Bemused

...that would be I.

But I suppose the better question would be: Who am I?

I am an only child of European-born parents. My mother is from beautiful Scotland, land of bagpipes, kilts, haggis and beer, and my father is from Germany, the land of brautwurst and sauerkraut. Both of whom came over to Canada on the boat; my father arrived in 1954 in his leiderhosen with his older brother and sister and his mother; my mother arrived in 1967 with her four siblings and parents. As a child I spent a lot of time around my grandparents and my cousins, the result being my Nana and Papa (my mother's parents) are huge parts of who I am and strained relationships with cousins (fall out from family politic nonsense, which is present in all families).

For my benefit my mother enrolled me in the French immersion program in school, which I continued in straight through high school and subsequently moved to the nation's capital where Québec is only a stoplights away.

The move to Ottawa was due to my acceptance to Carleton University where I studied Sociology/Anthropology, linguistics and law - obtaining a degree in Sociology/Anthropology. Once here I fell in love with the city - though not huge there is lots to do - and to my mother's dismay after almost 9 years I have not yet moved back home. Quite the opposite in fact, I bought my first house in Ottawa and even adopted a little dog, Tucker.

I've been lucky to meet a lot of really great people in school, at work and around the neighborhood but recently the desire to be closer to home and family is stronger than ever.

- In November 2009, my great aunt died and at the funeral I met a whole new slew of cousins.
- In December 2009, my Tante Hannie (great aunt Johanna) who's going to be 94 in July 2010 slipped and broke her ankle, requiring surgery and physical therapy.
- My best friend, whom I've known since we were in kindergarten, has had two little boys and I'm miss so much of their lives being so far away.

These things together with others have stirred in me the urge to be closer to my family and even begin my own. Before starting my own family I would of course have to meet the right guy, which if I could custom order I've got an idea or two about what would be ideal (custom ordered guy) as I'm sure all women do lol.

But while I wait to come across that person I'll keep living life, having fun and blogging about the randomness of life and all the things in it. In 2005, I began blogging as a skeptic to the whole concept and while my posts have been sporadic at best over the years I've continued and learned more about me in the process.

So there you have it. I am bemused... with life and all its goings on.