Ramble of the Day

Bring on the Weekend!

2011-09-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

We use the term "weekend" sparingly in our house. We don't have a typical weekend, so the term just doesn't seem to fit most of the time. Hubby works Tuesday through Saturday, so his weekend doesn't really start until Saturday at 6pm. Now that I'm back at school 'full time', and working two days a week I'm not sure I'm actually going to be getting a weekend at all. I've decided that this week, I'm taking a weekend whether I can or not.

It's been a long week, for no particular reason. I started school on Wednesday, and love it already! My college roommate used to tease me that I would be a student forever because I kept adding to my major... I'm starting to think she was right. Wednesday morning was painful though, my brain did not want to shift into school mode. It was lobbying for the season premier of Hawaii 5-0 that was sitting on the DVR. We won't discuss the outcome of that one...

The Munchkin is amazing and a pain in the butt all at the same time. He's learning like you wouldn't believe. His vocabulary astounds me, who knew he'd be a chatter-box? * Yeah, yeah, takes after his mother, I hear all of you laughing at that one.* He decides to tell you something, and repeats that one word over and over and oooover until he has heard the response he was looking for. He will say hi, hi, hi, hi, hi....until you say hi back, unless of course this particular time he was hoping for a 'hello'. Oh my sanity.

As of yesterday he can stand up without using the furniture. He's been a full time walker for a while now, but couldn't figure out how to just stand up without pulling up on something. Looks like I'm going to have to get back in shape, I have a feeling I'm going to be chasing him around quite a bit. Speaking of getting in shape, I have a lot of work to do. Our amazing gym has been neglected....my hips are protesting again.

Maybe next post we'll make a plan. Any ideas for a gym plan for me? Something that won't kill my weak joints?

So Much Has Happened.

2011-09-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't forgotten about the two or three of you that read what I write. It's just that life got busy, and hard. So many great thing have happened, so I'm going to focus on that.

My father in law had a 10 pound, size-of-a-basketball (!) tumor removed from his abdomen. It used to be a kidney, but no longer functioned as one. He had all sorts of radiation on his brain and other various parts of his body as tumors sprouted. He started Chemo, and has gone through two rounds. He's still here. Chemo was a bust, so now he's moving onto more 'natural' therapies. While I am a believer in all things medicine, I am going to choose to believe in this too. If it helps, even just a little, then I am on board.

The Munchkin is great.He's 14 months old! He walks, he talks, he keeps me on my toes. He started talking at about 10 months. His first word? Pretty. We call the dog "Pretty Girl" when she's good, and he picked up on it. Since then he's been adding to his vocabulary daily. He says peese (please) and tant you (thank you), impressing everyone with how polite he is. He's sleeping like a champ and eats like a monster.

I'm good too. I've been back to work since May, and am so glad to have adults to talk to. I'm going back to school starting on Monday. That's a little scary. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Counseling, which amounts to a pile of peanuts. I'm taking a year out to get my license so I can practice while The Munchkin and his future (NOT PREGNANT) brother or sister are little. When they are in school I will eventually go back and get my Master's Degree. For now a little practice of my own will be just perfect.

Hubby is doing great too. Working his butt of the keep our cupboards full of chips and chocolate.

So I guess starting on Monday I will have a normal schedule again for the first time since... 2009? The Munchkin will be in daycare 4 days a week, so I'll try to post at least once a week...no promises though :P

What now?

2011-05-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

I got a call that he was ready to come home! My mother in law and I headed to the hospital to get him all packed up. The Dr. was coming by at some point to discuss the results with us, so we sat around for what seemed like hours with packed bags in our laps.

When he finally arrived he was surprised to learn that my father in law knew nothing about the surgery. He told him what the rest of us had known for a week, and then proceeded to share the rest of the results.

There was a 'sizable' tumor on his kidney that they believe is the source of the cancer. There are also a number of other smaller tumors spread throughout his body. The have contacted the Canadian Cancer Society, who will in turn contact him within the month to make an appointment with an oncologist. More waiting.

It was nice to finally go home. I dropped them off and took the Munchkin home for the first time in weeks. Hubby came home from work, we had dinner as a family, and for an evening everything felt normal.

The next day, in the early hours of the morning my cell phone rang and woke us all up. It was my mother in law. He had another seizure, this one lasting a very long time. The ambulance was on it's way, she needed someone to meet her at the hospital.

The Results

2011-05-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

The surgery wasn't long, so we didn't have too long to wait for the results. The Munchkin was at my parents house with Grandma so he didn't have to spend another day in the hospital. I left every few hours to feed him and give him a little snuggle. As soon as I left the hospital the surgeon came out with the results.

It is a tumor.

It is cancer.

And we thought that was the bad news.

The surgery was a success! The entire tumor was removed, and there were no complications. That was the only good news. The surgeon explained that the tumor didn't originate in the brain. It had developed in some other part of the body and traveled to the brain. There is a good possibility that there are other tumors throughout the body and brain. Before heading back into the OR he promised that we'd be able to see him in about 20 minutes or so.

By the time I got back 20 minutes had passed and everyone was anxious to see him. We waited for an hour, and then another, and another. Finally my Mother in Law was losing her mind and charged up to his room to demand answers from the nursing staff. I followed her up there and tried to keep things from escalating. The nurses knew nothing, as he wasn't in their care at the moment. One nurse saw the anxiety pouring from my MIL and decided to call down to recovery to see what was happening. Another patient was having complications so no one was being allowed in or out at the moment. That was a relief. We were told that someone would be out to get us as soon as he was allowed to have visitors.

A couple more hours pass, and it's time for me to go home to put the Munchkin to bed. I ask Hubby to pass on my love, and give me a call when it's time to pick them up. Moments after I arrive at my parents house I get a text from Hubby, they are getting in to see him now. The nurse came out to find them and wonders why they hadn't come in yet. "You could have seen him a looong time ago!" she says. I'm pretty sure someone had to restrain my MIL at that point. We joked a few days later that I should have just kept leaving, things would have happened sooner.

He was doing really well by the time everyone got to see him. Alert, joking around, and happy to see everyone. The Dr. had told him the results of the surgery, but he didn't even remember the conversation. MIL decided that no one was allowed to tell him, she wanted him to hear it from the Dr. That would have been great had the Dr. not gone home for the night. His next day in the hospital wasn't until later that week. Instead we spent the rest of the week pretending not to know anything either.

The rest of the week was filled with various scans and tests to search for the origin of the cancer. He assumed the tests were routine and didn't question their purpose. Everyone but my mother in law and I had to go back home to work, so the Munchkin and I stayed with her. There was nothing to do but wait again, so we waited and visited until the surgeon returned at the end of the week with the results from the barrage of tests.

The Event Continued

2011-04-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

The next day we waited around the hospital more or less all day waiting for the transfer to happen. We were told it would be happening within the hour, so we all piled into the room next to my father in law's bed to wait with him. 5 hours, a closed highway and a flat tire later the transfer ambulance arrived to take him away.

My family lives about 45 away from us, which happened to be 2 minutes away from the hospital the surgery was being performed at. My parents are amazing and let 5 of us (plus the Munchkin) stay there while Grandad was in the hospital. We had no idea how long we were going to have to stay, as there was still no surgery date. In the mean time he was stuck in another over-crowded emergency room until a bed opened up somewhere else in the hospital. The surgeon came and met with the group of us and explained the surgery and all possible outcomes. He was hoping to fit him in one evening over the weekend, but it was likely he wouldn't get in until mid-week. At this point we still had no idea what was actually in his brain causing the seizures. The surgeon suggested an abscess, a cyst, or a tumor either benine or malignant. He wouldn't know anything until they we in the OR. We spent the weekend focusing on the best possible outcome, cancer was not an option.

Finally on Monday the surgery was scheduled. When we got to the hospital that morning there was a little X drawn just above his temple where the surgeon planned to start.

Now, I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but our family is a little bit nutty most of the time, and these series of events proved to be no exception. When it was time for him to go into surgery we were all over the hospital. My mother in law had gone down to his old room to get something or ask one of the many questions she would ask that day. The rest of us were waiting outside of the room where he was being prepped, waiting for her and for him to be wheeled past so we could give him a little love before the surgery. It was time for him to go in, and she still wasn't back yet. This is where we get our crazy on. He had to be taken to the OR, and there was another waiting area we were supposed to be in, but MIL would have no idea where to go, and tends to panic easily. As he was wheeled through different doorways and turned down various hallways one of us would break off from the group to act as a marker for MIL. By the time we got to the waiting area there were just two of us left. The remainder of our little entourage was spread throughout one entire wing of the hospital. The three of us left gave him hugs and waved as he was taken into surgery.

Shortly after the rest of the family caught up and we sat to wait. Thus began the great iPhone Scrabble marathon of 2001.

The Event

2011-04-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

It's hard to write about something that is so personal, yet not fully your story to tell.

It's been more than three months since it all began. On the evening of January 11th, 2011 my Father in Law drove home from work feeling tired and more drained that usual. He arrived at home, stepped out of the car closing the door behind him, and had a seizure. He remained standing throughout the seizure, which I can only imagine felt like forever. The ambulance was called and he was rushed to the hospital. Hubby and I were called and made our way to the hospital as soon as we could. He was taken for an MRI to look at his brain where he had the second seizure. They weren't able to get a very good look, but we were told that there was
'something' there. The Munchkin and I headed home so he could go to bed, while Hubby stayed with his mother and Sister. The third seizure happened in the early hours of the morning before they were finally able to get them under control with medication.

It took another MRI and a number of doctors before they were able to come to the conclusion that there was definitely 'something' there, but that they wouldn't know what it was until he could get into surgery. He was placed on a list to be transferred to another hospital more equipped to deal with brain surgery, and we waited.

So much has happened...

2011-04-26T16:09:00.000-07:00

I don't even know where to begin.

Things are going great in our house. I'm headed back to work next month for 2 days a week. The Munchkin will be in daycare, but I'm not anxious about it at all. Hubby's aunt has a daycare in her house and will be taking extra special care of my little monster.

He's nine months old now, almost nine and a half! I don't even know where all that time went. As a mom you hear those comments from other moms all the time and think, "Ha! some days feel like an eternity, there's no way time is going to fly by", but it does.

I have so many stories to tell! A dozen or so posts that I've been writing in my head for the past couple of months. The most important one being the hardest of course. It's a long story, so I'll try to get it up in a few shorter posts over the next few days. Then hopefully we can all get back to our normal ranting and boasting about our lives :P

It's hard to believe

2011-02-11T17:57:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe it's been a month since my last post.

In the evening after I wrote last our family was shaken with a health scare. I'll get back into the swing of things soon, and let you all know what has happened. In the mean time I wanted to let anyone who has been reading know that I am still around, and will be back soon.

Thanks!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-11T14:06:00.002-08:00

I've enjoyed my little break from blogging, BUT it's the new year and time to get back into the swing of things. We had a great holiday, and Hubby had a little time in between Christmas and New Years, so we were able to relax just a little. The Munchkin was spoiled rotten, as were the rest of us, but more on that later.

We weren't sure what to do this year for New Years Eve with the Munchkin being a little too young to leave with a babysitter for that long. We decided to have some people over to our house, and it turned out really well. We sat around and gorged ourselves on appetizers for the first little while, and those not pregnant or nursing started in on the wine. We broke out the Trivial Pursuit, how lame are we, and ended up having a really good time. I didn't win.... no surprise there. Then the boys headed down stairs to play video games and us girls hung out for a while until we broke down and indulged in Scene It. I kicked butt, obviously. We paused the fun for the midnight kiss and drank our bubbly (non-alcoholic for me!)

We had such a good time, and it was a good group of people, that we would actually consider doing it again. That's saying a lot, since Hubby isn't a huge fan of entertaining.

Christmas Tree Lighting

2010-12-23T15:56:00.000-08:00

I love everything to do with Christmas, but Hubby isn't as much of a keener. Don't get me wrong, he's a big fan of Christmas, *especially* the warm indoor activities. That is why I was blown away when he suggested taking the Munchkin to the Christmas Tree lighting down town. I've lived in this town for 9 years now, and have never been. Hubby has lived here his entire life, and thinks he may have been once or twice. We figured it might be something we could do with the Munchkin every year it's fun.

As you can see from the picture... it was cooold. Fun, sure, but mostly cold. A bunch of the downtown businesses had free hot chocolate and coffee, but the lineups were ridiculous. There were things going on all afternoon, but we just showed up with enough time to meet some friends and watch the switch flip. It was a little crazy weaving through the crowds with a stroller, but it was manageable. We will likely try again next year when he's old enough to understand what's going on a little me, then decide if it's a tradition in the making.

Two more sleeps until Christmas!!

Swimming Lessons

2010-12-17T11:53:00.000-08:00

As a kid, I was a water rat. I looooved swimming, in the pool, in the lake, even in the ocean. We used to go camping for 2 weeks every summer, and I spent the entire 2 weeks in the water. Hubby hates the water now, but as a teen he was the star of the swim team. The love of water must be in the Munchkin's blood. He enjoyed bath time from day one, and splashes like a champ. Our local rec center has swimming lessons for babies starting at 4 months old, so he was registered for the first set of lessons that started after he was 4 months. I was a little anxious on his behalf. Pools are super bright and loud, so you never know how he will react.

He loved it! The Munchkin was a little tentative at the beginning, but was calm the whole time. The lessons are great too. A lot of it is teaching the parents what to do, how to hold them, how to get in and out of the pool with a baby, baby CPR, lots of good stuff. They also had 'games' to help with their motor skills and build their comfort level in the water. Yesterday was our last lesson :( He has to be 18 months to move up to the next level, but we'll do this level again in the spring. I really want to keep him in the water as much as possible. Both Hubby and I want to make sure he is comfortable in the water and learns to swim ASAP. My parents have a summer place on the lake, and we stay there for a few weeks every year so it's important that he learn to swim.

I didn't get any pictures at the pool, maybe I'll remember when we go to the pool to 'practice' our swimming after Christmas.

Christmas Cookie Exchange

2010-12-16T16:19:00.000-08:00

I love to bake, I'm sure I've told you that before. I've always wanted to do a Christmas Cookie exchange but have never had enough time. It's a lot of work making 6+ dozen cookies. This year, being on maternity leave, I knew I'd be able to get some baking done, so I put the offer out there and had 8 people interested! A few people had to back out due to some reason or other, but in the end there was 6 of us in the exchange. We all did our baking and then met at my house Sunday afternoon to hang out and munch on some cheese dip (unbelievable dip mmMmm).
At the end of the day we each took home 6 dozen amazing cookies! No bake chocolate peanut butter oatmeal, chocolate peppermint sandwiches, sugar cookies (those were mine!), lemon wreaths, carrot apple shortbread and black forest cookies. Sooooo good!

5 Months!

2010-12-14T12:48:00.000-08:00

5 Months old! How did that happen? It feels like just last week I was getting up every 2 hours to feed him...oh wait.. that was last week. This has been an interesting month. It started with a Doctors appointment for the nasty eczema on his cheeks. He got a prescription for hydro cortisone cream that helped for a few days, and then seemed to do nothing. At about the same time he stopped sleeping through the night. (*sob*) He had been doing so well, it was a bit of a shock to my system to be getting up every few hours again.

On the plus side, he's sitting up for longer periods of time, but not long enough that we'd leave him without his backup pillow. He's still teething with nothing to show for it, but can put the teething ring in his own mouth now. He's still a happy little guy, even though he's only pooping every couple of weeks. Just a week or so ago we had to move him up a size in clothes. He is growing out of everything fast and furious!

17 Pounds 26.5 Inches.

Oh Christmas Tree.

2010-12-13T11:19:00.000-08:00

I love decorating for Christmas. Unfortunately my budget has never really had room for any quality decorations. Our tree, for example, is a hand-me-down. My first year on my own, my manager had brought her old tree to work with her to throw in the dumpster. Her family had just bought a great big new one that came with the lights already in it. When she found out that I wouldn't be getting a tree that year, she gave me the dumpster bound tree.

Growing up, we had a real tree every year. I was so disappointed that I wouldn't be able to have my own real tree, but at least I had a tree! In the years since I acquired the dumpster tree it had managed to stick around. I just haven't been able to justify buying a new fake tree when I had one that did the trick. This year may just be the last year though. It's looking pretty sad.

It curves to the right, and has some pretty substantial bare spots. Plus, in only holds about a quarter of the decorations I have for it :P Maybe next year when the Munchkin is old enough to appreciate it, we'll get a nice big one. With the light already on it.

Bath and Body Works

2010-12-10T10:03:00.000-08:00

I have an affinity for soaps and lotions and all things that smell pretty. We have 3 bathrooms in our house, and every one of them has a pretty smelling hand soap. I have a couple of different ones in the bath for bubble baths and showering. I have a bottle of lotion next to my bed, my computer, and on the coffee table. I have 3 different perfumes in my medicine cabinet, and a dozen more in the linen closet. Each one of these is a different scent.

One of the stores that always makes me spend the most money is Bath and Body Works. They have everything all in one place! Lotion, bubble bath, soaps, hand sanitizer that actually smells good, perfumes, and sooo much more! The closest one to me used to me across the border, so I could only get there every once in a while. I'd stock up pretty well of course, but when I ran out sometimes it was like going through withdrawal until I could get across the line. Recently the built one about an hour away! But even better......it's in the same building as my mom's office! Now I just have to go online, make a little list of what I would like, e-mail it to my mother, and it's at my house by the next weekend! Sure she's here to see the Munchkin and not deliver my crack ( ahem ) I mean goodies, but it sure feels like my birthday every time.

I was running low on hand soaps so last week I 'put in my order' with my mom. My all time favorite scent from Bath and Body is Country Apple. The name has changed over the years, but the luscious scent has stayed the same. I still have at least one of those in reserve, so I thought I'd live dangerously and skip it this order. Instead I got the seasonal apple scents :P
And then a wonderful citrus scent.
Another Christmas one.

And the last one is a total random one for me. I usually can't stand floral scents. I find them way too overpowering, and not at all fresh. However, my mom has this one in her bathroom at home, and I love it!

MMmmmm. I want to go wash my hands now.

Kids Parties

2010-12-09T10:53:00.000-08:00

Now that we have a kid apparently we qualify for kiddie parties. When we were DINKs (Double Income No Kids), we were never invited to kids parties.

Having a baby is like involuntarily becoming part of a not-so-secret society. Suddenly it's acceptable to make plans in the middle of the day, as long as there are tiny humans present. The friends with kids that always said they wanted to make plans but didn't really mean it, actually mean it now. You know, because you have kids too. Every old person on the face of the planet feels entitled to touch your baby, and occasionally you too. People everywhere talk to you, and share way too much information on the texture and consistency of their child's bowel movements.

It's kind of great.

Last Sunday we were invited to our first ever kids party. One of Hubby's co-workers invited us to his son's birthday party. I go to a play group with his wife, so I know his kids pretty well. Having a baby opens you up to a whole new group of friends. Bring on the parties!

Picture with Santa!

2010-12-08T23:53:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday last week we decided to head to the mall for The Munchkin's first picture with Santa. My parents took Roller Auntie and I to see Santa every year since I was born. My mother has kept all the pictures and has made them a part of her decorations. This is a tradition that I am more than happy to carry on.

The Munchkin and I go to a play group on Wednesday mornings. We left a little early so that he would still be in a good mood by the time we got to the mall. We would have gone fist thing in the morning when the Munchkin is usually adorable and chatty, but Santa sleeps in apparently. The Munchkin fell asleep in the car, so we wandered the mall until he woke up and had a snack. I was determined not to get a picture of him crying with Santa. There were only a few people ahead of us, so we didn't have to wait long. I was surprised it wasn't busier, but I guess December 1st isn't as significant as I thought it would be. I make it a rule to wait until December first before I do anything for Christmas.

He did great! The Santa looked a little sketchy, but the Munchkin had no problem hanging out with him. Mrs. Clause was really good at making him smile, so we got a great picture! I'm so proud of my little man :)

Imagine Kids Book

2010-12-07T23:54:00.000-08:00

For the year before The Munchkin was born I worked at a photography studio. They are unbelievable artists, and I love what they do. I was the admin assistant, although I should have been called the production assistant. I did all the printing, framing etc, with a little but of answering phone call and e-mails. Shortly after I started they came up with a fabulous project. They do amazing child photography, and decided to make a book dedicated to it. All the session fees were donated to Matthew's House . Each child had a page in the book, and were invited to the book release party as VIP's.

The book release party was this past weekend and the Munchkin and I were invited to go. There was a red carpet for all the VIP's, and each child had their picture taken with their page in the book. It was so much fun to meet all the kids who's pictures I had worked with all year.

The Munchkin was pretty cute too.

The Nutcracker

2010-12-06T23:54:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough last week to have a night off of mommy duty to go see one of my favorite girls in The Nutcracker. She is a beautiful ballerina! Her dance company performs The Nutcracker every Christmas season, hiring a pair of professional dancers to play the lead roles. I was able to see her perform two years ago, and it was my first time seeing the ballet. This year I was even more amazed. She has grown like crazy into an amazing dancer. With the amount of time she dedicates to it I shouldn't be surprised.

While I was relaxing and enjoying myself in the theater, The Munchkin was at home with Hubby. It was his first time putting the Munchkin to bed by himself.. and I was a little anxious for him. He wasn't worried at all, but it's a mommy's job to worry. He made me take a picture of everything he needed to do and then text it to him with instructions so that all he'd have to do is check his phone to make sure he was doing everything right. It worked out pretty well! I called during intermission, and everything had worked like a charm! The only thing that didn't go so well was the bottle. The Munchkin is a boob man and has never really taken a bottle before. We've tried, but he usually just chews on it. Apparently he ate a little, but then just wanted to sleep. At least I know I can take off again for an evening if I need a night off :)

American Thanksgiving

2010-12-03T23:53:00.000-08:00

Nana is American, so we get to celebrate both Canadian and American Thanksgivings! I'm not a huge fan of turkey, but a plate full of stuffing keeps me smiling. And Hubby loooves a big traditional dinner like that. I'm sure it will be even better when The Munchkin is older and has half a dozen cousins to play with.

Also a tradition with my Mother in Law was the last minute invite ;) Thursday came and went so we assumed she had decided against it this year. WRONG. Saturday evening I got a phone call inviting us to Thanksgiving dinner Sunday night. When I told her we thought she wasn't doing it this year, she couldn't figure out why. Even though Thanksgiving was on Thursday, and we hadn't heard from her all week, I should have known she would be doing it at some point that weekend. Funny enough we kind of did. We just figured she would call Thursday afternoon with the invite for that evening. We were off by a few days, and she by our standards was a day early!

My family is the complete opposite. We know at least a month in advance when we are doing our holiday dinners, who is hosting, what time we should be there, and who's turn it is to bring the desserts.

I think it's good for me that my in-laws are more spontaneous, it's a regular lesson in flexibility :)

Shopping with Grandma

2010-12-02T23:55:00.000-08:00

My mom loves to spoil her only grandchild...that's a lie, she loves to spoil all of us! She single-handedly furnished the Munchkin's bedroom, and did most of the painting.

This past weekend she was going to forgo spending Saturday with the Munchkin so that she could get some of her Christmas shopping done. She was getting pretty anxious about it because she hadn't bought anything yet, and Christmas is fast approaching. Little did she know, I have become Super Shopper Woman! I offered to meet her half way between our two cities at a fairly decent mall and help her find something. Instead she drove all the way out here, and then we drove back to the mall in the middle to do our shopping. She had some twisted logic for that, so I didn't argue.

We estimated that we would be gone for about 2 hours......almost 5 hours later she was in her car heading home. We started out at a strip mall a few blocks away from the 'big' mall planning to quickly check out the new Carters * Osh Kosh store. I'm pretty sure we spent almost an hour there! It wasn't even that big of a store! Grandma decided she wanted to buy the Munchkin a Christmas outfit. I thought is was a pretty good idea, and he could wear it in his pictures with Santa. Well, one outfit turned into a Christmas outfit, and a backup for Christmas dinner on Boxing Day with hubby's family. Then those 2 turned into 4 and a hoodie. Spoiled Rotten!

We spent another hour in the same strip mall at the Hallmark store and Home Outfitters, with a short trip through Old Navy. We were all starving by this point including the Munchkin, so we headed to the mall for lunch in the food court. Grandma had gotten a huge chunk of her shopping done (you're welcome) so she wasn't as panicked after lunch. I made the mistake of letter Grandma into Babies R Us. We walked out of there an hour later with a few new toys and a try for the Munchkin's Bumboo. I hadn't spent a cent yet, but then we passed by my weakness... The Children's Place. I managed to get in and out in 15 minuted with only 2 outfits, both of which were on sale. (I told you I'm the Super Shopper!) We finished our trip around the mall, picked up something to go along with Hubby's gift, and finally headed home. The Munchkin was more than overdue for a nap, but he was still in a pretty good mood.

We got home, put the Munchkin to bed, and sorted through all our goodies!

Library Time

2010-12-01T23:52:00.000-08:00

Our local library does something called 'Cuddle time for Babies', and The Munchkin and I went for our second series this month. Monday was the last one until January and I can't wait for it to start up again. The Munchkin absolutely loves listening to the librarian read the stories.

Usually we sit in a circle with all the other mommies and their babies and do a name song to learn who everyone is. Then the librarian teaches the mommies some fun songs and rhymes to do with our babies at home. Then we do some fun group songs and dance around the circle a little bit. Finally the librarian reads a short story before we sing the goodbye song.

We started the first series in October, and the Librarian was great! She was super engaging, and the Munchkin loved listening to her read, he was enthralled with the sound of her voice. All the rhymes turned into fun songs with her, and none of the babies cried or fussed at all! The November session had a new librarian leading the baby time, and she wasn't nearly as good. It was still lots of fun, and I had a great time getting to know some of the other mommies. This librarian didn't sing, she just said all the rhymes. When she did attempt to sing, the tune would change half way through! It was pretty comical.

I feel like we're going to go through withdrawal in December without our library time! But I guess December is a pretty busy month, so I'm sure we'll manage.

Bad Grandma

2010-11-30T11:15:00.000-08:00

I've always loved visiting my parents for the weekend. We have a pack n play for The Munchkin, and he has his own room at their house so we thought we'd try staying there for the weekend. Normally I think this would have worked. This weekend, however, Grandma was misbehaving.

The Munchkin followed his usual bedtime routine, bath and all. He was in bed by 9, and fell asleep right away. He usually sleeps until 5am or later, eats, and then goes back down for another few hours. He'll wake up throughout the night, but put himself right back to sleep. Grandma and Grandpa got home from an evening out just as I was heading to bed. Grandma followed me in when I went to check and make sure The Munchkin hadn't kicked his blankets off. He was awake but had his thumb in his mouth and was drifting off again. But Grandma took those open eyes as an opportunity to spend time with her grandson. She started talking to him in an animated voice until he opened his eyes to look at her. I kept shushing her and asked her to stop, so she did. At this point he was awake, but we hadn't passed the point of no return. I escorted Grandma out of the room so he could go back to sleep and I could get ready for bed. She was worried about him not going back to sleep (suure, now she worries) and I told her that he would be fine, and if he wasn't I would feed him and put him back to bed. I went into the bathroom to get ready, and she turned the hall light on so she could peek in and see if he was falling back asleep. Seriously?! Of course he was going to be awake now! All the lights on, and Grandma standing in the doorways smiling and talking to him. At some point in the 5 minutes I was in the bathroom she decided that he was awake, so she might as well pick him up while he waited for me to come and feed him. So now not only is he awake, but he's hanging out in the hallway with all the lights on bouncing around with Grandma.

I was hooped. I managed to wrangle him away from Grandma, send her to bed, and get him to settle down enough to eat. He was wired. He ate and the continued to tell me stories from his play pen. For TWO HOURS! He was wide awake and happy screaming from his room, so loud I was sure the neighbors could hear him. It was after 3am when he finally got cranky and hungry again. He ate again and then went to sleep until 8am.

After all that....Grandma slept through the whole thing!

I had to go to a crazy busy baby shower with half a dozen kids on less than 5 hours of sleep. As punishment Grandma was in charge of the cranky baby that didn't get enough sleep the night before during the baby shower.

Weekend Adventure.

2010-11-29T10:28:00.000-08:00

Apparently I forgot to blog about our adventure to Grandma and Grandpa's house last weekend. The Munchkin and I headed out to visit Grandma and Grandpa for the weekend so that I could go to my cousins baby shower. It also gave Hubby the opportunity to have some time to himself and, as his co-worker put it, "nerd it up" with his brother. They stayed home and played computer games until 5am, while I stayed at my parents :)

We dropped Hubby off at work on Saturday (poor guy) and started our 45 minute drive to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We hung out for a bit and then I put the little mad down for a nap while Roller Auntie and I went out for some amazing sushi. Sushi is the one thing I really missed being pregnant. Well that...and wine. This place was a little different than I had ever had before. In my Philadelphia roll, instead of the usual avocado and cucumber this one had a bean and red pepper. The bean was super crunchy, but I poked the red pepper out with my chop stick.

Then it was time to head home, get The Munchkin and go see Cousin Auntie Gourmet. She is an amazing cook, so we went over to make dinner and try out a new recipe. She has a food blog with her cousin, and they try all sorts of great things. We made bacon and tomato carbonara, and it was so good I made it again for Hubby a few days later.

The Munchkin fell asleep while we were cooking, so Maggie took the opportunity to checkout the tiny loud human. After dinner Auntie Gourmet, soon to by Uncle K ( who needs a better name), the Munchkin and I went back to Grandma and Grandpa's to hang out, eat some more food that's probably bad for us and watch a movie. Grandma and Grandpa were out for the evening so we had the run of the place. Roller Auntie decided to join us after her plans to watch the hockey game fell through. We ate far to much junk, including the best brownies ever... and addicting cheese, and then watched possibly one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I had hear good things too, but I should have known that with Zeffron as the star it was bound to be pretty horrible.
We had a good time talking through all the 'touching moments' and making our own ridiculous predictions. All in all it was a pretty good evening. That is until Grandma got home... but I'll tell you that story later.

Going to the Gym

2010-11-26T13:11:00.000-08:00

Hubby and I are feeling lazy. We figure it's about time we get back to our healthy lifestyle. Hubby and I are pretty much polar opposites physically. I'm short and fairly round, whereas Hubby is taaalll and thin. I've always enjoyed swimming, so we are looking for a gym with a pool. There is a new gym opening in our neighborhood so we decided to go for the 'virtual tour'. Apparently they have great rates! Opening specials! Join now! Ha!

We went in on Friday to do our tour and chat with one of their trainers. We'd looked at the website (which shows all these great facilities, but gives no details) so we had some idea going in when the tour would look like. Here is our list of 'needs' when it comes to a gym.
1. I want a pool! ( Have have bursitis in my hips so I can't run or bike for cardio)
2. Childcare ( Nana is close by, but who knows how often we'll be going)
3. Tanning (Hubby is fair and needs to bronze a little before the summer starts to avoid heat stroke)
4. A Ladies only zone. (Lighter weights for me!)
5. Later hours (Hubby gets off work at 6:30)
6. Maybe personal training? ( Once I lose a little weight I might be interested in toning a little)
7. AFFORDABLE!! ( and no super long contract!)

So lets see how this gym measures up! Well, even though the website shows a pool....there isn't one on site....but some of the franchises back east have them....like that matters. They have childcare! But only 2 days a week, and only in the morning, oh, and you have to pay for a membership for your child too if you want to have them in childcare. So... not going to happen. Tanning! guess what? Costs extra. ladies only area? yay! They have that! But if you want to participate in any of the classes... you guessed it, extra $. They do have one thing going for them, they are open until 10-no extra fees :P How about personal training? Drum roll please......Extra $$. So I guess all that answers the last question. Affordable? I think not. Oh, and to get any of the "low introductory rates", it's a 2 year contract. And those introductory rates, not so low. Pretty much the same as all the other gyms we've been to. Makes me wonder what they will go up to after the 'introductory period".

We considered going to the public rec center- but ew. And no chance of childcare. Finally after some searching online I convinced Hubby to check out this one last place. He had vetoed it originally because it is one of the oldest ones in town, 30ish years. But after checking it out online, and calling their new member rep, he agreed to check it out with me.

First thing, they have a private pool that is balanced twice daily. No extra cost. Childcare is free for the first 3 months, and after that you can pay a reasonable monthly fee for an unlimited package, or just pay a drop in rate (on the days Nana isn't available). Tanning, also free for the first three months, and then there are also packages and drop in rates that are pretty decent. The ladies only zone is great, with a monitor that shows the nursery so you can watch your kid while you work out. All the classes are included, Woo! This place is open until 11 on weeknights, and 10 on weekends, so hubby will have lots of time to go after work. You meet with the personal trainer when you join, and they teach you how to use all the machines, and if you want to meet with them again to set up a workout plan for yourself it's a one time fee that's pretty reasonable. And finally, it's totally affordable! The first person pays the regular rate, which it the same as every other gym in town, and the second person gets a discounted rate. Oh, and you can pay month to month, or sign a contract for 6 months, 1 or 2 years, and get an even better rate.

Guess where we're going? :P

4 Months

2010-11-24T14:43:00.001-08:00

So I'm a little bit late on this one. 4 months, wow.

The Munchkin is an amazing sleeper! He's going to bed at 9pm, and usually wakes up between 5-7am to eat, and then goes back to sleep until 9am. His nap schedule is still a little sporadic, but he always goes down at noon for at least an hour and a half, and sometimes up to three hours!

He is sitting all on his own now for a few seconds at a time. He starts to wobble and falls back onto the pillow when we practice. Pretty soon he'll be sitting for real! He still HATES tummy time. I'm a little worried that he hasn't even made an attempt to roll over yet, but he'll do it when he's ready I guess.

He did great at his 4 month immunizations. A little cry and then he was smiling for the nurse within a couple of minutes.

He has really bad eczema on his face. It got so bad that we had to see the doctor to get some prescription cream for it.

He's still a pretty happy baby, except for those days where he's trying to poop.....today is one of those days. We're still going 8+ days between poops....

So, at 4 months the Munchkin is 16 Pounds and 26 Inches long!

Halloween

2010-11-01T15:10:00.001-07:00

It was the Munchkins first Halloween and he was a Dinosaur! We decided to go over to Nana and Granddad's for dinner and candy dispersion. Uncle Red manned the door and ooohed and aahhed at all the trick or treaters. Grandma and Grandpa stopped by to see the Munchkin in his costume and chat it up with Hubby's parents for a little bit.

We have a friend that lived fairly close to Nana and Granddad, so the Munchkin got to go trick or treating for the first time. I can't wait until he's older and can enjoy it! We looked forward to Halloween for months. Maybe that's because it's my mom's second favorite holiday. Our house had almost as many decorations at Halloween as at Christmas. I always had the best costumes too. My mother was a master seamstress, so anything I wanted to be was turned into a reality.

Isn't he an adorable Dino?

I promised Hubby I'd keep his face out of this blog, so expect more blank squares in the future.

Pumpkin carving!

2010-10-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

The Munchkins fist pumpkin carving!
He started out pretty good, sitting in his Bumboo and watching all the action. After a while though he started to get a little cranky, so we put him down for a quick nap and he woke up as our happy little boy again. Hubby and I haven't carved pumpkins together since we were dating! We had a great time, even though he wouldn't let me peek at his until he was totally finished. I have to say, I was impressed with the end result!

And then with the lights off. OoooOoooo

Christmas gifts for Baby?

2010-10-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

Shopping for a baby is ridiculous! Getting some big expensive gift is silly, he'll only be 5 1/2 months old. At the same time, I still want to get him something he'll love.

So far I've decided to get something we were already planning on buying. He'll be the perfect age for an exersaucer, so that's going to be his 'big' gift for the year. It was either that, or the high chair, but the high chair is no fun. I really wish he'd be able to remember these early years, because everyone else is so stinkin' excited for his first Christmas.

I went to Costco this morning and bought a 4 pack of stockings. We plan on having one more little one, so this way we'll have a matching set of stockings for the whole family. There's a place in the mall that does embroidery, so I'll take them there and get our names put on them. It's just barely the end of October, and I'm getting so excited for Christmas. Maybe I'm seeing it through the eyes of a child all over again. I do have a rule in my house, no decorating until December 1st. If I do it too soon, I get sick of all the music and extra 'clutter' around the house. It will be interesting to figure out where to put everything in the new house.

Shoot, what about stocking stuffers for the Munchkin? He's not old enough for candy and other treats Hubby's family puts in the stockings (my family does socks, underwear, toothpaste etc.) Anybody have any ideas for little things to put in the Munchkins stocking?

One of them.

2010-10-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

I've turned into one of those moms. You know, with the ridiculous schedule for everything. Especially meals, that's what started this whole thing. I've been struggling with coming up with things to make for dinner that don't either take forever to make, or we haven't made a bazillion times already this month.

I typed out everything I make from frozen pizza to roast beef dinner and the list is pretty long! Why is it that when I have to start cooking something, none of these 30 items come to mind? That's where the list is going to come in. Now at the beginning of every week I sit down at the computer and scroll through that magical list and decide what to have for every meal that week. Then I make a shopping list and get the groceries for those meals I have planned for. So far (1 Week in) it's been going great!

I'm still afraid that I'm going to get tired of my list, so I've become a member of one of those recipe sites, and I get a recipe of the day. If it's good, I save the recipe and add it to The List. The first new recipe we're going to try:
Broccoli, Ham and Cheese Quiche! I read about it on another bloggers' site, and it sounded pretty good. I'll let you know how it turns out.

What to do for Halloween

2010-10-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

I'm curious to know what other people with babies are doing for Halloween. We live in an area with a lot of kids, so giving out candy will be lots of fun! But what about when it's bed time for the Munchkin? We could just turn out the light and hope the little goblins and ghosts stop ringing the the doorbell.

We're also thinking about taking the Munchkin to 'trick or treat' and Nana and Grandpop's house. Maybe we could just stick around there and put him to sleep until the door bells have stopped ringing. Somebody needs to see how cute he is in his costume.

I'm looking forward to the day after Halloween. That's when all the candy goes on sale ;)

Solo Shopping

2010-10-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

The Munchkin is in high demand! Being the first grand-baby, everyone wants their own time with our little man, and I don't mind at all. I had a bunch of errands to run the other day, and as much as he's an easy baby, I hate having to haul him in and out of the car and stroller. So I had a genius idea! I called Nana to see if she wouldn't mind if I dropped the munchkin off for an hour or so while I went grocery shopping and ran errands. She was more than happy to snuggle him for a while, and ended up having a lovely little photo shoot ( now we know where Cool Auntie gets it from :P).

I was amazed at how much faster it was to go shopping solo. I hadn't even realized it was taking me longer to do things. At least now I know how to get it done all at once and speedy!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2010-10-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a crazy weekend. We spent Sunday with Hubby's family. It was great, and fairly low-key. We spent Monday with my family, and it was CRAZY! Everyone wants a piece of The Munchkin, which I think is adorable, but it gets a little stressful after a while. We got up and had a little time to ourselves before we had to take off. Then it was my mom's side of the family for lunch and snuggle the baby time so it was a 45 minute drive to get to Grandmas'. A bunch of the family was out of town or had other commitments so it wasn't too hectic. The Munchkin was great for the first hour or so, but then a switch flipped and he was DONE. Take me home. We went and snuggled in 'the kids room' (my Grandma has always had a bedroom for us kids), and he calmed down and decided to be human again.

Mid afternoon we headed out to my Aunts' for dinner with my Dads' side of the family. It was another 45 minutes in the car and The Munchkin had a great snooze. This is where it gets a little nutty. I have 3 cousins on that side of the family, my sister and I are the youngest by at least 5 years. Two of those cousins have two kids each, and the third is preggo. There were small people everywhere. The twins are almost 3, so they are into everything. The little girl wanted to touch The Munchkin, squish his cheeks, give him kisses, hold his hand. My poor mother was having a minor heart attack. She's a little more 'protective' than I am. I figure that if it bothers him, he'll let us know pretty quickly. Which he did after a few minuted of being smothered by little fingers. All 4 of the other kids are talking now, so there was no shortage of noise. I'm not surprised, but impressed that The Munchkin was able to have an hour and a half long nap in the midst of everything while taking turns snuggling with Grandma and Grandpa.

My Aunt got all the kids little pumpkins according to their size and tried to get them all together in a picture. It was a gong show, but still pretty cute. My preggo cousin is due in January, so I can only imagine how crazy this will be next holiday season. I didn't get any pictures, but everyone else did. Hopefully they will be passed on soon and I will post them!

Baking Success!!

2010-10-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

I love to bake, and most importantly I love to try new things when I bake. Every Christmas is an experiment in all things sweet... and sometimes salty. Some things intimidate me though. Like baked cheesecake. I'm down with the no-bake kind, they always turn out amazing, but the kind you have to bake taunt me by threatening to crack! The other big one that scares me is meringue. I make lemon pies and tarts on a regular basis, but I often 'forget' to put the meringue on. I know it's not difficult, but I'm always afraid I won't get the peaks stiff enough, or that if I DO get them to stand up they will burn.

Today I took my fist step toward facing that fear. I made Lemon Meringue Pie! And it looks good!

Ebay Addict

2010-10-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Jacki, and I'm an eBay-aholic.

I discovered eBay a few years ago and it fueled my ever expanding shoe collection. I would go on every so often and scroll through the cool heels and sneakers to see if there was anything unique in my size. (Obviously I ALWAYS found something).

Now eBay has become the very best way to shop for The Munchkin. I mean they have everything! I loooove Paul Frank stuff, but find it really hard to find in Canada. If I do find it, it costs an arm and a leg! Not so on eBay! And Jeans! In store baby jeans cost more than mine do! Not so with eBay! Baby shoes are lame, and the fun ones are hard to find. Not so on eBay! You get the idea.

Another plus with shopping on eBay... I get packages in the mail ;)

3 Months

2010-10-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

The Munchkin is 3 months old today. Wow, these last three months have flown by. I expected things to be difficult and stressful, but they have been fantastic!

So far I have been impressed with his strength. He was able to hold up his head within a couple of weeks, but by 3 months he can stand on his own with our support to balance him. He'd rather be sitting than lying down, and standing rather than sitting. He has started teething, but doesn't quite have the ability to hold the teething ring in his mouth on his own. His favorite toy is his soft zebra rattle (Zach), but loves to talk to the Giraffe (George) and the Elephant (Lumpy) on his tummy time mat. This past month he started sleeping through the night a couple times a week. I'm getting at least 6 solid hours of sleep each night, and it is Beeeeautiful.

He is now just over 15 pounds and 26 inches long! Our Big boy!

Toys

2010-10-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

We're getting to the point now that The Munchkin actually needs things to be entertained. It was amazing how just looking around a room could entertain him for as long as he could stay awake. Then Mommy or Daddy's face did the trick for a while. His tummy time mat lasted quite a while, but now it's putting him to sleep :P So we're moving on to stuff. Great Grandma got him a Jolly Jumper:
And he LOVES it! He hasn't quite figured out the 'jumping' part quite yet, but loves being able to stand on his own and wiggle around. The only rooms in our house that have a door frame to hang it on are the bedroom and bathrooms, so we're going to be hanging out upstairs a lot more.

Any ideas for the next fun thing to play with?

Mall Rat

2010-10-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

I have become a mall rat. Most mornings I drop Hubby off at work and take The Munchkin for a stroll through the mall. It wouldn't be so bad if I weren't so tempted to buy things every trip. Usually anything I buy is for Munchkin, but this can't be healthy for our bank account. I am getting good at finding sales though, passing by the same stores everyday I notice when things are different.

One thing I have been keeping my eyes on in the iPhone 4. Both Hubby and I are looking for them. We are with different carriers, and there are a few stores of each in the area in different strip malls. So every week while on my little stroll I stop by the different stores and ask again and AGAIN. The other day I got lucky! Well, for Hubby anyway. One of the stores I have harassed relentlessly just happened to have one in stock. I overheard the salesman tell the person he was talking to on the phone that they were all out of the iPhone. Apparently when he saw me, he decided that this was the opportunity to get rid of me!

I purchased the phone and then took it to Hubby's work. I put the phone in The Munchkins' stroller and then told Hubby that I had been trying to reach him all morning, but his phone wasn't working. I tried to call him again from my phone while he was holding his 5 year old piece or crap and the stroller started to ring instead. I said that The Munchkin stole his phone so that was why I couldn't reach him. He didn't get it. It wasn't until I made him look in the stroller that he FINALLY figured out what was going on. Yay! Totally made his week :)

So proud

2010-10-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

My sister, Roller Auntie, has been terrified of The Munchkin. Babies freak her out. I don't blame her, babies are unpredictable and cry. She came over to hang out and rescue me from my week day boredom the other day and I tricked her into holding him.

My aunt is planning a big thanksgiving thing so the the rest of the family can meet him. It's going to be a gong show, but so much fun. He's going to be passed around like a new toy, it's a good thing he's an easy baby. He's fairly content with just about anyone holding him. Let's hope it stays that way, especially when it come time for babysitters!

Shopping Spree!

2010-10-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

It was my birthday just over a month ago, and I got some birthday money with the strict instructions not to spend it on Hubby or The Munchkin. Hard to do, yes, but I managed! Cool Auntie and I took The Munchkin for a day with the girls. We drove half an hour away to the nearest not-so-lame mall and wandered aimlessly for a while. I'm between sizes at the moment. I used to be just barely in plus sizes, but since The Munchkin has come into the world I've lost a bunch of weight and the plus size section does not work anymore. The average store in the mall carries my size, however they aren't exactly flattering to the new 'mommy shape'. Cool Auntie was looking for nice jeans, a never ending search.

We stopped for lunch and then left the mall empty handed. Sad face. But all hope was not lost! We still had Old Navy to rummage through. I pink puffy heart Old Navy. I always seem to find something, no matter what size I am. I was a kid in a candy store. And even though Auntie Cool was suuure she wouldn't find anything.... *cue angels singing* Jeans were procured! They were the most perfect jeans ever.

Oh, and I found a plethora of things. Jeans, hoodies, a waffle shirt, some nice cami's... and I snuck in a couple shirts for the Munchkin! I feel spoiled and I kind of like it! My favorite purchase. It is so warm, bring on the cold!

7 days

2010-10-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

7 days, and no baby poop. Totally freaked me out, but apparently its normal. I figured his insides were probably bursting, but when it finally made it's way out it was average volume. Great way to start a post huh?

Confession time. I'm addicted to TV. I LOVE MY PVR! I'm not ashamed to admit it, embarrassed maybe, but not ashamed. As soon as they start announcing all the new fall shows, I starting making an excel spreadsheet to track when everything is on. We get the eastern time feed so I can watch everything three hours early, and record more shows during the later showing. It always makes me sad when they end up canceling shows I like. See! Obsessed! Anyone else obsessed with TV? Favorite shows?

I love, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Fringe, NCIS, NCIS:LA, Glee! House, How I Met Your Mother, Criminal Minds, The Mentalist.....and so many more.

Bringing baby home.

2010-10-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Bringing the Munchkin home wasn't nearly as terrifying as I thought it would be. Before my own I had held one baby, and it was not a newborn. Everything came fairly naturally, and what didn't Hubby and I figured out together.

Sleep became a luxury, and pj's became clothing. Hubby had the first two weeks off, so I had full time help. He was amazing! He did all the cooking and cleaning. He woke up early every morning and took the Munchkin downstairs for a few hours so I could get some solid sleep. I think it was really good for their bonding too.

Hubby was the first recipient of a poosplosion. It came out the legs and up the front and back of Munchkins' diaper. I laughed, but was initiated into the club a few days later. You can hear them happen from across the room. It sounds like pudding being forced through a garden hose sprayer at top speed. Surprisingly, neither of us has tossed our cookies yet. I'm sure there is still time.

It's a Boy!

2010-09-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

The following is not suitable to all readers, reader discretion is advised.

8:00pm
No drugs. After a moment of panic it was time to go! My Dr. broke my water with the lovely hook thing and it was the most disgusting feeling ever! Baby was apparently ready to go, because he had already pooped. This isn't the best thing, so the nurse tried to hook me up to a fetal heart monitor. It's like a tensor bandage that wraps around your belly and has little sensors running through. She asks me mid-contraction to please arch my back so that she can put the monitor around me. I told her to screw off. My Dr. laughed. She got Hubby to help reach under me and pull the monitor through so I could concentrate on my now continuous contraction.

Time to push! Hallelujah! Pushing was the best thing ever! Every push took the pain away just a little more, even if it was just because I was too busy concentrating on something else to notice the pain. Every time I would push, the baby's heart rate would drop. Dr. figured it was just the heart monitor not registering properly, but to be safe she attached an internal one to the baby's head. He was moving really fast, so his head was already visible. A couple more pushes and the heart rate kept dropping with every push. The Dr. reached in and discovered the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck.

Within about a minute my room went from 4 people to 10. The pediatric specialist and his team just happened to be in the hospital, so they were called in. My Dr. decides that baby needs to come out NOW. She get the vacuum suction apparatus and starts telling me what it does. I interrupted her and told her to just get him OUT. She sticks the suction cup to his head, tells me to push and starts pulling as hard as she can. Hubby tells me she was pulling so hard her arms were shaking. Two pushes and he was out at 8:44pm and handed over to the pediatric team. He had swallowed some of his own poop, so on top of having the cord around his neck, his stomach and lungs had to be drained.

The pain just stopped, and I was a space cadet. It took me a few seconds to even realize they had taken the baby to the other side of the room. He was breathing and squirming so I started to take an inventory of myself. The Dr. was checking things out down below, and they weren't good. Things happened so fast that the lady parts didn't have time to stretch on their own. It ended up being so bad, a gynecological surgeon had to be called in. FINALLY I got some drugs!

Baby is all cleaned up and gets passed on to me. I'm still 'hanging out' on the table with people coming in and out checking me out. I'm hanging out like this until 45 minutes later when the surgeon comes in. It takes him anther 45 to sew me up, while hubby bonds with the baby. He was hilarious, I think, it may have been the drugs. I get cleaned up and covered up and it's time for the family to meet the munchkin!

It's time!

2010-09-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

Born Monday July 12, 8:44 pm weighing 9 pounds 4 ounces! 21.5 inches long, he takes after daddy.

So here's the story. Sunday night Hubby and I are playing computer games and I started feeling a little icky. I hadn't had any of the usual signs that labor was coming, so I assumed I was just feeling off. We went to bed and I couldn't sleep at all. I laid there until 3 or 4am and was getting more and more uncomfortable. Finally I got up and tried to watch some TV, but by 6am I was starting to realize that these pains were actually contractions so I woke up Hubby to time them for me. They were 2-3 minutes apart by 8am, so we headed to the hospital.

TMI ahead

At the hospital they reviewed my file and sent me to pee in a cup. When I was seen by the nurse, she attempted to reach for my throat through my girly parts and then told be to go home. Apparently you have to be dilated to stay. She told be to come back when they were 1 minute long and 1 minute apart. So we go home and Hubby goes to work while I sit and squirm in pain. By noon I'm going insane and can't handle the pain, so Hubby comes home and starts timing again. We go back to the hospital at 1 and get the throat grabbing treatment once again and they get ready to drug me up and send me home once again. I get a shot of morphine and they tell me to hang out for 20 minutes until it kicks in, the go home for 2-3 hours. Yeah, so the morphine? It doesn't kick in. Aparently I am immune! An hour and a half later they decide it's best to admit me. A nurse comes in and takes my blood while I am still hanging out in the triage area, and then I lay there a while longer. Finally a nurse from the maternity ward comes to get me and I slowly make my way to my room. The reason it took so long is because they went out of their way to get me into one of the two tub rooms. I will be forever grateful for this shortly.

I asked for drugs and they laughed. Apparently you have to be more dilated than I was to get drugged. I began sensing a theme. I am not very dilated! I waddled over to the tub and Hubby filled it with the hottest water I could handle. I spent the next 3 hours there, and I'm pretty sure I asked for drugs every 10 minutes or so. Around 5 I thought I was going to die so the nurse brought me the laughing gas, and guess what? I'm immune to that too! It just made me feel nauseous and dizzy. Finally at 6:30 they agreed to consider drugs. But I had to get the nether regions checked out again before they would give me anything. Yeah, so I was at 4cm and they wanted me to be at 5 before I could get anything. So we tried all these awkward positions in the shower until I couldn't handle it, which was fairly quickly, and went back into the newly filled tub.

Now the nurses switch over, and my helpful awesome nurse gets traded in for awkward nurse. Awkward nurse 'forgets' that I want drugs. I send hubby to ask AGAIN. She tells me to wait because I am progressing slowly. I fight her. When I said before that I thought I was going to die, at this point I knew I was was going to die. At 8pm she finally agrees to check me again to see if I am at 5cm yet. So she checks and tells me that I am fully dilated and she needs to go get my Dr. Um... 6cm in and hour and a half!

My Dr. is awesome and I love her. She comes in and confirms that, yes, I am fully dilated and it's time to get things started. Woo!

Oh, she says, but it's too late for drugs.

I looked her in the eye and said, I HATE YOU.

She laughed.

To be continued.....

7 Months preggo

2010-09-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

And I get laid off. Yup, they laid off a pregnant woman! So my last day was April 30, which was super disappointing because it meant I couldn't finish out the school year with my kids. I was really lucky in that I had some amazing youth leaders that were willing to step up and take over, but I really wanted to be the one to do it!

I went into the EI office to figure out what my next step should be, because the church assured me that I could start my mat leave up to 11 weeks early. Which would have been okay, except for the fact that it means I have to go back to work 11 weeks early! I was given a different story when I went to the EI office which sounded too good to be true involving going on unemployment first and then Mat leave. Turns out, I still have to go back to work 11 weeks early, and the person I talked to was a crazy. Fast forward a couple months, 2 bills for benefits I received but apparently shouldn't have, 10 phone calls to discover that I WAS entitled to those benefits, 1 more bill and one more phone call to sort out the crazies later... I still have to go back to work in May.

Now the dilemma is what to do come May! Do I go back to work and put my 8 month old in day care? Part time? Full Time? Do I stay at home until he's a year and forfeit the income? Oh, wait. Can't do that cause we are now an extra 50 000 in debt. (more on that later).

What to do, what to do?

First thing first

2010-09-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

April 2009 my job was cut in half. Yup, it sucked. Hubby and I decided that it was a sign we should start a family. So we started trying. Summer came and went and no + signs on the stick. I was offered a second job at an amazing photography studio that would be ridiculous to pass up, so I took it. I was still working at the church, only I was working 20+ hours instead of 60.

Fast forward to October. Pee on the stick, and it's a +! So at this point we are living in a 400 sqft basement suite. Yes it was a 2 bedroom, but it was not big enough to house a baby and all the STUFF that comes with it. We start looking for a townhouse that we can purchase with the down payment we had been putting away when I was still working full time with a pretty good salary. I had been obsessing over houses and townhouses online for months already so I had a pretty good idea what we were going to be looking at. We contacted a realtor on Friday, and had an accepted offer by Tuesday. I'm a fairly decisive person. We knew exactly what we were looking for so we thought it would take waaaay longer to find something to meet our expectations. 3 level, 3 bedrooms, 2+ bathrooms, rec room on lowest level, bedrooms on 3 floor. Not picky at all.

So the house we chose was HILARIOUS! This old lady had been living there for 30 years, and it looked like it. Observe:

This is the kitchen, and yes, she hand painted the black dots on the while squares of linoleum.
This is the 'powder room'. Please note the playing card wall paper covering every square inch of the room. *Not shown in this picture is the decorative wall plate (also playing card themed) on the wall beside the toilet, and the mug (you guessed it, playing cards!) on the counter.* Love the old lady toilet seat.
The living room overlooking the dining room. In the dining room you can see the awkwardly placed pictures in frames, and the lovely zebra painted wall hanging (Which she left for us...how nice). What you can't see is the spoon collection. There were at least 20 plaques of spoons covering the lower portion of all walls.

The living room. Let me draw your attention to the doll on a swing hanging from the ceiling in the upper right corner. These were all over the house. It was creepy. The wall behind the could was a really neat textured wall paper that we considered keeping until we moved the couch and saw that her cat had used it as a scratching post.
This is our amazingly HUGE master bedroom. We LOVE how big it is. What we did not love was the faux bamboo wallpaper on the two walls you can see. Again, it wouldn't have been too bad if it weren't 100 years old with rips and stains. The other two walls were white, and had a hand painted border of multicolored diamonds with dots in the middle. No two diamonds were the same. Oh, and all the bedrooms had curtains that matched the bedspread AAAAND the light switch cover! They were precious.

That's all you get for now! We've done massive renovations, and one of these days I'll post the before and after photos!

Testing

2010-09-26T17:01:00.000-07:00

So it's been months since my last post, and a lot has changed. Small things like having a baby, buying a house and getting laid off. No biggie. I'm afraid I'm going to forget all the details so I'm going to make a renewed attempt at blogging. At the very least I'll have a place to put up pictures for my family. So here goes!

Guilty Pleasures

2009-10-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

Watching TV shows about teenage romance.

Listening to early Britney Spears with my BOSS at work.

Motivation

2009-10-10T01:53:00.000-07:00

It's hard finding the motivation to catalog something that doesn't seem to be worth recording. I started this blog for two reasons. The first being the desire to write and remember. I used to enjoy writing, especially when it enabled me to 'verbalize' things in a way I'm not always able. My mind goes so much faster than my mouth... and that's saying something. Taking the time to process my thoughts into coherent sentences before putting them out there is helpful. It's an outlet.

The second reason started as a means to avoid anonymity. I was a lurker. I would follow other blogs religiously, taking in every detail of these strangers lives. Not once had I opened myself up to that same vulnerability. And thus, the Rambling began.

Today, I read about at least 20 other people's lives. They weren't all sensational. In fact, the majority of them are fairly mundane. YOUR mundane is interesting to ME. But I'm having a hard time being interested in my mundane.

I am, however, making an effort. For my Seeeester. She makes every ordinary obligation into an adventure.

Changes

2009-09-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

Things have changed quite a bit in the last 6 months. Some of them have been pretty great, and others... not so much.

In April I got the news that my position was being cut in half at the end of June. While part of me jumped for joy at the though of a relaxing summer, the half that pays the bills was not impressed. I can't say I jumped into the job hunt, but I kept my eyes open. A very appealing opportunity presented itself, and I found myself getting excited at the possibility of returning somewhere that felt like home. Apparently 'home' didn't feel the same way. Being a girl was not in the job description.

Don't fear! Far better things have come my way. I LOVE my second job.

It's time to celebrate!

2008-12-01T15:43:00.000-08:00

I'm ready for Christmas, who's with me? Oh don't worry, not ready in the "I've finished my shopping, baking, decorating, wrapping...." kind of way. I mean the "Is it time for a break yet?" kind of ready.

Things have been going really well. Work is great! I was able to baptize 2 of my Jr. High girls this weekend :) KIDstuf is chugging along.

I do have the majority of my shopping done, or at least ordered. There a a few people I'm still stuck on, but I'm sure I'll figure something out.

I think the two things I look forward to most are Decorating and Baking! I put up the tree (fake :() this weekend. The stocking are up, mistletoe, garland, random animated trees and snowmen. It's pretty, but I miss the smell. I grew up with a real tree every year. I'm going to see if I can find a pine scented car freshener and hide in somewhere in the tree.

I haven't even thought about baking yet this year. Last year I had just started my job in October, and had almost 2 weeks of vacation time to use before January. I used that time to do all my decorating and baking and wrapping and shopping. It was a great year. I don't even know what I'm going to bake this year! I always like to try something new each year. The things that turn out really well turn into a staple. If they aren't so great, I pass them off to co-workers and family members to inhale. They are always tasty, but some make me happier than others. I need some ideas for this year. I have 4 days left of vacation time this year, so I'm using them between Christmas and New Years Day so if feels longer :)

Beautiful Weekend

2008-11-12T10:04:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was preciously looong. I usually work Sunday to Thursday so I have Friday and Saturday off. With the Holiday on Tuesday I decided to switch the next week around a little as to have Monday and Tuesday off as well. It was almost a 5 day weekend, but I still had to be at work Sunday. Oh well. It was fantastic regardless.

Friday started off as usual. I didn't get to sleep in because Layla was ready to get up as soon as the Hubby did. Not too bad. I watched Grey's Anatomy from the night before ( thank you Hubby, I love to Tivo!) and then did a little work, but only of the e-mailing in my pj's sort of work. I was planning on driving out to my parents in the afternoon so I took a nice long shower, took my time getting ready, and then made the drive to my parents house by 2. They are trying to sell their house (great timing :P) so there was a showing at 3. I had to be out of there during the showing, and they were still at work so I went to the 'mall' I used to go to as a kid to browse the bookstore and kill some time.

Wholly crap things have changed. My little mall is now a shopping utopia. There were more shops than people, ok, that's not possible. There may have been a million people shoved into that mall. I used to whine and complain about how much I missed my city life. I grew up just outside Vancouver. When I moved to 'the city in the country' I was miserable with the slow paced, laid back crap. I wanted the buzz of the city. I still miss it, don't mistake my rant here. I love to sit back and watch people make fools of themselves when they think no one is looking. I love the sound of a busy road. I love the smell of a sidewalk vendor.

Simply put, I can't believe it changed without me :( I'm stuck in the booneis where the smells are cow crap, the sounds are dulled, and the people: well let's just say there's enough stupid to go around. And I don't even live in farm country! "The city in the country". Ha! We're getting there, it's not as bad as 8 years ago when I moved out here.

Aaaanyways. Back to my fabulous weekend. I wandered Chapters, bought a 'small stack' (we'll use my definition here, it was small... really!) of books and made an attempt at wandering the mall. It's difficult to wander when you either move with the flow of traffic or get run over. Since I had no specific destination in mind, I retreated back to my car and read until the friend I was meeting was done class and we could go for coffee. You know how good it is to spend time with someone you've known forever. Even if you don't see eachother often it's so easy to slip back into a rythym of conversation. We didn't even get to spend that much time together, but it was good.

I'm taking too long to write all of this, at this point no one cares to finish the rest. Quickly then. Saturday was a FULL DAY AT THE SPA with my mom. *sigh of contentment* It was amazing, and I have the softest everything. oh, and then I got to go out for dinner with some family for my cousin's birthday. It was good times.

Sunday I worked. woo.

Monday and Tuesday I sat around. That's it. It was beautiful.

California!

2008-11-04T10:49:00.000-08:00

Alright, so here is the trip run down you have all been waiting for.

We took three days to make the drive down to LA. It was only 21 hours of driving time... the rest of those three days...shopping. Soo much shopping! I LOVE outlet malls! My husband loves nice clothes he doesn't have to shop for. It's a win-win situation.

The adventure all started when my SIL suggested we take a trip down to California to visit family and maybe check out Six Flags. It turned into an amazing all girls theme park, shopping, exploring adventure. It was fantastic. Four of us piled into my car and drove for hours on end. I loved it. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to strangle every one of them by the end of the trip, but I'd do it again. I love the three girls I went with. They made me feel old though. I was the only married one. I was the only one over 21. I was the only one without an N (driving restriction here in BC for all those far away readers). I was the only one without a $500 credit limit.

I may have been old, but I was no chicken when it came to theme parks! I have pretty severe vertigo that kicks in when I 'fall' or do the straight drop rides, so I avoided the Tower Of Terror. Everything else was game though. X2 at Magic Mountain was great, gave me a massive headache though.

More later!

I know I know Whatever

2008-10-30T11:49:00.001-07:00

I'm so glad October is almost over. Don't get me wrong, I love Halloween, Fall, Thanksgiving (Canadian remember), but this was the October from you-know-where.

September was AMAZING, which I promise to update you all on eventually. October was.. well... ridiculous. First of all I worked an average of 55 hours a week.... For 4 Weeks! I only had one weekend in town, the other three were held hostage at various other locations.

Week one was good, it was out youth leaders retreat. I had a great time, other than the fact that only 3 of the 10 leaders showed up. I wouldn't call it wasted time because I got to know those three quite a bit better, but it would have been nice to be home.

Week two I was back in California (yes back, I'll tell you all about it when we talk about September). This time it was for the National Youth Workers Convention. Amazing. I had a fantastic time. The only downside would by my 5 year old travel buddy. No, he isn't actually 5, but you could've fooled me. We get along just great at work, but NEVER again will I travel or spend any length of time trapped with this guy.

Conversation on the plan home:

Jon: We're sitting in the emergency exit seats
Me: Yup
Jon: There are pictures that tell you how to open the emergency doors, but they are going to tell us anyways.
Me: That's their job
Jon: It says port
Me: yup
Jon: Port
Me: *sigh*
Jon: Sortie haha
Me: I know you can't tell, but my ears are closed now.
Jon: No they aren't
Me: Let's pretend. Even though you can't see it, my ears are closed. *starts reading book*
Jon: Bla Bla Bla - carries on for about 5 minutes or so
Me: You forgot my ears were closed didn't you?

Weekend #3 was great, I was able to attend the service at my old church to hear 2 friends of mine preach. The spoke on God as a father. That day was the one year anniversary of the day one of the girls' father was murdered. He was an amazing man, and an amazing father. Her goal was to challenge men to be like that. I was a total sobfest. So good.

Weekend #4 might have been okay had the circumstances come together a little better. Thursday night for youth we went to the corn maze. We has a good number of kids come out and it was fun. The next two days we had to be at a leadership conference 4 hours away. And we had to be there before the morning. Which means we were driving until 2am, and had to start again at 7am. What did I get out of the conference... not a whole lot. I was one of the 4 'young people' sleeping in the back. Ok, I only fell asleep once. And it wasn't even that day. I didn't hit me all that hard untill the second day when I actually did fall asleep in one of the workshops. Most of the content didn't really grab my attention except for one speaker. Donald Miller. If you ever get the chance to hear him speak, do it. That was the one redeaming thing about this weekend.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, tune in next time where I'll go back to writing like a sane person. This is what stress does to me. I revert to a review of my month. Sigh.

I should be fired

2008-08-17T15:47:00.000-07:00

I apologize to anyone who relies on my blog to stay connected to my life. Also, to them I say "pick up a phone and call me! " To everyone else, "Who wants to hear about my summer?!"

Things have been really good!

I spent 2 weeks at my parents condo.... yeah, the deck walks out onto the beach.
The view from my window :)

I went with family which was a lot of fun. I shared a room with grandma for a few nights..she swallowed a kitten. Either that or there was a small missile going off in her nose every few seconds.
She would breath in like a normal person, but every breath out sounded like " Meeeeeew". No joke.

I read something like 8 or 9 books. Got a very nice tan.

I also perfected my Cosmopolitan..

Iron Man vs Indy vs Hancock vs Hulk

2008-07-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

After a short break, I have returned. Things around here have not been particularly busy, I've just been a great big slacker.

There are certain movies that the Hubby and I have decided are 'theater' movies. Having worked at a movie rental store for just over three years, we learned to wait for free movies. I could rent 2 movies a day for free, so the only time we actually paid to watch a movie was when we saw it in the theater. For the most part we could wait for a movie to come to DVD before watching it. We tend to stick to the same practices even though I no longer get the free rentals. I guess it's better to pay $6 to see a movie at home than to pay $10 + $1,000,000 in gas to see it in the theater.

That having been said, there is a list. The list is of the movies we just have to see in theater. These basically consist of super hero movies and action movies. They are the kind of movies that would lose their appeal on a 42" T.V. The ones that thrive on Dolby Digital. For these we will pay the $1,000,010. Summer seems to be the worst for these movies, I think we've already been to 4 0r 5. Iron Man, Indiana Jones, Hulk, and Hancock.

Still to come this summer is Hellboy 2 and The Dark Knight.

Iron Man - 5 Stars! It was fantastic. I loved all the foreshadowing and the comedic banter between characters.

Indian Jones and the Crystal Skull- 4 Stars. It was entertaining the whole way through. I was pleasantly surprised that the filming was done in the same format as the original Indy movies. The characters were classic. The ending was a little too far fetched for me, I like the ones that were based on historical events.

The Incredible Hulk- 5 Stars! Well done! Again with the alluding to future films with the introduction of other comic book characters. Just enough love story, and truly fulfilling action sequences.

Hancock - 3 Stars. I say meh. It was entertaining. The story line was lacking. There was no enemy, no bad guy, ni negative force. Oh, and all the 'surprises' were given away in the trailers. Will Smith made the show. He filled the shoes just right.

7/365

2008-06-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

Aaron L.

Hey look, you're finally popular. Well, sort of. As long as you think you are will you be happy? I hope so, it's about time.

Fun Monday

2008-06-16T13:16:00.001-07:00

Fun Monday is being hosted by Jan.

The subject is walls. We all have walls of some sort. What I want to hear about and see, if you're going to show off your amazing photo skills, is what is on your walls, what color are your walls, what is special about them, what is your favorite or least favorite, is it inside or outside. You get the idea, let's show and tell about walls.

Since I'm blogging from work today, you get to see my office walls. While they aren't all that interesting I have some fun stuff. In the next few months there will be a complete overhaul of the walls in my office. My sister-in-law and I are going to be painting! Then they will be pretty and a little more reflective of my personality. In the meantime my office walls are a yucky beige with brown trim here and there. I have tried to spice it up with a little of me, but even that looks drab in here!

This is a picture I got from IKEA, which I love. Unfortunately I sit with my back to it all day long.

I got this in Italy almost 10 years ago now. It has followed me from my bedroom in my parents house, to my dorm room, and now to my office.
My other pretty picture desperately needs a frame. It is my calming photo and my husband hates it, therefore it has found a home in my office.
My bulletin board. Don't you just love all that order? ha!
The Calendar... still in May.
So that's my office, just about every boring inch of it. Once I have re-decorated I will post new pictures!

6/365

2008-06-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

Danielle B.

You told your school you had cancer so people would be nice and give you things even though you were healthy. I think you're nuts.

A sigh of relief...

2008-06-15T12:13:00.000-07:00

Followed by shouts of joy!!

Today was the last KIDstuf until September. It went pretty well- despite one of our tech men not showing up. I just can't wait until things are running the way they should. I have all summer now to get ahead and make things great.

Oh, Happy Father's Day Dad!

5/365

2008-06-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

Andrea S.

I never had cold hands when you were around, I was afraid of the oven. You still don't know, but I didn't like to share.

Things people do when they think you aren't looking.

2008-06-13T21:46:00.000-07:00

I find, being a natural observer, I see a great many things I don't think I'm supposed to. Some people do very strange things when they think no one is looking.

The other day I arrived early to pick up an order at the Dragon Fort. I have a book I leave in my car, as I have a habit of arriving places quite a bit early. As I sat there reading I noticed a man parked a few cars behind me. He was trimming his nose hair in the rear view mirror. All I could think about was where the hair was going. All over the center console and into his coffee cup? Yum.

Then there was the cashier at the gas station who had obviously not bought underwear in the correct size. She spent her shift er.. shifting them back to their original position, where they would remain for mere seconds before the process would start all over again.

A lesson to the masses....When you think no one is looking, check again.

4/365

2008-06-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

Gwen T.

I remember the skit we did together for our acting badge in Girl Guides. You were the annoying passenger, and I was the ditsy stewardess.

By the way..

2008-06-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

3 words does not make a sentence! Well, at least most of the time anyway.

I went to get my eyebrows done yesterday. I've been going to the same place for over a year now, and I'm usually able to get the same girl. She wasn't working yesterday. I had never met the girl who was able to take me, but I hoped it wouldn't be a problem. The 'Help Wanted' sign in the window should have been a clue. Employers looking to hire often get desperate when they are short staffed, and this seems to be the case here as well.

When she was ready for me I was not asked to follow her, or anything even similar. She waited until she caught my eye and then pointed to the chair. Okay, I thought, maybe she's not a chatty one. Now I'd say that was an understatement.

Eyebrow Girl: Clean them?

Me: I'm sorry?

EG: Clean them?

Me: Are you asking if I cleaned them? ( As she is reaching for a cotton ball and sanitizer) .

EG: *sigh* Do you want me to clean them up? ( Points to wax)

Me: Uh, yes. I believe that would be the point of my visit. ( No, I want you to get rid of them all together, take it all!)

EG: OK, finished

Me: You missed (pointing) here, here and here

EG: You didn't ask.

Me: Excuse me?

EG: People have to ask me.

Me: okay.. (waiting ) so.. can you do it?

EG: I guess

She better not wonder why there was no tip.

3/365

2008-06-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

Tara W.

I would run so hard to pass you the baton, and we usually won, we were pretty good. I was jealous of your hair crimper.

You make my ears bleed

2008-06-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

How do you go about telling someone who loves to sing that they shouldn't. ever. I was the passenger in a friends' car recently where I had a traumatizing experience. The radio was blaring, however I was unable to hear the song.

The real conversation

My Friend: Do you like this song? (Screaming along)

Me: I don't know ( looking out the window)

Friend: Really? I love this song ( Continues shrieking)

Me: Yeah ( shifting uncomfortably)

Friend: I know all the words ( Getting louder)

Me: I can hear that ( Sinking in my chair)

Friend: I know all the words to most songs actually. (finishes with flare)

*Song changes*

Friend: Do you like this song? ( falsifying vibrato)

Me: Sigh, sure (Promising myself I will never be a passenger with such little control ever again)

The version of the same conversation I had in my head

My Friend: Do you like this song? (Screaming along)

Me: I might if I could hear it (Plugging my ears)

Friend: Really? I love this song (Continues shrieking)

Me: I used to until your tone deaf version ruined it for me. ( Imagining ways to damage his vocal cords)

Friend: I know all the words (Getting louder)

Me: Actually you seem to know most of the words, I don't think those others are real words (Searching for escape)

Friend: I know all the words to most songs actually. (finishes with flare)

*Song changes*

Friend: Do you like this song?( falsifying vibrato)

Me: Sigh. I used to (Opening the door, hurling my self toward the suddenly appealing pavement)

2/365

2008-06-10T12:55:00.000-07:00

Brian D.

I think it is something to do with the way you talk, but I've never really liked you. Santana always makes me think of you.

1/365

2008-06-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

Michael C.

Your mom made the best ever strawberry-rhubarb muffins. I didn't even mind when you made me pay you with a kiss, I didn't tell.

Godzilla in the Oakanagan

2008-06-09T15:25:00.000-07:00

For Fun Monday this week, we are supposed to be writing about our favorite childhood memory. This was surprisingly difficult for me, not because I have a difficult childhood, but quite the opposite. I have a lot of great memories from my early years, however none stick out as being heads and tails above the rest. I guess that means points for my parents.

I was able to pick out a particular place from my childhood that brought back may fond memories. When I was young we spent every summer up in Osoyoos. (I've alluded earlier to the adventures we had driving there.) We would take up the motor home and the boat and park it for two whole weeks at the same campsite in the same campground every summer. We made sure to go for the same two weeks every year as well, as did everyone we went with. After a few years of doing this we created ourselves a little community.

My memory comes from one summer in particular when I was 9 or 10. My dad took the girls (my sister, myself and our friends) out on the lake tubing. We had a great time and managed no injuries. Then my dad went back out with a couple of his friends. All the girls sat on the beach hoping to catch a glimpse of our dads tubing. What seemed like hours later, and was probably closer to 15 minutes we finally saw my dad's boat heading toward the beach for a fly-by. Instead of some old guy in the tube, Godzilla was behind the boat! My dad and his friends had found a 6 foot blow-up doll of Godzilla and strapped it to the tube. They pulled it behind the boat and went past all the beaches on the lake ( something like 15) eliciting screams from the water closest to the rope line, and giggles from the shore.

Yeah, my family knows how to have fun.

Oh, and by the way, you guys are so no fun! No one answers any of my interesting questions.

Theme Song

2008-06-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

Every summer my family would make the 5 hour drive to our favorite camping spot. Before you keel over in surprise, know that camping to my family meant a fully equipped motor home. (come on, you really think I'd go camping??!) My dad and sister would drive the motor home up with the boat in tow. My mom and I would follow in the car. ( There had been a number of incidents in earlier years with things [wheels] flying off the boat trailer, so we decided to have mom following dad as to avoid the 3 hours spent looking for said things on the side of the highway).

Back to my original thought. Every year on the drive up, my mom and I would listen to the same tape by Barenaked Ladies. We knew every word to every song on that tape. In fact, one year we actually wore it out ( Don't worry, I went out and bought the CD). Our favorite song on that tape was the ever-popular "If I Had A Million Dollars". I have since been fascinated with that idea. What would I do if I had a million dollars?

At this point in my life, I would totally buy a house. A nice big house with a soaker tub in the master suite and a island in the kitchen. And you know what? That's about as far as a million dollars would go these days. The house itself probably wouldn't take the full million, but after I made it all pretty there would be peanuts left over. Living in a basement suite for the past 3 or 4 years has spurred much dreaming as far as a future house goes. You know what? I take it back. I wouldn't buy a nice big house, I'd build one! Now that would be sweet! Maybe next time we can chat about what one hundred million would buy.

But first, tell me what you would do with a million dollars. Post it and tag me!

The List

2008-06-04T10:29:00.000-07:00

I'm going to assume that my blogging capabilities are not where they need to be for x365. But.. I'm going to do it anyways. It will be 365 posts, just in as many days as it takes. sSometimes there will be more than one in a day, and other times I may go a week with out one. Oh well.

Last week I told you about the lists we made when I was working at the video store. As embarrassing as this may be, I'm going to share my old guy list. What's the point of having a blog if you aren't going to embarrass yourself every once in a while. Gosh I love anonymity.

So, without further adieu... My List! ( In no particular order)

- Steven Tyler ( Aerosmith) ..remember, no criticizing!!
- Harrison Ford ( Indiana Jones)
- Richard Gere ( Pretty Woman)
- John Travolta ( Saturday Night Fever)
- Johnny Depp ( But only when he's cleaned up)
- Peirce Brosnan ( 007)
- Bruce Willis ( Armageddon)
- Kurt Russell ( Backdraft)
- Charlie Sheen ( Two and a Half Men)
- Robert Redford ( Up Close and Personal)

Ok, so now all of you need to tell me who your is on your older man or older women list!

Do I have what it takes?

2008-05-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many of you have heard of the x365. It's this blogging challenge thing. You are supposed to write a short blog (with a word limit) about a different person you've met for 365 days. The word limit is supposed to have some sort of significance to you, like your age for example. Looking at my commitment level as it stands now, I'm not sure I'll be able to do it. Instead, I think I'm going to try and do one or two a week.... so like x52 or x104. we'll see how it goes. First, I'm going to try and come up with that many people to write about and post that, then I'll be forced to follow through 'cause everyone is going to want to know what I have to say about them. On second thought... maybe that's not the best idea.

For the past few days I've been trying to decide how I feel about this time of year. The weather can't seem to make up it's mind, so it keeps me on my toes. At work it feels like we coming down the final stretch... and I love it! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy what I do. It's just that since I started this 'new' job I've felt like I just can't catch up. Every week I am just managing to get the work done, and I'm the kind of person who likes to plan ahead. The middle school program is going smoothly, and I've managed to make some plans for next year already. It's KIDstuf that freaks me out! There is a lot of work to go into the set and the organization of it, but we're getting there.

This is what the stage looks like now. Any suggestions on what I can add to it? Or things I can change. It's a kids program, so I like to keep it bright and happy. We're going to expand the stage out to the side, and I'm going to add a bookshelf that acts as a secret entrance! Oh, and that cupcake looking picture frame, is actually a window. It's gonna have a slide coming out of it for next season. So what do you think?

We're going to see Indiana Jones tonight, so I'll let you all know what I think in the next few days. When I used to work at the video store, all the staff members would come up with lists. The girls would have lists of : Old Man Crushes, Actors your significant-other would allow you a one-night-stand with, and other girls you'd go for if you were a guy. I know, we had a lot time on our hands. Anyways, Harrison Ford was in my top five old man crushes. Number one was the older man that owned the IGA next door. The Hubby was a little weirded out by that one, and I guess there were all supposed to be celebrity crushes. Oooh, I'm going to post my lists!

I'm not keeping up!

2008-05-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I missed Fun Monday two weeks ago 'cause it was a holiday here in good old Canada. But this week I have no excuse. Apparently the topic for yesterday was your best vacation ever!

I've been on a few good vacations, however only one so far in my adult life. For our honeymoon, the Hubby and I went to an all inclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta. I was great... for obvious reasons. We stayed for two whole weeks, spent every day either on the beach or by the pool. We wandered into town to check out the shopping scene. Oh! and I got a massage each week. It was so relaxing, and I came back super tanned!

The vacation I am most looking forward to is coming up in September! Myself and three friends are going to go on a road trip to California! We are taking 10 days to drive down, hit up all the theme parks, maybe sit in on the filming of Price Is Right or Ellen, and then drive home! We have already booked all the hotels and are not so patiently awaiting our departure date. Maybe I'll stalk Dad Gone Mad while I'm down there... I'll stake out his Starbucks....if I can figure out which one it is. Oh, now I sound creepy.

On to other things.

The Hubby has been demanding- I mean encouraging me to drink more water. You see, I have an addiction. It comes in a pastel blue can with fake little water droplets running down the side. It's called Diet Pepsi, or as my sister-in-law affectionately refers to it - cancer in a can. Ten years off the wagon, I haven't gone a day without a can, bottle or glass. Acknowledging that this may not be the best habit, I have conceded to drinking one glass of water for every can of DP, or cup of coffee ( An addiction we will have to discuss another day). I may have forgotten to mention the fact that I have a bladder the size of a walnut.

Tuesday mornings begin with an all-staff meeting. I began with a Grande sugar-free caramel americano. We break at about 10, and I took that opportunity to use the facilities and grab the obligatory bottle of water. ( into which I poured a single serving of Crystal Light..you didn't actually expect me to drink it plain did you?) It only took a matter of minutes for the bottle to empty, and I sat back with a proud little smirk on my face. The smirk quickly disappeared off my face as I realized the current state of my walnut-sized bladder. Can they over-flow? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that's what mine was doing.

I slunk out the back door of the board room and used the little girls room. Back in my chair I was quite content to have gone un-noticed. Until ten minutes later when I had to go again! I held it for as long as humanly possible, and then executed the same routine. Three times!!! Coffee and water... not good. Sorry Hubby, looks like I'm sticking to the DP!

Top 4

2008-05-15T16:46:00.000-07:00

I'm just copying now, but this looked like fun :P

The Faboulous Four

Four Jobs I've had:
1. Paper Carrier
2. Sandwich Artist
3. Entertainment expert ( I rented your videos to you)
4. Youth Pastor

Four Movies I've Watched More than once:
1. The Matrix
2. An American Tail
3. Princess Bride
4. X-Men

Four TV Shows I watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. America's Next Top Model
3. House
4. NCIS

Four Places I have Been:
1. Mexico
2. France
3. Italy
4. California

Four of My Favourite Foods:
1. Chocolate
2. Pasta
3. Pizza
4. Sushi

Four Places I would love to visit:
1. Greece
2. Ireland
3. Egypt
4. Japan

Hope that was interesting to you all!

Prom Season

2008-05-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

I love when other people give me ideas for things to write about. I was looking at Rude Cactus earlier today, and he challenged people to write about their prom memories. I went to two different "proms" throughout high school, although where I'm from we called them grads.

Grade 10 grad - aka Jr. Prom was more or less ridiculous. The only thing I really remember was where I got my dress, and how unbelievably awful it was. The new store in our mall at the time was Jacob, so I was adamant my dress came from there. It was floor length, some sort of spandex blend, black with tiny white polka dots, and had skinny little spaghetti straps. For those of you who don't already have the brutal visual, I'll add that I was a very busty 15 year old, just to throw you over the edge.

My only memory of the evening was at the restaurant. After whatever planned event the school had put on, a bunch of us girls went to the Cactus Club for a late night dinner. We spent the entire time flirting with the good looking servers assigned to our table. Keep in mind that we were all 15! We continued by getting all the 'boys' (I'm pretty sure they were all at least in their early twenties) to sign our napkins so that we could have a souvenir. I don't know how I wasn't mortified! I am now just writing about it.

Fast forward two years to my grade 12 grad. A lot more planning went into this one. We spent months driving to every city in the area trying to find the 'perfect dress'. A group of us got together, pooled our funds and booked a limo. The big day arrived and a friend and I spent the entire day at my aunt's spa getting our hair and make-up done. She and I are no longer friends so I don't feel so bad telling you she looked like a clown! I'm a pretty vocal girl, so I had no problem telling them what I did, or didn't like. She was a little insecure and didn't really speak up, so she ended up looking pretty brutal.

The limo made it's rounds and picked us all up before heading off to some park so the parents could all take pictures. We made it to the hotel ballroom, only to have to stand around outside for more pictures. The dinner was okay, nothing special. There was very little dancing, a lame slideshow put on by student council ( aka - no one anyone knew was in it) and then two of our friends got engaged. Yeah, at 17. We had an hour between events so we went downtown, and the newly engaged stood our the sun roof of our limo cheering and hollering and whatever excited teenagers do.

The next event was a boat cruise. I don't know how we survived. One level had a painfully bad DJ and a dance floor. The other had karaoke and a temporary tattoo station. Ha. Oh, and you had to pay extra for everything. You wanted a a pretty little butterfly on your ankle, extra. You wanted to sing karaoke, extra. You wanted a water from the juice bar, extra. I had a bunch of friends who had chosen that evening to experiment with E, so let's just say I was loved.

When the boat finally docked, our groups decided to skip the school sponsored breakfast (cafeteria eggs- blech) and opted to Denny's instead. I should have given more of a lead up to this one, but I'll just flat out tell you that our limo driver what a total creep. While we were on our cruise he was picking up other people and doing who-knows-what in the back of the limo. He was also very interested in all us pretty girls. When we got to Denny's he followed us in, took off his shirt so he was wearing a dirty white tank top, and proceeded to join us at the table! Everyone else was all creeped out, but I just told him to leave. He didn't exactly go willingly. This guy was our ride home....

The best part about our grad weekend? No more school!

Anyone else have any good prom/grad stories. I know mine was a little long and detailed, so deal with it!

Fun Monday

2008-05-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

I mentioned earlier that I was excited about this Fun Monday. Now that's it's here I'm having the usual issues remembering all the lovely things I was going to write.

This week Fun Monday is hosted by Sauntering Soul

I know we all try to be sweet and kind to people the majority of the time. But let's face it....we also know that sometimes we can be a big jerk. It could be that you experience road rage from time to time. Perhaps you empty the coffee pot at work some mornings and don't feel like taking the time to start a new pot for the next person. Or maybe you don't return phone calls on a timely basis when you know someone needs a response from you. Have you ever "accidentally" ruined a favorite shirt of your spouse just because you didn't care for it? Come on - it's confession time! List the small things you do that make you a jerk and elaborate just a bit on each one. Please tell me I'm not the only jerk around here!

Let's get started!

1. Movie Store Jerk
When I used to work at video rental place, I had plenty of opportunity to be a jerk. And by that I mean there are so many ignorant, rude, intolerable people out there that make it easy to dislike them. First there would be the people who would walk in and demand I go find their movie for them.... for them I would wander the store for a few moments and return with a sad face telling them the movie was all out : ( I'm sure it was probably out there and if they had bothered to look for themselves they would have been able to go home and watch it.

Then there are the ones who would be rude and condescending for no good reason. I "forgot" to take the locks off their rentals before they left, just so they would have to come back and yell some more.

And I can hardly forget the regulars who would demand you check the drop off bin for them, just in case someone might have dropped off the movie that everyone else in the store has already asked for. I would of course diligently check both drop off bins, taking out all the rental cases recently dropped off, and accidentally missing the copy or two of the one they were looking for, only to go back and get it the moment they huffed away for the one person who had managed an ounce of patience while I served the customers ahead of them.

And last but not least, for the customer who would talk on their cell phone while throwing their video across the counter for you to deal with, I would play " I don't speak sign language" until they got off their cell phones long enough to give me the courtesy of a moment of their attention.

2. Driving Jerk

When people follow too closely behind for my comfort, I slow down below the speed limit until the clue in and back off. I like to drive fast, don't get me wrong, but when the guy behind me is so close that I can't even see his headlights, he needs to back the frick off!

3. Restaurant Jerk

When we go out to dinner, I have very low demands. However, if we get bad service I don't just give a lower tip... I don't tip at all! I don't tolerate rudeness very well..... just wait till I'm a mom!

4. Daughter Jerk

When I was a teen, if my mom asked me to do something I didn't want to I would always pretend I didn't hear her. Unfortunately for me, my husband also knows that game very well...

I'm sure I have a bunch more up my sleeve, but we'll leave it at that for tonight :)

Anger and Frustration

2008-05-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

So, I'm using this new program at work to go with my awesome new computer. This program will eventually make my days significantly easier. In the meantime, it's driving me crazy!!! There is always a learning curve when you start to use a new software, and it's not even that difficult. The frustrating part is that I need to master it by Sunday!! Yeah, so that's what I did all day today, and that's what I'll be doing for the majority of tomorrow.

My super talented sister may be moving to Japan in October because, well, she's amazing. She's a pastry chef currently specializing in Chocolate art... I know, I wish I were her. Anyways, she's being more or less recruited to go to Tokyo on a year contract to work with some famous chef. She's pretty pumped.

Layla is being a brat and frustrating me, so I'm off.

Fun Monday

2008-05-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

Yes, I realize that it is Wednesday. However, Monday was my anniversary and I was just a little distracted. Therefore, I am trying to play catch up just a little bit. I figure if I can do Fun Monday today, I'll be ready for it next Monday when it comes up right? I'm already excited about next weeks topic. But! This week is where we're at, so on with the show!
Tell me about the Super Hero in your life. Not from TV, but anyone that has been or is in your life that you have really looked up to or has made a impact on your life. It can one or many. You can share pictures if you like. Just have fun with it.

Hosted by kitten's homeschool

Right, so my Hero?

These guys :
And these Girls:

Happy Anniversary!

2008-05-06T21:32:00.001-07:00

So, yesterday was more or less the best day ever!

I started off the day by sleeping in until 9am!! 9am people! It was beautiful. I sent the hubby off to work ( yes, he starts late, slacker) and took my time showering and getting ready to go out. I ran a few errands, grabbed a good coffee and enjoyed the rest of my morning. At 2 in the afternoon I went to pick the Hubby up from work for the surprise! We went to the European Day Spa for a massage ( best ever!) and then a pedicire ( have have pink toes, with a little white flower). The whole treatment took 2 1/2 hours! (Even Hubby liked the whole thing!) That was time and money well spent. And we're going back next month for some special deal to help training the newbies.

Oh, I forgot to tell you about my trip to get coffee. I pulled up to Starbucks, and as I was getting out of my car I notices something in the window of the store next door. I went right in (EB games) and bought Mario Kart for Wii!!! I have been waiting for this game and didn't even realize it had come out!

So back to my story. We came home from our spa day and played a few rounds of Mario Kart. Then we went to our favorite sushi place for dinner, and it was amazing! Way more than we could eat. After dinner was the movie, Iron Man! I was a little skeptical going into it, but man was it good! It had all the elements of a super hero / comic book movie. There was the typical action, suspense, love story and some pretty good humor. I was pleased. Oh, and if you plan to see it still, make sure you stay until the end of the credits. It's a short little thing, but worth it. We finished off our adventure with a pair of brownie Iced Caps at Tim Horton's, and then headed back home for more Mario Kart. We were up until almost 1:30... which wasn't so good for me this morning. But I survived as you can see.

I'm Winning!

2008-05-04T17:11:00.000-07:00

I would like to take this opportunity to tell my Smelly... "I'm Winning!" For those of you in the dark, I'll have to tell you a little story.

Once upon a time, something like 4 years ago, I made a bet. My best friend and I were both getting a little on the chubby side, so we decided that it would be easier to slim down if we made it a competition. It wasn't. Neither of us really went anywhere. He blamed it on work and other stuff. I just didn't really give it a good run. Surprisingly, we have both on occasion renewed the bet. (oh yeah, the winner has to take the looser out for dinner.... counter-productive? So what?!) One of us always claims to be winning every time we talk, although usually neither of us are.

Fast forward to a year ago. I got married, gained more than I had ever lost, am not happy with it. This time around I have actually decided to do something about it. On a side note, my husband is tall and thin. read:very fit! When we got married he ended up loosing more than I had gained. We decided to get back in shape together. He started going back to the gym ( having quit shortly before we got married) and so did I. Now I cook 95% of meals and even pack lunches! Yeah, he's gained back about half the weight and I've lost the same. I've decided not to stop at getting back to where I was... as that's when the whole bet started. I've got a loooong way to go, BUT!!! I've already lost a quarter of the total I want to loose!!! That's right, I'm 25% done!

So Smelly.... you better get to work if you want to catch up!

In other news, it was Layla's birthday yesterday. She got a new toy and treats. The Hubby wanted to know how that made it different than any other day... I pretended not to hear.

Also something sad. My mom came out for a visit this afternoon which was great, until she told me about Fritz. Max and Fritz were my sister and my cats when we were little. We went to the SPCA and picked them out ourselves. Max (my cat) got sick a few years ago and had to be put down. Fritz ( my sister's) seemed to be doing really well until last year when he started having seizures. He didn't have them too often, but his health really started to deteriorate in general. They had to take him to the vet to be put to sleep on Thursday. He was almost 20!

On to happier topics. This time tomorrow I will be relaxed and have pretty toes! I can't wait for my massage!

Three things:
1. Pedicures and Massages in one afternoon!
2. Visiting with the Fam.
3. No rain so far today :)

So much for following through..

2008-04-30T15:28:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I was going to do Fun Monday this week... But it wasn't really do-able. You see the task was to describe your favorite walk, either in pictures or in words. And granted I could have done it in words, but it just wouldn't have done the view justice. You see, my favorite walk is any walk where the view is Layla's little tushy. I love to walk with her, but by the time I got home Monday night it was already getting dark, and even a little bit rainy. I'm a little bit of a whiner...can you tell? In any case, I've already wrecked the trend I was hoping to start. I won't give up though! I will persevere! You love it.

Well people, now you get to hear about all the things I am excited about. Like the fact that I am getting a new computer for work tomorrow!!! I have been waiting and waiting and waiting... ok not thaat long, you can take off one of the waitings. The computer I am currently using works just fine.. until the battery dies. And if you are wondering that takes approximately 3 minutes. It wouldn't be so bad if I could just plug it in and keep going, but the battery doesn't recognize the charger. Sometimes, on the rare occasions it does manage to connect, I get to use my computer and it makes me happy.

Also, Monday is the Hubby and my One Year Anniversary! I know, so long right? We've each planned a portion to the date day and my half is gonna be great. I've got the first half of the afternoon. At 2:30 we are going to the spa for a couples massage and then a pedicure. He needs the second one cause he can't reach his toes since the surgery and I'm not a huge fan of man feet. It's a surprise so he still doesn't know! It's two and a half hours long ( blissful sigh ) and then it's his turn. He is making reservations at some fancy restaurant and then we are going to go see a movie we have both been waiting for. Iron Man!!! I know, you'd think this is beneath me, but i loooove all those super hero/ comic book movies. I never got into any of that as a kid, so I have to get it all out of my system now. The next few days are looking pretty good from where I'm sitting!

Three Things ( I know, I've been neglecting you)
1. One year of being a pair
2. Apple ( including the iPhone coming to Canada!!!)
3. Happy thoughts :)

Fun Monday?

2008-04-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, so as I have been lurking the blogosphere (is that a word? I think I read it somewhere) I have discovered this thing called Fun Monday. Someone picks a topic or asks a questions and everyone else posts in response. You are supposed to link back to the original post so that everyone knows who posted and can read yours...but I'm not going to just yet. Give me a few weeks and lets see if I can keep this up before I make myself known to the internet.

Go here to read about Fun Mondays

So here is the question:

What have you done in your life that was worth doing? I want to know the moments in your life that you hope will be the ones to pass through your mind when your time comes. I hope that doesn't sound too morbid. This doesn't necessarily have to be items you have checked off your Bucket List, it can be those small moments that made you smile, or the time you got that huge promotion you deserved, or the first time your baby smiled at you out of pure joy. I want to know all the moments, big and small, that make life sweet!

When I think about the things that will likely go screaming across my mind in THE END, very few of them are the things I've done "worth doing". The majority are those I experienced as a result of another's kind heart.

I would think of all the beer league baseball games my mom and I went to and watched my dad. The time I scraped my knee on the sidewalk and the loud and crazy lady with the St. Bernard that even though she played waaay out in the field you could always hear her, got out the team's first aid kit and bandaged my 'wound'. Or the way it felt when Oli would give me airplane rides in the middle of the field. Maybe when they let me be the team's bat girl, even though I wasn't as fast as some of the boys who wanted to do it.

I would remember every detail of my wedding day. Now that was something worth doing.

I would remember long talks and late nights with Smelly.

I would remember Short Buddy Hugs.

I would remember the smells. The smell of the cologne my dad has worn since I was a kid. Hang Ten and Febreeze. Hawaiian Ginger. Campfire.

I would remember the way it felt sleeping in a cabin, or on a trampoline under the stars.

I would remember the Views. Eagle Mountain, Westminster Abby, Thank you Smell.

I will remember laughs. The BURST, the silent shaker, and the squeaky fan...

I will remember the smiles most of all.

Wow, this better be one heck of a looong 'moment'. Either that, or I'll just spend eternity with these on my mind... yeah, that would be okay too.

Who me?

2008-04-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

It seems as though I have been a great big slacker pants. For that I apologize. You see, my computer at home has been so slow that it can no longer keep up with my mediocre typing speed. I will be typing away and check to make sure I've phrased something correctly only to find that my screen is still a few lines back! It's not so awesome. So instead I'm blogging at work... so yup, still a slacker pants.. just not with my blog :)

Let me let you in on a few great things I've discovered recently:

1. Sugar free caramel. I'm all lactose and whatnot, so I've stopped having milk in my coffee. This also means that everything I enjoyed at Starbucks is no longer drinkable. Sugar Free Caramel to the rescue! I was afraid that I wouldn't be okay with the bitterness of black coffee, and I had long ago given up on sugaring my coffee. Now my drink of choice? Grandé Sugar Free Caramel Americano. Mmmmm

2. Hummus. I know, sounds gross right? But, the whole non-dairy side of my personality has clashed with the loves veggies and dip side of my personality. So, I put my 5 years of schooling to use and we had a mediation. The result-Hummus. It's wonderful and healthy even! I have even inspired a number of co-workers to rush out and purchase some before it's all gone.

3. Google Reader. My evening routine used to go like this. Get home from work, make dinner, watch token show of occasional interest, spend hoooouuurrs flipping from bookmark to bookmark just in case someone I may or may not know had the time to update their blogs while I was slaving away at work. Now me evening routine looks like this. Get home, make and eat dinner, watch token show of occasional interest, read a book or something because now that I have Google reader I do nothing but read blogs all day long as they pop up on my desktop, get bored of reading a book and search for more blogs to add to my subscriptions. Wonderful,isn't it?

4. Ebay. Long, looong ago I became a movie love. My sister and I have since fostered an obsession with certain 'family' movies from the eighties. These movie ( minus one) were all available on eBay! Yes that's right folks, I am the proud owner of a "Mac and Me', "Flight of the Navigator" , and " Harry and the Hendersons". The only one I was looking for that I wasn't able to get a hold of was "The Peanut Butter Solution" and that's only because it hasn't been released on DVD yet. But as soon as it does, it will find it's way into my collection. Oh, and there's "The Goonies". but I can get that at Rogers now that's it's been re-released :)

Jumper

2008-03-09T19:32:00.001-07:00

Many of you may not know this, but I'm a really big movie buff. I like just about any type of movie, as long as it's quality.

Today, the Hubby and I went and saw Jumper. Over all I give it a B-. I enjoyed the movie, however there were sooo many pieces missing to the plot. There was no back story, however we were supposed to believe in a century long rivalry. The love story didn't develop, it just happened. And the ending screamed sequel....but there was nothing to back that up. I know I'm being vague, but I don't want to give away too many details. Also, the lead female character was flat. She knows how to play one roll and one roll only. There was absolutely no depth to her character. I won't even go into all the plot lines that didn't go anywhere... really, they just dropped right out of the movie. I guess when you have 5 or 6 plot lines in one movie, a few of them a bound to suffer.

All that being said, there was a great deal to enjoy. I know, complicated right? The concept was fantastic! And all the special effects were breathtaking! The supporting male was this witty little British guy that you can't help but love. Wow, it's so much easier to describe all the poor aspects to a movie. The good ones always come out as... "It was so good!" I''l have to work on my descriptive abilities.

Cranky

2008-02-28T23:39:00.000-08:00

Things that make me angry:

1. Bad Drivers- This one I will refer to regularly, have no fear. I don't get why there are just so many of them! ( the voice inside my head goes " why are there so many stupid people? maybe there's a correlation...)

2. The few truckers that give all the rest a bad name. My best friend drives truck. He is a good driver. I have gone along for many an adventure. Today as I was approaching an intersection, a driver pulling a 50' trailer begins to turn left across my lane. He waves at me to stop as I am already screeching to a halt a couple of feet away from the passenger door of the cab. Um.... hello? I forgot... when you are that big you make up your own right of way. Grr..

3. Not being able to use a big garbage can. What the stink!? Our garbage can was apparently too big.... so they left it; and all the garbage inside of it. I'm gonna saw it in half.

4. Blisters. I have on on the bottom of my foot because I went for a long walk today in skate shoes.

5. Being cranky. I would much rather be happy.

Regardless, 3 Things I am thankful for:
1. Two days off in a row starting tomorrow.
2. 10 pounds lighter
3. Diet Pepsi

In Review

2008-01-10T23:46:00.000-08:00

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?

I got married... never done that before

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I didn't make any last year. Didn't make any this year either.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Nope, no new babies!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Yes.

5. What countries did you visit?

I went to Mexico for the first time ever. And to the US for the billionth time..

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007

Have? A house. But that's going to have to wait till 2012 I think.

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

May 5 - My wedding day :) How cheesy am I??

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Graduating!! Even though I refused to participate in the ceremony. (It was full of one- year- certificate wielding 19 year olds)

9. What was your biggest failure?

Letting my attitude sour over poor working conditions.

10. What was the best thing you bought?

My Car!! My pretty Fiji Blue Baby!

11. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Mark- he's growing into one heck of a man.

12. Whose behavior made you appalled and disgusted?

The friend who showed up high to our wedding...

13. What song will always remind you of 2007?

I Believe In A Thing Called Love- The Darkness

14. What do you wish you’d done more of?

A lot of things. I wish I had spent more time loving on people. Dancing. Praying.

15. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Worrying. Being frustrated.

16. Did you fall in love in 2007

Yes. With Layla our pretty little puppy.

17. What was your favorite TV program?

Oh gosh, I don't know! How I met your Mother, Heroes, Smallville, Gilmore Girls....

18. What was the best book you read?

Ahh Just one!! Not possible. The Traveler by John Twelve Hawkes, Any of the Dean Koontz or J.D. Robb books I read.

19. What one thing would have made your year measurably more satisfying?

Slowing down long enough to enjoy it.

20. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007

If it fits, I'll wear it.

21. What kept you sane?

My Hubby, My Short Buddy (got me through the wedding!) And being able to laugh at myself.

22. Who did you miss?

My hubby- every two week trip he was on. Plus a plethora of friends I didn't make enough time for.

23. Who was the best new person you met?

Um. Steven. One of the coolest guys I know. I bet he doesn't even know it.

24. Tell us a valuable lesson you learned in 2007

I don't wanna.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T13:50:00.000-08:00

This is the exciting post were I get to tell you all about the exciting things I got people for Christmas. But first I have to tell you a sad story.

I was looking at this clothing site online, and found the best ever shirt for my Short Buddy. It was perfect, I couldn't have come up with something better myself. So I went about ordering it, but they can't ship outside the US. I was discouraged, but then I was talking to a co-worker who told me that I could get it sent to the letterlock just across the border. So I got the address and attempted to order it again.... but I also needed an american credit card- which I didn't have. In a desperate attempt to make it happen, I e-mailed the company to see if I could make it work. A lovely gentleman e-mailed me back almost immediately and offered to help me figure things out. We used my paypal account (which I hadn't used in years and had almost forgotten about!) and set it all up. It went to the letterlock and it took me all of 20 minutes to zip across and grab it. Yay!!! It was perfect!!

Now, it comes to Christmas time. I've wrapped it and placed it under the tree, but Short Buddy is away for the week. No problem. She comes back, we make plans to go out for lunch...the day comes and the fabulous amazing present is no where to be found!!! Sigh

Anyways. Other things turned out great. I got my hubby a bunch of Hockey paraphernalia. I got this one shirt specially made. It says Hockey Fan on the front, and the back has our last name across the top with his # under it. He was pretty psyched. I also got him a vintage Detroit hoodie with the lace up neck. It's pretty much awesome.

I got Smelly these two t-shirts, one says "It's a redhead thing, you wouldn't get it" and the other says "Yes, it's natural" on the front, and then "No, I won't prove it" On the back. He liked them :)

My sister in law is a super hockey player, but she's been getting a little girlier since I started hanging around. I got her a long sleeve white shirt that has a pair of beaten up hockey skates on it, beside it says "my other dress shoes". It was awesome!!

There's a bunch more, but I won't go into it now. Christmas was good. We brought Layla with us to my parents, she was spoiled.
That is the Candy Cane bone she got in her stocking.

Then we went to my big family event. My Grandma knits, and she's really good at it. When I was little she used to make clothes for my barbies! Amazing right? Well this year, she made Layla two little sweaters.... heheh
The Hubby and I had decided not to make her wear little outfits and dress her up, but we put them on her so that we could take a few pictures and send them to Grandma. But she really liked them. She keeps picking them up and bringing them over to me to put on her.... The black one is her favorite. This is going to haunt me isn't it.

Hey you, I love your soul

2007-12-22T17:51:00.000-08:00

It's almost here!! I'm a Christmas Freak, I admit it! I'm still a little kid on the inside. I'm trying to think of all the exciting things that have happened in the past few days and I feel as though I'm coming up short.

Oooh I hung out with my Heather!! She's home for Christmas break ( see, there are a ton of reasons I love this time of year) and it's the first time I've seen her in over a year. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I'm a novelaholic. I have two weeks off of work and I think I'm having an allergic reaction to all this time off. I mean..I cleaned out our laundry room/storage. Yeah. I have also been reading like a crazy person. Since the beginning of my time off.... today being day 4.. I've read 3 books, part way through the fourth.

When we were on our honeymoon I packed two or three books, under the assumption that I would read a little while we were on the beach. I didn't take into consideration that we would be there for two weeks. By the end of the first week I was without any books. So I discovered the activities center, and their meager library. This also lead me to the discovery of a new author. J.D. Robb. I later discovered that this was simply an alter ego of an already popular author, one whose writing I couldn't stand. I'm glad she discovered her alter ego. I don't enjoy the style of writing she uses in her popular books, but this other series is fantastic. It is set in the future about fifty years. The main character is this cop married to a billionaire.

I've also started reading "Wicked" based on a recommendation from a friend. I started reading it at the same time as of of the J.D. Robb ones, so it has been on the back burner for a bit. As soon as I run out of the others I'll get back to it.

I finished the new Dean Koontz one a couple weeks ago, "The Darkest Evening of the Year". Sooo Good! For those of you who don't know, I'm obsessed with Dean Koontz. I've read everything of his in reach. Some of the older stuff has been difficult to get my hands on, but I'm always working on it. In any case, the new one is great. A little disturbing, as usual, but amazing.

Yesterday I read the new Jeffrey Deaver one, "The Sleeping Doll". It's a 'spin-off' of another series I enjoy. Also, very good. After reading the first few chapters, I was skeptical. It seemed like the author had written himself into a corner. But No! It went in a direction I didn't expect. And it had one of those endings that, well, didn't. Every time you thought it was over, something else came up. A few things were predictable, but for the most part I couldn't put it down..... which it why I read it all in one day :P

You know who I have always loved? Margaret Atwood. Read "Moral Disorder" recently. Not one of my favorites. "Handmaids Tale", I think that's my favorite of hers. See, I don't love every book I read. I am capable of criticism.

I need another bookshelf desperately. All my books are double stacked. It makes me sad not to be able to spread them out in all their glory. So, pretty much I wrote all about books today. Sorry for all of you interested in the things really going on in my life. I wanted to talk about books.

Three Things:

1. Z Family Christmas on Monday
2. Walks with Layla
3. I get to see my family on Tuesday!!

12 Days of Christmas

2007-12-14T12:23:00.000-08:00

I'm a good wife. I'm just putting that out there.

There wasn't one specific thing I wanted to get my hubby for Christmas this year. I had a whole bunch of ideas for smaller things, but no big ticket item. Instead, I decided to do the 12 days of Christmas for him. The presents get a little bigger and a little better each day. We have something like 4 family Christmas events this year, so it turns out to be more that 12 presents....but that's what wives are for :) I have had so much fun shopping for him this year! The last package arrived today, the Christmas morning gift, and I'm so excited! It is exactly what I thought it would be!

By the way, I'm sick again! The second time in less than a month. Unless this is some sort of flashback to the original sickness....but it doesn't feel like it.

OOoo, more good news! I found cute Christmas tins for all my baking! I've been keeping them in rubbermaids up until now. But now is the time to start giving away all the yummies! So I have something like 8 tins in a bunch of different sizes to give to people.

That is all.

3 Things:
1. I am just about done my Christmas Shopping!
2. I have a great job, with great people
3. I'm reading a really good book :)

Christmas Time

2007-12-12T09:55:00.000-08:00

I realize this is the second post in an hour, but I remember a picture that I have been wanting to put up, and dang it, I'm going to!

I've said how much I like Christmas right? And how I love Christmas Baking? Good. So then you won't be surprised when I tell you that I have already tried 5 different recipes this season. All new too. I have been bringing them to work and testing them out on the Sr. High pastor. So far so good!
Also, we have decorated the tree, aaaand wrapped ALL our presents! I was a little nervous about putting up the tree, fearing that Layla would have it down within minutes. It has been up for almost two weeks now, and she has shown almost no interest in it. Then I was afraid to put the present underneath, she loves to chew on all thing cardboard, or anything with corners. Again, she has barely even noticed! I realize that as I post this, she will likely discover an interest in all things Christmas.

In any case, she's got the Christmas spirit, See?

Yet Another Rant

2007-12-12T09:33:00.000-08:00

I like Starbucks, I can admit it. What I don't like are incompetent staff.

I pass by 2 Starbucks on my way to work in the morning, they are two blocks apart. The first one I pass has a very awkward parking lot, but it has a Kayla. The second one is more accessible, however the staff are as ridiculous as they come. They do, however, have a drive through, points for them. I sent Kayla a message so that I would know when she works, that way I would dare the treacherous terrain in hopes of a pleasant indoor experience. This morning I went to the first Starbucks thinking that today was one of Kayla's shifts. That was my first mistake. The parking lot was deceptively empty and gave me a false sense of confidence in making this a quick journey. That was shattered the moment I stepped inside and realized that not only was Kayla not working, but there was not chance of retreat now that the enemy had closed in behind me.

I made my way up to the counter, after having been scolded along with a number of other customers for not lining up close to the coolers...which was the obvious place to stand? The moment I reached the counter, the lovely staff member walked away, obviously remembering she had something much more important to do. After a few moments another gentleman approached the till, only to ask the equally impatient woman behind me what he could get started for her. She ordered, apologized to me, insincerely of course, and off he went to make her beverage. A moment or two later, he looked at me, possibly wondering why I was still standing at the counter, and asked if I had ordered. No, I hadn't. At that moment, little miss I-have-more-important-things-to-do returned to the till and took my order, charging me for my own beverage, and that of ms. insincere apology. No problem, nothing that can't be fixed. I then ordered the "spinach and egg breakfast sandwich" only to be corrected; "do you mean the Egg Florentine breakfast sandwich?" In my head (I didn't want to be rude) I responded with a little " is there another breakfast sandwich with spinach in it? No? Then yes, I'll have the Egg Florentine." Instead I just said yes.

Beverage and slightly warmed sandwich in hand, I ventured back out to the once deserted parking lot to find that it was no longer so. Ah Ha! I thought to myself as I made the required 13 point turn to get out of my parking spot. Nearly nudging the 4 or 5 cars that had boxed me in since my arrival 15 minutes ago, I was now on my way. Kayla works tomorrow morning, mental note.

ok, for really now.

2007-12-06T16:16:00.000-08:00

Hello all.

So I feel as though I have a million things to say, and then the moment I sit down to let it all out.... nothing. Very much like my time in pre-school. I went to playschool at a church by my parents house, even though my family does not "do" church. I had the very best teacher, Mrs. Janzen. Each Friday our class would go to the sanctuary for a prayer time. The student of the week was allowed to be the one who got to pray out loud. Every week I wished it were my time to pray, having so many things on my little mind. Finally at the end of the year, or what felt like the end of the year anyway, I was student of the week! I thought all week of things I could pray for come Friday chapel time. The day finally arrived and we made our way to the special place, singe file of course. We would all line the steps of the stage on our knees and the student of the week would pray. I knelt there and said nothing. It was my turn.. finally... and I had nothing to say. Needless to say that even ended with a great deal of tears and reassurance from my beloved Mrs. Janzen. I think I've been scarred for life. Even now as a youth pastor, praying out loud still gives me that sinking feeling in my stomach.

Now that we've all had a little look into my psyche, let's move on.

We're having night games at the church tonight and I'm excited. A large wrench was thrown into the plans at the last minute, but I'm adapting. Our church is having some guy I've never heard of do some concert on Saturday night. Apparently he's popular, because it sold out very quickly. He then decided to add another show.... cause he's awesome. Which wasn't too big of a deal. Until he decided that he was going to need, get this, every single class room in the entire church for the people who were helping him. I don't know if you have the right picture. This is a very big church we are talking about. So now, I am restricted to the gym, youth room, and womens ministry center.... Oh, and we have to be quiet. I don't think he's met man Middle Schoolers.

It's not that bad, I maaay be making it out to be worse than in really is because I have had to spend my entire day re-planning my entire event. It's a good thing I don't hold grudges... or know the guy.

Three Things
1. I am no longer that sick blob lying on the couch watching episode after episode of Gilmore Girls.... Although my husband is now... nope, not taking out the Gilmore Girls part.
2. Tonight is going to be awesome!
3. I haven't gone into debt getting ready for Christmas this year!

I'm on a roll

2007-12-06T11:45:00.001-08:00

Is it weird that a part of me misses being in school? It is a very small part of me, but it's there none the less. I've been in school for 80% of my life. To stop now seems wrong. Sigh. Duncan, you and Kelsey were right, I will be the forever student.

It's December!

2007-12-05T16:00:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year. Christmas makes me happy. You know why? I love to shop for other people. Shopping for myself is fun, but I know exactly how much joy I will get out of each item. I can accurately predict the level of excitement that will go along with each purchase. When you shop for others there are no preconceived expectations. I am currently resisting the temptation to share all the unbelievable gifts I have found this year. Out of all the people I bought things blog-worthy for, I know at least two of them check in here every so often. Post-Christmas I promise I will share with all my many finds with you. P.S. I'm almost done all my shopping!

Also, Christmas means I get to bake, which I am sure we have already discussed, is a talent of mine. That's right, so you'd better get your requests in now, or there will be no treats with your name on them! I like to take recipes from cookbooks and then change them to suite people in my life. Like my husband looove mint things, especially candy canes. Last year, after successfully hiding the candy canes for a few days, I made crushed candy cane cookies. Sooooo good! Yup, I've already started a list of all the out-of-the-ordinary things I need to but this year. I have the 18th of December until the 2nd of January off this year, so there will be much baking.

In other news, it snowed and I loved it. I have been hoping for snow this year so that I could see how Layla would react. It was fantastic. We let her out when it got to be about ankle hight, human ankles that is. She kept running out a few feet into the yard, and then racing back in the house. When I finally caved in and played with her she started to enjoy it a little more. She would trot a few steps, and then realize her feet had left imprints in the snow and attack them. The prints on the walkway pooled water, so they were allowed to stay, purely for drinking purposes. We got a few pictures of her, one of them is super cute.

I better have children one day, I'm not to be one of those women who grows old with no children and refers to her dogs as her babies. Not going to happen.

This thing that Jane did

2007-11-28T10:42:00.000-08:00

I'm only following orders. Jane's blog said that if I had a blog I had to do it. Shoot, now everyone knows I've been lurking. Aaaanyways. It's a Christmas get to know you thing. Since Christmas is only 27 days away, I think it's ok.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bag?
Wrapping wrapping wrapping!!! Gifts bags are for the un-creative! Wrapping with sharp corners and lots of ribbon, and sometimes pretty bows. But always wrapping.

2. Real tree or artificial?
When I have my own house it will be real. At this point it is not, and I am temporarily sad.

3. When do you put up your tree?
The first weekend in December! And luck for me, it's the 1st this weekend! ( I have a rule: No Christmas till Dec. 1st)

4. When do you take down your tree?
Mmm usually the first weekend in Jan.

5. Do you like eggnog?
GAG! so, no.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
My bike. My sister and I both got bikes one Christmas, it was probably the best ever. They were big-girl-bikes, so they were special. Also meant we couldn't ride around the living room, although we tries and were stopped after only a few decorative casualties.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
No, I have very few decorations outside of the overdone tree.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
Auntie Barb. Hands down.

9. Easiest person to buy for?
Shannon. I'm having to stop myself from buying anything else.

10. Worst Christmas gift you've ever received?
Every year my family does this really fun gift exchange. Everyone buys a generic gift values at approx. $50 and then we play a game to see who get which one. There is one person who always cheaps out, and another who has her own sense of style. Every year I get one of their gifts. The stained glass candle holders that looked like water pitchers. Or the matching salad tongs and picture frame..... just in case you want your picture frame to go with your salad.....

11. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail! I like to put up all the cards and look at them :)

12. Favorite Christmas movie?
The Santa Clause. Number 1. ooh and the old cartoons, they are awesome too.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Um, well a while ago already. Actually I'm almost done and it's still a month away.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I would never.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Mmmm Grandma Whitey's Un-Bake Chocolate cake. It reminds me of Christmas.

16. White or coloured lights?
I've converted to all white this year. Something is wrong with me. But I have all new tree decorations and they are brightly colored so I didn't want to bombard everyone with color. Oh, whatever, I think it's pretty when all the lights inside and out are white.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Noel

18. Travel for Christmas or stay home?
HOME! Traveling for Christmas is just wrong! What about family?? Hello!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers?
Yup.

20. Angel or Star on top of tree?
I have nothing yet this year. At home we had this thing that I think was supposed to be a star. But it looked like one of those things they try to sell to kids at the Icecapades. So yeah, I'll stick with star for now.

21. Open presents Christmas Eve or Morning?
Christmas Morning. We tried every year to get our parents to let us open just one on Christmas eve....no go.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
The bustle. It's so busy, it's hard to enjoy the good stuff.

23. What I love most about Christmas?
The family stuff. I know, weird hey. I actually like my family though. And exchanging gifts with my sister, we're fun.

It's all ridiculous

2007-11-28T10:27:00.000-08:00

I have been trying for the past two weeks to blog, however blogger has decided that I don't exist, except for when I do. Make sense? No, not to me either, which is the very reason for the rant!

In other news, I'm sick. Not the sniffles and tea kind. More like the throat replacement, nose disownment, lie in bed and moan all day kind. My poor husband. Actually, all I did yesterday was lie on the couch and watch season three of Gilmore Girls. I don't think we've discussed my TV watching habits yet, so now seems as good a time as any.

I seldom watch series while they are running. I just don't see the logic in racing home after youth only to realize that I have missed the first ten minutes of Grey's Anatomy, which will always be when they reveal the issue the entire episode will revolve around and will not mention again, however allude to constantly throughout the entire episode leaving me in a state of panic and confusion.

No, I don't follow series during the season. I prefer to wait until the end of the season and catch them on DVD. The only problem with that is the stupid cliffhanger endings! They make me want to rush home after youth to catch the season premier just so that I know who goes home with McDreamy.

So, even better than seasons on DVD......Series on DVD. I have found that patience (in some areas) pays off. I caught a few episodes of Gilmore Girls many years ago and it was instant infatuation. I knew, however, that it was not meant to be ( not having a TV of my own at the time really solidified that observation). Now, the series is over ( tear ) and I have seasons one through 5 in my filthy little hands. This way I will know who takes Rory to prom as soon as I want, or which college she goes to, or if Lorelei ever actually follows through with a man. See, no waiting. Sigh, what a wonderful feeling.

Consider No News, Good News

2007-10-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd update my adoring fans as to the recent adventures I've had. Except.... I don't know if there are any.

I come into some very bad habits. Like the "come home from work, drop everything in the hallway and read all my favorite blogs" one. And I am not even considerate enough to keep my own up to date.

OK then. Here's the low down ( people still said that when I was cool).

The new job- amazing. I'm having a great time, Loooooving the staff I work with. The Student and Family ministries department is just fantastic. My next door neighbour Jon, is just like me. We spend half the day bursting into each others office with some random information or cool story. Today he called me ( even though I can hear him talking through the office wall) and invited me to a showing of Dr. Seuss' "the Sneeches" in his office. Obviously I accepted the invitation!

In other news, I GOT MY CAR! It's super fantastic aaand FIJI blue. I hope you weren't worried friends, I got what I wanted. She's a dream. I've even taken her on the freeway TWICE now. And nothing fell off!! I know.. Amazing.

I've saved the sad things until last. I'm debating including them even as I type. I was able to spend time with one of my very favorite people this week. I just wish it had been under better circumstances. Tragedy has just hit their family. I'm sure any of you with a TV have heard or seen the event. Her Dad is Ed Schellenberg, the innocent man involved in the tragedy in Surrey. It's hard to show someone how much you love them when something like this has effected them. It just never seems like enough. She is doing very well, it seems to be everyone else that's having a hard time. No one knows how to make it better for her, and everyone seems to think they should. It's because she's not only my favorite, but just about everyone else she meets' as well. She's just like her Dad in that respect. She makes a lasting impression everywhere she goes. She is loved more that I'm sure even she knows.

Three things I'm thankful for:
1. Surprise staff meeting tomorrow ( no idea what we're doing!! soooo fun!)
2. An Awesome sister in law who loves to shop with me
3. A good God

Guilt Ridden

2007-10-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

I am so very sorry! It's not my fault, I've been ridiculously busy ...with..... MY NEW JOB!! That's right folks, I am officially the Pastor of Middle school and KIDstuf.

Monday was the longest day ever! I made sure to sleep in as late as possible to make the day go by faster. The only reason I did wake up in the morning hours at all was because Brandon came and got me...he was lonely. Watching TV occupied me for a little while, then the internet, but I couldn't sit still. I cleaned till there was nothing left to clean. I did laundry, folded it, and put it away. Finally I put my energy to good use and made some fantastic chocolate chip cookies.

The meeting went well, seemingly too well. I spoke for less than two minutes and then the floor was open to anyone to ask questions. The first person simply wanted to know how I'd heard about the position and what the process was like. simple. The second and final question was basically a statement. "I have three children and they all hate this youth group because it's too big and loud." all I could think to say was ..."and then?" but I held back and let her finish, and by finish I mean she said " so what are you going to do about that?" I, of course, went on to explain my philosophy of ministry which seemed to appease her.

After we left they were given the chance to ask any questions they wanted to without me being there. I was told there were none. The same process was followed for the two other people being voted on.

In the meantime, Brandon and I went to Timmy's to distract me with coffee and soup. It didn't last long. An hour later I could sit still no longer so we went to wander Future Shop and distract ourselves with expensive shiny things. FINALLY I got the call, and all he said was " So, you know there's a dress code right?" ha ha funny.

The next morning, I was hard at work frying my brain with new names a policies all across the map :)

Oh, and Duncan. :P to you spelling man

I'm a Genius!

2007-09-26T17:28:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty impressed with myslef right now, and not just because I was able to spell genius. I really like to create edible works of art. Not necessarily of the visually stimulating variety, more the makes-your-mouth-water-from-a-mile-away kind. Yesterday I had fun making dinner. At my cousins wedding a few weeks back they had these potatoes that still make my stomache grumble in anticipation. Brandon is also a potato monger. Therefore I took it upon myself to re-create the wondrous potatoes. They were like mashed potatoes rolled into little potatoey balls, seasoned and then baked to a crispy perfection. So that's what I did. Except I added a little cheese to the mashy part. Needless to say, they were amazing.

Today I made rice krispy squares with chocolate chips. Mmmmmm. I'm pretty sure all the females in my family have this weird gene. My mom is always calling me with new things she's created and the I just HAVE to try. So I usually do, and they are always amazing. And my sister is a pastry chef...need I say more? Check back in a few years, my husband will be fat as a testament to my culinary mastery.

On another note, the vote is less than a week away :S Everyone at the church is overwhelmingly confident that I have the job, which is good I guess cause they will be the ones voting. My manager at rogers just found out that I will probably be leaving. She has known for a long time that it's coming so it's not a surprise, I guess she just thought she'd have more time to find a replacement. I almost feel bad, she's going to have a really rough time keeping things going when I go. I'm pretty sure she still has no idea how much I actually do, since I've been doing it before she even started. When Jax quit i picked up most of the slack, but who's going to do it when I go? Well, I guess it won't be my problem... sigh

Three things:
1. Puppy training tonight!
2. No more trips ever!! He's my husband full time now :)
3. 5 DAYS!!!

Empty

2007-09-22T23:15:00.000-07:00

I don't know what to think. You know when something happens to a good friend and you just don't know what to say to them. It dosen't matter if it's a good or bad thing, just that it leaves you utterly speechless, and thoughtless for that matter.

Something monumental happened yesterday. I cleaned my house. Not just tidied, but really cleaned. Washed floors, scrubbed toilets, the whole shebang. I was proud. Now my goal is to see how long I can keep it looking this way. The goal is to keeo it clean at least until Brandon can see it. Yeah, I know he comes home tomorrow :)

There are too many half-thoughts in my head and none of them are making their way all the way out. My apologies.
Maybe if someone commented at least once I'd feel compelled to continue writing. Yes, this is a guilt trip.

Three Things:
1. 9 Days!
2. I'll have a hubby tomorrow!
3. My Short Buddy