and quite glad that it is.
its been a fairly busy christmas season for us, and i'm not too sad to be heading back into the routine of everyday life once more. the kids are back to school on monday, and i'll return to a much more normal work life as well.
the weather here has just been something else over the last month. i don't remember having this much snow since i was a kid. and it just keeps on coming down. the streets in town are not in great shape, and i almost got myself stuck in our back alley this morning when i was just a bit too far over off the packed snow. i really need to take a picture to document this abnormal weather. it is just odd!
in other news, and another almost over topic... i am down to my final 3 pounds of my weight loss journey. even over christmas i lost 1.6lbs, which i was totally not expecting. i still had a few glasses of red wine, ate turkey, and had a few bites of holiday baking. no deprevation happened here! i think the big thing for me was that food was not a focus. because i've been eating so low-key for months now, it really wasn't a big deal to not stuff myself until i was uncomfortable. and i still enjoyed it. but i am enjoying my size 8 clothing far more!!
we also in the final countdown for our winter getaway. we're heading off to mazatlan in 20 days. i'm so looking forward to the sun and warmth, its not even funny. i've had a very hard time staying warm the last while... i guess its when i no longer have 37 pounds of fat on my rear end, there is no longer the polar bear effect! the kids are pumped, they only have 2 weeks back at school before we head south.
and, of course, the year is almost over. there have been good things for us the last year, and i hope that the good karma continues. both dh and i have jobs we both love, and that financially has put us in a good position. we should have our reno starting soon on our house. (oh no, that STILL hasn't begun!) the kids are happy and healthy. we're blessed to have great friends in our lives, as well as other positive people surrounding us.
so, to you and yours, a very happy new year, and thanks for taking a peek into my life (as sporadic as it may be). may you also be blessed in the new year.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
64 cups, 2 hours and 1 doorknob
for a quiet wednesday, tonight was a good night.
the kids have curling each week, so after making cheese panini's for 3 hungry little boys, i dropped them off at the rink. j doesn't curl until 5:30, so he stayed home to get his homework done. b always brings his buddy from out of town to walk with him,and today there was an extra little boy, but given the weather, i thought a ride over was a good idea.
so anyways, after having wrestled with getting our back door open and closed all day today, i was getting frustrated. when dh wandered in the back after picking j up at 7pm, he closed the door and the knob came right off in his hand. oh yes, that doorknob has been giving us issue for months now. and we had an extra one we had found at a garage sale in the summer as well. it just hadn't been replaced yet.
now it has. after dh couldn't find it in the garage and had a bit of a meltdown (i think he was hungry!! and dinner was sitting on the table!) he replaced it. yay!
so there's the doorknob.
2 hours - the time it took dh to complete a normally 35 minute drive to work in the city. i'm quite glad i stayed put today. the wind and blowing snow were just a bit much for me this morning going to the dr's office, let alone taking on the highway and the treacherous city streets. something like 360 accidents reported between 7pm last night and 10 am this morning. craziness!
after a phone call last week from the school about supplying some treats for the bake sale tomorrow while the christmas concert is going on, i did up a few plates of goodies from my slowing growing stash of baking. i ended up baking off the refrigerator ginger cookies i had put together last weekend as well. and then i thought i should make some caramel popcorn.
now i must say, this is my downfall. and i've been putting it off until now for that reason. i love love love sweet salty food. caramel. oh my. and now that i am so close to my goal, i didn't want to have that temptation in the house.
so i made it. 64 cups of ooey gooey luscious carmelly goodness. and i was good. i only had a taste. ok, maybe 10 single pieces. but that's all. no more for me. some will go to school tomorrow, some for the neighbour, and the rest will end up as snacking goodness over the next week.
but that 64 cups will not end up on my a$$...
i've worked to hard for that!
the kids have curling each week, so after making cheese panini's for 3 hungry little boys, i dropped them off at the rink. j doesn't curl until 5:30, so he stayed home to get his homework done. b always brings his buddy from out of town to walk with him,and today there was an extra little boy, but given the weather, i thought a ride over was a good idea.
so anyways, after having wrestled with getting our back door open and closed all day today, i was getting frustrated. when dh wandered in the back after picking j up at 7pm, he closed the door and the knob came right off in his hand. oh yes, that doorknob has been giving us issue for months now. and we had an extra one we had found at a garage sale in the summer as well. it just hadn't been replaced yet.
now it has. after dh couldn't find it in the garage and had a bit of a meltdown (i think he was hungry!! and dinner was sitting on the table!) he replaced it. yay!
so there's the doorknob.
2 hours - the time it took dh to complete a normally 35 minute drive to work in the city. i'm quite glad i stayed put today. the wind and blowing snow were just a bit much for me this morning going to the dr's office, let alone taking on the highway and the treacherous city streets. something like 360 accidents reported between 7pm last night and 10 am this morning. craziness!
after a phone call last week from the school about supplying some treats for the bake sale tomorrow while the christmas concert is going on, i did up a few plates of goodies from my slowing growing stash of baking. i ended up baking off the refrigerator ginger cookies i had put together last weekend as well. and then i thought i should make some caramel popcorn.
now i must say, this is my downfall. and i've been putting it off until now for that reason. i love love love sweet salty food. caramel. oh my. and now that i am so close to my goal, i didn't want to have that temptation in the house.
so i made it. 64 cups of ooey gooey luscious carmelly goodness. and i was good. i only had a taste. ok, maybe 10 single pieces. but that's all. no more for me. some will go to school tomorrow, some for the neighbour, and the rest will end up as snacking goodness over the next week.
but that 64 cups will not end up on my a$$...
i've worked to hard for that!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
randomness
oh yes, again, its been a while. so, to update, here are the points of interest in no particular order:
- its freaking freezing outside. gotta love alberta in the winter, although it is far earlier for a winter storm and wind chills of -45C than normal. brrrrr!!
- i am nowhere near started OR finished Christmas shopping with only 12 days to go. i am never this late getting at it!
- a personal journey started about 3 1/2 months ago, i'm working on losing the 40lbs that has been hanging off my a** for the last 13 years. i'm so close, but seeming rather stuck the last couple weeks. down 2 up 1, repeat. less than 10 to go, but its a bit frustrating.
- christmas related, with work, christmas was SO over for me by the beginning of november. i've been working on superbowl and family day weekends for the last month. really. that's probably what half my shopping problem is. i'm already in the future. my sense of time is somewhat warped!!
- 36 days until we head to mazatlan for 10 days. so looking forward to it. we'll be going with the kids, another couple and another mom and her 3 girls. it'll be a fun trip!! we've been talking about another family vacation to mexico, maybe in the summer again. we had such a great time in cancun, and my mom would also like to go there again too...
- my parents are off to puerto penasco for 6 weeks at the beginning of january to officially kick off my mom's retirement. they're driving down, taking grandma, and their molly dog is going as well (oh yes, a 5 day trip with a 160lb rottie will be FUN!)no, she's really a great traveller (the dog) and i'm sure it will be just fine.
- our next non-family trip i'd like to go to either huatulco or acapulco. just that little bit further south. although the beaches in the mayan riviera are far better. and the water's warmer. dream a bit with me!
- i won! really! $500 smackers in a work "contest". for a display. i never win anything, so it was a BIG shocker to me. just in time to buy ridiculously outrageous new bathing suits. like really - $100 for a little piece of material?? drives me crazy. its not cash, but for a gift certificate. i chose the mall. gotta love it.
- still loving work. its going well, and i think our company will ride out whatever recessionary issues there are with few problems. everyone has to buy groceries, and the little food luxuries are things people don't tend to skimp until things are really bad.
- oh yes, the battery died in my beast today. despite all the coddling we've given it up until now, this cold snap was its demise. so dh will bring one home for me tomorrow. oh happy day!! then all the crazy lights won't flash at me in inopportune times any more!
- 3 christmas parties in one week last week. need i say more? diet havoc. cleanse starting tomorrow. come on 10 pounds!!! go away!! LOL
- the boys both had bits to do in the last community theatre project. j had a great part, and b did the lighting. it was really cute, a production of "father knows best" or for the newer generations, the original of the movie "cheaper by the dozen". well done, well attended. and it was a family affair in all - dh and numerous rounded up friends help build the set, and i became part of the costuming crew, sewing one of the girl's outfits. (i *DON"T* sew!)
- attended a family reunion/birthday party for one of my aunts the beginning of november. my dad's side of the family is huge, so lots of visiting with various relatives.
- my parents went to egypt in november. trip of a lifetime. its on my list.
ok, i think that's it in a nutshell...
and once again, i really need to get on this again. life prevails...
- its freaking freezing outside. gotta love alberta in the winter, although it is far earlier for a winter storm and wind chills of -45C than normal. brrrrr!!
- i am nowhere near started OR finished Christmas shopping with only 12 days to go. i am never this late getting at it!
- a personal journey started about 3 1/2 months ago, i'm working on losing the 40lbs that has been hanging off my a** for the last 13 years. i'm so close, but seeming rather stuck the last couple weeks. down 2 up 1, repeat. less than 10 to go, but its a bit frustrating.
- christmas related, with work, christmas was SO over for me by the beginning of november. i've been working on superbowl and family day weekends for the last month. really. that's probably what half my shopping problem is. i'm already in the future. my sense of time is somewhat warped!!
- 36 days until we head to mazatlan for 10 days. so looking forward to it. we'll be going with the kids, another couple and another mom and her 3 girls. it'll be a fun trip!! we've been talking about another family vacation to mexico, maybe in the summer again. we had such a great time in cancun, and my mom would also like to go there again too...
- my parents are off to puerto penasco for 6 weeks at the beginning of january to officially kick off my mom's retirement. they're driving down, taking grandma, and their molly dog is going as well (oh yes, a 5 day trip with a 160lb rottie will be FUN!)no, she's really a great traveller (the dog) and i'm sure it will be just fine.
- our next non-family trip i'd like to go to either huatulco or acapulco. just that little bit further south. although the beaches in the mayan riviera are far better. and the water's warmer. dream a bit with me!
- i won! really! $500 smackers in a work "contest". for a display. i never win anything, so it was a BIG shocker to me. just in time to buy ridiculously outrageous new bathing suits. like really - $100 for a little piece of material?? drives me crazy. its not cash, but for a gift certificate. i chose the mall. gotta love it.
- still loving work. its going well, and i think our company will ride out whatever recessionary issues there are with few problems. everyone has to buy groceries, and the little food luxuries are things people don't tend to skimp until things are really bad.
- oh yes, the battery died in my beast today. despite all the coddling we've given it up until now, this cold snap was its demise. so dh will bring one home for me tomorrow. oh happy day!! then all the crazy lights won't flash at me in inopportune times any more!
- 3 christmas parties in one week last week. need i say more? diet havoc. cleanse starting tomorrow. come on 10 pounds!!! go away!! LOL
- the boys both had bits to do in the last community theatre project. j had a great part, and b did the lighting. it was really cute, a production of "father knows best" or for the newer generations, the original of the movie "cheaper by the dozen". well done, well attended. and it was a family affair in all - dh and numerous rounded up friends help build the set, and i became part of the costuming crew, sewing one of the girl's outfits. (i *DON"T* sew!)
- attended a family reunion/birthday party for one of my aunts the beginning of november. my dad's side of the family is huge, so lots of visiting with various relatives.
- my parents went to egypt in november. trip of a lifetime. its on my list.
ok, i think that's it in a nutshell...
and once again, i really need to get on this again. life prevails...
Thursday, October 30, 2008
mexico adventure part 2
so to continue (albeit 2 months later!!! its been sitting in my draft box awaiting journalling!) we went up the road from the resort one afternoon to visit a crocodile zoo. well, it was that and much more! it was on the pricey side ($70US for the 4 of us) but we had a guide just for us, and a personal tour along with lots of animals to touch and feel.
first, a welcoming kiss from one of the parrots. notice the slightly squinshed up faces on all of us as that parrot was coming in for a smooch...
and then it was right on in to the thick of it - starting with holding crocodiles.
those were some awfully scary looking creatures - i personally think they'd make a nice pair of shoes. but these little ones were kind of cute in a don't touch me kind of way. the boys did think it was cool though.
and then on to the boa constrictors. fortunately for us, this one was just a little one, only about 2 months old.
this one seemed to quite like dh... alot... especially around his neck!
and yes, i did hold this one. amazing how much power you could feel in such a small animal!!
now, if anyone has ever seen one of these and knows what it is... please tell me! we can't remember for the life of us, but he did belong to an exotic dancer... apparently... a herbivore, he was not out for anything but some lovin'...
b was the only one that was brave enough to hold him. he was a pretty cool animal once you got past his looks! they store food in the pouches on either side of their head, similar to a hamster.
iguanas...
vine snakes...
and the cutest little turtles!! we could take a couple home in our pockets!
oh the thrill of the hunt... LOL
and just when we thought we had seen all the lizards we could, *these* were in the next enclosure that we walked through... no barriers, and less than 5 feet away. just a little bit on the intimidating side!!
and then we visited the deer. and fed them. b seemed to be the deer whisperer for the day. every time we turned around, he had more of them around him!
ok, so NOT attractive! LOL but it was quite hilarious at the time... the deer were coming up to me and sniffing for the goodies i had. so i sniffed back at them!
these were quite the funky animals, a cross between a raccoon and something else. and quite vicious the way they were fighting over their food!!
this was monica, a rescued monkey. she was quite sweet and was quite happy to eat the treats we gave her... no really good pics, all blurry as she was a twitchy little thing!
and this pretty kitty was just so cute! a cross of an ocelot and something else, she was no bigger than a housecat. no petting her though!
and a final goodbye from the parrots.
really an amazing experience when there is just not the same opportunity to touch/feel at a traditional zoo here. we did like that they also take in rescued animals, the place was spotlessly clean and all the animals were well cared for. so our money did go to a great cause. the website is http://www.crococunzoo.com. it is just south of cancun, at km 31. IMHO, a great trip for the whole family. just take bug spray, lots of it, no matter the time of day. trust me on this one!!
first, a welcoming kiss from one of the parrots. notice the slightly squinshed up faces on all of us as that parrot was coming in for a smooch...
and then it was right on in to the thick of it - starting with holding crocodiles.
those were some awfully scary looking creatures - i personally think they'd make a nice pair of shoes. but these little ones were kind of cute in a don't touch me kind of way. the boys did think it was cool though.
and then on to the boa constrictors. fortunately for us, this one was just a little one, only about 2 months old.
this one seemed to quite like dh... alot... especially around his neck!
and yes, i did hold this one. amazing how much power you could feel in such a small animal!!
now, if anyone has ever seen one of these and knows what it is... please tell me! we can't remember for the life of us, but he did belong to an exotic dancer... apparently... a herbivore, he was not out for anything but some lovin'...
b was the only one that was brave enough to hold him. he was a pretty cool animal once you got past his looks! they store food in the pouches on either side of their head, similar to a hamster.
iguanas...
vine snakes...
and the cutest little turtles!! we could take a couple home in our pockets!
oh the thrill of the hunt... LOL
and just when we thought we had seen all the lizards we could, *these* were in the next enclosure that we walked through... no barriers, and less than 5 feet away. just a little bit on the intimidating side!!
and then we visited the deer. and fed them. b seemed to be the deer whisperer for the day. every time we turned around, he had more of them around him!
ok, so NOT attractive! LOL but it was quite hilarious at the time... the deer were coming up to me and sniffing for the goodies i had. so i sniffed back at them!
these were quite the funky animals, a cross between a raccoon and something else. and quite vicious the way they were fighting over their food!!
this was monica, a rescued monkey. she was quite sweet and was quite happy to eat the treats we gave her... no really good pics, all blurry as she was a twitchy little thing!
and this pretty kitty was just so cute! a cross of an ocelot and something else, she was no bigger than a housecat. no petting her though!
and a final goodbye from the parrots.
really an amazing experience when there is just not the same opportunity to touch/feel at a traditional zoo here. we did like that they also take in rescued animals, the place was spotlessly clean and all the animals were well cared for. so our money did go to a great cause. the website is http://www.crococunzoo.com. it is just south of cancun, at km 31. IMHO, a great trip for the whole family. just take bug spray, lots of it, no matter the time of day. trust me on this one!!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
mexico adventures - august 2008
this is where we stayed - the ocean coral H10 just 15 minutes south of cancun, mexico. if you want hot, try mexico in august. it was amazing - about 38C plus the humidex bringing it up to close to 50C. less than a day and we were very happy with the heat!
just a bit blurry!! my dad and i
a beachside buffet was a great way to spend our second to last evening. there was a live band, and fabulous food!
always on the lookout for clamato - we found it in a little groceteria in puerto morelos
another blurry-ish one, (thanks donut for taking pictures!!) of my mom and i. the italian restaurant was the best of the bunch!
on the end of the pier in puerto morelos, mexico
las isla mall in cancun (oh yes, we were hot and cranky!!)
my mom, the donut (ds#1) and dh on the connecting walk at the H10 ocean resort just south of cancun
yes, that is exactly what you are seeing - really!! the fine sand had gotten jammed up between the mesh lining and the outer material of his shorts - so what better way to get it out than get nekkid in the ocean!!! LOLOL
just one of the huge beautiful pools at the resort!more to come....
just for tammy...
funny how you bump into someone that you haven't seen in - what? - 18 years or so?? so, this one is for you tammy - because you'll have to snoop pretty darn deep to find more like it!!
this was our annual family photo day the weekend prior to thanksgiving. so this is us - left to right - dh, ds#1 (12 years old), ds#2 (10 years old) and myself.
the 12 of us went down to kinsmen park to do the deed... makes life interesting with all of us - my grandma is 90, all the way down to my little niece that turned 1 in may.
it was nice that the trees still had leaves, it made it much prettier than when we did this last year.
so here's some more:
boy - you'd think we had no teeth!! LOL
my sister, brother in law, and their little monkeys
my mom and dad - gotta love 'em!
just goofing around
so there's the goods for you!
i really should get some of our trip pictures up from mexico in august. that was one amazing trip. well heck, posted one set, now i should be motivated to do the rest...
life is busy, but a good busy. ds#1 is in yet another upcoming theatre production, curling season is here again for both the boys, and halloween just a couple days away.
thanks for taking a peek!
this was our annual family photo day the weekend prior to thanksgiving. so this is us - left to right - dh, ds#1 (12 years old), ds#2 (10 years old) and myself.
the 12 of us went down to kinsmen park to do the deed... makes life interesting with all of us - my grandma is 90, all the way down to my little niece that turned 1 in may.
it was nice that the trees still had leaves, it made it much prettier than when we did this last year.
so here's some more:
boy - you'd think we had no teeth!! LOL
my sister, brother in law, and their little monkeys
my mom and dad - gotta love 'em!
then there's the whole gang - the guys vs the girls! loved these pictures, but too bad about me looking like a somewhat sad daydreamer!!
just goofing around
so there's the goods for you!
i really should get some of our trip pictures up from mexico in august. that was one amazing trip. well heck, posted one set, now i should be motivated to do the rest...
life is busy, but a good busy. ds#1 is in yet another upcoming theatre production, curling season is here again for both the boys, and halloween just a couple days away.
thanks for taking a peek!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
fits and starts
not sure where to even begin - its been 2 months, and there has been alot going on.
probably best to just get at it in point form:
- my dear friend's brother passed away tragically in mid-april. trying to be there for her as much as i can. her mom is also devastated, as well as his long time girlfriend. just sad.
- dh's best friend (also our neighbour) was diagnosed with lymphoma also in april. very sad. he's on chemo now, and staying with his parents. the prognosis is fairly good, but without an mri to be done in the future (because of his size) i'm hoping that the weight loss he is experiencing now will continue. all for his health.
- my grandma came to stay over spring break - essentially giving my parents (namely mom) a break of their own to go down to palm springs. a lovely goodie came out of that stay - we finally have our dining table we've been drooling over for the last while. and amazingly enough, dh and i both agreed on it. dh finished it himself, and it is beautiful!
- work has been busy. a good, happy, productive busy. getting myself settled into a routine and rhythm for my calls. i still have a few stores that i haven't gotten to in my *huge* area that i cover, but hopefully will be all caught up by the end of june.
- speaking of work, another work trip is on the slate for the end of june. thinking we may be going to vancouver island?? not sure - my boss hasn't indicated where we'll be off to!
- and work related, but not so much, got new rubber for my benz last week. and really, it could have been worse - $760 installed with free rotation and flat repairs for the life of the tires. and given how many nails i tend to find, he'll be regretting that one i'm sure!
- i've had lots of travel days the last while, doing the southern alberta tour. nice to see some scenery, and super nice people along the way.
- golf season is underway again. gotta love it. although things are mighty soggy right now with all the rain we've had the last few days. i suppose i can't complain that much, its great for the grass and my plants. we've gone out 5 times already, and can't wait for more. here's a pic from our outing on mother's day (and the bonus was a gift cert for another free round for another day just for me!!)
- my littlest niece just turned the big 1 last weekend. got to spend time with my sis and her family to celebrate the special day. she is just such a cutie!
not to mention the handsome dude holding on to her so dearly!
- a few social things have gone on as well - made some new friends with dh's co-workers, have had dinner with them, we were invited to a birthday party, and gone bowling with everyone that participates in the social club.
- took the kikanue dog for obedience classes. she is noticeably better, but still has her "things" she does. i really need to get working with her more. also found out that our fantastic kennel lady is retiring. hoping i won't have too hard a time to find someone else to replace her.
- planning our summer holiday! we've been researching all sorts of places online, and we've got our hearts set on somewhere warm, probably mexico, and hopefully cancun. dh and i loved it there when we went on our honeymoon, and yes, even though it was 14 years ago, we realize there have been big changes, but are still looking forward to it.
i think that's about it. hopefully i won't wait quite so long to get on my blog again. thanks for taking a peek!
probably best to just get at it in point form:
- my dear friend's brother passed away tragically in mid-april. trying to be there for her as much as i can. her mom is also devastated, as well as his long time girlfriend. just sad.
- dh's best friend (also our neighbour) was diagnosed with lymphoma also in april. very sad. he's on chemo now, and staying with his parents. the prognosis is fairly good, but without an mri to be done in the future (because of his size) i'm hoping that the weight loss he is experiencing now will continue. all for his health.
- my grandma came to stay over spring break - essentially giving my parents (namely mom) a break of their own to go down to palm springs. a lovely goodie came out of that stay - we finally have our dining table we've been drooling over for the last while. and amazingly enough, dh and i both agreed on it. dh finished it himself, and it is beautiful!
- work has been busy. a good, happy, productive busy. getting myself settled into a routine and rhythm for my calls. i still have a few stores that i haven't gotten to in my *huge* area that i cover, but hopefully will be all caught up by the end of june.
- speaking of work, another work trip is on the slate for the end of june. thinking we may be going to vancouver island?? not sure - my boss hasn't indicated where we'll be off to!
- and work related, but not so much, got new rubber for my benz last week. and really, it could have been worse - $760 installed with free rotation and flat repairs for the life of the tires. and given how many nails i tend to find, he'll be regretting that one i'm sure!
- i've had lots of travel days the last while, doing the southern alberta tour. nice to see some scenery, and super nice people along the way.
- golf season is underway again. gotta love it. although things are mighty soggy right now with all the rain we've had the last few days. i suppose i can't complain that much, its great for the grass and my plants. we've gone out 5 times already, and can't wait for more. here's a pic from our outing on mother's day (and the bonus was a gift cert for another free round for another day just for me!!)
- my littlest niece just turned the big 1 last weekend. got to spend time with my sis and her family to celebrate the special day. she is just such a cutie!
not to mention the handsome dude holding on to her so dearly!
- a few social things have gone on as well - made some new friends with dh's co-workers, have had dinner with them, we were invited to a birthday party, and gone bowling with everyone that participates in the social club.
- took the kikanue dog for obedience classes. she is noticeably better, but still has her "things" she does. i really need to get working with her more. also found out that our fantastic kennel lady is retiring. hoping i won't have too hard a time to find someone else to replace her.
- planning our summer holiday! we've been researching all sorts of places online, and we've got our hearts set on somewhere warm, probably mexico, and hopefully cancun. dh and i loved it there when we went on our honeymoon, and yes, even though it was 14 years ago, we realize there have been big changes, but are still looking forward to it.
i think that's about it. hopefully i won't wait quite so long to get on my blog again. thanks for taking a peek!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
a life well lived
i returned today from a conference with my new job, and sadly had to attend the funeral of a dear friend of my parents.
the theme that was iterated throughout was "a life well lived" and from all the tributes presented by family and friends, he had indeed lived a great life.
it was a hard funeral to attend, for this man i really didn't know so very well. my parents have been friends with the couple for many years - i babysat their children in my teen years, their family and ours were often together through my adolescent and teen years, but since then i could probably count the number of times i've seen them since i've been married on two hands.
they and my parents had travelled to china, and most recently croatia, as well as attending many functions, dinner theatres and other events together.
i think the hardest part today was realizing that my parents are coming into that "aging" population - that they are no longer young, and that this is the beginning of losing their friends to age and/or illness. it was so sad for me to see the grief on their children's faces, knowing that some day that will be mine. and their children are not much younger than i am.
this was not an unexpected sudden death, but the timeframe for his death was very short. only 5 weeks ago he was on the beach in hawaii, and as was retold to my mom, he said to the gentleman he was with, that he felt better than he had in a long time.
2 weeks later he was given only a few weeks to live.
maybe that was because he was given a short reprieve before the suffering he went through. cancer acted swiftly in his case, and sadly there was no miracle that he could have found to save his life.
life is short.
call your mom and dad and tell them you love them. i did.
Monday, February 18, 2008
gone gone gone
isn't it funny how time just gets away from you???
life has been busy around here, and strangely enough, not alot to say about things either. (hey mer - maybe we both need some excitement!!)
starting to settle into a work routine, although the weather hadn't really been cooperating, the kids had some down time (one week they only attended school for 1 day because of the weather!!) so that had me working from home (not a bad thing!) while they were home. there's also been a big learning curve, lots of things to remember, learn and do. and hopefully within my weekly time frame. it's all good.
we just came home this afternoon from a well-deserved break to great falls, montana. although its not too far from home (4 1/2 hours), we shopped 'til we dropped with the dollar being as good as it is right now. i found some wonderful deals on clothing - both for work and play, and the kids were somewhat spoiled as well. b's big deal of the weekend was a new set of golf clubs for this spring. he's very pumped, and was already asking j if he'd come out to the field with him as soon as the snow melts to practice his drives. silly guy :) i'm thinking we just have to get out to the golf dome one weekend here for him to try them out. j was in his glory picking out some fun new things for himself, as well as some (gigantic) size 13 golf shoes. like i said, deals were in the air this weekend!!
tomorrow is a busy day getting back in the groove. on my must do list is an oil change for the 'benz. and a deal there as well. found oil for cheap in the states. now this may not sound like a big deal, but given that it takes 8 litres of synthetic, and retail here is about $10 a litre, my $4.50/L i paid to pick it up in the states was a godsend. my dad had forewarned me about the $150 oil changes, but this has now sealed the deal so to speak for taking a trip away!! mind you, it only needs an oil change done every 15,000 km, (or 6 months) compared to the 6 - 8 week cycle i needed before in the van, its really not any more of an expense. but heck, save a dollar here and there when i can!
the other must do on my list is training for the upcoming provincial election. that's coming up in 2 weeks. that's tomorrow afternoon.
and then off to obedience school with the kikanue dog. we had our first class last week, and had a great time. she did very well - even my kennel lady (she also does the classes) was quite impressed. kikanue can be a real handful, but she did very well. hopefully this will get us off in a better direction than things have been going with her. its not that she's a bad dog, she's just a mismanaged dog with too many ideas about being the alpha in the house. she thinks she's the boss, and that doesn't go over well with me, who IS the alpha (LOL). because we really don't have much of a background for her, it can just be plain difficult living with her. hopefully this will help.
other than that, i think that's about it...
over and out...
and enjoy the tunes! (sorry its probably now stuck in your head!!!)
Saturday, January 19, 2008
so. um. yeah.
more than a month. wow. well, there are reasons. maybe not huge earth shattering ones, but reasons nonetheless.
so, here goes:
1. sometimes there's just nothing interesting to say. which is most days. so there's that.
2. christmas and all that goes with. concerts, parties, people in and out of our house a number of evenings (that i LOVE). and then christmas itself. which was great. family commitments, that sort of thing.
3. oh yeah. the small matter of a disgusting cold that hung around prior, during and after the christmas season. took a good 3-ish weeks to be rid of. snot. nothing i really need to have.
4. a transition to my new position (heck, that rhymes! LOL) i'm now officially a territory manager for cadbury-schweppes. and loving it. hello clamato!! LOADS of perks. gotta love it!
so i think that's it. so really, its not so much how many excuses, its the quality. really.
so yeah, back to the whole christmas thing. we had our friends/neighbours in a couple of evenings in december. oh, and new year's eve too. we had a great time. heaps of great stuff to eat, drink and be merry.
christmas day was spent at my sister's in the city. and you know, i'm really so over the having everyone out here for christmas. seriously. i don't have a mess to clean up, and its all good in the long run.
presents were not about quantity this year. i did get the one thing i desperately wanted - tanning minutes. it may sound somewhat dorky, - its not really even about the tan for me. i just get so freaking cold in the winter time, going and laying in that hot bed for 10 minutes and i'm a much happier person for it. i feel much better too. its different than sitting in the tub in scalding hot water... my bones get warm too.
we did also get nintendo ds systems for all 4 of us. that was the "big stuff" and we've been having an absolute riot with them. we have games that we all play together, which is just plain fun. two of our neighbours also got them, so we have had them all going at the same time and had a grand time playing racing games together.
dh also got me the most amazing-est, cooshie-est bathtub pillow i have ever seen. that just plain rocks. love it.
and as i already mentioned, seriously loving my new job. loads of perks (our beer fridge is stuffed full of clamato, water, welch's juice, fiji water - amazing!) and great co-workers. i have a huge territory to cover, generally we're visiting stores about once a quarter, so i'm hoping to get out to at least do an initial visit with all my stores in the next few weeks. from there, i'll just play it by ear. i'm hoping to get some headway made in some accounts that the other sales rep just has not had time to do. so while i don't have distinct goals yet, i know what i personally want to accomplish as well.
hoping to get my "home office" set up in a way that is conducive to working from home some days as well. looking for another desk or table so that one will be a work desk, and the other for crafting. will have to see what i come up with! will also need to get the spare bed out of my office too to make some room. a good de-junking is desperately needed!
i think that's it for now - the big stuff anyways...
ttfn!
so, here goes:
1. sometimes there's just nothing interesting to say. which is most days. so there's that.
2. christmas and all that goes with. concerts, parties, people in and out of our house a number of evenings (that i LOVE). and then christmas itself. which was great. family commitments, that sort of thing.
3. oh yeah. the small matter of a disgusting cold that hung around prior, during and after the christmas season. took a good 3-ish weeks to be rid of. snot. nothing i really need to have.
4. a transition to my new position (heck, that rhymes! LOL) i'm now officially a territory manager for cadbury-schweppes. and loving it. hello clamato!! LOADS of perks. gotta love it!
so i think that's it. so really, its not so much how many excuses, its the quality. really.
so yeah, back to the whole christmas thing. we had our friends/neighbours in a couple of evenings in december. oh, and new year's eve too. we had a great time. heaps of great stuff to eat, drink and be merry.
christmas day was spent at my sister's in the city. and you know, i'm really so over the having everyone out here for christmas. seriously. i don't have a mess to clean up, and its all good in the long run.
presents were not about quantity this year. i did get the one thing i desperately wanted - tanning minutes. it may sound somewhat dorky, - its not really even about the tan for me. i just get so freaking cold in the winter time, going and laying in that hot bed for 10 minutes and i'm a much happier person for it. i feel much better too. its different than sitting in the tub in scalding hot water... my bones get warm too.
we did also get nintendo ds systems for all 4 of us. that was the "big stuff" and we've been having an absolute riot with them. we have games that we all play together, which is just plain fun. two of our neighbours also got them, so we have had them all going at the same time and had a grand time playing racing games together.
dh also got me the most amazing-est, cooshie-est bathtub pillow i have ever seen. that just plain rocks. love it.
and as i already mentioned, seriously loving my new job. loads of perks (our beer fridge is stuffed full of clamato, water, welch's juice, fiji water - amazing!) and great co-workers. i have a huge territory to cover, generally we're visiting stores about once a quarter, so i'm hoping to get out to at least do an initial visit with all my stores in the next few weeks. from there, i'll just play it by ear. i'm hoping to get some headway made in some accounts that the other sales rep just has not had time to do. so while i don't have distinct goals yet, i know what i personally want to accomplish as well.
hoping to get my "home office" set up in a way that is conducive to working from home some days as well. looking for another desk or table so that one will be a work desk, and the other for crafting. will have to see what i come up with! will also need to get the spare bed out of my office too to make some room. a good de-junking is desperately needed!
i think that's it for now - the big stuff anyways...
ttfn!
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