happy valentine's day!

well, my day started out quite well i think! made a card for the dh and tucked it into his lunchbox last night. quite cute if i do say so myself! will see if i can borrow it to post a pic. he liked it i think - got a kiss out of it this morning!

got myself out the door and down to the courthouse for 9am to see what i could do about my little speeding ticket from just before christmas (oh yes, that was a merry ho-ho to me!!) since i know nothing about how this all works, the last one i just paid as we were going on holidays when it was due, i went to check in and was informed that i would need to sit and wait for the first appearance prosecutor. so i sat. and waited. in the uncomfortably close confines of the waiting room. my personal space was invaded from both sides, behind and in front of me. nothing even on the walls to read, so sat and looked at the people's shoes around me. i sat there for about an hour. then saw the guy. he reduced my penalty to about half - $85 from $161 with 1 less demerit. so that's all good, i would say!

went to the city to go work after that. stopped in at the last chance liquidators - they liquidate costco merchandise. the cool thing, today they had all clothing 40% off, so picked up 2 t-shirts for myself and a pair of swim trunks for ds#1 for our mexico holiday.

stopped at our mailbox on the way home, and there is my delivery notice for my S! kit. i want to go get it, but it is so darn cold out, i'm not going to go back out again until tomorrow. will pick it up on my way out in the morning. pretty pathetic if you ask me!!

and dh is cooking us valentine's dinner. can't wait to see what he's coming up with. i got dessert on my way home - chocolate lava cakes, strawberries and ice cream.

circle journal overload

wow. i must say i feel just slightly overwhelmed with circle journals at the moment. i love to peruse them as i receive them. sit on them for a week or two to digest their content. decide what i'm going to do, and take pictures if i need to. then maybe in the last week before the mail date is due, actually complete the process and do up my layout for them.

until this week.

i received 2 cj's from teresa, for the group i am hostessing. now 2 at once isn't a big deal. nor are we in any rush as we are running months AHEAD of schedule. yes ahead. no, that doesn't seem to happen often in circle journal groups. it is not the norm.

now, like i said, 2 is not a big deal. until a humongous box arrived on wednesday (or was it tuesday?) with - count with me - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - FIVE more journals. so that makes seven in my possession.

holy crap.

theoretically, seven months of work arriving at once. yipes.

the good thing? i got off my butt and spent the day today devoted to circle journals. i dug up old photos. i scanned. i cropped. i even snapped photos. i pasted. i inked. i stamped. i did a ton of hand journalling. and at the end of the day, i now have 4 of those 7 journals completed.

i must say i'm rather please with myself. creativity is in the house.

Tag - you're it!

Ok, so I haven't done this one yet. And if you haven't done this one yet either, consider yourself tagged. And if you have, good for you LOL!

A=Available – nope, not for a long time
B=Best Friend – Rene
C=Cake or pie – I like pie. Apple pie. Pumpkin pie. Cherry pie. Strawberry rhubarb pie. Blueberry pie. Do I get it often? Nope. Can't bake a pie unless its storebought crust. Love my grandma's pie crust.
D=Drink of choice – Coffee first thing. 2 cups. And Coke. With ice.
E=Essential item you use everyday – Hairdryer
F=Favourite color - Pink
G=Gummy bears or worms – Worms. the sour ones from Wal-Mart.
H=Hometown - Calgary, AB
I= Indulgences – My nails, Pandora charms and sb supplies.
J= January or February - February. Usually warmer than January!
K=Kids and names – DS1 - Jonah, DS2 Bailey
L=Life is incomplete without - friends
M=Marriage date – Aug 20, 1994
N=Number of siblings – 1 sister
O=Oranges or apples – Oranges
P=Phobias or Fears – Those big-ass spiders that grew in our yard last summer. Hope to heck they're gone this year!!
Q=Favourite Quote – oh dear. i don't know.
R=Reason to smile – blogs!! i read too many of them!
S=Season - summer
T=Tag 3 or 4 people - Its up there. At the top. I think I'm last.
U=Unknown fact about me – ?? I have no idea.
V=Vegetable you don't like – Probably the one and only thing I will NOT touch - brussel sprouts.
W= Worst habit – I bite my nails. (when they're not acrylics)
X=X-rays – I think only my teeth. Maybe some when I was young. I don't remember!
Y=Your favorite food – Vietnamese soup or subs. Sushi.
Z= Zodiac Sign - Libra

Musings

just some thoughts as they come to me, after all its been almost 2 weeks since i last posted (why does this sound like "father, i have sinned, it has been 2 weeks since my last confession"?)

- work is going well. keeping busy, keeping my head above water, trying to fill C.'s shoes for the time being. i've put in some great orders the last couple days, so that should help the sales numbers for the territory!

-driving in freezing rain is not fun. its not even that the roads bother me so much, its the iced up windshield that bothers me. and when the little "washer fluid low" light comes on when i'm on the highway.

- bubble baths. mmmmmm... need i say more?

- reading a great kid's book at the moment "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke. my ds also has the next one in the series "Inkspell" which i'm sure i'll pick up as soon as i'm done this one. great read!

- caved and picked up a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts on the way home from work. love how when you go in and the "hot" light is on - you get that warm, soft, yeasty, sweet, unbelievably caloric donut to savor while you're waiting for your order to be filled. not to mention that i'll be feeding my niece and nephew one tomorrow morning after swim lessons. that should get them good and wound up before i say 'bye!! (yes i'm very very mean. those poor children are sugar deprived!)

- yes, swim lessons. going to the Y again tomorrow morning for the mommy workout LOL. actually, loving the bonding time with my niece and nephew. A. usually hangs out with me for some girl time in the pool, while J. has graduated to sitting on my lap afterward while we have "lunch" before i head out to work. last week it was so cute when J. was sitting with me, picking through my wrap to pull out the cucumbers for his own consumption. what a turkey! and little A. - she is loving the jumping in the pool. she plays coy, then all of a sudden launches herself at me, giggling the whole time.

- and my not so little boy J. has now launched himself into the lucrative money making world of being a (pre)teenage babysitter. he has his first "gig" this coming weekend, with a trial run tomorrow night for a couple hours. i'm sure he'll be in there like a dirty shirt - and being only a couple blocks away, he knows we'll help him out if he gets stuck!

- in a bit of a scrapping rut at the moment. haven't done anything in a couple weeks. maybe because i'm getting slightly ticked at PSE. its happened before. if i can't figure out how to do what i want with my photos, i just shut down for a while till i figure it out. that being said, i am dedicating saturday to scrapping while dh is making sausage. that is a guy thing. more on that in a minute... i also have 7 cj's to work on. 2 from the group i'm hosting, and 5 from another. ACK!! but!! wait!! that should fuel some creativity if nothing else!!

- yes sausage. dh made some wonderful jerky and smoked pork tenderloins on the weekend. the jerky is thicker, more like that kippered beef stuff you can find at 7-11 in the middle of the night when you're craving salt. and the tenderloins have yet to be tasted. they are currently drying in the garage fridge where the temptation of "just a nibble" is gone from inside the house. we should be able to sample this tomorrow, maybe thursday! he and ds are planning on making some bratwursts and mettwursts on saturday. looking forward to the mettwurst myself, this is one of my favorite types of sausage!

- i replaced the destroyed curtains in our bedroom. a lovely brown linen-y type of fabric. chocolate brown. now for a new duvet cover!!

- and a parting giggle.
we discussed last night that there were swim lessons today after school. we discussed this morning that there were swim lessons today after school. ds1 told ds2 to meet him after school to go to swim lessons. what happens?
i pull into the garage after work at 3:45. first indication *something* is not right - the dog is in the yard. did my lovely housekeeper forget to let him in before she left? hmmm. i walk in the back door, spot ds2's boots by the front door. where is he? downstairs at the computer. why? because he FORGOT about swim lessons. tell him to get moving so i can take him over, just as ds1 blasts through the front door, after running all the way home from the pool to find the daydreamy child who has forgotten about his swim lessons. i tell ya. if his head wasn't screwed on he'd leave that behind too. and he was PUMPED about swimming. go figure. i think he takes after his mother.

maybe a new challenge?

tuesday morning as i was out and about doing some work, made a few phone calls to reps to find out if they had anything else for me to do in the next couple days as i was in the city anyways. speaking with one of them, he mentioned that he was planning on coming out one evening for a drink at the bar. well, to make a long story short (not sure i want to talk about it much anyways) told him that i was no longer working there so we'd have to go for a drink elsewhere another day. that led to him asking me if i was looking for anything else right now. the easy answer? no, not really, thinking of taking a break for a little while and then maybe finding something else if i decide to.

so he asks me if i would be interested in something else. like what? well, he tells me that one of the other reps is leaving, and that if i was interested he would put my name in the hat with his recommendation. that is what my "next step" career wise i'm looking for. and i asked him if he thought i was even ready for that, given i don't have alot of experience yet. (relief is ALOT different than actually working the job!) he told me yes, i was more than ready.

somewhat daunting, as i looked up a similar job posting for the same company, and the first thing there is university degree. nope. don't have one of those anywhere in my drawers.

so on tuesday afternoon, i got a phone call from my boss, that i will be covering for one of the reps indefinitely, as she is moving on to another route. (the guy that quit.) ok, that works for me.

so out i go with C. today, just to do some review of her route and refreshing of my working knowledge of the computer i work with. and of course, have to do a little chatting along the way. so she told me that there is someone that is more than likely to be getting her route, but that the person is not as impressive as was first thought. but that does open a door, because there is usually 1 or 2 people waiting in the wings so to speak as a contract person, for exactly this type of situation when an opening comes up.

hmmmm.....

C. is also looking to put in a good word for me with the big guys, as well as K., the one who wants to recommend me as well. so maybe bigger things are on the horizon yet.

but in the meantime, i'm content to do what i am doing. i enjoy what i do, without the pressure of having to "perform".

and then i come home to my totally wrecked bedroom. at least the dog had the decency to leave my waterbed alone. the curtains however have experienced their untimely demise, along with the roses dh got me last week.

quote that i spotted today on the side of my "real simple" magazine, and fitting i think:

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." - Josef Campbell

Hmmm...

I am certainly not a regular blogger am I? Actually, somewhat surprised that it hasn't disappeared due to lack of use! Don't things ever expire in cyberspace? I'm thinking not.

Anyways, here's something new!!

Since my last post, months and months and months ago, alot of things have changed.

- I started a new position with Kraft Foods in September. LOVE IT! I work on my own schedule, which is the nice part, but I'm also gaining alot of experience as I also do relief work for the sales reps. Which is where I want to be in 6-8 months. The cool thing is that my boss also recognizes this, and told me that she will help me get there even though it means I would no longer work for her. Perks galore! Hockey tickets a couple of times now, and lunches out with the reps. Gotta love it! The other bonus? Going down 2 pant sizes since September. I'm quite happy with the way my body is looking again!

- DH moved to a different job as well, the beginning of October. Doesn't particularly care for it, he is only staying right now because he does like his boss, and we're going on holidays the end of March. Hard to start something new and say "oh, by the way, I'll be gone for a week..."

- Kids are well back in the swing of things now that Christmas is over with. They're both loving curling, bonspiels start soon. Swim lessons in a couple of weeks again, thanks to their great-grandma for Christmas. That should keep them off the computers some. They are both techno junkies!

- Gotta love a grandma. She sold her house last spring, and hasn't done anything yet with the funds. So now, she's taking us - all eleven of us - to Mexico for spring break. Wow. A week on the beach. I *so* can't wait. Will be looking forward to a tan, a getaway, and those awesome photos. Bonding time? Well, we'll see.

On my creative side, things are starting to look up. Been playing more with PSE, and winning! Have fixed up some not so great shots to make them better, and then, they are all the more better to scrap with. Which leads me to the challenge with the S! girls - a 25/50 layout challenge. Basically, the rules are simple. When we complete 25 layouts we go into a draw for a goodie, courtesy of HeatherS!. When we complete 50, she'll send us a goodie - period. BUT, we can't shop other than getting our kits. There's the challenge. NO SHOPPING. ACK! But I love to shop!! I'm part way there, I've gotten 7 done in the last couple weeks, which is more than I've scrapped in the last 4 months. So that is good. :) Makes me smile!

Will leave with these couple of photos of my niece and nephew from their b-day celebration last week. Yes, they are now printed and will be my next 2 layouts. Love these monkeys, they are too cute!

Random thoughts

- working today... I really have been lazy for the last few days I've been off.

- interview tomorrow... I am really nervous. I want this position really really badly, it is a great opportunity to use the skills I have - leadership, training, organization (ha!), and my personal sense of accomplishment. I have learned that I like to see results. I don't like to be just a paper pusher. I *can* make people's work life better by what I do for them. Not to mention what a regular paycheck would do for our financials at home. Not that they're bad, but we like our toys. And doing things. What more can I say?

- school is almost over. Two weeks to go. I think the boys are really looking forward to time off, especially the B-man. He has had a much better school year, all things aside, than he has since preschool.

- less than 2 months till we go to Seattle. DH and I took J when he was only 8 months old. Boy, time flies by in the blink of an eye. We loved it there. We're actually even staying where we stayed 10 years ago. Odd, in a way. But, it has an outdoor pool, its reasonable, and we're really just looking forward to the time away. Six Flags is on the list, as well as the "Underground Tour", Pike Place market, the Supermall, and generally just hanging out and being us. Maybe find an SB store for me to get lost in for a couple hours too!

- I've learned that waiting is a hard thing. Especially if it is something that is a "bit" of a dream. Congrats to all the S! ladies that are now on the DT. I would be lying if I said I wasn't just a little bit jealous. But, I'll keep trying.

- I'm getting tired of rain. Its been a week since its been nice out, and at least 1 more day to go. Was awakened to a crazy thunderstorm in the middle of the night. Lots of lightning, and huge thunderbooms that shook the house. Still not nice out this morning, very overcast and still drizzly out.

- I've had a headache for 4 days now. I think its the weather.

'Tis all for today....

melissa's challenge

ok, i haven't posted anything in ages. i think more because i share on S! rather than here. LOL. what can i say, totally addicted to S!. anywho, this is in response to melissa's (k23m) challenge.

I AM: uniquely me

I WANT: that job!!

I HAVE: mostly what i want

I WISH: i could travel more

I HATE: houseguests, pee on my doorknobs, and short and curlies on my kitchen counter!!

I MISS: my grandpa

I HEAR: it all

I WONDER: when it will happen

I REGRET: accepting less

I AM NOT: a ditz (thanks tammy!)

I DANCE: never enough

I SING: in my heart

I CRY: very rarely

I AM NOT ALWAYS: kind

I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: a loving home for my family

I WRITE: the truth

I CONFUSE: my children!!

I NEED: self-confidence

I SHOULD: lose 20 lbs

I START: too many things

I FINISH: most things

the more things change...

the more things change!!

life is just crazy around here. again. and change is in the air. again.

why is it that you can just get used to the status quo, and maybe even think that the desperation of not liking where you are is not going to be any different in the next while. then BAM! things change.

my dh has a new job. something different!! finally, a change he is looking forward to. a small company that the owner and he see eye to eye on what constitutes good working conditions. dh can do his thing, what he is good at, without the constant nagging feeling of futility that he has been trying to deal with for the last 6 months.

of course, the moving to a new position is not without its downfalls though either. there is always that little voice at the back of one's head that says, "are you SURE about this?".

that brings me to the complete and utter trust I have in my dh that he will/has made the right decision for our family. I always support his decisions, especially when it comes to his workplace. I think that for him, what he does defines alot of who he is. he is not egotistical, self-centered or has any of the other "typical male" machismo type of attitudes. he is generous, giving, and very focused on creating an outstanding reputation for himself in whatever business he works with. he wants to excel. he wants to learn. he wants respect. and I really hope that he finds this in his new position.

after 4 agonizing months of searching for a new job, countless resumes, a handful of job interviews, this opportunity has come up. this company is on the cusp of huge growth. and he feels confident that he will do well.

i KNOW he will.

Remembering the Past

When we're children, we see things larger than life. Its those memories that make us as adults sometimes wonder about how different things are now than what we remember from the past. I remember going to my grandma's house and having a great time there. The garden was a wonderland of life, birds, flowers, always a dog and/or cat around. Exploring the crawlspace in the basement with it clutter of life - canning jars, antiques, dress up clothes. My grandfather had his rituals, shaving in the mornings with the real soap and brush, his head and shoulders shampoo, watching Tommy Hunter on Friday nights, washing his Plymouth on Saturday mornings, polishing our shoes on Sunday mornings before going to church. My grandma too had the things she did, hanging laundry on the clothesline, baking rye bread from a starter that had been brought from the old country, always cooking, nourishing our bodies and hearts.

Going to my grandma's house now is hard. She sold her home last week, and will be moving in with my parents at the end of May. This will probably be more of a transition to a home than anything else. We were there on the weekend, more to "choose" the things we would like from her home, almost like an odd garage sale, but with not alot to actually pick from. Things she has are old, but not necessarily bad. The thing is, when it comes down to it, there really is nothing I want. And that makes me sad. For her to have built her home, her life, and all her prized possessions are not something anyone really wants or needs. She has an extremely impressive collection of silver and crystal. Pretty to look at, but not practical in our home, we don't do the kind of entertaining at this point in our lives to warrant even choosing to have any of it. I have my own collection of sorts, and we don't even use that.

Grandma is handling it all very well, considering her opposition even 6 months ago to moving out of her home. But she (I think) is starting to see that she really can't even look after herself anymore, let alone maintaining a huge home and everything that goes with that. I did get rather teary the other day, more from the thought that someone else will be living there and be creating their memories in MY grandparents home. Grandpa has been gone for about 15 years, and in that time things have really gone downhill.

When I look at her home, it just looks sad, like there isn't any life there anymore. Oh, the birds are still in the yard, and the flowers continue to grow in the spring, the dog and cat race around. But to see the peeling paint, the warpy roof tiles, the air of neglect... it hurts my heart.

My memories are still there, but the memories of a child, not an adult.


3 things I saw going to work today:

1. The incredible hoarfrost from overnight. It turned everything white, the trees silhoutted against the pale grey sky, the orange snow fencing disappearing into the landscape, but still visible like fishnet stockings.

2. A yellow port a potty.

3. A large Tim Horton's box on the side of the highway. Half wondered if they pitched out the donuts with it.

TGIF!

Wow, what a day!! Worked my butt off, we've had a huge ongoing project with work, same stuff, different stores. I won't say the name of the chain, but we've been relining (basically reorganizing) their hair care (shampoo) sections. They range in size from 16 to 28 feet long, 8 shelves high. I tell ya, it is quite the project. There is about 500 different products within those sections and they are a real bugger to move around. Its not just moving them across a shelf, but because everything was last rearranged higgledy-piggledy, it is just bad. The way they are arranged now makes much more sense, especially for the consumer! All products for each line are now together. That way, if you want Pantene hairspray and shampoo and conditioner (for example) they're all together. But its just one of those things that everything is all over. BUT the good thing was that the 24 ft project we did today, should have taken the two of us about 12 hours, but we were done in about 6 1/2. So, we worked our butts off.

Then, after work, I rushed home from the city to our house, grabbed the boys, and back again to the city as DS #2 had a sleepover tonight at the zoo with his Beaver group. He wanted to take his grandpa. What a riot!! But the best part was that my dad did go with him. They phoned about 1/2 an hour ago to tell us that they were having a great time. That is awesome! I never thought that my dad would go. The crummy part was that both my dad and I forgot to throw a camera in for them to take pics of this great bonding time. Oh well, the memories for our little guy will be his own story to tell.

So, after the mad rush back to the city, DS#1 and I met up with DH to go for dinner. We had a great time! There is a Vietnamese restaurant that we enjoy, and did we ever enjoy! DS and I ordered a bubble tea. What a riot! We have never tried these, they always looked fun, but never did we decide to have one until tonight. We had a mango flavor. Those tapioca balls look hilarious going up the straw! The texture is really bizarre, slimy and chewy at the same time. But it was good! I will definately have that again. The other "special" thing we had for dessert after dinner tonight was coconut surprise. Really. Coconut surprise. And as I type this I am totally having a giggle.

The reason? Because for the last 7 or 8 years at least, when DH would phone me in the morning, he would ask me what was for dinner. And I would reply coconut surprise.

Now, coconut surprise may not be what you think. After the first 4 or so years of marriage, and being responsible more or less for cooking, I ran out of ideas for what to cook for dinner. I still run out of ideas. But coconut surprise to us as our inside joke, is doggie doo doo rolled in coconut and served on a plate. (And this really is a joke, we've NEVER put this on a plate, it was just a goofy thing we came up with!!!)Why is this funny? I don't know. Because after 11 1/2 years of marriage, I really don't know what to cook for dinner most nights! So maybe you'll get a giggle out of this too, or maybe not. But our real coconut surprise tonight was very very good. Amazing rich coconut ice cream with mango sorbet in the middle.

And then I went shopping. But that's another story! I did find some clothes I'm happy with, 2 t-shirts, 1 dressy shirt, 2 cami's, a peasant-y style wrap top and some khaki-ish looking pants, all from old navy. I'm happy! Something new in the closet and time to purge some of my old icky stuff.

And on to the 3 things I saw while driving in the van to and from work and to the city and back again (I'm starting to think I live in the van!):

1. 1 running shoe. Why is there only ever one on the side of the road? Where's the other one?

2. The same car that has been sitting on the side of the highway for the last 3 days. It was there all 4 times I drove past it today.

3. The Garden sign. Makes me think of strawberries and summer. Especially on a cold-ish day like today when there is snow on the ground.

TTFN and TFL!

snow again!

More snow here this evening after a big storm came through this morning after I went to work. It's pretty slippery out there right now, and I'm half hoping that tomorrow will be a snow day! It's been a long week and tonight I have a headache, probably due to weather change. But, I'm happily eating my caramel oreo mcflurry, so there are some bonuses to having to pick up kids from various places out and about on a blowy evening.

I am so looking forward to the S! girls crop next weekend. That has got a smile on my face. Even without knowing what I will actually get accomplished (I'm guessing not alot!) I'm looking forward to getting together with the awesome ladies I know from online.

That's about it for today...

Oh yeah, three things I saw on my way to work today:

1. Two rather amorous ponies

2. A pumpkin head on the mannikin/scary guy at one of the farm gates down the road

3. A llama

It has been a while, hasn't it?

I'm sure that whoever has been reading, has probably given up on my blog, but here is an update!

Our lives changed huge on January 23, when our foster son of 4 years moved from our home. This was a big decision that we made, mostly for the well-being of our 2 wonderful children, and well as one that was not without alot of soul-searching. We've been foster parents for more than 7 years. The commitment to the 9 children we've had through the years was huge. We gave up alot with having these children in our home. We also learned alot, but it finally got to the point where the cost to our family was just too much. The upside is that I think we will have a better relationship with our own kids, as our time is now for them and them alone, and the resentment (however small or large) created by the sheer volume of time spent on the other children in our household is no longer there.

We have noticed a huge sense of relief that is now in our home. The stress level has gone down, even though I am now working full time. There are far fewer arguements and disagreements. Our rules are followed and respected. Our home is peaceful.

It's funny how you don't notice how much things can drive you crazy until they are no longer happening.

Now, as for me working, I still love what I do. I guess the best part of my job is that it is always different. No two days are exactly the same. The jobs I do may be similar, but I'm always somewhere different. At this moment, I am booked full time until the end of April. Slightly scary, but at the same time, very very good.

What am I doing with my "real" money now? Hmmm.. this could be interesting! LOL Actually, I've made a couple of decisions about what really is important to me.

1. I HATE housekeeping. I do it, but I hate it. So, to fix that stress, I now have my wonderful, fantastic, amazing housekeeper. She used to look after my home before we had kids and I was working full time. She starts tomorrow. I can't wait.

2. I have a desire to learn more about photography. Not that my point and shoot is horrible, it just doesn't do what I want it to. So I got a new one last weekend. A Pentax istDL. I LOVE it! Still learning, and haven't gotten out to do any "real"pictures of anything, but I am so pumped! But I did take some pics of my B-man the other night, and printed (on my new printer) the pics and scrapped them right away! Gotta love technology!

3. I need to go shopping. I need clothes. I can't stand any of the stuff in my closet. Maybe this weekend calls for a shopping trip! The kids got new stuff last payday, so I think its my turn!

I read a cool layout about random things the other day. It was titled "my completely random life", and there were a bunch of completely random question sort of things, with 3 answers under each. On my way to work, I was thinking I should really be doing more than just driving on autopilot. So my challenge to myself this morning was to find 3 things I thought were interesting on my way there. They are:

1. a black and white collie trotting down the side of the road (I wondered where he was going in the middle of nowhere, but he seemed to have a destination)

2. the hugest silo I have ever seen, laying on its side on a flatdeck truck, being moved who knows where

3. a pickup truck that sported the words "Dick's Liquor Delivery" on the side of it. It gave me a giggle (ok, it was early, I was still tired!)

I challenge you to find 3 things you see as interesting on your way to work! Tag! You're it!

Answers about me

Ok, I have totally stolen this from k23m (melissa) at Scraptivity, from her blog. But since I haven't posted for a while I thought this would be a good thing to post.

Four jobs you have had in your life: Dairy Queen ice cream girl, receptionist, gas station owner and MOM the best one of all

Four movies you would watch over and over: Pretty Woman, Roxanne (what an oldie!), Father of the Bride, Pretty in Pink

Four places you have lived: Calgary, Strathmore and that's it!

TV shows you love to watch: Survivor, Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy

Four websites I visit daily : Scraptivity (that's my daily fix! what can i say??)

Four of my favorite foods: Curry, Vietnamese, McDonalds, Garlic shrimp

Four Vacations you've been on: Bahamas, Mexico (Cancun, Puerto Vallarta), Germany, Disneyland

Four places I would rather be right now: somewhere warm/hot preferably on a beach, scuba diving, shopping, sleeping

Four places I want to visit: Italy, Greece, Disneyland with my kids, Hawaii

Four hobbies besides scrapbooking: gardening, reading, cooking, knitting

Four bloggers to Tag: anyone who reads this (which i know isn't very many people!)

Walmart and the meaning of cardboard

As some of you may know, I work as a merchandiser for a company out of Montreal. In Alberta this month, there are 5 new Walmart stores opening, 3 in the area I live in. Yesterday we worked at the store here in Strathmore. It was a long day, even with 5 of us we are not completely done our work there, as there are products not yet in store that we are responsible for. Today was an even longer day in Drumheller, and again a return visit will be needed to finish our portion of work. Tomorrow 5 of us will be in Airdrie, and that will be another long day as well, with I'm sure, return trips needed there too. What does this have to do with cardboard? Well, I'll tell you. I'm sure with what we unpacked for store fixtures and products today, we would have filled at least 3 dumpsters. It is crazy how much cardboard is used in packaging up our stuff alone, let alone all the cardboard needed to fill a store like Walmart! Total linear feet for our products is a minimum of 36 feet with a minimum height of 68 inches. And its not just that what we unpack is the outer box, but most of our fixtures come individually boxed as well. Piles and piles of cardboard. But I do have to say, the best part of my job is actually seeing the completed work. Going from nothing to a beautiful wall that has all these brand new, shiny packages is part of what I like best. Knowing that I have done this work, that I have created something from the giant jigsaw puzzle that is presented to me in a jumble of boxes. I have found that this too is creating. Not necessarily being creative, but creating in a totally different way that is logical and makes sense. The last two days have also been a great time to get to know my boss. I had not met her yet, even though I've been working for the company since September. This has been a great opportunity as she has been able to get to know me, and I her. And now, its time for bed, a long day is ahead of me again tomorrow.

Starting Fresh

Well, here I am, venturing on a new journey into the unknown. This will probably be just a rambling of my life, but somewhere to vent a little, smile a lot, and hopefully lead to some interesting conclusions about myself.

This is the beginning of a New Year, and already I know there will be some big changes in my life. I'm looking forward to one of the big changes, and will post more about that as some of the details come to be.

Thanks for checking out my blog, welcome to my bit of bliss.