59am leave for school. 8:23am Arrive at school and place credits in film... find mistake 'Doe'. 9:00am start film screening. 11:30am listen to The comedian get torn apart for obvious reasons. 1:00pm return home... watch Darren fall asleep while watching Mr. & Ms. Smith chuckle to myself. 4:00 drink the largest energy Drink I can find. Start 48 hour film festival at 6:00pm haul equipment to my place... get roped into film in my apartment.... again... why do I do these things? All went well though. 3:00am next day... still can't and havent slept. Finally 4:30am sleep... 8:00am Kill alarm clock Eat whats left in the cupboard.... so hot out.... too much sweat. Spend day filming... 4:00pm eat lunch. 1:00am next day still filming... finally call it a day... 2:00am import footage into computer. 3:00am finally go to bed... can't sleep soo hot. 4:00am fall asleep. 8:00am... Darren enters room, nothing like that to turn a honest man into a killer. Tap tap tap go the keys... twitch twitch twich go the eyes.. 8:30 wake up and get out of bed... 9:00am film. 12:00pm done filming, wait for Darren to edit... he works all day.... 6:00pm dead line passes with still hours of work to do... 6:47pm film is finished completely! 6:57pm 135km/h over the Cambie bridge to down town. 7:06pm hand in finished tape 1 hour and 6 min late... 7:08pm find out our film is the first film in.... priceless. 8:00pm meet at beach and slowly loose all steam. 8:37pm climb a tree and try to find a way down.... jump and get sweet picture from Darren. 10:00pm get home burn DVD for Mike and John... 11:00pm they leave and I sleep 12 and a half hours..... ooo I love sleep

Mfter Foily

2006-06-27T02:50:00.000+01:00

Who is Mr. Foily you may ask... I had to ask myself that same question about 1 week ago. It all started while watching Glory Road on our couch, Johanna nicely snuggled up to me. The movie was gripping and heart tugging, but Johanna couldn't tell you any of that for she was fast asleep. As the basketball team played and pushed through hard times, the exact things were happening in this little wife-of-mines mind. The film came to a close, and I reach for the remote. SUDDENLY! Johanna jumps up in her seat! "Mfter Foily, Mfter Foily!" ..... I of course reply "What?!?" Johanna quickly replies "If da mofie ofer?" I look down to see half a blanket stuffed in Johanna's mouth. I can't help but laugh, I reach down and remove the blanket from her mouth... Then she looks at me, cocks her head like a puzzled crow and says, "What about Mr. Foily?" Those of you who have seen the movie know there is no Mr. Foily in anything related at all to the show. What a good laugh! HA!

Oh but there's more

Three nights ago I had some late night work on the computer. The time thunderously ticked 12:23 am on the digital clock. With out warning Johanna springs from the bed, grabs all the blankets and stands stunned at the side of the bed. "What are you doing?!?" I ask. She replies, "I'm gonna sleep on the floor..." "Are you sure you want too?" In anger, "Yes it's what I want, gosh!" This is followed by about half an hour of uncomfortable trashing on our hard wood floor. Finally there is but the sound the chattering keys and a nose whistle of Johanna sleeping away. Somehow through her twisting and turning in her sleep she managed to put her head half under the bed. The clock ticks 3:32am, THUMP! "uhhhh" then silence. Nothing could be heard but the whispering laughter of me at the keyboard. Another half hour goes by and finally the grumpy Johanna awakens from her disjointed slumber with only confusion and a unexplained bump on her head.

Hi Friends!

2006-06-13T20:18:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone. Well....we just got back from FSJ last night. We went up because Ben's second cousin was killed in a car crash....what a tragedy. Thankfully Steve and Virg graciously donated us some airmiles and we were able to fly up for free. In return we painted a bunch of siding for one of his houses! I thought it was a good trade off..... too bad we couldn't have painted more. It was so great to see everyone again, even though the circumstances weren't very good. The whole family was able to be there. Kev & RJ drove from Saskatoon and Bryan, who has been in Canada for a month, flew up from Calgary. So everyone made it. We were still able to have some fun. The guys built an actual cannon....and when it exploded everyone within 2 miles heard it---it was amazing! Ben's Dad said that the windows of the house actually rattled....and that was a kilometer away. (I love hanging out with the Haab boys and cousins) We also went to see "Cars" (highly recommendable), floated down the Beatton River in dinghy's, played some poker, went quad-ing, went on a big picnic.....what didn't we do?!?? We crammed a lot into 4 days. It is much MUCH warmer in FSJ than it is here.... we got a sweet tan. We were greeted with grey sky's when we landed last night. How depressing. When we are in Vancouver we really do love it....but when we head back out to Saskatchewan or to FSJ.... we love it there. I am just not sure if we can see ourselves raising a family in the big city. But the next year will tell us a lot....heck! The next 4 months will tell us a lot. It all depends on job availablity for Ben. Soooooo all we know is God knows. And everything little thing is gonna be alright. (thats a song, by the way). Anyways...just wanted to catch ya'll up and hopefully will talk to you soon!!!

Ha.

2006-06-07T22:56:00.000+01:00

So my last blog seemed a little pouty and pessimistic. I know...I was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Remember how I said couldn't wait to get back to work?? Well.....I have now worked 2 extremely busy days (with demanding customers and delivery companies who must be on crack) and now I am ready and waiting for a day off!! But that won't happen until Saturday. I am have now just gtten home and drinking a mocha frappe with 4 shots of espresso to give me enough energy to write my 5 page paper due tomorrow....eeeeeek!!! ( It won't be too bad)

Going INSANE!

2006-06-05T21:01:00.000+01:00

Life has been crazy lately. I have been working lots and have lots of homework. BUT this weekend was horrible. I had Friday, Saturday, Sunday and today off from the coffee shop. Which is what was horrible. I can't STAND not DOING anything.... I feel so....lame. On the bright side I have accomplished lots of homework though. And Friday was super-productive: laundry, cleaning, some shopping, groceries, etc. And Saturday was ok because I spent the day going around to open houses. We are toying with the idea of moving to another place b/c our lease is up and a change could be fun.....and a spare bedroom/den would be amazing since we are accumulating so much stuff. Other than that...... Sunday came and went and I didn't go to church!!! I know!!! I am upset about that....there was a good reason. And today...well...same old....I can't wait to get up at 5:00Am tomorrow and feel a sense of PURPOSE! And the #1 thing that made my weekend suck is that Ben has been non-existent. He started shooting the Final Project 1 on Friday morning and won't be done until Wednesday night. AND half of our living room furniture went with him. I told him this was the last time ever...we are not a Props House! But it'll be ok.... So He has been up around 6:30 and gets home around 11:00pm. So I have been getting up really early and making him a nice breakfast and forcing him to stay awake when he gets home just so I can at least spend some time with him. But...only 2 months left until he's done. Then its job hunting. So there is my update.
I think I really just hate being alone. Thats why I am sad I missed church...I need interaction! Thank goodness at 6:30 I am going to Corrie's baby shower and hanging out with friends. I need it.
PS....... you all should read Chelsea's blog about joy.... I think I need some.

A little....Homesick

2006-05-19T06:15:00.000+01:00

Its funny...no matter how old I get and even though I have been away from home for about 4 years now, I still get homesick sometimes. I love where I am at and wouldn't want to change a thing...but sometimes I yearn for home....the flat land, the wind, the sky.....and the dirt. There is something about Saskatchewan dirt. I tasted it once....but I won't get into that story.
I have had an amazing e-conversation with a dear friend of mine from home. I am so thankful I am loved and cared about and that I grew up with and graduated with some of my best friends to this day. We haven't been all together for quite some time though and I really miss them. On top of being a bit homesick...I feel very friend-sick too. I have made some amazing friendships here...but they will never be quite as special as the ones from 'home'. I remember my first move away from home to go to CLBI....4 of our little group went together. I was sooooo upset about leaving home. I remember the majority of the summer before was spent complaining and stressed out about my first move. I remember spending the first 2 weeks of CLBI with Megan crying and counting the days until Thanksgiving then Christmas. We sat on a little log fence on our canoe trip and watched a family with a four year old girl flying kite in tears wishing we could be 4 again and not have to worry about the stresses of growing up. Ha....its funny now....we're nerds. Now "Three-For-A-Dollar" are living in different provinces. Sigh..... In all truth I could never put a price tage on these 4 dear friendships....there is something remarkable about them. I know that no matter how far apart we live, no matter which direction life will lead us, these friends will always be there. These are unconditional friendships and I am in them for the fight. I love you guys...you know who you are. Thanks for making my life so sweet.

Morgan + Tyson + tired Johanna + Ben (as himself) = chaotic week + end

2006-05-13T22:24:00.000+01:00

Johanna and Tyson at the beach

He had a lot of fun.

Did we mention we went to the beach?

A lot!

Morgan discovered clams!

Brain Waves!!! or lack there of.
Fun at Science World

Tyson will sleep anywhere

Ooooooo coool! Aquarium fun!

That's a big guy! That's Ben's hand!!!

Ooooo.... Chef? I'll take that one!

We've got CRABS!!

Then it was time for them to go....

'sniff ' 'sniff '

Wooh! That was a fun week! + 1/2 = week and a half... ya... well see you all later! Happy blogging!

Johanna Was HIT BY A CAR!!!!

2006-04-24T08:39:00.000+01:00

Now that I have your attention... Johanna was... Actually hit by a car! Yes one frightful evening we were gallivanting down a warm summer sidewalk when (dun dun dun!) The Evil SUV came! Ahhhh Out of nowhere darting at a snails pace from the dark a dreary back ally the sleazy SUV strikes Johanna's elbow and hip causing A tremendous amount of slight pain and frustration. The (dumb) driver acts like nothing had happened and drives off... Luckily there were two cops present to witness the crime! After Johanna reassured the Occifers that she was quite alright they bolted to there vehicle and raced after the driver. The SUV left Johanna a little shaken but unscaved! (dun dun, dun-dun-dun-dunnnnnlnlnln)... Really is was just a driver not paying attention bumped Johanna and everything was quite alright... but the Cops did go after him... Thank-you and good night...

Fixed!

2006-04-12T07:03:00.000+01:00

Well here we go, another day in the Haab house. After finally fixing Johanna's side bar of our blog, the tension is subdued and the storm passed... and so the story begins...

But thing were just a little quiet... too quiet for the ol' Ben-miester. Yep that was my name, or at least so I was told. A tin can rolls out of a dumpster. A homeless bum rambles to himself about days when he was on top. The can is added to a mobile home in the form of a shopping cart. Johanna looks out the window in silence eating an orange... a seep of air daintily wafts from her butt. It was silent... but let everything in the room know it was there. Varnish began to react violently tearing itself off of its surface. Lights grew dim and the floor was dull. The haze drifted into the other rooms, replacing the oxygen with a vile gas sucking the life out of it's victims. No one was safe, not even a mouse nibbling on a scrap piece of bread. He didn't know it would be his last meal. Just leaving his mouse home to find a morstle of food for his wife and eight newborns. Plants tried to hide by folding in on themselves but it was useless, the moisture was eradicated and the life turned to a withered stick. The once Windex clear windows were now covered in a pasty grease like substance giving the light into our apartment a dull yellow hew. But luckily the door was closed and the other apartment owners were spared from this destructive force. Biohazard crews were alerted to the level of urgency and responded immediately. The National defense quickly caught 'wind' of the news and was interested in the effective chemicals in this gas. There were several horrifying test done with many lives done, but the same conclusion arose each time. That the (sometimes) invisible gas could only be withstood by the creator. Bottling the gas into pressurized explosives has surved well in cleaning out rooms for SWAT teams and riot patrol. One officer explains the intense effectiveness, "It was so, I mean, wow! It worked better than a case of tear gas that's for sure". I'll update the report on this horrific discovery. For BJH News I'm Benjamin Haabaronie

Sidebar

2006-04-09T19:55:00.000+01:00

Can anyone tell me why our sidebar is waaay down at the bottom and how do I fix this? Thanks

Ben's Black Eye

2006-04-09T19:43:00.000+01:00

Once upon a time(last Sunday) at ball hockey Ben got hit in the eye. He fell to the floor with his hand over his eye..so I thought it was serious. I was sitting with Christina and I jumped up to go over there and help him..... BUT I stopped myself like a good little wife should. I realized Iwould COMPLETELY embarass him in front of all his macho buddies if I ran over and cuddled him and stroked his head saying, "my poor little pooky-wooky". Ok...not like I would actually say that....well maybe using different words..but the cuddling-yes! So I let him be and prayed he wouldn't get up with his eyball hanging down to his nose. The guys all rushed aorund him to check him out and help him up. Thankfully it was at the end of the game so he didn't have to play much after that. Sooo anyhoo, on the way home he asking if its normal to feel like you have 'milk in your eye' and then I looked at his pupil---it was oval....really weird. So I made him go to the hospital, which he wasn't very happy about, and the nurse said he should definitely see the doctor. And the waiting line was 4-5 hours and it was already 1:00AM. So we sat around for a couple hours falling asleep in the waiting room and then Ben suddenly stood up and said 'that's it we're leaving, this is stupid, I'll be fine" Even though I was afraid he would have a permanently oval pupil or more seriously have damage to his eye we went home to bed at 3am and I got up 2 hours later to go to work....it sucked. When I bent down to get some coffee sleeves out of a box I sat there for about 15 seconds and just about fell asleep. My boss thought I was sick. So I drank about a zillion cups of coffee to get me through the day. And the next day ben's eye was black and sore but he could see better. And it is not so oval anymore. And we all lived happily ever after. The End.

More Pics

2006-04-09T05:55:00.000+01:00

Mark, Allistair, Gudney, Omar

Director Darren

The most beautiful city in the world; view from Stanley Park

Corrie and Johanna walking, with huge shipping liner
coming into the harbo

The point at Stanley Park...ooohhlala

Latest Pictures

2006-04-09T03:13:00.000+01:00

Ben is doing is thang...

Day Off!

2006-04-09T02:23:00.000+01:00

Today has been a really great day. I am officially done classes this semester and finals don't start until April 20th. So today I finally gave myself a day to just BE. I slept in until 10:00 then got up did some remaining dishes then I biked down to Spanish Banks beach and through the UBC campus. Then I sat at a coffee shop and read for an hour (and NOT a text book!!) It was great. Then I biked back home and decided to do the laundry and washed the floors. Then I re-potted a plant and am waiting for the dryer to shut off. I love house work....It just feels so good to catch up on that stuff! Sadly Ben hasn't been a part of today....he was up at 6:00 to head to his set to start the first day of his film. I think he will be home around 10:30. For Easter Corrie, Dave, Ben and I are heading to Auntie Joyce and Uncle Wadi's on the island. It is going to be awesome! It is really looking like spring here....but then again it didn't seem like we had winter at all. On Wednesday Ben and I bike out to Wreck Beach just off of UBC Campus....it was soooooo beautiful. People are in bikini's already! So anyways....we locked up our bikes and hiked the gazillion stairs down to the beach. You see I am totally aware that there is a nude beach somewhere along the coast by UBC but I thought it was a ways down from where we were. SO needless to say...we were 'surprised' when a naked man walked in front of us...thankfully it was a ways off in the distance and no details were recorded in our memory. Just a fuzzy dark patch. It was funny. We saw a few other clothing-deprived individuals but not very many....but all were not in close range. BUT it was beautiful... I think Wednesday was may favorite day in Vancouver so far. Well....the clothes should be done so I am going to sign off....take care all....Peace, Johanna

My Favorite Person

2006-03-28T09:31:00.000+01:00

This is a tribute to Ben. I am happy for him right now because he scored the winning goal in hockey tonight. Their team, the "Wing Nuts" just defeated the second best team in the league, the "Millionaires". He forechecked the star shooter, banked the puck off the back wall, faked the goalie to the far side and tapped it in with a sweet little backhand on the near side. AND he got the first star..... MVP of both the teams for the game. I am proud of Ben. He is really happy. He says its because of God he made the goal. Isn't it great how God cares about the little things!? And he brought a slushie home for me...so I am very happy. He is singing and dancing in the living room...I can hear him....he's cute.

For your information...

2006-03-23T09:08:00.000+01:00

... I'm not a slacker... Johanna on the other hand has done everything in her power to procrastinate studying for her exam... Including imitating a blob of goo on the floor. Yes yes she'll try to tell you that "Oh woah is me, the early 5 am has taken my strength away." But really it's just the school "I don't wanna's". Well to tell you the truth... well partially tell you the truth. She has been work'n hard.... ish. Ha! That one earned me a punch in the arm!
Well Producing the film entitled "Betterman" is ....Almost.... Done. During the post production, I now begin Directing my film... Which was entitled "Home-A-Phobe"... but I figured that a few people might not like it or get it... For it's about a elder woman with anographobia. So the name has been changed to "Mary McPhearson"... and I think I like it... sort of.... not sure yet though. And I can say that NOBODY will EVER FILM in MY HOUSE AGAIN!!! It was a nightmare! But it's funny now that it's over and I'm glad everything's back to normal.
As I look to the bed.... Johanna sits there, book on her lap and a Giant 2 liter thing of coke, which once was full. Searching for her last bit's of energy, she franticly scraps her brain for once lost information, but the Q-tip won't go far enough in. And alas, her head is laid down to sleep... pouring the coke All OVER the PLACE!!! AHHHH!!! Well now we have fresh sheets on the bed.... and pillows... blanket as well... pj's.... and we'll just dry out the books... and mattress... Pencil case.... Binder.... my right shoe... and... I don't know how but the hole punch, alarm clock, and phone. It was like the whole Cramer off of Seinfeld freak out thing... quite funny yet messy. Well I'm off to bed
Cheers
Ben

Quiet.....Oh So Nice

2006-03-23T07:20:00.000+01:00

I am alive....I am soooo thankful that my house has now been vacated. And the paint looks pretty dang good. I have a big exam tomorrow so unfortunately this is going to be super short. Take care ya'll. Johanna

PS.....I will get Ben to write an entry one of these days.....that slacker.

Triple 'H' :Hell in the Haab House

2006-03-11T17:46:00.000+01:00

Ok, so in my last entry I wrote about Ben and his crew filming a movie in our apartment. I CLEARLY had no idea what I was getting myself into. I am sitting right here on my bed surrounded by complete chaos. You couldn't even begin to imagine what our place looks like. We will have to post some pics. Last night around 4pm the madness began. 13 film guys hauled truckloads and truckloads of equipment and props into our apartment and EVERYTHING that we owned has been rearranged in some manner. This morning I had to be up at 6am so set up for the day could begin. On top of the 13 person film crew, we have two actors and a makeup artist here. People are continually around me in my bedroom, looking for items, asking me questions and mistaking my underwear drawer as a place where they could find missing equipment...riiiight. Ben has been continually apologizing to me since last night....as well as his friend/the director Darren. I think this is an even bigger project than they even imagined.
As I write this I can hear in the living room that they are about 2 minutes away from the first shot. Its actually a little bit exciting, however I will be much happier about all this come Thursday when everyone is GONE. Thats right....Thursday....6 more days of chaos. I think I will go and live with Corrie and Dave for a few days.
Seriously, what was I thinking consenting to this!?!?! AHHHHH......hopefully I will update you all soon...that is if I still have any mental capababilities left. Pray for patience people. Johanna

Whoa...its been waaaaay too long

2006-03-03T03:21:00.000+01:00

Sorry Guys.....we've sorta left you hanging. The last month has been awesome! Busy and fun. In the middle of February, Aaron and Pam (Ben's sister and brother in law) as well as Kevin and RJ(Ben's brother and sister in law) came down for a 10 day visit. We had so much fun! We did lots of sightseeing we had yet to do, and had a blast just hanging out. We were sad to see them go...our place was so quiet and so empty without them. Also Jen Gilbertson a long-time friend of mine from Frontier came for a spontaneous visit---it was sooo great to see her (hopefully she will move out here...hint-hint!) Hopefully EVERYONE will move out here! Its just so much fun here and so beautiful, it is such a vibrant and active lifestyle! How can you all stay away....how can you resist it!?!? For those of you who haven't been to Vancouver, I know you just can't understand where I am coming from. I am a true-blue Saskatchewan farm girl to the core andNEVER thought I would love the city life......but it is so easy to escape the hustle and bustle of the city scene....its like 10 minutes to wilderness! I just think it is because of God that it was so easy to adjust to this lifestyle. Without Him, I promise you all I would probably live forever in a puny town where everybody knows your name....and unfortunately all of your private business... In fact, part of me was afraid to marry Ben because it pretty much meant a life commitment to city living. Its where he needs to be for his line of work. Rephrase: I was never afraid of marrying Ben.....just afraid of where it would take me: out of my comfort zone....and to freakin' VANCOUVER.
So enough of my gushing about the positives of Vancouver...there are negatives too. It is SO expensive. Housing is completely ridicualous. For example.... a $250, 000 house in Calgary is worth $500-600, 000 here in Vancouver and it is on the rise. It is projected to be the next Hong Kong with housing at a minimum of $1, 000, 000. Its nuts. We will never be able to stay here too long on our own terms....but if God wants us here, we trust he will pave the way! Or maybe the market will crash.....eventually....??? Sooooo who knows where we will be come a year or two down the road...or even next fall!
Other than my random spiels, life is great. I love my job at Big News coffee bar, school is going great this semester and my grades seem to be on a steady rise, so thats a plus. Midterms are done, and the year is almost over---hooray!
These days Ben is Busy....with a capital B. He is in the process of producing a short film which means he does 90% of the prep work and for the next 4 days he scheduling actos/actresses for auditions for the cast. The response to his posting were much higher than expected and he is putting about 50 people through the audition process. So he has been having about 13-14 hour days lately. Final cuts are next week and filming begins...in our apartment. Yep....I may have to find somewhere to live for a few days. You see, I won't even be able to sit on the couch or cook because it will mess with their continuity. BUT, on the brightside, our apartment gets painted for free and I get to pick the colours!
So....there you have it....these are the things on my mind at the moment....and now it is time for me to read my text....Until next time...Keep fit and have fun! Love, Johanna

Weirdness and Rain

2006-02-04T10:00:00.000+01:00

Soooo...Holy moley--its been just about a month since we've blogged! Life, as usual is busy, but we wouldn't want it any other way! So weirdness....here are random weirdness-es/news of the last month:
*Ben rolled his floppy ankle again...but this time he was just WALKING...ya, thats it. (at just a pace of 0.4 km/hr)
*Ben is now in a Ball Hockey league...he managed to mash in the face of our cousin, David....causing stitches above his eye and a gash out of his nose. Ya....Ben is more competitive than we thought.....
*It rained 29 out of 31 days in January. Can you say "BLAH" Where is the sun?????? Is this the end times?
*Johanna ate veal for the first time (without gagging)
*Johanna got offered a head shot for shampoo advertising....but refused.
*Ben saw David Duchovney (former x-files star)
*we have a webcam!
*Ben have 7 different exams this week plus a short drama script pitch, and a DOP exam during the whole weekend
*we have free screenings to see Curious George tomorrow
*Whistler awaits us in the next 2 weeks..yay
*the smell of urine has graced the bus a couple times this last month
*Mom and Dad (Haab), spent 4 days with us before heading down to Mexico
*Pam and Aaron and Kevin and RJ are coming next weekend!
* We almost got a cat and quickly realized it was a bad idea
*Turtles can breathe from their anus! its true
* We found a gay club called "Uranus"...soooo wroooong
*Our neighbors saw us naked.....fully naked....
* Our curtains are now permanenty closed
So besides the randomness in our lives, things have been fun! Ben is at school anywhere from 5-7 days a week now and Johanna works 4 days and goes to school for 2 days (2 loooong days) So, we hope you all are doing great and hope to hear from you soon!

The Even More Amazing Race...Continued

2006-01-09T09:19:00.000+01:00

For all you devoted fans, it was the Haab and Marchioro Duo who stood victorious above the S'toon Haabs!!! On Dec. 21st despite several setbacks of impossible road conditions and an overnight delay in the FSJ wilderness....the Haab-Marchioro stayed on top by a remarkable 7 hours.The famous 4 are still waiting for the "One million Christmas present" prize. Delays are expected because the sponsors (ahem---you....) have been a little late on the draw. Be sure to mark next years season premier on your Calendars!! If you want to be a contestant in the "Even more Amazinger that the Amazing Race" next year, please forward your video applications to the following....
123 Blue Green Blue Bruiser Street
Wewillkickyourbutt, BC (Butt Cickers)
B4U 8RP

Welcome back to Van....thanks to a flight from HELL.

2006-01-09T08:53:00.000+01:00

Well we are back home!! YAY. It was a very busy Christmas holiday indeed. First it was FSJ, then Frontier, and then Calgary for New Years. It was sooo much fun. Here's how it went: 18 hour freezing rain-filled drive to FSJ. Well not quite....we actually didn't make it to FSJ until the NEXT day. Blah....Ben drove the night shift on a bag of Espresso beans and a rather large can of Jolt. He was WIRED. He was playing 'Rock-Paper-Scissors" with.....himself!!! It was funny...and he won.... Upon our long awaited arrival we took part in several Christmas celebrations and ate waaaaay to much. We saw Mike and Sue's and Steve and Virg's new houses....which are gorgeous! We also had a fun time in Uncle Dan's Helicopter! Thanks for the Christmas present guys!!!! FUN, fun. After FSJ we flew to Vancouver, then to Calgary, then Medicine Hat (all within 5 hours) By the way....anybody hear of the Mile High Club???? ;-) So then we hitched a ride to Frontier and had fun there for a while. We went visiting, and more visting, and curling, and played a lot with our 3-month old nephew Tyson. (He is the cutest baby ever!!! He must be Norwegian....So Dad says) After sad goodbyes we drove to Saskatoon and flew to Calgary and spent New Years at Tamara's house. The next day we took our final flight to the land of lush green-ness and warmth. Unfortunately Vancouver was windy.....reaaaalllllly windy and thus this is why our blog is titled the flight from hell. Coming in, the plane dropped about 100 feet and tilted at about a 40 degree angle in about .5555milliseconds. It was the first flight we'd ever been on that EVERYONE screamed outloud at once. To make matters worse....Johanna managed to scream out "I don't wanna die!" (but you have to understand....it was reaaallly scary....really, really scary) Ben meanwhile, is laughing his head off while 90 percent of the people are panicking and sitting with knuckles white. Joining Ben in his laughter were 2 Scottish men one row up...who seemed to have a few too many $5 beers on the plane. So after the plane pitched about four times up and down....we had a safe landing. The plane broke out in applause. Johanna released the death grip on Ben's thigh, stood up, legs like spaghetti, and finally got some fresh Vancouver air as she forced her morning breakfast back down into her stomach. So there you have it. we are alive and well....and super busy. For the next 6 weeks Ben has school everyday including weekends and Johanna works 4 days a week while still in full-time classes. Life is C-R-A-Z-Y. But yay for no chance of being bored. Or relaxing for that matter......But it is now time to catch some Zzzz's....5:00AM rolls around pretty early.....Take care all...Much love, Ben and Johanna

Goodbye Cruel World...

2005-12-20T05:38:00.000+01:00

And hello roadtrip.....In 2 hours we are leaving for FSJ! We will leave the land of tropics and dogsled for 18 hours to the great white north. The trip will be treacherous and many lives will be lost....but 4 shall stand victorious (God-willing) in the greatest race of mankind. We call it the "Even More Amazing Race". It will come down to Marchioro & Haab vs the infamous S'toon Haabs. Will Kev&RJ overcome the blisteringly-long flight with the cushy seats or will pressure-sores overcome their ass-ets??? Will the Vancouver Marchioro&Haab duo live to tell the tale of their bravery as they conquer the Mount-de-Coquihalla??? Tune in next week to find out who will win "One million......Christmas presents!!!!"

Just Johanna

2005-12-15T01:38:00.000+01:00

Hey all, its Johanna here! One more final to go! Then....freedom.... *sigh. It shall be be nice. My job has been going really well. I work with the sweetest little Asian girls ever! I can now make just about everything on the coffee menu now and I really am liking it. We went to Every Nation's annual Christmas banquet....which was AMAZING...to put it lightly. It was a the Four Season's hotel downtown which is pretty fancy-schmancy and we had a yummy catered meal of "potato and leek soup, young chicken, horseradish whipped potatoes, and the best part: White chocolate caramel cheesecake! Then there was a program by the church choir, and a full-fledged DANCE! It was awesome. This church is seriously so incredible. I love the people. I am attaching a picture of one of my new friends, Kristina (she is such a sweetie)....there will be more pics to follow when we develope our film.
We are heading up to the cold north (FSJ) on the 20th with Corrie and Dave and then going to Frontier on the 26th .Then its off to New Years in Calgary. So I am not sure how much you will be hearing from us in the next bit as we'll be hanging out with the fam, traaaaavelllling, CURLING, and hopefully skidooing! I am hoping to see some of you over the holiday too! Talk to ya soon, Johanna

2005-12-06T08:56:00.000+01:00

The much awaited Halloween Pictures. Ben is Afro-man and Johanna is Jelly-Belly girl.

Coffee....coffeeeeeee. COFFEEEEEEE

2005-12-06T08:36:00.000+01:00

" I have a job, I have a job, I have a job, I have a joooooobbbbbb!!!" This is Johanna's new song since Friday. And yes, she does in fact have a job! And she isn't shy to remind Ben that she is the official Bread-Winner of the family. But, one day the tables will turn...in a drastic way. For one, we all (including our future children) hope Ben will make more than $8/hour minimum wage and won't have to work at a busy coffee shop. But for now...this is perfect for Johanna. And the extra cash will be nice. And next semester is going to be NUTS....as if it wasn't busy already. UBC and Coffee making skills....should lead to a promising career someday. Ben will be MIA at VFS with DP4 106 learning what the 2nd AC does and how it affects the DOP's decision with the Key SD ....as usual...of course. Der. Life just seems to be getting simpler doesn't it??? At least we can enjoy each others company......when we pass each other by on the side walk on the way to/from school/work. Yes, if you haven't figured it out by now......this whole entry is about getting her first real job (well....one where she doesn't work for family anyways) at Big News Coffee bar at the intersection of Granville and Broadway. Yay... the end.

Vancouver Blizzard 2005

2005-12-05T08:09:00.000+01:00

Chilled Vancouver commuters faced their second day of winter hell today, as an additional ¼ centimeter of the peculiar white stuff fell, bringing the lower mainland to its knees and causing millions of dollars worth ofdamage to the marijuana crops. Scientists suspect that the substance issome form of frozen water particles and experts from Saskatchewan arebeing flown in. With temperatures dipping to the almost but not quitenear zero mark, Vancouverites were warned to double insulate their lattesbefore venturing out.Vancouver police recommended that people stay inside except foremergencies, such as running out of espresso or biscotti to see them through Vancouver's most terrible storm to date. The local Canadian Tirereported that they had completely sold out of fur-lined sandals.Drivers were cautioned to put their convertible tops up, and several have been shocked to learn that their SUV's actually have four wheel drive, although most have no idea how to use it. Weary commuters faced soggy sushi, and the threat of frozen breastimplants. Although Dr. John Blatherwick, of the Coastal Health Authority reassured everyone that most breast implants were perfectly safe to 25 below, down-filled bras are flying off the shelves at Mountain Equipment Co-op."The government has to do something," snarled an angry Trevor Warburton. "Ididn't pay $540,000 for my one bedroom condo so I could sit around and betreated like someone from Toronto."

Mid-night Wendy's

2005-11-24T22:28:00.000+01:00

The clock struck 12:00am, with a mighty thunderous 'tick'. Johanna's tummy let a soft whimper out only to let her know it wanted to be filled. I on the other hand am always filling my stomach only to have it unstoppable a few hours later. So naturally I was in the hankering for some substance as well. Half past twelve rolled around and the bead of sweat slipped off my brow. Only to be insulted as a mark on my shirt. The controller shakes in my weak malnourished hand, as Johanna swipes it to change channels. A sweet tantalizing commercial graces our living room as the smell of Jr. Bacon Cheese burgers waft in from the vents. "sizzle" 'What's that!' I cry, toying with the thought of Wendy's just out our 1/4 pounder door. The images take over my mind as the painting on the walls turn to inviting gold plates with hot grilled patties on the oh-so-fun sesame seed bun. I look at me wife and she is no longer looking at the TV. Instead she gazes at me... With her big juicy tomato eyes, and her lush lettuce string hair. She puckers up flaunting the crisp bacon lips, dangling them to be snagged up and devoured. I catch myself from eating the invited bacon, I even leave the juicy tomatoes. Playing with the temptation Johanna mentions that she could 'go for a burger right now but it's much to late they wouldn't be open right now would they?' Knowing full well there's a 24/7 Wendy's not 2 1/2 blocks away. With out knowing who or what was happening my legs pulled me from the chair and dragged my torso to grab my coat. Dragging me out the door before I can say good bye my legs flail with excitement as my upper half is just along for moral, financial and motor skill support. Knowing in my mind already what Johanna would like, my leg travel even faster. My body reaches terminal velocity as I careen through the front doors. Being out of breath my words are too broken to make out. Springing into action my leg taps out the order in morse code to the gentlemen at the till. Much to our surprise he was in Vietnam and understood everything including extra pickles. The clock struck 1:30am with a HUGEMONGSTORMUS 'tick'. Our bellies were full and the craving was lost for another day...

Oh for the Love of Broomball

2005-11-19T23:12:00.000+01:00

Well last night was Broomball night with Every Nation's group. It was AWESOME! Picture this: 4 teams, 25 people/team, 3 minute periods, on an ice rink while wearing running shoes, and chasing down a hard plastic ball with plastic broom-sticks. We have been anticipating this night for weeks, so we had lots of time to prepare......wink-wink. Being of a competitive nature, we wanted to be able to have the upper hand. So, we got out out running shoes, our trusty stapler and hockey jerseys. We began adding strategically placed (our version of )metal cleats to the bottom of our shoes with the stapler. Much to our delight it did give us a bit of an advantage over the other players....except when we slid our shoes sideways...it was much more like a pair of skates....not so good. Injuries (of fellow players) included two sprained ankles, a bashed knee, broken glasses, and multiple sticks to the face. Fortunately no one died. Ben scored a goal with cousin Dave's assistance and Johanna flailed around, luckily taking out players of the opposite team in the process and stopping a few offensive moves. It was fun to have the chance to get to know many more people in the process....hopefully our first impressions aren't linked to painful memories.
The rest of our weekend consists of homework, homework...and......just a little more homework...BLAH. Maybe we can squeeze in a hike in Stanley Park. And we are now signing off as the 2nd-place champs of the second annual Broomball Championships of the World. Adios friends...... Ben and Johanna

Chronical Sleep Deprivation/Insanity/Must have sleep/"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...."

2005-11-09T09:15:00.000+01:00

So here we are still up at 12:16am. This is not an uncommon occurrence at our place. In fact...the last three nights we haven't fallen asleep until past 3:00AM!!!!! it sucks....and then we have to get up at 8:00....and that sucking continues. Why are we in this rut, you might ask? It all started with an evening of Texas Hold 'Em....Ben meanders in at one AM and then begins the curse of addicting computer games (as Johanna mentioned in a previous post). It a new version of Blasterball 2 involving chickens with huge feather-free butts. Its called Chicken Attack...and you've gotta try it....aren't you hooked by the name itself!?!?! We were. And it plagued us for days to come. Or at least until our time trial expired. Gaining a second wind a sparing match broke out and Johanna inadvertently burnt Bens arm with a curling iron. (don't Ask.) Then we curled up on our bed and fell asleep...UNTIL 1:30!!! (it was a Saturday)....now since then our internal clocks have been set to Tokyo. So we are now forcing our eyes to shut and let Mr. Sandman do his work. Unfortunately, according to Johanna, singing Christmas caroles seems to work better. Ben finds giving charlie-horses works even better(to shut Johanna up, that is). So there is a story from the insane insomniacs.....have a good night...until next time....

Cats VS Dogs

2005-11-05T03:57:00.000+01:00

The infamous question that has plagued pet-lovers alike....which are better: cats or dogs? Evidently, it also plagued this young couple as well. Ever since being married we've thought about expanding our family...that's right a baby......A baby cat or a baby dog. We plan to hold off on the human kind for awhile! While dogs have more personality and are more interactive with their owners, cats are cuddly, soft and smaller than most dogs. But then again, Johanna wants a Chihuahua ( which, sadly does (somehow) fall under the dog cat-egory and no dogs are allowed in the apartment) And much to Bens delight, cats are allowed. Cats are this guy's favorite. Like seriously....he LOVES cats...if he sees a stray one...he'll run over to it with open arms and dodging traffic just to pet it. Its digusting. Now Johanna, is convinced that a Chihuahua is not really a dog and more like a cute gopher/babyseal/baby fawn......now who wouldn't want to pet one of those!?!?!?? When Johanna told Ben this, Ben wanted to take up seal hunting as a new hobby. Johanna is more than willing the shell out the $400 to buy a chihuahua.....but the price is rising as stupid Paris Hilton has one and made them a fashion statement. Poor dog. Unfortunately (but fortunately ;-) The finances would not support this new member of the family...even if it was a cat....You have to buy them here! At home you can just have one of your neighbors kittens! And lets look at the Con's of having a pet cat or dog: they shed, they poop in a litter.....or on the floor, they occaisionally pukeup grass and other foreign objects, they can be noisy, they are hard on the wallet...and the drapes, they (essentially) smell bad, have to be exercised, and the list could go on. Our conclusion: it would be a huge mistake to invest in a cat or a dog (or a baby-the previous list of disadvantages applies) at this point in time. We are always busy and never home so they would be sad and lonely and take their frustration out on our leather. Growing up with many pets around, we know just how big a responsibility having a pet truly is. Its amazing what people do to get a little love from a furry four-legged animal.

Pry me from Blasterball 2

2005-11-02T05:11:00.000+01:00

So this is Johanna here. By writing on our blog at the moment, I know I am just procrastinating from reading my psych. text and Friedrich Nietzche classic: The Birth of Tragedy.....did I ever mention I despise philosphy????? Well I DESPISE PHILOSPOHY. I played about 4 rounds of Blasterball 2 (a highly addictive computer game) where you bounce a ball from a moveable platform to burst bricks...my favorite is when I get 3X the points or the lazer shooter. One day I WILL beat Ben's score.....sigh...This is one of the downfalls of marrying a computer nerd: they introduce you to a whole new world of useless time-wasters...otherwise known as computer games. And this results in Johanna not finishing her homework when she should. So here I am, just finished my Blasterball 2....venting to the (maybe) five of you that will read this......and in all honesty, just trying to procrastinate for another five minutes. Well, I better start reading my Neitzche before Ben gets home and inadvertently...another distraction....Adios friends.....Peace

Halloween Par-tay

2005-10-31T07:44:00.000+01:00

Oh the awkwardness.....knowing only two people in a house party of 60 people......50% are chinese (or something like that) and you can't understand them. Well, we can say we've made about 30 new friends...all of whom we won't be able to recognize b/c of their costumes....Johanna's 'bag of jelly belly's' were a hit and every one was curious to know who the mystery man was under the giant afro, fake chest hair and treasure trail. We had a great time! The night consisted of pumpkin carving (which we won), pumkin-gutting (which Johanna won), and apple bobbing(which nobody really won because these girly girls refused to mess up their precious makeup!), Dancing, and costume contest (which was rigged, 'cause we should've won....they were probably just mad we won everything else(justkidding) and decided to give prize to the Count Chocula Box and the One-eyed, One-horned, flyting purple people eater: who hilariously had a Barbi leg hanging out of her mouth) Ben was a hit and won the limbo competition (with a giant 'fro on his head) and even did "The Worm" in front of the judges. Ohhhhh the fun which can be had. Getting to the party was another story.........Suddenly the table has been turned and we were 'The Weirdo's' on the bus. After many sly comments and walk-by pokings of Johanna's costume, we eventually made it to 49th St and walked the ramaining 20 blocks to the party..... it was mind-numbing -5 and wind chill of -6.....ya....horrible. At least that what Ben thought in his skin-tight see-thru, polyester retro shirt, barely held on by a few popping buttons. On the other hand, Johanna was in her blimp-like costume was creating a humid eco-culture with so much condensation her butt was soaked by the time we got to the party. Ben had to walk quickly enough to stay warm, but slowly enouh to keep from popping out of his shirt...! And amidst his complaining Johanna was happy in her little rainforest.
So...maybe our blog isn't as insightful and thought provoking as Kjersti and Amy's and not near as well writted as Jen Gilbertson's..... but this us....we're weird and we like it..... So if this is lame and useless and boring thats ok...if you dont like it create your own and join the dorky world of blogging.... wooohoo.

our first blog..ever!

2005-10-29T20:47:00.000+01:00

Fun stuff! So...we decided to join the blogging network....we seem to never have the time to keep in contact with our friends and family. Vancouver life has been good to us....besides the homeless people pushing their noisy shopping carts in our back alley at night. They push these carts.....some are bigger than small cars! They are plum full with old shirts, cans, bottles, broken TV's and other random knick-nacks they find in dumpsters. They tie plastic bags all around the out side of the carts, we often wonder how they can see where they're walking....sometimes so do they! We are now accumstomed to city transit and all the weirdos that accompany it....the guy who stands behind Johanna smelling her hair, or the random people who yell to themselves, people barfing on the bus, or 'halloween costume-wearers' who actually do wear the same costume every day of the year. We have found a couple good churches here and we end up going to two different services on Sunday. One is Christ Lutheran with a whole bunch of sweet old people and the nicest Pastor and family you'd ever meet, Pastor Peter is one of the best speakers we've ever heard. There are some other young people there who we've really connect with. The other is All Nations's Church....which pretty awesome...it has a huge college/careers group and a lot of outreach opportunities. Corrie(used to be osterwalder) and Dave Marchioro introduced us to it (its their church) and it is really fun. Awesome worship, and powerful sermons and TONS of cool people to get to know. Tonight we are going to their Halloween masquerade...Ben is going as the infamous Afro-Man and hes upgraded to a gold chain and chest hair.....so hilarious!!! Johanna is going as a bag of jelly beans!!! lol......we'll have to send out some pics. Ben's film School is going incredibly well....it didn't take him long to make friends, he has group of pretty hilarious (and talented) guys to hang out with. He is getting good grades and enjoying the gruelling hours. Johanna's school at UBC (her last year for CLBI degree) is going good too. Besides the one prof she wants to throttle every time she see's him...everything's great! The university is huge 55, 000 students....so it can be a bit impersonal. But Yay for life!!! We are loving it here and if any of you ever want to visit the stupendous world of vancouver, our door is always locked........ just kidding.....you know you're more than welcome. Ben & Johanna