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What have I been reading:
As I believe I mentioned already, I was reading The Glass Castle. I didn't really enjoy it all that much - a little too depressing for my liking. But I plugged through and finished it up about 3 weeks ago.

In April, I started reading The Te of Piglet thanks to Mr. J. I own the The Tao of Pooh, and have read it on a number of occasions. I guess Mr. J thought it would be good for me to read the second book. It was enlightening, however, I didn't enjoy it as much as The Tao of Pooh.

My current reads I started a couple of weeks ago. Mr. J lent me World War Z. I have read the first chapter, but put it down because I was much too engrossed in The Walking Dead. The is my second time reading trade paperback graphic novels. My first was Fables. R:tAG started me on them during my visit last fall. I really enjoyed them, and have continued on with the series. In fact, I also just finished reading volume 8 Wolves. I highly recommend both series; The Walking Dead is fantastic. It has been a long time since I haven't been able to put down a book.

Finally, I spent some of my weekend reading old posts. I was feeling particularly interested in remembering my time in Oxford. At least that is where it started, and then I started going back even further and reading older posts. I stumbled upon this post, and remember recently talking about it at Jenn & Al's wedding. Of course I had to watch it again. So good!

What have I been working on:
I am finally about 3/4 done the baby sweater that I started way back in the fall. It is a great little sweater, and I am using some nice, soft light green yarn, however the pattern is all screwed up. I called upon The Knitting Queen back in the fall for some help, and she provided me with detailed instructions that I still reference (due to my large gaps in knitting). Initially the sweater was just a project, but since my girlfriend announced her pregnancy it has become a gift for the baby - which is due in August. I should finish it in time, no problem.

I was also planning on knitting a blanket for the baby, but we'll have to see how dedicated I am to knitting over the summer. I usually only knit in the winter, but I have been picking it up here and there when I am not too busy, which isn't very often these days.

My most recently completely project is the painting I did for Jenn & Al as their wedding gift. Of course, they didn't get it in time for me to present to them on their wedding day, but I advised Al that it would be coming shortly. I got to work early this morning and finished it off in about 3 hours. Now all it has to do is dry. Because I use oils, I like to make sure I give it plenty of time to dry. It should be in their hands at the end of June. I hope they enjoy it.

What have I been active in:
I am still going to the gym as often as I can. However, I have been fairly active practising for Corporate Challenge over the past number of weeks. On Saturday, we competed for the first time in the Bowling event. We placed 6th. On Monday and Tuesday, I will be busy competing in the Volleyball. On Saturday, we have the Slo-Pitch tournament, and the following Friday is my last event - Horseshoes. I am looking forward to the remaining events.

Everything else:
I am busy with work. I have started playing Diablo II again. My brother and his family are coming to visit this weekend, and Suzi the week after that. Life is definitely staying interesting and busy. Good times!

Not so busy weekend

For the first time in about 2 months I am at home for the weekend with nothing much to do other than enjoy my home and time by myself. On the one hand, I am not sure what to do with myself, since I have been going going going for the past number of weeks, however, it has been nice to sleep in, watch movies, play computer and do my chores around the house at ease.

However, I wouldn't say that I am in the best of moods. Thursday night I spent the evening with Bne; we watched Crash, and like Bne already said in his most recent post, there isn't much to say about the movie. It was good...great...thought provoking. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Anyways, it was the last night Bne & I got to hang out....and I guess I am just a little sad and mopey about that. I saw him earlier today cuz he is storing a few furniture items at my house, and I have been down pretty much since then. I guess I didn't realize or expect that I would be so bummed out by his leaving. Bne has been a great friend to me since I moved to Edmonton, and it saddens me to see him go. Although he is only 2 1/2 hours away, I can't just pop over to his place anytime I want.

Coupled with his leaving, seeing all my friends this past weekend reminded me how much I miss them all. We are all starting to get spread out, and with that, it becomes more important to stay in touch.

I am looking forward to summer, as I will be travelling more to Calgary and Saskatoon to visit and spend time with those I love.

Today, I had participated in my first Corporate Challenge event - bowling. We came in 6th over all, which was just enough to place and get points for our company. My first game was ok at 147, however I am a little embarrassed by the 93 I got in the second game.

The evening has been fairly relaxing with my big bowl of popcorn and The Color Purple. Tomorrow I plan on getting out my oil paints so I can get started on some belated gifts.

"You Two - Fight to the Death."

While reading blogs this morning, I found a cool game on Major Grooves blog. I only had a chance to play around with it a bit before I went to work, but it looks pretty cool. You get to make your own Gladiator, and then fight it out in the arena. Sweet!

Swords And Sandals 2

Fantabulous Weekend

I had the best extra long weekend ever!!!

I had an amazing time at Al & Jenn's wedding, I got super spoiled and pampered by Mr. J (formerly known as MFJ), ate way too much food, and got to see and visit with my friends who I love and miss very very much. It couldn't have been better.

There is way too much detail to go into, but I would like to thank Al & Jenn for getting married, it was a wonderful celebration and a great venue to reunite with old friends. I would also like to thank them for having Mr. J & I for supper on Monday and the wonderful parting gifts we got. I love my cutting board, thanks. Like Mr. J said, "you should get married every weekend." :)

Also, thanks Suz for having a great party. Make sure you let me know of any in the future and I will do my best to attend. I am really looking forward to your visit and some much needed visiting.

Darn Colds

Why is it that I have to get sick right before a big event? I haven't been sick in over 2 years and my body picks this weekend to get a sore throat..argh. I am doing my best to combat it with Vitamin C, Echinacea, Multivitamin, and some generic cold assist. I can't quite tell just yet if it is working, but I feel good enough to go to work and function. Usually when I get a cold I am out for a couple of days. It probably helped that I finally got a good nights sleep last night.

It probably isn't helping the amount of extra things I am doing this week. Yesterday was a big BBQ banquet for work. I went there right after work and didn't get home until just after 9. I was exhausted, but still had a few more things to do to get ready for the weekend before I headed off to bed.

Today I have volleyball practice for Corporate Challenge and then hopefully some quiet visiting time with R:tAG, TUO & Bne.

Tomorrow afternoon I am off to Saskatoon for an extended weekend full of excitment, surprises and relaxation. I am going to need all the relaxation I can get if this cold gets any worse.

Hectic & Busy

I am still fairly swamped at work. I have been working quite hard over the past couple weeks on a variety of things. My lunch breaks have become few and far between. It is frustrating when your work feels wasted because of delays and unforseen circumstances. But I guess you just have to keep going and reassure yourself with happy thoughts of work and the dedication that is there.

After a fairly stressful day yesterday, I was ready to de-stress and I had a whole evening of activities planned. I was out the door by 4pm to go to my first Slo-pitch practice for Corporate Challenge. I haven't played in a couple summers so it was nice to get back into it. I have played Slo-pitch most summers with Co-op (either when I was working at the grocery store or Fed) teams for the past number of years and I thoroughly enjoy it. It looks like this is going to be a lot of fun.

After ball, I met up with Andy. We hit Red Robin for supper and then saw The Reaping.

I didn't get home til almost 10, after picking up some drugs to combat a potential cold. I sure don't want to be sick this weekend. That would just suck.

Surprises

The weekend was very busy..but fantastic.

Friday, I surprised MFJ & Al with my presence at the den and cookies in tow. Both were elated to see me and were thankful for the generous batch of cookies.

Saturday morning I met up with a few of my MBA friends for brunch at the Broadway Cafe. Only a few of us could make it, but it was good to catch up on what everyone was doing. I was the only one that could make it from out of town.

Saturday afternoon, MFJ & I went to see Fido. It was ok - I think MFJ described it as quirky when I was having difficulty describing it to Al. Definitely not your typical zombie movie.

It was a fairly nice day up to this point, but apparently the weather decided to shift and we were faced with a thunderstorm after we left the theatre. It rained pretty hard for about an hour, and tapered off enough for us to take in a nice walk along the trail behind Defienbaker Centre at the university. Just as we were to get back into the car, the sky got real nasty and we were faced with rain, and hail this time.

The storm didn't last too long, and I was on my way out to Biggar. I arrived in time for supper and was off to the dance recital. It was so good. My niece looked real cute in her pink tutu. No tears this year, but almost.

I have a very busy week ahead of me, and then it is back to Saskatoon/North Battleford for the weekend. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone, it is going to be an amazing weekend.

Probably Should Post Something

I guess it has been almost a week since I last posted. So I should probably give an update.

Girls weekend was a blast. We shopped and shopped and shopped, alas I did not find a new dress for the wedding. I guess my back-up dress will have to do. Although BFF found a dress, Andy got some things for her sisters baby shower, and I found exactly what I was looking for, for a Mother's Day gift. We talked a lot about life and relationships. It was fantastic. I love BFF & Andy a lot, they are very supportive and have lots of good advice. We definitely ate way more than we should of. I am sure we made enough food Saturday night to feed a 10-person party, but who cares, we had a great time.

Work has been very hectic all week. I am busy with many projects, training and employee orientations. It has been difficult to even find time to take lunch. I am so glad that the weekend is just on the horizon. I desperately need a break.

This weekend I am returning to Biggar for Mother's Day celebrations and my neices dance recital. Last years recital was amazing and actually made me all teary. It had been 11 years since I was at the last dance recital and that was my very own. It brought back so many memories I couldn't hold the tears back. I am sure this year will be different, then again, who knows. I have become much more expressive and emotional over the past few months I might just start balling when I see my neice come out on stage.

I think I am going to bake cookies tonight. Yummy.

Snow!?!

Alrighty, I have almost had enough of this shitty weather. I think it was nicer in March than it has been over the last couple of weeks. In fact, I recall posting about Spring all the way back at the beginning of March. So much for an early spring.

I figured it wasn't too nice out when I woke up to the wind howling outside. But when I saw a thin layer of snow on the ground, I wasn't too happy. And to think, my dad was just out in my yard last weekend mowing my lawn. Sheesh.

Apparently the weather here in Edmonton can be inconsistent. Not as bad as Calgary, but the Edmonton area has been know to get snow storms in the middle of May - great! At least in Saskatchewan it is pretty consistent. It is damn cold for about 7 months and nice and warm for the remaining. Considering I am still in my first year of living in Alberta, I think I will ponder through a few more seasonal cycles before I make a conclusion of which weather pattern I prefer.

In other news, you are probably wondering what the heck I am doing up so early on a Saturday morning. Well, thursday night was a bit late, just a bit (those darn phone conversations...too many interesting things to say I guess), so I was absolutely exhausted yesterday and was in bed by 10pm. I didn't fall asleep right away, but I woke up refreshed and ready to go around 6AM this morning. Plus, I am off to pick up BFF soonish from the airport.

Other than some shopping, most of our activities should be indoor, so the weather doesn't really put a damper on the weekend. I am definitely looking forward to the +23 they have forcasted for Tuesday.

Busy, Busy Week

It has been a fairly hectic week. I have been swamped at work.

Aside: Yes, I realize that I am blogging from work, and that could be perceived as not being busy, but I am, I just needed a break.

I have been in meeting after meeting all week. We have had a number of different reps on site training our staff and presenting on software upgrades for the entire week. I wasn't given too much notice, and therefore found myself double and triple booked. However, I managed to work it all in, although I felt somewhat like a little butterfly, flying all over the office and not really staying too long in any meeting. I guess some of the managers and leaders decided at the last minute that it would be a good idea to have the L&D advisor sit in on these meetings, so when it comes time to train the rest of our internal employees I have some idea of what we actually use these programs for. It is a good thing that I learn stuff relatively quickly, otherwise we would have some big problems. I don't even use any of these programs that I am going to have to develop internal training for. However, I am pretty confident I can make it happen and do a good job. I was told by a co-worker of mine on more than one occasion in the last couple of weeks that there has been a definite increase in the amount of L&D that has occurred in the organization since I arrived. That made me feel pretty good.

As for my personal life, things are extremely busy and going well. I had supper with friends on Monday night, went bowling with co-workers and did some power exercising on Tuesday, took in a Aquafit class last night, and now I have some house cleaning to take care of over the next couple of days. The next 2 nights should be somewhat more relaxing. Other than hitting the gym after work, I should be maxing and relaxing at home. My house is still fairly clean since MFJ visited, but it could use a quick vacuum. My BFF is coming to visit this week, so I want to make sure my home is in tip-top shape. Not that she would really care.

We have a full weekend of manless entertainment planned - Eating, Shopping, Drinking, Eating, Girl Talk. Sorry folks, no pillow fights.