Life after 30

Busy Fall

2010-11-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? I can't believe it's already the middle of the November. Thank goodness we don't have any snow yet.

A lot has happened since the last time I posted.

October was very busy with Thanksgiving, returning to work, and of course, Master K's 1st birthday. It was a whirlwind month. I was sleep deprived for most of the month with a temporary case of insomnia; Master K was teething again and figuring out how to stand on his own and take his first steps...but we managed to get through the month.

Master K's birthday was a blast. We had quite a few people over: Master K's friends (with moms), my parents, and a few close friends. Malcolm played, opened gifts and smashed cake in his face. It was the perfect day.

I've been back a work for a few weeks now, and it's been good so far. The first couple of weeks I was only part-time and it was a tad boring because no one was in the office. But once I started full-time, things were back into swing and I'm feeling a bit busier now. We are looking and reorganizing our department and some roles and responsibilities, so it's an exciting time for me to come back. My year off has brought with it a new and fresh perspective, and now I feel like I want to 'change the world' at work. I guess after being away for a whole year, you aren't caught up in the day to day life of work, and you can see things in a different way or see completely new opportunities. I just hope my colleagues don't tire of my enthusiasm.

Nothing too exciting is happening in November. Master K currently has a pretty terrible cold and is teething once again. He continues to practice his walking every day now, taking more and more steps each day. Hopefully he'll be a pro by Christmas time.

We are off to Miami to celebrate Christmas with Mr. J's dad and wife. We'll be gone for 10 days, and I can't wait. Not only do I need a vacation, it'll be great to spend more time with my father-in-law and celebrate the holidays. I don't hink Mr. J has celebrated Christmas with his dad since he was a kid. Plus, it'll be warm. I plan on basking in the sun and wearing my bathing suit as much as possible.

The Happy Side of Tears

2010-10-04T19:05:00.002-06:00

There have only been a few times (that clearly stand out) that I have cried from sheer happiness and joy. It is a completely different feeling than crying from sadness. When crying from sadness, my body quivers/shakes, I whimper, I usually have heartache. However, when overjoyed to the extend that I come to tears, well, let's just say that ecstasy consumes me and washes over me at the specific moment. Almost like you've experienced so much pleasure, the only release there is, is crying.

#1: The moment I heard Malcolm's heartbeat. I was 10 weeks pregnant and Mr. J was unable to come to the appointment. It was my first real pre-natal appointment and I really didn't know what to expect. I surely wasn't expecting the Dr. to check for the baby's heartbeat. Because it was still fairly early, she warned me that we probably wouldn't hear it. After a couple of minutes of her sliding the fetal doppler over my belly, we heard the heartbeat loud and clear and strong. I instantly became overwhelmed with emotion and began to cry. Still, after this long, I get emotional when I speak of it.

#2: October 23, 2009, the birth of our son, Master K. Upon seeing my son for the 1st time, I was completely taken over by happiness and awesomeness. To finally see, in the flesh, this perfect little person Mr. J and I had created, the little person we had waited so long to meet, it was beyond my imagination; beyond words.

#3: October 3, 2010, Master K looked at me and said 'Mama' as clear as can be. I welled up with tears and hugged him tight. I can't even begin to explain my feelings.

I'm sure I will have many more happy tears in years to come. Sadly, I will likely have sad tears when it comes to Master K. I can only imagine how I will feel when he goes to the dayhome in a few weeks, when he starts kindergarten, says his first mean word to me or leaves home a grown man.

One day at a time. Enjoying every moment happy or sad.

A Trip to Wine Country

2010-09-11T09:45:00.001-06:00

Every few years, my girlfriends and I like to take a 'girls trip.' We've all been friends for over 20 years and make a point to continually stay connected with each other.

We had many impromptu trips in our 20's, but since we hit our 30's, we are making more of an effort to plan a fun trip, usually some distance away.

Three and a half years ago, we went to Las Vegas. It was absolutely wonderful, and was just what I needed at the time, considering my 11 year relationship was falling apart.

This years trip was planned many moons ago when my BFF and I decided we wanted to go somewhere special on the 30th year anniversary of our friendship. We started planning it almost 8 months ago and decided, WINE COUNTRY.

We knew the hubbies wouldn't want to come, so we decided to invite our other 3 girlfriends and make it our 'every 2-3 years Girls Trip.'

We stayed at the beautiful River Terrace Inn in Napa, California for 5 days and 4 nights.

We visited the spectacular Castello di Amorosa winery. Enjoyed many fine wines, and purchased many bottles.

We rode the Napa Valley Wine Train and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the valley, as well as a fantastic 4 course meal.

We shopped, ate, drank wine, and relaxed on our last day in Napa at the Greenhaus European Day Spa.

It was a perfect vacation, and a nice break from my busy life as a mom.

To lose someone

2010-08-21T12:33:00.001-06:00

To lose someone is a hard thing to go through. Whether it is to do with a break-up, family rifts, hurt feelings, or death-there is a mourning period that everyone goes through. The extent of the mourning is different for each individual based on the situation and the relationship.

Now I've had a few loses to speak of in my past-and significant ones-yet, this one is by far the one which has affected (& will continue to) me the most.

I lost my Gramma.

She was my last living grandparent and the one I was closest to. See, I was her only granddaughter. That in and of itself created a special relationship between the two of us. She had no daughters of her own, so I'm sure she felt quite blessed when I came along.

We spent a lot of time together when I was younger. In fact I would spend a week here and there with her and Grampa in the summers-just the 3 of us. We visited a lot and spent almost every Christmas eve together, celebrating Norwegian style.

When I got older, we lived in the same city. I spent many days visiting with gramma, taking her shopping, or just going out for lunch.

We tried to talk often on the phone, but sometimes too much time passed between phone calls.

When I moved away - I missed her. I was the one grandchild that spent a lot of time with her and took her places and now I was leaving. I knew I was really going to miss our time together.

She did have a chance to see our new place-twice. Got to see me pregnant, and if course, meet her 6th great-grandchild. There weren't many visits with Master K, but she did see him shortly before she passed.

It was hard to say goodbye.

I remember telling her I loved her and watched her hug and kiss Malcolm. I knew I would probably not see her again.

I miss her lots.

Sometimes I just pretend like nothing has changed, and I'm just far away and we haven't talked in awhile.

I just saw you yesterday

2010-08-03T10:01:00.000-06:00

It was a whirlwind long weekend, with a trip back to Saskatchewan to visit family and friends.

The grandparents had requested a visit, since it had been over 2 months since they saw Master K. Mr. J and I didn't have anything planned for the long weekend, so we decided to make the long trip back for a visit.

Coincidentally, our California friends TUO & R:tAG were in town for a wedding, so we arranged to meet up with them. We hadn't seen them since Suz & Jer's wedding, when I was 'as big as a house' (according to R:tAG) and I figured they'd want to meet Master K.

It was a wonderful visit at the Broadway Roastery, with many additional friends visiting as well: AJ, J-Bra, Al, cenobyte & family.

With everyone spread out across provinces and countries, we don't see each other as often as we did 10 years ago. But it's nice to know that when we do get together, it's like no time has passed at all and feels like we just saw everyone yesterday. I love that about my friends.

Master K made quite an impression, as usual, and was smiley as ever. He was fascinated with TUO's shirt buttons and necklace and couldn't stop eying up cenobyte's bountiful 'buffet'.

I would have liked to see some more people, but with carting Master K around all day, it becomes difficult. My parents need to move into the city, so we don't have to waste time driving in and out. It would make visiting friends and family a lot more convenient.

Of course, no trip to Saskatoon is complete without a stop at Dragon's Den and 8th St. Books and Comics....oh, and a Venice House pizza.

It was a busy and tiring weekend, so I'm glad to be home.

Poops, Pees, Spits - A Mother's Father's Life!

2010-07-12T09:47:00.002-06:00

I fully expected to be the recipient of most of Master K's 'accidents', yet somehow I've missed out on most of them - not that I'm sad about that, just a little surprised. Luckily, Mr. J seems to be on the receiving end.

We had an unfortunate puking 'accident' a few weeks back - of course, Mr. J was playing with him shortly after he ate and somehow, was unaware that bouncing and jostling Master K around may result in some spit up. It did...and it was unpleasant. I missed the said 'accident', so I heard about it later.

Master K hasn't done a lot of peeing on either myself or Mr. J, yet when it has happened, Mr. J has gotten the brunt of it.

And just the other night, during Master K's nightly bath, he decided to poop in the tub. It happened to be Mr. J's turn at the nighttime routine, but I helped 'Daddy' out. As I was cleaning out the tub, Master K found it timely to pee on Mr. J. I just giggled.

There are many more years to come, so I'm sure Master K and I will have our share of 'accidents' together.

Catching Up

2010-07-04T08:28:00.000-06:00

We saw an old friend yesterday. He was in town visiting his grandparents.

It was great to see BB, even though I'd only seen him a couple of months ago. He'd never been to visit me(us), and I gave him a tour of the house, we visited and had a wonderful supper out.

Back in the day, when I still lived in Toon Town, him and I hung out all the time. We'd watch TBP, go wall climbing at the university, work-out at the gym, go for coffee, partied together, he'd fix my computer and I'd back him cookies in return. We were best buds.

Sadly, things change when you move and way, get married and have a family. Although I make a point to constantly stay in touch and visit as much as possible. I would hate a little distance to change too many things about our friendship.

Now that he's back in Toon Town for awhile, perhaps we'll see him more when we're back visiting the family.

Mom and Son at the Pool

2010-06-21T17:27:00.000-06:00

Today, Master K and I went swimming at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park. We had heard many good things about the pool - one being that it is much warmer than the rest of the pools in Edmonton. Also, we are still a little upset with the Millwoods Rec Centre since Mr. J's wallet and iPhone were stolen during Master K's last swimming lesson.

This was the 1st time we'd gone swimming since Master K ended his swimming lessons at the end of March. We'd been meaning to go, we just didn't get around to it, and also because of the theft mentioned above.

I really wanted to make sure that Malcolm didn't forget what it was like to go to the 'big bathtub.' He loves his bathes at home, and really enjoyed his swimming lessons, so I wanted to keep encouraging his love of water until we do swimming lessons again in the fall.

The pool was fantastic - everything and more. It was definitely a warm pool; the waves were awesome; and the water playground (albeit to old for Master K) and flotation devices were perfect.

Master K dunked his head a few times, and enjoyed a ride around the pool in a fishy floaty. The only thing missing was Daddy. We'll definitely be taking him with us next time.

The Pains of Motherhood

2010-06-18T14:22:00.001-06:00

Around January of this year, I started to notice that my right hand/wrist began to hurt and ache. At first, I thought I had just slept on it the wrong way, and now it was out of joint or simply sore from being in an awkward position.

As time went on the aching/soreness turned into pain and it began to flare up in my left hand. When I could barely pick up Master K during his night feeding I knew it was time for a visit to the Dr.

It's now February and I'm sitting in my Dr.'s office and she is telling me to make a fist with my hand (thumb tucked in) and asks me to point my hand/thumb towards the ground - OUCH!!! Well that was more pain than I wanted to experience. It turns out that I have tendonitis of the thumb, also know as De Quervain Syndrome, a common condition among new mothers. And I've got it in both hands. Wahoo! So, the Dr. prescribes a thumb splica splint (looks similar to this), and also writes me a prescription for cortisone shots, in case the splints don't remedy the issue. I leave, enduring the pain until I have my appointment for splint.

One week later: I'm at the hospital in the Occupational Therapy unit being assessed by an OT who is constructing a splint for my right thumb/hand/wrist. I am to wear it 24/7 for 6 weeks. My entire hand is pretty much immobilized, making it difficult to do much of anything, but I manage. It also helps that Mr. J is at home and helping out a lot more, especially with any heavy lifting.

Although the splint seems to be working a bit, I find myself compensating and using my left a lot more, especially when carrying Master K. Long story short, my left hand has become a lot more aggravated and I'm back at the hospital to get another splint made.

It's been 6 weeks now and I've weaned myself of my right splint, but I'm now wearing the left 24/7 and wearing both at night. The idea behind the splints is to immobilize the tendons allowing them a chance to heal and reduce the inflammation.

The splints do allow me to rest my hands/wrists, however once I take them off to do anything (shower, wash dishes, bathe Master K), they are extremely weak, ache and sometimes temporary seize up when bumped ever so slightly.

I'm resilient in hoping they will heal, and I want to use the cortisone shots as a last resort, so I return to the hospital to receive physiotherapy.

My therapy last for about 5 weeks. I go in once or twice a week and the PT massages my muscles and tendons, stretching them as best she can in hopes of improving my condition. Alas, no real improvement is made, and I've confused them in the process by describing where the pain resides and how it feels when certain stretches are performed.

Although they have slightly improved since January (I can safely pick up Master K without a whole lot of pain), they ache most of the time and are quite sensitive to any movement or the slightness bump.

I return to my Dr. today to receive my 1st cortisone shot. Because my left is most aggravated, she only injected it into the left tendon right above the wrist bone. I'm hoping it helps, as I'm not looking forward to having chronic tendonitis.

Blogger finally updated

2010-06-17T13:05:00.000-06:00

While intending to post something different today, I've decided to post about blogger and the wonderful template design changes they've made.

Since starting my blog in the winter of 2005, I've often had to go in search of unique templates around the web. Blogger just didn't seem to have the variety I was looking for in the way of templates, so when I got bored of looking at my current design, I went looking elsewhere - usually spending hours trying to find something I like, and them messing with the html to get it just right.

Today, low and behold, I notice they updated their template design, and I really like it. The options aren't endless, but there are definitely enough to play with to keep me interested and likely from venturing elsewhere to find what I like.

So, I've made a few changes. I hope you like it as much as I do. Knowing how much I like change, I probably won't keep it the same for very long.

The Great Flood

2010-06-09T09:16:00.001-06:00

It's been a week and a half since we had water in our basement. It was after days and days of rain - and apparently our sump pump stopped working.

My typical behaviour would be to get fairly distraught and upset over something like this...something I really couldn't do anything about, yet I took it all in stride. Even with the company we had staying with us, and the 'mommy' makeup party I was having. Perhaps motherhood has calmed me some - or perhaps just put things in a different perspective.

I hate to admit this, but it's situations/events like this that teach me about our house. You'd think I'd be proactive when it comes to understanding our home (as I'm fairly proactive in most other areas of my life), yet I tend to 'coast' when it comes to the maintenance of the home. Shame on me. I honestly didn't know where our sump pump was, or for that matter, what it looked like. I'm sure if we had figured that our sooner, Mr. J and Cheruby wouldn't have been sucking and hauling water all day with the shop vac.

After finding my home inspection from when I purchased the home, we were in tune with where I sump pump was. We took the lid off, suck out half the water, and VIOLA, the water drained and receded. Unfortunately this was at about 10PM, after about 10 hours of hard labour.

Luckily not much was destroyed. Our basement is undeveloped, and we use it mostly for storage and the cats. So the area rug, and 'cat couch' (which I wanted to get rid of anyways) and a few boxes of Mr. J's precious comics, were the only things that were really ruined.

We had some guys by the house to check out the sump pump. It seems to be working fine now, but we'll definitely keep a close eye on it from now on.

We investigated our home insurance, but decided not to put a claim in, as the damage isn't worth the deductible we'd have to pay. Plus, we are enjoying a fairly substantial 'claim-free' discount on our home insurance.

I'm just glad that we started cleaning up the basement weeks ago, and de-cluttering, otherwise a lot more things would have been ruined. Now just to find the motivation to keep going.

Friends, Family, Fun...and a little sadness

2010-05-25T15:25:00.001-06:00

The last week and a half as been a bit of a whirlwind. Today is the first day that I feel back to normal and back into our regular routine.

My BFF came to visit over a week ago. She spent 5 days here visiting before I took her to Toon Town where her family lives. It was a fun filled 5 days full of laughter, reminiscing, eating, drinking (I only had 1 beer) and shopping. It had been 1 year since I had last seen her, and she was anxious to meet Master K. Luckily, I will see her a couple more times this summer, so I'm looking forward to that.

My visit in Toon Town was short and full of mixed emotions. My Gramma had a stroke a few days before my visit, so I guess it turned out well that I has coming to town. I visited with lots of family that I hadn't seen in a while, and Master K got to meet some new cousins and aunts/uncles.

It was hard to see my Gramma, although I kept it together pretty well, considering. I just didn't want her to see me tear up. I've always been really close with my Gramma, and we've always done a lot together. It's one of the relationships I miss the most since moving away. My Gramma has always been a doer, and until the stroke lived on her own in a seniors apartment building, baked, cooked and pretty much took care of herself. Now, she will need constant care. I know this is not something she wants. Were not sure how long she will be with us. She has lost the ability to move her right leg and arm, and cannot speak, yet. When I saw her last week, she had so much to tell me, but the words just didn't come out. She seemed very happy to see me, and lit up when she saw Master K.

It saddens me that Master K will never know his Great-Gramma. She is a wonderful lady. I'm so glad a had a nice visit with her during Free Comic Book Day weekend. We sat visiting like we used to and Master K cuddled and rocked with her for about 20 minutes. A good memory to have.

Mushy Memories

2010-05-11T18:10:00.000-06:00

Mr. J and I are doing some heavy duty spring cleaning in the basement. It's been an eye-sore since Mr. J moved here, and it's only gotten worse.

I've wanted to develop/finish the basement since I moved in over 3 years ago, but just never got around to it - nor had the money (not that we have the money now). Being that I'm at home and have the time - AND - thinking of Master K's upcoming mobility, I want to try and make the most of the space that we have, spread out all of the furniture/things we have and get rid of the clutter. I'm hoping to have the project complete before I return to work in November.

So...while cleaning out old boxes I stumbled upon a number of old items - as far back as my childhood. Some of the more semi-recent (within that last 10 years) items were cards from Jeff (the ex). Now, I did get rid of a lot of stuff after we parted ways, but these pictures and cards were packed away in a box that I thought only had high school stuff in it.

It was nice to reminisce a little about how much 'in love' we were with each other. The silly notes we left for each other and the funny/lovey dovey cards we gave to one another. It definitely took me back to the good 'ole days when we were young, in love and just having fun. Oh, how things can change. But people change - people grow up and apart - and that's OK. It was great once, but has long been over and put to rest. Although, was nice to remember the fun that was once had between me and my ex, even if only for a moment.

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T13:07:00.001-06:00

Today is my 1st Mother's Day. Although we did celebrate last year when Master K was in utero, it feels a little more real this year.

Master K is the light of my life - he makes me smile, laugh, cry, worry....every emotion in the world. I could not have asked for a more precious child. I love him with all my heart. He is my life.

Being a mother is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me. I never really understood when mothers said, 'you'll never know until you become a mother' or 'a child will completely change your life' or 'you don't understand; you don't have kids' or 'you'll feel differently when you have kids.' I honestly didn't think children affected your life THAT MUCH!

Now, I know better! Parents say these things to singles or childless parents because it really is that hard to explain how you will feel, react, or behave once a child becomes part of your life.

It is amazing, fantastic, wonderful, stressful, tasking, frustration - yet so rewarding.

I love motherhood, I love my husband, I love our family, and I love my precious son.

Flexibility is a MUST

2010-05-07T14:52:00.000-06:00

After only 6.5 months of raising a child I should know that the best laid plans rarely turn out. Not that we had big plans today, but we were going to head out for lunch with an ex-co-worker of Mr. J's. Sadly, Master K had a bad night, woke up early, and had a very short morning nap. Consequently, we had to cancel our lunch plans with our friend. Also, (not surprisingly) Master K is having a difficulty time napping today. I'm almost certain he is overtired.

Mr. J is going out to see Iron Man 2 this evening with a friends, so it's just me and the little guy. It could be a rough night if he doesn't have a long nap this afternoon.

I need to just go with the flow, in spite of being tired and cranky.

Winter Wonderland...in May?

2010-05-04T11:37:00.000-06:00

Our weekend back in Saskatchewan was exciting, yet tiring as usual. With the addition of Master K, traveling is much more exhausting than it once was. However, it's a lot more worth it since we don't get out much, so visiting with family and friends is worth a couple of tired days/nights.

The weather wasn't the greatest while we were gone, but it was just rain. Honestly, I expect rain in April, even though we haven't gotten much of it in April over the past couple of years. But, what I wasn't prepared for was the winter snow storm that has hit Alberta today. We were out for a short bit this morning, and it's a blizzard out there. It's not overly cold, but it's snowing like crazy and the visibility is awful. Hopefully it warms up over the next few days as both Mr. J and I have a lot of running around to do; Mr. J with his work and me with daycare visits.

For now, we'll stay in doors and I'll get started on some of that 'spring' cleaning I've got planned for the basement.

Comics Galore

2010-04-29T14:39:00.000-06:00

Free Comic Book Day is just around the corner!
For the 2nd year in a row, we'll be making the trip back home so Mr. J can lend a hand at 8th Street Books & Comics. It is starting to become a bit of a tradition; but I really couldn't see Mr. J NOT going back to his former workplace to help out his friend Pat.

Last year was quite exciting. I got to meet a lot of new people/friends of Mr. J and Tom Grummett (who apparently will be at this years Day as well). I am definitely looking forward to seeing a lot of the same faces this year, especially now that we have Master K. We got many congrats last year, so I'm sure they are anxious to meet our little 'SuperBaby.'

Since getting together with Mr. J, I've grown quite fond of comic books and the world of comics. I'm not as 'educated' as Mr. J, nor do I fancy as many comics as he, but I definitely enjoy a few and my range is expanding. Here are a some of the comics I've read and enjoy:

I'm always looking for suggested 'good reads', so let me know. I'm always up for another comic.

Bread Pudding

2010-04-24T21:29:00.001-06:00

My first ever attempt at making bread pudding turned out fairly well.

A few days ago I bought some soft fluffy portageuse buns from the store. They helped make delicious ham sandwiches, but we just weren't eating them fast enough. So, I figured, 'why not make bread pudding- Mr. J loves it.'

So here I am, enjoying the finished product. The pudding turned our wonderful, but I'll have to perfect the carmeal sauce. It didn't carmealize like it was suppose to, so I had to improvise. A little cornstarch, butter and brown sugar smartened it up and it tastes pretty yummy.

How my web surfing has changed since becoming a mom.

2010-04-10T11:07:00.001-06:00

An interesting new blog I stumbled upon:

The Feminist Breeder

I hope justice prevails

2010-03-10T12:52:00.001-07:00

I started getting the newspaper (again) last week. I had previously cancelled sometime ago, because I was tired of reading about all the violent crimes that occur in our city.

As I was flipping through today's paper, I came upon a very interesting article.

Some of you may know that I was selected to be a juror on a murder trial.

It was an exhausting process and definitely had an affect on me mentally and emotionally.

So....I was a little surprised when I read about the man who we found guilty, was getting a new trial. link

This bothers me on a few different levels:
1. Economically - more strain on our system and, what seems like a waste, of the taxpayers money
2. Emotionally - I went through a lot mentally and emotionally to be part of the trial; seeing and hearing things no one should ever have to.
3. Lack of faith in our justice system - Although the article discusses the lack of instruction to the jury from the judge - being that I sat on the trial, I'm going to have to disagree with a number of the reasons in the article.
4. Safety - to know that the individual you convicted of murder is getting a new trial is a little unsettling - especially if he is found not guilty.

However, I'm glad the new trial has been granted on the reasons that it has, and not on the evidence. This gives me confidence in the fact that a new jury should be able to conclude the same verdict as we did.

I do feel honoured to serve our justice system - but when things like this happen - it eats away at the faith I have in justice and our system.

Baby weight

2010-02-22T13:18:00.001-07:00

MK will be 4 months tomorrow. I'm feeling like I need to get this extra weight off. I would really like to fit into my old jeans. I can do them up but it's not a pretty site.

Granted, I haven't really been working out, so I think I'm doing pretty good. I lost 25 lbs within the first 2 weeks and gave lost about another 5 or so (really depends on the day) since then.

I started using my exercise bike at home occassionaly starting in January and have really made the effort more so in the last couple weeks.

Today, I was able to get to the gym; it was amazing. I feel so rejuvenated. I hope I can get to the gym at least twice a week.

The plan is to be back to my old body by 6 months. I've got 2 months to lose about 10 lbs, and if I can lose more, all the better.

Blogging from my iPhone

2010-02-21T21:32:00.001-07:00

I'm still learning about my iPhone and trying to figure out the best use of it, besides the phone feature. I realize I don't blog too much anymore, but I'm trying out different apps to see if I like them, and mire so, if I'll use them.

I really shouldn't be using my iPhone too much especially in this capacity considering I have tendinitis in both of my thumbs.

I guess time will tell if I continue using this app.

I really don't have too many interesting things too say that don't involve motherhood, parenting and/or my family. I'm sure no one really cares about MK's sleep patterns, bowel movements or developmental milestones.

New Years 2009/2010

2010-01-02T10:25:00.003-07:00

This year was especially quiet. For the past 2 years, the hubby and I have each planned something for New Years, and it involved going somewhere - just the 2 of us.

This year was a little bit different with the addition of our son. Since he is still little, going anywhere would be no different than staying home and relaxing, so that is what we decided to do. I am glad that was what we did, because I got a nasty cold on the 30th. I am still battling the cold - I'm not too far from the tissue box. At least the sore throat has subsided.

So what did we do for New Years Eve and New Years Day.

1. Played Touch of Evil boardgame.
2. Watched Extract,Paranormal Activity, (500) Days of Summer, Family Guy Something Something Darkside, and started the series How I Met Your Mother.
3. Ate, snacked, and for me, drank a lot of tea.

It was the perfect way to ring in the New Year!

Parenthood

2009-12-04T19:54:00.004-07:00

Mr. J & I welcomed our 1st child into the world on October 23rd - exactly 6 weeks, 2 hours and 23 minutes ago.

These past 6 weeks have been a whirlwind of activity; spending most of the time in a zombie-like state. Although it has been wonderful and I wouldn't change it for anything in this world. Before we know it, he'll be all grown up, and we'll wonder where the time went.

Overall, MJVK has been a good baby - besides the painful gas issues he has on a daily basis. It's hard to see my baby in such pain, but we've yet to find anything that works other than time and his little body working out the issue on its own.

He just started to smile last week, and he is starting to make all sorts of little noises - coos and grunts - besides crying.

I'm enjoying motherhood, and treasure each day I spend with the men in my life.

Our son's blanket

2009-09-26T11:12:00.004-06:00

Apparently the only baby blanket I can finish on time is our sons - imagine that! We'll that isn't exactly true, I think I finished the blanket for Zeda on time and the sweater for Eamon on time. But that's it.

I used a really simple pattern, so it really didn't take that long. Plus, I had used the same pattern for the last 2 blankets that I knit this winter for my girlfriends, so I was a pro by the time I got to our sons.

It is fashioned in the 3 primary colours - classically used on superheroes. I did not attempt any special designs, as I am not that skilled.

WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?

2009-08-22T09:36:00.002-06:00

Recently, in a large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin and tanned woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said:
THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE??

A middle aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern:

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans). They have an active sex life, they get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas,seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Barren Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia . Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don't exist!
If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human? They don't have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them not to mention how could they have sex? Therefore they don't have kids either. Not to mention who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me; I want to be a whale.

P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver and a coffee with my friends. With time we gain eight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't too heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think? Good gosh, look how smart I am.

Preparations

2009-07-17T23:07:00.003-06:00

Things are moving along quite smoothly in preparing for our new family member. We've spent the last number of weeks preparing the house, starting/finishing renovations and purchasing various baby items.

We've got our garage mostly built. There are just a few final touches that need to be complete, and then we can officially start using it. We painted the baby's room last weekend, so now we are just waiting on the furniture to arrive. We purchased a playpen and stroller and are off to get the carseat this weekend. We also plan to start shopping for a new vehicle this weekend, as our 2-door car will not do.

Things left to do: finish the fence and stain it; finish the baby's room - styling it just right with our superhero sketches, pictures and busts; organize the basement and move a bunch of stuff into the garage; wait for our son to arrive.

It's going to be a very busy 2 months and 29 days - not only at home, but at work too. I am glad my family is coming to visit next month - I think I'll put my mom to work cleaning my house, and I'm sure Mr. J could use a hand with the fence. We'll take any help we can get, as our family support network is fairly thin here - we pretty much just have friends around.

It's a Boy!!!

2009-06-05T07:27:00.001-06:00

The 'Hero' themed nursery is going to be perfect. Now we just have to start work on it. With all the artist sketches we have and Daddy J's DC busts, we're set!

I can't wait to meet our son! I am SO excited!

A Family Affair

2009-05-26T22:15:00.004-06:00

I am anxiously anticipating this weekend, because I will finally meet my in-laws. Wahoo!!!! Although I have spoken to my mother-in-law and father-in-law (and wife) on the phone, I've never met any of them. Although Mr. J & I have been together for 2 years now, we just haven't got around to visiting Miami (dad and stepmom live) nor Vancouver (mom lives), and they haven't been able to visit us here.

So, after we decided to get married on our own in Jamaica, we thought it would be nice to have a small post-wedding celebration and invite the families.

And that is this weekend. We are only having 25 people to a small reception at a hotel, and then celebrating back at our house with a Saturday night party and Sunday brunch.

Sometimes I wish they lived closer, so I could spend more time getting to know them and learning about the Jamaican culture. They are part of my life now, and I want to learn as much as I can about their background, so I can make sure that knowledge gets passed along to our son/daughter.

It will be a great weekend!!!

A Weekend Visit with Old Friends

2009-05-05T17:22:00.006-06:00

I had an amazing Saturday this past weekend. Mr. J & I were in Saskatoon for free comic book day. So, while he busied himself with work at 8th Street Books and Comics, I made it a priority to catch up with old friends.

Now, when I refer to them as old friends I'm not inferring that they are people with which I've lost touch, just friends that I've known for ages (10+ years) and who, sadly, I don't get to see that often (primarily because I live in another city/province).

However, because my friends are so important to me, it is important for me to stay connected to them as much as I can. So when I return to my home province, I make sure that I get-together with whomever I can in order to maintain those relationships.

Usually, I only get to see 1 or 2. Mostly because there are a number of other things going on, and we can only fit so many visits into one day. But this past Saturday, I had the day to wander from friend to friend visiting at will.

I had only set up a few visits, but surprisingly, managed to see a lot more friends that I was anticipating, which is what made the day so wonderful.

My planned lunch with BB & his girlfriend, got bigger when T-ass and Ty became part of the plan. We tried out this little Mexican place on Boychuk called La Bamba - very tasty. It was fun to see my old buddies and we reminisced about years gone by.

Before and after my lunch, I managed to squeeze in some time visiting with the newest parents of the group - the Schnells. I stopped over at the house to visit Jenn & Anara, and then made sure I spent some time at the Den with Al.

My afternoon coffee with AJ turned into a meeting of yuppies (as cenobyte referred to us) at Calories. Just as I was calling AJ to confirm our coffee location, I was surprised with news that ceno was in town, and that AJ had just dropped off J-Bra at Calories for a visit with ceno and Thunderhowl. I immediately wanted to join them, so AJ & I commenced our afternoon coffee with the rest of them. I was very happy to see them, and we had a wonderful afternoon talking shop (gaming).

I finished off my afternoon back at 8th Street with Mr. J and the rest of the crew. Pat took us all out for supper at Amigo's, and I had wonderful time meeting new people, especially a local comic book artist Tom Grummett who was doing sketches for Free Comic Book Day.

Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo

2009-04-27T20:35:00.007-06:00

This past weekend Mr. J & I made a trip down to Calgary for the Comic & Entertainment Expo.

We drove down early Saturday morning in order to make the 11:00 AM Voice Acting workshop for Mr. J. We arrived around 10:30AM, and found ourselves standing in line for about 40 minutes, even though we had purchased our tickets in advance. It seems as though they weren't appropriately staffed when it came to collecting tickets, providing a 'goodie' bag and ushering everyone through the doors - they only had 3 people for that. I noticed later on that day (around 1:30) that there were still people waiting in line.

We arrived at the Voice Acting workshop about 10 minutes late, but we didn't miss too much. We were entertained by a couple (Yuri & Tara) who work in the industry - they regaled us with stories of their experiences. I think Mr. J got some useful information.

There were a number of 'stars' at the Expo - Edward James Olmos (see picture below), Margot Kidder (wow, has she ever aged), Kandyse McClure (Dualla), Sean Astin (see picture below), James Kyson Lee (Ando), Jewel Staite (Kaylee), Voice actor of Rhino - Bee-Awesome!!!, and many more.

Sean Astin - taken from afar.

Side shot of Edward - luckily I didn't get in trouble for snapping it.

We didn't actually meet any of the stars, except for Mark Walton - voice of Rhino from Bolt. I am conflicted about meeting movie stars. Yes, I enjoyed watching them in their show/movie - but what am I really going to say to them, 'hey, I liked you in X', or 'You were awesome'. That just seems lame, and because I didn't have any burning questions, I was satisfied with just 'seeing' them. I guess I just don't get worked up about meeting celebrities.

We spent quite a bit of time on 'Artists Lane.' The baby's room is going to be themed 'SuperHeroes', so with limited 'hero' options in the world of 'decorating the nursery', we figured a great way to theme the room is with hero artist sketches. We picked up (and ordered) a number sketches at the Edmonton Comic event - Zatanna, Batgirl, HarlyQuinn, and a signed pic of Ando. In Calgary, we picked up our Edmonton order of Batman, Superman and Captain Marvel (DC version), and purchased a number of other great 'hero' sketches. We will be laminating some and framing the others. I think the nursery will be cool. Now we just need to decide on paint colours for the room. 'Super Baby' (as Mr. J calls him/her) is going to be inundated with comics and superheroes upon birth.

Anywho, I got sidetracked there a little.

Sunday, we walked around the event some more, visiting with various people that Mr. J knew, and attended our final workshop on Breaking into Voice Acting. It was hosted by Helene Rousse from Total Casting. She provided a wealth of knowledge on how to get started to what to put on your demo. Mr. J and I recorded most of the talk, so Mr. J will be able to reference back to it later on.

It was a great little weekend, and prepared me a bit for GenCon. Not in terms of what to expect - I know it will be nothing like I experienced - but helped me understand how tired I'm going to get, and how many snacks and drinks I will need to take with me - 7 month pregger Mama is going to need to be prepared for anything.

We also managed a nice little visit with Uncle and Auntie.

Best Breakfast Ever!!!!

2009-04-05T16:55:00.003-06:00

This morning we met up with Bne and his friend at Barb & Ernie's Old Country Inn. It's a German restaurant that's been the mainstay of Edmonton for over 30 years. I can't believe it's taken me over 2 years to discover this amazing weekend breakfast joint.

Bne was in town, and we decided to get together for Sunday breakfast. I didn't want the usual - Denny's or Ricky's, so Bne suggested Barb & Ernie's. I remember hearing about the place, and did some research before deciding that would be our place to eat and visit this morning.

AMAZING!

First of all, there menu is large and diverse. You've got the regular bacon and egg, pancake, french toast, Eggs Benedict flair, but with a German twist - can't forget the bratwurst, or how about German Bacon Pancakes!?

I decided on the french toast with wild berry topping and whip cream. I was thoroughly impressed. It was delicious, and I managed to eat every last bite. Bne tried the German Bacon Pancakes - which were quite tasty, and Mr. J had the 3 Hotcakes with topping order.

He was for warned by the waitress, 'you know, there as big as a plate!' Mr. J paused momentarily, and placed his order again, 'I'll have the 3 Hotcakes with Strawberry topping.'

Now, granted we all thought that was quite a bit, but if anyone could handle it, it would be Mr. J. Although, I think we were all thinking of a fairly round standard size plate (8 inches). Still large, but nothing more that. We'll were we all surprised when the orders came.

The plate was a large oval sized plate, and his 3 pancakes not only completely covered the entire plate, they were spilling over the sides. And these pancakes weren't flat (as we all know when we make pancakes at home, they don't always turn out as fluffy as we'd like), they very fluffy - perhaps a good 1/2 inch thick.

We were continually amazed through our meal at the size of the pancakes. Bne's comment definitely captured the essence of Mr.J's eating experience: 'You've definitely broken the rule: Don't ever eat anything bigger than your head.'

Mr. J managed to eat 1.5 pancakes, and he took the rest home. We got some advice from Ernie on what to do and what not to do if Mr. J decides to re-heat the monstrous pancakes.

It was a fantastic way to spend Sunday morning. The next visitors who come, we'll be hitting up Barb & Ernie's, so be prepared.

How much have you changed in 20 years?

2009-03-21T07:30:00.002-06:00

My BFF tagged me on facebook, to complete one of these personal memes/quizzes. I'm not a fan of putting too much personal information up on facebook, so I figured I would honour her tag by completing it here.

****20 YEARS AGO (1989)****
1) How old were you? 12
2) Who were you dating? no one
3) Where did you work? my dad's grocery store
4) Where did you live? Biggar
5) Where did you hang out? At my Jen's, my BFF
6) Did you wear contacts and/or glasses? No
7) Who were your best friends? Jennifer, Michelle, Melanie
8) How many tattoos did you have? 0
9) How many piercings did you have? 2, my ears
10) What kind of car did you drive? wasn't driving yet. Mom had a Buick, I think and Dad had a Suburban.
11) Had you been to a real party? No
12) Had you had your heart broken? No
13) Were you Single/taken/Married/Divorced? Single
14) Any Kids? No! Not at 12.

****15 YEARS AGO (1994)****
1) How old were you? 17
2) Who were you dating? No one
3) Where did you work? Dad's grocery store
4) Where did you live? Biggar
5) Where did you hang out? same as above and the store
6) Did you wear contacts and/or glasses? no
7) Who were your best friends? Jennifer, Melanie, Andrea, Susan
8) How many tattoos did you have? 0
9) How many piercings did you have? 3, ears
10) What kind of car did you drive? I drover mom's car or the suburban
11) Had you been to a real party? Yes, several at this point.
12) Had you had your heart broken? no
13) Were you Single/taken/Married/Divorced? single
14) Any Kids? Still no kids.

***10 YEARS AGO (1999)***
1) How old were you? 22
2) Who were you dating? Jeff
3) Where did you work? Co-op grocery store
4) Where did you live? Saskatoon
5) Where did you hang out? mostly my house, or the bar
6) Did you wear contacts and/or glasses? no
7) Who were your best friends? Jeff, Andrea, Jennifer, Melanie, Susan
8) How many tattoos did you have? 0
9) How many piercings did you have? 3, ears
10) What kind of car did you drive? 89 Blue Ford Tempo
11) Had you been to a real party? Yes, several
12) Had your heart broken? Yes
13) Were you Single/Taken/Married/Divorced? Taken
14) Any Kids? 0

****TODAY (2009)****
1) Age? 32
2) Where do you work? Alberta Government
3) Where do you live? Edmonton
4) Who are your closest friends? Mr. J, Jennifer, Andrea, Melanie, Susan
5) Do you talk to your old friends? Yup.
6) How many piercings do you have? 2, ears
7) How many tattoos? 0
8) What kind of car do you have? Pontiac Grand Am
9) Had your heart been broken? Yes, but not since I've been with Mr. J
10) How many kids? None yet.
11) Are you Single/Taken/Married/Divorced? Married

Enough Already

2009-03-10T22:03:00.001-06:00

Don't get me wrong, I love that crunching sound my shoes make when they hit the cold, hard, packed snow, but come on, enough is enough. Just when we thought it was going to turn around and spring was on it's way, we get 2 nasty winter storms, and then ice cold weather. I can only imagine what my Saskatchewan friends are facing. It's generally 10 degrees colder than it is here. Ouch!

It is suppose to let up near the end of the week. And spring is officially around the corner. So my fingers are crossed. Let's hope to hell this winter is over!!

Texas Bound

2009-02-10T17:53:00.004-07:00

We are off at the end of this week to Dallas to visit my best friend and her husband. They've been there for almost 1.5 years, and we are finally making our first visit. I feel giddy, silly and excited for the trip. These are the usual feelings I get when me and BFF spend time together. It's going to be wonderful.

We don't have anything particular planned, but I've heard good things about the zoos in the area and the aquarium, so we might have to check one of them out. Mostly, we're just happy to be spending time with them, and if all we end up doing is sitting around talking and watching movies, wonderful!

I am starting to wish we were spending more time down there, but work calls, and we just don't have the vacation days right now to spend. However, it'll be nice just to get away. The winter hasn't been too long, but it seems as though I've got a travel bug that sends me somewhere every couple of months.
San Jose - July/August
Jamaica - October
Canmore - January
Dallas - February

What's next!? Perhaps GenCon!? But that is a long way away. I might need something in the mean time to tie me over.

A Sadness; A Celebration of Life

2009-01-25T08:43:00.003-07:00

Losing a loved one is never easy, no matter how many people you've lost in your lifetime. There is a sense of sadness and heartache that they are no longer in this world, experiencing life. But, at some point in all the sadness that comes with death, it's important to gain some perspective about the situation.

It's important to take stock of their life experiences (especially near the end), and try to think of their thoughts/perspective rather than your own. I know my Grampa is at peace. I know that he's been lonely since Gramma passed 7 years ago, I know he didn't like feeling/being sick, and I know he had lost the desire to do many things he enjoyed over the years. So, although we are sad (temporarily), we should think of Grampa, because I am sure he is finally happy and content.

Mr. J is an excellent counsellor - he helps me look at the positive; to remember the wonderful times I had with my Grampa; to celebrate those times; and to feel privileged that I got to know, love, share my life with him for 32 years.

Although I didn't see him much over the past few years, I will miss him dearly. But I am happy for him because he's been reunited with Gramma in heaven.

Woot

2009-01-21T17:59:00.003-07:00

After reading her post, I would say I was frequenting Woot! often. Now, pretty much everyday. Woot! is interesting, but not as much as shirt.woot!.

When you are in a relationship with someone, it's inevitable that some of their likes/preferences begin to rub off on you. Mr. J loves funny t-shirts. So after finding out about woot! and shirt.woot! I gave him the heads up.

Now you are probably wondering, 'what the hell is this post about' or 'get to the damn point'...'this post sucks.'

Well, as usual, I got pretty spoiled at my birthday, and have 4 new favourite t-shirts to show for it. I love them. Although silly, they are right up my alley.

Easy Optimism
Donut Panic!
One Cheer for Broccoli
Friends Forever

Birthday Reflections

2009-01-17T09:53:00.001-07:00

Now I realize I've said this & that in recent years, but TODAY will go down in history as being my warmest birthday ever..of course, until there is a day warmer..but until then, wahoo!!!! I can't believe it's going to be +11 today. Not only is it NOT -40, it's actually in the positives and double digits.

Reflecting on my final comments of last years post, my 31st year was great, and full of challenges as usual. The job is fantastic, and I still love going there everyday. The relationship is going strong, and we survived the challenges brought on by our new living arrangement, and are enjoying married life.

I travelled to San Jose and Jamaica this year, and cut back on the trips to Stoon. We took a mini-holiday to Canmore at New Years, and are looking forward to Dallas next month.

As for today, the first day of my 32nd year, I was surprised with a scavenger hunt to find my gifts. Once again, I got spoiled - funny t-shirts, video camera, Nickelback CD, gift cards, and more.

For the rest of the day, I plan on enjoying it with my hubby, relaxing with a massage in the late afternoon, and finishing the day off with our slo-pitch team's Annual Poker Party. It's going to be the perfect way to spend my birthday.

As for the rest of the days this coming year...I forsee big changes and new beginnings. I'm extremely excited.

Feeling better?

2009-01-14T20:34:00.007-07:00

Alright Sinus Cold, I think it's about time for you to leave. You've infested my sinuses for long enough, and I am fairly sick and tired of blowing my nose, scratching my eyes, and trying to soothe the pain you cause in my head.

I realize that my body has not co-operated over the last couple of weeks by not sleeping, but come on, enough is enough. I am sick of being sick, and I am sick of not sleeping, so let's co-operate here and get on with the feeling better.

I seem to be feeling better this evening, but my body may have other things in mind this evening and not want to fall asleep - AGAIN - and knowing your past behaviour, you'll decide tomorrow morning that you want to hang around for a couple more days. I am sure you've gotten pretty comfortable in there, but I think it's time for you to move on. I think it would be best for you decide to leave on your own, because it's not going to be very nice when Antibiotic arrives tomorrow after my visit to the Dr. You've heard the stories from your cousins, and I'm sure you don't want to end up like them, do you?

So let's just call a truce. You've had a good run, and me, well, I don't think I got anything out of this deal. So why don't you just move on to the next victim.

Thank you!

Time for neuba to relax

2008-12-31T07:34:00.005-07:00

Christmas was a blast. I had 5 days off, so it was a nice stretch of time, but no where close to what I am used to. I quite enjoy the December holiday season, and therefore generally try to take extra time off. This year my vacation bank was all used up...but that's perfectly fine with me..I used it for our amazing trip to Jamaica!

We arrived home to a house full of sick people. Not exactly what you want during Christmas time. However, it was short-lived for those who got it, and I've still yet to see the signs of me getting anything.

My brother and his 3 kids were also home for Christmas, which made it that much more special. There's just something different about Christmas when there are kids around. It's not just how their eyes light up when they see Santa arrive on Christmas Eve, or how excited they look when they open a gift they were hoping to get, it's also the joy and excitement that everyone feels when you are spending time together, whether it's playing a game, doing a puzzle, or simply helping prepare dinner. Mr. J and I spent most of our days entertaining the kids with the Wii, the onslaught on remote control devices Uncle J bought for the kids, and puzzles. It was wonderful - but I'm exhausted.

Christmas wouldn't be the same if I didn't get to see my friends. And I was happy the opportunity presented itself on Saturday. We drove into the city to begin a day of shopping and visiting. We had a chance to visit our friends from Dallas who were home visiting the family; we visited our local favourites that you just don't get here in Edmonton - comic book store, coffee/tea store and gaming store. We spent supper with our soon-to-be-parents friends, and then headed over to AJ and J'Bra's for the party.

It was wonderful to see everyone. It's been quite sometime since we all got together in one place to hang out. It reminds me of the many party's that happened over the years. It's nice to see that some things never change - getting together, talking about the usual - gaming and school. Although, as we get older the conversations are starting to include work, cool vacation spots, and other non-gaming activities. I am so glad we convinced BB to come out, although I hardly got to talk to him. (sniff)

After the hustle and bustle of Christmas, and having to work a couple of days this week, I am ready for some pj-wearing-naptime-moviewatching-relaxo time.

Today we leave for Canmore. In keeping with tradition, we are off to a special get-away (just the 2 of us) to ring in the new year. Last year, Mr. J planned the surprise get-away to Candle Lake, so this year it was my turn. I picked the mountains, considering neither of us have been since there since we moved here. I've got dinner planned for tonight and Banff Hot Springs (with massages) planned for tomorrow. Otherwise, we'll be enjoying some quiet time together watching movies, playing games, and sleeping.

I hope everyone enjoys their New Years, whatever it may be, and with talk to you in 2009.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2008-12-23T16:55:00.005-07:00

The holiday season is upon us, and I'm ready.

We leave tomorrow for Saskatchewan. We are spending the holidays with my family. My parents' house is going to be full with grandkids, uncles, cousins, and more. It'll be loud, chaotic, and maybe even a tad stressful, but it'll be great, because it's with family and that's exactly how I like to spend the holidays.

However, I do like to see my friends. And being that I am far away, and have been for 2 years now, I am looking forward to a visit on the 27th in the Big City with the old gang.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and safe travels wherever they take you.

From our house to yours,

neuba & Mr. J

Knitting Again

2008-12-13T11:30:00.010-07:00

After somewhat of a long hiatus, I am back at the knitting game.

I had started a blanket for my girlfriend when I found out she was pregnant..that was almost 2 years ago. I would have to say, I slowly worked on it until it was about half done, and then I simply lost interest and quit knitting for awhile. As I've said before, I pretty much only knit in the winter, and last winter I really didn't do anything.

So....with her and her little boy coming to visit a couple of weeks ago, I figured I best get it done. He's only 15 months, but I was sure he'd still appreciate it. So, over the months of October and November I managed to get it finished and presented it to Little Man A on November 29th.

It was my first attempt at cabling, and I really liked it. Although, for you knitters out there, I am sure you've already noticed that the blanket is upside down. I was stretching it out, and didn't realize until the next day that I had it upside down...and of course, forgot to take another picture. Oh well, you get the idea.

As you can see, he is loving it.

I've already started on the next one. She is pregnant again, and so are our friends in Saskatoon. So I've got 2 blankets to finish in the next 3 months. And this time I want to be on time with the gift.

Y: The Last Man

2008-12-04T19:01:00.004-07:00

I absolutely loved this graphic novel. Not only had Mr. J encouraged me to read it, but the local comic store girl went on and on and on about it.

It was already on my list to read, but I was trying to finish up all the other series' I was reading, like Sandman, and continuing with Jack of Fables, Fables and Walking Dead before starting on another.

Aside: When it comes to me, it's one novel at a time. I like to bury myself into one story and lose myself in it. Plus, I don't really like having a lot of different plot lines floating around in my head from various books I've decided to start reading. Surprisingly, when it comes to reading I like to focus on one thing at a time. However, with comics, it seems to be different. Perhaps, it's because the story isn't finished (if you reading it as it comes out). Or perhaps because they are short snippets of a plot line that can be easily put down or compartmentalized so as to not be confused with other stories in my head. Or perhaps I am just talking shit. Anywho, I digress.

I don't even remember when I started it, all I remember is making sure I picked up as many issues as possible at our local comic store because Mr. J didn't actually own them all. But I am finished now, and I am thoroughly happy with the choice I made to read it now rather than later.

I loved the different perspectives it offered on how women would deal with the situation. It really makes you question, 'how would I act if faced with a situation like that?' I am sure I've got some ideas on how I would continuing living, but would that actually happen in light of the tragic events and the behaviours/reactions of everyone else.

It was thought provoking. I liked it. A lot!

A Personal Misson Statement

2008-11-20T19:38:00.007-07:00

I spent the last 3 days in the most amazing workshop - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Although the purpose of my attendance was to evaluate the course material to see if it fit with our business plan and goals at work, I personally had a amazing experience.

Although I already spend quite a bit of time reflecting and developing myself, I enjoy the dedicated time to re-examine and focus on what's most important. It really helps me continuously evaluate my life goals - personally and professionally.

I am sure a lot of you have heard of Stephen Covey, and his 'Habits', and probably have your own opinions and perspectives on his theories. I was always one who didn't really pursue any of his concepts in university or work, as I subscribed to the rumours that it was boring...too 'fluffy' or simply, not practical to apply. I must say, my opinion has changed....dramatically.

His concepts aren't rocket science, their not overly complex; they are simply, 'Common Sense' approaches to life. Whether you are looking to communicate better, work more efficiently, develop yourself, become more optimistic...there seems to be something for everyone. I believe, everyone should spend time developing themselves; striving for the best - a highly effective person.

The main take-away for me was the development of a personal mission statement. I have known for quite a number of years what is important to me in my life, and the things I strive for, however I've never written them down, together, in one full statement. So in addition to my mantra that supports my 'blog title', here is my personal mission statement along with a visual representation.

I want to:
Maintain my passion and ambition for all things in life
Lead a happy and healthy life through continuous learning, growth, and creation by:
seeking adventure and new experiences
giving to myself and to others
building loving and lasting relationships with family and friends
Always keep smiling-even in the face of adversity

Hee-hee funny

2008-11-18T21:37:00.003-07:00

My overseas friend left this post a few days back, and I laughed....a lot! It's funny.

I think I might want my spider back too!

Ha!

Back into the swing of things...finally!

2008-11-09T19:25:00.012-07:00

We've been home for 2 weeks now, and I've finally caught up on all the laundry and upload the rest of our pictures from our trip to Jamaica. The first week back was slow for me. I caught a bit of a sore throat on the way home, and it knocked quite a bit of energy outta me for about a week. I managed to drag my ass to kickboxing and volleyball the last couple of weeks, but that was about it. Although, I did get back into my usual workouts late last week.

Unfortunately, Mr. J is has been feeling under the weather all weekend, so we weren't as mobile as we would have liked. However, it did give me a chance to tackle our picture project. The wedding pictures were easy; given that they were presented to us in an album and on a CD. Our other pictures had to be downloaded from the camera, uploaded onto the web, and then, of course, I had to play with them. I started by uploading them, one by one, to my google account when I realized that Picasa 3 would be faster, quicker, creative, and a lot more fun. I put together a little collage to show a sample of our picks, but you can go here to view our 500 pictures of Jamaica, or view the slideshow on my sidebar.

Introducing.....Mr. J & neuba

2008-10-26T10:05:00.004-06:00

October 22, 2008

3 Hours to go---Jamaica here we come

2008-10-17T21:05:00.003-06:00

We are almost out the door. Squeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

I can't believe how excited, happy, and amazing I feel. This is going to be one hellava trip.

I can't wait to share our stories and show off pictures once we get back.

I love my life! I love you so much Mr. J.

Our First Holiday Gathering

2008-10-13T10:34:00.002-06:00

My family arrived on Friday for the weekend. My parents and brother drove from Saskatchewan to spent Thanksgiving with Mr. J and myself.

I was absolutely elated that they came to visit. It's been over a year since they had been to Edmonton to visit, so I think everyone figured another one was due.

We cooked and visited all weekend. We did a little shopping on Saturday, but relaxed mostly with football, movies and the Wii.

I cooked my 2nd turkey dinner (my first being when I was 17 and still at home), and it turned out great. My mom said, 'this is better than any turkey dinner I've ever cooked.' I think that compliment pretty much speaks for itself.

Bne was able to join us for supper, which made the evening complete. I was happy that he came, even though he continued to give me a hard time for not telling him our 'big news' sooner than I did. Sorry Bne!

My family has left already....my brother was anxious to get home to watch the 2:30 football game...so we are going spend the rest of the weekend taking it easy.

I plan on getting back on my exercise bike after a 3 day hiatus. I definitely ate more than I usually do, and I've only got 5 days left until I have to wear a bathing suit.

Tonight, after Heroes of course, we are off to our friends to pick up our Mutants and Masterminds game.

Homeless Connect

2008-10-05T16:38:00.005-06:00

I spent the day helping those less fortunate than myself.

My sweetie's organization along with Canadian Mental Health Association led the first of many October homeless initiatives, Homeless Connect.

He's been working extremely hard over the past number of weeks, working many extra hours, staying up late, and giving up his weekends...all for work. But more importantly, for those Edmontonians who are homeless and/or without housing. He's got such a big heart, and is so great with people in general.

We spent the day conducting surveys with individuals who wanted to provide a bit more detail on their family make-up, housing situation, income (or lack thereof) and recently accessed support services. It's amazing how open and honest people are, when they are truely concerned about their situation and want so desperately to change it.

There were a number of services/organizations participating to assist those in attendance: Shaw Conference Centre, Alberta Health, regional mental health organizations, free haircuts, medical services, shelters, coffee & muffins, hot lunch, clothing vouchers, backpacks, and much, much more.

It feels good to to know I was able to help out and support those in need. I feel part of the community...I feel like I am making a difference (even if small)...and I am proud of the movements Homeward Trust and other agencies are making towards this social issue.

It's a feel good day.

New Skills

2008-09-27T20:56:00.004-06:00

We had our slo-pitch wrap-up party last night....and I left acquiring 2 new skills.

1. Apparently I am not that bad at the drums for Rock Band. This comes a surprise to me, cuz I not a big fan of games like this or Guitar Hero. I have never found GH enjoyable to watch and I am horrible at it. RB was a little more entertaining, especially with an entire room of your friends, who've been drinking. Everyone was having a great time, and I did too, once I finally got into it. And, I am a horrible singer, but I already knew that.

2. I now know how to play Table Tennis. Our wonderful hosts had a ping-pong and so some of us engaged in a little friendly competition. Two of us got shown some of the basic skills by another fellow teammate, and then he proceeded to whoop both our butts.

Good times were had by all. Too much food and drink. I am glad I know my limit...and 3 isn't a whole lot. I guess that is what happens when you drink a couple of times a year. Ah well, I'll be giving it up soon anyways.

Heading to the Tropics

2008-09-15T19:43:00.004-06:00

Some of you may have noticed the countdown and subsequent couples resorts on my sidebar over the last month.

Well....we leave for Negril, Jamaica in 32 days - October 18th. We're extremely excited. This is our first tropical vacation ever. Although James has been to Jamaica before (3x when he was a kid), it's never been as a relaxing vacation. and me....WOW!!! I can't wait. I am really looking forward to just relaxing and basking in the sun. Something I never thought I would do - be it that I wasn't much of a 'hot weather' kind of person. That seems to be changing with age, as I get less tolerant of the cold.

It's an all inclusive resort....so all the food and drink we can consume in a week. Plus, there are various watersports that we can indulge in that are included as well. I'm especially looking forward to trying hobie cat sailing and windsurfing.

Finally, we can't forget the 'big day' - October 22,2008. It's definitely going to be the highlight of the trip. Just the two of us!! :)

Superpowers and College...everyday stuff

2008-09-13T16:51:00.002-06:00

After almost 2 years absence from tabletop gaming - I'm back! James is running a Mutants & Masterminds campaign for me and another couple (old gamer friends of James'). We're all pretty excited. We had our first session was last Thursday.

Our group consists of Em U. Laite (my superhero) - a reclusive skater-girl who has only recently discovered her ability to mimic others; Thomas Grey - a great mystic, who spews fire bolts from his hands; and D.A.N.A, the super-strong prodigy android.

Our session was short, but I can already tell it is going to be a fantastic game. James is very animated with his descriptions, and his use of a wide range of voices definitely adds to the game.

We hope to get together every couple of weeks.

SMAC!

Spa Day

2008-09-07T12:01:00.004-06:00

I spent Saturday with the girls - Farm Girl, Baby Mama, and Cable Chick - enjoying a day of pampering.

We started off with a stroll through the farmers market in St. Albert, before we headed over to The Rock Salon for our noon arrival. We spent the entire afternoon at the spa getting pedicures, facials, massages, and haircuts. It was definitely a nice treat for ourselves.

For the next couple of hours, we shopped West Edmonton Mall. We didn't have a whole lot to shop for, but we ended up leaving with a few shopping bags in tow. I managed to pick up a few things for our upcoming tropical vacation.

We capped off the evening with drinks and dinner at Rics Grill. The food was delicious, as usual, and the girls and I had a great visit. Alas, the final member of a group, my BFF, is 'stuck' (resides) in Dallas, and couldn't make it for the weekend.

It was a nice escape from the day to day home organizing that has been occupying us for the past couple of months. Ahhhh!

Friends

2008-08-30T11:24:00.002-06:00

Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forget about the one's who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

Friends are like balloons; once you let them go, you can't get them back. So I'm gonna tie you to my heart so I never lose you.

Squeeee!!! Wii!

2008-08-24T11:22:00.003-06:00

After thinking I would never own another console system in my life, James & I decided to buy a Wii. I am not even sure how we got talking about buying one, but before we knew it we were headed to Future Shop, to make our purchase.

However, in our decision to purchase the Wii, we decided right from the start that this would be something to help keep us active. By no means was this replacing normal exercise, but we thought the Wii would provide a fun alternative to increase our activity. So, with that in mind, the games we purchases are sport related.

Wii Sports lets you do bowling, baseball, tennis, golf and boxing. And based on last night, I've got James beat in baseball with my multiple home runs, reaching 570 ft. Wahoo!

We also picked up Bowling Pinbusters, Smackdown vs Raw, and Championship Boxing. I am hoping to utilize many of the skills I learned from kickboxing this past spring. If anything, it provides me with a opportunity to practice.

I can already tell that I am going to get a good shoulder and back workout from most of these games. We weren't playing for long last night, and I am a bit stiff today.

Squeee!

The World of Comics

2008-08-10T09:35:00.003-06:00

So, I've taken a break from reading The God Delusion (even though I'm really enjoying it and TUO says it's great) due to the fact that I've been quite distracted with a number of comic books.

I started reading Fables a couple of years ago, and James had picked up the most recent book - The Good Prince. I managed to finish Volume 10 on our trip. TUO & R:tAG told me about the spin-off - Jack of Fables, so I picked up Volume 1 when I was down visiting and just picked up Volume 2 yesterday at Happy Harbour Comics.

I've been reading the Sandman Series for the past couple of months. However, due to other readings I am only on Volume 3. However, I am really enjoying the series, and will be reading more of it in the coming months.

I finished off Stardust a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Also, forgoing Bne's recommendation, I picked up Neverwhere. TUO & R:tAG raved about it, so I decided to pick up the novel (see that I am on this Neil Gaiman kick). Don't worry Bne, I do plan on reading Good Omens - as soon as I find it. I look in every book store I am in, and I can never find it.

The Walking Dead Vol 8, just came out, so I'm going to have to pick up a copy as soon as I can. An excellent series; a bit gory at times, but really, it's zombies!

Besides the current series' I am reading, I need to read The Watchman before the movie comes out. And also, Y: The Last Man.

I am really enjoying this new genre of reading.

California Dreamin'

2008-08-04T16:46:00.029-06:00

And sadly, another trip to California to visit TUO & R:tAG ends.

But what a trip...probably the best one to date. James & I didn't have a lot planned. We did a couple touristy things, but mostly we just geeked out with our hosts....or as I've been corrected, R:tAG & James geeked out.

We arrived Wednesday evening. TUO was gracious enough to pick us up from the airport. Sadly, R:tAG was laid up at home due to an aggravated back injury. We met TUO's pet in the car, and bombarded it with questions..to which it had many interesting answers.

R:tAG managed to maneuver around the house, so we decided to go out for dinner and spent our first evening at Consuelo on Santana Row. Great food and many laughs were had before we left....almost carrying R:tAG out of the restaurant. We managed to transport him safely home. He spent the rest of the evening with Lady Vicodin. So peaceful and soothing she is. The rest of us stayed up and watched Day Watch. Which felt oddly deju vu-ish for me when we started watching it. At times, I knew what scene was coming up next, what actions characters were going to take or words they were going to speak...until enough of the movie had gone by I realized I had seen it before. However, I still can't place it. I don't know when, where or with who I saw it. Strange. Unfortunately, I was too tired to make it through the entire movie.

Thursday we decided to head into San Francisco....after learning that R:tAG would be staying home from work for another day and and not being able to get a hold of Carl. The 'tours' would have to wait until Friday.

We travelled with TUO to her work, which is nearby the Sunnyvale train station. We made plans to meet at the end of the day, and headed off to check the train schedule and get some foody bits into our stomach.

James wanted to go to the SF Zoo, so post-Caltrain ride, we jumped into a cab and headed over to visit the animals. Rowr! (hee-hee) There was lots to see and a few of the animals were quite active. Here are some pictures.

Thursday evening we met up with Carl & Mickey and the six of us went to this amazing Greek restaurant - Cafe Artemis. Engaging conversation was had...and when someone didn't readily have the answer to something, the 'pets' helped out. It was quite a sight to see our 4 friends each with a ' pet' in their hands, searching for the same thing all at once. It was like conversing with 8 instead of 4. :)

Friday was pretty jam-packed. We started off the morning by travelling with R:tAG to work (mobile enough to rejoin the work-world) to get a tour. James was giddy with excitement; he was very much like a kid in a candy store. I had toured Cryptic Studios on my first visit down to San Jose a couple of years ago, and although Cryptic had since moved, the tour was definitely for James. We both left with smiles on our faces and schwag in our hands.

TUO had to run off to work, so James & I walked up to the nearest VTA station and caught the train into San Jose. It was only a few steps away to our destination - The Tech. This place was amazing. I've been to enough science museums/centres to compare, and this one definitely topped my list. Other than the numerous kids inhabiting the place, it was very cool and interactive. Just when I thought there wasn't more to see, I'd go around a corner and there was an entire separate exhibit. We spent most of the early part of the day lunching, touring, and taking in Sea Monsters at the IMAX.

After stopping briefly for some milkshakes at Johnny Rockets we were off to visit Carl at Apple and take in the monthly 'Beer Bash' event for staff and visitors, sponsored by Nike, I believe. Quite amazing I must say. An enormous amount of people (mostly staff as far as I could tell), tables and tables of food for the taking, water, pop, wine, beer...you name it....and free. And of course, Stan, who is worth mentioning, simply because he was so entertaining. Kudos to Carl for including us in the event.

Supper plans included Cheruby's 'must-eat-at' place, In-n-Out Burger...and I must say to Cheruby, 'amazing...delicious', and to our hosts, 'thank you so much for taking us there.' We were advised to order 'Animal style', and did so. James, of course, went over the top with his 'Animal' ordering.

James: I'd like that ANIMAL STYLE (in a slow, booming, deep voice, accompanied by a snake-like hand gesture)
Clerk: Was it really necessary to do it like that?
James: Absolutely!!!!!
Clerk: Well, she didn't feel the need to do it like that
James: ANIMAL STYLE (repeated again for emphasis)

For someone who doesn't really eat from any fast food chain, I was amazed at how calm my tummy was. No rumblies, nor tumblies, nor mad-dashes to the loo.

To cap off the night we watched The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (at least everyone else managed to watch the entire show...I, once again, fell asleep). SUPER-MEGA-AWESOME-COOL. This is a must see for all geeks out there. Corny for the sake of being corny....classic. I am so glad we bought it. Now I can watch the rest of it. (Hiss...Rowr!)

.....so tired....more to come!! Farewell for now.

Ok....after a few days to think about the remainder of our trip I realized there wasn't a whole lot more to say. Not to say we didn't have a great time, but it was fairly lax-a-daisy and relaxing.

We spent Saturday and Sunday touring and shopping around Campbell and Los Gatos with TUO & R:tAG. We:

took in the Farmers Market in Los Gatos
hit up both local game/comic book stores - D&J Hobby & Heroes
gorged ourselves at Fry's - the ultimate electronics store

I also had the pleasure of being introduced to Doctor Who. James, R:tAG & TUO were certain I would like the episode Blink-Cool & Creeeeepy!!!!!! Give me more! Besides more Doctor Who, Dr. Srange and indulging in comics, we had an absolutely wonderful visit.

Summer Holidays

2008-07-14T21:09:00.004-06:00

So...we finally know what we are going to do for our summer holidays.

Visit TUO & R:tAG. Squeeee!

As many of you know, I am quite organized and I like to plan a lot. Maybe to the extreme sometimes. But not so much lately. You see, James has relaxed me quite a bit. I have this inner calmness when we're together....it is weird (for me), yet strangely comforting. Anywho..I'm disgressing much!

Many months ago when my work was requesting my holiday schedule. I said, 'I have no idea what I want to do, or for that matter, when I want to take holidays.' But I knew I would need some break time, so I figured summertime would be the most suitable - July.

We'd talk about our little 'holiday' mostly in vague terms, really not worrying too much about it....knowing we'd come up with something. And if we didn't, we could always head back to Saskatchewan and up to the lake for some time. Finally, James had a wonderfully bright idea.... (as usual....it amazes me how many cool ideas and concepts he comes up with on a regular basis...he really needs to create and market some of these ideas one day)......alas, I digress once again.

"Let's go visit TUO & R:tAG. To which I respond, 'sure, let's make sure there available first.' And to our advantage, they have no plans whatsoever. We'll except some gaming, but that can be enjoyable for all.

So there we have it. My 3rd visit to the San Jose area and James' 1st. And my 1st 'outoftheblue, unplanned vacation.'

Squeeeee!!!

2008-07-08T21:18:00.002-06:00

Awesome! I can't wait. Although it's probably a couple years off, I am still pretty excited. The Diablo series is my all time favourite video game.

I can't seem to get enough

2008-06-08T09:39:00.007-06:00

Lately, I am quite astonished at myself with the number of books I have powered through over the past number of months. Back in March I spoke about my increase in reading and it hasn't slowed down. I quickly read American Gods, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Sandman, and part of Smoke & Mirrors in about a month. I quickly moved onto The Time Traveler's Wife, which was highly recommended by my BFF and her cousin. I read it a week. I couldn't put it down! And for being a genre a typically don't like (family/personal/life interest stories) I thought it was amazing. I passed it along to my friend and she read it in a week too. Read it! It's fantastic.

Next was T for Trespass, and then I was back in the bookstore again.

Last week I picked up Stardust, Invisible Prey and The GOD Delusion. I am really looking forward to reading The GOD Delusion. I am looking forward to reading about Dawkins perspectives; it should be enlightening.

So...if I was to count the number of books read since the beginning of the year, that would be 8...presently reading #9. Wow! That's pretty ambitious of me. I sure hope it doesn't slow down.

Bne, this ones for you

2008-05-31T21:57:00.004-06:00

Check out the new and improved Rick Astley!

Yes...sadly....thanks to Bne's 'teaser' I have spent a good chunk of Saturday night watching Rick Astley videos on YouTube...................and singing. Shame on me!

Reflective Times

2008-05-31T10:01:00.003-06:00

The Legislature Grounds are only a couple of blocks from my office building - wahoo! So beautiful and serene. I will definitely be spending a lot of time there this summer.

Thursday was particularly warm and sunny out so I decide to take a walk to the grounds. Now, it might have been the beautiful weather, or the fact that spring/summer is finally here, or perhaps I was just in a cheery mood, but I got thinking about my life and how happy I am in every single area of my life.

My career is taking off and I absolutely love my job, the people I work with, and the flexibility and autonomy I have with my work is wonderful. I own my own home, and after struggling for a bit, I am feeling fairly stable and secure in my financial situation. My love life is completely perfect; going strong; and continues to put a big smile on my face every day. I am more dedicated than ever to my family and continue to spend as much time with them as possible. I have great friends who love and support me tremendously and who let me know how fantastic I am doing; while continuing to meet new people and make new friends. I have been extremely active since I moved to Edmonton; joining sports like bowling, slo-pitch and volleyball; getting involved in Corporate Challenge for the 2nd year in a row; and trying new things like kickboxing. Finally, I am feeling stronger, more confident and independent than I ever have. before..which is hard to believe since I already thought I was pretty strong, confident and independent.

So....as I was thinking of all these aspects of my life during my walk, I concluded:

I've never been happier.....I am at my happiest!!

I continued my walk with a big smile on my face and soaked in the beauty around me.

Staying in Touch

2008-05-25T20:31:00.003-06:00

It's been a whirlwind weekend visiting friends.

I spend the entire day with Ben...it was absolutely wonderful. I miss him dearly. We had brunch with AJ at the Blue Plate this morning. We all reminisced about the past...parties...relationships...good times, and talked about the present and how well we were all doing. It was fantastic.

Bne & I saw Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. It was hillarious...even the 2nd time around (for me).

We ended off the night with a great diner - steak & wine - at the The Keg, and some really good conversation as usual.

It was also great seeing people I haven't seen in ages - Carla, Deb, Quinn and Alan. Good times!!!

I really miss Bne, a lot! Although I am very happy that he is closer, now that he has moved to Settler...and that he has a regular job....and that he will be visiting more often. It makes me extremely happy.

My Daily Escape

2008-03-28T22:19:00.008-06:00

I think I have mentioned this before, but the bus system has worked out quite well with my new job. I am not even remotely close to downtown (where I work), and I can pretty much frolic in the fields if I wanted to, but the bus has provided me with good quality reading time.

My reading had become pretty non-existent over the last few years - I think I read, maybe, 3-4 books. See...I have a pretty over-active brain that likes to think and think and think, and if my mind is distracted with other issues, I just can't focus and escape into the fantasy world that books offer me. But with a clear head, happy heart and plenty of free time to read each day, I am back 'ater.

I quickly finished up the series by Kelly Armstrong that included Dime Store Magic, Industrial Magic and Haunted. I really enjoyed it, and it helped me realize how much I missed reading. So, I was on a mission to continue reading, yet my own personal collection was stale. So, after remembering the cool little book community, Shelfari that r:tAG invited me to last summer, I remembered there were a number of books on his shelf that I wanted to read. So I wrote them down and headed off to the book store about 3 weeks back. I am currently reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I wouldn't say I completely love it, but I am definitely intrigued by the story and the writing. And I am looking forward to reading The Sandman series which Mr. J brought me this past week during his Easter visit. I also wouldn't mind reading Stardust, as I enjoyed the movie immensely.

Couldn't think of a title

2008-02-24T11:37:00.003-07:00

Well, it appears that I don't really do the blog thing much anymore. For those who still read it, I am sure you've noticed a steady decline in the number of posts I have been doing of late.

I suppose I could explain this in two ways:
1. I am very busy.
2. I've become much more private about my life. I prefer to share on a more personal level. So for those who haven't gotten a phone call or email lately, my apologies (see #1). I am going to make more of an effort in the future.

In other news...the weather is gorgeous here in Edmonton; I think Spring is on its way. Which makes me very, very happy.

My night class is a lot different than I thought. A lot more thought provoking than I expected. We are looking at the history of adult education; so we are spending a lot of time looking at historical sociological, psychological, and political themes in regards to adult education.

Volleyball is good...bowling is good. And I can't way for Slow-Pitch to start in April.

I just started playing Guild Wars this weekend, and I am having tons of fun. A nice quiet alternative to the typical MMOG. No one is really pestering me to join a team or engage in PvP. I highly recommend it.

The End of Year 30

2008-01-17T06:58:00.000-07:00

Reflecting back on my 30th year, I see many things: challenges, change, sadness, heartache, the end of friendships, happiness, wisdom..., and I am sure the list could go on and on. However, I will refrain from calling it 'a bad year' or 'a year of transition' (as many people have said to me). It has been a year of excitement and needed changes. Granted, there have been many changes over the year, I could say that about a lot of years in my life. My life is full changes, and I find it is really about how I decide to look at each situation and eventually summarize the events in my life that make it so. And like most everything in my life, I like to view my circumstances as positively as I can. That's just they way I am.

The beginning of my 30th year brought closure to a large chapter in my life. I said goodbye to a dear friend, who I loved for many, many years. It can be hard to say goodbye, I know in my heart it is the best for me. This period in my life has provided me with an opportunity to really grow and learn as an individual, and I've found that I am stronger because of it. Although it may have needed to end sooner than it did, I believe that everything happens for a reason and I know it ended exactly when it was suppose to.

Although I have spent the last year mostly away from family and friends, I have never been more dedicated in my life to invest time with those who are important to me and ensure that I am nurturing those relationships. I spent a large part of the year getting to know some of my friends on a more personal basis - taking the time to learn more about them. My friends have always been important to me, but when I look back a lot of my so called 'friendships' have been because we regularly ran into each other at parties or gaming events. Little did I realize that I really knew nothing about some of my friends, ones that I actually considered myself close to.

In getting to know one of my friends, I have found an amazing individual. He is thoughtful, caring, compassionate, patient and so much more. He truly brings out the best in me...someone who had been lost for sometime. I have found my soulmate in Mr. J; I love him deeply more than I could have ever imagined.

As my 30th year began to draw to a close, I began to feel a lot of stress and anxiety regarding my career. The exciting new job I had been offered last ear was turning into the 'Worst Job of my Life.' There was a lot of soul searching and job searching, trying to get a handle on my situation, and it wasn't improving. Finally, a break! With a great job opportunity just around the corner and a much needed holiday, I was back on my feet feeling as confident as ever regarding my career. The year has ended off with a bang, as I start my new job just days before my 31st birthday.

It has been an wonderful, exciting year navigating a new job (two, I guess), a new city, single life, and a new relationship.

I look forward to my 31st year, as I am sure it will bring forth many challenges, as usual.

First Creation of 2008

2008-01-13T19:24:00.001-07:00

A gift from my sweetie - a 3D puzzle of Camelot.

It didn't take long after returning home from the holidays before I started separating and organizing the pieces. After 3 long sittings working on it, it is complete. I should really get at assembling all my other puzzles. They are sitting in pieces in their boxes.

In other news, I've got a busy, busy week. I start my new job tomorrow, I start my new class on Tuesday night, I start the new season of Volleyball on Wednesday, I am off for a birthday supper at my friends on Thursday, and finally, bowling on Friday.

I am already looking forward to the weekend and the week hasn't even started yet.

First Challenge of 2008

2008-01-06T00:19:00.000-07:00

I did say in my last post that I had no specific resolutions, but that I would continue with my standard MO. So in keeping with my MO of 'challenging myself, I am going to try to be more poetic in 2008.

My sweet Mr. J gave me the Magnetic Poetry Haiku Kit as one of my gifts this Christmas season. As well as a book of poems by e.e. cummings.

I just finished assembling the magnetics on my fridge and completed my first haiku poem (ever) of 2008.

a flower petal
blossoming for a childs smile
will fall with a tear

Time for Something Different

2008-01-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

As many of you already know, I have been quite disgruntled about my work for the past number of months. There have been little things (perhaps, medium) that have come up over the course of the year that have been bothersome, as I feel there are some bad business practices occurring and definitely poor management.

I consider myself a fairly knowledgeable individual, especially when it comes to business. I am also a fairly strong individual who likes to work in an environment that is open (for the most part), honest, trusting, and values the contributions of their employees. It was becoming apparent at work, that this was not the case. It has caused me a lot of grief, stress and anxiety. More than I actually realized. I guess stress does that to you sometimes. But, I digress more than I would have liked.

So, I have been job hunting for the past few months. It must have been good timing, as when I starting looking there were lots of jobs in 'Learning & Development' advertised.

I have since had a number of interviews, all very promising and strong. However, due to the holiday season there have been delays that could not be prevented. I still think 'they' were quick considering.

I start my new job on January 14th with the Government of Alberta. I am elated, excited, thrilled, ecstatic....etc. It is a job in my field, with an organization that can provide endless opportunities for advancement, and something that will help create some stability in my life/career.

So far, the New Year has been very, very good to me. I have no specific resolutions this year. I will continue with my standard MO - take care of myself, eat well, exercise, always challenge myself, give/help to others, and spend time with family and friends.

Happy Holidays

2007-12-29T18:01:00.001-07:00

The holiday season of 2007 have been full of food, family, wonderful surprises, friends and much more, AND, I still have a few more days left.

I spent the majority of my time off with my parents and Mr. J in Biggar. It was a quiet Christmas, as my brothers family was spending Christmas with the 'other side' this year. So, Mr. J & I got put to work cooking, baking, and helping with some finishing touches on my parents renovations. However, I would have to say that most of our time was spent visiting, watching movies, and sleeping in. It was wonderful.

My sweetie spoiled me rotten with gifts. Too many to even list. But ranged from music-books-poetry-movies-clothes, and finally, a special New Years get-a-way trip. I was full of smiles....as usual when I am around Mr. J.

We came back into the city on Friday and spent sometime with BB, Suz, Cheruby and Bne. Alien vs. Predator was pretty craptacular. The only good thing about the movie (according to Bne) was the blonde hottie, and the trash-talk we engaged in afterwards.

Tomorrow we are off for our New Years celebration - just the two of us - for 3 days. I am very excited. I am looking forward to starting a new tradition with my sweetie. I've already got some ideas for next years get-a-way.

Rides, Rides, Rides

2007-12-16T10:31:00.001-07:00

I helped out last night at my friends Kids Christmas Party. It was a blast.

It was quite a big event. I don't know how it couldn't be, given that it was Shaw. They rented out the entire Galaxyland for the private function.

We helped set up all the tables for the snacks, drinks, and presents. We spent about an hour of the evening handing out gifts for the kids. And the rest of the time, we took to the rides - for free! It was a blast.

I love rides, however I have always been wary of riding the roller coaster because of the accident that occurred in the mid-80's. Like I said, I love rides to death, but I've never been a huge fan of going upside down, which makes roller coasters near the bottom of my list of favourites. However, the best one I ever went on was The Dueling Dragons. Jeff & I went to Florida/DisneyWorld/Universal Studios for our honeymoon. And for someone who doesn't even like rides, I was surprised (& touched) that he wanted to go. We both thought it was awesome (among the other rides we went on). I digress.

So, I finally decided to go.

It was fun, but I don't ever think I would do it again. Simply because I think I hurt my neck when my head snapped forward on the first descend. It is a little sore today.

I had tons of fun.

Now, for a day of baking.

I'm exhausted

2007-12-09T17:58:00.001-07:00

What a busy day!!

I spent most of the day in the kitchen baking.

Being an avid baker, you'd think I would have made pastry before...nope! I found out my sweetie likes butter tarts, so that gave me an opportunity to test my skills. AJ & I got talking about baking last weekend when he was down, and he told me about an amazing pastry recipe that he had gotten from Billie-Joe. He gave it to me, and it turned out wonderfully. I was somewhat surprised, as most people I talk to say pastry can be difficult, and it can be somewhat of an art to get it perfect. I've been baking for a lot of years, I am fairly confident in my abilities, and I can whip up lefse no problem, so I wasn't really worried. Plus, when it comes to baking and cooking, I have a trial and error attitude. If it doesn't work out, I will just try again, and modify things and hope for the best. I am sure it helps that I like to bake and cook so much. They don't look perfect...I sure wouldn't be winning any baking contest awards for presentation, but they taste delicious.

I also managed to whip up some Chocolate Chip cookies for Christmas, and for the boys at work. I am sure they will appreciate it.

While my pastry dough was chilling, I spent most of the afternoon wrapping presents. I am almost completely done shopping; I only have one gift left to buy.

My Christmas tree is up with lights and garland on it. The ornaments are the last to go on. I'll put the presents under the tree, put some more garland and lights up around the house and then the house will be decorated for Christmas.

It feels like my day will never end. Just as I was cleaning up the kitchen from my day of baking, and finishing up supper I realized that I needed to do some laundry. Blah....I am sure I could crash right now.

"...the happiest I've seen you..."

2007-12-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

Comments like that just make my day, and the day is only half over. It's been fantastic.

I was awoken this morning with a phone call from my BFF in Dallas. She had forgotten about the time change, but it was great to hear from her. We've been so busy that we haven't spoken on the phone in a couple of months. Weird. We only had a chance to speak briefly, as their new furniture was being delivered. Nevertheless, it was great to hear her voice.

I laid in bed for awhile longer, before it was time to get up and get ready for my brunch 'date' with AJ.

We met at 10:30 at the Urban Diner, off downtown Edmonton. I highly recommend this place to anyone interested in have a quiet breakfast/brunch with friends. It is in an little artsy area off of downtown, and very quaint.

Aside: One of the things that I love about Edmonton, there is definitely lots of quiet, unique places to eat, drink coffee, or just visit on a lazy Saturday/Sunday afternoon.

The food was amazing. I had the french toast, and AJ had the waffles. Both were superb. I will definitely will be returning. I must try that warm cinnamon bun they had on their menu.

The company was also wonderful. We chatted for over an hour and a half about baking, our busy lives, and City of Heroes. It was a great chance to catch-up and spend more time together. AJ & I have been friends for a long time, but have never had much opportunity to just 'chill-out' together. It was nice.

Now that December is finally here, Christmas is in the air....well at least it is in my house. I am making my Nuts 'n' Bolts mixture that I make every year, doing up some Christmas cards (I don't remember the last Christmas I actually did cards), getting out some of my decorations, and perhaps I will do some wrapping this afternoon. I haven't quite broken out the Christmas music yet, but it will definitely be playing when I put my tree up and decorate the house.

'Tis the season.

Crafty these days

2007-11-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

Once again, I have decided to give as many personalized gifts as possible this Holiday season. Over the past number of months I have been working on many crafty items for friends and family for birthdays, Christmas, and baby shower gifts.

I started up a beautiful baby blanket for my girlfriend who had her baby in August. I stalled on the baby sweater, and because it was for a newborn I pretty much gave up trying to get it done. I will eventually finish it, but there is no rush at the moment. So I switch to another project, which I had already had in mind for her and the baby. They decided on a nature theme for the baby's room, so I figured Bernat Satin was the way to go in the sable colour. I had used this yarn to knit my nephew a blanket, and it is wonderfully soft. If I stick with it I should have it done by the end of December.

My neices 5th birthday is coming up mid-December and I wanted to do something extra special. She is turning 5 after all. I found a plain wooden jewelry box at Michael's, and figured I would paint it in her favourite colours (pink and purple), decorate it with sparkles, stickers and her name, and finish it off with a picture of herself. It has turned out really well, there are just a few finishing touches I need to complete. Plus, to put inside, a pink handmade bracelet. I am sure she will be thrilled.

As for mom, I have been knitting items for her newly renovated kitchen, and assembling a Christmas centerpiece.

I was going to try and do some paintings for family and friends, but the time seems to be slipping away. I still plan to do them eventually, they just might not be Christmas presents.

For me, I enjoy giving personalized or small gifts, rather than the extravagant. There seems to be more thought, time, patience, and love I give something I made.

Oh, how I love surprises

2007-11-15T08:02:00.001-07:00

I really do love surprises...fun, sweet, romantic, silly...you name it, they are all good. A haven't gotten that many over the years, but lately I have been flooded with them, and they make me very happy and smiley. Apparently, I can expect them for the rest of my life. Squeeee!

My parents had planned to come to visit this weekend, however at the last minute my mom got fairly ill and they had to cancel. I was pretty bummed out for most of Friday; not knowing what I was going to do with my entire weekend. I was hoping to see Al & Jenn more, who were up visiting Jenn's friend & fiance. We had only planned one evening together because of my parents, but now with them not coming....I had the entire weekend to enjoy their company.

I had take the liberty of pre-bowling for my Friday night league in anticipation of my parents, however in their absence I now had an opportunity to go. I headed across the street after work with a couple of friends for wings and beer, and then went to bowling. It was funny, because I wasn't really feeling up to socializing, and once I got there I had just wished I had gone home.
Aside: Yes, sometimes moping is exactly what I need. It usually doesn't last very long, but I was feeling bummed and not very sociable.
Alas, I hung in there and began to enjoy myself, which helped to improve my mood.

Mid-game, my cell phone rang. Now, if you spent a lot of time with me, you would know that my phone rarely rings, and if it does, it is my friend Andrea or my parents when I am travelling home. I answered it, and it was my sweetie. :) He advised me that Darren & Al had arranged things so that he didn't have to work this weekend. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that he was in town and sitting at my house. I finished up my first game of bowling, and tore out of the alley. I think I got home in record time.

My sweetie had been planning the surprise for a couple of weeks, and had been laying all the necessary fibs leading up to this weekend to ensure I didn't think anything was up. It worked.

I was so excited to see him, I couldn't contain myself. I didn't want to let him go. It think this last stretch was the longest we've gone so far without seeing one another - 6 weeks.

Our weekend was wonderfully lazing. We spent most of the weekend relaxing with movies, tv shows, puzzles, cooking, and lots of snuggly time.

I took him to my volleyball game on Monday night, and he got to meet all my friends from work. They were quite excited to meet him, and were happy to know he was 'real.'

With Al & Jenn in town, our Monday supper plans were still a go, but all the more enjoyable with Mr. J. We decided on Julio's Barrio on Whyte Ave. The food was pretty good, but the service was horrendous. You could tell the waitress didn't give a damn about our table. It was sad. However, the night was enjoyable, as I was in good company.

Tuesday was Mr. J's last day, alas, I had to get back to work. However I decided on an extended lunch hour with Mr. J, Al & Jenn. I hurried home from work to greet our wonderful friends. Mr. J & I were great hosts and prepared lunch for the 4 of us, and had a great visit. Mr. J had another surprise in the works - the latest episode of Heroes that we had all missed the night before because of our supper out. We set up the lappy near the table and watched it over lunch.

It was great seeing Al & Jenn. It is funny how I sorta forget how much I miss my friends until I see them. Kinda like I am feeling right now with Suz & Cheruby visiting. It has been wonderful to have them here....I think I almost started to cry last night when Suz and I hugged. It is nice to be reminded how much I really do cherish my friends.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T17:51:00.001-06:00

I really do love Halloween. Being able to decorate my house, dress up, and take joy in the children...it's all good!

Today was a exciting day at work. Many of my co-workers dressed up, some themed, some not. My team decided to do a 'Clue' theme. I dressed myself up as Mrs. Peacock; it was fantastic. In my blue bridesmaid dress from my BFF's wedding, a white feather boa, white gloves, a couple of peacock feathers in my flipped up hair, and of course, the wrench as my weapon...I definitely looked and felt the part. I am hoping to get some pictures from work to post, so you may see the final look. The rest of my team also looked amazing, with Prof. Plum, Mrs. White, Ms. Scarlett, Mr. Green, The Victim, the library, the kitchen, and someone even dressed up as the game, attaching the board to their back, sticking cards all over there body, and pinning a clue sheet to their head. It was awesome.

Besides the dressing-up there was a pumpkin carving contest (I didn't win, but I fun carving mine last night), a pizza lunch with cake, and costume judging. My team one best group.

As for tonight, I've got my house all decorated and I am just waiting for the little ones to show up. I am not sure how many to expect, but whomever comes by will be worth the wait.

As a prelude to Halloween, Andy and I went to 30 Days of Night. It was definitely scary. I thought I was going to have nightmares. I guess I am more used vampire movies that depict the high society/historical view, rather than the dark and evil view. Nevertheless, it was a good evening out.

My Week at a Glance

2007-10-13T10:53:00.000-06:00

My week was fairly slow, yet relaxing. After my busy Thanksgiving weekend, I think I needed a little 'me' time.

I managed to get caught up with my shows - Heroes & Bionic Woman. I find it odd to talk about 'my shows' since I haven't really watched any amount of cable in probably the last 6 or 7 years. But Mr. J & I enjoy watching them together.

I missed volleyball on Monday because of the holiday, and our Thursday league game was canceled, however I did get back to my bowling last night and did O.K. My week at the gym was much needed considering the amount of food I ate on the weekend. I tend to eat out more than I would like to when I'm back in Toon town. Then again, it is probably the only 'restaurant eating' I do. I never go out here at home. I guess that is good for the wallet.

Today I've got a fairly busy planned. Eventually I'm going to head out to get my oil changed. I will also probably wander over to Michael's. I am starting to think about Christmas gifts, and there is a bunch of Halloween stuff on sale that I noticed in the flyer this morning. I am going to decorate my house for Halloween today, and then Andrea is coming over later for supper. We are going to make ourselves some homemade pizza and then catch a movie - Michael Clayton. We both thought it looked good when we saw the previews awhile back, and reviews look good too.

And that's my day.

Movies & Shows

2007-10-09T22:45:00.000-06:00

In between:

visiting with BB & Nicole
the wedding
visiting with Mr. & Mrs. Drang, and
Thanksgiving supper with the family

Mr. J & I managed to squeeze in 3 movies and a number of Arrested Development episodes and the first episode of Bionic Woman.

First, SUPERBAD. Go see it. It's hilarious. Well, at least for the first hour or so. The humour tapered off near the middle, and didn't really come back. At least not at the level it was in the beginning. But it definitely made me & Mr. J laugh out loud.

Secondly, Stardust. A romantic, fairy tale love story. I think I had way too many descriptors in that last sentence, but I don't care. It was a wonderful movie. I was full of 'aahhhhs' and smiles as soon as it ended. Mr. J liked it, but my brother thought it was full of 'cheese.' It was great. I've become a mushy romantic, and I love it.

Thirdly, Fracture. This court drama with Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling was interesting. Anthony's character plays games with the justice system, and ends up getting away with murdering his wife. Although it was based on US law, it was interesting to be able to point out all the inconsistencies and half-truths regarding the law and investigation, being that I just finished with my jury duty.

As for Arrested Development, it's still good. Even though this is my 3rd time through the first disc. But this time I got to watch it with my sweetie, who appears to find it just as entertaining as I.

Bionic Woman looks good, so I think I will start watching it. I think I have another episode to catch up on before tomorrow night.

Finally...Deliberations

2007-10-02T07:49:00.000-06:00

Well, the end is finally drawing near for me and this trial. It has definitely been a experience...a roller coaster of events and emotions. As this part of my life draws to a close, I can honestly say that I will look at the world around me very differently. I never expected such an event would have such an impact on my life, but it has.

For those of you who have burning questions regarding the trial, you'll have to just sit down with me for a chat, as I am not going to post any of the juicy/graphic details on this blog. I will happily tell you all about my experience, that's if you really want to know, as I am sure it will help get a few things out for myself. I never realized how difficult it can be on a person when they have absolutely no outlet to vent or discuss ones day. Whether it is talking to a friend, spouse, partner..whomever, everyone needs to unwind at the end of the day....talk about their day. I haven't been able to talk about my day for the last 4 weeks. That's tough, and I am looking forward to getting some of it out to anyone who is interested in listening. My friend A already offered her listening ear, however I believe a bottle of wine was part of the arrangement. :)

I may be absent for a few days, but it isn't like I post everyday, so I am sure you won't even notice.

I will be heading back to Saskatoon this coming weekend for a wedding and Thanksgiving celebrations. It's a busy weekend, and it seems that I've always got events to go to that prevent me from seeing everyone I would like to. But, I hope to catch up with some of my friends.

You know that feeling you get when suddenly you realize that everything is going to be 'OK'? I had that last night, it was wonderful. I guess some things do just take time.

Odds & Ends

2007-09-29T17:22:00.000-06:00

After a late night of partying with my ball team, I am ready for a relaxing evening. And no, not 10PM Marcia's gets silly late, more like 4AM.

It was a fantastic evening. Most of the team showed up with their potluck items in tow. We ate well on appetizers, steaks, and dessert. Our coach had some presentations to make. He did up little certificates for each of the players and MVP male and female awards. My certificate said, 'Biggest Mid-Season Acquistion." I am definitely looking forward to next season, and challenging myself. Perhaps I will even do a little pitching. As the evening wore on, people left, however the games came out. With 6 of us left, we challenged ourselves to a game of 80's Trivial Pursuit, Canadian Edition. Wow, was it ever hard. Even with most of the players being 30+. However, the coach and I managed to get all our pies to win the game. It was a great night.

I am surprisingly not as tired as I thought I would be, and managed to fit in a super-mega-awesome-cool workout this afternoon, vacuumed the house, did some laundry and cleaned up the kitchen. It has been a overly productive day.

A&K are headed over with Olive Garden take-away for supper and some movies. We all are looking forward to the low key evening.

Karma

2007-09-26T21:18:00.000-06:00

A little something my mother sent me today. My mother is a wonderful, smart lady.

Instructions for Life
Take into account that great love and great achievements involve risk.
When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
Follow the three R's:
Respect for self,
Respect for others, and
Responsibility for all your actions.
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
Don't let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Spend some time alone every day.
Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
Share your knowledge. It is the way to achieve immortality.
Be gentle with the earth.
Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

Updates

2007-09-24T20:21:00.001-06:00

My daily trip to the law courts continues to be interesting. It looks as though we may be wrapping up early, so it's back to work for me sooner rather than later. However, it is nice to know that my Thanksgiving weekend won't be ruined. I'll be back in Saskatchewan for a wedding and the family supper.

As for my social activities, my floor hockey team won't be playing this fall. It seems we registered too late even though I got a confirmation that we were registered for Thursday. Oh well, I still have volleyball on Mondays and bowling on Fridays.

I was in Calgary this past weekend with my friend Andy. We were visiting JC, as it was the last time we were going to see her before she moves far away to Dallas. It was a fantastic girls weekend, even though we ate way too much crappy food.

Heroes Season 2 starts tonight, and I am pretty excited. Although, I will have to be satisfied with only watching one episode a week.

Posting for the sake of posting

2007-09-15T10:32:00.000-06:00

I really don't have anything interesting to say. I have lots of interesting things going on, but as you may know I am bound by the law and cannot speak of it.

I've gone and caught myself another cold. It seems fairly mild. So I am hoping that it is gone by Monday.

Bne & Siochain are up this weekend, and I am looking forward to hanging out with them for most of the weekend. We are currently preparing plans to go for breakfast, but somebody got a little drunk last night, so I am not sure how quickly things will get going this morning.

I have my slo-pitch league wind-up banquet tonight. That should be fun, and likely good food.

I started in a bowling league last night, which will run until about April. I did fairly good on my first 2 games, bowling a 152, and 181. However, like usual, my last game sucked. I am not sure I am actually skilled at the game or just lucky. Or perhaps my arm was just getting tired by the 3rd game. I really have no explanation. Nevertheless, it was a good time.

I've been selected

2007-09-10T18:45:00.001-06:00

I think it will be an interesting few weeks. I can't believe out of 230 people, I got picked. I am never that lucky, never!

Dinner & a Movie

2007-09-09T10:03:00.001-06:00

Last night Andrea & I went out for a girls night out. We had a late dinner at Joey Tomatoes. It was delicious. The Three Cheese Pate with red pepper jelly was amazing. Exactly how an appetizer should, not too fatty, greasy, or heavy.

It was nice to get out for drinks, supper and good conversation. Both of us were so busy over the summer, we didn't get to hang out as much as we would have liked.

After dinner, we hopped over to the City Centre Cinemas and watched Shoot 'Em Up. Fun, fun, fun!!! There is a lot of gun fire, LOTS! But it suits the movie. The action was so intense that I didn't even realize half way through the movie that the plot hadn't been fully explained. And that is usually my pet peeve in movies. I like there to be a reason behind what I am watching. Go see it, it's tons of fun.

What does today have in store for neuba? I think I am going to cook most of the day. I bought myself a huge warehouse package of ground beef, and I plan on make a big batch of homemade meat sauce that I can squirrel away for the winter. I also plan on using some for lasagna. And now that I think about it, I could probably make cenobyte's 'Once a Week' soup. Mmmmmm, so tasty.

Tomorrow I am off to the court house. I am looking forward to the whole jury selection process. Although I will be away from work for awhile if I get selected, I am secretly hoping I get picked. Not to be away from work, as work is busy and exciting right now. I just would like to be part of this whole process.

Some lyrics just fit perfectly

2007-09-04T20:38:00.000-06:00

Coming from a small town, I was 'forced' to listen to a lot of country. I don't mind it now and again, and when I hear it, I tend to get fairly nostalgic. But every once in awhile I hear one that I like. I heard this one some months back; I liked it immediately. It definitely hit home for me.

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small, You
never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,

This is my wish
i hope you know somebody who loves you
may all you dreams stay big

via

You can listen to it here.

Busy

2007-09-03T21:38:00.000-06:00

So, as I predicted, my weekend wasn't as full of rest and relaxation as I would have liked. It was fairly chaotic most days with the kids around and my parents house in ruins. Yes, in ruins. It is pretty much torn up. They have gotten the main rooms painted, and they look wonderful. The french doors are in, and the new casings around the windows. It is really starting to shape up, and you can start to imagine how beautiful it is going to look when it is done.

We spent most of the weekend eating, visiting, watching movies, and playing games. We tried out a new game this weekend: Pirate's Cove. It was quite fun. Then again, it could have been who I was playing with. James does an excellent Pirate voice (as well as many others), and was getting in the spirit of the game, as all players were required to shout out in a strong pirate voice which section of the ship you were going to attack. My nephew was hilarious with his native sounding pirate voice. Tee-hee.

Unfortunately, the only nice day of the weekend was today. It was super hot. But we did manage to get to the park. The kids really shouldn't ask me to play tag, I out ran them all. Mwwahaahaha!!

I am looking forward to the fall sports I am involved with, and relaxing at home for the next month.

Homeward Bound

2007-08-30T17:35:00.000-06:00

I am happy to be heading back to Saskatchewan this weekend. However, for once, it won't be to Saskatoon. Just back to my hometown for some relaxation with the family, good company, and great food. I heard something about apple pie, but I don't think mom is making it for me.

I hope I don't get put to work too much. My parents are still in the middle of their home renovations, and as mom said last night, "we might put you to work...perhaps give you a paint brush." She has also requested that I cook. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook, but I was looking forward to some of mom's homecookin'. I am sure we can work together on that.

I pretty much have convinced myself that I will be able to relax this weekend, but methinks I will be occupied with reno's, cooking, and entertaining the kids. Regardless of what happens, it is going to be a blast.

It's funny, I have actually seen and spent more time with my family since I moved to Edmonton than when I lived in Saskatoon. Funny how some things just work out that way.

Break the Cycle

2007-08-29T20:05:00.000-06:00

My weekend was fantastic. I partied with Jen & Chad both Friday night and Saturday night in celebration of their move to Dallas. I am very excited for them, and I am especially excited for any upcoming visits of mine to their fancy house with a pool. A little applaud that they can buy a 3000 sq. ft home with a pool for pretty much the same price as mine. I guess the price they pay is having to live in Bush's home state.

Saturday afternoon/evening I got to help celebrate Malcolm's 30th birthday. Furlak, Bne and I headed over to his & Erin's place for some games, videos, and chatting. The party also included Steve, Jen and Seamus. It had been many years since I had seen any of them, and I would probably say I barely know them, but it was nice to see them again and re-connect, if you will.

All in all the weekend was full of fun and friendship. It is definitely a good feeling to know that I have friends nearby who care about me, and who I can call on anytime I need a place to crash. Yes, that is you Ben & Furlak. Oh, and Erin and Malcolm too.

I have recently updated my Flickr page, so check out some of the pictures of my Vegas trip, my summer vacation, and the past weekend. There are some great shots.

As for my post title, it really has nothing to do with my post. It was just something interesting Furlak said this weekend when we were talking about life changes. It is always good to change your habits...hang out with different people, do something different with your leisure time...start a new activity. Sometimes people don't realize how different life can be until they break the cycle. But, habits are hard to break.

Must....Watch...More...

2007-08-27T18:35:00.000-06:00

Arrested Development.

I was introduced to this sitcom this weekend. Jen & Chad were sure I would like the humour - I did. It gets a SMAC for being one of the funniest sitcoms I've seen in awhile. I don't watch a lot of tv, and I watch even less sitcoms on a regular series. I much prefer being introduced to series later on, so I can watch the whole thing in sequence; so here's another.

We managed to watch the first disc of the 1st season. Brilliant absolutely brilliant. It turned out that Malcolm also was a watcher, so when me & the guys were over there Saturday night, we introduced it to Ben & Chris. They liked it as well, and Chris picked up the series on Sunday. I think I'll wait before I buy, but it is definitely a series worth owning.

My weekend was awesome. More updates to following in the week. I am just to hungry to continue this post. Hee-hee.

Is it Fall already?

2007-08-19T09:13:00.001-06:00

Similar to Suz, I have been lax in the amount of regular posts I have been contributing to my blog. I had to reiterate to Bne that I was on holidays and was taking a mini-break from the world of technology. I think we all can become a little dependent on these wonderful little machines, so it was nice to get away for a bit.

Although I am taking the first step in making a post, I really don't have a whole lot of things to say. The week was boring and blah. And I have attributed that to having returned from my short holiday. I guess I just wasn't ready to be back at work, and would have loved to still be on holidays. Or, I could blame it on the weather, as it has started to cool off; in the evenings especially.

Our ballteams' playoffs were this weekend. They started Friday night. We won with one run between us. Saturdays game proved to be a challenge. First, the diamonds we were at got closed because of the rain and hail the night before. We ended up playing at some other diamonds that weren't as nice. The weather was cool, wet and misty. It 'rained' for most of our game. We were doing OK for the majority of the game, but weren't really ahead of the other team at any point. However, it the last inning we pulled it out and managed to get 4 runs to win the game. It was an amazing final inning, and we were all very excited to have won. The bad news, that I just received a while ago, was that todays games are rained out and they are going to have to reschedule them for during the week. It's a bummer, however it really doesn't look to nice out.

I am off for supper to A&K's tonight. Hopefully A & I can work out a exercise schedule for the coming week. We haven't had much success going together this summer, but we are both ready to jump back in.

I am off to Calgary next weekend for Chad & Jen's going away party. *sniff* They are down in Dallas this weekend checking out houses. I hope they found something.

I am looking forward to seeing Bne & Chris. I know Bne is ok, but I know that he needs a big hug. He has been a big support for him, and I want to make sure he knows he has the same in me.

The long weekend looks like it will be shaping up to a visit home to Biggar. I am in desperate need of some family time. Although I just saw my family at the lake, it was a little chaotic, and I am looking for something a little quieter. Plus, I am anxious to see how the renos are going. I really hadn't planned on making any trips back to Saskatchewan until October, but when I told my Dad that he say, 'oh, you better come home before then.' I think he just misses his little girl.

Now that I have the rest of the day to kill, I am not sure what to do. I should really get that damn baby sweater finished, as it is a tiny size, and I am pretty sure Melzi's had her baby, although not informed us yet. I probably will call A up and see if she is up for the gym this afternoon before supper. With our gloomy day, a good workout at the gym will do wonders to help remedy the feelings that come with a blah day.

My Vacation

2007-08-13T19:15:00.000-06:00

Friday
Left work early again. It seems to work well that way, especially on a long weekend. I beat the traffic, which makes the drive a lot smoother. I arrived in town on time, ready for my hair appointment. My hairdresser, who has cut my hair for almost 9 years I think, was a sweetheart and came back to work in the evening to cut my hair. I originally was looking to get it done on Saturday, but she was also going on holidays, so she offered to do it Friday night. Such a sweetheart. I had see her last in February, right before the house got packed up, so we had a lot of catching up to do.

Saturday
After James was done work at the Den, we headed off to the lake. The drive was a breeze until just after Smeaton, when the road gets narrow and pretty crappy. On top of that there was quite a thunderstorm rumbling on. However, we made it safe and sound to the full cabin at Lower Fishing Lake. Dad & uncle Brian were nice enough to set up the tent for us, however upon entering the tent to put the air mattress in, I stepped and kneelled in a number of puddles. The mattress was quickly returned to the cabin where James & I slept in the middle of the tiny living room. It was a good thing that Mom & Dad had the motor-home, and that Uncle Brian and his kids were in a tent, otherwise I am not sure where we would have slept - the car perhaps.

Sunday
Our first full day - chaos and joyous. Eating is always a big production at the lake. The meals are full, and the clean up takes forever. The lake is, well, rustic, as James put it. There is no running water, so dishes involves heating water on the stove, getting out 3 basins - one for washing, one for rinsing, and one for drying. Doing the dishes usually takes as long as cooking breakfast, especially with 13 people.

Not long after breakfast was over, Mackenzie had James in his trunks and they were off to the beach. I stayed back to clean up, and visit. Eventually Dad got the boat in the water, and took Kevin & Jesse fishing. James & I headed to the park with Mackenzie and met up with Mom, Lorianne, and Zachary. It wasn't much longer and it was getting time to eat again. The boys caught some fish and Dad had taken out some steak. It was a scrumptious meal. Before we knew it, it was time for bed. After cleaning up supper, and visiting with family friends, we booted everyone out of the living room. With 1 -12 year old, 2-10 year olds, 1-4 year old and 1-2 year old; we tried to get to bed as early as we could.

Monday
We managed to sleep until 9 before we got trampled with kids. I must say the kids have grown very fond of James in a very short time, as he with them. It is one of those enduring qualities that I love so much in James. And it isn't just with kids, he seems to click with everyone. He is a very charismatic and likable individual.

After peeling the kids off of us, it was time to make breakfast. Of course, nothing simple. Usually pancakes, bacon, eggs, toast, and fruit. The days starting running together, as they should on vacation, but I think this morning James & I made breakfast for the crew. He whipped up the pancakes and I cooked the bacon.

Uncle Brian & his kids headed for home after lunch, and the rest of us got ready for some fishing. Dad, Mike, Kevin, James & I got the boat in the rough waters, and went out for some trolling. I caught 2, however only one was worth keeping. It wasn't long before we had to head back. Mike, Lorianne and Zachary had to head home and we needed to get some food into our stomachs.

We spent the night slaughtering Kevin at D&D minis. A friend of Mom's brought over her 10 year old grandson, who was immediately interested in what we were about to play. Kevin gave him a quick rundown, and soon enough we were allied up, Good (Kevin & Carson) against Evil (James & I). After messing with their little uncertain minds (awesome James), we defeated them hand over fist, mostly with the Aspect of Hextor. Who, thanks to James, became the most feared, unkillable monster over the next couple of days. The boys and James never did have their match, and I am sure if you asked James, it is because the boys knew they couldn't defeat him. Mwahaaahaa.

After the exit of 6 people, James & I hand the pleasure of sleeping in a bed, a lumpy bed, but a bed nevertheless. Sleeps began to improve and lengthen..aaawwww.

Tuesday
The warmest, sunniest day. After breakfast, James, Kevin, Mackenize & I hit the beach. Although the long weekend was over and many people had gone home, the beach was still fairly busy. We swam, buried Mackenzie, and made a canal. Of course with the help of our resident engineer.

After lunch, we settled in for a nice long trip in the boat. With sunscreen in one had, beer in the other, and our fishing poles in the boat, we were all set to go. We were on the lake for more than 2 hours. James, Kevin and myself each had a keeper. I caught 2 others that just weren't worth keeping, and James' other 2 got away.

I spent the entire day in my bathsuit, and started a great tan.

The evening brought friends over for a campfire and bushpies. Mmmmm, gotta love those bushpies.
Wednesday
After breakfast, the kids got on their swimsuits and we were out in the boat for a little tubing. Kevin and Mackenzie road around the lake, while Dad drove and James kept an eye on the kids and the speed. I watched from the dock and tried to capture the whole event. I thought that I might be too far away, but the pictures turned out good.

Once the kids were done with their water sports, we quickly made some lunch before Dad, James & I headed up the Esker..or as it is now called, a Push Moraine. Of course, we had to show James the beauty that our lake has to offer. I never get sick of the Esker; I think I have gone everytime I've been at the lake. As always, it was absolutely beautiful.

James is a little concerned that I don't fall..such a sweetie. Always taking care of me.

Upon our return from the Esker, Kevin was ready to go fishing again. It was a fairly unsuccessful trip. Kevin caught one, but we had to throw it back, as it was just a baby.

Another campfire, bushpies, and tea ended the evening.

Thursday
We spent most of the day packing up and getting everyone organized to leave. I had to drive Gramma's car, which left James driving mine. Dad had the motorhome, and Mom was driving the trunk & boat. We finally got away, and made the slow trek home.

After dropping off and unloading Gramma and all her stuff, we were off home to James'. We ordered in some food and crashed for the night.

Friday
I decided to attempt to get my passport in Saskatoon. The line ups in Edmonton were nuts 2 weeks ago, and I thought I might have a better chance in Saskatoon during my holidays. Sure enough, 20 minutes in and out. Perfect.

We took in The Bourne Ultimatum, which was a pretty good movie. There were a number of reviews that hacked the camera work. It was a bit shaky, but not enough to ruin the movie. Check it out, it was good.

I spent my evening hanging out with Brennan. We had supper and beers at Amigos, and then went over to the Broadway Theatre to watch Inland Empire. Weird, bizarre, odd. Brennan and I both left very puzzled and confused. While walking back to the car, we reflected back on numerous scenes trying to make any sort of connection. We didn't really get any. Ah well...I was with a great friend, so it was all good.

Saturday
Up early, and off to Regina for my best friends brothers wedding. We were staying at my Uncle Daves, so had a nice brief visit with them. My cousin, his wife and 2 kids happened to be there. It was nice to see them once again.

The wedding was beautiful. Jason actually made me tear up with the personal vows he composed for Nicole. It was very touching. The supper, toasts and dance was awesome. We got to sit with Jen, Chad, and her parents. It was a privilege.

We danced up a storm, and had a fantastic time. I tuckered out around 1pm, and my sweetie took me home.

Sunday
We were back on the road early in the morning, so we could get back in time for James to open the Den. I dropped him off, packed up my stuff so I was ready to go, and then headed downtown to O'Shea's for lunch with John & Alan. We had a great visit. We talked enough about City of Heroes that I am actually considering reactivating my account. The winter might get a little long and lonely, so maybe then. We'll have to see. I got to see their new place. It is nice and spacious. A little sad I won't be around to hang out in their new abode.

After my visit, I was on the road back home. And that was my amazing vacation. I think I need a vacation from my vacation.

Gearing Up

2007-08-01T18:51:00.000-06:00

Only 2 more sleeps and I am off for my summer vacation. It isn't going to be very long, but it is going be a lot of fun. I have been looking forward to it since the end of May when I requested the time off.

I will be arriving in Saskatoon sometime Friday night, and James & I are off Saturday to Lower Fishing Lake. I am so excited, I can barely contain my excitement. I love my lake....I love my cabin....just fond memories I have. I am extremely nostalgic about being at the lake. Keeping the lake/cabin in the same form as when I was a kid, is extremely important to me. I have had to make a few concessions...like when we got a microwave, or when they got rid of the wood burning stove. I even opposed the big deck that was constructed on the back of the cabin. However, I love it now. Even though I have loosened up a bit, and am looking forward to the renovations in summers to come, I am a stickler for some things. No TV and no phone. I really like the peace and serenity that I feel at the lake, and I don't need loud, annoying technology to ruin it.

With my love of the lake you would think I would try and get up there often, however it has been over 2 years since I was there last. Which is another reason for my excitement.

I am also glad that many of my family members will be around. My parents, Mike & family, my uncle & his kids, my gramma, and James & I. It is going to be a blast.

Also, the fishing...squee!!!!!

We're back in Saskatoon next Thursday, and I hope to get in some visiting time with my friends who I miss dearly.....before we have to leave for Regina on Saturday for a wedding. My best friends brother is getting married, so we are going down for the celebration. It will be fun to spend some time with my second family. We're staying with my uncle, who is in the midst of moving his belongings to Calgary, so a brief visit will have to do. On the way home, I am looking forward to stopping in to see cenobyte & the family for a short visit.

It is going to be a whirlwind vacation, but I know I am going to love it.

Huzzah! SMAC!

2007-07-30T20:48:00.000-06:00

I just got off the phone with James after an amazing conversation about life, careers, change, new opportunities.....

I sat down at my computer, looked out the window and saw the most brilliant rainbow.

There is something about seeing the most beautiful colours illuminate through a gloomy sky. A sign perhaps of bright colourful days ahead.

Pounding out the blues

2007-07-28T17:55:00.000-06:00

About once a month I get a little down, a little blue...today happens to be one of those days.

I have tried to distract myself with as many things as possible, yet it seems to only be a temporary solution. As soon as the laundry is done, movie is over, book is done, work-out completed....my mind becomes filled with unpleasant thoughts. These thoughts seem to range from most recent events to ones that happened years and years ago. However, I take solace in the fact that I have experienced these kinds of days many many times, and it passes..usually within a day.

The most current event in my life that I have really been avoiding thinking or talking about is my best friend. In September-October her and her husband will be moving to Dallas, Texas. Chad got an amazing job offer that he couldn't turn down. I am super happy for him; both of them. This is a great opportunity for them and I know they are both looking forward to the change. I guess my sadness comes from purely selfish reasons, that being: I am going to really, really miss my best friend. She has been in Calgary for almost 9 years, and in those 9 years has wanted me to move closer. Now that I am finally here, she is leaving - poopy. However, it isn't anything that we can't overcome. We spent most of our adult lives living apart from one another and have still managed to keep our friendship strong. I am just thankful that she has been close by during these past few months; she has definitely been my rock.

I really love Jen, and I am going to really miss her (and Chad of course). :)

I must be down, I can't even write this without getting teary.

This should be interesting

2007-07-26T20:29:00.000-06:00

It has been almost 8 months that I have lived in Edmonton...WOW! I can't believe it. My life has definitely changed over the last 8 months and I have been blessed with a number of exciting events in my life. Not everything has been super mega awesome cool, nevertheless, it has been exciting. I would definitely say my time here in Edmonton has been fantastic.

I think I finally have myself 'settled.' I don't think there are any more appointments I have to make, papers I have to sign, or accounts to set up. I have officially been a resident of Alberta for a number of months now, and it feels good. I've got myself a valid drivers license, Alberta Health Card, a permanent residence to call my own (yipee!), and an Alberta license plates and insurance.

And just to keep things interesting, and likely to ensure I am actively participating as a resident of Alberta, I received a Summons in the mail last week. Apparently, Alberta Justice wants ME as a juror. I am 'summoned' to appear in court in September for Jury Selection. It will be interesting to see if I am their 'type.'

I was quite ecstatic when I received the letter - James can attest to it. I think it is quite an honour to be selected. Also, I have been interested in law since I was about 7-8, so the fact that I may have an opportunity to become a juror and observe a trial is quite exciting and interesting to me.

I'll keep you posted on my status. However, if I am selected I will likely need to stay tight lipped.

What's a Video Game!?!

2007-07-25T18:25:00.000-06:00

A wonderful time was had over the past number of days with James visiting. We managed to keep ourselves pretty busy, without spending too much money.

Movies we watched:

Transformers - Extremely cheesy. Rating: Meh
Black Moan Snake - Odd plot and no resolution at the end. It definitely needed a resolution. Rating: Weird
The Number 23 - Intriguing enough to keep my interest. Rating: OK

Activities:

Squash
Worked out at gym
Got James a ball glove and played some catch
BBQ'd - I love those burgers from Prairie Meats
Walks & talks
St. Albert Farmers Market - Thanks for the flowers sweetie!
Stroll on Whyte Ave - Discovered Lush & Planet Organic
Shared stories
Looked at photo albums
Dyed Hair - Rich & Red

Ahhhh summer!!

Only a week and a half until my holidays and I am gearing up for the lake already. Lower Fishing Lake is the place, and we are going to be there with the whole family. I am giddy with excitement.

Random Things

2007-07-19T21:30:00.000-06:00

I am so glad that it will be cooling off - somewhat, tomorrow and over the weekend. I have been anticipating the thunderstorms they have been forcasting over the past couple of days in hopes that it would cool off the house. However, it has been blue skies and 30+, so I am not sure the thunderstorms are coming. Hopefully the house will cool off, if only a bit, over the weekend.

I had another chance to play ball this evening with 'my' ball team. It was a good game, even in the warm weather. We won! It looks like I am going to get into next weeks game as well so that I can qualify for the playoffs mid-August. That should be a fun weekend.

My class on Monday and Tuesday rocked! Although it seemed quite introductory, I learned a lot of useful information that I will be able to apply at work. The class will help me plan needs assessments more formally at work, which is exactly what I was looking for. I was also able to reflect back on some of my past evaluations and assessments at work, and see where I had gone wrong and what I need to do to improve. I am also happy about the assignment I am required to do, because it will become the formal needs assessment plan for something I am already working on at work. All in all, an excellent class.

James is coming to visit for the weekend. We plan to get out and about this time. No sinus infections or colds to impede our activities. There are so many things going on this weekend, it is going to hard to choose. According to Andrea, I must go to the Farmer's Market in St. Albert. Apparently it is amazing. The Capital EX started today. Although it's not going to be that much different than the Stampede or the Saskatoon EX, I wouldn't mind finding a spot to view the fireworks. Not sure if either of us would want to go, but I found out that the Edmonton Grand Prix is on for the next three days. River City Shakespeare wraps up this weekend with Two Gentleman of Verona and The Winter's Tale. We have already seen Two Gentleman of Verona, together last summer in fact, so if we decided to go it would be The Winter's Tale. However, we might just decide to take a long walk down Whyte Ave or picnic in the park. I guess we see what suits our fancy.

And finally, 2 weeks until my vacation. I'm going to the lake. Wahoo!

Food Blog

2007-07-15T15:50:00.001-06:00

Upon searching for quaint places to visit for coffee across the city, I stumbled upon this blog. She provides recipes, and reviews Edmonton eateries. And given how much I like to cook and try out new restaurants, I figured it was a good site to check out. I spent a good part of the afternoon reading some of her reviews and quite enjoyed everything that I read.

I think she'll go on my sidebar list. Looking forward to visiting Wild Earth Bakery and Coffee next Sunday.